As always, please refer to the week’s forum deployment thread for the latest news and updates.
Main channel: no update
Release Candidates: all three received the same new server maintenance package on Tuesday October 29th, which fixed some crash modes.
The RC release will likely be promoted to the Main channel during week 45.
Upcoming Work
At the Server Beta meeting on Thursday October 31st, Maestro Linden indicated that Simon Linden is working on a new package, but that it might not see the light of day for another week or so. “[It] has a bunch of miscellaneous fixes, including a potential fix for BUG-4152 (that ‘parcel full’ bug with vehicle region crossing which is rather common),” he told attendees.
There are apparently more “shinies” being worked on, but they are unlikely to be in this maintenance project, which Maestro describes as “solely bug fixes.”
SL Viewer Updates
The Maintenance RC viewer updated to release 3.6.10.283139 on Wednesday October 30th, otherwise no other changes to the viewer release channel.
There appears to be a closed viewer repository called “343-fittedmesh” with Oz Linden’s name attached to it. Quite what it might be is open to speculation, but the name might carry a possible hint. It has certainly prompted suggestions that the Lab might want to rethink their approach to code repository naming!
Baker Linden: Group Ban List
Baker and Caleb Linden (no, it’s probably best not to ask…!)
“So group ban stuff is progressing more,” Baker Linden informed the Server Beta meeting. He went on:
However with Caleb and Maestro’s magnificence in finding out things I did wrong, we’re still in internal QA. There are a couple issues that I’m currently working on, and one issue that came up today that I’m going to need some time to think about over the weekend. I’ve already fixed a few bugs however, so it’s still progressing, just much slower than I would have liked. I’m sorry that it’s taking a long time to get out. I’m touching a lot of systems and I want to make sure it’s done properly. I really do appreciate all the patience y’all have with me too :).
Other Items
Scripted Sound Improvements?
During the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday October 29th, a question was raised about improving scripted sound capabilities with additional functions and parameters (e.g. “llLinkPlaySound”, “llLinkStopSound” and “llLinkLoopSound”) which would allow for things like a single looped sound for a vehicle’s engine, with the ability to change the pitch of the sound to emulate the changing engine pitch when accelerating or slowing down without the need for multiple sound clips. This has been coupled with a request to make the prim collision sound being a property of the prim instead of the script.
Commenting on the request as the Server Beta meeting, Maestro indicated that Kelly Linden may be looking into things, although details of exactly what with be implemented, and what calls / parameters, etc., will be used is unclear. For the purposes of frequency modulation, viewer side changes will be required for making any adjustments to sound frequency.
Region Relocations
The subject of making it easier to move entire / large region builds from one region to another (so someone who owns two regions can move the contents of one to the other). currently there is no easy way to accomplish this. Apparently, the capability to ” restore to last position” (now only usable if you have rezzing rights at 0,0,0 within a region) was introduced for precisely this reason when the Linden were moving Adult regions to Zindra in 2010. Whether or not a capability to move region builds in this way would be re-introduced is open to debate; it is quite possible it is something that would not see that much use. Those wanting it, however, might want to file a Bug report (and label it “Feature Request”).
The long-awaited Firestorm update has arrived in the form of Firestorm 4.5.1.38838. And for windows, it comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavours. If you’ve read my recent interview with members of the Firestorm team, or the transcript of the Firestorm Q & A held on October 26th, you’ll know both versions essentially have the same functionality, although there are some slight differences, which I’ll come to anon.
As far as the 32-bit release is concerned, however, there are a few of up-front notes to be read:
It is a beta release, not a “final” release. What does this mean? Essentially that it is coming out with both new functionality and with a fair few bugs, some of which may well continue to irritate while others people should be able to live with
The reason it is not a “final” release is that there is a lot more coming down the pipe from Linden Lab – additional SSA + inventory work, further viewer-side interest list updates, new HTTP updates, group ban functionality, and so on. However, none of this has been officially released by LL, and so while it has been hoped to bring to users in a 4.5.1 release, the Firestorm team have (wisely) opted to draw a line under what they have and clear the decks for the next round of code integration and updates (which will also hopefully resolve a number of the more irritating bugs to be found in the viewer – any viewer – where things like inventory, interest list work, etc., is concerned)
Although the release is “beta” it is fully supported by the Firestorm support volunteers.
These releases see Firestorm reach parity with the Linden Lab 3.6.7 code base, and all fixes up to that release. What follows here is not intended as an in-depth review of Firestorm 4.5.1.38838, but rather an overview of what is likely to be the more popular features and updates and a look at some aspects of the Windows 64-bit version. This being the case, please also check the release notes / change log for a full list of updates and all attributions thereof.
