Second Life and the HAMMER Editor

Before I joined Second Life many months ago, I had the 3D modeling skills of a dessicated badger. How the hell I went from a rotting animal to a passable 3D artist, I'll never know, but I just want to say: It's all thanks to Second Life.

The newest Hammer World Editor (From Valve, makers of Half Life 2 & Counterstrike: Source) is very feature-rich and pretty densely packed with options. I know it is only the prim-fighting abilities from Second Life that have made me improve my abilities. What's more amazing is that, thanks to the manipulation and prim-saving techniques I learned in SL, I find that I am learning elements of the engine much, much faster than I ever have before.

Anyone else have similar experiences with 3D modeling programs? I'm a happy pappy.

I was already a good modeler when I joined SL so I'm not sure it's helped me there, except SL is excellent at forcing you to break complex objects down into simpler shapes which is great exercise no matter what other app you model in.

The biggest thing SL has done for me is hugely improved my texturing and photoshop skills. It's just awesome to have my main hobby be something that actually benefits my professional life as well. I don't have any guilt about the time spent like I used to with other mmorpgs.

Moved this over to the design forum, where it may foster a better conversation.

Wow, Chip, you said EXACTLY what I was going to say, point for point.

Thanks for the move, Jeska.

Yeah, I can believe that Chip. My texturing skills have improved massively, myself. I didn't know I liked to texture until I visited Second Life. But I sure do wish that it would also apply to my professional life.

As you stated, having to break down a complex object (in my head) and construct it with multiple prims has definitely helped me to conceive of designs. The only thing that my Hammer messin'-around hasn't been helped by is the ol' "Carve a shape" tool (which I'm still learning). But that will come.

Chosen,
Great minds think alike! hehe

Goodwrench,
If you keep at it, it just might apply to your professional life in time, and maybe sooner than you think. Gotta love playing a game where you actually learn usefull skills!

You ain't kidding, Chip. Perhaps I can make the change, at some point, from paper-pushin' Administrator to 3D designer. I certainly do enjoy the process. It *still* continues to amaze me that I can derive so much enjoyment from what should otherwise be considered "work". Thanks for the encouragement.

I used to design Doom, Quake, and Quake II levels in my limited spare time. Despite the limitations of its prim-based building system, I'm constantly amazed at how much easier it is to build in SL than it was in the level editors I used to use (Worldcraft being the best of the bunch). I'm sure there are modern 3D editors that are far superior to anything I've used, but SL is still impressive for the speed with which I can crank out geometry and slap textures on it.

Second Life has definitely allowed me to hone my 3D design skills, and in an environment that provides completely instant gratification. No need to wait for a level to compile to see my work as it will actually appear in the game engine; I just twiddle a few prims, and bam, it's right there to look at.

I *love* the non-compiling aspect of SL and definitely better appreciate the fact that we don't need three different panes to place an object in 3D space. Very intuitive.