Author: Inara Pey

Eclectic virtual world blogger with a focus on Second Life, VR, virtual environments and technology.

2021 CCUG meeting week #5 summary – graphics

Posted on by Inara Pey
Jacob, December 2020 – blog post

The following notes were taken from my audio recording and chat log of the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting held on Thursday, February 4th 2021 at 13:00 SLT. These meetings are chaired by Vir Linden, with dates available via the SL Public Calendar.

The venue for meetings is the Hippotropolis camp fire.

Due to Vir having to depart the meeting early, the majority of the meeting focused on viewer rendering.

SL Viewer

There have been no updates since the promotion of the Dawa Maintenance viewer to de facto release status earlier in the week. the viewer pipelines therefore remain as:

  • Current release viewer Dawa Maintenance RC Viewer, version 6.4.12.555248, dated January 25, 2021, promoted February 1st, 2021 – NEW.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Project Jelly viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.553798, January 7, 2021.
    • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.553437, January 7, 2021.
  • Project viewers:
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 5 project viewer, version 6.4.12.553511, issued on January 7, 2021.
    • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, November 12.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

Viewer Rendering

Love Me Render Viewer

The Graphics team are getting close to an RC release of the Love Me Render 5 (LMR 5) viewer (project viewer version 6.4.12.553511 at the time of writing).

  •  The one remaining issue they addressing with it is the matter of incorrect vertex attribute normals (not normal maps themselves) being rendered with Debug Normals enabled in the viewer (see BUG-228952 “Mesh Debug Normals display incorrectly. Normal Maps on scaled objects appear to use incorrect mesh normals for shading calcs”).
    • This appears to occur with models created in Maya with normals applied, but which uses non-uniform scaling.
    • The fix involves updates to both the Debug Normals code and the affected shader code.
  • The focus of LMR 5 is EEP fixes, apparently including the inverted rainbow issue, going on comments made (although currently that isn’t listed in the release notes), together with more general fixes related to things like specularity renderings, etc. It also includes a number of TPV contributions that fix assorted rendering issues.
  • It is hoped an RC version of the viewer will be available in the next week or two, with the aim of moving it to release status as rapidly as possible.

Outside of any specific rendering work going on for LMR 5 (or which my be directed into the next Love Me Render viewer, aka LMR 6 (such as BUG-5975 and BUG-229462, which might be investigated as part of LMR 6 work), it was indicated the Graphics Team would like to work on the environment map, if only to reduce the performance load it currently places on rendering.

Rendering API Replacement

No specific updates at present on the replacement of OpenGL as the rendering API.However, it was indicated that consideration is still being given to supporting more than one rendering capability by means of some form of back-end “tool kit” or library. There are a number of reasons for this:

  • As indicated in my previous CCUG meeting summary, there appears to be a substantial portion of Windows users accessing Second Life on hardware that cannot support more recent APIs like Vulkan (which had been the preferred choice).
  • Whilst they are set to deprecate OpenGL at some point in the future (prompting the need for the switch away from OpenGL), Apple actually don’t provide native support for Vulkan, thus prompting the need for a second alternative (such as – perhaps – Apple’s own Metal API).
  • Therefore, the use of an intermediary tool box / library approach would, whilst adding a layer of complexity, allow Linden Lab to potentially leverage more than one rendering API to support a wider range of user hardware.

Looking to Possible Future Options

Some thought is being given to rendering capabilities beyond the replacement of OpenGL, such as physically based rendering (PBR).

  • It is important to note that none of these are currently being considered for adoption at this point in time; they are simply on the Graphics Team’s wish list of things they would like to look at.
  • As such, if something like PBR were to be adopted, it would not be until some time after the need to replace OpenGL has been addressed, which itself is liable to be a long-term piece of work.
  • In terms of PBR in particular, it was noted that in practical terms, it would only be of value on  objects that utilise PBR materials.
    • This likely means that if it  were implemented, it would be a opt-in capability: creators would set a flag against content they are importing to indicate it uses PBR, and thus use the required shaders.
    • Such an approach would prevent any “breakage” of existing content (which would effectively continue to be rendered “as is”, and in turn allows creators to determine which of their products they might like to update to / replace with models utilising PBR.
  • Outside of PBR, it was suggested that High-dynamic-range  (HDR) rendering might be something the Graphics Team would like to look at at some point in the future.

