following on the last few posts talking about eLearning (yesterday’s was done with video tuts in mind) what do you think a 100% n00b needs to know to access OpenSim?
for Second Life it’s a bit easier because their viewer is made to connect to their grid. i am looking at the need to make some tutorials for subQuark’s parents, teachers, and students that will be logging into Enclave Harbour. i need to assume that they are casual internet users and have zero experience with any virtual world
the first hurdle i see is in configuring a viewer (my choice would probably be Imprudence unless you have a better suggestion). it is a fairly technical task to add a new grid to the grid manager – certainly more technical than creating a facebook account. for you and i it isn’t a big deal but we are also motivated to get in-world to do things. subQuark’s customers will be wanting to access the content just as a resource – they won’t be in there for anything more than that (they may develop an interest in virtual worlds and want to do more, but as a baseline, Enclave Harbour is just a 3D resource to learn about science things)
in this first tutorial, it will be challenging enough to get people to download the viewer! launching it and configuring it seems like a pretty big deal to me. and then after that, i’ll want to explain what the preferences are in some easy to grasp manner
so what do you think are the initial challenges to a total n00b? is what i am thinking along those lines or have i overlooked something?
and what do you think are the minimum things to cover in video tutorials for noob visitors?
it’s hard for me to remember what it was like when i first ever tried Second Life (i was stuck on Orientation Island for like two weeks! i did not realize you had to run over the rats with the segway, i was avoiding them and thought that was testing my dexterity! i mean rats are little living creatures too!) *oh brother, what a sap i am and yes, i let bugs go outside* =p
i brake for rats
Oh, you are wishing to address something I have thought about, but put in the too hard basket.
Two significant things need considering.
1. A precompiled viewer version with Enclave habour as the default connection and preferably none other to choose from.
2. Click about all the menu items to appraise them for what neutral eyes might see. Things mentioning or linking to Second Life are not desireable, Some viewers leave all this in. In imprudence in help we see at the top codeBastard Redgrave as contributor.
3. Performance. Hippo is safest. Singularity seems still to retain closet connection with viewer one. For me Imprudence is heavy these days.
I don’t have to say to you how people can interpret things.
I believe this sort of thing is in XML config files. How to bundle custom versions in the “Enclave Harbour Viewer” is the question.
Breen Whitman
12 Jun 11 at 3:01 pm
you know Breen, i used Hippo for a number of months and did like it very much. i agree that it does have a “lighter: feel. very observant on the name listed in the viewer – as a parent i would not like my 12 year old coming to me about that! yikes!
i was wondering about setting Enclave Harbour as the one and only grid – that would ease the tutorial load and also our endorsement of something that can access a lot of content we have never even looked at!
looks like another thing for us to learn about! thanks for the idea on that, it is a very good one!
Ener Hax
12 Jun 11 at 3:06 pm
oh, btw, “my 12 year old” was as a figure of speech! the only 12 year old i have is a port! =)
Ener Hax
12 Jun 11 at 3:07 pm
Ener, great topic!
The challenges I’ve run into have not been so much technical as operational. I got a Diva Distro standalone up and running for a while without issue. I’ve run several iterations of SimOnAStick with ease. I installed a local Aurora Sim instance with no fuss. I’ve been testing several viewers including Imprudence, Hippo, and Singularity. I also signed up for a Kitely account and have been playing around with that as well. It all has actually been pretty straight-forward for me.
Where I’m bumping up against a virtual wall is in what are seemingly very noob things such as:
1. how to move inventory from one build/region/grid to another
Not only via IAR, but using a viewer to import and export. I still can’t get it right.
2. understanding the scope of an avatar from region-to-region and grid-to-grid
I guess avatars aren’t yet “universal” so one must create multiple avatars in multiple grids/regions and import inventories to make the avatars appear consistent.
3. understanding how to move avatar characteristics
I haven’t been able to figure out how to move the avatar characteristics (like body adjustments, hair, etc.) from one region/grid to another region/grid. Maybe it’s just moving inventory, but I haven’t mastered THAT yet.
4. Keyboard shortcuts
I need to dig into this. I have basic navigation keystrokes down, but I need to learn camera angle and other shortcuts.
Likely, a huge reason for my lack of understanding of these basics is that I had NOT come from a Second Life background–mine was ActiveWorlds. I stumbled on OpenSim and started in full-tilt with OS with barely just a few hours exposure to Second Life.
I guess given that, I see three audiences that could be addressed: Those who are coming to OS from SL, those coming to OS from other sim worlds, and those coming to OS cold.
Jim Barr
13 Jun 11 at 7:47 am
Jim.
Imprudence will let you export/import your body shape. It’s the only viewer I know that will do that although there may be others. The problem is that you have to have been the creator of the body shape to begin with and vast majority of people probably just changed an existing shape so they aren’t listed as the creator. If you can edit the shape, you can make a duplicate shape by recording and manually adjusting the 50 some odd individual settings. That ain’t fun.
Moving hair and clothes is generally the same problem. Viewers compliant with SL’s TPV policy aren’t going to let you export things you didn’t create so you can’t export prim hair, shoes or clothes.
An alternative is to build an avatar on OSGRID and then hypergrid around to other grids. The main problem here is that the number of hypergrid enabled grids is probably very low in comparison to the number of total grids and of course, you aren’t likely ever going to be able to hypergrid to SL. But, if you can just use hypergrid, you only have to build the avatar and inventory once on whatever grid you want to always start from.
So, no real answers to the lack of a universal avatar problem yet. Hypergrid probably has the most promise in trying to address this issue although there will always be grids that aren’t accessible via hypergrid.
Micheil Merlin
13 Jun 11 at 6:44 pm
Hey Ener, great topic! Something I think about a lot since I have kids as young as 9 going into our school sims never having touched a viewer before. I think Breen’s idea of a custom pre-configured viewer would be ideal. You know, Heritage Key does that with their viewer and it all just works right under your nose and all you do is click okay and create an account. Amazing! Once you’re in visitors need to know where they are and where all the important places are in relation to that. As a noob in SL and OSGrid I always disliked wandering around thinking is there someplace more exciting that I’m not finding? I’m sure you will have guide materials in your books or whatnot but to make sure people get a handle on getting their bearings is important.
Erik N
13 Jun 11 at 9:30 pm
the viewer customization is a great idea, i will look into it or see if our DreamWalker can figure it out
and excellent tip on being real precise with noobs coming in, i have been thinking about it but you have helped me put a tighter focus on that, i was going to have them enter at the airport (kinda seemed fitting) but that might be confussing – an open area with big tutorial type signs might be much better – the L Word, of all things, had a great “learning path” inSL)
Ener Hax
17 Jun 11 at 6:17 pm