Orb system

Orbs are audiovisual devices with the following features:

• Any user can attach to an orb as a listener and hear whatever audio the orb hears.

• Users with the right permission can attach to an orb as a speaker. The orb will then follow the speaker using waypoints.

• Orbs are the basis of the automated recording system in metauni. When an orb is at a waypoint it will orient itself towards the nearest point of interest and this is used by the camera system to record audio and video (for example of talks).

• Optionally a point of interest can have children ObjectValues named Target which point to BaseParts. In this case the OrbCam's field of view will be automatically calculated so as to put these BaseParts inside the view.

• By default the OrbCam view looks from the X and Z coordinate of the orb, and the Y coordinate of the point of interest (for example this puts the view at the mid-height of a metaboard). However optionally a waypoint can have a child ObjectValue named Camera which points to a BasePart whose position is used as the camera position, overriding the default.

There is an introductory video. In more detail

• An orb is any BasePart or Model (with non-nil PrimaryPart) with the tag metaorb
• A waypoint is any BasePart with the tag metaorb_waypoint
• A point of interest is any BasePart or Model (with non-nil PrimaryPart) with the tag metaorb_poi or metaboard.

A typical example: waypoints are located in front of metaboards, and an orb follows a speaker from board to board.

NOTE that installing the Orb System will, by default, make players listen from the location of their head rather than the position of their camera (which is the default in Roblox). You can change this behaviour by setting Config.ListenFromPlayer to false.

Installation

Download the release, drag the metaorb.rbxmx file into ServerScriptService and then tag the objects you wish to play the role of orbs with the tag metaorb. Optionally tag some parts (usually invisible) with the tag metaorb_waypoint and metaorb_poi.

To create a transport orb tag a BasePart or Model with both metaorb and metaorb_transport and put inside it a Folder named Stops containing the following:

• ObjectValues named 1, 2, ..., n for some n, which point to
• Models containing a Part named Marker and a NumberValue named TimeToThisStop.

If you do this then the transport orb will move between the markers, taking the given amount of time between each (and loops around from the beginning once it reaches n).

Some notes:

• By default anybody can attach themselves as a speaker to any orb. If you have the metauni Admin Commands installed, then only users with the scribe permission will be able to attach themselves as a speaker to an orb.

Philosophy

The values guiding the design of the orb system and the use of spatial voice in metauni:

1. Speakers are better with an audience: especially in a virtual format, it is important for the speaker to see that people are there and actively listening.

2. Sometimes you think better on your feet: when you are trying to process something difficult, or take a step out into the unknown, going for a walk and finding a nice view might help. That doesn't mean you want to stop listening!

3. Lowering barriers to informal social interaction: two people show up for a metauni event and while listening wander off to check out something interesting in the world. They notice each other and (reversibly) stop listening to the talk to say Hi. This grows into a conversation (Bob: "Knots are cool" Alice:"I agree, let's climb it").

4. Right to know who is listening: in physical space you can cheaply compute an estimate of who can hear you (it's called "looking around"). A system like spatial voice which tempts you to apply the same heuristics shouldn't then violate them. If someone is getting an audio feed from a location, there should be a very clear indicator that this is the case.

5. Speaking and recording should be easy: most talks ever given are lost and that's a shame. Making it easy to produce and share high quality recordings of mathematics is a core value of metauni. That means that the orb system should be as easy as possible for the speakers, and not putting annoying demands on them.

Generating a Release

The metaorb.rbxmx file is generated like this

rojo build --output "build.rbxlx"
remodel run orb_packager.lua

The first command builds a place file according to default.project.json. The second command uses remodel to extract all of the components of the Orb system, and packages them all within the metaorb folder, and exports this as a metaorb.rbxmx file. The startup server script then redistributes these components on world boot.