Jump to content

Bitsy Buccaneer

Resident
  • Posts

    1,898
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Bitsy Buccaneer

  1. If they are copy and came in some sort of a box that you had to either Open or was scripted to open on rez or when attached, then that box will serve as a back up and you can safely delete the versions which went into your inventory. Don't delete the box though.

    Anything that isn't copy won't be in that original box though. Just something to keep an eye on when you're opening boxes.

    If you received a folder of stuff (rather than a single box/package), then the safest course is to rez a prim and put all of the bits and pieces into it. The ones you don't want now, the ones you do. Then you will have a backup in case of mishap, like a script malfunctioning, or when you do something different with your main body. Label it with something that will give you a heads up. I append the phrase "BOXED UP" for mine because it's unique. When I see the phrase in my inventory, I know that particular box is my archive copy and probably has my only copies of its contents. The consistent wording also makes it easier to search for things.

    After you've made your own backup box, you can safely delete the bits you're not currently using. If you want to further reduce your inventory count, those backup boxes can go into a master back up box.

    Don't trash them. Things WILL change, especially with mesh bodies and how rapidly that whole area is changing.

  2. If you haven't already - Get yourself onto the beta grid, take the mesh upload tests for both the beta and main grids and get payment into on file. Search the archives for info on what you need to do for that.

    Beta grid because SL mesh requires MUCH experimentation, trial and error and having to pay for each attempt tends to lead to saying 'good enough' too early. Beta grid is free.

    Understanding 3d software is one thing, understanding what SL needs from mesh in order to behave (as much as SL ever behaves) is something else entirely. So export as dae (rather than obj) and try uploading on the beta grid. Then come back to the Mesh section of the Creation forum (rather than General Discussion in the People forum) and start asking specific questions about the problems you're having. Or do an archive search, lots of great info already there from some very knowledgeable and skilled teachers.

  3. I've seen my relationship with my avatar change over the years, including today while I was working on the face of my new building alt, who has turned into my 'reminding myself how to play again' project. :matte-motes-smile: Would be happy to talk about this with you and do my best to answer your questions.

    SL isn't a site, btw. It's a complex, chaotic, malfunctioning, crazy-making, multi-faceted, amazing world, and something slightly different to every one of us that uses it. That's the kind of thing you need to understand if you're going to represent it accurately in your study. Good luck. :matte-motes-smile:


  4. DolceChic wrote:

    The best things in SL are def. not free


    I'd rate friendships as the best things in SL. They're not free in that they need care and effort, but they don't have to cost even a single linden. :matte-motes-smile:

    Since you talk about 'staying on trend', I gather you're into the whole fashion thing. Have you looked into blogging? It tends to be more payment in kind (you get to keep the blogger packs) than monetary, but you would be getting a creator's latest items.

    At least one of the big hunt organisers has a set up for bloggers, which might be a way to get a start without needing to invest many lindens. Learning the ropes and establishing a portfolio of work to show creators will go a long way towards helping you be selected.

    In-store models and greeters are other options with payment in kind and sometimes lindens (I've seen L$200-500 per shift advertised). A good greeter enjoys helping others find the perfect things, would that qualify as fun for you?

    I'm sure any trendy fashionista still has to buy plenty, so these are thoughts on how to reduce some of the costs. Good luck.

     

  5. Hate to be the one to break it to the fashionista set, but some of us aren't paying much attention to your outfits regardless of what complexity setting we're using.

    Except for the flying clothes and body parts scenarios. Those can be quite comical. :matte-motes-smile:

    Though that brings up another matter. The easier your outfit is to rez, the more likely it is to show up to the rest of us as you intend - regardless of what complexity setting we're using. So if you just have to be seen, give SL less to get glitchy over. The complexity number is an approximation of that.

  6. Surely local textures will be sufficient for tattoos? Or is there something I'm missing?

    I love the beta grid cause it's quiet and most of my work has at least some original mesh these days, but tattoos are textures and therefore Local Textures is all that's needed.Since Rolig's written up something for the wiki, may as well let her tell you: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Rolig_Loon/Local_Textures

    Some things to remember with local textures:

    DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE PERMANENT TEXTURE on your item when you're done. Otherwise it will show up grey to others.

