Month: April 2013

Marketplace: incorrect listings – LL offers “clean-up process”

Posted on by Inara Pey

In March 2012, merchants started noticing issues with some (or even many, in a number of cases) SL Marketplace listings. Key issues included:

  • Listings on Marketplace stores do not match the actual items
  • Incorrect merchant attribution (products from Merchant X listed as belonging to Merchant Y, despite appearing in Merchant X’s store)
  • Products from one merchant appearing in stores belonging to other merchants
  • Items incorrectly priced
  • Incorrect ratings assigned to products (G-rated items appearing as Adult, etc.).
An exmaple of the listing errors, supplied courtesy of Lillou Merlin
An example of the listing errors, supplied courtesy of Lillou Merlin

A JIRA –WEB-4587 – was raised on the matter, and extensive forum thread also reported the matter, and merchants were assured the matter was being looked into as a “top priority”, and in May 2012, an updated was issued by the Commerce Team noting that:

(WEB-4587) Listings show up with images from other Merchants listings:Current status: we have identified the problem and are working on testing the fix.

The fix apparently didn’t work, as the issue was subsequently reported as one the Commerce Team would address “after the next Marketplace update“. This only problem here being that subsequent updates failed to address the majority of JIRA relating to Marketplace issues, including WEB-4587 – and then stopped altogether – something with prompted me to comment on the continuing erosion of merchant trust.

On April 24th 2013, just over a year since it was first reported, the Commerce Team published an update on the listings issues and WEB-4587, which reads:

For those of you who have had an incorrect image appearing on your listings–or have seen your image on someone else’s listings, we have come up with a supported process to get these listings cleaned up.

Someone Else’s Image on My Listing
If you are seeing someone else’s image on your listing, you should be receiving an email with a link for you to go remove those images from your listings. These images will be returned to the listing we have identified as correct. Any listings not reviewed by May 15, 2013 will be unlisted until the Merchant has a chance to remove the image manually and reactivate the listing. We will provide a summarized list of these and notify all Merchants whose listings have been deactivated.

My Image on Someone Else’s Listing
If your image is appearing on another Merchant’s listing, the following will happen:

  1. The Merchant will be notified to review their listing and confirm that the image does not belong with their listing.
  2. The image will be returned to your listing. At this point, you will be able to review your updated listing here (link). This may occur after the review period for step 1 has already completed.

If the listing your image is appearing on is not reviewed in step 1, the listing will be unlisted to prevent your image from appearing on the incorrect listing.

We appreciate your help in getting this cleaned up.

So the good news is, there is actually movement on the matter. Admittedly, in reading the forum post, I cannot help but conjure a mental image of some poor sod (or three) at the Lab having been tasked with spending the last 12 months digging through the Marketplace and manually checking images against project descriptions / links – but movement is movement, and is, on the whole, to be welcomed.

There are some issues being reported with the process, however, as noted in the thread following the announcement. Some of these issues appear to be related to items which, in lieu of any communications from the Commerce Team, merchants opted to previously manually remove from their listings, and other appear to indicate that not all incorrect listing items have actually been captured by whatever process was used at the Lab. Others are reporting mixed outcomes simply as a result of following the given instructions.

It’s not clear how widespread issues are in following the instructions; certainly the problems being noted appear limited going on the amount of feedback on the thread. Not that this is any comfort to those affected, but it perhaps indicates that for most people who were blighted by the issue, things are now being put right.

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Ascension: rising through very mixed feelings

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update: An alternative viewpoint as to the reason for the music venues has been posted in the comments, which is also worth reading. Ziki Questi has also posted on the installation as well.

Ascension
Ascension

Ascension is a full sim art installation by Mantis Oh (Cari Lekebusch in real life) as a part of the 2013 Artist in Residence series at the Linden Endowment for the Arts.

Mantis Oh is well-know is SL art circles, and his work tends to fuse ancient and futuristic elements into his builds – and this is much in evidence here, as the visitor is invited to explore a tall tower sitting to one side of a region filled with strange plants, hovering buildings and structures (from Mantis Oh’s Hybrid Productions range) and a huge and very futuristic Sphinx, and which features ancient-looking symbols scattered throughout.

It is  – to be clear on this point – a very impressive build and very photogenic. Whether it  qualifies as a full sim art installation as a part of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence series, however, is a matter of personal interpretation.

