Holodecks

by Nick Noakes

Concerning a question about Holodecks in SL..

I've been using the Drifting Thoughts (DT) rezzer since last December on
Boracay for group access, so students and teachers can have the learning
arrangements (seating and tools) they need, when they need them. The DT
rezzer works really well (although I think it cost a lot less than 2000
back then). I've used Rex-Faux for backing up and packing up permanent
builds on the island. The DT rezzer uses absolute coordinates on the
sim, whereas Res-Faux uses coordinates relative to the position of the
rezzer. I've found both to be easy to use.

The main Holodeck 'scene' rezzers, most of which have been mentioned,
are the Paradise Blanket, Stephane's Virtual Reality Room (although that
is a little different but I think is great), Production Holodeck (you
can pick up a demo but the menu system is a bit complicated),
Hyperstring.net (simple to use), Horizons (good customer support). I
noticed that the Horizon's demo holodeck also had a different VRR inside
it as one of the modules, which is neat. Search for Holodeck on SLX and
you will no doubt get more.

The main advantage I see of the scene ones is that they give you a menu
system. The disadvantages though are that they are relative and you
don't see what it is in advance, but only get a menu button with a max
of 11 or so characters. I've found both Rez-Faux and DT Rezzer also to
be very easy to use and have each rezzible item separately with a pic of
each, so people can decide what to rez (but then these aren't scenes).
I've just created a couple of rezzible 'exhibition' tours for teachers
(e.g. an educational spaces tour and, thanks to Farley Scarborough, a
large corporations in SL tour). The next exhibition I will work on is a
student project exhibition.

I'll hopefully be showcasing some of this at the upcoming NMC Building &
Creativity conference next month in SL.