    Any changes made to the saved version on your hard drive will show up almost immediately inworld

    DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE PERMANENT TEXTURE on your item when you're done.

    Others can't see local textures, only you, which means you can't get 2nd opinions and stuff. :matte-motes-dont-cry:

    DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE PERMANENT TEXTURE on your item when you're done. (It really is important and easily forgotten because it and the local will look the same.)

  7. nPose is a free alternative. Documentation isn't their strongest suit, but there's an inworld group and they have classes. You can pick up a copy of the current version at their inworld location or via Marketplace. It does a lot, if you can figure it out. I'm still trying to figure it out. :matte-motes-smile:

  8. If that's what the OP meant with those words, it went COMPLETELY over my head.

    This is being dwelt on largely because of the disagreement. En route to taking me to task, you and Amethyst both agreed in passing with the point I had hoped to make. If it had been left at that, we'd have moved on already.

    Every group I've run or participated in has had some sort of code of conduct agreed on at the beginning, like agreeing to confidentiality and keeping things within the group. I think there is room (and need IMO) for discussion about internet safety in a place where people are likely to talk about sensitive matters. If I were to be involved, should I not bring it up? I've had plenty of conversations about that kind of personal safety with cross dressers and trans women in SL. I want all of us to be safe. And all I'm suggesting is that participants be aware of these sorts of possibilities so they can find a good balance between caution and openness for themselves.

    Maybe drama is so rife that everyone will take the idea and turn it into a witch hunt. I hope not. But then when I see what's happened here and how quickly, perhaps I shouldn't be so optimistic. I had been thinking about what in my store I could contribute for decoration. Now I think I'm not likely to fit in and should best stay away.

  9. Why did I even bother? Sorry for just wanting to make sure this was taken into consideration and that people were as safe as possible in a virtual environment.

    That isn't discouragement. That isn't preventing anyone from seeking help and support. It was simply wanting to make sure those involved are careful and aware.

    Cause I have been in groups which have been infiltrated and it can get pretty messed up.

  10. I think Alwin has a point which deserves to be considered.

    There are certainly female avatars run by men who seem to be acting out some pretty unhealthy feelings about women. Everyone has to find the balance of caution and openness they're comfortable with, but it is important to keep in mind people can be quite different to the way they present themselves.

    This has nothing to do with feminist men, or trans women, or anything like that. It has to do with misogynists hiding behind female avs.

  11. IMO SL got it really wrong with the way they handle the notices. Cool Viewer does it via a small, unobtrusive icon in the menu bar that you can mouse over to get the info if you want. Just a better way to convey it I think. Would it be too much to hope it catches on?

    So, the nagging viewer messages aside, do you really need everyone to see what you're wearing? Keep in mind that they can still see you, even if it is the silhouette, and interact with you if they want. Or is it a desire to be polite? Or just avoid the viewer messages?

    My main and building alt are both low complexity (~30k most of the time) and I still run into people who have their settings lower than that. I trust that they have their reasons for it and carry on.

    Depending on what I'm doing, I'll often have mine down pretty low too and adjust to suit the situation. If I want to see someone in detail, it's easily enough done.

    95k is pretty average, no need to worry about that. If you socialise in busy settings though and want to be seen by more people, you might be able to find a compromise style of hair for those times. Up-dos and short styles tend to be more mesh friendly than the long flowing style you have in your forum icon. Jewellery can really eat arc too but it doesn't have to.

    Just find a balance that works for you. The beauty of the jelly doll thing is that we can each find our own and still hang out.

     

  12. Could it be that a lot of the chat has moved to groups? Even in the middle of the SL night, when it's always been tricky to find gatherings, there's often conversation in several groups I'm in. I don't remember groups being quite so active conversation-wise when I rezzed back in 2009 (or 08 maybe). Building groups, yes, but not so much with the non-building ones.

    But how is a noob to know? Could be I was just in the wrong groups for chat back then. I know some of the busier ones, like a very active MM board group, frowned on too much general conversation. Anyway, those who are finding SL a bit empty might try a group like SL Frees & Offers. Seems like there's always talk going on there and it's not always fashion-orientated. Anyway, that might be a place to start. Searching for groups is pretty useless though because there are so many dead ones. Signs posted on walls are better for currently active groups.

