Day: February 6, 2024

2024 SL SUG meetings week #6 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Forgotten, January 2024 – blog post †

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. A video of the meeting is embedded at the end of this summary, my thanks as always to Pantera for recording the meeting and providing it.

Meeting Overview

  • The Simulator User Group (also referred to by its older name of Server User Group) exists to provide an opportunity for discussion about simulator technology, bugs, and feature ideas.
  • These meetings are conducted (as a rule):
  • They are open to anyone with a concern / interest in the above topics, and form one of a series of regular / semi-regular User Group meetings conducted by Linden Lab.
  • Dates and times of all current meetings can be found on the Second Life Public Calendar, and descriptions of meetings are defined on the SL wiki.

Simulator Deployments

Viewer Updates

No changes at the start of the week, leaving the list of official viewers as:

  • Release viewer: version 7.1.2.7215179142, formerly the glTF PBR Materials Maintenance RC, issued December 15, promoted January 8, 2024 – numerous bug fixes and improvements – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts:.
    • Maintenance-W RC viewer, version 7.1.3.7701974306, January 31, 2024 – bug and crash fixes.
    • Emoji RC viewer, version 7.1.3.7453691714, January 22, 2024.
    • glTF PBR Materials Maintenance-2 RC viewer, version 7.1.3.7467259489, issued January 12, 2024.
    • Maintenance X RC, version 7.1.1.7088410646, December 7 – usability improvements.
    • Maintenance Y RC, version 6.6.17.6935642049, issued November 21 – My Outfits folder improvements; ability to remove entries from landmark history.
  • Project viewers:

Reminders

Jira End-of-Road

New Combat User Group

  • The first meeting of the Combat Committee User Group will be held on Thursday, February 8th, at 13:00 SLT, and so will be alternating with the Content Creation User Group.
  • The venue for the meetings will be:  Longfellow/142/255/30. 
  • The initial format for the meetings will be text-only, but this may become a mix of voice / text according to attendees’ preferences.
  • Further details are available on the SL wiki, and the meeting is now on the SL Public Calendar.
  • As I’ve pointed out to Rider Linden having two alternate meetings on the same weekday at the same time called “CCUG” could cause confusion, this UG may be renamed. Apparently the leading contender as an alternative name is “Pugilist Parliament User Group” (PPUG), as the name “Pew-Pew User Group” has already been nixed internally at the Lab.

Game Controller Update

  • A new pre-release version of the game controller updates viewer being developed by Leviathan Linden can be downloaded via Github, although Leviathan is trying to get it listed on the official Alternate Viewers web page.
  • The game controller functions in this viewer will only work on the LeviathanLove, LeviathanLost and KaijuCorner regions on Aditi (the Beta grid).
  • With this update it is possible to remap the “Avatar movement actions” <–> “GameControl Input Channels” via mouse clicks, and it is possible to play with it even if there is no connected controller device. However:
    • Leviathan noted that here are some known oddities in the default mappings between the GameControl <–> Avatar movement actions, which he is hoping to fix soon.
    • If the mappings are customised, they do not currently save to settings as yet, so have to be customised again at the next log-in.
  • This sparked an on-going discussion on avatar movement options (such as having variable avatar speeds when moving  / in accordance with avatar size) which became intertwined with the discussion on animations (below).

In Brief

  • A request was made for a scripted means to sync worn Animesh animations with avatar animations.
    • This sparked a general discussion on animations + limitations of the current SL approach to handling them.
    • Whilst it was noted that there is a rising number of issues / requests related to the animation system, any work would likely be dependent on the glTF project & form a significant tranche of work in its own right.
  • The above segued into various ideas that had been raised within the (still suspended) Puppetry Project.
  • Further details in the video below.

† The header images included in these summaries are not intended to represent anything discussed at the meetings; they are simply here to avoid a repeated image of a rooftop of people every week. They are taken from my list of region visits, with a link to the post for those interested.

A Woodland Café in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Woodland Café and Library, February 2024 – click any image for full size
A whimsical café & library built on its own serene lake with lots of areas to explore and relax. The library is stocked with short stories for readers to get lost in. Bring your friends and family or come alone and enjoy a meal, relax with a warm drink, read some books, or just lounge around and take in the scenery. It is all ages and newcomer-friendly!

