IndieMetaverse Closing Events 12/10/2011

Today's Events:

9AM ET - Join via HyperGrid http://francogrid.org/evenements/francogrid/333 , Direct Login http://francogrid.org/user/register or video http://livestream.com/reactiongrid in about 30 minutes at FrancoGrid

10AM ET - Login to ReactionGrid OpenSim for a closing event on the World's Fair sims. http://grid.reactiongrid.com/register_rg_b.aspx

IndieMetaverse Events 12/9/2011

9AM ET - Overview of Sculptris and Wings3D with Chris Hart ReactionGrid CTO/Co-Founder.
Sculptris and Wings3D are two free tools that are relatively simple to use and can be quite useful to have alongside your regular Jibe tool arsenal.

Simple rocks in Sculptris http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/
Sculptris is a free application from the creators of ZBrush, and offers simple clay modelling of 3d shapes. With little effort, you can create some great organic shapes for enhancing your Jibe worlds.

Mesh editing in Wings3D http://www.wings3d.com/
Wings3D is another free application for creating and editing meshes. It has a wide range of supported formats for import and export, though it has no support for textures. As such, it's a good tool for creating simplified meshes of existing objects for use as a collision mesh. Regular mesh colliders can be a little intensive if the mesh in question is particularly complex, so I'll show how to create a simple collider mesh for an existing model.

View this using our shared desktop link http://join.me/reactiongrid or video stream http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

9:30AM ET - Join RG CEO/Co-Founder Kyle G for a 3D content creation demo & John "Pathfinder" Lester RG Director of Community Development & Unity3D Dev for an animation creation demo. http://www.123dapp.com/catch get the photo capture to mesh app and follow along on how to create 3D objects from a series of 2D photos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0e8yVKqXv8&feature=related .  http://unity3d.com for the free Unity3D editor where you can install the iTween scripts from the built in store.

Samples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OFbFLKbMMk&feature=channel_video_title captured Robin's helmet with an inexpensive Sony camera.

View this using our shared desktop link http://join.me/reactiongrid or video stream http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

10AM ET - Virtual World pioneer in the online counseling space Dick Dillon will talk about his journey providing services to those in need using 3D multi-user worlds.  View at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

11AM ET - Join Eric Hackathorn for a tour of his latest virtual world projects. http://livestream.com/reactiongrid http://fragileearthstudios.com

12PM ET - Join online 3D pro Bartek for a talk about the future of WebGL the built in browser 3D solution.

"I usually find technologies that interest me, experiment with them, publish demos I do and eventually use them in a commercial project. With WebGL it was different - my first contact with this technology was through a client project. I had to learn WebGL on the go. It took me a few months to actually start apperciating it, but once the project was over and I thought I know everything about it, I decided to write my own engine that I baptized simply J3D. After a good start, I realized I didn't know that much about WebGL after all... Since then I spent many day & nights (mostly nights) learning and creating what I believe is a good tool for other developers to start creating 3D applications in the browser. In my presentation I talk about specific challenges when working WebGL projects and how J3D addresses them. I will also take you on a short walk-through of it's features and present some demos."
 http://everyday3d.com/

View at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid

1PM ET - Join ReactionGrid President and Co-Founder Robin Gomboy for a demonstration of how to edit Jibe avatar skins using www.unity3d.com .

View at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid

2PM ET - Tools and services from Chris Collins of Tipodean. View at http://reactiongrid.com/unity3d/expo for inworld login or http://livestream.com/reactiongrid for streaming video.

3PM ET - Rick Anderson presenting about his work with virtual worlds at Rutgers University. View at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid or direct login here http://rutgers.jibemix.com/jibe .

IndieMetaverse 12/8/2011

Today's Events:

10AM ET - Join Adam Frisby in his virtual world "ResLive" focused on virtual streaming concerts and events.  Use http://www.reslive.com/signup/enter to join inworld or stream at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

11AM ET - Recently my 3rd year design students completed a project in designing
virtual worlds to evoke a specific emotion - these would include:
"Uneasy not dread or angst", "Privacy not isolation", "Protection
(safe) not imprisonment" or "Happiness not Euphoria".

I would like to invite you to experience some of these worlds with me.

http://www.caa.uidaho.edu/vtd/htm/virtualWorlds/VTD355_EmotionalEnvironments.html for direct login or view at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid

Technologies used includes: 3DS Max, Unity and Jibe.

Brian Cleveley

Virtual Technology and Design, Program Coordinator
College of Art and Architecture, University of Idaho
208.310.1632, cbc@uidaho.edu
www.caa.uidaho.edu/vtd
Second Life: Eyem Beck

12PM ET - Steve Mahaley, Global Practice Lead, Learning Innovations Team, Duke Corporate Education will share his thinking on leadership simulations and gaming, and discuss the new Duke CE Go! Learning App for alternate reality games (with a live demo if possible!).

When: Dec 8, 9.00 am PT/noon ET/18.00 CET

Where: Train for Success island in Second Life http://tinyurl.com/288mc52
____________________________________
Anders Gronstedt, Ph.D.
President
The Gronstedt Group, Inc.
Office: + 1 303 469 9000, ext. 9
Cell: + 1 720 839 7303
www.gronstedtgroup.com
Twitter: AndersGronstedt
Skype: Anders_gr

1PM ET - Visit Robin Gomboy ReactionGrid Co-Founder & President in the virtual server room used to monitor our 100+ virtual and hardware machines that run our virtual worlds. http://reactiongrid.com/unity3d/serverroom/ for direct login or JiWay link or view the stream at http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

2PM ET - Overview of Sculptris and Wings3D with Chris Hart ReactionGrid CTO/Co-Founder.
Sculptris and Wings3D are two free tools that are relatively simple to use and can be quite useful to have alongside your regular Jibe tool arsenal.

Simple rocks in Sculptris http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/
Sculptris is a free application from the creators of ZBrush, and offers simple clay modelling of 3d shapes. With little effort, you can create some great organic shapes for enhancing your Jibe worlds.

