dancingdelilah
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Posts posted by dancingdelilah
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On 11/11/2018 at 1:58 PM, Alyona Su said:
I figured I'd create a new thread so I wouldn't "necro" an old one. Here goes.
I see some gorgeous pictures throughout. (especially in How Does Your Avatar Look Today,) and I saw the part in that forum where lighting was explained. Anyway, I thought I would show you this picture, then tell how I did it. Zero post-editing work, 100% SL viewer and no "photo tools" or any filter-trickery, (not even so much as cropping). This can be done in the Official LL viewer.
Here is the finished picture:
Here is how I did it:
First, I've created a "Photo Lights" attachment I can attach to my chin anywhere. It uses the standard three-light set-up: Main, Fill, Backlight. If anyone wants this attachment, IM me here or in-world: I'll give it to you (or you can make your own):
(Yus! My typo: in the third image, the light to the lower-front of me is the *FILL* light - so much for my attempt at a perfect post) ~Groans~
After I select a pose, I edit the lights and turn on EDIT LINKED - I position them how I want them to be. In the properties I usually change the color, I think I have the intensity, fall-off, and that stuff set about right. Then I may play with changing the colors of each light, in my finish example I set the Main to blue and the Back to red, and left the fill as white.
Once my lights are set, I turn off EDIT LINKED then just set the texture to transparent. Now I deal with camera angle and *Field of View*.
FOV is what we always call "zoom" and people don't understand what it does. So I'll tell you: It removes (or adds) *lens distortion*. It's easier to show you:This is the "default" camera view. Looks normal, right?
Now look at 8x "Zoom" (hold CTRL and tap 0 eight times)
The differences are in the legs and head: no distortion; this is my true shape. And if we go the opposite: (CTRL+8 three times from default)
FYI: CTRL+9 always sets your camera back to default view. So now that I have my camera angle the way I like it (foreground, background, lighting, etc.) - I turn on my "Focal Length" - a.k.a. "Defocussing Background" (It's not called Bokeh, by the way - Bokeh is the Japanese word to describe defocussed dust and other particles in the foreground; FYI)
The problem with the way this works is that you have to ALT+[CLICK] to focus something, everything else gets defocussed. This creates the dreaded "Bullseye" framing. So the way to move your camera to position your subject off-center (such as the "rule-of-thirds," etc.) is to use the key commands:
ALT+arrow: move forward/back and left/right around
ALT+CTRL+arrow: - Rotate up/down and left/right around
ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+arrow: raise/lower and crab left/right without changing the camera angle.In this case, I did ALT+CTRL+SHIFT and tapped the left arrow a couple times. This is how I put my subject off-center:
For my final image (above) I also selected the "Auto-Contrast" filter built into the snapshot tool. Also, I left all lights white so you can see their effect directly.
So there you go. That's how to do great "photography" in SL without relying on expensive HUDs or viewer tools like FS Phototools. These pictures, including the final one, are 100% viewer-created, no post work in any off-line apps or anything.
ANYWAY: What tips or tricks do YOU have to share? Include pictures (and it's okay if you use Phototools or whatever else and even post-editing in your offline app) - but explain to us how you did it! (No need for step-by-steps or anything, just tell us what you did
)
I know you shared this 2 years ago but WOW! Am I glad I found your post on this.
I enjoy taking SL photos but my photos compared to other people's look very amateurish. I know nothing about using Photoshop or Gimp. And when I enable everything required to take good quality photos on my Firestorm viewer, they still end up looking drab.
Your tips are just what I needed!! Honestly I'd prefer to just point & shoot without doing any editing etc. I plan on putting your tips to use. And the photo you used to demonstrate looks very high quality professional
Thank you so much for sharing this.
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I just finished watching video "How To Build A Gaming PC in 2019." I still haven't picked out a PC yet & I'm still shopping around. Tho the videos have helped me understand a bit more about the technical computer stuff, I still don't feel confident enough to "Build" my own system. But I am closer to picking out a computer. I have 2 or 3 in mind including on Ebay. I'm hoping I'll have one that's decent and one that will handle SL. I don't need an expensive computer for heavy gaming - some of the ones I've looked at run $2000 and up which is way out of my budget!
The ones I am looking at currently are hopefully adequate for SL. I've even taken note on everyone's feedback to me!!
I got great tips from all of you so Thanks for everyone helping me out! I really appreciate the help.
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2 hours ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:
Unless the Optiplex comes with a couple hundred dollar bills in it, $440 for a 7010 is insane. Slow down and do some more research. It'll pay off.
