Previously it was mentioned that we were making some adjustments to the signage on the island to improve readability. The need for this was underscored in screenshots taken by the author of this post covering Capozzi Winery Island for the Second Life Business Review. Here is a hybrid before/after image showing the changes. […]

Earlier this week these high-res screenshots were sent to Réussir Vigne, a French magazine covering viticulture and wine marketing. They are prepping a story on wine in Second Life featuring Capozzi Winery Island and owner Josh Hermsmeyer.

The first shot shows the addition of the Event Stage and Wedding Arch. Aside from some adjustments to […]

Just a quick screenshot of the tasting room with the bar shelves and other details added.

Few things are as evocative as an unopened bottle of wine and the palpable anticipation of the sensual joys within. One might suggest it represents the highest expression of the grape in its virtual state, playing upon the imagination to fill in the gaps and act as portal between the idea of wine and […]

Fighting the onset of a drowsy tryptophan-induced afternoon of turkey aftermath (tempered by unregulated chocolate consumption), with this, the final post of the day, we find ourselves almost up to date on the progress of the island. With the exception of the event stage and the wedding arch all of the winery structures are […]

As mentioned in a previous post, one of the more common issues a person deals with in the texturing of objects is the resolution of how materials meet at their edges. This is especially acute when the materials are dissimilar. In this example we are attempting to express the soil of the cellar […]

While still undecided on the issue of whether or not to keep the sun position on the island static or to let it follow the default cycle, provisions have been made for the experience of the island at night. The above photo shows the use of openGL lighting at the stages of the wine […]

While artifacts associated with the rendering of the vine texture are being accepted as a given, Second Life’s set of Estate tools allow us the opportunity to alter the ground textures from the default set. The tool enables the utilization of four separate textures, for the highest and lowest elevations, as well as two additional […]

For a 3D world there sure is a lot of information in Second Life being communicated in 2D form. The attempted strategy for signage here on Capozzi Winery Island is two-fold:

1. Design the place to require as little of it as possible.
Finding your way around the island should be as easy and intuitive as […]

Texturing in Second Life is quite intuitive relative to a number of offline 3D modeling packages that I’ve had experience with, but that doesn’t mean it is any easier to get the materials to map on properly, especially at the junctions between faces. Luckily there are a few tutorials and other resources out there […]