Ascension: the root level
Ascension: the root level

The LEA’s blog piece on the installation reads:

 Ascension is a combined art installation and sound experience that encourages the visitor to explore the seven levels of a cubic, tower like structure. Loosely based on the seven chakras (energy centres) of the human body, visitors begin the journey by stepping down twelve steps that each release a musical note underfoot, before entering the base level room which is bathed in deepest crimson red. Music and sound are intrinsic to this build, and you can create your own unique musical compositions by stepping onto the trigger objects on each of the levels. If you explore the sim with friends, together you can create sound patterns in a truly social and fun environment.

So far, so good – and it has to be said that a trip through the tower is an interesting diversion (you’ll need sound and particles, etc., enabled and be prepared to poke and prod at things).  You start at the base level, as the description notes – analogous to the root chakra, and work your way up via teleporters to the uppermost crown (or “spirit” in this case) level. Each level presents a different environment in which you are encouraged to walk on things, touch things and play with things to create sound and light, either on your own or in the company of whoever is with you, be they friend or fellow visitor.

Ascension
Ascension

This is all fine, and very much in keeping with the idea of an art installation. What troubles me is that it isn’t actually something which requires the provisioning of a full region. The tower takes up less than a quarter region area. The rest of the region, while undoubtedly visually stunning and photogenic, came across – and I’m simply being honest here – as being more about using the provided space as a promotional opportunity than as a medium for expressive art.

Alongside the tower there are no fewer than three dance venues in the region – the “Beach Club”, the “Ultra Club” and the “Sphinx Club”. According to the LEA’s blog post on the installation these are “designed to host seven Techno music and DJ events that will take place during the lifetime of the build and well-known Techno DJ’s from real life record label H-Productions will be performing in-world.”

Now there is absolutely no reason why music and art cannot mix, or for music to be used as an art form in and of itself. As such, were these “clubs” to be used as an extension of the main exhibit itself, one could understand their inclusion. However, from the given description in the LEA blog, this appears not to be the case; the implication is that the venues will be used to host techno parties promoting Mantis Oh’s real-life record label, and this leads me to very mixed feelings on the installation.

Ascension
Ascension

It might be argued that the dance venues offer a means of presenting techno as a progressive form of art, and are therefore in keeping with the aims and ideals of the LEA. However – and I’ve wrestled with this exact issue for a considerable time in writing this article – I cannot escape the feeling that such an argument is perhaps hollow. Certainly, given the immersive nature of SL, I would suggest that if the intent is to demonstrate “techno rock as an art form”, then it could perhaps be achieved more immersively and interactively than slipping it a few dance floors and inviting people to come boogie down.

As mentioned, I came away from Ascension with very mixed views. The trip through the tower is an interesting diversion, and as a photographic, set the entire build is impressive. Both of these points can make a visit worthwhile. However, I cannot escape the feeling that the three dance venues are less about any expression of art and more about the promotion of a specific genre of music for the sake of entertainment – and that as such, there are better venues outside of the LEA where this could be achieved.

Related Links

Fantasy Faire: the Key of Hope

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update April 27th: There has been a slight hitch with the Key of Hope. A note from Fantasy Faire co-ordinator Elizabeth Tinsley reads: “The agents of the Unweaver have struck a mighty blow, forcing a lull in the fight against the Demon Prince Val’Baan. But the fight will resume! In short (and OOC) there are some technical issues we need to address, and Madpea tell us that we should be ready to reopen in a few days. But do not fear! The Valley of Ish’Nar will remain on the Grid and the hunt will be open until the end of Sunday 19th May.”

‘Find us our champions,’ she said, ‘That we may remain safe another century. Call those of heart, and courage, and strength. Send to me those who would stand for what is right, and who do not fear the labour and the pain of that standing.

“‘Send me heroes.’

“The call was raised, and those of such a stature answered. They came to the Fairelands, to the Junction, and set out upon their quest…”

The Valley of Ish'Nar
The Valley of Ish’Nar

The Key of Hope is a special hunt devised by MadPea Productions and Fantasy Faire which is now running across all eight of the Fantasy Faire regions, and a specially commissioned region – the Valley of Ish’Nar.  It is the prologue to a much wider, grid-wide hunt, which will be running through until the 19th May 2013.

