Month: September 2018

2018 SL UG updates #37/1: Simulator User Group

Posted on by Inara Pey

Kekeland - Bardeco; Inara Pey, August 2018, on FlickrKekeland – Bardeco – blog post

Server Deployments

As always, please refer to the server deployment thread for updates.

  • There was no SLS (Main) channel deployment on Tuesday, September 11th.
  • On Wednesday, September 12th, all three primary RC channels should receive server maintenance package 18#18.09.04.519319, comprising logging improvements. This deployment should have been made in week #36, but never actually made it, due to a late-breaking issue with the code.

SL Viewer

The Bugsplat RC viewer updated to version 5.1.9.519462 on Monday, September 10th. All other viewers in the pipeline remain as per the end of week #36:

  • Current Release version 5.1.8.518593, dated August 14, promoted August 20. Formerly the SL Voice RC viewer – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
  • Project viewers:
  • Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
  • Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.

Other Items

BUG-7084 is a long-standing issue with prim properties reverting, which appears to be related to the Interest List and updates between the simulator and server being incorrectly handled. The matter was raised at the SUG meeting as now affecting hovertext, notably with objects requiring feeding / watering. For example, an object with a feed total of 45/100 could be replenished to raise the total – to, say, 47/100, but after moving the object outside the field of view (so culling it from the Interest List updates), camming back to it would revel the total has reverted to its early value (45/100). It’s not clear if this particular problem is related to BUG-7084, and the suggestion has been for a new Jira to be filed with a workable reproduction.

 

Avatar studies at Club LA and Gallery

Posted on by Inara Pey
Club LA and Gallery: Lyra Romanas

Now open at Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist), are two small exhibitions by Lyra Romanas and Io Bechir. Both offer avatar self-studies, and whilst very individual in styles and approach; they complement one another in a side-by-side exhibition.

“As an artist, I am first and foremost driven by an inner creative force, something captures my interest, a process takes form and a journey starts towards a finish product,” Lyra says of her work. “I like to explore my creativity through different platforms, such as painting, drawing, sculpturing, graphics, photography, digital art etc. I developed an interest for digital art mainly through SL, a wonderful playground when it comes to creating fantasies and make them come to life in a picture.”

Club LA and Gallery: Lyra Romanas

Contained within a small studies or workspace, the images are presented in a space suggestive of an artist’s workspace, albeit without all the clutter. Thus, in entering this space, it is as though we’re entering Lyra’s own space to appreciate her art even as she is creating.

Of the images, they stand both as individual pieces and also as three stories, each of four frames apiece, and which we are invited to imagine and extend. In this, they are very much reflective of Lyra’s approach to her art: offering pictures that are very much alive, and very much in the moment, as Lyra notes. “I have a formal art education. But when I create I follow no rules or guidelines regarding my art, I just go with what’s right in the moment.”

Club LA and Gallery: Io Bechir

Across the hallway can be found Io’s selection of art, which might be considered NSFW, involving nudity as it does. I’ve been a fervent admirer of Io’s work since first encountering it, and am always pleased to have the opportunity of seeing more of it. Her self-portraits are always richly evocative and rich a narrative, and the seven images she presents here more than demonstrate this.

Each of the seven has its own story to tell, but I confess that of all of them, Three Hours Early (seen above, right) utterly captivated me; the composition of the image is simply sublime, and the depth of emotion caught within it utterly stunning.

Club LA and Gallery: Io Bechir

Both Io and Lyra will be on display at Club LA through until October, and can currently be seen alongside the photography of Carolyn Phoenix / Sirenis, which I reviewed in August 2018.

SLurl Details

Sansar: September R25 release

Posted on by Inara Pey
The new look Look Book, a small part of the Sansar September R25 release

On Monday, September 10th, Linden Lab issued Sansar release 25 (R25), entitled the Shop, Gift, & Spend Release. As the name suggests, the focus is on shopping and gifting Sansar dollars – although there is more to this release than commerce activities.

I provided an overview of some the new features on August 30th, 2018, based on information provided at a Sansar Product Meeting. This article looks at some of these features in more detail, as well as the other elements in the release. Note that as I do not own a VR headset, these reviews primarily focus on using Sansar in Desktop Mode.

The full release notes for R25 are available here.

Look Book / Avatar Updates

The first noticeable change with the release is with Look Book – which users will be delivered to the first time they log-in to Sansar following the update. A new background image has been added to the Look Book, replacing the blue screen (as shown in this article’s banner image). The background places your avatar into a living room style space, offering a cosier setting when adjusting your look.

