Multiverse Platform Roadmap

From Multiverse

Overview

In developing a world-class virtual world platform that supports MMOGs, social and educational worlds, and business collaboration spaces, we want to provide as much information as possible to you, our developers, about upcoming releases.

As it is difficult to determine the exact amount of time required to complete and test new features, our projections are necessarily subject to change based on our internal engineering resources. The following document provides our best estimates for all projected release dates. Accordingly, this is a high-level roadmap intended to help you understand what you can expect from us.

Multiverse is committed to providing the best platform for the most demanding virtual world developers from all sectors: independent and established developers, serious game and social world creators, and academic researchers and educators. To this end, the Multiverse platform will continually evolve to provide more complete and advanced features.

The three-level roadmap

We can provide lots of detail about what are working on now, though as we look farther out it makes less sense to be as detailed. We want to be flexible enough with our planning to respond quickly to changing needs. So, we've created a three-level roadmap:

• Next Release: What we're working on now. This list has the greatest detail. We'll update this list after each release, when we know the next set of features we will be working on.
• Intermediate Term: Features and improvements that we expect to add in the next six months or so. This list is much less specific, to provide flexibility. We'll also update this list after each release.
• Long Term: Our unordered priorities list, including all of the things we’re considering. We want your input on prioritization of the list, and for additional items if there’s something we’ve missed.

Tools Preview Release

In late summer 2008, we will provide a preview release of the tools that includes a new Terrain Editor built on the new Toolbox framework. This tool will enable you to easily modify terrain. You will be able to use this tool in conjunction with the existing Multiverse tool set to craft terrain that suits your needs. Initially, the new Terrain Editor tool will have minimal World Editor functionality. In a subsequent release, it will become the full-fledged new World Editor (and will replace the existing World Editor).

Next Platform Release

This is what we’re working on for the upcoming 2.0 release.

TBD.

Intermediate term

These features are targeted for initial release within the next six months (by end of Q3 2008):

• Billing and payment processing system, and related features.
• Multiverse Toolbox with more complete World Editor features, integration of other tools functionality, and further implementation of Toolbox API. See Multiverse Toolbox Preview for more details.
• Static server load balancing for enhanced scalability.
• World administration control panel, with initial feature set.
• Physics system - full integration with the Aegia Physics system.
• Asset refresh: Initial support to enable dynamic reloading of new or modified assets in the tools and client.

Long term

These items are on our long-term "to do" list. Over the next few quarters we'll provide better estimates as to when these features will be incorporated into the platform.

NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list: we have a number of smaller items that aren't currently listed here.

Server:

• Server recovery support
• Enhance the database and persistence API to improve scalability and performance.
• Server-side pathing
• Enhance server scalability with support for distributing plug-in servers across multiple hosts.
• Server/account access control
• Dynamic server status updates
• MARS: Quest state persistence

Client:

• On-demand asset download
• Perception culling
• Dynamic/progressive asset repository support
• Hierarchical object mounting to support riding on "mounts" or vehicles.
• Shader library
• More sophisticated animations: morphing, speed control, keyframing, and transitions
• Sophisticated viewports and portaling
• Support for Macintosh, Linux, console, and mobile clients

Other:

• Source code for sample assets