Month: November 2012

A-mazed and at sea

Posted on by Inara Pey

Captain’s personal log, voyage date: 061112.09. We set out on the first leg of exploring the Sea of Fables today. Captain Caliburn Susanto had passed on information about ancient ruins on the sea which he believed to be the lost Labyrinth of Daedalus. While we had far to sail, we decided that his findings had to be investigated, and so we held over in port and risked the tide in order to obtain additional air tanks and equipment we might meet on a dive….

With the early morning Sun still low in the sky, we finally got underway, using the inboard engine to push us out of the tiny, shelter harbour of Poseidon Island

As regular readers will know, I’m getting quite into sailing and have recently taken time out to explore places like Second Norway and parts of the Blake Sea. I also have an invitation from Indigo Mertel to visit the East River Community, which lies on the coast of the Sea of Fables. Both of these being the case, I decided it was high time to start my explorations around the region – spurred on by Caliburn’s post on the maze of Daedalus.

Soon we were out on the open waters of the sea, and I gave the orders to raise the sails, cutting the engine as I did so. for a moment or two, the Exotix coasted forward, the windlasses rattling as we wound them, the sails rising limpy up the tall mast. Then with a canvas-like snap, they caught the wind and Exotix heeled to starboard, racing forward as the sails filled, and I felt the wheel kick with joy in my hands…

I’ve commented elsewhere in this blog that I enjoy mazes in SL, so the idea of exploring an underwater recreation of Daedalus’ maze – and the specter of finding a Minotaur – intrigued me. So off we set aboard the Exotix,on the first leg of a new adventure…

The maze itself covers the bottom of the entire watery region of Baltic, with the entrance on the north side of the region, just waiting to be found….

By noon we were at the coordinates given to me by Captain Caliburn, and we agreed I should make the first dive. Changing into a white leotard dive suit, I let my companion help me with the air tanks and belt. Confirming the air flow was good, I pulled on my mask and close my lips around the mouthpiece. Standing on the side of the boat, I looked down into the rich, blue water, then jumped, straight-legged, feeling a sharp shock as I hit the water – and sank.

The maze itself is cunningly designed to prevent camera trickery; the roof forms the seabed for Baltic, and is thick enough to discourage attempt to cam up. It is also made of multiple prims (unsurprisingly, given it is a full region maze), so trying to position the camera in the ceiling and then camming around to check the lie of the corridors isn’t going to get you far.

The water was colder than I had anticipated, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable or dangerous. It was also surprisingly clear. Using my compass, I swam a sort distance towards the exact place at which Caliburn said he found the entrance. Sure enough, I found the wreck of an old wooden boat, broken ruins – and there, set into the sea floor, an opening with steps leading down…

There is a means to get some assistance, however. Near the maze entrance is a large ball of twine. Touch it, and you can purchase a twine HUD; when you reach certain intersections in the maze, you can touch the HUD and receive a novel form of assistance…

I slipped down into the first of many tunnels, all clearly artificial, the stonework finely crafted, the joins between the individual blocks little more than a cross hatching on the walls. I hesitated a moment. If this was truly the Labyrinth Theseus has walked and Daedalus had built and only barely found his own way out, I might yet find myself hopelessly, helplessly lost. Gathering my courage, I swam on, only to find myself aided at certain times by mysterious, glowing maps which would fade as rapidly as they appeared, leaving me to wonder at their origin…

While the maze is underwater, the best way to get around it is actually on foot – not swimming, which can lead to camera issues as your avatar rises and your view becomes blocked by the ceiling sections. In fact – as Caliburn himself suggests – running (CTRL-R) might actually be preferable as some of the corridors are looonng…

I have no idea how long I swam, or how many turns I made. I did know I was lost, and with a limited supply of air, that was not good. But I also had the strange maps which brought me, well before my air was half used, to a great chamber, strewn with the implements of battle – and in the midst of which lay the bones of creature the likes of which I had never before seen…

Getting to the heart of the maze isn’t actually overly taxing. There are the occasional maps on the floor and there is also your viewer’s maps, which help determine your position in the region, as well as your X.Y,Z region coordinates. Given the chamber at the heart of the maze is actually at the centre of the region, working out where you are and where you need to go isn’t something that will drive you to despair. And when you do reach it, you might want to give Theseus’ sword a click or two..

