[Mapping a Prim?]

1 hour ago, StrayCat Rhapsody said:

I once saw a video where the coordinates on a prim were mapped but for the life of me I can’t remember where.

You can use LLDetectedTouchST to detect the surface coordinates at which a prim has been touched, then it's just a case of having a lookup table of acceptable coordinate ranges for each "button" on the texture for that face.  When a user touches a face you can test to see if it falls within valid coordinates for a button on the texture for that face and if so trigger the correct corresponding function in the script.

[What Justification Is There For No Mod Permissions?]

15 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

I've wondered if it might have something to do with not wanting to be bothered with customers who want help modding the objects, or alternatively not fixing the mistakes their customers have made.

Alternatively, since it probably gets lonely standing around all day creating things, maybe they just do it in the hope that one of their customers will IM them asking for modifiable versions and then they'll have someone to talk to? 🤔

[AI-generated interior design]

5 hours ago, Spiffy Voxel said:

You are correct that Meta could do that — but I suspect that AI model generation would make the current performance issues that Second Life has with unoptimised or poorly optimised mesh content look positively minor by comparison.

I wouldn't be so sure.  While a lot of the current 3D generative AI tools do produce some truly atrocious topology there are some that have made significant improvements.

The topology of the results displayed in the video below may not be perfect or particularly well optimized it's still on par with some of the content I've seen in SL

 

Additionally since the resulting topology is quad based it would be very easy to optimize by hand if you really wanted to maximize performance.

Generative AI is still in its infancy and, while it may not be ready to produce content entirely unaided yet, as a tool for creatives it's already becoming a part of artists workflows and is being incorporated into industry standard software.

[AI-generated interior design]

8 hours ago, LunaStardustDreamer said:

the need for skill and expertise could vanish entirely

That's already inevitable unfortunately.

A brief google search for "AI generated 3D models" yields plenty of results, including an article listing the seventy best AI tools for creating 3D content, and that list will only grow over time.

There's no stuffing the AI genie back in its bottle, if you aren't creating mesh purely for the enjoyment of it then you may as well stop now, or at least pivot to incorporating AI into your workflow.  The only benefit to having existing 3D skills is if you understand enough of the theory behind 3D creation to enable you to refine and optimize the sorts of results that AI is capable of producing thereby allowing you to produce a better final product than those who use generative AI without any "post production" process.

[Silly Ideas to Fix Second Life]

11 hours ago, Fluffy Sharkfin said:

Free animesh ponies for everyone!

 

8 hours ago, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

Bring back Telehubs, teleport fees and taxis!

 

In light of recent developments in this discussion I'd like to revise my previous answer and suggest that, in lieu of free animesh ponies, LL distribute wearable saddles to all new residents which can be "hired" via a tip jar so that they can earn money by giving people rides to and from the newly re-instated telehubs!

[Creating a shape for yourself.]

6 minutes ago, Starberry Passion said:

I don't think so, Both Legacy and Maitreya achieve similar body shapes, but you can achieve the same with others just with reborn you'll have a butt.

Legacy is smaller in size, except the butt is bigger but they are more similar than you think I just made the shapes not too long ago, Someone said there is no one with a good rectangle shape.

You can make this shape on a legacy, like so

 This is a Legacy body

and you can make a similar shape on a Maitreya, you just have to make  a few changes to it, here and there and vice versa.

I'll admit I've got way more experience working with the Maitreya body and haven't really bothered with the Legacy.  I guess since most people go with the typical hourglass or pear shapes I just assumed Legacy wasn't as versatile as the Maitreya.

I agree you can definitely create a wider variety of shapes than you normally see around SL, it's just a matter of choosing the right bodies for the right shapes.

[Creating a shape for yourself.]

43 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

I just don't see how certain shapes can be achieved with the most popular bodies in SL, the shape system doesn't allow for it.

 

23 minutes ago, Starberry Passion said:

I just made every shape I said, with a Legacy body.

 

I'd say it's even easier to achieve a wide variety of shapes with the maitreya body, especially if you use deformers and add-ons.

