Day: September 30, 2015

Second Life project updates 40/1: server, viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey
Discover science and oceanography at The Abyss Observatory - blog post
Discover science and oceanography at The Abyss Observatory – blog post

Server Deployments week 40

As always, please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest news and information.

  • On Tuesday, September 29th, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the server maintenance package previously deployed in week #39 to all three RC channels, comprising internal fixes to improve inventory performance.
  • On Wednesday, September 30th, the three RC channels all received the same server maintenance package, comprising:
    • A fix for Region Debug Console help text
    • A fix for a server crash issue.

Following the Tuesday restarts there were assorted reports of issues being encountered on various regions – teleport failures, external communications issues (e.g. IMs to e-mail forwards, scripted object e-mail failures, etc). These appeared to be related to possible capabilities (caps) failures on restarts. Further restarts appear to have cleared some – but not all – of the issues encountered.

SL Viewer

On Tuesday, September 29th, the mesh uploader RC viewer, version 3.8.4.305119, was promoted to be the de facto release viewer. This viewer comprises a modified mesh uploader to (optionally) improve debug output, perform name-based LOD association, and handle models with many materials. It allows models with more than 8 unique faces to be uploaded. At import, these models are automatically split into pieces so that each satisfy the current face limits for a volume.

Also on Tuesday, September 29th, the Quick Graphics project viewer updates to version 3.8.4.305380, with further fixes for issues occurring with the Avatar Complexity options (such as avatars failing to render correctly after having been previously “Jelly Babied”). However, there still appears to be some issues which may require further updates (e.g. BUG-9962) before this viewer progresses to RC status.

Other Items

FmodEx Update

The Lab has received a contribution for FmodEx which should fix the “chirp” windows 10 users hear when launching the viewer.  This requires testing and a license update for the Lab to use, but should hopefully be making its way into a viewer update at some point.

STORM-2121

Cinder Roxley identified an odd little bug recently: if an object is set for sale at L$0 from the Object Profile floater, it will revert to a minimum price of L$1.00, rather than leaving it at L$0, as is the case when setting the price via the Build floater.

Pricing an object for sale at L$0 through the Object Profile floater will force the price to L$1.00, rather than leaving it at L$0.
Pricing an object for sale at L$0 through the Object Profile floater will force the price to L$1.00, rather than leaving it at L$0.

It’s not clear how long the bug has been around, but if it has been for a while, it hasn’t caused that much of an inconvenience – possibly because price may well price via the Build floater. Cinder has already contributed a fix for the issue – see STORM-2121 – and it is unlikely to encounter issues in being incorporated in a future Snowstorm viewer.

Kokua 3.8.4: mesh uploader and RLV updates

Posted on by Inara Pey

kokua-logoOn Tuesday, September 29th, Nicky Perian announced the release of Kokua 3.8.4.37073,  which brings the popular SL and OpenSim viewer to parity with both recent Linden Lab code releases and with Marine Kelley’s RLV, and includes additional tweaks and fixes from the Kokua team.

This release comprises a considerable amount of work by the Kokua team, although the visible functional changes may not seem that great to some users. In particular, RLV has undergone extensive updates and testing over the last few months, as the team have worked to bring Kokua up to parity with the most recent RLV releases and ensure there are no issues or breakages elsewhere in the process.

The Lab code releases in the viewer comprise:

The Maintenance release comprises over 50 fixes and updates covering a range of topics and issues, including: crashes, snapshot bugs and issues, group ban bugs, avatar mute & block bugs, texture editing issues, rendering issues, UI bugs and simplification, performance improvements and localisation updates.

The mesh uploader updates, which became the de facto SL viewer release also on Tuesday, September 28th, comprise a modified mesh uploader to (optionally) improve debug output, perform name-based LOD association, and handle models with many materials. It allows models with more than 8 unique faces to be uploaded. At import, these models are automatically split into pieces so that each satisfy the current face limits for a volume.

Please refer to the Lab’s release notes for both of these releases (provided via the links above) for full details on the updates they contain.

The RLV updates bring Kokua fully up to par with RLV 2.9.14, released on September 17th, and includes merges with RLV releases 2.9.7 through 2.9.13.

The Kokua team updates comprise:

  • A fix for inability to disable HUDs in snapshots Ticket #345
  • A fix for custom snapshot sizes not working when saving to inventory Ticket #350
  • Inclusion of hover height adjustment for OpenSim use Ticket #352  – note this is currently inactive, as it is pending server-side support in OpenSim.
  • A fix for high memory usage and crashes when connected to Avination Ticket #349.

I confess to not having have that much time to drive this release due to my schedule being a mess. My apologies to Nicky on this, who provided me with advance notice on the release at the weekend, but I was unable to act on it.

Related Links

 

Autumn at The Trace Too in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Trace too; Inara Pey, September 2015, on Flickr The Trace Too (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Having allayed recent concerns over her health, Kylie Jaxxon has competed a new make-over for her region, The Trace Too, and has been inviting people to pop over and take a look – something I was only too happy to do as the week started!

The new design sees The Trace Too leave the summery beaches and sandy low hills behind, as it becomes a beautiful autumnal wonderland. Rich in greens, reds and golds, the sandy landscape now covered in grass and falling leaves, with trees, shaded walks and scattered houses, barns and pavilions presenting  visitors with an altogether captivating look and feel.

The Trace too; Inara Pey, September 2015, on Flickr The Trace Too (Flickr)

From the landing point on the wet side of the region, a long avenue of trees leads the way to the east, and a large house which appears to be undergoing preparations for decorating upstairs. A signposted crossroads along the avenue points the way to a barn and horses to the south, and a path through the tree leading north, which will eventually bring you to the water’s edge. Here lies a board walk providing access to an ornate pavilion sitting just across the water on a small island.

And that’s just for starters; there is plenty more to see and discover. It actually doesn’t matter which way you go from the landing point, as you’re sure to come across something that will have you smiling and feeling at home before you’re walked too far.

The Trace too; Inara Pey, September 2015, on Flickr The Trace Too (Flickr)

You can, for example, travel south and west and climb a hill topped with wheat to come to a little wooden hut sitting atop a rocky outcrop where you can watch the geese, perhaps startled by the dog at the side of the track, take flight. Or you can travel north and west, over (or around) another small hill, and pay a visit to another of the region’s houses, where interior decoration also seems to be the order of the day.

Stroll along the hills on the north side of the island and you’ll come to a narrow neck of water over which can be reached a rocky island with wooden look-out of its own. The offers an ideal spot for looking out over the water and admire the nearby pavilion. Or you can simply roam inland, taking advantage of any of the numerous places to sit and relax, indoors or out.

The Trace too; Inara Pey, September 2015, on Flickr The Trace Too (Flickr)

It is also inland that you’ll find a little nod to the approach of Halloween, with pumpkins on sale alongside a little greenhouse. Back at the landing point, and if you missed it on arrival, is an opportunity to assist the World Food Programme in efforts to bring humanitarian relief to some 6 million displaced Syrians.

Kylie’s region designs never fail to delight me, and I’ve loved watching how things have evolved at both The Trace and The Trace Too. However, with this particular design,  I cannot help but feel Kylie has excelled. It is simply gorgeous. I have little doubt that photographers are going to be hard-pressed to tear themselves away from it; I know I did!

The Trace too; Inara Pey, September 2015, on Flickr The Trace Too (Flickr)

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