Valkyrie Light Transport Railroad, April 2021 – – blog post
The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. The meeting was recorded by Pantera Północy, and the video is embedded at the end of this summary.
All simhosts not restarted in the last week were updated to version 561609, which which should not see any changes to the behaviour of simulators, nor to the configuration of the machines running those simulators.
The planned deployment for Wednesday, July 28th has been cancelled.
Mesh Physics Issue
The Lab is experimenting with optimising the configuration of the cloud simhosts to increase performance. However, a side effect of this has been that some meshes have a different physics impact calculation, which may be higher or lower than previously shown. This will affect both new and existing uploads. If you experience this issue, please file a Jira or contact support.
From Rider Linde on this matter:
It seems that for very very thin prims with physics there is a difference in the way Havok calculates their cost and that difference bubbles up into land impact.
From Simon Linden:
We had a problem reported where the costs changed. It wasn’t drastic, but this object was designed to be really close to a limit. The shift was small but enough to get noticed and we need to figure out why for those exact same reasons – it can cause some real headaches.
SL Viewer
There have been no updates to the current batch of official viewers to mark the start of the week, leaving the pipelines as follows:
Release viewer: Fernet Maintenance RC, version 6.4.21.561414, dated July 14, promoted July 19 – NEW.
Release channel cohorts:
None.
Project viewers:
Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, dated October 26.
Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, dated December 9, 2019.
Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, dated November 22, 2019.
360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, dated July 16, 2019.
In Brief
Gaming bugs:
BUG-10908 “Ghost Objects Left over when things are removed from play” is an issue that has been around for several years, but appears to be increasing in incidence, particularly within games in SL. Some work was put into developing a fix for the issue, but the current status of that work needed to be established before the issue could be commented on further.
There are also reports that BUG-7084 “Prim properties visually revert to an earlier state since Interesting” being encountered more frequently, again within some hunt games.
Both appear to be related to Interest List updates, and conflicts with full / terse updates to objects within a region. Essentially, if an object is updated (e.g. rendered transparent because it has been “collected” by a player), and that the object is not in the interest list for the viewer of another player at the time of the update, then the update isn’t registered until that player attempts to touch the object – at which point it vanishes.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021 – click any image for full size
In checking back through my visit history, I was surprised to see the last time I dropped into L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, the Full region held and operated by Lindini2 (Lindini2 Lane) and Jessica (jessicabelmer) was in 2016.
Surprised, because the region – the home to Lindini2’s store and Jessica’s art gallery respectively – used to be on my list of places to visit semi-regularly due to it being highly attractive and subject to periodic changes, and I enjoyed dropping-in semi-regularly to see what had changed. So this being the case, I took a trip to see had things are today.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
No landing point is enforced, although one is defined – and used as the SLurl here – that brings folk down in the gardens between the L2 store and the LHOOQ gallery, allowing quick access to Lindini2’s creations (including teleports up to the demo areas in the sky for her buildings) and to appreciate Jessica’s art
The gallery and store are located on the largest island in the region, where they sit within the south-east corner, forming two of the biggest structures within the setting. The gallery in particularly is impressive, its design light and airy, the two floors offering plenty of space for Jessica’s work to be displayed in a fairly large format.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
Surrounding them, the gardens and land beyond are presented as a something of a wildling environment that is both managed and also left to grow fairly free: manicured cypresses mixing with shaggy fir, the grass mixing with scrub and rock whilst being maintained more by the munching of sheep than by any bladed means. It’s an effective, natural environment that climbs westward to where a Japanese teahouse sits within stone walls, the passage through its grounds literally forming the gateway between east and west
The teahouse is not the only structure to be found when wandering the paths around the studio and gallery, nor are the sheep the only animals waiting to be found. Some of the former are obvious, others take a little more discovery as they meander around and climb up and down through the landscape. The easiest to follow will lead you to an old gazebo, the way up to the teahouse close by; others might take you to a folly guarded by foxes or a little fenced garden offering a way down to a shingle beach and a view out to the north-west, or off to the north-east side of the land, of which more anon.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
Nor are the foxes and sheep alone in claiming the wildling setting as theirs; horses wander the grasses. An attempt has been made to cultivate a small part of the wildling, but I did find myself wondering how long it might last, given the way some of the sheep appeared to be eyeing things!
