These are a few things you should keep in mind, handy tips and extras.
There are some things you will want to keep in mind when modifying a seawolf avatar, because it relies on scripts and prim names to function properly.
● MAKE BACKUPS! ●
I cannot repeat this too often: CREATE BACKUPS before you attempt to link/unlink items or mess with names/descriptions that might be important to scripts within the avatar. It can be very frustrating when your modding attempt fails and you have to start over from scratch because it was your only copy of the piece. This frustration can be easily avoided even if you think you are on a good roll.
● ROOT PRIM! ●
What is a root prim? It is essentially the center of the item, when you view contents of an item it is always looking at the contents of the root prim specifically unless you are using "edit linked" to select individual prims of the item. It is very important that the correct prim stays as the "root", and there is a easy way to control this.
- The root will always be the last prim you selected before linking the pieces together
- If the last piece was an object, then the root of that object will be the root of the whole object after linking.
- The root prim will be outlined in a different color than the rest, so it stands out.
● REFRESHING SCRIPTS! ●
Sometimes it is important to refresh scripts to make them notice what has changed in the object they are located in. But it can also ruin an object because it could loose track of it's information. A big example of this would be when prims shrink/disappear whenever they are not supposed to be visible. This is a handy feature because then your avatar isn't taking alot of invisible space (try viewing transparent to check this) because it can be in the way. But refreshing a script that is keeping track of the original proportions of a prim while the prims are being shrunked down will result in them being stuck that way because the script will not remember how to restore them correctly.
- Keep in mind that refreshing complex scripts can break the item if not done in the correct way.
- Sometimes scripts keep track of information which will be lost when refreshed, so be sure to make a backup of the item.
- When refreshing scripts in objects that alter the size of a prim when hidden (shrink them), be sure that all prims are in their original position/size before doing so, else the script will lose track of them.
- Refresh is sometimes important to make the script notice the edits you've done, specially if you were linking/unlinking prims.
● SAFETYPIN! ●
This unique posestand which is also the only set of posestands available to seawolf avatars is a wonderful item for modding. Being a posestand is just the basic thing it does. It's magic lies in the "safetypin" script that is included with the stand. It serves to keep track of the position of an item in relation to how it is worn. But these functions require you to have the correct posestand rezzed which matches your avatar type, else things might seem a bit off using this function.
- Use it to position your objects above the posestand so you can start modding right away:
You can put the script into worn objects, then detach them and rez: This reposition the item for you above the posestand to appear just as when you wore it. - Don't waste time re-positioning your new mod:
You can put the script into a rezzed object that you have positioned above the posestand. Then when you pick up the object and wear it, it will reposition it on your avatar to match how it was on the posestand. - Changing attachment points:
If you happened to position an object perfectly on your avatar but realize too late that it was on the wrong attachment point? Safetypin will safe you the bother of having to reposition everything again on a new attachment point. Just put the "safetypin" script into the object before detaching it and re-attach it onto the desired attachment point, the script will reposition it for you! Alot of time saved.
● WINGS PRIMS! ●
Some people might not be aware of this, but the seawolf dragon avatars transform their arms into wings when flying. The avatar makes use of "show/hide" of specific prims so you might not notice this change. When you land on the ground the "arm wing" will transform back into arm pieces while shrinking/hiding the actual wing prims so they will not be phisically in the way.
- This makes editing the arms a bit tricky because once you rez the pieces, the wing prims will return to their original size.
- Using the "safetypin" will make easy work of arranging the arm pieces (and any other bodypart for that matter) so you can easily modify it without becoming disoriented by their size.
- Be sure to make backups when editing the arm pieces, specially if you are unlinking the wings. Root matters.
● THE LIVERY SYSTEM ●
This is the coloring HUD system of the seawolf avatars. The word itself describes the color uniform of airplanes, which is quite fitting for a large flying creature like the seawolf dragons. This system basically just reads the name of each prim, if the name matches the livery system it will be "livery enabled" as I like to call it. But if you do not want to loose the original textures of your modded parts, then you might want to be skip making it livery enabled.
- The livery system is important to control the show/hide of wing prims when flying.
- You can make use of the livery system to show/hide prims without being recolored by the system (use "wing" or "arm" as prim names depnding on when you want them to show/hide).
- This allows you to add custom wings and accessories to the avatar by simply using the livery system.
- Keep in mind that since the hips and hindlegs do not have wing prims, so the hip liverie script does not support the "wing/arm" for show/hide.
● MISC FOLDER ●
There is a misc. folder included with the avatar, within it are handy tools and toys for modding.d
- Collar scripts!
This allows you to create an object that moves with the neck. One version moves the whole object, the other allows you to reposition individual prims between the positions. Detailed instructions are included. - Wingless modkit
A script with instructions that will unlink and delete all the wing prims for you to create a wingless dragon. It includes a custom AO that will use the swimming animations to replace the normal flight animations.
● WEBSITE! ●
They have a official website which covers the Seawolf avatars in detail, including changelogs, usage guides, customization guides among other things. This is both for the seawolf dragons as well as gryphons
Seawolf-Monsters.com
- Saving Mods
Update guide for changing v1.3 avatar to v1.4 (only the chest and hips needed to be updated)
Update guide for changing v1.4 avatar to v1.5 (this was update improves the show/hide of prims when flying, since SL managed to break that). - Customization Guide
If you want to create custom animations for the dragon avatars, then they have a ZIP file for you containing the BVH files that are the base pose for each size of dragon. - Custom Primwork
A detailed list of what prim names the livery system responds to and what they do.
● 3RD PARTY PRODUCTS ●
There is a great number of things you can find on the marketplace for customizing your dragon and bring it to life. My personal favorites would be the works of Callak Skytower (his shop is called "Oddity Productions")
- Acrobatic Flight (saddle)
He created a saddle/flight inspired by IoW (Isle of Wyrms). If you like flying naturally or want to let others take the reins and guide you, then this product is awesome. It can be worn with a visible saddle harness which allows you to take passangers and optionally let them take control, but you can also just use the item without a worn saddle to fly with grace (with some practice). - Live! AO for seawolf dragons
Tired of being compared to a statue? This AO really brings your dragon to life. It has subtle breathing animations, dance movements (with adjustable rythim speed) and sit poses, among other things. - Curly Tail
This item will make your tail curl around you when sitting, it is a one size fit all! And you can mod it of course.
You can find guides on how to modify these few products in the "extras".