Mesh editing in Wings3D http://www.wings3d.com/
Wings3D is another free application for creating and editing meshes. It has a wide range of supported formats for import and export, though it has no support for textures. As such, it's a good tool for creating simplified meshes of existing objects for use as a collision mesh. Regular mesh colliders can be a little intensive if the mesh in question is particularly complex, so I'll show how to create a simple collider mesh for an existing model.

View this using our shared desktop link http://join.me/reactiongrid or video stream http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

3PM ET - Join RG CEO/Co-Founder Kyle G for a 3D content creation demo & John "Pathfinder" Lester RG Director of Community Development & Unity3D Dev for an animation creation demo. http://www.123dapp.com/catch get the photo capture to mesh app and follow along on how to create 3D objects from a series of 2D photos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0e8yVKqXv8&feature=related .  http://unity3d.com for the free Unity3D editor where you can install the iTween scripts from the built in store.

Samples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OFbFLKbMMk&feature=channel_video_title captured Robin's helmet with an inexpensive Sony camera.

View this using our shared desktop link http://join.me/reactiongrid or video stream http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

IndieMetaverse 12/7/2011

Event Schedule:

10AM ET - See how RSU uses Jibe, with Administrator Pat Hughes, for continuing adult education. http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactiongrid/sets/72157625149327558/ by watching here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

11AM ET - Andrew Polito gives a tour of his online language course which uses Jibe as a visual component as a recreation of Chinese landmarks.  Featuring dynamically created classrooms integrated with a learning management system. http://mylanguage360.com .  Watch here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

12PM ET - Take a tour of OpenSim being used for educators with Marc Conrad http://sl.perisic.com/IndieMetaverse/ .  Login to ReactionGrid (www.reactiongrid.com click "Join to register" ) and use this SLURL when inworld http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Bedfordia/128/128/24 or search for "New Bedfordia" or just "New" using the map or view here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid . http://perisic.com/marc/

1PM ET - Educational virtual world work with Matthew Worwood using OpenSim. Watch here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

2PM ET - The use of Jibe and Unity 3D in Cultural Heritage Simulations
Presenter: John Fillwalk
Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts [IDIA Lab}
Ball State University

This presentation will present a current simulation project from the Institute for DIgital Intermedia Arts at Ball State University, developed using Unity 3D and Jibe by Reaction Grid. John Fillwalk, Director of IDIA Lab will discuss a multi-user virtual environment interpreting Hadrian's Villa - an ancient Roman site in Tivoli, Italy. For this project IDIA Lab is developing a solar tracking interface connecting a NASA/JPL database to Jibe/Unity to control the position of sun in 130 CE, a custom avatar with motion captured gestures, dynamic weather systems, and native vegetation and terrain models. This project is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation through research of Dr. Bernard Frischer, Director of the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory at the University of Virginia.

Watch here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

3:30PM ET - See our integration with virtual worlds and robots.  http://reactiongrid.com/unity3d/systemic or watch here http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

IndieMetaverse Today

Here is a summary of today's IndieMetaverse opening events:

1PM ET - Meeting in our browser based world "sySTEMic" to meet the ReactionGrid team.  http://reactiongrid.com/unity3d/systemic .  Voice using Voice is via our Livestream channel http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .  A decent 3D machine is needed to join this world.

2PM ET - View a TurboCAD beginner class with expert Robert Berry by logging into http://join.me/reactiongrid & Voice is via our Livestream channel http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

3PM ET - Learn how to integrate Jibe browser worlds with the internet by logging into http://join.me/reactiongrid with John "Pathfinder" Lester.  Voice is via our Livestream channel http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

4PM ET - Check out Jibe on mobile worlds by installing it here https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ReactionGrid.JibeAndroid&feature=order_history or searching for "Jibe" on the Android Marketplace or watch via our Livestream channel http://livestream.com/reactiongrid .

All sessions will be streamed via our Livestream channel http://livestream.com/reactiongrid for one way audio and video streaming in case you cannot login to the virtual world directly.  There is a chat box on that page (does not show on Android only the stream and audio do) that allows for comments and questions we will try to relay to the presenter.

Livestream also has been tested on iPhone/iPad/iPod and offers video and chat on one webpage.  Video will be recorded for those who miss certain sessions.  For some additional information and calendar click here http://reactiongrid.blogspot.com/2011/11/indiemetaverse-next-week.html .  Each day I will blog post about the next days events.  "See" you there virtually friends!

IndieMetaverse Next Week

Hello virtual world fans of any platform!  Next week is our annual virtual world event "IndieMetaverse" in its second year.  You can find the calendar here but note that it is still being updated and confirmed on presentation times and dates.

You can find early details here http://jibemix.com/downloads/indie011.pdf .  We will have all details filled into the calendar and a supplemental "Presenters" PDF by weeks end.

This is a 100% virtual attendance event to show off positive, PG related projects found anywhere in the metaverse. To be considered as a presenter read the above PDF and contact us.  See you in 3D!

Avoiding Virtual Couch Potato Syndrome: How to create a web-embedded video display that interfaces with your Jibe world

With Jibe, you can create your own multiuser 3d virtual world and embed it on any webpage.

This means you can have your Jibe world living on a webpage along with any other web-based content you like.

Today we'll learn how to create an embedded video display on a webpage that works with a video channel switcher inside your Jibe world.

Upgrading ReactionGrid OpenSimulator Grids

After a lot of coding and testing, we're ready to start rolling out upgrades to our OpenSimulator grid clients. Based on OpenSimulator 0.7.2 code, the combination of new grid services and an upgrade to our ROAR administration modules will bring us up to date with other grids based on 0.7.2, and open up the HyperGrid network between all major grids on compatible versions.

Customers who have tested out the Alpha grid and are happy with the experience and want to try the upgrade are invited to contact us at http://metaverseheroes.com and we'll schedule your upgrade. As with all releases of OpenSimulator to date, the core platform is still in Alpha and while there are some great improvements to the codebase, there are still some quirks. If you're happy on your current revision, you don't have to upgrade, though if you want to HyperGrid you will likely want the upgrade soon.

