Category: News-Opinion

Lab blogs on recent updates in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Haunted Halloween Tour is once again back for 2016, and accessible through the revamped portal parks
The Haunted Halloween Tour is once again back for 2016, and accessible through the revamped Portal Parks

On Monday, October 24th, Linden Lab blogged about some recent updates in Second Life, some of which I’ve previously covered in these pages. These comprise:

  • Four new Premium members’ sandboxes arranged in a 2×2 grid, with each region running an individual simulator channel (Main Channel Sandbox A, Magnum Sandbox A, LeTigre Sandbox A, and BlueSteel Sandbox A). These are intended to allow creators to test differences and potential issues with region crossings between different simulator channels as they are deployed.
  • A new Premium members’ Weapons Testing sandbox intended to provide an improved means for testing weapons systems without relying on public sandboxes.
  • The new scripted llSit feature for use with Second Life experiences.

Also included in the post is a note about the revamped Portal Parks. Now comprising two regions apiece, these provide access to all of the Lab-present experience and games available in Second life: Linden Realms (still apparently the most popular), PaleoQuest, The Cornfield and the Grid Hunt, together with the seasonal locations of Winter Wonderland, Isle of View, Halloween, and some new “social” areas which join the Gnome Village.

The overall layout of individual regions remains the same: a central landing point hub surrounded by signposted paths leading to the portals for each of the experiences, or to the social areas. In addition, a path now winds its way through the landscape of each pair of portal park regions, passing a further hub which looks almost like it is intended to be a central landing point, half-way between each of the  hubs.

In particular, the new design allows for further experiences to be added to the hubs over time, the most recent accessible one being the port to the Gaming Islands, which I covered back in August 2016. As the Lab’s blog post notes, there’s also a couple of hints of new experiences yet to come.

A hint of things to come? One of the unnamed areas in the revamped Portal Parks
A hint of things to come? One of the unnamed areas in the revamped Portal Parks

Given the nature of some of the experiences, not all are open all year round; hence why a visit today will reveal the Winter Wonderland and Isle of View (Valentines), for example, closed by barred gates. However, one that is again open is the Haunted Halloween Tour, which returns for its third season.

Initially opened in 2014, the Haunted Halloween Tour was the Lab’s first public trial of an experience which encompassed the Oculus Rift. It returned in 2015, this time sans Oculus support, but offering new twists and turns to keep people entertained. It’s back again, complete with the heavy nod towards a certain 80s film franchise (“they’re heeeere!”) and what I thought were a couple of new wrinkles compared to 2015 (but given a year has passed, I could be wrong on this). At 12-ish minutes long, I still find it a tad drawn out, but for those who like their spooks, it’s worth a visit.

If you want to tour the revised Portal Parks, grab the SLurls below:

Lab: 360 panoramic image capture coming to the viewer – soon!

Posted on by Inara Pey

It All Starts With a Smile; Inara Pey, October 2016, on Flickr The ability to take 360-degree panoramic shots is to be integrated into the viewer, with access via the snapshot floater (Image location: It All Starts With A Smile  – blog post – static image produced with the Illiastra Panoramic Camera HUD) – click the image to see it in 360-degree format

Just as I was working on an article about  the Illiastra Panoramic Camera and producing static / interactive 360-degree images of Second Life, I attended the Third Party Viewer Development meeting on Friday, October 7th. During that meeting, Troy Linden announced that the Lab are working on incorporating the capability to generate 360-degree snapshots directly into the viewer.

The new capability is to be called 360 Snapshot, and will be integrated into the snapshot floater (alongside of additional snapshot improvements contributed by TPV developer NiranV Dean – although these sit outside of the 360-degree feature).

In essence, the snapshot floater will act as a 360-degree camera rig, allowing you to position your avatar almost anywhere in-world and capture a full 360-degree image, stitched together by back-end processing by the Lab. The image will then be shareable via the SL Share feature, and should be available for download to your local drive.

The work is far enough advanced such that a test viewer (not a project viewer) will be appearing sometime quite soon, with the Lab being keen to get it capability out into the hands of users to try. However, the important thing to note is that it will be a test version – it will not be a final, polished solution right out of the gate. The idea is to give users an indication of things like picture quality, approach taken, etc., and allow the Lab to examine exactly how much additional functionality they need to consider / include in the capability.

Initially, the stitching element will be absent; users will have to take care of that themselves after saving the image set to their local drive. There are also some potentially significant issues the Lab want to look at in detail through the use of the test viewer.

In particular there is the question of how the capability will interact with the simulator Interest List: will items effectively behind your avatar’s field of view update correctly in order to be properly imaged by the system? If not, the Lab will need to look in to how things might be adjusted. The idea here is that by carrying out such tests publicly, the Lab can work with interested users and photographers to identify potential limitations and problem areas in the approach, and so hopefully address them.

In commenting on the project, Oz acknowledged that there are HUD systems available which have been inspirational, and much of the driver behind this capability is the desire to give users a simple “point and shoot” interface.

