Is there a step-by-step getting started guide for new players?

[TheBrominator]

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a step-by-step tutorial for someone who has never played Second Life before on how to create an avatar from scratch (from one of the defaults) and generally explain how it all works. I'm struggling with Second Life's poor game design, and the introductory tutorial was little help.

I've found the Second Life University and other SL-related channels on YouTube to be more about pushing products than actually helping (new) people. Perhaps there is a Second Life primary school for new folks like myself who need to grasp the fundamentals first, because whenever I follow along with those avatar "tutorials" (using demo content) I'm always left with more questions than I started with and an avatar that looks nothing like the one featured... and nearby people tend to be reluctant to answer questions from the newby naked or partly invisible ken doll struggling to figure out what to do. That said, one person did compliment my rib cage and lungs earlier.

I play a lot of video games with character customisation, so I get the basic concepts. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old that Second Life isn't intuitive enough. Anyway, I can't be the first to ask this, and I did search these forums but didn't find what I was looking for.

Hopefully someone can recommend something useful

Cheers

[Nalates Urriah]

SL does confuse people. Thinking of it as a game makes for a problem. In the technical sense of "game", SL is not a game. There are no levels or goals to archive.

Originally SL was conceived of as a rapid game development platform. Meaning one developed games within SL. There are many games inside SL. You can look in the Destinations Guide, in the viewer and on the website, to find many of them. They range from simple roleplaying to complex RP with gaming HUDs and combat meters. And there are the games of chance, aka gambling, sort of.

SL has turned into more of a social roleplay where people experiment with gender, personality, romance, behavior, fashion, game playing... all the stuff you find people doing in Real Life (RL). And with that comes jerks. idiots, perverts, and a mix of wonderful people too... just like RL. All this diversity makes it difficult to have an overall manual. There is just too much to talk about. There are literally BOOKS on how to play SL. (ref)

What has happened is people have made tutorials about specific parts of SL. You can find most of those on YouTube. But search on YouTube by date. Watch only stuff made in the last year to start out. The basic SL has remained consistent. So old videos provide a lot of knowledge. But the User Interface they show is OLD and out of date. There are Viewer v1 interface videos. We are on 6th generation viewers now. So, what you are wanting to do may be done the same way, where you click to do it has changed. Avoid the confusion. Watch recent videos until you need/want deeper knowledge and the UI is less important.

Avatars and clothes will be confusing. Originally SL used system avatars and clothes. The UI is designed to support those concepts. However, in about ~2014 users devised an entirely different way to handle avatars and clothes. Over time the Lab redesigned SL to handle these new ways so that avatars and clothes work as originally intended. So you'll see old stuff in SL that is strictly for the classic or original SL avatar, then stuff from the transition era for different types of mesh and appliers, then stuff from the current era that refers to mesh this and that not 'types' of mesh and BOM. It is the stuff from the transition era that is confusing. Those that came in during that era generally don't understand how SL was intended to work and they can really confuse newer people. Stick with recent video tutorials and Classic/System stuff and mesh and BOM. Avoid appliers. It will keep your life simpler.

Note: appliers have their uses. Once you understand the basics, using appliers is handy.

When looking for tutorials avoid generalities and go for specific ones. So search for: Second Life mesh body how-to or Second Life tutorials and use the ThisYear filter. There are loads of tutorials. Pick the one that answers your immediate question.

Look through the thread titled: How does your avatar look today? Jump to the recent posts. It is an old thread with lots of pictures and info. There you can ask people questions using the

• Home
• Forums
• People Forum
• Your Avatar

...section of the forum.

Others are going to respond to your question too. You can IM me in-world and some of the others responding are likely to make an offer to help in-world. Take it slow. Don't spend money until you know what you are doing. You CAN build a beautiful/handsome avatar for free.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

1 hour ago, TheBrominator said:

Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old that Second Life isn't intuitive enough.

Don't worry, Second Life isn't intuitive even after years of experience. 😋

[Rowan Amore]

2 hours ago, TheBrominator said:

one person did compliment my rib cage and lungs earlier.

