Category: Second Life

Lab calls for 2018 Creepy Crawl venues in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Arranmore; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr What spooky places will the Creepy Crawl visit in 2018? Pictured: Arranmore, 2016 (blog post)

Halloween is approaching once again, and so too is the annual Second Life Creepy Craw, a time when those from the Lab, together with residents, go hopping around the grid in an avatar answer to trick-or-treating.

Now in its third year, the event will take place on Wednesday, October 31st, starting at 10:00 SLT. As with previous years, it will feature locations suitably Halloweeny in décor suggested by Second Life users, as the community blog post on the event explains:

Are you ready to have a screaming good time with fellow Residents – all in the name of the spirit of Halloween? While this holiday may not be shared the world over, it is a tradition in Second Life to dress up in your Halloween best and come out haunting for the annual Second Life Creepy Crawl and Costume Contest!

It’s going to be a monster mash-up at our Creepy Crawl – where we hop from venue to venue and enjoy some thrilling conversation and fun – with a de-frightfully fun Costume Contest twist!

If you’d like to host a stop along the Creepy Crawl, own a spot that will be decked out for the holiday, and don’t mind if a parade of Residents and Lindens come through, then you might be just what the witch doctor ordered. We’re looking for spots that have entertainment (we like to dance around in our costumes!), are appropriate for general and moderate audiences, and can handle a crowd.

If the event is run along the same lines at 2016 and 2017, selected venues will likely be visited for around 30 minutes at a time (although this is subject to confirmation), and people will be welcome to join the entire Creepy Crawl, or drop in and out of it as they wish.

Here’s how to submit your venue for consideration:

2018 SL UG updates #38/3: CCUG – EEP! the sky!

Posted on by Inara Pey
Whirly Fizzle casts her magic, blotting the Sun with EEP. Credit: Whirly Fizzle

The following notes are taken from the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting, held on  Thursday, September 20th, 2018 at 13:00 SLT.  These meetings are chaired by Vir Linden, and agenda notes, meeting SLurl, etc, are usually available on the Content Creation User Group wiki page.

Environment Enhancement Project (EEP)

Project Summary

A set of environmental enhancements, including:

  • The ability for region / parcel owners to define the environment (sky, sun, moon, clouds, water settings) at the parcel level.
  • New environment asset types (Sky, Water, Days that can be stored in inventory and traded through the Marketplace / exchanged with others.
    • Day assets can include four Sky “tracks” defined by height: ground level (which includes altitudes up to 1,000m) and (optionally) 1,000m and above; 2,000m and above and 3,000m and above, plus a Water “track”.
  • Experience-based environment functions
  • An extended day cycle (e.g a 24/7 cycle) and extended environmental parameters.
  • There are no EEP parameters for manipulating the SL wind.
  • EPP will also include some rendering enhancements  and new shaders as well (being developed by Graham Linden), which will allow for effects such as crepuscular rays (“God rays”)
    • These will be an atmospheric effect, not any kind of object or asset or XML handler.
  • The new LSL functions for finding the time of day according to the position of the windlight Sun or Moon have been completed, and are more accurate than the current options.
  • EEP will not include things like rain or snow.
  • It will still be possible to set windlight local to your own viewer.

Resources

EEP Documentation

The complete EEP documentation is now available on the SL wiki. Published on the 19th September 2018, and still subject to update, it provides information on:

  • Types of Settings – skies, water, day cycles.
  • Creating and editing EEP settings objects.
  • Applying environments and settings.
  • Command commands for EEP objects.
  • Setting fixed skies and water.
  • Images of the new inventory options, the new UI options (My Environments, etc.).

Test Viewer

The test viewer was made available on Thursday, September 20th, available for OS X, and Windows 32 / 64-bit. Testing is only available on Aditi, and the land there is limited; so for the time being the viewer download links are not generally available – but check the Alternate Viewers wiki page for its general availability in the near future.

And for those who have been eagerly awaiting it – the EEP viewer has options for setting the length of day at either region and / or parcel level, and the number of hours offset from GMT the cycle should be. Day lengths can be the default 4 hours, through to a maximum of 168 hours, equally to a week-long cycle

