[DAO:c539e65] 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.

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

Recognition of Decentraland DAO’s Support by Grant Recipients

Is 2dcl implementing any of the mechanisms mentioned in the governance proposal to recognise the DAO’s support?

I do not think this is what Decentraland needs right now.

The Worlds protocol is the same as catalysts

Not sure if we should spend on 7500 USD on something that could simply be a list in a Discord channel.

Can we get stats on how much people used the 2dcl client and how much scenes are deployed?

Thanks for this comment. Until I read it this was the only thing we had:

That’s in the website.

But now I noticed that I should have added it to GitHub too, so I did:

image

Once the new proposal is finished I’ll certainly comply to whatever needs to be done.

Thanks for pointing that out :slight_smile:

1 Like

Thanks for your comment @HPrivakos, it’s a bit sad to me that you think that creating more tools and clients is not a priority. In my opinion increasing the developer base should be a paramount priority, as Decentraland’s open-sourceness is the actual differentiator vs things like Meta or other closed metaverses.

Regarding your comment on the Worlds protocol, not sure where your comment was pointing to, but if you were trying to call me out by saying that I’m already proposing to implement catalyst I think you misunderstood what the last milestone is:

One thing is to have the requests to catalyst working in the catalyst Rust client, another very different is to have the client render other people and support talking to them in-game. That’s the last milestone, implementing a chat interface in the client, using Worlds to not mess up Decentraland 3D by using the same channel for communication and position, and render other people that’s moving around 2dcl.

Regarding the discovery database, I don’t think a list on Discord has the right UX for the task and I don’t trust Discord as a long-term platform either. I prefer having something that the community owns, can replicate, and it’s open source, Discord is not the platform for that. I’d not be comfortable using DAO money to pay for locking-in users on a closed platform. Now, if you still think a key feature like that, built to last is not worth 7.5k, there’s not much I can do to convince you, which is ok.

More than happy to discuss what you think about the project in general despite your rejection to this and hear why you think this is not important for Decentraland right now, I definitely think you have a point of view worth listening to as part of the future plans for the project.

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

This proposal is now in status: PASSED.

Voting Results:

  • Yes 78% 5,010,357 VP (116 votes)
  • No 15% 1,035,686 VP (13 votes)
  • Abstain 7% 501,418 VP (4 votes)

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

This proposal has been ENACTED by a DAO Committee Member (0x88013d7ed946dd8292268a6ff69165a97a89a639)

Vesting Contract Address: 0x61dB3E2aefCdBB275400faE88C567C60a4dc4cEC

The Grant Support Squad was created to support the grantees in achieving their goals and taking care of the DAO treasury.

After thoroughly reviewing this project, the Squad wants to communicate that we recommend revoking the vesting contract of this project.

The grantee has informed us that they are unable to continue with the project’s execution, having completed approximately 50% of the roadmap, and the vesting contract being at 50% as well.

Grantee’s message (@frantufro) /(quote): "Hi Pablo, how are you? As you requested on Discord I’m sending you an email regarding the 2dcl grant.
TLDR: We’ve decided to stop working on 2dcl. First of all I want to clarify that we’re very grateful to the DAO for the opportunity to work on this project. I think that, in other circumstances, it’d have been great to keep at it. .
We’d like to cancel the project immediately. I’ll absorb the salaries for this month, no problem, given that we did not produce the value we’d like due to all the issues we’re having.
I don’t know what comes next for me, but I don’t think I can handle 2dcl alone, so I’m more than happy to transfer the ownership of the project to the DAO or the foundation or whatever you think is a good way to proceed.
Thanks a lot for your hard work, and I’m around if you have any questions / requests.

In this case, the intervention of the Revocations Committee is not necessary.

In conclusion, we recommend to the DAO Committee (@HPrivakos @Tobik @rizk ) that they revoke the vesting contract.

Unfortunately, the project can’t continue in the hands of the grantee. However, we want to emphasize their intent and call upon community members to continue the project. Here is the open-source code, forked on the DAO’s GitHub

Best regards,

The GSS