Jump to content

simplemint

Resident
  • Posts

    61
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by simplemint

  1. I'm going to have to second the Kalhene Anya body! I purchased it after seeing favourable reviews from people like Ryan, and have been quite happy with it since. It fits most Maitreya clothing and shoes. There are some instances where I need to use alphas to make clothing fit, but that happens with all bodies. Maybe it's just my shape or me not editing the clothing to fit better if it has those permissions, but I do find that there is sometimes a gap between the body's shoulders and the top of straps attached to a top/dress, between the body's waist and waistband of pants/skirt, and between the foot and the shoe. However, I have not tried the included head so I can't speak to its quality. I use the Anya body with a Lelutka head. The head should be BOM supported, so you would be able to wear BOM makeup with it, but not all creators offer that option.
  2. Outside of SL, online concerts, podcast readings, and the like have brought in quite a bit of money for some artists - the pandemic and the stoppage of live musical of course motivating many of these concerts. For one virtual concert, singer Louis Tomlinson (formerly of One Direction) sold over 160,000 tickets. It was the best-selling virtual concert for a male artist in 2020, bringing in millions for a number of different charitable causes. There was also Travis Scott's concert in Fortnite, though he did not charge for entry (though users could buy merchandise). Podcasts have also done similar events. For narrative podcasts, they might set it up where people can pay to watch a recording or live performance of a reading, whereas others might charge a fee for people to have the opportunity to 'attend' a podcast taping. Welcome to Nightvale has done a number of these over quarantine. Given that artists and creators are doing this in real life, I could see the potential for singers in virtual worlds, but only if they have an audience that would be willing to pay an entry fee. All of them also sell tickets for live tours, so paying to see them 'online' might not be as much of a stretch as someone who offers both free and paid performances in a virtual world, plus they are much bigger acts than the average SL singer.
  3. Lately, I've been coming across more and more Second Life content on YouTube. Granted, I think it attracts a very particular audience given that a lot of creators I've seen have backgrounds in The Sims and IMVU, with a tendency to be mostly interested in fashion, interior design, and family roleplay - but it is an audience nonetheless. It seems to me that this audience skews younger than the typical SL user, which could also be good for the longevity of the site. To me, this is a venue with a lot of potential. Many of these videos are entertaining and well-edited. Especially amongst YouTubers with established audiences like Carmen King or Felicity, they're introducing huge audiences to SL. It's difficult however, for creators to advertise SL to new users due to the learning curve. I can't tell you how many times I've seen comments from people watching these videos saying that they really want to try SL but they're having a lot of trouble making their way around. Heck, creators who try SL for the first time are often very honest about the difficulty they're having with the platform to their viewers despite sometimes having extensive experience with virtual worlds and/or video games.
  4. I'm part of a couple of Discord servers where residents offer this kind of live help service. The primary purpose of those servers isn't usually to offer help, but there are many kind users there that are willing to answer questions when they do arise. Seeing the value of these interactions on Discord, I also would love to see something similar be implemented in SL itself! These servers, while wonderful, only cover a very small portion of the people that are on SL. The benefit of chatting in these servers is that people can easily and quickly send images, but unless people set up a time to meet in-world, it makes it somewhat difficult to help since all of the conversation is happening outside of SL. When I first joined SL, Live Help & Mentoring wasn't something I had access to. I was dropped into the onboarding area, followed the static tutorial, and was left to explore SL on my own from there on out. Even if I never asked for help, I feel like just knowing this was even an option could have made those first few days on SL feel less lonely and less overwhelming.
  5. I have an internal monologue but I also have aphantasia - meaning that my "mind's eye" is blind. I can't visualize images in my mind. I have no visual imagery whatsoever. There's a short BBC article here that explains what it is. I've always had aphatansia, and I cannot visualize images in my mind whether I'm awake or dreaming (unlike others). Like @Talon Brown, I feel like my internal monologue helps to make up for this gap, since I can conceptualize things with my words instead of with images.
