Category: Second Life

2018 SL UG updates #7/3: TPV and Web Meetings

Posted on by Inara Pey

Neverfar; Inara Pey, January 2018, on FlickrNeverfar – blog post

The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer meeting and the Web User Group meeting, both held on Friday, February 16th 2018. A video of the TPVD meeting is embedded below, my thanks as always to North for recording and providing it. Time stamps in the text below will open the video in a new tab at the relevant point of discussion.

SL Viewer

[0:55-3:02] The Media Update RC viewer version updated to version 5.1.2.512574 on February 15th, and the Nalewka Maintenance viewer updated to version 5.1.2.512522 on February 14th, bringing both into line with the current release viewer (currently version 5.1.1.512121, at the time of writing, formerly the Voice RC viewer).

The rest of the SL viewer pipeline remains as:

  • Current Release version  5.1.1.512121, dated January 26, promoted February 7 – formerly the Voice Maintenance RC.
  • Project viewers:
  • Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
  • Obsolete platform viewer version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.

Note that the voice package in the SL release viewer will not work with older versions of the viewer. A further voice SDK update for Mac systems is also due from Vivox.

Updates should be forthcoming soon on the Animesh and 360-snapshot viewer.

Viewer with 1024 Support for Avatar Textures

[4:33-7:05] A project viewer for handling 1024×1024 wearables should be appearing “soon”, as a prelude to the Bakes on Mesh project (see my Content Creation User Group (CCUG) updates for more on this project). This will have an impact on the avatar rendering cost for system avatars making use of 1024×1024 textures and wearables.

Linux and the Viewer

Also see week #50 2017 and #week 46 2017 TPVD updates.

The goal for a Linux flavour of the viewer is for the Lab to provide a basic Debian build of the viewer, without additional libraries so as to allow TPVs to add the dependencies they require for their flavour of Linux build. Once this has been achieved – with the help of open-source contributions – the Lab will then maintain the Linux build, with the caveat that it will only be subject to cursory QA, and will continue to look to the Linux community for contributed updates and fixes.

[15:44-20:40] The repository for Linux contributions is awaiting update to the current viewer release and needs to be publicly made available. A skeleton build process of the Debian package is available, but again has yet to be made visible.Both of these should happen in the next few weeks.

Several of the libraries which will be used in the build are seen as “problematic” and requiring patches, etc.Until this work has been done, the Lab can’t supply the build process.

One of the problems in seeking contributions is that Linux developers appear to be in short supply – the Lab doesn’t have any Linux resource in-house for the viewer, and some TPVs are finding it similarly difficult to find a resource they can use, and who can provide contributions to the Lab. The flip side of this is the Lab is not seeking contributions that provide a “complete” solution for a Linux build; they would rather people work on specific aspects of the viewer, the only criteria being that:

  • Contributions are in line with the Lab supporting a basic Debian package build process.
  • Contributions do not require changes to the build process which could break the Windows or Mac build process.

Project ARCtan

Note: some of the following also appears in my week #7 CCUG meeting update.

[12:01-15:40 and 24:55-28:23] Project Arctan is the code-name for the project to re-evaluate object and avatar rendering costs, and hopefully make them more reflective of the actual cost of rendering objects and avatars and also remove some of disincentives for making optimised content.

  • This work is still in its preliminary stages, focusing on how best to gather the required data.
  • For avatar complexity, it will include evaluating the cost of avatars and their attachments (tri counts, textures, use of alpha layers, skeletal animations used, etc), with a view to adjusting the avatar rendering cost weightings – with the caveat that even when made more reflective of the actual cost of avatar rendering, people will still see some variation in the ARC information displayed by their viewer as a result of using different GPU cards, and how well different cards handle things like alpha masking and / or alpha blending.
  • For Land Impact: LI will be scrutinised as well, to take into consideration texture cost. However, as LI changes could be disruptive (e.g. unexpected objects returns), any new LI calculations will be run alongside the current calculations, to allow LL gather data on if and  how many parcels will be pushed over their LI capacity were the new calculations to be applied (and thus force object returns) and by how much. They then might increase region land capacity to compensate as far as possible. Then, for those who still exceed their limit, there will be a period of grace when they can consolidate and bring their LI use within the limit of the revised calculations before the latter are enforced.