Download and Installation – 32 bit
It is strongly recommended that users perform a clean install of the new release. For Windows users, this means ensuring you remove the Firestorm folders found in C:\Users\[username]\AppData – under the Local and Roaming folders respectively, as well as uninstalling the program. Do make sure you use the settings back-up option (Preferences > Backup) to back-up your settings prior to uninstalling your current version of Firestorm and deleting these two additional folders.
The 32-bit installer weighs-in at just over 44MB in size, which is pretty much par for the course for Firestorm, and (for me) installation was smooth and didn’t trigger any AVG Pro alerts.
Once started, I noted this release appears to follow the menu bar colour scheme introduced by the Lab alongside of their updated viewer release process. Rather than being the default Firestorm colour, the menu bar is tinged a deep purple, indicating it is a beta release.
CHUI Updates
As Firestorm already had a communications interface which does much of what Linden Lab’s Communications Hub User Interface (CHUI) does, Firestorm does not implement CHUI in its entirety, although some features have been added. These include:
Block tab added to the people panel
Support for showing/hiding timestamp and names, replacing own name with (You)
Added expandable chat entry fields (Firestorm specific improvements made by Cinder Roxley)
A new menu item, Comm > Conversation Log (see below)
Access to Conversation Log and Chat History from the People floater
Sounds for teleport and inventory offers.
Conversation Log
The conversation log allows you to review saved logs of past conversations from within the viewer. As noted above, options can be accessed via the Comm menu or via the People floater.
The Firestorm 4.5.1 Conversation Log floater
Using Comm > Conversation Log opens a floater listing all available conversation logs. Right-clicking on any name in the list will display a series of options: IM, view profile, offer teleport (if the person is online), etc.
Open Chat Transcript will open up the conversation history with that person in a viewer floater, or if you prefer, Open Chat Transcript Externally will display the conversation history with that person in an external application such as Windows Notepad. These options are also available from the gear cog button at the top right of the floater, while the button next to it allows you to sort the order in which logs are displayed and access the Nearby Chat history.
When using the People floater, right-clicking on an individual’s name will display an option to view your chat history (if available) with them within the viewer. If there is not available history, the option will not be displayed.
Export / Back-up and Import
Firestorm becomes the latest in a number of TPVs to include the capability for users to back-up or export their own creations to their hard drive. Version 4.5.1 provides two file formats for this:
.OXP format for backing-up your own creations – which can include prims, textures, sounds, animations and note cards
.DAE format (Collada) for exporting objects as mesh.
Both options will export objects and their textures (the .DAE export code is from Singularity), and both are fully compliant with the Second Life permissions system, meaning:
Objects must belong to you, and all parts made by you or export will fail.
All textures on the object must be in your inventory, and be made by you. This includes sculpt maps
If you are not the creator of any element in an object, it will be replaced by the default when saving to your hard disk (so any prims you did not create will be replaced by a default cube, for example)
Any items contained inside the object (e.g. scripts, notecards, etc) must also be made by you
Back-up cannot be used to save mesh objects or objects containing mesh parts.
Back-up (l) to .OXP format and export to Collada .DAE (r) from Firestorm. Note that as I am attempting to back-up / export an object which uses textures I did not create, Exportable Textures is set to 0 – on saving the file, the three textures in the object will be replaced with the default plywood texture
Objects which have been backed-up should be imported using the Import Linkset option via the Avatar / Build > Upload menu. Objects exported as Collada .DAE files can be uploaded using the mesh importer.
To initiate a back-up or export, right-click on the object in question in-world and select Save As > Backup or Save As > Collada as required (if you’re using the pie menu: right-click and More > More > Save As and select the required option). The required dialogue floater is displayed – please then follow the Instructions on the Firestorm wiki.
When importing a back-up, it’s worth noting the following:
Importing a backed-up object
If you back-up a textured object to your hard-drive, note that as long as you have the textures in your inventory, you do not have to re-upload them when importing the object once more. Therefore, you can leave Upload unchecked and avoid paying to re-upload the textures. Once the object has been uploaded, the texture will be applied from your inventory
If the object contains textures, sounds or animations which have been completely flushed from your inventory since the object was backed-up, you will either need to check the Upload box on the importer and pay to re-upload them as a part of the import, or import them separately
You can opt to restore the imported object to the same region co-ordinates as recorded when it was backed-up (use with care) and opt not to have the object re-attach itself to you if it was originally attached when backed-up.
Materials Processing
Full materials processing support (diffuse, normal and specular maps) are included with this release. See my article on materials processing if you’re not already familiar with it. Or if you prefer, simply watch the video.
