Second Life Fashion Bloggers Don't Care About Optimized Products Because They're Mostly Used in Solo Fashion Shoots

Good point from reader "Seph", responding to my suggestion last week that Second Life's many fashion bloggers should point out when an item has poorly textured mesh or other problems, because performance is just as key a selling point as the way a product looks. Not so, Seph argues:

This is out of touch.

A Second Life product is much more likely to be bought for a blog post, a Flickr photograph or just to lounge around with at 10 FPS chatting or roleplaying than it is to have any use at 30-60+ FPS.

Second Life designers don't build towards the same use cases as videogame designers. Stop assuming ignorance where a much more obvious explanation exists. Designers don't build towards the debug panels they build for the THOUSANDS of blog posts and photos shared every week, not for the few situations where 60 FPS would be nice.

Now that Seph puts it that way, this sounds largely correct. The vast majority of SL-based images on social media seem to be fashion pics with a single avatar, usually taken in a virtual studio, sometimes with a RL backdrop (as above, randomly pulled from Flickr), and often with heavy post-processing. In other words, most avatar accessories don't really require optimization, because they're not typically used in contexts where optimization matters all that much.

Even if that's correct, however, I'd still say SL bloggers should point out bad optimization:

Because even if they're not planning to use a product in social contexts where lag would be increased due to poor optimization, many of their readers surely are. And beyond that, relegating Second Life to what's effectively a single-user fashion roleplay experience greatly diminishes what the world and the community could and should be.

Comments

[Stordan Tonc]

I think you over-play the "RL backdrop" stuff.

Go into something like SLFF (http://slfashionfeed.com/) and you'll see a lot of decor from Second Life as the background for images. These perfect little vignettes allow the blog post to do double duty to advertise both fashion and decor.

Optimization by creators would be GREAT, but SL is what it is and the skill and desire of designers to implement optimized content isn't going to be a given.

And it's not that community hasn't come up with solutions for these problems. Avatar Complexity display helps to identify out designers who go too far. I have friends who decide not to wear something because the complexity on it is too high and RP sims regulate how high the number can be to reduce lag.

I'm usually in SL with a few people in my social group and I'd rather have less lag anyway. So, if I go to events I use the "Show Friends only" option in Firestorm. (Before that, I would just de-render everyone via shift-click select in the radar.)

Show friends only is here: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_menus#world_menu

[Myndy Heartsdale]

One little thing that, not mentioned, many bloggers get the product for free, then they speak positive things of it, so far I have not seen a blogger criticize a product because of their possible issues.

[Chic Aeon]

"One little thing that, not mentioned, many bloggers get the product for free, then they speak positive things of it, so far I have not seen a blogger criticize a product because of their possible issues."

That is absolutely true.

Ten years ago when I was very new, I criticized a hunt (not free products handing to me exactly as that wasn't done back then). I felt OK with with reporting as some gifts had floating signs over the objects telling folks to come to yada yada store; others were definitely lacking in other ways). From MY point of view it was a bad hunt. Hunts of course were very NEW then. Man, did I take a beating on those statements.

So now, I do do not criticize things I blog. I might mention a high land impact count which of course won't work for everyone or something akin to that in clothing. But I don't trash the work of designers -- either free or a blogger samples.

I also don't blog all those blogger samples *wink* -- and THAT is the choice I see. Anything with horrible LODs goes in the trash. Happily I don't get a lot of that kind of thing these days. But bloggers DO HAVE A CHOICE in what they blog.

It is OUR credibility on the line too. So when readers figure out that we blog everything from "deeigner VGY" even when there are obvious mesh issues, you can't move in it at ALL etc. -- then our fans have our number and likely won't be reading much of our musing in the future.

And to Seph of the striking hi resolution photo (very nice) it is important to remember that bloggers live in a very different world than most of the typical folks in SL. The general populous wants to be able to see their items from a fair distance away and not lose their clothing (or OMG their pasties -- yes, that does happen). Actually "I" want that too. If something is ONLY pretty in a well lit and much retouched photo -- it really isn't all that good. I refrain from using my graphics program to "enhance" and "conceal"; that just doesn't work for me.

So if we are going to be RESPONSIBLE reporters we need to take what our readers want into consideration.

I still do not believe it is our job to report the design failures. I prefer to highlight the folks that are providing good design WITH good building practices.

[Susan]

I'm fed up with the glitching skirts. I know it is possible to rig a skirt so that your legs don't go through it when you walk but it's very rare to see it done. It's just become acceptable and that is sad. The effort to make skirts move properly isn't even expected so designers don't bother.