There is no indication yet on limitations which might be placed on the system, such as image resolution, etc. Hence again why the capability will be appearing in a test viewer when it emerges, rather than a project viewer. The Lab also isn’t committing to any kind of time scales for this work, other than the test viewer is liable to appear reasonably soon; or how long the project will take to reach a release status once a test viewer does appear. The focus is on a step-by-step development of the capability.

Note: the audio clips here are extracts of salient points from the discussion on the 360 Snapshot capability. To hear the full discussion of the capability, please listen to the video of the Third Party Viewer Meeting video, starting at the 08:49 point.

AMD & Nvidia drivers resolve Win 10 OpenGL issues in Second Life, et al

Posted on by Inara Pey

win10-logoIn September I blogged about the OpenGL issue affecting many Windows 10 users, including some using Second Life. An intermittent problem, not encountered by every Windows 10 user, the issue results in exceptionally low FPS rates (on the order of 1 or 2 fps) when experienced.

The root cause appears to be the Cumulative Update for Windows 10 (KB3176938) released at the end of August 2016, intended to fix a lot of issues encountered with the Windows 10 Anniversary update, However, since its release on August 31st, 2016, KB3176938 has given rise to renewed Windows 10 / OpenGL issues  which have been impacting a number of games – and also affecting Second Life.

However, it now appears as if the problem has been resolved. As indicated by reader Lee McKay, both Nvidia and AMD have released new drivers which should address the problems Windows 10 users have been experiencing as a result of this issue.

The two drivers are:

As I’m not a win 10 user, I cannot verify if these drivers (or at least the Nvidia driver, as I’m a GTX 970 user) do fix the problems, but Lee indicates they have been tested and verified as correcting the problems.

So, if you are a Windows 10 user with an AMD or Nvidia GPU, and you’ve been experiencing fps issues of late, you might want to try downloading the relevant driver and giving it a try.

With thanks to Lee McKay for the updates on this situation.

Celebrating the Moon Festival in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Moon Festival 2016
Moon Festival 2016

Fellow blogger and Second Life traveller Annie Brightstar directed my attention, through Twitter, to Moon Festival 2016 in Second Life. A region by Heike Kitsuyagi (Kathrine Hoxley), it offers a glimpse into the Mid-Autumn Festival, also referred to as the Moon Festival, celebrated in many parts of the far east.  Given my love of all things oriental, I decided to hop over and take a look.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. For 2016, this put it at September 15th, while for 2017 it will fall on October 4th. Simply put, it one of the most important dates in the lunar calendar, and is celebrated by Chinese people the world over. It’s a time when families get together to make offerings of wine flavoured with osmanthus, pears, grapes, pomegranates and mooncakes to the heavens, to express gratitude for a bumper harvest as well as enjoy a reunion with relatives who live far away.

Moon Festival 2016
Moon Festival 2016

Moon Festival 2016, which opened on October 1st, both celebrates the festival and offers a shopping event to visitors. The rural-style traditional Chinese and Japanese buildings contain little stores, with more open-air market style stalls offering goods, games and refreshments. As the Moon Festival is celebrated so widely (China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam in particular, with Japan and Korea having similar harvest celebrations of their own), this blending Chinese and Japanese styles in the buildings is not the least bit jarring; rather the reverse: it feels appropriate.

It’s a place where wooden buildings sit on the banks of a river, with dirt tracks for streets running under strings of lanterns, golden-brown leaves falling from the boughs trees. The entire setting, bringing together traditionally style building with modern lighting, gacha machines and vendors, helps to give a sense of the long history of the festival.

Moon Festival 2016
Moon Festival 2016

Within a small garden in the town sits a dragon, reflecting one of the popular elements of the festival, the Fire Dragon Dance, a tradition dating back to the  19th century, when the people of Tai Hang village were said to have miraculously stopped a plague with just such a dance. Games are a popular part of the Moon Festival – I can still remember playing the “King Toad” game with other kids in our quarters in Hong Kong (which was really an excuse for us to play with water and get soaked!) – and games are to be found within the region as well.

Beyond the town, the track rises up a sudden slope to a small temple where thanks can be offered, while between the trees little houses sit in quiet solitude. Wander down to the river and you’ll see lanterns floating on the water and surrounding little sampans as a harvest moon slowly rises from behind tall peaks, brightly reflecting the light of a setting sun.

Moon Festival 2016
Moon Festival 2016

There’s an ancient Chinese song-poem, the Shuidiao Getou, the final stanza of which can often be quoted in full or in part during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Given my visit to Moon Festival 2016, it seems appropriate to close this piece by quoting that final stanza in full.

People experience sorrow, joy, separation and reunion,
The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent-shaped,
This imperfection has been going on since the beginning of time.
May we all be blessed with longevity,
Though thousands of miles apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.