In addition, VR users will no longer have to revert to Desktop mode in order to adjust their avatar in Look Book, bu can now do so whilst in VR, including making adjustments to clothing made using Marvelous Designer, as shown in the video below, courtesy of the Sansar team at Linden Lab.

Adjusting Marvelous Designer clothing in Look Book using VR. Footage courtesy of Linden Lab.

Additional Avatar Updates

  • Comfort Zone Changes:
    • The comfort zone now applies in first person desktop mode as well as to VR.
    • The Comfort Zone is now disabled by default to all incoming new users starting from this release. However, all pre-existing comfort zone settings will still persist.
    • Comfort zone options for Friends and non-Friends can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the Settings panel (More Options …  > Settings).
  • Teleport sound: A sound can be heard by everyone when someone teleports nearby.
  • New dance animations: type /dance3 or /dance4 for new dances.

Store Updates

The R25 updates sees two enhancements to the Sansar Store:

  • The ability to browse the Store from within the client.
  • A new shopping cart.

Browsing the Store in the Client

Accessed via the new shopping bag icon in the top right icon set of the client (show below, right), the store functions almost as it does within a web browser.

In desktop mode, once open, it is possible to scroll through item thumbnails, select categories via the drop-down, sort listings via drop-down (both of which are shown open in the image below), while clicking on an item will open the full listing in a pop-up panel (again shown below).

However, as it is not currently possible to make purchases via the client version of the store, clicking on the Buy button will take you to the Sansar Store web listing for the item, where a purchase can be made. The ability to make purchases through the client version of the store will hopefully be part of a future update.

Accessing the store through the client and viewing items (click on the thumbnail, as per the web version, to display a pop-up item listing). Purchases must be made through the web Store for now via an automatic transfer when clicking the Buy button

Shopping Cart

The Sansar Store shopping cart appears in the web version of the Store only at present, and is located in the top right corner of the browser tab. When empty, it is displayed as a plain white cart icon. However a small running total of items is displayed as items are added, as seen below, top right.

Items are added by viewing them and then clicking the Add To Cart button, which will change to Added To Cart when the item has been added (along with the item count icon in the shopping cart incrementing).

When items are in the cart, click it will display a drop-down list (again shown in the image below), allowing individual items to be removed or the entire cart emptied or for all items to be purchased and delivered to your inventory (assuming there are sufficient account funds on hand).

The shopping cart (icon top right). Items are added by clicking the Add to Cart button in a listing, which then changes to Added to Cart. Individual items can be removed using the X option alongside them. The Buy button will complete the purchase / delivery of all items, providing you have sufficient S$ on account

When using the shopping cart, note that at present item quantities in the cart cannot be adjusted.

Continue reading “Sansar: September R25 release” →

2018 viewer release summaries, week #36

Posted on by Inara Pey
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates for the week ending Sunday, September 9th

This summary is generally published on every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
  • Note that test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are not recorded in these summaries.

Official LL Viewers

  • Current Release version 5.1.8.518593, dated August 14th, promoted August 20th. Formerly the SL Voice RC viewer – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Rakomelo Maintenance RC updated to version 5.1.9.519162 on September 5th.
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V5-style

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Opening a Storybook in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest – click any image for full size

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be very intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

– Albert Einstein

The first sentence of this quote is to be found in Storybook Forest, the second of two regions designed by Nessa Zamora (Noralie78), and which Caitlyn and I visited recently as a result of a suggestion by Miro Collas (the other being Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary which, along with Lost Unicorn Gallery (designed by Jennifer May Carlucci (JenniferMay Carlucci), you can read about here). At the time, I noted that Storybook Forest deserved a post of its own – so here it is.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

As the opening quote and the name of the region suggest, this is very much a place focused on the fairy stories and a love of books and reading.  Linked to Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary by a bridge that also doubles as the region’s landing point, Storybook Forest is another immersive environment rich in detail. Like Lost Unicorn, it is richly wooded and divided into islands. In places the walls and towers of a fairy tale castle compete with the trees in matters of height. In others the trees, with paths and trails winding under their boughs, are left to their own devices.

