Year: 2013

Lumiya: now you rez it, then you take it

Posted on by Inara Pey

lumiya-logoLumiya, the SL / OpenSim viewer for Android has seen two further updates since my last review. Version 2.4.3, released on February 16th, primarily saw the addition of flexiprim support in the 3D view, and the option to teleport to an avatar as well as some nips, tucks and tweaks.

Version 2.4.4, release on March 7th added object rezzing options and inventory-taking option to Lumiya as well as the ability to create landmarks. Taken together, both updates significantly add to Lumiya’s capabilities, and as I had a little free time, I took version 2.4.4 for a spin to try all the updates out.

Teleport to an Avatar

Teleporting to an avatar using Lumiya is a simple matter of selecting them from your Friends list, the Nearby list using a long touch and then selecting Teleport To from the pop-up menu. You’ll be asked to confirm the action – note that Yes is on the RIGHT of the confirmation dialogue; clicking it will teleport you to the avatar (or any landing point near them, if one is set at their current location).

Creating a Landmark

To create a landmark at any time, display your inventory, then click on the Landmark icon displayed in the bottom right of the inventory window (portrait display) or top right (landscape display). If the icon isn’t displayed in the latter view, tap the Menu button on your device and select Create Landmark from the displayed menu.

Use the Menu button on your device when displaying the inventory window to display a list of options of the Create Lanmark icon isn't already displayed
Use the Menu button on your device when displaying the inventory window to display a list of options of the Create Landmark icon isn’t already displayed

Note that you can access inventory either from the Lumiya Suitcase icon when in text view or in the 3D world view. If the icon isn’t visible in the latter, tap the menu bar on your device to display a list of options – inventory access should be at or near the top.

Tap the Menu button on your device to display all available menu options when in 3D world view
Tap the Menu button on your device to display all available menu options when in 3D world view

Rezzing Objects and Unpacking

Rezzing an object in-world in Lumiya is a simple matter of locating the object in your inventory and then long-touching it to display a pop-up menu. Tap Rez on the menu then confirm you wish to rez the object in-world in response to the dialogue displayed.

Objext rezzing from inventory & copying / moving the contents of an object back to inventory
Object rezzing from inventory & copying / moving the contents of an object back to inventory

Assuming you have object entry / rezzing rights for the parcel you are on, the object will be rezzed in-world. To display the contents, long-touch it (note that you may have to adjust your camera position to select the object, particularly if it is rezzed on another touchable object), and select the Open option from the displayed menu. An inventory-like window is opened to display the contents of the object, which can be copied / moved to your inventory by tapping the Copy button at the top right of the contents window.

Other Bits and Feedback

Lumiya supports flexiprim motions in the 3D world view as of version 2.4.3
Lumiya supports flexiprim motions in the 3D world view as of version 2.4.3

Versions 2.4.3 and 2.4.4 see improved handling of large meshes, improved notification settings and assorted bug fixes.

The flexiprim support in the 3D world view works well, although rendering things like flexihair when in motion may result in slight oddities; for example, when walking, my hair tended to all but vanish at times, but would quickly come back once I stopped, and Lumiya reproduces SL’s signature “hair flair”  – long hair flairing out behind your avatar like a comet’s tail – very well :).

Overall, these have been two somewhat “low-key” updates for Lumiya compared to recent passes (mesh support et al). However, I know that 2.4.3 marked another milestone for Alina, as she’s been working on getting flexiprims to work for the last several months – so it’s good to see she’s succeeded.

The ability to rez / open objects adds another fundamental capability to Lumiya, as does the ability to create landmarks. All-in-all, another good set of updates which once again increase Lumiya’s attractiveness as a very capable means of accessing Second Life and OpenSim while on the move.

My only real issue with the viewer is that if Alina keeps developing Lumiya, I’m going to have to go out and buy a Tablet just so I can really enjoy using it! :D.

