DanielRavenNest Noe

Please see the Wiki about 3ds Max mesh for how to set up the Units in Max. Metric meters or cm works fine on my items. To do a rigged model, you need to import a set of bones that is identical to the SL avatar one (same names and hierarchy). You can get a Max plugin that loads one ready made from Wiz Daxter The basic version is free, and one with more features is on the SL marketplace. You can delete the avatar model that comes with that plugin, you just need the bones. Make sure the bone set is about 1.8 meters tall in Max, so it comes out the right size in SL. Once you have your new model geometry and UV mapping done, it needs to be positioned relative to the bones which are in the T pose (arms out), then go to the Modify tab > Skin modifier and apply that to your model. In the Parameters rollout, click the [Add] button, and add all the avatar bones. Now you need to apply vertex weights to your model for the nearest bones so it will follow them. This is moderately complicated, so I suggest finding a general 3ds Max tutorial for whatever version you have for that. Save your Max file, then use Save As > Export > Autodesk Collada. If you are using Max 2012 there may be an issue about the Collada format the 2012 FBX exporter uses. In that case, export to FBX with the 2011 option set, then use the 2011 FBX Converter to change it to DAE file.

LilDj Zane wrote: idk if im enturuping but does any1 noe where i can get really good but cheap guns im low i only have 106L and i cant get my paypal on cuz i dnt get my paycheck till 2 weeks on friday plz help if u can TY SL Marketplace - Weapons Sort by price, low to high. Items start at 0L$, have fun :matte-motes-big-grin:

Are you using the latest Release Candidate viewer? Mesh RC 2.8.4 (237585) If yes, then it may be the enablement problem a lot of people seem to be having randomly, and a Linden will have to manually turn it on.

Updated the stone arch texture in my earlier post and replaced the photo

DarkSoul Nosferatu wrote: Ok, maybe not useless, but when is mesh supposed to come online officially? Seeing how viewer 1 and phoenix will not be able to see them properly. Tomorrow starting at 8 am, to the Magnum and LeTigre RC server regions. It's been on 100 or so regions since a week ago. Assuming no problems come up, gridwide as early as next week, but likely they will let it sit longer before going grid-wide. It's not just 1.xx based viewers that will not see Mesh. Older 2.x versions don't have the mesh code enabled either. Preferably you should get the most current 2.8.4 version (Cygwin = Windows version), since that the most recent fixes: Mesh Project Viewer 2.8.4

There are many video tutorials for every popular 3D program, and books for most of them. For 3ds Max, Autodesk has their own official tutorials on YouTube: Max Video Channel And a set of web tutorials you can read online or download: Max Tutorials The built-in help is actually quite good once you have some idea what things are called, so you can look them up. That is also available online, or as a download which you can read separate from the program: Max Help Page For just about anything, though, I can google my question, and *something* will usually pop right up, a web page tutorial, video, or forum answer.

StoneDwarf wrote: But what about US army weapons such as the M16? They are for sale on 3d model websites, which makes me believe I can sell them as well. But again, to take the mercedes example, there are many mecedes cars for sale as well, sold by people without having the *proper* rights. Am I missing something here, or? The M16 is the military designation for the Colt AR-15 rifle. Colt bought the manufacturing rights from the original designer, ArmaLite. Colt has a trademark on the name "AR-15" for their version, which is different from the version sold to the US Military. There are many versions and accessories for this rifle, which has been in use since 1959. I don't think the US military has intellectual property rights on the name "M16", it's just an identifier for the hardware. If you wanted to be sure, you could ask Colt about 3D models of their design, or see what game companies have done about using it or similar designs in combat games.

In a previous version (2.8.2) we could upload a skin weighted model without specifying the entire "joints-array". In this latest one we have to edit the list of bones to have all 26 again, even if your item does not use them all. This issue appears to come and go randomly with different viewer versions.

Experiment in making a stone arch, with ambient occlusion on the texture. Original model = 3700 triangles, physics shape = 20 triangles SL version = 8 PE at 8x4x2 meter size. [EDITED with better texture map and AO shading]

Baloo Uriza wrote: Or just rip it from your system's video RAM and map it to whatever format you want. The problem with DRM is that it assumes there's no analog hole. What Second Life does is not so much DRM as compiling the upload (which can start as 5 files) into an efficient format for storage and delivery to the viewer. There isn't much legitimate reason to rip a model from a graphics card. If the original creator wants you to have a copy, they can send the model to you directly.

On an ordinary prim, with the Edit window open, you have a "Select Face" button, which lets you choose which part to apply a texture and other settings to. For prims, the part of the prim covered by one "Face" texture is pre-defined. With a mesh, the part covered is whatever you choose when creating it. The "Select Face" button still works for meshes, and highlights your chosen area with the target circles, same as with prims. Since the Edit window has no way to specify which LOD level to apply things to, all the LOD levels need the same number of faces as the highest level. In your 3D program, that means having the same number of texture IDs for each LOD model, in the same order, and at least one triangle in each model assigned to each ID. Otherwise the parts covered can vary in the different levels.

