The OpenSimulator Community Conference 2014 (OSCC14) took place over the weekend of November 8th and 9th on the OpenSim-based OpenSim Community Conference grid (http://cc.opensimulator.org:8002/wifi). Over 500 people were registered to attend.
My report on the experience of attending OSCC13 is described in this blog post.
The 2014 event was much larger in scope and doubled the number of attendees who could join in the keynote session simultaneously on the “4 corners” keynote area. Recent OpenSim developments means that the conference grid can support 400 avatars in one area simultaneously, as well as others at the same time in various expo and social regions. This was augmented by other registered participants joining in via the Ustream video streams for all the elements of the conference. These also serve as the basis for archiving the presentations and materials for future use, as in 2013. There were multiple parallel streams for specialised sessions and panels as in 2014. An “OpenMetaQuest” also helped engage participants by encouraging them to visit the extensive expo and social areas.
The conference included keynote talks by Philip Rosedale of High Fidelity (previously creator of Second Life), Steve Lavalle of OculusVR and a Developer Panel with some of the main people who have been involved in creating and maintaining OpenSim.
Logging into Conference Grid & Welcome from OSCC14 Conference Team
Developer Panel
Philip Rosedale Q&A Session
Keynote – Philip Rosedale of High Fidelity
Philip reported that as at November 2014, High Fidelity has raised money from investors and have 15 people in the company. They currently have 40-50 people involved in their alpha test phase or contributing code and resources from the open source community.
Keynote – Steve LaValle of OculusVR
Sunday VIP Q&A Session with Keynote Speakers
Community Area and Shopping Resources
The Conference grid has a range of shopping areas to get avatars and clothing to equip your avatar, as well as a range of community and social areas.
Crowdfunders for the event are listed on a “Community Path”…
Issues this Year
- We ought to turn on video/audio streams 10 minutes early showing a simple moving screen countdown with voice over for testing and setup next year. Fleep Tuque did a verbal count down while preparing to chair the keynote on Sunday which really helped in set up, testing and assisting audience members.
- In some, but not all, sessions there were a few problems with showing the Ustream video/audio stream in world on the media-on-a prim (MOAP) screens. having to use an external web browser to view the screen contents directly on Ustream, while seeing a white display screen in world broke the sense of immersion and shared experience somewhat.
OSCC14 Organizers and Volunteers – Thanks Everyone