  6. I'm looking into renting a skybox or home for the first time. Specifically I have been looking at multi-scene, furnished skyboxes in the hopes that a narrower category will make the search easier, but even then, I am somewhat overwhelmed by all the options out there. As the title suggests, what kind of advice do you have for a first-time renter? Are there any major red-flags one should look for while in the hunt, and how can one tell that a rental business is reliable? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
  7. If that's the case, I don't know if they understand the younger crowd at all. The picture might be attractive to someone who likes fantasy, maybe someone who wants to try a new MMO. But as discussed earlier, it's not possible on SL to get that kind of look, and fantasy/sci-fi communities are only a smaller part of the larger SL. There are also a plethora of options for younger people who are interested in that, like actual MMOs, high fantasy video games, etc. which offer the gameplay, graphics, and lore aspects that younger people who like fantasy/MMO may be expecting. If I were LL and I were trying to gun for signups from younger people, I'd actually be trying to target fans of The Sims or IMVU who are looking for something more expansive and adult than what they're currently playing. There's definitely overlap between activities in those games and SL in areas like community/family RP, shopping, creation, photography/machinima, and interior design. Anecdotally, you can see the interest in SL in the comment sections of YouTuber Carmen King, who made content for The Sims (among other games) before she tried SL. How many of those people have actually tried SL and stayed with it for a long period of time is unclear. She's mentioned in her videos that a lot of people come to her or her Discord asking for help in SL because it's really difficult to pick up as a newbie, which is, I feel the biggest obstacle to the onboarding process. Sign-ups don't really matter if those people aren't sticking around in SL (and perhaps buying Linden along the way).
  8. If your avatar can enter a skilled gaming region, there are some decent L$ making opportunities to be had there. From what I've seen, many of the gaming regions offer at least a few freeplay machines, where you don't need to pay anything to play. You might need to join a free group or pay L$1 (which will then be refunded back to you). However, I have seen at least a couple of machines where you can play without putting in anything at all. It takes time and patience, and of course luck as well, but it is possible to make enough L$ to spend on dollarbies and the like this way. It can also be fun to work out the best strategies to increase your score, as the machines won't pay out unless you meet a certain score. The higher the score, the higher the promised payout will be. Some regions also have bonus L$ opportunities - for example, a money giver that randomly gives out a small amount of L$ to people who are currently in the region, or a leaderboard where the people with the highest scores in a game can get an extra L$ prize. Once someone has won on the freeplay machines where they don't need to put anything in, they could then play the freeway machines that do the L$1 refund as there seem to be more of those around. EDIT: Looking into the requirements for skilled gaming, it might not be the most accessible option for newbies unless they are willing to have active payment method and current billing information on file. I don't know if it's possible for someone to give this information to SL and to not spend real life $$ in the process, so your mileage may vary with this strategy.
  9. My strategy is: I'll respond to their messages and make small talk, but I won't push to instigate the conversation any further I'll respond to their messages and make small talk, but I won't push to instigate the conversation any further if I don't feel like we're clicking or I just don't want to continue the conversation any further for whatever reason. Most conversations, I find, fizzle out pretty quickly after that. Sometimes, I do run into people who are more pushy about wanting to establish a friendship or getting something out of me - maybe an adult favour, some Lindens, a TP request, and the like. Many people in this category will begin the conversation with a compliment and an ulterior motive in mind. In those cases, I'll be more blunt in turning them down. Most people get the hint after that, though some can be a bit nasty about not understanding why I don't cam, voice, accept friend requests from random strangers, or engage in romantic relationships on SL. I have met wonderful people through random IMs, but I'll be the first to admit that talking with other people isn't the main reason why I joined SL nor is it the main motivator me to log in.
  10. There's been quite a few about The Office Ladies podcast mentioning SL, relative to the amount of articles SL tends to get normally. It's probably more because of the popularity of the Office and this podcast than people's interest in SL. I've also seen some exploring SL in 2020/2021 to see how active the site is today - this site is going to do an exploration of SL in their "Preserving Virtual Worlds" series. The SL episode isn't out yet, but it's supposed to be about exploring "the limits of virtual spaces as Utopian". (The YouTube channel People Make Games also did an exploration of SL on their channel, specifically looking at sex work in The Monarchy, but they're not really a news channel).
