Huns Valen

Resident Since: 2003-05-03 (23 years, 1 month ago)

https://www.primfeed.com/huns.valen

I do a lot of aerobatic flight while listening to music. The music tells me what to do, so for me every flight is a music video. If you see me flying by, and you're also in an aircraft, you should try to catch me. You can also hop in, but only if you don't get carsick. I also do a lot of precision long jumps with my jetpack. I find a lot of cool places that way.

I love the anticipation, the risk, and especially the speed. I need to go fast on a regular basis. Something boils over if I hold still for too long.

With rare exceptions, every avatar I wear and every aircraft I fly is my own geometry + textures + scripts. For avs that includes heads, extremities, and anything that looks remotely electronic/mechanical (like jetpacks, or my full mech suit.) Clothing and mesh bodies are usually store-bought.

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» Admiral of Kazenojin, SL's oldest aviation community and operator of its oldest extant airport. Visit us in Gray.
» Head of Valen Heavy Industries, creator of aircraft, weaponry, and robotics since 2003.
» Expertise in aircraft flight physics as well as robotics (particularly CNC, inverse kinematics, and motion planning.) I've worked on robotics firmware IRL, which definitely helps.
» Private Pilot (ASEL). SL motivated me to earn that license, and the experience behind it motivated me to script my aircraft to behave as realistically as possible within the confines of LSL.
» Favorite places to fly: The old neighborhood (Ahern/Rizal/Balance area), the Blake Sea, and that bridge by SNO.
» I also do architecture, often as a way of learning more about Blender while putting off overhauling my old avs. (ADD and all that.) I prefer Craftsman, mid-century, and "organic" architecture. (cf. Greene & Greene, FLW, John Lautner, Pierre Koenig, Robert "Boulder" Thorgusen.) See picks.

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» I like furry avs. For myself, I prefer the more fantasy/cartoonish/less "photorealistic" type. (See Scott McCloud on amplification through simplification / masking / universal appeal.) I spend most of my time in-world as a red electric space lizard - see picks.
» My avatar may look short because it's "only" 1.8 meters (5'11) like I am IRL.
» Trans people are right good friends of mine. If you don't like them for being trans, I can't see us having anything to talk about.
» I don't like any other kinda "punching down," either. People do that to regulate their emotions, which is like eating ice cream to lose weight. I don't want to be around that.
» I'm sociable, like to dance, and usually approachable, but please don't hit on me in superhumanly tall/large/muscular avs. (They're often artistically interesting, but I have no idea what I'd do with a 9' tall giant.) We can be friends though!
» DTC, but ask before the first time. Evidently different people have different values/expectations here.
» A good way to make me leave whatever club I'm in is to play Baby Shark or any remix on the stream.

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Current priority list:
» Finish the new airport in Noyo. (Done.)
» Prim-to-Blender importer. (Done.)
» Use that to redo the head in the photo above. (Fixing the topology, quite involved.)
» Modernize A-15 Aerobat + Nav/Tac HUD. (In Progress.)
» CNC-controlled "moving head" lamp with G-code control. (In progress. You can see it in northeast Albion.)
» Work on Blade Element Theory-based replacement for my 2010-era flight physics engine. (BET is used in X-Plane.)
» The new physics engine is being developed for use in a new compound autogyro called Exocet. Current testbed is an old sculpted hull. Production version will be mesh, and will look much nicer.
» Once the Exocet ships, produce new mesh versions of the Nimbus twin-jet and Avocet seaplane w/ new BET physics engine. They will handle somewhat similarly to the old versions, but the enhanced realism will make them a LOT more fun.

I'm moving to a BET-based engine because the SL vehicle system has inherent limitations that have weird side-effects once you push the physical realism far enough. It's not a problem for linear forces, but it actively gets in the way of applying angular forces. I want emergent effects such as stalling and spin entry to be a natural side-effect of the physics calculations, and BET is the best way I know to accomplish that given the limitations of LSL.

This adds significant complexity: you're talking directly to Havok, and you have to provide full fly-by-wire automation of joystick and pitch trim. This involves PID controllers and other things you don't normally see in SL aircraft.

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James Linden: I need a "chocolate fetus rotate" object
Gomi Mfume: i have seen santa with muscles more than 95% of the population of earth at thius point

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