The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. The meeting was recorded by Pantera Północy, and the video is embedded at the end of this summary. Note this summary focuses on the key points of the meeting; where there is something to report, the video should be referred to should full details of the meeting wish to be reviewed.
Server Deployments
At the time of writing, the server deployment thread had not been published.
Tuesday, September 7th: no deployment to the Main SLS channel.
Wednesday, September 8th should she all of the the remaining simhost on the SLS RC channels (Magnum, BlueSteel, Le Tigre and Ferrari) moved to the new AWS server configuration as mentioned here, which will cause some incidental changes to how mesh land impact is calculated, but the primary change will be a small but noticeable bump in speed for most regions.
The new configuration can also cause a slight variation on floating point rounding that can show up in Land Impact calculations under rare circumstances. However, LL believes the impact is going to be so limited, it’s unlikely most people will notice.
In addition, RC Ferrari may get an update to the simulator configuration, if cleared by QA.
HTTP-Out Proxy
Monty Linden is also going to attempt a fresh deployment of the new HTTP-out proxies. The original deployment in late August went sideways very quickly. The hope is that this deployment will go a lot smoother. HTTP listeners are not changed by this update.
SL Viewer
No updates to the current batch of official viewers to mark the start of the week, leaving the current pipelines as follows:
Release viewer: version version 6.4.22.561752, formerly the CEF Update RC viewer, issued July 24 and promoted August 10.
Release channel cohorts:
Grappa Maintenance RC, version 6.4.23.563012, dated August 24.
Happy Hour Maintenance 2 viewer, version 6.4.23.562602, issued August 23 (dated August 20).
Simplified Cache RC viewer, version 6.4.22.561873, dated August 9.
Mesh Optimizer project viewer, version 6.4.23.562614, issued September 1.
Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, dated October 26.
Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, dated December 9, 2019.
In Brief
Work is still progressing on the tools update.
The majority of the meeting involved a general discussion (largely among users present) as to the merits of providing support for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and animated gifs; the cloning of regions, a concern that the lack of defragmentation in the KVP (experiences) database might lead to issues for those reaching the limits of their allowed space (to be investigated), and a texture issue apparently specific to a single Skill Gaming region (referred to support). As this discussion did not yield definitive news / options for action / response by the Lab, please refer to the video below for further information.
We all have memories of childhood times, and while they can be a mix of the good and the bad or the happy or the upsetting, hopefully it is the good / happier times that stand in the majority and be recalled as we progress through life.
For those of us who lived on or near the coast during our formative years, it might be that some of those memories are about trips to the seaside: sploshing through the tide as it rolls up the beach, finding rock pools where some of the creatures of the sea – starfish, sea snails and so on – have found refuge until the tide returns, the sight of crabs scuttling their way over the warm sands, or getting out the bucket and spade to build our own fortresses of the imagination in the form of sandcastles.
With her latest installation, which opened at the start of September, Cica Ghost has offered us the opportunity to tap into those beach time memories and relive the delights of discovery and building on the sand. Called – appropriately enough – Sandcastles, its a joyous celebration of time spent at the seaside, and which offers a salient comment on life itself.
Cica Ghost: Sandcastles, September 2021
This is a place filled with the kind of sandcastles many of us might have envisioned when playing with buckets and spades: places of high curtain walls, tall keeps and graceful towers, where arches connect courtyards and sand stairs climb up to parapets and upper levels while moats stand guard, spanned by graceful bridges. Only here these designs are writ large by Cica as places we can explore and wander without any danger of accidentally treading on them and breaking them. They are true sand castles, complete the sandy stairs we can climb and wooden ladders ready to access higher levels.
Nor do they stand alone. within their walls and courtyards and across the sands on which they stand are denizens of the sea – starfish, hermit crabs, sea snails – all of them with happy faces, with many having fun we’re invited to join, be it dancing or riding see-saws. while for those who prefer something quieter, in places the sand has been shaped into benches to be sat on, or shells can be found that offer a place to curl up in.
