Chic Aeon

Just wanted to add that it is REALLY important that you learn this if you are going to make houses. Unfortunately there are quite a few great designers out there that simply skip the whole physics thing and just put in invisible cubes which ups the LI and really makes the house look bad when you click on it. So read. Try and if you have questions them post back here (with pictures) and someone will help you. Basically -- make a SUPER SIMPLE phsyics model for you house (lots of photos of that I suspect; I use cubes). Upload that physice dae file as your PHYSICS model in the physics window (upload from file choice). Choose Analyze and you will see your model wrap around your house (hopefully -- if it looks wrong in the upload window then you did something incorrectly . Backtrack and try again.) When you get your house into world, choose PRIM in the Features tab on a dropdown menu (sorry not in the viewer right now). THEN you should be able to walk through your doors and into the corners of your building. BE SURE AND TEST. The beta grid is your friend. Good luck.

Well since no one has answered you I will take a stab at this. BUT these are just guesses. I have had high rez snapshot checked for 8 years and I set all sorts of special things in Phototools. I "think" that it takes a png type file instead of a jpg or something like that. Some research in Google says that it enables high rez snapshot (well duh) and that it doubles the size of the photo (it doesn't do that -- any longer anyway,) but it MAY double the pixels. As far as I know there is no reason NOT to have it checked. I typically take 5000 x 2690 and then crop and resize down. I THINK that shadow smoothing is now on the photo tools in Firestorm (maybe the Linden viewer too?) If it is the setting I am thinking about, it has a tendency to crash all but the heartiest machines. The shadows do look better but not worth crashing. You can also choose OPTIMIZED under Avatar Shadows in Preferences and this helps if you have any crashing issues. I doesn't change the shadows too much --- BUT now that I think about it, I have been having a nasty flicker the last couple of weeks and the new server codes may not like that feature. It is definitely something to do with shadows for me. So I think I will change that setting and see if it helps stop that nasty flicker. So good that I at least tried to answer. Good luck.

Many people have Linden Homes and mainland so you SHOULD be able to buy. Since you are premium, chat up the support folks and see if they can do something. You will likely need to put in a support ticket to fix this OR it might have just been a "bad day" as we have seen those lately

I have your same card and Win10. I have NO ISSUES so it isn't a universal problem. I, however, turned off ALL the bells and whistles except "let my recording device work" when I installed Win10 as it is very VERY invasive. I told them NOTHING and run Win10 just like Win7 with a few extra perks like a better Windows Explorer. So you might look up some articles on all the parts of Win10 that track you (and of course have applications that need to run in order to do that). It took me well over an hour to turn all the applications off and opt out of things when I first got my computer. Most folks don't do that of course, but I had already researched so took the tim. I hear a lot about issues with Win10 but if you go to the trouble to do your homework and make some decisions on what aps you let invade your privacy you will likely have a better experience. There are of course all sorts of OTHER things that can lead to the crashing issue -- software incompatability at the top of the list. Just saying that it isn't happen for all the folks with your card and Win 10 . Good luck.

I just want to get this clear in my head since I have read a lot about it here but have happily had no issues. Is the reason why I have no issues:::::: A. I only upload less than eight materials (typically 2 to 4 - using Cycles so materials are pretty much necessary) B. Am using an OLDER version of Firestorm which I believe doesn't recognize the new uploader code? Note, the spaces in material name issues isn't Universal as while I seldom add spaces after so many years of NOT adding spaces, I just did and everything worked just fine (3 materials). So IF you only use 8 or less materials is there still an issue on a current viewer? And is this just for SOME (Mac versus PC for example - different viewers etc) or for everyone. Thanks for the clarification. I think I have read all that has been said since the change took place but I can't say I am clear on things .

Just wanted to state that BAKING doesn't necessarily put all textures into one map. Someone could easily make an item with say four materials -- EACH mapped to fit a texture plane (let's hope 512 or 256 ). Each material "could" take a separate texture -- just like putting on a separate texture on each side of a prim is possible. Personally I try and get all my textures on one map, but we each work differently. So a material (in the 3D modeling sense) equals and opportunity to make inworld changes (textures, specularity and normal, glow, transparency, tint etc). That same four material object could take only ONE texture and the materials added could be needed for other reasons (listed above) OR for changing colors or textures via a script. The textures could certainly all be on one map either by baking with textures in a combined way or by baking an ambient map and then adding different textures to various parts of the map and using MULTIPLY in graphics software to bond the two together. This wasn't necessarily a comment to the OP, but I thought some folks might be confused by what was mentioned. EDIT: And I guess I should add that baking a map doesn't stop you from using regular (unbaked) textures inworld. You can slap a texture on a baked item easily. How successful that will be would be dependant on the quality of the mapping. Again, so not my thing - the gal seduced by gorgeous textures, but certainly doable!

