Day: February 10, 2018

Je n’aime pas in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
DaphneArt: Je n’aime pas

Je n’aime pas (“I do not like”), is the name of a collaborative art installation by Hern Worsley and Nur Moo which opened on Friday, February 9th, 2018 (with a second opening event planned for Saturday, February 10th, 2018 from 16:00 SLT) at DaphneArts, curated by Angelika Corral and Sheldon B.

Described as a conceptual piece, the installation features a build over three levels by musician, builder and artist Hern, within which a series of images by photographer Nur Moo are displayed. Mur is described as having returned to Second Life in the notes accompanying the installation, and I gather Je n’aime pas is something of a celebration of this fact.

DaphneArt: Je n’aime pas

Visits begin inside a building within the installation, on its lowest level. Before proceeding, make sure to observe the viewing instructions displayed in the dialogue box in the top right corner of your screen. In particular, make sure you have your viewer’s Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled via Preferences > Graphics or you risk missing details. There is art on the walls inside the building – but frankly, I’m not sure if the photography is Nur’s or Hern’s or someone else’s.

A set of white arrows line the floor outside, encouraging people to step out into the larger structure. This exudes a modern approach to architecture: great steel beams, arms pentagonal floor sections, and great glass panels. Some are designed by Hern, some are from other creators he has used in building the installation. Central to this is a huge mesh vase, while from the walls hang panels with animated images.

DaphneArt: Je n’aime pas

At the foot of the vase sculpture sits a teleport on an easel that leads up to the middle level. this is where having ALM becomes particularly important. Without it, none of the images projected onto the flat wall panels, the greeble boards, cubes and floor will not be visible. Two more teleport boards sit on easels in the centre of this floor: one up, one down. Go up, and you become part of the installation yourself, courtesy of a trampoline.

This is a difficult installation to quantify. In some ways it likely to be reflective of its name for some; for others it may well be a curious mystery. Conceptual art  is art in which the idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over any traditional aesthetic. As such, this is an installation that needs to be considered as a whole, and not so much as a sum of its parts. given this, how we consider  Je n’aime pas is down to individual interpretation – and I’ll leave this to you to determine.

SLurl Details

This Weekend in Second Life Dance

Posted on by R.

Debauche - February 4 2018
pssst. piano. (Web)

Hi there. R. Crap Mariner, your Dance Correspondent.

I’ll be posting dance performance schedules, similar to Inara’s posts about Seanchai Library readings. We’ll start with the weekend events for now.

And, yeah, I’ll try to get the day of the week right. Sorry about that.

Let’s get started…

(All times SLT)

Friday February 9

1:00PM – RIPA: Make ’em Laugh

Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns! Join River Island Performing Arts for an exploration of comedy and music. This show features the monuments of comedic song and dance as well as a few forgotten chestnuts. Enjoy our cast of ten talented performers as they remind us that life is about laughter–and above all, “Ya Gotta Have Heart.”

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/River%20Island/179/189/1007

6:00PM – Elysium Cabaret

If it’s Friday, it’s Elysium Cabaret! Fancy some imagination? In The Empire Room at Copperhead Road, every Friday at 6pm SLT the dynamic performers of Elysium Cabaret take the stage to bring you a solid hour of entertainment! Featuring elaborate sets and choreography sequenced to an eclectic genre of music, Elysium Cabaret offers something for everyone. Grab your friends and get their early because the sim fills quickly. Come celebrate Friday! Welcome to the weekend!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Copperhead%20Road/74/64/2754

Elysium Cabaret - February 2 2018

10:00PM – Guerilla Burlesque

We are so excited to be back performing Friday night, February 9th at 10 pm in the PITS!

At 10 pm Friday we present to you, our in the round Pit show filled with brilliant made sets, stunning costumes, and engaging music all choreographed to make something wonderful happen on stage! We invite you to spend an hour with us!

We work hard to bring you some of the best entertainment on the grid that you come to know and expect from Guerilla Burlesque. It’s a great show this week directed by Chrissy Rhiano and we will present acts that will take you places only your dreams can do!