Key of Hope Hunt - The Valley of Ish'Nar
Key of Hope Hunt – The Valley of Ish’Nar

In the first two parts of the hunt, players must seek eight items scattered across the eight Fairelands regions, which together will form a Talisman which will allow them entry into the Valley of Ish’Nar and the second stage of their quest. Successful completion of this part of the hunt will both reward players with “memories and mementos” of their travels and also set them on their way for the grid-wide Final Chapter of the hunt, which promises some very special prizes for the heroes and heroines who persevere.

KoH-1Those heeding the call for heroes set out in the Prologue (beautifully voiced by Zander Greene – someone I could quite possibly listen to all day, even were he reading the telephone directory, just listen to the video below) will need to obtain a hunt HUD from any of the HUD vendors, which will cost L$100 (all proceeds from sales of the HUD go directly to the RFL of SL coffers as a part of the overall fund-raising).

Once you have the HUD, players must proceed to the Bard Queen’s camp, north of Lumenaria, there to read the letter from the Bard Queen and commence their quest.

Full instructions on how to play can be found on the Fantasy Faire website.

The Final Chapter of the hunt started on April 25th – and as mentioned, runs through until May 19th. So even if you have not yet participated in the quest, there is still time. And what better way to spend you on-line weekend than coming to the aid of the Bard Queen, seeking valuable rewards and helping RFL of SL in the progress?

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SL projects report week 17 (3): server, group bans and Oculus Rift

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments – Week 17

The scheduled server channel deployments took place as planned this week.

The SLS Main channel

As previously reported, this received the update package deployed to the three Release Candidate channels in week 16, primarily comprising the new server-side LSL Animation Override capabilities, complete with a fix for BUG 2164 – release notes

BlueSteel and LeTigre

Both of these channels received the first part of a new experience tools project – referred to as the “Experience Keys project” in the release notes.

Interestingly, the release notes refer to BlueSteel and LeTigre receiving server release 13.04.19.274370; however, the viewer reports both of the channels running 13.04.05.273550. I contacted Maestro on this, who replied, “There was an error during the roll, so a slightly older version (which doesn’t include the changes from this week’s main channel update) was deployed.”

Not too much is known about the new Experience Keys project, although the emphasis on “new” indicates this is more than just a deployment of the outstanding permissions system for the current advanced creation / experience tools, and speculation has been running high. At the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday 23rd April, Simon Linden indicated he was unsure as to what he could / could not say on the matter (particularly as it appeared the documentation was still being written-up).

Commenting on the Bluesteel / LeTigre deployment at the Server Beta meeting on Thursday 25th April, Maestro Linden was also somewhat circumspect on the matter, commenting, “The team doesn’t want to announce the features yet, so I can’t give many details … some other parts need to be released for the new features to be usable. So ideally, nothing visible should change there.”

The reference to “some other parts” which need to be released for these new features may include a viewer update. Whether such an update will appear ahead of or behind the materials capabilities (still currently in a project viewer) is unclear at this point in time.

Magnum

Magnum received additional LSL support for new HTTP contents types, as document in the release notes. It also received a change to how certain message types are handled by the server, which Maestro described thus:

There’s a change to make the server smarter about how it throttles certain messaging types to prevent certain types of ‘DoS’ attacks, where a ‘bad’ object could prevent your avatar from getting llDialog notifications from other objects. All objects owned by UserA share the same throttle for sending llDialog() messages to UserB, but objects owned by anybody else would have a separate throttle pool.

This should hopefully reduce the incidences of iiDialog being used in spamming attacks which can result in the viewer either being severely slowed down or crashing altogether.

SL Viewer

The beta viewer gained a further release (3.5.1.274558) which reached public availability on April 24th, containing further CHUI and SSB/A dixes and updates, as detailed in the release notes. The development viewer also received a further release (3.5.2.27469) which also gained public availability on April 24th.

Group Bans

Baker Linden: Group Ban work coming, just not quite yet
Baker Linden: Group Ban work coming, just not quite yet

Baker Linden has started working on an update to the code for managing groups which will allow group owners / moderators to ban users who create problems (e.g. those who spam groups, people who are persistently abusive in group chat, etc.). This work is in response to JIRA VWR-29337. In my last report on this, Baker has written-up the documentation for the work and was having some other Lindens cast an eye over it.

