Virtual Haj

Virtual Haj version Alpha 1.9 video

2011-03-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

We won Gold Medal at ITEX '10

2010-05-16T17:53:00.001-07:00

Our booth in 21st International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition under Multimedia University at KLCC Convention Center 14th to 16th May 2010. Virtual Haj project won Gold Medal under education category.We would like to thank MDeC, Research Management Center (RMC), MMU, FCM, our 5 interns as well as family, friends and supporters for this award. Virtual Haj Alpha Demo 3 ITEX version will be online soon.

Almost ready Saei Corridor

2010-05-11T08:50:00.001-07:00

Need to add some walls before wrapping up Saei corridor model. Baked texture of windows looks ok. Window texture image not done yet.
Saf lines aligning towards kaaba are on the Saei floor. This view is facing Safa. In this angle, we can see kaaba as well.
This is the view towards Marwah hill. In between these two rows of columns is the path for the elderly and those on wheelchair. Marwah hill is just a few inches off the floor and we can walk on it.
Another view towards Safa. We have to walk to and fro these two hills 7 times. Everytime we reach a hill, we stop for a while, then face the kaaba and say our prayers.

Baking shadows for Saei Floor

2010-05-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

Shadows for the intricate window motifs in Saei corridor requires texture baking and some image editing. Will only use floor maps for shadows but not maps for columns etc.
Details of window motifs modeled using a series of boxes to help cast the shadows. May not reflect the actual motif on the saei corridor (original motif is a lot more intricate - cannot use boxes).
Raw baked shadows casted on Saei floor. Image requires overlay with marble texture and gradient dispersement (the corridor is actually brightly lit) before the final image map can be produced.
Raw baked shadows as mapped in Saei corridor. Detail window motifs will not be imported into the game engine. Only a texture map version will be used for the windows in the game.

New Tawaf model converted to game

2010-04-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

There were several issues while converting the tawaf model. Z-buffering (rendering near and far overlapping objects) especially high contrast objects (white inner roof of old section tier 1 to dark brown brick arches) generates crawling overlapping effect.
The other problem is some UV textures are not in its correct position especially long large polygons. May need editing of UVs before exporting. See that back wall not aligned with front columns?.
Initially the carpets are texture baked but the output is too large textures (need more than 512 pixel) or small texture but the carpet will be too pixelated (jagged edges of texture). Not texture baked for the moment. May consider using vertex color instead.
Collision with outer walls now happen earlier (before reaching the walls) and a special invisible collision object will be built as the switch between Tawaf model to Saei building. Upon collision with this special object, the tawaf model will then switch to Saei model.

Other problems include objects need mirroring (maybe transformation matrix conversion problem), objects need repositioning, material inconsistencies and normal alignment (may also be from the mirroring issue). Lately there's also object deformation problems (still checking what's causing it).

Baked Textures for Tier 0

2010-03-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

We now have baked textures for Tier 0 area. Notice the shadows. Crowd shadows are not possible using this method (crowd is dynamic - moving!).
However, we are limiting the texture size not to exceed 512 pixel. This should enable unaccelerated graphics to run it. We aim for the best possible quality to run on the lowest possible hardware for this project.
The whole Tier 0 has been subdivided into 5 areas: Kaaba + round floor, and the four corners including stairs. Other tiers coming up!.

Saei Crowd Design

2010-03-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Saei Crowd is a little different from Tawaf crowd. In Tawaf, the crowd rotates around Kaaba. In Saei, the crowd should walk from one hill to the other from one side of the corridor to the next. The different characteristics of the two crowds are...

Tawaf Crowd Group:
a. 10 people per group.
b. People scattered all over the group boundary.
c. Each person has walk cycle animation but static in position.
d. Some facing and waving to the Kaaba near Hajarul Aswad & Yamani corners.*
e. Group is animated rotating around Kaaba.
*Not implemented yet

Initial Saei Crowd Group:
a. 10 people per group.
b. People scattered all over the group boundary.
c. Each person has walk cycle animation but static in position.
d. Some facing and waving to the Kaaba when they arrive at each hill.
e. Group is animated to follow a continuous path from one hill to the next.

