Chic Aeon

Yes, I figured that out and was coming here to say so - LOL. Was in the middle of my night and not toooooooo clear. But will leave here for folks that do not know. I will say the snipping tool also lets your 'draw' right there. You and even write a note (not with the keyboard - so printing or cursive ) or draw and arrow. It isn't PRETTY mind you, but it does work.

. You don't need Dropbox for the Print Screen key to work. It has for about twenty years. That's what many of us used before we found the Snipping Tool *wink*. Alt + Print Screen will do JUST the open window (sized down if you wish) and not the full size of your monitor.

Reasonably most PRIVATE regions are set to 40 (shopping venues and other busy areas) so that once in the area folks can move (often still very difficult and I have a very hefty computer). Mainland sims have always been less robust and honestly 30 is very reasonable now; likely 20 would be better. Also while I don't KNOW this, is seems very likely that more mainland sims have been stacked on the servers; it would just be practical. Since much of mainland is empty now (in many sims anyway) that seems fairly reasonable. I am pretty much the only land (tiny parcels) on the two sims that I have group land on. In the olden days you actually could get 100 people on a private island and even dance. BUT there were no mesh items or bodies, smaller textures, no sculpts etc. So things were very different then. The "best" you could do would be to buy corner parcels on four mainland sims. That wouldn't make your neighbors any happier though. If you want to have big parties then likely renting a section of an island (not homestead) would be the answer.

Well someone had a spam post just here (with possible maliciousness in it) and while I was adding my note to the thread it disappeared (first time for everything). While it is good it is gone, I WAS trying to recommend the Windows Snipping Tool (Win 7 - Win 10). Very easy to use; Safe, Free. You can save the 'snipped' area or copy and paste it into an email or whatever. I didn't find it until I got a new machine with Win 10 but it has been around since Win7. So do a search on you machine. It is something that I (and friends I have told about it) use daily.

Yep, I noted all those extra faces and geometry last night also but since I didn't have an "answer" I didn't post - LOL. Also important -- if this isn't already done -- to make your own physics model for the build (lots of info here on this forum by just looking for "house physics"). Also number two, a very easy test would be to see if the house would upload with full full full and lowest (or whatever) with the uploader. That would give a fair amount of info. You wouldn't want to USE that of course -*wink* One other thing I wrote the other night but then deleted, is that for houses, smaller pieces of mesh houses are often more useful and upload better (even with your own physics models) and have lower land impacts in total. So that might be something to keep in mind for the future. Breaking the house up into sections for upload. The beta grid is of course your friend -- especially with big and complex builds.

I agree that the materials mention in the OP didn't make sense at all . Materials (in the SL terminology , not the Blender terminology is used in ADDITION to the AO map. You can of course just add a simple blank texture to get your chain to 'shine' but it is important to note that not everyone will SEE that shine. Materials IMHO should be use as an extra feature and not depended upon. Be sure and turn off advanced lighting to see what your items looks like for those with less hefty computers. BUT just wanted to note that when I went searching on the marketplace I came up with very few chains and many things that were NOT chains and that didn't have any mention of chains in the description (hence I am guessing that chains was leftover in the keywords from copying over a listing -I have done that a few times and now try and be more careful). I believe the difference in our searches (maybe) is that I have ADULT turned off. Hence "chains" equal "bondage" in the not so wise determination of the Marketplace filtering and rating system. So, it is certainly possible that the OP was not searching with ADULT on. I was pretty confused when my search garnered so few items, but your post made that light bulb come on .

Have something very similar to that already made as part of a filler buildings set. You might want to check and see if that (or something similar on the markteplace) would work for you. I would do a bit of looking -- really -- as custom made will most likely be way more expensive than "off the rack". Good luck.

