I don't understand this game

[Silvian73]

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Silvian73

[Ethan Paslong]

18 minutes ago, Silvian73 said:

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

i'm not going to explain anything, if it really are you first steps, question one can wait ...
Your second question is more interesting, because it shows you didn't read a lot about SL yet, nor got a idea what it is.
Its no game with levels and points, nor goals. It's all about what you make of it. It's a social platform with all things you can imagine and create yourself, you are the director, producer, write the script and you'r the actor ..just like your life in RL.
If you did the tutorial... well hardly can call it that way, its more a ininitiative instruction what sl is. Most basic questions for starters are found here

https://secondlife.com/my/whatnext/?lang=en-US

[Claireschen Hesten]

1. Unlike the games you are used to playing very little of the content has been optimised and you are downloading the world around you where ever you go it's not stored on your computer

2. This "game" doesn't have any tasks or goals it's a case of "your world, your imagination" a good starting place would be to use the search tools to find things you are interested in

[MoiraKathleen]

This isn't a game in the same sense as the titles you mentioned.  The majority of the things you see inworld are created by other residents, with varying degrees of understanding and skills in creating game-optimized content - that is one of the cool things about SL, that anyone can create and build within the framework provided.   Because people are constantly changing the world, it cannot be 'pre-loaded' onto your PC.  In addition, there are over 23K regions, full of their own content, and there is no way for the system to know ahead of time which of those regions you are going to visit.

The graphical quality and performance will vary based up a variety of factors:  your computer specs, the stability and quality of your connection to the servers, the graphical settings in your viewer preferences (which you can adjust), and the area inworld that you are in (number of others present, quality of the build in that particular region, etc.).  If a particular region seems laggy for you, then try adjusting your graphics settings and/or find a different region to explore.   Except for very popular shopping events, when they first open and are very crowded, I seldom experience serious lag.   

There is no one way to enjoy SL - it depends on the types of things that interest you or that you want to explore or try out. 

[WillowTenage]

Just explore around a lot, interact with objects, talk with people.  I'm still finding new things to do here, and I've been here for over a year.  There is no point as far as I am aware, just like in real life, you find your own meaning in SL, you find activities you enjoy and you pursue them.  Some people like flying, some like dancing, others like scripting, designing furniture, clothes, homes, some like exploring, the list goes on and on. 

With a Nvidia 1050ti I usually run at around 50-70 fps at close to the highest settings, unless I am near a large group of people.  In some instances, it drops down dramatically to 10 FPS, when I'm around others.  I think the avatars are what take up a lot of resources, and the starter islands usually have larger groups of people.  I would suggest setting your graphic options down a bit when around larger groups.  Also ram makes a drastic difference, I just upgraded to 20gb or ram and it is like day and night compared to how SL ran on 8gb.

 

SL is capable of some stunning graphics, you just have to find the right areas.  It is all user created, so you will find some areas with graphics that are not up to your standards,  but they still have their charm and I enjoy them just the same.  There is quite a lot to learn with Second Life,  it is going to be one of the most sophisticated programs you have running on your computer, it will take you a few weeks to get familiar with the basics, and you will still be learning things years after you start.  Stick it out, it is worth it, and you will very likely find it to be enjoyable.

Edited January 12, 2019 by WillowTenage

[Theresa Tennyson]

1 hour ago, Silvian73 said:

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

So, you began playing today but your account was created in November of 2018? Interesting...

[Marianne Little]

1 hour ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

So, you began playing today but your account was created in November of 2018? Interesting...

Not so uncommon. When my hubby downloaded SL a decade ago, he had a really bad laptop, so he was frustrated and didn't try SL again until he got a better laptop. He was logged in barely an hour then. I saw it, it was like fog, he could only render the closest area around him.

I think it goes for others too, they download a game and then RL stuff happens, and they find the game again when they are bored.

@Silvian73 it is madness. You are in a world where Linden Lab provided the basics, like the land and the sky and the sea, but most of what you see of builds, the landscape objects like trees, cliffs and flowers, houses, skyboxes, what you wear on your avatar past the starter ones, or moves like dances, is created by other users. And they all upload their own versions of mesh, their textures and their scripts. It is a wonderful madness, but a lot to load.

Some comes here to dance and be social, some has an itch they will scratch in the seedy parts, some will roleplay, some lives in a shoebox in RL and will live in a mansion here. Some wil be a DJ or host in clubs. Some will use their talent in blender and Photoshop and start a business. Some will try to make money of renting out land. Some will poledance for tips. Some will make a blog about fashion or homes and gardens, or anything and everything about SL.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Marianne Little

[Tisori]

3 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

  what should you do in this " game " ...sit back , enjoy and let it take you on a journey and adventure not many are able to have in rl due to such a busy schedule . dont be in a rush to learn every thing at once ..take it slow, find out what interests you , and explore ...some of your greatest friends you will meet here ..if you give them a chance ..

