diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index cf3f253..960ac7f 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1 +1,23 @@ -# halcyonsim \ No newline at end of file +# HalcyonSim + +Simulates a virtual world environment. With sun, moon and clouds moving in regular day cycles or static positions (depending on the environment settings). The regions consist of the aformentioned environments and land, which can be subdivided just like in real life. Also buildings *(objects with seamless textures to give the desired look)* can be setup on the land, as well as in the sky on what are known as "sky platforms" (usually 1000+ meters high). Plus avatars *(the users' representation in-world)* and interactive objects that are scripted. Objects or buildings can have various scripts added to them which allows them to exhibit different functions (such as open doors, activate elevator, sit on furniture, kitchen, or bathroom items with several different poses), as well as produce particles that resemble items in real life such as fire in a fireplace inside a building or campfire outside of buildings, and/or smoke from a smokestack on a building. + +**HalcyonGrid** or **HalcyonSim** was a fork from the OpenSimulator Project in 2010, and is intended to be a reliable alternative simulator. + +## Virtual World where people may 'walk' around in a full 3D world + +Halcyon World is a Virtual World with a full 3D environment, written in C Sharp (C#), where you may move about with a character known as an avatar in a 3D World accessed with a 3D graphics application on a computer mostly, commonly known as a viewer, which is used to access/login to these virtual worlds (not with a VR headset). The most common one currently is the Firestorm viewer for OpenSim. *The "OS" stands for 'OpenSim', and not 'Operating System' in this instance,* also it is similar to Second Life™. It allows users to "talk" to other people in-world through nearby chat, IM's, group chats and group IM's and sometimes in voice, depending on how the grid is setup and the permissions set on individual regions. Even including offline IM's, sending the offline IM's to the user's registered email address (one way only currently, and using the hMailServer). That is as much like a game as it gets. There is also the possibility to build objects in-world known as primatives or "prims" in various shapes and sizes to make different types of linked or individual 3D objects. Additionally other 3D items known as "Mesh" (.DEA files) can be imported which have been created/edited with a 3D object editor/creator such as the Free and Open Source program titled "Blender", or exported from a world as DEA. + +## Different Type of Grid/World + +Halcyon is different and incompatible with both Second Life™ and OpenSim Grids/Worlds, although we can use the OpenSim viewers (in most cases, except for the new version of Firestorm 7.1.11). The last version of Firestorm known to be workable with Halcyon is Firestorm 6.6.14. Halcyon has better physics & script engines, more prims, free upload (depending on each individual world's setting), and a more powerful asset database. As a proof, this tram has no equivalent in any of the SL or OS worlds. + +## For Anyone to Setup and Run + +Halcyon is intended for anybody to run their own world, and there are several in operation already, both public and private. Even with a project of inter-worlds communication. Evenstill setting up a Halcyon World is not without it's complexities, and it currently only runs properly with Physics on Windows Servers. Although this needs a restart of the Halcyon development, which has been very slow since the end of InWorldz. A project which is in the works is the Mundos Market, which will allow merchants to sell their creations in all connected Halcyon Worlds. Similar to the Second Life™ Marketplace. + +### We welcome developers who know C Sharp to join us in maintaining and improving Halcyon World + +Thank you. + +To download the code, contribute, and/or report problems, please visit the Halcyon GitHub repository.