Having read these words via the Destination Guide, it was back on one of my café hopping expeditions in Second Life for me as I set out to visit the Woodland Café and Library, the work of Sienna Skye (Sienna Foxdale). And as I quickly discovered on arrival, they offer just a hint of what this thoroughly relaxing setting has to offer visitors.

Woodland Café and Library, February 2024

Nestled within the enfolding arms of the Briarwood residential estate, Woodland Café occupies its own Homestead region, and is largely separated from the rest of the estate by the surrounding lake, thus eliminating the risk of accidental incursion into someone’s house or garden. The one route into the estate on foot is presented by two bridges passing by way of one of the small islands sharing the waters close to the café island, making it possible for the local residents pop in.

Those teleporting to the Woodland Café will find themselves delivered to the island on which it stands, arriving roughly equidistant from one of the bridges leading back to the estate, a stone-and-wood pavilion (one of Cory Edo’s always excellent designs) and the path leading up to the café itself. Like me, Sienna  appears to have a fondness for Cory’s designs, as the café is another design from Trompe Loeil, whilst another of the little islands sitting alongside the café is home to Cory’s Jetje vintage caravan.

Woodland Café and Library, February 2024

This little islet can reached via stepping stones spanning the short neck of water between it and the café’s island; just follow the shingle cover shoreline as it curve around the side of the stone pavilion to find it. Warmed by a log fire and lit by lanterns and strings of light, the pavilion presents a comfortable retreat in which to relax or join friends (and strangers!) in quiet conversation whilst partaking of the refreshments offered on the tea trolley.

For those seeking a little more entertainment, a gravel path branches from the foot of the route up to the café proper. Skirting between the flat-topped mushroom of rock on which the café sits and the raised location of the pavilion, to provide access to a wooden deck where people can engage in Greedy Greedy, again warmed by a wood-burning fire and with refreshments taking the form of an espresso machine and frosted cupcakes.

Woodland Café and Library, February 2024

Once up on the rocky “mushroom”, visitors have a choice of taking the wooden steps leading to the café’s balcony and outside seating, or scrambling up a rocky lip to a wild garden area where someone appears to be cultivating mushrooms. Sadly, no places to sit are on offer in the garden, which is a bit of a shame as a blanket and some nibbles to enjoy would make it a nice little place for relaxing as well.

Fortunately, the café makes up for this by offering plenty of places to sit and relax or browse the web (sort-of! 🙂 ). Downstairs the counter with its temptations of drinks and waist-expanding goodies is imaginatively set is if in a woodland glade, the tables and chairs before equally set upon grass-like rugs to enhance the glade-like atmosphere. Mushrooms can also be found here, although there are far more decorative and functional / playful in nature, and Tiny visitors might well appreciate the mushroom fort with its cushions and opportunity to avoid being trodden on by oversized, clodhopping humans!

Woodland Café and Library, February 2024

The upper floor reveals why the café is also a library: interactive bookcases line two walls. When touched these will offer a menu of books, plays and short stories by the likes of Shakespeare, the Brother Grimm, and other available to read on the web, although here they take note card form and the selection is apparently updated weekly (note that these can also be obtained from the bookcase tree trunk outside of the pavilion). The seating on the upper floor is also set out so as to suggest or invite discussions or perhaps a reading circle.

People who desire a little more solitude are also catered for within the setting; a little rowing boat with mixed singles and couples poses is anchored in the lee of the islands, whilst the route towards the rest of the estate passes by a shaded hanging chair overlooking the little model boats sailing on the nearby pond. There is also the tiny island mentioned above, with its caravan and outdoor seating, whilst another rowing boat has been turned into a cosy sofa for those who are willing to seek out its semi-hidden location.

Woodland Café and Library, February 2024

To call this setting delightful would be an understatement; there is a natural blending of charm and nature (including local wildlife) throughout which is thoroughly engaging and photogenic throughout and well worth a visit.

SLurl Details