Year: 2013

SL projects updates: week 10 (1): server, materials and SSB

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments Week 10

A full set of server deployments this week.

On Tuesday March 5th, the Second Life Server (SLS) channel received the server maintenance project that was deployed to all three RC channels in week 9. This update only contains a fix to a single crash mode.

On Wednesday March 6th, the three Release Candidate channel should receive the following code deployments:

  • BlueSteel and LeTigre: a new server maintenance project, which fixes a fairly common crash mode, together with Baker Linden’s large (as in file size) object rezzing project aimed at improving simulator performance (see below)
  • Magnum: a new server maintenance project, which includes a mix of bug fixes and stability improvements. Specific fixes mentioned in the release notes are:
    • BUG-1612: region Owners and estate managers finding they are unable to teleport back to their region after disabling direct teleports to the region
    • SVC-8019: region visibility delays following region restarts. This may help with the problem of diagonally adjacent regions failing to render
    • VWR-786: 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.

Large Object Rezzing Project

Baker Linden has been looking to improve how objects with large file sizes are handled by the simulator software when being rezzed. He describes the work thus, “What I’ve been working on is hopefully significantly decreasing lag spikes when rezzing large, complex objects [such as those with lots of scripts]. Large does not necessarily imply size, but size of the files being read. When an object is rezzing, we have to parse the object / mesh files and create our in-world objects with that data.”

Until now, reading and parsing of any files related to objects which require rezzing has been on the main thread. When several such objects requiring rezzing at the same time, the simulator stalls. Baker has been moving the reading / parsing operation to a background thread in the expectation that this will prevent the simulator being choked.

The key point about this work is that it is specifically aimed at preventing the simulator processes from choking and a region stalling when there are a number of large object files being read / parsed, not at actually “speeding up” the physical rezzing process. As such, it is unlikely that objects will appear any faster in people’s in-world view as a result of this work. However, what it does mean is that the simulator code will be better able to handle rezzing multiple “large file” objects without the attendant region lagging which can occur as a result of the simulator being unable to process messages from viewers and other simulators, etc.

Materials Processing

In my last update on this work, I reported that the Lab believed they had one more issue to resolve with the materials processing project, after which the way should be clear for a project viewer to be made publicly available. At the time, it wasn’t clear exactly what the problem might be. However, on Monday March 4th, I was able to ask Oz about the problem, and it appears that it is with the project viewer itself.

“We’ve got a viewer, but it’s so crashy, and the crashes are mostly in material property editing, that I don’t want to distribute it yet…. I’m concerned that doing so would result in a lot of broken content lying around,” Oz informed me.

Materials processing: viewer issues delaying project viewer release (image courtesy of Geenz Spad)
Materials processing: viewer issues delaying project viewer release (image courtesy of Geenz Spad) – click to enlarge

I asked Oz if the crash problems were related to physically applying maps to objects and / or object faces. He confirmed that this is indeed the case – and that the latest (non-public) version of the project viewer can crash if even the parameters for maps applied to an object / object face are modified. However, he went on to say, “Hopefully we’ll get the worst of the crashes dealt with soon, and then we can start giving it to a wider audience. We’ve already solved a bunch of them, but it’s not quite ready for even open alpha testing.”

So, for those who commented on the lack of any update following my last SL project update from week 9, I’m afraid the situation still appears to be one of, “Hurry up and wait.”

Continue reading “SL projects updates: week 10 (1): server, materials and SSB” →

Sliding, but not yet dead

Posted on by Inara Pey

A little while ago, Nalates Urriah pulled together a set of statistics from diverse sources (all of which are duly credited) which help to paint a decent picture of where SL stands away from all the hype over falling region numbers, etc.

When taken together, the stats – which cover daily sign-ups, concurrency (daily / monthly), region numbers and even forum usage, all for periods of at least a year – present an interesting picture of Second Life which Nalates interprets in her own inimitable way. While they show that Second Life has in many respects been on a steady downward slide (particularly in terms of overall usage), the situation is far from unrecoverable. Indeed, some of the figures are, at least for a moment, trending upwards again – although without more detailed data and a wider breakdown, it is impossible to draw any conclusions as to what this might signify in the short-term and thus how it might be projected in the medium-, or long-term.

