Day: March 8, 2022

2022 SUG meetings week #10: summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Amainiris, February 2022 – blog post

The following summary notes were taken from the Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. It forms a summary of the items discussed, and a video of the entire meeting is embedded at the end of the article – my thanks to Pantera for recording it.

Server Deployments

  • Tuesday, March 8th saw the SLS Main channel restarted, but no deployment.
  • Wednesday, March 9th should see a new simulator version deployed to the RC channels. It fixes a couple of crashes and hopefully will help with some of the regions becoming confused as to whether they are up or down.

Available Official Viewers

All official viewer pipelines remain as follows:

  • Release viewer: version version 6.5.3.568554 – formerly the Maintenance J&K RC viewer, promoted Monday, February 28 – NEW
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself).
    • The Tracy Integration RC viewer version 6.4.23.563771 (dated Friday, November 5) issued Tuesday, November 9.
  • Project viewers:
    • Performance Improvements project viewer version 6.6.0.567604, dated January 24.
    • Mesh Optimizer project viewer, version 6.5.2.566858, dated January 5, issued after January 10.
    • Performance Floater project viewer, version 6.4.23.562625, issued September 2.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, dated October 26, 2020.
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, dated December 9, 2019.

In Brief

  • BUG-231876 “llRequestSimulatorData() frequently and silently fails” has been reported a couple of times, the Lab are investigating and looking for reliable repros.
  • LL “have a few extra cycles to devote to scripting coming up”, and so ideas for priorities / options, etc., have been requested – feature requests should be filed by those who have them. So suggestions already include:
    • BUG-230935 “PARCEL_DETAILS_FLAGS and PARCEL_DETAILS_SCRIPT_DANGER for llGetParcelDetails()”.
    • BUG-230938 “Allow llGetParcelDetails() to see parcels in a neighbouring region”.
    • Provision of llWearFromInventoryTemp – which is seen as attractive by LL, but would require a much larger project.
    • This lead to a lengthy discussion, so please refer to the video from the 24.13 mark.
  • There was some discussion over what has been taken to be a media autoplay exploit that is allowing unauthorised access to people’s L$ balances. The precise details are unclear, other than and image of a Discord comment. Those who have seen the issue at events or have first-hand experience of the issue are asked to file a SEC Jira.

Furillen in Spring for 2022 in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Furillen, March 2022 – click any image for full size

In 2015 I had the pleasure of visiting the first region-wide build by Serene Footman. Entitled Furillen, it was modelled on the Swedish island of the same name that sits just off the coast of Gotland. It marked the start of string of engaging and photogenic builds by Serene modelled after the more unusual places to be found in the physical world, the majority of which I have attempted to cover in these pages.

In 2020, Serene decided to take a break from designing public regions in Second Life – which while a loss to us all, was entirely understandable given the amount of effort required to bring his designs into being, from initial idea through research, design and construction through to opening. However, he is now back, at least for a time, and has opted to return to his roots (so to speak) once more, offering a further look at Furillen through the lens of his imagination.

Furillen, March 2022

For those unfamiliar with it, the four square kilometre island of Furillen is connected to Gotland via a bridge and a narrow isthmus wide enough for a road, and for most of the 20th century it was home a limestone quarrying before becoming restricted to military personnel when a radar installation on the island started operations in the 1970s.

Radar stations still operate on the island, but the restrictions on public access were lifted in the 1990s, and parts of the island were declared a European Union Natura 2000 area and nature reserve, affording them protected status. Two thirds of the reserve is covered with pine forest intersected by some marshlands.

Furillen, March 2022

Since 2000, the island has been the location for a minimalist hotel and conference centre owned by photographer and entrepreneur Jonas Hellström. A project headed by Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame planned to build a recording studio close to one of the island’s beaches as the first part of a broader intent to make Furillen into a centre for art and design. However, permission for this work was ultimately denied in 2010 due to the environmental impact the project would ultimately have on the beach and the island as a whole.

In his original Furillen build (see The beauty of a bleak midwinter in Second Life), Serene celebrated much of this – the old quarry, the hotel, and so on. For this iteration, he again presents these elements, but – in taking a look at the photographs of Furillen that can be found in places like the café house and the hotel, are much more closely modelled on their physical world counterparts.  Also to be found is a nod towards the radar installation, thanks to the tall tower and squat station building sitting within the north-east corner of the setting.