Which default avatar comes with those features?   

[Anna Salyx]

2 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

Which default avatar comes with those features?   

There are a couple of what look to be zombie (ish) type under the Vampire category.  Maybe?

4 hours ago, TheBrominator said:

 I'm struggling with Second Life's poor game design, and the introductory tutorial was little help.

As others have said, Second Life is less game and more Social Sandbox (as how I prefer to describe it), and while there is currently a good selection/choices in starter avatars they are just that - starter.  You don't really build on them (though I suppose you can) as you replace them as you get experience in the environment. 

Some years back when I first started you were provided a very basic avatar and went from there.  But then all you really had to worry about was body accessories (skin, hair, eyes) and clothing.  And the clothing then was simply "painted" onto your avatar, one size fits most for the most part.  Summarizing some of what Nalates explained, Linden Lab gave us the ability to import mesh content from 3D model programs and said content creators figured out ways to hide the default (or system) avatar and put a more realized, imported 3D mesh, body on top it.  It was a learning process and took a few years to refine, both body and clothes to what we have now.  The initial learning curve is not terribly steep, but it can, admittedly, be some confusing. So it's really less that Linden Lab has a poor game design,  and more that evolution in user content creation has added complexity that wasn't inherent in the original system.

Now all that aside, and coming back to your original question:  I personally like the people at the "Caledon Oxbridge Gateway"  (you can search for that and map there) at Caledon Oxbridge University.  They have been around for as long as I can remember and provide not only an excellent walk through tutorial on the some of the basics of Second Life, but they regularly have helpers there who are more than happy to talk with new residents and answer these kinds of questions.  It is a steampunk/gas lamp oriented RP area but don't let that throw you if that's really not your thing, they are still an excellent group and resource for helping get your head around some of the early concepts being in Second LIfe.

Oh, and welcome to the grid!

[Persephone Emerald]

I think the SL tutorials on YouTube are probably the easiest way to figure out how to play in SL. The Second Life channel has some Second Life University ones that are fairly recent and good. Otherwise search for topics such as Noob to Mesh, but sort only for the last year. Videos that are several years old may not be very helpful, since trends often change how things are done.

Note, you should not spend a bunch of money when you're new in SL. Resist the urge to look fabulous at any cost. Join the SL Frees and Offers group and the Fabulously Free group for ideas on where to get free stuff, but don't pick up freebies that you don't love. There is so much free stuff that your inventory can quickly drown in it. Organize it early and delete excess stuff that you don't need or don't like.

If you use the Firestorm viewer, join their support group too.

[TheBrominator]

Thank you for your replies. I'm not here to debate whether Second Life is a game or not, that is matter of personal interpretation and perspective.

I managed to find my way to Caledon Oxbridge Gateway, so I'll see how that goes.

UPDATE: So, I followed the Caledon Oxbridge path and learnt a couple new ticks, it's better than the SL tutorial but still doesn't cover things that seem important.

Something I've noticed is most, if not all, of the popular 'quality' creators have in-world stores where they sell their content, rather than through the online marketplace. From YouTube videos I've derived that meshes, textures/skins, heads, and other elements are not universally compatible. I've visited about a dozen, and they tend to be poorly set out and don't clearly explain (a) what something is and (b) compatibility with other body parts/meshes/etc.

Is there a way to find this out easily? Feels like you either know or you don't, and if you don't, you're screwed.

Edited March 19, 2023 by TheBrominator

[Wulfie Reanimator]

3 hours ago, TheBrominator said:

Something I've noticed is most, if not all, of the popular 'quality' creators have in-world stores where they sell their content, rather than through the online marketplace. From YouTube videos I've derived that meshes, textures/skins, heads, and other elements are not universally compatible. I've visited about a dozen, and they tend to be poorly set out and don't clearly explain (a) what something is and (b) compatibility with other body parts/meshes/etc.

Is there a way to find this out easily? Feels like you either know or you don't, and if you don't, you're screwed.

If you don't know, you're screwed. Since 99% of content is created by users, the compatibility of products is also handled/explained by users rather than some official system.

