-
Posts
894 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Reputation
1,643 ExcellentRetained
-
Member Title
polygonist, vertexician, voxel-herder.
Recent Profile Visitors
The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.
-
Obviously you'll need to use llStartAnimation (and other related commands for requesting/checking permissions, etc.) but in addition you should also take a look at llGetAgentInfo and specifically AGENT_ON_OBJECT which you can use to detect whether or not an avatar is seated or standing.
-
Mirroring normal maps... too much to ask?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to Rick Nightingale's topic in Building and Texturing Forum
I agree that in most cases the individual creating the assets will not be the same person responsible for their implementation within a game engine but there are still considerable differences between a level designer working as part of a development team and the way in which SL residents utilize assets within SL. To use your "mirrored" keyword as an example, if a level designer were facing the same issue being described in this thread they could simply ask one of the coders to add an additional function within the shader which would automatically invert the appropriate channel of the normal map whenever it encounters an asset which contains the "mirrored" keyword, whereas obviously SL residents don't have the ability to modify the shaders used to display the assets they're working with. Incidentally both Unreal and Unity do support texture mirroring. In Unreal Engine you can mirror a texture simply by multiplying the UV coordinates by -1 on the required axis (similar to how textures are mirrored in SL) while in Unity you can set the TextureWrapMode to Mirror/Mirror Once rather than Repeat and then offset the texture accordingly. As an alternative to adding checkboxes which allow users to manually invert the red or green channel of a normal map LL could potentially implement a similar approach to the one used in Unity and provide the option to toggle between either repeating or mirrored tiling and then automatically invert the correct channel within the shader each time the mirrored version of the normal map is displayed, then rather than setting the texture scale to -1 residents could set the texture offset to 1.0 on the required axis in order to display a mirrored version of the textures/materials. -
Mirroring normal maps... too much to ask?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to Rick Nightingale's topic in Building and Texturing Forum
Because the vast majority of those people aren't developing for a platform built entirely from user-created content. Second Life requires end users to have as much control as possible over how content is displayed whereas most game developers are entirely responsible for creating and optimizing all of the environments, props and characters and provide users with little to no ability to directly modify any of the content within the game/platform. It should be a matter of simply providing a couple of extra checkboxes in the texture tab of the build window which when checked will invert the red or green channel of the normal map, this would allow users to flip a normal map horizontally and/or vertically and then invert the corresponding channel(s) to compensate for the reversed texture orientation. -
Stuff you're not buying, pending PBR?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to Qie Niangao's topic in General Discussion Forum
It may have sounded that way but ALM is permanently enabled, is in reference to the fact that you can enable/disable reflections, shadows, etc. when using ALM which does give similar performance/visual results to using a non-ALM viewer but it will still be using the new PBR/ALM renderer. -
1,000,000% this! If your mesh has the same polygon density in areas that don't bend or flex as it does on areas like knees, elbows, etc. then you're doing it wrong! When creating rigged mesh it's not the number of polygons that really matters, it's the location of the polygons/edge loops that make the most difference. In fact in a lot of cases having less polygons in the right places will make it easier to get the desired results than having a very dense mesh since having the right topology on joints like knees and elbows makes it a lot easier to ensure that your mesh retains the correct shape when it bends. I'd recommend taking a look at some of the examples on this page Topology - polycount (especially the limb and shoulder topology sections) and noting how the edge loops are arranged in some of the examples.
-
Sometimes you can get better results by creating a completely different model for your lower LODs rather than trying to reduce your high LOD by a sufficient number of triangles. In this case I'd consider using something like this... The model itself is 18 triangles and as you can see the corresponding UV is neatly squished into a small corner of the texture area. Since you only ever see this model at a distance you don't really need a wood texture for the frame (just sample the average colour for the high LOD texture and use that instead) and the square area in the middle should be large enough to add a lower resolution image of the butterfly with a matching background colour (and perhaps a faint shadow to add a little fake depth). Then all you need to do is include the texture for your new low LOD model in an unused portion of your high LOD texture. ETA: For the lowest LOD you could even replace the above model with a single plane (2 triangles) and place the UVs for it over the same small low LOD texture since at that distance it really wouldn't matter if the model is flat or not.
