Melita Magic

FireFox that's because Gimp is as good, or even PaintShop Pro, for making textures. Gimp is free, and PSP is under $100 new. You can get old copies for as little as $10 if you watch the bargain bins. Are the free programs for mesh creation as good as Maya is? I've drooled over a Maya level program for some time. Perspicacity and practicality (maybe pragmatism) stop(ped) me from buying Maya, among the reasons, I have no way to learn it. I tried buying Photoshop and can barely use that, either, so in a way, for some of us, investing isn't a good idea. In world tools and in world classes for the "peasants of SL" would go a long way to keeping people in game, I think. Otherwise the game's going more and more toward depending upon people with deep pockets. Unless, of course, what eventually happens is the price drops on all of this new content.

You've mentioned the Middle Ages or Renaissance a couple of times. I've been thinking a lot lately that in RL that's just where we all are. Feudalism. I guess SL reflects RL whether it wants to or not.

Yeah, I do have to wonder about the "change or die" gang. Everyone was told "learn sculpties or die" and step on prims -- and they went along with it. And...look where it got them now. Those who live by the sword...

It's not about making money for everyone. Also, not everyone learns these things easily. I have real trouble visualizing in the abstract, which 3d mesh making seems to require. I tried Blender and got a mess. Not a mesh. Lol. Put something in front of me and make me able to see it as it develops and it's much easier. With Blender I had to try to imagine what a line would look like in 3d without seeing it. Or maybe I was doing it wrong. That's the problem with learning on one's own. Learning through video tutorials are a step above text tutorials for me but not much more. In world classes are a step above that, but again, not much more. It seems a no brainer that most of us will not be able to compete, aesthetically or monetarily, with the professionally trained, degreed, content creators who will flood the SL market. But again, change in any world is inevitable.

I'm excited about the possibilities of mesh imports, creatively and aesthetically speaking. But, I also have much the same feeling as I had when in RL in the past I saw a train coming and knew it would pass me by. I knew Yahoo would be good to invest in and I knew Amazon would too but couldn't get anyone to believe me and didn't have any money to sink into them. I knew digital on demand tv would be the future 20 years ago. I'm always seeing trains coming and passing me by. Still, if I can't hop on board, I feel happy for those who can. Maybe it's a tragic flaw. I dunno.

It would be fantastic if there were some sort of (even rudimentary) in world mesh creation tool. Or a downloadable, free one, specific to SL. Such as The Sims' Body Shop (only much better, hopefully. That thing was never lit properly and some parts were impossible to zoom in on.) Actually Body Shop isn't a bad example, since some still had a huge advantage making new avatar meshes with other programs, and painting clothing and skins onto those; but those who couldn't afford, learn, or understand the more complex programs could still make some amazing things, with the rudimentary tools and ingenuity/imagination.

That's a good point - there will be little reason for brick and mortar shops in SL any more. For many of them, at least. People will presumably be able to open a website and sell their goods from there. The buyer will then import the mesh they bought into SL. Again, I'm assuming. I'm afraid it may be a bit like what happened to real life brick and mortar stores once the internet finally woke up to online merchandising. Still, change seems inevitable.

Ooh! I wanna be in on the open Beta. I wanna, I wanna.

If your antennae/red flags go up, pay attention. Slow down, back up, log off, whatever. If someone refuses to respect a boundary you set, see above. If someone insists that you prove yourself somehow to them, see above. The most proficient cons will always turn the tables, put the onus on you, make you earn their trust. Manipulative people will, at some point, insist. Pressure and guilt (peer pressure, 'what's wrong with you' guilt) are often used. Try setting boundaries. If the person isn't out to manipulate you, they won't care. None of the above will apply to the truly clever ('predator' or exploitative type.) Keep RL and SL (or anywhere online) separate - that's the surest way short of not logging online at all.

Yes, child avatars ARE allowed in 'mature sims' (which are now actually labeled by Linden Lab as "moderate sims.") Simply because the land is rated mature/moderate does not mean there is anything 'adult' going on there. It does not mean nudity is allowed. Child avatars are even technically allowed on *Adult* land according to Linden Lab rules, since the land rating *does not necessarily mean anything pornographic is happening on that parcel.* Child avatars being in proximity of 'adult' or 'pornographic' items, behavior, etc. THAT is against Linden Lab rules.