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Ricky Shaftoe

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Posts posted by Ricky Shaftoe

    Cascadeur help?

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    I'm trying to make a basic test still pose with Cascadeur, for import into Second Life. With the help of the Cascadeur Discord, I'm now able to rig the default SL model (from the Wiki) in Cascadeur. Discord told me to turn off rig/auto-pose, so the model stays in the T-pose after I rig it. I have to cut out a lot of unused joints to export using the free version of Cascadeur, but I was able to export the basic armature as an .FBX file to Blender, and from there as a .BVH file to SL.

    But when I upload to SL, my avatar immediately gets turned into a hideous monster, with distorted limbs and torso. I suspect I have not named the joints correctly. In fact, I had to rename the base joint to "hip" to get SL to recognize the animation at all. I'm not sure how to rename the rest of the joints. Would anyone know? This was never an issue in Poser. I've tried using Avastar's Avatar Workbench model as a basis, but I get the same distored upload when I try that.

    I'm willing to buy Cascadeur, as I think it's a great animation tool, but only if I can get a working prototype going. So for now, I'd like to test with the simple "classic" avatar, as that does have fewer than the 300-joint max for Cascadeur's free version.

    Can anyone help?

    How to Gyazo?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    I'm back in SL after a break, and everyone is suddenly using this Gyazo thing. I've signed up, but it's now asking me whether I want a Windows app or a Chrome extension. Which do I want for SL? Chrome is my default browser.

    Also, I'm curious -- why Gyazo and not, say, imgur?

    Finally: are there any downsides to Gyazo? Is it a security risk? I have crashed once or twice when following someone's link to a Gyazo image.

    Thanks!

    • Like 1

    Workflow Demo: Cascadeur 3D + Rokoko

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    @Aglaia I've tried and failed to export the Avatar Workbench mesh and rig into Cascadeur. I get the mesh and bones into Cascadeur okay, but when I use the rig wizard, invariably it converts it into an A-pose. I can't seem to rotate the shoulder joints to turn it back into a T-pose, nor do I see "dials" or other numbers that I could input to fix this. If I try using the thing I"ve rigged, when I upload in SL, I get a distorted avatar.

    I've asked for help at both the Avastar and Cascadeur discords; no luck. Any suggestions? I don't need anything fancy. I just want a simple mesh with a T-pose that is compatible with SL.

    Head-body mismatch?

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    I've managed to reduce the mismatch somewhat, thanks to some of the comments here. Thanks!

    This episode now has me looking at Lelutka heads to go with my Signature Geralt body. I posted a separate thread seeking advice on what skins to use with that combination of head and body. 

    Thanks again for the help!

    • Like 2

    Which skins for Lelutka head & Sig. Geralt body?

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I posted here recently about a mismatch between my Catwa head and my Signature Geralt body. I've fixed that to some extent, but I'm still thinking I might want to make the switch to a Lelutka EvoX head. If I do so, I gather I'd want an EVox "head skin" and EVox "body skin" from the same manufacturer, yes? Can anyone suggest a compatible skin manufacturer? I know the Geralt body is not as popular as Gianni (which I also own), but I prefer the Geralt.

    Head-body mismatch?

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I'm trying on a new head (demo Leluka Eon etc) and body (purchased a Belleza Jake), together with a demo head skin and body "applier" (skin?) from Not Found. I think I've chosen the same skin tone for the body and head skin from Not Found, plus a neck fade. The fade does work, but the head always looks a little darker than the body. Is this intentional? Am I misunderstanding something? 

    I've tried messing with the button next to the BOM button on the Belleza HUD, but it doesn't seem to solve this. It's all rather confusing!

    Thanks!

    New Trudeau One owner; mooring & other sailing questions

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Aethelwine said:

     You will also notice parcels in the North East corner of each of the Blake Sea regions. You can rezz your boat there to continue your journey. ...

    But, rezzing a fresh boat however is a good idea after a while sailing, so I would generally let autoreturn do its job and rezz a fresh one even if I was in the land group at the destination. 

    Oh, I did not know about the NE corner of each Blake Sea region. I'll look for that. If I can re-rez, then yeah, getting a fresh boat seems like a good idea anyway. Thanks.

    4 hours ago, Ian Mercury said:

    After the topic about the Trudeau One I sailed her again.
    More than ten years old and a Golden Oldie now !

    I think it's a beautiful boat! Loved your screenshot. Nice spinnaker. :)

    4 hours ago, pizza7 said:

    you can get a hud that shows rezzable zones , if any in the sim.

    btw you cannot capsize .

    Oh cool, maybe I'll look for that HUD. And good to know I can't capsize, lol. Thanks.