Attending the Server Beta meeting on Thursday April 25th, Baker provided an update on his activities. “I’m still working on group bans, but I decided to fix a couple small bugs first. They both relate to searching people using the choose resident floater. They’re in the system where I’ll be adding group ban stuff, and now that I can test the changes, I can get them pushed to an RC. However, he did go on to say, “It’s going to be a while before Group ban stuff is ready.”

Second Life and Oculus Rift

There has been considerable interest in the Oculus Rift headset and its potential for use within Second Life, as reported back in week 14 and more recently. Jon Brouchoud in particular blogged on why SL would be a “killer app” for the headset, and a video I featured back in week 16 has also appeared on numerous SL blogs (hardly surprising, given it has pretty much gone viral where the Oculus Rift is concerned 🙂 ).

On Wednesday April 24th, Hamlet Au covered the fact that the Lab is already looking to integrate the headset into Second Life, and have given official confirmation, with company spokesman Peter Gray (Pete Linden) quoted as saying, “We plan to strongly support Oculus Rift. That means code, client, and server-side, to make the Oculus Rift experience excellent in Second Life.”

Continue reading “SL projects report week 17 (3): server, group bans and Oculus Rift” →

Fantasy Faire: through Fairelands to Ravenshard

Posted on by Inara Pey

Southward I travelled from the great palace and gardens of Magnificat, into the deep summer woods of Fairelands. Here the trees grow tall, and streams and rivers of clear blue water flowed; but no elves dwell among the branches and boughs, for these woods are a hallowed place, where deep in its heart lay a small cliff over which waters tumbles into a clear pool, and into the face of which have many niches been cut, each one containing a candle lit in memory of those loved and lost.

It was to this place I came first, and sat through an evening, watching the candles and remembering, as night drew close around me and I curled myself into my blankets to sleep.

Fantasy Faire - Fairelands: don't forget the Silent Auction
Fantasy Faire – Fairelands Junction: don’t forget the Silent Auction

From here my path turned east, the road easy to follow under the leafy boughs through which sunlight flickered and played. At length I came to the long wall and the place of Silent Auction. How many, I wondered had passed this way before me, pausing to add their bids to the great cause?

Fairelands woods are as wide and deep as those of Evensong, yet even so, it seemed scarcely had I entered them, following path through glade and across stream and river, than I was leaving them behind and entering the strange place people call Ravenshard.

It is not easy for me to find the words to describe such a strange and wondrous place as Ravenshard, for in truth you must witness it yourself to truly understand! Here the Lord of Whimsy and the Lady of Fancy would seem to hold court, and the houses, though made of wood, otherwise defy description such that when you look at some you question which way might be up!

Ravenshard
Ravenshard

Here the paths are grass and the streams and pools are oft of chocolate and not water and folk of all sizes meet and play  – and even the creatures wear hats, and the plants and trees come in hues of every variety while the air is filled with birdsong and laughter.

Wandering the grassy streets and looking into the stores and houses, watching the tall folk and the little folk, I again felt as a child would feel if loosed into a shop filled with candy and toys: everywhere I wanted to touch, taste, try to a play; such is the heady delights of Ravenshard, the last place I would visit before my long journey brought me to my intended destination.

Fairelands Junction designed by Saiyge Lotus and Ravenshard designed by Mayah Parx

Ravenshard sponsored by:  Epic Toy Factory; featuring: F*cking Ninjas; Epic; United InshCon; Bentham Manor; Fae Fantasy Creations; FuubutsuDou!; kisetsu; Simply Fae; and with themed stores: Lupoaica; Almost Wonderland; Grim Bros.; Stuff Xavian Made; Madpea Productions; .:CoLLisions:.; ~SWAN~;  Feyline Fashions; [europa]

Total raised to date: L$5,710,596 (approx: $22,842 USD).

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You can’t keep a good viewer down – Kirsten’s S19

Posted on by Inara Pey

kirstensThe blog post says it all – “old school” – a simple message with a lot of meaning. Kirstenlee Cinquetti has been twiddling under the hood with the S19 (v1-style) version of Kirsten’s Viewer with the result that an updated version – code-named “Blackbird” (version S19.404 at the time of writing) was released via Google Code on Wednesday 24th April.

