[Opensim-users] summary/thoughts on Blue Mars

[Frisby, Adam]

All valid points, however I don't think any major changes are going to come on the SL viewer.

If you want these things, keep your eyes on Naali, Looking-Glass & Idealist, which are all ground-up rewrites.

Adam

> -----Original Message-----
> From: opensim-users-bounces at lists.berlios.de [mailto:opensim-users-
> bounces at lists.berlios.de] On Behalf Of Paul Fishwick
> Sent: Thursday, 17 September 2009 8:35 AM
> To: OpenSim Users Mailing List
> Subject: [Opensim-users] summary/thoughts on Blue Mars
> 
> 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
> 
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