[Mesh Open Beta Begins on October 13th]

I can envision some of the high end SL fashion designers collaborating with a seasoned modeler to make a better avatar mesh they can design to..sort as an "exclusive".  Perhaps forming a collaborative or something like that.  Or the modeler might license their avatar UV. .  There are alot of defects in the default mesh that make texturing pretty irritating.  Plus the novelty of having an alternate, but still human, avatar with nicer hands and feet might be something the spending public would be really happy about.  These sort of changes offer alot of interesting new business possibilities and its really interesting to watch how creative people can be when new things are introduced to SL.  I remain giddy with excitement .

[Mesh Open Beta Begins on October 13th]

http://blog.machinimatrix.org/2010/09/15/meshes-i-a-preliminary-tutorial-about-meshes/

[Mesh Open Beta Begins on October 13th]

I, too, am insanely happy, even though my skills are basic at best and it will take me a long time to catch up.  Rigging is a complete mystery to me at this moment so please excuse this question if reeks of naivity (sp?) but I use the SL model in Poser for animations, is it possible to extract the rigging from there?

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

There's no collada exporter for Zbrush (or mudbox).  I just tested the collada plug in for Modo and exported a collada mesh from Modo to Blender 2.49.2 and Blender 2.53 beta and back again.  Works.  Also there's a Collada exporter for Wings 3D, but I'm having a bit of a problem with it, perhaps I have an out of date version.

The prospect of mesh imports makes me giddy.

Signed -

Positive Nancy

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

Hmmm this page keeps refreshing itself so I either posted the same sentance 7 times or not at all.

We end in agreement..I also would hate to see SL go.

I think the mesh import will make little difference to an already flooded market, and instead may re-engage people who are tired of the current limited creation system.  Many people I've talked to  are waiting eagerly for the option and are not participating much in SL at this point.  This may bring them back.  And new unique things will be created and sold.  After all, even if people import meshes they don't make themselves, they are still in business..selling and paying rent.  Really the vast majority of people I meet have no intention of ever building anything and have no skills at all for finding free content and uploading it. THEY are your customers.  That remains unchanged.  And also don't underestimate the amount of effort, time. organization and business savvy it takes to run a business that lasts in SL.  It may come easily to you, but most people don't have it in them to do it successfully.  Now time to get some sleep.  Take care.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

The problem with your model Vivienne is that in time, and the time perhaps has come, Second LIfe will be super saturated with stuff.  Free stuff that has been donated, or stolen, or given away by people who no longer play in SL.  These stuff never wears out, it barely goes out of fashion (judging from what I see).  It's FOREVER and there's little more that needs to be added, unless its particularly innovative. In the realworld we would be buying a new couch every time the dog chews it up or pees on it, here it remains pristine. Forever.  So the heady and lucrative days of commerical creation are over, in my estimation.

And I have invested time and money in Second Life while it was entertaining.  I'm not interested in joining another virtual world and spending more time starting from scratch and learning my way around and leaving behind all the stuff I paid for. And I don't happen to feel the fees charged by LL are unreasonable. THIS is where I want to bring in my 3D creations and amuse myself and share a laugh with an onlooker or two.

Clearly you have your own self-interest in mind when you say that commerce and playing the merchant are THE essential part of SL.  I don't remember reading that in any Mission Statement..but I'll check on that.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

Hmm. so there has been 15 years of mesh creation...what does that say about the movie industry.  Should we close down the film schools..are we decades too late?  Hold on while I toss my camera into the trash.

Just because its been done before doesn't mean there aren't a ton of people who want to experience it for themselves. Its self expression.  The uniqueness of assembly and texturing. This is recreation, yes people paint, sing, dance, etc. very badly as hobbists and beginners, but we don't all have to do it perfectly. Its ENTERTAINMENT which is sorely lacking in SL these days.

And every sculpty shape that could be made has already BEEN made and put up for sale. They are also 3d mesh objects.   SL has already been flooded with free and stolen cr*p.  It too late to worry about that and any mesh imports won't make a dent.  I'm guessing the economy has leveled off to a point where its not worth anyone's effort to set up a shop of stolen goods,  there's no big money to be made, I'm guessing.  And that's a good thing.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

Or they will re-invent themselves and find a new inventive way to make their tier.

