I learned more about using Bento bones and animating after the meeting than I did during the meeting. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes. Discussion after the Lindens went back to work lasted over an hour. I broke my coverage into 2 videos. The meeting part is in the video here: Second Life: Project Bento 2016 Week 16. The ‘after’ meeting part is here:
I’ve trimmed the hour plus video down to 45± minutes by removing parts where there is no voice. This means you’ll notice some video jerks where I trimed out parts. You’ll have to watch the chat window too. You’ll hear some voice responses that are answers to questions and statements made in text/local chat that got trimmed out. You can see the text, you just don’t have to wait while it is typed.
This week I made it to the whole meeting. There is a request for merchants with products using the new Bento skeleton to join the Torley in make the feature announcement. This an opportunity for those helping with the Project’s development to get recognition and early promotion of their goods. Tentatively they plan to start shooting the video in a week or two. So, be at next Thursday’s meeting.
Also, there was a good conversation after the meeting. I have it in another video, which will be up later. I learned a lot in that conversation. If you are planning on working with Bento, you’ll want to listen to it.
Things go in cycles. Have you noticed? Second Life™ tutorials certainly seem to come in waves. For instance Strawberry Singh has redone her Avatar Physics tutorial as a video. See: Second Life Avatar Physics Tutorial or jump directly to the video tutorial at YouTube. I suggest you read Strawberry’s article.
Strawberry’s is a nine minute video that covers the information you can find detailed in the Firestorm Viewer’s wiki: Firestorm Avatar Physics, with a bit more detail. Everything you really need to know is in the video. I think she did a pretty good job on the video.
She points out that your mesh body and mesh clothes have to be rigged for Avatar Physics, otherwise your boobies and other parts won’t bounce. The only way you can know if an item is correctly rigged is to try the demo. Merchants just don’t put this stuff in the promo material, at least not in-world. They are a bit better in the marketplace.
According to what Strawberry is told only the Belleza body has butt bounce. From firsthand experience she says Slink and Maitreya bodies do not, just breast and belly bounce.
Cathy Foil sent me a note explaining the Project Bento updates to MayaStar. I copied, modified, and paraphrased what she sent.
Brunella
The MayaStar 4.5, I’ll call it BETA version, addition runs on PC and Mac. It works with Maya 8.0 through 2016. While most of MayaStar works with Maya LT, but Maya LT is lacking some abilities and that limits what can be done with MayaStar. Cathy asks you contact her for more information if you are working with Maya LT.
Here’s your chance to be in the movies. The Lab has posted a Second Life casting call for a Drax machinima (1/14/16). If you are interested in showing off what you are working on, be at Bento Island, ADITI January 19 at noon (SLT – PST). The region won’t open until noon.
They’ll change the avatar when pigs fly… WELL!?!
While you cannot enter Bento Island early, I advise you to log into ADITI, the preview grid, early. The last few weeks have proven the log in process for ADITI is slow and flawed. I have yet to see my inventory update as the planned changes are supposed to. So, I’m pretty sure the new ADITI login process is not in place.
The notice advises those with avatars to show contact Draxtor Despres inworld. Provide him pictures and as much information about your creation as possible. I suspect he is looking for color and human interest and has less of an interest in the technical. What tools you are using will probably be pertinent.
Project Bento is one of the biggest changes to the Second Life avatar ever! More than 90 new bones have been added to accommodate features like subtle facial expressions, articulating fingers, smoothly-flapping wings, waving tails, and much more that was previously impossible or required complex workarounds.
If you’re a creator who’s testing out Project Bento, or one who’s eager to give it a try – now is the perfect time! We’re looking for creators to show off some of the possibilities of Project Bento for an upcoming episode of The Drax Files. There are detailed instructions on how to get started and how to get to the beta grid (aditi) on our wiki page. (TIP:Testing on Aditi does not cost you upload fees!)
