SceneGate Project Roadmap

Details
Category: Projects

Thanks to everyone who have been testing and using SceneGate as well as your requests for new features! It's been a while since I had time to update the SceneGate Project Roadmap at https://bitbucket.org/imadevelopmentteam/scenegate-viewer/wiki/Development%20Resources:/Project%20Roadmap

 

Although the pandemic impacts to the team have created delays, here is a copy of the latest update to let everyone know we are still hard at work!

 

Project Roadmap

Project Mission & Summary

Infinite Metaverse Alliance® (IMA) and its strategic partner Thales Nederland BV share a common mission to focus on inclusive "design thinking" to advance virtual worlds, virtual reality, and synthetic environments. The SceneGate Viewer project is one of several integrated projects supporting this mission. The following summarizes the general viewer project requirements:

  • Client viewer application project must be open source and distributable.
  • Client viewer application reliably works with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  • Client viewer application must allow user access to active versions or derivatives of OpenSimulator regions including VAR types. (Specifically 0.8.x, 0.9.x, Halcyon, and WhiteCoresim server versions).
  • Client viewer application must be adaptable for improvements in accessibility, usability, onboarding, performance, and security with a modern codebase.
  • Client viewer application user interface should be customizable by users, allow custom adaptations for organizations, and be as standards compliant as possible.

To meet these requirements, after a full year of user testing and codebase comparisons in 2018, the modern Alchemy Viewer codebase was selected and forked as the SceneGate Viewer. Areas of focus and development include: accessibility, usability, onboarding, performance, standards, and security.

Timeline and Forecast

Milestone: August 2018

Project Start

Tasks

  • Community and Developer Survey/Feedback Review
  • Codebase/Feature Analysis and Selection
  • Preliminary Phased Development Planning
  • Community Project Artwork
  • Initial Repository Establishment
  • Branding Decisions and Changes

Usability Improvements
Initial Default Configuration Changes

Milestone: January 2019

Closed Alpha Windows Build and Testing

Tasks

Issues for Closed Beta Test Version - completed

Accessibility Improvements
1. Voice communication changes
2. New User Interface skinning

Onboarding Improvements
1. New simplified and extended modes
2. Separate UI defaults per mode

Performance Improvements
1. Graphics handling
2. Dynamic texture loading

Usability Improvements
1. New grid manager error checking
2. Preferences default changes

Milestone: May 2019

Closed Beta Windows Build and Testing

Tasks

Issues for Open Beta Test Version - completed.

Accessibility Improvements
1. New sound option updates to listen from all positions
2. New user Interface skinning

Accessibility and Usability Improvements
1. Camera changes
2. Settings updates

Onboarding Improvements
1. Simplified mode as default

Onboarding and Usability Improvements
1. Toolbars changes (associated with usability engineering review)
2. Fix Toolbar save changes
3. Help menu add for simplified mode
4. Label changes for move panel

Usability Improvements
1. Grid list changes
2. Slider and panel updates
3. Changed AltaVista label to Web
4. About floater updates

Usability, Branding, and Accessibility Improvements
1. Fix Windows task manager showing alchemy
2. Starlight CUI Decoupling

Milestone: November 2019

Open Beta Windows, Linux, and Mac Build and Testing

Tasks

Issues for 1.0 Release Version - completed

Onboarding Improvements
1. Expand simplified mode to include ability to open contents
2. Change Metaverse Depot splash page in all default grid lists to remove confusion

Usability and Branding Improvements
1. New installer images
2. Update strings for downloads and release notes

Milestone: January 2020

Initial Release 1.0

Tasks

Rolling bug fixes

Issues for next Beta Test Version

Accessibility, Usability, Onboarding, Performance, Standards, and Security Improvements
1. Spinoff Project DreamGate Done
2. Third party library updates In Work
3. Build instruction updates In Work
4. Fix need login help link In Work
5. Dyslexia fonts TBD
6. Integrate with EchoVoice TBD

Onboarding Improvements
1. Nearby chat and conversation default changes In Work
2. Move avatar appearance button to lower button group for simplified mode In Work
3. Support for Animated Mesh TBD
4. Support for Bakes on Mesh feature TBD
5. Support for Environment changes TBD
6. Estate/avatar management changes TBD
7. Create a notecards panel for simplified mode TBD
8. Add ground sit button for toolbar and add to simplified mode TBD
9. Add private and conference features via EchoVoice TBD

Usability Improvements
1. Update CEF code to support live streaming In Work
2. Create Advanced Mode TBD
3. Disable analyze for mesh uploads or fix code to analyze properly for OpenSimulator TBD
4. Investigate removal of NPC's from people radar and maps TBD

Usability and Branding Improvements
1. Route any hard-coded SL menu items for reporting to the grid the user is reporting from (grid info) In Work
2. Rebranding and SL decoupling In Work
3. Address reporting and help menu issues In Work

Milestone: July 2021 (July target missed due to pandemic impacts on team availability)

Scheduled Beta Test Version
New Linux version pending.
New Windows version pending.
New Mac version pending.

Tasks

Rolling bug fixes TBD

Accessibility, Usability, and Performance Improvements
1. RLV support investigation TBD
2. Keyword search investigation TBD
3. New UI layout feature investigation TBD

Onboarding Improvements
1. Moderator support TBD
2. Avatar/Marketplace support TBD

Security and Standards Improvements
1. Code changes as necessary for server side changes TBD
2. Support for avatar skeleton changes TBD

Future Roadmap Considerations: Hypergrid issues, Security issues, Economy issues, Intellectual Property concerns, and the ongoing Future Viewer Project.

How to Get Involved

The SceneGate Viewer project is open source with community participation welcome. To get involved, participants can provide testing, help maintain the wiki, write tutorials, report issues, request enhancements or new features, and get involved in code contributions. All of these pages are accessible via the wiki home page.

Infinite Metaverse Alliance® is a registered U.S. Trademark.