Year: 2016

Spring 2016 Premium membership discount

Posted on by Inara Pey

Springtime in the northern hemisphere brings with it many things. The changing of the clocks; the longer hours of daylight; the promise of sunshine … eventually; the inevitable turning of thoughts towards lawns and mowers. And the arrival of the Second Life Premium Discount.

The latest offer, launched on April 14th, 2016, see the usual 50% discount on the first instalment of the quarterly membership payment plan, reducing it to US $11.25 (the remaining quarters of the billing period remaining at US $22.50 (European users note that VAT is no longer applied to Premium subscriptions).

The Premium Discount is once again on offer, together with a set of Halloween gifts
The Premium Discount is once again on offer, together with a set of spring / summer gifts

The offer comes with another set of in-world gifts, available from the Premium gift kiosks, and this time takes the form of a set of garden furniture and accessories, namely a breakfast table with food provided in either a 16 LI set or a lower LOD 8 LI set; a garden bench, a set of garden trellises (one with flower heads and one without), plus a pair of plushies (bird and rabbit) which each come in versions which can be rezzed in-world or which can be held. The total LI for the in-world items (minus plushies) is 55 (or 47 when using the “Low LOD” food items),  which is rather a lot, coupled with some lacklustre texturing.

Spring 2016 gift: breakfast table and food and chairs, bench, trellises and plushies
Spring 2016 gift: breakfast table and food and chairs, bench, trellises and plushies.

I’ll state up-front that like a lot of people, I’m not a fan of Premium gifts of this type, and do much prefer the broader benefits the Lab has striven to offer of late: access to concierge support, the increase in the number of off-line IMs Premium members can access on next logging-in, and the increase in group slots from 42 to 60 for Premium members, and Experience Keys being available only for Premium members.

However, I also understand that offering benefits of this type isn’t necessarily easy, either, and nor is implementing many of the other ideas that have been put forwards, again as I discussed just over a year ago. In this respect, the Lab is caught between something of a rock and hard place on a number of levels. As such, whether or not to update will remain a consideration of broader issues (such as the added benefits mentioned above), rather than simply looking at perks like this alone.

For those who are interested in the latest offer, it expires on April 25, 2016, at 08:00 SLT. It comes with the usual small print, to whit:

To qualify for this promotion, you must 1) have an existing Second Life (“SL”) basic account or create a new account, and 2) select quarterly (every three months) billing for your SL account. The fifty percent (50%) discount will be applied to your first quarter’s bill and future quarters will be billed at the standard Premium Membership price (currently US$22.50 per quarter). Any Linden Dollar (L$) sign-up bonus will be applied to new accounts or accounts not previously upgraded to Premium Membership after the account has been active for forty-five (45) consecutive days.

 

Serenity & Tranquility in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Serenity & Tranquility; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Serenity & Tranquility – click any image for full size

Serenity & Tranquility is the name of the homestead region designed by Ron (Veronica Franchini), and which offers a peaceful heaven where those in need of a break from the pressures of the world, physical or digital, or who simply want to hang out with friends and  / or lovers, can freely do so.  Homestead region.

Surrounded by tall islands and hills, Serenity and Tranquillity offers a rich, low-lying landscape where the trees seem to hold up the sky whilst rivers of flowers meander beneath their outstretched boughs, and sandy tracks lead visitors from location to location, be it the cabin in the woods or the beach or the tiki on the lake or the art gallery, or any one of the romantic spots scattered across the island.

Serenity & Tranquility; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Serenity & Tranquility – click any image for full size

From the landing point, it’s just a short walk to the cabin, and from there to a pair of ancient stone circles, arched pillars still intact, which offer a place to celebrate weddings under the open sky, but sheltered from the sun by the surrounding trees. In the opposite direction to the cabin, you’ll likely find your way to the gallery building toward the north-east corner of the region.

The gallery is the home to portraiture by Tex McDonald, and includes his studio space, together with some of his landscape work. I’ll be honest and admit I’d not previously come across Tex’s work, but it is something I’ll be keeping an eye out for in future. A short distance from the gallery is one of the little romantic spots scattered across the region – the aforementioned tiki hut, which sits out over a small lake served at one end by a little waterfall. Walk around the banks of the lake, and more sitting / cuddle spots will make themselves known.

Serenity & Tranquility; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Serenity & Tranquility – click any image for full size

The south-west corner of Serenity and Tranquility is where the beach is to be found, ideally located for watching the sun set beyond one of the natural breakwaters which sit just off the west side of the region, a lighthouse warning of their presence. With a beach house and a sandy expanse, this corner of the island again offers several places to relax, both indoors and out, together with one of the InTan dance systems spread across the region. Or for those who prefer, a hot tub awaits a walk along a wooden pier.

With a subtle sound scape, and suited to a range of windlight options for photography, Serenity & Tranquility is an ideal setting for getting  away from cares and stresses. Recommended.