General Points

  • EEP testing is limited to one region on Aditi for the time being. Parcels are offered for sale at L$1 each (money on Aditi is automatically provided for users, so this is not a personal cost). Users are requested to only purchase one parcel apiece.
  • Parcels can only be purchased via the EEP test viewer.
  • There is not currently a forum thread, as this is only the initial test period for EEP, but a thread will be opened once the project moves to Agni, the main grid.
  • It is hoped that EEP will move rapidly to project viewer status, and will be available on Agni in the near future – particularly now that the AIS service updates have completed.
  • There is a single water track per parcel, so it is not possible to set different looks for water at different altitudes as you can for the sky (and anyway, most would be unseen at higher altitudes).
  • Items still to be considered or to be completed:
    • Offering users the ability to override the time of day/sun position within their own viewer irrespective of the permissions on the EEP settings pack.
    • The shader atmospherics have still to be added.
    • Scripting support has yet to be added – some scripts are available and awaiting inclusion, but it was always Rider’s plans to add scripting after the initial test / project viewers were available.
    • The scripting work will include options for setting the environment on agents participating in an experience.
  • To help with initial testing, Rider has produced a “sundial” that can be obtained in the Aditi test regions. This contains all the available functions and is designed to be used for determining the positions of the Sun and the Moon.
  • The Sun and Moon move entirely independently to one another, allowing both to be in the sky at the same time, and their size can be enlarged or reduced, depending on requirements / texture being used to replace them (so you could have a massive planet hanging in the sky, as if close by, or a little moon that appears much further away).
A simple 5-minute demo (including uploading the textures) creating a sky object, using it to replace the Sun and Moon with Mars and Jupiter respectively, then adjusting their respective sizes and putting them in the same quadrant of the sky before applying the setting to a parcel of land. Note the windlight clouds drifting in front of Mars. Not visible in this image is the fact that with ALM in the viewer enabled, the stars twinkle as though with atmospheric distortion. Click for full size, if required

Continue reading “2018 SL UG updates #38/3: CCUG – EEP! the sky!” →

It’s Dog Food Day at the Lab!

Posted on by Inara Pey

Eating your own dog food is a colloquialism that describes a company using its own products or services for its internal operations.

The Second Life team already do this to some extent – as a geographically split company on both coasts of the United States (operating out of both San Francisco and Seattle on the West Coast), and having a support centre in Georgia, the company frequently uses its own platform for staff meetings and the like. There are also, of course, the various in-world weekly user group meetings that hold as well.

However, starting on Friday, September 21st, the Lab is starting on what they are calling their Dog Food Days.

It’s not clear how frequently these will be held, but the idea is for members of the Second Life team to use the platform in ways outside of what they might normally do, and see things more from the perspective of users – including the pain points people might feel when using the platform or learning about it; as well as how the limits of the platform are being pushed creatively.

Alexa Linden, as one of the instigators of the idea, offered an example of her thinking around it:

One of the reasons I wanted to have Dog Food Day … it that a lot of people [at the Lab] have still not gone through the process of meshing up their avatar … I’ve done it on all of my alts, and it’s a learning process; it’s not an easy thing to do. And it’s something we need to understand as new users come in, it’s important for us to understand their frustrations, the learning curve, what people are creating, what the quality of content is, etc.

– Alexa Linden, Product Supervisor, discussing the Lab’s Dog Food Day idea

Given this, Alexa is interested in receiving constructive suggestions for what might be considered for inclusion in these Dog Food Days. One suggestion already put forward was to have Lab staff run through the SL sign-up and on-boarding process from end-to-end, including going to the Learning and Social island and experience the entire process from a user’s perspective – and this has been taken on-board.So, if you do have a suitable idea, please consider dropping Alexa a note card.

Also, every Tuesday, Alexa runs an in-world tour of public places on the grid for Lab staff. She’s always interested in appropriate recommendations – places where staff will feel comfortable going, etc., – and welcomes suggestions on possible visits as well (I’ve actually passed on a few myself). So again, if you have ideas for interesting / photogenic / fun locations, drop her a note card with landmarks.

A trip to Havana, with a little Voodoo In My Blood

Posted on by Inara Pey

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrLittle Havana – click any image for full size

We came across Little Havana as a result of an e-mail suggestion*. Occupying a Homestead region, it is a joint design between Sofie Janic, Fred Hamilton (frecoi), Alexa Maravilla (Spunknbrains) and Lotus Mastroianni. It’s an easy to visit region, offering a seafront location looking out over a sandy beach to where waves suitable for surfers are rolling in on the tide.

As the name suggests, the region takes its inspiration from Cuba. However, rather than trying to recreate anything specific from Havana – such as one of its more famous buildings of monuments, the team responsible for the design have opted to present a setting mindful of the images often seen in photos and postcards of Havana: wide streets, gaily painted buildings with something of a run-down air about them, little churches and, of course, the giant gas guzzlers, equally brightly painted and obviously lavished with care as befitting behemoths that have a design lifespan reaching back to the 1950s.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrLittle Havana

The seafront boulevard offers the best vista of the houses, buildings and cars, the street lighting offering opportunities for tourist-like night-time photography for those looking for an alternative to daylight photographs.

