Luna Lunaria^✦ @lunalunaria

I like to drop a post every now and then on another virtual universe I'm involved in developing, with a working name of Starlite Galaxies. It's a user-content generated world like SL and Opensim, but not based on their code. A complete new game engine has been written from the ground up in proprietary codebase using C++, utilizing the Vulkan API instead of OpenGL. The universe will not be compatible with opensim code, but we are discussing a bridge option down the road to allow opensim users to visit. The game is currently approaching alpha testing for which all slots are filled.

The top shot is a helmet readily available on 3D model sites that we use to test our handling of PBR materials and shaders. This one is reflecting the environment we dropped it in and running at 4910 fps on full blast graphics using a GeForce 3060 card (I believe this is the same helmet visible in the recent SL tutorial on their version of PBR)

The bottom image is an asteroid field with 50,000 physical objects all orbiting a central mass independently of one another. We wanted to find a breaking point, but only got the fps down to 720 fps.

We also are testing on a variety of lower end machines to find baselines for the graphics and physics. But if you want to go full-bore gaming using VR, controllers, joysticks, flight-sim equipment, etc., then all of that capability is already there and working. Probably would only want to use VR with your feet on the ground. We found flying ships in VR was...unsettling.

See my Facebook page for larger images: https://www.facebook.com/LunariaEmporium

So this post was left on one of my regions and is fairly representative of the mindset original opensim creators will grapple with if they want to sell their products here:

"It looks nice but I like the whole sharing is caring idea. So many places in OS that offer free stuff. Not here, too bad."

I don't blame this shopper at all for wanting to find quality items for free - who doesn't? I was grateful that they visited in the first place and cared enough to leave a comment. It's for that reason that from time to time I do exactly that - offer most of my stuff for free as I did this past OSFest.

No, the ones that make life for opensim creators difficult are those freebie mills continuously churning out stolen content from Second Life and calling it 'sharing', and who aggressively push the idea that merchants in opensim have no right to exist.

As I replied to this user: Sharing is truly caring only if it's the original creator giving it away free, or if they have explicitly given permission to others to do so. And that only works if they don't have to pay for their regions, which is not the case for me.

My region costs average $20 per month per region, and the money I make from sales covers that most of the time. There are months I take a loss with my opensim stores (my Second Life store has never posted a loss in 14 years). But because sales do cover most of my rent I can keep doing what I love: making original content for Opensim.

Paying for regions of course is my choice - I prefer to be on well-run grids that truly respect creators rights. I know that you can easily find quality items for your regions for free all over opensim, so no one is more grateful than me when you choose to purchase at my stores :-)

Another look I like. Ruth2 RC3 mesh body with my own hair, skin, and shape as in the earlier post. Clothes and shoes from the Kitely Market. Blouse is by Rune, leather pants are by Dadiellas, and my favorite boots came from Dollys, which has since closed due to constant fighting with the never buy in opensim crowd. She got tired of it and left opensim, closing all her stores.

I just wanted to party in opensim, hang out with friends, and make nice stuff that I could sell to pay for my land. I never wanted this fight but it came to my door anyway. If there are those who want give away a bunch of stuff stolen from SL then that's their decision, I'm not going to call them out over it - that's a bigger question for people far more important than I am in Opensim to grapple with. But I'm not going to let anyone dictate what I can and can't do with my own creations.

I just caught up with the craziness about Lone stealing a floor from Marianna. Looks like she saw my post yesterday about our first monthly social with a picture of my Lotus Club on Luxor. it has a big circular dance floor with a blue arcane texture. I guess she assumed Lone stole that idea the day before yesterday's event and added to his Social region (which doesn't exist). That picture was from my Gala 6 months ago at the Lotus Club and which I built on Luxor a year ago. I have that same exact texture on one of my hypergates at Luxor. I have used that texture for years. I love arcane textures, especially on floors and ceilings - I have them on a floor in Castle Ceridwen and in my main store in the Magic and Mysteries room.

