Kickstarter Project! (And NWN Fail)

Okay, part of the title is called 'NWN Fail'.  Gonna get that right out of the way now before launching into the bigger and better news.  That part of this entry's title isn't really meant to come off looking like it does, because the discussion was actually a lively one.  New World Notes had a thread going that posited three ways to salvage SL, only two of which the author thinks are even worth trying to get Linden Lab to change its collective mind about.  That third way, lowering tier prices, is actually about the only way Linden Lab will be able to save not only Second Life but also any future prospects for its own, non-SL projects.

Okay, to sum up, the SL land barons that provide LL with the majority of its revenue are steadily closing up and leaving the grid for greener, more affordable pastures.  With the economy still in the toilet and no sign of emerging any time this decade, Linden Lab's outrageously high tier prices have got people deciding that they just can't afford SL anymore.  Builders and scripters can't peddle their wares on the grid itself, where most SLers congregate (the marketplace revamps haven't allowed sellers to make up the losses enough to justify using that as their primary business home base), and gamers can't afford to create vibrant, sustainable roleplaying experiences because land is prohibitively expensive.  The blog author thinks that by converting SL into a spiffy gaming platform, people with money to spend will come.  And he can't seem to understand that what's preventing people from coming is the very finite financial resources that are less and less at their disposal every day that passes.  Sinply put, SL is degrading into a haven only for the monied elite who can afford to toss away $295.00 USD a month on region tier, and even they're waking up and starting to realize that there's no more profit to be had renting virtual land since fewer and fewer people can afford to rent it.  So they're leaving while they still have a chance to get out and not lose a ton of money.

You can have all the ideas for gaming engines and pathfinding and mesh and every other Next Big Thing you want, but at the end of the day, if people find it too expensive to use they're not going to buy it.  That's just plain common business sense.  It's all about the money, and when demand is low you need to price low to increase demand.  Otherwise you'll price yourself out of business.

So, having gotten that out of the way, I'm going to tell you about a project some friends of mine are trying to pull off using Kickstarter.  Back in March I read about a tinies group in SL that wanted to build a roleplaying region in SL with plans for expanding it to other media as well as doing charity work.  So they created a project on Kickstarter with the fund-raising goal of $8,500.00 USD.  They exceeded it to raise a total of over $11,000.00.

That gave us the idea to try it ourselves.  Hell, if a bunch of people who enjoy roleplaying tiny forest creatures can raise that kind of money, maybe we can do it for what we want to do.  Now, it's no secret that Bloodlines doesn't exactly have a pristine reputation in SL.  The idea started out with merit: create a vampire RP system that lets players be vampires, and later werewolves (or lycans, as the game calls them) were added.  Only the system quickly earned a bad rep, and I suspect it has mostly to do with the failure to properly account for the casual noobs who get the system, go around annoying people with bite requests, and then leave once they get bored (or banned enough times that they give up).  Worse is that with blood barrels and lumen prisms (the werewolf equivalent of blood barrels) being transferrable (albeit no-copy), people realized they could buy at rock-bottom prices from departing or desperate players and sell at a profit with prices that are less than what the Bloodlines official stores sell.  Similarly, players trade the "souls" they collect within the system for profit and to stack their stats.

In other words, Bloodlines quickly devolved into a money-making scheme that saw the intended gameplay dry up except for the dedicated RPers who have money enough to own their own regions but for various reasons haven't tried expanding those sims the way the tinies group is doing.

That's where the Nocturne Project comes in.

The backstory is a post-apocalyptic tale that sees the human race conquered by vampires, werewolves, demons, fallen gods, and other creatures of myth and legend, following a global environmental disaster.  Society quickly returns to a feudal system under the rule of their supernatural overlords, with modern technology gradually giving way to medieval-style tech and methods.  This roleplay region is designed to cater to dedicated Bloodlines players, complete with a war arena (based on the capture-the-flag model), a social area for hunting and partying, and a shopping area for vendors to sell themed wares.

