I don't see why mesh editing needs to be considered "basic"? I would consider building through prims to be the most basic, to learn how objects/prims/links work and what features are available and what texturing is and the such. New users also have all the free tools and those existing tutorials available to start working with meshes, so new users should hopefully still feel like they have an advancement path. Even if prim objects became totally non-competitive on the market, people probably still start out just experimenting for their own use, so prims should still be a good stepping stone while learning for their quick results and feedback. What would a mesh editor in the viewer add? (Well, one likely feature of an in-world tool would be to enable people to work concurrently with others and see others' changes as they are made, but I doubt you're referring to that aspect.)
Ironically, what I would think of as the most basic conceptual transitions going from prims to meshes are probably the most difficult to program. To ease the transition to meshes when the time comes for a new content creator, what I could imagine is the introduction of some tools and concepts from a mesh's content creation process - hierarchical links to allow stacking transformations? a way to palletize the textures applied to an object? - but while still working with prims in-world. Maybe it can even go as far as a full conversion tool if someone were ambitious enough to code such a thing (to convert and tinker). But I wouldn't go as far as controlling subdivisions or twiddling edge normals or nudging vertices -- a list that is in increasing order of usability difficulty, but decreasing order of programming complexity, and thus the irony of a "basic" mesh editor. Celi On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 2:21 AM, Science Fiction Computer - SCi-Fi PC < partn...@scifipc.com> wrote: > LL Snowstorm/Opensource-Dev, > > To stimulate SL growth and accessibility to the mainstream, one or the > collective SL Viewer developers and/or decision makers ought to think & > design universally. > > If mesh becomes a standard in SL, a basic mesh editor ought to be included > by default. > > The ability to plugin with existing professional tools such as Photoshop, > Gimp, Blender, Max, etc. is essential for high-end content production and > advanced SL users. > > However, to deny a new users who are discovering either 3D Second Life or > the 3D Web for the first time a complete basic set of content creation > tools > for the 3D world they are introduced to (of which would include a mesh > editor), may seriously discourage them; along with potential opportunity > for > regular influx of new & emerging content creators within our community from > Low, Medium, and High End. > > SL Viewer Mesh Editor doesn't need to be Maya, it just needs to be 'there' > and 'basic' to encourage new content creators to create and feel that they > begin to learn and participate without significant barriers. > > We must try and avoid any situation where a New User in SL feels > disadvantaged or unable to create before they start. > > Regards, > > DMC Zsigmond-Jurassic > Science Fiction. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: opensource-dev-boun...@lists.secondlife.com > [mailto:opensource-dev-boun...@lists.secondlife.com] On Behalf Of Stickman > Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 2:48 PM > To: Frans > Cc: opensource-dev@lists.secondlife.com > Subject: Re: [opensource-dev] Unity 3D as possible base / 2.x Codebase > plugin capable? > > On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 1:38 PM, Frans <mrfr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I really hope LL is not going to add a Mesh Editor in the client. That's > > just going to be so bloated. > > I think it's a terrible idea for LL to try to recreate tools that > teams of professionals have already been working on for years. > Photoshop, Gimp, Blender, Max, Maya -- there are specialty tools out > there, many of them free, that already do a much, much better job than > LL ever could, simply because that is their only job and they have > years of a head start. > > What I would like to see is a better connection with existing tools. > Being able to have SL work with other programs easier, better > conversion and import support, to cut steps out of the design > workflow. For example, texture work often involves modifying a > texture, test it out, modifying it again, and repeat forever. Having > SL "watch" a texture, model, or other file for a change and > automatically update it in SL so you can see exactly what it will look > like would cut out a lot of steps. Even if it was only a local view. > Heck, even if I had to pay for every single time I hit the save button > in Photoshop or Blender. Though I'd prefer it be integrated in a way > that all people could see what I was working on, then I hit "finalize" > and it does the final upload. > > Having said that, very simple editors that are not designed to have > fancy features but be as basic as possible would allow people to > create things without going to an outside source. But it must be clear > and planned that they will never evolve beyond a basic level. A simple > whiteboard-style application for textures, being able to push vertices > around on a model or sculpty. Nothing fancy, but enough to create > something simple or touch something up without starting up an external > program. > > That's my opinion. I know it's not universal, but it's my view based > on my limited experience as a content creator. > > Stickman > _______________________________________________ > Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: > http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev > Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting > privileges > > _______________________________________________ > Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: > http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev > Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting > privileges >
_______________________________________________ Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges
