Second Life 2.2 Appearance Editor

SL Viewer 2.2

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With the new 2.x viewers in Second Life lots has changed. Editing one’s appearance is one of the big changes. I have yet to decide of it is better or worse. Whichever, it certainly is different. This is my attempt to sort out how appearance works. I expect the viewer to change quite a bit over the next few weeks.

Getting into the Editor

In the 1.x viewers (SLV1) it was easy to find the editor, just right-click the avatar and select Edit Appearance. Everything is there. I guess it could be intimidating.

In the Second Life 2.x viewers (SLV2) the logic for getting into Appearance Edit changes. The process is more goals oriented. For techie types familiar with computers the idea that one wants to change a dress or their shape means look for an avatar editor. Less geeky types probably don’t think of looking for an avatar editor, they just want to change the dress. The Lab did usability testing and supposedly this was a significant problem. I just don’t know. Continue reading

Myst-Uru Modding

Uru Modding

3DMax w/Plasma - Uru Modding Tool

As slow as a mountain turning to sand the online version of Myst is going open source. A step forward was taken when Cyan Worlds, Inc., the creators of the Myst series of games, placed the game back online in February, 2010. See: Play Myst Online (Free)

Another step was taken when Cyan released the binary version of their Plasma plug-in for 3DMax (versions 7 only). This allows fans to mod the game. Well to a point, there are complications both technical and license-wise. Those things are to be resolved somewhere along the road to open source. Continue reading

Second Life MOAP Tutorial

Update 2015/10: Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) is replacing Webkit, the engine MOAP uses. Media should now be HTML5 compatible. Avoid Flash & QuickTime. Click the CEF Tag below this article for more information.

I’m just learning, so this is not the most complete tutorial on Media On A Prim (MOAP). This is what I have learned in my first few steps. Hopefully it will save you a few gotcha’s. Also, this is not a newbie’s tutorial. I’m assuming you know basic building. But, even if you are new, you should be able to stumble through this tutorial without much trouble. Continue reading

Blender 2.5/2.49b – Second Life & Blue Mars

Many of us have heard that Blender 2.5 is on the way. Blender 2.5 Alpha 0 is out and can be downloaded. It is Alpha software. Some features from the 2.4 series are not all working in 2.5. How the missing features are implemented is changing, so there is some delay. There seems to be lots of changes coming. One thing that has not changed is installation information which is still limited and what is out there pretty much assumes one is a geek. So, I’ll provide some help I think is less geeky. Continue reading

Getting OSGrid Running

OSGrid

OpenSim

Running a standalone grid on your home computer is not big thing to do. Finding all the information you need to get it working as you want is a bit of a pain. All the people that are working on OSGrid know where everything is. So, they don’t write it down.

When I reinstalled my OpenSim server (I broke mine upgrading) it did not let me walk on prims. Everything was phantom. Setting things to physical did not help, they were still behaving as if phantom. So, I started looking for how to fix that. Continue reading

XStreetSL Currency Exchange Tutorial

For those doing business in Second Life the Currency Exchange is a tool that can improve their profit margin when they are taking L$ out of world to RL currencies. One just has to understand how it works, which is what this Second Life Currency Exchange Tutorial is about.

If you are a resident that just needs a few Linden dollars on occasional bases to purchase something, you can still gain from understanding how the Currency Exchange works and knowing what it is and how to use it. You won’t need some of the more esoteric information I’ll provide. Knowing the basics will save you a few L$.

The Exchange

Exchange

XStreetSL Currency Exchange

XStreetSL has a Currency Exchange, which is now owned by Linden Lab. This is a place where you can easily buy and sell L$ as well as other stuff. It is a fun place to shop also and has loads of free stuff. There is no StreetSL fee for moving funds between SL and PayPal. Using PayPal is the only way to take cash out of XStreetSL.  URL: https://www.xstreetsl.com/

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Land of NoR XRPS Tutorial

Land of NoR WARPS/XRPS

Land of NoR (LoN), a Second Life RPG, has been working on an improved combat and RP system meter. The one in use is called WARPS, standing for Weapons and Role Play System. In July use of the experimental XRPS version of WARPS started. There are several changes being tested and several questions have come up.

You can follow the discussion in the Land of NoR forum.

Update 7/31

If you have not noticed, going into SPAR (/9 spar) forces a save of meter stats. That is important to know as the meter only saves every so often. A SL or viewer crash or other forced relog can possibly force your meter back to the last saved status. Going into spar and back to combat status does a save and reload of meter stats.
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