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Jul 13, 2004, 4:55pm

I'm sure this has been requested in the past, but with the addition of
the media command in 3.6 and the popularity of the AW TV stations, I
feel it needs to be requested again.

Wouldn't it be nice to watch movies with the media command when AW is in
full screen mode? Go world hopping or exploring and be able to see
things just a bit more closely? Modelers would be able to examine
objects, avatars, and textures with more clarity and just think of how
it might improve gaming/RPG worlds.

There is a program called FRAPS (http://www.fraps.com) that allows you
to capture video of games and other 3D applications, but it doesn't work
with AW's "windowed" graphics.

If the AW browser would support full screen mode, users could use FRAPS
(or other similar programs) and would be able to create their own
virtual reality movies/films. It has been done before and is getting
more and more popular. Take a look at http://www.machinima.com for more
information about this.

Some users of There (one of AW's competitors) have taken this idea and
have made at least four movies already...just by using There's built-in
voice chat and the program itself. You can download them by going to
http://users.snowcrest.net/fox/there/miraclepictures/ in your Web browser.

I also think Second Life (another competitor to AW) is getting in on the
act. If AWI would just add full screen mode, they'd probably get quite a
few paying citizenships for those that want to make their own machinima
movies.

Builderz
http://www.3DHost.net

Jul 13, 2004, 7:07pm

Compared to There and Second Life, AW needs better animation, environmental interaction, physics, etc for people to BE interested in "machinima"...

While full-screen would be interesting, I doubt the time it would take to rewrite the interface would be worth it--and AW has FAR many more basic bugs that need fixing first: http://tnlc.com/eep/aw/improve.html

[View Quote]

Jul 13, 2004, 7:54pm

I know about your improve page, Eep. :) I've been there many times and
read through most of your site.

I agree that the AW browser needs more than just full screen mode (much
more), but it seems that with 3.6, AWI is trying to focus on one or two
main things/new features now for each release (i.e., media and fixing
Linux world server issues under 3.6).

I'm not sure about their plans for 4.0, but I would personally like to
see full screen support and voice chat added sometime soon. There has
voice chat and there are royalty-free codecs out there AWI could use.
Full screen mode could probably be done quickly, IMO.

All they would really need to do is close or minimize all tabs/toolbars
and windows. Text would be handled just like any other FPS game, a few
scrolling lines being overlayed atop the graphics near the top or bottom
of the screen.

For join/invite and other similar things you could just have a simple
text prompt (instead of a new window appearing) and pressing Y or N
would accept or decline the request.

I agree that fixing bugs should come first and adding more features
should come second, but whenever a new version comes out that doesn't
add many new features a lot of people seem to bitch or say "there is
nothing new" and just revert back to the old version. :P

Builderz
http://www.3DHost.net

[View Quote]

Jul 13, 2004, 10:45pm

[View Quote] Somehow I doubt it would be that simple...

> I agree that fixing bugs should come first and adding more features
> should come second, but whenever a new version comes out that doesn't
> add many new features a lot of people seem to bitch or say "there is
> nothing new" and just revert back to the old version. :P

But fixing old bugs restores previous features that have been disabled/altered. Some (out of MANY) examples:

- no bobbing/bouncing objects (most noticeable on infinitely repeating ground object)
- restored av hover Newtonian physics (changing av rotation doesn't change av momentum in that direction)
- reduce av collision momentum (currently causes bump noises to repeat WAY too much)
- "examine" command doesn't start rotation screwed up (this WAS fixed a few versions ago but is somehow back since 3.4)

I would rather have these OLD bugs (some dating back to pre-AW3) fixed before adding completely new features ("media" command, VOIP, et al), wouldn't you?

[View Quote]

Jul 14, 2004, 6:28am

See my comments below...

[View Quote] [View Quote] Nothing a few if then statements couldn't handle, in my opinion. If you
can type commands into an FPS console while still being in full screen
mode (think Quake, several years old now), it shouldn't be rocket
science for AWI to pull off.

I'm not talking about having a big text window popup, just one line of
text near the top or bottom of the screen that might say "Builderz wants
to join you. Accept? (Y) / (N)"

>
>
> But fixing old bugs restores previous features that have been disabled/altered. Some (out of MANY) examples:
>
> - no bobbing/bouncing objects (most noticeable on infinitely repeating ground object)
> - restored av hover Newtonian physics (changing av rotation doesn't change av momentum in that direction)
> - reduce av collision momentum (currently causes bump noises to repeat WAY too much)
> - "examine" command doesn't start rotation screwed up (this WAS fixed a few versions ago but is somehow back since 3.4)
>
> I would rather have these OLD bugs (some dating back to pre-AW3) fixed before adding completely new features ("media" command, VOIP, et al), wouldn't you?

AWI could spend all day fixing bugs, but some would argue that it may be
better for them to re-write a good deal of the browser from scratch instead.

What I'm more concerned about how AWI is going to survive the
competition such as There and Second Life. Sure, they make some cash
with unis and galaxy servers, but they won't forever. The media command
is a big step forward.

Now if they could add full screen mode, voice chat, the ability to hold
inventory items/weapons, customizable avatars, and drivable
vehicles...they'd be about "on par" with the competition in the current
marketplace. Adding an affiliate program so citizens can make money or
get some sort of credit for referring others to AW would be a good idea
as well.

To be honest, I'm all for a less bug ridden and more stable browser. I'm
thrilled that (as far as I can tell) the major crashing issue with the
Linux world server has been fixed. But I don't think too much time
should be spent fixing non-critical bugs at this juncture.

Look at it this way, Eep. The average person doesn't upgrade from
Windows 98 to Windows XP just because it fixes some bugs. They do it
because they like the fancy new interface or they like/want a new
feature. Microsoft is known for adding features first and fixing bugs
second. I'm not saying that's how things should be done, but look at how
much money they have in the bank.

Another example: look at all of the games that ship and two weeks to a
month later there is already a patch out for them. In an ideal world, a
product or game would be 100% bug free with tons of great features, game
play, eye candy, etc. But in the real world, time is money and the dev
team needs to focus on certain things that need to get done. I could go
on, but I think you get my point.

Builderz
http://www.3DHost.net

Jul 16, 2004, 2:37am

Isn't full screen mode being implemented for the next update or two? ENZO
said so while chatting in AW Gate to some of us.
--
- Syntax -
http://www.swcity.net
http://forum.swcity.net

[View Quote]

Jul 16, 2004, 2:58am

Not that I'm aware of. If you have a chatlog, I'd love to see it.

Builderz
http://www.3DHost.net

[View Quote] > Isn't full screen mode being implemented for the next update or two? ENZO
> said so while chatting in AW Gate to some of us.

Jul 16, 2004, 6:44pm

Full screen already exists on a *very* pre-alpha build a while ago as a
demo... and E N Z O gave a few people a screenshot, which is now on my
bedroom wall, however it wasnt focused on because the coding team have more
important things at the mo like fixing media! LOL

- MR

[View Quote]

Sep 11, 2004, 1:40am

I've used fraps on AW before and it has recorded the 3d portion of the
screen only, which I'm sure is what you are intending to use it for. Perhaps
you're just not using the program correctly?

[View Quote]

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