Chic at Ebbe's Place

It has been almost two years since I typed on this blog, one originally made to chronicle the growth of Sansar and then turned into a more universal metaverse theme.

I hadn't ventured over before because of the Creator Agreement. At the very beginning it was OMG are you kidding? and then later still not something I was comfortable agreeing to. But now BETA is in effect and also the simplifying of agreements thing has deleted a lot of lawyer-speak which is always a good thing.

I spent most of the day at Sansar and accomplished some things. The default avatars, while not pretty have some fairly nice clothes and I found a super cute Pride Overalls item for free on the marketplace.



There were ups and downs and lots and lots of reading in the knowledge base. I got stuck with uploading an attachment that was to be a bracelet. A couple of folks have tried to find the issue but so far no go. "Things may have changed with the new custom avatars" was one comment. So hopefully my "h-e-l-p" note to support will have the missing info needed.

On the plus side I uploaded that bracelet SO MANY times I have the steps indelibly etched on my memory cells.



I did manage to get some crates uploaded. That seemed fitting as my tutorials always start with a crate. These were some of the first items I made in SL but they look pretty good. I have my vendor photo all done and plan to put them on the marketplace for free tomorrow. The bangle will get there whenever that gets solved.

Marketplace vendor photos rules have them very neat and clean -- and easy actually.   This is a render and not an inworld shot as while I did get my atmospheric settings changed a bit, they are not good for inworld shots yet.  I read through all the photo info and hopefully this will be OK. If not, I will find out :D.

I really like the uploader and while there were lots of tiny issues and much sleuthing, it was all manageable and I feel like a good day could be jotted down on the calendar.

I not too keen on the movement key bit but all in all it was easier than I expected.


Early in the wee hours of the the next day I finally got the bangles working. The skeleton had some issues and the transform needed to be cleared.

It's been almost a year since I have written on this blog.

In the beginning I thought it would be good to document the changes in the metasphere, especially those regarding Project Sansar (now Sansar). I also thought that it would be handy to have an existing blog should I want to chronicle my adventures in that new platform and later feature some content from other creators.

It's been fairly quiet on the "what's happening" front this last year and I have been busy with other things -- creating and such. But, Sansar welcomed the first of the beta testers mid month with the opening still slated for the beginning of 2017. That's not too far off.

Meanwhile, mid September promises a new (updated) kid on the block with Space (sinewave.space).   I had forgotten about Space since I applied for early entry last year and found they were in alpha. I am not an alpha gal. Then last week I was contacted again about testing now that they are in beta. I opted out of that after some thinking and remembering that SIMPLE is my key word this year. A trip over to Living in a Modem World added some new info on Sansar and entries in the comments mentioned SPACE again.

Along that journey of exploration I ended up at the older version of SPACE (sine.space) where I managed to change clothes at least. Later I found the high resolution settings and changed my building textures, but somehow those screenshots are wandering around my hard drive, hiding.


It took me awhile to figure out  that I wasn't in the NEW platform, but in its precursor (still open). This is good really and I learned a few things that will likely be helpful AND got a bit of insight that will appear later in this discussion.

MEANWHILE, Opensim folks are talking about breaking away from the SL paradigm.  I can see plenty of problems with this but I will be very happy if the folks in the we want to do our own thing in our own way camp prove me wrong :D. 



All this got me to thinking -- well, of course it did.

I was remembering Cloud Party which I really loved. Both Sansar and SPACE appear to have some similarities to that gone but not forgotten platform. It will be extremely interesting from my point of view to discover the parallels and contrasts. 

The SPACE website has more information than the Sansar website, but then again SPACE is almost open for the masses and Sansar has many months before that happens. Sansar's Flickr photos are beautifully lit and artistically taken, but as a blogger I know that great lighting and snazzy camera shots can make less than stellar items appear awe inspiring. For me, the fairly plain shots with more natural lighting and no depth a field are more welcome.

From the SPACE website, the avatars do not appear to have been upgraded much (or at all) from their sine.space predecessors. Sansar's avatars look better if not up to par with the popular Second Life mesh bodies and garments of today.  That's really OK on both counts ------- as LONG as some talented content creators fill in the gaps.