Mesh File Formats

Again, not a project under active development or something that will come about in the near future, but the Graphics team are also giving thought to potential mesh model file format support outside of the current .DAE.

  • In the past, users have expressed a desire for .FBX support; the problem here is potentially that whilst widely used and accepted as a “standard”, it is pretty much close-source by Autodesk.
  • The open-source Graphics Language Transmission Format  (gITF) has been suggested by some as an alternative, particularly given it is already supported by Blender as via a plug-in option, and the Graphics Team have indicated they will have a look at this as and when time allows.

Date of Next Meeting

  • Thursday, February 18th, 2021.

A return to Tonarino in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Tonarino, February 2021

On February 1st, we dropped in on Tonarino, the Full region held and designed by 秋元のん (n0rik0). At the time, the focus of our visit was the region’s sky platform, Nekomachi Street (see: The cats of Tonarino in Second Life), but I noted we also hopped down to see what had changed within the region’s ground level design since our last visit in December 2019 (as recorded in Tonarino: an oriental curio in Second Life), and I promised to provide an update.

Well, truth be told, first looks tended to suggest not a lot had changed; the majority of the region is still given over to a large landmass in part cut through by the single line of a railway track that terminates abruptly alongside a little station building, while a small stream slices through the bedrock. Around both lies a landscape suggestive of the outskirts of a town somewhere; the kind of place most people only see whilst rapidly passing through with barely a thought for those whole live there.

Tonarino, February 2021

However, further examination revealed to us that things had changed since December 2019 – although obviously I cannot say quite when they changed; and changed enough to provide a reason for further exploration and looking around.

In this, the most noticeable change lay to the north-west. where the land rises in rocky steps to overlook the rest of the region and particularly overshadows the local school.

Tonarino, February 2021

When we visited in 2019, I noted this was the home of a temple sitting within  a small garden area and overlooking a large traditional Japanese house occupying a shoulder of rock below it. Well, the temple is still there, complete with its little refreshment stand for those needing sustenance after the climb up to it or after a period of sustained prayer. However, and if memory serves, it has now descended from the uppermost table of rock upon which it once sat, to occupy the same elevation as once was occupied by the large house.

Instead, the high table of rock that was once home to the temple is now a lookout point with vending machines and seating. Below it, the walled house has also gone, replaced by a group of restaurant stalls sharing a common outdoors space for patrons, who can be entertained by two more of the remarkable juggling cats by 丸角の人 (shiro0822), who also make up the inhabitants of Nekomachi Street up on the sky platform.

Tonarino, February 2021

I admit, I’m not totally convinced about the nature of the food being served in one of the restaurant stalls, given it is being prepared and offered for consumption by red-faced little demons, so the fact the area also has a little shrine of its own sitting within a bamboo fenced enclosure is perhaps handily placed for those wishing to ward of any wicked spirits that may have been delivered to them with their meal! The shrine and its Torii gate also mark the path to where a stone stairway descends the snowy slopes between the little houses that cling to them, offering a further route back to (or from) the lowlands.

Elsewhere are other subtle changes. One of the private islands to the west side of the island has been removed; elements within the building site have changed (although overall progress on whatever is to be built / installed appears to be a little slow!) an there is what appears to be some work to be finished off behind the school, although visitors can still cross the footbridge and visit the café – although I’m not sure if the quizzes there are still being held.

Tonarino, February 2021

What I find particularly engaging with Tonarino is the manner in which it naturally suggests it is a work-in-progress, so to speak, with the excavator and building blocks in a cleared field, etc..  At the same time the careworn look of the buildings and houses give them a lived-in feel that suggests that while they may be less than pristine, they have the comfortable look and feel to those living within the little town.

Certainly Tonarino remains a place with plenty of opportunities for photography under almost any environment settings, and which – again like so many careworn places in the physical world – has little spots of beauty that suddenly leap out at you as you explore. And that very much retains it as a place worth looking at.

Tonarino, February 2021

And for those who wish to see Nekomachi Street’s marvellous cats, just look for the kitty dancing at the mouth of a road tunnel. Pat his head gently and he’ll get you there 🙂 .

SLurl Details

Linden Lab’s board of directors: snippets of news

Posted on by Inara Pey
Linden Lab’s new board of directors (l to r): Brad Oberwager, J. Randall Waterfield and Raj Date

Back in January, I provided a piece on the Lab’s new owners / board of directors, including their biographical notes as posted by the Lab (see: Meet Linden Lab’s new board of directors).

