Category: SL Tech

SL project updates week 40/2: server, viewer, CDN news, group chat update

Posted on by Inara Pey

Square Pegs, Round Holes, Kashmir Dreams; Inara Pey, September 2014, on FlickrSquare Pegs, Round Holes, Kashmir Dreams (Flickr) – blog post

Server Deployments Week 40 – recap

As always, please refer to the server deployment forum thread for the latest news and updates.

  • On Tuesday September 30th, the Main (SLS) channel received the server maintenance package previously deployed to the three primary RC channels (BlueSteel, Magnum and LeTigre), and which focuses on the Experience Tools project
  • On Wednesday October 1st, the three primary RC channels all received the same new server maintenance package which fixes a bug related to viewing parcel details in gaming regions.

The RC update was to fix BUG-7329 “RemoteParcelRequest cap returned by a skill gaming region does not exist (returns HTTP error code 404)”.  In the official viewer, this capability is mainly used to show parcel script info, but some TPVs use it to show the parcel_id of parcels as well.

SL Viewer

The new log-in screen RC viewer was updated to version 3.7.17.294762 on September 29th, although it didn’t appear on the Alternate Viewers wiki page until either September 30th or October 1st.

A new Maintenance RC entered the viewer release channel on Thursday October 2nd. Version 3.7.17.294943 contains around 40 updates focused on voice, privacy, rendering, texture animation, avatar distortion, inventory management, sounds, and mouselook in Mac, together with a scripting crash fix and multiple UI fixes in script editor, Pay flow, chat, stats floater, edit menu etc. See the release notes (linked-to above) for details.

CDN News

Speaking at the Server Beta Meeting on Thursday October 2nd, Maestro Linden confirmed that there are now 28 regions using the CDN service for texture and mesh asset data. A full list of regions is still not available, but among the new additions are Morris, Dore, Ahern, and Bonifacio.

These regions are all running on the Snack RC. There is unlike to be any wider deployment to a larger RC in week 41 (commencing Monday October 6th), as the Lab is still fine-tuning their gathering data. However, there are still a few slots left on Snack for those wishing to have their regions added to it. Requests should be sent to cdn-test@lindenlab.com. Note that regions should be those with a relatively high texture / mesh count,

The CDN service being used by the Lab is operated by Highwinds Network Group, which the Lab has also been using in support of server-side appearance.

Highwinds supply their CDN service to a broad range of businesses, including a number of games companies such as Valve (Steam), Funcom, Meteor Entertainment, GameFly and Virgin Gaming. They operate 25 centres around the world, with 11 in North America, seven in Europe, 4 in Asia, one in Australia and two in South America, over their own network infrastructure, which they call “RollingThunder”, which  peers with more than 1,600 provider networks worldwide and over 14,000 ASNs, and uses the anycast network addressing and routing methodology.

Highwinds data centres - click for full size, or see additional information on the centres and Highwinds PoPs here (image courtesy of Highwinds)
Highwinds data centres – click for full size, or see additional information via Highwinds here (image courtesy of Highwinds)

Group Chat

As I’ve previously reported, one of the biggest issues of chat delays in group chat sessions is to do with the numbers of updates the chat server has to send as people join / leave session and log-in / out of SL (which causes an update to their status in the group member’s list).

Some work has already been carried out in ways to reduce the volume of update messages being sent with the aim of lessening the impact they have on the flow of actually text messages, and Simon Linden is attempting to further refine this work, again with the agin of reducing the volume of update messages and their impact on group chat test messages.

The Server Beta User Group meeting on October 2nd saw a further test of his work in order for him to gather data on the effectiveness of these changes, and feedback on his findings will likely be given at one of the user group meetings next week.

SL project updates week 40/1: server, CDN

Posted on by Inara Pey
Aakriti Art Gallery - blog post
Aakriti Art Gallery – blog post

Server Deployments Week 40

As always, please refer to the server deployment forum thread for the latest news and updates.

On Tuesday September 30th, the Main (SLS) channel received the server maintenance package previously deployed to the three primary RC channels (BlueSteel, Magnum and LeTigre). This updated focuses on the Experience Tools project and includes the following updates:

  • llGetExperienceDetails(), now includes group_id in return list. In addition,
  •  llUpdateKeyValue() now correctly creates a key if it did not previously exist
  • Objects using experience permissions and llAttachToAvatar() are no longer automatically detached when leaving an area where the Experience is allowed.

On Wednesday October 1st, the three primary RC channels should all receive the same new server maintenance package which fixes a bug related to viewing parcel details in gaming regions.

