Month: February 2021

2021 TPVD meetings week #5: summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Grauland, December 2020 – blog post

The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer meeting held on Friday, February 5th, 2021.

These meetings are generally held every other week.  They are recorded by Pantera Północy, and her video of the meeting is embedded at the end of this report – my thanks to her for allowing me to do so – and it is used with a transcript of the chat log from the meeting and my own audio recording to produce these notes.

SL Viewer News

[0:00-4:10]

The Project Jelly viewer updated to version 6.4.13.555567 on Friday, February 5th. This presumably brings it to parity with the current release viewer code base, and moves it closer to potentially being the next viewer to gain promotion to de facto release status, although no decision has been made on this as yet.

  • Current release viewer Dawa Maintenance RC Viewer, version 6.4.12.555248, dated January 25, 2021, promoted February 1st, 2021 – NEW.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.553437, January 7, 2021.
  • Project viewers:
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 5 project viewer, version 6.4.12.553511, issued on January 7, 2021.
    • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, November 12.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

General Viewer Notes

  • With Dawa now at release status, the current RC viewers are being bought up to parity with its code base.
  • As noted in my most recent CCUG summary, the Love Me Render (LMR) 5 graphics RC viewer is close to being ready for promotion from project to RC status.
  • The simple cache viewer (VFS replacement viewer) is in “decent shape” for promotion to RC status once updated to the Dawa code base.
  • There may be further UI work for the Legacy Profile project viewer (returns avatar profiles,etc., back into the viewer, a-la Firestorm) which may delay this viewer from progressing.
  • For OS X users, a viewer is in the works that will “get Apple’s notarisations working”. This has been something of a long standing issue, and the viewer should be appearing in the near future.

Project Jelly Viewer

[9:06-11:32]

  • This viewer essentially improves the rendering of Jelly Doll avatars.
  • The idea behind Jelly Dolls (first introduced in 2015, with various improvements since)  was to give users the means to reduce the load of having to render extremely complex avatars on computers with low hardware specifications by:
    • Explicitly selecting a nearby avatar and set its display value to Do Not Render, reducing them to a simplified, “flat” grey avatar form.
    • And / or setting a “complexity value” within the viewer that, if exceeded by any avatar in the field of view, will render it as a Jelly Doll.
    • Both the grey and the Jelly Doll forms are simplified avatar outlines, with the latter rendered as one of a number of solid colours selected by the viewer from a colour map. The term was coined by user Whirly Fizzle after the British Jelly Babies brand of sugared jelly sweets.
  • There have always been a number of issues with the manner in which these avatars are rendered. For example:
    • On the visual side, many users have avoided the viewer’s complexity setting (to the detriment of their viewer’s performance) as they do no like seeing solid, brightly coloured avatar forms in their field of view.
    • On the technical side, the code currently attempts to render all of  avatar’s attachments. As these tend to be the most costly to render, this can defeat he object of the code.
    • Also, the baseline formula for jelly doll calculations doesn’t allow for consistent results.
  • As a result, the Project Jelly viewer:
    • Does not attempt to render attachments, but instead renders affected avatars as a simplified, easy-to-render humanoid shape.
    • Render all such avatars in grey, no longer using the previous colour map, in the hope this will encourage more people on lower-end systems to use the capability, as the grey avatar forms tend to be less intrusive within a scene.
  • [13:38 via chat] In relation to avatar rendering / Jelly Dolls, it was asked if better global controls for rendering could be provided. In reply, Grumpity indicated that in addressing performance as a whole, such global controls might be considered in the future.