I explored the chamber for as long as I dare, trying not to think of my own fate should those glowing maps fail to guide me out as they had guided me here. Instead, I filed my mind with the wonder which lay around me – swords, shields and relics of an ancient era, which together with the bizarre bones, convinced me Caliburn was right. It was also these explorations which lead me to realise I had no need to retrace my route through the maze; the passage of time has given me another way out, and soon I found myself still below the waves, but above the stone walls of the labyrinth, suspended in the ruins of what appeared to be a temple

There is a quick way out of the maze once you reach the Minotaur’s chamber – a hole in the roof. For those who simply want to get to the centre of things quickly, this also provide a quick and cheerful way to discover the Minotaur’s remains. But to echo Caliburn’s thoughts on doing it this way: where’s the fun if you do?

Soon I was back on the Exotix, where I discussed what I had seen with my companion as I changed. We agreed that we would return to this place and explore some more. But for now, with the sun dipping towards the horizon, it was time to sail east and find a safe harbour for the night. As we once more passed among sunlit islands, I found myself wondering what other fables this sea may yet offer us…

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Swap to Direct Delivery, merchants urged

Posted on by Inara Pey

Merchants still using Magic Boxes are in the process of receiving an e-mail from the Commerce Team urging them to swap to Direct Delivery.

The e-mail reads:

Dear Marketplace Merchant,

You are receiving this email because you have at least one listing on the Second Life Marketplace that still uses an outdated delivery process, known as Magic Boxes.

 Why should you update to Direct Delivery?

Linden Lab has already started to phase out support for Magic Boxes. In order to ensure uninterrupted service to you and your customers in the future, we strongly encourage you to migrate as soon as possible. It’s easy to do – and worth it for both you and your customers.

 Uploading to Direct Delivery is easy

We’ve made it easy for you to update your older listings to Direct Delivery. Many of our top merchants have already migrated and found the process relatively painless. For more information, please check out this Knowledge Base Article or watch these tutorial videos covering the Direct Delivery Basics, andMigration to Direct Delivery.

 What are the benefits of Direct Delivery?

    • Deliveries are TWICE AS FAST compared to Magic Boxes
    • Direct Delivery purchases are successfully delivered more often (2.5% greater success rate than Magic Boxes)
    • Direct Delivery supports “test delivery” for safe and commission-free “test run” distribution of your products
    • You can now see everything that is included, at a glance, on the Contents Tab

 Support for a dedicated “Received Items” folder where your customers can quickly and easily find all of their Marketplace purchases.

    • and much more!

NOTE: Limited quantity items (items that a Merchant cannot copy) are not yet supported by Direct Delivery. If you have problems migrating, please contact customer support with questions or issues.

Thanks,

The Second Life Marketplace Team

I assume this is more of the “upping the tempo” Rod Humble recently promised vis-a-vis Commerce Team communications. If so, fair enough. However…

The e-mail does tend to overlook the fact that for many merchants, Direct Delivery is at least as unreliable as Magic Boxes, and prone to more-or-less the same failures. This is something I pointed out in my last post on the matter, wherein I made mention of the fact that the core issues within the Marketplace are occurring regardless of whether someone is using Direct Delivery or Magic Boxes.

WEB-4441 is a case in point which is related to problems Merchants are encountering regardless as to whether they are using Magic Boxes OR Dirrect Delivery (yet it is still at times used by Commerce Team members as evidence that problems they may be experiencing with Magic Boxes are effectively “their own fault” for not having migrated).

Direct Delivery stats: irrelevant for those experiencing the ongoing Marketplace failures – such as not being able to use Direct Delivery, or facing mechanisms within the Marketplace which are broken regardless of whether or not Direct Delivery is used. (Also: spot the missing line in the comparison)

Frankly, until these issue are resolved, it would appear that there is actually little benefit for those merchants who haven’t yet migrated from doing so. Certainly, a “2.5% faster” delivery time is of little benefit if the reasons why delivery fail remain the same regardless of the mechanism used (Magic Boxes or Direct Delivery).

At the end of the day, it’s up to individual merchants as to whether they migrate. Some are remaining adamant that they won’t until issues are resolved or are at least shown to be improving. While I’ve not had any issues (so far as I’m aware) since converting to DD, I nevertheless can’t say I blame them; they have much more at stake than I.

In the meantime, it appears the cut-off date for Magic Box migration remains “on hold”; there has been no update on this since the (now removed comment from the Merchants forum), nor, except in the most generic of feedback, has there been any real update as to resolving the myriad of issued the Commerce Team have been dealing with for the better part of a year (or more).

Which really brings me back to the comment I used to end my last post on this topic:

It’s not just the tempo, Rod, it’s the quality of the information supplied.