My Ruth2 and Roth2 avatars. Luna on the left is wearing Ruth2 RC3 (I don't use RC4 because I don't like the alpha hud for that version). The dress is from the Kitely Market and made by Pacifica. Hair, skin, and shape are mine (no I don't sell these or give them away and haven't made any others since - not my thing). Apelles on the right is wearing the latest version of Roth2. Clothes and hair are from the Kitely Market. The glasses and shoes I made. Each one's complexity is about 55000 to 60000. Just so you know you can get a nice unique look with Ruth2 and Roth2

It's that time of the year again when OSFest is nearly ready to open the doors of a new grid to exhibitors, merchants, and sponsors to start placing their creations before the official opening on September 15th. I know I've been working on my new exhibit since mid July.

OSFest (OpensimFest) is a big event with tons of exhibits from multiple grids, including individual exhibitors, merchants, and artists, as well as educators and grid owners. Each year they create a grid just for the festival with multiple regions and tons of performers that lasts 2 weeks. At the end they have a large celebration just before the entire grid is taken down until the next year.

If you wish to participate as an exhibitor, performer, or merchant, please go here to register for a parcel: https://www.opensimfest.com then click Register on the top menu line. Once the grid opens you'll receive a parcel number by email.

OSFest sponsors are those who support the grid monetarily to help offset the server and technical costs of running a short-term grid. Their support ensures the grid is free to everyone. If you would like to become a sponsor, go here to register where you can choose a support level you're comfortable with: https://www.opensimfest.com/sponsors

For those of you who would like to attend, you can find the calendar of events here: https://www.opensimfest.com/calendar

To hear all the news before everyone else, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/K7rWsJn6e9

Someone asked to see a PBR mirror in Opensim so here's mine. Use the latest Firestorm viewer 7.1.10.75913 and make sure mirrors are enabled in your graphics settings. You can find the instructions to make your own here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvTukP_A91o

The grand opening of my latest club build in virtual worlds. Made this for the Fetish Fire Club on Utopia Skye Grid / Stunning particle effects by Lexx Moore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRVW7e9ricY

The Majestic Entertainment Complex is now ready at my store Lunaria Emporium on Wolf Territories Grid. Outside of my home region of Luxor, this is the most ambitious venue I've made so far, and I've tried to put a lot of detail and value into the build.

There are two versions available: 1 - A Venue-Only version that includes the building itself, and 2 - a Full DIY version that includes the entrance pool area, trees, searchlights, one each of the furniture sets, and all the artwork. Everything is modify / copy. Eventually there will be a full rezzer version that will place out everything as it's set now.

Important Note: The scripts used to run the movie screen only work on Wolf territories Grid and are not included with the sale versions. The build is modify, so you can add your own to the build if you like.

I also welcome those of you who would just like to explore the build, and for you all the hanging artwork you see inside the building is free 🙂 HG Address is: grid.wolfterritories.org:8002:Lunaria Emporium - Main Store

Opensimworld doesn't allow for multiple shots in a post, so for full pics, see my Facebook post here: https://www.facebook.com/LunariaEmporium/ or on MeWe here: https://mewe.com/lunalunaria.98/posts

The first ever Monthly Social for Wolf Territories Grid is today at 11 am grid time (pst) at Luxor in the Lotus Club, and teleport routing will drop you right there. This is a great way to meet residents on the grid and get to know one another and share stories. Greedy tables are set up courtesy of GMInteractive and there's a dance floor as well.

IndigoQueen King will be our DJ for the event which will last 1 1/2-2 hours but everyone can stay as long as you like. Voice will be on for those who prefer. The Luxor region will also be open for those who want to explore together - tour boats are available in multiple locations and hold up to 4 people including the driver. The event is listed on our WT website here: https://www.wolf-grid.com/ under the Events tab, and in the Destination Guide in world.

Here's the limo: hop://grid.wolfterritories.org:8002/Luxor/539/534/97
HG Address is grid.wolfterritories.org:8002:Luxor

After looking at the gold Buddha in the 360° snapshot from yesterday, I realized the gold can look much better so I retextured it. This is not pbr, it uses material textures, and adding lights around it will bring out the sparkle even more. This statue is free and can be found in the Asian room in the main store building.

