Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week ending Sunday, October 24th
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: version version 6.4.23.564172, formerly the Apple Notarisation Fix RC viewer, issued September 24th and promoted October 15th – No change.
Release channel cohorts:
360 Snapshot RC viewer, version 6.5.0.564863, issued October 21.
Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 6.5.0.564805, on October 20.
Hasunohana October 2021 – click any image for full size
It’s been several months since I had the opportunity to jump into a build by Lotus Mastroianni and Fred Hamilton (frecoi), so when Shawn Shakespeare pointed me towards Hasunohana, I decided to start the week by hopping over and taking a look.
Occupying a 4096 sq m parcel, this is a setting that is not going to tax your feet (or camera!) when exploring – which is not to say it doesn’t have anything worth seeing. Rather the reverse, in fact, since the build makes good use of the placement of streets and buildings to give the impression of both being large than first appears, and a genuine sense of forming – as the About Land description states – a little suburb siting in a much larger metropolis. And also as the About Land description makes clear, and the setting’s name suggests, it is a setting with a lean towards Japan, something that is again liable to tweak my attention, given my love of the orient.
Hasunohana October 2021
A visit starts aboard a suburban monorail train as it arrives at the local station – something that adds a degree of depth to the setting, giving the suggestion that we are joining the locals in coming home after a day at work. From here, steps lead down to the first of the setting’s narrow streets, little more than an alleyway boxed on either side by the squat forms of apartment-style (at least in looks) houses mixed here and there with a little shop or store.
While the buildings are all façades, they nevertheless have a sense of homeliness about them: potted plans sit outside of doorways, together with shoe stands and benches, dustpans for cleaning down front steps hang from hooks on the wall, bicycles are parked on stands in alleys between houses – there’s even a thermos and steam mug outside one, suggesting the owner is not far away.
Hasunohana October 2021
Similarly, the balconies to the upper floors of some of the houses are rich in the floatsam of life: deck chairs for enjoying the Sun are folded against railings, toys clutter floors, clothes are draped over dryers – there’s even a washing machine clearly too big to fit inside a house that has been parked to one side of one of the balconies. Where balconies aren’t available, window railings and the tops of air conditioning units mounted outside of windows are used for various domestic purposes, whilst roofs that can be accessed have been turned into little garden spaces.
Although none of the occupants of the houses are to be found, this doesn’t mean the setting is deserted; curious eyes are to be found everywhere in the form of the local Feline Overlords as they sit on rooftops, balconies, sit in doorways and – in one case – carrying out an inspection of a cart of luggage.
Hasunohana October 2021
Finding your way around is a matter of keeping an eye out for the steps linking the streets that sit at slightly different heights one to another. Some of these steps are obvious, sitting directly at the end of one street to reach another that crosses it; others might not be so obvious; they might be hidden around a corner or at first appear to be stairways leading up into buildings.
Those who fancy a meal al fresco, one corner of the setting features a little street-side eatery. Tucked into another sits a little garden that offers one of those touches of green that can catch the eye in the most unexpected of places as we explore somewhere new.
Hasunohana October 2021
Small, richly detailed – if somewhat texture-heavy – Hasunohana is an engaging setting, neatly blended with its high-rise surroundings through the placement of the monorail, roads and mist. Rounded out by a balanced soundscape that fits it perfectly, it makes for a tidy visit whether or not photography is your thing.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Sunday, October 24th, 13:30: A Night in the Lonesome October
It is the start of the Haunted Month, and Seanchai Library (SL) are marking the arrival and passage of October with a reading of Roger Zelazy’s A Night in the Lonesome October, the last of Zelazy’s published works.
A Night In The Lonesome October
Every few decades, when the Moon is is full on the night of Halloween, the fabric of reality thins and the door between worlds becomes unlatched. At this time, those with certain Occult knowledge gather to engage in The Game.
Those who play take opposing sides; on one: those who seek to win The Game and throw open the door by the light of the full Moon to usher in the Great Old Ones from the other side so that they might remake Earth in their own images and enslave or slaughter the human race in the process. Opposing the Openers are those are those who would, by winning, re-latch the door and deny the Great Old Ones their prize – at least until The Game once more resumes.