    New Trudeau One owner; mooring & other sailing questions

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Hi all,

    After a long haitus, I've gotten back into sailing in SL. I sail in RL, and I used to sail a Tako (?) or some such in SL. Now I have a new Trudeau One. Loving it, and haven't capsized yet, but have some questions:

    1. I don't seem to understand how to moor and pack up my boat. When I moor, the sails furl, and the boat becomes a non-physical object -- and usually is immediately sent to my Lost & Found. Maybe I need to more somewhere else?

    2. Once this happens, I find I'm unable to re-rez the boat. I gather there are only a limited number of rez points. This often ruins a trip -- I'll sail across a bunch of sims, hop out to check out an island, and boom, I have to go back to where I started. Today I started at the Nantucket Yacht Club, sailed a long way, stopped at an interesting island with people fishing, and then had to TP back to where I started.

    3. What do the black and white needles on the HUD mean? I'm pretty sure black means boat speed in knots; what's the white arrow mean?

    4.. The little black triangle means wind direction, yes? I find it easier to use that than to try to look up at the top of the mast.

    5. What do the numbers on the simpler info HUD mean? One seems to be boat speed, and one depth, but I'm not sure about the others.

    6. I dimly recall racing at the Nantucket Yacht Club, but I can't remember how to "see" the race course. Is there a guide to racing somewhere?

    Thanks! 

    Desktop (not laptop) recommended specs, with focus on stability?

    in General Second Life Tech Discussion

    Posted

    41 minutes ago, Henri Beauchamp said:

    Yes, you can, but reciprocity is enforced... I explained how it works in my viewer in this forum post.

    That post was helpful, thanks. Reciprocity makes sense to me. So if I don't want to see others' crosshairs, and I don't want them ever to see mine, is it enough just to disable both lookat checkboxes in the Advanced menu?  (I think by default they are disabled, yes?) I just don't ever want anyone to see where I'm looking, and I'm not interested in seeing where others are looking either -- I find it distracting.

    45 minutes ago, Henri Beauchamp said:

    It's a v1 viewer: it does not need the v2 ”Outfits” folder (but may still use it if present). Any folder can be an outfit (and you are free to place your outfits in any folder fancying you; e.g. I use an ”Avatars” folder at the root of the inventory, where I place all my avatar forms/outfits in sub-folders): either right click on the folder and use ”Replace outfit” in the context menu, or drag the folder onto your avatar.

    So when I click "replace outfit," the viewer will add the items in the chosen folder -- and remove only clothing and attachments that I"m wearing? It won't change my mesh body or head or shape or skin? Also, if I move stuff into new "outfits" folders, will that mess up my "outfits" if I choose to return to Firestorm later? Finally, I noticed some of my clothes are in italics in the viewer. Does that mean they're part of a V2 outfit? 

    Finally, thanks for the frame-limiting feature. I'll definitely try that. Your viewer is very sleek! Well done.

    Desktop (not laptop) recommended specs, with focus on stability?

    in General Second Life Tech Discussion

    Posted

     

    5 hours ago, Kathrine Jansma said:

    With Henri's Cool VL Viewer i tend to crash only for three reasons ...

     

    7 hours ago, Henri Beauchamp said:

    For SL, you do not need such a powerful video card, and 8GB of VRAM would be enough for modern SLing...

    Also, I would recommend at least 32GB of RAM (when pushed to its limits, with 256 or 512m draw distances and in textures/meshes heavy places, the viewer alone can easily gobble up to 24GB or RAM), with 64GB as a very comfortable option (this is what I currently have).

    Thanks for all the helpful replies! Henri, I tried your viewer and love it so far. Three questions: (1) I see I can show my own lookat data. But can I prevent transmission of my lookat data to others? I don't like people to know where I'm looking, lol. Not that I ever look anywhere inappropriate! (2) are "outfits" supported? I see italicized items in my inventory that look like outfit links, but I don't see a way just to pick one of my Firestorm outfits and wear it in one lazy click. I suppose I'd need to organize my outfits into a folder, then "wear" or "add" the folder? (3) is there a way to customize buttons I see on the screen?

    I also note that your viewer organizes my inventory differently, but I could get used to that. In some ways, I like it; it's showing me how redundant some of my folders are.

    And your viewer did not crash me. FWIW, my crashes in Firestorm seem to be video-card crashes. I'll get a gray screen that may turn black, and I may hear audio for a bit before I get dumped to the desktop. Occasionally the entire system freezes and I have to reboot. As I mentioned, my card is an aging nVidia GTX 980 with only 4GB VRAM. I have 12G system RAM, so that may be an issue too, but it "feels" like video-card troubles. I also hear fans spin up before crashes sometimes, but I'm not sure that's always the issue. I play in a finished attic, so it can be a bit warm up here. Maybe water-cooled GPU and CPU are in my future?

    Workflow Demo: Cascadeur 3D + Rokoko

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Aglaia said:

    Better resource, the avatar workbench, that is provided for free by the Avastar team: https://www.avalab.org/avatar-workbench/

    The avatar workbench even comes with basic meshes. But these meshes didn't fit my needs, it is way too low poly for making accurate and sensual animations in my opinion. But it is still super useful for the rig itself, so you can definitely use that.