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Oskar confirms his departure

Posted on by Inara Pey
Happier times: Oskar’s profile picture (Tangent Eponym)

On Friday November 2nd, comment was passed (not from LL) on the apparent departure of Oskar Linden from the Lab. I commented on the matter in my last SL Projects Update for week 44, but at the time it was unclear as to what had happened and why.

A thread on the SL Universe forum started, some of which doesn’t make the most comfortable of reading given some of the attitudes expressed (not towards Oskar or the Lab, I hasten to add, but rather in comments passed by some SL users regarding other SL users). Yesterday – Monday November 5th – (and missed by me at the time as I was completely distracted with other things), Oskar himself popped-up on the thread to pass word himself on the matter, commenting:

To solidify all rumors, yes my employment was terminated by Linden Lab last Friday [November 2nd]. It was a surprise Skype call with the manager of my department and HR. At the same moment all my accounts were locked and I was told a courier was on the way to my house to take my laptop. This is standard operating procedure at the Lab. The reasons given were quite vague, but at the root of it was complaints from a griefer who I had banned from a private testing sandbox that I managed after he was harassing people and threatening to crash them and the region.

Oskar Linden at SLCC 2009 (image: Teagan Linden / Linden Lab)

I was also told that there were issues with my communications. I don’t understand that because I have operated in the role of public communicator for the lab for three years and have always had stellar reviews. It’s not like the reasons really matter anyway. When the Lab wants you gone it’s over.

To be quite honest this has all come as a surprise and a shock. I have known for a while that this would happen eventually though. All Lindens fear ‘the Skype call’. The old Linden culture is long gone. Many Lindens are disappeared in that way when the Lab no longer has use for them. It has been difficult working through the changes at the Lab the past few years. I could have left, perhaps I should have left on my own. I would have been better off. I did not choose to do so because I was dedicated to the wonderful residents I have met during my 4 years working on SL. I was committed to all of you and committed to making Second Life and Linden Lab a better place. I felt I was fighting the good fight and didn’t want to just run away. I felt that I was making a difference. I hope that I did.

I have no idea what is next for me. I have varied passions that I will follow until I feel the need to pursue further employment.

He goes on to add:

I greatly appreciate all of you who friended me and were so passionate about helping me make Second Life a better place. Your enthusiasm to help find bugs greatly helped the quality of the server code. You are all amazing. You are Second Life, not Linden Lab. Never forget that. I love you all and will miss working with you greatly!

I won’t pretend to have known Oskar well; we’d only spoken a few times, and I’ve only recently been attending his meetings – but I will say that I’ve also found him (and despite my one growl I unfairly gave him in these pages as a result of LL’s own communications policy), to be one of the most open and informative Lindens who faced the user community. His departure is going to take some adjusting to for those who did know him well.

To Oskar himself, I’d just like to pass on my personal thanks for all the effort he has put in over the years. I very much hope that all goes well for him and his family wherever his passions and career may lead. Hopefully, we’ll also see you in-world as well.

 

Romance with a slightly Adult twist

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update: This region no longer appears to be a public venue

I’ve not tended to cover Adult destinations in this blog as I’m aware they are not everyone’s cup of tea. However, over the weekend, I did drop into Volubilis on FearyDreams over the weekend, and was surprised to see it now has an Adult rating, having previously been Mature.

The notecard delivered on arrival warns that the region is a place for “romantic BDSM”. This may sound a strange juxtaposition and have some ready to leap elsewhere, but I’d venture to say that the latter would be a premature reaction while the former, in context, isn’t actually anything like the oxymoron it might sound.

FaeryDreams

If you teleport via the Destination Guide / search, you arrive at ground level. Other than the notecard offered to you on arrival, there is absolutely nothing overt in the surroundings to suggest this is anything other than a romantically inclined region. This isn’t out of any desire on the part of region owner Selene Wideshining, to hide the “dark” side (BDSM) of the region’s nature from people, only to have them unwittingly stumble upon it. Indeed, if anything, I’d say she’s doing herself a disservice in including “BDSM” in the region’s description. This is a region which encourages romance and wooing – be it among D/s oriented couples or those with more vanilla tastes. Certainly. one should not be worried about suddenly being confronted by a St. Andrews Cross when walking around a corner, or anything remotely like it.

