Month: November 2012

Webspace with avatars and inventory – Humble talks dio and Versu

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update, February 19th, 2014: Creatorvers and dio were discontinued by Linden Lab on February 19th, 2014. Links to their websites, etc.,  have therefore been removed from this article.

Details of a kind are starting to slip out about LL’s new product stream. We’re now already very familiar with Patterns and Creatorverse, the latter of which reached the Android platform at the start of the week, coming to it via the Kindle range of tablets.

Creatorverse: iPad, Kindle and Android so far

An article in Techcrunch provides some more insight into the remaining two products of which we’re already aware, Dio and Versu.

The article starts off with a positive comment on Second Life itself:

Linden Lab, the company that created Second Life and grew that online community into one of the most colorful, varied online social networks in the world, is doing some very different things for the first time in many, many years.

Admittedly, this quickly slides into the murkier waters regarding declining user numbers, observing rather interestingly that “passive viewing becoming the dominant interaction method”, before bringing up that beloved subject of many a journo reporting on SL, that of its “sordid past”.

I’m not entirely sure what is meant by “passive viewing”, but I suspect that relates to many of the more populous venues in SL being clubs (of every sort) whereby avatars are dancing but most of the conversation is going on in IM, giving the illusion that everyone is sitting in silence watching avatars gyrate twist and turn individually or in groups, or twirl gracefully around the dance floor like pairs of professional ballroom dancers. While the image is true, I’m not entirely sure how representative of SL it is as a whole.

But I digress.

In the article, Rod Humble confirms the upcoming order of the remaining two initial product releases from the Lab, with Dio coming up next, followed by Versu.

“The next project is a web experience called Dio that’s really hard to explain, which I like. It’s sort of like Second Life without the graphics, or Facebook but trying to be more of a creative space,” Humble is quoted as saying in the Techcrunch article. He goes on, “So it’s a web experience and you create your space, but within the spaces, everyone has their own avatar and avatars carry inventory. The way you navigate from space to space is via doors, and you can make things like a MUSH [multi-user shared hack] or hobby space very easily.”

Dio: “webspace with avatars” (image from an early version of the Dio website, and not necessarily representative of how the finished product will appear)

Continue reading “Webspace with avatars and inventory – Humble talks dio and Versu” →

Calas Galadhon: Winter Wonderland

Posted on by Inara Pey

This time of year is always a little odd for me. The end of one year and the start of another sees a host of family birthdays, anniversaries, much too-ing and fro-ing, and of course, the Christmas / New Year gatherings. My own birthday falls this time of year, as does my SL rez day; which I suppose makes me a winter girl and might explain why I love snow so much both in the real world and Second Life.

Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale

One of may favourite places for winter scenery is Calas Galadhon park. I’ve written about this in the past, and I often drop in to wander and enjoy – eleven regions of open parkland is a huge delight, and full Kudos and thanks to Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith  for providing it to all SL residents. The care taken across these regions is immense, and I love the way they can change to reflect the passing season – and the fact that they do so quite naturally.

Calas Galadhon – South Farthing

I was in Calas in October, in time to catch the arrival of the first snowfall. Back then, the snow was on the ground and on rooftops and branches, but the waters of the lake and rivers were all still ice-free and one could wander the streets with barely a hint of Christmas in the air, or take a boat out on the water.

Now, just three weeks later, the snow is falling, the lake is frozen and signs of Christmas are starting to appear.

Calas Galadhon

I’m not sure what it is about snow that I find so attractive; I just do – although I’m aware I’m far from alone in feeling this way. My early life was spent living near RAF bases which, while far from “remote”, where on the flat, “boring” parts of England which the snow seemed to love. Going to bed at night with the snow falling outside used to fill me with a thrill; waking up in the morning and seeing an unblemished blanket of white lying across the garden and the fields beyond, always left me with an impatience to get out of the door which even the prospect of a day imprisoned in a classroom could not dilute; all that mattered was being out in the snow.

Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale

I think one of the attractions of a virgin snowfall – one which is deep enough to cover the ground, hide the grass beneath, etc., is the suggestion of have a new world to explore; being the first to place fresh footprints in the snow. It’s a feeling which has stayed with me throughout my life. Even today, it’s my own small Neil Armstrong moment, planting a foot into the fresh snow and then lifting it to stare at the impression left behind. I still love to watch the snow falling at night, standing out on the front porch, perhaps a mug of something warm in my hands, watching the snowflakes fall past the street lights and wondering what the morning will bring and where I’ll roam.

