User:Lum Pfohl/Build Goodies/Building Prim Skirts Using The Loop Rezzer

Building Prim Skirts Using The Loop Rezzer

Description: Upon successful completion of the tutorial, the attendee will be able to

Construct a complete working Loop Rezzer;
Construct a complete flexi-skirt attachment using a Loop Rezzer Script;
Describe the what a loop rezzer script is, and how it is used;
Create a proper flexible skirt prim and insert into the loop rezzer;
Modify the loop rezzer script to generate skirts of different parameters;
Attach and adjust the skirt to the proper location on your body.

Pre-Requisites: No knowledge of scripting or building necessary, but attendee must not be afraid to manipulate scripts and build. Course materials and scripts will be provided at the time of the class.

Estimated Duration: 60 minutes

Note: There are images provided below with the tutorial. For best results, right-click the images and select OPEN IN A NEW TAB or in a NEW BROWSER. Then while viewing the image, click on the FULL RESOLUTION link - so you can view the images at full resolution (particularly important when trying to read the values in the EDIT windows).

Introduction

What is a Loop Rezzer (looprez)?

A looprez is a script written by Second Life resident Ged Larsen in 2006. It is was a tool originally designed to arrange prims for making Necklaces and other jewelry. The script was especially useful where prims had to be arranged not only in a circular fashion, but also facing "outwards." It was later adapted by Ged for making skirts, where each skirt panels had to be arranced in a circular fashion, with the prims oriented in the correct direction.

Click to enlarge

What is a Prim Skirt?

A Prim Skirt differs from a "System Skirt" or "Second Life" skirt in that it is an attachment constructed of prims (primitives). The SL skirt is something that is "built-in" and is defined by a texture. While there are numerous controls available for determining the look of the SL skirt, it just isn't powerful enough. A prim skirt allows you to have beautifully shaped skirts that are flexible and have that "flair."

Obtaining the looprez script

The original looprez script is available from this page: looprez v0.6. For the purposes of this tutorial, I have modified this script to automatically rez a "root prim," versus following the other tutorials and creating the root prim from the looprez object. I have often left the loop rez script inside, and sold dresses.

Creating the Root Prim and the Loop Rezzer object (one time)

Move to a build-enabled location, such as the SL Volunteer HI Sandbox. We will construct a couple objects by hand.

Click to enlarge

Root Prim

Right-click the ground and select CREATE
From the EDIT window that opens up, select a SPHERE as the prim to create
Your cursor will look like a wand
Click the ground in front of you - a 0.500m x 0.500m x 0.500m SPHERE should appear, with Red/Green/Blue arrows
In the EDIT window, press the blue MORE button to expand the dialog
In the GENERAL tab, give the root prim the following name (type it exactly) Root Prim (Rename Me)
In the OBJECT tab, change the prim size in the SIZE(meters) section. X=0.050 Y=0.050 Z=0.050
Ensure that the ROTATION(degrees) reads X = 0.00 Y=90.00 Z=0.00 (needed to ensure skirt will attach properly)
In the TEXTURE tab, pick a random texture and change the TRANSPARENCY value to 50. The idea is to be able to see the Root Prim, but not have it get in your way.
Right-click the object and select TAKE (or TAKE A COPY) from the PIE-MENU to take it into your inventory.

Loop Rezzer Object

This object could be ANYTHING, but to have the "cool-looking" rezzer that Ged Larsen then follow the steps below.

Right-click the ground and select CREATE
From the EDIT window that opens up, select a SPHERE as the prim to create
Your cursor will look like a wand
Click the ground in front of you - a 0.500m x 0.500m x 0.500m SPHERE should appear, with Red/Green/Blue arrows
On the GENERAL tab, give this a name such as MY LOOP REZZER
On the OBJECT tab, change the TWIST BEGIN AND END values to B: -360 and E: 360 (minus 360 to plus 360)
Also on the OBJECT tab, change the HOLLOW value to 0.95
On the TEXTURE tab, click the the box above the title TEXTURE (the one with the wooden texture).
On the popup TEXTURE window, press the BLANK button and press APPLY
Also on the TEXTURE tab, change the SHININESS dropdown to LOW.
Come out of EDIT mode and admire your handiwork.

Click to enlarge

Copying the Script and Root Prim into the Loop Rezzer

Right-click the nice Loop Rezzer object you made and select EDIT
Select the CONTENT tab
Open your INVENTORY and locate the Root Prim (Rename Me) object
Drag the Root Prim from your inventory over to the CONTENT window of the Loop Rezzer object. This will create the object inside the Loop Rezzer
Locate your LoopRes v0.6 - Lum Mods script and drag it over to the CONTENT window of the Loop Rezzer object.
Alternately, you can press the NEW SCRIPT button to create a new script - edit the script by double clicking it and delete everything inside. Next, copy the contents of the LoopRez v0.6 - Lum Mods script available from the wiki (when I put it up), and paste it into the script. Press the SAVE button. Verify there are no Compilation Errors. Close the script.

Congratulations, you now have a ready-to-customize Loop Rezzer!