Abranimations Wildcat Photo Booth

Aside from prim food and sculpty rocks, I tend to collect photobooths in my Second Life®. This shot was taken with a modified Abranimations Wildcat Photo Booth (L$300 in-world or on XStreetSL). So far I have yet to find or to make a single booth that suits all my needs thus my inventory is cluttered with at least a half-dozen “commercial” units and dozens of custom-builts. The Abranimations unit has some very nice features that make it stand out as a solid, general purpose solution.

Chief amongst these is a special HUD freely given to any user that allows for the in-world camera to “snap back” to a user set view. Some units I’ve seen have this, but only for the owner’s use. Of course, I could use something like the (mirada) smartCAM to do this and more , but if I didn’t already have it that would be an extra expense and not something everyone could use.

The unit also includes a four-point lighting system, glow options for the static backdrop, and a multipose stand. A “screen” feature is included for a blindingly-white option so you can do separations in post-processing or if you just need a shadowless background. It is that simple. Fortunately, it is also modifiable so you can add your own poses and change the backdrop. The screen is a cube that makes editing the backdrop difficult, but not impossible. Odd proportions on that prim means that for a symmetrical  texture to appear without distortion the repeats have to carefully set. There is no provision to stock the prim with textures to display on touch, but adding a 3rd party script to do that shouldn’t be hard for an experienced builder.

Eventually I’m going to modify the structure to enlarge the backdrop and possibly add a curve to the floor/wall transition to allow greater freedom in choosing shot angles. Then again, I just might find another booth.

Dangerous Donuts

The combat potential of baked goods has been grossly neglected over the milennia. Countless times a hard and dry breadroll or ciabatta has saved a life during a melee fight. And also the French baguette gets underestimated in its clubbing capacities. Only the custard pie gets recognized as a means of combat, but lacks the insignia of a 21st century weapon in terms of range and fast reloading.

Enter the Donut Launcher by [s2], of Japanese designer sTwo Acker. Shooting a variety of deliciously glazed donuts (including my favourite chocoalte glazed one), this device brings bakery warfare to the next level. The plexiglass magazine holds 13 donuts, including special expanding donuts that grow to 10 times their size upon exiting the barrel.

Non-immersive technical facts: like all weapons the Donut Launcher only functions with mouselook enabled. Reload time is fairly fast – it is a fun weapon, and not intended for any accurate simulation. The donut projectiles are temporary, however rezzing needs to be allowed.

The Donut Launcher is a free gift at [s2] when you sign up for their Subscribe-o-Matic. It gets delivered to you immeditaley after you join their update group – make sure you are not in “Busy” mode, otherwise it is lost. The [s2] shop in Nipponbashi is worth a visit in any case: lots of hilarious gadgets at the typical very low Japanese prices. Be sure the explore the full shop, especially the seemingly empty basements – there are a few gifts hidden there, and the build is quite nice.

Gadget: Donut Launcher (Subscribe-o-Matic signup gift)
Designer: sTwo Acker
Shop: [s2] (Blog, SLURL)

Nissa’s Newsstand: Role Magazine May 2009

Let Me Introduce Myself

My name is Nissa Nightfire, and I’m a magazine addict. I love the stories, the photographs, and the ads. I love the design of it all, and I especially love the editorial interpretations of life and culture in the fascinating world we call Second Life. My confession of addiction to Peter Stindberg happened to mesh with an idea he had floating around in his head — and a new Rezpectable column was spawned. Welcome to Nissa’s Newsstand, where we’ll connect you to some of the latest SL magazine offerings, including mainstream and niche publications. Our goal is to ultimately provide a complete overview of all SL magazines. To give me a heads-up on your own publication, please contact Nissa Nightfire in-world, or at nissa.nightfire@gmail.com.

Role Magazine : May 2009

I’m launching this column with one of the newer kids on the magazine block – Role Magazine, which just published its sixth issue. One of the things I truly enjoy about Role Magazine is its broad coverage of diverse aspects of Second Life. I always feel like a slightly more well-rounded resident after reading through this magazine.

Role Magazine’s May cover story discusses intellectual property (IP) rights, including trademark and copyright. Virtual IP law is relatively new, and still in early stages of development. Much of this development is playing out in SL, due to its very real economy. Stacie Pryor discusses the issues and challenges in enforcing IP rights in a virtual environment.

Role’s main fashion spread features bridal wear, while stylist Ana Lutetia provides advice for the many men (other than the groom) who find themselves attending wedding festivities. Other Role contributors bring you wedding advice, fashion mixes and designers, urban design for your home, a primer on buying land, art, travel, and the music scene.

Nissa’s Pick

My favorite piece from this edition of the magazine is the Music column, by Jura Shepherd. This month, the column doesn’t feature a particular artist, but talks about a group, The ORIGINALS, that raises awareness of artists who perform their original music in SL. I’m not entering the debate about the merits of performing covers versus performing original compositions — but I definitely applaud anything that encourages artists to share original music with SL residents, as that strikes me as part of the essence of Second Life at its best. I appreciate learning about this group, and hope to take in one of their showcases very soon!

