~ Getting Started in Five Easy Steps! ~
A guide to aid New Media Arts in its mission: Preserve our cultural heritages in new media platforms, and support, develop and preserve new media arts and artists.
~ Introduction to Guide ~
Welcome! If you are reading this there is a very good chance you have decided to join the avatar hyper-grid community, and planning to attend New Media Arts and Avatar Repertory Theater events. If you are new to avatars, or if you are experienced with them, with the simple instructions below we hope to have you visiting us in the Kitely grid and beyond.
It is our goal to help you make the leap to hyper-gridding around with your avatar. With hundreds of grids, turning into thousands, there is truly a brave new world out there to explore. Taking that first step can be tedious to many and outright confusing to some. Just remember that every avatar you encounter has had to take that first step and we know the learning curve can be steep. We are presenting this guide to make hyper-gridding as user-friendly as possible.
We hope to get you started in 5 easy steps!
So lets get started!
The FIRST STEP is to set up an avatar on the Kitely® grid.
A simple Google search of Kitely Grid will produce the Kitely web site ~ https://www.kitely.com/
Once you have verified your email* or other contact to set up your avatar, Kitely will instruct you to do a few things.
*A note on using an email verification method ~ the password they are asking you to type in/create will be used to log you into Kitely, they are not asking for the password to your email address.
If you are setting up an avatar for the first time choose your name carefully, changing it can be awkward and you do not want to be stuck being called "Thundergas" for your entire avatar existence. Once you have set up and verified your Kitely account they will ask you to make additional choices. You don't need to worry about those right now. More importantly is the next step.
The SECOND STEP is to install an OpenSim compatible viewer.
If you have a 64 bit machine we recommend Firestorm (64 bit).
If you have a 32 bit machine, you will have to use Firestorm 32 bit. Our instructions will be for Firestorm users, but other viewers can be used if they are compatible with OpenSim. A 32 bit version will work for logging in and traveling around with your avatar but the My Suitcase folder may not be available. More about that folder later.
Please note that you cannot use the regular SecondLife viewer nor the Firestorm that is for SecondLife only.
This link will get you a compatible viewer.
http://www.firestormviewer.org/downloads/
The THIRD STEP is to Log In!
The THIRD STEP is to log in! It is best to log directly into the Cookie II region on the Kitely Grid. To do that you open your Firestorm Viewer and type in your Username: and Password: and for the Start At: option choose <type region name> and place this coordinate in there ~
hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie%20II/125/131/25
Note that some regions may not be available immediately, this is Virtual Worlds on Demand and the region may need to rezz (resurrect/show up). This takes only a minute or two in some cases. Once you get there save this landmark (LM) in your inventory, at the top of your viewer WORLD> Landmark This Place. You will find the saved LM your Inventory folder (suitcase looking button at bottom of viewer) under Landmarks.
Another good option for saving this LM is to set it as home! You must join the Communication Arts Group that manages the region. There is a sign to help you do this, below the welcome sign, touch it then open your local chat and follow the link to join! This is not necessary but if you do you can Set Home To Here in your World tab. Then you can set your log in to Home and arrive at the Cookie II Welcome Zone when you log in! You can also hold the shift+ctrl H keys to get back there when traveling around.
Congratulations ~ you have brought your avatar to life!
If you want more information about the Kitely Grid you can look in the Kitely Forum ~ https://www.kitely.com/forums/
The FOURTH STEP is to Get Dressed with our FREE SHOPS!
Step #4 is all about getting dressed with free shopping on Cookie II
A few notes about shopping with and dressing your avatar ~
For those of you familiar with the process the only detail you need to know is that all items in the Cookie II free shop come in a folder, i.e. ready to wear, if you choose the Buy option. If you take a copy you may need to rezz a box someplace. We have a sandbox* for that, and an arched walk way to teleport you there located outside the free shops.
A *sandbox is a place for people to build things that have no permission to build in any other location. You will need to join the Hobo Sandboxers group to rezz things there. If you look at the Cookie II Hobo Sandbox land information at the top of your viewer you can see the Hobo Sandboxers Group there, you will need someone to invite you into this group. If you have joined the Communication Arts group, post a request in the group chat there. Some one will invite you as soon as possible. If you don’t want to join the Communication Arts group, send an instant message to Selby Evans or Ada Radius. If we let everyone rezz prims anyplace, the metaverse with be filled with experiments and junk!
So you see an avatar skin and shape, or clothing, you want to buy and wear. Note that shapes and skins are two different things. Some details are flexible on the shape, you can edit some, but your skin will be painted on so look closely at the face. You are stuck with that makeup on that skins face, until you change your skin again. Using your mouse, left click on the object you want to buy and choose to Buy the item and accept the folder that is sent to your inventory. A folder with the name of the item will now be in your Inventory.
Now you have the item you want, lets get it on!
Find the item folder in your inventory and right click on it. You will see a list of options. Read/Open any notes in the folders, they have information you may need later. Many folders will have giver scripts*, save one if you wish in your script folder, but you can Delete these. They are useless items in your inventory and if you shop a lot it gets taxing.