Viewer Log-in Changes

[4:41-8:05]

  • Oz Linden is working on the viewer log-in process that are designed to prevent people logging-in to Second Life when their inventory is “broken” (and potentially making their situation worse).
  • The updates to the log-in process means there will be additional checking on the status of an avatar inventory data on the back-end as a user logs into Second Life.
    • If errors within the data are found, the log-in process suspended, in order to prevent the errors being propagated to the viewer, and then viewer then exacerbating the situation by trying to manipulate the inventory database further on the basis of the invalid data.
    • Should this happen, the user will receive a massage that explicitly states that log-in has failed as a result of inventory issues with the request the user contacts Support. This message will also provide some specific information the user can pass to Support when they contact them.
    • Support will then use the information supplied to initiate the required corrective action to resolve the issue.
  • While this may impede users with inventory problems from logging-in, the hope is that these changes will actually make the resolution of inventory-related issues easier to correct at source and thus have less of an overall impact on affected users.
  • This is seen as a priority change, and the Lab hopes to be in a position to have the back-end changes tested and the viewer-side updates available by the end of the month.

In  Brief

  • [4:17-4:32] The Lab is making some changes to how deployments are managed within the AWS environment. If done correctly, this work should result in no user-visible changes.
  • [11:38-14:11] Post-Uplift issues:
    • There remain some issues still to be fully resolved as a result of the transition to AWS, including (but not necessarily limited to):
      • The problem with Map tile not being generated. This is being addressed.
      • The fact that the chat servers currently need to be restarted more frequently than pre-Uplift. This is still being diagnosed.
      • Teleport failures resulting in an “wrong” or “invalid” region message. This is also being diagnosed.
    • However, the Lab caution against assuming any issue that is encountered is a result of the AWS transition. The general rule remains, if you’re seeing a specific (and preferably reproducible) issue, raise a bug report.
  • [14:31-15:33] in response to a question on the avatar skeleton (why 159 bones, but capped at 110 on upload?),  vir pointed out the 110 bone cap is per sub-mesh in a character, rather than on a complete character (which can have several sub-mesh components. The reason for the cap is down to older GPUs that can be used in SL being unable to handle the transform matrices.
  • [19:54-20:28] Premium Plus: internal discussions have resumed on the deployment of Premium Plus, but there is nothing to share in terms of time frame, etc., at the moment.
  • [21:49-24:15] The recent Marketplace issues are seen as a combination of both the continuing work to improve the Marketplace experience and the work to transition it to AWS.
    • As the MP involves multiple back-end services, there are a lot of interdependencies that can be impacted particularly as a result of the AWS transition work, and not all of these can be accurately QA’d, as the sheer volume of transaction, etc., the MP sees hourly cannot be easily or accurately replicated.
    • The current focus is on general MP stability (including its various dependencies) in order to hopefully make future maintenance and update easier / smoother.
    • The most preferable way to deal with the MP would perhaps be to take the service down entirely for a a period of time and overhaul it, and then re-release it. However, given the impact this would have, it is simply not a viable option.
  • [24:42-25:45] Generally speaking, LL believe SL to be a lot more stable / robust now than previously, simply because it is running on much more recent hardware and within an infrastructure where they no longer have to worry about things like hardware that is well beyond its operational life failing, whilst any underpinning hardware / infrastructure issues are more-or-less immediately addressed by AWS. This in itself allows LL’s engineering and ops teams to be more focused on running the software side of things.

Hilaire Beaumont at Monocle Man in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Monocle Man Gallery: Hilaire Beaumont

Currently available the Monocle Man Gallery, curated by Kit Boyd and Lynx Luga, is an outstanding exhibition by Hiliare Beaumont. Untitled, it presents a series of self-portrait avatar studies that are – despite the fact I often use this phrase with regards to art exhibitions in Second Life – genuinely rich in their depth of narrative and content.

These are piece that bring together a range of inspirations – literature, film, music, elements of fantasy, historical drama to present pieces that are evocative, layered and often highly emotive. Through their presentation, these are pieces that illustrate the fact that Hilaire was initially drawn to Second Life as a place of role-play, and has since grown towards photography as a means of expression and emotional release.

