[Opensim-users] summary/thoughts on Blue Mars

[Paul Fishwick]

I tried out Blue Mars last night:

http://www.bluemarsonline.com/

and have some initial thoughts. I'll try to organize these thoughts from the
perspective of someone using OpenSim. Blue Mars is a massively multiplayer
virtual world that was recently released.

Overall Impression
-------------------

Very rough around the edges since it is still in development (what 
isn't?). Avatar
motion seems awkward and very few interaction options compared with SL.
Graphics are stunning (more later) but high end graphics cards required. 
As one
blogger has noted, the apparent target market seems to be a consistent and
shared presence for game-worlds: i..e, build your avatar, and work with 
others
entering different spaces created by independent game developers.

Interaction
-----------

The range of interaction seems quite limited in Blue Mars--I didn't 
notice an inventory
or the sort of array of options one is used to in the LL viewer. The 
ease with which one
can move the camera and avatar in LL seems absent, or made unusually 
complex without
hot key options.

Viewer
-------

The best part of the experience. Whereas visual effects have
languished at Linden Labs (with regard to their client viewer) over the 
years, at the
expense of an admittedly vastly improved stable set of back-end 
services, the
Blue Mars viewer presents a few stunning spaces such as New Venice and
the Waterfall World. Blue Mars touts the point that their content is created
through the use of professional tools. This is a two-sided issue. More 
professional
tools do offer greater choice in rendered geometry; however, those same 
tools
do have significant learning curves. LL has done a brilliant job at 
making it simple
and easy for anyone to create content in situ.

Viewer and server based on the Crytek game engine. Assets are environment,
terrain, foliage, geometry imported through the usual packages (Maya, 
3DSMAX, Blender...).
Very nice water and particle system effects.


Implications for OpenSim Users and Development
---------------------------------------------------

1. Improved Visual Effects

There is nothing really stopping the community at large from improving 
not only the
viewers, but also the supported geometry to be more in line with the 
type of experience
Blue Mars offers. If visual fidelity is important, and the game industry 
has shown that
at least for entertainment purposes users want improved realism, then 
this can be
a new direction. Two notes along these lines:

    A. Improving the view without augmenting the underlying assets:

     Cinquetti's viewers are about the best thing going. The shadow 
capabilities of the
     open source LL client (including SnowGlobe) do not even come 
close.  Time for
     them to vastly ramp up their rendering. Go to:

     http://kirstenleecinquetti.blogspot.com/

     these viewers can be used with OpenSim as well. 

     B. Improving the view by augmenting the underlying assets:

     The RealXtend crew seem to be on the cutting edge here - with 
support of the
     OGRE engine+mesh and the use of associated shaders. Mesh support is 
sorely needed
     in OpenSim if it is to be compatible with the rest of the CAD and 
game world,
     not to mention other virtual worlds.

2.  Pre-Loaded Assets

     With enhanced geometry for improved fidelity, there may need to be 
an option for
     pre-loaded assets (worlds that users downloaded prior to entering 
so that they
     do not require dynamic asset downloading when one first enters 
them). It isn't
     clear whether this can be handled through a kind of 'extended 
cache' ? When we
     clear the cache, it would need to be cleared by choosing which maps 
or levels
     to remove.

-p



-- 
Paul Fishwick, PhD
Professor and Director, Digital Arts and Sciences Programs
University of Florida
Computer & Information Science and Eng. Dept.
Bldg. CSE, Room 301
P.O. Box 116120
Gainesville, FL 32611
Email: fishwick at cise.ufl.edu
Phone: (352) 392-1414
Fax: (352) 392-1220
Web: http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~fishwick