In most cases though, a product will list brand names like "Legacy, Maitreya, Belleza, Kupra, Catwa, LeL, AK", etc. somewhere on the product image. That's usually a good enough indicator about whether something works for something you already have, because you know the products you've already bought. But if you don't know about those brands and haven't bought the other things yet, it can be difficult to find it without asking somebody.

Most mechants will also offer demos so you can try out the product to see if it fits you.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Marianne Little]

Stores have to pay a fee to LL on the Marketplace, so many skip selling there.

The mesh bodies has won over the market. It is no new clothes/shoes etc. made for the default starter avatars. Linden Lab is going to offer a free NUX avatar. But who knows when? LL has been using the word "soon" so much that it is an intern joke on the forum.

Maybe you are smart if you wait, especially if you are on a low budget.

NUX can be a flop, or very popular. Designers may think that people who can't afford a new mesh avatar, will still use some money on clothes. I am very certain that clothes made for other mesh avatars will not fit it.

You are very correct in that it is no universal way of making sure what you buy will fit. But that is why stores have demos. It is pointless to buy anything if it isn't a demo. Because why do they not offer a demo? Is the product so bad?

The different mesh bodies and heads have logos. Most stores write the name, some use the brand logo too. If your body name is not written on the ad, it is not made for your body. You should still try a demo, because some products is not so well made as others. And the ad may have been touched up in photoshop.

Example:

Products for heads, like skins, makeups, hairbases etc. are mostly "Evo X only". And then it is only compatible with heads from the LeLutka Evo X line (Male and female heads). Wait, it is not so clear, haha. One other store that sell mesh heads, is allowed to use the Evo X template. I forgot the name.

It can be only the logo, but that is uncommon.The important info here is "lel EVO X". The logo for Lelutka Evolution is not so important, because Lelutka sell some older heads that's not Evo X. Bakes on Mesh is an information about how to use the product. It is not an applier, it is a layer you must add to youself. Older heads are not updated and use appliers.

It is a lot of confusing information. It became like this because Linden Lab did not understand that users wanted better avatars. LL did not update their avatars, or offer an avatar with a standard rigging creator pack. So different creators all make different bodies, and the rigging is also different.

I think LL thought people would use mesh only for buildings and vehicles, and still use the avatar with paddle feet (no toes) and no nails, blocky bodies that was from before 2006.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Marianne Little

[Josephine Carissa]

Greetings Brom,

here is some information that will help you.

Noob Dude: A Style 101 for the Second Life Male Avatar – Virtual Bloke

take your time....most of us have been here for years and we are learning new tips and tricks daily : )

Best Regards,

Josephine

 

[Persephone Emerald]

I suggest getting some of the free male mesh bodies to see how they work. Usually they come with HUDs to change the skin tone or hide parts that might show through mesh clothes. Maybe there are some free or $L 1 male mesh heads on Marketplace? Altamura makes a few free male mesh bodies that have heads included on them. I recommend these for newbies because they're easy to use and have some clothes available that will fit them. Their body shapes don't look right in my opinion though, so you'll probably need to adjust the shape. !Brox DNA also sells some $L 1 male mesh bodies and heads, I think.

If you decide you want to stay in SL and spend money on a mesh avatar, the 4 most commonly used male mesh bodies are Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, Legacy Male, and Ithium Kario. Belleza Jake is the cheapest and is my favorite for my male alt, but demo all of these. Body shapes vary, as do the HUDs that come with them.

The most popular mesh heads currently are those of the Lelutka Evo X line. These can use both the newer Evo X uv map or the default SLUV map by toggling between the Evo or Evo X buttons on the HUD for the head. Lelutka usually gives away 2 free mesh heads (male & female) to its group members in December. Akeruka usually gives its group members 2 $L 1 mesh heads (male & female) in June and December. The newer Akeruka heads work with the Evo X UV map, as do the newer heads of some other mesh head creators, such as LOGO. These Evo X compatible heads don't work with skins made for the SLUV map, however. Only Lelutka Evo X heads work with both uv maps.

