Month: November 2019

2019 Dickens Project in Second Life announced

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Dickens Project 2018

In 2012, and to mark Dickens Bicentenary Year, Seanchai Library took their Christmas readings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and created The Dickens Project, an interactive event centred on a series of readings of the book presented within an interactive environment celebrating Dickens’ life and work. Since 2012, The Dickens Project has become a Second Life tradition in the Christmas / holiday season.

Over the years, the Project has grown in size, from a small parcel to a full region, providing an immersive environment in which to enjoy what is perhaps Dickens’ most famous novel and explore his life and the era in which he lived. Now, for 2019, Seanchai Library has announced that The Dickens Project will again be opening its doors once more on December 1st, 2019.

Caledonia Skytower, Shandon Loring (centre) and Kayden Oconnell in an evocative shot of the virtual / live performance by Bear Silvershade

I’ve followed the Project throughout the last eight years, and have always appreciated the scale and depth of the event – and am not in the least surprised that it has become a staple of many residents’ holiday celebrations in Second Life. However, for those not familiar with the event, here are some highlights of what it encompasses:

  • A full region designed to reproduce the famous settings for A Christmas Carol within a larger location representative of Victorian London.
  • Over 40 hours spread through the month of December featuring live music, spoken word, dance events and performances and including dozens of performers, presenters and special guests.
  • Self-selectable interactive elements, including the Urchins in Dickens’ London role-play/game/experience, and opportunities for both RP and non-RP guests.
  • Educational and interpretive content to encourage questions like “What was Tiny Tim suffering from anyway?”
The Dickens Project 2017 Edition

This year, The Dickens Project includes a very special guest performer – Patch Linden! I understand he’ll be appearing around twice during the event.

The Dickens Project is not one single thing. It began as purely a story event, but has evolved to be much more. Our goal is to bring residents together around this important literary work and its themes. Whether their interest is historical, educational, artistic, social, recreational, active, and reflective – we work to provide opportunities to engage that are fun and meaningful. 

– The Dickens Project Director, Caledonia Skytower

I’ll have more on the 2019 Dickens Project in due course and ahead of the official opening, including the event schedule of readings and entertainment.

About the Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The programme remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.” Find out more by visiting their website. You can join any of their weekly readings of popular stories and works from across all genres of literature in-world – again, check their website or my weekly previews of their upcoming readings.

A Mad Masquerade of art at Ce Soir in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Ce Soir Gallery – Cote de la Mer Galerie

Open through until November 23rd 2019 at Ce Soir Arts, curated and operated by Mireille and Ǣon Jenvieve-Woodford, is the Mad Masquerade art exhibition, another opportunity to enjoy a wealth of art among the galleries and grounds of this Full region devoted to the arts in Second Life. I admit to getting to this review a little on the late side – the accompanying season of live and spoken word events has come to an end -, but this doesn’t lessen the value in visiting Ce Soir to enjoy the art on display.

This year’s event comprises some twenty-two 2D and 3D artists displaying their work, and if that sounds a lot to take in, then worry not; the fact that the entire region is given over to displaying art means the art is neatly split up over all of the ground-level space, offering plenty of opportunities to wander, relax and come across art quite unexpectedly within the grounds as well as the gallery buildings, so there’s never a feeling of being overwhelmed by the volume of art on offer.

Ce Soir Gallery – CybeleMoon

The featured artists at the exhibition comprise:

Cote de la Mer Gallery: Isabel Hermano, JudiLynn India, Larke Longmeadow, Xirana Oximoxi and Mathilde Vhargon.

Ivy Tower Galerie: Dolph Beornssen, Carlotta Caewlin, Paula Cloudpainter, Xanthe Firehawk, Secret Rage and Michael Romani.

Misty Glen Gallery: Carlotta Caewlin, Sophie Dunn, Mireille Jenvieve, Larke Longmeadow and Liam Saxony, together with a machinina by Terra Merhyem. Click the board outside the gallery space to obtain note card with the URL to the video on Vimeo.