With the exception of the church alongside the landing point, which appears to be  a small gallery displaying images by Lotus Mastroianni, none of the buildings are furnished. Some do, however, carry hallmarks of el revolución cubana on their flanks. The heroic visage of Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, arguably, and alongside Fidel Castro, a major architect of Fulgencio Basista’s overthrow and the remodelling of Cuba post-revolution, stares stoically outward from the side of one of the taller buildings, for example.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrLittle Havana

The northern end of the beach front road ends, quirkily enough, in an odd little helicopter landing pad, complete with a D-Labs helicopter that looks like it has been put together using bodywork from a car. When encountered, it is both unexpected and yet strangely suited to the setting.

A short distance across the water, north and west of this, sits a little sandy island given over to swimming, sunbathing and generally relaxing, a bar offering an excuse to swim over and stay a while.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrLittle Havana

The roads on the region also run along the east side of the buildings, where can be found more paintings typical of Cuba on walls, including one of Fidel Castro himself in all his bearded glory. This faces a recording studio sitting on another little island, this one reached via a wooden bridge. With an indoor pool and outdoor sun deck, it suggests a place of easy-going creation of Cuban music.

Ideally suited to photography, particularly avatar-centric images, Little Havana is connected via bridge at its south-western extreme to Voodoo In My Blood, the neighbouring full region. This features a design largely brought together by Megan Prumier, working with Sofi and Fred.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrVoodoo In My Blood

This is distinctly more run-down America in terms of tone, but equally as engaging visually. A good portion of the region is given over to commercial activities centred on but not limited to the Voodoo main store itself. However, explore southward beyond this, along the narrow, grungy alleys standing between the shells of ageing buildings, and you come to an open beach front setting. Tired it may well, but it is also packed with detail.

Running east-to-west across the southern side of the region, this beach opens out on its western side to become the sandy location of an ageing seaside fun fair. Whether the rides still work is up to you to find out, but the function here seems to have shifted over time: a music stage has been built, and the tents pitched on the white sand suggest there’s recently been a festival of some kind here.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrVoodoo In My Blood

A set of trimmed hedges and paved paths sit above these tents, presenting a little formal place to take a stroll. On their north side the look towards a finger of rock pointing out to sea and reached via wooden board walks. Seals have claimed this rocky ribbon as their home, and lie resting on wooden piers – although one seems intent on receiving scooter lessons! The piers are also where boats might put in, as evidenced by the pristine yacht moored close by, the affluence it exudes contrasting with the aged look of the rest of the region.

Both Little Havana and Voodoo Blood are finished with local soundscapes – such as music blaring from a car radio as you wander the streets of the former, or the sounds of the seaside when exploring the southern seafront of the latter. This means that having local sounds enable while exploring is an absolute must.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrVoodoo In My Blood

Taken individually or together, Little Havana and Voodoo Blood make for interesting destinations for Second Life travel bloggers, explorers and photographers. Both had been designed to exude atmosphere and catch the eye, and both are very much worth taking the time to explore.

Those requiring rezzing rights in either region can obtain them by joining the respective groups, and each region has its own Flickr group for those wishing to share their images – see the About Land information within each region for the links.

Little Havana; Inara Pey, September 2018, on FlickrVoodoo In My Blood

SLurl Details

* I’m not offering a name, as the e-mail appears to have originated from a personal account, rather than one linked to an avatar name. If I have this wrong, the sender can ping me with an OK, and I’ll add their name for due credit. Otherwise thank you for the hat tip.

Second Life: switches to Stella Connect for support feedback

Posted on by Inara Pey

Whirly Fizzle tapped me about a recent change to the support ticket system she recently noticed.

Previously, when a support ticket was closed by the originator or by the Lab, a pop-up feedback box would be displayed. Well, no more, as Whirly Fizzle noted to me via IM:

I just had a ticket closed, and I got an e-mail from something called secondlife-at-stellaconnect.net. I thought it was a scam at first!”

– Whirly Fizzle

However, she checked with Alexa Linden, who confirmed the e-mails to be genuine.

Stella Connect is actually platform geared towards improving support staff motivation, increasing the quality of support services and provides a means to help train and develop support staff skills – and it is now being used by the Lab to help in their Second Life support operations. The most user visible element within the system is a  new approach to obtaining feedback on support cases, as exemplified by the e-mail Whirly received.