Revised Saei Crowd Group:
a. 10 people per group.
b. People start walk animation from one side of the group boundary and end at the other side
c. 4 sets of different animation groupings needed; walk level, walk up ramp, walk down ramp and turn.
d. Group is not animated but positioned in a chain and may be slightly overlapping.
e. When one animation in a group ends, the start of animation on the next group will make the people in the crowd seemed like continuously moving forward.
f. Some facing and waving to the Kaaba when they arrive at each hill.

Problems with the initial idea of the Saei crowd animation are (reasons for the revised design):
1. When moving from level floor to ramp, some crowd may be buried and/or lifted off the ground.
2. Animation on ramp may make the people's body not vertical but slanting upwards or downwards.
3. Wierd animation may occur at the turning point at the hills (inner turn too slow, outer turn too fast).

Saei Corridor Details (as for 12th March deadline)

2010-03-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Saei corridor contains massive beams & columns and only the first floor (out of 4 floors) will be constructed. We can see the top of the hills & Kaaba on this floor and it is almost the same level as Kaaba.
For Saei VR, the Safa hill will be more detailed. This model was created to meet the expected 50% done status for our 12th March 2010 deadline for quarter 3 of the grant. We passed it.
The green lighting on a particular section of the corridor is where pilgrims are encouraged to walk briskly (light run). You can see Kaaba from at least 40% of the corridor.
This is the Safa hill view and the space in between the middle columns is for wheelchair bound pilgrims and the elderly. There are Zam-Zam drinking water fountains all along the middle part of the corridor as well.

Kaaba area simplified for Saei

2010-03-11T01:53:00.000-08:00

This is a new model resaved from Tawaf version of Masjidil Haram. All objects away from Saei corridor are simplified. Objects with facade are rotated to face the corridor.
Looking from Safa hill towards Kaaba. This is the place to start Saei and you have to face Kaaba everytime you are on either Safa or Marwah hill. The hills are on slightly higher ground.
Some objects are deleted because there is no way you can possibly see them from the corridor. The simulation will automatically switch to Tawaf model if you stray too far from the corridor.
Most simplification are just textured flat polygons of its 3D detail copy. The stairs are now ramps with stripe texture. You will only be seeing these simple models from afar.

Saei Corridor & Hills for Tawaf

2010-03-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

For Tawaf VR, the Saei corridor and hills are made simple. As people approach the Safa hill, the simulation of Tawaf will end and simulation of Saei will load. The Saei VR will then have detail Saei corridor & hills. Here's the view from people approaching Safa hill from Kaaba.

Tier1 & 2 completed, for now

2010-03-09T23:11:00.000-08:00

We are reusing the old colunnade of tier 2 temporarily for both tier 1 and 2 new section columns. The real design of the colunnades are actually similar to the old section (red large bricks) i.e. square - circle 3x - square. Each square columns has black marble base and the rest in beige marble. There are also details for the cornices and arches. We'll have to do this later as we need to study the detailing first. Most importantly is to build the Saei section for the deadline in 2 days time!.

New Columns for Tier1

2010-03-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

This is based on the videos and our experience in Masjidil Haram.
Accuracy may not be high but we are targeting look & feel to be correct.

Carpets on Tier1

2010-02-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

The floor on Tier1 is the same marble slab as Tier0 but mostly carpeted. There's also Saf (prayer line) marker indicating the curved direction to Kaaba. For the remodeling exercise, the Tier1 floor will be modeled deeper, covering more interior than previous prototype.

Light Study on Tier 0

2010-02-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

It is important to understand how light is going to affect the model and how we are going to experience it. This light study on Tier 0 (Kaaba level) without texture will be used to determine light or lights positions, characteristics and illuminations for best effect.

Stairs for Kaaba level

2010-02-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

Stairs in between tier 0 (Kaaba level) to tier 1 (old section of the mosque) are almost complete. Can't remember if there's any engravings or patterns on the railings but material is marble similar to the floor. In between stairs there's either ramps or areas for Zam-Zam water (Zam-Zam is a well in Masjidil Haram which supplies never ending drinking water for the pilgrims). Will watch the umrah videos at youtube to get more details.

