How I really feel about SL, and how its losing its touch. (Loss of adventure / fun / communication)

[MastersonRT]

Quite frankly, although this is a new account, I joined SL 4 years back, while watching CSI. It was the episode about the killer they pursued via SL, with the roman court fight. After I saw that, I said, "Wow.", being interested in law enforcement. I went to the CSI sim (Thought you were supposed to investigate by spamming "Inspect element", but I did like the cool badge. :P), and met alot of law enforcement enthusiast friends. It was great, people were willing to talk, I got into the act of gun playing / etc., went to a gun range with a friend on a few occassions, back when guns were all green prim shooters, and the most popular gun was a Benelli shotgun that shot spheres. :) I had fun back on SL. I met alot of friends on the sand boxes, got griefed a few times, and laughed about it. My best experience was taking the old 6 box police SUV with the ugly sirens, and driving through the sandbox with my friend tailing in his long purple convertible pimp car. We'd pretend to arrest people. Some of them would cage us, and some of them would play along. Heh.

 

I really miss those days on SL. Now all I'm dealing with are a bunch of oversized, glossy avatars with mesh clothing, and tons of lag and sculpt objects, combined with rows, and rows, of mute, AFK people who spend hours standing in one spot. I miss the old roleplay sims like Serenity, Missing Mile, Virtue City.

 

What happened to that second life?

 

:( 

[Miserlie]

Nothing happened, at all.

See, Secondlife has Millions of users and it isn't just based around what you like. It seems as if your friend moved on, these sims were closed or abandoned or you have just been gone for along and forgot what second life is really about.

You just have to find the people and sims that interest you. If you don't theres no point being on secondlife, well at least to me. :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2:

[Peggy Paperdoll]

"...

What happened to that second life?"

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What happened?  The same thing that happened to your real life high school life.  Those wonder years have come and gone.  Everyone moves on.  Everyone develops new tastes, new interests......everyone "grows up".  Lord knows I miss much of what was so much fun for me over 7 years ago when I came to SL.  I don't mourn my old SL.  I simply remember it with fondness (just like I remember those old high school days).  Things change.  You either change with it and continue gathering more fond memories of the dwell on the past. 

It's much more fun and interesting to move on....add to that stockpile of fond memories.  Dwelling on the past leads to an unhappy stockpile of memories. 

God I hate these threads........so freaking depressing.

[Dillon Levenque]

I think Miserlie is probably right: you're visiting the places you knew from before and they aren't there because they've either moved or vanished.

I've never gotten more than very briefly involved with any RP sim/group, but there are at last count about a bazillion and a half of them. I'd be astonished if there wasn't at least one with interests very close to the one you remember.

SL actually works better than it did four years ago. Lots of things have been added and lots of things have been improved. Yes, there are lots of things that still don't work well and not everyone loves the new stuff—hang around here for a couple weeks and you'll learn that—but really there are a lot of improvements.

As for oversized people, I've no idea why you're seeing that. I'm in my fifth year. When I started the majority of avatars were 'taller than life-sized'. People maxxed out the height settings quite often. These days the trend (seems to me, anyway) is toward more RListic heights. My SL height is very close to my RL height, and I am frequently taller than the females I meet here (just as I am in RL).

As for rows of mute AFK people, that's not something I've seen. Ever. I will point out, though, that you can hardly expect AFK people to do other than stand in one spot. I mean, they're AFK ;-).

Get looking in Search (one thing that for many does NOT work as well as it used to, but still does work) and find groups/places that sound like the ones you used to visit. I bet you'll be fine.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

So, essentialy what you are saying is that "back in the day" you were a griefer and miss it?

Look around, find something to do.

[Pussycat Catnap]

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Sounds to me like you'd enjoy some of the urban RP sims.  If you like driving, maybe you'd enjoy racing, either the NASCAR type or drag racing. Both have active communities in SL.  Why not check these things out instead of moping about wishing for back in the day? 

I've been in SL almost 6 1/2 years now and have never been bored with it.  You get out of SL exactly what effort you put into it, in my experience.    If all you are seeing is people standing around AFK, you need to go elsewhere. There are still plenty of fun people to meet and get to know.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

 

As for oversized people, I've no idea why you're seeing that. I'm in my fifth year. When I started the majority of avatars were 'taller than life-sized'. People maxxed out the height settings quite often. These days the trend (seems to me, anyway) is toward more RListic heights.

