Day: June 7, 2015

SL project updates 23/1: server, TPV Developer meeting

Posted on by Inara Pey

Crestwick Island; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Crestwick Island (Flickr) – blog post

The following notes are primarily taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, June 5th. A video of the TPVD meeting is included below, with any time stamps in the following text referring to it. My thanks as always to North for the recording and providing it for embedding.

Server Deployments Week 23 – Recap

There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, June 2nd, due to the week #22 RC deployment being rolled-back.

On Wednesday, June 3rd, all thee RCs received the same server maintenance package, which was the same update which had been attempted in week #22, but with additional back-end fixes to prevent a repeat of the earlier problems. The update comprises:

  • A change logic on accessing group member lists for large groups
  • Internal server logging changes.

SL Viewer

On Thursday, May 3rd, the attachment fixes RC viewer (Project Big Bird) updated to version 3.7.30.302190.  Presumably, this update is to bring the viewer up to parity with the current release viewer (formerly the avatar layers update), and so will hopefully clear the way for it to be promoted to the de facto release viewer in the near future.

[02:40] A new maintenance fixes RC viewer should be appearing in the release channel soon, the should also be an update to the Mesh Importer project viewer (currently version 3.7.28.300878) appearing soon; and work is progressing on updating the Oculus Rift project viewer.

Experience Keys (/ Tools)

[03:35] Work is continuing on the back-end of the Experience Keys systems prior to the capabilities being formally released across the grid as a whole.

“We are making progress on the back-end issues that have been delaying that,” Oz Linden informed the TPV Developer meeting. “But as far as I’m aware, we have not yet  … uncovered a viewer-related problem with that. so far these are all back-end related issues.” He went on:

To be a little bit more transparent, it’s really scaling issues. Experience actually work just fine at the scale we’re using them right now … but what we’re concerned about is what will happen when we turn them loose on a much, much larger population and there are lots more experiences running and there are a lot more simulators with experiences running on them. 

So what we’ve doing … is fairly intensive scaling and performance testing and we’re solving the problems that the testing uncovers. So, we’re making progress on it, and we’re fairly confident the problems are solvable, but we have run into a whole host of assorted issues with that.

In the meantime, it is expected that the current RC release of the Experiences viewer (currently version 3.8.0.300963) will be brought up to parity with the release viewer during week #24.

Viewer-Managed Marketplace

[05:53] For ease of reference, please refer to my update on VMM, available here.

Land Bans

[17:58] Oz Linden has issues an invitation to open-source contributors to assist the Lab in trying to improve the management of land ban lists. Again, for ease of reference, please refer to my separate report on this, available here.

Group Membership Changes

[22:15]  The update to the server RC channels referred to as “a change logic on accessing group member lists for large groups”, as noted in the server deployments recap at the top of this article, refers to a new way in which the members lists for larger groups (5,000 members and over) are handled.

In brief, the members lists for such groups will no longer load in the group floater in the viewer, unless the person attempting to see the list is in a role which requires they need to be able to do so. While this change is discussed within the meeting, I have been specifically asked not to blog on the change until it is deployed to the Main (SLS) simulator channel on Tuesday, June 9th, when I’ll have the details in full.

Unified Snapshot Floater

[33:12] As I’ve recently reviewed, NiranV Dean has updated the unified snapshot floater in his Black Dragon viewer. As he originally contributed the code for this floater to the Lab, he has also raised a JIRA (see BUG-9325) listing improvements and fixes and has contributed his updated code. This has been under review at the Lab, and commenting at the TPV Developer meeting, Oz indicated that the Lab are “fine” with the majority of Niran’s suggestions, although there are a couple that appear to be subject to further consideration, which might take a little while to sort through.

NiranV Dean's unified snapshot floater improvements, including the separate, resizeable preview panel, are now with the Lab, although it is not yet entirely clear which of the updates will be adopted, or when they will appear in the official viewer.
NiranV Dean’s unified snapshot floater improvements, including the separate, resizeable preview panel, are now with the Lab, although it is not yet entirely clear which of the updates will be adopted, or when they will appear in the official viewer.

