Month: November 2022

Lab announces Homesteads for Premium Plus, and some thoughts

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

On Tuesday, November 1st, 2022, Linden Lab announced that Homestead regions are now available to Premium Plus members directly from Linden Lab and without the need to hold a Full region.

The offering was first indicated as a “coming” Premium Plus benefit during the Lab Gab session with Grumpity and Patch Linden held on October 21st – see here for a summary of that event – and the November 1st announcement builds on this.

In short the details are:

  • Premium Plus members are now able to hold  one private Homestead region from Linden Lab against their account:
  • Regions can be requested using a Support Ticket via support.secondlife.com. Tickets should:
    • Place an order via Land & Region → Order Private Region.
    • Provide a unique name for the region (in accordance with the region naming rguidelines) and a preferred location on the grid for placement.
  • The region can be held only as long as the member maintains their Premium Plus account. Should they downgrade to Premium (or any forthcoming Premium subscription level that does not include the Homestead “benefit”) or to Basic will lose the region.

There are no other changes to Homestead ownership, including the fact that anyone is able to own Homestead regions as long as there is at least one Full private region owned on that account as well, and pay the required fees.

Does This Make Premium Plus More Attractive?

Whether the ability to hold a Homestead region when taken on its own will make Premium Plus a worthwhile upgrade is questionable.

  • If you are not already a Premium or Premium Plus member, then looking at Premium Plus purely in terms of a means to obtain a Homestead region probably isn’t a worthwhile proposition.
    • When you add the minimum monthly fee for Premium Plus (US $20.75) to the Homestead region tier of US $109, it likely comes out to more than the monthly cost of renting a Homestead region from an established private rental estate.
    • Both renting privately and holding a Homestead via Premium Plus have the same core risk: paying the monthly tier.
  • If you are currently a Premium Member, then looking at Premium Plus purely as a means to obtain a Homestead region is a little less clear-cut.
    • On the one hand, upgrading to Premium Plus from Premium costs at least an extra US $12.5 a month.
    • On the other, this fee, plus the month Homestead tier will still be a competitive outlay when compared to renting a homestead through a private estate.
  • If you are a Basic or Premium member who already sees value in other Premium Plus benefits (such as the reduced fee for Name Changes, the other reduced fees, etc.), and are attracted to the idea of holding your own region, then upgrading to Premium Plus is liable to be worthwhile and cost-effective.

This last point is really the key to this offer: obtaining a Homestead is not the sole benefit available to those upgrading to Premium Plus, so it needs to be considered as a part of the overall package of benefits, and any decision made on upgrading should be made on that basis. For example, the option of holding a Homestead region is of little interest to me – but the forthcoming Premium Plus Linden Homes do. I’m therefore waiting to see what happens on that front before I make any decision on a potential move from Premium to Premium Plus.

 

 

 

2022 SUG meetings week #44 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Clair View Ruins and caves, The Realm of Rosehaven, September 2022 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, November 1st, 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

Please see the forum deployment thread for the latest updates.

  • On Tuesday, November 1st, the Main SLS and Events channels were restarted without any simulator update being deployed leaving them on simulator version 575585.
  • On Wednesday, November 2nd. simhosts on the RC channels will be updated with simulator release 576126, comprising the new Linkset Data capability (see below for more).

Available Official Viewers

No changes to the current set of official viewers at the start o the week, leaving the list as:

  • Release viewer: version 6.6.5.575749 – formerly the Maintenance M RC viewer –  promoted October 26.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself).
    • Maintenance P (Preferences, Position and Paste) RC viewer version 6.6.5.575055 September 19.
  • Project viewers:
    • Puppetry project viewer, version 6.6.3.575529,  issued on October 12.
    • Performance Floater / Auto-FPS project viewer, version 6.6.5.575378, October 4.
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 6 graphics improvements project viewer 6.6.2.573263, July 21.

Linkset Data (LSD)

  • Linkset Data is a new collection of script functions and one optional event that reads and writes key-value-pairs to a small 64kb table of data that is part of a root object.
  • It works similarly to Experience Key-Value store, but:
    • It does not require an underpinning experience – the data lives with the object that sends and receives the data.
    • Only scripts in the same linkset will be able to read the data written with this feature.
  • Important Note for the initial deployment:
    • Like all scripts containing new LSL functions, scripts running LinksetData* calls will only run on regions running version 2022-10-27.576126 or newer (so only the RC channels to start with).
    • However unlike some other functions if you move an object containing Linkset Data (or teleport wearing an object containing Linkset Data) from a region that supports the capability to a region that does not support it, all Linkset Data stored with the object will be lost, even if you go back to a region that supports the feature.
    • This limitation will no longer exist once the back-end support for the capability has been deployed to all regions on the Main grid.

