Best Skydome?

[Benson Gravois]

Hey folks!

Anyone got any suggestions on the best surround done for a skybox? 
You know, the VR kind that make it look like you are really there?

[Pamela Galli]

This forum is not for promoting businesses.

[Benson Gravois]

I'm not! I'm asking a question!

[Lindal Kidd]

@Benson Gravois,

There are two general types.  One is the skybox that appears to be a house or an apartment on the inside, but may be a relatively featureless box on the exterior.  The windows look out onto a curved cylindrical (or part cylindrical) screen, on which is painted a texture...often of a cityscape, but landscapes are also possible.  There is usually a control panel with which you can vary the scene projected.

The other type may feature a house, but also has some amount of outdoor landscaping.  The entirety is surrounded by a dome on which is painted a landscape texture.  Often the majority of the texture is a sky, with a horizon of distant mountains, or trees, or an ocean that appears to go off into the distance to a horizon.

Both types can be very pleasant.  I find the illusion presented by the first type to be more realistic, in general.  In addition, that type is more suited to smaller land parcels.  The second type requires a larger area, if it is to provide a realistic illusion.

My own preference is for living at ground level, if a spot can be obtained that has a nice view.  However, skyboxes have one other advantage:  if they are located above 1,000m, they generally will have much less texture-induced lag than one sees at ground level.

[Tolya Ugajin]

Slight derail: my sim is always built in levels, and I use flat grass textured prims for each level and then build on that.  Since I'm lazy, does anyone know where to find sim-sized landscapes that can just be rezzed instead?  Sort of like the inside to a sim-surround.  Kind of a "sim-in-a-box" but without a ton of landscaping - I can add trees, paths, etc. just fine on my own (or, more accurately, have my wife do it, since she's far better at it).

[Aethelwine]

16 hours ago, Benson Gravois said:

Hey folks!

Anyone got any suggestions on the best surround done for a skybox? 
You know, the VR kind that make it look like you are really there?

For a Skybox you could do worse than look at some of Tara Chester's (previously TaraFab) offerings.

It depends a bit on what you are trying to do, personally I would generally look for textures to work with to achieve the effect I want, with some trees or landscaping to give a more 3d effect, but the above option no bad solution, although it is not difficult to do with the right textures. Searching on MP is really your best bet there must be other options available and you might find they fit your needs best.

[Aethelwine]

5 hours ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

Slight derail: my sim is always built in levels, and I use flat grass textured prims for each level and then build on that.  Since I'm lazy, does anyone know where to find sim-sized landscapes that can just be rezzed instead?  Sort of like the inside to a sim-surround.  Kind of a "sim-in-a-box" but without a ton of landscaping - I can add trees, paths, etc. just fine on my own (or, more accurately, have my wife do it, since she's far better at it).

If you are adding the trees and paths, I am not really sure what you are wanting the premade sim build to include, but Studio Skye do some nice landforms that if you texture the same as your flat prim will break up the flatness in a natural way without much additional work.

I bought this back in 2013, and used it as a full sim platform textured to snow for skiing and the physics on it worked well. From looking at a recent marketplace review the creator may not be in world any more, so it comes with a bit of a warning, but for what I needed it for then it worked well enough. (I even reviewed it back when I bought it lol)

Edited March 4, 2020 by Aethelwine
To add full sim mesh platform I remembered after posting.

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

Honestly I still like the old Turnip's Skydome. You can buy extra terrain and sky textures for it.

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Turnips-Skydome-20-Base-Package/4251774?id=4251774&slug=Turnips-Skydome-20-Base-Package

 

[Marianne Little]

Landscaping by Felix has lots of landforms too. Since you want levels, it is best to have cliffs in the foreground, and then place prims behind these, so you get a nice, rugged landscape.