With Stella Connect, when a support ticket is closed, the originator of the ticket receives – as noted – an e-mail via secondlife-at-stellaconnect.net. Within this e-mail is a link the user is asked to use. This takes them to a web page that:

  • Displays information on the Second Life support team member who assisted them
  • Allows them to rate the support team member’s performance on a star rating where 1 star is a rating of “poor”, and 5 a rating of “excellent”.
  • Provide text feedback on why they have given their rating.
A sample of the new feedback form users will see when responding to an e-mail from secondlife-at-stellaconnect.net after their support ticket has been closed. Image via Whirly Fizzle.

In addition, and depending on the star rating given, the user will be asked to do one of the following:

  • If they have given a high star rating, they will be asked if they wish to recommend a reward for the support team member providing the assistance (below, left).
  • If they have given a lower star rating, they will be asked to indicate specific areas where they feel the support experience could be improved (below, right).
If a user gives a high star rating to a support team member, they are additionally asked if they would like to have the team member rewarded for their efforts (l). If a low star rating is given, the user will be asked to indicate where the support experience could be improved (r). Images via Whirly Fizzle.

The rewards system is an interesting way of both motivating support staff to provide a positive experience for users, and to help engage users in the entire support process. Alongside of providing information on the support team member who assisted them, the rewards option can help personalise the entire process where the user has had a particularly positive experience.

While discussing this approach, Keira Linden, who supervises the Land Team,  informed me the exact details of the rewards are still being finalised, and, over time, may well depend on how popular they are with both support staff and with users (e.g. which of the available options do users tend to select).

We’re still working out the rewards system, but I kinda like giving my folks that go the extra mile to make someone happy an actual reward. The lunch thing will probably happen, but it’s pretty new still. We’ll get feedback from the support folks as well as take a look at what options are popular from the resident side. We’re able to do a lot of customisation there on the rewards.

– Keira Linden, Second Life Land Team Supervisor

Beyond this, all of the feedback generated  – positive or otherwise – is directed back into managing support operations. This both allows overall customer satisfaction to the be assessed, and also helps in highlighting weaknesses within support activities / responses with may need addressing. Additionally, the data generated by the system could, if required, be made available to other customer experience teams to help further improve interactions with users, and so on.

So, if you do have support tickets filed with Linden Lab, and you find yourself receiving an e-mail from secondlife-at-stellaconnect.net, you can be assured it’s not spam or a scam – it’s a genuine Second Life related e-mail, and one intended to help the Lab’s Second Life support team assess and improve the support service they are giving to users – so do please take the time to respond to it.

With thanks to Whirly Fizzle and Keira Linden

Rainbow Painters in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rainbow Painters

Rainbow Painters is an art gallery curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (patience Roxley). Described as “an art gallery for the new artist in SL … a place to show off your skill at no cost to you”, it is in fact open to artists “old” and “new”, with an open invitation for them to contact the curators about displaying their images within the gallery.

Located on a quarter region, the gallery shares its space with an open-air games area (table games and 10-pin bowling) and dance / events space. Within the gallery building, artists are offered a modest amount of wall space in which to display their art – but which is more than enough for visitors to gain an appreciation of their work. There do not appear to be any restrictions on the nature of the art, so long is it is in keeping with the SL Terms of Service / Community Standards, and meets the region’s maturity rating.

Rainbow Painters

At the time of our visit, the list of artists included Jaime Poutine, BittsyBoo, Mistero Hifeng,  Rage Darkstone, JolieElle Parfort, Xirana Oximoxi, Siobhán Muintir (Qorell),  Fuyuko Amano (Wintergeist) and Callum Writer, to name but a handful of those displaying their work.

The range of art is as broad as the list of artists, featuring images captured both in-world and original art uploaded to Second Life. In what I take to be a respect for the gallery’s title, many of the in-world images offered had been processed to give the impression of being painted, while the uploaded art covered photography through a variety of painting styles. One of these, by an artist from Sri lanka (and provided by Asmita Duranjaya) particularly caught my eye for it modern take on traditional stylised paintings I’ve seen first-hand when visiting that country.

Rainbow Painters

Second Life landscapes  – my preferred form of SL art – were much on display during our visit, but I confess to being particularly drawn to Siobhán Muintir’s display, which featured three avatar studies quite powerful in their depth and presentation (two are shown above), displayed with an image again processed to appear as if painted, and which offers a further captivating view of the model, but in a broader setting.

3D artists need not feel left out, either. The gallery provides space for small displays of 3D art. Mistero Hifeng, for example had a sculpture displayed alongside his 2D art, while Asmita Duranjaya and Faith Maxwell were both displaying their 3D sculptures.

Rainbow Painters

All told, an interesting venue offering space to artists old and new – and a chance for visitors to discover the work of people they might not yet have encountered in SL.

SLurl Details