  11. The traditional diet of my cultural heritage isn't particularly vegan - lots of use of meat and seafood. The meat alternatives that exist in commercial supermarkets (eg. Beyond Meat) wouldn't replace a lot of those items either; they are more suitable for a typical Canadian or American diet than for other 'ethnic' foods. As a result, the dishes of my culture would have to be heavily modified to match a vegan diet, and I'm not prepared to do that. I think a better option would be to consider where your food is being sourced from - it may be worse for the environment to source products imported from abroad rather than local items. Buying local is not always possible depending on where you live and what foods you're looking for (especially for some ethnic foods), but I think it may be a more viable step for people to take than to change their diet towards vegetarianism or veganism.
  12. It doesn't come across that way, no worries! It makes sense that FS doesn't offer Linden rewards. Honestly, I don't think it's too big of a deal because the Linden rewards are only available to spend on the LL island and the FS island has a number of nice freebies available, but I would be curious to know why some newbies are dropped on FS's new user island and others on the LL island. Is it just a matter of 'spreading out the newbie load' among different places so the islands don't get overwhelmed?
  13. 1. Fashion - clothing, shoes, hair, skins, makeup, and the like. 2. Group join fees... to get access to fashion group gifts. I don't have much interest in owning or renting in SL, at least for now, so I don't have to worry about paying any rent or tier. Overall though, I'm not a huge spender. I find that I'm pretty picky about the quality of items and the way that they sit on the body. I also try to purchase unique items for my wardrobe, yet things that I can see myself wearing multiple times, and there are a lot of items with similar looks/designs out there.
  14. On the topic of newbie islands: When I joined SL back in October, I was dropped at Firestorm's new user island to learn basic movement and camming controls (despite using the Second Life viewer at the time), not the Learning Island. That particular island does not offer any Linden rewards for going through the tutorial, though there are some freebie items available in the social island part of the tutorial. In terms of marketing towards younger generations - like millennial or older GenZ, I think this is a worthwhile demographic for SL to target to grow their population into the futureand to generate more income too). I've been watching a lot of SL YouTube videos lately, and it seems that some of the most popular creators like Carmen King and Meela Vanderbuilt are all part of that younger demographic. Meela does only SL videos as far as I can tell, but Carmen also features IMVU, the Sims, and Grand Theft Auto, and other games on her channel. On Carmen's videos in particular, I've seen a lot of users say in the comments that they were attracted to SL because of her videos, but couldn't/didn't really get into it because they found it too difficult to navigate as a newbie. Or, they thought it was too expensive for new players. At least with IMVU, you get free credits when you sign up. With the Sims, you have to purchase the base game and packs (which can get very expensive), but afterwards, you can download tons of custom clothing and other game mods for free. The SL page could use an update certainly, but I don't think that that's the only change required in SL's marketing for them to become more attractive to new players, especially younger ones. Easier to navigate UI, a better newbie onboarding process, taking advantage of YouTube and social media, giving players easy access to quality freebies/a small amount of free L$ they can use to play with before they decide if SL is for them, are all suggestions that I have - along with improving the SL website.