Masjidil Haram Scale, Detail & Texture

2010-02-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

A study is underway to determine how similar the 3D model is compared to the real mosque. So far the floor around Kaaba is done (we call it tier 0 level). Next in line to revamp is the tier 1 level including the stairs, ramps and railings. Tier 1 in the 3D is already moved up from tier 0. The composition of the columns on tier 1 is also different, it is square, 3x circle and square instead of all circulars in earlier prototype. Texture is red-brown large bricks and white inner and outer roof.
We'll leave tier 2 and the rest for later. Tier 1 will be completed first.

Remodeling of Masjidil Haram

2010-02-17T06:32:00.000-08:00

We are remodeling Masjidil Haram, starting from the floors (different levels, textures, grouping etc). We may not have time or enough info to completely remodel the mosque (takes too much time, we still don't have the floor plan etc) but we are targeting at least the look and feel must be similar to the mosque that we experience in Mekah. The new texture of Masjidil Haram floor is below:
Each slab of marble is approximately prayer mat size (about 1.2m x 0.5m) and the texture above is a 4x2 slabs. The slabs are always aligned towards the Kaaba and this floor tile system is similar throughout the mosque including the upper floors and Saei floor. There are bands of dark color marble lines on floors that are far from Kaaba to denote Saf lines (prayer line). Most floors away from Kaaba are covered by carpets except Saei floor.

Umrah Trip - On-site research

2010-02-17T00:31:00.001-08:00

From 7th to 19th January 2010, 4 of our team members went to Umrah (mini Haj) to do on-site research on the Haram mosque, rituals of haj / umrah and go to places of interests around Mekah. Our earlier model of the Masjidil Haram will need to be almost completely revamped. Even some feature of the crowd is wrong. The Kaaba floor is the lowest of the 3 levels of the mosque. Saei section is blend-in to the mosque and there is no separate entrance. Basically there are many things we thought wrong in the earlier version of Virtual Haj. Bear in mind that none of us have been to Mekah and this is our first time.

Some videos of our Umrah trip are uploaded to youtube. Go to youtube and search "azid21 umrah". We flown in to Jeddah and then took the bus to Madinah. We stayed for 3 days in Madinah and visited Masjid Nabawi frequently. We then wear our Ihram (unsewn 2 piece cloth - usually white), and head to Mekah. About 300km from Mekah we stopped by our miqat (position of the start of Umrah or Haj) at Bir Ali to pray and confirm our intention of doing Umrah. We then recite the Talbiah ("... we are coming to you, My God ...") for the rest of the journey. This is another part we did wrong in our earlier prototype; the Talbiah is not recited while doing the Tawaf. After 8 days in Mekah, we spent a night in Jeddah before we fly back home.

Several pictures of the Umrah are below. For more videos please go to youtube. We would like to thank Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Multimedia University (MMU) and Yayasan Universiti Multimedia (YUM) for their funds, support and understanding to make this trip a reality.

APICTA Finalist

2010-02-16T23:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the late updates. We'll be updating a lot soon.

On 8th October 2009, we were nominated for the finalists of Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) held at the Putra World Trade Center (PWTC). It is the 10th Anniversary of APICTA and the winner went to Melbourne, Australia for the regional finals. APICTA is like our Grammy Awards for best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) invention, development or services for Asia Pacific. We didn't win but it was an honor to at least be among the finalist (there are about 40 finalists in about a dozen categories out of over 340 participants). For further info on APICTA, their website is:

http://www.mscapicta.com.my/

Here's the video of the event.

Quarter 2 - Timeline, Tasks & Milestones

2009-07-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

The schedule timeline below is still being discussed and refined. Basically, for quarter 2 (July - September), we need to produce:

1. Detail Business Plan
2. Saei Prototype 50% and Complete Tawaf Prototype
3. Complete our Research on Haj & apply for MSC status

Tasks are listed per individual work, timeline and deadline. ** is Leader of task, * is Assistant Leader of task. Leaders should prepare and present reports as per deadline / milestone. Assistants should backup leaders and must hold all the responsibility of the leader when necessary.