There are significant gaps in the data (through no fault of those who gathered / present it – the information simply isn’t available). For example, while sign-ups can be shown to have been at least constant (or have increased slightly) through the 2-year period, there is no practical context to the figures in terms of users actually being retained. A further problem with the figures is that there is no indicator as to the percent / proportion of these sign-ups actually being alternate accounts, rather than actual new users (although LL does apparently have a mechanism in place for distinguishing between the two).

Daily sign-ups, as reported by Tateru Nino and extrapolated and presented by Nalates Urriah, with monthly concurrency for 2012 inset  – click

Certainly, Rod Humble did state at in his first (and last) SLCC address in August 2011 the rise of user sign-ups did coincide with an upswing in identifiable uniques (i.e. genuine new users, rather than alternate accounts), which he clearly defined as people signing-up, downloading the viewer and logging in to SL.

The user concurrency chart is somewhat more meaningful, in that it charts concurrency for a more extended period from December 2009 through to the present day. As such, any trend shown is liable to be somewhat more reliable, although there are still problems in interpreting the data as a whole. For example, it does show a consistent downward trend in concurrency since the late “boom” period when SL was at the height of its own Hype Cycle “peak of over-inflated expectations”; but precisely what this means is still somewhat open to interpretation.

Daily concurrency, Dec 09 through Jan 2013, from Tateru Nino, as extrapolated by Nalates Urriah

Less Doesn’t Automatically Mean Fewer

A decline in concurrency doesn’t automatically mean a substantial drop in overall user numbers (although it is hard to completely divorce the two). There have been a number of factors which have contributed to some aspects of the decline outside of falling user numbers. Linden Lab caused something of a decline when they clamped-down on the use of bots. More recently, factors such as changing demographics and changing user habits appear to have also contributed to falls in concurrency.

These latter points were indicated again indicated by Rod Humble in his SLCC 2011 address, when he drew attention to the fact that the overall demographic of SL users was shifting, age-wise, more toward people in the mid-to-late 20s, and that they were collectively logging-on to SL for shorter periods. He also indicated that LL had charted a noticeable increase in the way SL users were interacting without actually going in-world – through the mechanism of profile feeds, for example.

Continue reading “Sliding, but not yet dead” →

Commerce Team announces Magic Box retirement

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Commerce Team have announced the retirement of Magic Boxes is to commence in April. The news, made via Commerce Team Linden, is being circulated to merchants via e-mail as well as having been posted to the Commerce Forum,. It reads in full:

As you already know, about a year ago, we introduced Direct Delivery, a more reliable and faster method to deliver merchandise to your Second Life Marketplace customers. To complete the migration from Magic Boxes to Direct Delivery, we’re starting a phased shutdown of Magic Boxes. In order to keep listings that are currently using the Magic Boxes active, you will need to convert them to the Direct Delivery system. We will be sending email to all Merchants who have active listings that are still using Magic Boxes.

Important dates for this plan:

  • April 2, 2013:
    • Merchants will no longer be able to list unlimited-quantity items for L$10 or less using Magic Boxes.
    • Any active, unlimited-quantity listings for L$10 or less using Magic Boxes will be unlisted.
  • April 16, 2013:
    • Merchants will no longer be able to list unlimited-quantity items using Magic Boxes, regardless of price.
    • Any remaining active, unlimited-quantity listings using Magic Boxes will be unlisted, regardless of price.

For the time being, limited-quantity items can continue to use Magic Boxes and will not be affected. “Limited-quantity” refers to items that the Merchant does not have rights to copy (such as breedable animals which are “no copy” for the seller).

We do not have a Magic Box shutdown date for the migration of limited-quantity listings at this time. After we designate that date, we will give 30 days’ notice so that Merchants will have time to migrate those items. However, to avoid disruption of your listings by the Magic Box phase-out, we strongly encourage you to convert all of your listings to Direct Delivery as soon as possible.

For more information on Direct Delivery and migrating to Direct Delivery, please see the Knowledge Base. If you have questions or problems, please contact customer support for help.

