The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript, and were taken from my chat log and the video by Pantera – my thanks to her as always 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.
Meetings 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
On Tuesday, May 28, the Main SLS channel was restarted without any deployment.
On Wednesday, May 29th:
The BlueSteel RC channel should be updated with a re-deployment of the Spring Break Simulator update, after this had to be rolled back in week #20, and didn’t make the cut for week #21.
The rest of the RC simhosts will be restarted.
Upcoming Deployment
The major deployment for June is set to be Summer Fun. Among other things this should include:
Leviathan Linden’s game controller event work to support game controllers – although these will require a viewer-side update to expose the updated viewer UI.
Rider Linden’s work on the SL Combat System (SLCS) 2.0 updates (see my Combat User Group summaries for more).
LSL updates:
A new parameter to llRezObjectWithParams REZ_PARAM_STRING – allows the passing of a 1024 char string to the object being rezzed.
llGetStartString() to retrieve the string.
A fix for the notecard cache so that it a fixed amount of memory (enough memory to store 48 max-sized notecards) rather than the count of notecards.
SL Viewer Updates
No official viewer updates at the start of the week, leaving the pipeline as:
Release viewer: Maintenance X RC (usability improvements), version 7.1.7.8974243247, dated May 8 and promoted May 13 – no change.
Release channel cohorts:
Materials Featurettes RC viewer, version 7.1.8.9103842320, May 17.
Maintenance C RC (reset skeleton in all viewers), version 7.1.7.8820704257, May 6.
Maintenance B RC (usability updates / imposter changes) 7.1.7.8820696922, April 29.
A further discussion on potential HTTP updates (such has the ability to read HTML).
A question on increasing the memory limit for scripts – in short, nothing in the works at present.
Both of the above sparked a general and overlapping discussion – please refer to the video below.
A request was made for a SL Combat 2.0 feature – the ability to teleport vehicles (which obviously could be used for other applications).
As Rider Linden pointed out, just one issue here is that regions (and parcels within them) can block object entry, and thus could cause teleports of vehicle at scale to go awry at times, as the teleport would have no way of knowing if vehicle entry is permitted at the destination location.
However, he requested the idea be submitted as a feature request so that it can be discussed internally.
† 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.
NovaOwl, May 2024: Christian Carter – The Power of Hope
The Power of Hope is the title of the May / June exhibition within the ground-level gallery space at the NovaOwl Gallery, operated by Uli Jansma and Owl Dragonash. It features images by Christian Carter (and marks for me, I believe, the first time I’ve encountered his work in a solo exhibition)which are linked by a core theme, as symbolised by a vibrantly coloured butterfly.
[In] this exhibition I wanted to be uplifting. We all need more positive things, more smiles, more light. Here I am telling a story about a butterfly that symbolizes a Hope and travels around the World. Travel with me…
Once you choose hope anything is possible.
– Christian Carter, The Power of Hope
NovaOwl, May 2024: Christian Carter – The Power of Hope
What follows, across the two halves of the gallery space is a journey of images, some of them framed by quotes or aphorisms emphasising the power of hope, even in the more desolate or downtrodden aspects of life. The art is loosely grouped within the galley’s halls in terms of style and presentation: within the larger, airer hall are very large format pieces leaning strongly towards a black-and-white / monochrome finish, with the sub-divided space of the smaller hall presenting pieces sized to suit its wall space and within which the use of colour is much more prominent.
It’s a highly effective approach; with their focus perhaps more on the realities of day-to-day life as well as touching on the more metaphysical aspects of hope, the monochrome images give a clear symbol of the latter through the focused presence of colour or the considered use of reflections on glass to suggest brightness (and therefore hope), whilst their broader monochrome composition offers commentary on the realities of the present.
NovaOwl, May 2024: Christian Carter – The Power of Hope
It is within this section that the exhibition has perhaps its most poignant pieces in the form of There is Always the Light and Despite all of the Darkness, both of which particularly speak to some of the malaise affecting modern society (waste and destruction / homelessness and our too-often indifference to it) – and the expression of hope that one day we will all overcome these issues and attitudes for the betterment of ourselves and others.
Within the smaller gallery space, the images are perhaps more metaphorical in nature, reflecting the aphorisms (some of which might be seen as truisms, but which are nevertheless lifted above the trite through Christian’s excellent artwork and use of colour). These are perhaps more uplifting images in terms of the richness of colour within them, although the underpinning truths they contain speak as clearly as those framing the monochrome pieces. In addition, further touches of social commentary might be seen in both some of the expressions written on the gallery walls and in the little 3D elements Christian has put together is support of his images (such as the little homeless bear in one corner).
