Building - Basic Terrain Manipulation

For private world owners, manipulating the terrain is very simple and can go a long way to adding character to virtual landscapes and scenes.  Terrain editing used to be a caretaker-only right, but as of Active Worlds 4.2 Build 1015 can be given to users through the World Rights list. Public worlds also have limited terrain editing abilities, and rely on bots such as Demeter to allow builders to manipulate terrain on their property.

This tutorial explains simple terrain editing for users who can edit terrain directly.  Terrain in Active Worlds is manipulated at the intersection of coordinate grids.  You can view the coordinate grid by pressing F10 in Active Worlds.  This is the easiest visual way to distinguish between different areas terrain, especially if they have the same terrain texture or are on the same elevation.

A Scene from AWGate...

This is what I like to see!!!

If you follow the blog here regularly, you have probably read my rant regarding the lack of use of some of the more obvious visual cues, such as this GateKeepers help desk.  After dropping into AWGate today, I just had to take a picture of this, because this is exactly what I like to see.  Not only is someone hanging out by the desk... but someone sitting there, legs crossed, just waiting to help a new user. The R2-D2 is a nice touch too. ;)

Nice, guys.  Keep it up! :P

(Also, I'll be posting some more ideas tonight about AWGate after a productive conversation last night at the AW Town Hall Meeting.)

Progress in Arklay World

Hey everyone! Thanks on all of the comments for the new utility! I'll update it again tonight with your feedback. :)

Droog began in-world testing for his new paintball bot in Arklay World last night. If you'll recall from the forums, Droog posted a thread about creating a new bot and people were overwhelmingly interested in Paintball. After some discussion I saved the current world -- the Besieged Map -- as a propdump and wiped the world clean, and now I'm in the process of building a desert-themed map suited to paintball. The map is based in a gorge, and will have two bases -- one on some cliffs and one on the opposing side in some caves. In between this will be a valley that features some rundown industrial buildings. I used to build paintball maps in AWTeen and the work for the Beseiged Map gave me a lot of ideas for building insular areas.

Building - Object Properties Box Tutorial

Hey everyone! Below is a flash tutorial I made this weekend for users interested in learning more about the object properties tutorial box. I might add more to it later, but for now... I like where it's at.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! All you have to do to use it is hover over the different parts of the box, and it'll highlight it and tell you how it all works! :)

Noticeboard: Feb-March Yellow Gazette Published

The Yellow Gazette for Feb-March is online at http://activeworlds.com/newsletter/yellow/

Projects like the Gazette are one of the marks of a healthy community; where projects can be found in the hands and influence of dedicated world users who take it upon themselves to make their community a little better.  It's nice when the world leadership doesn't have to do all of the work! :)

It is the tendency of a community to only lament on the loss of a project after it's contributors have moved on to other interests, so if you like the Yellow Gazette be sure to let them know and show your support!

In-world offices of the Yellow Gazette (Teleport there now!)

For me in particular, the Build of the Month section featured a couple of interesting locations that detail some methods on game-making and environments that may be of interest to readers here.  Another article of interest explains the numbering system for primitive objects.  The prim objects were numbered in such a way to be intuitive and easier to remember after a simple introduction to the numbering system, so if you have a hard time with prims this may be helpful!

If you do follow-up and visit the Gazette, I'd like to know if any of the articles that I didn't mention caught your eye.  I'd like to see how our interests compare/contrast.  You can let me know by just leaving a comment below! :)

Why do we pursue Realism in the Virtual World?

By request, I'll be delving into some theory tonight concerning my thoughts on the spacial architecture of our virtual world.  Depending on how I feel about this post by the end, this may become a series. ;)

As prevalent in our virtual experiences as it may be, Architecture is a topic that's not often discussed.  Even though Architecture as I know it is being experienced daily, only the most rigorous builders concern themselves intellectually with any sort of architectural theory behind their work.  These people are also (often, but not always) concerned with pushing themselves and finding new applications and new techniques for creation.  On the other hand, most everyone else -- everyone who is actively engaging Architecture -- gives it a passing glance... checking to make sure that they are adhering to arbitrary guidelines of realism or at the very least making sure that their walls aren't z-buffering.

