Issue #15, Friday, October 24, 1996


The New World Times

ACTIVE WORLDS BROWSER
OFFICIALLY RELEASED

PROTAGONIST GIVES SPEECH TO ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD

Thursday, October 17, 1996


Thanks to Paul Klee for this photo, our photographer was on the Internet Expo floor!

Today Active Worlds celebrated a milestone with the official release of the product at the Internet Expo in Boston. Within the Web Of Worlds, Protagonist utilized a new Public Speaker feature (which allows broadcast by one person to many) to give a speech to officially open the doors. A new world called Transcend, crafted by Kalak, head artist of AW, was opened just for the event. Approximately 117 people gathered for the event in Transend and more watched from the show floor in Boston.

The release version of Active Worlds Browser is still free for the download. For the time being, Worlds will charge for the server software only. Prices vary for servers according to the number of concurrent and total users. As an introductory special, a $500 version allows twenty concurrent users. A free limited trial version will also be available with a three-user limit. Stay tuned to our main web page here and the Worlds site for more information as it becomes available.

The official release is not likely to slow the flow of upgrades, according to Protagonist. Many new features are slated for inclusion in the near future. Rumor has it that one of the next major releases may include containment of a mini-web-browser using MS Internet Explorer's ActiveX scheme, so if you haven't downloaded the Internet Explorer we highly recommend it.

In a pre-release party, Protagonist, Roland and a large group of others got crazy with the Ken avatar and had a karate-fest in the ampitheater East of Ground Zero. Using the new "explicit actions" feature, Ken puts on quite a show of profiency in the martial arts.

After that they changed to the Bird avatar and attacked Ground Zero in a loose re-enactment of a scene from The Birds, then stormed Yellowstone Park using an avatar from that world which is equipped combat fatigues. After that they hit Colony Alpha as a fleet of Space Ships, and the party went on for quite a while after that!

RELEASE VERSION OF ACTIVE WORLDS INTRODUCES GRAVITY

One of the last things on the development list before the official release was a change in the way avatars view things. In the past, some building models have been introduced with were larger than they should be because artists "eyeballed" the models using improper perspective and scaled accordingly. Some of these models will be changed in the near future now that perspective is more realistic at ground level.

During work on the avatar perspectives it became apparent that not much extra would be necessary to add "gravity" so the programming team added it in, and with it some inertia and "sliding" collision with objects beneath the avatars. This means that you can now automatically climb steps and ramps, and even jump off high buildings! Unfortunately it also means that almost none of the amusement-park-type rides work for the moment. More efficient "bump" objects are being tested to help make it easier for these rides to be repaired. Meanwhile, new possibilities such as bungi jumps and skateboard courses have opened up!

TRIAL SERVER VERSION DUE SOON

Also announced, but not shipping quite yet is the Active Worlds server. Several worlds have been developed while this package was in beta testing, including Colony Alpha, Arctic Light, Yellowstone, Metatropolis, and DAAP. More worlds are already in development for release sometime in the near future.

Prices start at only $500 for an introductory offer of a 20-concurrent-user server. Included with the servers is the World Development Kit, which basically consists of the artwork and sounds developed by Worlds for AlphaWorld and an enhanced version of RWXLOOK called RWXMOD. A free trial version limited to 3 users will also be available!

The server software runs under Windows NT (Intel), SGI, or Sun platforms with other UNIX ports available as needed. Minimum configuration is 32 megs RAM. Bandwidth needed is fairly low, and artwork may reside at any location on the web for better distribution of load.

See this page on the Worlds site for more information about how to create worlds. See this page for pricing information.

TRAINING SESSIONS START IN LATE NOVEMBER

If you're serious about creating a virtual world, you'll be interested to know that Worlds is offering training sessions November 24-26! Featured speakers will include Protagonist (Ron Britvich), Dataman (Russell Freeland), Kalak (Danny Viescas), and Moria (Graham Evans.) Topics will range the gamut from how to set up and administer world servers to how to create custom artwork.

If you're interested, sign up soon because space is extremely limited...all classes will feature "hands on" training with all attendees using computers. See this page for more information.

NEW BUILDING OBJECTS ADDED

We've gone a while with not too many additions to the suite of building models, but all that is changing thanks to our citizens! The art of making RenderWare objects has long been a mystery, but with Circle of Fire, Colony Alpha, and other worlds as an inspiration several citizens have been learning to make objects. Working together as the Titans, they have created a world which will be used at Comdex (stay tuned to these pages and the Worlds site for more information on that.)

The Titans membership includes such builders as LittleBull, Liz and Dave Razzles, and Henrik G. They have been experimenting in another test world, making more building models and refining some of the models in use in AlphaWorld. Making corrections to existing models is tricky and will take some time, but some of the new models are already being added to the AlphaWorld registry. They are currently on display at 5N, 5W for a short time and will be added to the HTML list of building objects shortly.

Thanks to the members of Titans Guild and Circle of Fire for these 37 new building models, with more to come! They include a piano and other much-needed new furniture, a very cool streetlamp, 9 new plants and flowers, new shingle roofs and much more.