Monocle Man Gallery: Hilaire Beaumont

The role-play aspect can perhaps be seen in the likes of Le Fantome de l ‘Opera, Clown and Lullaby of Woe, together with Old Man, Diggin’ My Grave and The Wild Horde. These last three, intentionally or otherwise, sit together almost as three parts of an evolving story whilst also each standing in their own right; there is within each of them a wonderful sense of the classic western of the Ford or Leone eras.

Both Le Fantome and Clown have very defined origins, but bring with them a real sense of emotion about them that might not be quite in keeping with our usual thinking about the characters they represent: introspection in one, and a suggestion of unemotional, calculated logic with the other. However, of these particular images, Lullaby of Woe is the piece that most acutely caught my attention in the way the story it suggests seemed to flow between various characters, from Sherlock Holmes through to Dr. Jekyll and back, complete with hints of both James Moriarty and Mr. Hyde.

Monocle Man Gallery: Hilaire Beaumont

Other pieces may not directly draw thoughts toward fictional pieces or film, but their emotional content is just as incredibly captivating. Aux Sombres Heros de L’amer (taking its title from the song by French rock group Noir Désir?)  and Je ‘t en remets au vent, for example, are powerfully evocative of a broader story (as well as having a marvellous sense of the 19th century about them).

Alongside of these sit Sympathy and Mother, two pieces that are simply packed with expression and emotion, particularly for anyone who has recently lost a family member. Both are also a tour de force in framing, depth of field, image depth, and camera angle; each genuinely standing as a life study you do not so much view as step into.

Monocle Man Gallery: Hilaire Beaumont

The simple truth is that each and every one of these images has something to say, so much so that a book could easily be written about this exhibition. But equally, the fact that they do is more than adequate reason for going along to the gallery and view them for yourself; they demonstrate the truth of what can oft seem a tired adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. All of the pieces are offered for sale at an incredibly modest price, and I understand that all proceeds are going to support the gallery directly.

SLurl Details

2021 CCUG meeting week #5 summary – graphics

Posted on by Inara Pey
Jacob, December 2020 – blog post

The following notes were taken from my audio recording and chat log of the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting held on Thursday, February 4th 2021 at 13:00 SLT. These meetings are chaired by Vir Linden, with dates available via the SL Public Calendar.

The venue for meetings is the Hippotropolis camp fire.

Due to Vir having to depart the meeting early, the majority of the meeting focused on viewer rendering.

SL Viewer

There have been no updates since the promotion of the Dawa Maintenance viewer to de facto release status earlier in the week. the viewer pipelines therefore remain as:

  • Current release viewer Dawa Maintenance RC Viewer, version 6.4.12.555248, dated January 25, 2021, promoted February 1st, 2021 – NEW.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Project Jelly viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.553798, January 7, 2021.
    • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.553437, January 7, 2021.
  • Project viewers:
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 5 project viewer, version 6.4.12.553511, issued on January 7, 2021.
    • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, November 12.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

Viewer Rendering

Love Me Render Viewer

The Graphics team are getting close to an RC release of the Love Me Render 5 (LMR 5) viewer (project viewer version 6.4.12.553511 at the time of writing).

  •  The one remaining issue they addressing with it is the matter of incorrect vertex attribute normals (not normal maps themselves) being rendered with Debug Normals enabled in the viewer (see BUG-228952 “Mesh Debug Normals display incorrectly. Normal Maps on scaled objects appear to use incorrect mesh normals for shading calcs”).
    • This appears to occur with models created in Maya with normals applied, but which uses non-uniform scaling.
    • The fix involves updates to both the Debug Normals code and the affected shader code.
  • The focus of LMR 5 is EEP fixes, apparently including the inverted rainbow issue, going on comments made (although currently that isn’t listed in the release notes), together with more general fixes related to things like specularity renderings, etc. It also includes a number of TPV contributions that fix assorted rendering issues.
  • It is hoped an RC version of the viewer will be available in the next week or two, with the aim of moving it to release status as rapidly as possible.

