Chic Aeon

That happened to me about five years ago and went away on its own -- so not my fault. Not sure it is the same thing but there are obviously ISSUES this morning as I tried to teleport to my building pad, got logged out, tried to relog with a message that I was already on and THEN ended up in a terminal with about forty other folks. So if it was JUST this morning, I suggest waiting. You might also try the beta grid if that is an option for you. Hopefully someone else that uses a proxy might have some ideas. Good luck.

The sad news is that even if you use an applier for the head and the neck by the same skin maker you could have a seam. The one you have looks very much like the one a friend of mine has. She followed all the instructions here of course but it is still there. Sometimes -- and this really explains the issue -- the skin on the neck seam will look fine from the front and be VERY different on the back. This is because the skin maker wasn't careful enough. Even with a perfect skin (and I have one) you can if you look super super super close, see the seam -- unless the head was made FOR that body (like an all in one avatar). This is because in most cases the mesh is slightly different and so reflects the light a tiny bit differently. Yours is more than that though so you might try a bunch of different skin demos and see if you can find one that works without a seam showing. I logged back in to do a quick test on how the graphics settings affected this problem. On the LOWEST setting I could see seams everywhere (not just where the head met the body) but even on next to the lowest it looked good. Again, not all skins will look this good. So I doubt it is your graphics settings unless you are using the lowest possible choice. Know that this comes up often in the forums. Lots of folks have issues with it.

SL wikis are notoriously incorrect. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page linked to you will see that it hasn't been updated in almost six years. So unless it is in the TOS (I did a quick search and came up with nothing) or in some of the supporting documents that go along with the TOS (didn't see a likely category there either) no one really knows what the current official policy is. If you want to go with the six year old answer then it is five per household -- which really makes no sense as a bunch of college kids living together would max that out with regular accounts LOL. . You can see by the comments here that lots of folks have "armies of alts" which no one seems to care about as long as they don't make any trouble. One person wrote here on the forums awhile back that they had enough alts to pay for a 4096(minus the $1 US ish that it costs for the difference now) so that must be eight if I am not too sleepy. So the answer is: A. Five or B. as many as you want if you play nice. You can take your pick.

You can also try a FREE mesh body. eBody has two to choose from. The Curvy one doesn't have many clothes to fit it but the regular slimish one has quite a few. Someone probably said a few times ALWAYS TRY THE DEMO before buying clothes. One of my alts has an eBody so I feature free things for it from time to time in my blog. The old "classic" bodies were always ugly, so it isn't you. The free eBody will NOT let you change the skin on the body, but it might still be good to get to practice a bit with mesh bodies in general. It is $1 and you need to join the eBody group. Glad your head is working well. That's ONE down :D. If you can't get your skin to match your head perfectly (when using a free body it is really tricky) you can get close and then wear a collar style necklace to cover the seam. Then move on. These days Maitreya is the clear winner for number of clothes available.

While I haven't done this, I understand from the gacha community as well as posts on the subject that "smart" (or maybe lucky too) gacha resellers do well. But like most retail, it all depends on the person and the energy expended. It is a way for those not into creating to have a store or play at it. Either way it can be fun --- or lucrative. I have never thought that reseller shops were all that likely to be profitable. I have no personal info on that though. Seems like most have disappeared over time. There were TONS maybe seven years ago. That says something I think. Again; no personal experience

Except those are cubes, not triangles. But I will try the solid with a triangle and see if that works -- just in case I need that some day :D.

My thought after we talked the other day was that this was an OK way to deal with nastly LODs (not so much on books which could have been more optimized but on some other types of items which could not) but I was assuming that having those floating cube would automatically give a nasty physics model so that you would have to walk OVER the books as if they were much larger. I just went over and tested and as you stated the physics model is JUST around the books and you do not have to walk WAY above to get over them. SO HOW DID THEY DO THAT? It isn't a linkset that ignores the floating cubes. It is a single mesh. And yes that new panel looks spiffy.

Just one thought about that abandoned land. A few years ago when it was starting in earnest the framerates plummeted NOTICEABLY on mainland. I was on serveral plots at that time and all of them were slow as molasses when they had not been before. I assumed (no intel at all) that this was because Linden Lab was putting more properties on the same server. Think about it. I know several folks who are almost the whole sim of actual people and they are on very small plots. There is no reason to have a sim on the same level of service for two people as it would for twenty or forty. So moving more sims (I think of it as 'stacking' but sure there is a real technical term) onto one server only makes sense. Hence the "using too many resources" argument would be negated. So far as The Lab is concerned it is no more than it ever was. This is just one scenario but certainly a plausible one talking to the folks I know who do this RL stuff :D. Selling off all the abandoned land would just glut the market and make it impossible for anyone to sell at any price above "free". So I don't think that is a solution at all. I am still in the "give folks 1024" contingent overall, but where we are now I think there is really no viable answer. There have been choices made along they way (mostly for quick bucks) that were the downfall of mainland. And lots of folks LIKE the fact that they are just about the only one on a sim LOL. I get that too. ChinRey is absolutely correct that Sansar was in the works way before the official leak. I had a friend who partnered with a techie with LL connections and she actually told me. But what I didn't understand at the time was WHAT she was telling me. I thought the devs had quit Linden Lab and were going off to make their OWN world, not a world for The Lab. It is a little late in the game now. I am not sure that things can get 'fixed' other than the citizens finding their own way. It isn't all that different form our (US) government. Sadly so. So we do what we can do and make our lives the best we can while we can with what we can.