NovaOwl, May 2024: Christian Carter – The Power of Hope
Visually engaging and with a positive message for the future built on reflections on life, The Power of Hope will remain at NovaOwl through May and into June.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week through to Sunday, May 26th, 2024
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: 7.1.6.8745209917, formerly the Maintenance Y/Z RC ( My Outfits folder improvements; ability to remove entries from landmark history), dated April 19 and promoted April 23 – No Change
The 2024 (and 16th) Second Life Sci-Fi Con is currently in progress across eight regions (+ the landing point region and teleport hub). It will run through until June 4th, 2024, raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in association Team Fox, the fund-raising branch of the Foundation, and Creations for Parkinson’s in Second Life, and with the support of Linden Lab.
This year Sci-Fi Con proudly presents “Sci-Fi Con 16: Altered State.” Our mission is clear: to unite individuals from diverse backgrounds for the betterment of our shared world. Our vision extends beyond the virtual boundaries, aiming to make a significant impact in the lives of those affected by Parkinson’s disease. To achieve this, we are committed to giving 100% of the proceeds directly towards the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Together, we stand united, making a real difference in the pursuit of a better future.
– From the Sci-Fi con website
2024 SL Sci-Fi Con
As is usual for the event, many of the sci-fi franchises popular in Second Life are present at the Con, with shopping spread throughout the regions, together with entertainment and other events. The best way to find out about the latter is via the Con’s event page (all times SLT) – although whether it was my browser or an issue in general, I found clicking URLs opened Google Maps rather than the SL Map, so hopefully it will work for you.
All of the regions can be reached via the teleport boards at the main hub and within each of the regions. It is also possible to walk between them and over the water to / from the hub. I believe a monorail system is available, but during my visits, I didn’t actually see it operating, so not sure.
2024 SL Sci-Fi Con
This year’s convention includes the Scavenger Hunt – HUDs available at the Hub. So, prepare your away team / landing party, set phasers on fun and head over to the Sci-Fi Convention.
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024 – click any image for full size
Not too long ago I noted that I’d received notice that Bella’s Lullaby – a place oft covered in these pages – was about to undergo a makeover as the hands of region holder BellaSwan Blackheart (thank you, Johann!), and so whilst waiting I toddled off to visit Bella’s other setting, A Place in the Sun (see Finding A Place in the Sun in Second Life). Well, turns out I didn’t have to wait long for the updated Bella’s Lullaby to arrive; it’s now once again open for business, so I bounced over to see what is new.
At the time of my last visit to the region, back in February 2024, I noted that the region had something of a North European feel to it – like a small island nestled along the Scottish coast or Europe’s Wadden or Baltic Sea coastlines. With this iteration, the region maintains something of a similar vibe – albeit one where the off-region mountains might suggest his location is further north and west and lying off of Norway’s marvellous “crinkly bits” (as Douglas Adams once referred to it) coastline.
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024
There are certain similarities about this design and the last iteration of Bella’s Lullaby – and indeed, with A Place in the Sun – which gave me a subtle sense of being on an island-hopping journey with Bella through a place where the different islands are perhaps all part of the same chain. There are motifs and elements common to two out of the tree – or even all three – that can be spotted as one explores. This is common enough given the way items in inventory can be repurposed and / or reused, and certainly not to the region’s negative; rather the reverse in fact as it allowed my imagine to suggest a narrative linking these places together in my head.
This is again a design where less is more – an approach at which Bella is exceedingly good. The landscape presents a semi-rugged, low-lying island. Forming the same of a “C”, it sits with the open mouth of the “C” pointing westwards to cup a shallow bay in the island’s grassy arms. A single thumb tack of an island is pinned in the open mouth of the bay, a lighthouse atop it providing warning of the shallow waters within. There are no hills here, just a gentle undulation across the landscape as it keeps itself above the rippling of the surrounding waters, the coastline moss and grass-topped rock that drops sharply into those waters without feeling the need for any intervening shoreline of shingle or sand.
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024
As well as the lighthouse, the island is home to a house and a cabin. Both are topped with turf on their roofs to help with insulation, with the house offering a attic space large enough to form a bedroom, although only a sofa occupies it. Who lives here is open to the imagination – but whoever they are, they certainly love their cats! Despite being barely furnished, the house has a cosy feel to it, possibly because of the overgrown nature of the grounds surrounding it; shrubs and flowers hem it in, combining with the vines climbing the walls to give the house a sense of warmth and hideaway.
A rough path runs around the shore of the bay to reach the cabin. This is a much smaller affair, and appears to be more of a washroom / garden house than a home.
