<s>
Adobe	B-Algorithm
Atmosphere	I-Algorithm
(	O
informally	O
abbreviated	O
Atmo	B-Algorithm
)	O
was	O
a	O
software	B-Device
platform	I-Device
for	O
interacting	O
with	O
3D	O
computer	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3D	O
models	O
created	O
with	O
the	O
commercial	O
program	O
could	O
be	O
explored	O
socially	O
using	O
a	O
browser	B-Application
plugin	B-Application
available	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atmosphere	O
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Attitude	O
Software	O
as	O
3D	B-Algorithm
Anarchy	I-Algorithm
and	O
was	O
later	O
bought	O
by	O
Adobe	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
world	O
itself	O
was	O
described	O
in	O
the	O
.aer	O
(	O
or	O
.atmo	O
)	O
file	O
,	O
images	O
and	O
sounds	O
were	O
kept	O
separately	O
,	O
usually	O
in	O
the	O
GIF	O
,	O
WAV	O
or	O
MP3	B-Application
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Objects	O
in	O
worlds	O
were	O
scriptable	O
using	O
a	O
specialized	O
dialect	O
of	O
JavaScript	B-Language
,	O
allowing	O
a	O
more	O
immersive	O
environment	O
,	O
and	O
worlds	O
could	O
be	O
generated	O
dynamically	O
using	O
PHP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
JavaScript	B-Language
,	O
a	O
world	O
author	O
could	O
link	O
an	O
object	O
to	O
a	O
Web	O
page	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
a	O
user	O
could	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
launch	O
a	O
Web	O
page	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
a	O
billboard	O
advertisement	O
(	O
Ctrl+Shift+Click	O
in	O
earlier	O
versions	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
version	O
1.0	O
,	O
Atmosphere	O
also	O
boasted	O
support	O
for	O
using	O
Macromedia	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
animations	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Video	I-Device
as	O
textures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atmosphere-based	O
worlds	O
consisted	O
mainly	O
of	O
parametric	O
primitives	B-Algorithm
,	O
such	O
as	O
floors	O
,	O
walls	O
,	O
and	O
cones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
primitives	B-Algorithm
could	O
be	O
painted	O
a	O
solid	O
color	O
,	O
given	O
an	O
image-based	O
texture	O
,	O
or	O
made	O
"	O
subtractive	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Invisible	O
,	O
"	O
subtractive	O
"	O
primitives	B-Algorithm
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
cut	O
"	O
holes	O
"	O
in	O
other	O
primitives	B-Algorithm
,	O
to	O
build	O
more	O
complex	O
shapes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
worlds	O
also	O
contained	O
animated	O
polygon	B-Algorithm
meshes	I-Algorithm
made	O
possible	O
by	O
Atmosphere	O
's	O
implementation	O
as	O
a	O
subcomponent	O
of	O
Viewpoint	O
Corporation	O
's	O
Viewpoint	O
Media	O
Player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
more	O
centralized	O
structure	O
of	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
,	O
in	O
which	O
environments	O
are	O
primarily	O
built	O
within	O
AlphaWorld	O
,	O
Atmosphere	O
worlds	O
were	O
spread	O
throughout	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
usually	O
hosted	O
on	O
the	O
author	O
's	O
own	O
Web	O
site	O
as	O
.aer	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
were	O
represented	O
in	O
worlds	O
by	O
avatars	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
later	O
builds	O
,	O
an	O
option	O
allowed	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
see	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
own	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
early	O
quirk	O
of	O
Atmosphere	O
displayed	O
users	O
whose	O
avatars	B-Application
had	O
not	O
yet	O
loaded	O
as	O
colorful	O
,	O
slanted	O
cylinders	O
,	O
and	O
announced	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
users	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
bug	O
zapper	O
"	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
in	O
ActiveWorlds	B-Protocol
it	O
is	O
only	O
possible	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
users	O
within	O
a	O
200-meter	O
radius	O
,	O
Atmosphere	O
users	O
could	O
chat	O
with	O
all	O
the	O
users	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technically	O
,	O
users	O
could	O
chat	O
with	O
anyone	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
YACP	B-Algorithm
channel	O
,	O
a	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
IRC	B-Protocol
protocol	O