*Scripts give things action in VR. If you accidentally delete something it is ok, it is in a folder labeled Trash and it can be restored! Please empty your trash when it gets very full, it stinks up the efficiency of a grid to keep track of our trash.
To place clothing on your avatar choose Wear from the list after right clicking the item in your inventory. Everything has a default location when you Wear it on your avatar.
If you wish to attach two items to the same location choose Add from the list of options. Objects, like jewelry and shoes, when attached can have their physical location adjusted by right clicking on that item and using the Edit option move it ~ by using the cross hair arrows that appear. Be aware when editing items on your avatar, they can become very distorted, or broken. Be patient and know anything you may break or lose from the free shop is there for you to get another copy!
Hair and shoes are most commonly in need of adjusting. Clothing that is painted on may be adjustable in Appearance mode (located in the pie chart when clicking on your avatar) but the location of painted on clothing is not adjustable.
So we have spent a lot of time on the appearance of your avatar and chances are you will too. Much time can be spent adjusting your avatars look. Experiment, have fun with it! Remember all can be replaced from the free shop and know that you will not be the first to accidentally hit Replace Current Outfit on a folder, finding yourself hairless and wearing ONLY a bracelet in public. We hope to have a hysterical video soon to show you more about this.
The FIFTH STEP is Hyper-gridding!
Now the FIFTH STEP ~ Hyper-gridding!!
From your base in Kitely you can find a whole lot of other grids to hypergrid to. The first thing you will need is the name and address of the Grid. Google is very helpful in finding grid addresses. You MUST be in a region that has hyper-gridding enabled. Cookie II is hypergrid enabled.
Examples of a Grid addresses ~ hypergrid.org:8002 & hg.osgrid.org:80 ~ these are addresses for two different grids, Metropolis is the first one and OSgrid is the second. As you can see sometimes the name of the grid is in the address but sometimes it is not. You will find a note card, in a bucket, filled with addresses to help you hypergrid around the metaverse at the Cookie II Welcome Zone landing.
You will need to learn the basics of My Suitcase management for hyper-gridding.
Rule one: Inventory you will have full use of while hyper-gridding is located ONLY in your inventory folder labeled My Suitcase. There are times when other items work but the rule is, if you want to make sure you have it with you to use while hyper-gridding ~ put it in My Suitcase. That is also the location of any new items you acquire while shopping outside your home grid. Rule two: Once you get home, just like real life, unpack My Suitcase items and place them in your regular inventory folders. This frees up your suitcase for filling with things you need for your next trip.
Advanced Help ~
Now that your avatar is looking presentable and you have hopped around in Kitely, Cookie II and may even have hypered to some distant grids, it is time to better manage your inventory to help you navigate around grids. The items below are designed to lower your lag and the lag of the grids you visit. Stressing out a grid with poor inventory management will affect your own avatars performance, as well as other avatars in the region. So be smart and stay organized!
A short list of Do’s and Don’ts
~ Don't add more root folders - store your inventory in subfolders of the default root folders
~ Objects within objects and Coalesced items take much longer to process than multiple objects
~ Builders with big inventories: store them in a spare sim and take an OAR backup.
~ No more than 1000 items in each folder can be accessed at a time and only 40 can be sent to another avatar at a time.
~ Better to use folders and not box items
~ You want to avoid having one object contain another object as much as possible. That creates a coalesced object and those store very inefficiently compared to multiple separate objects.
~ Storing items on a note card is no better.
~ Speaking in Voice on some grids may require you to re-set your voice in preferences.
Now you have the basics and are off to the sandbox to build and may even settle down on your own land soon. You’re going to need more stuff!
This is a GREAT Web site for free things and misc tools on the web ~ http://www.outworldz.com/
Finally ~ you are off to see Avatar Repertory Theater shows in the metaverse !!
See the link below for shows and times!
Some legal notes and web addresses you need to know about:
New Media Arts Inc is a nonprofit organization tax exempt under IRC 501(c)(3). Our mission is to preserve our cultural heritages in new media platforms, and support, develop and preserve new media arts and artists. Your donation may be tax-deductible, depending on your tax jurisdiction and circumstances.
See our video on GoFundMe!
http://www.gofundme.com/aea2u8
www.newmediaarts.org
www.antiquepatternlibrary.org
www.avatarrepertorytheater.org
www.avatarmediaproductions.org
P.S. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the ART House Manager in Kitely® or SecondLife® ~ JadaBright Pond. Notecards please
P.S.S. SecondLife does not allow people to hyper-grid in or out.
Credits:
Writer, Producer and Set Design ~
Susan Wolfe-Hill (Avatar JadaBright Pond)
Video Capture ~
Jamie Jordan
Voice Over, Video Editing and Web Posting ~
Evie Marie (Avatar SingerGirl XOXOXO Mode)
Consulting Contributors, for whom this project would never have been able to be connived or completed ~
Selby Evans (Aka Thinkerer Melville in Second Life), Ada Radius & Thundergas Menges