Just other residents here. We don't know. You might put in a ticket. It could of course be that your state purposefully opted out of online gaming. In that case I wouldn't call it a ban.

Well perhaps someone will find this thread in the future and clue us in after some grumbling I suspect. But again, things change and we don't know.

Well that is very good that is visible now. As I said that was like five years ago and I can imagine that some folks with bigger plots yelled a bit (rightfully IMHO). I checked with all the land owners of the group (all a local phone call away as I am cell-less purposefully) and no one was billed for the $5. So it SEEMS like the current plan (may, MIGHT, could be?) not to let folks take back tier from the month before. Which if that actually was the case before could cause some big problems if a large tier donated got mad at the group and exited the building leaving the others holding the bag. So if that WAS the change, it seems like a good call to me. The real issue is that we pretty much never now when there are changes and the knowledge base and wikis are seldom if ever up to date on important stuff like this. So CERTAINLY let us know when you do your experiments.

OK. I REALLY NEED TO GET TO WORK - LOL. Good luck all. Land is tricky. No doubt about that. And the rules change -- often without our knowledge. Sadly.

Well actually I think that does make sense as the group used that tier for the last month - partly for her lot. Now it used to be that if the group didn't have enough tier to cover the payments then someone would get billed (the main owner I think) for that month. This may be the NEW way of doing things, keeping the tier FOR the group for the previous month so no one got billed. Actually I don't know if any of the group owners got billed. I will ask. Hope not. But as I said on another message, if it is a 512 you don't know the billing date. One friend (I do have chatty and whinny friends sometimes :D) ended up paying extra tier AFTER HE CALLED BILLING TO CHECK and was told incorrect information. It was only $5 but the if you don't know when your payment date is (and get the wrong billing person) you can pay extra tier going in or coming out. At least that was the method a few years ago.

Not if you want to buy personally, not for group. See all the other comments I made to others. Sorry if I wasn't clear. This really did happen. If it was an error in her account, that could be it. She just had a 512 lot. Certainly she could have sold one lot (the owners of the group got the money and the others in the group sent it back to her) and then bought another 512 FOR THE GROUP, but she wanted her own lot. After all the hassle she just moved into a Linden Home for awhile, but she couldn't do that for a month after selling her lot AND TAKING BACK THE DONATED TIER. If her lot would have already been owned by her, then I certainly imagine this would not have been an issue. If she had bought a new lot FOR THE GROUP, then that (as I understand it anyway) would not have been an issue.

See my note a bit further down on the group tier question. This was last month with someone I know well in RL. On the second point, the not turning down your "how much tier I want to pay", that may have been changed. A few years ago though a lot of folks got caught in that including another (not the same LOL) friend. AT THAT TIME there was plenty of chatter on the forums but that was likely five years ago so hopefully they changed that. It was VERY misleading since most folks thought that you just paid for the most you ACTUALLY owned during the last month. BUT thinking about this setting your tier level issue ---- See my note on my friends need to "up her tier" in order to bid on an auction or buy land -- this after she had sold her 512 and taken her tier payment back from the group. She assumed (and from the timing of her ability to buy "freely" again it seems correctly) that she had to wait a month for the group tier donation to no longer count since they were using that donation on the month previous (her lot). That part made sense really. The big problem for mainland owners (I rent) is that the rules for the backend seem to change fairly often and with no notice, so even when you are "paying attention" and trying to do things correctly you get caught spending money that you could have avoided. I doubt that is exactly an accident. And it was (and likely still is) pretty hard to tell when that land tier payment is due if you are using your 512 since you get no notice of payment. So that is all I really know.

Well my friend had that happen LAST month. She was not able to bid on an auction unless she "upped her tier level" (hence paying $5 just to bid). She was not able to buy land without paying and extra $5 for that month (upper her tier in the backend and then having to REMEMBER to set it back "in time". And she could not get a Linden home. Exactly one month after she sold her land and took the tier back from the land group she could do all those things. So unless it changed in the last week LOL, I think it is in effect now. She had been premium for several years and still is. Do you have reason to believe it is not the current state? Like you or someone just tried it? If so, then she had a very bad experience. This had happened to other friends in the past with the paying for the tier a month after you gave up then land and membership (logical and they DO tell you that in not so many words but I bet a lot of folks get caught in that). I never knew anyone that took back their group tier before though, so this was a surprise to me (and to her but she just waited out the month - not a biggie).