My SL height is very close to my RL height, and I am frequently taller than the females I meet here (just as I am in RL).

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You're taller than many of the females in SL????  That makes me....ummmm...well.... :smileysurprised:  I spoke a bit about the height thing on the thread where Coby and I posted photos taken in Phil's kitchen for comparison to furnishings.  I'm 5'10" in RL so that is what I made my avatar's height when I began SL in 2007 and was really short compared to the female AVs of that time.  I adjusted my height up a bit but still not as tall as most.  I haven't changed the height since then and now I'm usually on the way tall side compared to other female AVs.

In groups I'm seeing a wide range of sizes and, interestingly, the taller female avatars "usually" began SL when I did or prior.  The important thing is that each of us like how we look.

Edit: Typo

[Tamara Artis]

I could write about RL and how things changed.. back in the old days I could go out on weekends all alone, visit few clubs that I liked and I knew tons of my friends would be there, having fun doing stupid and funny things, we used to have so much laugh! Now when I go out, I am lucky to meet few of my old friends, most of them are now married with kids, have families and just staying home, those who still go out are like zombies hanging around on same places, drinking same drinks and talking same stories every time. Now there are new kids and they have their own ways of having fun in which I am not really interested. I mean, I miss old days, when we were all young and careless but life goes on. Find new friends, new places and new ways of getting some sort of satisfaction in whatever you are doing. 

So yeah, life goes on, and so should you:)

[Ted McGregor]

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Peggy Paperdoll wrote:

"...

What happened to that second life?"

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God I hate these threads........so freaking depressing.

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Intermission :

 

[Dillon Levenque]

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

 

As for oversized people, I've no idea why you're seeing that. I'm in my fifth year. When I started the majority of avatars were 'taller than life-sized'. People maxxed out the height settings quite often. These days the trend (seems to me, anyway) is toward more RListic heights.

My SL height is very close to my RL height, and I am frequently taller than the females I meet here (just as I am in RL).

---

You're taller than many of the females in SL????  That makes me....ummmm...well.... :smileysurprised: 

The important thing is that each of us like how we look.

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I did notice you were a bit taller than me, but only a bit. Some of my friends that have been here a long time are damn near Amazon height, but it does seem to me that the trend is for shorter avatars, which must be a relief for women that are under 5' 5" in RL and have taken pains to make their avatar match that; they might stop being mistaken for children if the trend continues.

[TristanMercer]

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Dillon Levenque wrote

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I did notice you were a bit taller than me, but only a bit. Some of my friends that have been here a long time are damn near Amazon height, but it does seem to me that the trend is for shorter avatars, which must be a relief for women that are under 5' 5" in RL and have taken pains to make their avatar match that; they might stop being mistaken for children if the trend continues.

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This happens constantly actually. My avatar is only about 6'2", rather short for SL, but exactly my real lfie height.

The overly large, steroid types guys who look like they are going to go into roid rage scare me. That trend is slowly fading as more and more realistic skins are released and better shapes are being made. The one thing I wish LL would do is update the shape base, as it has been around for quite a while without an update.

[Celestiall Nightfire]

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Dillon Levenque wrote:

....

but it does seem to me that the trend is for shorter avatars, which must be a relief for women that are under 5' 5" in RL and have taken pains to make their avatar match that; they might stop being mistaken for children if the trend continues.

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Exactly!  

A few years ago I actually had a group of child avatars spot me from a distance, and they flew over to greet me.  They thought I was a child avatar!   Only when they got a closer look, and saw that my avatar was not a child, but just petite/short, did they realize their mistake. 

My SL avatar is taller then the RL me, I think my SL avatar is 5' 5" or 5' 6", but when I've tried to make her 5' 1" like RL me, I look like a midget or something odd in SL.  My RL size does not translate well into SL, as everyone is just so big! 

I'm glad you wrote "have taken pains", because that's how I see it too.  Although, our SL avatars are just online cartoons that we operate, and often are idealized, the scale/size is integral to me being able to identify with my avatar.

[Guilliaume]

I am also just pointing out, since nobody else seemed to, that all of the "lag" the Original Poster seems to be getting may just be from not upgrading his system. Just like what is in style or what is changes with time, technology gets more advanced and consumes more resources. Of course if you are trying to run SL with the same machine as you did way back when, you will be met with tons of lag and issues. The technology has advanced and requires a more advanced machine.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Tamara Artis wrote:

 

So yeah, life goes on, and so should you:)

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This used to be one of my favorite TV shows.

