Day: April 24, 2014

Fantasy Faire: of sims, stores and role-play

Posted on by Inara Pey

We’re just a little over week away from the start of Fantasy Faire 2014. The regions have been delivered, the themes set, and building underway.

This year will see a total of eight themed regions for the Faire, all designed by some of the leading creative minds in Second Life, together with the Fairelands Junction. In addition, and following the unfortunate withdrawal from the Faire by Nya Alchemi (for reasons of health – so very best wishes to Nya), her planned region of Wiggenstead Mooring is being transformed, and its new purpose will not be unveiled until the start of the Faire.As usual, all of the Fairelands regions will be located alongside The American Cancer Society’s home region. So, without further ado, here’s a quick run-down of the regions (more to follow in ym preview of this year’s Faire!):

Asperatus by Beq Janus: “above the rolling, turbulence of the thick cloud plains the silence is broken by the deep throbbing hum of engines. The mighty “Asperatus” fills the sky, once the preserve of super rich merchants, this mighty airship is now the mainstay of the small colony that drifts around it. Come walk amongst the clouds, explore unlikely airships and marvel at mankind’s ever ingenious (and frequently implausible) devices in this steampunk inspired city in the sky.”

  • Sponsored by: NeoVictoria (Asil Ares)
  • Featured stores: [ContraptioN] (Faust Steamer); The Forge (Deccan Arida); .:Snoodles:.& Gypsy Wolf (Nikita Schapire & Yap Snoodle); BlueMoon Enterprise (SolasNaGealai); *BOOM* Clothing Co. (Aranel Ah); Unzipped (Destany Laval).
  • Themed stores: anc Ltd. (aki69 Resident); AZE Jewelry Designs (Amilia Zabaleta); Unrepentant (Jalynne Ohmai); Steaming Ahead (Brogancael); * GOTHIC’S MUSING * (Gothicmuse Resident) ; Grim Bros. (Cutea Benelli) ; Arx Loricatus (Dogma Trevellion); Sweet Lies Designs (hadarah Steamer); lassitude & ennui (Jackal Ennui).

Blackwater Glenn by Marcus Inkpen/ Sharni Azalee: “rotting buildings sink into the swampy undergrowth as Nature reclaims this ground from Man. Gorgeous flowers and mysterious plants emerge sporadically throughout the swamp and pathways of open water lead to the centerpiece, a giant blossoming tree. Dark and murky, Blackwater Glenn has not been completely abandoned. In it you will find the light of hope. Let it lead you to rebirth.”

Marcus Inkpen/ Sharni Azalee's Lotus Valley Dream, Fantasy Faire 2013
Marcus Inkpen/ Sharni Azalee’s Lotus Valley Dream, Fantasy Faire 2013
  • Sponsored by: The Looking Glass (Marcus Inkpen & Sharni Azalee).
  • Featured Stores: F*cking Ninjas – Mad Girl Ninjas’ Designs (Doll Galthie); meadowWorks (Garvie Garzo); Caverna Obscura (Elvina Ewing); ~SWAN~ (Cyneswith Luik); Eldritch (Kiera Ashdene); Dark Goddess Designs (Alesandra Markova).
  • Themed stores: De La Soul (Lerochelle Destiny); Wilds of Organica (Aki Shichiroji); Pin Me Down (Shyntae Demonista); Ari’s Neko Retreat (Arianna Voltaire); Luas (AinaraLuas); *paper moon* (sohma Dix); :[Even~Tide]: (Eve Gaelyth); Old World (Katrina Kristan); alpha.tribe (Alpha Auer).

The Faery Court by Elicio Ember: “the Cycle of Life. Season follows season as Light chases Dark. Seelie and Unseelie perform their eternal dance in the form of a giant tree composed of two intertwining trunks, one green and flowering and the other dark and leafless. Visit the Court and proclaim your allegiance.”