Thanks for the video. I'm checking it out now.
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1 hour ago, Mollymews said:
just on the AMD RX560 graphics card. Is about equivalent to a NVidia GTX1050 performance wise over an aggregate of 3D games. Lots of people run SL on these cards and get reasonable FPS that is easily playable for them on the Recommended Settings. Turning shadows off when a place is super busy
edit ps. As mentioned above the AMD vs NVidia was more about ATI vs NVidia back in the day. The AMD RX+ cards made today are fine for SL
Thanks for your reply. I just want something reasonable with decent FPS, decent RAM & graphics card. I wanted to be able to turn on shadows etc for photos and such.
I don't need a state of the art gaming system. Secondlife is the only "game" I really enjoy and like to log on to frequently. I'm so thankful for all of you helping me out on this!! Without your help I most likely would have bought a computer that couldn't handle SL. Thanks so much for your help.
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46 minutes ago, dancingdelilah said:
I never even thought of checking out Ebay. I have been told to look into refurbished computer systems. One refurbished gaming system I looked at came with a 3 year warranty. And I read some of the reviews from those who bought refurbished computers and the majority were positive reviews. I was hesitant to go that route but I think maybe I'll consider it.
The second computer I Shared Specifications on - The HP gaming with Ryzon 3-2200G quad core was about $600 on sale. That doesn't include the monitor. and then I thought maybe I should wait till Black Friday...
But hey, if I can get one cheaper of course I'm all for that! I'm gonna go check out Ebay...
1 hour ago, cheesecurd said:If you wanted to do that, off lease office PCs are dirt cheap and there are people who do mass resale of them on eBay. Big sellers, reputable, lots of options.
example:
Its an optiplex 7010, 3rd gen Intel i5 so definitely a bit old but still adequate, especially for a game like SL. And has options for drives, ram and OS choice, as well as a modern gpu option they install for you.
So configured like this:
16gb of ram, a 120gb SSD with Windows 10 installed, and a 1tb hard drive for mass storage, as well as an AMD RX 560.
390$ is definitely a bit more expensive than buying the parts individually to retrofit your own barebones original optiplex 7010 but they have a margin to make and that’s how they profit. This plus a monitor, keyboard and mouse would make for a cheap system to run.
As mentioned though you could also just get a basic 7010, and put in your own choice of video card (provided it’s low power) and add more ram or choose your drives and install the os yourself. Which might be a bit cheaper if you were to deal hunt.
I just checked this one out on Ebay from your link. I even clicked the Nvidia graphics and it raised the price about $50 bucks. It currently has 140 watching & only 2 left. Checked out this sellers feedback and all positive from others who bought from them.
So yeah - I added the $390 one to my cart. I prefer a prebuilt since I don't understand the tech stuff. My cousin has bought refurbished computers in the past & has always received decent computers. And like I said I researched the Pros & Cons of buying refurbished and the Pros outweighed the Cons. From my research on refurbished computers, even a brand new computer that someone ordered but send back has to be sold as refurbished/used even tho it never was actually used.
Thanks cheesecurd!! You have helped me tremendously.
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26 minutes ago, cheesecurd said:
If you wanted to do that, off lease office PCs are dirt cheap and there are people who do mass resale of them on eBay. Big sellers, reputable, lots of options.
example:
Its an optiplex 7010, 3rd gen Intel i5 so definitely a bit old but still adequate, especially for a game like SL. And has options for drives, ram and OS choice, as well as a modern gpu option they install for you.
So configured like this:
16gb of ram, a 120gb SSD with Windows 10 installed, and a 1tb hard drive for mass storage, as well as an AMD RX 560.
390$ is definitely a bit more expensive than buying the parts individually to retrofit your own barebones original optiplex 7010 but they have a margin to make and that’s how they profit. This plus a monitor, keyboard and mouse would make for a cheap system to run.
As mentioned though you could also just get a basic 7010, and put in your own choice of video card (provided it’s low power) and add more ram or choose your drives and install the os yourself. Which might be a bit cheaper if you were to deal hunt.
I never even thought of checking out Ebay. I have been told to look into refurbished computer systems. One refurbished gaming system I looked at came with a 3 year warranty. And I read some of the reviews from those who bought refurbished computers and the majority were positive reviews. I was hesitant to go that route but I think maybe I'll consider it.
The second computer I Shared Specifications on - The HP gaming with Ryzon 3-2200G quad core was about $600 on sale. That doesn't include the monitor. and then I thought maybe I should wait till Black Friday...
