Sparkely Sugar
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Posts posted by Sparkely Sugar
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7 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:
Then you didn't follow news or threads about NUX at all. LL themselves said about it not being a replacement for any existing bodies/heads on the market, but rather a stepping stone for the new users so they'd get used to bento, mesh bodies/heads and everything else classic avatars lack compared to the modern ones. And so the new users wouldn't start with just as terrible look as they do now, too.
Actually I have followed, and I believe this is short sighted and a huge mistake on LL's part. It has been my hope that they reconsider what they are making.
You do not need furniture, landscaping, furniture etc to get started in SL, You do need an av. Providing a quality av would encourage new users to stick around and learn about the world. No one wants to stay in a world where they look bad, and can not figure things out. This is about increasing user retention, providing a mesh body that is of good quality should be a basic thing provided when you start SL, access to a creator kits for a mesh body should be available to anyone who wants to try.
SL used a world where anyone was able to create, there was a lot of joy in creating things for yourself and friends. This was a huge part of SL and it has been lost along the way with learning curves getting steeper and the inaccessibility to developer kits. As it stands now you can not get a developer kit for personal use if you are not a store. Not everyone wants to have a store.
While I can understand that from the perspective of a mesh body brand, as a user of SL I think it is not acceptable to not have a body that is attractive and useable with the ability to create for it.
If Nux is going to be lower quality, less than and not have a developer kit, I see no point in it, it solves nothing.
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1 hour ago, norajulian said:
… but why?
The fact of the matter is that Slink was unable to keep up with the demands of the grid. It’s a sad truth, and I absolutely wish the designer the best in the future. However, simply hanging on to something just because it once made us happy is.. packrat syndrome. It’s the reason for spring cleaning. It made us happy once, yes, but others have swept in with replacement options.
it is not being a packrat when new users have no body at all
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Contracting the body from Siddean does not preclude the Nux body, it gives new people a good body right now, it keeps a developer kit available right now for people who want to learn.
We have no clue when this Nux body is coming, could be next month, 6 months, a year who knows. I really hope that they are developing a body that is as good or better then what is on the market. Anything less is short sighted, it needs to have a developer kit that is accessible to all. That is what should happen, but I am not holding my breath.
Every day LL loses new people who decide to give SL a try and give up in frustration. I personally have helped people who have come to SL spent a $100 thinking they where buying the right things only to find that none of it was right or really useable.
This is not about just being sad about Siddean closing, I am. We are losing more than that with her leaving. Anyone who has encountered the gatekeeping that exists with getting a developer kit for a current working body will understand. Is this body the perfect shape for everyone? No, nor does it need to be, people buy different bodies and heads to suit their changing tastes.
SL needs a current mesh body today, we need an accessible developer kit for it today. LL should have addressed the need for updating Ruth and giving us a mesh body years ago.
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Siddean has put an amazing amount of work into these bodies/ She was one of the original creators making mesh hands feet then bodies and has been an amazing resources to anyone wanting to learn how to mesh. When so many body creators will not give a kit, Siddean was so kind and allowed people the opportunity to get the kit and learn.
I understand that LL has been working on a body, but it is still not available, with no release date at this time. This is a great opportunity for LL, this is a current, optimized body that can be used right now. This would allow new people to get a current body, people who want to create a kit to work with and try and learn to make clothing.
One of the fundamental things that attracted me to LL was the ability to make clothing, to learn, and share my creations. This is one of the things I feel is sorely lacking these days in SL,it is so difficult to create with the learning curve, and even more difficult when you have no access to the developer kits.
LL don't miss this opportunity, see if some kind of deal can be worked out, this would be a benefit to everyone on the grid and to SL.
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An example of one of the Homesteads I have landscaped. Besure to let the video load
Region Developer - Sparkely Sugar-
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So today I went to a LL creator meeting, I had not been to one in years, and I must say it was really disappointing and frustrating. Firstly despite making multiple comments I felt that what I was asking for was unheard and unacknowledged. It is great that LL is looking at LOD and how to improve the user experience, we all would like that. However to simply say that we need to clamp down LOD views and this will fix the problem is not a solution in itself.
