SL VS IMVU

[Christin73]

The other day I out of curiocity desided to download and try IMVU. It is quite diffrent yet seems similer in some respects. For instance on IMVU you don't buy or rent land. It is more skybox type setting. Walking and animaiton is also another diffrence. On IMVU you can't walk around freely or fly. Anyone else ever play around with IMVU and any other diffrences you have seen?

 

[Tari Landar]

They are two different environments. There may be a couple similarities here and there, but I don't think there are enough for a fair comparison. I've been on both for quite a long time. There are too many differences between the two. It would be like comparing facebook, for example, to sl. It's just not a fair comparison, even with the couple similarities.

IMVU does have a target audience and has since it was created, though. Sl on the other hand, doesn't have a specific audience it's geared towards and has mass appeal for all sorts, of all ages. The ages allowed in slanyway lol. Sl is far easier to tailor to your needs. IMVU can't be tailored to your needs, as it is what it is. There is user content in both, but even that is vastly different.

 

[Czari Zenovka]

I've never had any desire to check out IMVU so you know more about it than I; however from screenshots I've seen taken in IMVU, the avatars look more "cartoony" - a bit like Anime.  People I know who have gone to IMVU have said that the population tends toward a younger crowd. Selling merchandise in IMVU is apparently very different than SL as well.

Edit: Clarification

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I checked out IMVU once and didn't like it at all.  The avatars and the environment are cartoonish much more so than in SL. Even though you can customize your avatar to a certain degree, most of them look alike to me other than for a few details such as hair color or style etc.  While SL avatars can look a lot alike too if someone is relying on ready made avatar parts, it seemed to me you have a much better chance of looking more individual in SL, like humans do in RL.

You are very restricted in what you can do there too compared to SL.  Its great maybe for people who just want to socialize in a 3D environment and play dress up or fool around with some simple decorating, but I was bored to tears.  Of course a lot of people do that in SL too, but the things in SL seem much more 'real' and interesting to me.

You can create content for IMVU but need to jump through a lot of hoops.  You have to pay for VIP membership and also must pay an additional 'submission' fee for each product to be able to sell it.

These are all my opinions of course, and others may feel differently, but I really would never be satisfied with IMVU.   The whole things seems much more of a game than a real virtual world.

[Sephina Frostbite]

IMHO, Sl wins. There is no actual world. Its very cartoonish. There are children who sneak on sl however in IMVU there is are a lot more children. There is not actual world. One of the things I love about sl is the scenic views and taking photos. IMVU just doesn't cut it.

[Syo Emerald]

In my opinion is IMVU for immature adults and nosiy teens/children. Also the furry avatars I have seen there look dumb, seems like its not possible to have any kind of coverage for the human head and so they simply have to paint it with fur.

[Ceka Cianci]

ya i tried it..

the not being able to move around or walk kind of did it for me..

 

[Sephina Frostbite]

---

Syo Emerald wrote:

In my opinion is IMVU for immature adults and noisy teens/children. Also the furry avatars I have seen there look dumb, seems like its not possible to have any kind of coverage for the human head and so they simply have to paint it with fur.

---

Wish I could kudos this. BTW love the new badge, beautiful

[RiiCassidy]

Personally i like both. I met my bestfriend who is my bestfriend in REAL LIFE as well. I wasn't expecting on meeting her at all. And saying that IMVU has immature adults and such and such is really unfair because in secondlife and this is just me, i've had more griefering that you can actually imagine. Both have their ups and downs and because IMVU isn't a virtual world and a virtual 3d chat the whole versus thing is invalid. Im not sure if some of you've haven't been on there since 2008 but it improved alot to be honest, they actually have mesh heads now, yea. And for me uploading mesh there was 10x easier there and you didn't need all your i.d and credit cards all out there.

The art forum is better, even though it was closed it countinued offsite and the artists there are just so talented...

Not to mention that there's really no other program that looks like it and there aren't  any other viewers for it.

While with secondlife you have things like opensim,avination,3dmee,inworldz and ones in the process.

Support is the same though, both very crappy unless by a moderator. Not to mention the moderators were actually active in the forums and were friendly/funny and very mature.