Sandcastles is a place designed to evoke happiness and a sense of child-like release. It is also a reminder that it is important we not only keep hold of memories of happy times, we should make happy times part of the fabric of our lives, to be enjoyed and shared because – as the quote by American author and teacher Jack Kornfield that sits within the setting’s About Land description reminds us – nothing, from castles in the sand to life itself is permanent; the time will come when we will have to let things go (hence the beached whale, perhaps?).
Cica Ghost: Sandcastles, September 2021
But rather than let thoughts of the latter weigh you down too much, why not head over to Cica’s installation, grab yourself her free starfish wearable pet, and have a little fun amongst the Sandcastles?
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.
Monday, September 6th 19:00: The Weigher
A world dominated by sentiment big cats where the rule of law is enforced by the Weighers, a combination of judge, peacemaker and accountant through a brutal code of honour and combat. Without their violent intervention in things, all-out war and anarchy would ensue.
When two human explorers – fragile, weak and potentially easy prey – arrive on that world, Slasher, a Weigher of skill and talent in physical combat, finds herself defending them. In doing so, she finds herself a disgraced outcast.
Join Gyro Muggins as he resumes the story by Eric Vinicoff and Marcia Martin.
Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumoured to hide a monster. And two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, everything will change when the red moon rises. It’s time to break the spell.
Willow Moonfire read’s Alice Hoffman’s novel.
Wednesday, September 8th, 19:00 Hollywood Chickens and More…
… From the works of Terry Pratchett, with Caledonia Skytower.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week ending Sunday, September 5th
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 6.4.22.561752, formerly the CEF update viewer, dated July 24th, promoted August 10th – No change.
Friday, September 3rd saw an article by VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi – no stranger to Linden Lab, Second Life and LL – doing the rounds, entitled Will the metaverse bring the second coming of Second Life? While I personally find the term “the metaverse” to be one of the must frequently over-hyped / over-used terms in recent years, Takahashi’s article makes for an interesting read on a number of levels.
The first is that VentureBeat is a well-regarded tech news and events on-line magazine that includes the supplement GamesBeat that focuses on the world of computer, mobile and video games. Between them, they draw down some 6 million unique visitors a month and 12 million page views. That’s potentially a lot of exposure for articles within the publication, and Takahashi’s article was a headline piece for GamesBeat’s front page (although it has since slipped down the ranking somewhat).
Dean Takahashi, lead writer, GamesBeat
The initial part of the article is something of a re-tread of Second Life’s history for those of us familiar with the platform. While the ground covered may well be familiar (and the quoted numbers possibly subject to quibbling in some quarters), this re-treading nevertheless frames SL for those not familiar with it or were unaware it is still around and doing moderately well for itself.
This part of the article also helps frame Linden Lab as an “elder statesman” (so to speak) of the user-generated content frontier, having long since tackled many of the issues and hurdles that those attempting to now define and provide “the metaverse” are just starting to tackle. All of which makes for good reading and certainly helps carry the message that in this day of Facebook, Microsoft, et al trying to foist their visions of what “the metaverse” should be, Linden Lab has the right to say, “been there, done that – and still doing it!”.
However, it’s the latter part of the article that drew my focus, with its referencing of both Tilia and recent moves on the part of the Lab to develop “partnerships” to try to “grow” SL. Both of these are also parts of the article I’ve witnessed as causing some negative gnashing of teeth in some circles, which has also framed my thinking in writing this piece.
In particular, Takahashi’s revelation that Tilia has cost Linden Lab $30 million has raised eyebrows and some grumblings about what this might mean for Second Life’s future.
This needs a little context. While LL has spent what seems like a huge amount of money on Tilia, as Takahashi notes, it has been over a 7-year period, starting not long after Ebbe Altberg joined Linden Lab as CEO, and the initial expenditure was required; as Takahashi goes on to point out, for a company like LL to be able to make pay-outs to users (and generally handle fiat money on behalf of its users) it must comply with a range of US federal, state, and international regulations.