As Animesh will likely be released before Project Arctan is complete, this means Animesh will be released with an initial land impact calculation assigned to it for objects, which may then be revised once Arctan is finalised.

Project Arctan – Oz and Vir Linden discuss (CCUG and TPVD meetings)

Note again: this work is just re-starting, and there will be no immediate or sudden changes made to either ARC or Land Impact.

Other TPVD Items In Brief

Deprecating UDP Messaging for Asset Fetching And Further Inventory Improvements

[7:24-11:05] The Lab is looking to remove the remaining UDP code for all assets now fetched via HTTP and the CDNs from the simulator code, most likely in the June-August time frame. Once this has happened, any old viewer versions not using the latest HTTP asset fetching code will be unable to retrieve inventory assets.   A version of the updated simulator code will be made available on Aditi, likely in the spring of 2018, so TPVs can double-check asset fetching.

A further general clean-up of inventory messaging should follow this work to improve inventory handling and robustness. This will include a clean-up on UDP inventory management paths and the remove of multiple ways of manipulating inventor, and may be a multi-round effort of work.

Abuse Reporting Capability

[39:30-42:26] A new cap is being introduced to the viewer to return the currently accepted Abuse Report categories. This is a change, once available, TPV well be asked to adopt quickly, as it should help smooth the initial triaging of ARs, by reducing the amount of time spent trying to marry old / no longer valid AR categories with valid options, etc. (or risking ARs being closed on account of a filing that appears non-actionable).  For information on how ARs are handled and should be filed, please see: Raising Abuse Reports in Second Life.

Web User Group

The following notes are taken from the Web User Group meeting held on Friday, February 16th, 2018. These meetings are chaired by Alexa and Grumpity Linden at Alexa’s barn. The focus is the Lab’s web properties, which include the Second Life website (including the blogs, Destination Guide, Maps, Search, the Knowledge base, etc.), Place Pages, Landing Pages (and join flow for sign-ups), the Marketplace, and so on and the Lab’s own website at lindenlab.com.

Meeting Changes

  • Going forward, the Web User Group will meet MONTHLY and on a WEDNESDAY, possibly at 13:00 SLT.
  • Notice of each meeting will appear on the Web forum section and on the Web User Group wiki page a couple of days ahead of each meeting.

Marketplace

  • Marketplace updates:
    • Updates are being planned, and the Lab is keen to receive ideas (even if they cannot necessarily be implemented).
      • Suggestions for improvements / new features should be made via the Second Life JIRA under the Project type BUG Project, and then selecting the Issue Type New Feature Request.
      • Bugs and issues should be raised using the  Project type BUG Project, and Issue Type Bug.
    • Variant of items in a single listing (e.g. different colours for a dress) are being considered as a possible part of the Marketplace updates.
    • Ideas for discouraging “false” listings, etc., are being considered by the Lab, but there is an understandable  reluctance to openly discuss measures until options are better defined, in order to prevent incorrect assumptions and rumours from spreading.
  • Flagging content and “policing” the Marketplace: requests have been made for more flexibly means to flag / report content / stores on the Marketplace, and the Lab is again considering options.
    • One suggest put froward by users is for merchants to be able to police the MP, the level of trust in their reports being based on the number of valid reports they file. The Lab is reticent to allow user-based moderation, as this can become subject of subjective feelings, personal disputes, etc.
  • As part of the overall Marketplace road map, the Lab is considering offering some form of Marketplace-focused benefits for creators and merchant who are / opt to up to a Premium account.
  • Marketplace featured items: a question was asked about how featured items are selected for display on the Marketplace. There is a section in each item’s listing page which can be used to have it displayed on the Marketplace page, a category landing page, etc., for a fee. Those items actually displayed on a page are then rotated by criteria by the Marketing team.
  • Recent issues at Hippo Technologies have seen Hippo legacy web services go off-line with a decision to step back from continued support. This promoted questions about enforced removal of no longer functional products from the Marketplace. This is something the Lab is reticent to do (there’s a risk of functional goods being removed in error, etc.), and would prefer creators to take the responsibility to unlist goods that no longer function. However, this specific matter is being taken back to the office for discussion.