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SL project updates: week 10 (3): viewer, CHUI, SSB and HTTP work

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL Viewer Beta and Viewer Development  and CHUI

There have been updates to both the beta and development viewers. The beta viewer moved to release 3.5.0.271345, and development to 3.4.5.271386. Both releases were focused on CHUI, and according to Oz Linden, “Right now they are almost identical; different only in the viewer number I believe.” He went on to say, “There is significant uncertainty as to when CHUI will come out of the beta channels, and it’s very likely that will remain true for a while yet – that is, that the two will remain pretty similar.”

With one CHUI update having just gone to the beta viewer, the Lab anticipates there will be at least one more update for the project while in beta before it makes any more to the viewer release channel.

Server-side Baking (SSB)

Server-side Baking saw the release of a further viewer update – 3.4.5.271419 – on March 7th, which was partially in response from information gained from the first public pile-on / load test for SSB, held on Thursday February 21st.

Commenting on the ongoing work to integrate SSB into TPVs at the TPV Developer meeting on Friday March 8th, Oz linden thanked the TPVs for their work to date on trying to integrate the viewer-side SSB code into their offerings in order to keep the project on track. “I’m very pleased to say that right now it does not look like support for it [SSB] in third-party viewers is going to end up being the limiting factor on when it can be deployed,” he said, although he did caution against showing any complacency in getting the code to a deployable condition.

Merge with CHUI

Also at the TPV Developer meeting, Nyx indicated that overall, the project viewer for SSB is becoming more and more stable, and that his team now has and initial merge with the CHUI code, which they are going to be “hammering on”, prior to pushing it to the internal Sunshine branch. As such, the most recent release of the SSB project viewer is possibly the last push prior to CHUI appearing in the viewer.

Given there are concerns over the merger and its possible impact on TPVs, Nyx is going to see if it is possible to maintain a side branch of the SSB viewer code which does not include the CHUI merge, which could continue to receive fixes and make it easier for TPVs to obtain them, however, until this has been looked into in more detail, he is unwilling to commit to how easy it would be to achieve and maintain – or how long for.

Second Pile-on  / Load Test

Serer-side baking - further testing on March 14th
Serer-side baking – further testing on March 14th

Attending the Server Beta meeting in week 10, Nyx Linden announced that the updated viewer will be required  for a further pile-on / load test, which has been scheduled for Thursday March 14th. The test is liable to be in much the same format as the first test, and those wishing to participate are advised to attend the Server Beta meeting on Aditi ahead of time (the meeting commences at 15:00 SLT on Thursdays).

Those wishing to take part in the test should also ensure they are using the latest version of the SSB project viewer linked-to above, as this as this has been specifically set-up to enable correct logging of data, etc., for the test. Nyx hopes that the latest updates to the logging parameters, coupled with the recent inventory fixes applied to Aditi should do much to both lessen the impact of Aditi issues should they occur and make them easier to identify when analysing feedback. However, Nyx suggested that those who have experienced Aditi inventory issues and who wish to join-in the test on March 14th should log-into the Sunshine test regions ahead of time and confirm that they can access their inventory using the project viewer.

Continue reading “SL project updates: week 10 (3): viewer, CHUI, SSB and HTTP work” →

RFL of SL 2013 Kick-off and Fashion for Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

2013_RFL_LogoThis weekend sees the official kick-off for Relay for Life of SL with a special celebratory event taking place on Saturday March 9th, starting at 10:00 SLT.

The theme for 2013 is “100 years of hope”, and marks the centenary of the American Cancer Society. As such, this year is being seen as an opportunity to more closely align RFL’s digital world efforts (which now also include InWorldz as well as Second Life) with the ACS.

The kick-off celebration will take place on four dedicated Kick-off regions adjoining the American Cancer Society region, which feature a central stage and the Cafe du Kick-off, set within a park and surrounded by a parade-like walk and gaily coloured houses.

RFL of SL Kick-off stage area
RFL of SL Kick-off stage area

The event will comprise the official opening of the RFL of SL 2013 season, complete with a number of special guest speakers. entertainment will be provided throughout the day following the opening ceremony, with  DJs on-hand to spin the tunes at the central stage area throughout the afternoon, and a special dance troupe performance during the course of the festivities.

