Open Sim As An Alternative To Second Life
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OPENSIM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SECOND LIFE
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Transcript of Open Sim As An Alternative To Second Life
OPENSIM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SECOND LIFE
NIU Digital Convergence LabAline Click (Presenter)Jason Underwood (Presenter)Michael Taylor (Contributor)
Intro to Virtual Worlds
“A synchronous persistent network of people, represented by avatars, facilitated by networked computers” (Bell, p. 2, 2008).
“A place described by words or projected through pictures which create a space in the imagination, real enough that you can feel you are inside of it” (Damer, 2008).
Short List of Terms Simulator (Sim) – server application Grid – multiple servers Region – 256 x 256 meters of virtual space Viewer – Browser Avatar – Player embodiment of user Persistent – stuff is still there when you log back on
Virtual Worlds There Active Worlds Blockland Kaneva Metaplace realXtend
Second Life ProjectsNIU entered Second Life in summer of
2005
Glidden Campus Built in the fall of 2005 Replica of our landmark building Collaboration with other universities
quickly followed
The Art Café Learning space for art education
majors Gallery shows for a global audience Class meetings Doctoral research
Ed Tech Online Classroom Classroom community Group work Audio
Time Arts Senior projects Live 2-way presentation Local and global attendance
Crisis Intervention Online class in Homeland Security
certificate Debriefing experience for students
“I am moving to Canada!”
Virtual World of Your Own Defined as a 3D application server There is no LL code in OpenSimulator
“We didn’t reverse engineer the browser, but the communication that goes between the browser and Second Life”
“If you break it, you get to keep both pieces”
Initial Impetus No age restrictions Research control Control over upgrades Programmable avatar experience Develop locally, implement on server Cost (scalability)
The One Room School House Research opportunities Basically free for student researchers Accessible by kids under the age of
13 Protected, private, safe
Microfinance Simulation Package and Sell Server-side coding Privacy/Containment Consequences
Server-Side Programming
Content Management Tool Instructor Dashboard User Administration
Games Camp Basically free persistent space Available and safe for kids under 13 Easy to learn tool set
Feature Comparison
Feature Second Life OpenSim
Audio Yes Yes – Freeswitch module
Groups Yes Not out of the box
Off-line Communication
Yes Not out of the box
Currency Yes Not out of the box
Scripting Yes Yes, but slightly different
Upload Textures Yes Yes - free
Terraform Yes Yes
Grid Mode Yes Yes
Building Yes Yes with some glitches
Comparing SL and OpenSim
Pretty Solid Avatars Land, sky, water Inventory Building
Terraforming Textures Scripting
Yes, But.. Groups Off-line
communication
Audio Physics
Not so much…
Currency In-world market Noob orientation and inventory
Pros and Cons of Opensim
Pros Cons
Control over server updates Less stable than SL
No age restrictions Need for technical support
Flexibility Lack of some nice SL functions
Control over cost Scattered documentation
Modular Beta application
Opensource Absence of Pre-made Inventory
Scalability Lack of market
Control over user access Lack of large community
Archiving No one in charge of development
Physics are weak
Some Pros & Cons of OpenSim
Quickly Experience OpenSim Access one of the public OpenSim
grids (OSGrid, Reaction Grid…) Run a stand-alone sim on y0ur own
workstation or laptop
Viewers Second Life Hippo Meerkat Emerald Viewer (Mac)
Interoperability
Second Inventory Moving regions and inventory across
sims and grids (.oar files) Avatars movement from grid to grid
(IBM)
Experience OpenSim
Visit a public grid (OS Grid, Reaction Grid) Install a stand alone sim Install a sim on your own servers Install a sim on a hosted server Connect your sim to another grid Buy or rent virtual land from a grid host
Standalone OpenSim
Free Ultimate Control Visitors? Uses?
An OpenSim on your own server Relatively
Inexpensive Allows others to
connect Maintenance and
Support
Demands on the system 10-20 users 4 regions
Virtualization
Hosted Server
Standard $50/mo Maintenance and
support
OpenSim Specific $75-795/mo Virtualized-dedicated Bandwidth Support
Installing an OpenSim Server Download OpenSim and helper applications Install OpenSim application Configure OpenSim.ini Launch server application Access from viewer (http://127.0.0.1:9000)
The Future
Interoperability between virtual worlds
Divergence from Second Life More secondary providers (i.e.
Reaction Grid) Distribution of content
Resources
Open Simulatorhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
Contact Information
Aline Click (Ali Andrews) [email protected] Jason Underwood (JM Underwood)
[email protected] Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/Aliandrews