The ReactionGrid OpenSimulator grid will be upgraded in a few weeks, we'll notify our core grid clients as soon as we have set a specific date for our upgrade.

Thanks for your patience while we took the time to prepare the code. We battled some amusing bugs, some frustrating missing features, and rebuilt several of those features to ensure our grid clients could continue normal operation. Our new deployment system should also make future upgrades easier. As part of the process we submitted some key patches to core OpenSimulator for the MSSQL platform, and will continue to do so for anyone else using the Microsoft stack for their OpenSimulator grids.

-- Chris Hart, CTO, ReactionGrid Inc.

"Interfaces for the New Decade" - Join us Online at The Tech Test Zone 2011 Conference on Nov 15th

The Tech Museum and The Tech Virtual are hosting a conference on "Interfaces for the New Decade," Tuesday, November 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (PT).  This event will bring together interactive technology researchers, developers, and users for a conference and opening of The Tech Museum's newest gallery.

The conference has a great lineup of speakers presenting about the future of interactive exhibits.  And best of all, if you can't make it out to San Jose, you can virtually attend the event for free.

All of us at ReactionGrid have signed up to attend the conference online, and during the event we will also be in our Jibe virtual world Expo Demo where we'll be discussing the presentations.

So sign up to attend the conference for free and visit with us in Jibe during the conference if you'd like to chat with us about virtual world platforms.  You can watch the Test Tech Zone video while exploring the 3d virtual world at the same time.  Hope to see you there!

ReactionGrid's Expo Demo world in Jibe. 

Animating Evolver Avatars for Jibe using Animeeple

The Evolver website provides a great interface for creating avatars suitable for using with Jibe, but applying animations and importing them into the project takes some practice. A new video has just been posted to the JibeDownloads site with full instructions on how to take an Evolver avatar, and apply animations using Animeeple. Exporting an FBX model with animations from Animeeple requires a one-off licence purchase of $49 from the Animeeple store, after which you can export all the avatars you need ready for import into your Jibe project.

Animeeple Interface with an EvolverAvatar

Jibe customers should head to http://jibemix.com/jibedownloads and look in the Tutorials section for the new video.

ReactionGrid presenting at the "Midnight to Noon Conference for Second Life Educators and Researchers" on Oct 27

The folks at EduFinland are hosting a conference on October 27 called the "Midnight to Noon Conference for Second Life Educators and Researchers."

Although the conference is being held in Second Life, the presentations will discuss a wide range of research across many different virtual world platforms.




John "Pathfinder" Lester (Director of Community Development at ReactionGrid) will be speaking on a panel at 8am EDT on "The Future of Learning in Virtual Worlds."

And at 10am EDT, John will be giving a keynote presentation titled "The Significance of Contextual Flow - Exploring Jibe and Critical Affordances of Web-Based Virtual Worlds."

You can participate in John's keynote by visiting his Jibe world on the web during the presentation.

For more details, check out the conference website.  Here's a summary of the agenda:

"A 12 hour conference in Second Life for educators and researchers on education and virtual worlds with invited speakers from Europe and the US. The conference features presentations, panels, workshops, excursion and many other types of activitities.

Mark the date Thursday October 27, 2011 in your calendar now and join us in EduFinland archipelago on the lecture theatre on EduFinland III from midnight to noon (PDT)."

The researchers and educators at EduFinland have been doing outstanding work over the years, and this conference should be highly informative.  Hope to see you there!

John "Pathfinder" Lester and his favorite mug, courtesy of Finland.

ReactionGrid invited to present at the U.S. Coast Guard's "Innovation Expo 2011" in Tampa, FL

The U.S. Coast Guard holds an Innovation Expo each year, and ReactionGrid has been invited to attend and present at this year's Innovation Expo 2011 in Tampa, Florida on October 25th.

If you're attending the Expo, or if you'll be in the area and would like to meet with us, please drop us a line at create@reactiongrid.com.


The USCG Innovation Expo creates an environment for Coast Guard Innovators to resolve organizational challenges by showcasing their initiatives in a rich collaborative learning environment alongside other innovators throughout DHS and across Government, industry and academia.

One area of interest is 3d simulations and virtual worlds as platforms for immersive learning.   John Lester (Director of Community Development at ReactionGrid), will be giving two presentations on Tuesday, October 25th:
  
Keynote Speaker #2
11:30am - 12:00pm (Oct 25)
"Learning Through Three Dimensional Simulation and Virtual Worlds"

In this presentation, John will share his experiences using virtual world technology to enhance education and his current work at ReactionGrid to create web and mobile-based virtual word platforms for learning. He will describe best practices for creating effective alternative reality learning scenarios, common pitfalls when exploring immersive learning technologies, and ways to effect cultural change within an organization by using online collaborative environments.

Breakout Session #1
2:00pm - 3:00pm (Oct 25)
"Alternative Reality Learning: The Potential of Virtual World Platforms"

In this breakout session, John will lead a group discussion and hands-on demonstration of the potential of virtual world platforms for immersive learning. Specific examples of virtual learning environments using ReactionGrid’s Jibe platform will be presented, running on both the web and mobile devices, and attendees will be walked through a typical virtual world development workflow using the Unity3d editor and 3d mesh models. Attendees will also learn about the unique affordances of virtual worlds when they are integrated with existing social media (e.g., Facebook) and web-based educational content.

You can learn more about the Expo here and here.

ReactionGrid Support Ticket System Upgrade Friday Sept 30th

The ReactionGrid MetaverseHeroes.com Online Support System will be offline while it is upgraded Friday Sept 30th starting at 10am - 7pm Eastern Daylight Time (East Coast US time).


If you require support during those downtime hours you may still access http://metaverseheroes.com but you will see  a form to submit an email with your issue. 
The entire ReactionGrid team will receive this message and someone will attend to your issue right away.


When the upgrade is complete all services will be restored.
Thank you for your patience while the ReactionGrid Online Support System receives an upgrade.

Bryce Advanced Class Today

Today at 4PM ET we will be doing an advanced Bryce 3D class covering:

• Metaballs
• Importing Objects
• Importing Textures
• Unity3D/Jibe Import

There is a free non-commercial version here http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/bryce/download? using this serial BDZPLED-070-0000000-NBA-001-HBUVMLF .