 

welcome to second life . 

[Selene Gregoire]

3 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

I would suggest that you stop thinking of Second Life as a game. Think of it as what it is. A creative platform (sandbox) where the vast majority of all content is user created. Then consider the fact that not all creators are equal in talent, knowledge and imagination.

You can do (and be) almost anything in SL that you can do (and be) in real life. Second Life is what its name says, a second life.

How Second Life Works

 

[Callum Meriman]

This is a game where you create the scenery yourself. A building game where you can also be social if you like.

What you do is learn how to make things, then if you are not great you create laggy islands like you saw. Some people are skilled though and their islands are not laggy. It's all down to the skill of the people who built that place.

I guess it looks like 2004 in some places because some people who play this game are not professional game designers but just normal people like you and me. This game gives everyone the chance to be a game designer themselves.

[Linda Reddevil]

A suggestion would be to watch some of these videos from The Drax Files which include interviews with people who've done things and created things etc. in SL. It'll give you some insight into the possibilities that exist and await you. Here's a link. 

 

[Love Zhaoying]

6 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

So, you began playing today but your account was created in November of 2018? Interesting...

 Could be trolling?

[Pussycat Catnap]

A Furry is worth 3 points

A blond avatar with a bad shape and mesh body is worth 7 points

A classic avatar is only worth 1 points

A tiny inflicts a penalty on you of 2 points because they're an allied race. EVERYBODY likes tinies, no matter what faction they join.

A child avatar is 0 points because the drama police are still in PvP over the score.

A femboy is, I think 4 points or was it 69 points?

A griefer nets you 10 points. But panicking about a griefer costs 11 points

Getting Prok is worth 30 million points, but that's the end boss of the game, and last I checked that was a 50,000-man raid boss. 18 or so years in and I think that raid boss remains undefeated, so good luck.

 

Every level you gain gives you 1 'drama passcard'.

 

You figure out what the action on each of these types is that gains you the point... There are multiple quests around the game in places with very dramatic and often misspelled names that provide the answer(s). Many of them have a penchant for writing it in all-caps.

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by Pussycat Catnap

[Love Zhaoying]

56 minutes ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

A Furry is worth 3 points

A blond avatar with a bad shape and mesh body is worth 7 points

A classic avatar is only worth 1 points

A tiny inflicts a penalty on you of 2 points because they're an allied race. EVERYBODY likes tinies, no matter what faction they join.

A child avatar is 0 points because the drama police are still in PvP over the score.

A femboy is, I think 4 points or was it 69 points?

A griefer nets you 10 points. But panicking about a griefer costs 11 points

Getting Prok is worth 30 million points, but that's the end boss of the game, and last I checked that was a 50,000-man raid boss. 18 or so years in and I think that raid boss remains undefeated, so good luck.

 

Every level you gain gives you 1 'drama passcard'.

 

You figure out what the action on each of these types is that gains you the point... There are multiple quests around the game in places with very dramatic and often misspelled names that provide the answer(s). Many of them have a penchant for writing it in all-caps.

 

Are we shooting them, running over them with cars, or is it like Bingo?

Where you wrote “drama passcard”, I read “drama pussycat!

 

[Love Zhaoying]

4 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

 

How Second Life Works

Quote from picture caption at link: “Second Life residents gather at a snow landscape to chat, dance and stare at the ground.” Legit!

Edited January 13, 2019 by Love Zhaoying

[Rolig Loon]

It's probably worth noting that the article was written in 2007.  It's as old as I am.  🙄 A lot has changed in the past 12 years.

[Selene Gregoire]

30 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

It's probably worth noting that the article was written in 2007.  It's as old as I am.  🙄 A lot has changed in the past 12 years.

Yep, but it is still relevant in many ways. Didn't figure the OP would read all 10 pages though. Most of the pertinent info is on the first page. 😁

[BelindaN]

It's about having fun. Simple as that. And there are lots of ways to have fun here.

 

[Syo Emerald]

17 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

With the risk of feeding a potential troll (sorry, we had quite a few in recent times) and the sheer volume of information that could be used to answer this, let me ask a question to you first:

- What do you know about Second Life and what made you join?

[Pussycat Catnap]

I found an old instructional video on how to play in the RP sims of this game:

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by Pussycat Catnap

[Skell Dagger]

19 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

Download sizes:

• Battlefield V = 31.89GB
• Ark: Survival Evolved = 8GB
• Half Life 2 = 2GB
• Second Life = infinite

In short: you will never finish downloading Second Life, because you are always downloading Second Life. Unlike the other games you mentioned and are familiar with, Second Life does not contain a finite set of studio/dev-generated content whose performance - once downloaded - depends on the quality of your gaming rig.

