How do I create a cat or possibly a motorcycle?

[windrider07]

I have no scripting knowledge when it comes to mesh so any help would be appreciated.  I want my own virtual pet cart ^^ as well as my own virtual motorcycle.  How would I be able to get them? Are there any scripts I could use or already-made cats/motorcycles that I can find?

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Unless your an experienced 3D modeler and scripter, this would be a very difficult project to undertake.  There are scripts for animals and motorcycles but they were written  for prim /sculpted items and they might not work well at all with mesh. Even if they work, you need a lot of scripting knowledge to use them in things you create.   If you are looking to make these to sell, plan on having to learn a lot before you are able to sell a good product.

If you just want a cat and motorcycle for your personal use, they available for sale. My advice is to go inworld to look so that you can see what your getting. 

Motorcycles in particular should be test driven as the 'ride' varies from one to another.  I've ridden in SL since 2006 and can tell you that motorcycles are not created equal.  If you ride in RL, you'll probably want one that is both realistic in appearance and ride and that you can adjust for you personal riding style.  These are not going to be only a couple hundred linden.  On the other hand. the most expensive ones aren't the best ones for this either. 

[Scooter Hollow]

Note that script and mesh are two entirely different fields, and making a "working" cat would require a lot of work in both of them. You can shop around, but if you want to make your own from scratch I'd recommend starting with something a lot simpler.

 

Maybe a slug? :smileyhappy:

[Min Barzane]

Latest update on KCP vehicle script system is ment for mesh cars and bikes (that inicludes ower 32 prim physics system)

I personaly tested KCP on fiew mesh cars and bikes and works awsome!

I have absolutly no idea about what dificulties is Amethyst talking about in making mesh bikes/cars,especialy scripts vise,there is absolutly no difference between mesh and sculpted bikes whats so ewer building vise and scripting vise and i speak from expirinace,i make cars and bikes,sculpted and mesh ones alike.

 

If you want good and reliable vehicle scripts get KCP,you wont regret it!

[Jesica Dragovar]

this brings up a question I was wondering just out of curiosity

 

ok we know you can rig mesh clothes to move with an avatar, can mesh objects that are not attached to an avatar be similarly rigged? like say the aformentioned mesh cat, if one was made could it be rigged so its legs move while it walks ect?

[Drongle McMahon]

"...if one was made could it be rigged..."

No. Arbitrary skeletons for non-attached meshes are on the list of "things that would be nice to have". Indeed, this has been advanced as the preferred route to mesh animation, but there are apparently no resources currently allocated for implementation by the official developers (or so they say).

[Maeve Balfour]

Only avatar related meshes can be rigged and animated as such, at least for the foreseeable future (ie: avatar body replacements, clothing, hair, rigged "cyborg" mesh attachments etc). Anything that is NOT designed specifically for avatar usage like this cannot have custom rigging - which is a pity. Mayhaps in the future this will change, but for now, any kind of rigging and related animation requires the official SL avatar rig to work.

The mesh cat mentioned would require an actual avatar to wear it, with suitable "deformed" animations to make it animate convincingly. I've seen an example like this that works quite well (Zooby's mesh cat AV), but yah, it is still required to be worn in order for it to utilise the standard avatar rig for animation.

There is a (very limited) animation workaround that can be used for basic mesh animations, but this is potentially very expensive in regards to land impact. In essence, meshes can utilise up to eight different material faces (similar concept to the faces on a prim cube) which can take independent textures. It is possible to take a mesh and create basic animation "frames", and combine all of these (up to eight) into the single mesh object, each with a different material face. Then using a script, it is possible to "fake" animation by flipping between a visible texture and a full alpha (invisible) texture, cycling through the material faces as such. Not very efficient, but possible. Still, this is a very poor alternative to proper rigged mesh.

Personally, I long for the day that SL is capable of utilising custom rigging - but it will no doubt be a very long wait.

:matte-motes-smile:

EDIT: Bah, beaten to the post by Drongle yet again! :matte-motes-wink:

[Drongle McMahon]

But your more considered contribution is worth waiting for, as always. :matte-motes-smile:

[Jesica Dragovar]

ah thanks for the info, I was kinda thinking it was something like that which is why mesh animals seems like it'd be an obvious market but hasn't been implemented yet