Certain bodies just aren't going to work for certain shapes because the creators have already accentuated some aspects of the anatomy beyond what the appearance sliders can compensate for, but there are enough popular bodies that you can find one or two that will accommodate almost any shape.

[Silly Ideas to Fix Second Life]

2 minutes ago, Zalificent Corvinus said:

Ban peace pipes.

Them's fighting words...

Ban bans!  

[Silly Ideas to Fix Second Life]

2 minutes ago, InnerCity Elf said:

Semi-ban the word "banlines" on the forum - any time anyone uses the word, they have to pay 1L$ into the "banlines funds", which finances an in-world region with two zones.

One, a battlefield, where friends and foes of banlines may fight each other with those gatling guns from the first post.

One a party zone, where they can smoke peace pipes together.

And forum gets monthly statistics of how many avatars were counted per zone...

Add a forum feature that changes random words of every post to "banlines"!  

[What are you listening to?]

 

[Silly Ideas to Fix Second Life]

Release the A.I. powered hippos!

Free animesh ponies for everyone!

Hire Morgan Freeman to follow me around and narrate my second life!

Legalize shortness!

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

I think in a few years time BCI and AR could be a real game changing combination, but both technologies are still a long way from being commercially viable consumer products.

As for using a direct interface between your brain and a computer to play Second Life, I think the lack of filter between peoples brains and their keyboards is enough of a problem already.

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

2 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I think it would be cheaper (and possibly more effective) to put a bag over your head, have a close friend describe scenes to you (like a DM), turn you around, and tweak your nips/etc. as appropriate.

I'm not sure what games you've been playing or what sims you hang out on but I feel like we lead very different second lives! 🤣

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I tried that, they taste terrible and get stuck in my teeth.

My mind flashed back to the scene in Trainspotting but I decided not to link it since it's wildly off-topic and also really gross! 😅

I like my reality just the way it is, and while I find the whole subject of implanted technology and brain interfaces fascinating I'm with Paul on this one, I'd rather keep my tech on the outside for now.

I've had the OpenBCI site bookmarked for a while now and have often toyed with the idea of trying out some of their more affordable options.

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

8 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

If the implant made other people nicer / more likable, or allowed me to tolerate life in a constant state of euphoria, I'm in!

 

I believe you can get a variety of suppositories that have similar effects, do those count? 😅

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Are you blob-shaming?!?!? LOL! (I know it is a scene from "WALL-E".)

 

Of course not!  I will defend any persons right to be a blob if that's what makes them happy!

But we all know how marketing works, pretty soon everyone will be thin shaming and the next thing you know we're living in a Blobocracy (but not an actual blobocracy cos apparently that's a real thing 😮) where everyone is judged not by their merits or actions but purely by their roundosity!

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

6 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

The video I saw awhile back, showed someone using a phone app to control home smart devices. That was the main use-case the video was highlighting.

I can definitely see a number of very useful applications for brain implants that allow you to remotely control technology, but the question is will it be used to improve peoples lives and empower them or will it simply enable people who are, as Sid put it..

7 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

to lazy to use a keyboard, mouse or game-pad on top of that?

Ultimately it could be used to improve humanity or we could all end up looking like this...

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

4 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Or maybe being "blackout drunk"..!

I guess it's not as permanent as a factory reset at least. 😅

Neuralink will probably be a lot more appealing in years to come once the technology has advanced but so far the most advanced real world application they seem to have tested is one of the recipients playing a game of online chess which isn't exactly pushing the boundaries of human limitations.

It's definitely something that could benefit a lot of people with disabilities in the future though, I just hope that development is allowed to focus on that and not dictated purely by profit.

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

3 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Two more words: "Factory Reset"

Oh I think I may have tried that a few times!

Isn't that when you drink alcohol until you lose the ability to talk, your limbs don't work properly and you end up vomiting on yourself?

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

11 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Adding: BSOD! ("Blue Screen of Death")

That quirky old name for the windows error screen could potentially become a lot more literal if you happen to be driving or operating heavy machinery!