Mark the date, make your plans and meet us at the theater doors for the 10 pm Guerilla Burlesque dancing in the PITS! See you on Friday night, we can’t wait!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Idle%20Rogue/96/195/33

Guerilla Burlesque - September 29 2017

Saturday February 10

1:00PM SLT – Mynx Ballet

This season the choreography centers on Classical & Neoclassic ballets. Full of magic, enchanting dancing and costumes. This is the perfect show for new ballet audiences as well as seasoned fans.

We offer you a program for your preview. Travel arrangements have been made to pick up up by Limo.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Stowaway/174/92/1220

5:00PM – Phoenix Dance Team

Oh this show is going to be a doozy.. right now we have Phoenix Directors Gracie Lyonesse, Fafnir Kiranov, Imrhien ‘Honey Badger’ Porthos, Con Lorefield, Sebastain Bourne, Ray Lobo, JP Damien, Vanity Black & SouthernComfort Magic bringing you lots of amazing dances along with their choice of music.

We also have guest directors this week one of SL’s bad boys, Si De Brit and Owner & Operator of Centre Stage Theater Ryan Sawyer.

With all of this excitement, our favorite DJ Cara Bravin will be there to babble and keep everyone entertained before and during the show. So grab those friends and come on down to the Phoenix Theater at 5pm for an amazing night filled with fun, love and laughter.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Stowaway/27/151/1303

6:00PM – Whymsee Noir

Join us on Saturday, 2/10/18, starting at 6 pm SLT, for Let’s Dance at Whymsee Noir.: Unbreak My Heart! This show is dedicated to all things anti-Valentine, come as you are or dress for a party, and we’ll celebrate the darker side of the upcoming holiday together, ’cause we’ve got the songs, we’ve got the dancing, all we’re missing is YOU!!!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whymsee/96/192/3286

7:00PM – Paramount

Krewe de Paramount! Paramount Grand Theatre’s brand new show for February. Come join us for an evening of classy but sassy entertainment as we the Paramount Players dance for you, February 3rd and 10th at 7pm SLT.

The Players are dancing in the Mardi Gras and Carnival. It’s even the month of Love with your Valentine! Put your dancing shoes on, come in costume if you like, and see the Players dance!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hell%20Lust/77/83/22

Paramount Grand Theatre - February 3 2018

7:00PM – Moulin Rouge

LIVE – Cupid’s Delight Dance Show
A romantic evening awaits you as you step through the doors of the glamorous Moulin Rouge Theatre… A night of romance, of mystique and intrigue… The Moulin Rouge is proud to present on stage “Cupid’s Delight,” their Valentines inspired dance show! We hope to see you there for a wonderful, romantic evening!

The Moulin Rouge is celebrating it’s 12th Anniversary in SL! Come celebrate with us!

Semi-formal or formal is always acceptable or dress within theme of the show for the night. Thank you!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moulin%20Rouge/172/131/31

8:00PM – A&M Mocap Maniacs

We welcome you to our monthly performances at the A&M Theater featuring the incredible dance animations of A&M MOCAP Dance Works. We have 6 talented choreographers to bring you an eclectic mix of music and dance in our redesigned theater. We end the show with a set of dances for you to join us.

Choreographers this month are: Adam and Bella, Nadi, Lina, Corri, Zach and Antonio. We look forward to seeing you!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mocap%20Dancer/51/219/504

Sunday February 11

12:00PM – Kiki’s House of Burlesque

Treat yourself and your partner to a day out at our lavish playhouse. Beautiful, dancers swaying to a variety of tunes. Professionally choreographed dances and sets with a wide range of costumes. Entertainment, Topless, Adult, Shows, Cabaret, Moulin Rouge.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LORII%20CAPRONI%20ISLAND/134/179/24

Kiki - December 3 2017

1:00PM – Debauche

Debauche return once more to the beautiful surrounds of the Tryst Ballroom. Such a truly wonderful venue and one we always enjoy visiting.

