[Opensim-users] Problem with sculpties was Re: Speaking of Content Theft, How About Our Own Backyard?

Thu Feb 25 14:00:11 UTC 2010

I think I finally broke free of my SL addiction through OS.  Then again,
once I was finally able to migrate all my work into OS that helped
immeasurably.

When Zindra opened up I teamed up with one of the so-called land sharks to
purchase a full region, then I took 16,384m2 in the precise center of the
region as my own and he sold off the rest in 12 4,096m2 parcels.

I devoted myself to that land area for a long time, mainly because it was
1/4 sim so it cost "just" $75 a month in tier.  But also because its precise
center was 128,128 which aided me in many of my designs.  As mentioned
before, I'm fairly maths-dependent on much of my day to day reasoning and so
using a starting point for everything I built at 128,128,128 XYZ coords made
my virtual life easier to deal with.

Now with OS I find it more and more difficult to justify paying $75 a month
for 1/4 of a sim, especially since I can now create an unlimited number of
sims for nothing..  I can only hope that eventually OS will have as slick
and intuitive avatar control as Second Life now has.  That is the one thing
that still daws me to SL.  Being able to walk about and move freely with so
much control is a good feeling compared to my clumsy and "thrashing" control
in OS.  And walking up stairs will be a joyous occasion in OpenSim when I no
longer have to use invisible ramps to avoid constant tripping and squatting
when going up them.  :)

On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 6:54 AM, John Mieske <johnmieske at gmail.com> wrote:

> You know I would have to agree with you both. I don't care for sculpties
> except for a couple things. However the reason lately I have been forced to
> use sculpties for more and more items is because of the higher and higher
> land prices to lower and lower prims to that land ratios. So people in SL
> are being forced to find whatever they can to cut down costs and still get
> enough prims. SL is crazy expensive, which is one reason I hated SL
> lately..
>
> John
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 1:59 AM, Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> If you want a real gauge of my seriousness and devotion to Prim
>> Evangelism, my avatar in Second Life and now in OpenSim'OSGrid is a single
>> solitary floating prim - a little wooden box drifting about on the breeze or
>> bouncing happily along the ground when not flying.
>>
>> My profile says it all, thusly "I refuse to think outside the box."
>>
>> My alt avie is Sculpt Nazi on OSGrid.  My slogan - "No sculpt for you!"
>> like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.  :)
>>
>> :)
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 11:14 PM, Karen Palen <karen_palen at yahoo.com>wrote:
>>
>>> > "I'm not God, but I play one in OpenSim."
>>>
>>> I love it - don't we all do that though? LOL
>>>
>>> To me, one of the problems with the Linden Labs architecture is that
>>> everything is so very much dependant on the viewer. It certainly makes sense
>>> from a server/client perspective, but from a simulation perspective it
>>> sucks! The rendering inconsistencies are only one of the problems. Sigh.
>>>
>>> I first ran across "sculpties" as NURBS, either on Poser or 3DS Max. They
>>> make a lot more sense with that implementation! In essence they were
>>> intended to model organic type structures which are inherently "squishy" in
>>> nature. They do that job very well, and even the strange morphs due to
>>> viewer problems do not violate the believability in an "organic" type of
>>> object like a pillow.
>>>
>>> I agree that the SL "sculpties" have been sadly mis-used as a short cut
>>> to produce complex shapes of all kinds.
>>>
>>> A window frame is just a mess as a sculptie! That kind of kludge will
>>> certainly run into some nasty problems later (far worse than we see now!)
>>> since they are now solidly built into the structure of the Sl environment
>>> for better or for worse!
>>>
>>> Probably it would be much better to model that kind of object with a
>>> texture somehow - textures at least seem to work quite well.
>>>
>>> I am looking forward to the incorporation of the RealXtend handling of
>>> actual mesh objects into OpenSim though. A mesh really does model most real
>>> world objects quite closely.
>>>
>>> Obviously the more closely your model conforms to what you are depicting
>>> then the better your depiction - if only because the "kludges" necessary to
>>> make things work are minimised.
>>>
>>> Still we have what we have for all its shortcomings.
>>>
>>> Anyway thanks for enlightening me. I am not as passionate about it as
>>> you, but I certainly agree that "sculpties" are mis-used in SL and OpenSim!
>>>
>>> Karen
>>>
>>> --- On Wed, 2/24/10, Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > From: Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com>
>>> > Subject: Re: [Opensim-users] Problem with sculpties was Re: Speaking of
>>> Content Theft, How About Our Own Backyard?
>>> > To: opensim-users at lists.berlios.de
>>> > Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 8:26 PM
>>> > I'd also like to add that I know I can
>>> > make adjustments to my viewer so the sculpts render beter
>>> > and more cleanly, even at greater distances.  But I feel
>>> > like "modifying the viewer" so that I can better
>>> > see the world is like wearing glasses when I have 20/20
>>> > vision.  I already know what the world looks like and do
>>> > not need anything to assist me.  If, in its natural state,
>>> > the world is a blur and sculpted mess, then there is
>>> > something, to me, inherently wrong with the world and it
>>> > must therefore be repaired.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > for me, proper reparation is removing the offending item -
>>> > sculpts.
>>> >
>>> > "I'm not God, but I play one in OpenSim."
>>> >
>>> > LOL
>>> >
>>> > On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 9:20 PM,
>>> > Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Karen,
>>> >
>>> > When I fist started seeing sculpties I was impressed.  The
>>> > rounded edges on cushions, the ability to render fully
>>> > complex tlattices and window frames with only a single prim,
>>> > etc.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > But I felt a feeling I can only describe as
>>> > "nausea" the first few times I came upon something
>>> > and watched its twisted, contorted and violently mis-shapen
>>> > form gradually snap into shape as the sculptmaps rezzed and
>>> > the sculpties themselves take their final form.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > A similar feeling comes over me when I either approach
>>> > something comprised of sculpts, or back away from something
>>> > comprised of them.  The way they kind of snap in and out of
>>> > shape, distorting and forming depending on my distance and
>>> > Internet connection just makes me feel ill.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On the other hand, when I walk into a shop that containes
>>> > objects of the same degree of complexity, but that render
>>> > instantaneously as a series of individual prims, I just get
>>> > this relaxing and calm feeling that "life has rendered
>>> > beautifully" once again.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Like I said, it's a personal thing and I don't
>>> > expect anyone to understand it fully.  It just seems very
>>> > VERY unnatural for me in a virtual world to have sculpted
>>> > items when the core nature of the world is all a matter of
>>> > X-Y-Z coordinates and clean-cut numerical values to
>>> > everything.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > A prim-based flagpole and flag, for example, to me is a
>>> > mathematical thing of beauty, even as the flag sways in the
>>> > breeze, it's the result of pure numbers.
>>> >
>>> > But a sculpted flagpole and flag seems like a massive mess
>>> > of numbers all tangled together and disorganized, trying to
>>> > make sense but never being quite capable.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > I hope that helps a little bit.  :)
>>> >
>>> > - Len
>>> >
>>> > On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 9:06 PM,
>>> > Karen Palen <karen_palen at yahoo.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Your statement intrigues me - what
>>> > is your problem with sculpties?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > In my ignorance I see them as just one more way to achieve
>>> > a difficult goal. Actually somewhat more in step with the
>>> > greater 3d world than prims!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > What am I missing here?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Karen
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --- On Wed, 2/24/10, Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > > From: Len Brown <lenwbrown at gmail.com>
>>> >
>>> > > Subject: Re: [Opensim-users] Speaking of Content
>>> > Theft, How About Our Own  Backyard?
>>> >
>>> > > To: opensim-users at lists.berlios.de
>>> >
>>> > > Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 7:47 PM
>>> >
>>> > > I've always had a strong fondness for
>>> >
>>> > > expressing my creativity in a 3D representation.  I
>>> > was
>>> >
>>> > > lucky enough to find a platform with Second Life where
>>> > I
>>> >
>>> > > could also see a profit from my interest.
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > > But like with the recording industry, change is
>>> > inevitable
>>> >
>>> > > in the platform and as must likewise learn to adapt.
>>> > I
>>> >
>>> > > believe the most difficult thing to overcome is the
>>> > natural
>>> >
>>> > > tendency toward stagnation of reason.  I want things
>>> > to
>>> >
>>> > > remain the same because that is what I'm most
>>> >
>>> > > comfortable with.
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > > Second Life of yesteryear is not the Second Life of
>>> > today,
>>> >
>>> > > and the same is true of OpenSim.  For example,
>>> > I'm so
>>> >
>>> > > opposed to the use of sculpties it's almost
>>> > evangelical
>>> >
>>> > > in nature.  I absolutely detest them in any
>>> > "shape,
>>> >
>>> > > form or fashion."  But that is because I'm
>>> > old
>>> >
>>> > > school.  I 'cut my teeth' learning 3D
>>> >
>>> > > virtualization when the basic prim and its derivatives
>>> > were
>>> >
>>> > > all you had to work with, so creatively working with
>>> > that
>>> >
>>> > > medium was all I had.  Now one can create a
>>> > limitless
>>> >
>>> > > assortment of items simply by the use of sculpties.
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > > But if I can learn to accommodate sculpt maps into my
>>> >
>>> > > virtual life, then surely I can accommodate other
>>> > changes,
>>> >
>>> > > including a new business model surrounding my
>>> > passion.
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > > - Len
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> > > -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
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>>> >
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>>> >
>>> > > https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-users
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> - Len W. Brown
>>   lenwbrown at gmail.com
>>      http://www.lenfocenter.com
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> John Mieske / Winword Exonar
> http://johnmieske.org
> Space Grid Station
>
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>

-- 
- Len W. Brown
  lenwbrown at gmail.com
     http://www.lenfocenter.com
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