Ce Soir Gallery – H0n2a-Resident

In addition, the following artists can be found throughout the grounds – just follow the paths and tracks, or go where your feet lead you: CybeleMoon, TaraAers, Terra Merhyem, H0n2a-Resident, Viktor Savior, Jojo Songlark, and Skyspinner Soulstar. As well as the featured artists, works by Bryn Oh, Russell Eponym, Garvie Garzo (and possibly others I may have missed) can be found in the region’s grounds.

Given this is an exhibition held around Halloween, some of the art offered focuses on the ghostly, with touches here and there of witches, but there is also a fabulous diversity of art from Second Life, from the physical world and from digital media that is a joy to view and experience.

Ce Soir Gallery – Skyspinner Soulstar

As well as the SLurls to the main exhibition spaces above, all of which are linked via path and track, allowing for easy exploration, a good place to start when visiting Ce Soir is the main landing point, particularly who may not have visited the region previously, and offered in the primary SLurl at the end of this piece. Details of all events at the region can be found through joining the region’s group or via the Ce Soir website.

Richly diverse, located throughout the fantasy inspired Ce Soir landscape, Mad Masquerade is a wonderful mix of art.

SLurl Details

Call for Second Life’s 2019 holiday shopping event

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Christmas 2018 Shop and Hop event

For the last two years, Linden Lab has run a winter shopping event over the end-of-year holiday period that has been variously called Shop and Drop or Shop ‘Til You Drop. On November 8th, the call was put out to merchants and creators to join this year’s event.

Running from Friday, December 13th, 2019 through to Monday, January 6th, 2020, the shopping will take place across the Lab’s special shopping regions. Past events of this natures have been held through Christmas holidays, as noted, and around other special events, such as the Second Life birthday celebrations, and have proven a popular means for merchants to bring new customers to their brands and stores.

Merchants interested in participating in the event are asked to to offer a discount on some of their items (think Cyber Monday deals!) and provide a small gift to holiday shoppers..

Those interested in joining the event should fill out the official application form.

Sansar R37 release overview

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Sansar Space Squad Shooting Gallery

On Thursday, November 7th, Linden Lab deployed the Sansar R37 release, entitled “The Party Won’t Stop Release”. This is a smaller release than the October R36, but includes a series of much-requested updates, including:

  • Improvements to events management.
  • Avatar system updates.
  • Scene creation improvements.

As always, full details of the update can be found in the official release notes. The following is just a summary.

Events Updates

Events are no longer linked to scenes, but to published worlds. When creating an event, a copy of the selected published world and which is visited by those attending the event. However, the original version of the world is added to addendees Codex, allowing them the re-visit the world after the event has concluded and the event version is no longer available, while traffic for the event is added to the original world’s traffic numbers.

In addition:

  • R37 adds a new event notification capability to the client. This sends notices to those who have expressed an interest in the event when access is possible to the event version of the world, and when the event starts.
  • Creators can now link to specific spawn point coordinates – see below for more.

Avatar Updates

R37 provides support for uploading custom avatars with premorphed skeletons. This allows creators to adjust the bones of the reference base skeleton to make taller or shorter avatars with different bone structures. For best results, the avatar should be in the A pose when modifying. Note that these updates do not include bone rotation or scaling.

The avatar Axis Aligned Bounding Box (AABB) limits have been adjusted:

  • Max AABB – 2.3m tall, .05m below the ground plane, 1.2m left and right, .4m front, 1.1m back
  • Min AABB – .9m tall, .25m left and right, .06m front to back

Avatar Editing Freecam

It is now possible to freecam within the Avatar Editor (Look Book). Pressing F4 or clicking the Camera button in the bottom left of the Avatar Editor screen. When active, zooming in/out and panning up / down is possible using the standard camera control keys.

The Avatar Editor camera button

Avatar texture LOD

R37 includes the first release of a new avatar texture LOD system which will adjust avatar visual quality based on certain parameters to maintain product performance.

This will load up to 100MB of texture data per avatar. Any texture data in excess of 100MB will be down-sampled until it falls to 100MB. This means that the visual quality of an avatar may be reduced on some occasions. The limit may be adjusted for large events, which may affect the visual quality of an avatar further.

