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Second Life

Daz
Daz
polycounter lvl 18
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Daz polycounter lvl 18
Anyone tinkering around with it? I just watched this video of a presentation Linden labs gave at Google. It's a long watch, but I found it quite fascinating and full of some interesting factoids. Apparently a woman in Germany makes $175k a year from designing and selling real estate in Second Life, and what's possible in the world is impressive. I'm quite tempted to have a play with it If I can find some time:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5182759758975402950&q=type:google+engEDU

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  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Yeah, I've been playing off and on since beta, it's kind of become just a social hang out for me since I don't have alot of time to spend on creating stuff, my name is Ysg Leviathan
    slme.jpg

    While the graphics are a bit primitive by todays standards, people are pulling off some spectacular stuff by baking lighting info into their textures before uploading them, here's a nice example:
    slbake.jpg
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    Cool, so you made him in a 3D modeler and exported to their format and uploaded? The guy presenting only went into creation methods using their primitives, not external 3D apps. Doesn't baking lightmaps like that mean a) there's no tiling and b) the textures are huge? I cant imagine how they cope with all this user created data, not to mention police anything at all like polygon counts or texture sizes. Guess I'd have to play to see for myself.

    This news seems to suggest that they are considering a graphical overhaul, as does the guy in the presentation: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146717.html
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Yeah it seems all objects have to made using the primitives in the in-game editor, and you're only allowed to import your own textures.

    I'd be totally down for playing and making content for this if importing custom meshes was possible, but from what I've read and seen, it isn't frown.gif

    I'd love for someone to prove me wrong though!
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    nah, you can't upload models. You can upload textures, sounds, and animations. They stream the data, so sometimes you'll see grey blocks pop into existence and then the textures will start to download, you get used to it after a while.

    Let me know if you plan on giving it a spin, I can show you around.

    oh, and I created zbrush ready versions of the player meshes so you can paint your own textures in zbrush. Just cut the texture up before uploading (legs, torso, head)
    zip
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    I've also been playing it since beta, I think it was Feb. 2003. Back then the lands were empty. Actually, I took a break until they gave me one of those lifetime subscription things. My gf joins in with me sometimes. My little brother is addicted to the new Teen Grid. I jump in now and then. Watch movies. Find a live concert. It's a really cool MMO, and I tell everyone about it.

    MoP: you'd be amazed how creative you can get with the primitives. I've seen some rather high detailed, sometimes cell shaded, characters. Alpha channels are useful as well. Animations for your characters can be created using a 3rd party app. You also have to consider the game needs to run at a reasonable frame rate with all those people and objects. There are lots of naked rave parties.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Heh, interesting - so for that gun, how did it work to make the texture and UVs? I'm guessing you can assign UV mapping to the primitives, and load a custom texture? Can you export the UV-maps as a template from the game, or do you make the texture beforehand and just match it up to the shapes in the editor?
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    Unless it's been updated, I believe the texturing is the same as applying textures to walls in a level editor. You apply it to the object, or a selection of faces, then scroll and scale the texture into position. The texture for that gun confused me for a sec. But it's better to simply upload one image to texture a complex object. Cool trick.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Mop & Daz, sign up for free accounts and meet up with me and Elysium one of these days! (what's your SL name Elysium? I can't believe we've never met up in game!)
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    Hmm, that looks awesome.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Might give it a try this weekend. I have coursework deadlines for Thursday and Friday so there's no chance of me getting any time until after that smile.gif

    If you can get some more people in, we can make a custom Polycount castle somewhere, much like Sauron's fortress in Lord of the Rings. Then we can ride out of it at dead of night, mounted on hovering box-horses.
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
    I've tried to tinker with it here and there in the past, but I just cant get used to the control system and cameras. It all feels very... clunky.
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    what's your SL name Elysium? I can't believe we've never met up in game!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Elysium Mysterio (I couldn't get my beta last name back frown.gif )

    I met up with Chunkey several months ago, but other than that, no Polycounters. I'd really like to spend more time in the world and customizing my avatar.

    [ QUOTE ]
    Then we can ride out of it at dead of night, mounted on hovering box-horses.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    sounds good to me. most of the objects in game are very simple. some PC talent could really do some damage.

    playing with particles is also fun btw.
  • Moz
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    Moz polycounter lvl 18
    Doesn't Second Life also have a HUGE yiff following...

    I'd imagine it would make some places dangerous to venture to...
  • Weiser_Cain
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    Weiser_Cain polycounter lvl 18
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Well people rp sex in WoW so imagine what happens when you have an online game where you can create your own av's, upload custom animations and even script particles for, erm, spurting
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    using the combined powers of polycounters, we can make the most realistic furry penis ever, complete with particle "effects"
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Secondlife does need a jolly green presence, I'm looking into some possibilities.

    Ok, I created a Polycount group, Me and Elysium are officers wink.gif
    I'm going to look into getting some group land so we can have a base of operations without having to pay any fees (aint I nice!)