My passion is building large architectural structures and regions for commercial, spiritual, and entertainment purposes, and doing them with highly detailed surfaces and textures. While I am not primarily in the business of making smaller items, in the process of making a venue I inevitably end up adding furniture, lighting, and accessories that match the style. A lot of these I make myself, but some, like this beautiful Art Deco Lamp, which will be part of my new OSFest build, I source from 3D modeling sites.

The first photo is of an original lamp from the 1920s, currently available on Etsy for about $300 usd. The second is the 3D model by Katmit developed for 3D printers. I purchased it on Renderhub for $12 and it came with an Extended Use license. After a lot of work with faces and UV maps I was finally able to get Firestorm to let my version upload, which is the last pic. I was meh about the plain globe, so I replaced that with something more interesting and added my light script. This little project took a lot more time and effort than I planned for, but I'll spend many happy moments sitting at the bar just looking at this lovely piece of art that began life a hundred years ago.

You will be able to see my full Art Deco venue at OSFest this September on the sponsor region.

I currently have regions on four grids, three of which are part of the NGC (Next Generation Core) group of grids (8-10 grids at last count), who together are developing their own improved fork of Opensim. All three have great owners who can be easily reached through dedicated grid channels on Discord, and all have been tremendously supportive of my work.

Of those three, Wolf Territories Grid has become my main location (the other two are Mobius Grid and Utopia Skye Grid). All NGC grid owners are deeply committed to making their grid the best possible for their users. That is especially true for Lone Wolf at Wolf Territories when it comes to speed, security, stability, and the organization of servers and architecture.

For example, look at the console pictured here. By logging in to the website, multiple options are available to me: Restart the region, Update the map of the region, Download the most current OAR, Backup the region to create a new OAR that I can then download, or flatten the region terrain. By clicking Edit, additional options open up: I can change the region name, change the region currency from Gloebits to the local currency, or change the region physics from Ubode to Bulletsim.

And all those things we hope will work on a grid do here: Group notifications, Offline messages sent to email, a working Destination Guide, region crossings, and local currency transaction history, among others. I for one am deeply appreciative.

While most of us associate PBR only with mirrors and shiny metals, there is a lot more to it since all surfaces benefit from it. The top pic here shows the room with the old standard (blinn phong) textures and materials taken using the FS 6.6.17 viewer, while the bottom pic shows the same room with all pbr textures taken using the FS 7.1.11 viewer. Note that you can add both texture sets to a surface so that any viewer can see something. Also note that there is a reflection probe filling this room that prevents the blue light outside from seeping in (a current known bug being investigated).

Saturation, lighting, and detail are significantly improved across the board when all surfaces are pbr, which is what Physically Based Rendering was designed to do: to more accurately capture the interplay of light on various surfaces. For those wondering about how performance was affected, these were taken using my 8 year old desktop that has a GTX 1070 graphics card. I was at 40 fps on ultra graphics, but you don't need to set the graphics that high to get this look. That's because the new viewer is more efficient since it uses more of your computer's available resources.

I've already had a couple of requests from patrons to customize the main marquee sign from MAJESTIC to something unique to their region. I am more than happy to do this for anyone who buys the venue and will do so at no extra charge, so feel free to ask :-). Please keep the name at 9 letters or less so that it will fit nicely on the sign.

Many grateful thanks to those who have purchased the new venue. Your support and profuse compliments humbled me. Of course, I expect invites to grand openings and galas.

I had a visitor a couple of days ago at Luxor while I was working on some new stuff there. They messaged me to let me know how well my textures 'fit' together. I thanked them then I asked them if they had shared environment on with a higher graphics setting. They said no. I said 'try it'. next thing I hear is WHOA...

Lol. This is about as close to pbr as I can get.

You can see Luxor here: grid.wolfterritories.org:8002:Luxor

I love Steampunk! You can see the Airship on both Mobius and Kitely

HG Address: main.mobiusgrid.us:80:Lunaria

HG Address: grid.kitely.com:8002:Lunaria Emporium

Kitely Market Store: https://www.kitely.com/market?store=13957705

After many requests, I've added a new Egyptian area to my store Lunaria Emporium on Wolf Territories Grid. Most of the large items are ready, except for the pyramid club which is nearly done. There are a few smaller items ready but there will be many more of those to come and some will be free. Click the Egyptian sign in the lobby to teleport there.