A little bit naughty, a little bit risque, a lot sexy, and ALWAYS classy. That’s Debauche. Come join us for the show at 1PM SLT Sunday 11th February.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forbidden%20Fruit/20/76/3032

Debauche - February 4 2018

1:00PM – The Art Factory

The Art Factory presents Latin Nights. Music by Pitbull, Ricky Martin, Shakira, and More!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Josina/187/161/21

The Art Factory - Latin Nights - February 7 2018

1:00PM – RIPA: Make ’em Laugh

Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns! Join River Island Performing Arts for an exploration of comedy and music. This show features the monuments of comedic song and dance as well as a few forgotten chestnuts. Enjoy our cast of ten talented performers as they remind us that life is about laughter–and above all, “Ya Gotta Have Heart.”

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/River%20Island/179/189/1007

1:00PM – Little Shop of Horrors by the Starlite Dancers @ Rose Theater

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Angel%20Manor/128/128/21

1:30PM – Bollywood @ Royal Opera

The Royal Opera House and Scenic Group Caliope/Diotima present Bollywood Musical. We cordially invite everyone, all members of our opera group, their families and friends to attend this special performance. Join us Sunday, 1:30 pm slt (22:30 cet).

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oceanea/14/126/39

2:00PM – Dancing Desires

Please join us, as Dancing Desires Dance Troupe takes to the stage after a VERY successful grand opening show! A variety of dances that will showcase everything from fun and exciting to emotional and loving as some of the best choreographers across the grid bring their slice of dancing to the stage! The sim fills up fast, so please come early!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sos%20Community/150/103/2500

5:00PM – Winds of the Sahara

Each Sunday we have a shiny, new show at Winds of the Sahara Theater. Our dances range from burlesque to performance art and you are sure to be amazed at all of the wonder that sets, costumes and music can create. We’ll put sparkles in your eyes and leave sequins on your shirt collars.

FEB 11th only~Winds Theme Show

Is that love I smell or all the King Cakes in the air? Either way, Winds is having a Carnival of Love show we affectionately call We LOVE Fat Tuesday! Come and join us for an evening of Love and Feathers (that sounds wrong)….an evening of Love and Beads (nope still wrong)….an evening of…well you get the idea! There will be a little bit of Valentines and a little bit of Letting the Good Times Roll! (ugh still wrong). You know it will be an amazing show, please come join us for an evening of fun like no other! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aladona/124/193/2001

Winds of the Sahara- February 4 2018

Please check with the Dance Queens event calendar for updates and additions to the weekend’s schedule, as well as the many events that happen during the week.

2018 Sansar Product Meetings week #6: Find and Connect 2

Posted on by Inara Pey
Eternity by C3rb3rus

The following notes are taken from the Sansar Product Meeting held at 9:30am PST on Friday, February 9th, 2018 – unfortunately, I was unable to attend the afternoon meeting, so have not notes from that.

These Product Meetings are open to anyone to attend, are a mix of voice (primarily) and text chat, and there is currently no set agenda. The official meeting notes are published in the week following each pair of meetings, while venues change each week, and are listed in the Meet-up Announcements and the Sansar Atlas events sections.

Product Meeting Changes

The “new format” for the Product Meetings, featuring specific subject matter experts from the Lab making themselves available to answer questions from users will now likely start in the week commencing Monday, February 12th.

  • The meetings are liable to be held on different days of the week relative to one another, rather than both on a Friday.
  • Dates and topics will be announced via the usual channels (Sansar Discord channel, meeting announcements, Atlas Events).

Find And Connect Update

The Find and Connect release (see my previous Product Meeting report) was updated on Wednesday, February 7th, 2018, comprising fixes for some known issues.  A list of changes / remaining known issues is available in the release notes. The following provide a little more context on the update.

Character Editor

A couple of avatar issues have been fixed, forcing users logging-on for the first time after the update to go to the LookBook (avatar app). These are:

  • The avatar’s head only having limited movement (particularly noticeable in VR).
  • Switching between avatar genders could merge female and male avatars together.

Experience Loading  and Progress Indicators

This was noted in my previous meeting notes, the progress bar seen on an experience splash screen is still in its first iteration, and can appear to “hang” while loading content for uncached scenes.