Scene Editing Improvements

Custom Spawn Points

It is now possible to add spawn points as a component on objects in a scene. This means that specific spawn points within scene other than the primary spawn point can be assigned (so, for example, if a portal is set within a scene to transport avatars to another scene, and can return to that portal rather than the main spawn point in a world when “returning”).

Defined spawn points can also be specified in the URL for a world using the #, allowing users to be directed to a specific spawn point within a world from a web page. For example: atlas.sansar.com/experiences/[creatorname]/[experience]#spawnpointname. See Object Editing for more.

Camera Object Component

The camera can also be added as a component on objects, which can be activated and controlled by scripts. They can be positioned and oriented like any other object in the scene, and can be copied as a reference and pasted on a camera script parameter.

Other Scene Editing Updates

  • New Grid section under Scene Settings that allows you to enable Snap to Grid on/off and set the snapping distance coordinates. This works with move, rotate, and planar tools.
  • Texture memory counter added to the Object stats Tool.
  • The colour picker panel can now be moved around the editor to any desired location on the screen.
  • Desktop aim improvements: a new “aim at cursor” property (optional) for the Grab Point component. When set, the avatar will hold the object so that it points towards the direction or object the mouse cursor is hovering over. In mouse-look mode, it will point towards wherever the reticle is pointed at.

In-Client Store Updates

The in-client store has been updated to include:

  • New filters to allow avatar clothing and accessories to filtered by male, female or all genders and / or by Marvelous Designer, Rigged or Static (Accessories).
The in-client store now includes new filters for avatar clothing and accessories (e.g. filter clothing by gender – shown)
  • Clickable item tags, allowing you to look at a filtered list based on that tag.
  • Creator names are now clickable and will take you to the creator’s store.
In-client updates: clicking a creator’s name will display their store (1); the copy URL button (2) allows you to copy the URL for a specific item and share in it chat in the client (as a clickable link) use in a web page, etc.
  • New copy URL button on the item details page to enables you to share direct URLs to specific store items.
    • This option is not available in the client for items that are hidden. Creators who are interested in grabbing a hidden item’s link may do so on web from the manage listings page.
    • Pasting item links in nearby or direct chat will open the item in the store.
  • Resale information and price are now exposed in the item details page.
  • Hyperlinks within store listing description will resolve into clickable links. [IN CLIENT ONLY].
    • Valid experience links can be visited to and from within the description itself.
    • Product listing links will open within client itself.
    • External links will open in browser.

Other updates

  • R37 includes an extensive list of script system updates, including the camera and spawn point updates noted above. Please refer to the release notes for details.
  • With R37, it is now possible to abandon quests you are no longer interested in.
    • Open the Quest panel.
    • Click on the quest you wish to abandon.
    • Click the Abandon Quest button on the Quest Info tab of the panel.

Elvion expands in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Elvion, November 2019 – click any image for full size

Update, September 2021: Elvion has relocated and expanded – see Elvion expanded in Second Life.

We first visited Elvion, designed by BoZanoNL in February 2019, back when it was a quarter Homestead region. As I noted in Elvion: an elven sanctuary in Second Life, back then it offered the look and feel of a elven sanctuary, steeped in mystic magic and with little places for visitors to sit and spend time. More recently, the setting has moved to occupy a complete Homestead region, and in doing so has obviously expanded.

The move and expansion has perhaps lost some of the more “elven” elements from the former. However, the move has allowed for the creation of a more extensive, open landscape, rich for exploration, still with numerous places in which people are welcome to spend time.

Elvion, November 2019

Set under a bright sky suggestive of a crisp spring or autumn day, the region is largely open, rolling grassland, cut on its south side by a mountain range running west to east, largely separated from the rest of the region by a narrow water channel with its head as set of waterfalls at its western end. When seen from the north side of the region, these mountains give it added depth, assisted by a line of low hills running through the lowlands that naturally break the line of the mountains and make them appear further away.