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024
The two arms of the island are of slightly different width, broad where it is home to the larger house, then narrowing gently as it sweeps around past the cabin, giving the impression of a tail trailing away from the main body of land. As well as the house and cabin, the wider portion of the island boasts a large coppice of trees between cabin and house with a smattering of outlying small tress to either side which appear to be standing guard over this side of the island. The tail, however, is without trees and displays more of the island’s rocky underpinning as it points back past the lighthouse.
Within this landscape is wildlife and animals a-plenty: the cats already mentioned (more of which are to be found outside), chickens, geese, goats, cows – not to mention the local birds. A sound scape adds further depth here, offering the bleat of goats and the musical joy of birdsong.
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024
This is a place very much for wandering and photography; the open nature of the landscape allows for multiple opportunities for landscape photography, whilst the scattered elements of smaller details encourage more focused pieces. And believe me, camming around carefully is well worth it, Bella’s ability to put together little vignettes that suggest her settings are living, breathing places is excellent, and there is a rich clustering of these around the main house – some in plain view, others perhaps requiring a little patience to focus in on.
If you’re looking for cuddle spots, then it is possible this setting might appear to disappoint; just be sure to take a closer look. There are places to sit aplenty, all neatly spread across the region indoors and (particularly) out, and several include single and couple sits, with one also including options for taking a plunge in the waters of the bay (and for engaging in a little kung fu or practicing anything you may have learned at Hogwarts!).
Bella’s Lullaby, May 2024
Bella always produces memorable settings to explore, appreciate and photograph, and this iteration of Bella’s Lullaby is no exception – so do be sure to pop along and pay a visit.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Chile, as it nears completion. It is now the house of the world’s most powerful digital camera, with a 3200 megapixel resolution. Credit: NSF / NOIRLab screen capture
So, what is the megapixel resolution of your favourite camera / phone / tablet camera? Leaving aside the questions of sensor size, pixel light bleed and so on, all of which influence the quality of images over and above mere megapixel count, people seem to take great pride in the camera’s megapixel resolution; so is it 16, 20, 24, 30? Well, how about 3200 megapixels?
That’s the resolution of the world’s most powerful digital camera. Not only that, but its sensor system is so large (64 cm (2 ft) across) it can ensure every single pixel produces the absolute minimum in light-bleed for those around it, ensuring the crispest, deepest capture possible per pixel. This camera is called The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera – which is a rather poetic and accurate name for it, given that in looking out into deep space it will be looking back in time – and it has been 20 years in the making. It is the final element of a major new stellar observatory which will soon be entering full-time service: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and it will lie at the heart of the observatory’s primary telescope, the Simonyi Survey Telescope.
The observatory is located 2.682 kilometres above sea level on the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, a location that is already the home of two major observatories: Gemini South and Southern Astrophysical Research Telescopes. Originally itself called the LSST – standing for The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope – the observatory was first proposed in 2001, and work initially commenced through the provisioning of private funding – notably from Lisa and Charles Simonyi, who put up US $20 million of their own money for the project (and hence had the telescope named for them), and a further US $10 million from Bill Gates.
By 2010, the potential of the observatory was such that it was identified as the most important ground-based stellar observatory project by the 2010 Astrophysics Decadal Survey – a forum for determining major projects in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics which should receive US funding in the decade ahead. This led the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide an initial US $27.5 million in 2014, as the first tranche of funding via the US government, while the US Department of Energy was charged with overseeing the construction of the observatory, telescope and the primary camera system, with the work split between various government-supported / operated institutions and organisations.
A dramatic shot of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory following the completion of all major construction work on the building in 2022. Set against the backdrop of the Milky Way galaxy as we look towards its bright centre, the image brilliant captures the Great Rift, a huge shroud of interstellar dust which hides a strip of the Milky Way from our view. The Simonyi Telescope and LSST camera will be able to look right into the Rift and hopefully discover what might be lurking there. Credit: NSF / AURA
Whilst originally called the LSST, the observatory was renamed in 2019 in recognition of both its core mission – studying (the still hypothetical) dark energy and dark matter by a number of means – and in memory of astronomer Vera Rubin (July 1928 – December 2016); one of the pioneers of dark matter research. It was her work on galaxy rotation rates which provided key evidence for the potential existence of dark matter, and laid the foundation upon which later studies into the phenomena could build.
As well as this work, the observatory and its powerful camera will be used for three additional major science tasks:
Detecting transient astronomical events such as novae, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, quasar variability, and gravitational lensing, and providing the data to other observatories and institutions for detailed follow-up, again to increase our understanding of the universe around us.
Mapping small objects in the Solar System, including near-Earth asteroids which might or might not come to pose a threat to us if their orbits around the Sun are shown to intersect with ours, and also Kuiper belt objects. In this, LSST is expected to increase the number of catalogued objects by a factor of 10–100. In addition, the telescope may also help with the search for the hypothesized Planet Nine.