This is the second time there has been a surprise update to one of Kirstenlee’s viewers – in September 2012 a couple of updates were made to the v2-style S22 viewer. As with those updates, the new release of S19 does not mean that Kirstenlee is returning to the field of viewer development per se. Nor is this a complete update – although it does incorporate a lot of v3 code and is Server-side Baking ready.  As it stands, the release – as with the S22 releases in September 2012 – is offered “as is” and without support – and there is no time scale or firm commitment where further updates are concerned.

As readers, know, I’m not a fan of the v1-style interface, but I admit there is something pleasing about loading and running this release – quiet possibly because it is one of Kirstenlee’s builds, which, despite the odd hiccup between the viewer and my hardware, I’ve always felt pretty much at home with. Perhaps it’s the green :).

Some of the New Bits

I’m not proposing an in-depth review, but here are some of the main features in the update.

Server-side Baking / Appearance: as mentioned above, this update is “server-side baking / appearance ready – it will render avatars correctly on SSB/A-enabled regions and avatars using the viewer will render correctly to others. However, the new “hover” mode partial z-offset “fix” is not included in the Edit Appearance floater.

SSB/A-OK: O the left - S19 Blackbird rendering my Alt (on the SL SSB/A beta viewer) and I correctly on an SSB/A-enabled region; on the right - I render correctly in my Alt's view
SSB/A-OK: O the left – S19 Blackbird rendering my Alt (on the SL SSB/A beta viewer) and I correctly on an SSB/A-enabled region; on the right – I render correctly in my Alt’s view

Mesh Uploads: Nicky Dasmijn’s mesh uploader is included in this release of S19, again bringing it into line with other viewers and the age of mesh.

Anaglyph [3D] rendering: Kirsten’s first introduced 3D rendering in the S22 viewer. While still very experimental, with all the interest in Oculus Rift, its inclusion in S19 with this release is perhaps a little pertinent and timely as a means of generating a 3D view in a viewer.

If you have 3D glasses, Kirsten's latest S19 (404+) gives you a 3D world
If you have 3D glasses, Kirsten’s latest S19 (404+) gives you a 3D world

Restrained Love: RLV comes to Kirsten’s viewer with a dedicated preferences panel which includes the ability to set a “profile” against your RLV use – one of “BDSM Persona-Player”, “BDSM Role-player” and “Non-BDSM”. These define how many (and which) RLV controls can be blacklisted (i.e. prevented from operating), so that, for an example, someone using the “Non-BDSM” option can make use of options such as automatic chat redirection, shared folders for changing outfits and “forced” teleports which necessarily having to also have the more restrictive RLV options active.

RLV comes to Kirsten's Viewer - complete with a set of "profiles"
RLV comes to Kirsten’s Viewer – complete with a set of “profiles”

Pathfinding: Kirsten’s Viewer S19 also gains options to display pathfinding information on linksets and characters. These options are on the Tools menu. As S19 supports OpenSim, there is no navmesh visualisation as there is no Havok sub-licence agreement.

Comments

Overall, this is a sudden and interesting update to Kirsten’s original v1-style viewer, incorporating a lot of v3 code which more than makes it capable of running on today’s grid. On the whole I found it to be stable, and with performance levels I’ve tended to get from Klee’s builds (somewhat lower than with other builds for reasons I’ve never fully fathomed). I did encounter an odd issue – while I could run the viewer in deferred mode, when I enabled shadows, my in-world view turned black, and refused to come out of its sulk until I disabled shadows once more. Whether this was due to a problem with the viewer, or simply another of the hiccups which seem to occur between my hardware an Klee’s viewer builds at times, I couldn’t say.

There are a few bits missing from the update as well – no Depth of Field for photographers, for example, (although Dawny Daviau, Kirstenlee’s partner, tells me this might be coming). So don’t expect it to be fully up to S22 / v3 standards in terms of options, etc.

Again, this release is not a return of Kirsten’s viewer per se, although there is an open invitation for those who like the viewer or the v1-approach to give it a go. Just remember, support isn’t given – and it may be a while before a further update arrives.

In the meantime, some more 3D, this time courtesy of a video demonstration from Chantal Harvey, filmed back when the capability first appeared in Kirsten’s Viewer.

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With thanks to Dawny Daviau.