that little line when 2 objects connect on the edge

first off... sorry for all the threads, u can delete the previous ones i posted

second....in world building


alright....

im really determined to create my own katana...

i got the base of the blade..


its just the tip at the end that is getting to me


i play with the numbers so that it aligns perfectly...


but when i point the camera in one direction, there is a little line of dots that looks like small gaps

and its really getting to me

this is why i have been trying to make it just one prim!

so i dont get that little line

if that little line of dots wasnt there, it would be perfect and i would stop my complaining


is it just my graphics card?


because i have a really nice one...

and its only at a certain camera point

is it just that the builder is not that great?


or is it a miscalculation in the numbers im putting in on the plane


are there any future plans on upgrading the building a bit?

Try texturing the 'hidden' ends of the prims so they are the same color/texture as the exposed part of the blade. Most likely what you're seeing is tiny bits of the different texture on the faces of the prim that you didn't intend to show.

Here's the thing: Even if your numbers look "perfect" according to the object properties they might still be off due to the fact that SL stores coordinates at a higher degree of precision than the viewer will let you specify. You can only enter up to 3 decimal digits, for example, whereas SL is accurate up to 6 (or something), for example.

I built a mall a few weeks ago and I am very obsessive about seams (those "little lines of dots" you mention), but even though my coordinates are perfect as far as the viewer's concerned, there are visible seams on the underside of the second floor that just drive me insane.

Many builders play tricks to eliminate seams. One trick is to overlap two prims but make one just a teeny bit smaller than the other to prevent the texture flicker that occurs when two identically-sized and aligned objects overlap. I've done that and have occasionally added design flair with the explicit intent of hiding seams.

I think I know the effect that you are talking about. Even when you have two prims aligned perfectly by the numbers you sometimes see a line between them - depending on the lighting conditions and camera angle.

I've found that the best way to get rid of this line is to set the hidden faces of your objects to 100% transparent - with a totally transparent texture (or via scripting). Doesn't seem like it should do anything since the faces are already blocked by the other prim - but most times it will make that little glitch disappear.

the transparent texture trick works in most situations. sometimes the lines are inevitable, based on the color/texture/sun angle etc.

1. Texture the mating edges of the prims the same as the exterior faces, or

2. Use a fully transparent texture on the mating edges, AND

3. Use the numeric entry boxes to position the mating prims as accurately as possible. You can manually enter decimal values with more precision than the "nudge up and down" arrows.

Sometimes even setting the edge transparent and numerically aligning everything doesn't work. I've only seen this not working if the remaining faces are partially transparent and you're looking at it from an angle. Maybe it has something to do with the alpha sorting problems?

The trick i use is to set the interior faces to "blank" (no texture), and then color them a shade or two darker that the surface where the line appears. it's then nearly impossible to discern the dots. They usually show up because they are of lighter color than their surrounding prim face.

Go into your video card settings and turn on anti-aliasing for SL. Without AA, the edges of prims are jagged. Those dots appear where the jags don't quite align with each other (They can never align perfectly, since no two prims can ever be exactly oriented to the camera in the same way as each other unless they're in exactly the same spot. And obviously they're not in the same spot of they're adjacent to each other.) With AA, the jags get smoothed out, and those dots disappear.

I still get those jagged lines, and I have anti-aliasing on.

I have 2x, 2xQ, and 4x, and I'm on 4x, and I still get jagged lines half the time. I resort to the texturing tricks above to fix it.

Interesting. They all but disappear for me, on both my desktop and my laptop. The desktop is set at 16xQ, and the laptop is at 8xQ, so maybe that's the difference.

I'll admit that without it it can be a bit more extreme, but I still often get them at certain times of day and certain angles.

I'll notice it on super high quality builds too, things I would never expet it on, such as the castle at Avilion and such...

My own builds I often turn off AA though and check to see how bad it is, to correct it for as many people as possible.

Yes that's right. For about 60% the above mentioned tricks work, but there are combinations or situations where it simply doesn't. Even when you want to make the highest quality possible, sometimes you must just go with what the system offers or not. For me the alpha glitch is still a major problem in trying to achieve the best possible quality design. And if that is solved one day, there will always be something else.

The way I avoid alpha sorting glitches is this:

For walls with windows, only make the window alpha. Use hollow to create the space for windows, or just use more prims. For oddly shaped windows, I will soon be using sculpted walls, which should be interesting.

When I'm designing a build, I take transparencies into consideration for all of it. I purposely avoid lining windows up directly, I avoid having prim plants too close to each other, anything glass will not have alphas near it except for other glass or things inside of it..mmm...

Essentially, its either alpha sort glitch or more prims, I normally opt for the extra couple prims.

Two more tips that have not been mentioned:

1-Use simple algebraic math to align the two prims. If the math is correct, then the prims should be aligned with three decimal point accuracy. Then, if you see a seam, go for five decimal point accuracy. To do this, you need a script like this:
______________________
default
{
state_entry()
{
//Simply change the values and drop script in prim.
llSetPos(<0.00000, 0.00000, 0.00000>;
llSetScale(<0.00000, 0.00000, 0.00000>;
vector eul = <0.00000, 0.00000, 0.00000>;
eul *= DEG_TO_RAD;
rotation quat = llEuler2Rot(eul);
llSetRot(quat);
llRemoveInventory(llGetScriptName());
}
}
______________________
This is the first and last script I ever wrote btw

And 2-If you still see a seam, and if the above methods of making the inside faces transparent or some color don't work, then try this: Make the inside faces transparent AND THEN insert a third prim INSIDE the two original prims and ACROSS the seam. Make sure this extra prim is PARALLEL to the two original prims and textured the same. In this way, if the camera can somehow peer through the two prims at a certain angle, then it would meet an inside surface that looks identical to the outside surfaces and hence the seam will not be noticeable.

These two methods seem to eliminate 95% of the seams for me. But not all. There are cases where a seam appears to be impossible to get rid of. But I don't have a good explanation for why this happens (however, it always involves the alignment of prims of different type, such as a box and a cylinder, and changes in LOD).

If you dont mind third party tools, I just started using Prim.Docker. It will allign and join prims to 5 digits accuracy and will also match the textures. When I have done this so far the seams have been undetectable. Admittedly though Ihave only been kicking it around for a couple of days, but Im impressed so far. And the price is not too bad even.

Transparent edges can be the easiest option but there are no guarantees as others have posted.
If prims with the offending edges have contrasting textures on the opposite visible faces, then go mad making a custom edge split-texture that matches the textures on the adjacent sides.

The BEST way!