[Marwhini]

As for what we intend to do with it.

I think I have mentioned that only a couple of dozen times.

But so that it isn't lost:

We are working on building an Operating Virtual World of Middle-earth.

And, before you run with that, NO It isn't that kind of "Virtual World."

The correct term (for the project in its current state) would be a "Toy World," which is used in Systems Theory to describe simplified Models of Feedback Systems.

So, for example:

An Ant Pile.

To make a Virtual Model of an Ant Pile, you don't start off making a lot of Computerized Graphics of Ants that people then put on some huge, clumsy VR Visor (Like an Oculus Rift visor).

It starts off as a purely Computational Model where the input and output are purely mathematical models and raw data. You have "Ants" that are described by a simple data-set (size, role, location, age, gender, etc), and you have an environment that is also described by a data set (tunnels, openings, fungus farms, location of the queen, eggs, location of distant food sources, predators, etc.).

<<edit>> And you have a system of relationships between each connected element of the system that describes that relationship. For example:

•*The amount of food eaten by each ant, and where it comes from.
•*The effect of the immediate environment by the ant's presence.
• The effect of the environment upon predators, or the effect of the presence of predators upon the ants.
•*Etc.

<</edit>>

For Middle-earth, we would start with something similar. We already have the physical environment up to the end of the Second Age as generalized Data Models, and a topology for a "Flat-World" that produces a constant 1g, downward, orthogonal to the entire surface of the "Earth" (It is a pretty freaking strange shape, and depending upon other possible models, we have different topologies, depending upon whether Fëa has mass or not).

Eventually this raw data will be fed to some form of a visualization system that begins to produce things that people would actually recognize as Middle-earth.

And, as computational power increases, and the Systems Modeling Tools grow in power, we can then connect them to better visual processing systems (and hopefully, by that time (roughly 2025 - 2030) to actual experiential Interface Systems that would allow people to have a nearly immersive experience within Middle-earth (i.e. to be able to "feel" like they were actually inside Middle-earth).

The latter is going to sound kind of Matrix-y, but it isn't considered far-fetched for the time-frame we have. People like Larry Page, Ray Kurzweil (both at Google - One the founder, the other the Chief of Engineering) has both said that the time-frame we are looking at is appropriate for both the modeling and the perceptual interfaces to the model.

So.... That is what we plan to do with it.

Considering we (People working in Systems Modeling and Systems Theory) can get other non-deterministic Systems Models to behave in a Fatalistic Fashion (arrive at a pre-determined outcome, even with stochastic/random behavior of all the elements in the System), then it should not be difficult to arrange for a Model World of Middle-earth to be Instantiated such that it unfolds as described by Tolkien (at least for those parts described).

That is what we plan to do with this once we get a working System and Foundation for the Metaphysical Functioning and/or Operation of Middle-earth.

MB