Continue reading “SL project updates 23/1: server, TPV Developer meeting” →

On days like these in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Flux Sur Mer; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Flux Sur Mer (Flickr) – click and image for full size

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we’re approaching that time of year when the days are expected to be warm and bright, the skies blue and the fields and grass green. A time of year when thoughts turn naturally to holidays and vacations, of spending time away from the demands of everyday life, strolling hand-in-hand along a beach or perhaps under the shade of tall trees or along a little street in another corner of the world, be it near or far. Perhaps, on days like these, we recall memories of past holidays in places we have enjoyed; recapturing the joy they brought, even while planning our next vacation excursion.

It is from such memories that the theme for Flux Sur Mer first arose. A full region collaborative design led by Mya Richards and Nic Bour, which includes the talents of Posh Jones and Imoken Neox, Flux Sur Mer seeks to recapture the rich beauty of the south of France and encapsulate it within the arms of a rural river estuary setting, which the lazy flow of rivers converge to meet the ebb and flow of a warm sea’s tide.

And it is, quite simply, breathtaking.

Flux Sur Mer; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Flux Sur Mer (Flickr)

From the moment you arrive in the region – which is newly-opened, and may not remain accessible to the public, depending upon whatever use to which it is eventually put. But while it is, anyone interested in sight-seeing in Second Life should make a point of visiting. And be sure you allow plenty of time to do so – because just like a vacation in the physical world, there really is an incredible amount to see here; far more than may at first be apparent.

There is a distinct east / west feel to the overall design of the region in keeping with the theme of it being a coastal area. The east side of the island definitely has an “inland” feel to it, and wandering that side of the island, it is easy to imagine that the eastward sea is in fact rolling green countryside through which the rivers cutting through the region wind off into the haze.

Flux Sur Mer; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Flux Sur Mer (Flickr)

The west side of the region, however, which includes the landing point, has a distinctly coastal look and feel. It is here that the river, frequently crossed by bridges both wooden and stone, converge and meet the waiting sea. Here, as well, can be found a beach of golden sand, with motor cruisers and sailboats sitting at anchor just off the central tongue of land that sits between the rivers, which are themselves flanked by flat-topped plateaux to the north and south.

The feel of rural southern France is brought to life in so many ways here that anyone who has spent time in that part of the world is liable to find their memories being stirred and smiles crossing their faces, whether it is while seeing the houses and cottages, or spending time at one of the many little roadside, sea front  or hilltop cafes, or browsing through the little vide grenier in the tiny village centre, watched over by the silent sails of an old stone windmill.

Flux Sur Mer; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Flux Sur Mer (Flickr)

To describe everything that can be found here would really be a waste; Flux Sur Mer is a place that really has to be seen – no, more than that, it has to be experienced. Whether your interest is in coastal meandering, streetside wandering or hilltop strolling makes no difference, there is something here to suit every traveller’s taste in walks and explorations. This is a place where the little market places, the winding roads and even the down-and-heel opera house (which looks like it might also offer a little helping of night life), have so much to offer the eye and the camera; there are surprises that await you at almost every turn. In this respect, don’t forget to collect a list of landmarks from the little black signboards found across the region, should you need a guiding hand.

So on those days when the mind strays to thoughts of vacations and times away, only to be shadowed by the knowledge it may well be a while before we can do so within the physical world, it’s good to know there are places to which we can escape in Second Life. Places which allow us to both to recall times past and to share in the memories of others. Flux Sur Mer is just such a place. Be sure to book your stay.

Flux Sur Mer; Inara Pey, June 2015, on Flickr Flux Sur Mer (Flickr)

SLurl Details

From Baker Street to West Egg and more in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and all events in Second Life are held at the Seanchai Library’s home at Bradley University. Locations for events in InWorldz and Kitely are given within the write-ups for those events.

