- The InterMetaGrid is a separate VW (Virtual World) without a
native User Interface (viewer/controller)
for humans to interact with it.
- The IMG has its own server and database of world information.
- Instead of a user interface,
it has a network interface (currently HTTP) for
requesting view information and making changes to it.
- To use it, you need a space in some other HostVW, and an
interface object (the MatterCompiler) in that VW to enable it.
- The MatterCompiler creates a Holodeck in its HostVW, and
manipulates "puppet objects" in that HostVW to give avatars
in that world the illusion of being in the InterMetaGrid.
- There can be many Holodecks into an IMV space at the same time.
There can even be multiple spaces in SecondLife that contain
a holodeck to the same IMG space, or to different IMG spaces.
- The IMG uses simple LeastCommonDenominator objects and a
simplistic, low-bandwidth communication channel to the IMG Server.
- The IMG model contains spaces, nonphysical objects, avatars, and chat.
(Future: vehicles. Multimedia?)
- IMG spaces are named by an internet host&port and a numeric
grid coordinate
- Objects exist in IMG spaces, and puppets of them are manipulated
by the MatterCompiler so they are replicated in each Holodeck.
- Avatars exist in the HostVWs, on one Holodeck, but puppets are
created by the MatterCompilers on other holodecks. The puppets
may be very crude compared to the originals; we have to use
- Chat messages are relayed between Holodecks by the MatterCompilers
(through the IMG server).
- Holodeck standard is 100m x 100m. You could instantiate a smaller
one in a smaller space, and use only the center of it.
- Since IMG Spaces (which are mapped onto the Holodecks) live in a
rectangular grid, multiple spaces could be mapped onto multiple
adjacent Holodecks, to build a villiage.
- The SecondLife implementation of MatterCompiler/Holodeck is in progress.
It will work in sandboxes and other open reserved Linden Lands (subject
to timeouts & such that vary. Some are 60min. Private islands and other
private land (like the Yak land in Bedstraw) work fine.)
- Croquet will come next. You can run Croquet in "localhost" mode, without
connecting to any other Croquet server. You can instantiate a Holodeck
in a Croquet space, and it will talk to the IMG Server with low bandwidth.
- Other interfaces should be possible, even web interfaces.
- The network protocols are kept really simple right now, but have some
specific hacks for SecondLife (to let the IMG server do more of the work,
where LSL is lame). These should evolve as implementations are created.
Standardization can be kept in mind, but will come later.
code drop: intermetagrid-code-20070410.odt
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Here's screenshots of the current SecondLife implementation. There is a bug with the garbage collection of avatar puppets (representing avatars in another holodeck), so the Holodeck collects zombie souls of visitor's avatars after they're gone. | ||||||||
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