    Thanks for this extremely helpful post! I was indeed able to get the Avatar Workbench avi into Cascadeur. I used the Quick Rig feature to map the model's bones into Cascadeur. (I seemed to have no choice but to do this?) That worked okay, but the rigged model is hard to manipulate. For one thing, some joints won't rotate, even though they should -- e.g., shoulders, knees. More worrisome, the rig doesn't impose many joint-movement constraints, so it's easy to have impossible elbow bends, at least for me. Should I try fixing this in Cascadeur? I would have thought the Blender rig already imposed joint constraints? Finally, the opening frame had to be a T pose when I worked in Poser; has that changed? The Avalab pose is an A pose. I'm not sure how to adjust it to become a T pose.

    I actually prefer to use a low-poly model like this Avastar thing, so I'm happy with the model. It's the rig that's giving me fits. Maybe I'm missing something? 

    Workflow Demo: Cascadeur 3D + Rokoko

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

     

    6 hours ago, Aglaia said:

    I took some female and male models on the web and skinned them to the SL rig. Sadly i cannot share them since they are not under a licence that would allow me to share them. For sure, i think that Linden should provide this for builders.

    Thanks for your reply. I can't even find the model I used to import into Poser to create animations there. Does LL no longer make that available? Put another way -- where can I get the SL rig? If I can find that, I can make my own 3D model in ZBrush and add the SL rig as its bones, can't I?

    Desktop (not laptop) recommended specs, with focus on stability?

    in General Second Life Tech Discussion

    Posted

    I'm about ready to buy (or build?) a new desktop PC to replace my decade-old system, which I've upgraded twice with video cards but now crashes regularly in SL. I'm thinking GeForce RTX 3090 because I do 3D modeling and gaming, and it would be nice to have the 24G video RAM. Are there are other features I should opt for to maximize stability in SL? Any system builders I should avoid or seek out?

    Many thanks in advance.

    Workflow Demo: Cascadeur 3D + Rokoko

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    On 2/24/2023 at 1:14 PM, Aglaia said:

    Yes, easy. Take a model that is skinned to the SL rig, export it as .fbx. Then import the fbx in Cascadeur (File > Import fbx/dae > Model).

    If your model is a humanoid character, Cascadeur will open the "Quick Rig" tool. Here you just have to drag and drop the bone names of your model (mPelvis, mChest, etc) on the Cascadeur shape, and Cascadeur will do all the job. After that you get your model in the Cascadeur 3D view and can animate it.

    I love your work on this. But where would I find a model that is "skinned to the SL rig?" When last I animated, using Poser, back in the dark ages, LL provided a model for us to download from the SL website. 

    New Male Body Alert! MaleDiction's "Anatomy" Body Released at Skin Fair

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    18 hours ago, Stephanie Misfit said:

    The only thing you will be able to wear from other bodies is stuff like full suits that let you alpha out the whole body.

    I bought the outfits for Anatomy that were on sale from Cordewa, they are amazing. 

    Those options are enough for me to get started. Half the time I wear a suit anyway. I don't know what Cordewa is, but I will look for it in world. Thanks!

    New Male Body Alert! MaleDiction's "Anatomy" Body Released at Skin Fair

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

    This is very valid! Don't worry about wanting to wait for clothes. I think a lot of us are in that same boat. The body's definitely not going anywhere, so don't feel pressured to buy it now. The sale price will go up after the event, but even then - I wouldn't worry.

    I'm sort of tempted to go for it now. I won't play this guy too much in the short term, so maybe he can have some patience for clothes. Is there any possibility some existing clothing might work in a not-too-terrible way, lol? I mean, I occasionally find I can slap on a business suit not designed for a particular mesh body, crank up the body's alpha, and kinda get away with it. This approach never works well with separate trousers and shirts, though. And I don't want to walk around in a suit all day, lol.

    • Like 2

    New Male Body Alert! MaleDiction's "Anatomy" Body Released at Skin Fair

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    On 3/14/2023 at 12:08 AM, Stephanie Misfit said:

    I have the Anatomy body on my alt and I am using a Lelutka head with it (Eon, specifically). 

    I would not go for Davis, there is very little clothing available for it and that is unlikely to change. I'd say there will end up being more clothing support for this body than for Davis, because of the features it offers that give it appeal to a range of groups. Some of the designers who are signing on to produce clothing for Anatomy make very high-quality stuff.

    @Stephanie Misfit , thank you for your reply. I'm glad you warned me off Davis. I really am enjoying the Anatomy demo. We can't buy the release version yet, can we?

    I'm still worried about waiting to get my alt clothes, though. Would Legacy be a reasonable interim solution?

    • Like 1
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