LL needs to provide clear, concise , easily understandable tutorials on how to optimize LODs, explain LOD imposters, and how to make you mesh beautiful without breaking the system. This information needs to come from an official source, it needs to be kept current and easy to find. It is inefficient to expect people to search high and low for this from other places that are not SL related. The answer is not to say well creators just need to do better. It is hard to do better when the basic information is not available. We should NOT have to count on other creators for this, it is wonderful that many do help and offer guidance when they can but this is a huge stumbling block.
At some point LL needs to take responsibility and not just say it is your world figure it out. Because people do and you may not always like the results. Help us do better so we can have a better more efficient world and still have beautiful things.
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I really loved creating this region, it has a magical feeling.
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Hi Annie you can see some of my work on Flickr and youtube.
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2 hours ago, EnchantrixLisa said:
But would you be allow to keep the 2048 parcel if you go back to the basic premium? And I agreed BP ppl should be allowed more tries.
I would have to go back and find it, but I believe to hold a PP 2048 parcel you have to remain PP, just having enough tier to cover 2048 would not allow you to keep it.
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Some great advice from this toddler. She is adorable too. Don't eat the people!
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50 minutes ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:
I can also see why you might object to it, too.
@Sylvia - Why might I object? People should get the service they pay for. If you're implying that I intend to over-utilize this concierge home service, I'm not. I have two victorian homes on my accounts with $500 tier since January 2020 - I don't intend to upgrade and lose that benefit for little more, unless my need for uploads increases drastically. I have no interest in any of these new themes - except for a Sakura that I randomly got last week. My favorites will always be the Victorians I have.
I do not enjoy moving from house to house, if I love my house, I am staying put. I do have friends who enjoy this tremendously, and that is great for them, I am happy for them and that they are enjoying SL, in the manner they choose to. I do enjoy landscaping and have been fortunate that many have hired me to do their LH as well as regions. I have no need for any more LH, unless it is a theme that I find interesting. All my homes, I have had for years.
All my homes, I have had for years, and do not intend to leave at this time, or in the foreseeable future.
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2 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:
I like the sentiment but I have my doubts that this would work with LL.
Why would you think so? I have gotten a refund in the past, and never had an issue. As long as it not frivolous and without merit, I have found them to be fair with this.
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4 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:
Yes, indeed, buyer beware. This could all have been foreseen and catered for in a clear fashion with a bit more though, especially considering how much gaming of Linden homes has already occurred.
If they change the terms, I am also entitled to a refund, for any remaining unused time. LL benefits from GoH, it may of been an unintended benefit initially but lets not pretend they don't. If you want to play Goh, it requires multiple accounts,, multiple accounts means more money to LL. I do not begrudge them a dime of that.
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1 minute ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:
If "what everyone else is doing" didn't affect others, it might be easier to ignore. I see Nika's point and think her question is valid. But I can also see why you might object to it, too.
How does it affect anyone else if I pay for PP to upload a million textures this month, If I join a 100 groups, get a house then go back to premium?
I paid for it. The only entity this would affect is LL, and their bottom line. I would venture to guess that they will benefit from it because, if you got the house you wanted, then you are more likely to keep paying PP or premium depending on if you need the other benefits. If you are over the limit on group you can no longer add till you get back under the limit, or go back to PP.
This has absolutely no affect on other people, everyone is free to choose what plan they want.
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7 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:
I view this as an exploit of Plus, and I think LL (perhaps @Dottie Linden ?) should clarify whether it is possible. If so, I think it should be JIRA'd as a bug. Certainly once 2048 parcels are available, it would be easy for them to insist that folks abandon their 2048 before downgrading to Premium from Plus. I think that it would be fairest if LL also tracked how each home was claimed, and required that any home claimed via Plus ticket be abandoned before downgrading.
Otherwise, you could go to Plus for 2 months shortly before a year of Premium expires, get your bonus, get a great home, and downgrade with very little spent. Of course Plus members who need to downgrade may be very sad to lose their home ... but otherwise I think many folks will use Plus this way.
That said, I think claiming homes via ticket is a nice feature, and I hope some of the people who have been saddened by not having the time or resources to play GOH successfully finally get the home of their dreams.
How is this an exploit, you paid the fee? All this talk about abuse, exploits is exhausting, if I pay a fee then I get the benefit period end of story. It is not like you can drop and not still have Premium if you want to keep the house, you still have to pay.
