Prims (Primitives)
Prims - or primitives as their full name is - are the original builders' materials of Second Life. Prims are "procedural objects", that is, they are generated by the viewer according to a fairly small set of parameters. You can think of prims as Minecraft on steroids or a simple version ao Archimatix if you like.
The advantage of prims over mesh is that they require far less data than mesh. This is essential for streamed virtual realities where bandwidth always is a major limiting factor and I think we ought to use them as much as possible and far more than what is common today.
Another big advantage prims have, is that you can create them and build with them in-world. Not only is that more fun (at least I think so) it also means it's easier to adapt your build to the surroundings and make adjustments later.
The prim system was developed by Avi Bar-Zeev 2002-2003. A few years later Bar-Zeev tried to write an article explaining how it all works but he seems to have given up because there har been so many changes to it after he left Linden Lab. Even so, the first version of his article is still well worth reading for those who want to understand that goes on under the hood in Second Life and on the Hypergrid. I have some plans to pick up where Bar-Zeev left and expand on his explanation. I'm not sure if I'll ever manage to find the time but stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment