Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sculpty Tugboat Hull

This is a bare hull for building your own boat. It is textured with a simple design giving a waterline that is adjustable, or you can make your own texture. The boat is not scripted. 


This hull shape is common in work boats such as tugs, fishing boats and rescue craft but can be used for pleasure craft as well. I hope to see some nice designs made with this, if you do come up with something please post a comment below with a picture if you can.


Here is the download link for the zipped folder containing the xml import file:
>>>> Download Here <<<<

License Terms (also contained within the item's Contents tab)


You are free:

    to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
    to Remix — to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

    Attribution — You must attribute this "Tugboat sculpty hull" to Kenneth Grunke aka Key Gruin (with link).

    Attribute this work:
    http://keygruin-osgrid.blogspot.com/2012/06/sculpty-tugboat-hull.html

    Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

    Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

With the understanding that:

    Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
    Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
        Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations;
        The author's moral rights;
        Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
    Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

OSGrid Viewer Statistics for Sunday, June 17, 2012


159 total users (random "snapshot" taken at 21:00 UTC, 06/17/12)

[# of users]Viewer version

[1] Angstrom 1.1.2.27579
[1] PikkuBot by Eves Sinister 3.1.7.6
[1] Astra Viewer 1.0.0 / Second Life 1.23.5.136262
[1] Firestorm-Release 3.2.2.24336
[1] Project Viewer - Deformer 3.3.1
[1] Snowglobe Release 1.26
[1] Teapot 0.2.2.0
[1] Viewer 2 1.6.0.0
[2] Astra 1.6.3.1
[2] Second Life Release 3.3.x
[3] Hippo Release 0.6.3 (LL 1.23.5)
[3] Zen Viewer 3.3.4.1
[3] Phoenix Viewer Release 1.5.2.x
[4] Cool VL Viewer 1.26.4.11
[4] Radegast 2.x
[15] Firestorm-Release 4.0.1.27000
[15] Singularity 1.6.0.3
[16] Imprudence 1.4.0
[18] Phoenix Viewer Release 1.6.x
[43] Imprudence 1.3.x

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Linux Tech Tip: Terrain magic on your Linux server

The magic trick: take a 256 x 256 terrain heightmap image (png, jpg, or tga, maybe other formats) blow it up to 512 x 512 px or 768 x 768 px or any multiple of 256 in either x or y direction; slice the blown image up into 256 x 256 px images; then reload the images into a block of 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 regions resulting in perfect, seamless borders. Explaining it may take several paragraphs but the actual process only takes a minute or two assuming you have already created the block of new empty regions to load the heightmaps into.


You need to be comfortable with the Linux terminal command-line interface, or at least be willing to try once. I guarantee you will be amazed  and impressed when you are in your virtual world watching what was previously a single region being transformed into a mult-region sim in the course of just a few minutes!


So, if you are running Opensim on a Linux server, either a remote server or in your home/office as a desktop machine or dedicated box, read on and I'll run you through step by step what you need to do.


 If you are fairly new to Linux, you might not realize there is a magic image processing tool available, that will do anything Gimp will do without even clicking any buttons with the mouse. All you need is the correct incantation, usually only a single line in the terminal, and the job is done in less time than it takes for Gimp to open it's splash screen and load some plugins.


And it can be done with the terrain heightmap image right in your Opensim server bin directory.


A while back, I was looking at Linda Kellie's terrains at http://www.lindakellie.com/terrain.htm and my favorite was Intertwined, 5th one down. So I grabbed it directly from her site to my opensim/bin directory with

Code:
wget http://lindakellie.com/terrainfiles/terrain-intertwined.png

Then I got experimental and thought this would look cool expanded as a group of regions. 3 x 3 seemed like a good one to try so with a simple command, I blew the image up to 768 x 768. People will gasp in horror at the thought, it's not something I would do with any image ordinarily, but hey, I was just messing around  Of course, make sure ImageMagick is installed. In Ubuntu, just type:

Code:
sudo apt-get install imagemagick


Now, with your command line location in the directory where the 256 x 256 terrain image is, type this ImageMagick command to enlarge the image:

Code:
convert -resize 768x768 terrain-intertwined.png terrain-intertwined-big.png


You might think it wise to do a gaussian blur on the image to depixelize it after being enlarged--but I didn't bother and it turned out ok in the end. I had used this command in the past and it worked but this time I am getting syntax errors after trying several combinations so I gave up. Maybe someone can figure it out, or just don't bother - anyway, here is what I thought would work:

Code:
convert -gaussian-blur radius 3 terrain-intertwined-big.png terrain-intertwined-big.png


Moving on, you next need to slice up the image into 9 256 square images. This is where ImageMagick earns it's name! Here's the command:

Code:
convert -crop 256x256 terrain-intertwined-big.png -depth 8 intertwined.png


Note, this is where the color depth is set for 8-bit. You could have done this above in the resize operation also, not sure if it makes any diff.


The ending file name is the destination file name of all your sliced images, with a number appended to the end of each one starting with zero. Magic, eh?


Do the ls (list) command and see:

Code:


ls

intertwined-0.png intertwined-1.png intertwined-2.png
intertwined-3.png intertwined-4.png intertwined-5.png
intertwined-6.png intertwined-7.png intertwined-8.png terrain-intertwined.png terrain-intertwined-big.png

Now you have 9 tiled images, so go ahead and create 9 regions and load the images for each one. I started with a fresh instance of Opensim to create the first region, then shut down and created the Regions.ini file manually for the remaining 8 regions. You can see them inworld by searching for Intertwined but that sim will likely not be online after June 31 so here's a pic from the map:


If you visit the sim, and get up close to a border, you will see just the slightest hint of a dividing line. The seams between regions are very smooth and you really have to look close to see borders. Here I have dropped a prim cube right at the corner of one region, where 4 regions converge, to mark it so I know where to look - the OSGrid inworld location is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Intertwined/2/253/23:


Notice that even from enlarging the original heightmap image x3, you don't see any pixel squares which would have been 3 meters across on the the terrain. 


Well, I hope you find this a useful trick, and if you have any questions please add them in the comments section. Thank you for looking, and be well :)


Key Gruin / Ken Grunke

P.S. Here's one more little Linux trick, for those creating a group of regions by manually editing the Regions.ini file: Most Linux distros have a neat little utility to create UUIDs so you don't have to go to a website to get them. Just type this in the terminal anywhere:

Code:
uuidgen


That's all!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Seamless Ground Textures

These are made from photos I took on our property in Wisconsin and processed in Gimp to give seamless textures. The property is a lush mix of evergreen & deciduous trees, fruit and nut trees, with a large variety of ground cover including violets, comfrey, dandelions, clovers, chicory and the ever-present quackgrass among others. It's a haven for birds, bees, deer, rabbits, raccoon, groundhogs and butterflies in the midst of plowed and cultivated farm fields. I will also be offering a few non-organic textures such as gravel, barn siding, brick wall, rusty metal and others.

I will offer each texture individually as my time allows, starting with my Gravel Streetway and Wild Violets seamless textures. My emphasis is on quality, over quantity and speed.

 I'll show an inworld view along with the actual texture which you can grab by clicking on the thumbnail, right-clicking on the full size image and choosing "Save As" to save to your computer.

All textures are licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 (Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share Alike) - Details at bottom of article.

I hope you find my textures useful for your own virtual paradise where ever that may be!

Gravel Streetway

Inworld View

Gravel Streetway (1024 x 1024 px)

This picture is of the rural side street running in front of our house, The gravel had only been  laid down about a month ago, so it's still nice and even and uniform. Inworld, I found it to be a bit too bright but I didn't darken this original image, figuring that you would rather do that yourself in the Build/Texture tab. In the upper inworld image, I added a touch of light grey to tone it down a bit.


Wild Violets

Inworld View

Wild Violets (1024 x 1024 px)



Last Year's Evergreen Needles


Inworld View:

Last Year's Evergreen Needles texture (1024 x 1024 px)


White Clover/Grass Mix

Inworld View:


White Clover/Grass Texture (512 x 512 px):



Needles 'n' Weeds:

Inworld view:


Needles 'n' Weeds Texture (1024 x 1024 px)

Needles 'n' Weeds is from the edge of our apple orchard, where are located some Pine and Spruce evergreens plus some Walnut, Butternut and Willow trees so there's a mix of dead needles, leaves, and rotten apples from last fall with some new growth of dandelions, violets and other weeds. You can also see "orphaned" baby apples fallen from the new growth during a recent frost.

If you *really* like my textures, think about making a donation to my efforts, using the Paypal button at top right of my blog. Even the smallest amount will be appreciated :) Thanks for looking!

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License Terms
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0  (Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share Alike) as specified below:


You are free:

    to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
    to Remix — to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

    Attribution — You must attribute above listed items to Kenneth Grunke aka Key Gruin (with link).

    Attribute this work:
   http://keygruin-osgrid.blogspot.com/2012/05/seamless-ground-textures.html

    Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

    Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

With the understanding that:

    Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
    Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
        Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations;
        The author's moral rights;
        Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
    Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.

Monday, May 14, 2012

OSGrid Viewer Statistics for Monday, May 14, 2012

169 total users (random "snapshot" taken at 19:00 UTC, 05/14/12)

[# of users]Viewer version
[1]Imprudence 1.2.2 / Second Life 1.22.11.0
[1]METABolt 0.9.60.0 (BETA)
[1]Second Life Beta Viewer 3.3.1.254008
[1]Singularity 1.5.10.2
[2]Zen Viewer 3.3.3.x
[2]Astra 1.6.x
[2]Firestorm-Release 3.2.2.24336
[3]Astra Viewer 1.0.0 / Second Life 1.23.5
[4]Hippo 0.6.x (LL 1.23.5)
[4]Cool VL Viewer 1.26.x
[4]Radegast 2.4
[7]Singularity 1.6.0.x
[9]Phoenix Viewer Release 1.6.1.1600
[12]Firestorm-Release 4.0.1.27000
[12]Phoenix Viewer Release 1.5.x
[16]Phoenix Viewer Release 1.6.1.1691
[34]Imprudence 1.4.x
[39]Imprudence 1.3.x

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

OSGrid Viewer Statistics for Tuesday, April 24, 2012


139 total users (random "snapshot taken at 18:00 UTC, 04/24/12)

[# of users]  |  Viewer version

[1] Hippo Release 0.6.3 (LL 1.23.5)
[1] MobileGridClient.com 1.18.1141
[1] Astra 1.5.10.2
[1] Astra 1.6.3.1
[1] Exodus Viewer OSGrid 12.01.03.2
[1] Meerkat Release 0.2.2.211
[1] Second Life Release 1.23.4.0
[2] Singularity 1.5.8.1
[2] Phoenix Viewer Release 1.6.x
[2] Firestorm-Release ...
[3] Firestorm-Release 3.x
[3] Astra Viewer 1.0.0
[3] Cool VL Viewer 1.26
[3] Zen Viewer 3.3.2.x
[6] Phoenix Viewer Release 1.5.x
[6] Singularity 1.6.0.x
[7] Radegast 2.x
[10] Firestorm-Release 4.0.1.27000
[21] Phoenix Viewer Release Mesh 1.6.x
[23] Imprudence 1.4.x
[34] Imprudence 1.3.x

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Expanding My Virtual Horizons

OK, I tweeted about shifting my identity from my virtual Key Gruin to my RL identity and promising a blog entry within 24 hours, that was what, 3 days ago? And all of you have passed out by now from holding your breath, I'm sure. You can breath again, I'm not leaving OSGrid! You may see less of Key, and more of Ken but Ken will be more of a hypergridnaut than a gridling. Ken (me, from this point on) has just created a standalone region just below the 10k x-y coordinates so it's in what is known as the "upper" hypergrid region. It's called Cyberwhirled, because I am into things that rotate, spin, turn, and whirl. In RL I am an active woodturner, have been since the late 80's, but my interest in the craft waned considerably a couple years ago after I became somewhat obsessed with virtual worlds and 3D graphics. This happens to me when I get interested in something, I lose myself in the activity and find it hard to focus on anything else. Sometimes that activity is sustainable, and helps keep the bills paid, other times I have to tear myself away and focus on paying the bills. I am a self employed jack-of-all-trades with many skills, but I'm probably the worst businessman on the planet and don't manage my affairs very efficiently so I may go from wondering where my next dollar will come from, to what big toy I want to buy next in the span of a year! Besides wood crafts, I have done website development, farm work, plumbing and electrical install, carpentry, scrap salvage, minor auto repair, machine shop prototyping for my fellow woodturners, pet care, furniture restoration, and various odd jobs so I can always stay busy. And my passion for woodturning is returning (no pun intended, I swear) with the spring flowers and April showers. Yeah! Besides mushrooms, I turn vases, bowls, ornaments, bottle stoppers, gear shift knobs, you name it - anything of wood (or metal) that is round and can fit on my lathe I can do.

 my website is at http://www.token.crwoodturner.com/ and my Etsy store is at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/naturalrotations which is getting dangerously low on inventory!  *Eyes shift away from the monitor towards the woodshop across the yard*

Ok, back to virtuality for a bit: Here's my first project on my new standalone, modeled after mine and many of my fellow turners' dream  lathe, the Powermatic which I may christen the "Pixelmatic":



 So, if I'm getting so low on inventory, what the heck am I doing, building a virtual lathe?
 Well, it's part of my goal to unite my virtual identity with my real life self, and try to use Opensim to promote my craft somehow. I have no master plan, just going to play it by ear each day, each week and see what evolves.

My hypergrid name is Ken Earlsson, I am the son of the late Earl Grunke (1924-2008) who spent the latter half of his life making people smile for the camera as a traveling portable studio photographer in Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota and Iowa USA. After his retirement, he continued to bring smiles to people as a professional Santa. You couldn't pull his beard or hair off because it was the real thing :D


In my virtual world, I have plans for creating many other things over the coming months, that turn, spin, whirl or revolve and have some ideas for virtual kinetic sculptures. My standalone can be found at
cyberwhirled.info:9030:Cyberwhirled
Feel free to visit any time, it's hosted on a VPS so will be 24/7.

See ya around on OSGrid and on the Hypergrid!

Ken aka Key