Please add my to your Skype "pcmash" or email me create@reactiongrid.com your phone number to join the call.  We will be using http://join.me/reactiongrid for the desktop sharing.  The class will be approximately 30 to 45 minutes.  Please review the video here http://vimeo.com/29427856 for basic controls of Bryce though we will quickly run through them at the class as well.

Testing ReactionGrid's Opensim 0.7.2 Alpha Grid with the Hypergrid Adventurers Club

Today, the Hypergrid Adventurers Club tested ReactionGrid's Opensim 0.7.2 Alpha Grid. It was quite an adventure, spanning 4 different Opensim grids running 4 different versions of Opensim.

We gathered on the region HGBridge on ReactionGrid’s 0.7.2 Alpha Test Grid, and from there we began a series of Hypergrid jumps.

About 10 of us joined in on the Adventure. Here's where we went if you'd like to follow in our footsteps:


1) START: ReactionGrid Alpha Test Grid  
HG Coordinates: secondlife://alpha.reactiongrid.net:8002:HGBridge/139/156/22  
Grid Location: (4000,4000)  
Grid Software: OpenSim 0.7.2 ReactionGrid.  

2) NewWorldGrid  
HG Coordinates: secondlife://grid.newworldgrid.com:8002:BioZone/  
Grid Location: (6991,6995)  
Grid Software: OpenSim 0.7.1.1 Release  

3) GermanGrid  
HG Coordinates: secondlife://login.germangrid.de:8002/  
Grid Location: (8000,8000)  
Grid Software: OpenSim 0.7.2 Dev  

4) END: FleepGrid  
HG Coordinates: secondlife://fleepgrid.com:8002/  
Grid Location: (9013,9013)  
Grid Software: OpenSim 0.7.2 RC2

I chose these locations because they represented 4 different versions of Opensim which, theoretically, are all Hypergrid-compatible with each other. It's always good to test theory by putting it into practice. Some folks initially had difficulty logging in to our Alpha Grid. This caused some chat and movement lag/freezing. But despite this initial glitch, the region and grid recovered all on its own. Then we were able to start jumping.

Starting out on the region HGBridge in ReactionGrid's Alpha Grid"

A few of us made it to GermanGrid when it suddenly stopped accepting connections. This might have been caused by a region crash due to the load of our visit. Our apologies to the GermanGrid admins if we caused any problems.

Those of us who couldn't make it to GermanGrid simply hopped from NewWorldGrid to FleepGrid, since both grids are within the 4096 region limit for Hypergrid jumps.

We arrive in FleepGrid

 Fleep Tuque, the owner of FleepGrid, joined us on our Adventure. She welcomed us all when we all finally arrived on her grid, and grid performance was excellent.

Chris Hart, ReactionGrid's CTO, attended the test. Here's what she had to say about the event.

"Overall the event was pretty successful. While we had some issues with teleports between regions, the server stayed up and running for the whole time. We had a wide variety of clients logging in to the grid at the same time which seemed to cause a few lockups, but after a little perseverence most made it inworld and were able to HyperGrid teleport out successfully. Those that had difficulty logging in, and even those that didn't, we welcome feedback on your experiences, please let us know which clients you were using to connect and whether you were logging in locally or were visiting from another grid."

As always, the best way to give us feedback is to submit a ticket on our Metaverseheroes support site. If you were part of our adventure today, please let us know all the details about any glitches you experienced. We want to make sure ReactionGrid's version of Opensim 0.7.2 is as stable as possible before we officially release it.

This upgrade to Opensim 0.7.2 will be a big step with many new features and additional stability. And once it is finalized, ReactionGrid will be part of a much bigger universe of Opensim grids interconnected by the Hypergrid.

Thank you all again for helping test things out today. I hope you had a fun time, too!

Take care,
-John "Pathfinder" Lester

Amf concert planned in Jibe Android/Browser

Prolific virtual world singer songwriter Amf OrTe will showcase the worlds first live streaming mobile & web based virtual concert next Wednesday October 12 2PM ET.

While we work to add audio features internally  to Jibe-Android  for live streams & Vivox we suggest installing free audio streaming app XiiaLive Lite which lets you add any Shoutcast or compatible streams and will stay streaming while minimized and you switch to Jibe Android's app.

You will also be able to attend via Mac or PC web browser.

Links:
Xiia
http://www.xiialive.com/how_to/
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.android.DroidLiveLite&hl=en
Jibe-Android Concert
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ReactionGrid.JibeAndroid&feature=order_history
Jibe-Browser Concert
Coming soon

Let's make some virtual world history together!

ReactionGrid Android Publishing Service

ReactionGrid Inc. is officially launching an Android (and soon iOS) publishing service today.  Named "Mobilizer" this service will take your existing Jibe project and process it for mobile devices providing you with an app you can submit to the various marketplaces or distribute on your own.

We also offer consulting services for those who purchase the Unity3D iOS and Android publishing applications.  See here for a demo app on Android you can test for free.

To try the service out submit your project to us for download for an estimate.  We will create a version that works smoothly on mobile phones and tablets for prices starting at $150 per platform and increasing depending on the complexity of your project.

We are refining our own Jibe Android app this month but you can take advantage of some early adopter special pricing now by contacting us at create@reactiongrid.com or call us at +1 407 992 8284.  To get your own Jibe kit see here http://reactiongrid.myshopify.com/collections/virtual-worlds .

The service will take a bit more time in this early phase than it will when we have refined the process.  A time estimate and price estimate will be given after a full review of your Jibe project kit files.

OpenSim 0.7.2 Alpha Test Grid Open to Public

ReactionGrid is now testing 0.7.2 Opensim code on a private test grid before rollout. Please help us test the code for bugs and glitches.
Head over to: 
http://alpha.reactiongrid.net/register to register a user account.
Then add a grid to your grid list in your preferred viewer to:
http://alpha.reactiongrid.net:8002 and head in!