Serenity & Tranquility; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Serenity & Tranquility – click any image for full size

SLurl Details

The Quill & Pen: literary expression in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

WindlightSince its establishment, the Windlight brand has striven to promote all aspects of artist expression in Second Life. Each month, Windlight Magazine provides insight into the SL art scene, reviewing exhibitions and regions, interviewing artists and creators, providing tutorials, and more.

At the same time, the Windlight Gallery offers display space for artists wishing to participate in the Windlight Artist Fellowship Programme,  the artistic aspects of fashion are represented through The Edge gallery and publications, whilst Windlight sponsors and supports arts and artists through competitions and shows such as the Windlight Magazine Spring Arts Show and the 30/31 events.

The breadth of Windlight’s support of virtual arts is one of the reasons I’m particularly delighted to be associated with the brand, both as a contributing writer and as someone able to provide a little back room support when needed.

It’s also why I’m pleased to be able to relay the news that, starting in June Windlight will also be supporting the literally expressions of Second Life users with the launch of a new twice-yearly literary journal The Quill and Pen, and that I’ll be serving in an editorial capacity with the publication.

quill and penthe Quill and Pen will be published in both digital and ebook formats every June and December, and submissions are welcome for poetry, non-fiction, and fiction (including flash stories).

The broad submission guidelines for each category are:

  • Poetry: one poem per page, no more than six pages, single spaced and left justified
  • Non-fiction: one essay up to 1500 words, no extra space between paragraphs, white space for section breaks only
  • Fiction: One story up to 1500 words, double spaced, no extra space between paragraphs. White space for section breaks only
  • Flash stories: up to 500 words, double spaced, no extra space between paragraphs. White space for section breaks only

Pieces may have been previously published, and writers can submit up to two pieces per issue (either to the same category, or a mix of two categories).

For more complete information on submissions, please refer to the submissions guidelines in the Quill and Pen submissions form.

I’m looking forward to both seeing the first issue published and seeing submissions as they come in. So whether you use quill, pen or keyboard, if you enjoy writing for your pleasure,, i hope the announcement of The Quill and Pen will encourage you to write – and to submit your work!

SL project updates 16 15/1: server, viewer, Aditi inventory syncing

Posted on by Inara Pey

Tatakai Tochi; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Tatakai Tochi – blog post

Server Deployments

On Tuesday, April 12th, the main (SLS) grid was updated with the server maintenance package previously deployed to the three RC channels in week #14. This comprises a fix for (non-public) BUG-11163 llHTTPRequest returns 400 from some sims and not others, and some minor internal fixes.

Commenting on the llHHTTPRequest update at the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, Oz described the reason for the update as follows:

Some time ago I changed the code so that when LSL sends an HTTP request it is more explicit about what MIME types it will accept. That uncovered a much older bug in how the list of acceptable types was maintained; when a region updated its configuration, the list got duplicates. When all we were using the list for was checking a response, all that cost was a tiny bit of extra time, but when we started sending them it caused requests the servers sometimes didn’t like.

SL Viewer

There has been no change to the current list of official viewers since my last update.

  • Current Release version: 4.0.3.312816 (dated March 23), April 1 – formerly the HTTP / Vixox RC viewer download page, release notes
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Maintenance RC viewer 4.0.4.313759 release on April 8 – fixes for iewer crashes, memory leaks, input/cursor issues, graphics bugs, invisiprims, formatting and notifications (download and release notes)
    • Quick Graphics RC viewer updated to version 4.0.2.312297 on March 11 – provides the new Avatar Complexity options and the new graphics preset capabilities for setting, saving and restoring graphic settings for use in difference environments / circumstances (download and release notes)
  • Project viewers:
  • Obsolete platform viewer version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7. This viewer will remain available for as long as reasonable, but will not be updated with new features or bug fixes and will not be promoted to release status (download and release notes)

Aditi Issues

Inventory Syncing

Work is continuing on the Aditi inventory syncing issues (see here for details). In terms of the local caching issues previously reported (see also BUG-11651) , the Lab is testing a build of the viewer which will create separate inventory .gz files for Agni and Aditi, and which appears to overcome the issues of “phantom” Aditi assets appearing in Agni inventory and Aditi assets apparently “vanishing” from Aditi inventory, both until such time as the viewer cache is cleared.

The updated test viewer creates individual inv.gz files for Aditi (red) and Agni (blue) inventories, thus avoiding the issues og BUG-11651 (with thanks to Whirly Fizzle for the pointer)
The updated test viewer creates individual inv.gz files for Aditi (red) and Agni (blue) inventories, thus avoiding the issues reported in BUG-11651 (with thanks to Whirly Fizzle for the pointer)

The Calling Card and Favourite folders are also being synced at the moment, although it looks like these will be excluded (as had been the plan) alongside the Current Outfit Folder.

Aditi log-ins

Some people are still having issues logging-in to their last location on Aditi. When attempting to log-in, people either have to wait an age or, when eventually logged-in, arrive an a random location on the Beta grid. Not all users logging-in to Aditi are affect, but for those who are, the problem is persistent, and has been for a number of months.  There is some speculation that the issue might be inventory related, as was the case a couple of years back (see BUG-7707), and the Lab are going to poke at this to see if something similar is again occurring.

