Day: July 21, 2026

2026 week #30: SUG meeting summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Simulator User Group meeting place at Longfellow

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, July 21, 2026 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. These notes form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. They were taken from the video recording by Pantera, embedded at the end of this summary – my thanks to Pantera for 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 is held every other Tuesday at 12:00 noon, SLT (holidays, etc., allowing), per the Second Life Public Calendar.
  • The “SUG Leviathan Hour” meetings are held on the Tuesdays which do not have a formal SUG meeting, and are chaired by Leviathan Linden. They are more brainstorming / general discussion sessions.
  • Meetings are held in text in-world, at this location.

Simulator Deployments

  • As recorded in my notes from the the previous Simulator User Group, there has been a bug which has been causing some regions to fail to grant capabilities.
    • A hot fix for this was deployed on July 14 and July 15 across all simhost channels. This is described as “not a complete fix, but at least now we aren’t taking out an entire simhost at a time”.
  • Tuesday, July 21 saw the SLS Main channel server restarted without a deployment.
  • Wednesday July 22 should see the Mango update deployed to the simulator RC channels.
  • The next simulator release after Mango is Nectarine.

In Brief

  • Rider Linden has as been finishing up a first pass on the VS code integration and is looking forward to getting it out, although it will need to be coordinated with the next Lua release
  • Leviathan Linden:
    • Has cut a new pre-release of the game_control viewer, and acknowledged the assistance of user Wolfgang Senizen for submitting changes to help in mapping actions to buttons, and Horny nuzzle for the suggestion to use PromptFont for the game_control preferences UI (see my Leviathan Office Hours notes).
    • What’s new with the updated viewer:
      • You can map buttons to avatar movement actions.
      • The DPad is mapped by default to fwd/back and strafe left/right.
      • You can run if you tilt the sticks far enough.
      • The UI mapping is revamped, mapping actions to inputs rather than the other way around.
      • There is an improvements to show the raw inputs/outputs in the per-device axes options (offset, invert, dead_zone), another sub-tab that shows raw data being sent to the server.
    • There are some further server-side aspects to game_control Leviathan wishes to complete, but these will be as his schedule allows.
    • Following discussion of an issue he introduced into UDP messaging at his last Office Hours meeting, he now has a fix for the problem (which is related to avatars that stay cloudy on log-in).
  • Roxie Linden noted that:
    • Has been working on the WebRTC p2p IM bug where sessions fail to start, and is making progress. There is now a potential fix for at least some of the failures, and which should be going out “soon”.
  • Pepper Linden:
    • Has been “hacking away on a new test harness” which creates a “fake grid” with multiple real simulators and viewers, and which can be used to reproduce some of the more tricky scenarios that are hard to pin-down – in this case, region crossing issues.
    • As a result of this, Pepper has managed to put together some fixes which – all things being equal – should help out with vehicle region crossings.
      • These fixes include changes to hold a vehicle in a region until all passengers are “ready” before it is allowed to enter another region, with an extension to what it means for a viewer to be “ready”.
      • This means the hand-off will only be performed after each passenger/viewer has polled their new neighbour’s event queue and it’s been able to verify there’s a real circuit/session in place.
      • Pepper is willing to have these updates deployed to the Blake Sea region on Aditi (the Beta grid) for user testing.
    • Pepper also noted that there is still an open question of how to handle region hand-offs when an avatar is crossing into parcel to which they do not have access to, such as perhaps fining the nearest open parcel and deliver the avatar there , or simply “tunnel through” the blocking parcel.
    • Another issue area Pepper hopes to be able to look in to is getting caught in TP limbo.
  • Harold Linden (Lua):
    • Is currently trying to catch-up on a backlog of word after being caught up with a house move an all that has involved.
    • Given the majority of changes LL wanted to implement are now in the SLua 0.710 branch and are relatively stable, he plans to merge-in the updates from upstream Luau in the next day or so.
      • This was not going to include the Luau integer implementation, however, as discussion in the meeting which indicated that integers are enabled by default, classes are not, in the most recent Luau updates may have given Harold pause to consider swapping LL’s integer implementation over to the upstream Luau implementation first.
      • He also noted he’s very much like for classes to be stabilized before general release but will “see how that goes”.
      • Once merged, the updates will take a little time to reach release as he catches up on the pending definition changes.

