Lads, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long. For a while I thought I might have to wind this blog down, but I have managed to put together this second part of the non-newbieness for boys guide.
Hop behind the cut.
You have some new freebies in your inventory that were delivered by stealth. You didn’t know they arrived, and you’re about to be pleasantly surprised.
Open up your inventory library folder. Yep, the one you probably never touch. The one with all the Linden-created stuff in it. Now open the clothing folder inside that one.
Yes, new library avatars. Note the creator’s names: some of the biggest designer names in Second Life. And what’s more… those avatars have PRIM HAIR. PRIM SHOES! GOOD SKINS! All of which can be mixed and matched with other library items and store-bought items in-world.
Nope, I can’t believe it too, but it’s a great move from Linden Lab. They’ve teamed up with some big-name designers in-world, from Renegade Clothing, Adam & Eve, Nylon Pinkney, Wraith Unsung, and Grendel’s Children, to bring everyone 16 new avatars that every resident will have in their library folder from scratch.
I’m so pleased about this! Hop behind the cut for screenshots.
OK, it took a long time to put together, but here - at last! - is the boy’s version of my fast-track guide to non-newbieness.
In this first post, as with the girls’ series, we’re going on a whistlestop tour of the Second Life Grid, only this time it’s purely for the lads.
So, boys. You’ve finished wandering around Orientation Island. You have learned how to walk, fly, and squash medium-sized rodents under the wheels of a car or motorbike. And now you’ve found out how to get into Second Life proper; away from all that newbie learning stuff and into where all the other people are.
All the other beautiful people, that is. How come those guys have a slow, meandering walk when you’re stuttering forward like a toddler that’s only just found its feet? Where did the bloke in front of you get that awesome haircut? Hey, I want a pair of jeans like that, not these horrible newbie things. And argh! Get these flipflops off my feet!
Guys? Breathe. Go make a coffee or grab a beer, then hop behind the cut. In this post we’re going to grab some of the basic stuff you need in order to stop looking so newbish.
I’ve just been to Bewitched Hair, buying the contents of 12 trees (no laughing about getting a purseful of leaves at the back there!) for their Earth Day hunt (which, due to SL problems, was only just announced). As with all hunts at places as popular as Bewitched Hair, the sim was very busy. I got there within minutes of the group notice going out, and already there were 29 people in the sim, which is pushing the limits of how many it can contain.
Normally, wearing all my clothes, hair, AO, and other bits and bobs, walking or flying around a place as busy as that would be like trying to wade through molasses, but of great help in busy situations is the FREE low-lag avatar, from Shapes By Zada.
No, it doesn’t look pretty, but it does the job. It doesn’t cut lag completely (hell, there’s always enough poufy hair, poufy dresses, bling, AOs galore and other bumph at major stores to mean lag will NEVER completely go away when you use this avatar) but it really does help. (And guys, there’s a male shape in there, too!)
I’ve created a new group tag in Del Mar Updates, for when Mar’s wearing this avatar. It says simply: Low Lag Avatar! And in her picks there’s a section about it with a TP to Shapes By Zada. That pick reads thus:
Spotted me wandering around looking rather strange? If you see me looking completely black from head to toe, and sporting a ‘low-lag avatar!’ title, then that’s what I’m wearing: the low-lag shopping avatar, from Shapes By Zada. This avie is free (check out the TP on this pick) and is ultra low-lag. Useful for busy areas, treasure hunts, and other high-lag situations!
Get the low-lag avatar from the freebie wall at Shapes By Zada.
So what is SL for Nowt all about? (Hey, that rhymed…)
Initially, I wanted to see if it was possible to create an entirely new avatar in the Second Life world, without putting in any money of my own. I planned to do this by picking money from money trees only. No camping (sitting on chairs/mopping floors/doing other activities that make an area look busy, in return for small amounts of cash), and definitely no begging! I set myself the goal of a minimum 50L$ per day from the money trees, and met this target on most days. I even exceeded it a lot on a few days. Along the way, I spotted (and screencaptured) many odd things, met some interesting people, got annoyed at the rudeness of ’some people’ and generally had a fun time.
The blog has now taken a different path, since my original goals have now been met. Now, SL for Nowt is all about finding freebies and cheapies, living a virtual existence in the Second Life world on the cheap, and helping out newbies as much as possible.
SL for Nowt is an entirely unofficial blogsite, and is not endorsed by Linden Research, Inc. Second Life, SL, Linden Lab, LL, SLurl, Linden dollars, and L$ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
Contact: sl.for.nowt@googlemail.com (Please include ‘SL4Nowt’ as part of the email’s subject line)