CONTENTS
Scred, the Man and the Avatar
by Spring Dew		An interview with one of AW's stalwarts
Top Ten Signs of AW addiction
by Fussy
addendum by Webkid		If this list rings true you may need intensive therapy.
Under Construction Master builders continue to amaze us, and a spectacular new world opens!
Advertisements Ads from our citizens.
Builders' Guide
By Dnapalm		Some tips on building from a Master Builder and Help Desk-wannabe.
What's New and Cool
By Webhead		Observations of coolth from the coolster.
Redheads come to AW! Tanya Murphy livens up the place with two new avatars.
Netiquette
by Dnapalm		How should one act in VR? How should two act? This caustic treatise may enlighten or entertain you.
Celebrity ChatMonday night will be a first for AW, be there or be square!
DataStream Words from the editor
Object of the Day
By Ima Genius		A lighthearted look at our friend the fire hydrant

TOP TEN SIGNS...

by Fussy

Signs That You're Addicted to AlphaWorld

  1. You start to fix your hair and dress like your avatar.

  2. You stand in the middle of the street, oblivious to passing cars except for wondering where they got those neat car objects.

  3. You dress up all the dolls in the house like Shanubia.

  4. You just met the girl of your dreams and, when you find out she's only 10, you don't care.

  5. You look at the sign on a Port-O-Potty and wonder if "Port-O-Potty" is a brand new world or just a building site.

  6. You go to a party and get really excited when you are able to move the furniture.

  7. You say Poof! when you leave the room.

  8. You circle a crowded room again and again and again to make absolutely sure you didn't miss seeing someone.

  9. You walk up to strangers and say, "Hi. Where are you from? How old are you? Do you look like your avatar?"

  10. You find yourself saying things like "LOL" or "heh heh" out loud.

     

    ...and here's our addendum from Webkid:

    Top 5 signs of AW addiction

    by Robby Kuebler (WebKid)

    Hello. I'm WebKid (on AlphaWorld), but I'm sure you know that already. If you think you use AlphaWorld too much, here are a few rather silly indication signs to make sure.

    5. One night, you dream of someone planting things on your property, other than you, and you sleepwalk to your computer to see if it actually happened.

    4.You do your own "victory dance" while downloading the trial version of the AW Server.

    3. If you got a pop quiz on where and what all the teleporters were in Worlds Gateway, you would get 100% on it.

    2.You have to delete AW because the cache filled up your new one terrabyte hard drive, and AW was the only thing on it.

    1.You walk into a wall at your office because you thought there was a bump panel there.

 

OBJECT OF THE DAY

by Ima Genius (Chris Kuebler)

And today's object is...



The fire hydrant! (firehy1.rwx)

Today's object of the day is the fire hydrant. The fire hydrant is useful in case of a fire in AlphaWorld (caused by Protagonist for amusement :-). It is also a good bathroom for those dog 'bots. You should have them installed by your place, should a fire occur. (Of course there's no plumbing, but what the heck). And don't use them for sprinklers when it's hot out or else the AWPD will come and arrest you. :) Of course disguising them with trees is also illegal. And don't you dare put them underground!

NEW AVATARS UNVEILED

REDHEAD FEVER SWEEPS GROUND ZERO

Monday, October 14, 1996

Tanya (left) and Kelly (right) are gregarious and outgoing.
Tanya dresses more conservatively but packs quite a kick.

Today two new avatars made an appearance on the AlphaWorld scene. Tanya and Kelly, twin red-headed sisters, are the work of Tanya Murphy, one of the creators of the Twiglet Zone. They are the result of doctoring the Shanubia avatar painstakingly with a text editor. Murphy, a tall redhead, evidently decided that she needed an avatar that represented her real life self better.

More avatar sequences are being developed, but in the meantime a quick decision was made to give Tanya Ken's karate kick and Kelley Ken's "walk like an egyptian" happy sequence. Other sequences used by the new avatars are borrowed from Shanubia. As more sequences become available, gestures for these two may change.

What's New & Cool

By Webhead (Dane Gobel)

Hi. Nethead here once again to give you an reletatively amateur article on some cool new places, new capabilities, new avatars, new events and other interesting things to do in Aworld. Recently, some Aworld citizens and I had a kickboxing tournament in which everyone in the area was the avatar 'KEN', and were constantly punching the angry button, or, in some cases, were pummeling alt+n to the point of "Nintendo" thumb. During this demonstration of pure craziness, we just missed the ice cream truck. I'm kidding. Virtual ice cream. That could be fun.

Another new craze that has rocked our virtual streets is the playing of 'trivial pursuit'. Twelve players go into some room, one character being the one who asks the questions for his companions, the other eleven being the ones who supply the answers until one person answers correctly. This brings us to another interesting capability. Conventions. Being able to have one speaker that can be heard all throughout the zone area.

One interesting "event" that has taken place recently is the Alfred Hitchcock "Birds" ceremony in which a whole bunch of virtual birds swoop down and peck the heck out of the citizens. Psychotic. Interesting, yet nevertheless psychotic.