We could soon be living in a world where fatal error messages precede actual fatalities..🤔

[Would you get a Neuralink implant so you could play SL hands-free?]

As much as I love technology, I'd have to say no because the automatic updates and pop-ups would be a deal breaker for me!

 

[Official Statement from Oberwolf Linden]

If LL do institute a minimum height policy in Second Life I assume they'll also be doing random spot checks on peoples private properties to make sure nobody is resizing their houses and furniture to make themselves feel shorter?!

[LSL function to detect standing and sitting]

48 minutes ago, atyid said:

Hi! I want to make a toucher with different animations, depending if your avatar is sitting or standing.

Everything I search leads to scripting sits for furniture. Where should I be looking?

Obviously you'll need to use llStartAnimation (and other related commands for requesting/checking permissions, etc.) but in addition you should also take a look at llGetAgentInfo and specifically AGENT_ON_OBJECT which you can use to detect whether or not an avatar is seated or standing.

[Mirroring normal maps... too much to ask?]

13 hours ago, OptimoMaximo said:

I must have missed this bit somehow.

Let me give you a frame of reference that puts things in a better perspective.

The control to the final user you talk about is de facto transferred to the people in the recipient studio that have to work with said content. So the same control you're advocating for, even though it's true that is not going to the end user intended as a consumer of the final product, is going to another type of "end user". The environment artist who makes the modules for a certain building is more often than not a different person than the level designer/layout artist, most likely to not even be sitting in the same studio, these days.

So what you're saying as a need for SL and not for a game studio is definitely applicable to a real studio, maximum ease of use as a first rule of production. And for this reason, not knowing where/who the models pack is going to, the general rule still is to name everything according to a series of identifiers, among which there is also a "mirrored" or similar keyword, where the scale tools do not help with negative scaling.

I agree that in most cases the individual creating the assets will not be the same person responsible for their implementation within a game engine but there are still considerable differences between a level designer working as part of a development team and the way in which SL residents utilize assets within SL.

To use your "mirrored" keyword as an example, if a level designer were facing the same issue being described in this thread they could simply ask one of the coders to add an additional function within the shader which would automatically invert the appropriate channel of the normal map whenever it encounters an asset which contains the "mirrored" keyword, whereas obviously SL residents don't have the ability to modify the shaders used to display the assets they're working with.

Incidentally both Unreal and Unity do support texture mirroring.  In Unreal Engine you can mirror a texture simply by multiplying the UV coordinates by -1 on the required axis (similar to how textures are mirrored in SL) while in Unity you can set the TextureWrapMode to Mirror/Mirror Once rather than Repeat and then offset the texture accordingly.

As an alternative to adding checkboxes which allow users to manually invert the red or green channel of a normal map LL could potentially implement a similar approach to the one used in Unity and provide the option to toggle between either repeating or mirrored tiling and then automatically invert the correct channel within the shader each time the mirrored version of the normal map is displayed, then rather than setting the texture scale to -1 residents could set the texture offset to 1.0 on the required axis in order to display a mirrored version of the textures/materials.

[Mirroring normal maps... too much to ask?]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:55 AM, OptimoMaximo said:

So the point is to see why a certain feature, however useful might it be, isn't being used by those that work on this stuff on a daily basis for a living.

Because the vast majority of those people aren't developing for a platform built entirely from user-created content.  Second Life requires end users to have as much control as possible over how content is displayed whereas most game developers are entirely responsible for creating and optimizing all of the environments, props and characters and provide users with little to no ability to directly modify any of the content within the game/platform.

On 4/2/2023 at 11:41 AM, ChinRey said:

I'm not sure but isn't this just a matter of changing the swizzle? If so, it should be easy to implement and it could be useful for some other purposes as well. The viewer already has code for inverting a channel of a texture even. Maybe that code could be reused for normal maps?

It should be a matter of simply providing a couple of extra checkboxes in the texture tab of the build window which when checked will invert the red or green channel of the normal map, this would allow users to flip a normal map horizontally and/or vertically and then invert the corresponding channel(s) to compensate for the reversed texture orientation.