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From: mwtilden@watmath.waterloo.edu (M.W.Tilden, Hardware)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Implementing a virtual world
Message-ID: <1990Jun6.153725.6857@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Date: 6 Jun 90 15:37:25 GMT
References: <9005311121.aa07914@lazlow.cis.udel.edu>
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In article <9005311121.aa07914@lazlow.cis.udel.edu> pezely@cis.udel.edu (Daniel Pezely) writes:
>
>Hmm...  Some of my concerns for implementing a virtual world, or at
>least building a library of software tools and device drivers for others
>to build upon, was that we need to get these tools to as many of the
>hackers (developers) as possible so that we can have sort of a mass-
>development effort going on.  

Perfectly correct.  Don't forget that a large part of the incredible 
spectrum of software we have today is the result of hackers having 
fun with their machines.  I site other examples (not un-related) as
the after-hours work done at Pixar, Apollo, ILM, Disney which have
resulted in some beautiful Computer Graphics animations (check out
"The International Tournee of Animation" videos for details).   Hacks
all, making the most of idle machines after hours.

With VR, the problem is not that the machines aren't available after
hours, but aren't available at all!  And, from what I can tell, the
people who are working in the field are just sitting around banging
their egos together while praying that what they spit out might gain a
toehold on the market, thus spuring corperate sponsorship (You don't
want to know what I think of corperate sponsorship of VR research.
It's even nastier).

I say this knowing that the sparks from my own ego are currently
setting my desk-calender on fire.

What is needed is a marketed absolute towards which everyone can work.
Let me give you an example of what I mean:  we just got a rather fast
MIPS computer here which will ultimately replace an aging VAX780.
I walked past one of the software boys giggling at his terminal like a
madman.  I asked him what's up.  He said he was getting infinite
satisfaction compiling the same accounting package over and over
again.

"So?" I said.  

"The MIPS finishes it before I take my finger off the return key.  The
VAX takes 3 hours to do the same thing."

The point is that if someone, somewhere would market and sell a
standard VR device that was backwards compatible, it would break
ground that would trickle down to the general user population.  Not
just in software but also in imagination stimulus.  The device would be
crude initially, but if done correctly, you could sell one everywhere
(everywhere with about $200,000 to spend, of course.  Still far
cheaper than a full flight simulator with almost 80% of the realism).

And, despite the horrors of such a statement, chances are that it
should run MSDOS.

There are several problems however. One is that, despite all efforts 
to the contrary, it is actually *more* difficult to program a 
computer today than it has ever been before.  For the sake of users 
who must work with icons, we have scared the potential programmer 
away.  At this University, I have noticed a distinct drop in the 
number of 'bright-eyed' hacks in the past few years.  The intrusive,
question-asking programmer-larvae is now an endangered species.
Without this replenishment of people who, let's face it, put in
incredible hours for little or no reward, VR progress will be slow.
 
The other obvious problem is bandwidth.  Todays gridding of our
planet with high-speed fiber-optics is inadequate for the 
incredible quantities of data-flow that a full VR news service 
should carry.  Compression and distribution standards notwithstanding.
And without this sort of free exchange, VR will flounder for a long
while.  We haven't even got a standard graphics-image exchange system
that anybody can agree on.  How could we set up exchange for full
animation demos?

>The most obvious problem is that not many people have access to the
>machines powerful enough to do just the base-level VR stuff.  Even just
>building a world which people view through a monitor (having no
>eye-phones or data-gloves) would require at least a 486, 040, high-end 
>Sparc, etc.

Check the trends.  There is a level of CPU power that is sufficient
for adequate VR work.  The fast machines of today will be the pocket
calculators of tommorrow, and are becoming so at an ever *faster*
rate!  It will happen, but will we have the interface and software
to use it?
 
>A few questions come to mind at this point.  (the usual ones)
>
>What *exactly* do we want to do?

See above.

>Since funding is always a problem, how can our work be of use to the 
>sponsors?  (ie, Why?)

Most places I've talked to are still wondering that.  But of course
they won't put development effort/money into something until they've seen
something developed.  Catch 22.

>What kind of time frame(s) should we consider?

When asked "how long did it take you to make a moon-rocket", one of
NASAs chief engineers said "As long as it took."  Point being that
once the goal was set, the reality was fulfilled.  Get Bush to mandate
a Virtual Reality goal for this decade and you'll see a VR desk in
every home by 2000.  Of course, it might be an idea to wait for a
President with a bit more charisma (anybody know Gorbachev's phone
number?).

>How can we do it, and be realistic?

Build, edit, build, edit, program, market, market, market 
Return to previous sentence.

>Who is committed, and who can help?

>Since getting started is half the effort, let's just start with what
>comes natural and accomplish *something*.  
>(No kidding!)  As Mark Evenson says, we can talk the virtual talk,
>but can we walk the virtual walk?

Damn straight!  Eye'm sik ov taaak-ing!  Les' BUILD sometheeng!

Is all.

(What is this?  A compulsion?)


-- 
Mark Tilden: _-_-_-__--__--_      /(glitch!)  M.F.C.F Hardware Design Lab.
-_-___       |              \  /\/            U of Waterloo. Ont. Can, N2L-3G1
     |__-_-_-|               \/               (519) - 885 - 1211 ext.2454,
"MY OPINIONS, YOU HEAR!? MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

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