JPC Pose HUD Challenge

One of my first jobs on the Main Grid was to model shirts and accessories for my brother’s shop. He’d send along a box of stuff and trust whatever knowledge I had picked up on the Teen Grid about modeling. It was hit or miss at first as I hadn’t learned anything, though eventually I built simple studios and kept a variety of populated pose stands handy. Many years later I have modeled for Bare Rose, LapGirl, and others, and I’ve found the L$25 JPC Pose HUD (pictured above, right, click for full image) from Jhary Priestly (SLurl) very useful for when a pose stand can’t be used. It allows the user to add in multiple animations that can then be selected from a drop-down blue box and activated/deactivated on command. It also features an emoter for facial expressions. As long as you are in a script-enabled area, you can pose like a pro.

I have certainly gotten good value for my money, but I do have some gripes (yes, gripes about a L$25 gadget I’m not smart enough to make myself). First, is the menu system. It defaults to the first page every time it is activated. If you are looking through the poses and try one on the third page then want to try the very next one you have to cycle through pages one and two first. It would be nice to have a Cycle Next button on the HUD or at least let the menu remember which page was last used. A second gripe is the Emoter. I don’t use it because the expressions are not persistent. Your avie smiles or winks or whatever then the expression fades. I have a free Emoter that is not only persistent, but lets you combine expressions (often with horrifying “shove the kids out of the room” results). Lastly, the HUD needs to be clicked upon. Anyone who has modeled knows that it takes prayer, luck, and a JIRA to one’s eyes pointing in just the right direction. Moving the mouse makes them go astray again. Chat commands might solve this problem. Or someone teaching me how to lock my eye position.

Here is where I’ve “buried the lead” on this post. I challenge someone to find or make a better HUD for no more than twice the price of the JPC unit. Incorporate “fixes” for my gripes, maybe make the interface more attractive. Post a comment if you have a suggestion or a solution, please.