Thus, through the month of October, the Players in the game – all archetypal characters from Victorian Era gothic fiction – form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even kill off opposing Players, until the night of October 31st, when the ritual of the door takes place, and the fate of the world is decided.
Each Player has his or her familiar, an animal companion with near-human intelligence, to help them complete the numerous preparations they must make and so be ready for the ritual on the final night. One of these is Snuff the dog, the familiar of Jack the Ripper, and who not only attends the play of The Game with his master, but also acts as the narrator of the month’s proceedings.
Alone in the desert, Daiya is faced with dilemma that will determine her fate. If she can successfully resolve it she will join the Net of her village, but if she fails, her life will be spent with the feared Merged Ones. Confused and torn between worlds near and far, Daiya harbours a secret of her people, and must find a way to move beyond her discoveries to a safe place where she can survive.
Join Gyro Muggins as he reads from Nebula-winning author Pamela Sargent’s Watchstar series.
On All Hallows Eve, young Pipkin is due to meet his eight friends outside a haunted house on the edge of town. But as he runs through the gathering gloom, Something sweep him away.
Arriving at the house in expectation of meeting Pipkin, his eight friends instead encounter the mystical Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who informs them that Pipkin has been taken on a journey that could determine if he lives or dies.
Aided by Moundshroud and using the tail of a kite, the eight friends pursue Pipkin through time and space, passing through the past civilisations – Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Celts – witnessing all that has given rise to the day they know as “Halloween”, and the role things like ghosts and the dead play in it.
Then, at length they come to the Halloween Tree itself, laden with jack-o’-lanterns, its branches representing the confluence of all these traditions, legends and tales, drawing them together into itself.
Wednesday, October 27th, 19:00 Flaming Pumpkins in the Glen!
If the is one sure way to have some Halloween fun, is listing to some of R. Dismantled’s 100-word stories, read by the man himself! Live at Ceiluradh Glen.
Thursday, October 28th
19:00: Tales of the Slayer – White Doe – Roanoke Island 1586
21:00: Late Night Horror – Dracula’s Rivals – Night Cries
Both sessions with Shandon Loring at the Haunted Hollow.
Friday, October 29th, 19:00: More Scary Stories for Sleepovers
With Shandon Loring in The Glen with music/dancing to follow with DJ Cale.
On Thursday, October 21st, Linden Lab took to their blog and to social media to announce the Zenescope x Second Life Sweepstake. Featuring some 40 NFTs – non-fungible tokens – the announcement met with a certain amount of “WTH?” reactions, my own among them.
The NFTs concerned are produced by Epik, and are focused on a series of digital images related characters from the Zenescope Entertainment’s “Grimm universe” (that is, characters somehow connected to stories associated with the Brothers Grimm).
Some may recall that Zenescope (and Epik) are in a partnership with Linden Linden that launched on August 4th with the opening of the “Zenescope Metaverse” in Second Life; a place promoted by LL as “bursting with magic and mystery” where people could “Experience storytelling and comic books in a whole new way”, a “huge” region “so highly detailed that it might just take several visits to see everything”, but which I found decidedly underwhelming.
The sweepstake is a continuance of that partnership, and marks a further extension of it that many SL users may not have been aware of, so I’ll just dip into here to offer a little more context.
As a part of this partnership, October saw Epik start to offer through their Epikprime marketplace, NFTs tied to nine individual Zenescope character images (apparently sponsored by LL) in various quantities. So, for example The Gretel and Belle images each have 1,000 NFTs (with each NFT having a minimum price of $27.00) while the Sky Mathers image only has 125 NFTs (with each NFT having a minimum price of $147.00.
For sweepstake prizes, I believe LL has taken 10 each of the NFTs bound to the Belle, Gretel and Cinderella images, and a further 10 from a “Halloween” image to be issued on October 25th.
What is an NFT?
VERY simply put for the purposes of this article: an NFT is a digital “certificate of authenticity” created using blockchain technology that represents an easily-reproduceable digital item (a piece of art or music, a game, a document or photograph, etc.), recording the provenance of that item – its origination (creator, date + time of creation, etc), and its subsequent chronology of ownership / custody location in the digital ether.
It is the uniqueness of the data in the NFT that generates its value, not the item to which is bound, which can still be copied and shared just like any other file on the Internet.
