British Telecommunications Public Limited Company

Simon Julian Powers

Michael R Hinds

Jason Morphett

Each packet message in a sequence of packet messages is sent with an associated packet message priority label in accordance with a predetermined cyclic sequence of such labels. These priority labels each represent one of a plurality of priority levels and the position of each label in the cyclic sequence is such that number of consecutive lower priority labels between that label and the nearest label of equal or higher priority is substantially maximized. In this way, if packet messages are dropped from the sequence due to congestion on a priority basis, the packet messaging method and apparatus according to the invention ensure that, as far as possible, regular update packet messages are still received from all packet message sources.

Packet messaging method and apparatus

A method and apparatus for predicting the likelihood of an avatar under the control of a user in a virtual environment moving with a predetermined range of a boundary as disclosed in which the movement of the avatar in the virtual environment is monitored for a period of time, a model of avatar movement is determined using the monitor movement, and the likelihood of the avatar movement within the predetermined of a boundary is predicted using the model.

Predicting avatar movement in a distributed virtual environment

It will be well known that a so-called object-oriented approach to computer programming has become widespread over the past few years and applications such as large multiplayer games are no exception. A number of approaches to allowing objects to communicate with one another have been developed. One set of these approaches relate to allowing so-called distributed objects, which is to say objects distributed over a client/server system, to communicate with one another. With reference to applications such as large multiplayer games, dynamic real time distributed communications between mobile objects must be considered. Present day techniques, involving the use of simple TCP/IP or UDP/IP, CORBA or DCOM are unable to provide such real time dynamic performance. According to one aspect of the invention a method of providing communication between two or more application software elements is provided comprising associating each application software element with a communication software element through which to send and/or receive messages, holding the communication state of the associated application software element in each communication software element, allowing each application software element to communicate with other application software elements by sending and receiving messages through the respectively associated communication software elements and allowing each application software element and associated communication software element to move. Holding the communication state in the communication software element associated with each application software element allows the application software element and communication software element assembly to communicate and move in particularly dynamic fashion. Messaging consequently enabled, carried out on a per software element basis, allows for continuity of communication between objects even if they move in a dynamic fashion.

Communication between software elements

A distributed virtual environment includes one or more entities represented in the virtual environment by at least a conceptual entity-model, a dynamic entity-model and a visual entity-model each of the entity models being mutually independent. A server provides a conceptual-model manager, arranged to provide conceptual entity-models, one or more dynamic-model managers arranged to provide dynamic entity-models, and one or more client apparatuses arranged to provide a visual-model manager arranged to provide visual entity-models. Communications is arranged to allow transmission of messages between the conceptual-model manager, one or more dynamic-model managers and one or more visual-model managers.

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Ipswich, United Kingdom

Simon Julian Powers