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RE: [www-vrml] Tim BL Is Baffled, Too
Hi Miriam,
LivingWorlds can be built on top of X3D. If you have a need, want and/or a
business justification, you can make it happen yourself. All the
technologies are in place. OK, there's a bit of a tools problem, but that's
never stopped anybody with the Will.
The team at Magnetar Games (www.magnetargames.com) is developing MU
components that connect with Flux for just this purpose (disclosure: I'm on
their advisory board). There may be stuff in development that you can use
today. (Duncan of Magnetar is cc'ed on this). It's probably still raw, but
you should contact them to see if there is something of use right now.
No moaning, girl! We need the strength and resolve of committed people such
as yourself. Don't just sit there and pray for rain-- make it happen!
Note that I posted this same challenge to Larry Rosenthal 18 months ago. He
took it to heart, and the result is a much closer interoperation between
Flux and Vizx3d, and The X3DXperience, which is if nothing else is a beacon
showing the way. In other words, I told him to take matters into his own
hands, he did, and we're all much better off for it. You can do it, too.
You want more exemplars? Dave Arendash, Aaron Bergstrom, Brian Hay. Etc.
Go for it!
Tony
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-www-vrml@web3d.org [mailto:owner-www-vrml@web3d.org] On Behalf
> Of Miriam English
> Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 11:25 PM
> Cc: 'VRML list'; x3d-public@web3d.org
> Subject: Re: [www-vrml] Tim BL Is Baffled, Too
>
> two words: easy and cheap
>
> ActiveWorlds used to be an example of how those conditions set off an
> explosion of use. Unfortunately the owners of that proprietary technology
> saw a lot of people using it for free and instead of considering those
> people as free advertising they saw them as "lost" dollars. So they raised
> the prices and restricted access. ActiveWorlds then faded from general
> view.
>
> VRML had "cheap" going for it. You could knock up a quick virtual world in
> a few minutes in any text editor, even though the language always was
> unnecessarily verbose (even more so now with X3D).
>
> Unfortunately the language has a number of stumbling blocks that render it
> less than easy, especially if you wanted to network with friends in VR.
> And even with some long-overdue changes in X3D it still doesn't have peer-
> to-peer networking, HUD, particles, avatar animation (though the HAnim-
> nodes are a beginning), bump-mapping, IK, physics modeling, reflection
> (environment mapping is part of the solution but portals are needed too),
> sound effects and filters, procedural textures, light flare and halo,
> shadows, etc. Many of those are considered a necessity in any game engine
> and a lot of them have been in Contact for years.
>
> Animating anything in VRML is unnecessarily convoluted and opaque. After
> years of use I still have to hit the books when I need to do even simple
> animations. It should be easier than that. And don't say that such things
> *have* to be complicated -- they aren't in ActiveWorlds or in some other
> engines. Why should they be in VRML/X3D?
>
> Anybody who has spent more than a few minutes with one of the common game
> engines or with ActiveWorlds will find it difficult to understand why
> people like me persist with VRML (and X3D). We have become like Don
> Quixote, battling goddamn windmills. As the language falls further and
> further behind what can be done, with no effort spent on looking to what
> can't yet be done, we become irrelevant. VRML 1.0 was a bold step. VRML
> 2.0 was another major step. It fixed a lot of shortcomings of the first
> version and in doing so almost completely rewrote the language, making it
> capable of interaction. VRML97 made tiny changes, so insignificant that I
> keep forgetting what they were. X3D has made some steps forward but is
> essentially VRML 97 in XML with several long-needed additions. Where is
> the vision that produced the Living Worlds proposal back in 1996(!!) and
> the Open Community proposal (also 1996)?
>
> I didn't want to make this a moan. But every time I take a larger view of
> VRML/X3D I can't escape this conclusion.
>
> I am not blaming any individuals (though I remain annoyed at the the
> consortium stealing VRML). All the people working to make various
> improvements to VRML have done marvelous things and are to be praised.
> Many of the new nodes have been desperately needed. I almost bite my
> tongue because what I'm saying sounds like I'm chastising them for too
> little too late.
>
> But in the end if we want to ask why VRML/X3D isn't taking off in a big,
> big way, we have the answer right here in front of us.
>
> Sorry to be depressing. I wish this was a call to arms... it is not too
> late yet.
>
> - Miriam
>
>
> Tony Parisi wrote:
> > http://www.crn.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=48800085
> >
> > 'Berners-Lee said he's perplexed by the fact that 3-D graphics haven't
> > really been exploited to create more multidimensional desktop
> experiences on
> > the Web. "The standards are there. Is it because people feel queasy
> about
> > 3-D?" he said.'
> >
> > Good question.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> > Tony Parisi 415-648-1739
> vox
> > President 415-902-8002
> cel
> > Media Machines, Inc.
> tparisi@mediamachines.com
> > Real-Time 3D Communication
> http://www.mediamachines.com
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> >
> >
> >
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