But hey, if I can get one cheaper of course I'm all for that! I'm gonna go check out Ebay...
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3 minutes ago, cheesecurd said:
The system requirements page is super out of date and not recommended to be used to choose a system.
As mentioned, ATI doesn’t exist anymore. They made video cards and were purchased by AMD ages ago. 945gm is an on-motherboard Intel video chip from 2006. Its not relevant.AMD makes processors and video cards. Nvidia makes video cards. Intel makes processors. Intel and AMD have integrated graphics built into their processors. Intel HD 620/630 for example is intels current gen integrated video. AMD doesn’t have integrated video in every processor but instead makes APUs which are a cpu with integrated video features, speaking in context of modern hardware only they are a lot more powerful than an equivalent Intel integrated graphics option.
Pick up the option with the RX 550 as it’s substantially better graphically than either the integrated Intel HD 630 or just the Ryzen 3 2200g option on its own.
Even if you’re stepping down to an i3 instead of an i5. Worst case that can be upgraded fairly easily down the line. Though I think there’s a pavilion option with the Ryzen 5 2600 or Ryzen 3 1200 or 2200g that has an RX 550. That would be the ideal choice in this price range.
Thank you cheesecurd!! I figured the SL system requirements was probably out of date. In an earlier reply you mentioned AMD Ryzen 3600 and the 2nd computer I have my eye on is an HP gaming with Ryzon. I listed its specifications on here also. It's within my budget so I think I'll go with that one.
It's only 4 GB of ram but I think I can add more memory if needed. I've been looking at new computers for over a month now & the more I looked the more confused I got. So I'm glad I came to the forums for help. I nearly gave up and was going to buy the 1st computer I looked at.
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5 hours ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:
Intel graphics aren't great for SL, and they won't get better with age. I would get something with an Nvidia card, or that I could put an Nvidia card in. I don't know what model you're looking at, but going by the dimensions, I don't think there's much expandability there.
As for AMD vs Nvidia, in my experience Second Life does favor Nvidia.
Hi - That's what I keep hearing. SL does best with Nvidia. So far everything I've looked at doesn't have Nvidia but I've mainly been looking at HP computers. I looked at Nvidia graphic at Best Buy and some of those run $200 and up just for the kits to build your own computer. I know nothing about building a computer which is why I prefer to buy prebuilt systems. I'm not sure if Secondlife has updated their System requirements page recently. On Strawberry Singh blog she suggested we view the system requirements for SL and those requirements list 4 GB of memory is adequate and ITEL chipsets, ATI Raedon graphics cards 945 will also work.
The computers I'm currently looking at within my price range doesn't have Nvidia installed. I've even had some suggest buying a refurbished computer since they go thru a rigorous overhaul and often work better than brand new ones and some often come with up to 3 year warranties. But at the same time I'm hesitant to go that route....
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6 hours ago, cheesecurd said:
It’s not advertising being the all in one model so the only other option is the mini tower. Micro atx, fairly normal.
With that config it’s a variant of the Pavilion 590.It’s super proprietary inside with its special psu and motherboard but it’s still equipped with a PCIe x16 slot and room for a fairly large gpu.
Of course the problem would be the psu. These are stock equipped the same but there’s an i5 model with a 1050ti and the AMD model offers an RX 550 (pic related). They all use the same psu so a slot power 75w card like a 1050ti would be reasonable.
However it would be expensive to buy one without a gpu and then just add a gpu, even used, when you could build an overall better system from the ground up for substantially cheaper. Building it yourself or paying your local nerd 50 bucks to put it together for you.
Hi- the first computer specifications I shared is not an all in one. And yes it does say a mini tower. I found a second computer I have my eye on and its an HP Gaming Desktop, AMD Ryzen ( 3LA91AA#ABA) and to be honest I have no idea what any of this tech stuff means.
So I thought I'd share on the forums computer specifications I'm currently looking at that's within my budget. My current computer is an HP All In One but its 10 years old and cant handle Second Life. I can still log on but my InWorld experience is horrid, constant crashing, nothing stays rezzed & my FPS putrid - 7 at best. At first I thought low FPS was a good thing!! That's how illiterate I am when it comes to computer tech stuff. When saw people list their FPS at 45 and up I thought Wow.....and mine struggle to reach 7...haha. Anyway I just want my new computer to be able to handle SL but I don't want to end up buying something that's no better than what I'm using now. I can't even enable shadows on my current computer without crashing.
