First location – Freebie Megastore

Hello and welcome to my 5^th MUV blog. In this blog I will be exploring my first MUVE location! For my first location I wanted to find somewhere that I could grab some freebies for my avatar. This had me doing some searching on the web for some places to go to which I could pick up some fee stuff.

After some searching on the web I found the location “Freebie Island” but after trying to connect I couldn’t due to it current being un-available. This had me looking for another location, which I found was the “Freebie Megastore”.

Intractability in the Freebie megastore

The Freebie Megastore allow new and old avatars to go and find new outfits and avatar models free of charge. All user have to do is go to the Megastore Location and look around at the free items available in the store. When you have found an item you like, you simply right click the item and purchase it free of charge.

The look and construction of the Freebie Megastore.

The Freebie Megastore is five story building with mainly female clothing and model options for the first 3 floors. The building is contracted out of prims to shape of a building with textures such as bricks and marble to develop it look of a building.

Scripting in the building that I noticed were the products on the walls and the lights on the first floors which had a glowing effect. Other scripting i see where some advertising panels and a large clock on the outside of the building.

Comparison to other freebie locations

The other location I went to for freebies was the Free Dove. In this store there was much the same free stuff as the Freebie Megastore but instead of available items pined against the walls, the building was more in the style and layout of an actual real life store, with clothing tables laid out. This gave the feeling of I was actual looking through a store for clothes.

My impressions

I think it’s pretty cool people take the time to build and make available locations where users can go and grab stuff for their avatar for free; especially newcomers to the Second Life world such as myself.

The Firestorm viewer

What is Firestorm?

Firestorm is an open-source Second life viewer much like Singularity and other Second life viewers.

Who developed Firestorm?

Firestorm is an open-source client developed by the phoenix firestorm project, with around 80 people giving their time to develop it.

Firestorms’ functionality

Much like the other Second Life viewers Firestorm provides ability to access the Second Life and OpenSim. Other features of Firestorm include:

• Cross platform access e.g. Linux, Mac and Windows operating systems.
• Compliant to Linden’s terms and services.
• Built on Second Life’s V3 viewer, which can process modern prims and outfits.
• Open-source code, which allows anyone to view.
• The viewer is actively maintained and worked on by developers, making the viewer stable.
• Can access Open Simulator.

Firestorm ease of use

Throughout the MUV classes I found personally fond Firestorm quite hard to get used to, from the camera controls to user interface. But after using it other a few weeks I got quite use to the controls and UI and don’t find it too difficult to use.

The building the system with all the settings and options seemed quite complicated at first, but with some use I’m now fairly comfortable with it.

Comparison to Singularity Viewer  

After trying out the Singularity viewer, I found that Firestorm was not only less user friendly regarding the UI but was a lot choppier with the frame rates and performance. I think this is due to Firestorm being built on a more modern engine which may run slower on older computers with low end specs.

With that said I prefer the Singularity viewer over the Firestorm viewer for performance.

My overall view on Firestorm

Firestorm allows access to Second life, Opensim and is built on a modern viewer which allows it to do some things older views can’t; but it can take some time to get use to the UI and controls.

Overall I think that the firestorm viewer would be a great option for users who have the compute power to run the viewer smoothly.

 

The Singularity Viewer

Welcome to my 3^rd blog! Within this blog I will be covering my first Second Life viewer which is Singularity. In this blog I will be covering information about singularity, such as its functionality and how it compares to the firestorm viewer.

What is Singularity?

Singularity is an open-source viewer that is capable of accessing Second Life and other services such as OpenSim.

Who developed Singularity?

Singularity is an open-source viewer based on Ascent Viewer which was release by Linden Labs and is developed by people willing to give their free time to further develop it.

Singularity functionality  

Apart from being able to connect to services like Second Life and OpenSim, singularity has some features such as:

• Available to both Linux and Mac operating systems.
• Fully compliant to Linden Labs terms of service.
• Development for the Singularity viewer is continuous, meaning any bugs and overall performance and stability is being constantly worked on from the developers.
• All the standard building and editing tools you would expect to find in a viewer.
• Easy to use toolbar with map, fly toggle etc.

Me playing around with the building system in Singularity.

Singularity ease of use

In this section I will be commenting on how I find Singularity to use when running Second Life. Overall I find the Singularity viewer very easy to use. Coming from Firestorm to the Singularity viewer I think the overall user interface and toolbar layout to be much more simple and user friendly.

The building interface is simple and easy to understand and looks similar to that of Firestorms.

Comparison to Firestorm Viewer  

When comparing Singularity viewer to the Firestorm viewer I feel Singularity has a similar layout regarding the user interface but with the feel of being a little bit less confusing and user friendly.

Regarding performance, Singularity seems to run a lot better with frame rates and overall smoothness. I think this is due to Singularity being built on an older version of the Second life client compared to the Firestorm which is built on a newer version.

My overall view on Singularity

With some time spent in Singularity I personally feel it’s easier to use then Firestorm and runs a lot smoother on my PC which doesn’t have the highest hardware specs. So I currently prefer it over Firestorm and will be using it from now on.

MUVE Platform 2

For my second blog for MUV500 I will be covering my second multi-user virtual environment platform, which is the open simulator. Much like my second blog on Second Life I will be covering its uses and functionality.

What is the open simulator?

Unlike the Second Life platform which is hosted by Linden Labs, open simulator is an open source server software platform that allows anyone with the sufficient hardware to host their own private virtual world, similar to Second Life.