Virtual Haj Alpha Demo 2: Tawaf

2009-06-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

The new Alpha Demo 2 is downloadable on the following servers:

Main server: >>> DEAD <<<
http://hotfile.com/dl/7482315/90239b5/Virtual_Haj2.exe.html
Mirror 1: >>> DEAD <<< http://www.4shared.com/file/113760456/3f8492e4/Virtual_Haj2.html
Mirror 2: >>> DEAD <<< http://www.easy-share.com/1906099072/Virtual Haj2.exe
Mirror 3:
http://rapidshare.com/files/247953880/Virtual_Haj2.exe.html

Notes:
1. The filename is Virtual Haj2.exe. It is about 19Mb. It is a Windows installer with uninstall feature. The file has been scanned for virus and is clean. There is no malware or wierdware in it.
2. You may uninstall the older version (Alpha Demo 1) or install this together with the older version (it will be installed under new folder /Program Files/Virtual Haj/vHaj Tawaf2).
3. If you are unable to run it, or its flashing, or it is too slow, go to Start menu -> Virtual Haj -> Config vHaj2 and downgrade any or all settings. Should help run on slower or nVidia equipped Windows.
4. If running on Vista, please download the necessary programs (see Alpha Demo 1).
5. The crowd in Alpha Demo 2 has no volume (no collision) and currently not attached to any sound.
6. Check also the FAQ1 on Alpha Demo on how to install and run the demo. FAQ2 on Alpha Demo will be posted shortly.

Verification for Quarter 2

2009-06-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

We presented our latest work in MDeC on 16th June 2009 for quarter 2 verification. It went well and we believe they are agreeable to continue the project for the 2nd quarter (July - September). The exact same work is now compiled for Virtual Haj Tawaf Alpha Demo 2 and is being uploaded to several file sharing servers. Images of the work are below:

The crowd numbering around 720 people for now and has walking animation while rotating the Kaaba. Everything else is virtually the same as Alpha Demo 1. Network is still not incorporated yet because we need to prepare several avatars (playable characters) for the networking. The compiled application feature transparent crowd so that the main characters (avatars) will be more visible and crowd can become something like a backdrop of the application. This crowd constitutes 30% of total crowd in low density application.

A Block of Crowd

2009-06-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

Testing a block of crowd (200 people strong) to be used for crowd D segment (see Crowd Design 1 for Tawaf post). May need to trim the initial crowd because at this density, the total Tawaf crowd would exceed 5000. Currently we are only designing crowd of 2000 max (low density). Need to also ensure that the animation is not too jerky even with this number of polygons used.

New block of crowd after trimming. Now a D segment crowd is only 90 people . The hi and med density crowd will be for more advance version. Right now, the most important thing is to design all the functionalities of Tawaf without the burden of heavy polygon count. Besides, the main character (the player) will need polygons and animation too.

Crowd Animated

2009-06-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

This simple crowd animation will be in sync with many others, circulating the Kaaba. Almost similar crowd will be used in Saei as well.

Late restart: Vista problems

2009-06-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

The late restart of the project is due to many problems running old softwares on Vista. New softwares and new techniques needed to be relearned when running on the new notebooks. The old notebook is just too slow and temperamental. Hopefully these problems can be resolved soon and full speed of the project can be attained. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We were actually informed by several others about Vista issues but we need to persist using Vista because chances are most of our future customers are going to be running it. We are just unprepared on how bad the incompatibility issues are. Some problems are well documented on the net and some have solutions to the problems. Maybe we'll just bite the bullet and start using only newer software and techniques.

Crowd Development

2009-06-04T21:31:00.001-07:00

The key for efficient crowd is to make it very low polygon model (this bunch of pilgrims are going to be copied many times) and use of very small textures. The targeted average poly count per crowd person is 10 but the male currently using 32 and female 21. So the 10 characters above is about 250 polygons. If we multiply that later to achieve 2000 people crowd (low density), means we are going to have around 50,000 polys. The textures are several versions of 128x128 resolutions of face and skin. The crowd will be animated (walk cycle) and circulating around Kaaba (separate animation).

