Linden Lab Acquires Game Studio LittleTextPeople

[Ceka Cianci]

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Rene Erlanger wrote:

Mesh won't replace prims or sculpties....there;s room for all 3 of them. Don't expect everything to be eventually replaced by Mesh....it won't happen especially with effects to Land prim counts.

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thats not what i was getting at..

i was getting at a reason they maybe did not add it earlier when they could have..it's not a matter of if it will or not..it's a matter of did they leave it off this long because they thought it would?

 

[Peggy Paperdoll]

I think they left mesh out because the grid's platform code couldn't handle complex meshes until recently.  It also entailed a much more complex viewer to display complex meshes.  It wasn't because they didn't want to do it.........it's more likely because it couldn't be done at the time.  It can be done now  so it's being done.  Think how many problems mesh would cause and LL being spoken of in a very impolite way had they introduced mesh back when they introduced sculpties or flexible prims.  Evolution is progressive.......it's time for mesh.  It was not time for mesh 10 years ago.

[Bouttime Whybrow]

this acquisition does not bode well for sl. the best we hope is it does not effect sl but it will do nothing good for it.

to me it shows LL is just a bean counter company now. the vision and passion for that vision is gone.

they'd sell hot dogs now if that's how they could make money.

[Medhue Simoni]

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Qie Niangao wrote:

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Conifer Dada wrote:

I think mesh might well replace sculpties - at least for new objects.

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I used to think that, too, before the Land Impact calculations came out.  As it turns out, if you make a Mesh with sculpty-complex geometry and scale it up (or, God forbid, put a script in it), it's apt to eat most of your parcel's primcount.

Of course, if you're just making attachments, Land Impact doesn't matter... and they've set the scale for avatar weight such that most everybody ranks red anyway, so not much point in trying to be efficient about those.

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Actually, mesh can be less Land impact than any other object in SL. Mesh can be fractions of a prim. By linking them, you benefit on the fractions. A well made mesh object can be less land impact than any prim or sculpty of the same object, and the mesh can look better and only use 1 texture. There is literally only a few things made out of sculpts that can beat a mesh in Land impact. If this is not what you are experiencing, than you either need to learn more about how to make it or buy from people who have a better grasp of mesh.

As far as clothing and Draw Weights. You can't put 400 prims on your head and stay out of the red. The red is 40k, which should be way more than enough for any1 who reasonably thinks about lag. My mesh Lycan avatar, with all accessories and clothing on, tops out at 15k in Draw Weight, well under the 40k for red. With my normal avatar, wearing mesh boots, a mesh jacket, and a mesh M4, and an invisible 1 on my back, I'm only at 20k in draw weight. Hair always uses up tons of Draw Weight, which is why every hair designer should be learning mesh to make, not only better looking hair, but much lower in Draw Weight. You can still use flexies too. Heck, just mesh shoes alone will cut Draw Weights by 30% or more for every1.

As for replacing prims and sculpties, yes mesh does replace them completely. Oh, prims and sculpties will probably always be sold and created with. Any1 that actually does learn to make mesh will never use prims or sculpts again tho. It would be illogical to do so. If the creator truely understands mesh, than they would never see the benefit in using a prim or sculpty. Plus, now, when I made a car for SL, that same car can go into Unity, Dazstudio, every 3d editor there is, and every 3d world there is. So, why would I make things with prims or sculpties?

[Charolotte Caxton]

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Bouttime Whybrow wrote:

this acquisition does not bode well for sl. the best we hope is it does not effect sl but it will do nothing good for it.

to me it shows LL is just a bean counter company now. the vision and passion for that vision is gone.

they'd sell hot dogs now if that's how they could make money.

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I could not disagree more.

A bean counting company would not waste their time with this platform. 

The vision and passion is evident in the fact that new features are being worked on and implemented. Acquiring a concept such as littletextpeople, which seems to be some sort of fantasy or fictional way of creating little personas and telling and acting out stories sounds very much like some other concept we have heard of. It's called Second Life. 

[Dartagan Shepherd]

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

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Bouttime Whybrow wrote:

this acquisition does not bode well for sl. the best we hope is it does not effect sl but it will do nothing good for it.

to me it shows LL is just a bean counter company now. the vision and passion for that vision is gone.

they'd sell hot dogs now if that's how they could make money.

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I could not disagree more.

A bean counting company would not waste their time with this platform. 

The vision and passion is evident in the fact that new features are being worked on and implemented. Acquiring a concept such as littletextpeople, which seems to be some sort of fantasy or fictional way of creating little personas and telling and acting out stories sounds very much like some other concept we have heard of. It's called Second Life. 

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The other came far before Second Life.

It's a variation of Z-machine style interactive fiction, circa late 1970's to early 1980's.

Zork meets cell phone.

We've always had suspicions that Linden Lab was really the Frobozz Magic Spell Co.

[Charolotte Caxton]

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Dartagan Shepherd wrote:

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

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Bouttime Whybrow wrote:

this acquisition does not bode well for sl. the best we hope is it does not effect sl but it will do nothing good for it.

to me it shows LL is just a bean counter company now. the vision and passion for that vision is gone.

they'd sell hot dogs now if that's how they could make money.

---

I could not disagree more.

A bean counting company would not waste their time with this platform. 

The vision and passion is evident in the fact that new features are being worked on and implemented. Acquiring a concept such as littletextpeople, which seems to be some sort of fantasy or fictional way of creating little personas and telling and acting out stories sounds very much like some other concept we have heard of. It's called Second Life. 