This space will be open 24/7 over the next week but we really need immediate testing to be able to rectify any issues in the next week so we can get this on your grids.


We are leaving build rights open like this were a sandbox so please use the tools - script - build - test the daylights out of this system. 
We need you to test everything including the new web on a prim feature, groups, friends and hypergrid.
We are leaving hypergrid boxes on the Hypergrid Bridge for testing to known grids running either 0.7.1 or 0.7.2 so you can test that as well.
The public HyperGrid address of the HGBridge region (located around 4000,4000) is secondlife://alpha.reactiongrid.net:8002:HGBridge/139/156/22


Also with the 0.7.2 code you are now able to use the SecondLife Viewer2 which I believe is needed for the web on a prim functionality. Please help us test this!
We are aware of some features that do no work in Viewer2 including but not limited to:
Map does not populate - map tiles are handled differently in Viewer2 than older viewers such as Hippo or Imprudence.
Searches do not function properly they will lead to SL.
Please do not report these issues as we already know they exist. Thanks.


Upon finding any bugs or areas that are not functioning properly please submit a support ticket with your findings to http://metaverseheroes.com so we may look into the issue and see if we can repair. We have not yet implemented the user profiles feature, so you will not be able to edit your profile "About" section, interests or similar until this has been completed.


Thank you for your assistance in testing this alpha code for 0.7.2 - we appreciate your help!

Jibe-Android Demo Live

Today ReactionGrid hit a milestone in virtual world development.  The first true mobile virtual world platform is available on the Android Marketplace in demo form.  After we get feedback and refine the interface we will be scheduling some live concerts, brainstorming sessions and more.  While it is a demo it is the full Jibe kit minus voice (for now).

We are also launching a publishing division of RG this month which can take your standard Jibe project kit and publish an Android and soon iOS version.  We can also guide you through the process if you buy the Unity3D publishing application for Android and soon iOS.

This demo is a work in progress but running nicely enough to get some expanded feedback beyond our staff of testers.  Some icons need to be enlarged for smaller screens along with numerous other tweaks we can already see.  Please comment here or email us at create@reactiongrid.com with your feedback and ideas.

Use the banner above to get to the store or this QR code:

IndieMetaverse 2011 planning begins in October.

IndieMetaverse 2011 is coming the first week of December 2011.  4 days of streaming video, 3D world attendance and more.  We're looking submissions now for PG projects in virtual worlds on any platform you have been working on.  Email me at create@reactiongrid.com to get involved or for more details.

Building your 3D skill set using Bryce3D

Bryce 3D is a low cost modeling application that has been around for many years but only recently got proper mesh export tools. There is also now a free non-commercial version http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/bryce/download? .  This Wednesday I will be offering a free intro class on Bryce 3D using shared desktop.


To attend install the Bryce software and email me at create@reactiongrid.com with Bryce3D in the subject line.

Topics we will be covering:

• Boolean Operations
• Grouping
• Alignment Tools
• Group Color Codes
• Mesh Export
• Image Rendering
• Materials Lab
• Lighting
• Sky Lab
• Navigation/Camera Controls
• Labeling Pieces
• Selecting Objects

A second class will be in October covering:

• Metaballs
• Importing Objects
• Importing Textures
• Unity3D/Jibe Import

You need no prior experience to take this class.  I will make sure everyone moves along together and at the end of the class you will be conquering mesh design and more with confidence.

Some examples of what you can make with Bryce 3D can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactiongrid/sets/72157627691823660/show/ .  Take advantage of this free dry run and add Mesh to your virtual world toolkit!

Mesh yourself before you wreck yourself

Mesh is coming to SL & OpenSimulator and is already fully implemented in Jibe/Unity3D.  Now is the time to get yourself retooled!  If you worked with sculpties in SL/OpenSimulator you are already ready to go but what if you only used the prim based building tools in the SL client?  Not to worry I have a solution.  But first a little fun.

From concept to virtual realization to the real world.  What if you are the next great architect or vehicle designer or otherwise creative innovator but nobody gets your description of what will be?  3D is a great visualization tool for such things.  For example I have some concepts on what the ultimate motorcycle would look like but describing it verbally would be daunting.

Presenting the JiCycle.  As a way to illustrate how you can visualize and even to a degree test innovative engineering concepts you can use 3D & animations to great effect.  I got my start using these techniques to explain how to design, assemble, test and critique aerospace cable and connector designs.  Let's use the JiCycle to show the process and how anyone can do the same.

JiCycle Specifications:

Borrowing technology from today and extrapolating how that technology might be expanded in the future I present the most environmentally friendly cycle design possible.

• Horsepower @ all 3 wheels 650 bhp.
• Braking in 10 feet from 100 mph.
• Top speed 350 mph.
• Wet weight 155 lbs.

Engine-High Discharge Capacitve Electricity Cell.  Using capacitive technology to store electrical energy this type of "fuel cell" provides high power with low weight.  Instantly rechargable and with no moving parts this power unit can drive the magnetic propulsion, steering and onboard computers.

Suspension/Braking/Drivetrain/Steering-MagLev will levitate the cycle through biasing of electromagnetic lines of flux between components and provide forward, reverse, steering and braking similar to today's trains. Other than the rubber & nylon electromagnetic tires hitting the road there are zero friction points on this cycle. Wireless Bluetooth provides all intra-vehicle communications.

Frame-A mix of carbon fiber & titanium monocoque allows for the lightest possible frame without sacrificing integrity.  The components of this cycle are all held together via electromagnetic attraction & propulsion meaning disassembly is as easy as turning off the system power.

Navigation System-Utilizing organic electroluminescent OLED display technology the front fairing is reinforced by transparent aluminum and capable of illumination, turn signals, rear-view display and heads up display of critical engine and GPS navigation data.

Recharge-Capacitors can be instantly recharged unlike lithium ion batteries.  Using wireless energy transfer technologies the JiCycle can be recharged via inductors embedded in the road, roadside RF transmission towers, solar cells or even on the fly transfers from other vehicles.

So there it is.  Technology for everything described is in place today but not yet at a feasible level to create such a vehicle.  As you can tell from the static renderings in this post my job of describing this ultimate design (IMHO) of a cycle is much more easily explained with such images.  

