Month: February 2013

Another PrimPossibility – a bathroom on a prim*

Posted on by Inara Pey

*Update 13th February: Ample has contacted me to inform me he has now released both a single-prim version of the bathroom (which includes the mirror, rug, drains, and toilet water) and a 3-prim version (which allows items to be re-positioned). Both of these feature updated animations and add tremenous flexibility to the bathroom suite. This review has been updated to reflect the new releases.

I’ve been following Ample Clarity’s development of his remarkable PrimPossible range for a good while now. Back in September 2012, I visited his updated showroom and took a peek at some upcoming products.

One of these latter items was Ample’s bathroom suite, which was formally launched in January 2013.

Originally a 2-prim set, the bathroom is now available in either a 1-prim or a 3-prim version (the latter allowing the furnishings to be individually placed). As with all of Ample’s work, the suite uses sculpted prims and packs in a heck of a lot.

The PrimPossible 2-prim bathroom suite
The PrimPossible 2-prim bathroom suite

The basic set comprises a prim which rezzes the loo, hand basin and bath, and a second which rezzes into a bath mat, plugs holes for the bath and basin and water for the loo basin. Touching any part of the suite brings up a menu which allows you to change the style of the between one of two options, change the colour scheme and shine applied to the furnishings, and rez other optional items, comprising a shower head (shown above), a hairbrush, toothbrush, loo roll (toilet paper), soap and, for the smokers out there, a cigarette. The toilet paper, toothbrush and hairbrush can be placed in world as required, or the toothbrush and hairbrush can be worn (no default animations with these, but see below).

The menu will also supply a set of instructions, and a special bonus gift of 1-prim curtains / drapes which can be used almost anywhere in a house and which open / close on touching.

The shower head, once rezzed can be placed over the bath and when touched, will deliver water.

The PrimPossible bathroom suite showing the alternate bath style, and alternative mirror style and with colour / shine applied to furnishings
The PrimPossible bathroom suite showing the alternate bath style, and alternative mirror style and with colour / shine applied to furnishings

Touching the mirror will similarly bring up a menu allowing the style of the mirror to be switched between one of five options.

Right-clicking the bath and selecting sit opens up a pose menu, offering a range of bath, shower, loo, hand basin and “misc” options – the latter including one for brushing your teeth when wearing the toothbrush, while one of the “misc” option will allow you to brush your hair using the supplied brush. Poses are divided between “singles”, “couples” and “XXX”, with some further split between male and female. The bath poses include options for relaxing and washing, and when in the tub, the water will appear.

This is another nice addition to the PrimPossible range which again brings Ample’s considerable skill to bear on providing feature-rich solutions with a low prim count / land impact. For those working on a prim budget, you really can’t do better than paying a visit to the PrimPossible store, either in-world or on the Marketplace.

Specifications

Related Links

Tripping out in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

It isn’t every day that one enters an art installation comes with a health warning. Yet that’s exactly what you get with Thoth Jantzen’s Mediamorphosis, the notecard for which opens:

WARNING!!
Seriously, If you suffer from epilepsy or are otherwise adversely affected by flashing lights and colours, do NOT play media here.  You won’t get the proper experience, but you may just survive!

"My God, it's full of stars!" - a Bowman-like start to Mediamorphosis
“My God, it’s full of stars!” – a Bowman-like start to Mediamorphosis

This is a fully immersive multimedia presentation which features a mix of music, particle effects, set-pieces, art and a touch of interaction. There’s an extensive backstory to the piece, which forms a narrative and helps points the way towards explorations, but as Thoth points out, there are many ways through the piece (and several points where you can sit back and enjoy the show). Equally, while there is a certain depth and purpose to the piece, it’s not intended to be meaning-of-life deep.

Mediamorphsis
Mediamorphosis

The key thing with this piece is to make sure you have streaming media on and set to play all (if using a media filter) and use the local windlight (or set your viewer to midnight) and – explore.

