Problems, Issues and Resolutions
The first problem I encountered was starting. Its always fun to dream up and visualize and idea in your head but when it comes time to make it a reality it can be a daunting task. Making my first couple of quick mock ups in blender where horrible, ugly and extremely off putting, (I was so appalled that there where thoughts of quitting and building something less ambitious) but everyone's got to make there start somewhere and by chipping away at those ugly first renditions I quickly realized what I liked and didn't like about the previous attempts and what I should focus on first.
The second problem was realizing what to do and what not to do. Modeling a highpoly model was not an option when it came to the time frame I had given myself. Sure It would've produced nicer, smoother result but it wasnt worth losing marks everywhere else. Deciding to drop the high poly version of the model was probably the best decision I made during the whole project it really helped me focus on what was important to keeping as close to schedule as possible.
The third problem included learning new tools. This included using substance painter for painting up normal maps, and using audacity to edit sounds. After using blender for most of my highscool years jumping into any new 3D tool is always disorientating. I was thinking to myself why don't I just use photoshop it will be 100x easier and it get the job done, but what would be the point if i didnt learn anything from it. Sticking to Substance Painter, learning the camera controls, setting up the model for painting and making my own normal map brushes really paid off and actually turned out 100x times better then what I could've made in photoshop (looking back I dont even know how I could pull of normal map creation inside photoshop so substance painter was a great choice)
The 4th Scripting in Second Life. When joining my scripted linked prims to the mesh ship it was only activating the script on one of the linked prims out of 10, reaching out to Isa I asked for help and he got back to me inside what was practically the same hour and suggested I use llSetLinkPrimative to apply the script to all the linked prims fixing the problem.
The 5th, final and biggest problem of all includes one of my requirements which I am probably not able to solve. Finishing my project and uploading the object to the store for residents to use was one of my ultimate goals but trying to create a store page is proving to be quite difficult.
To create a store and sell items on the marketplace you have to meet all the conditions below:
- You have a payment method on file
- Use your payment method for a transaction, And;
- You must agree to the Second Life Marketplace Fee and Listing Policies
By not having a payment method on file I am unable to sell the ship on the market place and unable to fulfill one of my requirements. Linking my paypal didnt work because its not verified with a bank account.
I solved this by adding my credential details to my second life account, and I solved the second by purchasing an item from the store using my card although I didnt really want to :(
After an hour of finally figuring our the process of marketing something on the store residents of second life are able to find and buy the item for FREE, finally and successfully fulfilling one of the projects biggest requirements