Open Simulator developers

Because open simulator is open source, it is developed by a community of people willing to give up their free time to contribute to the project.

Open Simulator Functionality

Using OpenSim anyone can download the software and host their own private virtual world. For example, someone can download the open simulator software and using their personal dedicated hardware they can run a version of the second life client. This would allow the user to do all the same things that can be done on Second Life such as building customizing their avatar.; but with the exception of not having the ability to access such resources like the Linden store.

Open Simulator performance

Since OpenSim software is usually hosted on small scale privately owned hardware, the performance depends on the hosts personal hardware, for example someone running a OpenSim world on a personal computer with low specs will greatly affect the in-world performance. Another performance issue to take into consideration would be the overall network quality of the host, which can affect in-world latency.

OpenSim Uses   

Someone using OpenSim can create a virtual world using the Second Life client and within that virtual world they can do much the same as someone using Second Life could do such as:

• Host classes for educational purposes
• Build virtual world like Second Life without the large fees
• Roleplaying

Comparison to Linden’s Second Life

Using Open Simulator compared to second life there is advantages and disadvantages. For example, OpenSim allows for more freedom then Second life, such as:

• No terms are policies, allows the creator of the world to do whatever they want.
• No expenses for creating new virtual worlds, compared to Second Life which can be quite expensive.
• Can have better latency and performance depending on the hardware and quality of the network used for creating the virtual world.

Some disadvantages

• Less people use OpenSim compared to Second life.
• In world can be buggy then Second Life.
• Overall community is smaller.

My feelings on Open Simulator

I feel Open Simulator would be great if you were someone seeking more freedom to do stuff within your virtual world and you didn’t want to pay the higher costs of owning land within second life. The downside to Open Simulator would have to be its much smaller user base then Second Life.

 

               

 

MUVE Platform 1

Hello and welcome to me second blog for MUV601. In this blog I will be exploring my first platform, which is Second Life. I will be covering the basic information around the Second Life platform, such as, who developed it, its functionality and who its targeted to.

What is the Second Life?

Second life is a multi-user virtual environment hosted by Linden Labs, which people can create avatars in game to interact with each other. In Second Life people can purchase virtual properties, trade with other players, including items they have made in game using the Second Life currency. Because there is no set object, such as other virtual worlds like WoW (World of Warcraft) second life can serve many purposes, for example; Education, roleplaying, gaming to name a few.

Second life developer

Second life is developed by Linden Labs which is based in San Francisco. The platform was first released on 23 June 2003.

Second Life in game functionality

The Second Life platform provides its users a highly customizable virtual environment to work in. For example, users have the ability to fully customize their avatars appearance from the size, shape, colour of their avatar to making from scratch a new outfit, or purchasing one already made from another player using the in-game currency.

The customizable options don’t stop at the avatar; second life users can also purchase in-game properties which they can create and edit their virtual landscape and add objects they have built with the in-game building tool. For example, a user could purchase some land in-game and create a virtual night club using the building tool, which then avatars could hang out.

Second Life performance

Regarding performance, Second Life will run good on most computers with low end spec, as long as the graphic settings are turned to appropriate levels. It is also compatible with Mac and Linux operating systems.

There are some in game issues regarding performance and instability due to games “asset” server which hold all the in-game objects being separate from the avatar and world servers, thus creating performance bottlenecks leading to in game performance issues.

Second Life uses

Second life provides a platform which can be used for many applications. Some of these applications include:

• Education
• People can come from all over the world to learn about topic in the virtual world.
• Social networking
• Second Life provides an excellent platform for people wanting to meet and make new friends.
• Roll playing
• Within second life there are many locations dedicated to roll-playing.

Comparison to Open Simulator

Second life has its advantages and disadvantages much like Open Simulator, some of these are:

• Much higher cost if you want to have your own region within second life compared to OpenSim.
• Much less freedom due to policy and procedures set by Linden Labs.

Though there are some disadvantages, I feel more advantages, such as:

• More player base and community.
• Much larger amount of hosted regions.
• Large marketplace.

My feelings on Second Life

Personally I can see Second Life and other virtual worlds providing great services for applications such as online education, especially with the advances in technologies such as the Oculus Rift; I see in the near future, fully immersive environments where people can come to learn and meet new people.

MUV Blog 1

Hello! and welcome to my MUVE (multi user virtual environments) blog. Here i will be posting updates on my progress on my journey through Second life and the MUVE course.

On Thursday Clare gave us some questions to answer for our first blog post, which i will be answering on the following section.

What is a virtual world? Answer:  A virtual world is a virtual environment that allows people from around the world to come to one place using avatars or characters . The virtual environment could be used for education, role playing or general fun. Examples of virtual environments could be Second life, Wow or Guild wars.

What is interesting to me about virtual worlds? Answer: I think the prospect of a possible future of truly immersive virtual environments using such tools as the Oculus rift really interests me. I think it would provide a new level of gaming and education.

How important do you think virtual worlds are now? Answer: Currently virtual worlds such as second life are providing areas where people can come together to learn in virtual environments. Because of this i think the prospect of further development of fully virtual learning makes virtual worlds important.

How important do you think virtual worlds will be in 5-10 years? Answer: As i mentioned before, with the addition of immersive technologies such as the Oculus rift and virtual worlds, i think over the next 5- 10 years we will see huge leaps in online education; such as virtual online classes, as well as immersive gaming in virtual worlds. Because of this i think over the next 5-10 virtual worlds will be very important.