Destination Guide

  • Places to be included in the Destination Guide can be submitted via the Destination Guide application form. General information on the DG, including submissions can be found here.

This Weekend in Second Life Dance

Posted on by R.

One Billion Rising - February 14 2018

Hi there. R. Crap Mariner, your Dance Correspondent.

I’ll be posting dance performance schedules, similar to Inara’s posts about Seanchai Library readings. We’ll start with the weekend events for now.

And, yeah, I’ll try to get this up On Friday morning, not Saturday morning. Sorry, Elysium Cabaret!

Let’s get started…

(All times SLT)

Friday February 16

10:00AM – Misfit Follies

Misfit Dance & Performance Art presents: Misfit Follies – A showcase of Theatre Dance Art.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Metanomics/53/173/3073

6:00PM – Elysium Cabaret

Elysium Cabaret – Welcome to the Weekend!

If it’s Friday, it’s Elysium Cabaret! Fancy some imagination? In The Empire Room at Copperhead Road, every Friday at 6pm SLT the dynamic performers of Elysium Cabaret take the stage to bring you a solid hour of entertainment! Featuring elaborate sets and choreography sequenced to an eclectic genre of music, Elysium Cabaret offers something for everyone. Grab your friends and get their early because the sim fills. Come celebrate Friday! Welcome to the weekend!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Copperhead%20Road/74/64/2754

Elysium Cabaret - February 9 2018

Saturday February 17

1:00PM – Dance Queens Showcase

(NOTE: If you’re looking for a good introduction to dance performance in Second Life, this is a good sampler of a lot of excellent performers and groups)

Join us for this special event as some of the best dancers and choreographers from around the grid come together to celebrate the love of dance. A beautiful variety of acts from class to sass and everything in between, gathering for the sole purpose of entertainment and awe.

Things are a bit different this time but same kind of fun! This time the directors will be Immy (imrhien.fargis) and Tray Porthos. The DJ will be Ame (amethyst.starostin).

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/This%20Sim/174/178/3505

1:00PM – Moonstone Theatre

(NOTE: If DQ is full, head over to here. Klark puts together a rock-solid group of performances. I’m hoping that someone’s filming it while I’m at the DQ show.)

Moonstone Theatre presents: Iconic Music and Dance Scenes
A collaboration from choreographers across the grid.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Reed%20Valley/145/84/1501

3:00PM – Centre Stage

From Broadway to Burlesque and everything in between, Centre Stage brings you a feast for the senses served by its all male cast of Choreographers, Dancers and Set Designers. A variety for your entertainment! We offer touring performances as well as having our home venue. Everyone welcome! No dress code.

Please Join Us for Our Premiere Performance.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20Fire/96/136/3504

Centre Stage

6:00PM – Whymsee Noir

For the Let’s Dance show, we trade in our sets for MORE dancing and LESS wait time between songs! There will be lots of wiggling, dancing, physics, and a little dazzle thrown in for good measure! Dance along with us or have a seat in our comfy chairs, we like it when you watch! No naked avatars, just dancing. Come to the show and see what all the fuss is about!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whymsee/96/192/3286

7:00PM – Moulin Rouge

LIVE – Great Legends

This Show showcases songs of Talented Stars that left us before their time. We have decided to honor those talented trail blazers that braved the trail for us: and left their mark on our hearts.

Semi-formal or formal is always acceptable or dress within theme of the show for the night. Thank you!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moulin%20Rouge/172/131/31

7:00PM – Desire Arts

(NOTE: I’ve had some interesting and eye-opening conversations with Pathmaker, which will appear here in an article. If you’re into the erotic or challenging side of performance art, you do not want to miss this one. And if you’re not, this might get you interested in that aspect of Second Life performance. // If you miss this show, most of the acts will return next week for the encore performance.)