The store and gallery are balanced to the south-west by a house with garden and outhouses. A narrow neck of rock connects this headland with the rest of the main island, pools of water feeding waterfalls on either side.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
Such is the design here that it is hard not to avoid the feeling the water – whilst crossed by a hump of rock – is there to form a natural barrier to indicate the house and gardens beyond are perhaps private property, a feeling added to by the steep shoulder of a hill rising between the falls and the house beyond that is sans obvious path up or around its slope. There are no signs to confirm this, but is did leave me a little circumspect in my wanderings so as not to trespass, just in case.
To the north, the region is given over to settings that showcase Lindini2’s houses. The first of these is laid one in a manner suggestive of Dutch waterways, although the houses are perhaps more North American in styling. Water forms a narrow basin with walled sides and cobbled road surfaces surrounding it and a pair of little bridges arching over it. Four house sit on the cobbled ways, while across a narrow channel of water, a low-lying, sandy island offers a beach-like setting for more houses.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
The final element of the landscape is a little town are that sits sandwiched between the island houses and the store and gallery. Located on its own little promontory, it balances the hill-top teahouse in having a Japanese vibe to its styling (perhaps with the exception of the little hi;;top greenhouse overlooking it, set is it is form a spot of very English afternoon tea!). There is a wealth of detail packed into this little town that it makes for its own entirely photogenic spot.
Finished with multiple touches that help bring a sense of life to it, from boats on the water to the animals and birds and the various places visitors are encouraged to sit and pass the time, L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery is richly detailed and a visually engaging visit. The layout allows exploration to be carried out in a single visit, over a course of days, depending on your mood.
L2 Studio and LLOOQ Gallery, July 2021
However, all this does come at a price; the the vast majority of the region’s land impact has been used, so there is a lot of mesh and textures for the viewer to handle, which can impact performance, so depending on your settings, you my need to make some adjustments. I found it a lot easier to get around by turning off Shadows when exploring, and only using them for photographs.
Even so, I would say the region remains enticingly photogenic, and is well worth a visit be shutter bugs, and Jessica’s photography stands as a very worthy reason for patrons of SL arts to also hop over and visit.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week ending Sunday, July 25th
This summary is generally published 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 for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: Fernet Maintenance RC, version 6.4.21.561414, dated July 14th, promoted July 19th – NEW.
Release channel cohorts:
CEF91 RC viewer, version 6.4.22.561752, issued July 24.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – miu miu miu’s Stamp, July 2021Miu miu miu (miumiumiusecond) is an artist who – I believe I’m correct in saying – tends not to exhibit to frequently within Second Life, preferring, as many do, to use Flickr as the medium to present her work.
What is striking about her work – as revealed by even the most casual flip through her Flickr photostream – is that whether focused on avatar studies or landscapes, whether posed or offered as a “natural” take, miu miu miu’s art is always given a sensitive touch of post-processing that allows her to offer pieces that are evocative of many different genres and presented in different styles – but which are all connected through an undeniable richness of narrative and content.
She is also an artist who is not afraid to express her joy in creating images or to openly publish multiple versions of the same image as she experiments with technique, colour and light. And both of these aspects of her work appear within in the portfolio she currently has offered for display within Dido’s Space at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – miu miu miu’s Stamp, July 2021
Entitled miu miu miu’s Stamp, this is in some respects an impromptu exhibit; Dido explained that she’d been trying to get miu miu miu back to Nitroglobus since much earlier in the year, but schedules and inspiration hadn’t been good enough to align themselves. Then miu miu miu came across a folder of previously unpublished images on her computer, and decided to offer them as a collection to exhibit.