Outside of any specific rendering work going on for LMR 5 (or which my be directed into the next Love Me Render viewer, aka LMR 6 (such as BUG-5975 and BUG-229462, which might be investigated as part of LMR 6 work), it was indicated the Graphics Team would like to work on the environment map, if only to reduce the performance load it currently places on rendering.

Rendering API Replacement

No specific updates at present on the replacement of OpenGL as the rendering API.However, it was indicated that consideration is still being given to supporting more than one rendering capability by means of some form of back-end “tool kit” or library. There are a number of reasons for this:

  • As indicated in my previous CCUG meeting summary, there appears to be a substantial portion of Windows users accessing Second Life on hardware that cannot support more recent APIs like Vulkan (which had been the preferred choice).
  • Whilst they are set to deprecate OpenGL at some point in the future (prompting the need for the switch away from OpenGL), Apple actually don’t provide native support for Vulkan, thus prompting the need for a second alternative (such as – perhaps – Apple’s own Metal API).
  • Therefore, the use of an intermediary tool box / library approach would, whilst adding a layer of complexity, allow Linden Lab to potentially leverage more than one rendering API to support a wider range of user hardware.

Looking to Possible Future Options

Some thought is being given to rendering capabilities beyond the replacement of OpenGL, such as physically based rendering (PBR).

  • It is important to note that none of these are currently being considered for adoption at this point in time; they are simply on the Graphics Team’s wish list of things they would like to look at.
  • As such, if something like PBR were to be adopted, it would not be until some time after the need to replace OpenGL has been addressed, which itself is liable to be a long-term piece of work.
  • In terms of PBR in particular, it was noted that in practical terms, it would only be of value on  objects that utilise PBR materials.
    • This likely means that if it  were implemented, it would be a opt-in capability: creators would set a flag against content they are importing to indicate it uses PBR, and thus use the required shaders.
    • Such an approach would prevent any “breakage” of existing content (which would effectively continue to be rendered “as is”, and in turn allows creators to determine which of their products they might like to update to / replace with models utilising PBR.
  • Outside of PBR, it was suggested that High-dynamic-range  (HDR) rendering might be something the Graphics Team would like to look at at some point in the future.

Mesh File Formats

Again, not a project under active development or something that will come about in the near future, but the Graphics team are also giving thought to potential mesh model file format support outside of the current .DAE.

  • In the past, users have expressed a desire for .FBX support; the problem here is potentially that whilst widely used and accepted as a “standard”, it is pretty much close-source by Autodesk.
  • The open-source Graphics Language Transmission Format  (gITF) has been suggested by some as an alternative, particularly given it is already supported by Blender as via a plug-in option, and the Graphics Team have indicated they will have a look at this as and when time allows.

Date of Next Meeting

  • Thursday, February 18th, 2021.

A return to Tonarino in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Tonarino, February 2021

On February 1st, we dropped in on Tonarino, the Full region held and designed by 秋元のん (n0rik0). At the time, the focus of our visit was the region’s sky platform, Nekomachi Street (see: The cats of Tonarino in Second Life), but I noted we also hopped down to see what had changed within the region’s ground level design since our last visit in December 2019 (as recorded in Tonarino: an oriental curio in Second Life), and I promised to provide an update.

Well, truth be told, first looks tended to suggest not a lot had changed; the majority of the region is still given over to a large landmass in part cut through by the single line of a railway track that terminates abruptly alongside a little station building, while a small stream slices through the bedrock. Around both lies a landscape suggestive of the outskirts of a town somewhere; the kind of place most people only see whilst rapidly passing through with barely a thought for those whole live there.

Tonarino, February 2021

However, further examination revealed to us that things had changed since December 2019 – although obviously I cannot say quite when they changed; and changed enough to provide a reason for further exploration and looking around.