General Discussion

Please refer to the video below for  more on the following.

  • Pepper’s work on vehicle region  crossing led the a discussion on banlines and providing better means for those driving / sailing / boating / flying to identify parcels they are not able to access before then come up against the banlines and encounter problems (being unseated, becoming stuck and having to relog, etc., losing their vehicle, etc) – such as by highlighting parcels where access is block on the Mini-Map.
    • This led to a discussion on security orb, warning, marking parcels with orbs in operation, etc.
  • A further general discussion on Lua ran through the latter 2/3s of the meeting, interpolated with the above discussion for part of the time.
  • The slight drop on crossing regions when free-flying was discussed among region attendees.
  • Assorted commentary and one or two gripes and some viewer-side requests with the suggestion they are referred to the viewer (open-source) meetings.

Date of Next Meetings

  • Leviathan Linden: Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
  • Formal SUG meeting: Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

Cica Ghost’s Visiting a Friend in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cica Ghost, July 2026: Visiting a Friend

July 19th, saw the opening of Cica Ghost’s latest installation in Second Life, to which she kindly sent me an invitation to pop in and see. Entitled Visiting a Friend, it presents a bright colourful setting in keeping with the summer time, one mindful of a coastal region and memories of visiting the beach (or sea-side, if your prefer).

This is a place of grass and sand, where rowing and fishing boats bob on the waves and storks wade the shallows. Sand dunes rise from the grass, some of them topped by sand castles, and one by a row of brightly-painted sea-side houses reached by a ladder and home to some of Cica’s art, whilst overhead giant balloons (on which you can sit) float.

Cica Ghost, July 2026: Visiting a Friend

Watching over all of this is a – literal – blue whale complete with a little house on its head. The latter is a cosy little place with a comfortable bed and happy flower in a pot and a slightly curious cat-like pet. It appears to be the home of a little duck going by the picture on the wall and the little chap outside.

Also watching over the setting is a sand-built lighthouse atop another sand dune complete with the keeper’s cottage on the neighbouring dune, reach via a bridge. However, it is at the top of the lighthouse that accommodation might be found – albeit watched over by a toothy spider.

Cica Ghost, July 2026: Visiting a Friend

It’s all a happy scene, one not even spoiled by the presence of an erupting volcano given it seems more intent on throwing firework-like trails up into the air rather than bringing forth lava. All of it sits under a starry sky in keeping with the quote Cica has chosen for the installation:

Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they are there.

And who – or what – is the (good) friend(s) in question? Well, anyone who went to the beach during childhood likely has happy memories of those occasions; memories which are as much comforting friends as they are recollections. And like the stars in the sky, while we might not always think of them, they are always there, just waiting for us to remember.

Cica Ghost, July 2026: Visiting a Friend

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The artistic beauty of Monet’s Pond, Frogmore in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026 – click any image for full size

I recently caught a new entry in the Destination Guide for Frogmore, the region and setting held by Dandelion Rabbit (or as she used to be known, Tolla Crisp) – something bound to get me reaching for my camera and notebook before doing the magical teleport hop.

Over the years, Dandelion has been responsible for a number of public regions in Second Life, some she has created herself, and others – as with the various Frogmore iterations – in collaboration with Dandy Warhlol Terry Fothrington), with most of them created under her Frogmore estate banner, and a fair few, past and present, covered within these pages.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

A Full region leveraging the available Land Capacity Bonus, Frogmore has – at least during the time I had been covering it through to 2022 (it’s been a whole four years since I last dropped in!) – tended to take inspiration from the coastal regions of England’s county of Cornwall. However, for the summer 2026 version the inspiration shifts more toward France in terms of some of the architecture present, and takes the name Monet’s Pond in reflection of the use of colour throughout.