Project Launching

2009-05-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

We received the first quarter grant on the 21st April and are now preparing for the official launch of the project. First priority for now is the purchase of equipments and software. Hopefully Virtual Haj will be back on track and go at full speed soon. We'll also take a look at the space the Faculty has allowed us to use and how's best to arrange it for our purposes.

Project still cannot start

2009-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting for our first payment from the Preseed grant. As soon as it is banked in, the project will continue. Official project starting date is also based on the day we recieve the check. In the meantime, we'll concentrate on our teaching workloads.

FAQ1 on Alpha Demo

2009-03-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Q01. It runs too jerkily.
A01. This is a 3D game. Its better to have a 3D graphics card to run it because of 3D acceleration & AGP textures.
Q02. What do I do besides walking around?
A02. Well, we haven't done much so far. Technically we haven't started the project because we haven't received our first check yet (the grant). This Alpha is only a warm up exercise.
Q03. I thought this is supposed to be a network game.
A03. See A02.
Q04. I'm running Vista and I can't get it to work.
A04. Maybe the graphics hardware does not support DirectX 8 (assuming you already installed DirectX 9 on Vista). Some nVidia cards runs it flashing (I don't know why). ATI seems to be the best.
Q05. Can I run this on Mac?
A05. Try Windows emulation software such as Virtual PC (free):
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/virtualpc.html
or VMware Fusion 2.0 (commercial):
http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/
or Virtual PC from Connectix (this company has been bought over by Microsoft - now Microsoft Virtual PC):
http://www.connectix.com/
or
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx
or Boot Camp (runs on separate partition - like dual OS):
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html
...please do tell us the result!.
Q06. What is the best configuration to run the Alpha? What is the minimum?
A06. The best is Windows XP on Quad Core, 4Gb RAM, Best ATI or nVidia Graphics with 1Gb dedicated memory. Bare minimum is Windows 98 on Pentium 2, 128Mb RAM, Graphics with 16Mb shared memory (some handphone has more power than this).
Q07. Why does it just spin and spin?
A07. Take control of your mouse, slowly move it against the spinning direction, slowly it will stop spinning. Then you can move forward via left mouse button or backwards via right mouse button.
Q08. Having trouble installing. It says 'file is corrupted' or 'file error' or 'encountered problems'.
A08. You may have not completed the download. Some file server doesn't support download managers or accelerators. Try to download again without managers or accelerators.
Q09. I like the audio clip. Can I extract it?
A09. No you can't. You are not allowed to.
Q10. Why is the vHaj Tawaf icon, a question mark?
A10. We are trying to get freewares for icon editing and icon embedding (low budget). We finally managed to get them lately. Future alphas will have cool icons.
Q11. I run Haj and Umrah travelling packages and would like to advertise in your alphas.
A11. Contact us via email.
Q12. I would like to do what you do.
A12. Enroll in Virtual Reality degree course in Multimedia University.

...more FAQ to come in FAQ2!.

Virtual Haj Alpha Demo 1

2009-03-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Virtual Haj Alpha Demo 1 is uploaded to several file sharing servers. You may download it at:
1. Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/206804018/Virtual_Haj.exe.html
2. Mediafire (mirror): >>>DEAD<<<
http://www.mediafire.com/?yd1b2d1ndhl
3. 2shared (mirror): >>>DEAD<<< http://www.2shared.com/file/5029969/5e4f28c7/Virtual_Haj.html
4. 4shared (mirror): >>>DEAD<<<
http://www.4shared.com/file/91753394/fb7b43c5/Virtual_Haj.html