Since then, user interest in the new owners has remained fairly high in some areas, with questions being asked on social media, in-world, during user group meetings (the most recent being the Web User Group), etc.

Some of the more common questions that have been answered by Lab staff (and that I’m aware of) comprise:

  • Have they been in-world? – Yes, they were in-world prior to the deal being finalised, and still hop in as needed.
  • Do they understand SL? – Yes, they are enthusiastic about the platform and have already been contributing thoughts / ideas.
  • Have they seen any Adult regions? – Yes, they have.
  • Will they be talking directly with users (e.g. via a Town Hall)? – There have been no direct discussions as yet about this.
  • Do they have specific aspirations regarding SL / LL? – None that have been directly discussed; it’s been more a case of gaining a deeper familiarity with the platform and its potential.

For my part whilst writing Meet Linden Lab’s new board of directors I ruminated on Raj Date possibly being involved in Tilia Inc, the Lab’s micro-currency transaction management service, commenting:

His background with consumer affairs, finances, and his post-CFPB founding of Fenway Summer would appear to help lend significant weight to Linden Lab’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tilia inc; while he is not currently listed as a member of Tilia’s board, his background and expertise could be used in an advisory capability, and his name certainly brings a further level of gravitas to Tilia.

Since then things have moved forward.

In particular, Tilia’s Meet the Team page has been updated to reveal that both Raj Date and Brad Oberwager have joined the board, whilst former “non-Linden” (so to speak) board member Ben Duranske is not longer listed as being directly involved in the company. Both Mr. Date and Mr. Oberwager now hold seats on the board alongside of the Lab’s Chief Financial Officer, Anton Waldman, who has held both the position of Tilia Inc., CEO and Director and Treasurer on the board since taking over as the Lab’s CFO some time ago.

This is a move that makes a lot of sense, as it ensures a continuity of board oversight across both Linden Research and Tilia  Inc., potentially helping with the growth of both entities.

February 2021 WUG summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Web User Group meeting venue, Denby

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the SL public calendar.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

  • This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
  • Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

  • Core work remains clean-up post the transition to services to AWS.
    • Most of the issues arising from the Uplift project for the various web properties (e.g. Marketplace, Destination Guide, etc), appear to have been resolved, although the destination Guide still has a couple of issues to be fully resolved.
  • Once this has been completed, work will resume on sorting through the web “to do”list (which includes incoming bug reports and feature requests in readiness to start working through items.
  • There have been some additional non-user visible updates to some web properties.
  • As of the end of December 2020, there were three software toolsets LL use in relation Second life (none of them user-facing) awaiting a transition to AWS, as of the start of February, one of these has yet to be transitioned.

Single Sign-On

  • Linden Lab is starting to roll-out single sign-on for web properties (not to be confused with two-factor authentication, which is still being planned, but is not ready for deployment).
  • This will mean that users with multiple accounts will only be able to sign-in to different properties on a per account basis.
  • There will be a formal LL blog post to explain this further in due course.

Mobile Client

  • Linden Lab is dealing with some bugs, so no significant news arising from the past month.

Last Names

  • The Lab is hoping to have a new batch of Last Names available for around Valentine’s Day, which will include Valentine’s-themed last names.
  • There is some talk of also providing “normal” last names (for some definition of “normal”, given the likes of  “Aphelion”, “Birdwhistle”, “Dankworth”, “Izzard” and “Posey”, among many others are all considered “normal” where I come from!).
  • For new batches of Last Names, LL tend to select from the list of suggestions that came about from the 2019 Last Names competition, then add a mix of names they’ve selected.
  • It is also hoped that Last Name updates will happen more “regularly” in the future.

In Brief

  • There has been intermittent delays in getting items delivered from the Marketplace ( which can last up to several minutes) over the last week(ish). The issue has been hard for LL to reproduce, although they have been aware of it and had tried to make adjustments.
  • BUG-229713 “Marketplace listing status updates are not being updated between the web and the viewer” and BUG-230107 “Marketplace Listings window in the viewer does not update” have been confirmed by LL as an issue, and the issue is to be investigated.
  • Profile feed: there had been a series of issues of late (images failing to upload, posts failing to appear, etc.), but as of February 2nd, these should have been resolved. Anyone still experiencing problems should contact support / raise a bug report.
  • LL are continuing to consider how to improve the new user experience, and have been seeking feedback on what established users see as the “main” problem new users face. In addition, it was notes that in order to better understand new user problems when on-boarding, the Lab:
    • Has regular internal workshops where staff go through various aspects of being a new users (e.g.building an entire mesh-based avatar from scratch) to better understand the complexities lies, and where particular pain point might be.
    • Has staff spend time within new user environments (the learning / social islands, etc.)..
    • Has some of the user-led mentor groups to assist with the on-boarding process through the social and learning islands.

