Exploring Sim on a Stick

Alongside exploring Second Life and JokaydiaGRID, I have been exploring Sim-on-a-Stick, aptly named because the virtual world is saved on a USB. This Sim-on-a-Stick virtual environment can be run on computers without needing an internet connection, however, there are ways in which individual computers can be set up as host computers for different users to log-on to the one sim. In addition to this, many individual sims may still require an internet connection to maximise on any interactive objects in-world, such as links to URLs and videos online. So an internet connection certainly enhances the potential of this Sim-on-a-Stick virtual world.

However, in many ways the Sim-on-a-Stick needs to be thought of as a stand-alone environment. Where this virtual world is used without the internet, it needs to be designed with asynchronous activities only in mind. So, every experience needs to be contained within the sim itself and not rely on outside experiences.

Another point of which to be aware is that the Sim-on-a-Stick virtual environment does not have access to many resources, so the creator of the sim needs to be prepared to terraform and create the environment from scratch. Once these objects are created, they can be exported using viewers such as Imprudence, and saved on one's computer as XML files. These files can then be imported into other virtual worlds i.e other Sims-on-a-Stick, OpenSim grids and Second Life.

For more information on getting started with this virtual world, please refer to: http://simonastick.com/ . This site has all the files you need to get started and a range of great support processes.