Category: Second Life

2020 SUG meeting week #45: further uplift update

Posted on by Inara Pey
A Thousand Windows, September 2020 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the November 3rd Simulator User Group meeting.

Server Updates and Cloud Uplift

Please reference to the server deployment thread for the latest updates.

  • There are no planned deployments to the simulators running on the Lab’s core SLS channel.
  • RC deployments are planned as follows:
    • On Wednesday, 4th November all simulators on the LeTigre and BlueSteel RC channels should become AWS hosted.
    • On Thursday, 5th November all simulators on the Magnum RC channel should also become AWS hosted.
    • However, at the time of the meeting, it was not clear if all of the RC channels would be running the same version of simulator software.

The current work on migration is such that as per Private Regions Available in Limited Quantity (via Linden Lab), private regions are once more being made available.

SL Viewer

The Start of the week saw the following viewer updates on Monday, November 2nd:

  • The Jellydoll project viewer updated to version 6.4.11.551213.
  • Custom Key Mappings project viewer updated to version 6.4.10.549685.

The rest of the official viewers in the pipelines remain as follows:

  • Current release viewer version 6.4.10.549686, formerly the Mesh Uploader RC promoted on October 14 – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.4.11.551139, issued October 27.
  • Project viewers:
    • 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

  • Group Chat: LL deployed updates to the group chat service in an attempt to relieve at least some of the issues that groups have been experiencing over the last several weeks. Testing has suggested the group chat sessions should be faster and more reliable than has been experienced within some groups (notably those with large memberships). However, the issue remains open pending further observation / feedback.
  • TP failures continue, and are being noted by the Lab, although not at the rates at which users appear to be experiencing them.
    • However, the nature of the beast means that at present, correlation of all the logs involved in a teleport has to be done manually, and this is impacting the Lab’s ability to arrive at a potential root cause (or causes).
    • Once the majority of cloud migration work has been completed, and if the matters hasn’t been resolved, Simon Linden may set-up another round of TP testing by users as we’ve seen in past issues of teleport issues.

Lab resumes offering private regions in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

In May, as the Lab started gearing-up to move Second Life regions to being hosted on AWS cloud services, an announcement was made that private regions would be subject to limited availability (see Limited Availability of New Second Life Region), prior to further sales of private regions being effectively frozen. 

However, the work in migrating regions from the Lab’s co-lo facility to AWS services progressing well (up to approximately 30% of all main grid regions should be migrated by the end of week #45), so much so that on Tuesday, November 3rd, the Lab announced that private regions are to be made available once more, initially on a limited quantity (per order) basis.

The blog post making the announcement reads in part:

As Oz recently discussed in a post, we are hard at work on uplifting Second Life to the cloud. It’s an incredibly exciting time, and we’re already seeing some significant improvements to Second Life as a service from this process. 
Additionally, many regions on the grid are now running on AWS simulators, with more being added every day!
In light of more regions being moved to the cloud, we are pleased to announce that we are ready to begin offering new private region purchases in limited quantities. As we continue to uplift more of the grid, more regions will become available over time, eventually leading to the Land Store being reopened. 
If you wish to purchase a private region, please submit a support ticket through our Support Portal. The ticket can be submitted under the Land & Region > Order Private Region category. Please include the region name, which must conform to region naming guidelines. Following your ticket submission, we will either process the region purchase, or add your request to a wait list, which will be handled in the order the submission is received. In the event that your request is put on the waiting list, we will not charge your account until the point when the region is delivered.

– Linden lab blog post

Current pricing and requirements for obtaining private regions can be found here, with further information on private regions is available via available here.

Echoes, whispers and reflections in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Konect Art Gallery: CybeleMoon – Echoes and Whispers

Now open at Konect Art Gallery curated by Gonzalo Osuna (Jon Rain) are two new exhibitions from two unique artists, each of whom has a gift of telling entire stories in a single frame.

On the lower floor of the gallery is Echoes and Whispers by CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinboo), a collection of 21 images, captivatingly composed and framed, all of them built around expressions of longing and nostalgia framed within an autumnal theme.

Konect Art Gallery: CybeleMoon – Echoes and Whispers

Cybele has a marvellous gift for creative images that capture not only a moment in time, but also the perfect expression of an emotion or feeling, presenting it as a story that draws our eyes and imaginations into its very heart. And this is more than the case here; among this collection are some of the most poignant images it has been my privilege to view; marvellously evocative of the emotions defined by the title, whilst in places being reflective of today’s world.

Konect Air Gallery: CybeleMoon – Echoes and Whispers

The latter is powerfully set within the monochrome We’ll Get Together Soon, Dad, a piece rich in love and longing, and The Photographers, which reminds us that whilst we must for now remain separated from family and loved ones, there will be times when we again freely mix and have fun together.

Meanwhile, the Lost Airmen of the Empire, whilst capturing a modern light aircraft in soft focus, also invokes bot thoughts of the pioneering days of flight and – given the month with are in – those who took to the air are a part of the fight against world-threatening tyranny.

Konect Art Gallery: Rachel Magic – Reflections

On the upper floor of the gallery, Rachel Magic (larisalyn) presents a selection of 12 images captured from within second Life, and which are offered under the title Reflections. These are again images that often carry a suggestion of the autumnal months through the use of colour and processing whilst simultaneously framing a thought-grabbing narrative.

There is also a wonderful sense of escape and freedom captured within many of these pieces – time on the beach, watching baby pandas playing on stone steps, the promise of sailing away on open waters, and the chance to simply fly away. This adds a further dimension to this collection that calls to the imagination and the emotions.

Konect Art: Rachel Magic – Reflections

I’m barely scratching the surface of wither exhibition here – but as both will be open through until November 14th, why not  hop over the Konect Art Gallery and immerse yourself in the work of two marvellous artists.