I'd like to note that although I did not create this house, I went well out of
my way to landscape around it.  Why did I do  that? Why is there a door?  Is
there any point to the landscaping beyond my own aesthetic sensibilities?

I'd like to note that I'm not making this contrast because I'm some sort of architecture snob, but rather to begin a conversation on Architecture in our virtual world.  If you think about it from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it's a rather odd thing that we would engage in creating any sort of realistic architecture in a virtual environment.  For what use does a virtual avatar have for a doorway?  Why do buildings need to be on the ground!?  We can fly and shift through objects in our environment, yet the large majority of us have taken to conventional structures and only use our abilities to fly and shift when it is convenient.

This is something I find absolutely fascinating about our experience in Active Worlds -- especially in the public building worlds where this phenomenon is most prevalent -- because I don't think that is what most people had in mind before virtual reality existed.  Even environments Snow Crash, the inspiration for the Active Worlds technology, loosely followed laws of physics at best.  Check out this description of the popular Black Sun bar:

"The black sun is as big as a couple of football fields laid side by side.  The decor consists of black, square tabletops hovering in the air (it would be pointless to draw in legs), evenly spaced across the floor in a grid.  Like pixels."

Did you catch that?  In this example, the interest isn't so much in realism (although it is played on later), but rather in what is pragmatic and beneficial for the computer.  The author later describes also that the club is matte black, because it is easier on the computer.  He didn't even touch on an exterior description.  In a world where you can teleport to locations and shift through objects... is an exterior even necessary?

SW City's Nimbus Land is actually a hybrid of two opposing lines of thought:
a cloud city (which is inherently unrealistic) using realistic visual cues such
as doorways and pathways for the benefit of the user.

Probably not.  The difference is in that we create in such a way because it is comfortable for us, and intuitive for other users.  When I create a doorway in the virtual environment, it isn't because people can't find another way in... but rather because I want a visual cue to direct visitors on how to enter the building.  In much the same way, I place (most of!) my buildings on the ground because if they were high up in the air, most people wouldn't find them because a building is expected to be on the ground.  These are conventions that most builders have identified without much thought, and follow for convenience. In fact, I think that -- for most, this goes beyond convention and is actually felt as necessary for user interaction.  We've touched on how the convention of the doorway exists for a visual cue.  The cue isn't unnecessary, and in fact does serve a very practical purpose by directing users on where to go... and what would its alternative be, exactly?

What would replace a doorway?

This question really hits it home.  Why do we pursue realism in the virtual world?  It's not just because it is what we know, but rather because it is what everyone knows!  Most builders aren't trenching themselves knee-deep in theory and declaring a manifesto: they don't have to!  Some certainly do and I think they derive a good deal of satisfaction from that, but most builders you'll run across just want to make a nice house.  A nice house that they've tried their hardest to make easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and enjoyable to visit.  When it comes down to it, a house with no doors or windows that is a few hundred meters up in the air is, well... it's awkward.  We're conditioned to reality, and for better or for worse, it is our easy and common solution to mimic reality the best that we know how.

For this reason, we have a ground plane, though it is only a flat simulation of a true ground.  We've created sunlight... even though our virtual plane orbits no star.  We strive to make sure that our creations make 'visual, physical' sense, even though that floating object will never suffer the effects of gravity.  It is a peculiar habit, but it's a very poignant example of how our virtual forms can interact with function.

Form and function.  Now that's a big topic in architecture!  I'll have to discuss that further in my next entry. :)

Noticeboard: AD&DRPG Open Permanently

Hey everyone!  Just a quick note before I get into tonight's post -- I'll probably take a couple of days off the blog Monday and Tuesday to focus on my Calculus midterm.  I've got a lot of studying to do and won't have too much time to blog while I'm doing that.  On the plus side, after this week is over I will be on Spring Break and will have quite a lot of time to devote to projects. ;)

Now to the meat!  I want to use this blog to plug community efforts here from time to time that don't get too much press.  There are a lot of groups in Active Worlds who are actively seeking out volunteers and for whatever reason tend to get overlooked... and since I've got this nice blog now hopefully I can help to put a stop to that.

