What do I need in order to run it?
Some really, really, good advice. Please read and note!
I'm in! How do I get to Second Life Tír?
Tír has been slumbering for the past few years. I have to admit that I've been neglecting the place.
Old regs reminisce about the glory days. Some other faces from the past occasionally drop by for old times sake. New users wonder what they missed. Tír needs a jump-start.
I had a look at Second Life recently. It totally bowled me over.
I'm opening a Second Life hang-out / sheebeen / Inn for Tír folk. It's going to be a blast!
The old Tir is not going to be shelved however.
The Message Board will continue, and I don't see it going away for the foreseeable future. The equivalent facility within Second Life is still a bit primitive. New sections of the board can be used to allow people to share information and general discussions about their experiences and finds in SL.
The only reason to keep Chat going would be to facilitate people unable to run Second Life.
It's an extremely immersive 3D world. You can walk, run, fly, drive, sail, teleport around it.
Everything in it is built by users. That's the killer-app for me. You can make stuff - wonderful stuff. 'Stuff' here can be objects, scripted objects, art, music, whatever. You can travel around and see all the wonderful stuff that others make.
You don't have to make stuff yourself, but you should definitely try. You can sell stuff you make, you can sell stuff you buy - provided the person that made it allows you to do that. You own what you make. It's yours to keep, sell or give away. There's an intellectual property system built into the system.
It's not a 'game'. It's a parallel world with an economy, in which you drift helplessly or swim and have fun.
Repeat: It's not a game.
Well sometimes I end up screaming abuse at the thing. It's having growing pains, and sometimes response can be slow - like wading through treacle while suffering from severe sight impairment.
That's the result of a ground-breaking network system still in development taking on a fast-growing user base. The Lindens beaver away at keeping it up to speed.
However it will get better. It's the future. There's no going back from it.
Yes, Yes and Yes
From the sublime to the ridiculous, from the creative and tasteful to the sad and tawdry, if it can be imagined, someone has built it. It's a reflection of all society that's in the real world, but with people having amplified abilities and skills.
There are paid subscriptions that allow you to take a fuller part in the system, but you can sign up for free and still get the benefit of all the wonders that people have created.
You'll need a PC with XP or equivalent. There are Mac and Unix clients also. You need a machine with a god (?) graphics card. Second Life is graphic-intensive.
You'll need to be on a broadband connection. It is possible to run it on diak-up (or so I'm told) - but with that you'll need far more patience that I can imagine.
Windows 2000/XP: 1.13.3.2
Mac OS X: 1.13.3.2 (62MB)
Linux i686 (Alpha)
Do me a favour please!
Sign up with this link: Second Life. It contains a tag to my account. If you initially or eventually sign up for a paid account, my account gets a credit - which will help to fund Tír. I just get a credit out of the blue. I won't see your details.
User names are of the format FirstName LastName
You have to choose a LastName from a drop-down list
You can specify any Firstsname. Just remember that people will call you by that, and will have to type it. Choose with a bit of thought.
You choose from a range of default avatars and clothing.
During sign-up, you can also enter Accasbel Barrymore as the name that referred you, just in case you didn't get to the signup page via the tagged link above.
Download and install the software.
Log on
When you log on first, you may have to wait for a while until your avatar appears. In the meantime avatars ahead of you in the sign-in queue drop down from on high. It's almost disgusting/frightening.
(though I say so myself). Please read and note!
Don't rush through! Do spend a long time in the initial orientation centre that you arrive into after logging in for the first time. There are skills that you need to learn before you can enjoy Second Life to the full. The best place to do that is in the orientation area. Repeat: This is the BEST PLACE to get up to speed with your abilities. Spend time here. You can't get back. Practice the exercises at the various stations along the route. There is no rush.
The minimum you need before leaving the orientation area will be.
· Walking in a controlled manner.
· Flight: Practice. Don't just do the short hop they indicate.
· Vision: Focus your view on an object and zoom in/out. Pan around the focus. Get to grips with Camera controls
· Moving things
· Touch things and deal with the results.
You are going to need those skills in the short-term for some VERY IMPORTANT SHOPPING.