--- Every care has been taken to ensure the installer is virus free (used 4 anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware i.e. ClamWin, A2cmd, AVG and Norton)
--- File size is about 18Mb. File name is Virtual Haj.exe. This is a Windows installer.
--- This is an Alpha version. All Alpha versions are free to be downloaded from this blog.
--- When the project goes into Beta phase, only selected Beta testers will be able to download. They are required to sign a Non disclosure agreement (NDA) before testing the final phase of the application. If you are interested to be a Beta tester, post a comment, provide an email and give a brief description of your interest in Virtual Haj.
--- The application runs on DirectX 8. It can run without additional programs in Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP. To run on Windows Vista, you'll need to download and install additional programs. These programs are DirectX installer redistributable and a dll file d3drm.dll.
--- Please download DirectX installer redistributable at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=886ACB56-C91A-4A8E-8BB8-9F20F1244A8E&displaylang=en
--- Please download D3drm.dll from:
http://www.dlldump.com/download-dll-files_new.php/dllfiles/D/d3drm.dll/5.1.2600.0/download.html
--- Install DirectX installer redistributable. Copy D3drm.dll to Windows/System32 directory. This will install DirectX 9 on Vista and is backward compatible with DirectX 8. Vista comes packaged with DirectX 10 and is only indirectly compatible with DirectX 9.
--- Alpha, Beta and 1st release version of Virtual Haj will run on DirectX 8. Starting with 2nd version (after about 4 months of official starting date), we'll be running the project in DirectX 9. Version 3 of Virtual Haj will run on DirectX 10 (about 1 year after release of 2nd version).
--- After install, run the program from Start menu -> Virtual Haj -> vHaj Tawaf. Use mouse movements to change look-at direction, mouse left button pressed to move forward and mouse right button pressed to move backwards. Releasing all mouse buttons to brake.
--- You can uninstall Virtual Haj by going to Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Remove Virtual Haj.

Baked Kaaba 2

2009-03-05T00:31:00.001-08:00

Notebooks for the project

2009-03-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

We are preparing for the purchase of 3 notebooks:

1. High end 3D notebook - Target price RM3,400
--- Intel Core Duo P8600 2.4Ghz
--- 3Gb DDR3 RAM, 500Gb HDD
--- ATI Radeon 512Mb VRAM (upgradable to 1Gb)
--- Blue Ray DVD Writer
--- HDMI Video Interface
--- WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam
--- Windows Vista Home Premium
Possible contenders for High-end notebook:
...1. Acer Aspire 4935G - RM2,999 (ok Hdmi but P8400, nVd512, 320HDD, 2GbD2)
...2. Dell XPS M1530 - RM3,699 (but T6400, nVd256, 320HDD, 2GbD2)
...3. Asus F8VR24DPM - RM3,788 (ok P8600 but Ati256, 320HDD, 4GbD2)
***4. Asus X50SR226DPM - RM3,299 (ok Ati512 but P8400, 250HDD, 4GbD2)
...5. Toshiba M200-E4317 - RM3,299 (ok Ati512 but T5850, 200HDD, 1GbD2)
...6. Sony VGN-FW33GD - RM3,588 (ok Hdmi but T6400, Ati256, 250HDD, 2GbD2)
...7. BenQ S42 - RM3,499 (ok P8700 but 320HDD, nVd512, 2GbD2)
...8. HP Pavilln DV3611TX - RM3,699 (but T6400, nVd512, 320HDD, 2GbD2)

2. Medium end 3D notebook - Target price RM2,200
--- AMD Turion X2 Dual Core Processor 2.1Ghz
--- 2Gb DDR2 RAM, 250Gb HDD
--- nVidia GeForce 256Mb VRAM
--- DVD Writer
--- HDMI Video Interface
--- WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam
--- Windows Vista Home Premium
Possible contenders for Medium-end notebook:
***1. Acer Aspire 4530 - RM1,899 (ok AMDx2, nVd256, 250HDD but 1GbD2)
...2. BenQ R47 - RM2,680 (ok P8400, 250HDD, Hdmi but nVdRam, 1GbD2)
...3. Dell Insprn 1420 - RM2,699 (ok T5800, 250HDD, 2GbD2 but nVd128)
...4. Asus X59GL - RM2,199 (ok T5800, 2GbD2, nVd256 but 160HDD)
...5. Compaq CQ40-134AX - RM2,399 (ok AMDx2, 320HDD but Ati256, 1GbD2)
...6. HP Pres CQ40-310AU - RM2,199 (ok AMDx2, 2GbD2 but AtiRam, 250HDD)

