[Tilia takes over]

51 minutes ago, Ginger Shostakovich said:

That actually makes sense, if that's the reason they're doing it. But then why not just say so? 

"Hey guys, the Government need us to do this so we set up a new company. Don't worry, nothing much is going to change for Normal User X. If you need to get money out of Second Life,  you already provided us with all the info we need, and if you let us know that you are OK with the new co handling this instead of ourselves, that'd be cool." 

See? Sorted. 

I mean, the blog post kind of does say that somewhat..

Quote

As registered money services businesses, Linden Lab and Tilia are required to comply with applicable U.S. laws and regulations. As part of our ongoing risk management process, we must obtain, verify, and record information about our customers for whom we offer financial-related services..

But ya, The Tilia thing isn't that new, it's been there for awhile now, you've probably seen this in the upper corner if you've ever processed credit or poked about your billing info 

Something in the financial world probably requiring it to be a bit more split off now.

[My Parcel is "broken"]

On 6/23/2019 at 10:10 AM, Sylvia Wasp said:

 Also since most of the places I go have their own Windlights I need to switch back and forth from "Use region wind light" to my own wind light literally every single time I TP anywhere.  It's exhausting and it's been more than half a year now.  

I've not really had any issue with windlight changing on it's own, I might of turned off such a thing if it was on at some point and forgotten, but I did find this option in the preferences if your on Firestorm that could be the cause

 

[Potential for UUID ripping from system layers and consequent use with appliers]

Ya, there's really not much you can do to stop someone determined enough to rip some clothing textures.

Where ya think most of those texture clothes use on the onion skins came from?

[What are you listening to?]

 

[Has the introduction of Mesh stiffled creativity in SL?]

Well, the avatars already have a bit of an established thing they do, changing up the starter avatars every now and then.

But I don't think the rest of the 'Library' folders have gotten as much attention

As for premium gifts, I did dabble with having premium a few times, all the gifts were no mod, wouldn't really be a good mix for a build kit.

[Has the introduction of Mesh stiffled creativity in SL?]

2 minutes ago, Penny Patton said:

I've always felt that the "Premium Gifts" and Library content LL creates should be featured in a content creation blog run by them. Showing how the content is made. Showing why it's made the way it is. And making the content modifiable, scripts and all, so people can pull it apart and see how it ticks.

Providing "building kits" like you describe would help in that, too. Illustrating how a package of assests can be sold to let people build their own creations out of it. A set of buildings and sim decorations that all share the same texture atlas to show how people can reduce their texture memory use and simultaneously achieve better looking content.

Man, the moles have made some wonderful assets in recent years I would love to get my hands on, there's like, no one else making terrain and landscaping mesh with that sort of toonish realistic style they tend to do 😩

Have ya seen the makeover they gave Linden Realms?

 

But alas, if I was in their shoes, I can understand if they opted out on giving out new stuff, as it could be seen as trying to compete with user made stuff.

[Has the introduction of Mesh stiffled creativity in SL?]

Well, technically, Emerald, Phoenix, and Firestorm are the same viewer.

Started as Emerald, but then fractured after one of the devs was caught sneaking in questionable and possibly malicious code, so the splintered off side regrouped into what became Phoenix. I think the Firestorm name came around when the SL viewer itself had updated to the "2.0" UI So, Phoenix was kept on old UI, while Firestorm was made to work with the new.

[Has the introduction of Mesh stiffled creativity in SL?]

On 6/28/2019 at 1:55 AM, Morena Tully said:

Mesh is unquestionably miles better than prims. But I do think it's affected the number of people who get into making things to contribute. For newcomers, they have to learn too much. For me, I used  to love making things, but now I only modify what others make, for my own use, because building with prims felt like me as my avatar was creating things with her hands, in her world. With mesh, my RL person has to leave SL, make things with a program, and it just ruins it for me. There's no fix.

This is where "building kits" can shine, gives people who aren't so savvy at mesh something to play with and mod inworld.

[What would YOU do if you were Linden Lab?]

If I was a linden, I would try and see if I could turn those massive swaths of abandoned land into some cozy forest people can wander about in.

[Talented 3D designer wanting to join SL]

There's the Avastar plugin for Blender, though not required, it certainly helps a lot, and some dev kits for the many avatars around SL might be made with it as well. Then there's the other question of what mesh body she'll settle on as a foundation to built stuff on, from the animes, to the furries, to the current standard human ones.