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7 hours ago, cheesecurd said:
SL will use either or. It’s an ancient myth that SL doesn’t like AMD cards. Note the people who mention that also use the name “ATI” which was bought out by AMD 13 years ago...
The pavilion is a good choice if you want something new and simple. But mainly just because it’s a prebuilt and will do what you want out of the box.
On a purely specs basis there are a few points to mention:-The i5 8400 is now a generation out of date, Intel is on 9th gen, there’s an i5 9400. And 10th gen is rolling out soon.
-Intel vs AMD processors right now is kind of weak, for the price of an i5 8400 you could get an AMD Ryzen 3600 which is also a 6 core but entirely outclasses the i5 8400
In fact, if you can, filter those pavilions by Ryzen. There’s a lot of them out there, pavilion gaming machines, Dell Inspirons are the same thing, right now Intel is severely behind and AMD is plain and simple superior on the market and they are the better choice. No fangirling, there’s data to back that up.
-12gb of ram means single channel or very low speed memory, ram doesn’t come in 6gb sticks, ddr4 comes in a minimum of a 4gb dimm. So they either have three 4gb sticks or one 4 and one 8. The way memory controllers work would limit that kind of configuration at minimum speed (2133mhz) or single channel. Both of those are bad and it’s a point where quantity is not valuable. Ram speed is actually starting to matter these days.
-HD 630 isn’t bad but it’s just about “adequate” for SL, more graphically intensive spaces will tank your framerate. ALM and all those fancy settings will be pretty much exclusively for sub 1fps photos if you’re anywhere other than a social island.
-These home prebuilts have extremely low end and weak power supplies that greatly limit future Upgrades.
If you have a budget in mind I can help find an ideal system. These basic pavilions aren’t bad machines by any means but they’re not the best choice if you know how to deal hunt.
Something like a current gen Ryzen Inspiron + some kind of entry level video card would be great and probably not much more expensive.
Hi - thank for replying. I have a second computer in mind that more money but within my budget. It's an HP gaming system and I'm listing the specifications below.
I ordered a computer from Dell one time & I had to "build" it myself. They asked me if I wanted this or did I want that. I had no idea what they were talking about so I just said OK yeah I'll take that.
Needless to say I'm illiterate when it comes to the inner working & brains of a computer & ended up with a Windows Vista Home Basic that was pretty crappy!! 😁 So I prefer to buy the prebuilt computers.
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7 hours ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:
First of all, please set your price limit.
Second, you don't want a workstation, but a somewhat gaming capable machine. The CPU and the amount of RAM isn't a bad choice here, but the overall setup gives the impression of an office / multimedia setup.
Do you need any other components along with the computer itself? What monitor are you currently using, its screen resolution and the connection options are of interest.
Not everything you hear in SL is true... in short: it doesn't matter. There are good options on either side, Nvidia or AMD.
Just stay away from integrated graphics, like the listed Intel Graphics, if you want somewhat pretty graphics.
Hi - Thanks for your reply. I am currently using an HP all in one windows 7 64 bit & my graphics card on this computer is AMD Raedon HD 6320. It's actually 10 years old so I will have to buy a monitor as well as a tower. I joined SL 6 years ago and have been using this AIO to log on. But it's gotten more & more laggy & the FPS on my current computer struggle to reach 7!! Nothing rezzes completely either. My face will finally Rez and come in clear but my clothing & everything else is a blurry mess. Then my face blurs & my clothing finally rezzes nice and crisp. It's a nightmare!
I honestly cant afford a pricey computer. I've been researching computers for a month now and I'm more confused than ever. I even looked up SL requirements which confused me even more since I don't understand Intel or ATI or AMD. And SL requirements also lists graphics cards that are not compatible with SL like Itel chipsets less than 945 etc. I really am completely lost on technical computer stuff. The gaming systems I looked at were pretty pricey tho I did find an HP gaming computer that's within my budget but it has less RAM (8 GB), less CPU Cache (4) etc than the previous computer specifications I shared.
I want to get something that's insufficient to run SL on but I'm totally lost on what to buy within my budget.
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Hello - first off I'm extremely illiterate & dumb when it comes to computer technical things. Like graphics cards that can & can't handle secondlife.
I currently use a 10 yr old windows 7 & logging onto SL is nearly impossible on this thing. I'm currently shopping around for a new computer but I can't afford a really expensive (tho I wish I could!)
I looked at one but I'm sure if the specifications are adequate for SL. So I need help with this. I keep hearing that secondlife loves Nvidia graphics cards?