And lets not forget IMVU was made for chatting it wasn't made for someone to stimulate a better life for theirselves or what they felt was better.

 

Not bashing secondlife, because that would be stupid because im here typing this lol, but both of them have their flaws and to say that one is better than the other is cray.

 

[Jade Nova]

I'm a professional developer on IMVU and have been there since 2006 (I make my living entirely on IMVU).

I joined Second Life in 2008.

 

The main difference is that IMVU is a 3d avatar chat software, and Second Life is a virtual world. IMVU you open an IM to talk to someone in your room, or you can go to a public room (i.e. a chat room) and talk to multiple people there as they come and go. Second Life you have a whole world where you can shop, go shopping, go to clubs, etc. Without ever having to open up a new window or tab to do so. Second Life has much less limits than IMVU does. 

While I do like both, SL I find is much more open. There is no paid-for access pass for mildly adult content. Actual adult content is allowed on SL but not on IMVU. The avatars on SL are far more detailed and customizable as well. On IMVU, shapes come with the clothing you buy, kind of like mesh clothing on SL, but there is no scaling to body parts, it just replaces that part of the body mesh with clothing weighted to it. And for your face, you buy heads instead of use sliders to customize your look after putting on a skin. Some heads look good with some skins, others not so much.

[Tari Landar]

---

RiiCassidy wrote:

Personally i like both. I met my bestfriend who is my bestfriend in REAL LIFE as well. I wasn't expecting on meeting her at all. And saying that IMVU has immature adults and such and such is really unfair because in secondlife and this is just me, i've had more griefering that you can actually imagine. Both have their ups and downs and because IMVU isn't a virtual world and a virtual 3d chat the whole versus thing is invalid. Im not sure if some of you've haven't been on there since 2008 but it improved alot to be honest, they actually have mesh heads now, yea. And for me uploading mesh there was 10x easier there and you didn't need all your i.d and credit cards all out there.

 

The art forum is better, even though it was closed it countinued offsite and the artists there are just so talented...

Not to mention that there's really no other program that looks like it and there aren't  any other viewers for it.

While with secondlife you have things like opensim,avination,3dmee,inworldz and ones in the process.

Support is the same though, both very crappy unless by a moderator. Not to mention the moderators were actually active in the forums and were friendly/funny and very mature.

And lets not forget IMVU was made for chatting it wasn't made for someone to stimulate a better life for theirselves or what they felt was better.

 

Not bashing secondlife, because that would be stupid because im here typing this lol, but both of them have their flaws and to say that one is better than the other is cray.

 

---

It's not an unfair statement when it's true. IMVU is not catered to older adults. It never has been and never will be, they knew that from the moment of its inception. Although anyone can act immature anywhere. It appeals to teens and younger adults more than anything. So finding immature people there, is quite easy. That's not to say one can't find them in sl. Of course you can. Sl has a wider userbase and much larger environment. There are even specific areas one could go to find immature people, of all ages.

IMVU is not a bad place, anymore than sl is, there is still no real comparison. They are two very different products. Only one of them can truly have different environments within it though. IMVU doesn't allow for that sort of thing-at least not on any measurable level.

The other "programs" you listed are also not the same as sl, either. Similar, yes, the same, no. They don't even all look the same, despite what some people think. IMVU has not always stood on it's own as the "best" 3d chat room(and depending on who you ask, it still isn't even in what they'd consider the top 5, lol). If that is the intent and purpose of someone joining(and it often is for IMVU), they can easily find it in any one of the places you listed, even online games can be seen as 3d chat rooms. People don't join IMVU for it's environment and how it "looks". They join because it's a 3d chat room. The majority do anyway. I am sure there are some who'd disagree, and some who join for other reasons, they're very few and far between. Sl on the other hand offers a plethora of things to do, places to see and such, from the word go, a 3d chat room being only one of many reasons people join. Places like IMVU, do not. Even the different rooms and "environments" aren't what draws people to IMVU.

It can be, and is, a wonderful place for many, in the same way that any virtual environment/world/program can be.

