Category: Second Life

2020 Simulator User Group week #13 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kindred Spirit, February 2020 – blog post

The following notes were taken at the Simulator User Group meeting held on Tuesday, March 24th. Not a lot to report as an equinox party took priority at the meeting.

Simulator Deployments

Please refer to the simulator deployment thread for updates.

  • On Tuesday, March 24th, the majority of the grid (the SLS “main” channel) updated to simulator version 538605, containing fixes for object_rez timing in scripts.
    • This update does not change the on_rez delay, but adds code that will ensure that the object_rez messages are not lost.
  • An RC deployment is pending for Wednesday, March 25th, but details were TBA at the time of writing this summary, so please refer to the deployment thread for updates

SL Viewer

There have been no viewer updates to mark the start of the week to leave the official viewer pipelines as follows:

  • Current Release version  version 6.3.8.538264, dated March 12, promoted March 18th. Formerly the Premium RC viewer.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • EEP RC viewer updated to version 6.4.0.538823, March 20th.
    • Zirbenz Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.3.9.538719, issued March 19th.
    • Love Me Render RC viewer, version 6.3.7.536179, February 10th.
    • Camera Presets RC viewer, version 6.3.6.535138, January 24th.
  • Project viewers:
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9th, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22nd, 2019.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.3.2.530836, September 17th, 2019. Covers the re-integration of Viewer Profiles.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16th, 2019.

 

Chouchou: The Babel re-opens in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Chouchou: the Babel

I was pleased to learn that The Babel, the “sounds lab” created by the musical partnership of pianist Arabesque Choche and vocalist Juliet Heberle, finally re-opened to the public on March 21st, 2020.

Originally conceived by the duo in 2009, The Babel was a fascinating interactive setting whilst available through until 2013, when it was closed and removed from the grid. More recently, and as I found myself reporting in May 2019, it looked as if all of the couple’s regions looked set for closure, the couple believing the builds had run their course. Fortunately, they were encouraged to reconsider their decision, and in October 2019, it was announced that the Chouchou regions would be remaining in SL under the auspices of the Second Life Region Preservation Society (SLRPS) – with the promise that The Babel would also be returning (see: Chouchou set to remain in Second Life – and there’s more).

Chouchou: The Babel

Well, it took a while to fully open but The Babel made its official public re-engagement on March 21st, 2020, and I took time out to jump over and visit after a somewhat hectic weekend, and am pleased to say that it remains an engaging visit for the musically minded.

To call The Babel a place would be a mistake; it is an experience, a musical construct comprising boxes, elements and levels, which may at first glance appear completely random – but there is order. Each box is a sound – a note or chord – which is played when touched. Some will play once when touched, others work on a toggle – they will play until touched again. These boxes are in turn grouped into elements, or collections of notes / chords / voices. By touching (and re-touching) the boxes around you, it is possible to create tonal harmonies and even “compose” your own pieces, although it takes a combination of practice and a quick eye / hand. Climb the stairs to play the upper levels, and you’ll find some of the steps also play notes, adding to the complexity.

If all this sounds confusing, Chouchou produced an introductory video to the build back in 2009, which once again has relevance.

Two books on the elements and boxes can be found at the foot of the spiralling stairs, but given the ambient lighting, these can be hard to read.

Climbing to the top of the stairs will take you in a room with piano notes and chords set out in two grids around a series of Julia’s voices, which some may find easier to “play”.

Chouchou: The Babel

As conceptual now as it was in 2009 (or 2012, when I first visited it!) The Babel makes and interesting return to Second Life and once more rounds-out the trio of Chouchou regions in-world.

Related Links

Advanced notice for Lab Gab 19: how the Lab is dealing with the health crisis

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

The 19th edition of Lab Gab will be live streamed on Friday, March 27th at 10:00 SLT (17:00 UK; 18:00 CET). The segment will feature Ebbe Linden (aka Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg) and Brett Linden, Senior Director of Marketing, two recent guests on the show (see here and here for summaries of their prior interviews). They are returning to address, as the official blog post states:

Discussing how Linden Lab is responding to the public health crisis to ensure uninterrupted Second Life operations, as well as how the company is offering new remote turnkey solutions for conferences, events, or classes.