But beyond the Bloodlines aspect, the Nocturne project will also cater to general roleplaying needs, with an involving backstory lending itself to the atmosphere to create an experience that will keep people coming back.  If this works out we'll be able to expand to other media as well.

We've already got $251.00 pledged so far, but our goal is $10,000.00 with a deadline of September 16th.  That's now just over a month away.  Can we do it?  I'm confident we can, but we need your help — and your donations.  Please visit the Kickstarter page and pledge as much as you can afford.  The fund-raising goal was set to allow us to keep the sim running for its first year.  If we can raise the money necessary we'll have the sim up and running within a month.  Check us out and come back for updates!

SL Tutorial: How to Copy Text from Notecard to Notecard

I've noticed that some people in SL, whether they're new or long time users, have had trouble figuring out how to copy and paste text from one notecard to another.  SO here's a simple tutorial for how to do it.  NOTE: This was done using the most recent version of Phoenix, which uses the Viewer 1 graphic user interface (GUI).  Even if the notecard you are trying to copy text from is no-transfer, as long as you can read the contents you should be able to hightlight, right-click, and copy the text.

In your inventory, right-click a notecard and select 'Open'.

Select all of the text by clicking inside the notecard and then using ctrl-a on a PC or command-a on a Mac.

Right-click and select 'Copy'.

Go back to your inventory and create a new Note.

Like so.  Open it up like you did with the previous one and...

...click inside the new note, right-click, and select 'Paste'

Save your new note and you're done.

SLSFC5!

Yes, we're at Second Life Sci-Fi Convention 5!  Among this year's guests are Star Trek's Johnathan Frakes and Gerrat Wang, Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch, and more!  Here's the booth location.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/SLSFC5%20SOUTHWEST/177/207/30

My girlfriend and me inside the other day during the setup period.  She's wearing Green Lantern underoos underneath her outer garment.  I love her.

Someone sent me a snapshot of my avatar inside the GL booth.  Thanks!

On a sadder note, one of the booths across from SFE's was forced to leave for not placing RFL vendors on her parcel.  Sucks, but unfortunately the rules required one or two this year.  I can kind of see why the other booth owner felt the rule was stupid, but at the same time there was plenty of notice for them this year and there was more than enough time to pull out before setup.  It's still a pretty big loss though, and the convention won't be the same without that group's presence.

The Richard Hatch interview was broadcast over Trek Radio, which you can listen to here.  It's really interesting hearing his views on the original Battlestar Galactica, the new version, and much more.

Sapphire and Sinestro Central Batteries

The next pair of Central Batteries are the Sapphire and Sinestro Corps.  Each is low-prim, large, and a wonderful decorative piece for your sci-fi and roleplaying needs.

Come check them out at Sci-Fi Enterprises in New London Village!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25

New Central Batteries!

I redid the Green Central Battery and added funnels to make it look more lantern-like.  Because of the time and energy that went into making it, the size of the build, and the suggestion of those who offered input, the price has doubled to 200L$.  But it's still a great buy for land-owners and renters, and still very low-prim at a count of 34.

And I didn't stop with the green version, either!  No, I made all nine Lantern Corps central batteries, along with a concept tenth one combining blue and green.  Soon all central batteries will be in the vendors, but here's the Red Central Battery:

This one is actually thirty prims — four fewer than the green one!  Still, this took a lot of work to get the look just right.  Here are the links for the marketplace:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/RL-Central-Battery/3644298

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100

To visit Sci-Fi Enterprises in-world, go here:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25

Next up for release is the Star Sapphire Central Battery.  Here's a sneak preview.

GL Central Battery!

After a long hiatus Sci-Fi Enterprises is back with an awesome new build from yours truly.  After joining a Green Lantern Corps group in SL, I was inspired by some of the region builds and decided to make my own central battery.  Here's the ad:

You can find it on the Marketplace here:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100

Or visit the in-world store:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25

The build is tall, about twenty-four meters, and has a footprint of about 18x18.  At thirty-two prims it won't max out your land's prim allowance.  This of course means you will need land to keep it on, but if you do then it'll be a great attraction.