Mapping the Milky Way. To increase our understanding of all that is happening within our own galaxy.
To achieve this, the telescope is a remarkable piece of equipment. Comprising an 8.4 metre primary mirror – putting it among the “large” – but not “huge” earth-based telescope systems – it has a mechanism capable of aligning it with a target area of the sky and allowing the LSST camera capture an image before slewing the entire multi-tonne structure through 3.5 degrees, and accurately pointing it for the next image to be captured in just 4.5 seconds (including time needed to steady the entire mount post-slew). This means the telescope will be able to survey the entire visible sky above it every 3-4 days, and will image each area of sky surveyed 825 times apiece, allowing for a comprehensive library of images and comparative data to be built over time.
A cutaway view of the LSST camera, showing the lens system, filters, CCD and major electronics. Credit: Todd Mason
In turn, to make this possible, the LSST camera is equally remarkable. Operating a low temperatures, it has a primary lens of 1.65 metres in diameter to capture the light focused by the telescope’s unique set of three main mirrors (two of which – the 8.4 metre primary and the 5.0 metre tertiary – are effectively the “same” glass, being mounted back-to-back). This light is then direct through a second focusing lens and a set of filters to screen out any unwanted light wavelengths, to no fewer that 189 charge couple devices (CCDs).
These are arranged in a flat focal plain 64 cm (2 ft) across, and mounted on 25 “rafts” which can be individually fine tuned to further enhance the quality of the images gathered. In use, the focal plain will be able to capture one complete, in-depth, time-exposed image every 15 seconds, allowing it to capture the light of even the faintest objects in its field of view. Combined with the speed with which the telescope can move between any two adjacent target areas of the sky – each the equivalent of a gird of 40 full Moons seen from Earth – this means that the camera will produce around 20-30 terabytes of images every night, for a proposed total of 500 petabytes of images and data across its initial 10-year operational period.
The 64-cm wide focal plane of the LSST camera showing the grid of 189 CCD devices that will capture light and create images. Credit: Jacqueline Orrell / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
As noted, the LSST camera is the last major component for the telescope to arrive at the observatory. It was delivered from the United States on May 16th, 2024, and will be installed later in 2024. As it is, all of the core construction work at the observatory – base structure, telescope mount, telescope frame and dome – has been completed, with the telescope delivered and mounted between 2019 and 2023. In 2022, a less complex version of the LSST camera, called the Commissioning Camera (ComCam) was also installed in preparation for commissioning operations to commence.
Most recently – in April 2024 – work was completed on coating the primary and tertiary mirror assembly with protective silver, so it is now ready for installation into the telescope (the 8 metre secondary mirror is already in place). This coating work could only be done at the observatory and once all major construction work have been completed, meaning the three mirrors have been carefully stored at the site since their respective arrivals in 2018 and 2019.
Commissioning will see the ComCam used to assist in ensuring the mirrors correctly moments and aligned, and to allow engineers make physical adjustments to the telescope without putting the LSST camera at risk. Commissioning in this way also means that issues that may reside within the LSST camera are not conflated with problems within the mirror assembly. Once science teams and engineers are confident the telescope and its mirrors are operating exactly as expected, the ComCam will be replaced by the LSST camera, which will then have its own commissioning / calibration process.
If all goes according to plan, all of this work should be completed by 2025, when the observatory will commence the first phase of its science mission. However, there is one slight wrinkle still to be ironed out.
The ComCam – Commissioning Camera – a simpler version of the LSST camera, but sharing its dimensions, being installed into the Simonyi Telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, August 2022. Credit: NSF / AURA
As a result of growing concern among astronomers about the growing light pollution caused (particularly) by the 4,000+ SpaceX Starlink satellites, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) carried out a survey on behalf of AURA – the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, which is now responsible for managing the observatory’s operations – to measure the potential impact of Starlink overflights on the Vera Rubin’s work.
Using the La Silla Observatory, located in the same region as the Vera C. Rubin and at near enough the same altitude, ESO replicated the kind of 15-second image exposure the latter will use when operational, and found that during certain periods of the Vera C. Rubin’s daily observation times, between 30% and 50% of exposures could be impacted by light trails formed by the passage of multiple Starlink satellites overhead.
SpaceX has promised to do more to “darken” their satellites in the future (the first attempts having had mixed results), but AURA is also considering whether or not to make updates to the LSST camera’s CCDs and control system to allow the camera to overcome image pollution from these satellites. Such work, if proven viable, will need to be carried out ahead of the LSST’s installation into the telescope, and thus might result in the start of operations being pushed back.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 