Matthieu Quander

Tastes vary, so one person's favorite theme is another's least desirable. A lot of people, including myself, have mentioned that the chalets are not a favorite, but the same has been said about every theme, including houseboats. Lucky for us, we have many themes from which to choose, with more on the way. As @Sister Nova mentioned, the last three new theme rollouts (log homes, stilts, and chalets) have gone this way. When the stilts weren't all grabbed within a few weeks, people were even questioning whether too many new Linden Homes had been built. Not everyone reads the forums or the Bellisseria group chats, and many don't try for a new home often, so they may not even be aware that the chalets have been released. It took several weeks for the demand for both stilts and log homes to catch up to the supply. I think we will see the chalets in the queue for a while, but there will probably come a time when more will be needed.

Correct. The Linden/mole owned content, including the home and landscaping, does not count toward your 351 LI allowance.

Great. Now you've scared away the new home owner.

It's been so long since I've seen one in the queue, that I forgot about them.

Everything available except stilts at this moment.

It did blow up over the stilts...and the vics...and probably the logs.

Yep. I'm sure it will be brought up again with the next theme, if not sooner, but this poor dead horse has taken a thorough beating. These are many of the same comments I have made previously, but since the same complaints are being repeated, I may as well join the discussion...again. The system is fair, as the same rules apply to everyone. I suspect many of you are not strangers to playing gacha. Claiming a Linden Home is the same thing. The more rolls you make, the greater your chances of getting a rare. You may get lucky and get one on your first or second try, but the odds are against it. What many don't seem to understand is that this would be the case even without the alt armies. I would even go so far to say that the alt armies actually make it easier to get a parcel on a new region because they grab all the abandoned homes to keep them out of the queue. Of course, you have to be aware of when that is happening, but it isn't difficult if you are willing to put in the time. My partner and I got our lakefront log home on Brichester this way, by simply grabbing one at the right time. I sympathize with those who are frustrated, but look at the bright side. All of those premium alts help keep SL going. There really isn't any incentive for LL to change how the process works, as it would likely lead to fewer accounts, and thus, less income. Also, it increases demand, which means they have to build more homes, which means more areas for all of us to explore and enjoy, and possibly even better parcels to grab. Additionally, the alt armies release a lot of really nice parcels all the time. They rarely hold anything for too long. This means that while you may miss out on a nice parcel when it initially becomes available, you will likely get another shot at it. If it had gone to someone who wants to live there permanently, you may never have another opportunity. For some of you, that would be okay, just as long as the alt armies aren't getting everything, but for others, the complaint would change form "the alt armies get all the good parcels" to "I never get anything good." As for the complaints that they are only decorating the outside and aren't using the homes, I do not really understand this complaint. There have always been a large number of claimed Linden Homes that go completely undecorated and rarely used, if at all. Sure, we'd all love to have friendly neighbors who enjoy spending time at their Linden Homes and decorating them with exquisite taste, but those people are rare. Given the option of living next to an empty home or one with objectionable décor, I'll happily take the absent neighbor every time. If they happen to build a nice garden to improve my view, all the better. Lest any of you get the wrong idea, I am not a fan of a single person claiming the majority of parcels on a newly released region. I'm simply pointing out that they are not the reason that you aren't getting the parcels you want, and that they do actually provide a benefit for all of us if you look at it objectively. I personally have 5 premium accounts because I love the challenge of decorating the Linden Homes, and I don't want to immediately delete my builds to start new ones. I usually keep one alt available for playing GoH, but the others all have homes. And while I do reuse some items in multiple homes, no two are ever decorated the same. I know it isn't easy to be appreciative of what we have when other people seem to get everything they want, but honestly, there are a lot of absolutely lovely Linden Homes that become available in the queue every day. Too many of you are focused on obtaining the perfect parcel instead of making the parcel you have perfect. Sorry for all the words. I'll stop now.

I completely agree, but I doubt they will ever have a covenant that covers all manner of questionable taste. Unless a couple of the remaining themes are marina slips and airport hangars, we will continue to see people proudly display their toys at the their homes, regardless of how ridiculous and inappropriate the may seem to some of us. I make very liberal use of the derender feature.

