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Things That Builders Do Just To Annoy Me

Bastian McConach
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Bastian McConach

Bastian McConach

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Posted

Things That Builders Do Just To Annoy Me


1. Doors do not have glass on the edge of them. If you are hard-pressed to use the same texture on ALL sides of the doors, at least change the damned repeat and offset.

2. When I walk in my front door, I don't see the handle at eye level. Let alone is my door twice the height and width of myself.

3. Walls and doors aren't paper thin; 'nough said.

4. Last time I checked, my ceiling did not look the same as the roofing on the outside.

5. I love hardwood just as much as the next person, but using the same wood in every room is not going to fly. When I get to tearing up your build after buying a mod version, I don't want to have to make copies of flooring and resize them to hell and back to be able to change one room's flooring.

6. Stark white ceiling/walls are wonderful if you're trying to cover up you and your partner's last "christening" of a new build, but I love a punch of color. If nothing else, I should be able to see definition.

7. Not every room needs 4 windows in it. On that same token, if the outside wall is flat all the way through on the outside, that looks like an unfinished build.

8. Those one prim staircases are amazing, but make them phantom and throw in an invisible prim so my feet aren't going through each step. Kills the whole realism effect you just made by baking in shadows.

9. Windows aren't flat and the glass sure as hell isn't white as a ghost.

10. Bay windows are gorgeous, but if you can't line the walls up so there isn't a **bleep** ton of overlapping going on, don't bother.

11. Shift -> Click -> Drag. It's your friend. Don't continue making walls over and over and not ensure that they are the same width; use this little combo and you'll thank yourself for it later.

12. Drywall, paneling, painting, etc. do not overlap. When there is "prim flicker", you're doing it wrong.

13. Not everyone got an A+ in calculus and no one expects you to be able to do complicated math problem in order to align textures. Look up "planar" texturing and save yourself the headache and my eyes from the overlapping.

14. 32x64/32x128 and any variation of it is not always the best use of texture repeats when working with sculpties. Your wood textures are gorgeous, but using a default repeat provided with your sculpties isn't showing off your investment.

15. Windows don't blanket a wall hollowed out at 95%. Shrink the wall and add in two surrounding.

16. Those shaded wood textures are lovely; now tell me, what exactly is casting that shadow on the floor from above? Yeah, that's what I thought...

17. Full bright has its uses, but using it on every piece of glass/window/alpha texture is not pleasing. Alpha textures have glitches, get used to it.

18. Your sunbeams coming through the window are a nice touch! Now kill some of that glow, increase the transparency and make me believe there's something there besides a glowing mass that you forgot to make phantom.

19. Speaking of phantom, either unlink the parts that SHOULD be phantom and have your customer rez your build out in edit mode or take a few moments to find a cheap/free rezzer to place your build in.

20. The kitchen you've just built is wonderfully crafted. Take a look at what you can buy to place in it. Yeah, those cabinets are a bitch, aren't they? Why not include a basic set in your build so I'm not spending hours stretching and re-aligning the set I just bought to fill this void?

21. When you advertise your new build, I want to know what size the build itself is. "Fits perfectly on a 4,096" is not a measurement and tells me nothing. I can buy your new product and place it on my 64x64sqm plot and be happy or I can try to rez it on my 128x32sqm and be pissed because you've "lied" to me.

22. While we're talking about advertising, give me multiple prim counts. "500 prims" isn't your build if that includes decor that I don't have to use. "400 prims base, 500 with accessories" is much easier to digest. Wonder how many sales you've lost out on because of that tiny mistake?

23. I'm loving the master bedroom build you have going on there! Now, explain something to me: why is there a bedroom downstairs, half the size of the "master", with a huge bathroom and walk-in closet?

24. Closets? Come on, now...

25. The man-cave of a garage is great! When have you entered a garage before and seen wallpaper coating the walls, carpet aligning the floor and a stucco ceiling? Hmm...

26. A roof isn't typically twice the height of a house. Scale accordingly, please.

27. If you're using a megaprim, don't leave it no-mod just for the simple fact that resizing can destroy it. Hence the reason we have this thing called "copy permission".

28. The ambient lighting is a nice touch; why is it always from a no-mod light source without a script to turn it off, though? When I'm enjoying time in my new build in broad daylight, I don't need a light source with the intensity set to 2.0, radius at 20 and falloff at 0. 