  • Sponsored by: Cerridwen’s Cauldron (Elicio Ember).
  • Featured stores: Epic (Jade Winthorpe); Boudoir (Precious Restless); Mermaid Treasure & Boutique (Theta Marseille); ThatChick (Anastasia Domenici); ~*Star Kindler Designs*~ (Elbereth Nightfire); Spyralle (Kerryth Tarantal).
  • Themed stores: Bliensen + MaiTai (Plurabelle Laszlo); . : yo bailo : . (yuuki solo); **Tir Na Nog** (Siarl Shan); Tayren’s Fantasy Fashions (Tayren Theas); Kittycat’s Creations (Kittycat Ninetails); *~Dream Things~* (Pia Uladstron); [ni.Ju] (Vitani Jun); BluPrintz (Mirajai Maven); [][]Trap[][] (Selos Dae); [Gauze] (Yukio Ida).
Elicio Ember's Titan's Hollow, Fantasy Faire 2013
Elicio Ember’s Titan’s Hollow, Fantasy Faire 2013

Heavenslough by Alrunia Ahn/ Eldowyn Inshan/ Sweetgwendoline Bailey: “not made of human hands, Heavenslough is a landscape sculpted for adventure and dreams alike. The forest is a playground for sprites and secretive fairy folks, while rising high above are the plateaus that stretch like rocky isles in to the heaven. Ancient stilt houses dot the marshlands and other abodes can also be seen perched in the leafy boughs of the titanic trees. Watch your steps and expect the unexpected.”

  • Sponsored by: Creators of Fantasy (Alrunia Ahn / Eldowyn Inshan / Sweetgwendoline Bailey).
  • Featured stores: FANTAVATAR & MOONSTRUCK (Luna Barak); The White Armory (Bee Dumpling); Pyewicket’s Myths (Pyewicket Tiger); Satyrs Moon (Vasa Vella); Analog Dog Hair (queue Marlowe) *Independent Objects* (Susan Independent).
  • Themed stores: Fae Fantasy Creations (Tamrielle Halderman); Sister Fate* Petites (Sifra Ceawlin); Affinity Boutique (Caroline Winslet); Mystique (Claira Jules); Star Journey (Starman Heron); Bare Rose (June Dion); Dreamscaped Designs (Dreamscaped Dagger); Whatz (Titania Halasy); Mindgardens Creations (Bonny Greenwood); Keystone (Aymee Monk).

Hope’s Horizon by Jaimy Hancroft: “inspired by Tolkien’s Minas Tirith, our White City gleams and shimmers on the horizon like a beacon leading wayfarers home. Carved out of the white rock of the mountains it clings to, Hope’s Horizon towers over the surrounding plains casting an aura of light into the darkness. Spiraling up lever upon level, the city ascends skyward crowned with a small courtyard. This majestic structure stands tall, upright, and full of power. One single blossoming tree stands at the top of it all to represent LIFE.”

  • Sponsored by: Dwarfins (Judy Chestnut, Jaimy Hancroft and Dante Spectre)
  • Featured stores:  .Luminary. (Augurer Resident); Dragon Magick Wares (Dragonia DeCuir); Sax Shepherd Designs (Sax Shepherd); Death Row Designs (Jaimy Hancroft); ND/MD (Alea Lamont & Moonlay Laval); ~*The Library*~ (Dreamfantasia Nightfire).
  • Themed stores: NAMINOKE (taiko McCaw); 22769 ~ casual couture / 22769 ~ [bauwerk] (Paco Pooley & Manuel Ormidale); .:CoLLisions:. (Guenevere DeCuir); . a i s l i n g . (Druunah Esharham & Damian Kleiner) Folly (Cane Sutter); Entity (Guestier Balut); Talevin’s Designs (Talevin Whelan); Kio-Kio (Kioko Kumaki).

Medhir Woods by Rynn Verwood: “a land where magic, nature and civilization meet. An elven outpost, protected by large waterfalls, in the middle of an enchanted autumn forest.”