    And building. My SL social life finally sorted itself out after I got serious about creating. My friends are pretty much all either builders themselves or people I met through something related to my store or creating. That could be a door back into the good old days. Builders Brewery has an active group and Helping Haven has social events that I really need to get along to..... :matte-motes-smile:

    Just my suggestions. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of the people who are just standing around not talking in local have gotten caught up in a group or two.

  13. If you have a Mac with a nVidia graphics card, take a look at this thread - especially if you've upgraded to Sierra OS recently.

    https://community.secondlife.com/t5/Second-Life-Viewer/Anyone-tried-Apple-MacOS-Sierra-with-SL-Viewer-yet/td-p/3068974/highlight/true

    Short version: LL is still using graphics code that Apple stopped supporting several OSs ago and with a nVidia graphics card it crashes the GPU. Sometimes it crashes and reboots the computer as well. :matte-motes-confused:

  14. Since no one else has responded yet, I'll throw a few things out.

    If the bodies you want to create for are furry, ask in furry groups. They will know more about what's available.

    Creating original mesh for SL is far from straightforward. If you're new to making mesh, it might help to start with static items and simpler shapes rather than diving in at the deep end.

    SL clothing involves weighting and rigging. These aren't things I've taken on yet, but those who have say it's much easier if you have a creators kit for the specific body. This will be something you can import into your 3d software to help fine tune fit, weighting and rigging. Otherwise it will be even more trial and error than normal.

    So look into creators kits for the bodies you want to make for and build your skills with mesh in general. Good luck. :matte-motes-smile:


  15. Prokofy Neva wrote:

    I don't understand this gingerly approach, Bitsy.


    Because in every thread I've ever posted in relating to Penny's blog posts, at least one person has managed to use something I wrote as a way to go after Penny. This time it was you.

    So yes I'm wary.

    I would very much like the camera default to set differently. I would very much like a widespread shift to smaller avatars. My av is only as tall as she is because of friends who want to not look silly small next to other people they spend time with. Bitsy still only comes up to their armpits. It's a reluctant compromise on my part.

    Penny's recommended settings feel claustrophobic to me because of the way I use SL, not my avatar's size. I'm not a gamer and the computer games I have played have been wide, map based not quite overhead (3/4 maybe) type views. To some extent, that's how I navigate SL, though not as extreme as the default settings. Most importantly, I'm not particularly immersive about my SL. I don't disagree with Penny's point of view, just wanted to throw it out that things like a preference for immersion or not will influence how broadly useful they are.

    Bottom line, I want new default settings and frequently shared info about changing them which will 1) be widely useful and therefore widely accepted and 2) encourage trends towards building smaller and smaller av sizes. And I am most certainly a dedicated ctrl-click cammer, so now (presuming of course that you read this) you have heard from at least one of us who would like things changed.

    If you're going to riff off my post, would you please be kind enough to actually respond to it rather than misinterpreting it to suit your own agenda? I was hesitant entering into the thread because I'm tired of being used as a proxy by those who come in with an anti-Penny chip on their shoulders.

     

     

  16. SL got through the introduction of jelly dolls and complexity ratings intact, so I think people could probably manage a tweak to the default camera positions alright. :matte-motes-smile:

    Going from the current default to Penny's suggestions would be a big jump if it was done in one go, but something smaller would be less of a shock and probably more broadly useful.

    Presets would be nice as a way to communicate to visitors which settings a build was designed for, but the sliders are easy enough to use in general. Maybe a UI compromise could be including numbers in that part of preferences as well.

  17. You (or your friend) could also set up some sort of visual indication that part of the area is private and part is public. A line of trees or a fence would help distinguish the areas.

    Can't really blame visitors for not understanding what isn't communicated in some way. Just like it's not fair to blame them for walking through private gardens when a forced LP forces them to land a distance away from where they want to go. Even tricks like double click TP will just take them back to the LP.

    Glad you're getting this sorted. :matte-motes-smile:

  18. Let's see if I can figure out how to word this so it doesn't inadvertently cause any offense. I agree with Penny's earlier arguments about the default camera position leading to over-sized everything and the waste that causes. This is basically a thought I had while pulling my camera back out so I could appreciate and get around an outdoor sim. It's offered here as a possible addition to this discussion.