From a 3D modeling perspective, "mesh" is the wrong terminology. The hierarchy of models goes like this: Vertex = a point with XYZ coordinates, and possibly other characteristics associated with it (normal direction, bone weight) Edge = line connecting two vertices (or vertexes if you don't like Latin) Triangle = shape consisting of 3 vertexes connected by 3 edges. It is the simplest shape which has an area which can be textured, and thus is the nearly universal component in 3D software and graphics cards. The latter have multiple "pipelines", each of which is designed apply part of a texture to a triangle, then color it according to light sources and other settings. That is called "shading", and the collection of settings and bit of software to apply them are called "shaders". The collected shaded triangles from all the pipelines are gathered into a "frame", which is then sent to your monitor. Polygon = shape consisting of 3 or more vertexes connected by the same number of edges. Triangles are the simplest polygon, followed by 4, 5, etc sided shapes. Polygons with more than 3 sides can be divided into component triangles. Mesh = collection of polygons which share vertices and edges forming a connected network. It resembles a fishing net, from which the term "network" is derived. Since "network" is more commonly used in computing to refer to a collection of connected computers, "mesh" is used instead in computer graphics to avoid confusion. Model = one or more meshes which are tracked as a single object by the 3D software. Scene = file containing one or more models/objects. Collada .dae files which we upload to Second Life contain scenes, and thus can have multiple models, which in turn can have multiple meshes for each. If your file has multiple models, they end up as separate inventory items once loaded into Second Life. Other terms include: Geometry = the collection of vertex locations and list of triangles they make up, which defines the shape of a model. Other properties (texture assignment, normal directions, bone weights) are in addition to the geometry. So "mesh" is not the correct term for what we handle in Second Life. We upload scene files, which contain some number of objects, which end up as inventory items. It is as incorrect to refer to those items as a mesh as it is to refer to a prim as a "side". Prims have some number of sides, and 3D model objects have some number of meshes, but they are not the same thing. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Linden Lab chose "Mesh" as the project name, and it's an uphill battle to change it at this point. Also note the "Mesh Project" includes increasing the maximum size of objects to 64m, and graphics improvements like projected lights. In other words, the package of software changes under the "Mesh" heading includes other features than just 3D model upload and display. And carissabelle is correct that "mesh" is also used as a description for type of fabric or fencing so there is a bit of confusion there to be sorted out.

The mesh asset format which is stored on the Second Life system, and then delivered to viewers, is different than the .dae file(s) which you upload. Currently there is no way to save it so others can use it externally. You would need to supply the original file, if you want them to have that, or PSD templates as you do now for the UV mapping so they can do custom textures.

I had argued previously for a simple to understand formula, such as 500 triangles = 1 prim, but that is not what we have.

That's called a "degenerate" polygon when it has zero width, or zero length edges. Try to avoid making those. To keep the material count the same across your levels of detail, put a spare polygon or two someplace hidden.

This is an attempt to turn Second Life into a game - one where score is kept by lowest prim count. Therefore prim count must be sufficiently complex to separate beginners from 10th level mesh mages. :matte-motes-grin:

Also make sure you are on your main account page. If you were on Aditi, the link from the mesh upload box to the quiz goes to a duplicate web page for your Aditi account. So if you want to test uploads on Aditi, as well as upload on the Main Grid, you have to take the quiz twice.

in 3ds Max, when you have Polygon subobject level selected in the Command Panel > Modify tab, you can set smoothing groups. Any group with adjacent polygons will have a single vertex normal when smoothed. Adjacent polygons with different smoothing groups will have more than one normal, so will render as a hard edge when lighted in SL. Since SL mesh objects are rendered as one-sided, you need to make sure the normals point "outwards" towards the side the camera will see it from. If the object will be seen from two sides, then you need to double the geometry and flip the normals on one of the sets. Flip triangles and unify normals are useful for getting them all pointing in the general direction you want.

It's not just a matter of draw distance, it is that they are catering to users with computers below their own minimum system requirements. This penalizes everyone else, who *could* handle more detailed objects at longer distances. The obvious solution for people doing large objects is to use sculpts for the visible shape, since that maintains a cost of 1 prim, and a low polygon mesh as the physics shape, but set invisible. That way you can walk on it, bump into it, etc.

York Jessop wrote: As such shouldn't the current upload costs remain as they are for a few months AFTER it has been 100% deployed so that we can all have a better understanding of how its going to pan out? No. Costs going up right now in beta only affects the few people participating in beta. Raising the cost after Mesh has gone grid-wide will affect many more people. The outcry and changes to people's plans is much smaller now. If they start higher and lower it later nobody will be unhappy for the change.

Sculpts have one texture map, mesh can have up to 8. @Yoki - what you see on your screen has always been "3D Models" (ie meshes). Prims are meshes too, just predefined simple ones. A custom mesh can be more efficient than a prim. For example, a box prim used as a wall has 12 to 108 triangles used to display it (depending on view distance) A mesh version can use 4 triangles. That's because a box prim always has all it's sides, whether you can see them or not. A mesh does not need parts you can't see. Badly made mesh objects can definitely cause lag, just like badly made prim and sculpt objects do, it's up to the designer to be efficient. The Linden Lab staff have heavily penalized complex mesh items in upload cost and "Prim Equivalents" (how many prims they count on a parcel). So designers have a strong incentive to be efficient. Actually, I think the penalties are so high very few people will use mesh objects except for avatar attachments, so Second Life will not change drastically, or very fast.

There are separate tutorials for Aditi and the Main grid, I had to do both in order to work both on the beta grid and main grid.

Looks like it was a temporary glitch, I was unable to see any of my logged in pages for a while, but now it's back.

The Collada .dae file you upload has some creator information at the top of the file, and you can add additional notes that will be ignored as far as affecting the model itself. What I don't know is if any of that creator information gets preserved in the Second Life asset once it is uploaded. If it is, you have built in proof of who uploaded the original and when it was first made.

Make sure you delete any .slm files in the folder where your Collada .dae is. Those are created by the Second Life mesh uploader to save your settings, but I think it preserves errors sometimes. If that is not the cause, I don't now what is. That *does* look like one vertex weighted to the wrong leg, I had a lot of that trying to weight my own mesh avatar, which is a tedious process if you want it to animate decently.