Movelock
Movelock is designed to provide a means of “replacing” avatar phantom (which no longer works as a result of other changes within LL’s viewer code) as a means of deterring people from trying to push your avatar around (such as when you’re afk, or simply because they are being an 18-karat wombat).
It uses LSL through the Firestorm bridge in order to try to “lock” your avatar wherever it stands (although you can still move around yourself with Movelock is enabled – it comes into play when others try to bump you around).
Movelock can be activated via Avatar > Movement > Movelock or by CTRL-ALT-P, or through the Movelock toolbar button. Once enabled, your avatar can still be pushed by other avatars and objects, but will return to its prior position when the pushing ceases. North, who coded the feature, produced a video on her early work with Movelock, demonstrating it in action.
Again, this isn’t the same functionality as avatar phantom, but will hopefully act as a deterrent to those who insist on shoving others around.
New Particle Capabilities Support
This release of Firestorm includes the “new” particle system capabilities, comprising:
Arton Rotaru has produced a video demonstrating the ribbon particle effect to create tyre tracks left by a vehicle.
Particle Griefing Alleviation
Note that these new particle capabilities include the ability to right-click on a particle stream / any rendered particles and mute their associated emitter, effectively blocking them. This can greatly simplify dealing with unwanted particle effects, such as during a particle griefing attack be eliminating the need to find the actual emitters and muting them. Also, as part of a general anti-griefing measure, particles will automaitcally cease rendering if FPS drops below 4 (both of these are Linden Lab improvements).
On Saturday October 26th 2013, the Firestorm team hosted another informal question-and-answer session. While the meeting was recorded, the Firestorm team are aware that many of their users have hearing difficulties, and / or prefer to read text. It is because of this that this transcript has been provided.
When reading it, please remember:
This is not a word-for-word transcript of the entire meeting. While all quotes given are as they are spoken in the video, to assist in readability and maintain the flow of conversation, not all asides, jokes, interruptions, etc., have been included in the text presented here
If there are any sizeable gaps in comments from a speaker which resulted from asides, questions to other etc,, these are indicated by the use of “…”
Timestamps are provided as guidance should anyone wish to hear the comments in full from any speaker on the video
Questions /comments were made in chat while speakers were talking. This inevitably meant that replies to questions would lag well behind when they were originally asked. To provide context between questions and answers, questions in the transcript are given (in italics) at the point at which each is addressed by a member of the Firestorm team, either in voice or via chat.
Please note: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. As such, questions on technical issues relating to Firestorm and / or project-specific questions cannot be answered here unless one of the Firestorm team drops by.
The TL;DR Summary
The numbers in braces are timestamps which refer to the section of this transcript where more details can be read, and to the section of the video recording where the relevant comments can be heard.
The upcoming release will be a public beta. It will have a number of known bugs, some of which will be annoying [0:01:42-0:02:28]
There is a lot more coming from the Lab, so it is important the Firestorm team get a beta version out, so they can prepare for bug fixing and integrating the new code LL will be pushing out (and which is currently pending release by the Lab) including:
SSA updates (AISv3)
Group ban list
Interest list
HTTP updates
It will be a beta release, but it will be fully supported [0:05:10-0:05:33]
The Firestorm team have been accused of “holding things back”, they are not. There are valid reasons for any apparent delays (such as the amount of work some code merges have required and code for newer projects has yet to appear from the Lab [0:05:33-0:07:43]
A full release is unlikely before February 2014 [0:07:43]
The beta will be accompanied by a Windows 64-bit version of the viewer [0:11:01-0:13:41]
Why feedback for the 64-bit version is being requested, what kind of feedback is sought, why feedback should be delayed for a week or more following the release, the placebo effect [0:11:37; 0:14:30-0:16:09; 0:32:52-0:34:13; 1:01:04-1:04:08]
64-bit versus 32-bit: what to expect and what the differences are [0:16:09-0:18:22]
Linux 64-bit [0:28:50-0:29:34]
Why it is unlikely any viewer will have multi-screen support (tear-off panels and menus which can be moved outside the viewer window & between monitors) in the near future [30:09-32:52; 34:13-34:41]
Mac 64-bit [0:36:09-0:41:49]
The issues in building 64-bit versions of Firestorm [0:41:49-0:44:47]
Mac Maverick support [46:05-48:08]
Both Windows 32-bit and 64-bit can co-exist on the same PC [49:47; 57:29]
64-bit and lack of Havok support [58:29]
A discussion on Firestorm on mobile devices & LL’s coming beta with OnLive [50:39-54-15]
Why clean installs are really, really necessary at times [1:14:47-1:18:39; 1:24:58-1:25:47; 1:32:50-1:35:24]
Important notes on the 64-bit installer / installation [1:19:20-1:21:29]
Why Firestorm should only ever be downloaded from the Firestorm website [1:22:14]
OTR is coming, but not a priority [1:23:48-1:23:54]
As always, please refer to the week’s forum deployment thread for the latest news and updates.