The human side of mesh body devs seem to be pickier on giving out dev kits from the impression I've gotten, while the anime and furry side tend to just have dev kits sitting there up for grabs. So, unless she's got some portfolio sitting about to "wow!" the human side of mesh bodies, she'd probably be better off starting with the anime/furry half for starting up a clothing store as, like I said, tends to be more welcoming with handing out dev kits to anyone that asks.

[Colors Not Same Once Bring Into SL]

If trying to color match to something already in-game, turn that item to fullbright to cancel out the in-world lighting on it and color grab from a screenshot of that.

[Bakes on Mesh Feedback Thread]

Ya know, something I've wondered about a few times, I recall some mentioning that there was some initial thing they tried that just wrecked havoc on older viewers, and I kind of wonder just how old of a viewer where they talkin 🤔

[Need Help!]

Well, I got no experience with 3Ds Max myself, but you're lookin for this section of the forums -> https://community.secondlife.com/forums/forum/303-mesh/

This is the "Bakes on Mesh" sub forum, it's for a new feature in the works that lets SL body texture layers be use able on worn mesh.

[Twitch Bans Second Life]

Personally, I was kind of under the assumption it was more to do with WHO the main sort of peeps streaming where,  who were most likely the main ones that also would venture into lewd places while streaming, thus running into the No No land of twitch rules when it comes to outright porn.

Aka, the trolls and griefers v:

[Bakes on Mesh Feedback Thread]

3 hours ago, Alyona Su said:

I see it as EPICFLOP unless the creators can find a way to make it feasibly useful in a meaningful way.

Less reliance on Alpha Huds since we'll be able to use alpha layers again.

Peeps won't have to fuss over applier stuff as much anymore, so for base body stuff from extra skin effects, tattoos, and even undergarments can be simple layers again baked on the base instead of needing 20 different overlaying onions. Even form fitting clothing can adapt to clothing layers.

That's just a few things off the top of my head.

[Bakes on Mesh Feedback Thread]

I wonder if there will be any big news at tomorrows creator meetup 👀

BoM's been sitting in RC for a good month now

[A Group Suggestion]

Would it help to disable voice chat in group IM aswell?

I have honestly never seen it used once apart from accidental clicks on the call button, in all 10 or so odd years of being around SL. 

[Linden have decided to continue the quarterly for now]

Well, atleast there's some hint about why the Quarterly is getting the boot, something to do with what ever the new premium option will be?

They never did really mention why it was going away, atleast not that I've seen yet.

[Gambling Game in SL Stores for Outfits]

2 minutes ago, Burt Bolissima said:

But sometimes there is something that you really want. If it's only available through gatcha you're kinda forced to play it.

And there is unfortunately a LOT of stuff being funneled into gacha's lately, it's rather hard to ignore. There's even some avatars that are released only through gacha's, but those atleast use a little voucher card thing that can be passed around, which gives you the avatar in copy/mod perms.

[Gambling Game in SL Stores for Outfits]

Ya, as others mentioned, those have been around for a bit now sadly. Nothing wrong with Gacha's in itself, but I do personally feel like they've gotten a bit abused in the past few years, namely other content creators like the ones ya pictured, splitting up outfits into bits and pieces and stuffing them into a gacha, some even do it with houses with matching furniture and decor.

Even worse is the fact it's often 90% all no copy, and it feels like very few ever offer trade ins for the stuff.

[I wish the "Games" category in destinations actually had games.]

On 6/7/2019 at 12:08 AM, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

Oh, yes, I LOVE those! 

Are you talking about shooter games and other action games, like the ones you can find on Steam? Don't expect the games in SL to be like those. They are not, because of an extra, very thick layer of abstraction between your computer's processors and your screen--the Second Life virtual world framework. This limits games in SL to the most basic and simplistic zombie shooter games that by no means rival Left 4 Dead. What SL is very capable of is hosting Escape the Room-like point & click adventures, like Myst, Portal, or Talos. Linden Lab (of Linden Realms), MadPea and Loki Elliot do quite a good job at that. And them there's board and table games, because of their inherent slower pace. Those are skill games, not in the legal sense but of the brain. There are many merchants out there selling those, including a very vague acquaintance of mine.

