Reflections & final product

Well its finally finished…

Hindsight is an interesting thing isn’t it. Of course if I was given a do over I would do things differently. Wouldn’t we all? For me this would amusingly enough involve less planning and not more so as to let things evolve on their own as opposed to following a planned sketch. During the initial building phase I was far too focused on “the plan” for it to even occur to me to explore alternative possibilities. One of the major things I would change is the height of the build. Most of my prims went into the stairs and branches need to cover a tree so large. In a do over scenario I would focus more on an overall purpose such as a tree club house with comfy seating and interesting interior rather than having the tree span three levels. One of things I have learnt is good sculptie vs a bad sculptie (they warp when you are not close to them or maybe that is just my awful internet connection) and about scultpie’s in general which are amazing things! I would have loved to have had lessons on creating them. And another huge factor for me was time. Rome was not built in a day and neither was my build. I rushed ahead with the initial build and then discovered I should have textured as I built as going over the whole thing again was a tiresome chore. As I went over my default texture wood build I tried a heap of different textures on the staircase but none of the had them had the natural aesthetic I was looking for so the first time through I picked a patterned yellow tile with different repeats and rotations on different faces. At first I was happy with my choice but as my build progressed I decided I did not like it and wanted to change it. Instead of uploading yet more textures I decided to try the texture boards on Koru again as one of the biggest problem I ran into with uploading my own textures was that they did not repeat perfectly most of the time. One of the texture boards had a patterned stone texture that I had initially not thought to try as I had thought was to dark but it worked it out anyway and the finished product looks much better and I am glad that I took the time. One of the strengths of the build in my opinion is the overall scope of the build. It spans over three levels and still manages to be balanced and not look too unnatural which was one of my initial concerns. One of the weaknesses is that there is not comfy and cosy area to sit and listen to the birds sing because the prim restriction in combination with the large height grounded my building to a screeching halt. The whole build has a bit of a sterile feel even given its nature inspired environment and I wish I had more time to make it look more like the image in my head. Overall the build went rather well and its looks much better than the crude sketches from my planning stage which I think is in large part due to the box enclosure that surrounds the platform. Thanks for the tip Isa! All in all I’ve enjoyed building in Second Life and may just return some time, course work load permitting, to see what else I can come up with…..

Requirements for a build with visual complexity

A minimum of 50 and a maximum of 300 prims used in the construction

Floating high above Koru encased in a large white box is my build. At last count the land impact was sitting at exactly so the 300 prim max has been reached.

At least three different primitive types

Many different primitive object types have been used throughout the build including Torus, Cylinder, Sphere, Box and Cone fulfilling the primitive object type requirement.

At least four different forms of prim manipulation

Cut, twist, hollow and slice have all been used on the hand rails for the staircase fulfilling the prim manipulation requirement.

At least two different texture manipulations

The texture manipulation requirement is fulfilled by the glowing lamp orbs and the shiny surface of the pond

The appropriate use of multiple textures on a prim

The Welcome Sign has a custom made texture on the front and another on the back of the flat central prim. The box surrounding the environment also has different textures on opposite faces.

The use of at least three textures with transparency

The lamp orb, the upper surface of the pond and many, many, many trees more than cover the transparent texture requirement.

An animated texture

Ponds two surfaces rotate in opposite directions giving the illusion of movement

 

An instance of a prim with Flexible Path

Many, many, many branches and trees cover the flexible path requirement. The upward shape of the branches being achieved with negative gravity

 

An instance of a prim with Light

The roof on the top level illuminates the platform below

 

The use of at least two sculpties

A fountain in the pond, the tree with surrounding bench and the seating area and benches and are all purchased sculpties

An appropriate particle system

A particle system has been put in place that issues a butterfly png texture. This has been used a few time with different textures.

The use of different textures and colours throughout the build with consideration given to using appropriate textures, texture repeats, offsets and rotations

AND

The appropriate scale for purpose both in construction and texture use

I feel that I have met these requirements. I have uploaded, tested and discarded countless textures in my quest to get my build to look how I pictured it would. Textures have been repeated in relation to the varying sizes of the objects and different repeats and rotations applied to different faces of those objects. Huge landscape textures have been uploaded for the interior faces of the box that houses the build to create the illusion of more space and help tie everything together.

Building – Continued

Things are shaping up rather well at this stage. I have got some more foliage on my naked tree but more is needed as this week I focused more on for filling some more of the requirements.

I have a nice dark wood texture on the staircase hand rails and on the top platform and roof which is very effective. I am not sure about it with the yellow tile I chose for the steps but the tile was by far the best fit of all the textures I tried due to the wedge shape of the steps.

That staircase has been the bane of my existence. I should have textured the step before building my staircase. Hello learning curve moment. Texture your prim before you copy it if you want more than one the same otherwise you will end up redoing your work again and again. Seems logical now.

