If pointing is rude, I wanna be bad.

I was giving some people the ten cent tour of my island, and I realized I was having a tough time referring to specific objects:

"I'm gonna put something cool in that corner over there...no, the other corner, the one under the orange crossbar where the curves meet...whoops you're looking the wrong way, I mean the NE side..." (finally I just fly to the corner to show which corner I'm referring to about) "...over here..."

"I'm not sure I like that doorway in the tower...the tower on the left...the second doorway from the bottom...bottom of the tower, not the building..."

Has anybody found an effective way to point at stuff in world so that other avatars know what you're looking at? Or, alternatively, how would one go about scripting a "laser pointer" in SL?

Well there is a default animation that points (sometimes used as a *POKE*) but it's rather subtle and certainly doesn't highlight a specific item.

Sometimes I will select/edit an object to draw attention to it. Other users can follow the particle trail from my hand to the object but this can be subtle too.

That's all I got

I right-click and go into Edit. Even if I can't modify the object, the particles stream from my wrist and onto the object. I change the colour from white to a more noticeable colour. That's how I point.


Edit: Pshaw! Aimee beat me to it.

Right-click and select "edit". You point at it and there is a nifty partical trail. Beat by several people, but just chiming in

Yeah, but I wanna point too. I hate going into Edit because then when you exit, your camera angle gets screwy.

Maybe if we just left clicked on something we would point to it? For a limited time. Sort of like when you're just standing around, but when someone types something, your head turns to look at them for a short period of time, and then you look away.

That's true. I suppose I could pick the most garish color possible for my editing particles, and use that as a pointer. Still, only works on objects within editing range, so not so good for pointing at stuff in the distance. Can you point at people that way? (I'm at work with no access to SL, and I can't remember if you can "edit" people.)

I agree, it's bit of a kluge. Better now that you can set your camera not to move when you flip to edit mode, but it's awkward and imperfect. I seek perfection.

Don't think so.

Worse come's to worse, get a gun with a dazzling visual effect and remove the "hurt" and the "push" from the bullet. Then you can point things out by shooting them!

"And on our right you can see a delicate ice sculpture by Starax" *BAM!!!*

You can turn off your camera moving in edit mode. Some people find it useful to have the camera auto-move - but I do not. YMMV.

Probably a scripted pointer would be gunlike in its behavior, wouldn't it? You'd have to go into mouselook, aim, and "shoot" the object of your visual desire.

OK all you scriptors ... I hear a market for a good laser pointer calling your names ...

note to self: *that* animation for emote a rama.

Bald avie pointing at glory hole?

Hi Pol - I made exactly one such thing... I'm going to log on and drop you a laser pointer on your profile.

It's not a gun, it's a basic sensor. You can change the color by editing the tip.
The particle beam detects the color on the tip of the pen, and tints itself accordingly.

"-trace ObjectName" will find an object named "ObjectName" and fire a laser beam at it. It also works for avatars. Make sure you type the full, correct name, it's case sensitive.

"-stop" will stop the beam

"-update" will... update it

It's limited to a 96m distance, like every sensor.
I suppose if you want one that is more gun-like i could do it in 5 minutes.

"schwing schwing schwing"

Thanks Eggy, I'll give it a whirl when I log on tonight. You da av.

Y'know, I usually have Show Look At turned on, which works pretty well for pointing stuff out, even if it can't be selected in Edit (such as the ground and stuff).

Plus, pretty stars! 8D

What is this Show Look At of which you speak? I ain't never heard a dang thing about it.

I put a pointer in a script-loaded necklace I usually wear. It'll run a stream of particles to any object or person I name. Very useful for pointing at stuff, finding lost items, locating a friend I've been separated from at the mall, as a leash for my pet Bug, and for targeting and Seburo-ing that nasty invisible creep I discovered hiding in my house when I was changing clothes. Grr.

Oh, it's under the Debug menu. Under Character. Give it a try!



Eggy's at it again?

Ya know - if we could get LL to finally fix llPointAt() this, and a whole host of other things would become possible

Combine it with a pointer script in a ring and little animation magic and you could be saying 'look at *that* huge f*cking cube!' as your av turns to face the huge f*cking cube - he/she points and stream of particles goes from their finger right to it.....

(Yes I have suggested it a few times too -- but I guess there are other fish to fry atm)