More models, please.

Just to keep the panic down, I'll start by saying that I want to keep both the male & female models we have. They're great and every product out there is designed to fit those 2 models even if we had to squish 'em a bit with anims to get them to do what we want.

What I'd like to propose is that in the appearance dialog, we be given a few more choices. Here are some suggestions:

Chibi male & female (just a little more exagerated than you can get with the current models & sliders)
Extremely muscular male (like the big fellas in City of Heros - yummy!)
Quadruped (this could be a stick figure with attachment points based on quadrupeds in Poser)
Centaur
Humanoid with digigrade legs, possibly with sliders for different muzzle types.
Tiny (yes, I'd like to see this built-in. Why not?)

With all of these, I'd like to have new templates. There'd be a huge explosion of creativity to make new items for all of the new models. All the while, the old models would still function and probably remain a staple.

I realize that this whole idea is controversial - a lot of us content creators have our ways of doing things and this would probably change the market entirely. I think it would make us who are already established work harder to stay on top. I suppose I have as much to lose as anyone, but my philosophy has always been to give more monkeys more typewriters so we can all enjoy more Shakespeare! I really think this is the "kick" that would really make SL more fun for everyone.

But of course I'm not holding my breath for this or anything. Just an idea that's been poking around in my brain that I felt like getting out. Add to it, flame it, whatever.

Meh. I just want to import 3D models and animations for them, period.

Monkeys indeed!!!

There's a guy named Hoodah in SL whose avatars are humongous furries.
http://gallery.sirkain.net/album106
Now, he probably made them himself, but this kind of bigness seems to be lacking amongst the humans...

*shudders* Why did I click the link? You explicitly said "humongous furries" and yet, like some biomechanical meat puppet with no free will, I clicked the link.

I don't know, this idea might get LL in trouble with people who make AV's. It would be taking away some people's businesses. If everyone could make say a furry like AV or a tiny animal AV without buying from the current makers, it wouldn't be fair.

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Yeah, I know. I don't mind and I have as much to lose as anyone but I'm not speaking for everyone either. I'm just saying this would make the market larger and would probably cut down on the amount of prims we use for our everyday avatars. And animators could make new anims for all of these models. Clothing designers could make even more stuff or adapt their old stuff. New skins for all of these models! If we had new materials (models) maybe there'd be a new wave of creativity and commerce, like there was with the Tinies. It's just an idea, and one that probably will not be used.

So? LL has often added things that obsoleted previous work-arounds. Such is life.

Also, everyone can make a furry or tiny animal AV right now; it's not like you can't make yer own out of raw primmage if you care to.

Humungous in a more happy-snuggy-wuggy way. Each avvie at least 9' tall, some (the herons, flamingo, stork, and phoenix) up to almost 25' tall, and the sea serpent's about 35' long.

Flamingo!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_flamingo.jpg

Golden Eagle!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_goldeagle.jpg

Bald Eagle!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_baldeagle.jpg

Stork!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_stork.jpg

Phoenix 1!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_gphoenix.jpg

Phoenix 2!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/avatars/giantphoenix.jpg

Sea Serpent!
http://dragonneo.com/psyra/artwork_2ndlife/ava_milo2.jpg

I'd like to see more body types myself, right now the current models only allow for either black or cuacasaian features on the males, very hard to get a convincing Asain male.

And I want long hair that Looks right on a guy dang it , and that can be tucked behind elf ears........

True, but LL needs to do something.

Tinies are the only one I've played with, but the tricks that AV makers are forced to play have serious negative side effects. The camera angle doesn't work right, I guess because the makers have to fold up the body and move the body down with an animation. Also, the animations don't stick fully, so periodically your tiny will revert to something really not cute.

The issue is a lot more complicated than just Poser models though. For example, the speed at which a normal AV walks is too fast for a tiny moving around a tiny structure. For example, I had trouble staying on some tiny walkways that I built because the walking speed was too fast. But at the same time, a tiny walking in a normal space needs to walk at a normal speed.

I don't fully understand all of the issues, but it's clear to me that it needs to be explored and that LL will need to provide some kind of enhancements to make it work right.