Solipsis is a free and

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

system for a massively multi-participant shared

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activitie ...

France Télécom Orange S.A. (), formerly France Télécom S.A. (stylized as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, ...

Research and Development Labs. It aims to provide the infrastructure for a

metaverse In science fiction, the "metaverse" is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal, and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. In colloquial usage, ...

-like public virtual territory. Relying on a

peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...

architecture, the virtual world may potentially be inhabited by a theoretically unlimited number of participants.

Motivations

A central objective of Solipsis is to create a virtual world which is as independent as possible from the influence of private interests, such as server ownership. In order to achieve this, it is based around a

model rather than the traditional server-client one. Additionally, it aims to give users more flexibility in designing interfaces and content in their individual segments of the virtual world.

Main principles

A Solipsis entity is a basic element of the virtual world. To exist, an entity should run a ''node'' that may be controlled by a ''navigator''. Nodes are self-organized in a pure peer-to-peer network, in which relationships depend on virtual proximity. A navigator is mainly a

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows User (computing), users to Human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through graphical icon (comp ...

, but some communication services may be added to one for interaction between entities. The virtual world is initially empty and is only filled by entities run by end users' computers. All Solipsis nodes are functionally equal, and no preordained infrastructure is required. This eliminates as far as possible any restrictions on the content or functionality of the world.

Current status

Solipsis currently consists of: *A peer-to-peer protocol over UDP. The Solipsis protocol gives a node the ability to broadcast its presence within the virtual world. Moreover, this protocol aims to guarantee the maintenance of some global properties. *A node-navigator interface, which takes the form of an

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...

between the node and the navigator. Currently written in

XML-RPC XML-RPC is a remote procedure call (RPC) protocol which uses XML to encode its calls and HTTP as a transport mechanism.Simon St. Laurent, Joe Johnston, Edd Dumbill. (June 2001) ''Programming Web Services with XML-RPC.'' O'Reilly. First Editi ...

, this interface allows a navigator to control a node and to retrieve information on its virtual surroundings. *A basic implementation of a Solipsis Node and a Solipsis navigator licensed under the LGPL. The navigator features a two-dimensional representation of the virtual world. The design of current interface resembles YackPack, an interactive system developed by the company of the same name, by a team of engineers in Santa Rosa, led by Chief Technology Officer David Levine and envisioned by Professor BJ Fogg of Stanford University. Interaction between entities consists only of

chat Chat or chats may refer to: Communication * Conversation, particularly casual * Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time * Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat * SMS chat, a form of text messagin ...

. *Some other services, which implement

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

s, some identity fields for

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include r ...

, and graphical chat.

References

External links

Solipsis Homepage
* {{cite web , title = Solipsis project Homepage , url = http://solipsis.netofpeers.net , accessdate = 2013-10-26 , archiveurl = http://solipsisarchive.netofpeers.net/ , archivedate = 2012-06-08
Toward a Peer-to-Peer Shared Virtual Reality
paper by Joaquin Keller and Gwendal Simon

CNet
Gamers to rule their own virtual worlds
New Scientist
Gamers Eye Open Virtual Worlds
Wired File sharing Orange S.A. Open-source video games Massively multiplayer online games Online chat Video games developed in France Virtual world communities Inactive massively multiplayer online games

Motivations

Main principles

Current status

See also

References

External links