I just wanted to mention that it IS possible to do what you are saying with mesh. One has to think simplistically of course and keep the poly count down. I just got a goregous bed with five pillows, comforter and many pieced wooden bedstead with lots of details, shadow prim (could have been a rug) and WITH animations that is two LI (I would mention the designer but I don't think we are supposed to). IF someone linked a whole set together and kept the poly count down it is doable. The piece of furniture could actually be 1.499 and still be counted as I LI by the current method. In order to do this the mesh needs to be simple to start with and likely have custom lODS (or it may be simple enough not to need those - who knows). I have actually made a couch (six cushions for three sitters) chair and table all under 1 LI (linked). I certainly could have added a simple rug (a plane) if I had wanted. Not everyone is going to be thrilled with the inability to move furniture around though . So there are trade offs. Also you can only have 8 materials in one object so there is that limitation but it isn't a big one. I work in Blender so can't speak to your program .

Well of course I had no idea what I was doing but it worked out swimming. I did try a mixed shader with the diffuse/glossy but it didn't seem to do much. Will look at that again. I actually DID have the AO turned off in world (happily the file was open in another window) mostly because I never fiddle with that. Will play with Emission. Thanks for the input!!!! I was AMAZED how well it came into world. Really never expected that, so a good thing to add to the mix when you want a gorgeous glossy. 

Can the Ambient Occlusion node in Cycles be use as part of a combined bake? Info seems both sketchy and confusing. I understand it use in setting up a scene for a render but I also found mention of it being used in a node structure for a material output but that was the end of the comment. Hints? :D. Maybe for increasing the ambient shadows for more dramatic baking? Will experiment but breadcrumbs are good. Thanks. Edit: So I did some experiment and it does "seem" to give a good effect for some things and could be handy. In my tests it worked much better with the glossy shader than the diffuse. It DOES (as I had read) brighten your scene a LOT so I had to compensate with my brightness and contrast shader. Here is the node structure and screenshot (note that materials are not in their final state and texture scale hasn't happened -- just starting the project). Hence the pixelated look on the "wood" LOL. It SEEMS like it should show up in the bake but it will be awhile until I get there.

Just wanted to note (and I just skimmed but didn't see it mentioned) that #1 Tier goes retroactively so in order to have reclaimed your tier from the group it would have needed to happen a month(ish) ago. And if you give up premium you will get charged for the last month of land use AFTER you give up your status. So you need to give up your land a month before leaving (friends learned that the hard way). That last was mostly a general comment, not to you but important to know. Also -- and a friend of mine really got hurt on this even though he CALLED the LL accounting office and asked (they gave the wrong answer) --- your tier payment date starts from the first time you ever bought land (or I am going to assume your donation date). It has nothing to do with when you buy the current land. So if your tier date is the 25th say and you buy land the 24th you end up paying for a month you didn't use this. You should be able to check your tier date in your account on the web. Plan ahead if you can. I don't think many folks understand that until they get caught in the red tape. Good luck. And yes, if you shop for land well you can get it cheaper buying off the grid than at auction. So unless there is a reason to want that specific piece you will probably be better off sluething the map or ads.

The bounding box will depend on the physics model (or lack there of) of the mesh. If a designer used a "cube" as the physics model then there would be no "air" between the legs; the bounding box would be the top of the table down to the ground directly underneath the table top. If a designer used a specially made physics model that "wrapped around" the legs and table top then it would act like a real life table. (It is a bit more complicated than this but that's the general answer) If a designer let the uploader "make" the physics model it would depend on which setting they chose. Many designers tend to just upload all furniture on lowest (not me ) so in that case it "might" act a bit odd like it is partially phantom. I am guessing you may have run into that.

Not sure I have your answer but maybe some things to think about. From long (long) ago I remember that folks advised NEVER to use "generate normals" in the uploader as they do not do well at all. Hence I have never used that feature -LOL. IN BLENDER it looks like you need to turn on smooth shading and then use an edge split modifier. So perhaps your program has something like that. OR add some more geometry to get the look you want. Sorry. That's all I got . Hopefully someone who uses that program can be of more help.

