How do skyboxes work?

[Junejewels]

Hi guys, I'm new to second life and I'm really confused. I want to get the Soho Skybox by Onsu but I don't know where to place it. I don't understand how to know if a parcel of land I buy will be big enough to fit the skybox. Or does it not matter because it's in the sky?

 

[Aethelwine]

The skybox should be within the floorplan of the parcel ideally... although I doubt anyone will mind about a bit of overhang so long as the root prims are in your parcel.

If you use firestorm easiest thing to do is rezz it at ground level, go in to edit and then change the z axis number to height that you want..... eg 2000 for 2000m and then go into fly mode and type "gth 2000" into nearby chat to go up to it to join it. then you can decorate it, place a teleporter pad etc. "flr" in nearby chat will return you to ground level.

Skyboxes should give their dimensions in the description for you to compare with your parcel size.

Looking at as an example since you mention Onsu, you can see a number of different options for it. I musty admit they are a bit cryptic and include lines like:

"Onsu ~ "Soho" Skybox ~ w/ Shelf ~ w/ Env ~ 98 L.I (40x28)

Onsu ~ "Soho" Skybox ~ w/ Shelf ~ No Env ~ Smaller Texture Ver ~ 98 L.I (18x28) "

I would take that to basically mean you need a minimum of 18x28 parcel... If you are wanting a surround with it, ie to see out the windows to a scene of other buildings maybe a texture or texture with some 3d pieces to create an effect you would want 40x28 parcel. You might be able to get away with 18x28 and just overhang on to other parcels... it depends a bit on your neighbours... but generally should be okay up in the sky... I wouldn't complain if my neighbour was overhanging up in the sky so long as they weren't using any of my land allowance.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Aethelwine

[Marianne Little]

You should manage with a 1024 m parcel. This is if the parcel is square, 32 x 32 m. I agree that the surround "can" go out a bit, as long as you don't have 2 skyboxes at the same height that cut into each others surround. It is not so problematic in the sky as on ground. Surrounds are phantom.

If you "buy" Mainland, you have to be Premium. Mainland parcels can have strange shapes. If you "buy" from a private estate, they have land managers that can answer your questions and assist you. Maybe you should start with that, until you have learnt a bit more. See where they have persons that you think gives you good answers. Do not forget to ask when they are inworld. It is very helpful if they are in your timezone.

Mainland = you are on your own. But not really, since you can ask in the forum. the problem is that there isn't always much traffic in the forum and you have to wait for an answer.

In the meantime: https://community.secondlife.com/knowledgebase/english/buying-land-r14/

but now it's bedtime for me. Good luck!

[Pussycat Catnap]

Since you're new... exercise a bit of caution.

I know the brand you mentioned and it's a good one (I have one of their other skyboxes), so my caution note isn't about that. Just make sure all these questions have answers you understand before you go too far.

So one benefit for the particular skybox you're interested in is the merchant has listed the footprint needed on the product page. A lot of them actually don't and that can cause issues.

The smallest version says (18x28).

- The typical land in SL is sold in divisions of 512m. A 512m plot is "usually" 16x32 - wouldn't fit that skybox unless you edited it and shrank it a little, which is a bit of an advanced user trick...

That said... these days the most common land to find will be a 1024m plot (2 512s) in a square shape - 32x32... so it will fit this skybox.

Your next problem after that is land impact... This is a sort of 'points' system. Every piece of land lets you use so many of these points before it is 'full'.

A 1024m plot will give you 351 land impact "points". These skybox uses up 97 of them. This... is a big problem. That's an extremely high amount for a skybox by itself.

If you have a huge plot of land, that's a non issue. But on the size plot it's made for, almost a third of all your 'points' is going to the building itself... you will quickly run out before you finish adding in all the furniture you want.

If you really want to use that brand, I recommend starting with one of their smaller skyboxes. That said, I recommend shopping more and finding a skybox that is under 20 'land impact'.

As a new user, you do NOT want to get a plot of land larger than the common 1024m - I used to see this mistake a lot, people joining here, buying some huge piece of land, then getting the monthly bill and freaking out...

Start small... with everything about SL... the land, the skybox, even the social dynamics.

 

 

 

[iamyourneighbour]

On 3/8/2020 at 7:10 AM, Junejewels said:

Hi guys, I'm new to second life and I'm really confused. I want to get the Soho Skybox by Onsu but I don't know where to place it. I don't understand how to know if a parcel of land I buy will be big enough to fit the skybox. Or does it not matter because it's in the sky?

 

It's like, you have this fully connected world alright, then people choose to self isolate on a platform in a sky.

[Syo Emerald]

6 hours ago, iamyourneighbour said:

It's like, you have this fully connected world alright, then people choose to self isolate on a platform in a sky.

Or... you know... they like a certain concept of a home a skybox provides and don't isolate any more or less than anyone else, who happens to own land without turning the land into a public venue.