New World Notes

Fantasy & Sci-Fi Avatars & Accessories in Sinespace for Cosplay Fun

NWN partner Sinespace has a ton of fantasy and science fiction-themed avatars and accessories available in its in-game store -for instance, this amazingly detailed, surprisingly buff "full body" zombie avatar, by Gorgelay. (I'm posing here in the BlakOpal region foyer.) So it's the perfect place to search for cosplay options if you feel like dressing up (and you totally should) for Warren Spector's Sinespace event next week.

Creator who wants to customize your own avatar's skin, tattoos, or makeup? Watch this Sinespace tutorial:

Meet Warren Spector in the Virtual World: Sinespace and Escapist Host an Hour With the Influential Game Designer, Nov 17 at 3pm (PST) - RSVP Now!

Click here to RSVP for a very unique Sinespace event I'm proud to co-host November 17 at 3pm (PST): An hour with renowned game designer Warren Spector (Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey) who'll discuss his latest game, Underworld Ascendant, the future of game design, getting started in games, developing in Unity 3D, and whatever else our virtual audience of avatars cares to ask him. The event (and live video stream) is being co-hosted by The Escapist magazine, with editor-in-chief Russ Pitts interviewing Warren alongside me.

The acclaimed titles Warren has helped lead development on have been incredibly influential on the art of games, helping pioneer a new genre of immersive simulation which rewards player creativity and choice. Its heirs include the Thief, Dishonored, and BioShock franchises, among many, many others. His new game, Underworld Ascendant, is very much part of that tradition, and is a spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss.

Created way back in 1992, Ultima Underworld game is not only a landmark in 3D simulation games -- it helped inspire the development of virtual worlds. As I wrote in The Making of Second Life, it was a key reference for Philip Rosedale, as he started formulating the framework that would eventually become Second Life:

Upcoming Halloween Events in the Unity-Based Social MMO Sinespace

Catacombs in Sinespace's Illuminati Region via Lyric's Flickr

NWN Partner Sinespace has Halloween-themed events this weekend and next week, starting this Sunday at 3pm PST with live music at the Harvest Ho-Down at 381 Club, and a Best in Orange and Black Outfit contest for gold prizes. And on October 30 at 5:30 PST, there's Boo-tastic club music and a gravely huge gold giveaway. And for generally scary exploring, visit the Illuminati region (pics above and below). More on the blog and Twitter.

Sinespace Featured on VentureBeat With Report on New User Growth & Revenue Numbers, Certified Creators Program

Kudos to NWN partner Sinespace for this great coverage by Dean Takahashi on VentureBeat:

Sinespace is billing itself as a massively multiplayer online sandbox world in VR, and the company is launching what it calls a Certified Creators program to try to boost the creation of user-generated content in Sinespace. It hopes that it can stand out from others because its technology won’t be “pinned in time,” but rather will change with the times as graphics and other technologies move forward.

 “We are trying to build a virtual world that is future proof [says founder Adam Frisby]. "The goal of what we are doing is to make it accessible to everyone."... He said that the company’s monthly active users grew from 10,000 in June to more than 15,000 in August. And Sinespace players are also buying more content from creators, with the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) in August hitting $20 a month, up from $17 a month in June.

More about the Certified Creators program and its special advantages on Sinespace's blog. Highlight:

What a Sinespace Dance Club Party Looks Like in Full Swing

Great footage shot by Michael Emory Cerquoni  (Nebadon in Sinespace) at last weekend's opening of the SoundBar club (built by Calum), and featuring a hilarious mid-stream interjection by the DJ. Really admire Calum's use of colored lighting effects to create a true dance club feel.

Disclosure: Sinespace is a sponsoring partner of NWN. Further disclosure: I've been known to dance fairly freakily at San Francisco clubs in the SOMA.  

Sinespace Launches New Teaser Featuring User-Created Scenes, Avatars, Poses, Animations, Scripted Games & Vehicles, In-Game 3D Model Editing, & RL Facial Capture in Unity-Based MMO

NWN partner Sinespace just posted this online, a new teaser video showing off the massively multicreator platform's latest features including Archimatix dynamic model editing and webcamera-to-avatar RL expression capture. Video was shot by the excellent Brian Arndt, a veteran of major game developers ZeniMax, Bethesda, and above all, Rooster Teeth.

What do you think? Please post feedback (positive and negative) in Comments, and I'll share it with the team.

Tomorrow in Sinespace: Wear Your Best Summer Fashion, Win $1600+ in Unity 3D Games, Tools, Classes, Assets

If you're interested in developing with Unity 3D and enjoy virtual fashion contests, NWN partner Sinespace has a contest for you as a way of winding down the Summer -- starting tomorrow (9/12) at 3:00pm PST: End of Summer Outfit Contest at 381 Club:

This is your last chance to wear something summery before winter sets in at the Club.

1. First Prize: A Humble Bundle. This has a full Unity game course, 7 games and 10 Unity asset packs. Total value $1593.
2. Second prize: A key for a copy of Gaia (Unity terrain creation tool) worth around $60 US.

So put on your summer outfits and come to The 381 Club this Wednesday for a chance to win!

To enter, just get your coolest possible sun-drenched outfit ready, click Explore, type "381 Club" into search, and teleport.

How to Create Adjustable Archimatix Objects in Unity 3D to Use in Sinespace

Good tutorial to see during the long Labor Day weekend for people who create in Unity 3D: Watch "wetcircuit" show you how to create Archimatix objects with handles, so you can dynamically adjust them in Sinespace (An NWN partner!) simply by clicking and dragging. (Here's how to use Archimatix objects in your Sinespace home region.)

And here's what you can do with an Archimatix object once you're in the virtual world:

Wetcircuit's also on Twitter. Join Sinespace’s Discord for technical questions, or post them in Comments below!

Tutorial: How to Start Editing Archimatix Models in Real Time in Sinespace

Since Upload VR featured the new Archimatix support for real-time, multi-user 3D modeling in Sinespace (a NWN partner!), there's been questions from new users about how to get started. Thanks to Sinespace's Dolome Demonia, here's some basic tips, after you've created a free account:

Now in Sinespace: Take a Tour of Home Templates for Your Free Region During Creator Weekend

NWN partner Sinespace is devoting this weekend to its many creator, including store and region tours, micro-games, quests, club shows, and contests. The blog has a summary of events happening today and Saturday/Sunday; for new users, a good place to start is the Self-Guided Tour of Home Template Regions, which can be used in your free home region:

There are room templates in the Sinespace Shop that can be purchased to use for your free home space. Most are well under the 128MB limit - this leaves you lots of room for furniture and decorations. Many of these templates are also regions you can visit before you buy them. 

For instance, above is Wondermere, a user-created region in the store. To visit all the regions, look for this sign (at right) in the Welcome Center, and enter the name of the region in the Explore. (Follow the arrows in the image.)

Much more events here and in the Sinespace forum. As always, if you have questions for the team, post in Comments and I'll nudge them to respond when they can!

Thanks to Sinespace's Dolome Demonia for creating the region tour tutorial!