The NEW 3D PanUbuntu Was: Is it me or does Hardy run like a pig?

[Knapp]

On Sat, Oct 18, 2008 at 4:08 PM, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca> wrote:
> Knapp wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 4:07 PM, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca>
>> wrote:
>>> Knapp wrote:
>>>
>>>> I think that it would be great fun to include panda3d in *Ubuntu as
>>>> part of the standard install and then use it for making a new desktop
>>>> to replace KDE, Gnome etc. You could do one like Neuromancer and there
>>>> would not even be that much code. Talk about eye candy. BTW the
>>>> license has been changed to be fully open source now. That being the
>>>> reason it is not even in the repos now.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer
>>>
>>> Either you're the most brilliant programmer ever, or like me you're lousy
>>> at
>>> estimating project costs :-)  But if it's the first, count me in on the
>>> project!
>>
>> What do we call it PanUbuntu because the devil is in the details?
>
> GnuRomancer!

Nice.

>> LOL
>> What costs? We all work for free around here. :-)
>
> Time!  But you say "would not even be that much code", and I'd love to
> believe you, but have my doubts.

Roaming Ralph is an example of an interactive 3d guy running around on
mountain/hills, depending if you come from Florida or not, with trees
and rocks. 269 lines of code. So you would need to make a collision
detection trigger a program. It has the detection in it now so you
don't walk through the trees and rocks.

>> So what do we need? A bunch of links to software seen as floating
>> balls of light in a large room?
>
> How do you differentiate between different balls of light?  Something must
> identify them.

Balls of light with names on them. :-) Really to do it right you need
someone to go into Blender3d and make some nice whatevers to be the
triggers.

>> When clicked on they blow up into a
>> full normal 2d screen. Perhaps like a first person shooter for
>> movement with your shot starting up the balls of light? Moving the
>> mouse to the bottom of a 2d program brings up kicker like bar for fast
>> switching.
>>
>> No start up menu but some sort of rotating 3d lists?? Favorites and
>> desktop choices float. Do we have gravity? How much animation? What
>> would it look like to you?
>
> I've always envisioned it something like a 3d cityscape, so there are roads
> to follow to get where you want to be, and buildings contain related
> collections.  That's probably too literal :-)  I like gravity.  I'm not
> sure quite what you'd do with it, but it adds a 4d sense as there's a time
> component

Very easy to do, bit of 3d art work to make a nice city. But you would
really be slowed down by having to walk all over to start a program.

>> I have in the past started something, X??, and you can start and run
>> software there but no windows manager is running, so we just need
>> something on top of that, whatever it was.
>
> Panda3d would, essentially, be your window manager.

Yes or at least a go between.

>>
>> You really want to try this?
>
> I have no idea if I have the time but I'd love to try.  I've always wanted
> an interesting Window manager.  Remember Microsoft Bob? Everybody laughed,
> and nobody bought it, but I still think it was one of the best ideas MS
> has ever had.

Never saw it. Just youtube it. Looks like my daughters learning
program. Sort of funny.

>> Stick with Qt?
>
> I don't know, either.

This is a stupid idea but you could just rewrite all the software with
python in Panda3d and have it REALLY be the desktop and X.

>
>> Only thing I am not sure of is the launching and ending of a program
>> from within Panda3d.
>
> I've never even looked at Panda but I can't see _that_ being a problem at
> all.
>
>> The real first step would be to get Panda3d into the repositories.
>
> Not really.  It would be good, but not an absolute necessity for
> development.
>
>> So do you REALLY want to try it?
>
> You bet.  The _real_ first step is to set up a project (sourceforge is
> simple) and a mailing list if we have more than two of us.  Then
> _planning_ :-)  What do we really want it to look like.
> --
> derek

I would be willing to join the project but not manage it. I have 2
projects that I manage now. I would recommend google for the project
because you can have a listserv, web page and svn all knit together.
http://code.google.com

First thing you should do is get panda3d installed and run Roaming Ralph.

-- 
Douglas E Knapp

http://sf-journey-creations.wikispot.org/Front_Page