Forterra Systems
{{Short description|3D graphics software company headquartered in San Mateo, California}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = Forterra Systems, Inc.
| industry = 3D graphics software
| founded = {{start date and age|1998}}
| hq_location = San Mateo, California
| products = Massively multiplayer online game (MMOG)
}}
Forterra Systems, Inc. was a 3D graphics software company headquartered in San Mateo, California that produced private and secure massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) virtual worlds for corporate, government, defense, medical and educational{{cite web|url=http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/index.php?page=research&a=00028|title=CATT Lab|website=www.cattlab.umd.edu}} clients. Forterra Systems also shared a close history with the MMOG There. On February 1, 2010, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced its acquisition of the company's simulation & collaboration product line, including all names, trademarks and licenses.{{cite web |url=http://investors.saic.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=193857&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1438853 |title=SAIC - News & Media - SAIC Purchases Simulation & Collaboration Product Line from Forterra Systems Inc |accessdate=2011-05-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130202003532/http://investors.saic.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=193857&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1438853 |archivedate=2013-02-02 }}
Founded in 1998 as There, Inc., Forterra Systems built private and secure distributed virtual worlds using their OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) technology platform and industry-standard PC server and client hardware. OLIVE virtual environments typically are deployed within a client's existing IT and network security systems. Optionally, OLIVE could be hosted externally by Forterra, depending upon the customer's preferences.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}
On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment
On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVE) customers rapidly generate realistic, three-dimensional virtual environments that scale from single user applications to large-scale simulated environments that support a vast number of concurrent users.
The virtual worlds produced or hosted by Forterra Systems and their clients appear to function similarly to public, open-invitation MMOGs (e.g., There, Second Life, Active Worlds). OLIVE environments differ from consumer-based MMOGs in that access to the virtual world is privately managed, and granted only to specific groups of users. OLIVE applications typically focus on employee or staff training, and secure collaborative business decision-making, for example, rather than focusing on entertainment or broadly-defined social networking purposes.
Another difference between conventional MMO virtual environments and OLIVE environments is that real-world locations are replicated in an OLIVE virtual world, as opposed to fantasy-based worlds or hypothetical "islands".
There is based on shared technology with Forterra Systems that was initially developed in conjunction with a US Army project.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/21/news_6093860.html|title=Spot On: The US Army's There-based simulation|author=Gamespot Staff|date=23 April 2004|publisher=}} The There service was spun off to Makena Technologies in 2005. There's operations remained uninterrupted during the various corporate changes. Since then, two additional instances of There have been created, both owned and administered by Makena Technologies.{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-6150206-7.html|title=MTV launches 'Virtual Hills' based on There.com platform|date=15 January 2007|publisher=}}
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110704160032/http://www.saic.com/products/simulation/olive/news.html SAIC: Products: OLIVE On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment]
- [http://www.forterrainc.com Forterra Systems Inc.]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071231152725/http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5838 IEEE Spectrum article about Forterra Systems Inc.]
- [http://www.there.com/pr_acquisition.html Press release regarding the sale of There to Makena Technologies]
- [http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/future-of-work/focusing-exclusively-on-enterprise-virtual-worlds-32859 Review of Forterra OLIVE which emphasizes its enterprise collaboration focus]
Category:Companies based in San Mateo, California
Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Virtual reality companies
Category:Virtual world communities
Category:Defunct software companies of the United States