3. Low end mini 3D notebook - Target price RM1,400
--- AMD Athlon or Intel Atom 1.6Ghz
--- 1Gb DDR2 RAM, 160Gb HDD
--- nVidia or ATI graphics with shared memory
--- DVD Writer
--- HDMI or S-Video Interface
--- WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam
--- Windows Vista Home Basic
Possible contenders for Low-end notebook:
...1. Fujitsu M1010 - RM1,699 (ok Atom, 1GbD2 but IntelG, 60HDD)
...2. Acer Aspir1 150 - RM1,499 (ok Atom, 160HDD, 1GbD2 but IntelG)
...3. Lenovo IP S9 - RM1,549 (ok Atom, 160HDD, 1GbD2 but IntelG)
...4. Toshiba L300-C501 - RM1,549 (ok 1GbD2, 160HDD but Celern, IntelG)
***5. eMachine eMD620 - RM1,599 (ok AmdA, 160HDD, AtiRam, 1GbD2)
...6. Asus EEEPC904HD - RM1,399 (ok 1GbD2, 160HDD but Celern, IntelG)
...7. Toshiba NB100-A100B - RM1,599 (ok Atom, 1GbD2 but IntelG, 120HDD)
...8. HP Mini 1001TU - RM1,699 (ok Atom, 1GbD2 but IntelG, 60HDD)
...9. BenQ U101 BW - RM1,499 (ok Atom, 1.5GbD2, 160HDD but IntelG)
..10. Asus EEE900 - RM1,299 (ok 1GbD2 but Celern, 20HDD, IntelG)
..11. Lenovo G410 - RM1,599 (ok T2390, 1GbD2, 160HDD but IntelG)

***Seems like the Best Choice

Baked Kaaba

2009-03-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

1. Baking texture is a method to pre-render all shadows and effects as new textures for the model. The texture above is mapped on the round floor beneath Kaaba.

2. Still early rendering of new baked textures for the areas around Kaaba. Better realism can be captured via Bake Texturing without the usual processing overhead when running in real-time such as games.
3. This is a background process (it takes time) while we strategize on crowd simulation aspects.

Crowd Design 1 for Tawaf

2009-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

1. There will be about 5 types of crowd with specific shapes as above.
2. Crowd A will not rotate Kaaba but very enthusiastic crowd trying to touch Kaaba or the black stone.
3. Crowd B is people praying. Copies of crowd B will be put all over the Kaaba courtyard that has no specific crowd.
4. Crowd C is triangular in shape with characteristic of easy-going crowd with no specific movement.
5. Crowd D is fast moving, full circular path crowd with some hand in the air movements.
6. Crowd E is slower moving, quarter circular path (may consider full circular with crowd C removed) and a bit of hand movements.
7. Other areas will be filled with crowd B and C.
8. 3 different crowd density is designed i.e. low, med and high density.
9. For crowd A, D & E, low is 100, med is 200 and high is 300 people.
10. For crowd B and C, low is 20, med is 40 and high is 60 people.
11. Target polygon count per person in crowd is 10 average.
12. Estimated total crowd in low is 2000, in med is 4000 and in high is 6000 people.

Masjidil Haram (inner part usable only) for Tawaf

2009-02-23T07:08:00.000-08:00

1. Final-for-the-time-being Masjidil Haram. Only the ground floor, Kaaba courtyard and colunnade accessable for Tawaf. No provision for pilgrims to access 2nd floor or go to top of towers yet. Even Saei section not built for access in Tawaf game. Got to worry about Haj crowd after this.

2. Please comment for those who have been to Mecca. My references are limited for now. Nym & Uncle? You are in Madinah I think!. Is it accurate enough?

A more complete Masjidil Haram

2009-02-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

1. Added tier 2 columns and textures for inner walls. Doing the crowd next.

Experiential Design

2009-02-22T05:18:00.001-08:00

1. Experiential Design Methods will be used extensively for our project. Experiential Design is a method of design that emphasizes on the experience of user as the primary objective of design. It is also referred to as inside-out design process where the designer tries to capture the essence of the user experiences and work around them to create the design.

