Compatability

[kingsamses]

Will Alice 3 be compatable with Alice 2 worlds?

[pausch]

Currently, we do not have plans to make Alice v3.0 execute Alice v2.0 worlds.

Alice v2.0 essentially creates an "Alice run-time system" that interprets the alice language in an Alice virtual machine.

Alice v3.0 is being rewritten from scratch and will be "Java under the hood," meaning that your Alice program will "dump" a Java program that then executes in a Java virtual machine. With this great a difference, we do not plan to make Alice v3.0 "backward compatible"

Sorry about that.

[Azerilli1]

Are there any plans to make Alice avaliable on Linux systems? I am a Linux supporter and use Windows mostly for Alice and Digital Music stuff. I would appriciate a Linux-Compatible version to make sure no one is left out.

[pausch]

Alice v3.0 will absolutely run under Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Alice v2.0 currently runs under Windows and Mac, and we are working on a Linux port and will post here when it is done, which we anticipate will happen this summer.

[Shadow Sovereign]

Here's a good question... will Alice 3.0 be able to use Alice 2.0 objects, especially any custom ones? I highly doubt it, but such a question is worth a shot, I figure.

[pausch]

That's an excellent question. While there's always a possibility that we can provide a way to get Alice v2.0 models into Alice v3.0, it's not currently a priority.

Alice v3.0 models will be "skinned," and will therefore avoid the ugliness you currently see, for example, around a character's shoulder when his/her arm is moved. It's not exactly clear how easy it would be to obtain that kind of skinning via an automated conversation of 3d models that were not designed with skinning in mind.

[Shadow Sovereign]

I've been playing around with the He-builder lately, and I've found that it is quite challenging to create my own custom characters with it (because 1) I have a vast sense of creativity and imagination, and that's not me bragging... that's fact. And 2) I have no other programs I can use to build people that are Alice-compatible). My personal favorite is one guy I made where I stuck him and a dragon into the same world, and then took almost everything off the dragon and placed it in appropriate areas on the guy (sort of like a half-dragon guy or perhaps even an anthrodragon). :D

So here's another question... are you planning on putting a He (or She)-Builder back into Alice 3.0, and if so, about how comprehensive will the interface be?

[pausch]

Yes, there will certainly be some sort of mechanism
for creating 3D characters in Alice v3.0

Our hope is that it will feel more like the Sims game's avatar creator than like the he/she-builder, which never worked quite as smoothly as we would have liked in Alice v2.0

[Shadow Sovereign]

When you say 'Sims Avatar Creator', do you mean full customization or just basic things? I've never played the Sims before (unless if you count SimCity 2000) so I'm not so sure about it.

I'm probably starting to bug you, aren't I? If so, whoopsie... :D my fault! :D

[gabe]

Our goal would be to make it as configurable as the game. Body type, facial features, age, hair and skin color, clothing, etc.