Second Life and Virtual Worlds
IMPORTANT – READ:Second Life: Update on Metanomics Translator
A couple of years back Google decided to charge for its translator service. Many of the translators in use in Second Life were dependent on Google’s service. Those translators failed.
Do you remember the Bablefish translator? That was my translator until Google changed the API.
Soon other translation services followed Google’s lead. One must now have an account of some kind to use those services in a Second Life app… or any app.
Ciaran Laval has an interview with Xiola Linden that is well worth the time to read. See: The Mystery Of The Secret Interview With Xiola Linden
Loki has tried a new style of machinima. You can see it in his blog. This machinima is made in the anima style, something rare for SL. He did a good job. I’m impressed. It is short and, I think, corny. But, I think both were intended. Whatever the intent, it is cute.
Electronic Arts seems to have a reputation for buying successful gaming companies and eventually closing them. This appears to be what has happened with Maxis Emeryville, the developer of SimCity.
The games created at Maxis will still be around and they remain the property of EA. But, the development process of those games is being folded into EA’s other development studios.
We are hearing more and more about the financial burden students face after graduation. The government under Pres. Obama’s direction, pen and phone in hand, has attempted to alleviate the problem. Instead it is adding to the national debit (+5%) and student debit is increasing ($1.2+trillion).
Few people realize the new Obama student debt plan aggravates the problems. You can see the trend in a document by the Institute for College Access & Success. A small problem has turned into one too big to fail… and we tax payers are on the hook for the money. Obama guaranteed the bank loans (90% are now government backed). This is expected by numerous authorities to cost tax payers hundreds of billions per year. To learn more about what was actually done and is happening see: Heritage Foundation.
Gaia is working on better and easier use of shape keys in AvaStar. Watch the teaser:
These are only for use in Blender. They cannot be transferred into Second Life. SL shapes are baked into the viewer, meaning users cannot change them. But, they should allow us to make our various shapes for clothing and transfer the clothing into SL.
For instance, if I understood correctly, the shapes we personally model for, say large, medium, and small, could be setup in shape-keys and we could click between them. That would make a number of things easier.
No release date.
Opening March 13, Skin Fair 2015. Visit here: Skin Fair 1 & Skin Fair 2. There is no staging area so you have no choice but to teleport into one of the regions. The population limit is 45 per region. I haven’t yet been able to get in.
There is a strictly enforced script limit. 50 scripts max. That seems like a lot. I normally keep mine under 20.