    The default camera position isn't necessarily bad for large outdoor areas. For all that our physical eyes are fixed, our mental camera position changes when we're outdoors vs indoors. (Or outdoors in a fairly closed in area like dense forest where we can't see far or indoors in something like a shopping mall.) If anyone can think of better wording than mental camera position, go for it. It's the best I've been able to think of this morning.

    We have to do this intentionally and artificially in SL via the camera position. Since it's automatic in RL, not everyone will think of it in SL though and people end up building their indoor spaces as if they were outdoor spaces, and that leads to all sorts of other problems. This way of describing it, building indoor spaces as if they were outdoor spaces, really works for me to sum up the situation so perhaps it might click for others too.

    ------------

    About the post in Penny's blog that Pamela linked to in this thread, it's a bit too claustrophobic for the way I move about in SL most of the time. Depends on what I'm doing and how immersive I want it to be. I don't mind using the sliders in Preferences to adjust and will do so frequently when I'm creating. Getting into the habit of thinking like that - what's best for this particular moment and setting? - gives me the benefits Penny is suggesting, but tailored to the different ways I use SL.

    I'm not disagreeing with this post of Penny's, just saying that there is room to broaden the conversation out so the basic message of ADJUST YOUR CAMERA POSITION works for more people. Cause (IMO at least) it needs to work broadly for it to be adopted widely enough to truly tackle the problem of over-sized builds and avs.

    Penny's suggested position for cinematic, immersive exploration and RP (and those used to 1st person games), something a bit further back for shopping or general use, maybe a bit further still for outdoors, whatever suits the situation.

  19. Agree with the others that it's bad practice on the part of the merchant if it is legit and concerned that it's a pretty dreadful scam if it isn't. There's something different about the language used vs something like an affiliate vendor which takes a commission on the sale. Those are tied to the sales vendor. This seems wide open, rather than being tied to an object like a top-up kiosk.

    Where did you get the card? From the store or from a random person?

    You might be able to find something out by seeing who the creator of the card and the last owner are. (Some TPVs show last owner; don't know about the official SL one.) If last owner is different from the store owner, contact her immediately to let her know someone is passing out fake gift cards to the store. (Or his, English grammar is a pain. :matte-motes-smile: )

    If it is a fake, you can both AR the last owner.

    Hopefully, it's just a store owner who thought it would be helpful and didn't think it all the way through, but this makes me more than wary.

  20. Apple changed the way they handle graphics several years ago (4 OS's) and LL refuses to adapt, so with every Mac update it gets more and more broken. You have a Radeon graphics card which is less of a problem. In everything you read on this, pay attention to what graphics card the person has. Like I have nVidia, which is beyond broken with Sierra and SL. :matte-motes-confused:

    I've always had lots of lag problems with Firestorm but other Mac users swear by it. Gavin Hird is the only TPV developer I've seen trying to help with the Sierra + SL problems, so his Kokua viewer is definitely one to try. If the problems persist, try changing some of the graphics settings (not just low - ultra, but some of the more techy ones). Maybe also try the open sim version of Kokua, though that might be more pertinent to the nVidia glitch.

    Cool Viewer and Kokua are the best for me these days.

    Have a read of this thread for some of Gavin's advice on things like turning off shadows and occlusion and see if any of it helps you. I'm not sure how much is relevant to Radeon and what is primarily the nVidia thing.

    https://community.secondlife.com/t5/Second-Life-Viewer/Anyone-tried-Apple-MacOS-Sierra-with-SL-Viewer-yet/td-p/3068974/highlight/true

    Good luck.

  21. Anything copiable you can go through to find the original item to box and store. How much would that help you? If you had an outfit with a storage box and links to a couple of no copy items? It would be a box to open and two folders to wear, essentially. Are there any no-copy items that you only want to keep in one outfit? They could safely go in the archive box too and then you won't accidentally delete them when you're clearing house.

    If there's lots of repetition, you could put several of these blast from the past outfits in one box and just write down which items go together in a notecard or on your computer. If it's on your computer, it won't cost any extra to add a photo of the outfit too. Also easier to search your hard drive than boxes within boxes.

    Just some ideas in hopes one helps you find solutions.

×
×
  • Create New...