In terms of US requirements, this has meant LL had to become a licensed money transmitter at both the federal and state levels – a move more easily achieved by ring-fencing the services that handle all payment processing / transfer into an entity of their own. Had it not do so, then LL would have hit a wall in its ability to make pay-outs. Beyond this, Tilia Pay’s regulated services benefit Second Life in a number of other ways (allowing the use of credit / debit cards within services such as the Marketplace through to assisting with overall user account management and security, for example).
Obviously given a large amount has been sunk into Tilia, it is natural for the Lab’s new owners to want to leverage this expenditure. But this doesn’t mean Tilia and Second Life are, or will become, an “either / or” proposition for the Lab’s future direction.
Rather if Tilia can be made a success, it would mean that Linden Lab – after more than a decade of trying – has gained a second revenue stream it can utilise to help it remain viable moving into the future. Further, it’s long been the philosophy at LL that as long as SL has users enough to ensure it remains a healthy generator of revenue / income, there is little reason to shut it down / sell it, and I’d question this philosophy being radically altered by the success of a second product within the company’s portfolio.
At the end of the piece, Takahashi brings in the subject of Zenescope, and LL’s focus on “partner collaborations”. This appears to be part of what has been referred to as the drive to grow the user base.
It’s not necessarily a bad idea – working with organisations that have established audiences of their own and which could leverage Second Life to add a new dimension of engagement for those audiences. However, it is one that has some significant hurdles to clear: attractions have to be built-out, events need to be organised and run at a tempo that keeps an incoming audience engaged and coming back at a reasonable cadence to make the effort worthwhile, and their must be a path to a practical return on the investment made (time, effort money), and so on; to say nothing of getting people into the experience and comfortable with the viewer UI.
Zenescope Metaverse a new partnership endeavour involving Linden Lab opened in August 2021, but failed to capture the imagination for me See: The Zenescope Metaverse In Second Life
There’s also the question that, even if successful in bringing an audience to Second Life, just how well such partnerships might actually convert members of the audience into engaged Second Life users – something that will be an important measure of success by the current user base, if not necessarily to LL or their partners, who will likely use other criteria to measure the success of these ventures.
In mentioning such partnerships, Takahashi’s piece open the door to broader thinking around where LL might potentially go with this idea in the wake of of the move to AWS.
For example, it’s already been hinted that at some point, LL might look to offer an “on-demand” product. Doing so could potentially be advantageous to potential partners, in they it present a way for them to offer their users experiences in Second Life at a more advantageous price that a 24/7 product that might only be used once or twice a week. Beyond this, there is the question of whether LL might consider entirely private grids for dedicated partners / clients / markets, and even white-labelling such a capability if they did so (thus essentially providing a Second Life Enterprise style of product in a manner and cost that would be far more appealing that that endeavour).
Seiiki, September 2021 – click any image for full size
In July, Vally Lavender opened the latest iteration of her region of [Valium] with a new design by Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington). Entitled Suaka, the Indonesian term for “sanctuary” it was initially offered as a special retreat for [Valium] group members, but has since been opened to the general SL populace. It stands as an engaging, restful setting, rich in opportunities for escape and for photography (see: A sanctuary with a touch of Indonesia in Second Life).
She has now added to the estate with the arrival of a second Full region, and has again engaged Terry to handle the landscaping with the intent to extend the idea of refuge and respite – in which he has admirably succeeded -, and she kindly offered me an invitation to visit as the region opened to [Valium] group members (L$395 joining fee) – although the region will be open to the general public from Monday, September 6th, 2021, for a period of time.
Seiiki, September 2021
Entitled Seiiki, the Japanese term for “sanctuary”, the new region sits to the south of Suaka, the two separated by a narrow band of water passing between their respective sandy shorelines, a path of stones breaching the water to provide a dry passage between the two. Crossing this path not only allows visitors to pass between the two regions with ease, it also moves them between two settings with very different root influences, for while Suaka draws on Indonesia and other parts of south-east Asia, Siieki draws its inspiration from Japan with touches of China sitting within it.