The central focus of the images is that of the COCO ball joint dolls (BJD) avatars produced by Cocoro Lemon and available through her in-world store, with the emphasis on head-and-shoulder portraits. While the doll avatars might not be everyone’s cup of tea, miu miu miu has used them here to great effect, the individual pieces offering what might be regarded as a surprising wealth of emotion considering their construct – and I’d cite in particular Indigo through Turquoise as they share one wall of the gallery as evidence of this, although every single piece carries an emotional depth.
There is also a sense of joy that permeates these pieces, mainly that is transmitted through the post-process colour palette that suggests miu miu miu genuinely lost herself in both the creation of the look, mood and tone of each piece and the the joy of simple experimentation with both the doll avatar and within PhotoShop itself.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – miu miu miu’s Stamp, July 2021Captivating, warm and marvellously expressive, miu miu miu’s Stamp also sits as an excellent companion / contrast to Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire within the main hall of the gallery, and with which Stamp currently overlaps (and you can read about here).
An image of the International Space Station as it will look once all six iROSA solar arrays have been deployed and unfurled over three pairs of the the station’s existing primary arrays. Credit: NASA
It’s getting to be another busy period at the International Space Station, with a lot of comings and goings, together with the on-going upgrade work.
In June, NASA / SpaceX launched the CRS-22 resupply mission to the station carrying 3.2 tonnes of equipment and supplies. A part of that cargo comprised a pair of new “roll out” solar arrays (i.e. they are stowed as a tube, and then unfurled when mounted on the space station). Their arrival marked the start of a major plan to completely overhaul the station’s power generation capabilities by supplementing the current arrays.
Referred to as iROSA, the new arrays were installed over pairs of existing panel which have been getting steadily less efficient in converting sunlight into electrical power. Once the work has been completed – there are two more pairs of iROSA arrays to be delivered in upcoming resupply missions – the station’s ability to produce electrical power via sunlight will be increased to ~215 Kilowatts, well about the ~160 Kilowatts needed to power it at the moment.
How the ISS looked after the departure of the CRS-22 Cargo Dragon. Credit: NASA
The CRS-22 Dragon vehicle actually departed the ISS on July 10th, leaving two Russian Progress resupply vehicles (77/MS-16 and 78/MS-17), the Soyuz MS-18 crew vehicle and the Endeavour Crew-2 Dragon vehicle docked at the station.
On July 21st, the Crew Dragon Endeavour, which carried NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and Thomas Pesquet and Akihiko Hoshide (ESA and Japan’s JAXA respectively) to the station, also undocked, but not to return to Earth. Instead, it was piloted around the station to be re-attached to the International Docking Adaptor 3 port vacated by the CRS-22 Cargo Dragon, in order to make way for the upcoming CST-100 Starliner test flight to the ISS, of which more below.
Caught from a camera on the ISS, Crew Dragon Endeavour, with its nose cone open to expose the forward docking mechanism and hatch, makes a soft dock at the IDA-3 docking port of the ISS, July 21st, 2021. Credit: NASA
The next ISS launch to take place came out of Russia on July 21st, when a Proton-M booster lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 14:58 UTC, carrying the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) on its way to the station.
Designed to provide dedicated space for Russian activates on the ISS, the 20-tonne module – the largest component of the ISS built and launched by Russia, combines additional living space with working space, cargo storage, a dedicated external robotic arm courtesy of the European Space Agency, and attitude control system to supplement those already on the station. It is also around 14 years overdue, having originally been intended for launch in 2007 – and parts of it are approaching 30 years of age, having been originally built in the 1990s as the Functional Cargo Block-2 (FGB-2), built alongside the station’s Zarya module.