  15. In terms of its appeal to the younger generation, it does seem that Second Life and other virtual worlds are a relic of the past. In my short time on SL, I have always thought of the user base as being a bit older than the other gaming communities that I am part of - which is not a bad thing at all, but it could become a problem in the future if SL sticks around in terms of attracting new users. IMVU is the only virtual world I can think of that seems to have a larger cohort of young people playing it, and even IMVU isn't really considered 'in' anymore. SL and virtual worlds in general can't have a future if it can't continually attract new players. If you consider MMOs and MMORPGs as virtual worlds, I think the future of virtual worlds brightens up given that there are plenty of people still interested in games like World of Warcraft or The Elder Scrolls Online, which still attract millions of users, but I think those are a different 'category' of virtual worlds because they are games in a more traditional sense whereas many people in SL do not consider SL to be a game. There are a wealth of games, outside of MMOs and MMORPGS, out there which enable people to play as different identities, that allow people to explore worlds in part built by other's creativity, and which enable people to socialize and exchange ideas. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which was huge this summer (selling 26 million units as of September, second-best selling game of all time in Japan, best selling game of 2020) is only one example of a game with a vibrant community wth many younger players which does all of those things. Fortnite (350+ million plus players) arguably also has the same features because of the character customization it offers and with sandbox features in Fortnite Creative. Whether a lack of interest in SL or other virtual worlds like it is due to marketing, the interests of people in my generation, and/or preferences regarding graphic and gameplay, I'm not sure. I think it is in part to SL being limited to computers only whereas many popular platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite allow play on consoles and/or mobile as well, which is where I think gaming is moving towards.
  16. The IMs I get from people tend to fall into two categories: 1) A simple "hi, how are you?". Usually, we'll have a friendly conversation for a few minutes before it fizzles out. I like it when the conversation will turn more towards our interests, even if our conversation doesn't last beyond the day, but that doesn't happen that often. Every now and then, I get friend requests out of the blue without going very far into the conversation - sometimes right after the first hello! I suppose that is quite an efficient way of filling up your friend's list, but not a great way to make real friends. 2) A solicitation of some type. Either a flirtatious message or something of a more overtly sexual nature, even when we are not in M or A sims and even if my avatar is not wearing anything (that I think) is particularly revealing. Honestly, these kinds of solicitations make me a bit uncomfortable. When I first entered SL, I tried visiting A sims and even partaking in some of the activities myself, but I soon realized that it wasn't really for me. The good thing is that people usually back off once they see your disinterest, but I don't really see these solicitations as a way of building platonic friendships, which is more so what I'm interested in. Another barrier to making friendships on SL is that I get the sense that a lot of users are in older generations, middle-aged and above. I enjoy meeting people of different generations and I believe that it is possible to foster meaningful friendships across generations, but honestly, it would also be nice to chat with people who know some of the same cultural touchpoints that I do.
  17. I got 5 transactions of L$20 each over the course of about 20 minutes from this one avatar. Never talked to the avatar, never did anything that would warrant me getting tips. I was just standing idly in an adult sandbox, organizing my inventory and trying some things on. What I want to know is, why not send the L$ in a lump sum instead of multiple transactions? Isn't it more work this way? Also, I once got a notecard with a title like "WILL YOU MARRY ME" at the Firestorm Social Island. I guess I'm flattered by the proposal, but I had never talked to this person either and had literally just TP'ed in when I got the card. Never read the notecard, I think the title said it all! The avatar was about 5 days old. Not sure why they felt the urge to send this to me in a notecard rather than just IM'ing me, but I suppose that takes the suspense out of it?
  18. I have the 3.4, so that explains the neck fix not being included in my version! I just updated to the 3.5 and the neck fix fixes the physical gapping. Thank you so much! There is unfortunately a seam at the neck, which I think is a bit more pronounced than it usually would because of the neck fix, but it's much more manageable than a gap.
  19. Thank you so much! I will pop in world to grab the neck fix and see if that solves anything. I was thinking, like @Chic Aeon, that it was perhaps an incompatibility between the Kalhene body and the Lelutka head but I'm glad to hear that Kalhene has addressed that. Fingers crossed! I'll update the first post with more info if it does/does not work.