Important Shopping (or hunting-gathering of freebies)
Probably very soon after you get dumped out on the streets, and wander any distance from the areas where new entrants get dumped, you're going to come into contact with long-time residents. In general those residents (especially if female) will be drop-dead gorgeous. You'll begin to realise that despite your best efforts at customising your avatar using the slider controls, you are basically butt-ugly - and that's when you're fully dressed! IF you happen to become naked, you will be HORRIBLY butt-ugly - like something that only barely survived the Roswell crash)
You have to get better skin and hair at minimum. A new body would also be a good idea, but you can get away with adjustments to your shape using sliders. Some of this you can get free (see below). All of this you can buy.
The clothes that you can pick up for free at the orientation centers on initial login are adequate.
It's probably better to start with freebie stuff. There's a lot of it about. Search Places for 'freebies'. There's a learning curve is getting used to the way that your belongings are managed between you inventory, the ground and yourself. It is advisable to practice that before buying anything much.
As you look around, you'll come to realise that SL is a place where women reign supreme. They get to choose from the greatest range of bodies, skin, hair, clothes - all of them fantastic. Men have a lesser choice, and I'd say, a poorer choice. But then I would say that as I'm no admirer of male bodies.
Physical strength is irrelevant. Females can lift a skyscraper just as easily as can a male.
Search 'People' for Accasbel Barrymore. (Moi)
In that profile, look at 'Picks'. One is a landmark for the Tir. You can Teleport there. Careful. It's still under construction. The poseballs around the waterfall pools are good places to sit and chat. It's also a quiet place to play with your inventory and apppearance.
If I'm not in-world and you IM me, the message will get through to me email.
Search 'Groups' for Noggians.
Join the group. You'll then see a list of people who have arrived so far. Clicking on the names allows you to view their profiles and send them Instant Messages (if they are not nearby).
Use it as a base.
Start exploring. Use the Search facility. Use the Tir Message Board to tell others what you're finding. Start making contact with group members, and indeed anyone you meet.
There are a few useful other Picks in the profile:
From Palomma & Wilco ~ The Free , Gallii (113, 53, 32)
This is a very good freebie store. Bodies, skins, clothes.
Note the helpful notice stands where you'll arrive.
"How to unpack a box" - Read it.
Mostly, things that you buy (for 0L$0 in this case will come into your inventory as a box. DON'T try to wear the box!!. You drag the box out of your inventory onto the floor. Then you 'Open' the box, whereupon you will see a list of the contents. You can take the contents into your inventory. When you are unpacked down to the item level, you can them 'Wear' them.
It's not uncommon to see a newbie wearing a box, perhaps over its head or around its middle ("Does my bum look big in this?"). Don't do it.
If you ever do it by accident, just 'Drop' the box or 'Detach'
Very soon after you start to collect thing, your Inventory will become a total mess. Bitching about the state of your Inventory is a leading topic in SL, coming only second to bitching about Lag, the Lindens and the whole stupid system.
ALADY FEMALE BODIES SHAPES , Emmelia (68, 140, 48)
What it says, Huge range.
Nyte'N'Day: Clothes, Skins & Mor, Couture Isle (70, 131, 48)
This is a new upmarket store. As a shopper bait, they are currently selling some female bodies and a selection of skins for 1L$ (about 1/260th of a US$).
Don't be overly alarmed if you arrive somewhere and it takes a while for the surrounding objects to appear. This is the dreaded "Lag" in operation. Sometimes it's ok, sometimes it's awful. It's going to get better. Tonight (of February 7th) it's very noticeable.
Currently (Feb 2007), Second Life claims to have over 3 million 'residents', but only a third of that number actually logged in over the past two months. Over those two months, the number logged on simultaneously has varied between 15,000 and 25,000
Most of the 3 million will never log in again. The reasons for that might be:
· They were just having a quick look after some media hype.
· They rushed the entry process and landed on the streets with nobody to tell them what to do or where to go. Plus they didn't know how to use the abilities of their avatars.
· They expected a game. They didn't expect that the answer to the question What can I do?" is "What do you want to do?"
Remember that SL is not "a game". There are no rules to follow (apart from basic good manners). There is no competition going on somewhere. There are no winners or losers. You do not have to go through any sort of level structure in order to have all of the facilities/powers that are available. Basically: You sign up. You get dumped into the world. You're on your own - same as everybody. Everything else is up to you, and how you deal with the people you meet. Thank you and good luck!