Without further adieu, today we'll be taking a look at AD&DRPG World. AD&DRPG is a massive gaming world that drops the player into a medieval adventure.  Designed in the fashion of dungeons and dragons, the player builds stats and skills as they increase in level and gain better equipment.  The player's actions influence their moral alignment, and players can even PvP against one-another!

A Closer Look at Advertising: Utilizing Twitter

Let me just get it out there now: I have a history with this idea.  Active Worlds doesn't have a very big presence on the Twitter scene, but I think we get fair use out of it. Flagg's twitter feed, for example, currently boasts 77 followers as well as having the feed displayed on several websites, such as this one.  SW City Interactive has had its own 'Switter' feed integrated for a couple of years now that is actually fairly popular around town.

Twitter gets a bad rap sometimes for over-emphasizing the insignificant, but when you're dealing with virtual worlds the potential for rapidly changing or spontaneous events makes a quick and easy solution like Twitter a desirable tool to keep on our belt.

SW City Interactive users can post messages to @SwitterSWI via kwout

Content creators in Active Worlds stand to benefit from the use of Twitter in a couple of ways.  The first is its ease: everything has been done for you.  You don't have to design a website, you don't have to pay anyone; you've just got to set it up and go.  140 characters or less, preferably.  Twitter, or any social media situation really, is a quick platform for providing quick updates to people who are interested in the same things you are.  If you already have a good following, this is cake!  If you don't, it isn't to hard to spread the word. :)  Read on!

Interactive Building Class: 5pm VRT on Saturday

Hey guys!  I just wanted to check in and say that, if all goes well, I'll be able to host an Interactive Building class this Saturday at 5pm VRT!

I also wanted to make a correction... that Byte's class will be taking place next weekend, not this one.  I'll try to get a full post up later... had a bomb of a paper due today. :(

Later!

AWI: Alphaworld Maintenance Wednesday

From Flagg:

AlphaWorld (AW) will be offline for maintenance on Wednesday March 2nd from 12pm to 2pm VRT (9am to 11am EST).

Just helping to get the word out here.  Doubt this will effect too many people, but if it does you should check out some of the other building worlds in the meantime.  Yellow is doing really well these days. :)

Decided on a class topic for Saturday

I'll be teaching a class in AWSchool on Saturday as part of the new AWUniversity effort, and the topic will be Interactive Building.  This continues in the vein where Byte began last weekend while covering timers, but I think I'll be moving in a different direction with it.  My feel of it as of today is that I won't be going over a specific command, but rather showing some examples of how to use multiple commands in tandem and encouraging creative uses of commands to achieve an interactive scene.

So for example, picture a scene where a man greets you upon entering a room and tells you that the door to the room beyond is locked.  You can open it, but he's lost the key!  If you can find the key, you can use it on the door and open it to continue forward.  This is an easy interactive scene to set up, and in its simplest incarnation only requires the use of the say and visible commands to set up.  You would, of course, want to use other commands to enhance the quality of the scene, but in general the creative combination of commands can provide a vivid experience in the virtual environment.

Ideally I would get to teach the class after Byte's shear/skew class, with some time for intermission.  I'd like to set up some interactive examples perhaps half an hour before the class starts and let people play with them, and then we could get right into it.  If you have any examples of things you would like to see just let me know, and I'll try to have that set up as well.

If I have some time to get into Active Worlds this week, I'll take some video of some existing examples of cutscenes and interactive games that I've worked on and post them up here.  Stay tuned!

Browser - Screenshots in Active Worlds

Short of video, screenshots are one of the easiest ways to present your virtual project to the world.  Problem is, most people have problems setting up to take even the most simple screenshot.  Fortunately for us, the process has been streamlined since Version 4.1. Did you know that Active Worlds has a native screenshot feature?  I've spent many years taking screenshots for projects and articles, and for a long time it's been a convoluted process of taking the screenshot and cropping it in an image editor. With the use of a simple hotkey, I can take many screenshots in a short time and I don't have to edit them all right then and there.  It's very handy. :)

In order to get started using the native feature, you'll need to set a 'Screen Shot hotkey' that you use to take the screenshot while in browser.  Once you press the key, the screen will stop briefly and an image of your 3D window will be saved as a JPEG file in your Active Worlds directory.

So to begin, lets set the hotkey.  Nagivate to your 'Keyboard Controls' window by clicking Options > Configure Controls on the top menu bar.

Pick a hotkey to link the 'Screen Shot' option to; I linked mine to the . key on my number pad.

After navigating to the screenshot option, just press the key you'd like to use and apply it, then press OK.  Now you're set!  Just press that hotkey and then check your Active Worlds directory (most commonly found at C:\ActiveWorlds).  Your images will be saved as JPEGs, in the format 'imageXXX.jpg.' Your first image should be 'image000.jpg.'  Try it a few times and check it out.  Below are some images that I've uploaded using this technique.

Rising Glen Retreat, Alphaworld

Highridge Waterfall, Alphaworld

I'm using a widescreen monitor right now, and from that you can probably infer that these screenshots stick with your current resolution.  If you want to change the resolution of the image, you could do so easily by shrinking the Active Worlds Browser to the preferred size, and then take the screenshot.  This shortcut is a very helpful and easy solution to keeping records of your virtual projects in Active Worlds, and definitely saves on time when you're needing to take many pictures in a hurry!

Uploading screenshots to the internet is another matter, and I won't elaborate on that in this post.  You can use image hosting services online or upload them to the Active Worlds Forums through your control panel.

Building - Byte's Interactive Building Class, detailing the At trigger and Timer command

For anyone who missed it, Byte taught an excellent class detailing AT trigger and Timer command today.  This topic was of particular interest to me, because I love building games and characters you can interact with.  Virtual buildings and cities are great, but what's the point if they're lifeless?

Both of these new features exist to make interactive building a bit easier, and they expand upon what we could do originally with astart scripting.  For those of you who are lost, here's a rundown:

AT trigger - The at trigger will activate commands after a set amount of time, or at a scheduled time in VRT.

Byte:    The at trigger has two uses.  It is used to either trigger a set of commands at a certain point during a timer, or to trigger a set of commands in sync with the VRT clock.

TIMER command - The timer command creates a timer in memory that allows a user to activate events after a set amount of time.

Byte:    First off the timer command can be used with any trigger, even the at trigger, to create, reset, or stop a timer with a given name.
Byte:    Every timer has a duration, which is the number of milliseconds the timer will last for.
Byte:    An example of a timer called ABC with a duration of 1 second would be:  create timer ABC 1000
Byte:    Timers have multiple parameters, though.  They take the form: <trigger> timer tmName duration [loop=1] [stop | reset] [global]

Help me pick a topic!

Hey guys!  I've been asked to teach a class for the new AWUniversity project in AWSchool, and I'd be happy to... but I don't know what to teach!  I threw up a poll on the AWForums with a few things that I feel comfortable talking about, so head over there and pick what you're interested in.  Hopefully from the feedback I'll be able to structure a class, perhaps for next weekend. :)

Link: http://forums.activeworlds.com/showthread.php?t=14950

Townbuilding - The Big Board of Townbuilding

Ever wanted to know how to build virtual cities?  I've hosted a townbuilding booth at each AWExpo, and a few years ago I made a 'Big Board of Townbuilding' that offered a very nice visual of resources that you can follow up on.  This is the blog's introduction foray into Townbuilding, and hopefully I'll have some guides and tutorials up soon.

In the meantime, click on the image below to enlarge enlarge the image.  Warning: It's pretty big.  Enjoy!

Click to enlarge!

The forums beat me to the punch!

Before I had even finished my blog post for yesterday, some activity about AWGate stirred on the forums and eventually moved to a full-blown discussion.  I tend to go where the action is, so I opted to post my thoughts there yesterday instead of here.  I'll repost them below and then post an addendum based on the current poll results.

Yesterday's Rant: Linked here

...I'm also of the persuasion that the GKs aren't an effective organization, but that doesn't mean that I have to join the organization and effect change from the inside to justify my opinion. The way new users are exposed to the technology needs to be radically examined, and I think that includes the dissolution of the gatekeepers -- or at least restructuring the constituent members into a more effective team. For example, a lot of people complain about the current gate world and it's gotten a really bad rap that I think is entirely undeserved. It's more difficult to navigate; its color scheme is bland; don't like the theme. From a design standpoint, the circular plaza with informative kiosks flanking the entry point is probably the most economic placing of information you'll get in a 3D environment. The outdoor themed gate is easier to navigate, certainly, but all of the information and teleports were scattered all over the place; which is bad for new users.

