Second Life Guide for getting in and basic movement controls
From SLIS Second Life Wiki
SJSU SLIS ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SECOND LIFE
Contents |
[edit] Part One: Getting in and moving around
[edit] What You Need
Thank you for your interest in San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science in Second Life!
Second Life is very graphics intensive, which means that many computers will not run it and sometimes moving around in the world can be super slow (“laggy”). The movies you can watch in Second Life require the latest free version of Quicktime which you can download here: [1]. You will also need a valid email account during the registration process.
Below are the minimum computer requirements required to run Second Life:
[edit] PC Minimum System Requirements
Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL
Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2) OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)NOTE: Second Life does NOT yet fully support Windows Vista - see additional notes below.
Computer Processor: 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better
Computer Memory: 256MB or better
Video/Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
[edit] Mac Minimum System Requirements
Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or better Computer Processor: 1 GHz G4 or better
Computer Memory: 512MB or better
Video/Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
[edit] Windows Vista and Second Life
Even though the official system requirements still indicate that Windows Vista is not currently supported by Second Life, Linden Labs is making progress in this area. According to the official Second Life blog, as of July 2007 they had begun preparing for formal Vista support. In the meantime, Vista users can run Second Life if:
1. A supported graphics card is installed, and
2. The most recent native graphics drivers are being used.
Here is a list of supported graphics cards (for PCs and Macs):
- nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
- ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
- nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
- ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better
Additional information about system requirements for Second Life can be found here, where you'll find detailed information about which graphics cards will and will not work with Second Life.
[edit] Signing Up
Go to [www.secondlife.com]. Explore the official site which gives a great overview of what can be one in Second Life. When you are ready click “join” from the homepage.
You do not need to provide them any financial information in order to join. If you choose to do so, they will give you a small amount of virtual money to spend. There used to be an advantage to having a premium membership, but they removed the “First Land” program. You can buy Lindens (the in-world currency) with any membership. You can upgrade at any time so you may want to explore first and choose later the membership that best serves your needs.
When you get into the world you will find yourself in a crowded place. If it isn’t too crowded when you get there, it can be fun and very helpful to explore. There are tutorials on how to get started in Second Life and most people customize their look there. If it’s too crowded and weird, don’t panic,
-Click on the Search button on the bottom of your screen -A new window will open with a search screen. In the white search box type:
San Jose and click the “Search” Button
The search function a bit limited so if you search for “SJSU” or “SLIS” you will not find us.
The Search Results box will show “San Jose State University…”
-Click “Teleport” just below and you will be teleported to the center of our island.
Here's a link to the Quicktime version of our SL Campus Director Jeremy Kemp's SJSU Island video: [2]
Here's a link to the YouTube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-9zt3Sd7oc
Here's a short video on how to move in SL: [3]
Here's a video about getting in and finding the campus: [4]
[edit] Moving Around: Basic Walking and Flying
[edit] Walking
You can move your avatar with the arrow keys on your keyboard. The up arrow moves you forward, and the down arrow moves you backward. The left and right arrows rotate you to the left or right.
Keys: Up arrow -Move Forward
Down arrow -Move Backward
Left arrow, right arrow -Rotate left or right
[edit] Flying
There are two ways to fly. Flying is often faster than walking. To fly you can click the “fly” button at the bottom of the screen. You can also push and hold the Page Up key to begin flying. Page Up increases altitude and Page Down decreases altitude. Once you get airborne, movement controls are the same as for walking.
Page Up Increase altitude (hold down to begin flying) Page Down Decrease altitude
It takes practice to learn to move around in Second Life, for everyone. Good luck!
[edit] Next lesson
[edit] Edits
Greylin Fairweather 5/5/07