Fantasy Faire 2016: nominate your choices for king, queen & chancellor

Posted on by Inara Pey
Via Fantasy Faire
via Fantasy Faire

One of the features introduced to Fantasy Faire 2015 was the opportunity to nominate and then vote for the King and Queen of the Fairelands and their (strictly non-human) Chancellor.

Nominations came from across all realms of fantasy, with the top five nominated for each of the positions of king and queen (human or human-looking nominations only)  and chancellor  voted upon through the course of the Faire, with the winners announced at the Fantasy Faire May Day Masked Ball.

The duly elected king, queen and chancellor for 2015 were respectively Havelock  Vetinari and Granny Weatherwax and Greebo the cat, all of which marked a fitting tribute to the late Sir Terry Pratchett, who passed away in March 2015,, and whose life and works were celebrated and commemorated as a part of the 2015 Fantasy Faire.

All hail the Fantasy Faire 2015 King and Queen, and their Chancellor!
The Fantasy Faire 2015 King and Queen, and their Chancellor – who will it be in 2016? Nominate your choices!

But now, a year on, the first duly elected king and queen have put aside their sceptres, and the chancellor his chains of office. It is now time for the Fairelands Folk to elect those they feel should be elected king, queen and chancellor of Fantasy Faire 2016.

In order for this to happen, there must first be nominations! So who do you think is deserving?

Use the form below (or if you prefer, go directly to the same form on the Fantasy Faire website) and nominate your choices for king, queen and chancellor. Any character from the worlds of fantasy is eligible; the only major requirements being that nominations for king and queen must be human (or human-type) characters, whilst nominations for chancellor are restricted to non-human (or non-human type) characters.

As with 2015, the top five nominated individuals for king, queen and chancellor will go forward for public voting at this year’s Faire. The winners will then be announced at the May Day Costume Ball on May 1st. So make sure you nominate your choices today!

Note: last year’s winners, Vetinari, Granny Weatherwax and Greebo the cat, all from the works of Terry Pratchett, are NOT eligible for election this year.

Capturing the Lake District in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Netherwood; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Netherwood – click any image for full size

“Netherwood while a fictional name, is inspired by the picturesque English Lake District where I have lived all of my life,” Lauren Bentham says of her latest creation in Second Life. “I decided it was time for me to do a build based on my local surroundings which I have enjoyed on a daily basis for many years & share with others the experience and views I see every day, which I feel very grateful to have 🙂 .”

The result is a beautifully landscaped Homestead region which, for those who have visited the Lake District, England’s largest national park, is instantly reminiscent of the rugged beauty to be found there. But there is also something more here as well; the tall, snow-capped peaks which rise steep around the region, their lower slopes clad in fir trees, carry a suggestion that Netherwood could easily be located in other parts of the world as well.

Netherwood; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Netherwood

At the landing point on the west side of the region, visitors are confronted with a railway line, apparently disused, running beneath the boughs of trees and pointing the way eastwards. Follow it, and it will take you through a landscape shadowed by trees, overgrown with grass and heavy with bird song, to a narrow passage between wall-like cliffs, and the end of the line.

Beyond this, the landscape opens out dramatically to the left and right, and a genuine feeling of England’s north country is presented to the visitor. Dry stone walls denote grazing areas for cows and horses, tress rise from beside a curling stream,  farm houses stand amidst rutted tracks, low-slung fences and wooden barns whilst sheep roam freely, grazing where they will. There’s even a familiar royal Mail letter box awaiting the arrival of the postman to collect the letters dropped into it!

Netherwood; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Netherwood

On the east side of the region is a wooden quay, against which the water gently laps. Here, those who have visited the Lake District might be inclined to think they are standing on a quiet stretch of shoreline of Coniston Water or Ullswater, or perhaps think of Netherwood as one of Windermere’s many islands. Yet the truth is, such is the natural beauty of the region, it would fit with any of the lakes to be found in the 2292 square kilometres which make up the park.

But as I mentioned above, there is more here as well; the surrounding peaks also suggest Netherwood might reside elsewhere in the world, such as the Great Outdoor of the United States or Canada. A tall wooden water tower and broken windmill in the south-east corner of the land add to this feeling, while a more traditional windmill with a left-hand drive truck parked outside perhaps give the region a slight European influence. Nor are such influences out-of-place; rather they add to the charm and welcoming feel to Netherwood.

Netherwood; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Netherwood

Needless to say, the region offers excellent photo opportunities throughout, and should you wish to rez props you can join the local group (L$150 joining fee to deter litterbugs). There are also places to cuddle or sit and admire the view, and the entire region is wrapped in a perfect ambient sound scape.

All told, Netherwood again demonstrates Lauren’s eye for creating atmospheric and evocative regions which can be enjoyed by everyone, and it has every right to become as poplar and as well-known as her other creations: Baja Norte (and its neighbouring regions), Storybrooke Gardens and Everwinter. Thoroughly recommended.

Netherwood; Inara Pey, April 2016, on Flickr Netherwood

SLurl Details