The particle system was another small adventure. I misunderstood the rules of a visual complexity build and thought I could use things that others had created in my build. So out went the white butterflies with flapping wings that move around at random that I had purchased and in went a flat texture particle system that I created after a quick trip to the Particle Laboratory.

The final construction this week was a welcome sign that I made up in Photoshop. I hope to squeeze in time to make a small river or brook. There is too much empty space around the tree and it also ticks off an animated texture from my build requirements. All visitors welcome as feedback is appreciated.

Problems and Issues – How they are resolved (or not as the case may be)

In my rough initial week by week plan I was going to do my Requirements Met blog this week but I have had more problems than requirements met so I have decided to swap them around.

My many fun little problems are as follows:

THE PROBLEM: The Braches?!?!

My bright idea to use flexible path for my central branches is proving to be one amusing problem. I decided to use flexible path both because it is a requirement and because I could give the branches a nice and realistic series of kinks well still using a single prim. The problem. They are flexible path prims and simple will not stop moving.

THE FIX: I upped the tension and resistance and downed the wind but they will simple not stop their wiggling around. Branches are not supposed to wiggle. At this stage I can ignore it if I don’t look too closely at it.

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THE PROBLEM: Platform Roof

My conceptual platform roofs will not fit as walking up the staircase is trick enough with branches sticking out willy nilly.  Well they would fit if all Avatars were Pink Rainbow Unicorn sized and sadly that is not the case. (not sure why, who doesn’t love a pink rainbow unicorn)

THE FIX: Abandon it. At lease at this stage. The top platform roof is still a go though.

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PROBLEM: The View Point

Alt Ctrl to pan view sounds simple in theory but not so simple in practice. It I move my mouse too far I end up looking at empty space in the middle of nowhere. And it happens a lot.

THE FIX: Practice pure and simple. And regular breaks to avoid frustration.

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THE PROBLEM: Textures

A first $10L to upload a texture does not seem like a lot but when you add the fact that you don’t know if the texture will look how you want it becomes an expensive and time consuming process. The leaf png textures all looked terrible due to the size of my tree and I don’t fancy forking out $1000L for a branch texture pack.

This has a sub problem. The dollar count in general is climbing. I found a really nice glowing fairy particle system and did not get it due to the huge price tag. Instead getting a white butterfly one for a tiny fraction of the price.

THE FIX: The generosity of others. I asked around and was given a few png textures of trees and leaves. After trying them out I decided that having trees on my branches as leafy branches was going to give me the effect I wanted not just a leaf texture.

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THE PROBLEM: My unnatural looking tree.

As anticipated I have on my hands one very unnatural looking tree. I’m thinking that this is due to the sheer size of the tree and the lack of branches off the branches with tree textures as branches off them.

THE FIX: More work. More time. More effort.

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THE PROBLEM: Time

There just does not seem to be enough of it. I and really glad that when I wrote my scheduled I gave myself an extra week for when “this takes far longer than I think it will” I’m going to need it.

THE FIX: Someone needs to build me a cloning machine or give me the ability to freeze time.

So ends this fun little rant. It has helped immensity I feel much better and must be getting back too it…

Design and Development – Initial Build

Initial building has begun and so have a laundry list of fun little problems. The whole build at this stage is looking more than a little funny without branches on it and my bark texture simple is not working, thinking perhaps that it is too big and too uniform. It needs moss or something to make it look more natural. I am as anticipated having issues reproducing something from nature. I have on my hands one unnatural looking tree.

The staircase from the note card in the Ivory Tower of Prims worked out really well. It’s balanced and even and was very easy to make and add too. Made up of flat and cut cylinder prims and rotated and raised from the same point it took far less time than anticipated. Isn’t basic math wonderful.

At this stage I have not found a texture for the stairs or the platforms. I trailed a number of different metal and wood textures but nothing looked quite right. I may finish the tree and put in the branches before I try again.

I have added a number of lamps within my handrails to anchor them to the build. Initially I only had a few but I plan to add more at even intervals as I like the effect.

The large branches supporting the top platform are proving tricky to join up with the trunk as some part of the trunk always seems to be sticking out. Trial and error gets a little frustrating when your trial only returns error. But after a few days break I’ll get back at it.

My  prim count is climbing I will need to take care from this point as I do not have leafy branches on my central branches and for a tree this size I will need a rather large number of them.

Initial Planning

Content Creation with Visual Complexity.

As I mentioned in my Assignment Three Brainstorming blog I plan to construct a tree house / fairy house / platforms in a tree type of thing.

