How to economize with Land Impact

[Leora Jacobus]

I put up a kitchen but all the cupboards are empty. If I fill them with china, glasses and food that will take LOTS of LI.

I thought about one prim textured with a photo of kitchenstuff  - But I cannot find something like that on the MP

How do you fill your cupboards?

 

 

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

I think most of mine that have glass doors have dishes already inside them. If I was going to fill them, I'd probably find some low LI mesh stuff and do a lot of linking to reduce LI as much as possible. However, if you want to use a texture, try Google for images of canned foods, etc. to make your own. 

 

[Marianne Little]

I was thinking about the same when I set up the Mercantile bookcases from Apple Fall. I thought I could go to a sandbox, fill a bookcase without doors with books and decorative items, take a photo of it and cut off the unnecessary parts of the photo. Then upload it to SL and place it on a prim inside the glass doors.

I never got so far before I took them down and set up something else. I think it could look convincing unless it was zoomed in really close.

 

[Leora Jacobus]

Google is a great idea! I only was unsure what to look for.

"kitchen cupboard filled" brought up a lot of nice photos!

"Kitchen cupboard filled with crockery"  - worked even better

Edited June 30, 2019 by Leora Jacobus

[Evangeline Ling]

Not having a kitchen saves me a TON of LI 😉

[LittleMe Jewell]

21 minutes ago, Evangeline Ling said:

Not having a kitchen saves me a TON of LI 😉

I go back and forth on this one.  I've never before put a kitchen in an SL house, but I am still playing with it in my house/houseboat here.

[Leora Jacobus]

37 minutes ago, Evangeline Ling said:

Not having a kitchen saves me a TON of LI 😉

Well Avatars don't eat  so they do not need a kitchen... they do not need a bathroom either ...

Do they beed a bedroom? they do not sleep ... and why have a home at all??

Actually I usually have no lavatory ... and no washing machine ... but the essentials of a virtual home for me are livingroom, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. If not there I make some walls and divide the space.

 

[Evangeline Ling]

3 minutes ago, Leora Jacobus said:

Well Avatars don't eat  so they do not need a kitchen... they do not need a bathroom either ...

Do they beed a bedroom? they do not sleep ... and why have a home at all??

Actually I usually have no lavatory ... and no washing machine ... but the essentials of a virtual home for me are livingroom, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. If not there I make some walls and divide the space.

 

I could make a far greater argument for a bedroom than a kitchen but I would need to open a thread in another area of the forums...

I essentially do this... if  I wont use a particular space for something practical i don't include it.... In my mainland area its different in that I have far more prims to burn.  My houseboat is much more of a "what do you absolutely have to have" sort of a scenario.  Even with that I burned through most of my prims.

Mine ended up being, Bedroom, living room WITH a TV, bathroom (but extremely minimal), and my outdoor pool/entertaining area

[Marianne Little]

Glass doors in cupboards is challenging. Especially on 351 LI. I have a kitchen with many glass doors. I selected the glass texture, turned opacity to 0 and tinted it to match the frames around the glass. It is many wood textures that one can choose from.

Another one is to select a fabric you like and texture the glass with it. Or a stained glass texture, or laminated glass. Or a blackboard texture with a recipe on, to add detail to one of the cupboards.

 

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

4 minutes ago, Evangeline Ling said:

I could make a far greater argument for a bedroom than a kitchen but I would need to open a thread in another area of the forums...

My thoughts exactly. lol

[Flower Caerndow]

Would putting too many or too complex images on a prim or mesh object create even more lag?  I have been getting good at saving prims by putting multiple images on a multi faced mesh panel, but am wondering if it is bad for performance.

[Raspberry Crystal]

1 hour ago, Evangeline Ling said:

Not having a kitchen saves me a TON of LI

I know!! It's got to be about personal priorities and getting the balance right. 

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

35 minutes ago, Leora Jacobus said:

Well Avatars don't eat  so they do not need a kitchen... they do not need a bathroom either ...

Do they beed a bedroom? they do not sleep ... and why have a home at all??

Actually I usually have no lavatory ... and no washing machine ... but the essentials of a virtual home for me are livingroom, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. If not there I make some walls and divide the space.

 

The only reason I ever had a bathroom before was for the shower/tub and couples poses.  After I stopped being involved in the SLex part of SL, I didn't even put a bathroom in my last 2 homes.

If / When I start running out of LI, the kitchen, bath and closet will be the first to go.  The only 'essentials' in my view of an SL home is a living room / socializing area and a bedroom.  Even no longer being involved in the SLex side of SL, for some reason a bedroom still seems essential.