In this, the most noticeable change lay to the north-west. where the land rises in rocky steps to overlook the rest of the region and particularly overshadows the local school.

Tonarino, February 2021

When we visited in 2019, I noted this was the home of a temple sitting within  a small garden area and overlooking a large traditional Japanese house occupying a shoulder of rock below it. Well, the temple is still there, complete with its little refreshment stand for those needing sustenance after the climb up to it or after a period of sustained prayer. However, and if memory serves, it has now descended from the uppermost table of rock upon which it once sat, to occupy the same elevation as once was occupied by the large house.

Instead, the high table of rock that was once home to the temple is now a lookout point with vending machines and seating. Below it, the walled house has also gone, replaced by a group of restaurant stalls sharing a common outdoors space for patrons, who can be entertained by two more of the remarkable juggling cats by 丸角の人 (shiro0822), who also make up the inhabitants of Nekomachi Street up on the sky platform.

Tonarino, February 2021

I admit, I’m not totally convinced about the nature of the food being served in one of the restaurant stalls, given it is being prepared and offered for consumption by red-faced little demons, so the fact the area also has a little shrine of its own sitting within a bamboo fenced enclosure is perhaps handily placed for those wishing to ward of any wicked spirits that may have been delivered to them with their meal! The shrine and its Torii gate also mark the path to where a stone stairway descends the snowy slopes between the little houses that cling to them, offering a further route back to (or from) the lowlands.

Elsewhere are other subtle changes. One of the private islands to the west side of the island has been removed; elements within the building site have changed (although overall progress on whatever is to be built / installed appears to be a little slow!) an there is what appears to be some work to be finished off behind the school, although visitors can still cross the footbridge and visit the café – although I’m not sure if the quizzes there are still being held.

Tonarino, February 2021

What I find particularly engaging with Tonarino is the manner in which it naturally suggests it is a work-in-progress, so to speak, with the excavator and building blocks in a cleared field, etc..  At the same time the careworn look of the buildings and houses give them a lived-in feel that suggests that while they may be less than pristine, they have the comfortable look and feel to those living within the little town.

Certainly Tonarino remains a place with plenty of opportunities for photography under almost any environment settings, and which – again like so many careworn places in the physical world – has little spots of beauty that suddenly leap out at you as you explore. And that very much retains it as a place worth looking at.

Tonarino, February 2021

And for those who wish to see Nekomachi Street’s marvellous cats, just look for the kitty dancing at the mouth of a road tunnel. Pat his head gently and he’ll get you there 🙂 .

SLurl Details

Linden Lab’s board of directors: snippets of news

Posted on by Inara Pey
Linden Lab’s new board of directors (l to r): Brad Oberwager, J. Randall Waterfield and Raj Date

Back in January, I provided a piece on the Lab’s new owners / board of directors, including their biographical notes as posted by the Lab (see: Meet Linden Lab’s new board of directors).

Since then, user interest in the new owners has remained fairly high in some areas, with questions being asked on social media, in-world, during user group meetings (the most recent being the Web User Group), etc.

Some of the more common questions that have been answered by Lab staff (and that I’m aware of) comprise:

  • Have they been in-world? – Yes, they were in-world prior to the deal being finalised, and still hop in as needed.
  • Do they understand SL? – Yes, they are enthusiastic about the platform and have already been contributing thoughts / ideas.
  • Have they seen any Adult regions? – Yes, they have.
  • Will they be talking directly with users (e.g. via a Town Hall)? – There have been no direct discussions as yet about this.
  • Do they have specific aspirations regarding SL / LL? – None that have been directly discussed; it’s been more a case of gaining a deeper familiarity with the platform and its potential.

