Category: SL Tech

SL project news: week 5 (1): servers, viewer, deformer

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments Week 5

There are a full set of deployments this week, Main channel and RCs.

On Tuesday 29th January, the Main channel received the threaded region crossing code deployed to BlueSteel and LeTigre in week 4. This project makes sim performance smoother when objects and avatars cross between regions. Please refer to the release notes for further information.

On Wednesday 29th January, the Release Candidate channels should receive the following deployments:

  • BlueSteel should receive the server-side materials processing code. This code will require a a project viewer in order to be used, As reported in week 4, there is no definitive timeframe as to when a viewer is liable to be available, but it would be reasonable to expect something in the next few weeks (possibly sooner) – release notes
  • LeTigre should receive the maint-server project originally deployed to Magnum in week 3. This deployment includes the bug fix for the places / search indexing issue which occurred following the original deployment of the code to Magnum – release notes
  • Magnum will receive a further update to the interest list code deployed in week 4. This update addresses high packet loss problems, leading to issues such as not seeing avatars or objects in-world, specifically:
    • A fix for bots which do not specify a valid draw distance in order to prevent them downloading huge amounts of unwanted data
    • A fix to keep ObjectUpdate packets within an ethernet MTU of 1500
    • Release notes.

Please check with the forum discussion thread for these deployments to keep abreast of updates / changes / issues.

Materials processing: server-side code to go to BluseSteel on Wednesday 30th January - but no project viewer yet
Materials processing: server-side code to go to BlueSteel on Wednesday 30th January – but no project viewer yet

SL Viewer News

Problems remain with the beta viewer code, but it is hoped a new beta will be appearing shortly. In te meantime, Kelly Linden has committed the viewer-side code for extending the maximum avatar animation length from 30 seconds to 60 seconds (MAINT-1492). This should be appearing in the 3.4.5 beta viewer, and should also be appearing in TPVs in the near future.

Mesh Deformer

Delays continue with the mesh deformer, which can be summarised as:

  • The Lab has limited internal resources for testing it – although attempts are being made to address this
  • There is concern that there is no clear way for a designer and a user to be sure that they are using the same avatar base model – and if they are not, then the deformer will very likely make things worse. While there are some provisions within the current deformer for the base model to be taken into consideration, there is apparently concern that it may not be sufficient
  • The project veiewer code is now significantly behind the current viewer release, although work is underway to merge it up (and I received a report that this has been done while preparing this update).

A further potential issue in progressing the deformer  – as Karl Stiefvater (Qarl Fizz), who wrote the original code points out – is there are a lot of expectations that the deformer will do a lot of things which were not in the original specification (or indeed, the code as originally written). Some of this scope creep has resulted in further updates to the code from other contributors. However, there appear to be concerns that if the Lab prematurely release if, there will be a risk that a) it breaks existing content, b) it is viewed as not addressing problems correctly.

This latter aspect was also commented upon by Oz Linden, when speaking Open-source Development meeting on Monday 28th January. He said, “We are often (and frequently with justification) accused of throwing things out that are not really finished enough… indeed, the lack of some solution for the problem the deformer is trying to solve is one of the more prominent recent examples, but I don’t want to make the situation even worse by putting out a ‘solution’ that turns out not to solve enough of the problem and/or creates bigger ones down the road.”

Avatar Baking (SSB)

A set of code updates for the viewer are in progress. However, an issue with the Mac build means they have not been pushed as an update to the project viewer as yet. It is hoped that the updates will reach all three versions of the viewer (Windows, Linux and Mac) once the Mac build problem has been resolved.

Kokua 3.4.4 goes CHUI

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update February 28th: Nicky has posted that the CHUI code has now been merged with the main Kokua code, and a new version of Kokua is available for testing with it.

kokua-logoNicky  Perian, working on the Kokua viewer for SL / OpenSim, issued an experimental version of the viewer on January 24th which includes the new SL Communications Hub User Interface (CHUI).

Release 3.4.4 (CHUI) has a dedicated repository, and is available for Windows and Linux.

As reported on its launch, CHUI complete overhauls the communications floater within the official viewer, and introduces a new Conversations Logs floater, allowing users to access saved chat and IM histories from within the viewer. In updating the Conversations floater, CHUI brings some functionality to it which users of several TPVs may find somewhat familiar, even if the presentation doesn’t match anything they’ve been used to in the past.

CHUI goes purple: the initial integration of the CHUI code into Kokua
CHUI goes purple: the initial integration of the CHUI code into Kokua

A Kokua blog post accompanying the release of the experimental viewer provides additional information:

The Communication Hub UI  has Instant Messaging , Chat,  and Voice controls in one floater as was done in version 1 viewers.

Imprudence users have asked that Kokua implement the Imprudence UI for communications. I would like comments from Imprudence users about this interface .

