WindLight Frustration

Okay, so I'm trying Windlight for the second time after I decided I didn't like it because my fps (frames per second) were way too slow. Like, maddeningly, painfully, running into things because I overshoot when I'm turning, slow. But I'm trying it again, regardless. Stupid me.

Yes, the atmospheric effects in WL are gorgeous. (See photo) but I truly am a "complete experience" kinda' girl. Even typing this out is incredibly frustrating. The load the WL is placing on my graphics card makes me feel like I'm back at my old 75 MHz Mac Performa with a 603e Power PC Processor trying to type in Microsoft Word while having Photoshop open at the same time.

But Lissa, the pictures you get in WL are incredible. So What? If I can't enjoy my time in SL, (productive or otherwise) then why on earth would I want to be there. This is worse than a laggy event. Maybe I'm missing something. Someone help me out here. What settings should I use in my preferences?

In my regular SL viewer I get between 10 and 20 fps depending on what I'm doing. I can fly around and enjoy myself, etc. Here are my specs. MacBook Pro, 2.33 GHz Intel Core Duo, 3GB RAM, Radeon X1600 Video card.

Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I want to enjoy the eye candy and still have a decent frame rate! (which btw, is hovering at 4 fps! (And I'm standing still!).

Love,
Lissa

Merry Christmas to all my Wicked Friends!

Christmas has come a bit early to Cattiva e Cattivo. Pop into the main store Annapurna 107,150,296 and take a look under the tree. Santa Clause has stopped in for all you wicked people. And by wicked, I mean good. :)

Merry Christmas to all!

Love, Lissa
posted by Lissa Maertens on Annapurna using a blogHUD : [permalink]

My Heart Goes Out to Omaha

*Sigh* I'm sitting here typing this knowing that there's nothing I can say that will change this tragedy or at this moment the hurt, anguish and anger that my friends in this awesome town are feeling. Please know that as someone who lived in your wonderful town, worked on 98th St, shopped at the Westroads, and just loved Omaha... I hurt for you all. I'm sorry that this has happened.

My heart goes out to all who have been affected by the tragedy at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm saddened for the families of the victims and I'm saddened for the families of the man who committed this atrocity. Right now while emotions are raw and the hurt runs so deeply I can only imagine that it seems Omaha will never be the same. But please continue to trust in God and the overall goodness of people. Omaha will not be the same, it will be better. I know how strong the people of Omaha are.

Much Love,
Lissa

Testing blog hud, hopefully this will post to my blog!

posted by Lissa Maertens on Nooribeom using a blogHUD : [permalink]

I nearly quit today

Today was just one of those days. Not one major thing was the issue, just a lot of little things that have been building up over time. I nearly quit Second Life. A lot of this has to do with wondering what on earth it's worth? Do I bring joy to anyone? Do people enjoy my stuff? I still don't have the answers to all of my questions, but I promise I'll keep searching.

Please remember and respect that for me, my one requirement of Second Life is that I have fun. I hope it stays fun for me.

Tagged by the wonderful Una Ewing

Okay, I have to admit, I wanted to be tagged. The surprise in being tagged was that it was Una who tagged me! She is one of the friendliest people I've met in SL, but she's so busy I truly never thought she would have tagged me! That being said, following is the standard rules and those who I am tagging.

The rules are:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

Lissa Maerten's random facts/habits:

I live in the midwest

I'm a knee shaker/foot tapper

I'm a coffee-holic (the darker the roast, the better!)

I love good beer (have even considered brewing my own!)

I have a short attention span (I'm sorry, what'd you say? I was daydreaming... *L*)

I don't think money is the root of all evil, I think greed and mean people are the root of all evil

I am a brunette in RL

I never dreamed that I would have anything to do with fashion until I found Second Life. :)

Okay, now that's done. (It was a bit harder than I thought it would be)
My friends who are tagged:
1. Ben Vanguard
2. Chez Nabob
3. Daman Tenk
4. CronoCloud Creegan
5. Blaze Columbia
6. LB Fellini
7. Monica Renneville
8. Lavinia Leigh

(That was much easier than the eight habits! *L*)
If I'm lucky enough to be tagged again, I'll post the taggers names here: (if not, it's going to look sad and pathetic!)

Daman Tenk (I didn't see anywhere in the rules where it says you can't tag back)

Pricing, among other things...

Okay, so maybe someone can clear this up. Second Life promotes a free market type of environment for people who make and sell products and services. I think this is great for obvious reasons. "So, Lissa, what's bugging you then?" you may ask. To which, I reply, "Pricing, dear friends, pricing in SL."

So, here are some of my thoughts on pricing things in SL:

1. What constitutes fair pricing for a product? The way I look at it as a designer is this. When I started out, my pricing was pretty damn arbitrary. I thought $30L for a t-shirt was a fair price. Now, looking back at some of the shirts that I did, I think, hmmm... maybe $10L? So... I adjusted prices on my old T-Shirts. Perhaps the next round will be more detailed or shaded, etc. And I'll charge $30L again. Anyway, I've adjusted my pricing now based on what I think something is worth and what I think it will sell for. Secondarily, I keep metrics in mind as to what the average person behind an avatar spends in world for a product. Right now, the metrics are $100L or under for a purchase. Is this fair? I don't know. I guess what the market will bear is what the pricing will be.

2. Are there things that are overpriced in SL? Well, duh. Yeah, maybe EVERYTHING is overpriced. There are overpriced items in RL, too. Again, it's what the market will bear. But to me, there's a question of not necessarily what the market will bear... but is the pricing fair? This goes back to my first question. I guess what I'm getting at is that there are some designers out there, talented as they may be, that in my opinion (and yes, it's my opinion and my blog) are way overpriced. I don't begrudge anyone selling their work for a premium... I don't know, just something I wonder about. I'm sure there are some out there who think my designs are overpriced as well.

3. Conversely, are there things that are under-priced in SL? Again, yes. And I think maybe some of the stuff that I sell might be that way. I also think that the market will eventually even these things out.

So, what am I getting at? I guess I'm interested in people's opinions on this one. I'm sure some designers will vehemently defend their pricing and some will maybe look at things and say... "Hmmm... maybe this is something I need to think about."

Perhaps it's my point of view. I do SL as a hobby, something I do for fun. Some people are in SL to make a living. I look at what I do as pixels and perhaps that's where I'm missing it. I see it as art, but I feel like I have to keep a level head about it because like most art RL or otherwise... there are some who don't understand it.

Okay, enough... I think I've gotten offtrack with this post.

Let me have it... whether you agree with me or not... I wanna' hear about it! I want your opinions in-world or here.

Love,
Lissa