I don't think it's crazy for someone to say one is better than the other, if that's indeed how they feel. It's just their opinion and we don't have to agree with it. For me IMVU is not a place I enjoy as much. I find sl to be far superior, in many ways. I always have, and I've seen and been in both when neither of them looked as if they had a leg to stand on or would last. Even if I was only interested in a 3d chat room, IMVU would not be my first, second, or even third choice-for a few different reasons. But that's just me, my opinion and what works for me and my needs. Others, won't feel the same. My not liking some place or program doesn't make it bad. Just makes it not ideal for me.

[Sephina Frostbite]

I never thought about IMVU just being a glorified chat room. Now that you put it in that perspective It couldn't be IMVU vs SecondLife. Also I have gained respect for IMVU now.

[Eric Castanea]

 I tried IMVU and didn't last 10 minutes. It seemed so limited compared to SL.

[Tari Landar]

---

Sephina Frostbite wrote:

I never thought about IMVU just being a glorified chat room. Now that you put it in that perspective It couldn't be IMVU vs SecondLife. Also I have gained respect for IMVU now.

---

That's exactly what IMVU was created to be, a 3d chat system. It was never intended to be anything more, and it never will be. That's part of it's appeal to those who stick around. Although in i's earliest stages(and perhaps by some still) it was called a social entertainment website. 3d chat system/room, rolls off the tongue a bit better, lol.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

ya i tried it..

the not being able to move around or walk kind of did it for me..

 

---

An avatar can't move around or walk? :matte-motes-agape:  Really glad I never messed with it.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

RiiCassidy wrote:

 

And lets not forget IMVU was made for chatting it wasn't made for someone to stimulate a better life for theirselves or what they felt was better.

 

---

Ah ok.  Since I'm not in a chatty place in life atm (well except on forums...lol), I'll remain my recluse-self in SL.  Thanks for clearing that up.  :matte-motes-wink:

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Tari Landar wrote:

---

Sephina Frostbite wrote:

I never thought about IMVU just being a glorified chat room. Now that you put it in that perspective It couldn't be IMVU vs SecondLife. Also I have gained respect for IMVU now.

---

That's exactly what IMVU was created to be, a 3d chat system. It was never intended to be anything more, and it never will be. That's part of it's appeal to those who stick around. Although in i's earliest stages(and perhaps by some still) it was called a social entertainment website. 3d chat system/room, rolls off the tongue a bit better, lol.

---

Ok, here's what I don't get...given that IMVU is basically a 3d chat system, what exactly do the merchants there sell?  (Not addressed specifically to Tari...just the thought that sprang to mind since we get some IMVU creators on the merchant forums asking how selling in SL works.)

Edit: Clarification

[Jade Nova]

@Czari: 

 

Merchants there are called developers or creators and we sell the same kinds of things you'd see on SL, just that sometimes they work a little differently. The main differences being:

1. Meshes are usually set to derivable, which means that another developer can derive from someone else's mesh and retexture it to sell in their own catalogs. Meshes are not required to be set to derivable, it's just that most people do so because there is a lot more money in letting other people use it. They do not get any copy of the mesh file, it's purely in-client. The mesher that is derived from then gets a portion of every sale that they are able to set to whatever amount they feel their original product is worth. There are far more texture artists on IMVU than 3d modelers.
2. All stores are website only. There is no in-world store other than a shop tab in-client which brings up a dressing room for people to try on products (therefore eliminating the need for separate demos, since you can't leave that room and no one else can join you while you shop). The shop tab is exactly like the web shop, it's just integrated into the client for ease of access. 
3. IMVU gets a cut of every sale, so there are no freebies. Creators can gift their products to other people but they still have to pay IMVUs cut even if it's their own product-- They just don't have to pay the markup, which is the creators own profit. 
4. There are no product permissions. You cannot modify or transfer anything you buy, but you can save outfits like you can on SL, but instead of duplicating anything it's really just creating a shortcut. 
5. There are no layers of clothing. Each piece of clothing is basically replacing the part of the body that it is attached to, so different body types are attached to the clothing made for them. Some people have made "any-skin" items that are attachments designed to act like layers but they don't always fit flawlessly because of the different body types and heads that people use. Also, since it is laying on top of the body as its own geometry, if you wear an any-skin tattoo and wear skin-tight clothing over it it will appear on top of the clothing rather than under.

