WOOOT!!! Better Animation Modeling!!!

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Discuss.

So now tiny avatars and gigantic avatars can give hugs to each other yay!

When is this coming, I wonder? Is it here already somewhere?

It is not here yet. But parts of it are closer to being introduced than others -- especially the "expressive puppeteering" portion. That seemed easier (and closer) to release than the inworld animator. Ventrella Linden is the one experimenting on avatars (with their full consent I hope...).

Expressive Puppeteering is direct manipulation of one's avatar. It involves pointing to a part of your avatar and holding down a modifyer key on your keyboard as you drag your mouse around. You can lift your arm up, wave your hand, tamp your foot, shake your head, wiggle your booty. Whatever you want. In real time and immediately.

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Expressive Puppeteering allows us to make brief temporary gestures directly with our avatar using the mouse and a modifyer key. A bit like being able to pick up and move a physical object inworld by holding down a modifyer key.

The Inworld Animator will add the ability to pose and animate our avatars directly inworld and save those poses and animations in the standard .bvh format.

*shrugs* I'm both looking forward to it and dreading it. I'd love to see better modeling, but.. what all will get broken in the process of implementing? Almost every new shiney gets dumped with a lot more bugs, it seems. Sometimes taking months/years to properly squash.

*smiles tiredly* I'm cheerfully pessimistic, aren't I?

More input mechanisms, please. Two joysticks perhaps?

Hmm, this puppeteering and some Wii controllers and foot pedals.

I never have understood why we can't use two mice.

For a right hander like me using a drawing program, for example, the left hand mouse could pick menu options while the right hand mouse works the drawing cursor.

So basically There.com's avatars in Second Life?

Because you all know Ventrella Linden was the co-founder of There...

I didn't detect this when I was in there.com

Oh, you didn't see realism in There's avatar emotes/animations and breathing? Even the walking is just like in real life. I suspect some how Linden Labs plans on getting the secrets of There's physics engine out of him. I mean, who wouldn't want There's physics in Second Life?

I'm not saying There all of these features... Well, they do but it just isn't on the end user. Heck, they even have scripting (Very Similar to LSL) but it isn't end user. I have proof for you too! So basically, they have all of these features they're hiding from their users.

http://www.forterrainc.com/images/olive.gif

You clearly don't understand what is being discussed here. Not to mention not much grasp of how a platform like this works or how a company behind such a platform works.

I find the current SL avatars more immersive than current There avatars. There didn't have individually positionable parts and such, or if it didi I didn't figure them out.

If someone that was part of There can improve Second Life more power to them.

Might this lead to being able to hit someone?

(Someone on Help Island was asking how to hit someone.)

Features the users don't get to use. There's an idea for ya.

Now with all new Hidden Features!

they seem to be talking about scripting or controlling your anim in near real time perhaps something along the lines of pixar's weighted strings but on the fly compile? ultimately it would be really nice to link and toggle gpt's in world perhaps with a jitter like midi interface and mo cap actors we could do a strolling merchant of venice underwater.

This will lead to a whole new area of homemade motion-capture devices. I, myself, will be dressing in a black latex leotard, covered with Nintendo Wii controllers, situated in a giant hampster ball floating in a backyard pool.

*wonders how this will affect the pose makers*

As someone who is involved in investigating techniques on both of these types of avatars, I think this is pretty sweet. The discussion, linked above, is quite thought-provoking.

Also nice would be more default hand gestures that stayed they way they're set. Like 'open grip' for guns and throttles.

I have not been following the opto electronic industry lately, does anyone know if there are cheap ring gyros or or bragg style fibre gratings yet?

So something like an avatar riding on another avatar's shoulders, people holding hands while walking, boxing practice between a coach and a boxer, heck even wresteling moves, and perhaps even giant avatar pyramids (think cheerleading pyramids).

I'm sure someone will do this.. gestalt mecha avatars such as... DEVISTATOR!