[Persephone Emerald]

4 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

NUX can be a flop, or very popular. Designers may think that people who can't afford a new mesh avatar, will still use some money on clothes. I am very certain that clothes made for other mesh avatars will not fit it.

I think male avatars can sometimes wear mesh clothing made for a different body than the one they're using. If you can hide parts of the body either with a HUD or an alpha layer, you may be able to wear clothes that don't fit perfectly. This is especially true for suits or clothes that cover most of your body. Female clothing in SL tends to show more skin than male clothing does, and has more variation for bust, waist, hip and butt size, so it can be harder to wear clothing for different female mesh bodies.

Gabriel is a clothing store in SL that primarily makes male clothing and has a section of free, older clothes for male avatars. You can try some of their free clothes to see if they fit. Their style tends to be Metro or Neo-Japanese.

Shopping on Marketplace can be faster and easier than shopping inworld, but shopping inworld feels more like going to a real store. You can look around to see if you like the items, try on demos, and see if there are group gifts you like.

[Trinity Blakewell]

I’m more familiar with the female side of things but do have an alt account that is set up as male (in case my husband can be persuaded to play, which may happen when the mobile client is released as he hasn’t picked up his computer in a long time).

 I started out with the free Legacy mesh body and tried whatever free mesh heads I found. I was not happy with the results but did find some clothing at places like Gabriel that worked.  The Lelutka promotion in December has also included freebies from other brands with some nice face skins.

If you don’t want to wait till December sometimes Lelutka reduces the price on new releases. There is a discounted new release male and female head from Lelutka at the Skin Fair.

If you want a mesh body with lots of clothing available, Jake is likely the least expensive. While there are newer bodies out there, Jake still has a ton of support from clothing vendors.

Purchasing both the body and head described above would cost about $L6000 but would put you in a position where most male items at events and the big weekend sales would fit your avatar. And those big weekend sales are what I recommend to newbies as a good way to pick up quality items at a low price.

Many face skins on the female side use body skins from Velour and I assume many male face skins use their male line. It’s not to the point of what has happened with the EvoX heads but still a way to buy one body skin that will go with many brands of face skin. There tend to be face skins on sale for under $L100 every weekend - more female but usually one or two male.

[Theresa Tennyson]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:32 PM, TheBrominator said:

 

I play a lot of video games with character customisation, so I get the basic concepts.

There's your problem. There isn't one set way of customizing an avatar in Second Life. Years ago, I was interacting with a new player who was trying out various default avatars. After a while he changed his avatar to a floating plywood sphere. I asked him, "Are you good with the plywood sphere?" 

His answer was along the lines of, "Yeah, this is good."

And there you go.

[Persephone Emerald]

19 minutes ago, Trinity Blakewell said:

[snip]

The Lelutka promotion in December has also included freebies from other brands with some nice face skins.

[snip]

Purchasing both the body and head described above would cost about $L6000 but would put you in a position where most male items at events and the big weekend sales would fit your avatar. And those big weekend sales are what I recommend to newbies as a good way to pick up quality items at a low price.

Many face skins on the female side use body skins from Velour and I assume many male face skins use their male line. It’s not to the point of what has happened with the EvoX heads but still a way to buy one body skin that will go with many brands of face skin. There tend to be face skins on sale for under $L100 every weekend - more female but usually one or two male.

Last December the pre-Christmas mesh head and skin gifts allowed me to finally get my guy alt outfitted with a really nice skin. He's using the Logan head, which was one of the Lelutka gift heads. After collecting all the free head skins, I found a body skin tone from Velour that matched most of them and bought it. I think the tone is Medium?

The year before I unfortunately missed many of the gift skins for him, so he was usually stuck wearing either an old skin from 7 Deadly Skins or from Belleza. If you see that 7 Deadly Skins is free join sometime, they have a box of older male skins as a group gift in the male skins section. Belleza used to have some free older skins for male and female avatars, but I don't know if they still have them out now. These could work on a BOM compatible mesh body and head if the head is not set to Evo X, but will likely show problems with the fingers and toes, which can be corrected with a free toe and finger tattoo layer fix.