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The other came far before Second Life.

It's a variation of Z-machine style interactive fiction, circa late 1970's to early 1980's.

Zork meets cell phone.

We've always had suspicions that Linden Lab was really the Frobozz Magic Spell Co.

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Oh wow, I have absolutely no idea what any of that means, but I will look it up. 

[Ceka Cianci]

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Peggy Paperdoll wrote:

I think they left mesh out because the grid's platform code couldn't handle complex meshes until recently.  It also entailed a much more complex viewer to display complex meshes.  It wasn't because they didn't want to do it.........it's more likely because it couldn't be done at the time.  It can be done now  so it's being done.  Think how many problems mesh would cause and LL being spoken of in a very impolite way had they introduced mesh back when they introduced sculpties or flexible prims.  Evolution is progressive.......it's time for mesh.  It was not time for mesh 10 years ago.

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their evolution is about 10 years behind evolution on the net..LOL

also i wasn't saying they should have had it 10 years ago..i was saying why did it take 10 years?

it didn't have to take 10 years..they could have done it sooner..and really the ones that speak bad about LL are the tiny percent in the forums..the grid is not loaded with LL haters..

plus that never stopped them before anyways..they don't give a crap who speaks bad about them..

they are just slow lets face it lol

[Dillon Levenque]

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

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Dartagan Shepherd wrote:

We've always had suspicions that Linden Lab was really the Frobozz Magic Spell Co.

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Oh wow, I have absolutely no idea what any of that means, but I will look it up. 

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Hint: Get a flashlight—you're gonna need it.

[Dartagan Shepherd]

Sorry, making little in-jokes about the technology and the one posters comment about LL selling hotdogs.

The LittleTextPeople stuff is a spin of old Infocom games and technology that started the ball rolling. Interactive Fiction has had limited success over the years, but it did lead to some online games as it progressed, including MUD engines, some of which were actually multi-player interactive fiction in the 1980's and 1990's.

Of some of those MUD engines, they were virtual world-ish and some of them had currency and many of them had user generated content, so they were forerunners to Second Life.

Revamping that old Interactive Fiction tech to include currency and virtual goods isn't new, but it does kind of come full circle which is nice.

It might also be selling hotdogs too by dusting it off.

[Charolotte Caxton]

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Dartagan Shepherd wrote:

Sorry, making little in-jokes about the technology and the one posters comment about LL selling hotdogs.

The LittleTextPeople stuff is a spin of old Infocom games and technology that started the ball rolling. Interactive Fiction has had limited success over the years, but it did lead to some online games as it progressed, including MUD engines, some of which were actually multi-player interactive fiction in the 1980's and 1990's.

Of some of those MUD engines, they were virtual world-ish and some of them had currency and many of them had user generated content, so they were forerunners to Second Life.

Revamping that old Interactive Fiction tech to include currency and virtual goods isn't new, but it does kind of come full circle which is nice.

It might also be selling hotdogs too by dusting it off.

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[Bouttime Whybrow]

what do you mean they wouldn't waste their time on this platform? they are stuck with it, it is their product.

not abandoning it does not mean they are high on it, they still have to support it, it's still worth something.

of course they are still going to add features over time and stuff. but to me it seems it will be a by the numbers type thing rather than an enthusiastic passionate. if their other "stand alone" products blow up they will care more about that than sl.

what brings the most into the coffers is what will be most important to them.

if textpeople games brings them a gazillion dollars more than sl, then little text will be what they care about.

LL is now a gaming company, that means that is what they care about, games, of which sl is only one.

whatever brings them the most beans is what they will care about most. that does not mean they won't care about their other products, they just won't be AS important.

 

note that is states they will make "stand alone" products. the acquisition is not to compliment the SL product.

i see this as diversification of the company not a solidifying build up of its core product.

[Charolotte Caxton]

Oh, well put that way, yes I agree. When it comes to having beans or producing art, only the most hardcore and dedicated of artists would choose the art over eating, so yes if profit is the ultimate goal, then they must of course focus the bulk of their efforts into that which will keep them alive and happy. Hopefully though, one won't be abandoned for the other, but rather they can use their knowledge as a gaming company, if that is what they are now, into improving and benefiting all of their games, to include our favorite game of all, Second Life.

oh, did they say it would be stand alone? I was thinking it would compliment SL somehow. Even if it does not directly, couldn't it still be beneficial to have the spill over effects of game designers etc that are into this stuff?

lol, you keep editing on me It may be a diversification, but isn't diversification good? Not having all ones chicks in a basket and all that.

[Dillon Levenque]

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Dartagan Shepherd wrote:

Sorry, making little in-jokes about the technology and the one posters comment about LL selling hotdogs.

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Oh, believe me, I did not mean to knock the post: no apology needed. I spent many happy hours in the Great Underground Empire. I was merely giving young Charolotte some good advice. We know bad things can happen when it's pitch black.

As for the hotdogs: my interest in LL has to do with Second Life and Second Life only. If they can pick up a few extra bucks selling hotdogs, and maybe a bit of that money gets spent enhancing (or even maintaining) Second Life than I'll hope they do well in the hotdog business.

[Bouttime Whybrow]

the money to finance the hot dog biz is going to come from money generated from SL.

that means LESS money spent on sl than before and only IF said hot dogs make some money can we HOPE some will be put back into sl eventually. i wouldn't hold my breath.