Note in case you do not know that you need to go to the small hut to find pads to run over to get paid out. They look like the blue and green pads near the entry area but they are colored for red, yellow and orange. Here is a post from when the realms opened. There is a map if you scroll down. You want to go to the portal workshop (red, orange and green crystals on the icon). It isn't too far from the landing point but in the opposite direction to how most folks go. Good luck. https://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2012/01/linden-realms-101-beginners-guide.html Sorry wrong link. Fixed.

Also note that you are billed for the last month that you owned land. So you actually need to abandon a month BEFORE you change back to basic. If you have a 512 you will be billed $5, if you own more you will be billed more. So it might be better to keep your premium for another month. It depends on a few things like if you are monthly or yearly and how much land you own. Also note that if you take back your tier from a group you cannot do anything for the next month. Then you can buy your own land or get a linden home or go back to basic. Good luck. It is complex. Most of us got caught one way or another over time. ALSO if you are turning back land you need to go to your land are on the webpage and change you tier that you want to pay down to 0 or whatever if you are planning on buying a 512 say after selling or abandoning a 4096. If you do NOT do that you will still get charged tier even though you do not own land. That is not they way it was long ago but things changed. If they have changed yet again, someone will comment on this but it seems like that is still the process.

There is an inworld Maitreya help group I believe. Likely your best bet. My best guess without more details is that you need to toggle on and off the NECK FIX button to see what works for you. You also need to choose the correct body fat (and perhaps change your shape a bit for that). These are both on the main hud window with the nails and hand poses.

As I understand it Singularity was not updated to see Bento. The last update on their blog is June 2016 so that seems to be accurate. Getting the newest viewer only works when the viewer you use has incorporated the things you need to see :D. I am not sure if there is a 1.23 based viewer that is still updating regularly but someone that knows will add that info. You may need to move to another viewer that HAS incorporated Bento. Edit: "I" still have a non-Bento mesh head but most everyone else I know has a Bento one. So that is what I am basing my guess on :D.

So you DO understand that a land bonus merely means that you get less land for your prims? There are only so many prims that can be used in a sim (up to 30,000 now if people opt in to that). The bonus comes from making more roads, open areas that belong to everyone, water areas etc. So it seems like looking at the cost per prim is a more logical measuring device when comparing rental lands. 2x bonus on mainland when there is tier involved is certainly a good deal so far as paying tier is involved, but that comes with some hefty price tags for purchasing. Just wanted to add that for new folks that might get confused over your statement. I have lived in RP areas that were 2x land and enjoyed it BECAUSE of the communal land areas and space between rezable plots, so there are some advantages, but one can easily just get a large piece of land and leave space around the edges for the same effect (sort of :D).

Well for one thing, ALM does much more than JUST let normal and specular maps be used. It dramatically changes the lighting -- at least when using shadows which I also always have on. It let's people see more than 6 light sources, etc etc. I never said I was against ALM, I only said that PERSONALLY I often do not care for normal maps. I believe that as both a consumer and a creator that I DO have a right to have an opinion. It is only my opinion. It is not an edict. I have had this argument with some Opensim guys a couple of times. It is perfectly OK with me if you love materials; I just don't.

It has been a long and very busy month, but the Machinima Open Studio Project is now open. Photographers, film makers and explorers can explore two full sim areas at the moment with more in the works. I, however, am switching gears for awhile. No one said anything about REST of course, just something different to work on. Come film! The official announcement is here: https://lindenarts.blogspot.com/2018/01/lea6-machinima-open-studio-project-mosp.html

Not arguing that. I simply PREFER the look of Cycles bakes and rarely use normal maps which of course are an extra download for those that have ALM on (some creators actually use 1024 maps :D). Each creator, if they make their own items (we are not talking "brand" here) has a look to their work. Sometimes it has to do with the 3D software that they use; sometimes it is about the choices that they make during the creative process. I just believe that it is important for designers to find their own style and not be hampered my "MUST" and even the marketplace to some extent. Personally I hate cast shadows as shadows and on most items. My personal aim is to have very BALANCED ambient light when I bake so that the shadows included in the bake are subtle -- but also work for everyone, not just the folks that can have ALM on. There are a ton of people running without shadows and materials. For them especially, baked textures (subtle ones IMHO) add so very much to their world. There are some very talented creators that make dark and sharp cast shadow environments and use (let's call them heavy for the amount of detail included) normal maps. I most often just delete the item as it is not to my personal taste. That doesn't mean it is WRONG, just not what I like and use. In general, I (personally) don't like the look of normal maps on many things. In clothes especially a lot of creators and now including materials and non-materials options in their releases --- which points to the fact (to me anyway) that not everyone loves materials :D. Of course is an item is mod, it is easy to take the materials out of the equation.

Camera controls in FS are "floaters" and can be anywhere on the screen that you want them to be. You need to grab them with your mouse at the very top of the floater -- like between the "X" and the "?" and then drag them to where you want them. They will stay there until you drag them somewhere else. You can of course turn them off and have them not shown. I use them ALL the time so they are always on my screen. Good luck!