BlueTrianon

Latharcia Xevion wrote: Just as the title says, when it comes to retrieving your old accounts that might be lost due to old password / email, blocked accounts due to random things like payment information etc. Unless you have the best memory on hand to answer their questions if your account was create back in 05-09, which most people won't, their customer service will literally do nothing but tell you they can't help you unless you answer 100% on their 3 questions that you filled in ages ago. I couldn't disagree more. They did an amazing job retrieving a very old acount of mine, created well before 2005. They were able to identify me as the owner of the account in another way.

My suggestion is to ask on the Adobe forums. Relatively few SL creators use Illustrator. I'd love to help, myself, but I'm still a beginner with that program.

BigRobCaneMakai wrote: After this I came and found this forum so I can ask that Linden Labs do a little better than this letting all these weak racist and bigots escape in your game running you second lifers off. I totally agree! They should start with the people roleplaying racist stereotypes.

I'm pretty excited about it, but I don't really expect it to be open to the general public until next year. Based on the released information I'm expecting a sort of game engine/virtual world hybrid. If LL successfully delivers on that I'll be very happy. I've liked that LL has been releasing some information about Sansar over time. There is still some information that I'd really like to have, but hopefully that gets released around the time that the creator preview starts. I haven't applied for it because right now I'm unsure whether I have enough time or the skill set to properly take advantage of the preview. If applications were still open in about a month I would have had a better idea. I already have some ideas for experiences I'd like to create. I need more information in order to narrow down which is the most feasible and then start creating assets.

The Marketplace has a section for that. You'll need to check the Permissions on the right side and the Product Details for licensing information (commercial/noncommercial, etc) for each listing.

Nyrvachan wrote: I got Blender off Steam for example. So now what? I even got Poser 9, but not sure that does anything that works with this at all. I took my first steps with Blender. I found that I didn't really start to catch on until I found the "right" set of tutorials for me. My suggestion is searching out the very best beginner's tutorial series you can find. I remember liking the offerings from Blender Cookie, Blender Guru, and Lynda. I know at least one has a free trial. Another has a big YouTube channel and is very active in the Blender community. Make sure that whatever you end up with uses version 2.5 or later, and best case is as close to the version you downloaded as possible. If you're completely new to creating in 3D space, learning to build in SL will also give you a great jump start. You can also get quick, real time help from others. In general, I'd be looking for tutorials from people who not only teach the specifics of how to make specific objects, but who take the time to really explain theory, proper techniques, and so on. I've never used Poser. If it helps, though, Blender has built in rigging and animation tools. There is also a plug-in for Blender called Avastar that helps with making things work in SL. You'll often find one of the creators of the plug in answering questions in the Mesh section of the forum and they also have an active group inworld. This is a great time to be getting involved with avatar creation because Project Bento recently went live on the main grid. SL can use all of the avatar creators it can get right now.

Nyrvachan wrote: Yes I am a real person new to second life. . . . . I'm interested in creating my own fantasy avatars either way- and of course, being legit. If I can't do the WoW ones fine, I'd want to do my own elf ones or something. The stuff I've found in game so far is kind of lackluster for looking how I want. It's not that I'm out to do anything illegal- I like fantasy-based characters. That's what I want to have. Sorry I asked. No need to be sorry. I think a big part of the reaction is that many here have seen similar questions asked by people who were only interested in importing regardless of whether it was legal or not. I hope you do pursue learning to create your own characters. There are several great modeling and texturing programs out there, so please don't just give up if you don't like Blender. You'll find there are great creator communties inside and outside SL, especially for character creation. I'd call character creation a relatively rare skill in SL, so also don't be shy about taking your learning outside SL. I would argue that the best resources are not found inworld, except for SL-specific subjects of course. (I've seen some very *cough* derivative classes given in SL for modeling applications. I've seen flat out wrong information and awful advice given out by inworld instructors. I've also seen an inworld teacher who was truly an expert in a few areas of her program of choice, who taught information not available elsewhere. Hopefully she goes back to teaching someday!) Going as close to the source as you can helps connect you to higher quality instruction, other serious students and/or professionals and sometimes the expert instructors themselves.

Something appropriate to the event itself. I'd look at where it is being held, how it is being presented, and whether there is information on the invitation about a recommended dress code. If there's no other information, I'm probably going with the equivalent of business casual or whatever's normal for my avatar.

Which program were you planning to use?

Maybe the existing Used Items category would be most appropriate? I see some resellers using it already.

I really like everyone's arguments so far. I'd also like to add a few reasons why an ardent fan of well-made mesh can appreciate inworld creation tools: 1. Training. Even if a new creator never intends to release a prim or prim-derived build, learning the basics of building with prims is a great way to get used to the idea of creating in 3D space. They'll have a major hurdle accomplished before they ever open the modeling program of their choice. Also, most inworld assets are created through a technique called box modeling. That means that most mesh created in modeling programs started life as, well, primitives generated by the modeling program. May as well get used to these ideas in an environment where you can have lots of real-time feedback. 2. Improved Workflow. Game engines often include some equivalent of SL's prims even when there is no expectation that the user will include them in their final product. Why? It's a convenient way for the creator to "block out" their scenes. For SL creators of larger items such as buildings, and even some smaller items, it's a quick way to test out the basics of their designs, It also helps ensure proper scale and "feel" before settling down to model and texture offline.

My suggestion is to have a look/listen to the latest information released to see if you think applying for the upcoming closed beta is right for you. A significant number of things have changed over time. For example, the invitation only alpha required Maya. Applications recently opened for the upcoming closed beta. This closed beta is supposed to be open to a number of programs. I think the creator would need access to something that can generate .fbx. I would certainly have a listen to the latest Drax Files Radio Hour (show 114: ebbe) if you haven't already. It's around 30 minutes long and goes into some detail about Project Sansar, including about the application process. There's also a Lab Chat this Friday at 10:30 am.

SL Questions: 1) SL took a major leap forward with the introduction of normal maps and specular maps. Any chance SL will support additional map types in the future, such as displacement maps? Or move to physically based rendering? 2) The newer Welcome and Social Islands are really very nice, and I particularly enjoyed the combination of short videos and interactive components. Will we see similar edutainment-type experiences aimed at more advanced users? Sansar Questions: 1) This is just a refresh of something that was mentioned in the Ask a CEO thread back in July: Will Sansar still support "physically based materials with spec, smoothness, "metalness" and normal maps" as well as displacement maps? 2) Is there anything further that's recommended for creators who wish to be prepared for Sansar's public beta besides continuing to develop their 3D content creation skills and learning C#? 3) I noticed that the application form mentioned C#, Java, and LSL. Is familiarity with Java helpful? Or possibly Javascript?

The fastest way to get those landmarks might be to go to the moles' island. There's a building there with pictures that direct you out to their major builds and experiences. Edit: Here's a link to the Destination Guide entry: http://secondlife.com/destination/meauxle-bureaux?lang=en-US

I'd almost rather see that than some variation on: "I supply the idea, you do the modeling, texturing, and scripting. Also, please take of any Marketplace ads and vendor pics. I'll let you have 20% of the proceeds after expenses if I like your final product. Oh, and you get experience! Yay!"