The Lab’s Second Life developer and product team, et al, all are on an off-site to discuss further plans for the platform (which we’ll gradually get to hear about in due course in the coming months … hopefully). Unofficially, this is now known as the Linden Summer of Love Palooza Extravaganza Fête Conference thingy – just so you know 😀 .
Server Deployments
None planned. Main channel regions should have been restarted on Tuesday, July 24th, in accordance with the 14-day restart policy. The BlueSteel and LeTigre RCs should in theory be restarted on Wednesday, July 25th for the same reason.
SL Viewer
On Friday, July 20th, Linden Lab issued the BugSplat RC viewer, 5.1.7.518003.
This viewer is functionally identical to the current release viewer. However, it includes now crash reporting capabilities based on the Lab using BugSplat, a commercial service, rather than their own crash reporting mechanism derived from Google Breakpad.
The aim of this work is to allow the Lab to focus on actual viewer development and support, rather than having to pour time into maintaining and updating the crashing reporting software and workflow associated with it.
Other than this update, the viewer pipelines from the Lab remain as:
Current Release version 5.1.6.516459 and dated June 15th, promoted June 21st – formerly the Pálinka Maintenance Release Candidate – No Change
Release channel cohorts:
Quinquina Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 5.1.7.517594, on July 12th.
Project viewers:
Animesh project viewer updated to version 6.0.0.516979 on June 25th.
Bakes on Mesh project viewer, version 5.1.6.516270, dated June 14th.
Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17th, 2017 and promoted to release status 29th November, 2017 – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7. This viewer will remain available for as long as reasonable, but will not be updated with new features or bug fixes.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, July 22nd
This summary is generally published on 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 test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version 5.1.6.516459 and dated June 15th, promoted June 21st – formerly the Pálinka Maintenance Release Candidate – No Change
The BugSplat RC viewer, version 5.1.7.518003, released July 20th, 2018. This viewer is functionally identical to the current release viewer, but uses BugSplat for crash reporting, rather than the Lab’s own Breakpad based crash reporting tools.
Erstwhile Station: the setting for Arrivals and Departures, a new Second Life machinima
Arrivals and Departures is a new machinima from CEH Productions, a collaboration between Caledonia Skytower from Seanchai Library, Elrik Merlin of Radio Riel and Designing Worlds, and Honey Heart of Elite Equestrian.
The 15-minute film, premiered in-world at a specially constructed theatre setting on Sunday, July 22nd, 2018, takes the audience into a moment of time in the lives of two people who come together for one last, shared moment. It reveals how their individual journeys have become intertwined, and the essential role each has come to play for the other. Though the word is never uttered in the film, it essentially addresses aspects of our attitude towards death.
He has accepted the journey on which he must now embark. His last act is to pass along that which has been most important in his life to someone who is remaining behind – requesting their commitment to carry on the work. She is dropped without warning into loss, grief, and accepting his legacy with no warning or time to become accustomed to its inevitability. She must choose to be present for him in this moment, accept the commitment with which he tasks her, and be prepared to continue on – while at the same time dealing with the shock and weight of it.
– Caledonia Skytower on Arrivals and Departures
Arrivals and Departures: Him and Her (via Caledonia Skytower)
The story was inspired by, and performed in, the superbly imagined Erstwhile Station, a Steampunk-inspired space port created by leading virtual world creators Sharni Azalee and Marcus Inkpen of The looking Glass fame for Fantasy Faire 2018. The build was generously donated to the project by Sharni and Markus, with Technical Director Honey Heart re-erecting it as a film set, using path-scripting techniques within the build required to realise the film’s action. For the premiere, Honey also provided a special theatre setting based on the film set, and which remains open for further viewings of the film.
Arrival and Departures is a transatlantic production; Caledonia Skytower, as writer based in Washington State, Honey Heart, who also developed the in-world animations used within the film, is based in Michigan, and Erik Merlin, who edited the film from footage he and Caledonia shot, is based in Scotland. Both Caledonia and Erik voice the principal characters.
The story itself is beautifully told. As noted above, it is a tale of passings and also of beginnings. It also highlights the vital importance of storytelling, harking back to an earlier time when tales were woven into a verbal tradition that was handed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Delicately folded within it is a reminder that while those who leave us in this life may physically pass beyond our reach, we can nevertheless continue carry them within us, breathing life into their passions and ideals by inspiring and teaching, loving and caring for those around us.
The Arrivals and Departures theatre setting, while will remain in place for several days after the July 22nd Premiere of the film, and where visitors are invited to watch it in-world
Eloquent and poignant with an elegantly told story, Arrivals and Departures is an outstanding film, and not one to be missed. You can see it on-line via the following links, or if you prefer, in-world through until 16:00 SLT on Tuesday, July 24th, 2018 at the Arrivals and Departures theatre in-world (Silver Sands, rated: Adult):
In addition, and with the producers’ permission, I’ve embedded the film at the end of this article.
