Get ready for the biggest changes that have already happened
with the avatars in Second Life in years.
The changes will come with Project Bento that adds more than
90 bones to avatars. That will allow interesting and discreet increases in
facial expressions, better articulation to the fingers, movements for wings and
tails and other improvements impossible or too complex to be made before the
arrival of the project.
Many designers have been invited to test the new developments
that will soon be available to SL users.
The changes that will occur with the addition of the new bone
structure to the Second Life avatar skeleton, will allow more options for
customizing avatars.
Find out which bones are about to be added:
- 30 bones to improve the facial expressions;
- 30 bones to allow the movement of fingers (all ten fingers);
- 11 bones to improve the movement of extra members like: wings, extra legs, or additional arms;
- 6 bones to enhance the movement of the tail;
- 13 new attachment points associated with the new bones that will allow improvement of the movements.
The Linden Lab in a note on the Project Bento says that will
consider value, personalization and investments that are made by the users of
Second Life on their avatars. They promise to balance the improvements and
compatibility. The new changes will allow avatars to a new set of expressions
and incredible movements which will allow the use of much more creativity to
the composition of the avatars.
The changes introduced by Bento avatar skeleton designs are
not yet final and are being tested for the opinion of designers and users. You
can also participate and discuss the changes brought about by Project Bento. For these discussions Linden
Lab created the Creation Forum that is available at:
URL:
The designers and users can also experience the changes
offered by the Bento Project. For this, you need to download this viewer:
After the conclusion of SL skeleton extensions, Linden Lab
will allow uploads so that the avatars can be used in the main Second Life
network. So soon we will see on the virtual universe more sophisticated avatars
than ever.
Some designers request resources from Linden Lab, to be able
to already upload a Project Bento
skeleton rigged mesh "avatar", and then rez it in-world put it
together with a script / animation, and watch how it works. This feature would
enable more realistic creatures that are far less taxing on the
viewer/land/etc.
So if you see an articulated and very realistic creature
walking through Second Life, do not be alarmed, it is the Project Bento in action.
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