Do builders still use prims?

[Lipahlove]

Hi all!

So i had comeback to sl, hadn't been on for personal reasons which doesn't matter now lol the point is, i use to be a builder back then, but i had stop playing before mesh happen.

So i wonder if people still use prims or only use 3D out-world programs to build (and create in general)?

If so i'm willing to try that out, i had allready downloaded the maya program, but would be sad too because i really liked to build inside the game while iming and chatting but guess have to be updated, right?

 

Thanks for all the update and advices in advance!

[mikka Luik]

Short answer - yes

 

Longer answer, I use whatever fits the job be it prim, sculpty or mesh (with 'job' loosely defined)

[Pamela Galli]

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Lipahlove wrote:

Hi all!

So i had comeback to sl, hadn't been on for personal reasons which doesn't matter now lol the point is, i use to be a builder back then, but i had stop playing before mesh happen.

So i wonder if people still use prims or only use 3D out-world programs to build (and create in general)?

If so i'm willing to try that out, i had allready downloaded the maya program, but would be sad too because i really liked to build inside the game while iming and chatting but guess have to be updated, right?

 

Thanks for all the update and advices in advance!

---

I use whatever is most appropriate for the job as well. I never figured out how to type and build at the same time, though.

[Freya Mokusei]

I still mostly use prims for the same reason as you - I like quick feedback, collaboration and continued socialising.

There's no reason you can't combine tricks, I can still make prims look pretty swish (if a little heavier, prim-count-wise).

[Qie Niangao]

If "build" means architectural structures, then yeah: I find a mix of prim and mesh most efficient. But as a scripter, most of my "builds" are things activated by script, and mesh is very weak for that. I even need to use sculpties, still, for some scripted functions. The SL representation of mesh is nerfed -- intentionally, as I understand it -- limiting its ability to be manipulated by script beyond mere surface treatments, scaling, and motion.

[ChinRey]

I nearly always start with prims. Even if I have to retopo completely in Blender to get the right shapes, I very much prefer to make a prim sketch as detailed as possible first. There are several reasons, the main one is that context is very important to me. You can't really see how a build fits in with an SL environment unless you build in-world.

Usually, I convert my builds to mesh and modify them heavily in Blender of course but not nearly always. One thing most people seem to forget is that prims and sculpts are mesh. They are standardized versions of mesh with many parameters predetrmined. If whatever you want to build fits the prim system reasonably well, it's nearly always most efficient to make it with prims. (Same with sculpts although that doesn't happen that often.) One of my specialities is ultra-efficient builds with lower LI and lag and higher LOD than most builders believe is possible. Sometimes I try to take that to the limit, partly to test myself, partly (I have to be honest here) to show off a little bit. These builds are never pure mesh. Usually they're mesh/prim hybrids, sometimes they include a few sculpts too - and sometimes they're pure sculpts.

Then there's the joy factor. Prim twisting is fun and you can discover wonderful shapes you would never have thought of on your own. I can "waste" hours just playing around with my prims. And of course, prims allow for far more spontaneity. Only takes a few minutes rez a few prims and cook up some nice thingy to adorn your place. Hours of tedious work if you have to do it with mesh.

I tend to think of prim building as a kind of 3D modelling equivalent to haiku or blues. It's so so restricted, yet there seems to be no limit to what a true artist can create within the framework. Here are to brilliant examples that have inspired me:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Topaz%20Isle/126/129/49

and expecially:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Damania/128/128/34

How many vertice pushers and texture bakers today can match the prim and sculpt works of geniuses like Brice Bonetto and Damanios Thetan?

[Lipahlove]

first you must really want to and second you can allways use voice

[Lipahlove]

Thank you ALL for your opinions! Was very helpful!

I guess i'll start again to build as i did before and also play with maya at same time... maybe i can try later to convert my prims in mesh and who knows sky is the limit