For example, an architect may start designing by going to the site and study the best views, positions of the sun, wind and trees, approach routes etc before actually designing the building. A car designer, may find the most comfortable seating arrangement for a lady driver with a large handbag and child in a car seat and able to drive safely even if she has to tend to the child occasionally and that arrangement governs the interior space of the car and eventually the styling.

In Virtual Haj, we strive to understand the feelings of the pilgrims when performing the tasks of Haj, their aspirations of trying to be close to God, their determinations to do a perfect Haj (mabrur) and other Haj experiences such as fatigue, being amidst a huge crowd, being lost, disoriented or even panic. There are also those who feel awe being at the center of Islamic history, the freedom from worldly activities and the chance to redeem oneself to God. Once we are able to capture the essence of this feeling, the contents of Virtual Haj will naturally flow and the application can then be built around it.

2. Experiential Design Methods as used in Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University as above.

3. Method: Focus: is about the sense of skill or role-play or place. Eg. driving car, being a cat or touring Paris.

4. Method: Emotion: is about inner feelings such as angry, happy, sad, scared or boring. Eg. tranquility in Haj.

5. Method: Space/Form: is about perception and perspective of things around us. Eg. freedom of openness.

6. Method: Orientation: is about timing, direction and speed. Eg. sense of speed in F1, floating under the sea.

7. Principle: Environment: is about things we can see but have no control over. Eg. clouds, shadow, weather.

8. Principle: Context: is about things around us, we can interact with. Eg. walls, buildings, ground, trees etc.

9. Principle: Character: is about objects, people or animals that interacts with us. Eg. other humans, animals.

10. Principle: Interaction: is about the user and what it/he/she can do. Eg. walk, run, climb, jump, pick object.

11. Principle: Integration: is about combination of all principles and cohesiveness of it. Eg. game score, menu.

12. Process: Research: things to know, to learn & to process. Eg. Compass direction to determine sun position.

13. Process: Ideation: things to design, to formulate & to resolve. Eg. sketchings of a car, drawing of a house.

14. Process: Development: the creation process and/or refinement of research & ideation. Eg. detailing a car.

15. Process: Prototype: the initial, pre-production product / application. Eg. scale model of house, car etc.

16. Process: Presentation: final presentation / product / application. Eg. build the house, car etc.

Workload Distribution Quarter 1

2009-02-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

1. Draft workload distribution as above.

Work done so far

2009-02-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

1. Work have started since 2008. Above are posted on 26 March 2008.

2. The mosque is added on the 9th of April 2008. Still incomplete but as correctly scaled as can be based on pictures on the net only (we dont have the actual plans).

3. Then, humans are added. For now there's only 1 type of human wearing ihram. Soon there will be more. The snapshots are posted on 16 April 2008.

4. These models are created to secure the grant funding only. The actual game development hasn't started yet.

Virtual Haj project starts

2009-02-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

1. Virtual Haj project officially signed on 22nd January 2009.

2. Team members are:
Project Leader (CEO): Mohd Shahrin (Chief Executive Officer)
Project Director (CTO): Mohd Fazidin (Chief Technology Officer)
Project Director 2 (COO): Abdul Halim (Chief Operating Officer)
Project Manager (CFO): Sri Kusuma (Chief Financial Officer)
Project Manager 2 (CMO): Najib Osman (Chief Marketing Officer)

3. The project is under MDec's Preseed grant. Official project starting date is (earlier date of 27 February 2009 was unachievable) ... maybe early April. Actual date will be confirmed soon!.

Starting date is now 21st April 2009 (quarter 1 grant release date).

4. Virtual Haj project is about creating a tool using Game design to help instructors of Haj teach Haj more effectively. There will be 2 versions i.e. network Virtual Haj and standalone Virtual Haj. Both contents are identical with the network version capable of running the application in a multi-player environment. Like a game, user(s) of Virtual Haj will be capable of interactively explore the Haj environment eg. Masjidil Haram, Kaaba, Mecca etc, do tasks such as throwing stones in Jamrah, camping in Mina, walk, run, talk (via chat line) to other users and be graded for Haj.

5. A company is created for the project. The company name is Halimunan Kreatif Sdn Bhd (based in Malaysia). The company is incorporated on 3rd February 2009.