Rosehaven Seafolk Sanctuary, August 2022 – blog post
The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, September 20th, 2022 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed and is not intended to be a full transcript. A video of the entire meeting is embedded at the end of the article for those wishing to review the meeting in full – my thanks to Pantera for recording it.
Server Deployments
At the time of writing, there was no published deployment plan for the week.
On Tuesday, September 27th, the simhosts on the Main SLS channel were restarted with no deployment, leaving them on simulator release 574921, comprising the fixes from release 574611 + BUG-232593 “Mesh physics shapes changing unexpectedly when rezzed on a 574611 sim”, introduced with that update.
On Wednesday, September 28th, the simhosts on the RC channels should receive an update containing two new functions llGetObjectLinkKey (specified under llGetLinkKey) and llSHA256String.
Available Official Viewers
No changes to mark the start of the week, leaving the official viewer pipelines as:
Release viewer: version 6.6.4.575022 – hotfix for Crash at ~LLModalDialog() – promoted September 15 – NEW.
Release channel cohorts:
Maintenance 3 RC viewer, version 6.6.5.575257, September 23.
Maintenance P (Preferences, Position and Paste) RC viewer version 6.6.5.575055 September 19.
Project viewers:
Puppetry project viewer, version 6.6.3.574545, issued on August 30.
Love Me Render (LMR) 6 graphics improvements project viewer 6.6.2.573263, July 21.
Performance Floater project viewer, version 6.5.4.571296, May 10.
In Brief
Bugger all of note discussed as this was a “solstice party” and it was bloody hard enough just confirming RC server deployment details.
Vue Sur Mer, September 2022 – click any image for full size
Pleasure Ò Raigàin (vVEdanaVv) is one of the creative minds (and chief builder) behind Carrowmere, a Homestead region I visited with great delight back at the start of 2022 (see: A trip to an Irish corner of Second Life). Whilst that region is still active in Second Life, Pleasure has turned her mind to other projects as well, and recently invited me to pay a visit to Vue Sur Mer, a new parcel build she has opened to the public.
Occupying just 4096 square metres, this is one of those landscaping designs I tend to like because it demonstrates the fact that people don’t actually need a full-sized region (Homestead or otherwise) to create something special for themselves or which can be shared with others as a public space. Sitting within the north-east corner of its parent region (hence the reason for the parcel’s name), this is a parcel with a very distinct and cosily engaging theme, offering as it does a slice of Regency England in reflection of the US TV series Bridgerton.
Vue Sur Mer, September 2022
I confess to knowing next to nothing about the television series – I’m actually not a great fan of period dramas for assorted reasons; but that hardly matters here. Whether or not you are familiar with the show – or indeed Regency England – Vue Sur Mer offers an enticing and romantic corner of Second Life that is highly photogenic and easy to appreciate.
Whilst formally regarded at the period 1811 to 1820, when by Act of Parliament, George, Prince of Wales became Prince Regent as a result of his father’s (George III) worsening mental health and ending when the Prince ascended to the throne as George IV, the Regency period can more broadly be regarded as the final third of the Georgian era, spanning the years 1795 through 1837. It was a time of sharp social divide within the United Kingdom between the haves and the have nots, with the former enjoying a period of cultural and social growth (aided by Romanticism straddling the era and the early Victorian period), and seemingly oblivious (or uncaring) about the hardship faced by the labourers of the country.
Vue Sur Mer, September 2022
In its celebration of the period as seen through the likes of Bridgerton, Vue Sur Mer quite marvellously captures the grace and beauty that lay within the houses and gardens of the well-off. This is a setting where, to draw further on the period) Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet would find little amiss.
Presented as semi-formal garden environment in which is located a small summer house and even smaller pavilion, both constructed of neatly cut and squared white stone, it is not hard to imagine Vue Sur Mer as a places tucked away within the wildlings beyond the more formal gardens of a grand estate, a place where the romantically-inclined can slip away to for courtship conversations, unobtrusively observed by footmen; or which the estate owners might host a young artist or musician or poet, thus earning themselves further social kudos.