About CEH Productions
Caledonia Skytower is an artist and storyteller with over 30 years of experience as a theatrical designer, production manager, and non-profit administrator. Since 2008 she has worked as a volunteer presenting literature live in virtual worlds, logging in over 1000 hours to benefit a variety of charities, and develop engaging experiences to promote reading and literature, as part of Seanchai Library. She continues designing for the stage, works as project specialist, a small non-profit consultant, and has self-published ten titles of fiction, poetry and reflective essays.
Elrik Merlin has been in Second Life for over a decade. Virtually from the beginning, he has been involved with in-world media, as a DJ, a presenter (and Technical Director) on Radio Riel, and on Designing Worlds, the popular weekly TV show on design and designers in virtual worlds, which he films and edits, and co-hosts. He is also involved in Fantasy Faire Radio and his voice can often be heard on promos and sponsor messages, and on several of the “Tales from the Fairelands” stories that are broadcast on FFR. He has frequently taken part in in-world and radio drama over the years, with groups including the Radio Riel and Fantasy Faire Players.
Honey Heart is the owner of two award-winning in-world companies, Ladies’ Pleasure and Elite Equestrian, where she heads a team of highly talented designers and scripters specialising in developing innovative horse avatars and accessories for equestrian enthusiasts. At the same time, she also has a design practice in real life. She originally began designing in SL because she couldn’t find tack and accessories for her and her first horse, Dancer, so she started making them herself. Then others wanted to buy what she made, and it grew from there. She finds growing a business with her partners to be the best fun in SL.
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 at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.
Join Seanchai Library and friends aboard one of the most luxurious means of rail travel, the Orient Express, as they continue their investigations into the most disagreeable events that have occurred en route to Paris.
Having been required to return to London from Istanbul post-haste, Hercule Poirot sought passage aboard the most famous train, gaining seat initially in second class, only to be “upgraded” to first class by his friend – and member of the board of directors for Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, the operators of the service – M Bouc. Prior to his “upgrade”, Poirot is accosted by one Samuel Ratchett, an American also travelling on the train, who demands the detective’s aide as he believes his life is in danger. However, Poirot refuses, on account of finding the American a distasteful individual.
Then, on the night after his upgrade to the sleeping berth next to Ratchett’s, he is woken by two events: the first is that the train has become stranded in snow not far from the city of Vinkovci in Yugoslavia. The second is the discovery that Ratchett’s fears about his safety were correct: his has been murdered in his cabin. But who is responsible?
With nowhere to go until assistance for the stricken locomotive arrives, Poirot sets out to discover – did someone board the train in secret to put an end to Ratchett, or was one of his fellow passengers in fact the murderer? And what of Ratchett himself? Was he really all he seemed?
Offered in a special setting, Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie’s most popular stories, continues into its second weekend reading!
Monday, July 23rd 19:00: The Drowning World
They call it the Drowning World; Fluva, a planet on the fringes of the Commonwealth where the rain is – but for one month in the year – maddeningly torrential. For Chief Administrator Lauren Matthias, it is a new posting; one which comes with a major requirement: keeping the indigenous and warlike Sakuntala and immigrant and hard-working Deyzara, from annihilating one another.
But when the vessel used by bio-prospector Shadrach Hasselemoga crashes in Viisiiviisii, an immense, mostly unexplored jungle, and the wettest place on the planet, Matthias must dispatch a team made up of one Sakuntala and one Deyzara on a rescue mission. Can the two form an alliance long enough to both rescue Hasselemoga and survive the deadly jungle?
But as the mission unfolds, Matthias realises something much bigger and darker is occurring on Fluva. A mysterious presence is at work, manipulating events, one which not only puts the lives of the rescue mission at risk, but also her own – and which could ultimately threaten the Commonwealth itself!
Join Gyro Muggins as he reads story #21 in Alan Dean Foster’s Humanx Commonwealth series.
Tuesday, July 24th 1900: Brief Cases
Corwyn Allen dives into Jim Butcher’s 2018 collection of several of his excellent short stories and novellas from the universe of Harry Dresden.
The tales presented here not only offer excellent short narratives that dabble between the scenes of the other novels in the Dresden Universe series, they even encompass what might be Dresden’s greatest challenge…
….Becoming a father.
Wednesday, July 25th 19:00: Mythos
The Greek myths are the greatest stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce and Walt Disney.
They are embedded deeply in the traditions, tales and cultural DNA of the West. In Stephen Fry’s hands the stories of the titans and gods become a brilliantly entertaining account of ribaldry and revelry, warfare and worship, debauchery, love affairs and life lessons, slayings and suicides, triumphs and tragedies.