A Proton-M lifts-off on July 21st carrying the Nauka MLM on its way to the ISS. Credit: Roscosmos
Following a 9-minute ascent to orbit, Nauka successfully detached from the booster’s upper stage and deployed its solar panels and communications arrays at the start of an 8-day flight to rendezvous and dock with the ISS. This lengthy rendezvous being designed to allow ground engineers to carry out a range of checks ahead of the module reaching the station.
After the launch, reports circulated that the module had encountered assorted problems with its automatic docking system, various sensors and its motors. Neither Roscosmos nor NASA have commented on these reports, other than Roscosmos stated the module was in a safe orbit, and there has been no change in the planned rendezvous and docking date of July 29th.
British skywatcher Martin Lewis snapped this picture of Nauka passing over southern England some 6 hours after launch. Credit: SkyInspectorAhead of that, the Progress 77/MS-16 vehicle will depart the station, taking the Russia Pirs docking / mini- science module with it. Once clear of the station, the Progress vehicle will de-orbit, burning up in the atmosphere with the 20-year-only Pirs. The module has already been subject to an EVA by Russian cosmonauts on the ISS, who severed all non-essentially connections to the module and ensured it was ready for the undocking manoeuvre.
The undocking / detachment had originally been scheduled for Friday, July 23rd, but was postponed for twenty-four hours, ostensibly to give the the Russia crew on the station more time in which to complete tasks in preparation to detach Pirs. As it is, the undocking / detachment is now expected to occur on Monday, July 26th.
The Nauka MLM being prepared for launch integration. Credit: Rsocosmos
CST-100 Demo 2 Set To Launch
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is ready to make its second attempted to make an uncrewed rendezvous with the ISS.
If all goes according to plan, the flight will commence at 18:53 UTC on Friday, July 30th, 2021 when an Atlas V rocket will lift-off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. once in orbit, the capsule – which will be used alongside the SpaceX Crew Dragon to ferry crews to / from the space station – will be put through a series of tests prior to performing an automated rendezvous and docking with the ISS.
The flight – called Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2), comes after an 18-month delay in the Starliner programme, in part the result of the OFT-1 having to be aborted without any rendezvous and docking with ISS after a software issue caused things to go slightly awry, although the capsule did make a successful return to Earth an landing (see: Space Sunday: Starliner’s First Orbital Flight).
The CST-100 Starliner due to fly the OFT-2 mission is moved from Boeing’s vehicle preparation facilities at Kennedy Space Centre ahead of integration into its United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle. Credit: Greg Scott
Following that flight, an extensive review of Boeing / NASA CST-100 flight operations resulted in a wide-ranging series of recommendations being made, including that of a second uncrewed test flight and rendezvous. Originally, it had been hoped OFT-2 could be completed by the end of 2020, but several factors – including the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic – put paid to that. Even so, while “late”, the July 30th target launch date is ahead of the August / September period NASA had been looking at.
After launch, the Demo-2 flight should see the capsule reach its initial orbit some 31 minutes after lift-off, allowing the initial in-flight tests to be carried out under the eyes of ground control. After this, the vehicle will proceed to catch-up and rendezvous with the ISS, with docking scheduled for `9:06 UTC on Saturday, July 31st.
If all goes well, I’ll have an update on the flight in my next Space Sunday update.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Sunday, July 25th, 13:00: Tea-Time At the Movies: The Philadelphia Story
The tea-time team return to 1940 and George Cukor’s romantic comedy starring starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey. It’s also the film – believe it or not – revived Hepburn’s career after she’d inadvertently found herself on a list of Hollywood actors considered to be box office poison after appearing in a series of flops.
Based on the successful Broadway play of the same name, the film follows Tracy Lord (Hepburn), the elder daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia socialite family. Having divorced her first husband, yacht designer C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant), she is now set to marry the nouveau riche “man of the people” George Kittredge (played by John Howard). The wedding has drawn the attention of the printed media, and reporter Macaulay “Mike” Connor (Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Hussey) are dispatched from New York to inveigle their way into the the Philadelphia socialite circles with the aid of Dexter Haven, in order to get the scoop on the nuptials.
