I'm always interested in better, faster ways to upload videos. I heard about Xfire a long time ago, but only became aware today that their client — in addition to connecting you to your friends across 1,000+ games — records movies! Previously, I covered how to record videos with WeGame, but Ravenelle was having some problems with her sound setup, so we stumbled across this. I'll likely be sharing further impressions in the future, since I'm surprised by how optimized and sharp the quality is for a free recorder.

Oddly tho, while there are ways to link to a video, I don't see easy copy-and-paste embed code like just about every other video-sharing site out there. I browsed the forums and came across this helpful thread. Thanks to those avid gamers, the solution is pretty easy.

MORE »

Like I promised (and I like to promise), my newest Second Life video tutorials are here! QUICKTIPS VOLUME 8. Following in the tradition of previous QUICKTIPS, all but 1 are effectively (not counting bumpers) 2 minutes or less, meaning you can learn something in less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Arguably, this may be more healthy. And breaking from tradition, this round of QUICKTIPS has more cohesive themes…

MORE »

Filming vidtuts @ Subnova.

"Soon" here being, likely tomorrow, 2008-09-18. If not, then Monday. The latest in my ever-expanding series of "learn something useful + fun in 2 min. or less!", it follows many other QUICKTIPS.

(Maybe they're like Pringles, or other assorted snacks where you can't stop with one. You some, and get hooked.)

I'll post about QUICKTIPS VOLUME 8 here (on TORLEY.COM), and altho I'll update the wiki page, in the hopefully-near future, the tedious process of doing that looks like it'll be phased out by something better… and more searchable.

MORE »

Since I'm a SecondLifecaster, I <3 sharing where I've been around the grid. That means I used a neat collection of tools to bring you what you see above! ^

Yes, it really shows the newest 100 pictures I've taken inworld. What's more, it gets automatically refreshed, meaning you don't have to do anything else but bookmark this page and keep coming back. Or see the original Flickr view if you prefer. Get mouse-overy and clicky to become browsalicious.

I haven't seen anyone else do that yet, but that's not because it's a bad idea. It has more to do with the process being somewhat opaque due to the multiple pieces involved. Once you know, it's pretty easy — I figured it out and did the hard work!

MORE »

Let's not be too polar: facelights, used sagely, can provide nuances and hues to enhance your avatar appearance. But unless you have good reason (e.g., you're the only one around), there's no need to hog multiple facelights:

• on a technical level they "rob" other lights within the scene (since due to OpenGL, only a max. of 6 can be shown at once),
• and socially, they ruin other Residents' experience.

If you've ever been in a store and trying to shop when suddenly, the walls light up like the LHC is ending the world — just kidding — making it hard for you to enjoy the immersive environment, you know what I mean.

Thankfully, Second Life has a lot of choices, and in the NEW! 1.21 Release Candidate (DOWNLOAD THE TEST VIEWER HERE… it's NOT the "main viewer"), is a new feature. You can turn off facelights with Advanced menu > Rendering > Attached Lights. You can also do it for particle-emitting attachments.

I get cool tools suggested to me from various sources, including my contact form and in my vast surfing of SL-stuffs 'round tha Intarwebs. Some of it comes to me directly from the creators, others are from avid fans — if you find any of this useful + fun, say thankya to the makers, and spread the word onwards. That's how we prosper here!

MORE »

Hey, what’s that sound? The answer here is a little-known fact that needs to be spread more: you can customize the collision sound an object makes. That’s right, you can make a falling anvil sound like its cartoon counterpart, a glass can emit a startling “crash!”, or you can do something completely different to confound and astound bystanders. You can even silence an object (like thunky stairs).

Even if you’ve never scripted before, you can do this with a simple script that requires 1 line of change. I show you how to do this, how to search for sounds on the web, and more!

DOWNLOAD HIGH-QUALITY VERSION

MORE »

You may already know how I approach this process-wise. But for the more specific question of “What ingredients/materials/subjects/topics are well-suited for a delicious video tutorial?”, here are my answers. Like a master chef, quality ingredients must be chosen for a yummy video-dish. Note that while I focus specifically on the virtual world of Second Life (for which I’ve made over 200+ vidtuts), most of this is also applicable abroad.
 

It’s difficult to explain in text

Camera movement is a fantastic example of this, and the same is also true for video bug repros of buggy camera behavior — it’s improbable for two people to see the same thing upon reading a description of how a camera moves around, let alone trying to explain quaternions, but a video provides a common frame of reference.

MORE »

I’m not a fan of bloated chrome on widgets intended for embedding in your own webpages: they carry too much of a parasitic personality, looking out of place, and often, taking longer to load. Why bother?

Thankfully, amidst all the ruffle comes PictoBrowser for embedding Flickr sets and such. I originally heard of it from Aleister Kronos, who uses it to great effect on his Second Life explorations blog, and I’ve mentioned PictoBrowser before, but know it deserves its own mini-video tutorial. After all, how can you resist such a compact, elegant layout which has a spark of fun but is otherwise unintrusive and a pleasure to show off?

MORE »