Just to give you an idea of scale:

Note the guy at the bottom who's away from his keyboard.  Anyway, feel free to visit the Marketplace page or the store in New London in TARDIS region.  The Central Battery is only 100L$, so it's a real deal.  An SFX handheld battery is built and awaiting scripting.

Conversations with a Coward

Ex-Friend: I'm mad at you and I refuse to tell you the reason why.  You're bitter, jaded, and have no aspirations.

Me: Okay, care to back up and tell me what's going on?

Ex-Friend: No, because then we'd get into an argument about it.

Me: So you won't tell me why you're mad at me and you won't explain the "bitter and jaded and no aspirations" remark.  Why won't you?

Ex-Friend: ...

Me: Logs off to get some sleep.

Okay, the above isn't the convo I had early this morning around three o'clock.  But it's as close to an accurate summary as I feel comfortable sharing with you.

I met my ex-friend a few years ago, back when I owned my own region in SL.  She's never been the most stable person, but she's been a good friend even though I've made some really big mistakes — hell, she and her husband even got me the computer I'm using right this very moment as a gift.  They did this knowing I was unemployed and couldn't return the favor.  That's how close we were as friends, and how generous they both are.

But like I said, the ex-friend isn't the most stable person.  She's continually de-friending me, making accusations she won't back up, only to return later on.  (This is the DJ I wrote about in my previous entry.)  This has become a pattern with her.  And you know what?  I can't keep doing this.

I am done being someone else's emotional punching bag.  This is the last time she pulls this crap with me.  She and her husband are the closest thing I've got to a family (my own blood relations made it clear a long time ago that they only ever considered me their punching bag), but I shouldn't have to keep putting up with this childish behavior.  One day things are going fine, the next I gotta log on to find out that oops! friend is now ex-friend again, and for no reason whatsoever that she'll bother explaining.

Some people are cowards.  They can't face their own demons so they project them onto others and then use that as an excuse to heap bullshit on said others.  And it's sad, because I really don't like losing friends, even bad ones.

Wanna know how "bitter" I am?  I've met an incredible young woman through SL with whom I've fallen in love.  We exchange e-mails off of SL, we hang out together, and we even help manage my other friend's nightclub together.  For the first time in a long time there's a ray of light in my life, and I'm even happy.

No aspirations?  I'm helping to manage my friend's club with the intention of making it into something worthwhile.  I'm expanding my DJ gigs to other places.  I'm looking for a reliable, trustworthy scripter willing to script my TARDIS consoles so I can start selling my own builds again.  I have a goal in SL, and it's to eventually make just enough money to afford my own private region again, so I can keep building and sharing my work with others.  I want to get first-life jobs teaching and making movies, get a house, have the means to live a comfortable life, and raise a family.  No aspirations?  Funny; those seem like aspirations to me.

Jaded?  Maybe.  Lord knows I've seen enough assholery to recognize that the human race probably hasn't got a lot of time left before it wipes itself out.  And yeah, I've seen enough politicians making and breaking promises and more than my share of petty, small-minded losers who think the only way they can enjoy life is to make other people who never had any fight with them completely miserable for the rest of theirs.  But you know what?  I don't let it affect my outlook on life.  I don't because I've seen more beauty in this world than I have ugliness, and I'm still idealistic enough to be outraged at the ass clowns making this world the ugly place it is.  If I were really jaded I wouldn't give a damn.  But I'm not, and I do.

So you know what?  This is me cutting out a part of my life I don't need.  I turned thirty-eight last month and one of the things I realized is that my remaining time on this planet doesn't have any room in it to be wasted by idiots, evil bastards, psychopaths, and morons.  I'm gonna focus on just being me and finding happiness where I can get it.