FaeryDreams

The ground level area of the region has been simply, but effectively landscaped and laid-out, with some of the buildings appearing to draw inspiration from the ruins of Volubilis, the ruins of an ancient Roman city in Morocco from which the region takes its informal name. There is a small amphitheatre, together with the remains of a somewhat larger building – a temple perhaps? –  complete with a statue of Venus, with other Romanesque statutes also to be found.

FaeryDreams

Across a bridge from the main island lies a tall, fairy-tale like tower complete with gold-coated minarets reflecting the sunlight and drapes hanging from pillars which again fits with the Moroccan feel to the region. Here lie plush pillows to share on the floor of the main room, together with sofas and loungers, or, if you prefer, a candle-lit table for two above in the towers, a romantic setting for a dinner for two set against the setting sun.

FaeryDreams

Also lying just off shore is a tall ship, one of Lia Woodget’s wonderful builds, apparently just getting underway. It’s placement adds to romantic feel of the region; One can almost imagine a brave sailor standing on her stern, one hand on the rails, the other on a rope rising into the rigging, looking back at the isle with longing and regret – and to his lover as she stands on the shore, watching him depart onto a hostile ocean…

FaeryDreams

There is a teleport in the grounds near the arrival point (a little hard to miss, given the sign hanging in the air over it), which leads to a sky island. This carries a very oriental theme to it and the landscaping here demonstrates the same care as shown down on the ground.  Both are fully complemented by the default windlight setting, which sees the sun low on the horizon, dipping towards and long, forever sunset.

FaeryDreams

While there are hints of the adult nature of activities which may occur here, they are very low-key, and certainly not anything which could cause upset or offence. Some of the ground-level seating could be regarded as throne, complete with cushions upon which those of a submissive nature may prefer to sit close to hand of their partners. However, as mentioned above, there is nothing overtly “BDSM-ish” here – and I suspect that were overt displayed to be made by visitors, they would be somewhat discouraged and asked to keep more in the context of using the region for a little romance. As the notecard states:

The purpose of this land is to offer  to any guest, regardless of any condition or personal inclinations, a pleasant environment where entertaining, respecting each other. This is a bdsm land, but bdsm activities are not to be considered mandatory. Anyone who violates the  basic rules of good manners and respect for the others will be warned. If you will be repeatedly found guilty of such behavior, you will be permanently denied access.

FaeryDreams

All-in-all this is place where couples can visit, wander through, sit and enjoy one another’s company, talk together, or simply enjoy the everlasting sunset. For those who wish to be more intimate, the sky island offers some privacy anda  place for gentle cuddles (or more) to be enjoyed. It is also a place which lends itself to photography, as my amateur efforts produced here hopefully indicate.

FaeryDreams

For me, the visit to FaeryDreams was one of unexpected and welcome discovery; the romantic at heart will likely find it to be the same as well. My only real word of warning would be: don’t try to pilot the balloons – they are part of the scenery, and not for flying, and it’s a bit of a way to the ground after finding that out! :).

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Dolphin bids “adieu” to OpenSim, says “hello” to Mini-map

Posted on by Inara Pey

dolphin-logoLance Corrimal released Dolphin Viewer 3.2.24.24816 on November 1st.

The release comprises a small number of updates, of which perhaps the most significant is the inclusion of the revised Mini-map first seen in Catznip R7.

For the most part, I have to say that I’ve never really seen the point of the Mini-map. Certainly, it has its various uses at times – role-play, combat, etc., but for me, the big let-down with it has been the map itself, impaired by an exceptionally weak background texture and god-awful zooming.

Catznip R7 revised all this, as I recently reviewed, completely overhauling the Mini-map and making it an exceptionally useful tool – and one I have been hoping would be adopted elsewhere (such as the code being contributed to LL).

Dolphin now includes the revised Mini-map in this release, and to mark its arrival, Lance has called the release his “Sailor’s Mini-map Mark 2”. It’s well-named, as the new Mini-map is a complete godsend for those into sailing and flying – and will probably be really handy for those who engage in cross-region road races.

The code includes all of Kitty’s refinements and updates, and really does make flying and sailing a joy without needing to necessarily clutter-up the screen with a lot of HUDs and having to waste space with the World Map to confirm your overall location.

Red Alert: using the updated mini-map to avoid parcels with object entry turned off

Not only does it how you your overall direction, it displays upcoming region boundaries, allowing you to make adjustments to course and speed which may help smooth the crossing (very handy in avoiding the risk of trying to make the diagonal corner-crossing between regions, which so often finishes rather badly (at least for me).