Main Channel
There have been no updates to the Main channel.
Release Candidate Channels
All three release candidate channels received the same new server maintenance package on Tuesday October 29th, which fixed some crash modes.
The reason for the RC channel updates being moved to Tuesday is because there was due to be a planned outage on Wednesday October 30th at the time the deployments usually take place to allow some database work to take place. This would have likely seen log-ins blocked for about an hour. However, Simon Linden believes the work has now been postponed for a week – although the recommendation is to keep a check on the Grid Status page – see the original notice for details.
SL Viewer Updates
A new release candidate appeared in the release channel on Monday October 28th. Version 3.6.10.282997 has no functional updates, but includes an update to the GPU table.
About the GPU Table
The GPU table is used to define your graphics card to the viewer and the default graphics settings which are applied as a result when you first start the viewer (or if you never adjust them).
Graphics cards are defined by classes (currently 0-5), which can be defined as:
0 – Defaults to low graphics settings. No shaders on by default
1 – Defaults to mid graphics settings. Basic shaders on by default
2 – Defaults to high graphics settings. Atmospherics on by default
3 – Same as 2, but with lighting and shadows(now referred to as Advanced Lighting Model in the viewer) enabled
4 – Same as 3, but with ambient occlusion enabled
5 – Same as 4, but with shadows set to “Sun/Moon+Projectors.”
The table is a .TXT file which is located in a viewer’s installation location on your computer. For Windows, this means it can be found either in C:\Program Files\[viewer name] or in C:\Program Files (x86)\[viewer name] (if you are running a 32-bit version of a viewer on a 64-bit system).
It is not recommended that you amend this file in any way, unless you know what you are doing. You can, however, open it and use it to determine which class your viewer falls under, and the default settings it is given.
To make it easier for those wanting to quickly reference common graphics cards, Garvie Garzo has produced a .PDF file of the table. However, do bear in mind that the table is subject to updates (as the release candidate mentioned above demonstrates), so the PDF may become outdated over time. Also, some TPVs have been working on updating the GPU table themselves.
When perusing the table, cards are listed alphabetically by maker, and the first digit following the card name refers to the class it has been assigned to, while the far right column defines the overall family of GPUs the card belongs to (you may find when viewing the table that the columns do not align well).
The settings within the GPU table are subject to some debate, as they are used to determine which graphics cards present a “reasonable” enough performance in order to have ALM enabled by default. Linden Lab consider anything qualifying as a class 3 or above is capable of adequately running with ALM enabled; some TPVs do not agree.
The problem here is how “reasonable” is defined; it’s a subjective term, and everyone will have their own opinions on the matter. As I reported back in week 39 and week 34, the Lab had statistics to show that class 5 cards GPUs (e.g. ATI Radeon HD 7800, 7900, 8900, 8950 + similar, nVidia GTX 460/460SE, 465, 550TI, 580, 660/660TI + similar) actually performed better with ALM enabled than with it off, while class 4 GPUs showed little difference between having ALM enabled and disabled. However, because measurements do tend to be subjective (again, frame rates, etc., can take on different levels of importance depending upon what you are doing in SL), Oz Linden had been hoping to establish a means by which more controlled testing could be undertaken within the Lab; it’s currently unclear how far this has progressed, if at all.
Interest List Viewer
Andrew Linden revealed that the interest list RC / project viewer (however it appears) is now unlikely to debut before November 12th. “There was a performance regression that we’re working on — lower FPS in project interesting,” he informed the Simulator User Group meeting on October 29th, “Probably because it is rendering more objects — more small objects in view get rendered (that’s my theory anyway).”
Andrew Linden: Anti-griefing Work
Andrew Linden
Andrew Linden is back working on various pieces of anti-griefing work.
For obvious reasons, he doesn’t want to go into specifics, but he did indicate that he’s looking to address new griefing modes that are aimed at estate managers. He’s also been thinking about ” raising the arms race against landbots”, although he admits he is “still in the planning/discovery phase on that.”
There are a number of other items in his list as well he may well be taking a look at.
Other Items
Slow loading Sculpts?
