Hi Bojay!
No worries, this won't cost much at all... we're not trying to make a multiplayer sim or anything like that (heavens no). Basically, this will be a Winchester Mystery Site -- "keeeep buuiilding..." --
We will start out really small, with just a few parts in 3d, then gradually add to it as time goes by. It will always be open, yet always be developing -- no 2 year waits either!!!
Essentially, the vision is to create a 3d browser -- nothing more. Something besides boring text-based forums and endlessly clicking on links, wondering where they go. When you login, you will be given a choice; standard, just like things are now, good old plain html and php web pages -- OR you can move up at any time to the 3d experience. If it were 2d I'm betting I could write most of it in just a month or so; but of course 3d is a bit more involved, so the idea is to build it block by block, area by area, slowly adding features as we learn what works best -- and all the time it will be OPEN (except during big upgrades of course, but that should be just an hour's worth at a time, like most server upgrades).
For starters, there are a ton of 3d engines out there with Gnu licenses, really pretty good engines at that too. We don't need anything like the latest tech, certainly not now anyway. Just a basic multiplatform engine which allows you to create a level of meshes wrapped with pleasing textures, and of course very basic triggers at each doorway, shuttle cockpit, etc. All we are doing is replacing text links and flat font browsers with a true 3d browser with 3d links, and that's it. Data interchange will be simple bit compressed packets of a few k, and the small client modules running at the full user's speed will do the rest. The server module simply routes packets and keeps the database updated. Nothing could be simpler! (Okay, growing veggies would be simpler, I grant you, but who wants to chat with a carrot!!
).
Be of good cheer! This daggit has a pretty good idea how to "make it so" without all the mumbo jumbo of most software projects. (Shoot, just cancel the group meetings and we'd cut months off the schedule!!!
).
This is not going to be a pyramid, just some landscaping to make things pretty.
Fondly,
Muffit
