Anyone that has read past articles on this blog knows that I have a strong fondness for planes, cars and boats with modifiable builds (scripts excepted). My recent experience in painting three aircraft, coupled with recent posturing by one prominent aircraft maker (not on this site and I will not identify them publicly), have given me reason to double down on this stance.
Note: I hope to have a review out soon instead of another “why” column. That will follow shortly after a particular aircraft is released.
Discovery
With the release of the Porter PC-6 by Carly, it fell upon me to paint the airplane with the Vulture Air colors. This being my first experience at painting an airplane, there were a few learning curves to tackle. One of those lessons was that with a modifiable airplane, I was able to leverage my dual monitors, with Firestorm on one and Paint Shop Pro on the other. With that, I could apply a local texture to the airplane, modify that texture in Paint Shop Pro, and the results were immediately visible on the plane.
Had that plane been no modify, every change I made would have to be uploaded (10L down the tubes each time), inserted in the aircraft maker’s applier tool, and applied as a separate step. So one pixel out of alignment and I’m down another 10 lindens and a good 30 minutes. A small amount by itself, but after several iterations with multiple faces, it adds up fast. It also multiplies the time it takes to paint the plane by several factors.
This scenario has been repeated twice now with a release of another aircraft, and pending release of yet another one. And why if a non-modifiable aircraft is released, someone else will have to paint it. I won’t touch it. Or buy it.
Experiences and Anecdotes
Blocking modify ability assumes a one size fits all approach can work in our global environment. It cannot. You can create a cargo plane full of boxes and only freight haulers that need planes full of generic boxes will be interested. You can leave it empty and make the pilot wear a lame, laggy wearable to have the “cargo” appear on the plane, only to crash at a sim crossing and have that wearable still stuck to your avatar.
Or you can do like Carly did and click on that little box that says “Modify” and the buyer can put what they want in the plane. That is why my cargo configured, non-modifiable plane has been permanently mothballed in favor of the modifiable cargo version of the PC-6.
An Anecdote
I recently discovered the S&W 429 Executive did not have a spotlight. As I happened to have an AS365 that had one. It took nothing more than pulling it off the 365 and attaching it to the 429. Nothing stolen – I have the rights to both. The copter did not disintegrate in an explosive self destruction. I just made a simple change and had exactly what I needed. Most users probably did not even care about that little detail.
Now some of you might be saying “but that’s not fair because S&W didn’t sell it with a spotlight”. And I say, General Motors didn’t sell my truck with a spotlight either but if i want one I can go down to Pep Boys and buy one and attach it.
Another Example
Many RP regions need beacons, combat scripts or other specialized additions to their vehicles. No-modify craft are useless to them.
The Real Reasons for No-Modify
Most creators claim they are doing no modify because modifiable content can be easily stolen. That was true in the prim days. In the days of mesh, that is pure monkey dung. You cannot edit a build and copy the sizes to steal a mesh.
Some creators also think (inaccurately) that textures can be stolen via scripts. That was in fact possible several years ago. Then one day, Linden Labs discovered the loophole, shut down all script capability grid wide for several hours in a panic while they closed that loophole. So that argument doesn’t work anymore either.If you run a script now to try to get the UUID of a texture, it returns all zeros unless that texture is in your inventory.
It is all about control. A plane maker can deny a painter access to their closed texturing system if they don’t like that person or their work. At least one I know of would probably come unglued at the concept that their creations are not absolutely perfect and need something as minor as a spotlight or a specialized combat script added.
Final Thoughts
As more modern thinking, customer oriented creators join the list of creators that understand this, the harder it will be for the dinosaurs that cling religiously to that empty Modify check box to survive. Virtually every new creator entering the aviation community is clicking on that Modify check box.
It is a positive trend. Please, to all buyers that value this, please let it be known in appreciation to those creators that started out with modifiable creations, and to those that have come home from the dark side.
Blue Skies!
P.S. If you reviewed the above linked list and there is a name missing from it, please let me know. I have recently added a couple names and will add more as they are identified to make it a complete list.