There are around 113 teams registered for this year’s season, with over 2,000 avatars listed on the team rosters – however, there is still time for people to put together a team of their own and join in the fundraising activities; teams can still be registered via the RFL of SL website.

The RFL of SL kick-off regions
The RFL of SL kick-off regions

All RFL of SL teams are warmly invited by the event organisers to attend the kick-off and mix with one another. SLurls for the event are:

Continue reading “RFL of SL 2013 Kick-off and Fashion for Life” →

SL project updates: week 10 (2): server, SSB, materials and SSAO

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments Update

All of the deployments planned for week 10 went ahead as scheduled. While further issues related to region crossings have been reported, these are not thought to be related to any of the new code deployments for this week (see below for more).

The one issue that has been noted with the deployments is for VWR-786, which formed a part of the Magnum deployment.

This was supposed to ensure that if a friend does not have ‘See my online status’ permission, they will now see “User is not online ..” message following IM or inventory offer. However, the result has also been that if you IM a non-friend, the server always returns the “User is not online” message. The short-term solution for this is to remove the change from week 11’s releases in the interest of getting the other fixes (BUG-1612 and SVC-8019) across the grid.

The Lab is particularly keen to see SVC-8019 deployed to the entire grid, as this should fix issues of regions not handshaking correctly with one another following a rolling restart. The cause of this is believed to be due to regions looking at stale cached copies of a neighbouring regions’ status. With the update, regions grab more up-to-date copies of the status of their neighbours.

Server-side Baking: Further Pile-on / Load Test

Nyx Linden has announced that there will be a further SSB pile-on / load test on Thursday March 14th, following-on, as with the last test, from the Server Beta meeting on Aditi. The test is liable to be in much the same format as the first test, of which Nyx notes, “It gave us a lot of information and we’ve been working on a number of fixes, both to Aditi inventory, as well as viewer and back-end changes. Given this, the reason for the next test, in Nyx’s words, is because, “We’d like to see how much progress we’re making.”

The first SSB pile-on / load test (image courtesy of Latif Khalifa
The first SSB pile-on / load test (image courtesy of Latif Khalifa

Those wishing to participate will be required to be using the latest version of the Sunshine project viewer (3.4.5.271419), and are advised to attend the Server Beta meeting on Aditi ahead of time (the meeting commences at 15:00 SLT on Thursdays). Addressing those who participated in the first test, Nyx added, “If you had trouble at the last pile-on with outfit switching, feel free to test out the new build in advance – you should be able to comment on the JIRA tasks you filed, or email me directly with any issues.”

Materials Processing

Following-on from his replies to my question at the open-source dev meeting on Monday March 4th, Oz Linden talked some more on the status of the materials processing project at the Wednesday meeting on March 6th, “There’s one build floater bug and one crash that need fixing,” he said in kicking-off the discussion on materials, “I might even be willing to let it out without the crash fix (though it’s pretty bad).”

However, before everyone starts shouting, “Yes, yes!” :), even the release of a crashy version of the project viewer requires the “other” problem to be fixed. This appears to be related to a texture list getting corrupted, and which can manifest in a number of ways, including:

  • The normal map picker reverts to displaying the diffuse (texture) map after a normal map has been selected and the picker closed, with the normal map failing to render on the object / face it has been applied to
  • If deferred rendering is turned off, anything using materials appears black
  • If bump mapping is disabled, objects using materials appear to randomly adopt nearby textures (including skin textures) which can change as the camera is rotated / moved.
Normal map application issue: a normal map is selected and apllied to an object face (l); however, on re-opening the build floater, the map appears to have reverted to the diffuse map (r), and the object face does not render as expected
Normal map application issue: a normal map is selected and applied to an object face (l); however, on re-opening the build floater, the map appears to have reverted to the diffuse map (r), and the object face does not render as expected

Continue reading “SL project updates: week 10 (2): server, SSB, materials and SSAO” →

Magnificent desolation

Posted on by Inara Pey

World of Beauty is the home region for Tableau Vivant, supplying skins, clothing, animations, mesh items and more, with goods spread across two stores, one at ground level, and the other some 2000m in the air.