Whilst not in the least bit fooled by the subterfuge Dexter Haven attempts to use to introduce “Mike” and Liz into their world, Tracy nevertheless is disarmed by “Mike” and realises he has admirable qualities. At the same time, it is evident that her mother feels Dexter Haven is still very much part of the family, allowing him back into Tracy’s orbit. As a result she starts to find herself torn between feelings for Dexter Haven, “Mike” and poor George.
Things then get really complicated on the evening before the wedding, and spill over to the morning of the wedding itself, prompting a crisis when George walks out on Tracy. Will there be a scandal, or will the situation be rescued – and if so, by whom – C.K. Dexter Haven or the honourable Macaulay “Mike” Connor? Join Corwyn Allen, Gloriana Maertens, Caledonia Skytower, Da5id Abbott, Kayden Oconnell & Elrik Merlin to find out!
Monday, July 26th 19:00: The Weigher
A world ruled by sentiment big cats where the rule of law is enforced by the Weighers, a combination of judge, peacemaker and accountant through a brutal code of honour and combat. Without their violent intervention in things, all-out war and anarchy would ensue.
When two human explorers – fragile, weak and potentially easy prey – arrive on that world, Slasher, a Weigher of skill and talent in physical combat, finds herself defending them. In doing so, she finds herself a disgraced outcast.
Join Gyro Muggins as he read the story by Eric Vinicoff and Marcia Martin.
Tuesday, July 27th, 19:00 Hogwarts An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide
a collection of J.K. Rowling’s writing from the Pottermore archives: short reads originally featured on pottermore.com. These eBooks, with writing curated by Pottermore, will take you beyond the Harry Potter stories as J.K. Rowling reveals her inspiration, intricate details of characters’ lives and surprises from the wizarding world.
Wednesday, July 28th, 19:00 Defence Against the Dark Arts
“From Gilderoy Lockheart to Madeye Moody, and summat in between” – with Caledonia Skytower.
Thursday, July 29th,
19:00 We Continue, from The Book of Dragons
Finn Zeddmore takes the story floor with this tale by Ann Leckie and Rachel Swirsky.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary sci-fi-fantasy from on-line sources such as Escape Pod, Light Speed, and Clarkesworld, with Finn Zeddmore.
Friday, July 30th, 14:30: Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals
Football in Ankh-Morpork is not as we might know it. Rather than being comprised of rules and played within a recognisable ground, it is far more akin to the somewhat violent mob football of medieval Europe.
Not that this is a concern for the elderly, mostly indolent and (some might be tempted to think) somewhat inept old wizards making up the faculty staff at the city’s school of wizardry, the Unseen University. Until, that is, their very handsome annual endowment becomes subject to their playing the game themselves.
Thus, Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully sets out a two-pronged strategy: to ensure the city’s version of football is restructured with proper (and favourable?) rules, and to put team preparations at the university in the hands of the talented candle dribbler, Mr. Nutt and his assistant, Trevor Likely, the son of the city’s most famous (if deceased – did I mention the game can be violent?) player, who are in turn supported by Glenda Sugarbean, who runs the university’s night kitchen and her assistant Juliet Stollop.
Except Mr. Nutt soon discovers he has problems of his own to deal with, and Trevor has promised his Mum he’ll never get involved in the game. Meanwhile, Glenda has the daily responsibility of baking the Discworld’s best pies, and Juliet is about to find herself whisked towards the heights of fame as a fashion model, thus potentially leaving the team a little short on practical advice…
Join Caledonia Skytower as she presents the 37th novel in the Discworld series, and possibly one of its greatest satirical undertakings encompassing football, academia, traditions, the fashion industry, politics, love, fandom, and which mixes in more serious themes of identity, crab mentality and self-worth.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 