This would go in the MESH category . Based on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXr0wiyxqo which is really hard to follow as fast and no sound -- it doesn't look like a viable choice for making hair to import into this type of platform - too heavy a mesh as finished product. I did see a note on another thread (just did a Google search) saying that in 2012 it could be used to import into Unity. I really don't know anything about unity. I have made hair in Blender and it does take some time.

I definitely agree about the clothes issue and scripts . And good to know about the new viewer. So from my out on the edge viewpoint (and I don't think the folks arguing will ever agree) it seems like the MAIN reason to use a mesh prim in specialized cases would be so that your building would be 100% mesh -- which for some people is important. I'll keep watching for any other techincal info.

Thanks. Hopefully a server person will come along .

ChinRey wrote: The benchmark for good mesh is that it looks ok with default mid quality graphics settings (that is RenderVolLODFactor 1.25 and draw distance128 m) at any distance until it's so small you won't see it or it's cut off by the draw distance. For items specifically made for indoors use or in other restricted spaces, you can lower the requirement a bit but with the room sizes you sometimes get in SL, it should still be perfectly good looking at - say 30 m distance. Any mesh that doesn't meet these requirements is sub standard and no builder who takes pride in their work want that of course. (Except, this applis to "public" mesh - items you sell or give away or palce in public view. What you make and upload for your own private use in your own private place is niobody's busniess but yours.) I just wanted to add a bit of a pragmatic comment here. In the best of all possible world's and platforms I agree with you -- but of course there is a "but" (a big one). Our platform is based on a system where prims (LI) are directly tied to money -- money that needs to be spent EACH MONTH in order to support the items we rez on our land. If you are a creator that expects to sell things, you really NEED to keep items under a certain land impact count. If you don't (and you are trying to sell) you might as well stop as no one will buy your items. So there are choices to be made and each content creator makes them. My personal choices are somewhere in the middle. I try to make the mesh simple enough to start out with (well I have a megaphone that I made long ago still floating around which is heavier than hell -- but in general and TODAY for sure ). I let the cycles textures do much of the work of presentation. For ME, that works. I use biggish textures because FOR ME and the people I sell to -- details are very important. I want most folks (the ones that buy and use high end decor items for example) to be able to see the items well. I want the houses to be seen part way across the sim but I am willing to make a few exceptions rather than compromise the design so folks using LOD 1 will not see things at their best far away. I try and balance the needs of the mesh and the needs of the people. There have been threads about "the best" way to design -- some here I think, some on the merchant forum. Different folks have different opinions AND different CUSTOMERS. Heavy mesh hurst everyone on the server, so that is a problem for us all. But choices in LODs ARE choices made by the individual creator. In many cases they are designing for "their customers" who in most cases see (or have the opportunity if they take the time) the objects in world. I don't agree with the choices of some creators but they are THEIR choices and some are made purposefully, so while your statement above is certainly your truth -- I personally do not believe it is THE truth . Everyone has a right to make their own choices. Some don't understand the variables, I agree. But others definitely do (they have spoken their mind on other threads) and while that may make them a substandard creator in YOUR mind, I am guessing it doesn't in theirs.

Now I know there are some VERY smart folks here and while they each still have their "opinions", they also test a lot. There has been an ongoing discussion on another forum (I really didn't START the discussion but it has my name on it -- you know how topics can morph) on this question but responses seem to be mostly based on supposition and hearsay and such. So while I really don't want to start another ongoing thread of opinion, by now I would really like to base MY opinion on something like -- well tests and facts. And I am counting on you guys to have that. Thanks. Question: Which is easier on the server -- a Mesh Cube (in this case with six materials, mapped as a prim would be - one on each face and full LODs for all levels -- so a replacement for the default cube) or a prim cube?

Just wanted to note that there have been many discussions on this forum about using different textures for the different LODs and the general consensus was that it wasn't the best idea. I am sure someone that did the tests and has an opinion can pipe in here OR you might be able to find one of the threads on this in the archives. I read them all but don't remember specifics, just that "for me" the single texture was going to be the choice .

Thanks. I don't have any issues as I learned from some good folks (thank you all). Most everything I make in the decor and furniture line (even fairly large things) are 1 or 2LI. Houses 35ish (47 for a BIG one with lots of french doors that I just uploaded). I really HAVE paid attention. I am far from perfect, but I definitely know what NOT to do (and rarely do that these days LOL). I guess what I maybe should have said as more of an explanation is that after awhile when you see a -- let's say "chair" -- it is easy to decide what the LI "should" be if the person uploading did some testing and LOD models as needed. So when I see a "chair" that is 15, I know that something wasn't optimal. It could have been a heavy finger on the subsurf modifier; it could have been LODs to see the chair from across the sim (not really all that necessary in my book). So IF your item uploads too heavy, then something needs to be fixed. You can tell that even before you upload and test the LODs in world. I use 2 LOD factor for testing which is Firestorm's default, but some viewers are 1 or 1.25. I have a feeling some of those folks are seeing a fairly different world than those with LODs on 4. For ME, the most important part of the process is testing inworld. I have a few very nice things (not mine) that when viewed at 2.0 fall apart from within a small room. Now that aint good. So especially if you are just starting out, be sure that you make that testing inworld (with whatever LOD you decide to design for -- and there have been many threads on that over the years and just as many opinions) part of the process.

I can't see ANY of my neighbors simply because they have "avatars in other parcels can see and chat with avatars from this parcel". Then you need to be in THEIR parcel in order to see them. So you can certainly check that I believe by getting inside thier parcel boundary. If it is parcel visability then you will be able to see them. You can turn on the lines that show you where parcels are in World - Show More (in Firestorm).

LI depends on three things. Download, Physics and SIZE so "just" knmowing the poly count doesn't really give you an answer. SMALL will almost always give you a low land impact number even if the poly count is fairly high. After awhile you get a "feel" for what the LI "should" be with reasonable LOD and good physics. But as far as I know there is no MAGIC poly number *wink*. Best to make your items as simple as they can be and go from there. Good luck.

The Realms have been down longer than this. Just not lately.

Sounds like you should be good. I am not a techno wiz but it sound similar to mine and I very seldom have any issues and always have shadows on. No problems with depth of field or superfine soft shadows for photos. Filming is easy. I also have a 27 inch HD monitor and can run two avatars when needed as well as other programs (video capture, graphics, blender etc) at the same time. Mine is a desktop and I am directly connected. I typically have my LOD on 4 but was testing mesh. Here is what I have courtesy of Firestorms copy and paste feature . Firestorm 4.7.3 (47323) Aug 18 2015 03:46:39 (Firestorm-Releasex64) with OpenSimulator support Release Notes CPU: Intel® Core i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz (3298.06 MHz) Memory: 16285 MB OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 10240) Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 980/PCIe/SSE2 Windows Graphics Driver Version: 10.18.0013.5560 OpenGL Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 355.60 RestrainedLove API: (disabled) libcurl Version: libcurl/7.38.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1i zlib/1.2.8 J2C Decoder Version: KDU v7.6 Audio Driver Version: FMOD Ex 4.44.56 Qt Webkit Version: 4.7.1 (version number hard-coded) Voice Server Version: Not Connected Settings mode: Firestorm Viewer Skin: Firestorm (Grey) Font Used: Deja Vu (96 dpi) Font Size Adjustment: 0 pt UI Scaling: 1.15 Draw distance: 184 m Bandwidth: 1500 kbit/s LOD factor: 2.375 Render quality: High-Ultra (6/7) Advanced Lighting Model: Yes Texture memory: 1024 MB (1) VFS (cache) creation time (UTC): 2015-11-21T4:11:25 Built with MSVC version 1800

I have been a fashion blogger for 8 years and blogging mesh since it first came on the grid. I have a Maitreya (woot) body. I agree that you probably should just advertise standard sizing, but what I WANTED to say is even mesh that is in theory made specifically for Maitreya (and I am guessing the other mesh bodies) does not necessarily fit. -- and I am a standard S, no giant boobs or bottom. Sometimes standard size works better than the Maitreya or the fitmesh version. It is important to remember that there are folks with ALL SKILL LEVELS making mesh clothing. Some are phenominal and I don't even have to use any alpha slots to make parts disappear. Others are fairly terrible. So just because a garment says it "fits" or "was made for" Maitreya doesn't mean it will. Anyone who tries on a lot of clothes figures that out quickly. THAT is why we happily have demos . Good luck!!!!

Happened to me too awhile back. Very odd. Happily mine was fixed in just a few hours -- three I think. I KNEW it wasn't "me" but it was a very odd error message.