What’s Inside

Cover Story: IP Rights – Protect Yourself
Hot Finds: Coco Designs
Mix & Match
Fashion Spread: Blushing Bridal Wear
Maculino: Your Best Friend’s Wedding
For Men: Winter Jefferson & Lawless McBride
Body & Mind: Relationships
Dear Felicity
House & Living: Urban Living in the SL World; Sugar Mill Poses: Where Dorks Rule!
Music: The Originals
Art: Lost World; Time Passes
Travel Guide: So Say We All!
Gadgets & “Know How”: The Land Game

• Number of Article/Columns : 15
• Number of Authors: 13
• Pages: 78
• Percentage of Ads: 30%

Get It

• Read the May issue of Role Magazine Online
• Visit Role Magazine’s Website
• Pick Up a Copy Inworld

Quick Reference

• Advertising Information
• Circulation Stats

Samurai Showdown

Although my love of high powered weapons in SL is well known, I decided it was time to try something a little more graceful and delve into the world of swords to see what it had to offer.

From asking around those who I’ve seen with swords, the two names that came up most frequently were Musashi Blades and Hanzo Blades. Not knowing which of the two would be the right choice for me, I decided the best option was to simply buy both and compare, the results of which I shall share with you now.

First off, a technical comparison:

	Hanzo	Musashi
Price L$	800	800
Prims (Sheath)	155	204
Prims (Sword)	67	124
Blade Attacks	9	9
Kick Attacks	3	3
Blocking	Yes	Yes
Customise Colours	Yes	Yes

Technically, these two swords are very similar, the only difference is that the Musashi is noticeably more prim heavy. It’s when we start using the swords we notice more of the differences between the two.

Hanzo Blades

While the texturing on both swords is excellent, the extra prims of the Musashi have been put to good use and produce a sword that feels a little more sturdy and detailed. However, it is yet to be seen if those extra prims would make a noticeable difference when in combat, though hopefully it should not account for too much additional lag.

Musashi Blades

Both swords offer the same number of attacks and kicks, both accessed by using the direction keys while holding down your left mouse button, and double or triple pressing the keys to use the advanced attacks. I did find the extra attacks were easier to access with the Hanzo, as the keys could simply be hit in rapid succession, whereas the Musashi requires you to press the keys with more precise timing. The Hanzo is certainly an easier sword to get to grips with, however the sword is a weapon that should be mastered, and perhaps it’s good that you must practice to become a master.

The animations within both swords are very good, with the Hanzo giving very fast, sharp movements, and the Musashi having slightly more graceful movement.

Hanzo detailing

Probably the biggest difference between the two swords is how they would be used. The Hanzo is compatible with DCS2, CCS & WARPS, which means you can use it in a variety of roleplay sims that support them. The Musashi is aimed at the C:SI system specifically designed for Samurai Island, although there was no mention if it would be compatible with any other systems currently.

Finally, both swords can be customised, allowing you to change their shine, and colouring of the handle and sheaths. Both swords come with HUD’s, the Hanzo being a simple HUD for drawing, sheathing and customising, whereas the Musashi HUD is more to do with the C:SI system integration.

Musashi detailing

As for which sword you choose to go for, I think it will depend a lot on your intended use. For an easy to use sword which can be used in many different combat enabled sims I would recommend the Hanzo. If you’re looking for a sword to master and take part in the tournaments run by Samurai Island, the Musashi would be the best choice.

Whichever path you choose, may it be one of honour and victory. *bows respectfully*

Heavy Duty Contest Boards

Nadine Nozaki is a professional hoster in SL for a long time already. She has worked with all kinds of event equipment, be it dance machines, lighting equipment, PA repeaters or – contest boards. While a lot of the equipment she has worked with in the past functions fairly well during slow events, the crucial test is a laggy sim with lots of guests. The sobering experiences during these hosting jobs made her start developing her own line of contest boards.

A few days ago, Nadine release a new, fully reworked version of her boards, and the list of features reads quite impressive:

Streamlined performance:

• Eliminate lag with 100% Mono-based minimal processing overhead scripts
• Easy to set up – out-of-the-box configuration will suit most club environments
• Run and control multiple boards simultaneously
• Integrated zero-configuration group control system
• Fully copyable – rez as many boards as you like
• Free, lifetime updates!

Customization Options:

• Add your own modules and scripts with the easy and expandable interface
• Full-perm winner-item-giver is included as sample modle
• Full-perm winner-profilepic-viewer included
• Customize the look of the board with your own skins and graphics

Contest Features:

• Select free entry or entry fee (gets added to the prize money)
• Decide if contestants need to vote in order to win
• Allow voters to change their votes
• Late entries may join the contest during voting
• Host can remove contestants

Prize Money Features:

• Contest can run without prize money
• Allow anybody to add to the prize money (Open Prize Money Donation)
• Unique money sharing system: prize money can be retrieved from the board owner’s account by the host (configurable limit, option is off by default)

I attended a few events during which Nadine did live betatest of the new boards, and I can confirm they work quite well. The text appeared quickly, the reaction was instantaneous even while patrons in the club were fooling around with loads of particles and rezzed physical toys. In fact my own animations slowed down, but the boards did not. And – hey – I won 200 L$ from one contest 🙂

The upcoming St. Patrick celebrations will see a lot of events in Second Life, and if you need a reliable board that even is full copy, then Nadine’s Heavy Duty board is a good choice.

There is a promotion going on right now, with the boards at an introductory price of 195 L$ – but hurry, it’s limited to 10 boards!