The reason I bring up this design is because I don't think that the institution that is suppose to be our face to new users has really *gotten* the point of the new design, hasn't cared to *get* the point of the new design, and has ultimately made it harder for new users to know what to do because of it. There are a number of inconsistencies between what the form of the current gate intends to do, and what the stubborn people at the gate do in practice.

The easiest example to illustrate: The current gate has two 'help desk' areas that are readily visible and accessible for new users. We're in a 3D environment, and ideally a new user should be picking up on visual cues sooner than cues that they would see in chat. Now when I'm in the gate, it's pretty hit or miss if there's anyone actually at these desks. At the very least, if there is a gatekeeper on duty (even if this is not a written rule) it would be in the best interest of new users for them to be at least standing around the desk that is out in the plaza, that is labeled for the gatekeeper. Why is that? Because if I go to AWGate, don't know anything about Gatekeepers, AND I see an empty help desk where somebody should be standing... my logical assumption is that nobody is around to help. Also, if I am a new user... I don't know the significance of bold text. I could probably infer it, but what if the GK is off getting a drink or something and there hasn't been any bold text since I arrived in the world? An idle avatar at the help desk at least implies that there is suppose to be someone around to help me, and I could perhaps wait a moment instead of getting frustrated and X'ing out of the program.

This is an example of a small, nuanced change in the Gate world since it's last design, but for an organization that makes it's home in that world I think they should have adapted to the very helpful visual cue being provided to new users. If they don't, it is a very hurtful visual cue to that new user's experience, because it portrays the image that nobody is available to help them.

I don't know the internal workings of the gatekeepers so I don't know if there is any sort of policy concerning specifically how to interact beyond the chat box, but I've been lurking in the gate quite a bit lately for a video project and my observations are concerning. Most of the time, the people there just aren't engaging the world. I mean really, what's the point if you aren't engaging the world!? What the heck are you doing??? Can we have an option to close out the 3D window? That should be an option, because some people are only looking at chat!!!

This is something that can easily be taught and corrected, but a there are a lot of ideas floating around now for what could be done for AWGate and I think the gate concept and the new users that are trying to get into AW deserve a better collaborative effort that joins the designed effort of the build world with the social effort of community volunteers. The world's got *great* visual hints right now, and I think our creative community could expand on them and really see something good through if we would stop relying on old institutions to do it for us.

I think it's time we give something else a try.

As far as the poll goes; I'm more partial to the options that are rooted in reality. :P I voted for the alternative to AWGate that seems the most readily available -- moving the entry point to AWSchool.  I'm actually partial to either the AWSchool or AWNewbie option, but AWSchool has a much larger active staff these days and if the desire was there, the staff of AWSchool could take on AWNewbie in a new effort for the new users.  I'm glad to see both of the 'tutorial-themed' options doing so well in the polls. :)

Of the alternatives discussed, I'm also very fond of JonBee's suggestion for a quest-based tutorial experience.  This wasn't a poll option, but it essentially offers a stand-alone tutorial to new users before letting them loose in our world.  This idea has been around for a while, and I think its really great because it gets your feet wet a bit before jumping in.  No more getting frustrated and quitting because you don't know how to walk!

My rant from yesterday really only addressed AWGate, but since then the issue seems to have grown to a larger question: Is AWGate enough, and if it isn't, where else could we move new users to?  Reading through my discussion from yesterday, I think you would be able to infer that I have no problems with the built environment of AWGate.  I actually have nothing but praise for it; it was very well laid out, and there are some features that are incomplete but on-the-whole it does a very good job of being a gate; it gets people in and through the door. My biggest complaint is, in fact, that we aren't using it right... but that's not any fault of the design. :)

Anyway I'll be following this discussion thread and may offer up some more insight later on.  I'd like to wrap my head around all of the opinions before I continue commentary.  Very good discussions going on right now, feel free to join in!

In the meantime, I'm going to be posting up some older material and parsing through some things I'd like to host on here as I continue getting ready to develop this into a resource blog.  I'll probably not promote these posts, and may even bury them as pages -- just want them around.  Doing a bit of housekeeping.

Later!

What is your opinion of AWGate?