(	O
see	O
below	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
built-in	O
Havok	B-General_Concept
physics	I-General_Concept
engine	I-General_Concept
,	O
detailed	O
rendering	O
,	O
and	O
dynamic	O
lighting	O
(	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
lighting	O
effects	O
like	O
radiosity	O
,	O
distance	O
fog	O
,	O
and	O
glare	O
)	O
also	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
realism	O
of	O
Atmosphere	O
worlds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
world	O
authors	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
large	O
worlds	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
build	O
more	O
realistic	O
cities	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
but	O
such	O
worlds	O
would	O
often	O
take	O
an	O
excessive	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
to	O
load	O
in	O
the	O
visitor	O
's	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
especially	O
if	O
the	O
visitor	O
was	O
using	O
a	O
slower	O
dial-up	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
alleviate	O
this	O
issue	O
,	O
Atmosphere	O
supported	O
a	O
pattern	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
inline	O
frames	O
in	O
HTML	B-Language
:	O
sections	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
subworlds	O
or	O
models	O
would	O
load	O
as	O
the	O
user	O
neared	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
a	O
city	O
could	O
load	O
block	O
by	O
block	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
all	O
at	O
once	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
Atmosphere	O
's	O
problems	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
was	O
excessive	O
memory	B-General_Concept
usage	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
exacerbated	O
by	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
advanced	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
embedded	O
models	O
and	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
movies	O
in	O
many	O
worlds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atmosphere	O
's	O
chat	O
console	O
used	O
the	O
Windows-1252	O
character	B-General_Concept
encoding	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
its	O
inception	O
,	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Photoshop	I-Operating_System
Album	I-Operating_System
included	O
a	O
"	O
3D	O
gallery	O
"	O
feature	O
that	O
could	O
publish	O
a	O
photo	O
album	O
as	O
an	O
Atmosphere	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	B-Algorithm
Atmosphere	I-Algorithm
began	O
as	O
3D	B-Algorithm
Anarchy	I-Algorithm
by	O
Attitude	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
originally	O
relied	O
on	O
IRC	B-Protocol
for	O
chat	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
was	O
rather	O
eccentric	O
,	O
featuring	O
two	O
ever-present	O
eyeballs	O
that	O
would	O
occasionally	O
blink	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
versions	O
adopted	O
a	O
more	O
conventional	O
interface	O
,	O
although	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
pre-supplied	O
avatars	B-Application
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
eyes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
In	O
3D	B-Algorithm
Anarchy	I-Algorithm
,	O
these	O
components	O
were	O
called	O
Editor	O
and	O
Chat	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
these	O
applications	O
,	O
Adobe	O
provided	O
a	O
browser	B-Application
plugin	B-Application
,	O
to	O
explore	O
these	O
worlds	O
within	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
companion	O
chat	O
server	O
called	O
Adobe	B-Algorithm
Community	I-Algorithm
Server	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
an	O
IRC-like	O
protocol	O
known	O
as	O
Yet	B-Algorithm
Another	I-Algorithm
Chat	I-Algorithm
Protocol	I-Algorithm
(	O
YACP	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	O
distributed	O
the	O
server	O
software	O
under	O
the	O
"	O
Atmosphere	O
Open	O
Source	O
License	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
permissive	B-License
open	O
source	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2002	O
,	O
Adobe	O
began	O
to	O
scrap	O
the	O
stand-alone	O
Player	O
,	O
instead	O
devoting	O
more	O
resources	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
Atmosphere	O
Plugin	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
viewed	O
as	O
a	O
buggy	O
,	O
less	O
attractive	O
alternative	O
to	O
the	O