SL Marketplace: Magic Box "retirement" commences in April.
SL Marketplace: Magic Box “retirement” commences in April.

Direct Delivery launched on March 21st 2011, I was perhaps one of the first to dive in a give it a go, and my own experience was – and remains – broadly positive. However, it is fair to say that it wasn’t long before issues started to occur – and to grow in significance. So much so, and despite attempts by the Commerce Team to drive merchants into using Direst Delivery, the date by which Magic Boxes have been due to start being retired has been repeatedly pushed back over the course of the past twelve months as issues with both Direct Delivery and matters such a listing errors, repeated errors in listing enhancements billing and other upsets, served to erode merchants’ trust in both the Marketplace and LL’s own Commerce Team.

This latter point was not helped by the Commerce Team themselves, who rather than engage with merchants, opted to withdraw from communications (despite Rod Humble stepping into the fray – twice), and in obfuscating matters further by simply ceasing to publish updates on progress made in fixing issues (the last update being around November 2012, prior to all updates being quietly removed from the Merchants’ sub-forum within the Commerce Forum.

The current situation regarding outstanding issues with the Marketplace and Direct Delivery remains unclear. While reports of issues and problems seem to have decreased somewhat, it is unclear whether this is due to the Commerce Team making progress in resolving issues or perhaps merchants have simply given up trying to raise the same concerns over and again. As such, it is possible that this announcement may be met with some trepidation, even though no final date for shutting down all Magic Box capabilities has been given.

Fantasy Faire 2013: store registrations and FF Hunt

Posted on by Inara Pey

The fifth annual Fantasy Faire is due to kick-off on April 20th and run through until April 28th inclusive. While the website has yet to be updated and the theme for this year announced, the team behind the event have issued an in-world announcement that store registrations for the event are now open.

Fantasy Faire 2013 will run across ten regions, offering a showcase for all of fantasy-related creations and activities across Second Life, as well as featuring special events, fundraising, concerts, and other activities all in aid of Relay for Life and the fight against cancer. Last year, Fantasy Faire 2012 raised $25,000 USD for RFL; the hope is that this year, even  more can be achieved.

A view across a corner of Shadow's Claw, the Fantasy Faire 2012 build by Laufey Markstein
A view across a corner of Shadow’s Claw, the Fantasy Faire 2012 build by Laufey Markstein

Store Options

The announcement outlines the options for content creators wishing to participate in the event:

  • Featured Creator Store (L$8,000): 30m x 25m store with 700 prims. These are centrally placed near the region sponsor’s store and region landing point – SIX units available per region
  • Featured Creator Store + Event Sponsor L$33,000: As above, but with advertising at all events including the Fantasy Faire Hunt, on the FF blog, on Fantasy Faire radio & in any promotional materials
  • Themed Store (L$2500): 25m x 15m store with 350 prims – TEN units available per region
  • Event Sponsor ONLY (no store) L$30,000: advertising at all events including the Fantasy Faire Hunt, on the FF blog, on Fantasy Faire radio & in any promotional materials (can be combined with either of the store options above, if desired – EIGHT available for the event.
Fantasy Faire 2012: A street in Devil's Locket, by Lauren Thibaud
Fantasy Faire 2012: A street in Devil’s Locket, by Lauren Thibaud

Creators wishing to apply should complete the Fantasy Faire Store Registration Form.

Special Notes on Participation

  • Creators applying for store space must provide at least three new and exclusive (for the duration of the Faire) items for sale, the proceeds from which go directly to Relay for Life. Vendors for these items will be supplied to merchants by the event organisers, who also ask that merchants consider offering four such exclusive items
  • All creators participating in the Faire are asked to consider donating one new item to the Fantasy Faire Hunt – see below
  • The regions will be open for set-up on Thursday 18th through Friday 19th April, and all take-down must be completed by April 30th
  • All content for this or any RFL event must be PG. No adult content allowed (although there is a special allowance for skins). Event liaison personnel can help with any required verification of suitability
  • No copyright or trademark infringement (includes real life or virtual name brands, logos, sounds or graphics that aren’t owned by exhibitor)
  • For the full set of participation guidelines, including notes on prim allowances, lag management, etc., please refer to the Fantasy Faire Store Registration form.