Within the walls of the castle, just beyond the landing point is a village teeming with animal folk waiting in greeting for visitors. They have taken Einstein’s words to heart: everywhere are books of poems, fairy tales and adventures – there’s even a little library in the shape of a shelf of books! Wonderfully cluttered yet carefully laid out, it is the first hint of the care Nessa has taken in bringing things within the region together to create what feels like a story in and of itself.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

A second arched gateway leads the way further into the region, but I urge you to spend time  taking the longer of the two routes to it, so that all of the delights of the village might be seen – and there are a lot, not all of them immediately obvious. When you do reach this second gateway, you’ll find it guarded by a dedication:

To the boy or girl who reads by flashlight
Who sees dragons in the clouds
Who feels most alive in worlds that never were
Who knows magic is real
Who dreams.

This is for you.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

As well as a dedication, it stands as an invitation to let go of adult things, embrace our imaginations and let them roam free alongside us through the rest of the region, and immerse ourselves in all it offers and brings to mind.

And there is so much to find here: from Peter Pan – delightfully encapsulated in a little diorama using figurines by Silas Merlin – to Cinderella, complete with pumkin-turned-coach, to Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White (complete with an interesting twist on the Seven Dwarves!). Each tale and fable is presented in its own setting, reached via winding trails than offer hints of other stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince and Bambi, and further little vignettes of local characters and creatures.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

Central to these vignettes is a certain tea party, set against a backdrop of water falls, presided over by a “Deppian” (so to speak) Mad Hatter, with a White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and – of course – a young Alice – all in attendance. There are further elements and hints of Lewis Carroll’s tale to be found here – the deck of cards with a heart on prominent display, the sign post (which admittedly can be found elsewhere), and a rabbit hole with its invitation to jump down it. This should be heeded for an extra – if brief – adventure fully In keeping with the theme of the setting.

As well as a the vignettes and dioramas retelling their tales, Storybook Forest offers many places where visitors can sit and allow memories wash over them or have their imagination take flight – or rest their avatars while their camera takes flight across the landscape. These places can be found scattered through the woods, out on the waters than split the land and – in the case of a harpsichord awaiting a player – up atop Cinderella’s tower.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

A delight for the eye and the imagination, Storybook Forest has been beautifully conceived and executed, forming a marvellous destination either on its own (which I recommend, if only to give it the time it deserves whilst exploring, and to avoid any overloading of the eye and imagination), or as a part of a broader visit that encompasses Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary and the lost Unicorn Gallery. When visiting, please consider making a donation to the region’s continued existence via the little book piles scattered throughout the land.

SLurl Details

More art at the Astral Dreams Project

Posted on by Inara Pey
Astral Dreams Project

The Astral Dreams Project has opened a further round of artist exhibitions. As I noted in July, when the installation first opened in July, the aim of the installation, itself a reproduction of the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, was to celebrate Italian arts and creativity in Second Life. However, for the latest exhibition, Oema Resident, the installation’s curator, has thrown her net a little wider.

Astral Dreams Project: Giovanna Cerise

Occupying the two 3D galleries (one of which occupies to location of the Keats-Shelley Memorial House) are home to exhibitions by JadeYu Fang and Giovanna Cerise. Both are striking artists, perhaps best known for thematic installations of their own.

For Astral Dreams, both offer pieces that appear to be influenced by some of those installations pieces. Giovanna, for example, includes a piece reminiscent of Clinamen Read here for more) and an element of From the Worlds to the World (read here for more). Meanwhile, JadeYu includes pieces that are reminiscent of her OpeRaAnxiEty (read here for more) among the selection of pieces for her exhibit.

Astral Dreams Project: CybeleMoon

Across the piazza, the twelve 2D art spaces present works by nabrej Aabye (physical world art); Dido Haas (avatar studies); Cullum Writer (physical world digital art); Kiana Jarman (avatar studies); CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo) – mixed media / SL photography); Megan Prumier (avatar studies); Skip Staheli (avatar studies); Nekotto (avatar studies); Ambre (Ambre Singh) – avatar studies; Lam Erin (waterscapes); Naiike (avatar studies) and Ful Macchi (landscapes).

Of these artists, I confess to be drawn to the images and imagery of CybeleMoon – who creates the most fantastic stories through her art; the remarkable studies by Dido Haas, who has a way of capturing the very life of her avatar; the fabulous digital forms by Cullum Writer; and Lam Erin’s painting-like landscapes and waterscapes.

Astral Dreams Project: Cullum Writer

Which is not to say I don’t have an appreciation of the work by the other artists; truth be told, all over something eye-catching or unique. Together they all make an interesting exhibition, one that will be open through until at least the end of the month.

SLurl Details