I won't be doing a long post tonight, but I just wanted to stop in and get some opinions on AWGate for my next one. :)

Overview of AWGate as it exists today; a central hub in a futuristic city

This is prompted by a pretty good discussion we had Sunday at the Town Hall Meeting; I'm not sure that a consensus was reached as far as the opinion, but a lot of suggestions were offered as to what could be done to improve it, including things that we do and don't have the authority to do.  The discussion touched on pretty much everything you could expect, from the built form of the world to how people actually interact with one another.

I'd like to further explore the built environment and the interpersonal interaction, as I feel those are two pretty big factors in the success or failure of the Gate.  How about you guys?

What do you think is important?

Let me know.  You can do so here, or by visiting the forum blogs page and keeping up with us there.  Whichever medium is more comfortable for you.

Later!

From 3D to 2D: How do you express a 3D product in a 2D browser?

How do you express a 3D product in a 2D browser?  I raised this concern during the flamefest regarding the update to activeworlds.com a while back, and I don't think the question has ever been resolved.

Supposing that the best place to begin is experience, perhaps we can look to how we learned in the browser.  We all know what Active Worlds is; how to use it, where to go to find people... its various nuances that we like or dislike.  Learning about that took some time -- even though I was hooked on my first day.  Building certainly took a while to understand, even if my first attempts were pretty awful.  (BTW, I know those coordinates in my memory even after all these years!) Despite a rough beginning, I did manage to learn about correctly spacing objects and I had a great time doing it!  From my first build I went on to create my first town, and as I began interacting and collaborating with other users, very early on I understood that we all had a different level of competency with the technology, and looking back on that now perhaps that has to do with how we came to experience Active Worlds and virtual technology in general. One guy came in right from AWGate.  I came to build after getting some help in AWNewbie.  A few days later I brought in a friend from class and taught him myself!  Back in 2002, there were plenty of ways for new users to learn and understand Active Worlds.

Today, this is still true.  Perhaps not to the magnitude, but AWGate is much more educational than it has been in the past, and AWSchool is more active than I've ever known it to be.  AWNewbie has seen better days, but the framework is still there and generally, if a new user wants to learn, well, they'll have plenty of options.  This is all well and good for the ones who have made it as far as AWGate, but I think our focus needs to move even further out.  Out beyond our universe -- to the 2D web browsers that are the bread and butter of the typical internet user's experience.  What does Active Worlds look like... to them?
 

Busy Day! In the meantime...

Hey everyone!  I won't be able to get a full-fledged post up for tonight but I do have enough time to drop a small blurb in and offer you some thoughts about tomorrow's post!  I want to start discussing how to really do justice to a 3D project in a 2D presentation environment (i.e. Active Worlds on a web page).  How do you do that!?   I've got a few ideas, but as far as presentation mediums go, I think people have found a very good start in utilizing video.  Below you'll see a great example: SW Chris' Active Worlds Exploration Demo.

If you don't know Chris very well he's really great with video and puts a lot of consideration into his projects; I think his video is a good case study for the "do's and dont's" of discussing the Active Worlds Browser in this medium and we'll talk a bit more about that tomorrow.

In the meantime... what do you think?  Does video do AW justice outside of our little universe, and do you know of any other good examples where it does?  Feel free to share! :)

A Closer Look at Advertising: What should activeworlds.com represent?

For all of the points I hit on yesterday concerning advertising, it completely slipped my mind to mention the recent changes to activeworlds.com -- the first impression of Active Worlds to most new users.  After years of a stagnant and static front page, activeworlds.com finally received a face lift several weeks ago. Surely the community would be esctatic!  An update, finally!  Well, it certainly got a lot of feedback... most of it was pretty negative.  For the forum community, at least, no failure was too minimal to drag out and beat to death... and then some. There are spots to improve on, certainly, but yeesh! I'm still not sure who is responsible for the updates, but I'll take this time to commend them for continuing to apply minor tweaks since the initial update.  The flaming forum barrage surely would have driven off a lesser person.

At any rate, I'm not going to use this as a sounding board to pass judgment on the site as is -- I think we've covered that well enough.  Rather, I'm more interested in the potential of what Active Worlds' homepage should be; what it should do, and what it should represent.