Edited June 30, 2019 by LittleMe Jewell

[Leora Jacobus]

1 hour ago, Marianne Little said:

Glass doors in cupboards is challenging. Especially on 351 LI. I have a kitchen with many glass doors. I selected the glass texture, turned opacity to 0 and tinted it to match the frames around the glass. It is many wood textures that one can choose from.

Another one is to select a fabric you like and texture the glass with it. Or a stained glass texture, or laminated glass. Or a blackboard texture with a recipe on, to add detail to one of the cupboards.

 

I just made my first experiment with a texture and quite like it. The prim that takes the texture should be narrower than the cupboard so that the boards go through. Then you play with vertical scale and vertical offset till it fits. On the left hand side you see just the prim with a white texture.

Kuechenschrank by Leora Jacobus, auf Flickr

 

PS: now I did the other one using the same texture just reversed and with another offset.

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by Leora Jacobus

[Nivaya Barbosa]

that looks really effective!

If it were me, I'd maybe tint it a light grey, to make it look a more more inside-ish and shadowy?

[Raevyn Addams]

20 hours ago, Leora Jacobus said:

I put up a kitchen but all the cupboards are empty. If I fill them with china, glasses and food that will take LOTS of LI.

I thought about one prim textured with a photo of kitchenstuff  - But I cannot find something like that on the MP

How do you fill your cupboards?

I don't fill my cupboards, but I do clutter most everywhere else. I'm not sure if this is relevant to you, but a few of us have discussed the pros and cons of linking objects in order to make the most out of your land impact. I've quoted what I personally do here, but there's also a few other posts before and after mine that relate to the subject as well that might help too.

And if you're curious to see it in action, here's my place: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Shanty/20/124/31

Good luck  

[Leora Jacobus]

I did read all about that linking, also how difficult it is:

- not link animated objects - not link NoCopy items - not link mesh to prims ... etc.

I will still set about it one of these days for by that I also can backup my decoration progress.

I will for instance link all the kitchen - without the chairs - and then create one big pink prim, place it in a special position ... in the front door or so? ... name it "Linkset_continental_kitchen_190701_LI54" ... and link all  to THAT, then take a copy of it to my inventory ... then unlink this last item and delete it. With this I will go on room by room ... then the outdoor stuff.

The goal is then when I change the location ... or just the house at the location ... I can decorate it new/old in about 10 Minutes   - Let's see if I can achieve this goal.

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Leora Jacobus

[Marianne Little]

5 minutes ago, Leora Jacobus said:

I did read all about that linking, also how difficult it is:

- not link animated objects - not link NoCopy items - not link mesh to prims ... etc.

I will still set about it one of these days for by that I also can backup my decoration progress.

I will for instance link all the kitchen - without the chairs - and then create one big pink prim, place it in a special position ... in the front door or so? ... name it "Linkset_continental_kitchen_190701_LI54" ... and link all  to THAT, then take a copy of it to my inventory ... then unlink this last item and delete it. With this I will go on room by room ... then the outdoor stuff.

The goal is then when I change the location ... or just the house at the location ... I can decorate it new/old in about 10 Minutes   - Let's see if I can achieve this goal.

 

It is science to link everything. @Chic Aeonposted about the green text in the edit window that says "More info". There is the reason why, sometimes I link two 1 LI objects together and get 3 LI.

Creators can upload it different ways. I have found out that an object can be 1.4 LI and count as 1 LI when rezzed. Linking two of these objects will be 2.8 Li and rounded up to 3 LI. Instead of saving 1 LI, you just added 1 LI to your land. That's when...🤬

There are exceptions, when I look in "More info", I have seen 1 Li items have a higher number and I think huh. It must be tricks when they upload it. And some times, 1.1 LI is rounded up to 2 LI.

But you can try to link 0.7 Li with 0.7 to get 1.4 LI. And those 2 objects should now be 1 LI. All lower numbers work fine. Almost every time.

I get surprises often. It is probably a reason for everything, I can't see how it works before I test it..

When planting in the garden, I always look for groups or clumps of flowers that I can link 2 and get 1 LI together.

From a pack of Spring Poppy Patches, that was a Fifty Linden Friday offer a while ago, all the groups are 1 LI rezzed. But only a few of the groups can be linked and be 1 LI. I use those groups only, to save LI.