Gravity. Finally, for your enjoyment, the one and only Active Worlds has gravity. Cool. For instance, you can jump off a building in metatropolis. You can go skiing at 8239n, 8077w. The ski lift and your avatar does need some work, however. Remember, we just started this gravity thing.

Some things in Active Worlds I personally would like to see: Complete control over Ken's and all other avatars articulations, some work on the skiing thing, more articulating avatars, and finally, my most wanted request, MAKE SOME GAMES!!!!!

E-mail me at daveg@worlds.net.

AV TO AV

SCRED: THE MAN AND THE AVATAR

By Spring Dew

To launch our new interviews column we have spoken to one of several veteran builders of Alphaworld, Scred. Scred is a well-known fixture at Ground Zero and onetime revolutionary. We got this exclusive interview just minutes before our deadline. :)

Scred, just how long have you been coming to AW?
For about 14 months.

And have you been building?
I built quite a lot for a long time, but I have tapered off lately. I spend more time andering now.

So you have been through a lot of upgrades then?
Yeah, about 3,000 upgrades. LOL

What did you build first?
My first build was near g0 back then, and it was really just a hut. It is still there.... I changed it like 50 times. It was more of an experimental site. I was intimidated by Grover back then--he was quite good. I couldn't even figure out how to build a mailbox back then. :) Plus, there were so few people, you almost never saw anyone at all.

Who is the most interesting person you have met?
Hmmm...have to think about that one. I must say that Protagonist--I met him way back when--was fascinating, in that he wrote this thing, but probably the most interesting person/thing would be Delta.

Tell me about Delta.
Delta is all things most irritable to all people. If it bothers you, it's Delta. :) He/She was the litigious voice of reason for the community during the censorship-vandalism wars. Delta was the only decent sparring partner when it comes to hardcore banter. Delta assisted me in planning to overthrow the AWPD and set up a Banana Republic...we sabotaged the as-of-yet only public town meeting by consuming mass quantities of bananas, and left the peels all over Ground Zero. :) The meeting was a disaster, and the community never recovered.

I take it the coup was unsuccessful.
Well, we did not end up in charge, but the cause of humour and general mayhem was carried to a new height.

Do you see any hope of such a revolution again?
The Republique de Banana will form again. But only if people start taking themselves seriously! We *HATE* that. LOL

So what stops you from building these days?
Well, there are a few reasons. First, I don't have the time I once had. But that really isn't true, I think. Just got burned out, which is the second reason. Third, there are a lot of people with new ideas, and I prefer to "view" these days, as my creative juices are pretty worn out. And the fourth...confession...

Remember it is going in print.
I play quake for hours on end in deathmatches. <blush>

Do you have any advice for avoiding burnout?
One thing that really got me going again was "community building". I started building with a few associates using a common ID, and that was great. I plan on doing it again soon, as a matter of fact.

Do you see that as the wave of the future in AW?
I see the wave of the future *as* AW. :)

CELEBRITY CHAT

MONDAY NIGHT EVENT SETS NEW PRECEDENT

This Monday the 28th of October, there will be an online event to mirror a real world event marking the release of annual awards for Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair, a program developed by Knowledge Adventure Worlds for film students and others.

Director's Chair features simulations of real-life scenarios in which the user makes a film using clips prepared by such famous directors as Quentin Tarantino and Ned Beatty. The object is to deliver a quality film despite all the things that can go wrong in the process.

At the release party, several celebrities will be present to chat with the online crowd. The event will start around 6:30-7:00 Pacific time and will be hosted by Dataman. At least part of the event will take place in Transcend, the world created by Kalak for the official AW opening. Signs at AlphaWorld Ground Zero will direct you to the proper place if you drop in that night.

Check this page for more details on the event, which will feature such personalities as Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston (NBC's "Friends", She's the One), Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs), Katherine Helmond (Who's the Boss), Penn and Teller and Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure.)

DATASTREAM

AlphaWorld Is Coming of Age

Over a year ago now, someone whispered to me in Worlds Chat about a place called AlphaWorld. To get there you had to download some early prerelease software from a hidden page. Hardly anyone knew about this place, and it was eerily deserted and silent, yet obviously laden with promise.On the day I first entered AlphaWorld, I started the greatest adventure of my life.

Since then I've seen massive changes in AlphaWorld, and the beginnings of expansion of the virtual universe with other worlds. I've seen a wedding, terrorism attempts, abuse and friendship, sorrow and joy, in short a whole range of human experience inside this virtual world. Through all of it I have attempted to promote a sense of community.

Finally, I feel my patience has paid off! As you see, most of this edition of the paper is done by others. We have new avatars and building models contributed by citizens, and there is more to come! Although some of the wonder and awe I felt when I first entered can never be recaptured, this day, this hour, this moment, will remain as vivid in my mind as my first encounter with AlphaWorld. Because this is the point where the community comes of age and really starts taking control of its own destiny.

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Roman ruler, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

 

AlphaWorld and Active Worlds are trademarks of Worlds, Inc. The opinions
and other content of this paper do not necessarily
reflect those of Worlds, and belong only to Dataman.