SL Viewer

The SL viewer list remains as per my Current Releases page, namely:

  • Release viewer: version 3.7.16.294015 (formerly the Maintenance RC, promoted on September 22nd – release notes
  • RC viewerS:
    • Log-in release candidate viewer 3.7.17.294762 (September 25th), with the updated viewer log-in splash screens – download and release notes
  • Project viewers:
    • Benchmark project viewer version 3.7.17.294710 (September 10th) featuring the removal of the GPU table – download and release notes
    • Experience Keys project viewer version 3.7.16.293901(September 10th) – managing Experiences and for contributing content for Experiences – download and release notes
    • Oculus Rift project viewer version 3.7.12.292141 (July 22nd) support for Oculus Rift – download.

CDN Work

As noted in a separate report, the Lab has issued an update on various projects, including viewer changes and the CDN. At the Open-source User Group meeting on Monday September 29th,, it was intimated that Highwinds Network Group are the CDN operator, who supply CDN services to the likes of Valve (Steam), Funcom, Meteor Entertainment, GameFly, and others.

At present, there are 10 regions known to be using the CDN service, although additional regions may have been added to the Snack channel on Monday September 29th – we just don’t have an updated list of regions available.

Black Dragon 2.4 Beta

Posted on by Inara Pey

Blackdragon logoUpdated, Thursday October 2nd, 2014: Niran released Black Dragon 2.4.0.1, a “feedback update” containing a number of additions and revisions based on feedback received for the initial 2.4 release. These includes a revision to the world map, see the end of this review for details, and the Black Dragon 2.4.0.1 blog post for a complete list of revisions.

NiranV Dean released the latest version of his Black Dragon viewer on Sunday September 28th. Version 2.4 Beta, which is supplied in two flavours, a “normal” version, which comprises Niran’s additions and modifications to the viewer merged up to the Lab’s 3.7.15 code base (and is thus also referred to as version 3.7.15.33763) and a “current” version, which also has Niran’s updates and additions, but merged with the Lab’s 3.7.17 code (and is thus also referred to as 3.7.17.34052).

As well as emphasising this is a beta, with work still to come, Niran notes that the 3.7.17 version has not been thoroughly tested, and as such, may be subject to issues which might not be found in the 3.7.15 version. Keeping this in mind, for the purposes of this look at Black Dragon 2.4, I opted to go with the 3.7.17 version.

Note that this isn’t intended as an in-depth review of the viewer, but rather an overview of some of the more significant updates, together with some initial feedback.

Log-in / Splash Screen

This release of the viewer does away with the YouTube video which has been a feature of many of Niran’s viewer releases, and the log-in credentials area of the screen has been updated. Gone are the bold links to the right of the log-in area, replaced by a set of smart-looking buttons directly above the log-in credentials fields, with the Quit button ranged to the right and a link to the Black Dragon change logs to the left. A large, friendly CONNECT button has also been added below the credentials fields.

The old log-in credentials area for Black Dragon (top) and the cleaner, smarter new version (bottom) - click for full size
The old log-in credentials area for Black Dragon (top) and the cleaner, smarter new version (bottom) – click for full size

UI and Toolbar Buttons

The 2.3 release of Black Dragon, as noted in my last look at the viewer, saw some changes to the UI and to the toolbars, The “ink blots” effect within the UI are still there, but are more subtle in nature that the last release, although they have now found their way onto the various panel floaters as well, giving them a ragged look I personally found distracting; I found my eyes being drawn to the edges of any floater I opened, particularly if opened against a much lighter in-world background, rather than focusing on the options within it.

In my last overview of Black Dragon, I pointed to the new toolbar button placement area Niran had implemented, up in the top left corner of the viewer window, where one would normally expect to see the menu bar options. Buttons displayed in this area default to Niran’s “Tiny” size, and while it was a good use of available space, it could quickly become overrun if button labels are used rather than icons, or someone went daft placing buttons there, leading to the buttons wrapping themselves over two or more rows. More particularly, displaying the Navigation Bar / Favourites would result in the Navigation Bar clashing with any buttons placed there.

Niran has solved this latter problem in version 2.4 Beta by providing a new toolbar button. This is displayed by default when clean installing Black Dragon (or can be selected from the Toolbar Button floater). When clicked, it “opens” the Navigation Bar and Favourites, hiding the top button area (and also the Dragon menu, it must be said). The Navigation Bar has a corresponding button on the right-hand end which will hide them again.

The new toolbar buttons in Black Dragon 2.4 Beta
The new toolbar buttons in Black Dragon 2.4 Beta

Two other new toolbar buttons with this release are the Teleport History buttons, which allow you to teleport back to the last location visited, or on to the next location (if any) in your teleport history. Again, these buttons are displayed by default during a clean install, or can be selected from the Toolbar Buttons floater.

