[Opensim-users] summary/thoughts on Blue Mars

[Jeremiah Spence]

Are there any ground-up re-writes of opensim server-side underway?

-jeremiah

Frisby, Adam wrote:
> 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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