From is northern beach, Seiiki also presents a very different terrain to Sauka, although the two do flow together quite naturally. Where the latter is predominantly low-lying, Seiiki rises swiftly from its beach to present a rocky vista of cliffs, plateaux, hard shoulders of rock and flat-topped peaks that sit as foothills to the green mountains that rise beyond it. It is also a richly wooded location, the lower slopes home to dense coverings of what appear to be bamboo palms of the Rhapis genus, thus giving the first tilt of the region towards China, where this particular bamboo palm is common.
Seiiki, September 2021
These woods flank a small valley leading inland and reached via steps that run up from the beach to a simple Torii gate. This little valley is home to a small café and is clearly the preserve of another Chinese influence: panda bears. These have clearly decided the stubby valley is theirs by rights, and a mix of small family groups and lone adults have marked out their little spaces within it, wandering, playing, eating and – in one case, at least – seek the bear necessities of life, be they bamboo fronds or catching some rays whilst perched in the natural curve of a Palmetto tree trunk!
It is from this little valley that explorations of the rest of the region all commence. On the east side, just beyond the café, stone steps climb up to a low promontory of rock with its flanks heavy with the bamboo palms mentioned above by way of a small gateway. On reaching the top of this finger of a hill, the path quickly offers a choice for those reaching it: tarry at the broad pond where duck play, follow a path leading back north along the shoulder to where a second, shaded pond hides, the home to koi and a simple little shack that is home to a cuddle-point, or venture further up into the hills by means of a choice of routes.
Seiiki, September 2021
The first of these routes takes the form of narrow planks laid over the grass that wind past an abandoned hut by the side of the pond to reach a bridge, beyond which sits Seiiki’s little end-of-the-line train station, a small terminus on a single-track line. The second route follows the stone steps as they continue upwards to reach what might have once been a shrine set within its own walled rock garden but which is now a place for yoga and meditation as it sits neatly on a square plateau of rock that looks down over the head of the region’s central valley.
This valley head takes the form of what might generally be a peaceful pond, reached from the café along a grassy path in part marked by scattering of small white stones. The pond is watched over by a figure of Buddha offering his blessing, adding to its sense of peace, and who is in turn guarded by two Japanese crane. However, it is fair to say the serenity here may at times be broken by the hissing rumble of steam trains (or just the rumble of locomotives, given the track has overhead powerline for electric trains) as they pass over a trestle bridge that spans the gap between two tunnels above a small reservoir located upslope from Buddha and his pond.
Seiiki, September 2021
Reached via a short set of steps, the wall of the reservoir both holds back the water and presents a path to a set of broad, flat stone that break the surface of the water to lead the way to where ancient stone steps switchback their way up and around the curving flank of the region’s highest cliffs. Those who take this giddying walk will find themselves at a high wooden vantage point that looks back down the valley, and a second stairway that runs back down the cliff-face. This descends way of a sake bar (the alcohol possibly welcome after the climb!) to another of the setting’s hideaways in the form of a little koi house nestled on its own rocky ledge, from where visitors can wave to those on the train as it huffs its way over the bridge, either to or from Seiiki’s little railways station.
To the west, and reached by another stone stairway, the region offer a spa sitting within a large Edo-style building (with most of the other buildings in the region in the same style), again built over water to present another place of peace and retreat.
Seiiki, September 2021
Rich in detail, if a little heavy on some systems if you run with Shadows and other bells and whistles enabled all the time, Seiiki is a more than worthwhile companion to Suaka, the two of them offering a richness of space and setting for people to lose themselves. As noted above, Seiiki is open to [Valium] group members only until Monday, September 6th (joining fee L$395 – which goes directly towards the upkeep of both regions) – where after it will be open to the public at large, alongside Suaka, for an unspecified (at the time of writing) period of time.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 