SLurl Details

Strange worlds, spirits and creatures

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

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, November 2nd, 19:00: The Dark Bright Water

Gyro Muggins reads Patricia Wrightson’s second novel charting the life of Wirrun of the Inlanders.

First encountered in The Ice Is Coming, when Wirrun set out on a quest to overcome the rise of the ancient enemy of Australia, the ice-bearded Ninya, the young janitor now has a reputation as a Hero among the Inlanders (Wrightson’s fantasy view of the Australian Aboriginals). It’s not a title he appreciates; he would much rather just get back to his janitorial work.

But the spirits of the land are restless: Yunggamurra, a river spirit is lost, so uses her siren-like powers of song to draw to herself those who might might take her home. Her singing come to Wirrun’s ears, and those of an elderly aboriginal emissary, and he realises he must journey to the very heartlands of Australia to better understand what he is feeling.

This he does, with the old emissary and his friend Ularra. Once there, he discovers that a storm is indeed rising within the domain of the spirits, and he is uniquely placed to both find Yunggamurra and prevent the coming storm. And so his new adventure begins.

Tuesday, November 3rd:

12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen

Music, poetry, and stories in a popular weekly session at Ceiluradh Glen.

19:00: The Princess Bride: It’s a Miracle

With Caledonia Skytower at Ceiluradh Glen.

Wednesday, November 4th, 19:00: Nine Princes in Amber

Carl Corey wakes in a medical clinic, with little to no knowledge of who he is or how he got there. Fearing he is being over-medicated and kept against his wishes, he overpowers staff and discovers his stay is being paid for by his sister, one Evelyn Flaumel, whose address is on the hospital’s records.

Fleeing the clinic, he makes his way to his sister’s home. Here, with the aid of a pack of tarot cards and a confession from his sister, he learns that his name is actually Corwin (and she is Flora), and they are two of 14 siblings – nine male and five female.

One of those brothers, Random, arrives, pursued by strange, vicious creatures, that force Corwin to join Random into  fighting them to the death – during which Corwin discovers he has super-human strength.

After the fight, Random reveals more truths to Corwin – notably that he and his siblings are of royal descent from a planet called Amber, a parallel world to Earth from which he has been cast into exile.

Random reveals that their father, king Oberon, has vanished, and the throne is therefore open, and persuades Corwin in a quest to claim it. However, to do so, they must travel through the realms of Corwin’s brothers and sisters in order to reach Amber, and the journey reveals to Corwin his family’s ruthless and Machiavellian nature – a nature he shares -, and that the path to the throne is a route of force and betrayal.

Join Corwyn Allen as he reads the first volume in Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber series.

Thursday, November 5th,

19:00 Bernard Evslin’s Monsters and Mythology

 Shandon presents another remarkable tale from ancient Greece in Amycus, Part 1. Also in Kitely – take the teleport from the main Seanchai World grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI.

21:00 Seanchai Late Night

Finn Zeddmore presents contemporary science fiction and fantasy from such on-line sources as Light Speed, Escape Pod, and Clarkesworld magazines.

2020 viewer release summaries week #44

Posted on by Inara Pey
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates for the week ending Sunday, November 1st

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

  • Current release viewer version 6.4.10.549686, formerly the Mesh Uploader RC, promoted on October 14 – No change.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.4.11.551139, issued October 27th.
  • Project viewers:
    • The Legacy Profiles project viewer updated to version 6.4.11.550519 on October 26th.
    • The Jellydolls project viewer updated to version 6.4.11.551213 on November 2nd (cleared for update October 29th).

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V6-style

  • No updates.

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Midnight in Paris in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Midnight in Paris, November 2020 – click any image for full size

A  year ago, we visited Somewhere Else BKLYN, a region designed by Littlesquaw and ToXxicShadow and intended primarily for Second Life photography (see Somewhere Else in Second Life).  Now Littlesquaw is back with a another take of a city setting with Midnight in Paris. Once again, it is a region offered as a photogenic setting that presents numerous opportunities for avatar photography – and for those who were in the BKLYN group, that same group is used for rezzing rights in this build.

As the name suggests, the region presents a view of Paris at night – a length of the Seine, in fact, with its familiar bankside roads on either side and steps descending to public walks just above the river’s waters.  A barge is chugging its way along the river, passing under one of the arched bridges, while town houses and business places stand to attention along the roads on either side.

Midnight in Paris, November 2020

The majority of the buildings at little more than façades, although a small bistro towards the middle of the north bank of the river offers an interior setting alongside a cobbled courtyard, beyond which lies a small park.

This may all sound simple – and in a sense, it is – but there is beauty (and care) in this apparent simplicity. The beauty is in the night-time setting, the use of lighting (you really should have the viewer’s Advanced lighting Model active  – Preferences → Graphics → Advanced Lighting Model).

Midnight in Paris, November 2020

The care comes from things like the inclusion of static NPCs that add a sense of human presence along the streets, the use of weather to offer a sense of change: rain is falling still on the south bank of the river, whilst on the north, some the the streets still have puddles from the recently-passed shower, whilst here and there cobblestone glisten in  the wake of its passage.

Further life is added by the presence of one or two little side streets of the kind that can so often be found when exploring a city like Paris; streets that carry you away from the familiar cosmopolitan bustle and into places where family businesses can still be found.

Midnight in Paris, November 2020

Quite where this scene might be in Paris isn’t important. While the Eiffel Tower forms a backdrop to the setting, whether or not Midnight in Paris is actually based on a part of the city simply isn’t important: the atmosphere created within the region is more than enough to carry you there – and have given those who have visited the inspiration to offer their own interpretations of Parisian life via the region’s Flickr group.

SLurl Details