One of the character image / NFTs purchase pages on the Epik Marketplace – Gretel is one of the characters for which NFTs are being offered as prizes in the sweepstake
When it was launched, the Second Life / Zenescope / Epik partnership was framed by LL as a part of a drive to expose SL to potential new audiences. But as noted, the “Zenescope Metaverse” revealed itself as a tepid environment, and even now, some 2.5 months later shows no sign of delivering on hyperbole surrounding its launch, or present itself as a gateway into SL for Zenescope readers. Of course, that could change quickly – I’ve no idea what LL / Zenescope have planned; but right now it does feel like a hollow promise, and combining it with the sweepstake event leaves one feeling the whole LL / Zenescope / Epik partnership is decidedly lopsided and lacking in reciprocity¹.
Insofar as the sweepstake itself is concerned, another cause of a “WTH?!” reaction came when reading the rules for entry as published by the Lab. To whit:
[winners] may be required to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release and, where lawful, a publicity release within seven (7) days of date of issuance
– from the Winners Notification section of the sweepstake rules
And:
Each winner, by acceptance of prize, except where legally prohibited, grants permission for Sponsor and its designees to use his/her name, address (city and state), photograph, voice and other likeness and prize information for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without further compensation, in all media (including digital media) now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide in perpetuity, without notice or review or approval.
– from the General Conditions section of the sweepstake rules
Obviously, given NFTs are intended to prove the provenance of a digital collectable, the recording of the owner’s identity in some form is to be expected. However, that the Lab – a company that has traditionally prided itself on respecting its users’ anonymity – should offer the suggestion that any personal information might be requested could be passed to whomever they designate (such as Zenescope and Epik) for purposes of their advertising and promotion, makes for uncomfortable reading².
For me the biggest “WTH?” reaction, however, came with the idea that Linden Lab – a company that oft wears its social conscience on its sleeve – would opt to engage with a technology (blockchain) and format (NFTs) that has been repeatedly shown to be environmentally unsound.
The most common blockchain environment used to create and curate NFTs is Etherium. According to the Digiconomist website, a single Ethereum transaction, such as creating an NFT or selling it, a carbon footprint of about 33.4 kg of CO2 – the equivalent to 74,000 Visa card transactions or watching 5700 hours of You Tube videos, – and consumes enough electrical energy to power an average US household for a period of 6 days³. Others put the impact of individual NFT transactions even higher, indicating the “minting” of an NFT produces up to 83 Kg of CO2 and consumes up to142 KWh of electricity (enough to power the average US house for around 12 days), with an subsequent transactions generating an average of 48 Kg of CO2 each.
So, if I’m reading the Epik marketplace pages correctly, if all 5,125 “Zenescope x Second Life” NFTs currently being promoted. are all minted, they will generate a total carbon footprint of 171,175 kg (using the Digiconomist figures), with a further 33.4 Kg added with each sale or other transaction related to each of them. By comparison, were 5,125 print of the images to be made and individually shipped anywhere in the world, each would only generate (according to Quartz and others) a carbon footprint of just 2.3-2.6 Kg, it’s a far more ecologically responsible option.
True, printed copies removes the animated uniqueness of the actual images – but this could be compensated for by the prints being individually signed and numbered by the artist., something that would also help the prints maintain there resell value. And you’re thinking any such resale value would be less than that of any NFT equivalent, let’s just be honest: these particular NFTs really aren’t going to set the NFT collector market on fire and demand stellar prices.
But if LL feels it must jump on the NFT hype train, then I cannot help but agree with this tweet on the subject:
SecondLie may be a parody account with a slick hand for the snark – but it can also offer clear and honest commentary
Obviously, this is in many ways easier said than done, but there are potential opportunities to be had:
It would demonstrate LL’s engagement with and support of their own users and platform, removing the perception they are simply “shilling” (to use a term that has popped up in several places in reference to this sweepstake) for a third party.
Properly promoted and broadcast, the availability of NFTs produced through SL could speak to the world about relevance of the platform as a place of creative endeavour and expression, potentially encouraging other artists from all walks to come and give it a go.