Desire Arts Dancers do a monthly “after hours” show. Starting at 7pm slt. We bring you the performance quality at our Saturday shows, with more skin… little less costume. Some acts do contain adult content.

As an “Arts” theatre (and gallery) Desire Arts will be a venue perfectly suited for SL Performers wishing to express themselves through live performances, through Dance, Art Exhibits, Performance Art as well as Dramatic Presentations.

Also, Presentations of a controversial nature (including those involving sex, politics and/or religion) will be presented separately from the Dance Program.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hell%20Lust/174/78/21

Sunday February 18

6:00AM – Club IMAGE

OPEN 5:30 AM SLT, START 6:00 AM SLT

We have beautiful dance shows on Sundays at 6 am SLT.  Join us at Club IMAGE ! It’s worth getting up early! Grab your friends and morning coffee!
Enjoy one of the finest dance shows on Second Life.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Laem%20Singh/193/28/2021

(NOTE: Get there early. Fills fast. Set your particles to eleventy billion.)

Club Image - February 4 2018

9:00AM – Muse Dance Company

(NOTE: Anu Papp of Muse Dance Company and I talked a while back, and the article is here. // I saw a preview of this one, and it’s excellent. There will be an encore performance next week, and I hope they sneak in an extra on-demand performance if the sims are full each time.)

Fiddler on the Roof, a musical

Fiddler on the Roof returns to the Muse Theater! This Tony-winning production, being presented by the | muse | dance company features stunning movements and dance by choreographer Anu Papp. Mark your calendars! You don’t want to this all time favorite show!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whymsee/118/7/2019

Photos for Muse Interview at ModemWorld.me

12:00PM – Oasis

Re-Opening Concert Hall – and after party with DJ Maik

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Standing%20Ovation/92/119/2001

1:00PM – Debauche

NOTE: I’ve got an interview in the works for Laura and Severina for this group, and I’m looking forward to getting it polished up and ready for y’all.

Debauche return once again to the beautiful theatre at Rookswood. So humbled, so honoured that this was built specially for us. We always have a great show at Rookswood with a wonderful, lively atmosphere and a great audience. Why not come and share in the Debauchery with us?

Dress smart casual please.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Neomah/109/71/25

Debauche - February 11 2018

4:00PM – Kiki’s House of Burlesque

(NOTE: I caught the season opener of this lineup, and it’s their 5th anniversary show. Really good and racy, costumes well selected and sparse, excellent sets… get there early.)

Treat yourself and your partner to a day out at our lavish playhouse. Beautiful, dancers swaying to a variety of tunes. Professionally choreographed dances and sets with a wide range of costumes. Entertainment, Topless, Adult, Shows, Cabaret

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LORII%20CAPRONI%20ISLAND/134/179/24

5:00PM – Winds of the Sahara

(NOTE: Lina performs here a lot, and I’ve got an article on her new Gypsy Rose Burlesque Theater coming soon.)

Each Sunday we have a shiny, new show at Winds of the Sahara Theater. Our dances range from burlesque to performance art and you are sure to be amazed at all of the wonder that sets, costumes and music can create. We’ll put sparkles in your eyes and leave sequins on your shirt collars.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aladona/124/193/2001

7:00PM – The Art Factory

The Art Factory presents Latin Nights

Music by Pitbull, Ricky Martin, Shakira, and More!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Josina/187/161/21

The Art Factory - Latin Nights - February 7 2018

Please check with the Dance Queens event calendar for updates and additions to the weekend’s schedule, as well as the many events that happen during the week.

2018 SL UG updates #7/2: CCUG and Project Arctan

Posted on by Inara Pey
Queen of Dragons? Surrounded by Animesh dragons by Wanders Nowhere and used by Lucia Nightfire as Animesh test models

The following notes are primarily taken from the Content Creation User Group meeting, held on  Thursday, February 15th, 2018 at 13:00 SLT. For the purposes of Animesh testing, the meetings have relocated to the Animesh4 region on Aditi, the beta grid – look for the seating area towards the middle of the region. The meeting is chaired by Vir Linden, and agenda notes, etc, are usually available on the Content Creation User Group wiki page.