This is once more a segment during which questions from Second Life users will be put to Ebbe and Brett, so if you have anything you’d like to ask  – particularly in relation to the SARS novel-coronavirus pandemic and Second Life / Linden Lab operations, although not necessarily restricted to that topic – be sure to submit them via the Lab Gab Episode 19 Questions form. Not all the questions may be asked / answered, but if you don’t try, there’s a greater chance your question may not be asked anyway!

The programmed will be streamed via YouTube, Facebook, Mixer, or Periscope, and if all goes according to plan, I’ll have a summary of the video (and the video itself) available soon after the the broadcast, for those unable to watch live.

Fantasy Faire 2020: calling all bloggers

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Fantasy Faire

Fantasy Faire, the largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, will take place in 2020 from Thursday, April 23rd, through Sunday May 10th, 2020 inclusive, with the scheduled activities programme running between April 23rd and Monday, May 4th.

Thus far, merchant applications opened on February 12th (see Fantasy Faire 2020: dates announced and merchant applications open) – and notifications have started to go out, with the news that the region will be open for merchants to set-up from Friday, April 17th.

Dollowing this, on February 16th, DJ applications  and Host applications opened for submissions, while on February 18th, and for the first time in the event’s history, Fantasy Faire issued an invitation to region designers to be a part of this year’s event (although applications have now closed for this aspect of the Faire) – see Fantasy Faire 2020: calling DJs, hosts and – world builders!).

Now, and as promised, on Monday, March 23rd, Fantasy Faire announced the opening of the 2020 blogger applications.

We are looking for bloggers that genuinely love the Faire and cherish the fleeting time the Fairelands visit our realm. Since the application is mostly about getting into the early access, we are focusing on bloggers who take pictures in the regions, or of the regions. Studio-work is not dependent on if the regions are laggy or not, after all. We are also searching for bloggers with strong ties to RFL, who are passionate about the Relay and willing to write about it. I am also always, always looking for and favoring good writers and storytellers.

 – from the Fantasy Faire blogger info page

Full details concerning applying to be a Fantasy Faire blogger can be found on the official blogger info page, which includes links to the optional blogger challenges and to information on writing for the official Fantasy Faire website. And, of course, there is the link to the blogger application form itself.

Additional Links

2020 viewer release summaries week #12

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

Updates for the week ending Sunday, March 22nd

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 version  version 6.3.8.538264, dated March 12, promoted March 18th. Formerly the Premium RC viewer – NEW.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • EEP RC viewer updated to version 6.4.0.538823, on March 20th.
    • Zirbenz Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.3.9.538719, issued on March 19th.
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V6-style

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Second Norway & Sailor’s Cove East: rumours & statements

Posted on by Inara Pey
Second Norway, March 2020

Update, April 27th: Second Norway is now under the management of Luxory Estates, read more in Second Norway: the future is bright.

Update, April 2nd: Ey Ren, founder of Second Norway, has created a website to keep people appraised of the situation. For the latest news and updates, please go to: Bad Elf Blog, or see my update.

Update, March 26th: Speaking at the VWBPE Conference Above the Book session, Patch linden commented on the SN / SCE estates situation saying:

Region owners are absolutely encouraged to approach my support team, if you find yourself in a situation of difficulty because of what’s going on.

And specifically for Second Norway, we are working with Ey on that situation, and actually, I think we’re going to see a really good outcome there.

Patch’s comment can be heard at the 1:11:16 point in the session video, and a summary of the session itself can be found here: VWBPE 2020: Above the Book with Ebbe and Patch – summary.

 

There have been several rumours that the estates of Second Norway and Sailor’s Cove East are closing, with one of the reasons being given as “high vacancy rates”.

Both estates are operated by Ey Ren and Mialinn Telling, and form an important part of the environment connected to Blake Sea, offering private homes to many as well as open waters and skies for the Second Life boating / sailing communities and the aviation community.

Currently, as far as I’ve been able to ascertain, the precise future of both estates is unclear. The only official statement on the matter has been posted on Mialinn’s Second Life profile:

I am sorry to inform that due to year of deficit and the current corona crisis, job loss and failing krone exchange rate, Ey Ren are no longer able to keep the ship afloat. LL has closed his account. Ey has contacted LL and the other owners of Blake Sea in hopes of reaching an agreement for further existence of SN and SCE. Unfortunately, I have no more information at this time.

I’ve reached out to Mialinn in the hopes of learning more – if there is indeed further news to be had at this point – and if I do hear back, I will provide an update.