Calas Galadhon

There is something undeniably romantic about walking in the snow, as Hollywood knows only too well. Doesn’t matter how cold the air or the time of day, it warms the heart – although I confess that walking in the evenings with the warm lights of distant homes across the park is the time I tend to enjoy the most. Perhaps its the promise of a warm room and a mug of hot chocolate and a chance to toast the toes near a fire – or as is more usually the case nowadays, against a radiator of hot water.

Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale

Nowadays of course, global warming and the shifting seasons means that more often than not, November and December tend to pass largely snow-free in this country, with heavy downfalls slowly becoming more the exception than the rule. The New Year is often more our season for snow – which is becoming more and more common well into the month of March, and has been known to put in an Easter appearance, rather than joining us for Christmas.

Which is probably why I love places like Calas Galadhon so much; they give me the freedom to enjoy the snow, to explore and recapture those childhood / teenage / adult feelings of wonder during the months with which I perhaps most associate them.

Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale

And in Calas, the attention to detail is lovely, from the gradual onset of winter, through the increasing snowfall – even the popping-up of Christmas decorations before the arrival of December. Even the appearance of dirty cart tracks marring the pristine surface of the snow along the roads leading into town is just perfect.

Of course, age tends to alter out view of winter and snow. The older we get, the less a friend it becomes; the romance fades and perhaps eventually dies. I hope I’m a long way from feeling that, should it ever happen. But if it does, I’ll still have my memories of my many meanderings, real and virtual, in some marvellous winter wonderlands.

Calas Galadhon

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“-[L4L]- Gestures & Walkers (Freebies) <3" griefing object

Posted on by Inara Pey

During August / September a griefing object in the form of a “freebie gift” started circulating in-world. Called ”..::ExDepart::.. Gift Package 2012”, it is essentially a spoofing/griefing item which, when rezzed will create more items citing you as the owner, and attempt to pass them out.

Since it first appeared, the item has appeared in a number of variants, of which “-[L4L]- Gestures & Walkers (Freebies) <3” is one.

If you receive either item – do not rez it. Instead, file an abuse report, citing Governor Linden as the abuser, list any pertinent information on the object – and remember the person you received it from most likely did not create it, then delete it.

Similarly, if you receive any other item with a similar format of name, or which gives rise to suspicions on your part – particularly if the receipt of the item is unexpected – contact the person who sent it to you first and verify with them that they have legitimately sent you something before attempting to rez the item.

If you receive such an item and rez it, you will need to locate it and delete it – and you may find it has spawned several copies of itself. Typically, one rezzed, the item will move itself to around 4000m above ground, and will continue to spam you with items. To locate and delete the object(s):

  • Check the incoming dialogue pop-ups associated with the incoming items. These should provide the co-ordinates where the item is located. Alternatively, decline the object’s offer, and the co-ordinates should be recorded in local chat.
  • Position yourself on the ground using the X and Y coordinates for the object, then:
    • Either fly up to the Z coordinate for the object, or
    • Rez and cube, sit on it and use EDIT to elevate the cube to the Z coordinate, or
    • If you have a viewer which supports command line instructions, use gtp x y z  – replacing X, Y and Z with the object’s coordinates
  • Once in the location, enable Beacons for Scripted Objects (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-N). You should see a small box with crosshairs on the offending object
  • Go to Edit and drag a selection box around the object to select it.
  • Press Delete to remove the object.

Note there may be more than one copy of the object nearby, so you may have to repeat the steps above to remove all of them.

The use of the object is known to the Lab, with Simon Linden commenting at the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday 20th November that, “It’s pretty much an ugly social-engineering griefer ploy.”

Miro Collas, of the Phoenix / Firestorm team has put together detailed advice on the object and removing it on the Firestorm wiki, from which the instructions in this post have been drawn.

With thanks to Miro Collas and Whirly Fizzle.

When words…

Posted on by Inara Pey

I don’t generally post photos here for the sake of photos, as I’m painfully aware of my photographic limitations. However, I have to admit to being rather pleased with this one, so I’m letting my ego out for a bit of a run around. Please don’t bruise it :).

When words are not enough, let thought take flight

Creatorverse: Android arrival and playing on my S2

Posted on by Inara Pey

As Daniel Voyager reports, Creatorverse today makes its debut on Android, and is available via Google Play at a (UK) cost of  £3.14 (US: $4.99, approx), and requires Android 2.3.3+. There is yet more to come, with Creatorverse due to debut on the iPhone shortly, and possibly go elsewhere as well.

Creatorverse on my Galaxy S2

Given I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and time on my hands today, I opted to download Creatorverse and have an initial look. Doubtless there are some out there who would like the short form of my thoughts on the app, so here they are:

Creatorverse is baffling, frustrating, teeth-grinding, innovative, engrossing, and potentially highly addictive.