Player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
Plugin	B-Application
was	O
viewed	O
as	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
before	O
its	O
developer	O
,	O
Macromedia	O
,	O
was	O
purchased	O
by	O
Adobe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
most	O
part	O
,	O
the	O
Plugin	B-Application
ran	O
only	O
on	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
despite	O
frequent	O
requests	O
by	O
community	O
members	O
to	O
expand	O
Atmosphere	O
support	O
to	O
Mozilla-based	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
and	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unofficially	O
,	O
the	O
plugin	B-Application
ran	O
in	O
Mozilla-based	O
browsers	B-Application
with	O
limited	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
user	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
stand-alone	O
Player	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
using	O
Wine	B-Application
,	O
albeit	O
in	O
a	O
less-than-usable	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
efforts	O
to	O
garner	O
commercial	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
software	O
,	O
Adobe	O
introduced	O
support	O
for	O
embedding	O
Atmosphere	O
worlds	O
into	O
PDF	B-Application
documents	I-Application
for	O
viewing	O
in	O
Acrobat	B-Application
Reader	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
point	O
,	O
Adobe	O
decided	O
to	O
charge	O
for	O
the	O
Builder	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
simply	O
renamed	O
Atmosphere	O
,	O
and	O
continue	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
Plugin	B-Application
and	O
Server	O
for	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plugin	B-Application
remains	O
available	O
as	O
a	O
free	O
download	O
on	O
Adobe	O
's	O
FTP	B-Protocol
site	O
,	O
however	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	O
still	O
provides	O
3D	O
capabilities	O
in	O
its	O
more	O
popular	O
Adobe	B-Application
Acrobat	I-Application
product	O
,	O
but	O
these	O
features	O
were	O
developed	O
using	O
technology	O
from	O
New	O
Zealand	O
's	O
Right	O
Hemisphere	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
using	O
Atmosphere	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
Atmosphere	O
component	O
still	O
in	O
use	O
at	O
Adobe	O
is	O
the	O
scripting	O
API	B-Application
;	O
other	O
Atmosphere	O
components	O
including	O
scene	B-Data_Structure
graphs	I-Data_Structure
and	O
the	O
physics	O
engine	O
were	O
licensed	O
from	O
other	O
companies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Viewpoint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atmosphere	O
had	O
a	O
dedicated	O
beta-testing	O
community	O
,	O
whose	O
members	O
constructed	O
many	O
worlds	O
and	O
avatars	B-Application
,	O
promoted	O
the	O
software	O
by	O
word	O
of	O
mouth	O
,	O
and	O
conducted	O
community	O
events	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
world	O
tours	O
and	O
building	O
contests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
of	O
these	O
contests	O
was	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
3D	O
,	O
a	O
large-scale	O
effort	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
comprehensive	O
set	O
of	O
worlds	O
and	O
avatars	B-Application
based	O
on	O
the	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
trilogy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Community	O
members	O
also	O
organized	O
and	O
attended	O
events	O
such	O
as	O
World	O
Tours	O
,	O
which	O
featured	O
innovative	O
worlds	O
each	O
week	O
,	O
and	O
Tech	O
Talks	O
,	O
originally	O
a	O
weekly	O
event	O
intended	O
for	O
world	O
and	O
avatar	B-Application
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beta-testers	O
dubbed	O
the	O
Atmosphere	O
developers	O
"	O
zombies	B-Application
"	O
,	O
in	O
recognition	O
of	O
the	O
long	O
hours	O
the	O
Adobe	O
employees	O
apparently	O
spent	O
developing	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
running	O
joke	O
on	O
the	O
team	O
was	O
that	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
typical	O
meal	O
of	O
brains	O
,	O
Atmosphere	O
's	O
zombies	B-Application
ingested	O
eyeballs	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
visual	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nonetheless	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
continues	O
to	O
enjoy	O
a	O
small	O
fanbase	O
that	O
meets	O
online	O
each	O
year	O
on	O
Halloween	B-Application
.	O
</s>