For my part whilst writing Meet Linden Lab’s new board of directors I ruminated on Raj Date possibly being involved in Tilia Inc, the Lab’s micro-currency transaction management service, commenting:

His background with consumer affairs, finances, and his post-CFPB founding of Fenway Summer would appear to help lend significant weight to Linden Lab’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tilia inc; while he is not currently listed as a member of Tilia’s board, his background and expertise could be used in an advisory capability, and his name certainly brings a further level of gravitas to Tilia.

Since then things have moved forward.

In particular, Tilia’s Meet the Team page has been updated to reveal that both Raj Date and Brad Oberwager have joined the board, whilst former “non-Linden” (so to speak) board member Ben Duranske is not longer listed as being directly involved in the company. Both Mr. Date and Mr. Oberwager now hold seats on the board alongside of the Lab’s Chief Financial Officer, Anton Waldman, who has held both the position of Tilia Inc., CEO and Director and Treasurer on the board since taking over as the Lab’s CFO some time ago.

This is a move that makes a lot of sense, as it ensures a continuity of board oversight across both Linden Research and Tilia  Inc., potentially helping with the growth of both entities.

February 2021 WUG summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Web User Group meeting venue, Denby

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the SL public calendar.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

  • This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
  • Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

  • Core work remains clean-up post the transition to services to AWS.
    • Most of the issues arising from the Uplift project for the various web properties (e.g. Marketplace, Destination Guide, etc), appear to have been resolved, although the destination Guide still has a couple of issues to be fully resolved.
  • Once this has been completed, work will resume on sorting through the web “to do”list (which includes incoming bug reports and feature requests in readiness to start working through items.
  • There have been some additional non-user visible updates to some web properties.
  • As of the end of December 2020, there were three software toolsets LL use in relation Second life (none of them user-facing) awaiting a transition to AWS, as of the start of February, one of these has yet to be transitioned.

Single Sign-On

  • Linden Lab is starting to roll-out single sign-on for web properties (not to be confused with two-factor authentication, which is still being planned, but is not ready for deployment).
  • This will mean that users with multiple accounts will only be able to sign-in to different properties on a per account basis.
  • There will be a formal LL blog post to explain this further in due course.

Mobile Client

  • Linden Lab is dealing with some bugs, so no significant news arising from the past month.

Last Names

  • The Lab is hoping to have a new batch of Last Names available for around Valentine’s Day, which will include Valentine’s-themed last names.
  • There is some talk of also providing “normal” last names (for some definition of “normal”, given the likes of  “Aphelion”, “Birdwhistle”, “Dankworth”, “Izzard” and “Posey”, among many others are all considered “normal” where I come from!).
  • For new batches of Last Names, LL tend to select from the list of suggestions that came about from the 2019 Last Names competition, then add a mix of names they’ve selected.
  • It is also hoped that Last Name updates will happen more “regularly” in the future.

In Brief

  • There has been intermittent delays in getting items delivered from the Marketplace ( which can last up to several minutes) over the last week(ish). The issue has been hard for LL to reproduce, although they have been aware of it and had tried to make adjustments.
  • BUG-229713 “Marketplace listing status updates are not being updated between the web and the viewer” and BUG-230107 “Marketplace Listings window in the viewer does not update” have been confirmed by LL as an issue, and the issue is to be investigated.
  • Profile feed: there had been a series of issues of late (images failing to upload, posts failing to appear, etc.), but as of February 2nd, these should have been resolved. Anyone still experiencing problems should contact support / raise a bug report.
  • LL are continuing to consider how to improve the new user experience, and have been seeking feedback on what established users see as the “main” problem new users face. In addition, it was notes that in order to better understand new user problems when on-boarding, the Lab:
    • Has regular internal workshops where staff go through various aspects of being a new users (e.g.building an entire mesh-based avatar from scratch) to better understand the complexities lies, and where particular pain point might be.
    • Has staff spend time within new user environments (the learning / social islands, etc.)..
    • Has some of the user-led mentor groups to assist with the on-boarding process through the social and learning islands.

Next Meeting

  • Wednesday, March 3rd, 14:00 SLT.