[info] [croquet-user] Important questions for me..
Eugen Leitl
<eugen at leitl.org> on
Mon Dec 3 19:47:55 UTC 2007
----- Forwarded message from michel <Michel.Denis at Sun.COM> -----
From: michel <Michel.Denis at Sun.COM>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:14:13 +0100
To: croquet-user at duke.edu, Doug Thompson <doug at rtchealth.com>
Subject: Re: [croquet-user] Important questions for me..
Organization: Sun Microsystems
User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.9 (Windows/20071031)
Reply-To: croquet-user at duke.edu, michel <Michel.Denis at Sun.COM>
Hi Doug,
Many thanks for your message.
Yes, I would like a multi-user/multi-avatars functionality. AND to
have several avatars available from which users can choose etc.. and
possibly customize too. (Yes SL, ActiveWorlds, ... seem to be the only
ones providing this today, on production ready platforms).
Could you give the names of the best "growing number of platforms to
allow access to a 3D world " ? I looked at open source ones: Blender
Game Engine, Panda3D, ..... they can make it but a lot to program
etc.. For the commercial ones, most are for Windows only and often
they are expensive too ...
I just had a look at Papervision3D- yes it is nice and light and uses
the standard Web of today. But maybe missing functionality like:
avatars, e-commerce, chat, etc..
SL is one possibily, though the UI is pretty complex (but rich!) and
not so user friendly; it is expensive to get islands, monthly
maintenance and so on.
Concerning the "application that allows direct links down from a Web
site to a private island" -- is it the OpenSIM which uses the SL
client but Sims outside the classical SL ? Maybe one could swap with
a rewritten, better client like the Electric Sheep one ? What are the
costs for the island in this scenario ? I'm potentially interested
here .. if someone tells me more :-)
I fully agree with you, and that's why I am looking at Croquet: so
many excellent foundations are there already; the scripting language
is good. What about sharing everything people do today with Croquet:
imagine that we create shared areas for Croquet 3D models, Croquet
avatars, Croquet scripts, etc... Can we imagine this ? 8-) 8-) It
is the best alternative perhaps, considering that so many people here
and there do work with Croquet! Why not sharing everything just like
the open source code is shared!? O:-)
-michel
Doug Thompson a écrit :
Michel,
Quick question - are you looking for an environment with multi-user
functionality? I've been intrigued at the number of times I've
discussed virtual worlds with people and what they really need is a 3D
environment with perhaps an avatar representation, but don't
necessarily need a multi-user environment.
Virtual e-commerce as an example - there are some excellent and a
growing number of platforms to allow access to a 3D world for the
purposes of engaging individuals with content - product demos, etc.
There can be games, embedded links out to e-commerce functions, etc.
For the purposes of demos alone, there's growing interest in
Papervision which runs off of Flash - wonderful stuff, and the nice
thing is you don't need to download a client. We're finding it very
useful when combined with standard Web appliances.
If you're looking at a multi-user environment, I'd tend to concur with
Darius that SL might be the best bet for the time being. We're working
on an application that allows direct links down from a Web site to a
private island, a contained group kind of idea, such that users don't
even really need to know they're "in" Second Life. If they choose to
explore out, great. Otherwise it allows us to control the user
experience a little more and is vertical rather than horizontal -
driving users to `sealed' regions from the Web rather than to the
region from within SL itself - although frankly the combination is
probably best.
Just some thoughts, and feel free to contact directly if you'd like
and apologies to the list for the off-topic post. However, I think
it's germane to the degree that portability across platforms is key,
and Croquet is the shining example of Web function portability in many
respects. Being able to shuttle data back and forth from virtual
worlds to Web sites to Wikis to real world locations etc. is critical
to a ubiquitous metaverse.
Doug Thompson
aka Dusan Writer
[1]http://dusanwriter.wordpress.com
__________________________________________________________________
From: michel [2]<Michel.Denis at Sun.COM>
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Reply-To: [3]<croquet-user at duke.edu>, michel [4]<Michel.Denis at Sun.COM>
Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 11:30:28 -0500
To: [5]<croquet-user at duke.edu>, Darius Clarke [6]<socinian at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [croquet-user] Important questions for me..
Hi Darius,
I would like some of the nice SL functionality (also in Croquet I
think), but not so .. wild and generic .. I mean a clear focus is
desired.
Of course it is more a VW toolkit than a developer's toolkit that I am
looking for.
Following your advise I looked at OpenSim -- could be interesting
maybe.
I don't have a lot of money, rather I am helping some friends to set
up
this small world for doing e-commerce a new way-- with the same
pleasure
as playing a game.
There are so many sites showing products of a region, this time I'd
like
to do this in a VW.
Among the various VW/gaming engines of use for this, one is Blender
Gaming Engine, especially with the BZoo tool on top of it to care
about
game networking.
I'll have a look there too.. If you have feedback please let me know.
Many thanks!
-michel
Darius Clarke a écrit :
> Hi Michel,
>
> I'm glad you've included Croquet in your evaluations. What you
desire
> sounds a lot like recreating Second Life services. Unfortunately,
for
> those with needs like yours, Croquet is a programmer's tool rather
> than something you setup for your own virtual worlds. For example,
> there are no e-commerce functionality tools in Croquet, nor are
there
> many tools to create the content to populate your world.
>
> I'm not sure what financial resources you have for such an important
> project. From the sound of your "web server" hosting service, it
> sounds like you want to run on a budget. I can't tell from your
email
> why you wouldn't just use Second Life. If it's privacy you need, you
> can buy your own Second Life island. I believe you can collect stats
> if you own an island. In Second Life you might also find others with
> Phytotherapy interest to grow your community. If you want all the
> features of Second Life on a budget, you might try OpenSim, but
you'll
> need to own your own server or lease a whole server and not just a
> "web hosting" service as you described that you have.
>
> Is this to help you with your BAZI PILIERS DE LA DESTINEE project?
> Perhaps, if you describe what you want to accomplish, we could help
> steer you in a better direction.
>
> You might also be able to use the mod features of several games to
> accomplish most of what you want, except the e-commerce functions
> which you might be able to do on a parallel web service.
>
> Croquet is better for those who wish to control every aspect of
their
> shared virtual worlds and have the programming expertise, time, and
> money to create something which they need to control to that degree.
>
> Cheers,
> Darius
>
>
>
References
1. http://dusanwriter.wordpress.com/
2. mailto:Michel.Denis at Sun.COM
3. mailto:croquet-user at duke.edu
4. mailto:Michel.Denis at Sun.COM
5. mailto:croquet-user at duke.edu
6. mailto:socinian at gmail.com
----- End forwarded message -----
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Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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