I don't post in many forums anymore, but this one definitely caught my eye. iZiGoo 3D Web, you say?
I will apologize in advance for this, I'm not trying to flame, but I actually do have a little over ten years in the field of 3D Internet systems. So this is just advice...
Well, here are a few things that caught my discerning eye about what will more than likely be the Achilles heels of this project -
For starters, the distribution of the content is a fallible solution. Blu-Ray DVDs for preloaded content right off the bat is a double strike. First because you assume everyone on the 3D Internet will have a Blu-Ray drive to read the disc, and secondly because you are also treating the 3D Internet concept like a preloaded and static media environment.
Next in line for my blunt criticism is that in a world of evolving and user generated content (Web 2.0) it seems very strange that one would implement a system of static content design and not something that can be fully live edited within the system and collaboratively.
From what I have seen in these screenshots and also my general understanding of the IrrEdit stuff, I think such are for precompiled environment designs - of course this is a moot point either way, as I could be wrong about this, just a general observation.
While it is a good beginning, my guess such far is that it resembles more like Worlds Player than even closely to Second Life. The prior being that Worlds Player requires the complete world to be downloaded before entry and that the content is created as a static experience as a package - whereas the Second Life approach is a "live edit" system (albeit crude) wherein while in the system the environment itself may be modified on the fly.
I'm not saying that the WorldsPlayer approach is a bad thing, but a 3D Internet it is not. Nor is Second Life.
As for the few people who have immediately discounted such a project due to massive bandwidth requirements, ignore them. Seriously, if you do a little digging into the actual history of Internet Environments you'll come up with "Lessons Learned From Lucasfilm's Habit" wherein they outright spell out that a major requirement for such a system in the future would be a non-centralized media server (decentralization).
So anyone who has it in their brains that the bandwidth requirements would be astronomical for such a project obviously is thinking about a central server setup (much like Second Life and anyone else right now).
Let's call that a hint from an actual veteran
As for people working for NASA and now for Linden Labs, this may be true. All that brainpower sitting there at Linden Labs and nobody thought to maybe ... I dunno.. think about a decentralized system for the foundation?
Hence they are hitting a brick wall with their server farm as of recent. That's what happens when a traditional video game programmer (Corey) and a guy from RealMedia (Phil) sit down and take a stab at this 3D Intarweb thing. I've heard both of them present Second Life as well, telling the media that back in 1999 "... we wanted to make a new and creative environment that nobody else has, powered by the very people who use it"
They didn't bother to actually look anything up back then either... seeing as Worlds Inc had spun off another technology in 1995 called Active Worlds which was the predecessor to what Second Life is doing.
I like to see people trying to take an honest stab in this industry. It's a breath of fresh air, personally, but if you really want to make a solid dent - start thinking out of the box to solve these problems.
I'll give you a head start:
1. In World Scripting Engine - LUA Script Integration (ie: Same as SL Scripting)
2. Dynamic Real-time Scene Manipulation (See also Active Worlds for basics)
3. Think bigger than a massive central server. Think Decentralized Content Distribution. (Morningstar and Farmer "Lessons Learned from Lucasfilm's Habitat")
4. Think more complex than a single world or "grid". Think about the entire Universe, seamless. (See also Procedural Textures, Models, CLOD)
5. One last thing to mention - will those models and textures still look good in 10 years? Since you are building the foundation now, expect that the system will be around for twenty or more years down the road. Now, take a moment and think about how to allow the 3D Models, textures and such to scale up and down as systems get better over time.
These are some basics that iZiGoo should be addressing before you even *think* to let it see the light of day as a public release, at least if you are actually serious about this project. Unless you actually want your worlds to look as outdated as Worlds Inc? The last thing they made was around 2001 or 2002 and already it's horribly showing it's age.
So, take it or leave it - your choice. This is in no way meant to be mean or bashing. I simply have a horrible sense of humor and a blunt attitude. Nothing personal, boss.
I do, however think that the Irrlicht Engine is a decent choice for such a project. Kudos for that
Hope this has been educational and somewhat enlightening
I need to get back to work now - Cheers.