And ya, I know, SL sadly does have it's limitations, just would be nice to see the more proper attempts as game stuff in SL get the spotlight instead of a dozen generic wannabe casino sims. Much like things you mentioned, the things MadPea's do and similiar places that are hooked up to those Portal Park sims, those are what I feel, should be getting pushed into the spotlight for the games category.

Heck, there's even a little spawnable RPG game that exists in SL, though it is a bit lewd. I remember being utterly in awe when I first played it.

Quote

Also, I suspect that SL's Destinations pages aren't the most up-to-date or accurate.

Yeah, I think that destinations place just seems to sort by how many people are in them, though maybe there's something else that determines what specific places have a chance to show up in em as well.

Quote

To be honest, I'm glad there are not so many actual games in-world. And not so many quests. If you want to play MMO's or quests, install one of the million actual *games* on your computer and play there, but don't use SL for it.

@ThorinII
What would be so bad about there being more in-world games and quest's and such in SL? It'd give people things to do other than just idling in what ever random club is the flavor of the month. 

Also something you could drag along new friends to all while you get to sport your very own near limitlessly customizable character \o/

If someone someday was ever able to successfully combine SL with other social games like PSHome and TowerUnite, I'd be all in on that in a heart beat.

[I wish the "Games" category in destinations actually had games.]

On 6/6/2019 at 8:54 PM, Lindal Kidd said:

Hi Digit!  Those games are called "skill games" to distinguish them from "gambling".

Because of RL laws concerning online gambling, LL banned it from Second Life back in 2007.  Gambling is defined as a game in which the winner is determined primarily by random chance.  However, some slot machines don't depend on random chance in awarding prizes; the winner is determined (at least primarily) based on the player's skill.

If you don't agree with the above, don't blame me!  This is LL's definition, not mine.

If you don't like slot machines, there are tons of other games to be found in SL...just not under the Games section of the Destination Guide.  There's football, hockey, sailboat racing, chess, tennis, pool, Go, ice skating, ski jumping, bowling, darts, waterslides, skydiving, scuba diving, hunting (and zombie hunting), several forms of combat, shooting ranges, quest-type games, Linden Realms (a sort of live action Pac-Man), capture roleplay, WarBugs (aerial dogfighting in cute little airplanes) surfing...probably many others too, those are just the ones I've personally run across or played.

Well that's the thing, I did take a peek at that 'freebie casino' place out of curiosity, and while calling em all slot machines is, I admit, somewhat of a sneer, they are still very much reliant on RNG to an extent.

And the stuff you mention afterwards is like, exactly what I'm talking about, the 'Games' category SHOULD be full of places for those!

[I wish the "Games" category in destinations actually had games.]

It's just full of those trashy casino sims instead. Honestly, I thought they just kind of died out ages ago when they got quarantined into isolation.

And why are they called 'skill gaming'? There's no skill or games to be had in slot machines >:v

[Realtalk: How to get the community to like LL's viewer again?]

I'm not really sure what would bring me back to it, but, while I know it doesn't look as nice, they reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly need to have shadow turned back off by default.

I know SL can be laggy on it's own, but having shadows on turns up that lag by 200% in most places, especially if full of junk and other people.

[Potential for UUID ripping from system layers and consequent use with appliers]

13 minutes ago, OptimoMaximo said:

Read my post more intently, as i was referring to the default avatar STANDARD, meaning

It was a very long post, my eyeballs probably missed some of it 😧

13 minutes ago, OptimoMaximo said:

Therefore, what if i arranged my avatar differently? Auxiliary channels now can do the trick, but this feature is not nearly as advanced/useful as my proposal of dumping BoM for a more robust and versatile materials layering system, which would apply to ANY item, instead of relegating this feature to a baking service generated texture for worn avatars only. 

Well, personally for me, I'd rather try to avoid using the aux slots for the base skin textures, as I don't want my avatar to hog up too much space, then there would be less slots for other things to be synced up to the BoM thing. And you can still put materials on the mesh, but ya, the materials thing is certainly rather limited unfortunately, maybe down the line they might find a way to improve on it, but certainly no reason to just scrap the whole project all together just because it lacks finer detail in materials.

 

I'm still quite looking forward to it personally, and hope it'll be coming around soon since it's been sitting in the RC's for a good month or so now.