OpenSource Metaverse Project / News: Recent posts

OpenSource Metaverse Project 0.4 has been released.
See http://manageddreams.com/osmpbb/viewtopic.php?t=333 for download and details.

Dev Release 0.5.2:

New features:

- 3d editing handles for pos, rotate, translate
- create a prim anywhere, including in mid-air (just point in the air, do "create...")
- sim snapshot/restore added to Start Menu
- install uses snapshot/restore automatically to conserve existing data
- physics engine interface optimized by an order of magnitude
- altzoom, altorbit camera modes
- configurable keyboard layout via config.xml
- delete key deletes objects
- terrains participate in physics
- new physics scripting functions (see Lua Scripting doc from start menu, or on website)... read more

Stable Release 0.5.1 / Milestone 3 is out

Changes since Dev Release 0.4.7:
- bug corrected in script engine that prevented scripts from running
- firewall ports added to user documentation
- bug in server corrected that caused server to crash when transmitting a say with no database connected

Changes since stable release 0.4.1:
- physics engine added, using ODE (http://www.ode.org)
- height-mapped prim/terrain prim added
- Quake 2 animated mesh prim added
- lots of linking bugs/features corrected
- avatar hyperlinking to other sims now possible
- scripting engine added, using Lua (http://www.lua.org)
- F1 help added
- in-place texture editing
- in-place script editing
- cylinder, cone, sphere primtypes added

Dev release 0.4.7 out.

Changes since 0.4.6:
- documentation improved drastically, updated to html
- F1 in-game opens up user instructions help page
- script compilation success/error messages passed up through infrastructure to player as a "say" from object
- scripting engine hardened a lot, threading added

This release fixes many bugs with linking, meshes and terrains which should be fairly robust now.

- The avatar root prim no longer rotates about the x or y axis, which looks better and means the avatar no longer slides along horizontal surfaces

- deleting the root prim from a linkedset, by ctrlclicking then "delete", will cause a new prim from the set to become the pivot for rotations

- you can no longer delete the last prim from a linkedset: you need to unlink the set first... read more

Dev File Release 0.4.5:

- Physics Engine added (ODE)
- PCX textures added (in addition to tgas)
- Scripting RPC calls
- Viewpoints (f9)
- Edit your avatar!
- Select individual (ctrl click prim instead of shift click)
- Quake 2 animated meshes

The biggest change is the addition of the physics engine which makes it now possible to build platforms and ramps for avatars to move on.

Dev Release 0.4.4 is out. This introduces the terrain prim.

To create a terrain prim:

- create a 128x128 8-bit .RAW file
- rightclick anywhere on the green plateau
- "Create"
- "Create terrain..."
- Select the .raw file you created
-> the terrain should rez itself

Terrains are scriptable and linkable just like any other object, but they are high-prim so use them sparingly.

Dev Release 0.4.3 is out.

This introduces 3 new prim types: cones, spheres, cylinders.

This adds the Lua Scripting engine.

Milestone 2 means:
- 3d object editing
- texturing
- object linking/unlinking, including hierarchial linking
- color
- clientside interpolation for object movement/rotation/color changes
- clientside retrospective interpolation for avatar movement
- scripting engine XML IPC/RPC API in place for object edit, create, delete, move, link, unlink

And in addition to the requirements for Milestone 2:
- object import/export from/to XML
- packaging in installer using NSIS
- login dialog box
- subprocesses launched and managed automatically

File Release 0.3.3 is out.

New this release:
- automatic installation, using NSIS
- import/export of objects to XML
- login dialog box
- linking supported, including hierarchical linking
- 3d object editing of rotation, position, size and color
- client-side interpolation of position of others' avatars
- scripting engine hooks (XML IPC/RPC) for object manipulation, including possibility of making objects change smoothly in size, scale, position in color using a single command and network packet... read more

Release Notes 0.3.1

New features:

- other avatars now visible. They are the blue cubes, and they have the name of the person over them
- chat! By default you do say, which is heard by people near you. If you prefix what you say with /ooc the whole sim will hear
- you can delete objects by clicking on them
- movement smoother (no longer dependent on key-repeat timings)
- login: you need to specify a username at the metaverseclient commandline as the option -u
- you specify the server with the option -s.... read more

Release Notes 0.2

New features:

- login

Can specify userlogin on metaverseclient commandline with -u option
Server ip address is now -s option in metaverseclient

Behind the scenes:

- backend data structure massively overhauled

It should be much more compliant with future requirements and upgrades. Messaging has been migrated
to XML to simply messging management. Coding now follows a more and more data-centric paradigm... read more

Looking for developers for Metaverse project

Possible roles:
- serverside scripting engine development
- serverside collision detection
- WAN data transmission

and others. Basically,if you want to work on something, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do!

Hugh

Initial End-to-End Prototype Completed!

You can download it from file releases. Sourcecode available in release and also in CVS.

This end-to-end-prototype incorporates:
- a server, which caches a simple 3d world containing default cubes, rezed on a plain
- a client, which can connect to the server:
- you can visualize the cubes and the plain
- you can move around (arrow keys)
- if you click on the plain, a new cube will be rezed, and sent out to all other connected clients
- the server stores its data in a MySQL database to ensure world persistency... read more

Welcome to the OpenSource Metaverse Project.

This site centralizes the SourceCode, and website for the project.

You can find discussion and newsgroups here: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/opensourcemetaverseproject/

The goal of this project is to create an OpenSource Metaverse engine that can be used by anyone to host and create virtual worlds, for example for MMORPGs or for socializing and art.