tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post8016019517972005849..comments2023-11-02T02:20:42.056-07:00Comments on The Ephemeral Frontier: Living the Good Life on 20 primsDiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-28857392223582238402010-02-10T18:14:27.331-08:002010-02-10T18:14:27.331-08:00I'd say mainly because they don't care. I...I'd say mainly because they don't care. It would take time to code and test, and there is enough free third-party software that it isn't a necessity. I'm actually more surprised there isn't a native animation creation method than there isn't one for sculpties.Ernst Osterhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03316502662924295267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-53167166017575005202010-02-10T09:09:13.875-08:002010-02-10T09:09:13.875-08:00Hey Ernst,
Ok, I see what you were getting at. Y...Hey Ernst,<br /><br />Ok, I see what you were getting at. Yeah, that would be nice if there were simple tools built in so it would be convenient to work with the forms even on a somewhat basic level.<br /><br />So any thoughts why why they wouldn't have introduced those "basic yet useful tools"?Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-53234506726764711352010-02-09T23:26:16.472-08:002010-02-09T23:26:16.472-08:00I'm not so much concerned that new residents/c...I'm not so much concerned that new residents/creators can't compete with experienced ones, people new at something will always be at a learning and skill disadvantage in a market. <br /><br />I was thinking more that the addition to sculpties into SL sort of "broke" the idea of SL as a building platform in itself. The basic idea of prims and the building menu within the viewer made SL its own 3D modeling platform that every resident could use to the best of their skill. With sculpties (and soon meshes) this shifts to making the focus outside third-party software, uploading creations ready-built into SL for use. <br /><br />Progress? Sure. But sad in a way. I still would like to see some basic yet useful tools for creating animations and sculpties/meshes integrated into the viewer. It wouldn't have to be anywhere near as good as the commercial software, but it would give a much larger group of residents a chance to try their hand at their creation.Ernst Osterhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03316502662924295267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-76894972305991611752010-02-09T10:34:41.459-08:002010-02-09T10:34:41.459-08:00Hey Rhia and Ernst,
Yeah, that is an interesting ...Hey Rhia and Ernst,<br /><br />Yeah, that is an interesting question you bring up. Although I would argue that there has always been a certain level of disparity between novice and amateur builders, and the skilled pros who have significant business prospects.<br /><br />The fact was that it always required practice and hard work to make the most saleable products. But at the same time, anyone could start mashing prims and experiment and often timed they eventually would catch the bug to get on with learning how to make better stuff and to get the tools and skills to do so.<br /><br />And there still isn't anything to keep the most unskilled prim masher--like me--from making stuff you need and or want. You just have to accept that it may take a lot more prims than someone else's elegant textured sculpt work. Like I say, I am a complete clotpoll at building, but the platform provided tools that allowed me to make things like pontoon bridges, dry sinks, miners' bunks, tables, benches, bars, cuneiform tablets, rock piles, garden follies, fortifications, temples, artillery carriages, framed pictures, stove pipes, roads and sidewalks, watch towers, railings and lamp posts, and a blacksmith's forge, among other things.<br /><br />Even though I can't work a sculpty to save my frakkin' life, I still feel like Crockett Johnson's "Harold and the Purple Crayon," capable of drawing things I need from thin air. Yeah, they may be a little crude sometimes, or they may require more prims to make than would be considered ideal, but they cost me nothing except the texture upload and some time. But then I'm usually not interested in trying to sell these things.<br /><br />So is it harder for a new craftsperson to begin making stuff and to compete on a commercial level with skilled and experienced content creators? Yeah. But then you can also argue there is another level of disparity that exists within the advanced commercial class as well. It's like Ernst's hammerless shotgun or Jasper Kiergarten's Sharp's rifle. These are just so beautifully made that they completely kick the asses of other similar weapons that successful, experienced weapons makers are producing and selling.<br /><br />It's really kind of a crap shoot isn't it?<br /><br />If people get discouraged from making things because other people already make really great stuff....geez, I don't know what to say to help them feel better about themselves and maybe go ahead and try. Sometimes you gotta be willing to run the risk of failing, and just grab yourself by the crotch and drag yourself forward into the fray.Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-91699124271074080942010-02-09T09:01:41.840-08:002010-02-09T09:01:41.840-08:00As someone who can hardly rez a plywood cube, I ha...As someone who can hardly rez a plywood cube, I have to buy pretty much everything I have in SL, so this kind of development is (mostly) all good to me. The "mostly" is that those sculpted prims seem to take forever to rez into shape, which means going from place to place is less than thrilling; the first ten minutes are spent watching blobs slowly form into shapes.<br /><br />But I can see that this sort of thing discourages the amateur creators and diminishes the "fun" of SL for them. The Linden gods giveth and taketh away...Rhianon Jamesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13627163137265856251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-73624096728903030162010-02-09T08:30:40.269-08:002010-02-09T08:30:40.269-08:00A lot of the sculpted furniture is amazing. The o...A lot of the sculpted furniture is amazing. The one downside I see to it though is that it raises the bar dramatically for new content creators based largely on the scarcity of prims.<br /><br />A lot of the low-prim sculpted furniture contains no more detail or features than can be achieved with normal prims. However making a low-prim sculpted piece requires skill with or access to often expensive and complicated third-party software. <br /><br />Its proliferation is part of what I see as a gradual move within SL away from amateur resident creators and towards people with RL professional skillsets and software making all desireable content.Ernst Osterhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03316502662924295267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-56635376620514543632010-02-09T07:32:40.941-08:002010-02-09T07:32:40.941-08:00Hey Fogwoman!
Dang. I'm sorry to hear that t...Hey Fogwoman!<br /><br />Dang. I'm sorry to hear that the Amusing Details folks have pulled the plug. Dang.<br /><br />But I do like you tale of the 18-prim dorm room kits. Hehe, yes, actually I think you hit the nail on the head, that what many of these lowprim/sculpty crafter folks can accomplish is nothing short of magical. I'm not sure if they actually had to enter into some kind of Faustian bargain to do so, but I wouldn't be surprised.<br /><br />Hmmm. Now you've got me curious. I'm going to go check to see if there's a "Mephistopheles Linden."Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-55541644267997553752010-02-09T00:45:55.325-08:002010-02-09T00:45:55.325-08:00I read this avidly, as I had a similar challenge i...I read this avidly, as I had a similar challenge in furnishing the dorm rooms at Oxbridge. Not being a sculpty wizard I managed to create a room pack with a sofa, a bookcase, a rug, a picture frame with photos inside, a lamp and a sculpted fireplace with log and fire for under 18 prims. My other challenge was the requirement that it all be full permissions, which meant I could not source out with some of the amazingly talented sculptors I knew (besides my in-house tech support who made the lovely fireplace). The Messmers of Amusing Details (who just recently left SL, sadly) have been making some gorgeous Victorian low prim furniture for some time and have provided much of the upholstered furnishings of my places all over SL. Nowadays talented sculpt artists abound, and low prim furniture is so amazing to merit accusations of the Dark Arts being involved in their creation :)Aunt Foggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09822854807566491775noreply@blogger.com