    I need one more member to sign up for the group or it will automatically break up in 3 days.
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    When I first joined beta testing, it was all fun and games, and meeting new people. One dude created a "Matrix cube" which was fun. Another made a FPS DM game in his basement, then there was the life size game of pong while someone played Primus on a boombox. I joined in when they first tried to program sailboats. I lost mine. :P Then later I was the cause of a UFO siting.

    Now, when I join, there seems to be a lot of billboards. Like I mentioned earlier, there are many mature adult dance parties...which just scares me. But not as much as the furries. Dammit. Annoying yard sales. Linden Labs should really step in and get rid of the elements that are degrading the world. Too many adults are using the world for fantasy and business. I don't agree with the "buying and selling" aspect becoming so important. I visited a server tonight with the largest crowd of people, and it was a strip club. Just weird. I didn't go in. People who take that seriously frighten me. If I spend more time in the world than usual, I'll most likely become public enemy. Wonder if I can script up a can o spray paint?

    My little bro plays on the Teen grid, and from what he tells me, it's much more fun. They're still in the phase that I remember back in beta. All new people experimenting in empty lands. He made a UPS truck, and a coffee shop.
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    Reenacting Polycount vs. CGchat in Second Life may be fun...
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    location: Cayuga 39,12,86
    polycountland.jpg
    The land is on a PG sim so you don't have to worry about strip clubs or scary stuff like that.

    Funny you mentioned the spray paint, I've seen graffiti threads in the SL forums.

    I'm trying to figure out about deeding land to the group, I want to make sure that if the group falls apart I don't lose the land (if the group is under 3 members for 3 days it disbands)
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Sadly the face fell on the ground, it ran out of Hovernarium, but the flag flies proudly!
    pflags.jpg
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    dammit, here I am trying to downplay the whole furry thing "no no, don't worry, it's not a big problem" and then I look at the building next door:
    neighbor.jpg
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
  • Prs-Phil
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    Prs-Phil polycounter lvl 18
    man that guy nearly made me puke. "We actually think that it is better than the real world, people actually share blablabla"

    Interesting concept, but I think it is beeing perverted.
  • JonMurphy
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    JonMurphy polycounter lvl 18
    I've always been a little curious about SL. I might have to sign up and visit the big green station's patch of land
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    I thought you could import custom animations for your characters via poser... Oh wait.. Poser is used for porn...

    It's a conspiracy!
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Hahah cool Justin!
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    I thought you could import custom animations for your characters via poser... Oh wait.. Poser is used for porn...

    [/ QUOTE ]

    It all makes sense now. All those pole dancing animations.

    For non-pervs, you can try to make animations using a new open-source tool called, Avimator.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    ah wow, I had an idea, dominance war commemorative museum
  • ebagg
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    ebagg polycounter lvl 17
    I'm definitely down for checking this "place" out! Is their primitive editor very similar to 3d programs? Could you possibily start out with a box and model a person's head by moving verts and extruding like you would in Maya or Max?
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    nope, you can't move verts, cut or extrude, nothing like a traditional modeling program. You have a palette of prims that have certain edits you can do like skew, taper, twist, etc. It's pretty frustrating. It's funny but some of the best builders I've met ingame never used a 3d app before.
  • ebagg
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    ebagg polycounter lvl 17
    It's looks decent enough though, from the pics you've shown the tools look good enough to do some decent object modeling....and allows for alpha mapping...

    So I'm assuming custom clothes would require special coding?
  • ebagg
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    ebagg polycounter lvl 17
    I joined up, anyone on to show me the ropes?
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    I should be able to get on for a while this weekend if anyone will be around. Preferably not late US time, since I'm in the UK smile.gif
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    I'll try to idle in there the next few days if it doesn't interfer with anything I'm working on. I'm standing at Cayuga 32, 18, 89...right on top the big PC smiley. Search for it in the map window. I already gave my SL name.
  • Rick Stirling
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    Rick Stirling polycounter lvl 18
    How do you join the group? I can find it...

    Rick Clutterbuck
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Hey, sorry, still learning all the group stuff.
    I changed the group to open enrollment, so just go ctrl+f, click on the "groups" tab and do a search for polycount; then you can click on the "Join Now" button. I'll go ahead and make you guys officers when I'm on. When there are enough officers I'll turn off open enrollment because I want to keep it to board members only.

    Once I have enough members in the group (basically one more person) I'll deed the land to the group as a whole, so it's basically all our land and we can do what we want with it. I'm against any major changes to the land topography, you'll see people who take their land and flatten it out so it doesn't match up with the surrounding land... I don't really like how that looks.

    Also, anyone who'd like to contribute but doesn't feel like playing SL, we could always use textures, concepts etc..
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    Yeeeeeah! Keepin' it real, ya'll!

    PCSL2.jpg
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    I wonder what the SL users who don't know about the war will think of that?
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