Through them, you’ll once again fall in love with Zeus, marvel at the birth of Athena, wince at Cronus and Gaia’s revenge on Ouranos, weep with King Midas and hunt with the beautiful and ferocious Artemis.
Thursday, July 26th
14:00: Fireside Tales
This week featuring folktales with Dubhna Rhiadra
19:00: The Last Thunder Horse West of the Mississippi
A tale of the Wilder West with Shandon Loring, also presented in Kitely (hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/144/129/29).
21:00: Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary science Fiction with Finn Zeddmore.
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
“Wold” in England tends to mean a piece of high, open uncultivated land or moor, so when encountering it in the name of a region, I tend to find myself expecting such open landscapes; places with swathes of grass, perhaps undulating, possibly with copses here and there, together with tors or other features. However, take things too literally, and you can find yourself surprised.
Take Ravenwold for example, the Full region held by the partnership of DaveOSaurus and Damoira and designed by Damoira. Far from having broad open spaces, it is presented as a richly wooded landscape, and so taking more of a Germanic root, filled with an enchanting and eclectic mix of features stirred together to produce a magical and mystical setting that really does deserve careful and thorough exploration.
Ravenwold
Follow the trails through ancient forests to discover a land of beauty and intrigue. Ravenwold is as much a place of exploration as it is entertainment, with venues offering Live Acts and DJ’s as well as a fully stocked gaming area open for all to enjoy.
– Ravenwold About Land description
This may at first appear to be a region in two parts, split by the high curtain wall of cliffs running east-to-west across it. However, it is all part of the one landscape, the two halves linked by a connecting tunnel. Both sides of the region offer a setting full of whimsy and the unexpected, dotted here and there with buildings, but largely given over to woodlands dotted with various clearings and rocky areas where the treasures of the land might be found.
Ravenwold
The north side of the region features one of the music venues: an impressive building called Obsidian, sitting on a large paved plaza and looking like it is suited to live performances. Across the region to the east is the gaming area located under the boughs of trees. Between these two are paths winding through the trees, offering opportunities to find shaded glades rich with characters suggestive of magic and fantasy, and places to sit and to dance.
Ancient ruins are to be found here, adding to the fantasy / ethereal feel of the region, and – in one case at least – offer the chance for a little whimsy as a cast of characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland appear before a ruin, together with a few friends. This part of Ravenwold also includes an outdoor folk performance area and a coastal bar, while a teleport portal offers the way up to another games area up in the sky.
Ravenwold
Follow one of the brick paths to the tunnel running under the curtain of cliffs to connect the two halves of the region, and you’re find a further world to explore. Once again, trees raise a green canopy over the paths and trails that branch here and there to cross streams and climb rocky outcrops. More building – these with a definite fantasy lean – can be found here, sitting on plateaus, whilst down in the glades are more places to sit or dance, watched over by exotic and colourful plants. For those seeking a little piece and quiet, stairs up to one plateau point the way to where crystals guard a circle of stone arches surrounding what might be a storyteller’s circle.
These upland areas are particularly to be found on the southern side of the region, which also includes an ancient henge sitting in a box-like canyon. Among the stones and rocks here sits Excalibur, as if awaiting those who feel they might be up to the challenge of drawing it from its rocky scabbard. Not far from this, Also to be found here is the hidden entrance to another of the venue’s music venues, nicely hidden away.
Ravenwold
Caught under a twilight sky (although I opted for a little more mystical windlight, courtesy of Stevie Davros), Ravenwold is beautifully put together, and beautifully photogenic. Even the 10-pin bowling lane is tucked into the region without being obtrusive or appearing out-of-place. The number of paths winding their way through the region, branching and joining, cross streams and climbing hills and rocks, all serve to give the feeling this is a realm much bigger than its 256 metres on a side.
Should you enjoy a visit and wish to show your appreciation do consider a donation towards the region’s upkeep – if you can’t find one elsewhere, there is a tip cauldron inside the Obsidian venue, close to the landing point.
The following notes are taken from the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting, held on Thursday, July 19th, 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.
Note that the audio presented here may not be in the exact order of discussion during the meeting; as subjects were at times returned to following their initial discussion, I have attempted to bring together key points of discussion by topic / subject matter. Also, please note that audio drop-out when Vir is speaking appears to be an ongoing problem at his end.
Animesh
Project Summary
The goal of this project is to provide a means of animating rigged mesh objects using the avatar skeleton, in whole or in part, to provide things like independently moveable pets / creatures, and animated scenery features via scripted animation. It involves both viewer and server-side changes.
In one (BUG-139251), when some static mesh objects are converted to Animesh, the visual mesh is rotated through 90 degrees when seen in the Animesh viewer, but the physics mesh isn’t, leaving it perpendicular to the model. This is possibly an orientation issue, with the viewer expecting the mesh to be aligned to +x=forward – which not all mesh modelling tools follow.
