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What do we want NUX to be?

Intro

When we say 3d virtual world we mean that a single 3d virtual space is in real-time observed and modified by many participants over network. They can see each other and interact with objects and participants in the virtual space. While the space is maintained by more than one computer, all events in the virtual space must be controlled by single laws for all of the participants. A 3d virtual world should consist of at least the following components:
  • virtual material. This includes 3d mesh, textures, animation, lighting, sounds, physical forces and physical properties of objects in the virtual environment.
  • program. A software platform which lets participants explore the 3d virtual world and interact with it, programs which help organize the development process of virtual world, programs which are associated with objects in the virtual world and define their behavior, etc.
  • law system. Global and local rules of interaction of objects and participants in a virtual environment. Global laws are something like a constitution - it is accepted by every participant of the virtual world and relates to every object and action in the virtual world. Local laws are associated with a certain region of virtual environment and operate only in that region.
  • community. Participants of a virtual world who collectively create the above components and use the virtual world for their needs.
Virtual worlds can be filled by various objects, but we can split them into a couple of categories:
  • static architecture (eg. roads, buildings, etc.)
  • dynamic objects (including participants)
  • computer programs (eg. a music player being a box which emits music in the 3d space or a tennis table, all in a networked manner);
  • computer filesystem objects (files, directories, etc.); databases;
  • imported 2d computer programs (eg. a usual text editor or an image viewer represented as 3d windows in the 3d space, contents of which can be, when needed, observed and changed by many users in the same time.)
We can use such abilities of 3d virtual worlds to transform today's 2d desktop environments into 3d networked ones, where users will be able to combine work with communication and even recreation in more natural manner.

Main priciples of NUX

Generally we want to initiate the development of a decentralized network of 3d virtual environtments (worlds). Decentralized because NUX worlds will not be a service provided by some company, instead it will be a linked system of many virtual environments created and controlled by their participants.
Main ideas of these worlds will be the following:
  • freedom in creation, sharing, usage and modification of elements of these world(s).
    For software components of NUX this means open standards on all the technical details of how the virtual world system operates and free (open-source) implementation of these standarts. This way NUX worlds will be compatible with each other and with any virtual world using same technical standard as NUX.
    For law system this means that everyone can participate in creation/modification of laws in a virtual world but this process must be coordinated by all participants of a virtual world (or corresponding area of a virtual world). We need to keep in mind, however, that the global part of laws (common to all worlds) should be developed with not only one virtual world in mind, so that it can be used in many virtual worlds in the same time.
    For virtual 3d-material and other content this means abilities for well-organized collective (both realtime and non-realtime) creation/modification of 3d and related data and, when desired, use of open-content-licenses.
    While we are all time talking about open-source software, we mean that NUX's platform won't be just an open-source reimplementation of some closed-source virtual world engine, instead this should be an independent software project, developed to fulfil concrete tasks.
  • development strategy without the fear to think of future
    This means that NUX worlds (especially the software) must not become obsolete at any point and must be flexible enough to easily answer all the needs that NUX community will have, both in technical and social aspects. Example of this can be usage of multi-point 3d manipulating devices, new ways to visualize 3d data, and so on...
  • good system of collaboration of people with different talents and occupation fields (firstly trough 2d web-interfaces, then directly in 3d).
    For exapmle, programmers with 3d-modellers and biologists create algorithms of virtual plants; musicians, story-writers, 3d-modellers, and programmers build massive fun zones, etc.
While NUX is a non-commertial initiative, commercial activities will be allowed in NUX worlds. If someone wants to make money within some of NUX worlds, he is welcomed to do so if he doesn't break NUX's philosophy.

What about the engine (software platform)?

Currently we have focused our work on the theoretical and 3d material for NUX presentation and didn't experimented with the engines which have been recently arrived due to the fact that we aren't programmers and that our hardware and internet connection are for now a bit limited.
However, even with the relatively small amount of experience we can outline which engine, from our point of view, NUX needs:
  • as has been said before, open-source software and open technical standards;
  • multiplatform - all software components of NUX must be designed to run on different operating systems and CPU architures and to be easily ported to new ones including non-standard platforms such as mobile devices (when possible);
  • flexibile and modular - the engine should be easily customized and extended to get use of all the needed technical invetions while maintaining the best possible compatibility with the existent standards;
  • decentralized - place the major part of computations on client machines and minimize the server load and bandwidth while maintaining single laws and rules of the computations. Large number of participants in a virtual environment must not be a problem even for 3d worlds without a strong financial base.
We can't be sure that the engine for NUX must be created from scratch because it's possible that there is some open-source project which could be used as the software platform for NUX. However, we don't want to enforce use of some concrete software platform at this moment, so feel free to mail us if You have some ideas/questions on that subject.

