Second Life and Virtual Worlds
You can see a YouTube video that previews the coming Firestorm Viewer. If you don’t know, Firestorm is the next generation Phoenix Viewer based on series 2 code. The video shows how to work with the new Firestorm Viewer user interface. The video lasts 15 minutes.
[youtube 8MInIyHH0mU]
In world there is a Phoenix-Firestorm Group. JOIN
Here is the latest news on the Dolphin Viewer.
A couple of weeks ago a poll was being taken to see whether residents wanted the Dolphin Viewer to stay with the series 1 code and user interface (UI) or move on to the series 2 code and UI. The final vote was 76 to 39 for series 2.
Lance is going to shift over… well has shifted over to series 2 code and UI. He plans to maintain the 1.5 based Dolphin Viewer until it is either too much work or Linden Lab bans the use of series 1 viewers on the grid.
Lance’s new series 2 viewer was released on the 28th. You can read about it and find the download links here: Dolphin Viewer 2 2.4.0.13926.
Lance has a list of the things he likes about the Dolphin Viewer and feels make it better than the Lab’s production viewer. List There are some pretty nifty mods that he has added. I’ll mention the ones I like. Check the list. That PITA bug you hate or that feature you are missing may be there.
OSGrid has been upgrading the backside of the grid. My regions have been offline most of 2011’s weeks 3 & 4 as the database converts to a new format. The latest release of the simulator software has some changes. These are the ones I found interesting.
The sim software can now handle terrain files made using Terragen. Once the grid is back up I’ll be checking out the new file type as it imports and exports Terragen (.ter) format. Also, this list of supported files types for terrain files was updated. Hopefully it will be easier to work with terrain in Photoshop and L3DT. Thanks Kevin Cozens.
UPDATE: 3/2012 – The site where the HAX files can be downloaded is down. It may come back… or not.
Photoshop CS4 and 5 and Blender will allow one to accomplish the same thing as HAX. Both are easier as you can work directly on the 3D avatar. Look through the Mesh Clothing tutorials to see how to get the avatar model.
UPDATE: claireharford has started hosting the files needed for Multi-Chan Hax. LINK
I’ve taken some time to play with the multi-chan hax filter. It works, but it is not intuitive. The video tutorial that MistressOfDesign made on faces and socks helps. I think she did an excellent job fitting a lot of information in the time allotted. But, it still leaves things to be figured out.
When you want to make a pair of pants or a top you’ll find you need to know more. I’ve been sorting my way through Multi-Chan Hax (MCH). Below is what I’ve learned so far from starting a top/blouse. One thing I’ve learned is when it comes to making tops MCH is a tool to help you make things, NOT a tool that does everything for you.
If you want to follow along, look at the first tutorial on Multi-Chan Hax that I published and get MCH installed and tested. Also know this is not a Photoshop (PS) tutorial nor a beginner’s tutorial, it’s about MCH. So, I won’t be explaining how to do PS things. I’ll assume you know the basics of image editing and compositing. You’ll have to Google for PS help.
I have friends that play in EVE Online. I haven’t kept up with the goings on there. One of the things I’ve missed is what EVE is doing with their avatars. I am impressed with what they have done. They are definitely ahead of Second Life in regard to avatar realism. If you’re curious of … Read more
Linden Lab put out the Q4 stats for 2010 and several have blogged about them. I suppose we probably knew whatever it is they tell us. The numbers just help us get sense of degree. We aren’t deciding if things or good or bad, better or worse, but how much better or worse. So, what do the numbers mean and what will we see in 2011?