Most mesh bodies and Lelutka mesh heads also come with skins you may be able to match fairly well.

[animats]

On 3/19/2023 at 1:12 AM, TheBrominator said:

Something I've noticed is most, if not all, of the popular 'quality' creators have in-world stores where they sell their content, rather than through the online marketplace. From YouTube videos I've derived that meshes, textures/skins, heads, and other elements are not universally compatible.

Second Life works a lot like real life. Sometimes too much. Some clothing fits, some doesn't. Look for items with DEMO versions. Those are cheap or free, but will have giant "DEMO" signs attached. Try those, and when you find something you like, get a real one. Start with cheap and free clothing until you get some experience with the clothing system.

[Ceka Cianci]

It's best if you look at Second life as big grid full of sandboxes and each user with a sandbox.. You can create every single thing for yourself if you wanted or just create some things, but also you can get other peoples creations as well and add those into the mix..

You would know how your creations work, but at the same time, you would have to learn how each users creations work.. Some things are sort of universal in basics, but each user can add their own touches to their creations in how they work.. So it's really hard to find a single place for step by step instructions on how to use everything..

If I buy a mesh head from this one store it will have a lot of basics as getting one from another store..

If you know the basics it will be much easier and will only have to learn the differences and what each one will and will not be compatible with..

One mesh head may only be able to use these certain skins, where the other may be able to use every kind of skin..

The learning curve in second life is huge in just about any direction you choose to go.. There is a curve in every step you take.. just when you think you have it down pat, someone comes along and shows you something you didn't know about it..

To me that is the exciting part about second life, always showing you something you didn't know.. But they keep selling the eye candy side of it and wondering why people get so frustrated..

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by Ceka Cianci

[Anna Salyx]

6 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

 There is a curve in every step you take.. just when you think you have it down pat, someone comes along and shows you something you didn't know about it..

 

 "There is much unexplained in [Second Life]. It behoves one to be wary at all times. Just when you think you've got the hang of it, along comes [Bakes On Mesh], [Environmental Enhancement Project], or Björk's new album, and bam! You're as confused as you were when you first started."

― Jasper Fforde, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (paraphrased ... alot!, except the part about Björk)

[Love Zhaoying]

24 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

There is a curve in every step you take..

Fun fact, "walking" is "controlled falling"!

[Ceka Cianci]

20 minutes ago, Anna Salyx said:

 "There is much unexplained in [Second Life]. It behoves one to be wary at all times. Just when you think you've got the hang of it, along comes [Bakes On Mesh], [Environmental Enhancement Project], or Björk's new album, and bam! You're as confused as you were when you first started."

― Jasper Fforde, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (paraphrased ... alot!, except the part about Björk)

I love when that happens! \o/

hehehe

[PheebyKatz]

17 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Fun fact, "walking" is "controlled falling"!

Not for me, I glide gracefully. But then I do have training.

No, srsly, my SL mom on an earlier account literally taught me how to get around all over the place in all of the different ways. She used to be a mentor, back when they had mentors as a thing.

Oh, by the way, Mentors used to be a thing. They taught new users how to SL. Now we all just kinda try to teach each other as best we can.

Edited March 22, 2023 by PheebyKatz

[Love Zhaoying]

4 minutes ago, PheebyKatz said:

Not for me, I glide gracefully. But then I do have training.

Are you like one of those majyck floating nuns, who actually is hiding roller skates under her habit?

[PheebyKatz]

7 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Are you like one of those majyck floating nuns, who actually is hiding roller skates under her habit?

Training wheels are for babies. XD

[Amberyl Ethaniel]

Boston Blaisdale has some really great YouTube videos, as does Strawberry Singh(Linden). I've learned so much from their channels..

[Danielle Atheria]

I have a note card i made up for to go from newbie to insta-model if any women reading this would like it...or guys i dont discriminate

I dont profit from it at all of course buying things from designers does.

Same name in world look for me if you like