Vue Sur Mer, September 2022
Behind the summer house sits a shaded pond where courting couples might sit or a poet seek his (or her!) muse under the natural arch of two bent trees, this time watched over by Andromeda and Perseus. To the side of the house tea might be taken under a beflowered gazebo set over a carpet of pale blooms, the discussion perhaps revolving around Ms. Austen’s writings, given the books perched on the table. Nearby, the pavilion sits purely as a retreat for the menfolk, being set out with a range of brandy and whiskey bottles which share their table with a box of cigars.
Between pavilion and gazebo lie stone steps rising under a stone arch to reach a wildling garden protected by a snowy owl; a place where a budding painter might decide to set their easel should they tire of the confines within the little greenhouse on the far side of the little beach, converted as it is as a tiny art studio.
Vue Sur Mer, September 2022
Compact yet packed with detail (I’ve not really mentioned the care with with Pleasure has set the décor and furnishings within the house), and finished with a gentle soundscape, Vue Sur Mer is a veritable painting in its own right. And I leave it to you to decide whether or not to do so in period attire!
The 2022 SL Renaissance Festival is currently open to visitors through until the end of Sunday, October 2nd, 2022. Coordinated by the American Cancer Society, the Festival is in support of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (MSABC), an RFL of SL signature event aimed at raising awareness of the risks of breast cancer and funds to support research into, and treatment of, the disease.
Taking place across multiple regions adjoining the core American Cancer Society’s SL base of operations, the festival carries the theme The Silk Road and presents a range of merchants, activities and entertainments linked to the medieval / renaissance periods, for visitors to peruse, participate in and enjoy.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer SL Renaissance Festival 2022: entertainment area
The event tournaments include rounds of jousting, archery, mounted archery, and mêlée, all of which are open to anyone who’d like to try their hand at any of them. In particular, and for those who wish to try their hand at jousting there is the added attraction of jousting against staff from Linden Lab and Moles from the Linden Department of Public Works.
Advanced Tickets to joust in this special event, which will be held between 12:00 noon and 14:00 SLT on Thursday, September 29th, cost L$1,000 (proceeds to RFL of SL / Making Strides) and are available via kiosks within the Welcome Regions and at the Joust Arena. Advanced Ticket holders will have priority Joust time, but if time permits, the Joust will be opened to those watching the event, on payment of a L$1,000 donation to Making Strides. Experience in jousting is not required, and mounts and lances are supplied.
If jousting isn’t your thing, then perhaps ensuring the more rambunctious Lindens and Moles are held to account might be, because as the event website notes:
The Lindens & Moles have escaped the hordes who chased them down the Silk Road and have arrived safely at the SL Renaissance Festival. However, they had a few, shall we say, “incidents” along the way whilst visiting the village taverns and partaking in local merriment. Some, more so than others it appears. Reports of table dancing, chandelier swinging and loud singing in the streets in the wee hours have reached the Festival Queen. They must be held accountable for their loud and rambunctious behaviour, and have been ordered to the pillory.
By Royal Decree, Second Life Residents are to be the judges as to who spend time in the pillories by voting for the Linden / Mole team they feel should be held to account by making a donation to the kiosk representing that team (all donations to MSABC).
Voting will close at 13:00 SLT on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022, and it is understood those accused will be skulking around the voting kiosks in an attempt to proclaim their innocence and encourage the voting for rival teams to face time in the stocks! Don’t be fooled and vote with your conscience – the pillories will be locked after the final tally has been taken, and the winning – err, losing – team will face the rotten vegetables provided for the purposes of pelting, and (good-natured!) jeering.
If all this sounds like fun, then why not also become a medieval fashion model and walk “Ye Olde Catwalk” in the RenFest Fashion Show? Model your favourite look in any or all of the these categories (L$100 donation to MSABC required for each costume entry): Medieval Royalty; Medieval Dinky; Viking; Pirate. The show will take place at 10:00 SLT on Sunday, October 2nd, and if you wish to participate, sign-up here.
All of which adds up to a lot to see and do! So why not follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo et al, and tread the route of The Silk Road? Who knows what marvels you might purchase along the way, the tales of triumph you might later regale your friend with – or a trophies and rewards you might obtain?!
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 