What about taking these models and allowing users to simulate how the above systems would work?  That is the subject matter of today's next blog post along with information on how you can do the exact same thing for your concepts with 100% free tools.  Stay tuned!

sySTEMic event 1

sySTEMic event notification...


Hello all Jiblets.  You are called to the sySTEMic hive for processing.

sySTEMic, a virtual world focused on liberating knowledge for all, will be holding mind meld session 1 on Wednesday September 14th at 2:00 PM EST to 3PM EST nominal.

We will be discussing avatar generation and modification on a polygonal and texturizational level in addition to animation basics.

Only those with an open mind and zero gravity navigational skills should attend.  Just kidding anyone can attend...

Speakers:
Kyle G-introductions

Chris Hart-Programmer of Jibe and code Ninja will speak on the avatar framework today and roadmapped and on how to work with animations and networking of them.

Robin G-Deployer of Jibe worlds and keeper of avatar layered image files will pass out links to get critical art files.

Special Guest:
Roger Nelson
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rogernelson

Roger has motion capture hardware and software targeted at Unity3D and will be showing off how this works and taking questions.  Roger believes we are all mushy forms of life just waiting to crawl into one of his exoskeletons.  See the LinkedIn hyperlink above for more information.

That's it Jiblets!  Oh right where to go?  You should hyperlink to http://reactiongrid.com/unity3d/systemic and should have a moderately powerful computer.  Please test out loading the world early and email Kyle create@reactiongrid.com if you have any trouble or questions.

See you soon Jiblets...

Peru and the Future of Virtual Worlds

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) is the #1 ranked university in the country of Peru.

It is also home to a wonderful research project called Grupo Avatar. 
  
Grupo Avatar PUCP is a multidisciplinary research project whose goal is to develop and promote the use of video games and virtual worlds for education. Their group consists of students, graduates, professors and administrators.

As a keynote speaker at their Virtual Worlds and Video Games Seminar, I was invited to share my experiences and research findings on why virtual worlds are a powerful tool for both formal and informal education in schools, universities and businesses. It was a real honor to participate in the seminar, and over 200 people attended.

I was particularly impressed by Grupo Avatar's investigations of the many different affordances and applications of virtual worlds across a broad spectrum of learning possibilities. They were interested in everything ranging from classroom education to informal learning and even business applications. I kept meeting people with wide range of expertise (e.g., artists, programmers and psychologists), and the term multidisciplinary kept coming up in conversations.

Virtual Worlds provide tools for creating immersive learning environments that encourage multidisciplinary collaboration. Likewise, the effective study of virtual worlds requires a multidisciplinary approach. The folks at PUCP and Grupo Avatar understand this, and it was thrilling to see it all come together at the seminar.

Grupo Avatar recently set up their own Jibe virtual world server to allow students to create their own virtual worlds embedded on the web and linked to each other. We discussed future projects ranging from immersive language training environments to recreating archeology sites. It will be great to see what they accomplish, and I'm looking forward to ReactionGrid's support of their efforts into the future.

I'd like to thank everyone at PUCP and Grupo Avatar who made this seminar possible. Ines Evaristo Chiyong, Isabel González Roa and Claudia Cecilia Lam, thank you so much for all your help coordinating my visit to Peru. José Domingo Elías Arcelles, your leadership of Grupo Avatar is inspiring. And Carlos Fosca, your administrative vision and support is creating something amazing at your university.

One of the goals of PUCP is to become a center of excellence for virtual worlds research and development. Keep an eye on them, as I think they're well on their way to accomplishing that goal.

Grupo Avatar PUCP

-John "Pathfinder" Lester

ADDENDUM 13/9/2011: Here's an interview I did while in Peru on the future of virtual worlds. "Technology alone will not save us." If you want an English translation, try this link.

Jibe 1.4.2 Update Released

A small update released for Jibe today for the benefit of those customers who use the Photon server backend for Jibe. This 1.4.2 patch will make it possible to use multiple scenes with the Photon network server for Jibe, and implements custom data functionality.

The patch and accompanying notes are, as usual, on the main JibeDownloads site. I recommend anyone using Jibe 1.4.1, particularly those using the Photon server, should grab this patch and apply according to the upgrade notes included in the zip.

Any problems or questions, please drop us a note at http://metaverseheroes.com and we'll do our best to help.

Chris

Jibe 1.4.1 Update Released

The Jibe 1.4.1 update is now available to all Jibe 1.4 customers. This update is a patch to fix some issues identified with custom data events in Jibe, and also to fix a camera script to pick up on Unity layers correctly.

Thanks go to John Lester for testing the custom data code and providing essential feedback that lead to the fix. Thanks also Neil Zehr for the camera script fix, and Doug Danforth for finding a single typo in the Jibe manual (fixed in the 1.4.1 release of the manual!)

The patch and accompanying notes are on the main JibeDownloads site. I recommend anyone using Jibe 1.4 grab this patch and apply according to the upgrade notes included in the zip.

Any further bugs, please report in to MetaverseHeroes and we'll track them and get fixes applied in future releases. Your feedback improves the platform!

Chris

Interlinking Jibe Worlds

Some high level napkin drawings showing how you can expand and interlink Jibe worlds.  The orange triangles indicate a unique Jibe world.  The linked blue circles indicate a local "teleport" connected scene.  Scenes can be thought of like levels in video games.  When you land in the initial Jibe world landing scene "A" or "B" (yellow triangles) you can then locally teleport within that world to other scenes (blue circles).

Traveling to a JiWay portal (the green circles) you can "transport" to a completely new Jibe world.  We are working on things like user profiles as web services (blue cloud) so JiWay transports user name, avatar description, inventory items & more.  JiWay can also connect to stuff like Facebook Connect,  real world sensors and even accept travel one day from other virtual world platform users via web services (blue cloud).

If you are a school teaching a class using Jibe each student can get the free Unity3D editor & create a scene (models, scripts, media and more) & then export it for import into the main Jibe world as a new blue circle teleport ready scene.  In this way each student has their own unique area connected to the main Jibe world.

