Mesh has arrived but the big problem is that most people are not on a viewer that supports it! People who are addicted to the old viewer code want to see mesh but if you tell them that they need to use the official Linden 3.0 viewer it is like you are asking them if they want to eat molten lava.
Luckily for this recalcitrant lot, the Phoenix viewer team has created Firestorm with Mesh Support. Now you will be able to see mesh creations in all their glory and not see your friends new mesh dress as an inner tube around their midsection.
According to the official Phoenix team blog it was not an easy decision to release Firestorm with Mesh Beta at this time, but popular demand calls for it to be released in Beta form complete with bugs. They caution that do to many existing bugs in the Viewer 2/3.0 source code that there will be problems. But hey, it’s worth it to see mesh, glorious mesh.
Since almost everyone clutches to their Phoenix viewer as if its the holy grail, people will be happy to know that the new Firestorm Beta contains all the privacy invasion tools that they have come to love as well as a Phoenix look and feel with the added benefits of being able to see Mesh. And it brings one step closer to the day that we can all say goodbye to the old viewer 1.23 code and be unified on the grid again. That will be a find day indeed.
The founder of Second Life, Philip Rosedale, has created a new start up that is intriguing. It’s called Coffee & Power and its stated goal is to transform the way we work and live in our first life by creating a means of communications between people who want small jobs done for them and people who are willing to do these “micro jobs”.
Coffee & Power is a web portal currently in beta that enables people to list little jobs that they would like done in the real world as well as online. It’s denominated in its own currency called Coffee Dollars which are a one to one equivalent with the US Dollar. Just like Linden Dollars, they can be cashed out for real US Currency.
Currently, 1500 Missions have been completed and some of them are quite humorous. You can watch the video here for an explanation of it from Philip himself in this rambling 30 minute interview with Wagner James Au from New World Notes.
Coffee & Power employs a virtual economy and takes it into a real life setting using a powerful set of social media tools incorporating trust ratings, twitter like capabilities, and mobile connectivity to reach out and empower users.
Using its map feature you could list your services for errands around town and people would pay you for small tasks. Perhaps you are a dog walker and would like to list your services to walk peoples dog’s while they are at work. I hate to say it, but I already see the seamy side of this. If you are a call girl, this would be the perfect way to advertise services for “micro jobs”.
The video, if you were able to endure the 30 minutes of rambling, pretty much explains it all. Will it succeed? Will all our 9 -5 jobs really be replaced with micro jobs? We shall soon see. Stay tuned!
Without a great deal of fanfare Linden Lab has introduced Mesh to the grid. What does this mean to the average Ambrosia? Well in layman’s terms it means that certain things in Second Life will look gooderer. The only problem for most people is that in order to see mesh you need the latest viewer from Linden Lab.
So what is the big deal with mesh? What the heck is it about?
Previously, Creators in second life, the people who bring us the clothes and the cars and furniture and all the other wonderful things that allow people to create entire fantasy lives were made using the internal tools that the Lab provided. It all starts with a cube! These tools, however, while giving ordinary people the ability to make simple objects, were looked on with derision by professional graphics artists – sort of like handing Da Vinci a box of 8 crayons to draw the Mona Lisa with.
The content people were able to create with the Linden Tools was quite amazing at times as people pushed the boundaries of what was capable. Then Sculpties were introduced, which at the time was akin to witchcraft. We started to see a wider variety of objects that were freed of constraints of rigid angles and the virtual world become a softer smoother place.
Now with mesh, Creators are able to use a range of external tools to craft content that they can upload to Second Life. They can use the same programs that are used to design the most cutting edge of video games to bring objects to the grid. Programs such as Maya, 3ds Max, and the free shareware Blender allow creators to use exponentially more sophisticated tools to make content that is much more realistic than would be possible using the primitive tools than were previously supplied.
Mesh content is not intended to replace the existing prim-based content system; It will supplement it just as Sculpties did before it. Think of mesh as an amazing new tool that will enable artists to create a level of content with detail that was previously unattainable.