SLurl Details

Be a part of the Lab’s 2016 Halloween events

Posted on by Inara Pey

The latest in the Lab’s social meet-ups in-world with residents is currently in the planning stages. Given the time of year, the Lab have decided to mix the Halloween season into things and hold a “travelling meet-up”. They’re also putting together the Halloween Shop ‘Til You Drop event, as a blog post from Xiola explains.

Following the success of the 2015 Creepy Crawl, the Lab are looking to do the same in 2016: spend time in-world hopping from venue to venue, spending time with residents at each, dancing chatting and generally having a good time. The event will take place on Monday, October 31st, and the full details for those just wishing to hop along and join the fun will be announced in due course.

However, for those who wish to offer their venue / place as a possible stop along the way, there are some simple instructions to follow, as Xiola states in the blog post:

  1. Make sure your place is listed in the Destination Guide – here’s how to submit.
  2. Hop over to this form and fill it out before October 20th – we’ll start selecting the venues after that!
  3. Keep an eye out for an email and/or notecard after the 20th to let you know if your venue was selected.

So, if you fancy hosting a little Linden Halloween fun, make sure you get your venue in the DG (if it isn’t already) and fill-out the application form – do keep in mind that preferred venues should be

Shop ‘Til You Drop is a Halloween-themed shopping event taking place between Friday, October 21st and Monday, October 31st 2016.

If you’re a Merchant who specializes in costumes and other Halloween-themed items and would like to participate, the Lab invites you to fill-out and submit the Halloween Shopping Event form – keep in mind the event will be open to a General-rated audience. Selected Merchants will be offered a booth to display and sell some of their items at a special discounted price to shoppers. Given the time frame, Merchants are advised to submit the form sooner rather than later, and to keep in mind that not everyone may be successful in applying.

Again, for those wishing to attending the event, further details will be forthcoming from the Lab nearer the date.

For EVRE in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
EVRE
EVRE

“This sim was initially named EVER.” Tahiti Rae says of her latest full region installation, EVRE, now open through until the end of 2016. “While fervently researching a long and well-documented genealogy of my family … I thought how fun it would be to study the women who had married into the family. I learned that one of them had a second husband … When I researched him, I was astonished to discover that the “old tyme” spelling of his name was “Evre”. Hence, the R and the E were immediately swapped. Apparently, the correct trail was followed and at the right time. It’s connected.”

And thus we are introduced to her haunting, complex and highly photogenic study of consciousness, connectedness and time, as expressed in the installation’s sub-title: Are we Everywhere … At all Times? In this, the reversal of the R and the E in the region’s name could be seen as allowing it to serve a second purpose, as when separated to the two pairs of letters give us “ev” and “re” – a shorthand, almost for “everywhere”.

EVRE
EVRE

I’ve long been an admirer of Tahiti’s work. She is one of the more thought-provoking, consistently engaging and visually aware immersive artists in Second Life. The installations she creates draw from many sources and influences; they are always stunning to the eye and a source of considered contemplation for the mind. In this, EVRE is no exception. In keeping with Tahiti’s request, I’m not going to dwell too much on describing the installation – as she notes, this is a place to be discovered.

The core of the installation is a tour through twelve worlds, each accessed through a “memory clock” – a large fob watch hanging from its chain. Each world represents a different time and place, accessed by touching the “memory clock” and then using the map to teleport. The order in which the worlds are accessed is perhaps of less importance than ensuring all twelve are visited before making the jump to ALL TIME (via the large clock in the region), and thence to a final world, TIMELESS. However, for those seeking to explore the worlds in some semblance of an order, look for the signs with red lettering at the landing point. This will provide you with a note card list of all the “memory clock” SLurls.

EVRE
EVRE

In following the clocks, we effectively become dimensional travellers, visiting different point is time, witnessing events – becoming a part of events. I use “dimensional” rather than “time” deliberately, because of that question posed in the installations sub-title: Are we Everywhere … At all Times? If we are, then our journey here is not so much through time, as between the barriers separating the different periods in time represented here.

In doing so, we also encounter some anachronisms; some of these are more obvious than others, but none are accidental. In this, EVRE put me in mind of the philosophical question T.S Eliot throws to his reader in the opening of Burnt Norton, one of his Four Quartets, and a log-standing favourite of mine:

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.

EVRE
EVRE

Tahiti’s installation may offer a different slant to Eliot’s pondering, but they both raise the same underpinning question, and point us towards a contemplation of both all time (the eternity which surrounds us) and, with EVRE at least, a consideration of timeless – her final world. A place which encourages us to ponder the purpose of time, which is, to use the often ms-attributed phrase,  to “keep everything from happening all at once”.

Of the worlds themselves, as presented by Tahiti, and in keeping with her wish not to offer too many spoilers, I will say that time should be taken in visiting them; there are some exceptionally beautiful discoveries to be made, and nuances which might be easily missed on a hurried visit.

As noted, EVRE will remain open until the end of the year, and it will be the venue for a number of events, as outlined in the first world, Psi.

SLurl Details

  • EVRE (LEA 27, rated: Moderate)