Medhue Simoni streamed the meeting, and his video is appended to the end of this update. Timestamps in the text will open the video in a separate browser tab at the relevant point in the meeting. As always, these notes cover the core points of discussion, and my thanks to Medhue for recording it.

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. The project is in two phases:

  • The current work to update the baking service to support 1024×1024 textures on avatar meshes.
  • An intended follow-on project to actually support baking textures onto avatar mesh surfaces (and potentially other mesh objects as well). This has yet to fully defined in terms of implementation and when it might be slotted into SL development time frames.

This work does not include normal or specular map support, as these are not part of the existing baking service.

Current Status

    • A reminder that this will not initially include Animesh as the Baking Service requires an avatar shape, which Animesh currently does not support.
    • There is a lot of confusion about this project and what it will do, so an overview document has been suggested.
      • One example of some confusion: Anchor linden mentions being able to “upload 1024 textures” – this is actually a reference to the Baking Service supporting 1024×1024 textures, not to users uploading 1024 textures (because they are already supported).
    • [5:21] The target date for completing this first phase of this work is the end of March 2018.
    • [12:09-22:15] Alpha layer and Alpha masking discussion:
      • [12:09-13:55] A means to hide the system avatar has yet to be determined, but Anchor hopes to focus on this in the course of the next week.
      • [13:06-15:44] One suggestion for this is to have a new “avatar” alpha mask which would allow specific parts of the system avatar to be hidden in a similar manner to how it is currently handled (e.g. to allow the body to be hidden when using a mesh body, but the head exposed, for those not using a mesh head).
      • [13:55-15:44] These updates should allow elements of a mesh body to be hidden much as can be done with the system avatar, possibly eliminating the need to break the avatar into multiple faces which can be individually masked. However, this has yet to be tested.
      • [19:05-22:15] Repeat that alpha layering via the Baking Service (e.g. make-up / tattoo layers), and full alpha masking (e.g. hiding an entire body / body part) should work with mesh avatars exactly the same was as for system avatars at present (again, as per above, without the need for the mesh itself to have multiple faces which can be individually masked).
    • [22:56-24:46] Clothing layers when applied to a mesh body should hopefully work as per the system avatar (e.g. “jacket” layers are applied over “shirt” layer, which are applied over “underwear” layers, with the last worn item in each layer being uppermost and the most visible.
  • [25:56-27:37] Discussion on wearable layers for specific mesh models, branding and creator / user understanding.

Project ARCTan

[3:55-5:03] This is the code-name for the project to re-evaluate object and avatar rendering costs. It also now falls under Graham Linden’s leadership as a part of the overall rendering system work.

[32:02-34:06] Oz explains the function of the project, and the fact that originally, the weightings (land impact / avatar complexity) applied to avatars and in-world objects, were somewhat biased to allow for the simulator having to handle a lot of texture, etc., transfers to the viewer (so for example, avatar complexity include texture counts, LI doesn’t). As all of this data now goes via the CDNs, rather than the simulators, this bias can be removed, and the actual costs of rendering complex objects made (hopefully) a lot more accurate and thus promote better content creation.

[34:48-35:48] There are currently no details of how LI / avatar complexity values may change, as the Lab is still gathering data at this point in time in order to make informed decisions on how best to revised the calculations.

[35:51-37:04] For Animesh this means the project will be released with an initial land impact calculation assigned to it for objects. However, as with the rest of SL, these may be subject to change as a result of the work on Project Arctan. See this Animesh forum comment from Vir for more.

  • [39:59-43:30] In brief: the value for Animesh will primarily be based on tri count based on the high detail LOD version of the mesh, with Medium,, Low and Lowest having less of an impact in pushing up the overall LI. This will be added to a basic cost component for driving an avatar skeleton (uniform across all Animesh objects). Again, no precise values are available as yet, as LL are still performance testing.

