Best Vehicle?

[Benson Gravois]

Anyone have any tips on who sells the best cars in SL? I want one that has very realistic detail, and that drives well? I see some on the market place that look amazing, in fact they look real, but i read the reviews and they say the scripting is bad, they do not drive well. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Lucia Nightfire]

Cindy Henusaki makes great vehicles. Most if not all use the ACS system. You can also test drive them all at her store too.

[ChinRey]

I think it's fair to say that Arton Rotaru and Kaliska (Rubber Bunny) are in a class of their own among makers of four wheeled land vehicles for SL. They have the very rare advantage of being second to none both as mesh makers and scripters and that shows. Unfortunately neither have made any regular street cars, so it's unlikely you'll find what you're looking for there.

For good street cars, you should check out GEMC and possibly PSC. Both make meshes well over the average standard of SL car makers (GEMC a notch or two above PSC) and they use their own script systems which make them far better at sim crossings than ACS powered ones.

Bethi Cattaneo makes some absolutely stunning cars. Some LoD issues but not too bad - I'd say about the same as GEMC or possibly halfway between GEMC and Arton/Kaliska. I'm not sure abut the scripts though, she's neither a scripter nor a car specialist herself so it's possible she just loads them with ACS.

---

Edit: I think most of the great looking cars you see on MP are ripped from various car racing games. There is this guy who sells them full perm fairly cheap, complete with textures. So all you need to do to open your own car business, is buy those kits and the ACS package to script them. But those cars weere uplaoded by somebody who doesn't know how to make emsh himself so they only look god on MP pictures and at point blank diatcnse inworld. And with out-of-the-box ASC scripts with no attempt to even try to optimize or adapt for the purpose, they tend to handle like cows and sound like motorcycles.

Edited February 10, 2018 by ChinRey

[Theresa Tennyson]

8 hours ago, Benson Gravois said:

Anyone have any tips on who sells the best cars in SL? I want one that has very realistic detail, and that drives well? I see some on the market place that look amazing, in fact they look real, but i read the reviews and they say the scripting is bad, they do not drive well. Anyone have any suggestions?

A great deal depends on how you want to drive. The majority of cars on the market currently use the same scripts (ACS) which aren't ideal for region crossings. Of these cars, I'd recommend Cindy Henusaki's C.H.C., Aikioto and Hotaru. Those three companies share two regions that are right next to each other and you can test drive the cars' handling and region crossing there. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Grand Palaccio/213/71/1501

Surplus Motors also uses the same scripts - their handling within a region is usually very good and make dedicated circuit racing cars. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Camaro/75/111/24

Amariah Francis uses the ACS scripts and has very affordable cars that are usually well set-up and test-drivable. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gama/213/228/36

I agree with ChinRey (don't get used to it) on GEMC and Arton Rotaru's cars as well. GEMC now sells out of the Prototype region, which also has a number of good makers of more specialized commercial vehicles. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prototype/84/135/24

My personal favorite cars for long distance driving are from a group of Japanese makers who use different scripts that appear to be much lighter for region crossings than the ACS scripts. Makers include Manji, TNK Works, SUMI (Sumire Papp) and M's R and D (Myuki Mills.) Haru's cars are works of art to look at but aren't the best on a region crossing. Manji and TNK demos are available at Haru. SUMI and Myuki Mills sell out of Burns.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/HaruMotors/108/184/902

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burns/245/51/64

Movita uses similar or the same scripts and their cars are often very reasonably priced, though sometimes it's a "pot luck" situation because their quality can be uneven.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lusca/183/53/59

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Theresa Tennyson

[ChinRey]

1 hour ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

The majority of cars on the market currently use the same scripts (ACS) which aren't ideal for region crossings.

The main problems with ACS are that it is a motorcycle script system converted to generic vehicle use by having every bell and whistle that can conceivably be used for a vehicle bolted onto it, it's old code and it was made by somebody who doesn't seem to have been a very skilled scripter at the time. The result is bloated code that is very heavy to run. It's usually not an issue as long as you stay in a single sim and that sim isn't to heavily scripted but it can cause all sorts of trouble when you try to cross sim borders.

It is full perm so in theory the car merchant can modify it to fit their exact needs but modifying other people's code is always a strenous task and with code as messy as this (down to and including variables with joke names like "whiskey" and "bourbon" rather than descriptive ones), it's probably easier and faster for a skilled scripter to write their own code from scratch. And of course, ACS is use extensively by the resellers of full perm game rips who aren't likely to bother with modifying the scripts at all - some of them don't even replace the default motorcycle sound files with car sounds. There are well performing ACS powered vehicles - I have a few myself - but they are rare.

Another disadvantage which probably is only relevant for diehard car driving role players, is that ACS is not GFS (Global Fuel System) compatible. ACS has its own fuel system but I don't think there are many stations. I can't actually remember to have ever seen one, except my own.

At Langdale I have a GFS and an ACS gas station right next to each other and while the GFS one seems to get a little bit of traffic, I can't remember ever to have seen the ACS station being used. That may say a lot abut what the really passionate car drivers' opinion.

Edited February 10, 2018 by ChinRey

[ChinRey]

3 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

I agree with ChinRey (don't get used to it)

Oh yes, please do not make that a habit! A discussion without opposition never leads anywhere.