  • Sponsored by: Solarium (Rynn Verwood and Encaitaron Korobase).
  • Featured stores: Curious Kitties (Ameshin Yossarian); Hoof It! (Erin Talamasca); Mythos (Karalia Halostar); Unique Obsession (Tremayne Barbosa & Lunaria Eclipse); The Arcanum (Zachh Barkley); Garden of Dreams (Kayle Matzerath).
  • Themed stores: Feyline Fashions (FeydaAnn Ferryhill); ~ Mystic Sky ~ (Skyler John): Niekra’s Dreams (Niekra Torvalar); Apsara (Mayaa Thistle); Almost Wonderland (Almostwonderland Resident); TempT (Lakira Ratelle); Kahli Designs (KahliDesigns Resident); MysMix (Mys Tigerpaw) ; Dysfunctional Designs (Kalia Firelyte); Unsung (Jaden Benavente).

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SL projects update: 17/1: server, viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

Running slightly behind in weekly updates due to the small matter of RL house decorating. I long for the day when I can take a colour swatch and simply drag my choice from the swatch onto the wall and see the wall instantly painted…

Server Deployments: week 17

The Main (SLS) channel and the LeTigre and BlueSteel RC channels all have no scheduled deployments for the week.

On Wednesday April 23rd the Magnum RC received the same server maintenance package as deployed to it in week 16, but with an additional fix for BUG-5763 (“AGENT_MOUSELOOK flag is often incorrect when llGetAgentInfo() is called within control() event”). This bug was a regression in the original update, and which affects certain guns that only allow some actions when they think the user is in Mouselook and certain vehicle that change control behaviour when in Mouselook. Early indications are that the fix has been successful.

SL Viewer Updates

On Monday April 21st, the VoiceMO release candidate viewer, version 3.7.6.289164 ((download page, release notes)  was promoted to the de facto release viewer. This viewer pulls in Vivox 4.6.x libraries instead of 4.5 for improved stability and to address Mac Mavericks issues as well as fixes for accurately detecting Merchant status and improves recovery for Merchant Outbox errors. It should also removes the Windows crash reporter pop-up notification.

The Maintenance RC updated on Tuesday April 22nd to version 3.7.7.289405 (download and release notes). This RC includes over 50 MAINT category fixes broadly covering:

  • Multiple fixes to Mac viewer
  • GPU table updates
  • Fixes in Recent tab, Chat, LSL editor, land management, etc.
  • Help system update
  • Crash fixes
  • Performance improvements

The interest list RC updated on Wednesday April 23rd to version 3.7.7.289461 (download and release notes).  I’ve still not found the time to have a play with this viewer.

The sunshine RC should update as well, most likely before the end of the week. Please refer to my current viewer releases page for updates on SL viewer versions and TPVs listed by LL.

STORM-1831: LSL Syntax Updates

STORM-1831 is the work mainly undertaken by Ima Mechanic (with assistance from Oz Linden and Cinder Roxley) to improve syntax highlighting in the viewer’s LSL editor by allowing the viewer to obtain the information required for syntax highlighting directly from the simulator the viewer is connected to. This should eliminate issues with the current manually updated files used to manage syntax highlighting falling out-of-synch with new LSL syntax as new functions and parameters, etc., are added. Folded-in to this work should also be a change to the source code text allowance in the viewer’s LSL editor, increasing it from the current 65,000 characters to around 256,000.

The server-side support for this commenced deployment in week 2, but the viewer work has been subject to delay for a variety of reasons (not the least of which has been the number of RC and project viewers in the release and various project channels). However, it is hoped that a project viewer with this work (and possibly other STORM contributions) will be appearing either this week or in week 18, and Oz hopes to see some testing carried out using it once it does so.

 Group Chat Optimisation

Little to report on this, other than the Lab is “working out some kinks”. Further details on the status of Agni testing may be available at the Server Beta meeting.