[37:07-39:40] Land Impact: obviously, Land Impact changes are potentially disruptive. To ease this, the Lab plan to add code to the simulator and the viewer to calculate the new LI values but not enforce them. Instead the data on LI using the new calculations will be gathered with data on the existing values, and the Lab will then assess how many parcels they might push over their LI capacity (and thus force object returns) and by how much, were the new values to be enforced. Depending on the overall impact, they will look at increasing region land capacity to compensate to some degree.

So, for example, if the new calculations so parcels will on average go over their LI limit by 10% under the new calculations, region LI might be increased by 15% to compensate. Then, for those who still exceed their limit, there will be a period of grace when then can consolidate and bring their LI use within the limit of the revised calculations before the latter are enforced.

Overall, the Lab is extremely aware of the risks in altering LI values, and will be approaching this work carefully to try to avoid it having a major negative impact with object returns, etc.

Animesh Updates

  • Some of the Animesh test regions on Aditi (animesh1 through Animesh4, Animesh Adult and Animesh XL, have become more sandbox than testing areas (including being used for non-Animesh items). To prevent this, the regions are to start being cleaned-up, auto-return made a little more aggressive and warnings that they are only for Animesh are to be added to the About Land descriptions.
  • [50:52-51:50] Worn Animesh Limit:  there shouldn’t be an LI cap on worn Animesh, although the limit of only wearing one Animesh at a time remains in place pending performance testing results.

Other Items

Rendering Improvements and Fixes

[2:10-3:50] The Lab recently split work on the viewer’s rendering pipe into a separate viewer development branch (Project Render, with a project viewer – version 5.1.1.512446, dated February 9th at the time of writing – currently available).  Graham Linden, a long-time Linden, will be working on rendering updates more-or-less full-time going forward. He’ll be looking at things like increasing rendering stability, fixing bugs, and potentially other aspects of the rendering system.

A Little Sanctuary in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary – click any image for full size

I don’t often get the chance to write about the mainland – a fault that is mine; so I was delighted when we had the opportunity to explore Sanctuary, a beautifully presented stretch of coastline in the continent of Satori, designed by Roxi Firanelli with help from her best friend (and Second Life photographer),  Darth Kline (ropedick). Spanning a stretch of land across two regions –  Afanasyev and Rideau – it is a photographer’s delight and a place rich in detail for explorers.

In looks, a good portion of Sanctuary has the feel of a careworn coastal town, possibly along America’s gulf coast. The buildings are old, slightly run-down, the roads unpaved and overlooking a bay dotted with sandbanks, one of which has the wreck of a coaster aground on it; a wreck so old, nature is gradually having its way.

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary

There’s no set landing point for visitors, so I’ve arbitrarily selected the parking lot above the bay. From here, visitors can look down on an old board walk which has clearly seen better days and is home to three old houseboats, one of which has been converted to a eatery, and another is now home to a bar.  Across the road from the parking lot sit a little huddle a businesses, all of which have seen better days, the largest of which is a used car lot and auto repair centre.

These businesses are filled with detail which help to further bring sanctuary to life. Going by the car being repaired at the auto centre and bicycles outside the cafe, they still seem to be drawing in business as well.  However, they are bookended – if not overshadowed – by the two structures which perhaps best encompass  the broader status of this little corner of the world: a boarded-up motel, and a tumble-down, overgrown funfair and public swimming pool. These clearly speak to the place which has perhaps seen better times.

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary

Across the water sits a small, rugged island, home to a working dock and wharf on its north and island-facing side (the southern side of the island appear to be privately owned) with trawlers tied-up alongside. The channel running between the island and the mainland looks to have once been swampland; there’s evidence of old tree having been cut down to clear the water, although some swamp cypress still grow on either side of the slowly-passing water while signs give notice of snakes and alligators. For the most part, these may not be easy to spot – with one exception: a cheerful (and whimsical) ‘gator is more content with standing on an ageing wooden pier playing a banjo than with floating log-like in the water. If you spot him, do consider leaving him a tip for his efforts!