Not quite enough info to tell what the problem is. There are a few things. You uploaded graphic needs to be square and "power of 2" I think it is called. So typically 512 x 512 or 1024 x 512 etc. If you graphic is actully 4:3 ratio or something other than square, you need to make it square (and sharpen) BEFORE you upload. The uploader automatically turns the png or tga into a jpg so you will lose some clarity. If you really NEED things to be super clear, you can upload a 1024 x 1024 but remember that those are FOUR TIMES larger (with corresponding download times) so if it is a vendor it might take awhile to load for some folks. If that isn't it, then putting in some screenshots so we can see your mesh and the mapping of it would be helpful . My alt was uploading over on Aditi today with no unusual issues so most likely not an Aditi issue. You can also testing using local textures on your computer without uploading. Put a dot in the "local" radio button in the build menu. Sure Google can tell you more about if needed.

Well you could make them fitmesh and that would likely work. Or simply make them big enough so that they will work for "most" mesh head (and TEST of course). I have a Lelutka head and currently there are no "alpha slots" for the head. Actually that would be handing as not all mesh hairs will work . 

I haven't been to Innsmouth for awhile but I used to spend a lot of time there. Lovely place. Lots of atmosphere. That being said along with "sorry for your loss and hassles" AND the fact that I have lost huge sections of my inventory over the years (not rezzed items, but in inventory) I suggest folks take precautions. The TOS clearly states that this can happen and it does. The reasons why really don't matter. Preparation is important. Just last week I took coalesced copies of all my major builds (about a quarter sim), put them in a folder called "coalesced backups June 2016" and crossed my fingers that I never have to use them. That being said, previous coalesced backups have saved inventory in the past (those database failures) so I suspect that somewhere along the way they may come in handy. Whether you own your own sim or rent like I do, things DO go wrong. We can kick and scream and beat our hands against the wall -- and sometimes that helps a bit. But having an easy way to repair the damage is a much better plan in my book. After my first giant inventory loss (many thousands of home and garden items) I was devastated. Things were just gone. Last month I lost more items somehow (things that had been there the week before completely disappeared from the database -- no copies anywhere for anyone and it wasn't a DMCA thing). We all need to keep that in mind and do what we can to protect ourselves. And when things are really gone for good, as someone said, we can rebuild better than before. Photos are sometimes our only memories. 

Actually there were certainly ways to "fix" the issue. My question was more WHY . I pretty much always mark seams and unwrap or use project from view. Very seldom use the other methods. Just habit and likely the things I make also.

Well "damn" LOL. YOURS is what I was expecting. I have no idea why mine was so odd. I seldom use "follow active quads" (I remember you wrote about that long ago and I did try it) because my things are seldom "uniform". What I would have normally done was just clicked on each line of vertices and aligned to X or Y (both before I was done). This is more time consuming, but I do it so often now I am pretty fast . I will try again and see if it is different. Actually I want to see if I can get the "spring" to follow a more complex shape so that will be a good test. HMMMMMM. Thanks for the report though. I must have done SOMETHING odd but have no idea what it might have been.

Thanks. I couldn't get that to work but I did something similar by syncing the UV and Edit mode and then aligning the vertices of one quad using the alignment options in the UV pane which of course (since they were synced) straightened the single quad in the EDIT window. And then used follow active quads and while the map was really REALLY long, it did work and looks like it will bake fine should I ever do something with the experiment - LOL. So thanks for the idea. BUT I would still like to know WHY it wouldn't unwrap as you would expect it to. I haven't seen anything like this that I can remember. So any input on that would be appreciated.

Not sure about your head issue as I have never seen that, but you do know that if you BACKED UP your FS settings you can just RESTORE them and that in theory should put you back to where you were. MOST of the time restore works well. I have had one occassion when it did not however. http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/backup_settings Good luck.