Yes you pay less then PP, but you used the benefit to get your house now you do not need it it or any of the other benefits, so you are free to go back to Premium, as long as you have the land allotment for it who cares.
If I know for example I will upload a lot of textures during the holidays, it might make sense to go PP for that period of time, I do not get the annual discount, I am simply paying a fee for that time period for unlimited textures, if I want all year, want it cheaper pay annually, that is why monthly is more expensive, you not locked in.
No one is forcing you to go to PP, premium or even use SL, use the program that suits you, and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.
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31 minutes ago, Sparkly Rainbow said:
The other thread was locked while I was trying to post - so I will try to put my thoughts here.
My biggest disappointment with the Plus membership is the way that the Stipend increase is being handled for us older accounts with grandfathered stipends. While other members are getting more than double the stipend for switching to Plus, I would end up getting about 30% increase and be paying more than twice a year than I am for my regular premium account. I can't work out how this would make financial sense in my situation.
If I was a creator that did a lot of uploading on a regular basis, then I could see it may be worth the increase. If I needed 140 groups ... maybe, but I have enough trouble keeping track of 70.
For me, I would be better off financially with another Premium Alt.
I feel this way also, disappointed, annoyed and aggravated. I am one of LL's biggest cheerleaders, and always telling people to get premium and support the platform. I have kept multiple premium accounts for 16 years, since they started the new LH's I have acquired several more non GF premium accounts as the new themes came on board. I have 0 need for any Linden houses, as I hold some prime mainland in Horizons, a 1/4 sim on a private estate and share another sim with a friend.
I love SL, and have loved the new LH, but it is unfair to give everyone else an increase of 350, and the GF accounts are not. It is a price increase, I was prepared to pay it, but this has aggravated me now. If I take a GF account and a non GF account and combine them I end with 650 L weekly instead of 800 I get for both, which cost me less, and I end up paying more annually for 1 account. If I was uploading $80 US a year in textures, then maybe, but atm there are no 2048 parcels, no discounts for mesh uploads, and I am not uploading enough to offset it.
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1 minute ago, Blush Diavolo said:
From the FAQ page:
My account receives grandfathered stipend with my regular Premium Membership. Will I get a larger stipend with Premium Plus?
No. The Premium Plus stipend is L$650 across the board. However, if you upgrade to a Premium Plus membership, should you choose to go back to a regular Premium Membership at any time, you will receive your Premium Membership stipend at the grandfathered rate again.
This is a really stupid decision. I was ready to kill an non GF alt, pay the extra cost on my GF account, which means I would be paying more annually to SL. for the 1 PP then two premiums. I would have to give up my LH on that account and end up losing 10,400 Lindens annually, on top of the additional cost.
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@PatchLinden Do we have an answer about what happens to people with Grandfathered stipends?
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People need to math better $249 divided by 12 is 20.75 not 25, not $30. It would not make sense to pay for this monthly, unless you don't plan to keep it
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31 minutes ago, Cinos Field said:
Mainland is specifically what I want so I don't get suffocated by the building codes on Belli. I'll take floating billboards and assorted crap over uniform faux-suburbia any day.
Some kind of balance between the two where you can build anything as long as it has some effort put into it would be ideal but alas, they probably don't have the time.
that exists now, you can buy land in Horizons where it is not as wild west as mainland, there are also other regions that have some restrictions but not as restrictive as Belli. I think we have a ton of options, you can go to a a Private luxury estate, you can go to Belli, you can do private island, homestead, mainland, or mainland with some restrictions. I would like to see a mid range island like Homestead plus with 8 or 10k allowance, and the ability for premium plus to do that as a stand alone.
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My conclusions atm about premium plus, speaking with creators in general they are loving it along with bloggers. Region owners are not happy and feel like they have been left out, average user response is mixed some feeling this is great, some are it is too expensive.
I think there needs to be an ala carte option where you can do add ons, or there needs to be a midrange package with Premium plus giving you all the options. I do feel that $199 annually would of been a more attractive option, that would gain more people picking it up then $249. perhaps LL might consider offering that as a first year special to get more people to adopt it.
I broke down the costs at @ $249 annually which is a cost of $20.75 a month, to see who this works for.