When I get the first sySTEMic world presentation finalized we will see this structure in action as we teleport locally within sySTEMic and universally via JiWay transports to visit other worlds on other domains.

Jibe Android

I'm very excited to announce our first successful tests of Jibe on the Android platform! Using Unity 3.4 and Jibe 1.4 and only minor tweaks to the Jibe codebase, a nearly-full Jibe kit was built into an Android package. We have tested this on a couple of devices so far, the Samsung Epic 4G running Froyo, and a couple of Honeycomb tablets, and it works great on both!

Take a look at this video for a demo of it in action.



We'll be working on a mobile-friendly UI for Jibe to accommodate finger touch controls, and offering more support for device hardware (tilt sensors, etc) over the next month.

sySTEMic showcases Jibe 1.4

sySTEMic, our new portal world using Jibe 1.4 world linking technology "JiWay", will begin collaboration sessions and presentations next week.  An early peek can be found here today http://jibemix.com/liquidhydrogen.aspx for machines with good 3D graphics capabilities.  Next month our lower spec versions will follow.

Some of the things available to try in sySTEMic enabled by Jibe 1.4 are:

• UniSky weather integration http://www.sixtimesnothing.com/unisky (requires the UniSky prefab to be purchased)
• Pathfinding integration for simple A.I. 
• iTween examples
• JiWay portal integration to enable travel to other Jibe based virtual worlds
• Deeper Vivox voice integration
• CSS/Ajax web templates

Coming next month to sySTEMic:

• Mindstorm/Robotics interactions
• Inworld event tracking 
• Deeper BIDI robot tutorials
• Networked iTween events
• Web Services driven networked weather effects
• More JiWay linked worlds
• Non-Human avatars

When you login to sySTEMic there is a small kiosk with some weather symbols.  When close enough to it you will see buttons appear to the left of your view to change the weather from sunny to light rain, heavy rain and storms.  If you stay in long enough you will notice when sunny is set that day/night cycles happen even changing the real-time shadow effects.

Today we will post the preliminary presentations and brainstorming sessions on the calendar you can bring up within the same browser tab as Jibe.  We look forward to chatting with you regardless of what virtual world you use in sySTEMic starting next week.

Jibe 1.4 Released

We're proud to announce that Jibe 1.4 is released today! Our latest update to the core platform includes several new features, and a handful of bugfixes, specifically:

New Features

• HTML template file for publishing to web - the produced WebPlayer.html will contain all required Jibe supporting code by default.
• Push-to-talk button included in the GUI for any scene with Vivox voice (compatability may still vary from browser to browser and cross operating system).
• Ground-sit option added for sitting on terrain
• New JiWay prefab swirling blue gas gate object with pre-configured options to some Jibe worlds
• Teleport on Click script that enables an object to be a clickable teleport point
• Attach object to avatar code is the beginning of full attachment support for hats, jewelry, skirts, and more. This code is still in an early stage of development, but attachments are networked events, and will be seen by all avatars currently connected to a space
• Network event support improved significantly - no changes required to Network Controller for future messages over the network, now you can do all calls from a separate script - see the AttachObjectToAvatar.cs code for an example

Bugfixes

• Javascript errors removed
• Some movement / animation bugs tweaked
• Code enhancements for easier interaction with the core UI base

For details on purchasing Jibe 1.4, upgrades and support credit bundles, please head to our shop for more information. For all other enquiries please head to our support site at http://metaverseheroes.com and we'll gladly assist.

How to spread the word about your Jibe world with Social Media Buttons

Jibe is a multiuser virtual world you create and share with people on the web. All you need to do is give people a URL and bingo, they are visting your world.

This means you can also leverage all the handy web-based social media buttons out there to let your visitors easily share your Jibe world with a wide audience.

There's a huge selection of such buttons you can use. For my own Jibe world, I decided to add the following:

• Google +1
• Tweet
• StumbledUpon
• LinkedIn Share
• Facebook Like

If you click on the links above, you'll find instruction pages on how to add each of them.

Here's what they look like at the top of my own Jibe webpage.


Know of other useful social media buttons? Share your suggestions in the comments!

-John "Pathfinder" Lester

Poll # 3-Platform of Choice

For our 3rd weekly poll we asked:
"For development of virtual worlds which platform is most critical to be on in 2011/2012?"

The choices being:

1. Browser Mac and PC
2. Desktop Mac and PC
3. iOS/Android Mobile and Tablet
4. Console Wii, PS3, Xbox 360

We had 50 responses:

Comments:

1-Browser Mac and PC:

• "Because then there is no need to install additonal software to go into a virtual world"
• "Browser based 3D worlds and 3D internet is the future for accessibility"

2-Desktop Mac and PC:

• "Although, laptops and other platforms are improving, The desktops have an edge in the ability to handle the graphics load and heat issues. The gaming platforms do offer better graphics but, not everyone has a game platform"
• "Need large screen size"
• "A desktop app gives you all the real estate you can get for the screen...doing 3D landscaping, etc, is better fascilitated by a screen that can show the detail and the flow of the landscaping...you'll not get that on a small screen"
• "I think standalone applications will still be the default for quite a while yet. People are used to it with games, SL like virtual worlds, etc. It seems less ephemeral than merely clicking on a web link"
• "I use both"
• "Desktop program is the root process YOU can control. Trying to develop for a wide variety of browsers and still run consistently with out a bug-a-baloo going on is wishful thinking. Developing for iPhone/Droid/Pads/Tablet is not cost effective as they are not dominant in the market and many don't have the computing power/graphics ability to truly show off the virtual world the the end user. (IMO)"
• "I feel that the most productive work in regards to actually building it is best to use it on PC vs mobile/tablet. The browser and tablet option is good only if you plan on attending a short meeting"

3-iOS/Android Mobile and Tablet:

• "Horizontal vs. vertical viewing"
• '"Mobile platforms are becoming more ubiquitous to the average employee/student"
• "Tablet market especially ripe for showcasing use of virtual environment for something other than traditional gaming"
• "Portability"
• "The mobile computing world is where everything is headed"
• "I'm looking to develop an mobile app for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Most people use tablets/mobile phones vs. laptops when travelling in 2014"
• "PC's are becoming obsolete. Mobile (of various sizes) is the future"
• "Driving user mobility & cloud interaction"

4-Console Wii, PS3, Xbox 360:

• "Got one myself"

Note-This survey is slanted, in terms of questions, to ReactionGrid Inc.'s needs to develop a roadmap.