llLinkPlaySound and Associated Functions

  • llLinkPlaySound together with llLinkStopSound llLinkAdjustSoundVolume and llLinkSoundRange are new LSL functions that are described as “coming soon”, and which allow sounds in child prims of a linkset to be played without the need for a supporting script.
    • Additional related functions might be considered if subject to a Jira feature request.
  • This is something that has been requested by content creators (particular vehicle creators) for a good number of years.
  • Flags included will be SOUND_LOOP, SOUND_PLAY, SOUND_SYNCH and SOUND_TRIGGER, and will be used to replace the llPlay/Loop functions.
  • Other sound restrictions within linkset remain unchanged.
  • The announcement spurred an extended discussion on the SL sound system as a whole (including pre-loading sounds), as well as options for the new functions, through the first two-thirds of the meeting – please refer to the video.
  • I’ll have more on the link sounds functions as and when LL have documentation on them and are ready to start deploying them.

In Brief

  • For a full (and maintained!) list of LSL functions,  please refer to the official wiki page LSL_Functions.

A Tango with Nottoo in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Tango with Nottoo, November 2022 – click any image for full size

Tango with Nottoo started life some three years ago as a tango dance venue occupying a Mainland parcel. The brainchild of Nottoo Wise, the club has expanded over the year, both in terms of size and offerings, and in August of 2022, it completed a move to its own Full region, where it continues the original club lounge as well as offering a range of dance venues, a movie theatre, beach, art gallery – and an eclectic mix of “hidden” attractions.

With its primary function being dance, music and entertainment, the region is styled differently to the majority of those featured in these pages, in that there is little overt terraforming within the region. Instead it present a largely flat aspect, the surface area given over to the various venues for music and dancing. Which should not be taken to mean it is without character; it’s simply that its character is invested in the venues and facilities offered.

Tango with Nottoo, November 2022

The dance settings take multiple forms, from the main ballroom, through the outdoor Always Tango area, where – as the name implies – an opportunity to dance a tango is always available (and, for those seeking a dance partner, the opportunity to find one through the Tango with Partners group) and the venues for both blues and jazz, to the outdoor dance expo garden and the very Deco inspired outdoor dance floor.

These all share the region with the Roxy Theatre, where dance performances may be held, the Bijou movie theatre, an art gallery, a 1950’s style diner and multiple places to sit outside and relax. Chief among these are the fine dining area, the beach and and an over-the-water bayou-style bar. Dancing is available through thanks to well-placed dance machines ,and the region boasts over 300 couples dances, a Spot-on Group Dance System, male and female individual dances and even a 3-person dancer!

Tango with Nottoo, November 2022

All of these points of interest are accessible from the main landing point – just follow the labelled paths leading away from it. The landing point also provides a wealth of information via notecard givers (and some gifts for visitors), as well as the daily schedule of events. A bicycle rezzer is available for those wishing to explore by means other than using their feet, and the Landing point is also home to one of the stations’ little railcar stations.

The  latter provides access to the region’s public “hidden” areas, sitting beneath the land and the waves. To explore them, click the railcar sign at the station and hop aboard the little two-seater car it rezzes ((if you are riding on your own, make sure you sit on the right-hand side). Take the car to start the ride, and the car will carry you through an eclectic series of settings linked by tunnels. Each setting has its own little station in the form of a barrier that will stop the car (allowing you to get out and explore) and a further rezzer (allowing you to resume your ride). Should you opt not to explore any of these settings, touch the barrier to make it raise out of the way, and your car will resume its journey.

Tango with Nottoo, November 2022

Off to the east side of the region are two smaller islands. Accessible via jet ski, the northernmost of these islands presents a garden space open to all and, at the time of my visit, caught in the colours of autumn. south of this, the second island is a “members only” area, only accessible to those joining the Tango with Nottoo group (at no charge). Reached via a members-only teleport at the main landing point, the member’s island is one of the many benefits offered to group members – for details of the rest, check the Tango with Nottoo Member Benefits notecard available via the information board at the landing point for full details.

For anyone who loves dancing, Tango with Nottoo offers a lot, whilst the additional facilities – including the art gallery, which I barely touched upon here despite it hosing an exhibition of Milly Sharpe’s fabulous fractal art at the time of my visit – means the region has a lot to attract Second Life explorers as well.

Tango with Nottoo, November 2022

With Nottoo being out-world for much of her time, the region is largely cared for by Mona Layla (Monalayla) – who extended an invitation to me to visit;  and Rachela Rossini – who gave her time to answer my questions during my visit as well as providing a pleasant welcome. To both of them I offer my thanks.

SLurl Details

Tango with Nottoo (Tango, rated Adult – but using Moderate rules within the public spaces)