A few words about open source

In short, when we say that a software project is open-source, we mean the following:

  • it can be freely used and redistributed both in executable and in source code formats;
  • it can be freely modified and improved by anyone who wants to do so;
  • that the changes one have made can be then merged into the original project or distributed separately but on the same terms that the original project.
  • and that the software may freely be used commercially, but the software itself must remain open-source. Example of this is using a free 3d-modelling software to make commercial (even closed-source) computer games, etc.
These principles provide very interesting characteristics to the open-source development model. Firstly, open-source software and open technical standards (such as Internet protocols for exapmle) is serving for the public interest like, for example, the human language or the maps of Earth:)
Secondly, such software projects are developed contignously with no finish-line (when the source code is available, enyone can take it and continue developing it even when the original developers suspended the project).
And thirdly, the initative to work on the source code comes (in most cases) from the person who actually works with the code and is caused rather by creativity of the person, not by the corporate duty. Of course, commercial sturctures can participate in the development of such projects too.
The open-source development model is very close to our vision of NUX's development spirit and philosophy. However, software isn't the only component of NUX on which we want to apply such spirit (of cource, only when that will have sense).
While open-source doesn't mean non-commercial but it means that the commercial stuctures will be same "players" on "the virtual worlds board" as non-commercial ones and individuals.

3d account and data storage

Another interesting aspect of virtual worlds is the new ways of data storage, sharing and manipulation which virtual worlds, especially NUX can give to their participants. For example, user can have an account as a 3d-home in the virtual world. It can play the role of users' workplace and data storage place. This home can be hosted on users' machine being just a representation of his/her computer and data for himself and for other users who are allowed to access the virtual home, but only when the user is online.
However, the virtual home (or some part of it) can be also be hosted on the Internet just like mailboxes are hosted now, giving the user slightly more abilities. Such setup will turn the virtual home into something like a 3d webpage. Access to all users' data then should be regulated not by the storage place, but by the user identifier with which it is associated.
In such case, users who want to do so will be able to store their data on the virtual world's servers and access their data from any computer/device, connected to correspoding virtual world. Just imagine - You take your stereo glasses-monitors with sensor-mittens connected to Your cell-phone, and enter a virtual world to participate in testing of a virtual reconstruction of Leonardos flying vehicles...:)

NUX-99

We think that it will be natural to develop different components of NUX in parallel with a concrete 3d virtual environment which will be an area indicating what needs to be changed, what is missing, etc.
We suggest NUX-99 to play the role of a first NUX world. It will be a big virtual space ship or a small planet of cylindrical shape with its "populated" surface inverted inside so that the radial inertia force will form the gravity on the ship/mini-planet. Overall surface of NUX-99 will be 6048 km2. Most of it's territory will have visual spirit of our current Earth reality with sea, rivers, hilly surface, roads, cities and nice nature.
We have created a part of 3d scenery for NUX-99, but it is in a pre-release state at this moment (You can take a look at screenshots and a video (part 1, part 2) illustrating NUX-99 in 3d.)
Because NUX-99 will be a bit "traditional" and limited in some aspects, we hope that NUX community will not stop on NUX-99 and will create other virtual worlds with different characteristics:)

Near future plans

At this point we prepare 3d meshes of a part of NUX-99's scenery and also we are starting to work on NUX-98 - a territorially unlimited and unconstrained by physical laws of Earth 3d virtual world with more freedom and avantgarde than in NUX-99, but NUX-99 remains our main target for the near future.
Additionally we plan to setup some wiki-like site for NUX to allow anyone contribute to NUX's idea-base, discuss and solve problems, develop new conceptions, etc.
Later, when at least a beta runtime platform (engine) for NUX will be ready for testing, we plan to build a virtual NUX research centre for programmers, lawyers, artists, people who like to experiment with artificial inteligence and anyone who wants to create something new in a new way (eg. jurispundence of virtual environments, interactive spatially-integrated music and other researches on the edges of science:)
However, at this moment it is hard to say when the first NUX virtual world (in full sense of this term) will be launched.

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