[Donovan Michalski]

5 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

A great deal depends on how you want to drive. The majority of cars on the market currently use the same scripts (ACS) which aren't ideal for region crossings. Of these cars, I'd recommend Cindy Henusaki's C.H.C., Aikioto and Hotaru. Those three companies share two regions that are right next to each other and you can test drive the cars' handling and region crossing there. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Grand Palaccio/213/71/1501

Surplus Motors also uses the same scripts - their handling within a region is usually very good and make dedicated circuit racing cars. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Camaro/75/111/24

Amariah Francis uses the ACS scripts and has very affordable cars that are usually well set-up and test-drivable. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gama/213/228/36

I agree with ChinRey (don't get used to it) on GEMC and Arton Rotaru's cars as well. GEMC now sells out of the Prototype region, which also has a number of good makers of more specialized commercial vehicles. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prototype/84/135/24

My personal favorite cars for long distance driving are from a group of Japanese makers who use different scripts that appear to be much lighter for region crossings than the ACS scripts. Makers include Manji, TNK Works, SUMI (Sumire Papp) and M's R and D (Myuki Mills.) Haru's cars are works of art to look at but aren't the best on a region crossing. Manji and TNK demos are available at Haru. SUMI and Myuki Mills sell out of Burns.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/HaruMotors/108/184/902

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burns/245/51/64

Movita uses similar or the same scripts and their cars are often very reasonably priced, though sometimes it's a "pot luck" situation because their quality can be uneven.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lusca/183/53/59

 

Fantastic quality post, thanks.

Myuki & her friends have also hosted a Mainland Rally a few times over the years, I took part in last year's and really enjoyed it.  The car Myuki made for it was given as a prize for completing it, and it is my favorite car for mainland driving.

 

[Benson Gravois]

Aslo folks, two things I think are crucial: The ability to set the camera view where you want it, i prefer just over the shoulder so it looks like you are reallydriving inside the car, and being able to demo before you drive.

[Zeta Vandyke]

I love my PSC Car. Looks great, drives great. Has a nice HUD for customizing and one for driving (with camera view options)

 

[Paul Hexem]

I miss creators that wrote their own scripts.

[Callum Meriman]

On 2/10/2018 at 4:54 PM, ChinRey said:

I think it's fair to say that Arton Rotaru and Kaliska (Rubber Bunny) are in a class of their own among makers of four wheeled land vehicles for SL.

Absolutely. Some top notch vehicles there. 

Unrelated to them - I am not impressed in ACS vehicles at all... it's a bit of a rubberband guarantee. The scripts have too many bells and whistles to ever be good, then add in the AvSitter x-rated poses some unnamed resellers seem to want to put into every vehicle. Ugh.

[arton Rotaru]

On 10.2.2018 at 10:10 PM, Gadget Portal said:

I miss creators that wrote their own scripts.

If I understood ChinReys post correctly, she mentioned at least 2 creators who did wrote their own vehicle scripts. 

In case of arton Rotaru, I'm in the fortunate position to confirm that he indeed wrote all his scripts from scratch.

[sirhc DeSantis]

@arton Rotaru and having had the chance to play with your stuff, good they are too.

I write my own too as I can't stand the usual keyboard controls but like all things, the script set mentioned has brand recognition so can see why its used.

(And in its defence if needed, I have played with the set mentioned and while it is a bit over egged for my needs there is nothing intrinsically wrong and its a great gift to the grid. On the subject of adding whole xpose etc anims - seriously, how many can you use on the back of a NorVin? OK its roughly 5 but thats another story).

[animats]

The Sumi cars are very cute. The dune buggy handles very well on rough terrain. It has independent suspension, even. Their region crossing behavior is good, too. Go to his shop in Burns, rez a demo car, and make a quick run around Robin Loop.

I've been working on region crossing improvements, as some of you know, but I'm not ready to release a vehicle for wide use yet. I do have a demo bike I give out, but it's a tech demo. On that note, does anyone know of a vehicle that's really bad at region crossings? I need something to test with that generates frequent half-unsits. My test motorcycle takes too long between failures, which is slowing down development.

[BiroIsHere]

Pm me.  I tried alot of cars and motocycles

[Bebe Bunny]

I have 2 PSC cars and I love them, even the cop car I bought I could turn it into a civilian car just by removing parts on the hud. The driving is smooth (as much as lag allows to) and after trying several different cars it's my favorite so far.

[BiroIsHere]

11 hours ago, Sylvannas Zulaman said:

I have 2 PSC cars and I love them, even the cop car I bought I could turn it into a civilian car just by removing parts on the hud. The driving is smooth (as much as lag allows to) and after trying several different cars it's my favorite so far.

Yes PSC are awsom i have one too.  If somebody look for good motocycles i can recomend SAU

[animats]

On 2/10/2018 at 3:00 AM, Theresa Tennyson said:

 GEMC now sells out of the Prototype region, which also has a number of good makers of more specialized commercial vehicles. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prototype/84/135/24

Those guys have the most realistic mall I've seen in SL. Mall directory, mall music, entry doors, emergency exits... They have their own little 4-sim slice of semi-rural America.

Their vehicles are quite good looking, and the semitruck has a nice animation for climbing into the cab. The cab even has a working speedometer and tach. But it doesn't drive very well; it rotates around the wrong center when turning. It feels like someone put a motorcycle script in a truck.

[Theresa Tennyson]

5 hours ago, animats said:

Those guys have the most realistic mall I've seen in SL. Mall directory, mall music, entry doors, emergency exits... They have their own little 4-sim slice of semi-rural America.

Their vehicles are quite good looking, and the semitruck has a nice animation for climbing into the cab. The cab even has a working speedometer and tach. But it doesn't drive very well; it rotates around the wrong center when turning. It feels like someone put a motorcycle script in a truck.

Have you taken account that it's designed to pull a trailer, and when you're driving the demo you're driving it bobtail? (I'm assuming you also have a chauffeur's license and extensive OTR truck driving experience to base your judgments on.)