2dcl - DCL's 2D Alternate Universe: Deployment and Discovery

by 0x270722b5222968603e4650c3b70a7dfb971ed5b6 (frantufro)

Should the following $42,500 grant in the Platform category be approved?

Abstract

Following the release of 2dcl, we are want to continue its development. Here are the features we'll work on:

Simplified Scene Upload

Build an integrated authentication and signing workflow. remove the dependency on the SDK CLI.

Enhanced Content Discovery

Build an online database that with the scenes deployed to 2dcl. This will be accessible online and from the client.

Streamlined Login

We will implement a MetaMask login workflow, thereby eliminating the need for config file editing.

Talking to others

Support meeting other players and enable chatting with them. This will involve implementing the comms endpoints in our catalyst client library, and we will leverage Worlds for this feature as well.

Grant size

42,500 USD in DAI

Project duration

4 months

Beneficiary address

0xa63A3eeE0101e61f3c970445A237ED04785ad145

Email address

fran@hiddenpeople.club

Description

Description

Background

Despite several delays, we launched the first version of 2dcl in May.

Users can:

• Walk around 2dcl.
• Design and deploy scenes.
• Add an eth address and visualize their pixelated avatar.

In our initial grant, we accomplished the following:

• Developed an open-source Rust library to facilitate communication with Catalyst: Catalyst Library
• Created a Scene Definition structure to support 2d scenes: Scene Definition
• Constructed an open-source explorer to render 2d scenes: Rust Explorer
• Introduced an automatic 3d to 2d avatar conversion tool within the explorer.
• Made minor enhancements to the catalyst, protocol and RFC documentation.
• Conducted experiments (though ultimately discontinued 1, 2) on employing ECS6 to automatically transform 3d scenes into 2d.
• Wrote a guide on deploying scenes.
• Developed a sample scene and default art for empty scenes.

We failed miserably with communication, as some if you rightfully pointed out.

Still, we believe that the work completed so far has been very valuable, and we are eager to continue with it.

Vision

Our project vision remains consistent:

• Establishing a fully open-source 2D alternate universe developed independently from the Foundation.
• Creating an ecosystem of open-source tools that can be repurposed by other projects.
• Empowering Decentraland users with intuitive tools for creating 2D content within this alternate universe.

Specification

Simplified Scene Upload

Deploying a scene to 2dcl requires you to compile it, add it to a folder and then upload via the CLI. While this was ok in the initial stages, the process is quite cumbersome.

We aim to streamline this by introducing a workflow that enables users to log in with MetaMask and sign the deployment within the app. This means that, once your changes are finalized, you can deploy your scene with just a click.

Enhanced Content Discovery

Though we currently have a tool that scrapes catalyst for scene data, it's not very useful. We intend to add a page to 2dcl's web that lists all the deployed scenes. This list, including the name, description, screenshot, and parcel details, would be available for anyone interested.

We plan to incorporate this list within the 2dcl explorer. The list will be updated at least once a day. We will also provide an RSS feed for users to track scene updates.

Streamlined Login

While we offer an automatic 3D to 2D avatar conversion, the process currently involves editing a config file. This can be simplified.

We'll make this process more user-friendly with a login workflow. The goal is to allow users to get their avatars up and running with just a few clicks.

Experimentation

A FAQ is whether one can see or communicate with others in 2dcl. Unfortunately, the answer is no. We hope to change this by implementing the required endpoints in our catalyst client library and exploring the use of Worlds to unite all 2dcl users.

Roadmap and milestones

The key milestones are: Scene Deployment & Login (4 weeks) By the end of this milestone there will be deployment and sign in workflows in the client. We'll make one update to the grant page documenting this process.

Content Discovery Database (3 weeks) By the end of this period there will be a url inside https://2dcl.org containing a list of all the deployed scenes. We'll update that least at least once a day, and if costs allow, more frequently. We'll also add an update to the grant page.

Adding Comms to Catalyst (2 weeks) We'll add catalyst's comms endpoints to our Rust library. We'll create an update and documentation on how to use this.

Using Worlds to View and Communicate with Other Peers (8 weeks) We'll buy a name to create a World. We'll create the required logic to use said World to allow 2dcl users to communicate via text. We'll create two updates, one half-way through and another one at the end of the grant.

This proposal is summarized due to technical limitations. To view it complete and vote on it, visit the DCL DAO Governance dApp