To be fair, the first three of these issues are as much down to trying to use Creatorverse on the S2’s relative small screen as much as anything else. Simply put, the UI is so small, it’s hard to see the various button icons easily. Well, at least for me; I freely admit, I’m getting older and my eyes aren’t what they used to be (and as I write that, Spike Milligan’s immortal addition to the comment echoes through my head: “they used to be my ears!”). Even so, and despite the relative intuitiveness of the drag-and-drop shape creation options, it is as well that Linden Lab have produced a range of tutorial videos to help people get more to grips with Creatorverse; in today’s “satisfaction in 5 minutes or forget it” society, there is a risk that some might otherwise chuck Creatorverse over their shoulders all to easily. This is a Settings option (device MENU button > Settings) for “Restart Tutorials”, but I’ve yet to find out what this actually does…

Which would actually be a shame – because, as with the latter part of my summary above, Creatorverse is engrossing – and potentially addictive. The basic screen display is easy enough to grasp, comprising a white grid workspace area when shapes can be dragged and dropped, and can be drawn freehand. Anchor points are present in both objects and lines, which can be use to drag / stretch corners, sections of a line or shape, and so on.

The Creatorverse basic workspace

The workspace is also somewhat context-sensitive. Add an object to it, for example, and additional buttons will appear to the left of the screen, such as the PLAY button, which allows you to switch to another screen, wherein anything you’ve created, together with any forces applied to it, will play and allow you to interact with it. Touch an object in the workspace, and a further series of buttons appear along the bottom of the screen, allowing you to do various things with objects your created.

Here’s where the first grumble arises: the buttons all use icons, some of which aren’t terribly clear, such as a sphere with a line either above or below it. Tapping a button does bring up a prompt as to what the button will do, but I’d tend to suggest the prompts themselves aren’t overly intuitive. Or maybe that is just me; I was certainly struggling to make sense between what I was seeing on the screen and what the prompts were attempting to explain….

Say whut? On-screen prompts aren’t always clear to the uninitiated

Continue reading “Creatorverse: Android arrival and playing on my S2” →

Go fly a kite

Posted on by Inara Pey

We all need a break now and then. Whether it is from the pressures of real life or Second Life, it makes no difference; we can all at times simply feel overwhelmed by things and need a place where we can go to and simply just *be*, whether on our own, or with a close friend. Somewhere away from the usual surroundings of our in-world homes or regular haunts, somewhere where we don’t actually have to “do” anything, but can simply sit and think or talk or watch the passing clouds.

Black Kite

Black Kite is one such place where we can do this. The work of Black Cloud (Theblackcloud Oh), Black Kite is a region which is breathtaking in its simplicity and deeply calming in its presentation. It is open to the public, although Black Cloud does have her home in the north-east corner of the region, so please respect her privacy when visiting.

Black Kite

The default windlight sky settings for the region, coupled with its watery nature, present a space free from the daily clutter of the world – real or virtual – but which also encompasses plenty which can both reflect one’s mood and also encourage one to relax and unwind and give flight to thought.

Black Kite

The best way to discover Black Kite is to simply wander. The water is only ankle-deep, and there are wooden walkways for those who prefer, all of which lead to / past some thing of interest. Minimalist it may appear to be, but there is a wonderful attention to detail here. There is an audio stream which can help relax the mind and also give it wing, adding to the immersive ambience of the region; but even without it, this is a place to savour.

Black Kite

This is also a place which encourages experimentation with windlight presets – which also makes it a photographer’s delight. My personal favourite settings-wise when visiting is Bryn Oh’s Mayfly (see the first photo in this article); the open nature of Black Kite just lends itself perfectly to the preset. Many other options for both sky and water work here as well, offering those with an artistic bent a huge range photographic opportunities my own efforts barely hint at.

Black Kite

If I were asked to sum-up Black Kite in a word, it would be “Tranquility”. It’s a place I’ve only recently discovered, but it is a place which touches me greatly, as so much of it does reflect feelings and moods I frequently have; whether that gives me something in common with Black Cloud Oh, I’ve no idea; but for me the reasonance is very real.

Black Kite is open to visitors, as mentioned above (and with the caveat concerning Black Cloud’s home) and photographers and machinimatographers are also welcome. However, for me the beauty of Black Kite is the sense of freedom and calmness it invokes whenever I visit; it is a place where I can both escape and find myself.

Perhaps you will as well. Perhaps, should you find the pressures of the virtual and / or real world getting to you, you’ll do as I do, and:

Black Kite

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