When you arrive, you’ll find yourself in a white room with a single exit – the wormhole. Walk through – you’ll find the 2001 motifs clear – and the teleport to the exhibit proper in the form of one of the set pieces, the Hopper Cafe. Read the notecard offered and then follow the road. Along the way you’ll find pods you can jump into and enjoy a trippy little ride or two mixing particle effects, art and the various set-pieces, into an immersive show.

Mediamorphosis
Mediamorphosis

You can also spend time inside the Hopper Cafe and witness some of the show projected onto the windows, or you teleport to the other builds which make up the installation, where there are additional opportunities to sit and watch the light / image show. Just be aware that wherever you go – you have yourself become a part of the show for anyone else watching!

Metamorphosis is a piece which is hard to quantify. As the artist himself says in explanation of it, “Huh?  What..?” … It is a piece which should, by its nature, be experienced rather than described – although it’s certainly not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Or coffee, for that matter.

Mediamorphosis
Mediamorphosis

Ican only say enjoyed my time exploring and trying out the first-person pods and seats in which you hand over control of your camera to the scripts controlling the exhibit itself, leaving you with nothing to do but just enjoy (and the show is great with the lights out in the room!). Everything is looped, so “rides” take only a few minutes, although it is worth running through things a couple of times to enjoy the complete magical mystery tour.

If I have any complaint at all, it is that there should perhaps be more choice in the music – a loop of just three tracks which can be heard throughout one’s visit to the installation can start to get one’s teeth grinding by the time the fourth or fifth loop is reached…

However, this is just a niggle. Overall, Mediamorphosis is immersive, engaging, unusual and, well, trippy.

Go see for yourself.

Mediamorphosis
Mediamorphosis

Related Links

A Hazardous journey resumed

Posted on by Inara Pey

A year ago, I visited Hazardous, an evocative build by Wendy Xeno and Mandingo Quan on Mandigo’s Homestead region on Misali.

After an extended period of being under construction, the region has just re-opened (and my thanks to Ziki Questi for the nudge that it had through her blog) and, while I’m often given to superlatives when exploring SL, it really is stunningly spectacular.

Hazardous
Hazardous

The fact that you’re in for a treat is evident from the start. The arrival point, hovering in the sky over the region, offers show very unique “teleport” stones. I’m not going to spill the beans on what happens – suffice it to say it is a very novel means of arriving in a region!

When you arrive at ground level, you could easily be in the rural county of Anywhere – all around you is grassland and tress, a few buildings and other bits. In fact, on my arrival, I couldn’t help but think of the grasslands of East Africa. Around you are several wooden signs welcoming you and warning you of several point of importance: that unattended child avatars will be sold to the circus, for example, and that the region has sharp edges…

Hazardous
Hazardous

It is this last sign which hints at why the new rendition of Hazardous is so spectacular: when you reach ground level, you are actually standing atop the most magnificent plateau rising over 30 metres above the surrounding sea, and which is cut through from one side to the middle by a deep gorge.

At the top of the plateau the grassland offer much to see and do, and is a veritable delight for anyone with a photographic bent, whether the default windlight setting is used, or one opts to experiment. Here you can wander through the grass, explore the old buildings scattered around, sit and pass the time with friends or dance away the hours, playing records on a portable record player (remember those?).

Hazardous
Hazardous

The attention to detail is, as ever, wonderful: the edges of the plateau blend perfectly with the uplifted terrain, the fences, telegraph poles, buildings and seating are all ideally located and speak of considerable time being taken in framing the entire region such that it presents a truly natural feel while offering scores of opportunities in which photographs can be framed.

Nor is the detail constrained to the plateau. There is also much to see down in the gorge and at sea level. The former, in contrast to the grassland above, is a lush, watery setting in which sits a show home reached by a boarded walk. Overhead, but below the lip of the plateau, birds wheel in tight flocks, as if seeking a resting place among the scattered tree-top before the sun sets…

Hazardous
Hazardous

Sea level can be reached via a set of steps, which also lead to a walk and a piano and places to simply sit and look out over the sea and … think …

Words really do not do justice to the way Mandingo has developed and landscaped Hazardous – it is something which has to be explored and experienced, and I really cannot recommend it highly enough as a destination really well worth visiting. When you do, keep an eye for clickable items – one of them will take you to the hidden pond.