[Melita Magic]

Well, you won't get much argument from me.

I am on the dino viewer. There is a lot I will miss about it when it inevitably breaks one day. I like the calling card; I like that option and its Victorian overtones. I don't want to be everybody's "Friend" and I don't want to be "Added" like I am corn starch and they are the pudding.

Mesh to me is comical because I see it as abstract shapes and donut shapes and naked people and missing limbs. Floating about SL and claiming fashion superiority (not to me hehe.)

I'm happy that they are happy in a way but also, as mesh overtakes more of SL, I miss the nice sculpty things that are going bye bye. I even like some of the old purely prim creations. I just do. There is a solidity about them.

It sounds as if you need a challenge and something to do. I think there are some roleplay communities still out there, although CSI sim is long, long gone (I never knew about it until afterward. Nor have I seen that episode *fires up youtube*.) I recommend a quest sim like Bentham or like Chakryn Forest, as well.

There are also creative outlets such as dramatic troupes, magazines, art galleries.

Or you can always raise breedable pets. They have multiplied across SL like Tribbles. I've basically given up on them, but, they are something to do.

 

[Melita Magic]

When did Patti LuPone have a sitcom?!

[Czari Zenovka]

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Melita Magic wrote:

When did Patti LuPone have a sitcom

?!

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According to the Wiki from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993.  I probably came into the series about halfway through.  It dealt with some, at that time, controversial issues such as AIDS.  Also, the actor who played Corky has Down Syndrome which, I would think, was also educational as well as providing a positive role model for others living with that syndrome.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Melita Magic wrote:

 

Mesh to me is comical because I see it as abstract shapes and donut shapes and naked people and missing limbs. Floating about SL and claiming fashion superiority (not to me hehe.)

 

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So today I'm perusing shoes and trying to decide what color to buy when this walks up next to me:

When it first appeared the feet were hidden so I'm thinking...okkkkayyyy....a giant patchwork eyeball?  A huge beach ball that got kicked a bit too far?  It is a bit disconcerting to have somthing like that roll walk by.  Good times!!!

Re: sculpts and prims - I seriously doubt they'll completely go away.  I've said this before and stand by it - I am in awe of someone who can take raw prims and create beauty from it moreso than buying a sculpt map/mesh doohickey that someone else made and texture it. (Not saying everyone does that.)  And eventually prims will become nostalgic...collectibles even and then become valuable again. :matte-motes-big-grin:

[Nuhai Ling]

I am glad someone appreciates the few of us that still build with prims! I do it mostly because I am familiar with the tricks to make them look good and everyone can see them. I never have an avatar complain about an odd shaped psychedelic bauble in my builds! Sure it is old-fashioned now but its cheaper to load into SL, causes less lag, and is interchangeable with things I built years ago. To me SL will always be prim-based. If (when?) I go to a new virtual world I will likely build with flexi because that will be their base. So long live the prim! You can pry it from my avatar's cold dead pixel hand when SL shuts down... next week! :matte-motes-big-grin:

 

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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Nuhai Ling wrote:

I am glad someone appreciates the few of us that still build with prims! I do it mostly because I am familiar with the tricks to make them look good and everyone can see them. I never have an avatar complain about an odd shaped psychedelic bauble in my builds! Sure it is old-fashioned now but its cheaper to load into SL, causes less lag, and is interchangeable with things I built years ago. To me SL will always be prim-based. If (when?) I go to a new virtual world I will likely build with flexi because that will be their base. So long live the prim! You can pry it from my avatar's cold dead pixel hand when SL shuts down... next week! :matte-motes-big-grin:

 

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you can make prims in SL flexi... thats the only thing that currently can be made flexi.  Mesh actually causes less lag than prims. you can get more done with less lag with mesh. however, i do like prims for some things.

[Porky Gorky]

I don't think mesh has really hit it's stride yet. When I compare the quality of sculpties when they first rolled out compared to now there is no comparison. The majority of us content creators are amateurs and each new creation development in SL often brings with it a steep learning curve for us. You can already see that learning curve when you compare the mesh that appeared after rollout compared to today and I really don't think we have seen anywhere near the best of mesh in SL yet.

[Maelstrom Janus]

Mesh is a complete dead end for anyone who enjoys in world building ...it's lead to the stagnation of the building system which has seen no improvements for years.