This merge affected many parts of Kokua code. Please test and report problems using our bug tracker.

There is also a link to the Kokua wiki page on recommended practices for using Kokua experimental viewers.

The implementation appears to be a “straightforward”  merge of the code, with the familiar Kokua UI colour changes, but otherwise no additional updates. “Straightforward” is given in inverted commas because, as the Kokua blog post notes, the CHUI changes impact many areas of the viewer’s code, making integration somewhat difficult – particularly if the TPV merging the code already has modifications to how  communications within the viewer are presented to the user.

The experimental viewer also includes the default “account creation” prompt found in the beta and development versions of the SL viewer which appears to be in relation to the forthcoming SL / Steam link-up, and which is displayed on the viewer’s log-in splash screen if no account details are found on the local computer when the viewer loads. As with other viewers which have merged-up with SL viewer development code, this should be taken as a sign that the code has been included in Kokua by default rather than having any deeper meaning associated with it.

Other recent updates for Kokua (from the 3.4.4.25633 release of January 13th, 2013) include:

  • The use of Vivox as the default Voice system, as a result of the latter relaxing licencing requirements for grids
  • The addition of a draw distance slider to the top right of the menu bar
  • The ability to set a minimum draw distance of 3 metres (seen as a means of improving performance for those involved in close-quarter combat / duelling)
  • Minor UI changes (such as the “Me” menu being renamed “Avatar”).

Overall, this looks to be a clean implementation of CHUI, and one which gives OpenSim users a further opportunity to get a look ad feel for the revised  / new floaters for communications.

Related Links

Viewer release summary 2013: week 4

Posted on by Inara Pey

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 as the week progresses
  • 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: 27 January, 2013

The major news for the week is that the Zen viewer has officially ceased development and has been delisted from the SL Third-party viewer directory at the developer’s request and all repositories removed from public access. The reason for this is unknown at the time of going to print with this summary.

  • SL Viewer updates:
      • Development rolled to 3.4.6.269302 on January 22nd, then 3.4.6.269515 on January 25th
      • CHUI development viewer rolled to 3.4.4.269464 on January 25
  • Dolphin rolled to 3.4.11.27250 on January 24th – core updates: cursor now displays in the correct position on the input line of the Places floater; moving, animated linksets will not leave phantom prims behind (LL breakage); llLoadURL no longer includes a “?” when sending URL to a browser (VWR-17689); source up-to-date with latest LL development viewer code – release notes
  • Kokua issues an experimental CHUI viewer (3.4.4) on January 24, with dedicated repository 
  • Niran’s Viewer updated to version 2.0.8 on January 22nd – assorted UI updates (About floater and fog settings, updates to playing local sounds); revised animations speed to control speed of all animations sseen through the viewer; improvements to custom always-on mouse steering mode; XML files clean-up  – release notes
  • Cool VL updates – three versions for the time being, all updated on January 26th:
    • Stable version rolled to 1.26.6.7
    • Legacy version Legacy (v2.6 renderer) rolled to 1.26.4.50
    • Experimental version rolled to 1.26.7.7
    • Release notes
  • Phoenix officially reached end-of-line for SL on December 31st – read more here
  • Zen viewer was withdrawn from the SL TPV directory and all repositories shutdown on January 27th, 2013.

Related Links

SL project news: week 4 (3): viewer, CHUI, SSB, more materials, oh my!

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL Viewer Beta

Issues within the 3.4.5 code have prevented viewer releases progressing through beta, with the code stuck in QA while LL tackled them. However, it appears the majority are now either fixed or on their way to being fixed, and an updated beta viewer should be appearing next week, which should see the beta viewer come pretty close to alignment with code in the development viewer, with the latter only having “a couple” of things not added to the beta branch.

Communications Hub User Interface (CHUI) Project

There have been a rapid series of merges between the CHUI project viewer code and the development viewer recently (as seen in my Viewer Round-up Page and weekly summaries), helping the former to keep pace with the latter, with the most recent CHUI development release (3.4.4.269464) being made on January 25th.

Speaking at the TPV Developer’s Meeting on Friday 25th January, Oz Linden indicated that a formal merge of the CHUI project viewer code with the development viewer code branch “pretty soon” (possibly in the next two weeks, putting it ahead of the server-side baking project). However, according to Nyx Linden, the plan will be to not merge CHUI with the server-side baking project for as long as possible, so that TPVs have the choice of deciding whether they wish to integrate both projects into their own code at the same time or not.