Next Meeting

  • Wednesday, March 3rd, 14:00 SLT.

Speedlight: a round-up of recent updates

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Speedlight

I’ve fallen behind in my tracking of Speedlight, the browser / Android / iOS Second Life client. There are several reasons for this – most of them down to me & time (or lack thereof), although I admit a couple of issues with the application have also kept me from using it. With regards to the latter, I’d like to offer a doff of my virtual hat and a “thank you” to the Speedlight Live Chat support mechanism and Speedlight Support Manager QuincyJohnes (that’s a name you have to love for it’s little play on things) for getting me sorted in very short order.

There have been numerous changes to Speedlight since my last article in July 2020 (see: Speedlight: group functionality and other updates), some of which are more under-the-hood than user visible, and there are several more in the pipeline. As such, this piece is offered as a quick round-up of things for those interested in Speedlight but who also haven’t yet had cause to use it, or like me, haven’t used it in a while.

Account Changes

  • Since November 22nd, 2020, Speedlight has no longer requires a dedicated user account to access the service.
  • While the option to create an account remains, new and existing users can now sign-in to Speedlight using any one of the following services on which they have an account: Google, Facebook, Apple or Discord.
  • Note that this is signing-in to the Speedlight service; it is not about logging-in to Second Life itself via Speedlight – you will still need to use your SL user name / password for this.
  • In addition, Speedlight on iOS supports FaceID log-in (again to the Speedlight service, not to Second Life).

IM Updates

  • User name is now displayed as well as display Name.
  • Long-tap / right-click options to pin IMs, mark them as unread, close an IM session or view the other person’s Profile.
    • Pinned IMs will appear with a red dot alongside them, at the top of the list of current / recent IN exchanges.
Speedlight IM exchange options – long tap (iOS / Android) or right click (browser) on avatar name in IM list to display
  • General improvements to link parsing in IMs, and improvements in reading off-line IM reading, starting IMs, etc.

Autoresponder

Speedlight now incorporates the ability to set-up and use auto responses to incoming IMs, accessed via IMs Autoresponder

  • Two options are available:
    • Autoreponse to be set when Speedlight logs you “Away”
    • Autoresponse when you are at your keyboard but do not wish to be distracted by responding to IMs immediately.
  • Each option has a default message than can be edited to suit your needs.
  • The relevant check box must be tapped / clicked in order to apply either / both settings, AND the Save Settings button tapped / clicked.
  • When initially set, the top of the Autoresponder panel will display “settings saved”.
  • In addition, the IM option in the left menu will display a red-bannered AUTO, which will also display the number of newly-received IMs.
  • Those sending you an IM will be sent an autoresponse based on your settings / status the first time they IM you (the message will not be repeated each time they IM you while they have the tab / panel to you open).
Speedlight Autoresponder options. Via IMs Autoresponder

Note: You can set the time your status will automatically switch to AWAY via Settings → General → Time to “Away” (default: 15 minutes). This option can also be accessed by tapping  / clicking the Configure option under the “Away” autoresponse field in the autoresponder panel.

Group Support

  • In my last update, I  noted the expansion of Group related capabilities in the browser version of Speedlight (e.g. search, view and send group notices, leave a group, invite someone to a group). Since that time, these capabilities have been extended to the Android and iOS versions of Speedlight.
  • It  is now possible to see your active group in the Groups list and change your active group via the Group Info panel.
Speedlight: identifying and changing your active Group
  • In addition, Speedlight now provides the ability to view Group roles, with the promise that the ability to edit them (by those with permission to do so) will follow in due course.
Speedlight: view Group roles

Pop-Up Notifications

Speedlight: notifications with interactions

Pop-up notifications are now available in all versions of Speedlight (i.e. IM, friendship offer / request, teleport offer / request).

  • Requests / offers requiring a response will include suitable buttons (see right).
  • IM pop-ups will include the text of the IM, but you’ll have to go to the IM screen to open and reply to the message (tapping / clicking the pop-up will not automatically open IMs).