[weekend ruiner]

I suppose optimising is one way to look at the low resolution textures that a lot of creators slap on their products.
For example, Nomad's Pripyat swimming pool. You have different scaling of the same low resolution texture all over the place - various resolutions on one object and so on and so forth.
Then you have backdrops by people like Anxiety and Rama which are "materials enabled" that appear as if they never got beyond a 256 x 256 resolution source image or use that old inaccurate chestnut of having low resolution normals and spec layers. What you end up is something that either looks as if it's still loading or has the appearance of having several inches of thick tar poured over it.
You can actually upload 2K res textures to SL. I know those worried about lag will be shrieking at the very thought but you can have finely detailed materials layered textured objects in world.
Photo backdrop creators seem to be the worst for this which is a bit silly as their objects are temporary at best so they really have no excuse beyond either not caring or lack of knowledge to have finely detailed props that doesn't look jarring when seen next to a high res avatar.
The devil is in the details. And details capture the eye.
It might as well be 2007 for most of the poorly executed objects I've encountered.

[Pussycat Catnap]

But you know... more and more end shoppers are buying for optimization COMBINED with looks.

Some of these 'unoptimized' items, as noted by weekend above me... are not well made. They will look good in those photo shoots from only one camera angle or only one windlight setting.

Shopper try on the demo, and reject it.

If you disagree with me... go to some shops like Addams or Blueberry and notice the crowds...
- why have those shops remained nearly full sims for almost 3 years now?

They deliver.

Good product gets return buyers.

A fancy blog just gets you a few 'sales to carelessness' and then shoppers reject that brand and move on.

Addams and Blueberry look just as good if not better than these fancy blogged up products, but they ALSO come as low lag and very well optimized... so their sims and their events get packed with shoppers knowing they can not only get very nice looking stuff, but stuff they can use at '60 fps'...

And there's a lot more shops like them... just I don't recall many fashion brands these days as I don't wear much.

But I do notice that other people wearing fitmesh, more and more of them are becoming brand conscious and aware of optimization. Not everyone. I in fac know a few people who purposefully brag about being in the multi-hundreds score on Avatar Complexity... they talk to me about how amazing they look but all I see is a green blob... and I'm also busy oggling the low lag amazing looking person next to them... :)

(and if you read this and you know me and we talk often... you should know who you are... we've had this argument before, it's been 3 years, and you're still a blob on my screen... and I'm not alone in it... I'm just the only person willing to say it to you to your face because I'm a bit too willing to fight... then again I suspect you don't read this blog... so we'll just keep things as they are for maybe another 3 years...)

[Pussycat Catnap]

@Stordon: You don't need friends only. Unless you're at an anti-social event like a shopping event.

Just set your complexity allowed to a very low score and then right click anyone you want to make an exception for and choose to allow them to be rendered even if they're a lag beast.

Or... as I do... let them stay a blob. If my friends would rather I NOT see them... that's fine for them... but I do want to see everyone around me, so I don't use the friends only setting. If you use that, it gets harder to meet new people or see nice new fashion.

[Pussycat Catnap]

@Myndy: Yeah. Bloggers get free stuff and that stays as long as they post all positive reviews. Shops have gotten a bit entitled to thinking that any review other than 5-stars on MP is a griefer... and the whole thing is basically rigged...

I'm looking for the fashion blogger that can PROVE they bought everything and didn't get any free gifts. Someone who I know I can trust because even with products they love, they will point out what went wrong.

But that's a rare creature in SL.

I'm NOT looking for the blogger that slams product just to appear "real"...

[Pussycat Catnap]

@weekend:

"You can actually upload 2K res textures to SL. I know those worried about lag will be shrieking at the very thought but you can have finely detailed materials layered textured objects in world. "

The problem is not one or two or even 3 2k texture items... It's when my land gets full of a few hundred objects like that... and then you start getting texture trashing (where a texture that was rendered suddenly blurs as it is 'removed from memory' to make way for another...

I often go through things and retexture them...

Basically I went to some very high quality texture makers with 'pro materials builder kits'... and bought some of those for common things like, wood, metal, stone, tile...

I then selected from them some neutral ones that responded well to me changing their color in the build tool (ie: still looks good when I take that given wood texture and add in green or a darker brown)...

Once I had a set of about 8 textures... I went all over my land replacing textures in things with those.
...

High quality textures are OK if in exchange, you are seriously limiting how many textures you will be exposed to at the same time...

Otherwise the result of high resolution textures, texture thrashing, is even worse than the look of low resolution textures.

[Pulsar]

I agree about texture trashing etc. Besides those who doesn't care, there should be more awareness too. As rendering cost messages and jelly dolls were introduced, those raised awareness and now all the best body and clothing makers create quality products optimized for the rendering cost (even jewelry adds little cost now), and they look as stunning as ever. This could be done for furnitures too. Given how much data and server bandwidth texture take, it would make sense to add texturing to the Land Impact formula, for example, or any better idea.