So since I was all caught up with "work" I decided I would explore some features I had never used and maybe learn something new. The making of the spring went fine, but unwrapping is very odd. I applied rotation and scale -- and even location LOL during my frustration period. It is acting like it is ignoring the marked seam at the filled circle at the bottom ALTHOUGH the circle fill itself shows up in the unwrap as you would expect. I have redone the marking of seams and unwrapping a few times. I even tried dividing the spring in half (like cutting it with a saw more or less) and then the same thing happens with BOTH pieces of the spring ^.^. So any hints on how to get this puppy to unwrap would be helpful. Thanks. A material is applied already and assigned. I realize I can just use a flat color but I was hoping on a nice Cycles metal shine :D. I was more or less following the instructions in the first part of this video (with much lower poly count). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkB6nJtiPhQ 

OK. LOL The dressing room idea is only for your peace of mind (maybe) as anyone can see inside the room if they know how to cam --and most folks of a certain age certainly do. Some schools actually used to give classes in how to change clothes without getting naked. Those might still be around if you check. It is really pretty simple. You just need to understand how layers work for texture things and for mesh items just wear a swimsuit or whatever. Here is the general idea. ** Have some texture clothes on --- any layer but for example a tee shirt and jeans. ** ADD the NEW clothes to what you are wearing. This works for either texture clothes (appliers or standard) as well as mesh with alphas (or alpha slots if you have a mesh body). ** Go to the WORN tab and take off your shirt and jeans to see what the new items look like all by themselves. For applier clothes you can take of the LAYER of your "jeans" to see the new item. Honestly even though I have my own place and have no qualms being naked I frequently try on outfits to blog using this system. You can often tell if something is going to work for you WITHOUT even taking off the "shirt and jeans" clothes. Just keep trying new outfits or demos until something looks good, then take off those "privacy layers" of garments. A few tries and you'll be a pro and can change anywhere without anyone seeing anything .

I found it though Google search -- something like Maketplace Terms of Service etc. Way too far down in my page views to find but it IS still there .

I answered this last night and then deleted as I thought someone might have better input. . With the new marketplace (from the viewer) you are supposed to upload NEW versions WITHIN the old version listing. Torley made a bunch of YouTube videos explaining that. So you no longer upload "new" (hence keeping the longevity of the product) unless it actually IS a brand new item (as apposed to an IMPROVED item). Here is part one. There are four: You can certainly change the name and the photo for the product, but relisting (I went back and reread the rules last night) is definitely not allowed. So to be legal I would say anyway, to put an updated version under the original one calling it V2 or whatever. Change your photo with your new brand name if you like and you are set. In the ones I redid I mentioned that this is V2 (or in one case V3). Just so folks that might be looking for a previous version would know.

Make a new texture with the scale you want your pattern. Not all graphics programs will do this (my version of Corel does not so I use a VERY old version of PhotoImpact when I need to do this (not often now that I am working in Cycles mode in Blender). Place that texture on top of the AO map and use "multiply" to merge the two together leaving the shadows on the map. Obviously your pattern texture needs to be the same size as your AO map OR at least big enough for the area you want to fill with the pattern (like a pillow perhaps when there are other parts of the item on the same AO map. You don't say what graphics program you use, so that would be helpful and maybe someone that uses that same program will know the steps to make a texture with different scaling from your smaller graphics. Sorry missed that in the title. So hopefully there is an easy way in Photoshop. Will leave this here for those that might not be using that program. The OTHER option would be to find some very large graphic patterns and resize those down to the size you need OR of course make your own textures. Good luck. PhotoImpact X3 does a nice job of making fine textures from larger ones (and has a pattern making mode formerly used for website backgrounds). It works up to Win 10 and should be very cheap if you can find a copy as it is really old LOL. I am guessing Photoshop will do this somehow but I have never used that program.

From the marketplace listing and the store of that creator it looks like you can ONLY wear outfits made for that specific avatar (and likely from that creator although there may be some others making clothes for it). This isn't unusual for a specialty avatar. If you want to wear "normal" clothes like for Maitreya then you will need a Maitreya body. Same for Slink etc. Appliers certainly will not work -- they only work for the body they are made for. There may be some mesh clothes that might fit but trying the demos will be the only way to tell. It is definitely not a Maitreya body. They are much more expensive ^^

She can pick a standard avatar from within the viewer. In Firestorm it is "Avatar" - "Choose Avatar". From there she will have a standard body that she can change the skin on and shape of course. If she wants a mesh avatar then she will need to buy one inworld. Most are around $10 US (no head). It actually is getting tricky to get by without one of the popular mesh avatar bodies -- especially for shoes . Boots are an answer or some old items on the marketplace. I've had my mesh body for a year and a half now and I was definitely not early to the party. I waited until I found one that I really liked. So this isn't really new technology and many designers are starting to make clothes JUST for the popular mesh bodies - hence no standard sizes and no alpha layers. Guys not so much yet .

