Recently, Linden Labs created a website to access profile information of players in XML format. It is not something easily accessible outside the game, because to get profile info, you need a UUID code of the person. Inside the game the database is used in the new search facility, and also addressable with scripts using HTML commands.

You have probably run into those new displays that show random profile picture in world. This is how it is done. I have seen a few for sale, but being a curious scripter, I wanted to find out how to do it myself.

Luckily, someone wrote a publically available script in the SL Wiki
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Random_AV_Profile_Projector
Just rez a prim, create a new script, copy and paste the script, and you have instant profile picture displays.

Since most of the world is off limits to dropping prims, I thought it would be fun to create a wearable HUD version so you can see the profile pictures of the avatars around you. I also added an ability to click on the HUD to instantly move your client camera to that avatars position, making it easy to bring up the full profile, or send them an IM. Having no need for listen commands or particle projection or exclusions, I shortened the original script quite a bit.

To use: Rez a box and resize it X = 0.500 Y = 0.320 Z = 0.240. Create a new script and copy and paste the text below into it. Right click the box and Attach as HUD. Move it anywhere you want where you can see the box and the text. Make it smaller if you wish. Go somewhere where other people are and have fun.

http://arianeb.com/profilehud.txt

Virtual Society avatars, scripting, secondlife

It looks like an official Linden Labs release of the server software to Open Source may be a long wait, but in the mean time there is serious play on the OpenSim project as some new partners are coming aboard adding features that simply do not exist in the LL version of Second Life.

Wanna import standard 3D files to SL? Customize the skeleton structure of SL avatars for more variety? Radically improved rendering?

A company called RealXtend is working on exactly that via the OpenSim project.

Hmm, very interesting. We could soon see OpenSim result in a better platform than Second Life itself!

Consider what they are doing here:

• next gen game rendering engine
• 3D mesh importing into the game. There is built on nothing but mesh’s, meaning anything in There can be easily ported to this. Leave prims behind!
• Completely customizable avatars, even down to the mesh level. We could see Poser quality avatars replacing the current SL ones, but not only that we could have avatars with their own custom skeletons — in other words any kind of creature you can think of. Fully articulate hands are doable for example.
• They also have an avatar import method, meaning you can move from one open sim based platform world to another without starting from scratch.
• Add in the Windlight environmental effects, and the Second Life 2.0 is here!

Metaverse News opensim, platforms, realxtend, secondlife, video

So I’m approaching my avatar’s 4th birthday in Second Life, and will write about that soon. In the mean time I got nostalgic about my early days in Second Life.

It got me thinking, can I find my original spawn point in SL? Its been four years, and not only is my memory hazy, but the game has changed considerably since then, is it even possible to find out?

Well the first step in a process like this is good old Google, which led me to http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page a fan created wiki of all things second life. Except for learning that the first sim in Second Life was Da Boom, it wasn’t helpful.

It was then I realized there may be an in game answer to my quest. One of my oldest SL buddies is Oz Spade, an SL history buff. It is quite possible that the only people that know more about the history of Second Life than Oz are on the original development team. He built the SL Historical Museum in game where you can see picks and objects from the very early days of the game.

The display of interest for me was the historical maps section, which contained maps of the game from the early years. I went and checked out the locations of the original spawn ponts.

The Alpha spawn point was on the western edge of Natoma. Second Life at the time contained 14 servers. The spot now houses the “Library of Primitives” which is an excellent place to check out if you want to learn how to build stuff in Second Life

The first Beta spawn point was on the southern edge of the Ritch server, where a flea market now resides. The later Beta spawn point, and early game spawn point, which is where I apparently spawned is in Ahern, where there still is a welcome center. New players today start on one of the orientation islands where they go through a tutorial before joining the game, usually in Ahern. When I joined the tutorial was in Ahern. The place was redesigned to its present design about a year after I had already joined.

So there it is mystery solved.

Virtual Society anniversary, exploring, museum, secondlife

Many online games were celebrating St Patricks Day today.

The Dublin server was the place to be in Second Life, who had live bands and parties all weekend.

Meanwhile in Guild Wars, my Irish looking Mage was drinking Shamrock Ale

Virtual Society event, guildwars, secondlife

A new 3D Virtual World Company called Amazing Worlds specializes in 3D Tourism. I’m not sure what they have in mind, as the last two entries in this blog demonstrate better ways to do tourism in 3D. They are testing a "Singapore" 3D environment, and here is a demonstration video:

Not that impressive so far. My visit to Virtual Kazakhstan was more immersive and more informative. This is obviously still in the alpha stage. Maybe they will get better with time?

Metaverse News amazingworlds, mirror worlds, video, virtual worlds

Click and drag your mouse while playing this video. There is also a zoom slider.

http://immersivemedia.com/

Shall we wager how long it will take for the first porn video filmed like this to emerge?

Metaverse News video, virtual reality

While I love the unique artistic builds people make in Second Life, sometimes virtual representations of real places are fun too, especially if it is some place exotic you have never heard of.

So I ran into a story about a build called Second Astana which is a replica of downtown Astana Kazakhstan, and felt the urge to check it out, since like most Americans my knowledge of Kazakhstan is limited to Borat comedy bits.

Here’s a pic of the real Astana

Here’s a view of the build:

Aside fron assorted signs with tourist infomation, there is a cool “Holodeck” where you can see a 360 degree view of the real Astana from the top of the Monument Tower.

Virtual Society exploring, Kazakhstan, mirror worlds, secondlife, virtual reality

Metaverse News net neutrality, video