The revised Mini-map also helps avoid those pesky parcels where object entry has been turned off, showing them in red in the display, allowing sailors and aviators to navigate around them without suddenly finding themselves bouncing up against something or having their craft vanish from under them.

Other Updates in the Release:

  • Reset graphics preferences to default button in status panel, next to draw distance slider, labeled “GReset”.
  • Z offset reset button relabeled to “Z” to get room for GReset button.
  • “Refresh texture” also refreshes sculpt maps (from Firestorm).
  • “Restore inworld” now also sets the proper land group if you have “Rez with land group” switched on and are a member of that group.
The new reset graphics button (GReset) and revised Z-offset buttons in Dolphin’s menu bar

The Last Dolphin Release Supporting OpenSim

Release 3.2.24.24816 marks the end of line for OpenSim support within the Dolphin Viewer; it will be removed from future releases. That Lance would no longer be supporting OpenSim was made in a Dolphin blog announcement back in August 2012. The reason for this is the new Havok sub-licence arrangement Linden Lab have entered into, and Lance feeling he is unable to support two flavours of Dolphin for SL and OpenSim access on his own – which is a fair and reasonable decision on his part.

Should anyone wish to continue development of Dolphin to specifically support OpenSim access, Lance has created a clone of the original Dolphin repository for anyone wishing to fork the viewer, and he is also leaving the 3.3.19 release installers available for download from the Dolphin website.

Performance

This release of Dolphin sees a slight upturn in FPS rates over recent viewer reviews for me, if again using my rough-and-ride technique. With my usual test defaults (see the Review Systems panel on the right of this blog’s home page), I subjected Dolphin on my Linden Home region with three other residents (including my Alt in the same parcel) with the following results:

  • Deferred off:
    • Ground: 38-39 fps
    • 370 metres: 43-44 fps
    • 2875 metres: 55-56 fps
  • Deferred on + lighting set to Sun/Moon + Projectors; ambient occlusion on, full reflections:
    • Ground: 11 fps
    • 370 metres:15 fps
    • 2875 metres: 17 fps

I did find that running in Deferred with both lighting & shadows and ambient occlusion active within my Linden Home parcel did result is a significant drop in fps (to 5-6). A quick test with Catznip produced the same result.

Overall, a small, tidy, and welcome update.

Viewer release summary 2012: week 44

Posted on by Inara Pey

This summary is published every Monday and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Viewer Round-up Page, a list of  all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware) and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy
  • By its nature, this summary will always be in arrears
  • The Viewer Round-up Page is updated as soon as I’m aware of any releases / changes to viewers & clients, and should be referred to for more up-to-date information as the week progresses
  • The Viewer Round-up Page also includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.  

Updates for the week ending: 4 November, 2012

  • SL Viewer updates:
      • Beta version rolled to 3.4.1.266511 on Nov 2 – core updates: core updates: tcmalloc re-enabled; realloc disabled  (release notes)
      • Development version rolled to 3.4.2.266405 on October 30
      • CHUI project viewer updated to 3.4.1.266356 on October 30
  • Dolphin released version 3.3.24.24816 on November 1 – core updates: Incorporates World Map background in Mini-map, incl. parcel boundaries, etc. (from Catznip R7); Button to reset Grpahics settings to default in the menu bar (GReset); Refresh Texture refreshes scupts and tortured pirms (from Firestorm); Restore Inworld also sets to land group, if the latter enabled through prefs; this is the final Dolphin version which will support OpenSim access (release notes)
  • Niran’s viewer rolled to 2.0.2212 on October 29 – core updates: fading toats, experimental tweaks to webkit plugin; removal of “Hide Lookat feature (release notes)
  • Cool VL updates:
    • Stable branch rolled to 1.26.4.37 on November 3 – core updates: bug fixes imported from Firestorm; additional bug fixies and optimisations; further media on a prim (MOAP) backports and fixes, option remains disabled as work continues; system clothing layers now stack correctly under RLV; fixes for using Temp directories for plug-ins; OpenSim support: pirms now resizeable to 0.001.
    • Experimental branch rolled to 1.26.5.17 also on November 3 – core updates as per main release, plus:Reverted the “blurry/rainbow texture” fix implemented in the last release for the new HTTP texture fetch, as it caused memory leaks. Recommendation is to disable the new HTTP capability to avoid blurry/rainbow textures, or use the “reload selected texture”
    • Release notes
  • Libretto – removed from round-up page due to website being unavailable for a month and no response from creator on status (also removed from the SL Third-party Viewer Directory)

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