29. Walk through your build, don't cam exclusively. While it looks amazing when camming, walking through will give you a better look at what I, as a customer, am experiencing. If I walk through a door and my cam is in the roof where you have seams, overlapping and the default wood texture visible, that tells me you don't care about your build, just the L$ you're earning from its sale.

30. Might be worth noting here that walking around your build also lets you know whether or not you've forgotten to make something phantom that has to be. If I can't walk through the front door because the sculpted frame isn't phantom when it needs to be, you're not getting my L$.

31. Even using alignment tools and the grid, it's almost impossible to have everything line up perfectly. Don't be afraid to set a non-visible side of a prim to a transparency level of 100% if it will not show overlapping with other prims. Also, good to note here that having object detail set to a low setting does not show you what someone with a high setting will see.

32. Another good note here: if you have something that you want to be completely invisible, don't waste my time with an alpha. Even a 32x32 alpha can take a while to rez in lag. Set the transparency to 100, as my viewer will note the transparency level before it ever thinks about rezzing the texture.

33. The slice begin and end are your friend. Remember that next time you want a light beam coming down from that ceiling light. Combine the right slicing with the correct offset and repeat - you're in business. Stretch it to the ground and leave a default of 1x1 repeats and you've annoyed my camming habits.

34. When you have an optional piece to a build (for example, a porch on the back or now), don't give me separate pieces to line up myself! If using a rezzer, give me one with and one without the optional piece. If having a "broken package" to rez out in "edit mode", give me a copy with the optional piece and one without.

35. I realize textures are expensive. I shudder to think of how much I've spent on textures over the years. With that said, your customer is not here to pay for your latest purchase. Price according to the features, quality and, if applicable, "niche". Don't tack on another L$1,000 to the price because you forked out L$2,000 for that pack of 100 door textures from which you used 2.

36. Door scripts are a pain, even as a consumer we get that. Want to take a guess at what annoys us the most? I'll give you a hint - that access list is a pain in my arse. Why? You left it no-mod, no-trans. Now I have to open it up, copy and paste into a new notecard and replace the old one. What's worse is when you leave the door no-mod. "Hey, look! I've included this awesome feature! You can allow only certain people to use the door." Mhmm, sure you did.

37. Doors again. When have you opened a door in RL and it went from closed to open in 0.2 seconds? Give a door at least 1 pause between open and shut, if you choose to not go the distance and find that "swinging" door script.

38. Another for doors. That over-used default "door opening" and "door closing" sound that someone thought would be perfect in SL? Yeah, not so much. My front door and bedroom door should not sound like I opened a paper-thin door on wheels. Mind your theme/location when choosing sounds, or have none at all.

39. Last one on doors. "Welcome to our home, So-and-so." Sorry, I just walked in to your bathroom. Kill the welcome text, people. We have welcome mats for that spam.

40. Window tinting is a wonderful thing for those who wish for "privacy". You don't need to open up Photoshop and create three versions of a texture for changing, though. Hollow out the glass prim and use a script to change the alpha on a white or black texture inside the hollowed out box. Voila!

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Casper Priestman

Casper Priestman

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Posted

The OP should remember that for as many architectural designs and styles, there is an equal amount of varying talent and experience building them in SL. Some people have a knack for it, and others have to learn slowly, but they have the right to learn just as you have your right to critique and become a better shopper.

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Dresden Ceriano

Dresden Ceriano

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Posted

Yay!!! Wonderful post. Most of every last thing you've said I agree with and try to consider when I build houses, which I don't do often and haven't started selling yet (and won't until I can get it perfect).

I do have comments on a couple of points:

 

Bastian McConach wrote:

17. Full bright has its uses, but using it on every piece of glass/window/alpha texture is not pleasing. Alpha textures have glitches, get used to it.

I believe full bright is also dependent on the build. I have a skybox that is complete set to full bright, but it looks incredible because the texturing is just that good. I know I lot of people wouldn't find it very pleasing that no matter what time of day it is, their house will look exactly the same, but it works for me.

 

Bastian McConach also wrote:

24. Closets? Come on, now...

I may have come out of it a long time ago, but I like having a closet... I need some place to keep my skeletons... lol.