General Updates

  • Ability to copy / paste location SLurl in Summary panel.
  • Multi-line chat input supported in all versions.
  • L$ and Transactions:
    • There is a “New recipient” warning for transactions.
    • The page now displays a list of recent recipients.
  • 3D World rendering:
    • Chat overlay in 3D world view available to all users, Gold and Free.
    • Interactions (long touch / right-click) on objects available to Free as well as Gold users.
      • Options are Touch (dialogue menu), Sit, Stand.
      • Dialogues are displayed in the top right of the 3D rendering panel.
  • Gold (subscription / payment) user updates for 3D view:
    • 3D  world view walk autopilot added to replace on-screen joystick.
    • In-world object touching with single click/tap.
    • In-world object touching using a pop-up menu.
    • Improved 3D GUI.
  • iOS version:
    • Now available via the Apple Store for anyone (Gold and Free).
    • Price is £22.99 (approx. US $31.37 / €26.09.
    • Price includes 1 free lifetime Gold membership with limited time offer on up to 3 avatar accounts.
    • Note price is set via Apple pricing / commission requirements.

Future Updates

Work continues to update Speedlight across the board, with feedback also being sought from users concerning features. A major update – with no time-frame on delivery at present – is an overhaul of the 3D rendering to provide full avatar rendering in the world view, rather than the current stick figures.

Upcoming avatar rendering. Credit: Speedlight team

Feedback

Not all of the above are necessarily “new” updates for Speedlight – as noted, I’m playing catch-up. However, it’s fair to say that those I’ve particularly highlighted increase the usability of the client, although things can remain a little rough in places – such as with 3D rendering, which even allowing for the aspects outside of Spreedlight’s direct control, still has a good way to go. But, as I’ve mentioned before, such a capability didn’t simply happen overnight with the likes of Lumiya – so further time needs to be allowed for further improvements to the capability beyond things like better avatar rendering.

For those who simply need mobile access to SL without necessarily needing 3D rendering, Speedlight continues to build out solid functionality, marking it as an effective communications  tool (chat, IM, Group, Friends),  with good transaction capabilities, and a basic set of inventory options (that will also hopefully be built on). And if you’re on iOS, remember you don’t have to purchase the App version; it is possible to run Speedlight through a browser on a mobile device via the website. Certainly, given its current capabilities, Speedlight could potentially give the Lab’s upcoming iOS / Android communications App some strong competition.

Related Links

2021 SUG meeting week #5 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Silent Night, December 2020 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting.

Server Deployments

At the time of writing,the release notes for the week had yet to be produced. However, Rider Linden summarised the state of play as follows:

We unfortunately found a bug in last week’s RC so did not promote it to SLS today. We instead will be rolling a new and shinier version back to the RCs tomorrow.
Also in tomorrows release the simulator will try and be “nicer” about how often it sends notifications about privileged script calls being made in an experience. It won’t send more than 1 per event per experience per agent every 30 seconds. So, calling llGetCameraPos followed by llGetCameraRot will only generate a single notification. There is an additional key now in the LLSD that comes down from the simulator “EventCount” that will tell the viewer how many times that particular event had occurred.

– Rider Linden

SL Viewer

The Dawa Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.4.12.555248, was promoted to de facto release status on Monday February 1st. All other official viewer pipelines remain as follows:

  • Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Project Jelly viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.553798, January 7, 2021.
    • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.553437, January 7, 2021.
  • Project viewers:
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 5 project viewer, version 6.4.12.553511, issued on January 7, 2021.
    • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, November 12.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

  • The lab is working to correct the on-going issues with Group chat (notably BUG-229936 “Group Notices not expiring after 14 days” and BUG-230116 “Sorting group notices by date disconnects the viewer”. A fix for the former should be available very soon, and does not require a simulator-side update (it’s a back-end fix).
  • What’s the difference between a viewer crash and a disconnect?
    • The Lab see a “crash” as being “my viewer exited without displaying any message”.
    • The viewer exiting SL with a message to the user (such as “you have been disconnected”) is not regarded as a viewer crash.
  • A change intended to fix BUG-228783 “llSitOnLink() is not generating Notifications nor logs in Events in the viewer”, and which improves notifications in general (including for llTakeControls), resulted in breaking a work-around for BUG-8265, affecting certain weapons in SL. This should be resolved following the February 3rd RC deployments.