1 premium @ $99 annually with an additional 1024 of mainland total land 2048 $15.33 a month $184.00 annually offset by stipend of 15,600L =$62 USn Net Cost $122 US
1 premium Plus @$249 2048 included $20.75 a month Net Cost $125 US
If you currently have 2 premium accounts
2 premiums 2048 16.66 a month $200 annually Stipend offset $125 annually Net cost $75.00
Premium plus 2048 20.75 a month $249 annually Stipend offset $135 annually Net cost $114.00Cost increase is approx $40 - this could be offset by free uploads 83 uploads a month is equivalent to $40 a month, the added bonus of extra groups etc makes this attractive to creators, if they where using 2 premium account
If your not a premium member at all but rent a small parcel this could benefit those people, depending on what you pay per prim. In this scenario premium plus is a better deal then renting just land, since you get a house in a community
Renting just land from a Land company no Premium account
1 L per prim $751 per week $3,154 per month 39,052 L annually $156.38 US out of pocket
Saving of $42.38 if they got a LH instead
2 L per prim $1,502 per week $6,308 per month 78,104 L annually $312.75 US out of pocketSavings of 198.75
if they got a LH instead
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34 minutes ago, Drayke Newall said:
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On a side note and not specifically addressed to Qie, was there any mention if premium plus offers still an either or option of Linden Home or Mainland parcel?
If it is still either one or the other like regular premium, then this is a bad move. P+ would offer a far better package if you could have a Linden Home on 1024 as well as an additional 1024 mainland parcel (for say a shop) making up 2048m² of land allowance. This may be the case and someone may have answered it already.
you can use your 2048 for 1 linden home 1024 or 2048 when they become available, or split it between 1024 mainland, and 1 1024 Linden home, or allocate it all to mainland.
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Mainland does not cut it, people want pretty neighborhoods, a nice selection of homes. pretty place to live, without worrying the parcel they just bought will be surrounded by a club floating billboards and the other assorted crap, that you find on mainland.
People who play GoH will still play, they may have a combination of accounts depending on how desirable these 2048 parcels are, if they can afford 20 premium accounts they can certainly go premium plus and reduce some premiums. Goh is a game some people love it some hate it, ultimately it brings in more income to LL, so it would be a unwise move to block that on their part.
I know many people with only 1 account who hit it at the right time and get amazing homes, and others with multiple accounts who work hard to get what they want. If you want it badly enough then you play for more chances, to get what you want.
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LL should buy the Cinnamon and Chai bodies from Slink
in General Discussion Forum
Posted
Of course it can and it should be, it should be the standard the mesh body makers aspire to. LL making a good quality av is a basic item they should be providing the user base. LL is not a charity here to support people's businesses to the detriment of SL. First and foremost the most important thing to LL should be attracting new users, and user retention.If that means that body makers or any other content creator has to retool then that's what it means.
The advent of mesh on the grid put a lot of people our of business, when LL changed gaming policy it put a lot of people out of business. The Linden homes on Bellesaria created changes in the rental market, the upcoming changes with premium plus will cause more. SL used to have a thriving gaming community that was killed when gambling was restricted. SL used to have a thriving ballgown and Ballroom community which is now virtually non existent. I could quote many more examples of changes LL has made that changed businesses, some for the better some for the worse. You just need to look through SL history and see the changes.
The nature of SL business is change, adapt and progress, how many of you have flexi hair or shoes from stiletto moody in your inventory? Should we not have mesh bodies because her business died? How many of you have an old head from Lelutka that where static, not comparable to the head they make now?
Currently SL is still ahead in the "Metaverse" race but it wont be forever, there need to be real solutions and quickly or SL will die a slow and painful death. I personally do not want to see that happen. I do agree a solution so that new residents do not have to mix and match is the ideal, to say it should be substandard to what we currently have is not. That system is not here, and while one can hope its a couple of months away there is not guarantee of that. My suggestion was a quick fix for the interim.
Do you really think other companies trying to develop a Metaverse out there are thinking we should develop a substandard avatar to attract new users? What kind of business sense would that be?
We need to remember what where the things that made SL great what made you want to be here and to log in again and again. There are dozens of different answers to that question. My answer will not be your answer, nor should it be. SL is great because of the diversity, the immense level of creativity, talent and imagination that it allows. SL is not great when just trying to get in the door it is an act of frustration.