...Dres devil-081.gif

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Void Singer

Void Singer

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Posted

Bastian McConach wrote:

Things That Builders Do Just To Annoy Me

 

1. Doors do not have glass on the edge of them. If you are hard-pressed to use the same texture on ALL sides of the doors, at least change the damned repeat and offset. (
amen
)

 

2. When I walk in my front door, I don't see the handle at eye level. Let alone is my door twice the height and width of myself. (
depends on avatar size being built for, but door knobs should be  ~1/3 from bottom
)

 

3. Walls and doors aren't paper thin; 'nough said. (
in some cases this is done to maximize interior space on small build, but one really should mask ends with faux mold to minimize the effect when doing it
)

 

4. Last time I checked, my ceiling did not look the same as the roofing on the outside. (
amen, unless you like in a tin roofed shack
)

 

5. I love hardwood just as much as the next person, but using the same wood in every room is not going to fly. When I get to tearing up your build after buying a mod version, I don't want to have to make copies of flooring and resize them to hell and back to be able to change one room's flooring. (
I think this can be done right, but it's more a matter of taste
)

 

6. Stark white ceiling/walls are wonderful if you're trying to cover up you and your partner's last "christening" of a new build, but I love a punch of color. If nothing else, I should be able to see definition. (
double amen if they also made it fullbright
)

 

7. Not every room needs 4 windows in it. On that same token, if the outside wall is flat all the way through on the outside, that looks like an unfinished build. (
amen
)

 

8. Those one prim staircases are amazing, but make them phantom and throw in an invisible prim so my feet aren't going through each step. Kills the whole realism effect you just made by baking in shadows. (
amen
)

 

9. Windows aren't flat and the glass sure as hell isn't white as a ghost. (
first part is a prim saving technique that can be mitigated by furnishing, the second: amen
)

 

10. Bay windows are gorgeous, but if you can't line the walls up so there isn't a **bleep** ton of overlapping going on, don't bother. (
amen
)

 

11. Shift -> Click -> Drag. It's your friend. Don't continue making walls over and over and not ensure that they are the same width; use this little combo and you'll thank yourself for it later. (
amen
)

 

12. Drywall, paneling, painting, etc. do not overlap. When there is "prim flicker", you're doing it wrong. (
amen
)

 

13. Not everyone got an A+ in calculus and no one expects you to be able to do complicated math problem in order to align textures. Look up "planar" texturing and save yourself the headache and my eyes from the overlapping. (
or just the free and easy
[uUID=11e68b89-6693-e3bf-35c9-876ae2a2e78b] to find your alignment, because planar textures are harder work for the graphics card; amen
)

 

14. 32x64/32x128 and any variation of it is not always the best use of texture repeats when working with sculpties. Your wood textures are gorgeous, but using a default repeat provided with your sculpties isn't showing off your investment. (
amen
)

 

15. Windows don't blanket a wall hollowed out at 95%. Shrink the wall and add in two surrounding. (
generally true, false and overprimmed in some scenarios
)

 

16. Those shaded wood textures are lovely; now tell me, what exactly is casting that shadow on the floor from above? Yeah, that's what I thought... (
always be wary of prebaked shadows
)

 

17. Full bright has its uses, but using it on every piece of glass/window/alpha texture is not pleasing. Alpha textures have glitches, get used to it. (
I'd go a step farther, uless it's jet black dont use fullbright in a normal building
)

 

18. Your sunbeams coming through the window are a nice touch! Now kill some of that glow, increase the transparency and make me believe there's something there besides a glowing mass that you forgot to make phantom.(
addendum, if you can't see glow at the default levels, don't use it in commercial builds
)

 

19. Speaking of phantom, either unlink the parts that SHOULD be phantom and have your customer rez your build out in edit mode or take a few moments to find a cheap/free rezzer to place your build in. (
Rezzors are awesome, but use volume detect for phantom child objects, you can take the script out after
)

 

20. The kitchen you've just built is wonderfully crafted. Take a look at what you can buy to place in it. Yeah, those cabinets are a bitch, aren't they? Why not include a basic set in your build so I'm not spending hours stretching and re-aligning the set I just bought to fill this void? (
amen or at least offer fitted ones for sale / as options
)

 

21. When you advertise your new build, I want to know what size the build itself is. "Fits perfectly on a 4,096" is not a measurement and tells me nothing. I can buy your new product and place it on my 64x64sqm plot and be happy or I can try to rez it on my 128x32sqm and be pissed because you've "lied" to me.(
amen
)

 

22. While we're talking about advertising, give me multiple prim counts. "500 prims" isn't your build if that includes decor that I don't have to use. "400 prims base, 500 with accessories" is much easier to digest. Wonder how many sales you've lost out on because of that tiny mistake? (
amen
)