  20. I have attached a photo to this post showing the physical gap between my head and body - I'm not sure how to fix this (if it even can be fixed), so any advice you have would be much appreciated! For reference, I am wearing the new Lelutka Lilly head (the one given for free at the moment) paired with the Kalhene Anya body. I am using a BOM skin from 7 Deadly Skins as well. The shape is the default given with the Lilly Head. If it matters at all, I am in the Firestorm Viewer. Kalhene has similar proportions as the Maitreya Lara, but it does not have a neck fix option, and neither does the Lelutka head, so I am not able to change anything related to the neck there. I've tried going to edit my shape to add more body fat, add more body thickness, and also change the length and thickness of my neck, but so far, I have not been able to fix the neck using any of these methods. I have not had a problem with a physical neck gap with the Logo or Genus heads that I've worn before, so I'm not quite sure what the problem with this specific head is. I really like the head and would love to wear it without a choker or something to cover up the gap! UPDATE Thank you to RowanMinx! The issue was that I had not updated my Kalhene body to the newest version, 3.5, which comes with a Lelutka head fix. Adding that fix closes up the physical gapping. Though there is still a seam, that definitely beats having a gap! I was on 3.4, so if anyone else stumbles across this thread and has the same problem, try updating to 3.5.
  21. With my testing so far, it seems that most Maitreya clothes work. Definitely, it's much better than with the Ruth bodies! Though, sometimes I have to use the included alpha to make clothes (particularly very slim fit ones) fit better. I'm unsure as to whether those clothes would even fit on Maitreya given that I've never had that body. 99%, I think may be a bit of an overstatement, but I'll be able to give you a better answer once I play with it more.
  22. Regarding mesh bodies, Kalhene is running a sale on their bodies from November 26 to November 30. The discount is 40% off to 45% off, depending on what bodies you're looking at. Just picked up the Anya body for $999, down from $1795! This is their MP link (with sale prices activated).
  23. Over the course of 20 minutes, someone in SL sent me 5 transactions of L$20 each, totalling L$100. I had never interacted with this person before (and actually they never told me why the money was sent), nor was I doing anything that would warrant being paid (like dancing or escorting). Nor could the person have mistakenly paid me as I was not standing by something for sale. I saw another post in the forum from a Linden recommending I AR the person sending the money - which I did. I included info about the times at which the money was sent, and it should also be visible in my transaction log. In the meantime, while I wait for the report, is it safe to be spending my L$ or do I need to wait until all is resolved? I have more than L$100 in my account so if I spent, I would not technically be eating into the L$ 100 sent. As much as I like the random money, I guess I'm just a bit paranoid about why it was sent.... It's not a large amount of L$ obviously so I suppose it's not the biggest deal, but if it's stolen/fraudulent, stolen L$ is still stolen L$.
  24. I'm still rather new to SL, I've only been here for around a month, but I personally don't think that you need to spend much money to get a decent avatar. I am using a free Ruth 3.5 mesh body that I picked up from a store in-world, but I believe it is sold on Marketplace as well. It fits most Maitreya clothing. I am strongly considering purchasing the Kalhene Anya, which includes a head + body (including hands, feet, skin, nails, and other add-ons) for $1795 on marketplace, which also fits most Maitreya clothing. My skins were either $1L or $0 L. Pink Fuel and 7 Deadly s[K]ins both have free skins if you are under 30 days, and 7 Deadly s[K]ins has midnight mania/lucky boards you can enter into as well. FabFree has a great list of newbie gifts. I paid $0 for my GENUS Strong Head (which I believe is still free if you join their group) and $1L for the LOGO head mentioned earlier. This is a resource for free hair. Sintiklia and NYNE in particular have a lot of hair to choose from for free, and I think they're fairly high quality. I really enjoy freebie hunting and seeing how far I can stretch my lindens. FabFree and Ryan Schutlz's blogs are both excellent resources for freebies. The group for TeleportHub is $10L but gives you access to a number of group gifts. I also have fun hunting, which can be quite inexpensive as well depending on the cost of each hunt. Going through freebies does require a bit of a discerning eye as obviously, quality can vary, but I believe it's possible to build high quality avatars using freebie or near-freebie items.
  25. The campaign for the 45th president of the United States legitimately hosted a press conference at a landscaping store by an adult book shop and crematorium. They seriously couldn't get a better location!? Silver lining is the hilarious tweets coming out of this whole debacle, like the one above.
×
×
  • Create New...