JP3449520B2 - 3D virtual space display method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a user participation type system in which a plurality of computer terminals can share a three-dimensional virtual space built in a computer by communicating with each other via a network. Of the three-dimensional virtual space display method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional display method of a three-dimensional virtual space, a method of preparing a plurality of small three-dimensional virtual spaces and distributing the number of participants in the entire system to each small virtual space is adopted. ing. As a result, the amount of information to be displayed on the screen of the client regarding the object or person in the virtual space can be limited, and the entire system is managed by the limited computing power of the server.

[0003]

When a huge number of people participate in the three-dimensional virtual space through each computer terminal, the amount of information to be displayed increases as the number of users increases in the system that manages the virtual space. The number of people who can participate in the virtual space is limited due to the limitation of the computing capacity of the server that manages the information about the participants in the virtual space and the capacity of the communication path connecting the servers or each terminal with each other. Will end up.

Further, when considering expansion of a virtual space, the amount of information about objects existing in that space increases, and the scale of the virtual space that can be managed by one server is taken into consideration in consideration of the computing capacity of the server that manages this. Is limited.

Further, in the three-dimensional virtual space, not only the information of the participating users and the data of the objects existing in the space are managed, but also the data on the service using the space is managed. These data between servers,
Alternatively, considering transmission and reception between the server and the terminal by communication, the calculation capacity of the server used for the above services varies depending on the increase or decrease in the communication volume related to the information of the objects and participants in the virtual space. The intention of the service provider to provide a stable and immediate service to the participants who try to use the service is not realized.

An object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional virtual space display method capable of coping with an increase in the number of participants of the virtual space and expansion of the scale of the virtual space.

[0007]

A three-dimensional virtual space display method according to the present invention comprises the steps of dividing a three-dimensional virtual space into partial areas of a fixed size, and providing a server for managing each partial area. And receiving a landscape image of adjacent partial areas from a server managing those partial areas and projecting it onto the wall of the own partial area.

According to the present invention, the three-dimensional virtual space is divided into partial areas having a certain size, and a server for managing information about objects and participants in each partial area is provided. This server manages a landscape image obtained by photographing its own subspace from a specific viewpoint. A landscape image of the adjacent partial areas is projected on the wall formed at the area boundary portion of each partial space through the wall. The entire virtual space is managed by connecting servers that manage each partial area to each other through a network and sharing the information in the virtual space including the above-mentioned landscape image in all the partial spaces.

It is possible to construct a wide virtual space or a virtual space in which a large number of people can participate by appropriately adjusting the size of the partial area so as to correspond to the computing power of the server. Further, the data transmission / reception between the servers is a landscape image of an adjacent area, and the size of the image data is fixed to the size of the wall of the partial area. Therefore, the amount of data communication does not change due to the increase or decrease in the number of participants in the virtual space, and the load on the communication path can be kept low and constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the partial area is a regular hexagon, and the server regards the center of gravity of the partial area managed by the own server as a viewpoint and a point symmetrical with respect to each side of the regular hexagon. From the center of gravity in the direction of the right and left 30 degrees, the landscape of the partial area is photographed, and the photographed landscape images are respectively transmitted to the adjacent partial areas in which the viewpoint is present. A landscape image of an adjacent partial region captured by the above is received, and the received landscape image is attached to the wall at the boundary between the partial region and the partial region to which the landscape image is transmitted.

The partial area may be rectangular.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the three-dimensional virtual space is divided into partial areas of a certain size, a plurality of servers 1 for managing the individual partial areas are prepared, and data can be transmitted and received among all the servers 1. Is connected to the network 3. These servers 1 have a role of shooting a virtual space in the local area from a specific viewpoint and holding it as a landscape image. A network 3 is built between the server 1 and each terminal 2 so that data can be communicated with any server. The server 1 connected by the network 3 transmits and receives a landscape image obtained by photographing each partial area between the servers 1 that manage the adjacent partial areas.