It could be combined with other opportunities for outreach and promotion to more broadly demonstrate the “multi-role” nature of Second Life in addressing use-cases from all walks of life, and offer a place of relaxation, learning, fun, business, and so on at a time when others are still struggling to define what they mean by “metaverse”.
As it is, this “sweepstake” is generating a lot of “likes” and “loves” on social media – although it is hard to tell if this is the result of people actually reading the associated blog post / wanting to winner one of the prizes, or simply the result of instinctively clicking the “like” / “love” icon in response to a posting from an official SL social media account. Whether it results in the Lab seeing this particular offer a “success” and thus worth possibly repeating, or whether they’ll heed the largely negative comments that have similarly left on said social media posts and so think twice about any repeat, I’ve no idea. Purely from my own perspective, I’d rather they didn’t run with any repeat, and instead continue to devote their time and effort on those things that are actually going to raise broader awareness of SL’s continued presence, vitality and relevance – and which can encourage people to come and experience the platform for themselves.
It was recently pointed out to me that Aura Linden recently opened a viewer repository focused on puppeteering, something which has lead to some wild speculation on my part. Might this be a means LL are looking to use within the Zenescope region to allow visitors to “Experience storytelling and comic books in a whole new way”, through the use of NPCs based on the characters being promoted via Epik? Given the state of the repository code, this does seems an awfully long guess (and so probably wrong).
I have actually contacted LL on this and the idea of distributing personal information, but have yet to receive a reply.
And if you think that is bad, Bitcoin is even worse: Digiconomist estimate a single transaction carries a carbon footprint equivalent to 1,880.406 Visa card transactions or watching 141,404 hours of You Tube videos, while consuming enough electrical energy to run an average US household for two months!
The following notes were taken from my audio recording and chat log of the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting held on Thursday, October 21st, 2021. These meetings are generally chaired by Vir Linden, with dates available via the SL Public Calendar and the venue for the CCUG is the Hippotropolis camp fire.
SL Viewer
No updates to the current official viewer thus far through the week, despite hopes the Apple Notarisation viewer would be promoted to de facto release status. This leaves the current pipelines as:
Release viewer: version version 6.4.23.564172, formerly the Apple Notarisation Fix RC viewer, issued September 24 and promoted October 15.
Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 6.4.23.564063, on September 21.
Simplified Cache RC viewer, version 6.4.23.562623, dated September 17, issued September 20.
Project viewers:
Performance Improvements project viewer, version 6.4.23.564530, dated October 12.
360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.4.23.563579, issued September 3.
Performance Floater project viewer, version 6.4.23.562625, issued September 2.
Mesh Optimizer project viewer, version 6.4.23.562614, issued September 1.
Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, dated October 26, 2020.
Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, dated December 9, 2019.
General Viewer Notes
The next viewer scheduled for promotion to de facto release status is the Maintenance RC viewer. This may happen in week #43.
Performance Improvements
Core viewer work in now focuses on performance improvements, particularly around rendering (speed and consistency in FPS).
The first tranche of this work can be found in the Performance Improvements project viewer (version 6.4.23.564530 and Windows 64-bit at the time of writing, and not to be confused with the Performance Floater viewer).
The emphasis of the work is currently Windows 64-bit, but Windows 32 and Mac OS support will be provided as the viewer is updated. However, given this focus, it is possible there may be some temporary regressions creeping into the Mac OS version when it does appear.
One of the (many) issues facing LL is that a relatively high number of people signing-up to use Second Life do so with hardware which is at best marginal in terms of capabilities. Ergo, their experience is far from optimal, and so they don’t stick. As such part of this work is looking at ways an means to improve things at that end of the scale – which is no easy task, given the broad range of hardware that is available.
The above comment should not be taken to mean LL are insensitive to users who do have more capable hardware.
Obviously there are limits to what can be done, simply because of the nature of SL as an open platform, where strict control over content quality (in terms of draw calls, rendering, construction (faces / verts / tris), texture and materials use, etc.), is pretty much entirely unregulated.
Beq Janus from Firestorm is putting together a set of UI options (currently focused on avatars) that allow users gain a better understanding of rendering and the impact attachments and rendering artefacts like shadows can have on performance, together with actions that might be taken to help improve their system’s performance.
Such approaches are somewhat limited, as it places the onus on the user being pro-active. However, they are a means of providing help.
