Pol

I don't see any of the avatars in the screenshots shown posed in a three-quarter view. Is this more of a 2.5D type of world? By that I mean basically 2D with some 3D flourishes?

Dnate Mars

If it doesn't connect to the SL grid, or any grid for that matter, isn't it nothing more then a 3-d chat room?

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Lordfly Digeridoo

"Virtual world" is the new "Websiteamaphone hosted on the World Wide Web!!111eleventy"

I wish ESC the best, nice group of guys, but for Chrissakes this makes like, what, 15 virtual world packages you can buy for your brand?

I wish I were a smooth talker, I'd be retired by now and living on a sandy beach.

Oh yes, Mr. Pepsi... the INTERnets... yes, it's very complicated, but I can help you through it.

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CaleVinson

I think Ordinal and CrystalShard nailed it.

My gag reflex on seeing these kind of annoucements is not that they are not perfectly appropriate business responses to market requirements (perceived or actual, time will tell). Rather, its the misappropriation of the term "virtual world" to mean "3D chat room".

Hypatia Callisto

I see another boom/bust cycle occuring as a lot of people with untested ideas and no products or experience rush in to grab investor money, then try to run away with money before the roof caves in.

It happened with the web in the late 90s and everything came crashing down as none of these businesses had a viable plan to *gasp* make money.

LL is actually making money on the land model, as flawed as it may be. They NEED to make money and they need the people who make and spend money in it to keep the bills paid.

As much as everyone would love to be all altruistic and noncom, it's just not a feasable way to keep an online business going. Infrastructure has to be paid for and salaries have to be paid, and the money has to come from somewhere.

So yeah, good riddence to all the moochers and corporate morons who prefer a 3d chat room. Not like that idea hasn't crashed and burned a few dozen times already in the last decade.

__________________
"To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?"

"I suppose so," said Alice.

"Well, then," the Cat went on, "you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

"I call it purring, not growling," said Alice.

"Call it what you like," said the Cat.

Cocoanut Koala

Don't. You're gonna get me to wishing we had all those emotes again. I think I missed those most, far and away ahead of everything else on TSO.

I was particularly fond of "tantrum." (I use ftfo here for that. Close.)

And SISSY FIGHT. Just so many ways to have these little traditions with your friends. I so miss my sissy fights with Hile!

coco

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Quiplash

It's too bad we can't connect to an example of this to see how it compares with, say, the Google 3-D chat thingamabob. Lively, that's it.

Beezle Warburton

I did. I downloaded it. Looked at it, then looked at what year it was. Then promptly uninstalled it.

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Psyke Phaeton

I agree more 3d chat rooms in a web browser for the companies and the kiddies. And keep them away from the overly complex & sleazy Second Life.

Thank goodness SL is more open ended, and OpenSimulator will be totally open ended.

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Beezle Warburton

As bungling as LL can be, would SL be anywhere near the same if run by a "proper" corporation?

Macphisto Angelus

Yes.. I miss them too. I know there are some great animations in SL but EA really had the best ever and most convenient to use with TSO. I loved sissy fight! hehe

Oh.. and Dip Kiss.

Psyke Phaeton

We all love our dotty old grandfather even if he tries to pinch us on the ass all the time. He is just so quaint.

Soon though we get to move out into our new shiny apartment on OpenSimulator and we can visit every second week-end.

Macphisto Angelus

Yep, I will always be grateful to LL for the idea of SL. I am one waiting for the next phase and doing what I can to support it.

LL went corp.. OpenSim went rebel. I have the heart of a rebel in this.

WarKirby Magojiro

ANOTHER one?

can people stop making virtual worlds now please. We have plenty already

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bilbo99 emu

How can a metaverse have enough worlds?


It is getting a little alarming these days though. Is it just me or does anyone else think the grid is getting quieter?

Vivianne Draper

I try to avoid Sheep products as much as possible.

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Michael Bigwig

I love the idea of metaverses being accessible simply by visiting a web site. I think the concept is definitely a 'next step', but it's going to take a while to smooth out the rough edges, and create an engine/language that will encompass all the things we've come to love about Second Life.

Yes, web-based VRML isn't a new technology--Active Worlds has been doing it for a while--but the difference in quality between the two virtual domains is generations apart. For a browser-based metaverse to succeed, and attract Second Life users, programmers and designers will need to start from the ground up.

And what's this about having to pay to be a part of this new technology? That's hogwash. That alone leaves me out. Hell, I didn't pay for WoW for more than 6 months, I'm certainly not going to pay for a lower-end rip off that doesn't even compare to a free, massive, amazing, self perpetuating world I already frequent and profit from.

Pish posh.

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~Michael Bigwig
___________________Lead Designer, Glowbox Designs

FlipperPA Peregrine

This isn't made for us, the dreamers.

This is made for the MySpace crowd... two completely different markets. I welcome it and hope it keeps SL from becoming what the web did after AOL unleashed millions of idiots onto it. For a Flash based world (which would run on Mac, unlike Google's recent pathetic attempt), it looks great, and the interface is incredibly simple. Here are more thoughts on it:

Second Blogger » Blog Archive » Bah! Bah! Bah! First look at WebFlock

Granted, I'm a biased observer, but this is the most impressive "embed in the web" VW software I've seen by far. No plug in other than Flash required... ESC just blew Google out of the water. Think about that.

Regards,

-Flip

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Brenda Connolly

Nicely said....HEY Wait a second. I'M one of those idiots unleashed on the Web by AOL!

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Hypatia Callisto

Good for them

Siobhan OFlynn

The last time I logged into There, I was so lagged I couldn't move. And this was on the same computer that I rarely lag with in Second Life. I'm talking the kind of lag that makes you just throw up your hands and give up. I still miss my There dogs though.

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FlipperPA Peregrine

When I first started SL, someone (I can't recall her name) gave me a few L$ as she was leaving SL (I didn't ask for them or anything). That was the first time I heard about There, which she claimed "blew SL out of the water."

I figured I'd give it a try - I logged in once.

I didn't try to the interface again until ESC did Laguna Beach. Completely underwhelming!

Verkin Raven

My There experience:

* www.there.com *
"Hmm, this looks intersesting. Wait.. user content has to be officially approved?"
*closes Firefox tab*

Lordfly Digeridoo

Yeah but there's the thing. EVERY VW after SL has been going after the "idiot retarded Myspace crowd". They're all incompatible with one another, they all have the same features, they all require a different song and dance to sign on.

How many times are companies going to re-invent the "you can chat! with your friends! With coolio avatars! Hey look, you can wear hats! Isn't this great? Isn't this GREAT IN THREE DEE?"

And then that's it. Oh, but this time you can play trivia! Great. Three of my friends are on Coke's VW, ten are on ESC's Flockamaphone, and four are on Lively. Plus three on Metaversed, five on Koster's world, ...

Oh, and your friends also have to be logged in at the same time for any of this to happen. So you have to be online at the same time to play dressup. Otherwise this whole thing doesn't work.

Seriously, am I the only one that's seeing this?


BTW, the WebFlock avs don't look really 3d. They look like spriteified 3d avs. This has been done before. Over ten years ago.

I hate to rain on people's parades, but fucking seriously. Where is the next SL competitor, and not the "OMG THIS TIEM U CAN HEV KAT EARS LOLLOOLOLOL"

Verkin Raven

At least with there being something like a dozen IM chat services, there are chat programs which consolidate all your friends into one list.

I don't see that happening with virtual worlds.