As I understand it, most of the "work" has been moved from the servers to our computers now, so I agree that the reason for you "lag" is surely your computer and settings. My work computer is hefty but I have a laptop that is laggy in SL --- different machines at the same places. One thing you can do is rent a skybox or a dome where you will only see a small area when you log in . This will likely help your day to day at home issues. When you go out of course there are people and sometimes badly made mesh that will cause problems unless your computer is high end. That is just how it is. It doesn't matter if you rent or buy, mainland or island. It matters what your viewer SEEEEEES that causes problems. As someone mentioned, turn down your graphics settings if you can.

Also POSES (static - don't move) are different from ANIMATIONS (moving in a certain way). So if you actually bought POSES, they are meant for use when taking photos, not for everyday walking around. There have traditionally been free AO (animation overriders) on the Marketplace. I suspect they are still there. That would be a good way to start and learn. Basically you WEAR the AO, it appears on your screen and you can turn it on and off as needed. Once you have that worked out, you can make your own AO (add on or in the viewer) as you like. Good luck.

Well if we did not have to worry about PRIM cost, then making things at LOD 0 might be fine, but ... There are always trade offs. And very few creators agree on the best method. Since all my items (well 90% anyway) are out on the floor where folks can see them I am happy to make things for LOD 2. As I said, most work reasonably well at LOD1. As a creator making products for SALE, we each have to decide who our customers are. Mine for the most part are those higher end folks. I sell lots of surrounds and odd things like camping cots and such and I suspect those are more of the "everyday" folks will less than stellar computers. I amazingly sell some quite old items on the Marketplace. The SL customer base is definitely vast and varied. And yes, my last computer was $1700 for a desktop with no monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. So "I" am certainly in that power user category. I will say that I am not happy these days with the folks that build at LOD4 and I am pretty much not using their items any longer or (honestly) featuring their products as my outlook has changed in that reguard. STILL, those folks DO have their customer base and it is a big one. So as long as folks can see the items before they buy, I don't think it matters all that much. And the really lazy folks who will not bother to come SEE those demos - well then they have no reason to complain since it was their choice. As I am typing this, I am thinking about when I taught computer classes in college. I announced at the beginning of class that I "taught for the middle". I did not expect all the folks to wait patiently while the slowest person in the class grasped the concepts and methods. Those folks could come in and practice on their own during open lab. The people that were the vanguard (and frequently went ahead of where we were in class) could do that with my blessing. I however told them outright that if they got stuck they were not going to get any extra help; they would just have to wait for the class to catch up. I did get Teacher of the Year the first term I was allowed to be selected (the students decided via end of class questionare ratings), so that worked for that scenaro. I guess my outlook on LODS is pretty much the same. I go for the middle . In the end, I pretty much make things because I enjoy making them. I am not trying to put the kids through college or pay a giant mortgage. I just like creating and after a year of forty hour work weeks with Cycles, I can pretty much make what I want now and enjoy the process without tearing out my hair. AND, if I was designing a Linden welcome area or some such thing, then I would go for LOD 1. But I am not (thankfully).

Specular and normal maps that you buy in texture packs are made to use (mostly) with prims as in "tiling textures" for buildings and such. If you want to make your OWN specular map, you can do that by taking your finished texture (made in Photoshop or another graphics program) and use special software which makes a variety of maps that can be applied inworld. For Second life these are the normal and specular maps. You actually CAN use the already made maps as part of a nodal set up in Blender using Cycles Render, but ....... better to make your own really so you can get just what you want. I use ShaderMap 2 and there is a similar program called Crazy Bump (think that's it). There are likely others.