The list of content creation tools and their relative efficiency with mesh can be found on the Second Life wiki. This new content pipeline enables significantly more efficient and detailed content creation than with existing prim content. However, creators need to spend time learning both the applications they wish to use and how to optimize content for Second Life. The mesh system exposes values for models (known as weights) to provide insight into how an object affects performance. Mesh content is not intended to replace the existing prim-based content system; each is a viable method of content creation in Second Life.
Problems with bringing mesh to Second Life are many. One can find free 3D models on the internet and attempt to import them in to the world. The possibilities for IP theft are boundless. But what else is new here. If you can see it on your computer screen, you can copy it be it prim, a mesh or a sculptie. The Lab makes you take a silly test that satisfies some legal requirement before you are allowed to upload mesh to the grid, but really its obvious what a dog and pony show that is.
The biggest problem with Mesh enablement in Second Life right now is the simple stark fact that the number of people who use the official Second Life viewer is low to say the least. People are clutching on to their Phoenix viewers for dear life unable or unwilling to embrace change of any sort. Without using Viewer 3.0 it is impossible to view mesh so its a fail on the part of Linden Labs. Perhaps the only sensible course of action is to disable the use of viewer 1.23 and yank the band aid off fast. There will be screaming and whining but eventually the pain will subside and we can all move forward into the Mesh-Enabled future with shiny new avatars united with one viewer code.
Hello newcomer! So you decided to try out Second Life. Perhaps you heard about from a friend or saw a shocking documentary on the Oprah channel about the freak who inhabit this virtual world. No matter which pathway brought you here, here you are.
What’s next? Well, most people after their initial obligatory visit to the nude beach ( I have no idea why this happens – it just seems that that all noobies feel a pressing need to see naked cartoon people ) will eventually want to visit a Second Life club. They somehow find their was to Ambrosia Dance Club and instantly identify themselves by their nooberiffic actions. These include, but are not limited to:
- A love of all things Bling
Striding in to the club sporting bling shoes, bling rings, bling earrings,bling dollars signs,and bling dongs is a sure sign of noobocity. For unknown reasons, noobs are drawn to anything bling like parrots to a bright shiny object. Skip this step now. Just say NO to bling.
- Asking in General Chat “Hey what is there to do here?”
This is a silly question and will be most likely met with uinversal scorn and derision by the VIPs. It is a dance club and as such you hang out on the dance floor, listen to music and touch one of the dance balls to start dancing. Nothing could be simpler. For the speech challenged, typing is not even required. Only the ability to hit F Keys like a monkey with gestures like “Hoo La la I live this tune!”
- Flying into the club and flying around the dance floor
While it is fine to avoid the soul depleting march of death from the far end of the sim by flying into the club, once you arrive on the dance floor you should immediately hit page down. Noobs are notorious for flying around the dance floor like Tinkerbell on angel dust.
- Friending people without talking to them.
Noobs for some reason believe that a veteran Sler will accept the dreaded Random Friendship Offer (RFO). This is not Facebook. Most residents will eye you with utmost suspicion convinced that you are a stalking alt and most likely mute you forever. You will most likely be dropped into the ocean if you friend multiple staff members.
- Asking in open chat “if anyone want to dance with you”
This is akin to getting a megaphone in real life and walking into a club and asking if anyone wants to dance with you. It’s likely you will end up on a pink dance ball pinned up against the wall with some giant named Lars. Be more subtle and use IM. The key is to talk to people first and be rejected personally and one at a time.
- Wearing that blue striped prison shirt from 2010
You are not a noob you are an alt. We know this. Change immediately.
If you are truly a noob, your best course of action is to stay low for a few visits. Observe what’s going on around you. Learn to dance ( click ball on stage – dance. Not too difficult) and try not to draw too much attention to yourself. Noobs who come on strong are usually but not always shunned depending of course on their entertainment value. Again, the parallels to real life are like visiting a foreign country or a bar in West Virginia and acting like you own the joint. Its most likely you will end the night driven off laying across the hood of a pick up truck like a gutted deer.
Recent Comments