Second Life is user-generated. Practically every single thing that you see inworld is created by someone like you or me. Textures, mesh models, animations, scripts etc are constantly being uploaded by users, and so the world around you is constantly changing and evolving. And - since many users are not familiar with the best ways to optimise that content - much of it can generate lag. If you need a comparison then think of it like this: each teleport to a new destination is the equivalent of adding 50 mods to your FPS game. Eventually - after 10 or 100 teleports (500 to 5000 mods) - even the best gaming rig would start to choke. Nobody in Second Life is immune to lag, but we optimise our setups to account for it.

What can affect your performance - even on a gaming rig with a pre-loaded MMO - is the state of your connection. If you're wireless then you could have lag in SL that would see you wiped out and cursing because of a lag-pocket half that size in any AAA shooter. Because Second Life is constantly streaming mostly unoptimised, user-generated content to your rig, you need a strong and steady wired connection for optimum performance. I've even seen Alienware users stymied because they're connecting wirelessly, so - if you're wireless - do yourself a favour and wire up.

19 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

When you find the walkthrough for Real Life, then I'll tell you the location of the walkthrough for Second Life.

You completed the tutorial. That's the equivalent of your parents (or caregiver) teaching you how to walk, talk, and use the potty. Sadly, you were then kicked out of your home and into the big wide world, to fend for yourself. So... what do you like/want do in Real Life?

• Play sports? You can play sports in SL.
• Play games? You can play games in SL.
• Go shopping? You can go shopping in SL.
• Travel? You can travel and expore in SL.
• Play FPS games? You can join a combat group and do that in SL.

Second Life is just what its name suggests: a secondary life on top of your real, mundane life. You can do here whatever it takes your fancy to do (as long as it doesn't break the ToS, which amounts to "be considerate of others and don't be a d!ck").

Did you ever sit down at any point in your teen years and think to yourself, "What do I want to do with my life?" Or have you ever sat at a job interview and struggled with the "Where do you see yourself in ten years' time?" question? Those are the same questions you could come unstuck with here.

Second Life isn't for everyone, but for many of us it's become a place that has kept us hooked for years. (I'm personally coming up to my 12th anniversary here.) Most of us find a lane or two that we enjoy metaphorically driving our avatars along, and we stick out the bad times and we learn to optimise against lag (because running everything on Ultra isn't always required or desired).

Second Life is a fantastic place for those of us whom it clicks with, but if you're the kind of person who needs goals, bosses, and direction in your online entertainment then SL possibly isn't something you'll stick at. Think of the next month or two as a demo of this "game", then start working your way through the What Next? page to see if there's enough here to make SL click with you.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Skell Dagger

[Talligurl]

Ok, I am sure everyone above has told you that this isn't a game, it has no rules, no set goal that you will "win" when you accomplish it, but I am here to tell you that they are just trying to keep you from learning the goal, so that you cannot win.

The goal is this.

Whoever gets the most points wins, and points are awarded by giving me Lindens.

See, isn't that simple.

[iamyourneighbour]

Entry level gamer heads explode if there's giant mission indicators asking them to blow up the dam, quest asking them to find lost dad or slay the dragon.

Sandbox and freedom to roam? Never heard of it get it out of mah face!

Edited January 13, 2019 by iamyourneighbour

[chibiusa Ling]

21 hours ago, Silvian73 said:

I began playing today, completed tutorial, visited some islands, but I completely don't understand this games

1. Why my PC, that can run Battlefield V on ultra and Ark:Survival Evolved on high in 40 FPS have lags in this game with so *****ty graphics(Even Half-life 2 of 2004 look better)?

2.I don't understand what and why can/should I do in this game.

Explain me this please.

Why....you had to do it didn't you.....you had to call it a "game". You know...saying that on the forum is like sparking the final conflict of armageddon as described in the bible. Two sides spring forth and clash eternally. One side claiming "Yes its game because...." and the other "Nooo its not a game because theres no defined...". Throngs of angry players hunched over their keyboards, gnawing the edges of the return key in the hopes that maybe....just maybe....they can finally get the other side to understand why SL is/isn't a game. My advice is sit back...relax....and watch the forum implode

[Fionalein]

46 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

Why....you had to do it didn't you.....you had to call it a "game". You know...saying that on the forum is like sparking the final conflict of armageddon as described in the bible. Two sides spring forth and clash eternally. One side claiming "Yes its game because...." and the other "Nooo its not a game because theres no defined...". Throngs of angry players hunched over their keyboards, gnawing the edges of the return key in the hopes that maybe....just maybe....they can finally get the other side to understand why SL is/isn't a game. My advice is sit back...relax....and watch the forum implode

Yeah but I begin to see it as free entertainment  People could just say "Well for me it's more than a game" and move on - instead they jump into action like their innermost values were attacked. Which might as well be. Western culture does not accept adults wasting time and money on games. So it can not be what must not be! SL must not be a game! (Even the Lab was bright enough to understand this when marketing SL)

It's as simple as that.

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by Fionalein