The landing point for the region sits to the north-east on the grasslands. It sits along a cart track that runs part-way through the region, curling around the hills to curve north and east across the grasslands, two bridges allowing it passage over a bubbling brook until it meets the region’s hills and they turn north. It is at the landing point that visitors can review the region’s rules and can see that this is a horse-riding friendly region (for those with a wearable Animesh horse, or can join the region’s group for a L$500 and rezzing rights).

Elvion, November 2019

A further mark of the former Elvion was the wildlife – deer, herons, even bird calls, etc., – and this is very much carried over with the new setting, with horses joining the mix. All of the visible animals and birds are scattered across the region in a manner that makes coming across them both a natural experience when exploring and also opens up opportunities for photography.

As noted above, some of the more “elven” elements present in the former quarter homestead region space are now absent; however, there are some ornate arches to the south of the region tucked among the mountains there, but otherwise, the pavilions found in the former design are absent.

Elvion, November 2019

This doesn’t mean the region is bereft of structures, however. Towards the head of the waterfall-fed channel, for example, is a large cabin. Elsewhere there is a gazebo sitting amidst cherry blossoms that add to the more springtime feel to the region, and there are numerous hints of ruins to be found – one close to the landing point – all of which offer cuddle spots.

When wandering the region, and despite the lack of clear elven influences, I was still put in mind of scenes from Middle Earth – the mountains, when seen from a distance to me offered a hint of Tolkien’s Misty Mountains as perhaps seen from Rhudaur, while  – and albeit it somewhere else in Middle Earth entirely – the cabin, put me in mind of Beorn’s house (if without the associated gardens of the latter).

Elvion, November 2019

Like the cabin, the various ruins offer places for people to sit and talk and cuddle. Other sitting / cuddle points await discovery, including a wheelbarrow, a shoreline hut, the aforementioned gazebo, and various wooden decks. These all encourage people to spend time in the region, as does the potential for photography – landscape and avatar studies.

Rounded-out by a corner woodland setting with ruins of its own, the expanded Elvion offers a lot to visitors, making it an ideal an pleasing visit that build on the former quarter-region setting. I will confess that I did have some performance issues with shadows enabled whilst riding my Animesh horse, but just disabling shadows for the ride solved that problem, and the issue didn’t otherwise spoil my explorations on foot.

Elvion – November 2019

With thanks for the update on Elivon from Miro Collas.

RFL of SL: Strides campaigns raise over USD 13K in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
via ACS / Making Strides

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has announced that the 2019 Strides Campaigns raised US $13,633 to help those dealing with breast cancer and in the search for a cure.

The total marks an impressive US $5,000 increase over the total raised in 2018. This year, ACS ran two flagship events for Making Strides, the Out Shop Cancer campaign that ran right throughout the month of October and involved stores and creators right across the grid, and the Pink Power Fest, which was kicked-off by the Strides Walk-a-thon on Saturday, October 19th and ran through until Saturday October 26th, 2019.

In addition, individuals and groups across Second Life were encouraged to organise their own events in support of Making Strides, with the top Strides Campaigns raising over $2,500 including Camping for A Cure & Bikers for BOObies.

The official announcement provides a further breakdown of campaigns and amounts raised, with the organisers offering warmth thanks to all who took part, either in the events themselves or in helping to organise them.

via the American Cancer Society

Commenting on the success of the season, an overjoyed Stingray Raymaker, Director of ACS in SL, said:

We were confident that this would inspire people who wanted to fight breast cancer in their own way, and the community certainly stepped up. We appreciate everyone who took part in this year’s campaign, and after looking at the data, we are really excited about what the future holds.

All funds raised through Strides Campaigns in Second Life are used by the American Cancer Society to contribute to our life-saving breast cancer research and breast cancer patient services.

Congratulations to all involved on achieving such a worthwhile result!

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer for the American Cancer Society in Second Life, and help their global efforts in helping cancer patients, their families and in seeking cures for cancer? Then please contact Stingray9798 Raymaker in-world or e-mail jeffrey.montegut-at-cancer.org.