Here are the specifications of one I'm looking at and I'd like to know if this computer has what it takes to run Secondlife from:
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6 minutes ago, Fionalein said:
Download the nightly builds.
Oh OK.....Thank you!
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25 minutes ago, Fionalein said:
No, the official release hasn't - get the unstable release instead (the one you found).
Do you mean no don't download the Singularity and just continue using Firestorm? Or no....don't download the Alpha ("nightly") Builds (Now With Bento) and just continue using Singularity even tho my Bento body parts are distorted & my Bento AO doesn't work?
Thanks~
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You mean the the Singularity that distorts my Bento hands, AO ect.? Or continue using Firestorm viewer?
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Hello-
I just installed Singularity Viewer & immediately noticed my Bento hands were a big blob of messy huh?? And my Bento AO doesn't work at all. I'm back to walking like a noob.
I normally use Firestorm but beings my computer is a tad old (and I desperately need a new one) Firestorm tends to be laggy & takes forever to load textures etc. I heard Singularity was a bit easier on older computers.
I noticed on the Singularity download site the was an Alpha ("nightly") Builds ( Now With Bento) to download. So do I download that? Hopefully someone who uses Singularity as well as Benton can help me with out with this.
Thanks!
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On 1/18/2017 at 5:36 AM, Klytyna said:
You hate mesh you hate new viewers you hate ... you hate... you hate everything that isn't 2006...
That is the real problem, 2006 is gone, deal with it, viewer 1 is gone, deal with it, welcome to the second decade of the 21st c entury, things are better.
I've seen plewnty of 2006 clothes and sahoes and hair, my retinas still bleed on occasions.
Uninstall Singularity, get a viewer designed LESS than 10 years ago.
You could try Catznip, or Black Dragon, or even Firestorm.
Dang! That was down right rude. No, actually your response over a simple question was HATEFUL.
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Haha! I guess I've been hanging out in Twilight Zone too long. I've never noticed a transaction fee before today! Thanks for clueing me in everyone!
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a transaction fee to purchase lindens??? I just went to buy lindens and noticed it will now cost us .99 just to make the transaction. I bought lindens a mere 3 weeks ago and there was no fee for me to to that. Honestly I think this kinda......well..... Sucks.
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Hi~
Why am I unable to De-activate any groups I joined?
I've done this in the past with no problems or issues. But right now, I have a few groups I want to leave.
When I click on the "Group" I want to leave then click "Leave" nothing happens?! No box pops up that asks me to confirm or anything. Please help!
I am using Firestorm viewer 64 4.6.7
This is so frustrating~~
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OMG~~I want to give you a big hug & kiss!! It worked!!
I was freaking out thinking I'd lost many many L thousands worth of items.
Thank you so much for the help!!! :matte-motes-grin:
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Thank you! I'm gonna try it right now
Wish me luck~~
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Are you serious??
Should I clear my inventory cache then see if this works? In prefences under Network and Cache there are 3 "Cache" buttons.
1. Clear Inventory Cache button ~~~and under this
2. Clear cache button~~~ then under this
3.Clear Browser cache
So far I only clicked #2 & #3
So should I try #1~~clear inventory cache??
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This is the 1st time this has ever happened to me. And the info I'm reading to help resolve/recover is confusing.
Some say to clear Cache and some say don't clear Cache. OK~so I'm using Firestorm 4.6.7 and everthing was fine until I experienced lag and had to log out due to viewer not responding.
So when I log back in everthing but my folders is gone missing!? Oh and of course my current outfit and what few pieces of furniture I am currently using. My folders are there of course but they remain empty!??
My Skins and Shapes are gone
My shoes, clothing, hair., furniture~well you get the picture. EVERYTHING In the 1 1/2 yr. I've been on SL this has never happened to me.
So far I did a clean uninstal and reinstall of my viewer. Did not work. I also cleared the Cache tho not the Inventory cache
HELP! What do I do? Just to let anyone helping me out know~~I still consider myself a Noob and I'm not very Tech savy when it comes to SL.
Do I clear the Inventory Cache? Should I have done this before now?
Help me if you can
I'm feeling Down~~~
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Is There a Problem With SL?
in Second Life Viewer
Posted
Anyone having problems all of a sudden logging into SL? Just out of the blue I couldn't teleport home due to it failed. So I logged out but when I try to log back I get a LOG IN FAILED. I use Firestorm Viewer and its been working fine up until about 30 minutes ago.
The first clue there was a problem is when it wouldn't let me buy Lindens - That's never happened to me before. Then I was unable to Teleport home. Then I'm unable to Log in at all!! HELP!