Re: [mmox] RealExtend Teleporting Between Worlds

["Hurliman, John" <[e-mail]>]

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>Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 3:22 PM
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>Subject: Re: [mmox] RealExtend Teleporting Between Worlds
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>>Actually, this is not true with the 'standard tres' on the
>SecondLifeGrid ( name taken from http://secondlifegrid.net/ ).   The
>protocol specifies that each 'Primitive' has a type identifier called,
>'PCode'.   There is a PCode for 'Primitive', there is a 'PCode' for an
>Avatar, there is a PCode for a Tree, there is a 'PCode' for Grass.
>(Ref: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/PCode )  Additionally, the
>protocol has an identifier for type specific information called
>'State'.   Each of the 'standard tree types' have a specific value in
>this 'State' identifier.   There is absolutely no user created content
>sent to the client for 'standard trees and grass' beyond the fact that
>it's a tree and the type of tree based on a previously specified
>limited group of trees that are in the client, which I'll list below;
>
>Pine1 = 0,
>Oak = 1,
>TropicalBush1 = 2,
>
>Anyone looking at those trees can tell they aren't Linden trees of the
>standard issue, but look more like Lilith Heart trees.
>
>And precisely because they don't look like Linden trees, I asked who is
>the author/creator and where were they created.
>
>Yes, I realize Linden tree generation is a totally different thingie
>than the usual prim-making, and works on a different principle of
>virtuality, which I guess you've outlined.
>
>BTW, did the Lindens let you copy their tree-generating program, and do
>they mind if you port that capacity into other worlds? Because Linden
>trees are special, in that they can blow in the wind and such the way
>home-made trees can't.
>
>Some of the Linden trees are nice, but I have to wonder, if you were
>going to make another world, even a clone-world reverse-engineered, why
>on earth would you copy that dying cocoanut tree and the weird eel
>grass?! Couldn't you make something different over there?
>

The Second Life simulators and OpenSim are only sending a single number to say what type of tree the viewer should render. All of the fancy code for drawing the tree and making it blow in the wind is in the Second Life viewer. I agree that it would be very nice if someone improved the default trees in the Second Life viewer.

This brings up an important topic to consider in interoperability. Most (if not all) virtual platforms use shortcuts like this to offload processing on to the client. But saying "draw tree type 7" doesn't mean the same thing (or anything) to Forterra, VastPark, etc. Would you create interop versions of the trees (mesh and texture representations), or just not allow that content to move across boundaries?

John