The region is also the home of something of a “secret” and somewhat dark build by the Tableau Vivant team which though small, is nevertheless spectacular – particularly when viewed using deferred rendering.

Here
Tableau Vivant’s sky build at World of Beauty (click to enlarge)

Is this a world struck by a natural catastrophe, or the aftermath of a man-made apocalypse? That’s for you to decide. For me, and for reasons I can’t adequately explain, looking around the build kept bringing excerpts from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets to mind, starting with the opening of Burnt Norton.

Descend lower
Tableau Vivant’s sky build at World of Beauty (click to enlarge)

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.

Tableau Vivant”s sky build at World of Beauty (click to enlarge)

It’s perhaps unfair on both Eliot and the build to take both somewhat out-of-context in this way, but I was unable to shake myself from much of Four Quartets in camming around the ruined streets and shattered buildings. Although given the generall tone of the piece, perhaps a part of the third stanza from Burnt Norton has something of an understandable resonance.

O dark dark dark. They all go into the dark,
The vacant interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant,
The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters,
The generous patrons of art, the statesmen and the rulers,
Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees,
Industrial lords and petty contractors, all go into the dark,

WoB-7_001
Tableau Vivant”s sky build at World of Beauty (click to enlarge)

Nor should it be taken to mean that the build is in any way depressing. Yes it is dark; the feeling of emptiness is palpable and the desolation obvious. But then, as Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin reminded us as he stood on the surface of the Moon, there can be a certain magnificence within a scene of desolation.

Go see for yourselves!

T
Tableau Vivant”s sky build at World of Beauty (click to enlarge)

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The Machinima effect take two and adding some Steam to the mix

Posted on by Inara Pey

In launching The Drax Files recently, Draxtor Despres has caused some bloggers to re-open the question of promoting of Second Life through the use of machinima, with Ciaran Laval in particular asking could LL follow Draxtor’s lead and can resident-made machinima be used to promote Second Life?

These questions were actually the focus of some thought on my part back in 2011, when – having been prompted by a tweet from Crap Mariner, I mused on advertising SL: the machinima effect, and it seems worthwhile both revisiting those thoughts and updating them with a few further ideas and thoughts.

The video that prompted my original post on the subject may not be focused on Second Life, but it is ample proof of how machinima can be used to promote a product. What’s more it is fun.

Back in 2011, it prompted Crap to tweet: Linden Lab needs to make some ads like this for Second Life – something which caused me to reply: Or #LL should work with the machinima folk for suitable ads: say a competition; top 3 promoted on YT, SL.com, etc., which inturn prompted my original post on this idea,

Today, as Ciaran points out, and as I’ve covered for the last few years in this blog (albeit haphazardly), the University of Western Australia holds an annual MachinimUWA Challenge, which this year sees a prize pool of L$1.1 million for machinima makers submitting entries on the theme of “Reflections”.

MachinimUWA VI: showing the potential for machinima as a promotional tool

What makes MachinimUWA particularly relevant to this discussion is that not only does it showcase machinima as an art form, it actually promotes the University of Western Australia. The promotion may actually be very low-key, and a somewhat secondary consideration in terms of storytelling for those entering the competition, but it is there. This year, for example, entrants are required to film in “At least one of the 3 major spaces of Reflection at UWA … (The Reflection Pond, The Sunken Gardens, The Somerville Auditorium).” With the rules going on to note that entrants “may choose to film in any other area of the campus …  or … include all 3 locations.” Thus, the UWA’s in-world facilities form the nucleus of the competition in terms of providing the backdrop for whatever stories entrants opt to tell.

Continue reading “The Machinima effect take two and adding some Steam to the mix” →