The Fantasy Faire Hunt

This year’s Fantasy Faire will include an immersive, story-driven hut which will take place on a dedicated region. The Hunt will run alongside the Faire and also remain open for a few weeks after the Faire has closed. The aim is to provide an entertaining and memorable event which can help raise additional funds for RFL, and to this end work is already underway writing, scripting and building the experience. To help the event achieve its goals, all content creators participating in Fantasy Faire are asked if they would consider designing one new item specifically for the hunt and donating it to the event organisers as a hunt prize.

One of the imposing structures featured in Elicio Ember's Nu Orne build for Fantasy Faire 2012
One of the imposing structures featured in Elicio Ember’s Nu Orne build for Fantasy Faire 2012

Related Links

Viewer release summary 2013: week 9

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: March 3rd, 2013

  • SL Viewer updates:
      • Beta viewer rolled to 3.5.0.270825 on February 27th – core update: CHUI integration
      • Development viewer rolled to 3.5.1.270826 on February 26th – core update: CHUI integration (wiki page)
      • Cocoa project viewer 3.4.6.270999 (Mac) released on February 28
      • Sunshine (server-side baking project): 3.4.5.271118 on March 1st – core update: fix for z-offset issue
  • Dolphin updated to 3.4.14.27321 on March 1st – core updates: bug fixes
  • Kokua updated to release 3-5-1-27234 on February 28th – core updates: CHUI integration
  • Niran’s Viewer updated to 2.1.0 on February 26th – core updates: UI updates; slight changes to the rendering system
  • Cool VL updated on March 2nd to:
    • Stable version: 1.26.6.13
    • Legacy version (v2.6 renderer): 1.26.4.56
    • Experimental version: 1.26.7.13
    • Release notes
  • Pocket Metaverse for the iPhone updated to 1.8.0 on March 1st – core update: fullscreen support and bug fixes.

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

Pyri Peaks: the mystery of the lost Moles

Posted on by Inara Pey


“Naughty Mole, Sylvian Mole, Opti Mole, Earthy Mole – these name might not ring out as mightily (or ’cause some need to offer up “innocent” explanations!) as does the name Magellan Linden, but they all pioneered many of the frontiers of Second Life, building roads, raising up towns, sculpting parks and rivers, fearlessly throwing bridges across deep gorges, taking the wilds of the Mainland and opening it for all who would follow.

North Forepaw and the path to Pyri Peaks
North Forepaw and the path to Pyri Peaks

“Until Pyri Peaks; those strange hills standing above the shoreline of North Forepaw,  which the moles believed would be an idea spot to site a fun fair, high up on a plateau overlooking the sea, For a time it seemed as though all was going well; building work was progressing well, steam engines were shipped in to power the rides, the sideshows were taking shape. Then came the reports of caverns being found under the site of the fair, and then – nothing.

“I’ve no idea if The Powers That Be attempted any form of investigation or rescue (were one needed), but the way in which attention was suddenly diverted away from those strange hills and the remaining moles directed towards new projects did seem a little odd, although I’d hesitate to use the words “cover-up” (the Rodviks, after all, do have ears!). So, in the interests of journalistic endeavour, I set out to visit the now largely deserted fun fair and see if I could unravel some of the mystery…

North Forepaw / Pyri Peaks
North Forepaw / Pyri Peaks

“It is, one has to say, a strange place. North Forepaw is innocent enough…but the climb to the fun fair; that’s something else entirely, lined with strange, silent trees, which stand like sentinels, their trunks carved into strange faces, which seemed to watch me every step of the climb. Looking up at them, I had to wonder why, in passing them all those years ago, the moles still thought this an ideal place to site a fun fair.

“Nor did things get any better as I approached the entrance to the fun fair itself, seemingly guarded as it is by one more of these strange trees, a hand-like branch stretched out, ‘palm’ upraised, a single glowing “eye” in the middle. A last warning, perhaps, to turn back?

North Forepaw / Pyri Peak
North Forepaw / Pyri Peaks

Continue reading “Pyri Peaks: the mystery of the lost Moles” →