Note 2-Some responses were seemingly incomplete or not understandable perhaps due to language challenges or similar.  If you do not see your response feel free to add it below as a comment.

Self Interview on ReactionGrid Inc. Roadmap

I have decided to self interview today to talk about our companies overall roadmap.  Since CNN nor even MSNBC called me back I figured this was the next best thing, err, the only thing.

Kyle1: Hello Kyle ready for the interview?

Kyle2: Obviously I am yes.

Kyle1: No need to be sarcastic.

Kyle2: Let's move forward shall we?

Kyle1: Ok but take a chill pill.  What is the plan for ReactionGrid Inc. over the next year?

Kyle2: We will build the best virtual world platform for desktop & browser Mac and PC and beat everyone to having the first full fledged virtual world on Android & iOS.  It will not be a silly streaming video thing it will be the real deal.

Kyle1: Pretty big plans, who spiked your Wheaties this morning?

Kyle2: Just stating the facts, expect mobile coolness in a few months.  You know you could have dressed better for this interview is that a Superman t-shirt?

Kyle1: Yep, same one you're wearing.  How do you rate against SecondLife & their new CEO Rod Humble?

Kyle2: SecondLife doesn't do what we do.  We are strictly platform builders.  They manage a virtual world.  The closest we come to that is our demo/portal worlds which are there to show off the worlds of others and our technology.  Rod gets the same challenge from me as M Linden, let's debate, let's see you speak out on social media, let's see you build something in SL and show you get it like your residents do.  We want SL to grow and be profitable right along with us.  There is plenty of room for choice.

Kyle1: It has been said you are Jibe/Unity3D focused, does this mean Opensimulator isn't a favorite at RG?

Kyle2: It is true we are investing in Jibe in a big way.  However it does not do what Opensimulator does and in most ways it will never match all the features Opensimulator provides.  We will support both platforms moving forward.

Kyle1: Getting back to the Superman t-shirt, are you serious?

Kyle2: Don't make me break out my Thundercats t-shirt.  Snarf snarf.

Kyle1: You mention mobile devices, why do you care?  Why should I, errr you care, wait I asked that, this is confusing?

Kyle2: Mobile devices allow us to focus on particular hardware features, knowing most tablets have a accelerometer, GPS, camera, light sensor, gyroscope in addition to portability and touch UI means augmented reality is coming fast and virtual worlds will become pervasive when smartly applied.

Kyle1: What is your companies business model?

Kyle2: Developing a virtual world platform, hosting virtual worlds, selling virtual goods and services.  Possibly getting into the RG t-shirt business.

Kyle1:  Jibe clearly seems to be a big part of your business, how can we feel confident this bootstrapped, tiny company will be around next year to complete Jibe?

Kyle2: The owners of the company are true virtual world advocates.  Also we are developers at heart and we know how to listen, adjust and deliver.  We are currently adopting an Agile development process that is being integrated with our virtual world platform Jibe.  This will soon be a product as well as a way to keep us lean, developing fast and delivering quality on time.

Kyle1: Last question for today, what is the biggest challenge you face moving forward?

Kyle2: People thinking the CEO is crazy because he asks himself questions.  And wears cartoon t-shirts.  Despite this I have a handle on what users want in virtual worlds because I ask them for critical feedback and our team reacts accordingly.  We have much to do developing our product but things look very promising.

Kyle1: Fair enough thank you for taking the time to talk to you today.

Kyle2: This is the weirdest interview I have ever had but I enjoyed it.

Kyle1: Never ask me to do this again.

Kyle3: Did I miss lunch?

ReactionGrid Inc. Virtual World Poll #2.

Our last roadmap poll, yes you are a huge factor in deciding what we do and when, we asked "Why do you use 3D virtual worlds?".

The 4 options were:

1. Socializing with friends
2. Creating 3D items and environments
3. Meeting and Brainstorming with colleagues
4. Other
   
   Here are the results (96 responses):

Here are some of the comments...

Socializing with friends:

"Creative"
"To make friends"
"To meet my friends there and have fun"
"Lately, just for catching up with friends and relaxing by exploring different lands (islands, sims, etc)"

Creating 3D items and environments:

"I create and script little things that might be of use to educators"
"Student modeling of conceptual understanding"
"Fun and Games. Create, Build, Roam, Interaction"

"Entertainment. Self fulfillment. Setting and completing goals. Acquiring virtual wealth and property. Making friends that can help me achieve my goals"

"Just build things for fun"
"I make interactive art installations"
"Create educational and training environments"
"I am interested in all aspects of VWs, from business development to creative application.  However, to date "I have mostly used them to creative interactive narratives and film. I am deeply interested in the future of creative media for entertainment, journalism and business. VWs are one future-media element, and I would like to mash them up with other emerging elements"
"Building simulations for teaching; exploring the possibilities of vw for teaching"

Meeting and Brainstorming with colleagues:
"Meet with other teachers"
"Education"
"I attend events with speakers, I build, socialize and collaborate! I also teach in Second Life (graduate seminars)"
"Connecting with other nonprofit and educator colleagues, organizing virtual trainings, workshops and mixed- reality events"
"I use 3D virtual worlds to learn & to admire those who use creativity to create"

Other:
"Education"
"Study"
"I use it for my virtual school"
"Educating and organizing community"

"To COLLABORATE in creating 3D objects"

"All of the above and more"

Note-This survey is slanted, in terms of questions, to ReactionGrid Inc.'s needs to develop a roadmap.
Note 2-Some responses were seemingly incomplete or not understandable perhaps due to language challenges or similar.  If you do not see your response feel free to add it below as a comment.