FIG. 2 shows a processing flow of one server 1 which manages a partial area for displaying a virtual space. First, a landscape image of a specific partial area 40 is photographed from six viewpoints outside the partial area (step 11).
As shown in FIG. 3, the six viewpoint positions and the shooting directions are inwardly directed from the points 21 to 26 in which the center of gravity 20 of the hexagon is moved line-symmetrically with respect to each side of the partial region 40 divided into regular hexagons 31 to 31. 36, and the viewing angle is 30 degrees to the left and right so that the entire area can be photographed. This operation is performed in each area, and the photographed landscape image is transmitted to the six adjacent partial areas in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 4 (step 12).
At this time, the respective landscape images are transmitted to the adjacent partial regions 41, 42, 43 via the boundaries 51, 52, 53 in the direction in which the viewpoint where each landscape image is photographed as viewed from the center of gravity 20 of the region is present. . When this is completed, landscape images obtained by photographing the respective partial areas from the six adjacent partial areas are received (step 13). The received image includes walls 51 to 51 existing on the boundary between the own partial area 40 and the source partial areas 41 to 43.
53 (step 14). All the servers 1 capture and transmit / receive the landscape image of each partial area described above, and periodically repeat the above operation to update the landscape image attached to the wall in each partial area.

FIG. 5 shows how the terminal user actually uses the virtual space. The user 61 is the wall 51 of the own area 40.
Through 53, the states of the adjacent regions 41 to 43 can be visually obtained. Further, since the image of the further adjacent area 44 is also included in the image obtained by photographing the adjacent area 42, the state of the area can be grasped. Since these images are updated regularly, even when the people 62, 63 participating in another area visible from the own area or the object existing in the area move, the trend can be grasped. . In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 54 is a wall existing at the boundary between the partial regions 42 and 44.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a virtual space is divided into areas, a server for managing each area is provided, and a landscape image of an adjacent area is transmitted from a server for managing an adjacent area. Space users will be able to visually grasp the state of the adjacent area and the state of the adjacent area, so that it is possible to cope with the increase in the number of participants of the virtual space and the expansion of the scale of the virtual space. The data sent and received between the servers that manage each partial area is not affected by the number of participants in the virtual space, and because it is a landscape image of a certain size, it affects the communication speed for services deployed in the virtual space. Don't give.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of transmission / reception of a landscape image of each partial area for displaying a virtual space.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a shooting position and a shooting direction of a landscape in each partial area in a virtual space.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how an area is divided in a virtual space and a user in each area as viewed from above.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a landscape viewed by a user in a virtual space in a certain area.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Server 2 Terminal 3 Network 11-14 Step 20 Center of gravity 21-26 of partial area Position 31-36 of viewpoint when shooting partial area Direction of viewpoint 40 when shooting partial area 40 Subspaces 41 to 43 to which the user belongs Adjacent regions 44 of the subspace 40 Adjacent regions 51 to 53 of the adjoining regions 42 Walls 54 projecting a landscape image of the adjoining regions 41 to 43 Boundaries of the subregions 42 and 44 Existing wall 61 user 62 belonging to partial space 40 alternation of person participating in adjacent regions 42 and 43 alternation of person participating in adjacent region 44

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Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A three-dimensional virtual space display of a user participation system in which a plurality of computer terminals can share a three-dimensional virtual space built in the computer by communicating with each other via a network. In the method, a three-dimensional virtual space is divided into sub-regions of a certain size, a server is provided to manage each sub-region, and a landscape image of adjacent sub-regions is managed to those sub-regions. A three-dimensional virtual space display method comprising the step of receiving from an existing server and projecting onto a wall of its own partial area. 2. The partial area is a regular hexagon, and the server has a point of symmetry with respect to each side of the regular hexagon and the center of gravity of the partial area managed by the server as a viewpoint, and the right and left in the direction of the center of gravity from the viewpoint. A landscape of the partial area is photographed at a viewing angle of 30 degrees, each captured landscape image is transmitted to an adjacent partial area where the viewpoint exists, and the adjacent partial area is similarly photographed with the inside of the partial area as the viewpoint. 2. The three-dimensional virtual space display method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving the landscape image of, and attaching the received landscape image to a wall at a boundary between the partial region and the partial region to which the landscape image is transmitted.