So naturally my planning started with a tree. A really big one. Now for some strange reason making things that already exist in nature is hard. Or at least having them look half descent is.  I have noticed that when an amateur artist attempts to sketch an animal they look like something from a bad science fiction film and I wish wholeheartedly to avoid this phenomenon.

As I navigated thought my google image search for really big trees I kept coming across a lot of trees in various stages throughout the seasons. This gave me a good idea for a scripted change in texture so you can select if the leaf texture is summer green, autumn orange or winter white. Interesting notion but putting it into practice will be challenging. Putting this on the back burner.

My google image searching also yielded many real world treehouse which I plan to poach ideas from. Of cause I am not limited by silly things like gravity which should make things considerably easier ( I hope).

I have little expectation that the final product will look anything like my crude sketch (picasso I am not) but it should provide me with a good place to start. I am unsure how I will get the planned hanging dome platform roofing to fit with the staircases above and below but that’s where trial and error comes in.

I am anticipating that time management (or the lack there of) is going to be a large factor in this build so I have created a rough time frame to try and help myself keep on track as due dates tend to sneak up on me (on occasion) and I don’t think I can fit this into a night before mad rush.

I have a feeling that sculpties are going to be my best friend with filling in the gaps in what I can and can’t create myself. I want to create an eerie and ethereal vibe so lots of moss, soft light (this is where the glowing small fairy partial system will come in) and maybe some fog. I am going to have to locate and trial a huge amount to textures to find something that fits with the vibe I’m going for. Let the hunt begin…

I would like to also create a wild park to surround this tree in but I am beginning to think I will need to simplify this as 300 prims is not that many. Darn. I wonder if the prim restriction is negotiable…..

Assignment Three Brainstorm

After an outline of the possible options for assignment three I was tossing up between making a machinima titled “The Adventures of the Pink Rainbow Unicorn” showing the places I have been within Second Life as visiting fantastic locations is my favourite aspect of Second Life or building an elaborate tree house / fairy house type of thing.

After watching a few how too videos I abandoned the idea of making a machinima because I think that on top of my other papers and my part time job I would not have enough time to come up with a visual concept, shoot enough footage and edit it. From what little I know about film making the editing is what takes the most time and I don’t have a lot of it to spare so making a tree house it is.

I have been teaching my mother to make PowerPoint presentations as she wanted to make one about Pinterest for her ToastMasters group. This resulted is numerous visits to Pinterest to find images for her to use and also where my treehouse idea originated so it also seemed like the logical place to start for my research for my initial concept designs.

I like the idea of multi levelled viewing platforms and of a spiral staircase with handrails to make it easier to walk up without walking off. Fitting the branches around the platforms will be tricky I think as I want it to build on a central tree not across three or four. Sketches to follow in initial planning stage.

I have also found some pictures that could be incorporated into some interesting outdoor furniture. And I must remember to do some more investigation into temporary prims as I would like light partials, small fairies or fireflies to float around the branches.

StoryBrooke Gardens

Just a quick honorable mention. This place is really quite something. A real labor of love and well worth a visit SURL

The Community at Luskwood

“Luskwood is a friendly, serene spot that first began as a tiny plot in Lusk with a treehouse built by Eltee Statosky. You can hang out on one of the wooden decks and talk for hours, or sit alone on the ridge and watch the sun go down.”

I have found it to be a base for furry meeting and greeting. You will almost always find a group of furries sitting about on cushions making idle conversations. Curious? Here is the SURL for you to pay them a visit yourself. They also have their own website.

On arrival you can just click the green sign to join and away you go on your furry adventure. Luskwood will send you announcements when there is a meeting or dance on. I have noticed that they usually send these out an hour before an event starts and then again at the advertised time. Some of the announcements I have received were for group games some for dance party’s some for live music and others for group viewings of new episodes pony tv shows. Luskwood is a diverse community with many different types of activities available for those seeking social engagements, entertainment and discussion.

Luskwood also create and sell the most fantastic furry Avatars. Bunnies and foxes, cats and bats with even the odd mythical creature in the mix. There’s something for everyone.

 

On my first visit I purchased a new Avatar. Meet the new me!

On my second visit I participated in a meeting of the minds. Our Avatars just sat around and chatted. Others were interested to hear that I was studying IT and logging in from New Zealand. I got the impression Kiwis aren’t the biggest Second Life users.

 

Even though my noob status is still firmly in place I was welcomed among the furry folk. I received a lot of helpful hints and destination suggestions. The longer I spent talking to the others the more I came to realise that the furry community is thriving within Second Life as a near constant stream of Avatars came and went throughout my visit.

One thing I did notice about Luskwood as I took a longer look around was that it is defiantly not the most visually impressive of locations. Not a destination for stunning screen shots but it’s always busy with visitors none the less. The below picture of the witch Baba Yaga’s house is interesting thought. Someone must like their fairy tales.