Some people are reporting they are seeing sculpts loading a lot more slowly since the last set of server-side interest list updates. It’s not clear how widespread this might be or if it is a possible placebo effect. For his part, Andrew Linden felt that sculpts potentially download faster with the interest list viewer code (which, as noted above, has yet to make a public debut), but again he caveated why this might appear to be the case. Andrew indicated he’ll look a little more into this.
Last Owner / Previous Owner
Many TPVs expose details of the “last owner” of an object through the build floater. A request has been passed to make this information, which is stored as a field in the object data, accessible through scripts. Both Simon and Andrew Linden didn’t see why this could not be done, with Andrew stating he’ll see what’s involved and will look to someone to nudge him about it next week.
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 Viewer Round-up 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
By its nature, this summary will always be in arrears
The Viewer Round-up Page is updated as soon as I’m aware of any releases / changes to viewers & clients, and should be referred to for more up-to-date information
The Viewer Round-up Page also 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.
Updates for the week ending: October 27th, 2013 (with extras)
Official LL Viewers
Current Release updated on October 23rd to version: 3.6.9.282535 (formerly the”ShareStorm” RC viewer combining SLShare functionality with request teleport feature, et al) – release notes
Black Dragon updated on October 28th to version 2.3.4 Alpha – core updates: prim alignment tool; ability to derender objects and avatars, fullbrights; SLShare (release notes)
CtrlAltStudio Experimental updated on October 23rd to version (Occulus Rift): 1.1.0.34332 (Alpha 4) – core updates: initial pass at implementing UI elements in “Riftlook”, updated set-up options for Oculus Rift (Preferences > Graphics > Display Output (release notes)
Kokua updated on October 22nd to version 3.6.8.30064 – core updates: code base to SL viewer 3.6.8 (incl AMD / ATi Catalyst drivers hot fix), legacy search with shortcut Ctrl-Alt-F & access via menus; initial Area Search with shortcut Alt-A; UI enhancements (change log)
UKanDo updated on October 21st to version 3.6.8.27869 – core updates: addition of Quick Tools and Area Search; context menu updates; improved UI; RLV updated to latest version (release notes).
Release notes (both) core updates: provisional support for the new Export permission flag in OpenSim, Improved inventory item permissions floater; Kitely added to OpenSim grid list; code backports, improvements and optimisations
Things are in something of a lull server-side in terms of deployments and projects at the moment, so the news from the Lab is a little light.
Server Deployment
With just the one deployment to the Main channel in week 43, the entire grid is currently running on the same server release.
Commenting on the released package at the Server Beta group meeting on Thursday 24th October, Maestro and Simon Linden provided further information on the performance issue fix which is aimed at the experimental interest list viewer (which has yet to formally appear, but can be self-compiled by those with access to the code repository).
“The bug was about avatars not loading for ~70 seconds when you visit an area with ten or so avatars nearby, Maestro explained. “And by ‘not loading’, you wouldn’t even see name tags.”
“I think the problem was when those viewers used new methods to download or check the cache state of some data … it would over-load the network and thus the avatar updates were really slow,” Simon added, before continuing, “Since the current viewer doesn’t do that, they don’t have the bug. Clubs and large crowds are always a problem because when you arrive you just get a ton of data to fetch and load.”
Week 44 should see what Maestro described as a “minor maintenance release” for the server appearing next week, which includes “a few miscellaneous crash fixes”. At the time of writing it is not clear if this will be the only RC deployment or whether anything else might also pop-up when the deployment thread is published.
SL Viewer Updates
The “Sharestorm” release candidate, version 3.6.9.282535, which combined the updates from the Snowstorm contributions viewer featuring the request teleport functionality with the SLShare release candidate, was promoted to the de facto release viewer on October 23rd. This leaves just the Maintenance release candidate viewer 3.6.9.282553 sitting in a release cohort, which will be updated in week 44, once it has been rebuilt using the release viewer code base.
Group Ban List
Baker Linden’s Group ban list work remains on internal testing within the Lab (with Maestro and Caleb Linden volunteering as Baker’s guinea pigs). The project has also apparently been awaiting internal QA resources. Baker hopes to have a detailed update on progress in week 44, but as he said at the Server Beta meeting, “I’d rather take the time to do it properly than rush it out the door and have it be worthless! :).”
Other Items
As reported in week 42, A problem had been noted following-on from the recent updates to prevent people from using recursive rezzing which means some engaging in combat have found combat vehicles in regions with short auto-return times can have their ordnance immediately returned when a weapon is fired, and any temp vehicles are unable to rez attachments, even when sat upon. Maestro confirmed that as a result of a feature request having been raised, Andrew Linden is now looking at introducing a special exception for temp-on-rez / auto-return timer inheritance when the rezzer is a vehicle.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 