- Forterra Systems
Forterra Systems, Inc. is a
3D graphics software company headquartered inSan Mateo, California that produces private and secureMMO virtual worlds for corporate, government, defense, medical and educational [http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/index.php?page=research&a=00028] clients. Forterra Systems also shares a close history with theMMOG There.Originally founded in
1998 as There, Inc., Forterra Systems builds private and secure distributed virtual worlds using their OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) technology platform and industry-standard PC server and client hardware. OLIVE virtual environments can be hosted either by Forterra Systems, or installed within a client's existing IT systems, depending upon the customer's preferences.OLIVE customers rapidly generate realistic, three-dimensional virtual environments that scale from single user applications to large-scale simulated environments that support a vast number of concurrent users.
The virtual worlds produced or hosted by Forterra Systems and their clients appear to function similarly to public, open-invitation MMOGs (e.g., There,
Second Life ,Active Worlds ). OLIVE environments differ from consumer-based MMOGs in that access to the virtual world is privately managed, and granted only to specific groups of users. OLIVE applications typically focus on employee or staff training, and secure collaborative business decision-making, for example, rather than focusing on entertainment or broadly-defined social networking purposes.Another difference between conventional MMO virtual environments and OLIVE environments is that real-world locations are replicated in an OLIVE virtual world, as opposed to fantasy-based worlds or hypothetical "islands".
"There" is based on shared technology with Forterra Systems that was initially developed in conjunction with a
US Army project. [http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/21/news_6093860.html] The "There" service was spun off toMakena Technologies in2005 . "There"'s operations remained uninterrupted during the various corporate changes. Since then, two additional instances of "There" have been created, both owned and administered by Makena Technologies. [http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-6150206-7.html]External links
* [http://www.forterrainc.com Forterra Systems Inc.]
* [http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5838 IEEE Spectrum article about Forterra Sysytems Inc.]
* [http://www.there.com/pr_acquisition.html Press release regarding the sale of There to Makena Technologies]
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