 

Those are some main differences. I'm a creator on both, so if anyone has any specific questions about IMVU please feel free to ask.

[Czari Zenovka]

Thank you for that info, Jade. :matte-motes-smile:  One more question, please - since it doesn't sound like people go anywhere on IMVU, do they have houses or rooms for which creators design furnishings, or are the creations in IMVU primarily avatar wearables?

[Jade Nova]

Oh yes, they have rooms and can decorate with furniture and everything. Instead of walking around they have standing and sitting nodes to move around the room or sit on/interact with furniture and other objects. You place a piece of furniture in your room by clicking on it in your inventory and it appears next to your avatar. From there you can drag and drop it to other nodes, and then use keyboard shortcuts for  fine-tuning in case it doesn't sit in the exact place you want. You can scale, rotate, and even copy a piece of furniture as many times as you want. The only thing with furniture animations (such as sits on a couch), is that they also scale with the furniture. So if you scale a chair up to be gigantic, any avatar that sits on it will be gigantic.

The rooms can be saved as your personal room so you can use it when you open a chat window with someone, you can save it as your default room so when you open your "my room" tab that's where you'll go. You can invite multiple people to join you in your room but they can't join without you inviting them unless you open it as a public room -- in which case everyone can join based on your settings (18+, access pass only, teens only, etc). 

[Czari Zenovka]

Thank you once again, Jade.  The way sitting is accomplished in IMVU might be great for me as I often have difficulty sitting correctly.  I've ended up on the tops of chairs and other less-than-graceful positions.

[Jade Nova]

Haha yeah, since the skeletons are all the same and there is no body morphing for different shapes (a mesher would modify the original body shape via the geometry rather than bones), the sitting and other object interactions aren't screwed up. Everyone's the same height by default so it makes everything a bit easier with animations. You can buy taller avatars but since the skeleton used for furniture animations are all the same size, you still get scaled down while you're on that node. (for some reason the taller avatars are typically made taller by stretching bones rather than by any other means).

[StarryEyed78]

Personally I like both. I started off using IMVU and found it easier to use in my opinion. Granted, you can't walk or fly, but I feel like the avatars are better looking and creating and saving an outfit is less of a hassel. While it's not a lot of work, remembering to throw on a shoe base, or an Alpha is a bit of a nuicense to remember. 

Rather than renting or buying land, I can buy a room and use it however I like wether it be used as a home, club, cafe, or nature scene. Nevertheless I do love the security level on SL, automatically booting someone without a tag it's been very handy. 

I've noticed more teens and preteens on IMVU vs SL. However one thing I do love about IMVU way more than SL is the age verification, if order to join the 18+ chat rooms you have to be age verified, which requires payment. Whereas on here I suppose anyone can say they're over 18 and join a mature room. 

IMVU (in my opinion) is straight to the point when it comes to creating, building, and designing, but again I can't walk freely, fly, or privately chat while in a public room like I can on SL.

Both are great in their own ways, just depends on who's using it.

 

[YukiMamushi]

To a POINT. What really makes the decision is L$ vs Credits. When you buy 5000 Credits from IMVU, you pay 5.00. When you buy the same ammount from SL, with L$, you pay over 20 dollars, that's a bit rediculous. 20$ doesn't justify walking and flying freely. The clear winner, is IMVU.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

---

YukiMamushi wrote:

To a POINT. What really makes the decision is L$ vs Credits. When you buy 5000 Credits from IMVU, you pay 5.00. When you buy the same ammount from SL, with L$, you pay over 20 dollars, that's a bit rediculous. 20$ doesn't justify walking and flying freely. The clear winner, is IMVU.

---

"If I buy 5000 British pounds, I pay 6000 euros. If I buy 5000 Indian rupee, I pay 60 euros. India is the clear winner." What kind of logic is that?

You don't need $20 to walk and fly in the first place, you can do that for free.