Beq’s work will be appearing in Firestorm in due course and subject to refinement. It may in time be offered to LL as a code contribution, if it proves suitably beneficial to users.
Other, more automated options are being discussed, both by users and – as I reported following Mojo Linden’s appearance at a Third Party Viewer Developer meting. However, it is important to note that these are just discussions / ideas that are being poked at, not actual projects.
In Brief
Broader focus at the Lab is turning towards discussing potential projects for the upcoming year.
There is nothing specific to report on with this at this point, but in broad terms, it does also incorporate things already discussed in these summaries and raised at events such as the June Meet the Linden sessions: performance improvements, more work on the new user experience, etc.
Feature requests are also being considered in these discussions (again, no specifics to discuss), and these are also broad-ranging.
Mainland EEP update: as I’ve previously reported, a fix for some Mainland regions appearing very dark under the default EEP region setting was implemented server-side a while ago, but has been awaiting the Land team to “throw the switch” to make the update live.
However, after the initial update had been deployed, it was realised a further change (a force parameter on the the estate environment console command) would be required in order to have things set and allow said switch to be thrown.
The update is now to be deployed in week #43, after which the way should be clear for the Land team to flip the switch and apply the updated settings at a time of their choosing.
Fresh Air, Valium SL, October 2021 – click any image for full size
Please note, this is an article about a region open only to members of the [Valium] group (membership fee: L$395, with rezzing rights) for the foreseeable future. The group can be joined in-world by visiting Seiiki (ValiumSL 1, rated Moderate), or through region holder Vally’s (Valium Lavender) profile.
Vally (Valium Lavender) recently extended an invitation for me to visit the latest Valium SL region design, Fresh Air, as it was in the process of opening for group members. It took me a few days to get to the point of being able to take her up on the offer, but as usual, found my visit more than worth the effort.
Fresh Air, Valium SL, October 2021
At a time when many regions across Second Life are decorated for Halloween, Vally has decided to jump past that temptation and land directly on a winter setting – and it is good to see her once again laying out her own designs. It sites surrounded by snowy mountains, apparently rising from a frozen lake on a low island; or perhaps it is simply a humpback hill pushing itself above snow-covered grasslands that flow through the mountains from prairies on either side – although the presence of a rowing boat filled with blankets does perhaps suggest water may be present when the temperature isn’t so low and the snow not blanketing the ground.
But, whichever is the case, the setting presents a gentle, circular rise of land topped by blocks of rock and a number of cabins, out-houses and other structures sitting among fir trees. The buildings vie with the frosted rocks and places where the snow can gather above the surrounding lands. Within this setting, the landing point sits towards the north-east corner, just outside of a cabin converted into a little coffee house.
Fresh Air, Valium SL, October 2021
With cold skies overhead, the snow and the sound of a steady wind, the coffee house with its warm fireplace can easily become an immediate port of call. However, it sits at the end of an icy track that also invites people to walk along and visit the nearby cabins or cross to the large ice rink gazebo that sits nearby. Exactly where you opt to wander, however, is entirely up to you, as the region is easy to explore on foot or – if you prefer, by adding a wearable horse, should you have one in your inventory and prefer that method of transport.
Fresh Air, Valium SL, October 2021
I’m not going to go into a long description of the region and what is waiting to be found; suffice it to say it is a charming winter – *not* Christmas – setting, with a lot a lot of detail both indoors and out. The cabins are all nicely furnished and give a feeling of home, there are swings and benches and more scattered about than encourage sitting outside. This is also a place popular with both dogs and reindeer while birds can be heard in the trees.
Given all that is set out and the fact that rezzing is permitted to group members, there are plenty of opportunities for photography – although in places the mesh snow that is falling can make placing items awkward, together with sitting on some of the various items that may be under the falling snow region, so careful camming can be required when trying to place items or sit. However, this doesn’t detract from the overall genteel beauty of the region or prevent it from being a worthwhile visit.
Fresh Air, Valium SL, October 2021
SLurl Details
Please remember, region access requires group membership (L$395).
On All Hallows Eve, young Pipkin is due to meet his eight friends outside a haunted house on the edge of town. But as he runs through the gathering gloom, Something sweep him away.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 