 

23. I'm loving the master bedroom build you have going on there! Now, explain something to me: why is there a bedroom downstairs, half the size of the "master", with a huge bathroom and walk-in closet? (
eh personal taste, I've seen the same in RL even though IDGI
)

 

24. Closets? Come on, now... (
personal taste, after all, what use is a toilet of a stove or refrigerator?
)

 

25. The man-cave of a garage is great! When have you entered a garage before and seen wallpaper coating the walls, carpet aligning the floor and a stucco ceiling? Hmm...(
you might be suprised...
)

 

26. A roof isn't typically twice the height of a house. Scale accordingly, please. (
true in general, some specific regional styles really have this, but it should be appropriate to the style
)

 

27. If you're using a megaprim, don't leave it no-mod just for the simple fact that resizing can destroy it. Hence the reason we have this thing called "copy permission". (
iffy, megas 64m and under should be noted, as they may become resizable in the near future
)

 

28. The ambient lighting is a nice touch; why is it always from a no-mod light source without a script to turn it off, though? When I'm enjoying time in my new build in broad daylight, I don't need a light source with the intensity set to 2.0, radius at 20 and falloff at 0. (
amen
)

 

29. Walk through your build, don't cam exclusively. While it looks amazing when camming, walking through will give you a better look at what I, as a customer, am experiencing. If I walk through a door and my cam is in the roof where you have seams, overlapping and the default wood texture visible, that tells me you don't care about your build, just the L$ you're earning from its sale. (
amen
)

 

30. Might be worth noting here that walking around your build also lets you know whether or not you've forgotten to make something phantom that has to be. If I can't walk through the front door because the sculpted frame isn't phantom when it needs to be, you're not getting my L$. (
amen
)

 

31. Even using alignment tools and the grid, it's almost impossible to have everything line up perfectly. Don't be afraid to set a non-visible side of a prim to a transparency level of 100% if it will not show overlapping with other prims. Also, good to note here that having object detail set to a low setting does not show you what someone with a high setting will see. (
amen, always make non visible faces transparent when possible to prevent trapped cameras syndrome
)

 

32. Another good note here: if you have something that you want to be completely invisible, don't waste my time with an alpha. Even a 32x32 alpha can take a while to rez in lag. Set the transparency to 100, as my viewer will note the transparency level before it ever thinks about rezzing the texture. (
amen, and when you do reuse an an existing texture under it so that you are not adding load for an additional texture to be downloaded
)

 

33. The slice begin and end are your friend. Remember that next time you want a light beam coming down from that ceiling light. Combine the right slicing with the correct offset and repeat - you're in business. Stretch it to the ground and leave a default of 1x1 repeats and you've annoyed my camming habits. (
amen, and always make volumetric lighting optional and preferably only near it's source to prevent click through problems
)

 

34. When you have an optional piece to a build (for example, a porch on the back or now), don't give me separate pieces to line up myself! If using a rezzer, give me one with and one without the optional piece. If having a "broken package" to rez out in "edit mode", give me a copy with the optional piece and one without. (
or better customize your rezzor to install optional parts or not at users choice
)

 

35. I realize textures are expensive. I shudder to think of how much I've spent on textures over the years. With that said, your customer is not here to pay for your latest purchase. Price according to the features, quality and, if applicable, "niche". Don't tack on another L$1,000 to the price because you forked out L$2,000 for that pack of 100 door textures from which you used 2. (
amen unless building to order
)

 

36. Door scripts are a pain, even as a consumer we get that. Want to take a guess at what annoys us the most? I'll give you a hint - that access list is a pain in my arse. Why? You left it no-mod, no-trans. Now I have to open it up, copy and paste into a new notecard and replace the old one. What's worse is when you leave the door no-mod. "Hey, look! I've included this awesome feature! You can allow only certain people to use the door." Mhmm, sure you did. (
amen
)

 

37. Doors again. When have you opened a door in RL and it went from closed to open in 0.2 seconds? Give a door at least 1 pause between open and shut, if you choose to not go the distance and find that "swinging" door script. (
meh, those aren't always a good choice, depending on veiwer settings, door structure, and region health, safer to include a modifiable door with the simpler script
)

 