If I know the person, and recognize that they have a problem, then sure, I would try to help. But people have different RL priorities and levels of discretional income. If someone wants to spend their time and money building beautiful gardens in a virtual world, who am I to judge? There are certainly worse things they could be doing.

That is up to each person to decide. If someone wants to pay for 50 gardens, so be it. Be thankful they are making lovely gardens and not filling the parcel with things you might not find so enjoyable.

I get it. If you are using Windows Paint, then you are accustomed to a blank canvas already being there when you start the application. What do you do if you mess up, and want a new blank canvas in Paint? The process for getting a blank canvas in GIMP is the same as that. Just look under the "File" menu and choose "New," set the canvas size, and click "OK." Why doesn't GIMP start with a blank canvas? The answer is because preloading a blank canvas unnecessarily uses resources, and most GIMP users want to edit existing images, not draw from scratch. Again, you may want to have a look at one of the "getting started" tutorials. If you are expecting to just know everything intuitively, and looking at a guide or two isn't your thing, then GIMP may not be for you.

That method works really well, and is especially useful for those who don't want to bother with a full shell, and just want to make a nice accent wall or two. I prefer to build the cutouts with the prims instead of the textures these days, but It is definitely viable for more complex surfaces, as seen in my Tahoe days.

Like any software, there is a learning curve. You don't need to learn how to do everything at once. Start with something small. Google whatever it is you are trying to do, and you should find any number of tutorials showing the exact steps. Get through a few of those and will learn how to use the basic tools for the most common tasks. Let's say, for example, you wanted to turn this: Into this (ignore the rough edges, this was quick "what if"): Do a google search for "GIMP remove background," and you will find a number of guides to show you how to do it. I recommend picking one with a recent date so the tools are likely to look and behave the same as what you have recently installed. Here is a good one. Then maybe you want to get fancy and add a shadow: Google "GIMP add drop shadow," pick another recent tutorial. You can always just start with "GIMP getting started" and pick one for your version.

Not mine, but looks like a neighbor just abandoned this nice corner OW stilt. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Visser/32/34/26 EDIT: claimed.

That still happens to me, even on the latest version, but thankfully it is a rare occurrence.

If you ever do want to explore graphics editing, I highly recommend GIMP. It is free, open source, runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems, has a ton of user support and tutorials available, and can do pretty much everything the expensive editors can do.

Expanding on what both Sylvia and Jewell wrote, there is a free Linden Homes Security System in the Content Creation Pack, which is available in your HouseController (mailbox, life preserver, etc.). The Linden Homes Security System conforms to the Linden Homes covenant by default, so there is no need to worry about that part. It also allows for access to your parcel by group and you can even configure it so someone other than the owner can control it.

Thank you very much. it is probably my favorite as well, though I do like them all.

And for those who are curious, I build all of my shells and add-ons in world using prims, I texture everything as prims first, and then I use Mesh Generator to convert the prims to mesh. I do all of my texturing with GIMP. Excel helps me with both prim and texture placement. I know I can just export my prims as Collada files instead of using Mesh Generator for that step, but mesh objects created by Mesh Generator tend to be much more efficient regarding LI, and as we all know, maximizing LI efficiency means we can place more stuff.

Assuming you mean everything outside, I am using 143 LI for the outside of my Havana Havana, and The House of Blues uses 124. Neither total includes my shells, as more of the LI for those applies to the inside, and I have some other items linked to them. I may have missed a shrub or 3 on the House of Blues, as linking most of the landscaping was not beneficial. If you mean just my shells, My Havana Havana is 10 LI, and House of blues is 11 LI. Both include lower half of all exterior walls, all interior walls, all ceilings, ceiling beams, and all floors. The House of Blues shell also includes the original decks, stairs, and exterior ceilings.

It's all math. I probably use Excel more than GIMP when building/texturing.

Overlays are probably my favorite decorating tool, though I likely use them excessively.

Thank you. I went and had a look. Unfortunately, the textures, particularly on the stove, are a bit too "cartoony" for my personal tastes. Also, this is a great set for a commercial kitchen, but would be overkill for most Linden Homes, at least for me. I wouldn't mind having a "chef's dream kitchen" at some point, but I would likely only consider that on a private parcel where space and LI aren't so limiting. I do appreciate the suggestion.

"forever for now home"

Obrigada Nando.