Return of the Time War Daleks!

As previous entries will reveal to readers unaware of last year's fiasco, the last time Dalek avatars came up in association with my name, it didn't go very well.  That was entirely my fault, it was stupid, I got caught, and had to admit it publicly.  That cost me a few friends and trashed my reputation.  Again, my fault entirely.

Since then, many things have happened, but lately work has been underway to correct my previous mistakes.

And so, without further adieu, I am proud to present you with the first of what is hoped to be the resurrection of the (hybrid) Daleks.

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/SFE-Dalek-Supreme/4261825

The new Dalek Supreme was made under the account of Malcolm Danick, and is priced at 400L$.  Features include HUD control, flashing dome lights when typing, head rotation, laser beam effect, and an opening and closing casing.

The avatars were built under supervision.  Some parts, such as the eye stalk, plunger, and interior parts, were used from my old line with permission.  Everything else was made by Malcolm Danick and scripted to function as you see in the pictures.  Other Dalek avatars in the line will be released as they are finished testing.

The design is a concept one blending the classic series Daleks with the Russell T. Davies-era versions, with some features unique to this line.  The shoulder slats are spaced farther apart, and two handle bars are mounted on each shoulder behind the arm boxes, the for attaching grenade belts and other weapons or tools.  Color schemes include gray, red, blue, and supreme, with rank numbers below the eye stalks.

In-world, you can visit our vendors here:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Naughty%20Naughty/220/100/23

Stay tuned for further updates!

Jumping the Shark with Mesh?

Rumors (and blog posts) are flying that some Whovian regions are using spiffy new mesh builds, with at least one sim going all in to completely revamp.  As I've written here and here, I think completely redesigning a region with mesh builds is premature.

For one thing, more SL users are still using third-party viewers that do not yet have the ability to see mesh builds in all their glory — stability issues with Viewer 2 and Viewer 3, and strong dislike for the crappy UI thereon, necessitate sticking with Viewer 1-based viewers.  This means that most SL users will not be able to see all those pretty mesh creations.

Another problem is in the cost of mesh imports, not only in terms of money but in prim-count.  The more complex the import, the more it costs to upload, and the larger and more complex the build, the higher the prim count.  While this may be fine for limited mesh importation in full-prim regions by people with money to burn, most people will find it cost-prohibitive.  What good is rebuilding a region completely when prims are limited and too many people won't be able to appreciate the work put in?

Does this mean that mesh is too impractical?  Initially, yes.  But things won't be so for long.  Third party viewers such as Cool VL Viewer, Singularity, and Phoenix have either already developed mesh-viewing capability or are on their way to bringing it into their systems.  The biggest problem, then, will be the cost prohibition.  Wiser land-owners will want to keep mesh imports to a minimum to help keep prim-count and lag down, as well as save money.  It will probably take a massive user petition to Linden Lab to bring down the monetary and prim costs for mesh, too.

For a more positive outlook on mesh, here's a review worth reading.