The second problem is that when linking a series of objects into a single Animesh, then are visually located where the avatar skeleton supporting them is located, but the physics shapes remain in the original location of the objects prior to linking / converting.
Both of these problems pre-date Animesh, but have been effectively “hidden” because until now, rigged meshes could only be attached to an avatar, effectively masking the issues.
As a part of the approaches to fix these issues, Beq Janus and Elizabeth Jarvinen (polysail) have contributed code to correctly apply the bindpose matrix within the viewer. This code is in the latest version of the Animesh project viewer, which should be available soon, and should cover legacy content not corrected by similar fixes incorporated into Avatasr for new uploads (see my week #26 CCUG summary for more on this).
LOD Issues
Vir is currently working on the server-side issues, but once those have been resolved, his plan is to work on the viewer-side LOD issues, including BUG-224971 and the Dynamic bounding box issues (see my week #25 summary). Once he has completed testing the fixes for these, the hope is that the Animesh viewer can move to RC status.
Mesh Physics Shapes Issues
The deployment of Animesh to the RC server channels has revealed a couple of issues which need to be resolved:
Not all of the mesh information the server is required to “remember” is being properly retained.
Code within the Animesh update appears to be causing some in-world mesh objects to use the wrong physics shapes.
In Brief
Concern was raised whether Maya could be used to produce Animesh, given the rotation fixes seem to apply to Blender / Avastar. As Far as Cathy Foil (creator of Mayastar) is aware, meshes created in Maya / Mayastar can be converted for use as Animeshes.
Animesh does not support custom bones – it works purely with the Bento skeleton, which does allow for bone re-purposing.
BUG-225063 reports that the latest Animesh project viewer fails to display meshes at times, while older Animesh code can cause meshes to display incorrectly. Vir believes the issue may be linked to one he has been addressing, and believed to be caused by an uninitialised variable. The fix for this should be in an upcoming release of the viewer.
BUG-216352 “[Animesh] Issue with animations not rendering if they were stopped and started while host object is selected” – this is still being investigated. However, as it only applies to the same animation, rather than all animations, the issue isn’t regarded as a blocker for Animesh.
Bakes On Mesh
Project Summary
Extending the current avatar baking service to allow wearable textures (skins, tattoos, clothing) to be applied directly to mesh bodies as well as system avatars. This involves server-side changes, including updating the baking service to support 1024×1024 textures, and may in time lead to a reduction in the complexity of mesh avatar bodies and heads.
This work does not include normal or specular map support, as these are not part of the existing Bake Service.
Some people have been reporting some “excitement” when using the new universal bake channels for Bakes on Mesh in regions that don’t have the server-side support for Bakes on Mesh. These issues will likely require further viewer and server-side changes to fix them.
At a recent LL meeting on Bakes on Mesh it was decided not to implement any additional features at this point in time – so no LSL support prior to the initial deployment. Rather, the Lab would like to get a basic capability out that can be used and tested, then potentially improve on it with further features in time.
As it is, even moving Bakes on Mesh to release candidate status is dependent on a large number of back-end service changes (e.g. the inventory system must be updated to handle the new wearable types; the Appearance and Bake services must be updated, as well and the simulator and viewer updates.
Asa reminder, it will not be possible to use Bakes on Mesh with Animesh creatures / creations, primarily because Bake On Mesh uses the Outfit system, which Animesh currently does not – but may be extended to use in the future.
The question was asked if Bakes on Mesh could be used to texture an Animesh attachment to an avatar, and in theory it would be – but how useful / practical this might be is open to debate.
In Brief
There will be a CCUG meeting on Thursday, July 26th, however, it comes on top of the SL summit meeting at the Lab (to discuss the SL development roadmap) and so Vir believes there won’t be too much to report on additional work at the meeting.
Concern has been raised over the recent DMCA situation involving around 3 makers of mesh heads, and whether Bakes on Mesh will see changes to the SL Terms of Service / guidelines specifically for UV maps (e.g. what is allowed, what isn’t), given that Bakes on Mesh could encourage the use of the basic SL UV maps and result in multiple claims of people “using” someone else’s maps. This concern is being passed back to the Lab’s legal team.
The latter part of the meeting included a lengthy discussion on animations (adding a function to “instantly” stop an animation / being able to modify animation speeds / priorities in-world; the legitimacy of modifying animations) which also spread to the permissions system (providing “export” permission to allow people to export “full perm” meshes for direct editing and re-upload and / or implementing a “derivative” permission.
Some of the animation discussion touched on the animation discussion may surface as a specific feature request(s).
It’s unlikely there will be any large-scale changes to the permissions system in the near future.