Ive been trying my hand a mesh simply trying to make shapes that would be feasible in sl with a few modifications - being able to hollow to 99% instead of the current 95% for example.

12 lindens to upload a simple ring 60 meters across ( I wanted a 120 metre hull for my latest space station the piece shrunk on importing), it wouldnt upload correctly I still need to work on a uv map to texture it oh and and its a single item but the equivalent of 52 prims lol...

Sketchup just doesnt respond the way Id expect and if I'm learning blender I might as well go back to university and study computer aided design....

Well done to the people who pushed for mesh..you've taken the onus away from lindens to provide anything in the way of new features to the inworld building menu...

Some people might be happy staring at something like blender for hours, me I want to 'play' in sl, I want to put on a space suit to build my space stations in world and actually be able to walk round inside my build without paying anything extra - especially for untested imported pieces which dont do the job.

Linden labs must love mesh I wonder how much money they make from people uploading especially if they have to upload several pieces to get the right piece. Not to mention the fact these mesh items must boost the prim count....

[Porky Gorky]

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Maelstrom Janus wrote:

Mesh is a complete dead end for anyone who enjoys in world building ...it's lead to the stagnation of the building system which has seen no improvements for years.

 

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I agree that mesh does nothing to enhance the inworld building experience, it would have been great to incorporate some basic 3D modeling tools into the viewer but that is a massive undertaking and would require hefty investment. When LL developed mesh I think they effectively killed any future hope of development of the inworld toolset, and took the easy and cheap route by sending builders out of SL and into 3rd party design software rather than developing anything in-house or paying to incorporate someone else's 3D modeling tools into the viewer.

 

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Maelstrom Janus wrote:

12 lindens to upload a simple ring 60 meters across ( I wanted a 120 metre hull for my latest space station the piece shrunk on importing), it wouldn't upload correctly I still need to work on a uv map to texture it oh and and its a single item but the equivalent of 52 prims lol...

 

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You are still restricted by the prim size limit in SL so I think 64m is the largest you will be able to import. You are going to have to break your hull up into sections to import it in.

The cost of creating mesh does push up the overall cost of content creation which is very unfair in my opinion. Well designed mesh is much more effitient from a performance standpoint, yet sculpties are still cheaper to upload and they are a performance killer in comparison. Makes no sense to me! Sculpties should cost more to upload, simple as that.

With regards to your 52 prim ring...This may sound presumptuous but do you know fully how to optimize mesh for SL? For example with an object that big you would only need to focus on the highest LOD level with maybe a basic representation on the second highest LOD level, the lower LOD levels need only consist of enough poly's to hold each of your materials. All LOD levels models should be custom made by you, don't let the system do it for you. You should also custom build your physics shape and import it rather than relying on the system. If you have already done all this then feel free to ignore me.

Learning to model in 3D is one thing, learning to optimise the mesh for best performance in SL is a whole other thing. The mesh forums have a wealth of info regarding this.

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Maelstrom Janus wrote:

 

Some people might be happy staring at something like blender for hours, me I want to 'play' in sl, I want to put on a space suit to build my space stations in world and actually be able to walk round inside my build without paying anything extra - especially for untested imported pieces which don't do the job.

 

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Although you probably wont see any more development of the toolset there is no need to be so glum! You can still put on your space suit and build in SL till your hearts content. I have made lots of awesome non mesh content in the past and I will make more in the future. I was a mesh snob for the first year after rollout and never built inworld, but that has changed the last 6 months and I am back to building in prims and sculpts as well as mesh. I have kept my prefabs brands separate so customers do not need to see mesh if they do not want to and I still sell allot of non mesh content, more so than mesh, although there is about 50 times more non mesh content so that is probably why. 

My point is mesh adoption is not as widespread as people think. There is still plenty of non mesh content being created and sold. 

The same principle has applied in SL since I got here. If it's new, it looks/works great and it is fairly unique in SL then people will visit it or buy it or steal it, regardless of how it was constructed.

 

[Kenbro Utu]

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Maelstrom Janus wrote:

Linden labs must love mesh I wonder how much money they make from people uploading especially if they have to upload several pieces to get the right piece. 

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http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Mesh

"

Save L$ by testing on the beta grid

Uploading mesh content to the main Second Life grid costs Linden dollars. For development and testing, upload your content to the Aditi beta grid instead. For more information about Aditi, see Preview Grid."