Or, like so many others (and myself much of the time in SL), they will be homeless and enjoy sightseeing, building in sandboxes, taking classes, listening to live entertainment (lets not forget the people who make money in entertainment who will be uneffected by meshes) and just hanging around in "coffee shops" and telehubs chatting with friends. Unlike real life they can still participate fully and be homeless without tragic results, except perhaps to the landlords.

As to Blender..I learned it.  Its not hard.  There are a million free tutorials on you tube and throughout the web that are excellent.  3d is an interesting hobby and Blender is free.  The newest Beta version is a complete overhaul and is much more inviting.  If people want to create they will adapt. If they don't want to create then they are not contributing to Second LIfe in a meaningful way.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

Ok then.  The rl business is a myth. I don't waste my time hunting down statistics about this.  But its not a closed system.  For people to make money to fulfill their tier they need to get it from people who spend it.  I think that the Lindens are better served by the people who bring the money in to buy things, to upload textures and to pay to be a member, like myself, then those who set up  shop to extract the money to for a free ride.

If I find the environment disagreeable because of the emphasis on whether changes in Linden policy effect the people who want to earn a free ride rather  then pay for the entertainment value of Second life like they do in real life - say by rending a movie or going to the theater,  then Second Life suffers.  If everyone was a shop owner and there were no customers..well fun!

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

I'm disinterested in making money in Second LIfe.  I think the people who made it while it was "hot" had a good run while it lasted.  I don't think that's sustainable.  And I'm bored by all the emphasis on making money in Second Life and the expectation that once people found a gimmick everything had to stay in suspended animation (that wasn't intentional )  to protect a segment of the population whose made a business out of this.  Its an odd thing.   And Second Life not EBay, its many many different things to different people.  For me, I'm not here to make money, although I'm not adverse to PAYING a talented artist if I see something that someone has made and wishes to exchange for lindens.  I have more artwork in RL then I have walls to hang them on.  It doesn't stop me from supporting artists. However all this emphasis on the rights of shopkeepers and landlords makes my skin crawl.  If you want to set up shop in the real world and deal with arbitrary zoning and the whims of the economy, that makes sense.  But you take your chances doing that on that in another persons for profit private company seems risky and a waste of time.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

""I might just start spending money again and rent a bigger place to store the stuff."

I really wonder why you want to "store" stuff for money. Isn´t your 3D software packed hard disk good enough for that?"

Actually I enjoy taking my stuff into an active 3d environment and interacting with it.  I can't do that with my hard drive.  I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "store" stuff for money.  That's a distortion of what I said, and unnecessarily facetious.  And my point is, if Second Life was more interesting to me (and it WOULD be with the new mesh import feature) I'd return to be a participant in the overall economy.  Although I enjoy making my own things, I will always spring for something I admire to support a particularly talented creator.

[Next Steps for Mesh Import]

As a person who used to enjoy Second Life, I've seen too many friends get bored and drift off to other virtual worlds and games.  I've spent a small fortune renting land and buying pixel stuffs.  I've also been a  paying member from the start since I feel its fair, I'm an adult and can afford it.

Now I spend a small fraction of the time I used to spend in Second Life and I just hang around in my linden home making things.  I'm not interested in pixel romance ,  I'm uncomfortable with teenagers being invited on the main grid (it was bad enought that they easily snuck in as it was..but at least it was a ban-able offence) and I don't have the energy to start the whole friend thing again.  The only thing that keeps me here is 1) my fabulous inventory that I can't bear to part with            and 2) I discovered I really, really, really enjoy making things.  Just for myself.  I have no interest in being a shop owner or a merchant, no matter how much people have told me I should.

So with no prior 3d experience and thanks to Second Life, over time I bought an old version of Poser for about 50 dollars, I learned a bit of Blender and Wings3D, bought a couple of fairly reasonably priced bits of 3D software, (Modo and Zb rush).  I'm no longer interested in sculpties, something limited to Second LIfe.  I want to work on real 3d meshes that have some meaning outside of Second Life and make full use of the software I purchased and LEARN some things that are useful for both my Second Life activities and other potential interest in 3D.  THAT interests me, not fulfilling someone's dream of being the ideal shopper/tenant.   So this news has reinvigorated my interest in SL.  And if I start seeing some new and interesting well made stuff that doesn't start out looking like a scary blob, I might just start spending money again and rent a bigger place to store the stuff.