Preferences and Panel Updates

The Preferences panel witnesses improvements in layout, with a number of outdated options (such as Niran’s own Navigation Bar buttons for editing the sky, etc.) removed, and a general improvement on font and colour contrasts against the darker background of the viewer’s UI which does much to assist readability. Those perhaps small, these updates do much to make scanning through the Preferences options a lot easier on the eye.

Specific improvements to Preferences see the following panels overhauled: General, Display, Sound and Media, Chat, Camera, Interface and Viewer. Some of these see layout overhauls, some include new options or updated capabilities – please refer to the change log for specifics.

Alongside the Preferences panel, a number of other panels have also been overhauled, including the: People floater (incl. the Group tab), appearance panel, Outfit selection panel, Picks, and Destinations floater. Please refer to the change log for a full list of updates and changes.

World Map

Please refer to the end of this article for notes on the black Dragon 2.4.0.1 update, which revised the world map to address some of the comments mentioned below.

The World Map gets a further update with the 2.4 Beta, which sees the layout once again resemble the World Map found in other viewers – albeit with the legend moved to the left side of the map this time, rather than along the top, where they are joined with the coordinates display and the option buttons. The search options remain to the right of the map, and slide  into view when an additional Show Search button to the left of the map is clicked.

The revised Wolrd Map showing the legend and options moved to the left of the map, and the open search options to the right (displayed by clicking on the button)
The revised Wolrd Map showing the legend and options moved to the left of the map, and the open search options to the right (displayed by clicking on the button)

Personally, the World Map legend in something I tend to set & forget. It’s the search options I use a lot more frequently, together with the coordinate fields and Copy SLurl options. I think  I’m likely not alone in this, so if the World Map is to be revised, I’m surprised that no-one has made the legend the section hidden by default (if, indeed, anything really needs to be hidden) and left the more frequently used search options available for use, be they to the left, right, top or bottom of the map itself. It may not result in so much of a saving in screen (or map display) real estate, but I’d take convenience of use over having to click buttons to reveal slide-out options.

Continue reading “Black Dragon 2.4 Beta” →

Viewer release summaries: week 39

Posted on by Inara Pey

Updates for the week ending: Sunday September 28th, 2014

This summary is 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

Official LL Viewers

  • Current Release version updated to version 3.7.16.294015 on September 22nd (formerly the Maintenance RC viewer core updates: fixes for inventory and outfit management; appearance editing; group & group ban management; camera controls; multi-grid support for favourites; notifications management; stability, bug and crash fixes) (download page, release notes)
  • Release channel cohorts (See my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • No updates.
  • Project viewers:
    • Benchmark project viewer version 3.7.17.294710 released on September 25  – core updates: removes reliance on the GPU table for determining the viewer’s initial graphics settings (download and release notes)

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V3-style

  • Black Dragon updated to version 2.4 Beta (3.7.15.33763 or 3.7.17.34052) on September 28th – core updates: please refer to the change log

V1-style

  • No updates.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

SL project updates 39/3: TPV Developer meeting

Posted on by Inara Pey

The following notes are drawn from the TPV Developer meeting held on Friday September 26th, and shown in the video above. Time stamps, where relevant, have been included for ease of reference to the video. Note that items are listed according to subject matter, rather than chronologically, so time stamps may appear out-of-sequence in places. My thanks as always to North for the recording.

Benchmark Viewer & GPU Table

[01:00] As noted in part 2 of this report, a new GPU Benchmark project viewer is available (version 3.7.17.294710), designed to put an end to the need for a dedicated GPU graphic table as the mean by which the viewer determines a computer’s initial graphic settings.

Instead, if there is no settings file for the viewer (such as after a clean install),  the viewer will measure how quickly data can be copied back and forth between GPU memory and your computer’s main memory. This, combined with a couple of other benchmarks, determines the initial graphics settings in the viewer. It may not always pick the most preferred settings (it might still set things a little high or a little low), but testing has shown it to be reasonably accurate,  and it does prevent the viewer opting for the lowest settings simply because a card isn’t listed on the GPU table. As is currently the case, any subsequent adjustments you make to the graphics settings should be saved within the viewer and take precedence.

Feedback on the viewer is encouraged (a wipe of any SL viewer setting files on your computer will be required), particularly if you encounter issues such as finding the viewer “sticks” with the settings it has determined, rather than allowing you to adjust them. When filing JIRA, the Lab requests that log files are attached.