CHUI is viewed as potentially the more problematic implementation for some TPVs to undertake as it involves more widespread changes to the UI, and, and project lead Merov Linden pointed out, the need to refactor a number of areas within the viewer to work with the CHUI elements. As some TPVs have already made substantial changes to the communications floater and other aspects of the communications elements of the UI, there is also a need for these TPVs to work through the code and see how it works with / impacts / breaks / undoes the changes they have made, in order for them to make a proper determination as to which code to adopt / maintain, and which code to ignore / discard.

Avatar Baking (Server-side Baking or SSB)

Work in progressing on all sides of this project, with the various TPVs working on integrating the initial code release from LL into experimental versions of their viewers (with varying degrees of success) and LL working on “bug stomping” and fixes. As commented on in my week 3 project report, there are concerns over the speed of releases for updated code from LL and general visibility of JIRA items.

Nyx Linden was on-hand at the TPV Developer Meeting on the 25th January to provide an update and field questions.

Nyx linden discusses server-side baking at the TPV Developer meeting (stock)
Nyx linden discusses server-side baking at the TPV Developer meeting (stock)

In terms of the server-side code, there have been a number of fixes which should have rolled-out to Aditi on Thursday 24th January, although the status of these had yet to be confirmed at the time of the meeting. Various issues are still to be fixed, such as some avatars being reported with heights which don’t match LL’s computations (particularly very small / petite avatars and very big avatars), which may be down to a mis-match between the way some viewers are calculating avatar height and what the server is anticipating receiving in terms of a value range.

The viewer code has also been receiving a number of updates and fixes, which should be available for use by TPVs and in an updated version of the project viewer in the next day or so. These updates include a required fix for an issue whereby edits make to a wearable item are not saved unless the user also changes something else they are wearing (for example, edits made to a blouse are not saved unless the user swaps the pants they are wearing).

Currently, and so far as I’m aware at the time of writing, Cool VL viewer, Singularity and Radegast all have experimental builds of their viewers / clients which incorporate the code and which are being used purely for testing purposes, with Exodus planning to start merging the code shortly. Niran’s viewer has reported issues with the new code “breaking” RLV/a which (so far) haven’t been reported by other TPVs.

Given the overall pace at which things are progressing on LL’s side, particularly with CHUI and dealing with issues uncovered within SSB itself, it is likely the original eight-week window for TPVs to integrate the SSB will be extended inasmuch as the deployment of SBB to the main grid is now likely to be slightly later than LL may have originally anticipated.

Continue reading “SL project news: week 4 (3): viewer, CHUI, SSB, more materials, oh my!” →

SL project news 4 (2): server and materials processing

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments Week 4

The RC channel deployments went ahead as planned on Wednesday 23rd January. BlueSteel and LeTigre Received the Threaded Region Crossing Code, and Magnum the Interest List code.

The week 3 maint-server release had been the only contender for the Main channel on Tuesday 22nd January, but was not deployed due to the issue of places not indexing correctly in search. A fix was available for this issue, but was rolled to Magnum as a part of that deployment.

Magnum Issues

There have been widespread issues in regions on the Magnum channel since the deployment, some of which have been reported in the deployment discussion thread on the forum, others of which have been reported in groups such as the Firestorm Support group. These issues may be related to a high bandwidth issue leading to packet loss for people on slower connections. Symptoms include:

  • High packet loss / ping to the simulator
  • Avatars initially unable to move on arriving in a region
  • Avatars apparently unable to move on arrival, but then suddenly “warping” to new position if movement keys have been pressed
  • Avatars already in the region being visible to a newly arrived avatar, then vanishing the first time the avatar moves or rotates camera
  • Objects failing to rez or to rez correctly (including attachments on avatars)
  • Other issues as reported in the forum discussion thread, including notable issues being encountered with JVA bots.

At this time, the issues remain under investigation by the Lab.

Deployments for Week 5

There is currently no clear news on deployment plans for the week commencing Monday 28th January. However, if there is a Main Channel release, Maestro Linden is of the opinion that it will likely be the threaded region crossing code.

The maint-server release originally on Magnum in week 3 will be re-deployed on an RC (which one is TBA at this point), which includes a number of additional fixes, including the fix for the search indexing issue.

Materials Processing

There has been little direct news on the materials processing project from those working on it. However, at the Server Beta User Group meeting on the 24th January, Maestro Linden reiterated that the server-side code is very close to a Release Channel deployment and, “May even get a slot next week [week 5].”

Maestro also gave some information on new options for what the alpha channel means during rendering, with four settings available:

  1. None –  the alpha channel is ignored, rendering the face opaque, or
  2. Alpha blending – essentially the same as we currently have for any alpha texture, or
  3. A 1-bit alpha mask with each pixel either 100% transparent or 100% opaque, with a cutoff setting to determine where the threshold is (alpha masks should render faster than alpha blending, and eliminate issues with alpha layer sorting), or
  4. Emissive mask – so the alpha layer is interpreted as a per-pixel glow setting.