Sunday, June 7th, 13:00 Tea-time at Baker Street

Caledonia Skytower, Kaydon Oconnell and Corwyn Allen continue reading The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, originally published in 1894, and which brings together twelve (or eleven in US editions of the volume) adventures featuring Holmes and Watson, as originally published in The Strand Magazine. This week: The Adventure of the Yellow Face, first published in 1893.

A scene from The Adventure of the Yellow Face, drawn by Sidney Paget, 1893
Holmes and Watson discuss The Adventure of the Yellow Face (Sidney Paget, 1893)

“Anything else?” I asked, for Holmes was turning the pipe about in his hand and staring at it in his peculiar pensive way.

He held it up and tapped on it with his long, thin forefinger, as a professor might who was lecturing on a bone.

“Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary interest,” said he. “Nothing has more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces. The indications here, however, are neither very marked nor very important. The owner is obviously a muscular man, left-handed, with an excellent set of teeth, careless in his habits, and with no need to practise economy.”

Thus in part, Sherlock Holmes describes one Grant Munro, who lately visited 221B Baker Street while Holmes and Watson were absent. Having already deduced the pipe to be of great personal, if not monetary, value to Mr. Munro, Holmes is confident that the gentle will return, having obviously been so distracted in his mindset as to have left the pipe behind.

Munro duly returns, and brings with him a tale of apparent infidelity on the part of his wife, which Holmes deduces to more likely be a case of blackmail.  However, the truth eventually reveals itself to be stranger than either he or Munro could imagine….

Monday June 8th, 19:00: The Talking Rock

Gyro Muggins reads Isaac Asimov’s 1955 science-fiction mystery about a repair technician and sole occupant of a space station, a race of silicon-based lifeforms living in the asteroid belt, and a space freighter which may not be all it seems.

Tuesday June 9th, The Great Gatsby, Part 3

Great GatsbyCaledonia Skytower, Corwyn Allen and Kaydan Oconnell continue reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnificent 1925 novel.

In 1922, Nick Carraway arrives in New York to learn about the bond business. He rents a small cottage in West Egg, home of the newly-rich, only to discover the owner of the huge Gothic mansion next door, the deeply mysterious Jay Gatsby, is prone to throwing lavish parties every weekend, to which in seems everyone comes. Everyone it seems, except Nick’s cousin Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan. Together they live across the bay in the more fashion East Egg, where the “old money” resides.

Following a visit with them, Nick is slowly drawn into their world, both discovering Tom Buchanan has a mistress who lives in the Valley of Ashes, an industrial area lying between the Eggs and New York city, and finding himself increasingly attracted to the Buchanan’s friend, the beautiful, if cynically minded, Jordan Baker.

Then, one Saturday, Nick finds himself invited to one of Jay Gatsby’s great parties, and is thus drawn into an increasingly deep well of infatuation, lust, and tragedy, witnessing first hand a darker side of the so-called American Dream.

Wednesday June 10th

06:00: Forever Erma

Erma BombeckErma Bombeck achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s. She also published 15 books, most of which became bestsellers. From 1965 to 1996, Erma Bombeck wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns, using broad and sometimes eloquent humour, chronicling the ordinary life of a mid-western suburban housewife. By the 1970s, her columns were read twice-weekly by 30 million readers of the 900 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada

Join Freda Frostbite and Trolly Trollop as the delve into Erma’s wit and wisdom of everyday life, joined by Caledonia Skytower.

19:00: The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Faerie Maven-Pralou reads from the first volume in Liz Kesseler’s series about a young girl who, having always lived on a boat but having been kept away from the water by her mother, finally gets to have swimming lessons. With them comes a remarkable discovery that leads her into another world…

Thursday June 11th

19:00: Are You My Mummy?

With Shandon Loring.

21:00: Seanchai late Night

With Fin Zeddmore

Saturday June 13th 12:00 noon Seanchai Kitely: Sea Legends

With Sandon Loring – grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai .

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for June / July is the The Xerces Society, at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programmes.

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