Do you like my outfit today? As soon as Neve announced this new release, I ran to get it! Grime and Grit are a respective top and shorts set that makes me feel like it’s the 90’s again. Not that the 90’s were a particularly great decade for me growing up, but sometimes it’s fun remembering the fashions from back then. You can grab this set from Uber.
Not long ago, I bought an Oculus Quest and have been diving into the world of virtual reality. Doing everything from establishing a boxing practice routine with Thrill of the Fight, to exploring different maps in VRChat, there’s been a ton of things to see and do!
There are a few things I’d like to show you, though, just to bring home the point of how lovely and how immersive virtual reality can be.
There’s so many things happening in virtual reality and gaming lately, that I absolutely have to blog my opinion about it! Everything from Facebook Horizon, to the Oculus Quest headset, to the brand-new SL Blogger Network. Are you ready? Grab some tea and let’s have a chat!
Standing at the “Hotspot”, a fire pit located in the Nexus social club.
And so it came to pass after the lands of Juicy faded away in favor of nicely built houses, and the Mainland slowly became more barren, a new land rose up out of the depths of metaverse seed grants. It was fairer, and its people with new bodies milled about to create and speak to one another. They spoke of VR implementation and a Steam store page–
Sorry. I’ve been reading LoTR again lately.
Today I’m taking a look at Sansar, lovingly referred to by SL citizens as “Second Life 2.0”. I took a look at the game because my other friends on Plurk were kinda scared to, so I volunteered to step up and poke around. Yes, that was really a conversation on Plurk and I said I would go on behalf of everybody. So! Here I am, back from my trip and writing about it.
Before I begin, let me state that what I write here is my impression of the game. If I missed a fact or got something wrong, then that’s the fault of the user experience I received. I’m just going to present what I know.
Didn’t I warn that Bakes On Mesh was coming? I did. I said this was going to force mesh head makers to revert their UV maps back to standard SLUV, too, because everyone is going to start using standard skins more and more now. If you are a mesh head developer and your heads don’t adhere to standard SLUV, get on it. You will lose money eventually because customers are going to want to wear whatever skin they want with whatever head they buy.
So, what the hell is Bakes On Mesh?
Bakes on Mesh (yes, plural, according to this SL wiki page) is a new feature in Second Life that automatically “bakes” your standard skins and tattoo layers to your mesh bodies and heads. Whenever you switch skins or wear different layers of tattoos on your body, your mesh will automatically update your look without you having to do anything.
Over time, there will be less and less dependency on applier routers like Omega, because now Second Life’s system is the applier. However, you’ll want to check with your mesh body maker to be sure their body is BoM ready. If it isn’t, they should be updating soon.
Why is it that whatever I say sometimes causes so much fuss? A couple of weeks ago, I compared VRChat‘s avatar grading system to Second Life’s avatar complexity numbering, stating that we should adopt grades instead because it’s simpler for users to understand.
But Second Life likes to play the telephone game with re-quotes and paraphrases. Soon, my suggestion morphed through other mouths and turned into “I want us to pare down our avatars to Ruths”, and that’s not what I said at all. Do people read around here? Do they just like being outraged over things? Make a little cash with clicks in the process?
Whatever.
In an effort to retain my goal of an ultra-chill summer, I took to the seas of the Bellisseria continent to invest in deepwater fishing. And while I’m here, let’s do that “VRChat versus Second Life” comparison. We’ve already gone halfway with it. Why not take the whole kit?
It’s absolutely possible to get an anime-inspired eye without resorting to looking like a parody of an Asian person, or supporting a certain mesh head designer who’s known for bullying others. Let’s check out how the look is done.
“I’m a fiend, I’m a killer, only pledge allegiance to the highest bidder. In a world with no morals and a life with no meaning, there is no such thing as a sinner.” – Ghostwerk, Corporate Assassin (Netrun)
If you love cyberpunk everything like I do, you love any themed event of such that comes along and lets you shop for all the gear you’ll need for a futuristic look. Imagine my thrill at the Cyber/Punk event happening, especially its Psycho Byts gacha. I was able to get a pair of amazing cyber bento arms from it–a rare with just a few plays! Plus, some boots, a headset, and a dope-looking bodysuit.
I mixed up my look in the picture to show the average cyberpunk berzerker and how they might look if you encountered one.
Alright, so you go shopping for all this stuff and then you say to yourself, “Where can I go roleplay as a cool cyberpunker?” And to that I tell you… yeah, sorry, those opportunities are dwindling in SL. Roleplay in SL is dwindling. Should we talk about that?
In every artists’ life, there’s a slew of grant and residency applications we apply for. Many of those applications face rejections. It’s the game of numbers you run when applying for one seat and a crowd of people who want the position! You can’t always contact the judge before you submit either, so you might not know how to put your best foot forward when pitching a project.
In real life, there are sometimes informational meetings to clear up confusion and allow grant applicants to understand what the judges are looking for. I figure in this case, a blog post might help.
So here’s my advice. I’m separating this into bullet points for do’s and don’ts.
The weekend’s here, and I’m not feeling anything other than getting ready to hit the beach irl tomorrow. While I’m on the shore contemplating new ways to paint, here’s some questions I’ve got for you. My fab list is brought to you by RC Cluster’s Lifty Fizz Soda, plus my brand-new super-cute skin that’s out right now.
Did you know you can make your own Bento mesh head? Buy this creator’s program from Yabusaka Loon, and play with the sliders until you’ve got a face you’re happy with. Further customization can be achieved by editing the mesh file in Blender, if you’re so inclined. Omega carries an easy installation kit for your finished head, too.
You got Slink Dynamic Hands, great. What about nails, y’all? Get on the long tips train and pick up some nails from Gorgeous Dolls. They even carry a claws set!
Did you know there’s a free Bento hands poser on Marketplace? Aren’t I seriously saving your life right now?
Have you checked out the new exhibit of Second Life’s history? I initially thought it would be a pile of cheerleading horseradish, but it turned out to have both praise and criticism of the company’s past. I recommend checking it out if you can.
Know that Bento horse I wrote about a bit ago? It’s being released tomorrow! The final price of the horse is L3889. There will be English and Western horses available to buy; if you purchase one variant, you can get the other horse for L1950.
That’s it from me! I’m off for outings, beachings, and tannings. See ya!