(Note that these options appear to suggest a surface cannot have both an alpha mask (or alpha blending) and an emissive mask; however, as Maestro Linden pointed out, there will still be options in the build floater to set glow or face transparency.)

Maestro additionally indicated that the remaining “mesh sandbox” regions on Aditi (DRTSIM-169 channel: Mesh Sandbox 3, Mesh Sandbox 6, Mesh Sandbox 22) have been updated with the server-side materials processing code, so that builders can test the new capabilities once a materials processing viewer is available.

Testing materials processing in SL. Note the texture of some surfaces and reflections on others (image courtesy of Geenz Spad) - click to enlarge
A “sneak peek” at materials processing in SL, provided by Geenz Spad. Note the texture of some surfaces and reflections on others – click to enlarge. (Note this image should not be taken as indicating materials processing is available for public use as yet – see below.)

Viewer Status

Even though the server-side code is available on selected Aditi regions and may be deployed to a Release Channel in week 5, it will not be usable until such time as a materials processing project viewer is made available. Currently, this is unlikely to be for another few weeks, as there is further work to be completed on the viewer itself, including UI updates (such as the new build floater), code for fetching the additional materials data and for rendering it.

Server Object Rezzing Code

As I outlined back in week 1,  Baker Linden is working on improving how objects with large file sizes (as opposed to them being physically large when rezzed in-world) are handled by the simulator software when being rezzed.

In the first part of this update, I reported that Baker hoped the code would be progressing through LL’s QA for deployment to an RC channel in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the code is now available on the DRTSIM-194 channel (e.g. CCMTEST26).

The key point about this work is that it is specifically aimed at preventing the simulator processes from choking and a region stalling when there are a number of large object files being read / parsed, not at actually “speeding up” the physical rezzing process. As such, it is unlikely that objects will appear any faster in people’s in-world view as a result of this work. However, what it does mean is that the simulator code will be better able to handle rezzing multiple “large file” objects without the attendant region lagging which can occur as a result of the simulator being unable to process messages from viewers and other simulators, etc.

Aditi Issues

Issues continue with Aditi, both in terms of people being able to log-in, and with inventory syncing problems. It is currently unclear as to what the status is regarding potential solutions which have been mentioned in the past – culling “stale” accounts from Aditi and obtaining additional hardware to handle the load. In the meantime, problems continue for some, and the advice remains to keep trying a password change and waiting 24-48 hours for it to fully propagate before attempting to log-in to Aditi once more.

Related Links

Note that all SLurls given in this report are for the Aditi (Beta) grid.

SL project news: week 4 (1): server, permissions, terrain and teleporting

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments Week 4

There was no Main Channel deployment on Tuesday 22nd January due to the issues encountered in week 3, which saw the interest list code on BlueSteel and LeTigre rolled back due to stability issues, and the maint-server release on Magnum having problems of its own (including regions not showing up in search, etc.).

There will be RC deployments on Wednesday 23rd January, as follows:

  • BlueSteel and LeTigre should receive the region crossing improvement project.  This project makes sim performance smoother when objects and avatars cross between regions.  This is the same project which was on BlueSteel and LeTigre in week 2; the only change is a fix for a crasher – release notes (BlueSteel)
  • Magnum should receive the interest list improvement project.  This update should reduce the bandwidth usage of viewers due to object updates, and should improve simulator performance, especially in sims with many connected avatars.  This is the same project which was on BlueSteel and LeTigre briefly in week 3; the only change is a fix for two crash modes – release notes
3rd time lucky? Interest List updates due for deployment to Magnum on Wednesday 23rd January
3rd time lucky? Interest List updates due for deployment to Magnum on Wednesday 23rd January

According to Simon Linden, speaking at the Simulator User Group on Tuesday 22nd January, the issue(s) relating to Magnum regions / parcels failing to show up in search also has a fix, which is apparently included in code due to be deployed to those regions, although there is no comment on this in the release notes themselves at the time of writing.

SL Viewer

Work continues on the viewer development side of things with further updates an merges and new versions appearing almost every other day, but little is currently filtering through to the beta viewer code branch at present.

Similarly, the CHUI developement viewer is going through a rapid series of updates, reaching 3.4.4.269264 on Tuesday 22nd January, although updates from the last series of development releases have yet to reach the CHUI project viewer.

Work has been promised to update the Sunshine (avatar baking) viewer code, whether this has been done or not is unclear as there was no Content Creation meeting on Monday 21st January due to Martin Luther King’s birthday; however, the current release of the project viewer remains 3.4.4.268071 at the time of writing.

Merges are also still awaiting on the Mesh project viewer in order to bring that back into line with more recent viewer-dev code updates.

Continue reading “SL project news: week 4 (1): server, permissions, terrain and teleporting” →