-
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
Understood. The point I was making in reply is that, for those with a disability that prevents them from using either, the potential loss of nuance would most likely be preferable to being excluded from the conversation entirely. -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
Dyslexia is an umbrella term and there are several subcategories each of which can have a different impact on an individuals ability to comprehend written communication. I'm a huge fan of the written word and am often overly verbose when communicating via text but at no point in time has anyone in this thread suggested that text based communication should be removed in favour of voice. Everyone should be free to choose which they prefer and there should be more emphasis on providing additional support and resources for those unfortunate enough to not have a choice at all. -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
Aside from the obvious reading disabilities such as dyslexia there are those who have difficulty reading due to a visual impairment of some kind, then there are amputees and those who suffer from chronic arthritis, muscular dystrophy and other conditions that can make typing difficult. I'm sure there are a myriad of other conditions which, while not severe enough to completely rule out using either method of communication, contribute to each individuals personal choice as to which they prefer. -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
Regardless of how reliable AI assisted systems may be or how much nuance may be lost during translation, I suspect those with a disability which prevents them from sharing in joyful little moments like the one you described would welcome a chance to be included. I keep emphasising words like choosing and choice but I shall make it as plain as I possibly can in case anyone isn't clear on my intention. For most, this entire topic boils down to personal choice and I strongly believe that, rather than yet another discussion about which form of communication is best, it would be far more beneficial if those who do have a choice were discussing how best to help those who don't! -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
Simply put, conversations on voice tend to flow a little faster/more naturally and it's easier to multi-task while text communication is more useful when attempting to provide detailed instructions or relay precise information. To be clear, I'm not advocating for the use of either. I have some friends who prefer voice and some who refuse to use it at all and I have no qualms about choosing to conform to their preferences. I do however take exception to anyone trying to impose their personal preferences on other people. As has been pointed out this topic has already been discussed in various threads on these forums many times over, unfortunately they usually devolve into the same sweeping generalisations and pigeonholing with little consideration for the individuality of SLs residents which is a shame since a conversation addressing the lack of accessibility in SL and how things could be improved for those who are excluded from using either method of communication due to a disability would be a lot more productive and far less contentious. Still, with the recent (and seemingly exponential) advances in the development of artificial intelligence perhaps it won't be long before there are reliable speech-to-text/text-to-speech apps which will remove the barriers that are in place for those who are currently excluded through no choice of their own. -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
This! ^^^ If someone chooses to exclude themselves from certain conversations by refusing to use voice that's entirely up to them but that doesn't entitle them to impose their preferences on everybody else just because they don't like feeling left out. -
Is voice now expected as default for SL?
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to HeathcliffMontague's topic in General Discussion Forum
A valid point but the same could be said of people who refuse to use voice, no doubt there are some very talented creators out there that suffer from dyslexia or similar issues affecting their ability to read or write. I honestly don't understand the aversion to any form of communication be it voice or text, each has its benefits and of course everyone has their preference (and for an unfortunate few there simply is no choice due to a disability of some kind or other) but based on the reactions of some people you meet to the mere suggestion of using voice instead of text you'd think they'd just been asked to sacrifice their first-born or perform lewd acts with barnyard animals. That being said I do understand people resenting being asked to "voice verify" their gender since that's just creepy, intrusive and really weird but then since I don't bother with most of the "adult-themed activities" my response to that sort of request is usually just to laugh and inform them that no matter what my RL gender may be they aren't my type and I'm just not interested. -
Notes on big textures.
Fluffy Sharkfin replied to animats's topic in General Second Life Tech Discussion
I believe what @animats is suggesting is that rather than sending a request for the entire JPEG2000 file as soon as the object in question is within draw distance it may be preferable to calculate how much of the file is required in order to display the texture at an appropriate texel density for the objects current size on-screen based on the objects distance from the camera, it's relative velocity (in order to ascertain if the object is approaching the camera and is therefore likely to be viewed at a larger size or if its traveling away from the camera and won't require additional texture information) and the direction in which the camera is facing (since objects within the cameras field of view should obviously have higher priority than objects that aren't currently being rendered). As long as the assumptions are correct in regards to the potential performance improvements that could be gained from this approach as a result of the difference in the way in which SL assets are hosted compared to the previous approach it seems like a really good idea (but then I'm not a network engineer nor am I particularly familiar with SLs network architecture so I could be missing some critically important factor). It certainly sounds plausible though and, if it works, could potentially even go some way to solving some of SLs texture loading issues. -
If you use scattered planes then you could lower the number of required polygons by grouping leaves together on the texture for each plane, preferably by creating all the leaf groups on a single 512x512 texture (or 1024x1024 if you need the additional resolution) then arranging the UV mapping for the planes so that each plane shows different portions of the texture in order to make the leaf fall look more random and natural. ETA(Part I): Essentially when you're baking textures (whether it be branches on a tree or leaves on the ground) it's always best to try and reuse textures as much as possible rather than trying to bake a unique texture for each part, especially when dealing with hundreds of smaller objects like leaves, since it's unlikely that anyone is going to notice whether each leaf is unique no matter how closely they look. ETA:(Part II & III): I know a lot of people obsess over LI and it's always good to try and optimize both your mesh and textures as much as possible, but I'd suggest not letting land impact play too much of a part in your creative process or decision making. It's better to create something which looks good at any LOD it's likely to be viewed in (I emphasize this because for objects that are in enclosed spaces discarding the lower LOD models in favour of a single triangle is perfectly acceptable) and have it come out at a slightly higher LI than achieve the lowest LI possible and have it crumple into a mangled polygonal mess when viewed from a certain distance. As for texturing, LL are currently working on a new viewer which will enable materials for all residents so although most may not be using them at the moment soon everybody will be able to see them, so consider using materials to create your leaf textures, etc. because they can turn a flat texture like this... (I posted these pics in another thread recently but since they're particularly relevant to the topic I'll post them again here) into seemingly 3D objects like this...