I also try to edit some 2 or 3 LI items smaller. Sometimes they are very close to the magical number and go down one LI. Some items does not go down in LI at all, even if edited down to a matchbox size.

I try to find and edit off shadow prims. Sometimes they are too important for the look of the item to be removed, some times not.

I have some packs of shadow textures in the usual shapes. Squares, rectangles round ones.

My kitchen is modules, every cupboard has its own shadow prim. I could unlink all but one, and stretch it to go under all the cupboards. If the shadow look strange, I drop a rectangular shadow texture on it.

God, this was a long post. If I am writing too much nonsense, Chic will sort it out. I hope.

[Chic Aeon]

1 minute ago, Marianne Little said:

It is science to link everything. @Chic Aeonposted about the green text in the edit window that says "More info". There is the reason why, sometimes I link two 1 LI objects together and get 3 LI.

Creators can upload it different ways. I have found out that an object can be 1.4 LI and count as 1 LI when rezzed. Linking two of these objects will be 2.8 Li and rounded up to 3 LI. Instead of saving 1 LI, you just added 1 LI to your land. That's when...🤬

There are exceptions, when I look in "More info", I have seen 1 Li items have a higher number and I think huh. It must be tricks when they upload it. And some times, 1.1 LI is rounded up to 2 LI.

But you can try to link 0.7 Li with 0.7 to get 1.4 LI. And those 2 objects should now be 1 LI. All lower numbers work fine. Almost every time.

I get surprises often. It is probably a reason for everything, I can't see how it works before I test it..

When planting in the garden, I always look for groups or clumps of flowers that I can link 2 and get 1 LI together.

From a pack of Spring Poppy Patches, that was a Fifty Linden Friday offer a while ago, all the groups are 1 LI rezzed. But only a few of the groups can be linked and be 1 LI. I use those groups only, to save LI.

I also try to edit some 2 or 3 LI items smaller. Sometimes they are very close to the magical number and go down one LI. Some items does not go down in LI at all, even if edited down to a matchbox size.

I try to find and edit off shadow prims. Sometimes they are too important for the look of the item to be removed, some times not.

I have some packs of shadow textures in the usual shapes. Squares, rectangles round ones.

My kitchen is modules, every cupboard has its own shadow prim. I could unlink all but one, and stretch it to go under all the cupboards. If the shadow look strange, I drop a rectangular shadow texture on it.

God, this was a long post. If I am writing too much nonsense, Chic will sort it out. I hope.

I did get a little lost in your prose LOL but I think you have it.  

 

Simply three numbers are involved in the counting of Land Iimpact.

DOWNLOAD (how many vertices - triangles are involved)

PHYSICS (how complex the physics model is-- what makes the object solid when you bump into it)

SERVER (honestly I am not exactly sure where the server number comes from  - ChinRey or animats probably can tell you). Typically the server number is very low (like .5) which is what most of my things are. Now and then it gets higher. IF an item is made up of a linkset (several pieces of mesh uploaded together at the same time) then the server counts each piece as an object at .5 and adds them together. So an object that is made of of five things will e 2.5. 

THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF THE THREE is the land impact for the object. 

 

At times 1.5 will count as 1 (again I don't know why except that  the 1.5 might ACTUALLY be 1.47 ish that we don't see) .

So you can link a .7 item to a .7 item and it will STILL be 1.   

 

BUT as you say sometimes there are some VERY ODD things going on.  I have something I made (mesh) that should be 3 going by the steps above and its land impact is 1. A few things by others are like this, but VERY few. My only guess is that it had something to do with the way uploads were calculated at the beginning and now.  So THOSE odd items it is better to just leave alone. 

 

See, mine wasn't that short either.   

I do think it is MUCH better to just link two things than a whole roomful of stuff. That is very messy to me and unlinking can oftentimes cause issues become  SOMETIMES the mesh is made up of various parts (see SEVER above). I pretty much join all the mesh together in one piece (not for houses) in order to keep the land impact low.  

[Raevyn Addams]

(I won't quote to save repeating the text but names mentioned below).

I honestly think there needs to be a stickied thread about what you just said @Chic Aeon and @Marianne Little - Though there probably IS a thread somewhere (or several) already out there buried amongst all the others. A lot of people seem to be asking similar questions. I think this is the second just tonight alone. And while there is information out there on how to (and I've been encouraged to let people learn on their own merit), as @Leora Jacobus said it can be a tad confusing to learn. Heck, it can be confusing at times for those of us who do link habitually as illustrated above which says something! 😆

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, RaeLeeH said:

(I won't quote to save repeating the text but names mentioned below).