  • It’s been suggested a count of assets loaded (e.g. 23 out of 96 or something) could help prevent feelings that the load process has hung.
  • It’s been noticed that on occasion, an experience can hang on loading, then quiting and restarting the client / reloading the experience can cause it to load and start OK.
    • This was noted before the progress bar was added, and has been more noticed since the addition of the progress bar, which might be indicative of a load problem / connection issue upsetting the load process.

Experience Concurrency Indicator

The experience concurrency indicator (green icon in the top left of the experience Atlas thumbnail / description image) is reporting avatars as being present in experiences when no-one is in fact visiting.

  • This is a known issue, caused in part by a degree of latency which can occur between people entering and leaving an experience, and the Atlas being updated, and the Lab is looking to improve this.
  • If the Atlas has been left open for an extended period, refreshing it (e.g. reloading the page in the case of the web Atlas) might force an update of the concurrency indicators for experiences that have seen a change in the number of people visiting.
  • Note that this indicator only applies to visitors in a published experience, it doesn’t count people actively editing the scene associated with the experience.

General Feedback

Outside of the points raised above, general feedback for the Find and Connect update is:

  • Load times have (in general) improved.
  • Performance has improved within experiences, probably as a result of the update optimisations included in the release.
  • LookBook is a lot more responsive and gives a smoother experience.
  • Issues of names not showing in Desktop Mode when hovering the mouse over an avatar seem to have increased, and dropping into / out of LookBook and re-spawning in an experience no longer consistently fixes the issue. This is a known to the Lab and is being investigated.

Voice and Text

Voice Indicators

The debate on how to more easily identify who is speaking continues both at the Lab and among users. Ideas put forward include:

  • A over-the-head indicator of some kind (a-la Second Life) – perhaps a an illuminated dot only seen when speaking. There is some resistance at the Lab to this approach as it “breaks immersion”
  • A voice indicator in Sansar’s people floater. Potential problems here:
    • It requires people to always have the people floater open, which could be intrusive and “immersion breaking” for some (possibly more so than a dot that only illuminates when someone is speaking).
    • It currently wouldn’t work for people in VR, who cannot see the chat / people floaters.
  • An auto-rezzing “speaker’s stick” indicator that automatically rezzes in front of the avatar of someone speaking, and vanishes when they are silent.
  • An avatar animation (again a-la Second Life “speaking” animation gestures); but again, this might be a problem for users in VR using hand controllers.

Currently, this issue s not on the immediate road map to be addressed.

Text Chat  / People Floater in VR Mode

  • This is still being considered at the Lab and not currently on the implementation road map.
  • It is possible that the first iteration will allow VR to see text chat, but not necessarily have the means to type text.
    • Users may have the option to toggle this on or off.
    • Some form of indicator that messages have been left in text chat, even if the text panel isn’t visible is also seen as advantageous.
  • The ability for VR users to respond in text is seen as a longer-term issue to resolve.

Voice vs. Text Debate

There is an ongoing debate about preferred communications in Sansar.

  • The platform is a lot more geared towards voice use; so there is a concern that encouraging text chat (as with making text visible to VR users) could shift the bias away from voice to text.
  • There are situations where text chat is the better means of communication, e.g:
    • As a means of saving a transcript of a business discussion / arrangement.
    • To assist with character role-play (e.g. no issues of a voice failing to match a character  – orc, dragon, elephant, etc), or a male user having a female character or vice versa, etc.

Discord has been pointed to as a “solution” to group chat, etc., with Sansar. However, while there are advantages to this (e.g. Linden Lab do not have to develop a Discord-like environment within Sansar) there are also disadvantages (e.g. Discord is not particularly intuitive for a new user; it actually means time in Discord is time potentially away from Sansar; it means placing data and information in the hands of yet another third-party, etc.).

  • There is potentially a bias towards Discord at present, as it does only have a very small community of Sansar users involved within it. There are questions as to how well it scale should Sansar reach tens of thousands of active users trying to engage in group conversations, locate groups, etc.
  • Conversely, can Linden Lab realistically encompass everything users need directly within Sansar without overwhelming the ease-of-use aspects the platform is supposed to have, and are approaches used in Second Life (e.g. full group integration) the most optimal solution?

The Voice / chat debate and options for text chat and voice indicators may form a part of one of the new focused Product Meetings in the future.