The first thing I do when I get to a new grid or platform is get myself looking like "myself". Now that can mean quite a few things as each platform is different. Still, I don't want to look like I just came out of the pod -- even if no one else will be seeing me. I do not think I am alone.

There needs to be enough content (free of buyable) available so that perspective citizens can feel good about their looks. There needs to be something for folks to do and places to explore and meet and chat and dance and all that jazz. Quite a ways down the road comes the need for houses, furniture, landscaping and decor.

No one is going to be interested in making a home, if they look like an earlier version of their virtual self. So from a business standpoint, I will be assessing the likelihood of sales and possibly hanging out and doing my own thing and waiting for an opportune time.  Or, I might decide that "now" is just as good as later.

As a content creator I am eagerly awaiting the expansive landmasses that are promised on both platforms. I am looking forward to new and improved tech (although I am quite happy with SL's current abilities). I want to see how my existing products will transfer over -- what new rules will be in effect and how I (we) can work with those rules to make the best products for that platform.

I have to admit that I am still thinking in Cloud Party terms, but I will be very happy to see improvement on that 2013 model. I am wondering if I can use my Cycles skills and still bake glorious textures (I'm not seeing anything in the photos that leads me to believe I can). It would be a shame to abandon those skills.

I will of course be checking out the new platforms, testing and seeing where I might fit in.

I'll keep you apprised.

I have been thinking about writing this post for some time now. I am not thrilled to be writing it, but in some ways I feel like an historian  -- so here goes.

Statistics show that closed grids (all closed grids including Mother SL) are in decline and OpenSim is gaining in popularity. A shift seems to be happening but along with that an overall decline in VR interest.

While I do believe in statistics, I also know that they can be manipulated to "say" just about anything one wants. So for me, a personal barometer is best.

Here is what I have seen this last month.

SL mainland continues its move into wasteland status. There are very few non-maintenance lands adjoining any of the mainland parcels I use. Large commercial multi-sim areas that used to be fully occupied are now two thirds to three quarters yellow (for sale) with no buyers in sight.

High profile designers that used to have full sims have opted for 1/8th or smaller plots for their new stores.  Some of this is due to the popularity of venue shopping; folks typically by at events or on the Marketplace these days. There are some exceptions who market their virtual brick and mortor stores well, but in general the inworld shopping experience is not the same as it was five years ago.

I have noticed -- this month in particular -- a lot of designers joining new venues that were previously not part of their marketing plan. I am wondering why the mass interest.

On a personal level, my sales are down a bit but fairly good considering the current state of affairs. I sell niche products however, many things that aren't available from others. So my retail gauge isn't really a fair one. BUT, it is very obvious that my design blog views are way down from the beginning of last summer -- over 33% I would say and that is a lot. The feeds that post their statistics have dismal numbers, some of the top bloggers have gone to one post a week; readership I am guessing is down overall.

Does this all both me?  You betcha. This is not what I want to see. I have been in a handful of worlds on the steep decline slope -- some of which are no longer. They were good platforms, but they couldn't get and keep enough growth momentum.

I am not sure there is an answer, a magic pill that will solve the problems.

Over on Opensim there is a fairly noteworthy schism burgeoning.  The "commerce" grids want more protection for their creators. The "free meta" sims want to protect old, free, pass along content. Having both sides happy is going to be tricky. Many are worried that an even wider rift will appear between the money and no-money camps.

After talking to quite a few folks that know much more than I, it seems unlikely the plans will come to fruition. There are just too many things that need to happen and some are in direct contrast to the needs and rights of others.  So while folks are flocking to the $5 and $10 a month sims that are almost like SL, paradise is not without its issues.



Now there are lots of new platforms on the horizon. So far none has beckoned loudly enough to get my attention. I am sure they will each find their own followers, but replacing SL is going to be a tough act to follow.

As I write those words I find that I am not terribly convinced that replacement will happen. Even with a glorious new platform (it seems pretty obvious by now that we aren't talking "world" but indeed something more akin to a VR ISP) I am not really convinced that SL will die. To many people with too much invested -- both years and money -- will be hard to smother under the blanket of the new flavor of the month.

The next year may be one of the most important in VR history as new platforms open and population shifts occur, but looking at the number of mesh bodies and heads being sold in SL, I don't think too many folks are planning on jumping ship.