The next event I attended what was advertised as Daydreams parlour games extraordinar “Join me in Trotsdale Square for Caption This! I’ll bring the stupid images, you bring the witty captions. ” Upon arrival I discovered that most of the others in attendance were mini pony’s and rainbow unicorns. This was a trend I had not yet witnessed on my previous visits. I of cause immediate went off in search of one of my very own. There was also in addition to the Caption This! a sailing ship doing loops in the fountain and a working trampoline and ofcouse much pony related conversation.

Today I received an announcement for a Disco Party! And logged in to have a look around. Unfortunately due to my Internet connection playing up I moved around at the pace on a snail and despite the map showing a large number of avatars in my area I could only see four of them. I felt this was worth mentioning only because of the transport system you use to get to the Disco. Sort of like rune stones that teleport you to various locations.

Thanks to a couple of day extension I was able to give attending a furry Disco Party another go. Fortunately this time around it was not at 3 am in the morning or well I was at work and I experienced minimal lag.

Sadly if I said the music was fantastic I would be lying. I was OK I guess but it included a lot of overly sped up dance anthem remixes and poorly timed mash-ups which just aren’t me. If you like Moloko’s 1999 Hit song “Sing It Back” then this was the party for you.

The Disco Box itself was interesting. This floating platform has a stage and speakers featured at one end and appears to just be hanging in the middle of deep space. Who needs disco lights when you can party in the milky way.

In hindsight I have learnt more then I expected in joining a community. When I initially joined Luskwood the title above my head changed and it took a good few minutes and a google search to figure out how to change it back. How to locate past announcement and to see a list of group members involved more googling. These things are now second nature and now I have reasons other then class sessions to log into Second Life.

Protecting Intellectual Property

The ever entertaining Urban Dictionary tells me intellectual property is

“A legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other abstract subject matter. This reflects that the idea is a product of one’s mind or intellect, and that property rights can be applied to these ideas and that they may be protected by law in the same way as any other form of property.”

But then its top definition of intellectual is “Someone who has found something more interesting than sex and alcohol.”

This is vastly entertaining but a little off base. In Second Life the Permissions system is used to protect the resident’s intellectual property or “product of one’s mind or intellect”. This system means that you can decide what others can do with your creations. Residents cannot copy, modify, transfer or move things you own unless you allow it.

This as with real life copy right only works to some extent. The permissions cannot stop a determined person from recreating something from scratch by memory or from a picture and the virtual domain it far too big to police this aspect. But hay they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

CopyBot is another kettle of fish altogether. Created by the libsecondlife development team as a “backup tool” CopyBot can export objects from Second Life to an external XML file which can then be shared on the internet with anyone which bypasses the object permissions altogether. After it was released there were naturally a large number of unhappy residents whose work was now being shared across the internet. There were also people copying work and then going on to sell it as their own. As so often happens something that was designed and built with good intentions had a rather adverse effect.

OpenSimulator offers you something similar to CopyBot except it does not bypass the permissions. If you are the owner of an object you can export said object to an OpenSimulator Archive or OAR file. These archives can “restore the terrain, region parcel data, the textures of objects and their inventories when loaded onto a completely different system using a different asset database.” Interested? Have a look at OpenSimulators website for more information.

Virtual copyright, the moral dilemma of the digital age. Since the tech boom of the 21^st Century this has been a growing problem with no visible solution in sight. I think because of the degree of separation the computer screen provides our brains somehow put taking whatever is on the internet into the its ok to do this box.Once again the Urban Dictionary has great things to say about copyright.

“Something that doesn’t exist in China.”

“A lame excuse to rake in as much cash as one can, while keeping the others at bay.”

“Something that’s used extensively by corporations to “own” everything.” They may all be true this last one sums up the situation rather well.

“A claim made by a concept’s creator or owner that said concept is theirs and theirs alone. Use of copyright is protected legally, but many people feel that the concept is ethically invalid – leading to the rise of Internet file-sharing. Often cited using a © symbol, followed by a year.”

As a creator you can choose to restrict or open up your content as choose you but keep in mind the above factors. If you choose to sell your creations at an outlandish price they people will enviable find ways around paying it. You have instead the option of charging a smaller fee and achieving many more sales. Alternatively you could allow others to use them for free but not transfer and state you as the owner. In the event someone does illegally copy something you own then you’re going to be in for a lengthy legal process that may yield little or no result due to lack of proof.

In the end protecting what’s yours, in my opinion, comes down to not so much what you do but more on what everyone else chooses to do. Sure you can set your item permissions to not let others modify, copy or transfer and you may register your copyright and charge a small fee but people are going to do what they are going to do. All you can do is hope there are more honest people out there willing to pay the small fee then ones after something free with questionable origins.