Over the last couple of weeks, a larger number of our readers than usual have decided to give Second Life a try (in some cases, a second try after some years). It seems appropriate therefore to lay out some essential tidbits to help you get to grips with your first few hours in Second Life.
From quick graphical tune-ups to how to get help, we've got the stuff you need to know first.
1. Don't worry if your frame-rate isn't great
Second Life doesn't need an awesome frame-rate to work just fine. Which is good, because it's going to work your system harder than pretty much any MMO you might have had installed. Since none of the content exists premade and on your hard-drive, your network drivers are going to steal a lot more time that you're used to being funded to your graphics hardware. Pretty much every single thing you see and hear in Second Life is made by someone like you. Linden Lab provides little more than the ground, the water and the sky.
Setting your network slider too high can actually cause the Second Life viewer to respond slower, and more sluggishly, and reduce your frame-rates. Go to EDIT > PREFERENCES > NETWORK. If you can afford the disk space, push the Disk Cache Size slider all the way up. Set the Maximum Bandwidth slider somewhere between 300 and 500.
If that's still not enough of an improvement (ignore the actual frame-rate, concentrate on how well it responds as you look around, because that's what's really going to matter to you) jump down to the Graphics preferences. Try disabling Water Reflections, or dialing the Draw Distance slider down. Mostly you're going to be interested in what's closer to you anyway.
BONUS TIP: If things are still laggy, check out our guide to dealing with Second Life lag.
2. Don't sweat the user-interface
It might look ugly and needlessly complex at first. Second Life allows you to do a whole heck of a lot more than any MMOG, and the interface reflects that. Admittedly, could be simpler for beginners – there are many options you won't be using to start with – but it isn't nearly as hard as it seems at first. Most users pick up the basics of the user-interface pretty quickly.
3. Don't worry too much about your initial appearance
You can look like Spiro T Agnew or Farrah Fawcett (hmm. I think I'm showing my age a little here). You can be a robot or a kid, or a glowing ball of light. You can change your appearance any time, and as you get around and see what others look like, you'll want to do some tune-ups anyway. Don't worry about trying to get the perfect look right at the start. Get something to go on with, and go on from there.
4. Learning to move
WSAD will move your avatar around, assuming your chat-bar doesn't have focus. If that chat-bar really gets in the way, however, you can set the chat-bar to auto-close in preferences, after you hit return. That way you can move around, hit enter to chat, type what you like, and when you hit enter to send the text, your chat-bar will fold smoothly away, leaving you free to use WSAD to move again.
You can move with one hand and steer your avatar with the mouse too. Check out our tips for moving around in Second Life.
BONUS TIP: Know your measurements. Second Life is in metric, and most things are measured in metres. If you're still on British Imperial measurements, a metre is close enough to a yard that it won't make a lot of difference to you to think of them that way.
5. Learn to communicate
Chatting and Instant Messaging are your primary communication tools. Second Life also supports spatialized voice chat, but that can be a little rough on the inexperienced. We've got a full guide to Second Life text chat, and another guide for Second Life instant messaging.
6. Cover your ass! (literally)
Learn how to dress your avatar, and generally stay dressed unless you're sure you're okay to strip down (Just like you would offline). There's actually quite a lot of range in the clothing system, but you can get the basics very quickly.
BONUS TIP: Know the rules. Every space in Second Life has rules. The most basic are the Community Standards. They apply everywhere in Second Life, and they're not written in the Black Speech of Lawyers or so long that you'll feel like you need an afternoon to read them.
The owner(s) of a given space may have some additional rules. Owners generally post them prominently, or have a script send you a notecard with any special rules when you arrive. Most rules are simple and straightforward, and generally focus on making sure that the disruption of others is minimized.
7. Visit a community portal to get the basics
Generally, you'll be offered the option of one when you register, but some of you are reactivating old accounts. Community portals are orientation areas built by third-parties – business owners, corporations, or other Second Life users. The full list is a bit long and a bit variable, so we'll just mention Caledon Oxbridge for now. We recommend it. You can use this link to teleport there.
8. Learn to use search
Second Life's search might be powered by Google, but places in Second Life aren't like Web-pages, and the search system doesn't always respond quite like you'd expect. It takes a lot less time than teaching your Granny to Google, though. Get used to the relatively few quirks in search, and your time in Second Life will be a whole lot smoother, and you'll actually be able to find the stuff you're looking for.
9. Create Landmarks!
Landmarks are like bookmarks in your browser. They store a location allowing you to return to it at any time. Landmarks are stored in a folder of the same name in your inventory. It's hard to remember exactly where you were if you don't. Pull down the World menu and select Create Landmark. You can double-click on a Landmark in your inventory or access them through a drop-down menu on the Map.
10. Visit a newbie help organization
Try out either the NCI (it has multiple locations that you can search for) or The Shelter. They've got teachers, events, free stuff, helpers, information and guides. They're places you can get help and answers to questions just about 24x7. There's a lot of information about Second Life, but it can be darn near impossible to find what you want, when you want it, especially when you're new. Knowledgeable helpers can point you in the right direction.
There's a whole lot to Second Life, but these tips will get you started. Like any virtual environment, it takes a few hours to get comfortable with. If you make it through that initial learning curve, there's a lot to like.
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