Follow the old road up towards the abandoned motel and you’ll find a choice of routes to take: a grassy track down between the motel and its sign, leading to where the board walk below the rod comes to an end; or you can stick to the old road and following it as it switchbacks inland, offering an walk that eventually loops back towards to the coast; or you can turn off the road just past the old motel and take the aged stone steps climbing up into the hills behind Sanctuary’s southern waterfront.

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary

All three route can bring you by turn, gorge and bridge to an abandoned farm sitting above the motel, buildings long deserted, equipment left behind, unwanted. However, take the grassy trail down from the road to where the broad walk ends, and as well as the path leading up to the farm, you’ll discover a stony trail curled past the old, converted machinery house sitting on its own pontoon. This trail will- for the keen-eyed – offer a way to where a set of steps are cut into the rock which offer a path north into Sanctuary’s northern end, in the region or Rideau.

“Roxi decided we needed a change there,” Darth informed me during our visit. “So please excuse the untidiness!”

In turn, the rebuilding work barely intrudes on a visit – but it was worthwhile knowing it was going on, as it definitely marked Sanctuary as a place to be revisited soon. As it is, the northern half of the build couldn’t be be more different to the southern end. Climb up through the rocks and follow the path through the narrow clefts and you’ll be brought to a place which – for me at least – brought out strong memories of Sri Lanka.

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary

Down on the waterfront sits a copy of Eliza Wierwright’s Patron house: a open-sided villa which powerfully echoes Sri Lankan resorts designs in look and layout. Up the hill, behind this villa, tiered walls hide stairs that lead up into the high rocks, to where more clefts and steps cut and climb – the entire walk up from the beach putting me in mind of the Boulder Garden Hotel, Kalawana, Sri Lanka. The upper end of this walk is were work is being carried out, so I’m not going to reference more of it here – but will be back to see what Roxi and Darth produce there.

I genuinely cannot praise Sanctuary enough; it’s an outstanding design, rich in detail and full of contrasts, with the southern end of the landscape suggestive of America’s gulf coastal regions, as noted, but also containing little twists and touches  – such as the tuk-tuk vans – which might place it elsewhere. The tuk-tuks also provide a nice hook to the more tropical / Indo-Asian feel of the northern end of the land.

Sanctuary; Inara Pey, February 2018, on FlickrSanctuary

Undoubtedly well worth visiting and taking the time to explore carefully. My thanks to both Roxi and Darth for taking the time to chat, as well. Do keep an eye out for the more … unusual .. details of setting as well, which I’ve pointed not mentioned here, but which add a little edge to the scene.

SLurl Details

2018 UG updates #7/1: server, viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

Thor's Land; Inara Pey, January 2018, on Flickr Thor’s Land – blog post

Server Deployments

As usual, please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest updates.

  • There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, February 13th, leaving it running on simulator version  18#18.01.17.511913. However, in keeping with the Lab’s policy of running channel restarts every 2 weeks, regardless of whether there was a deployment or not, the channel was restarted.
  • There will be no deployment to the RC channels on Wednesday, February 14th, and no restarts. All three will also remain on simulator version 18#18.01.17.511913.

SL Viewer

The Project Render project viewer was updated to version 5.1.1.512446 on Friday, February 9th, 2018. Otherwise, there have thus far been no changes to the SL viewer pipelines, leaving the current list as follows:

  • Current Release version  5.1.1.512121, dated January 26, promoted February 7 – formerly the Voice Maintenance RC – NEW.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • Nalewka Maintenance viewer version 5.1.1.512226, January 31, 2018.
    • Media Update RC viewer version 5.1.1.512264,released January 30, 2018.
    • Voice RC viewer, version 5.1.1.512121, January 26
  • Project viewers:
  • Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
  • Obsolete platform viewer version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.

Other Items

Region Restarts Causing Disconnects?

When a region is being shut-down / restarted, a 5-minute warning is given to encourage people to leave (or they’d be disconnected on shut-down). If everyone leaves ahead of the actual shut-down time, the region will wait for about 15 seconds and then go ahead and restart. However, there has been an issue some have experienced whereby if they are the last to leave a region that is shutting-down, they can teleport away, arrive at another location – but as soon as the original region is shut-down for restart, they are logged off (see BUG-5034). Linden Lab had thought this issue to have been resolved, so a new JIRA has been requested to allow for further investigations.