38. Another for doors. That over-used default "door opening" and "door closing" sound that someone thought would be perfect in SL? Yeah, not so much. My front door and bedroom door should not sound like I opened a paper-thin door on wheels. Mind your theme/location when choosing sounds, or have none at all. (
amen, any sounds should reflect the door type
)

 

39. Last one on doors. "Welcome to our home, So-and-so." Sorry, I just walked in to your bathroom. Kill the welcome text, people. We have welcome mats for that spam. (
better yet, simplify.... the commonly available door script with all those special features is painful and fail prone at best, don't force your customers to use it. go simple an let them choose to upgrade and deal with any quality and feature issues if you can't write a quality version yourself
)

 

40. Window tinting is a wonderful thing for those who wish for "privacy". You don't need to open up Photoshop and create three versions of a texture for changing, though. Hollow out the glass prim and use a script to change the alpha on a white or black texture inside the hollowed out box. Voila! (
or use multiple textures on a very small one and just change the offsets, or use alpha control on the window pane, much better either way than multiple single textures
)

just my opinion mind you...

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Void Singer

Void Singer

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Posted

hmmm I misunderstood your meaning there then, and would add the comment that it's a mater of taste... not everyone wants baked highlights in their windows. they don't always fit the time of day.

judging from sever comments in your list, I'm guessing that your tastes run towards hyper realistic with daylight settings. and that's fine, but not everyone wants or expects that, nor does it fit everyone's usage. several of the suggested practices however I agree should be put into use, although a few come with experience (blanking hidden textures for instance to prevent camera traps). I ignored the overall tone because, rant's are rants, and optimally shouldn't have a bearing on validity.

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Innula Zenovka

Innula Zenovka

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Posted

Bastian McConach wrote:

33. The slice begin and end are your friend. Remember that next time you want a light beam coming down from that ceiling light. Combine the right slicing with the correct offset and repeat - you're in business. Stretch it to the ground and leave a default of 1x1 repeats and you've annoyed my camming habits.

 

 

I don't quite understand this, particularly the reference, in context, to "camming habits".   

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Rolig Loon

Rolig Loon

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Posted

Dresden Ceriano wrote:

Reception is up to the individual reader. Personally, I found it a joy to read.

As opposed to most rant posts that completely miss the mark, Bastian has been quite successful in, for the most part, hitting the nail right on the head.

...Dres

Well, I wouldn't say it was  "joy" to read. It was an ego-filled, snooty post ..... but 95% right on the mark.  Most of the things the OP compained about are things that experienced builders in SL have griped about for years, so it's hard to disagree with him.  At the same time, though, most builders in SL are not professional graphic artists or RL architects.  They're self-taught hobbyists who fit right into the spirit of "Your World, Your Imagination."  I don't know about you, but I learn a lot by making mistakes and by looking back in horror at some of the stuff I thought was super 4 years ago --- and by seeing mistakes that other people make today.  I'm kind of glad this isn't a perfect, "designer" world.

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Innula Zenovka

Innula Zenovka

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Void Singer wrote:

I took it to mean invisible thing in the way of clicking and alt-focus camming (because it canges the center of the cam rotation to a point nearer than expected)

That's what I thought at first, too, but then I thought,  if it's invisible, what does it matter what the texture offsets and repeats are?

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Melita Magic

Melita Magic

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Posted

That was fun to read. :)

A lot of these things are done to benefit people who have a low prim allotment, or don't want a lot of scripts. 

# 32 about transparency vs. alpha is a really good tip.

I have made some of these 'mistakes' in building before but mainly because I hate how that door overhang prim looks, so it's easier to make tall doors. (Note: I don't sell what I make. I build what I use.) Also, so many texture makers do not make a texture that will fit into that prim above the door, on either side. And using the existing one to try to match it all up is a you-know-what.

Then, add in that the only door script I've met which allows linked doors requires the door to be built as above.

A lot of your peeves might be builders who couldn't afford to buy the mega expensive door or window scripts.

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om Piers

om Piers

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Posted

These are good points, even the items that strike me as personal opinion. Condensed into a builder's "Things to Consider" checklist, I would find it very useful. I am not at a professional level, and often the things I put together were started with one thought and then gradually finished through a winding series of other thoughts. I still have not managed to stick to a defined workflow yet. Using a checklist with reminders to evaluate building decisions like those discussed, I could refer to the checklist at the beginning and throughout the process.

In fact, I think I'll put together something like that. For me, it is far past overdue. :)

Does anybody else have pet peeves?

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