I honestly think there needs to be a stickied thread about what you just said @Chic Aeon and @Marianne Little - Though there probably IS a thread somewhere (or several) already out there buried amongst all the others. A lot of people seem to be asking similar questions. I think this is the second just tonight alone. And while there is information out there on how to (and I've been encouraged to let people learn on their own merit), as @Leora Jacobus said it can be a tad confusing to learn. Heck, it can be confusing at times for those of us who do link habitually as illustrated above which says something! 😆

Maybe a Knowledge Base article?   If there is one I have never seen it linked to.   

This has all been covered many times in the MESH FORUMS which used to be extremely busy but maybe most folks have figured out their issues these days as it is pretty calm over there.   BUT even though there, it wasn't really related to decorating but to the building aspects.  And yes it is important.  If the Lindens don't do something officially and someone else hasn't already made a tutorial, I guess I could. 

 

OHHHHHH.  I know @Strawberry Linden  could add that to her tutorial list :D.   Likely lots of people would see it then, not just forum folks.  If she passes, then someone poke me in August and I will make one (not video - I lost some software in a computer meltdown and didn't replace).  

 

@Strawberry Linden   There we go. Came up active this time. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Chic Aeon
poking Berry again

[kiramanell]

23 hours ago, Leora Jacobus said:

Well Avatars don't eat  so they do not need a kitchen... they do not need a bathroom either ...

Do they beed a bedroom? they do not sleep ... and why have a home at all??

Actually I usually have no lavatory ... and no washing machine ... but the essentials of a virtual home for me are livingroom, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. If not there I make some walls and divide the space.

 

 

I'm the exact same.  I definitely have a kitchen, a bedroom, when possible a bathroom (or fragments thereof), but indeed rarely a toilet. Washing machine often falls between the cracks too. See, for me, it needs to be an 'essential human abode.' It doesn't have to be an exact replica, though. It's all about the 'suspension of disbelief.' Or immersion, however you want to look at it.

[Raevyn Addams]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:52 AM, Leora Jacobus said:

Well Avatars don't eat  so they do not need a kitchen... they do not need a bathroom either ...

Do they beed a bedroom? they do not sleep ... and why have a home at all??

Actually I usually have no lavatory ... and no washing machine ... but the essentials of a virtual home for me are livingroom, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. If not there I make some walls and divide the space.

See, I'm one of those sticklers for realism in a virtual setting. I absolutely love the details that go into making any residence feel more realistic, whether that's dirty clothes on the floor, dishes in the sink, or even just a trash can. Even as a noob all my rentals had a bathroom, regardless whether or not I used it. It didn't feel like a home without. To some that would seem like a waste of prims, and in a way maybe it is. But to me essential is anything that makes my virtual place feel more like a RL place (even though I know it's just a fantasy, obviously). I enjoy the immersion. I couldn't live in a display home. It has to feel lived in.

That's what I like about Bellisseria. Seeing what others do with their homes and houseboats is amazing. Sometimes when it looks real enough it's even inspiring. I'm lucky enough to know a few people who feel the same, so we have a tendency to try and outdo each other when it comes to decorating. It keeps pushing me to do better. I couldn't just rez a few things and "make do".

As it stands right at this very minute I still have 100 prims "free". I could go crazy and add more clutter but I've had to show some *gasp!* self-restraint. It's actually so that I can rez my Zooby Animesh baby. Having her makes my house feel even more like a home. Though given this topic is about trying to economize maybe she's not the best example of how since without any attachments she is 79 LI just on her own. (I know, I know... not economical, but I can't help it! Correction: I don't want to XD).

Honestly, to each their own. I really don't understand why people choose to rez bathtubs next to beds either, but that's a topic for another day. Those who pay the rent or Premium fees or Tier have the right to do what they like with their prims. I just happen to like wasting mine on pointless stuff that I usually don't use anyway. But at least it looks good (if only to me) and that's all that really matters. 😁

Edited July 2, 2019 by RaeLeeH

[Odaks]

1 hour ago, RaeLeeH said:

See, I'm one of those sticklers for realism in a virtual setting.

Its really weird, I couldn't possibly explain it, but I feel exactly the same way! Somehow I just need to know that there's a functional bathroom, functional kitchen etc. I try to keep things to a bare minimum, but the basics just have to be there!

[Raspberry Crystal]

I am happy to imagine rooms which I can't see! I was wondering about adding some fake doors to add to the effect.