Region Crossings

Joe Magarac (animats) has been doing his best to investigate some region crossing issues, documenting his work via a forum thread. He’s now produced a basic document on his findings. Most of his work is around “patching” things – using a viewer-based RLV (or a permissioned base) approach to forcing an avatar resit on a vehicle post-crossing, if unseated, for example. The Lab’s view is that they would rather work more comprehensively as improving vehicle-related crossings than trying to patch things. The problem here is that region crossings are something of a 3-corner protocol issue (the viewer, the region an avatar / vehicle is departing, and the region the avatar / vehicle is entering), making improvements more difficult to achieve, as it is likely code on all three will at some point need to be revised.

One Billion Rising in Second Life 2018

Posted on by Inara Pey
One Billion Rising – 2LEI

One Billion Rising in Second Life will once again be taking place in Second Life on Wednesday, February 14th, 2018. Over the last couple of weeks, work has been progressing on putting the event and its regions together – and having had the good fortune to be able to tour the event’s four regions, this year promises to be stunning in the range of art on offer, together with a beautiful setting in which people can come together.

When launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, One Billion Rising (OBR) was the biggest mass action in human history; a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls who are at risk. OBR aims to bring people together, raise greater awareness of the plight of those at risk the world over, and bring about a fundamental change in how vulnerable and defenceless women and girls are treated.

One Billion Rising – Terra Merhyem and TheDove Rhode

Starting at midnight (00:00) SLT on the 13th/14th February, OBR in Second Life will run a full 24-hours throughout  February 14th, closing at 23:59pm SLT on Wednesday night. Throughout that time there will music and dancing at the central main stage area, with poetry, dance performance and live performers also part of the overall event. There will also be the art displays across the four regions and two special activities, the #MeToo Forest and the White Rose Challenge.

The #MeToo Forest

The MeToo Forest is a collaborative art piece both honouring the MeToo hashtag which has allowed so many women around the world to share their stories. There is a standing invitation for Second Life residents to share their stories, messages and poems. These will be attached to the trees so that visitors to the forest can witness the stories and messages of others as they explore this quiet and beautiful space.

One Billion Rising 2018 – #MeToo Forest

The White Rose Challenge

The White Rose Pin by Kilik Lekvoda

Time’s Up is a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere. Founded on January 1, 2018 by Hollywood celebrities in response to the Weinstein effect and #MeToo, it is symbolised by the wearing of white.

For OBR 2018 in Second Life, a special white rose pin, beautifully made by Kilik Lekvoda, has been commissioned to show support for Time’s Up.

Unique to the event, the pin can be obtained by travelling around the One Billion Rising regions and counting the number of white rose bushes (kindly provided by Lilith Heart of Heart Botanicals) which are scattered between the art installations, in the corner parks and the #MeToo Forest.

When you think you have the number (of bushes, remember – not individual flowers). Go t one of the four OBR landing zones and use the mail box there to post your total – your name will be automatically recorded with your total.

Event Schedule and Artist Details

The full OBR event scheduled, and information on participating artists can be found via the following links:

For special background information on the OBR 2018 dance performances, please read R. Crap Mariner’s Who Puts the Dance Into One Billion Rising, published in these pages.

One Billion Rising – 2D Gallery

Why Dance?

A critique sometimes levelled at OBR / OBR in SL is that the issues it raises cannot be solved by dance. Well, that’s absolutely true, just as marching through the streets carrying placards and banners is unlikely to have a lasting impact on whatever it is people might be marching about.

However, like marches and protests, dance and music does serve to draw attention to matters. It provides a means by which people are encouraged to stop and think, and for information and ideas disseminated. What’s also important is that it’s a lot harder to see dancing as a threat than might be the case with an organised march or protest – something to take into consideration with countries in which the right to march or protest freely does not exist.

One Billion Rising

Related Links