Which is not to say any of the dramatic beauty of the region has been lost, far from it; the rugged looks and the mix of both elevation and water continue to result in a place of visual and natural splendour.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

 

Step into a dreamy summer at Frogmore’s newest chapter — Monet’s Pond. All the waters of the region have been freshly painted in the soft, shimmering hues of a Claude Monet masterpiece — hushed lilacs, misty greens, silvered blues, and warm golden reflections that dance gently in the sunlight.

– Frogmore’s Destination Guide entry

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

This is a place which genuinely feel much larger than a 256×256 sized region; just when you think you’ve managed to see all of it, the chances are you’ll find another corner awaiting exploration.

It is also a place where a degree of mystery and magic await discovery, and a sense of fantasy enters without ever feeling out of place. Indeed, the entire setting carries with it a feeling it is one step removed from the world in which we otherwise live, where the everyday happily resides with the not-so-ordinary.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

Part of the reason the setting feels so big is that use of elevation mentioned above. Parts of the setting are set with high cliffs and escarpments rising to flat tops. These form an arc around the edge of one corner of the setting whilst points fingers inland the naturally intrude into the lowlands and serve to bot reveal and hide. The highest elevation of these uplands is taken up by the bulk of an almost-Norman-style castle and the houses of a somewhat medieval-looking town for which the castle may have once served as guardian.

Sitting between the two is a dramatic gorge, spanned by a bridge forming an excellent choke-point for any armies which may once have attempted to attack the castle in times past. The long finger of rock on which the village is set points its way north is one of the escarpment naturally splitting the land, descending through gentle tiers down to the lowlands and waters below.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

Another promontory also extends northwards from the castle’s feet, pushing inland with steep slopes and walls of rock. Sheltered between the tall rms of rock and overlooked by the village, sits an inlet cutting deep into the landscape by way of the gorge spanned by the castle’s bridge.

With outlets passing under further bridges, the inlet gives way to wetlands and lowlands this inlet while the foreshores are beautifully set out (including possibly the best integrations of Marcthur Goosson’s Ma Maison farmhouse into a landscape I’ve seen). All of this, with its richness of colour, wildlife and coves and islands, remains largely hidden from the lands to the west.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

The lowlands across the region offer a mix of architectural styles, with cottages and small hold farms rubbing shoulders with larger townhouse-style homes. A second, very different castle raises its bulk to the north whilst free-flowing waters and wetlands quite naturally break the land up, further helping to give the setting a sense of size and space, whilst bridges help to keep feet dry as one explores.

The bridges, paths and trails running through the landscape provide the means to explore it fully and in detail and discover all that lies within. Whilst some of the buildings to the west are understandably unfurnished, this is more than made up for the manner in which has been set out as a mix of farmlands and wetlands rich in flora and wildfowl.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

In terms of the mystery and hints of magic can be found along the paths and steps of the village. It is here as well, that colour again brings depth and atmosphere to a wander between the shops, cottages and houses – all of which are decorated and furnished, adding to the delight of visiting this portion of the region.

One of the things essential for a visit is to use the region’s Shared Environment. This will really bring out the beauty of Monet’s Pond, including the reflections of colour across the waters when seen from the right angles which work with the hues of the trees and flowers and hanging lights to give the setting a feeling of being something Monet, had he been so minded, might have painted.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

To be perfectly honest, to describe Monet’s Pond is an exercise in futility; it simply has to be seen for itself. There is so much to be discovered, and so much attention to detail, the use of a colour palette with flowers, water reflections, blossoming tree and amongst the houses and shops of the village befitting of a Monet painting, words simply made the place feel dry.

What I will say is, I’ve followed Dandy’s work in landscaping down the years – ever since he worked with Belle des Champs (Bridget Genna) to produce the BarDeco series of locations (2016 through 2021) – and watching his landscaping skill mature and refine to produce truly memorable locations for land-holder and visitors alike has been a genuine pleasure. With the latest iteration of Frogmore he has achieve something truly special.

Frogmore: Monet’s Pond, July 2026

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