HTTP and CDN

[09:39] The anticipated HTTP pipelining viewer should be appearing as a release candidate viewer in the early part of week 40 (week commencing Monday 29th September). This is the viewer that the QA team in LL have been referring to as QA,  “weaponized viewer”, it is so fast as a result of leveraging the HTTP streaming.

This viewer works with the CDN, with Oz Linden indicating a personal experience of logging-in to a CDN-enabled region with an empty cache and having the textures and meshes for the region loaded by the time the log-in process had finished, so it will be interesting to see how the viewer performs under more widespread use.

TPVs are being encouraged to adopt the HTTP updates as soon as their integration / release cycles allow. In the meantime, those wishing to test this viewer, when it appears, with the CDN can do so via one of the following regions: Denby, Hippo Hollow, Hippotropolis,Testsylvania, Brasil Rio, Brocade, Fluffy, Freedom City, Rocket City or Whippersnapper. It is anticipated  further regions will be added to the CDN channel (Snack) in the next week or so, prior to CDN support rolling to one of the server RC channels.

 Voice Updates

[17:16] Another batch of viewer updates due out, and which TPVs are being urged to adopt as soon as they can, are for voice. These mostly relate to managing voice sessions rather than voice improvements, and are aimed at helping Vivox with problems at their end, and should make troubleshooting genuine issues within voice a lot easier. However, this update should plug the hole where stalkers can track where someone using voice has teleported to just by monitoring their voice channels.

Z-offset Height Adjustment

Jessica Lyon demonstrated part of the avatar height offset issue at the last TPV Developer meeting: when seated using her preferred sitting pose, her avatar floats above a chair, and she has no means of adjusting the height so that she appears to be sitting in the chair
The z-offset hegiht adjustment option should help in situations where the current Hover option is unusable – such as trying to adjust you avatar’s height when using a preferred AO sitting pose

[18:42] Vir Linden is now working on the z-offset height proposal. The work is in the early stages, so no date on when it will appear in a viewer.

The current plan is for a new option to be added to the right-click avatar context menu which will access an adjustment slider. However, at present, any adjustments made using it will not be persistent across log-ins, although it will work alongside the existing Edit Appearance > Hover option (allowing for the No Mod shape limitation of the latter).

It has been suggested the offset setting could be made persistent by tying it to a debug setting. This is something the Lab has said they’ll think about; should they opt not to go that route, there will hopefully be no reason why TPVs should not go that route if persistence was deemed vital to their users’ experience.

[48:13] Adjustments made using the slider will occur locally until such time as the mouse button is released; only then is an update message sent to the server & relayed to other viewers, to prevent multiple messages spamming a server as people make adjustments. It is hoped that this approach will also allow z-offset adjustments to interact with other active animations relatively smoothly (e.g. adjusting your height to prevent appearances of dancing on air when using couples dance poseballs).

Continue reading “SL project updates 39/3: TPV Developer meeting” →

SL project updates week 39/2: server releases, viewer, misc

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Trace, April 2014 by Inara Pey, on FlickrThe Trace, April 2014 (Flickr) – blog post

Server Deployments Week 39 – Recap

As always, please refer to the forum discussion thread for the latest updates and information.

  • There was no scheduled deployment to the Main (SLS) channel this week.
  • On Wednesday 24th September, all three RC channel received a further update to the Experience Tool maintenance release deployed in week 38, which includes:
    • llGetExperienceDetails(), now includes group_id in return list. In addition,
    •  llUpdateKeyValue() now correctly creates a key if it did not previously exist
    • Objects using experience permissions and llAttachToAvatar() are no longer automatically detached when leaving an area where the Experience is allowed.

SL Viewer

The promised viewer using the new GPU benchmark system appeared as a project viewer on Thursday September 25th. Version 3.7.17.294710, includes MAINT-3131, which is simply described as “Death to the GPU Table”, which pretty much sums the viewer up!

Rather than using the GPU table as a means of determining default graphics level for a graphics card, the viewer measures the memory bandwidth of the card, and sets the default based on that (plus a couple of other parameters. The release notes add, “Initial settings on shiny powerful hardware should now let that hardware shine. Initial settings on low-end machines should not degrade performance from current experience.”

CDN and Regions

The Snack RC is currently being used for CDN testing on Agni. As noted in my week 38 updates, Denby, Hippo Hollow, Hippotropolis and Testsylvania Sandbox were initially placed on the RC, and they have since been joined by Brasil Rio, Brocade, Fluffy, Freedom City, Rocket City and Whippersnapper.

Group Ban Trivia

OK, so not exactly an update, but Baker Linden indicates that some 4500 group bans have occurred since the arrival of the group ban list functionality in the official viewer (and a number of TPVs). Will be interesting to hear how that number increases once Firestorm includes the capability.