Furillen, March 2022

However, this is no mere re-tread of the 2015 Furillen build; instead we are presented with a new take on the island, with a focus on the hotel and the quarry, the ambient sound scape offering a feel for the island’s nature reserve status. As with the previous iterations of Furillen, this is an atmospheric build with a marvellous minimalist feel to it.

This is not to say there is not a lot to see, but rather that Serene uses a measured eye for space, landscaping and placement of elements to present a place that looks and feels like a minimalist painting whilst actually offering a lot to see and photograph.

Furillen, March 2022

I really don’t want to say to much more – not because I don’t appreciate the region (the reverse, in fact: I’ve long admired Serene’s work and am hoping this will make the first of a new season of his region builds, as I’ve genuine missed his artistry in Second Life). Rather, I’d like people to see the build first-hand for themselves – but to keep in mind, Serene’s builds can be short-lived, so dropping in sooner rather than later might be worthwhile just in case. My thanks to Shawn (again!) for the LM and pointer!

SLurl Details

  • Furillen (Overland Hills, rated Moderate)

Tales of travel through time, allegories and a battle

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

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.

Monday, March 7th, 19:00: A World Out of Time

After being cryogenically frozen in the 1970s to await a cure for his (then) incurable cancer, Jaybee Corbell awakes after more than 200 years – to find his own body destroyed and his mind and memories transferred into the “mindwiped” body of a criminal. And that’s is not all that has changed: the Earth is now overseen by an oppressive, totalitarian global government called “The State”, and Corbell’s existence is to be determined by a “checker”; if he is found wanting, he will be discarded.

However, Peerssa, the checker, recommends Corbell as ideal fodder in The State’s attempts to seek out exoplanets suitable for terraforming – whether he wants to join the programme or not. Disgusted by his treatment, Corbell works out a way to take control of his one-person ship on its otherwise one-way mission, and heads toward the galactic core. Entering suspended animation, he is unaware his vessel skims close enough to the super-massive black hole at the centre of the galaxy to experience time dilation.

Emerging from his suspended state, and believing only 150 years have passed, Corbell returns to the solar system to find it again vastly changed: more than three million years have passed, and the Sun has become a bloated red giant, and Earth – well, Earth appears to have been relocated to an orbit around Jupiter, whilst humanity itself had endured extensive changes; and Corbell must face an entirely new set of challenges if he is to survive.

Gyro Muggins resumes reading Larry Niven’s novel.

Tuesday, March 8th

12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym

With music, and poetry in Ceiluradh Glen.

19:00: Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Caledonia Skytower reads the fifth of Salman Rushdie’s major publications and his first since The Satanic Verses. 

Written for the younger reader, but with plenty with it suited to older ears, it is of an allegorical nature and addresses a number of societal problems, particularly those found in the Indian subcontinent.

Dedicated to Rushdie’s son, the book looks at the issues it raises – including that of censorship (unsurprisingly, given the reaction following the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988) – through the eyes of Haroun Khalifa, the son of a doctor and master storyteller.

Both father and son are struck by afflictions related to Haroun’s mother deserting them; Haroun has a form of attention-deficit disorder, whilst his father is prone to bouts of depression. Both can only be relieved of their afflictions should Haroun’s mother, Soraya, return.

Before then, however, Haroun is set for an adventure and discovery.

Thursday, March 4th 19:00: Irish Legends: The Battle of Clontarf

On April 23rd 1014, an army by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland clashed with one comprising the combined forces of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, King of Dublin; Máel Mórda mac Murchada, King of Leinster; Sigurd of Orkney and Brodir of Mann. It is said to lasted from sunrise to sunset, with army of Brian Boru routed the Irish-Viking alliance to declare victory, although up to 10,000 were killed on both sides – including Boru and both his son and grandson.

The battle was an important event in Irish history and is recorded in both Irish and Norse chronicles. In Ireland, the battle came to be seen as an event that freed the Irish from foreign domination, and Brian Boru was hailed as a national hero, with the man and the battle becoming the stuff of legend, bring seen as an ending of foreign dominion (in this case the Vikings) over Ireland and becoming something of a rallying call during the English rule in Ireland. However, historians would dispute this, seeing it as more of an Irish civil war, with Norsemen actually fighting on both sides.

But however one views it, there is no doubting the battle has become the stuff of legend, and Shandon Loring brings us the tale in voice.