Highly recommended.

Hazardous
Hazardous

Related Links

(view slideshow full-screen)

Viewer release summary 2013: week 6

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: 10 February, 2013

  • SL Viewer updates:
      • Beta version updated to 3.4.5.270034 on February 6th –  release notes
      • CHUI development viewer reached release 3.4.6.270209 on February 9th
  • Kokua released version 3.4.425654 r6 on Feb 6th – core updates: Advanced Build Tools floater offers Imprduence layout and elements from Firestorm; Metropolis Metaverse added to OpenSim grid list – release notes
  • Cool VL updated on the 9th of February and again on the 10th to arrve at:
    • Stable version: 1.26.6.10
    • Legacy version (v2.6 renderer): 1.26.4.53
    • Experimental version: 1.26.7.10
    • Release notes
  • Lumiya released version 2.4.2 on February 4th – core update: mesh object suppor fixes –  release notes
  • Group Tools released version 2.2.16.0 on February 6th

Discontinued Viewers

  • Phoenix officially reached end-of-line for SL on December 31st – read more here
  • Zen viewer was withdrawn from the SL TPV directory and all repositories shutdown on January 27th, 2013.

Related Links

Drilling into the history books

Posted on by Inara Pey

CuriosityCuriosity has completed its first sample-gathering drilling operation on Mars.

The news was confirmed in a NASA press release on February 9th (and in a Tweet “from” Curiosity itself!), with the actual sample gathering exercise taking place on Sol 182 of the mission ( February 8th/9th).

This marks the first time samples have been obtained from inside a Martian rock for analysis. Even so, it will be a while before any of the powdered material reaches the rover’s on-board science instruments.

The boring operation took place a few centimetres from the “mini drill test” performed earlier in the week and which I reported on here, with the drill cutting some 6.4cm (2.5 inches) into the bedrock dubbed “John Klein”. This was deep enough for powdered cuttings to be pushed up behind the drill head and into the sample collection mechanism within the drill.

“We commanded the first full-depth drilling, and we believe we have collected sufficient material from the rock to meet our objectives of hardware cleaning and sample drop-off,” said Avi Okon, drill cognizant engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, following the operation.

aaa
An image returned by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) showing the “mini drill test” hole bored into John Klein on Sol 180 (February 6th) to the right, and the deeper sample-gathering hole drilled into the rock on Sol 182 (February 8th/9th) on the left

Commenting on the achievement, NASA associate director for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate, and himself a former astronaut, John Grunsfeld said, “The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars. This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August.”

Even so, it will be a while before any of the gathered sample will be transferred to Curiosity’s Chemical and Minerology (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments. The sample is currently being held in a small sample collection chamber in the drill mechanism itself, which it reached after being “pushed” up flutes in the side of the drill bit. Some of the gathered material will now be used to scour traces of contaminants which may have been deposited onto the hardware while the rover was still on Earth, despite thorough cleaning before launch.

A mosaic of the "John Klein" drill site showing the areas identified for drilling relative to the actual dilling location. These images were capture by the rover's Mascam system, and the "shoulder" joint of the robot arm can be seen protruding into the picture from the bottom
A mosaic of the “John Klein” drill site showing the areas identified for drilling relative to the actual drilling location. These images were capture by the rover’s Mastcam system, and the “shoulder” joint of the robot arm can be seen protruding into the picture from the bottom edge. This is a white-balanced image showing the rock surface as it would appear in normal Earth lighting conditions

Please use the page numbers below to continue reading this article

Pages: 1 2

Rise up and Dance: the OBR in SL official video

Posted on by Inara Pey

one-billion

On February 14, 2013, for 24 hours starting at midnight Pacific Standard Time, Second Life residents will join with activists around the world in a spectacular 24-hour dance event for ONE BILLION RISING, the largest day of action in the history of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.

Further Information