On Tuesday, June 14th, the Main (SLS) channel received the same server maintenance project, as previously deployed to all three RC channels, comprising “minor internal changes”
It is likely there will be no planned deployment / restart for either the LeTigre or BlueSteel RCs.
There is a deployment listed for the Magnum RC, which quotes the same version number as last week’s deployment. When I asked Simon whether or not this indicated there would be a deployment, he replied:
I believe they won’t actually roll it. The two versions in RC were almost identical, except for one bit of code that executed when entering a region. We were comparing them for speed and are promoting the less laggy one. The slow code was kinda nice in that it gave us better diagnostics but wasn’t worth it.
Weekend Issues
On Friday, June 10th the main grid experienced a series of issues which appeared to be very similar to those which occurred at the start of May and were related to the central database node failure. I asked Simon if we would be seeing a further write-up from April Linden or another member of the ops team, prompting him to reply:
I’m not sure if April was going to write up another report. Last Friday’s outage was another main database failure. I know they’re looking to see if there is any noticeable cause we could address.
Should a post appear, it will most likely be via the Tools and Technology blog, and I’ll of course cover it through these pages.
SL Viewer
Friday May 10th saw two viewer updates:
The Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 4.0.6.316312
The Bento project viewer updated to version 5.0.0.316366, comprising a small set of bug fixes.
Otherwise, all viewers remain as per my last projects update:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th. See my overview of the viewer for further details
VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, dated June 3rd. Sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/) Mac viewer currently unaffected.
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
On Tuesday, June 7th, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes
On Wednesday, June 8th, all three RCs were updated with a new server maintenance package comprising “minor internal changes”.
SL Viewer
There have been no further changes on the viewer front since part 1 of this update, leaving the official viewer channels as follows:
Remaining Viewers
All other viewers currently remain unchanged from week #22:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
RC viewers:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315924, dated June 2nd. Includes fixes for the recent release of the Avatar complexity / Graphics Presets viewer release
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project viewers:
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th. See my overview of the viewer for further details
VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, dated June 3rd. Sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/) Mac viewer currently unaffected.
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.315657, dated May 26th – includes the “reset Skeleton” option and additional slider updates
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
Avatar Complexity
There are some issues with Avatar Complexity which have been noted, but have yet to be addressed, One is that a “dirty” install the viewer (i.e. not removing the previous version + its supporting files from a computer will default avatar complexity to No Limit (BUG-18199).
Another (BUG-18195) is that initial default values for Avatar Maximum Avatar Complexity (defined by the graphics benchmarking) are not applying. These should be: Low: 35k; Low-Mid: 100k; Mid: 200k; Mid-High: 250k; High: 300k and High-Ultra / Ultra: 350k. Instead, the bug means that all graphics settings above Low are defaulted to 80k. This also means the Rest button for Avatar Complexity reverts the setting to 80K for all settings, rather than applying the correct default.
On Tuesday, June 7th, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes
On Wednesday, June 8th, all three RCs should be updated with a new server maintenance package comprising “minor internal changes”.
SL Viewer
There have been a number of viewer updates and appearances in the various viewer channels.
Maintenance RC Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer was updated to version 4.0.6.315924, on June 2nd. The update includes a series of additional fixes and a more descriptive set of release notes to describe the changes. In particular, there are a new series of fixes for the recent release of the Avatar complexity / Graphics Presets viewer release, comprising:
A fix for some cases of invisible avatars due to JellyDolls feature.
A fix for the Appearance update being broken due to COF version getting out of synch. It will now be … *nsync.
A change so that Invisiprims are now preloaded and will remain transparent, not grey or black.
The Maximum Complexity setting will be set to recommended setting on first run. A Default preset will be added based on recommended settings, but not applied, so your current graphics settings are unaffected.
A “Show original” menu item has been added to the Appearance/Wearing tab.
A fix for an unhandled error when deleting empty list of graphics presets.
For the full list of updates, please refer to the release notes.
VLC Media Plugin Project Viewer
Released on June 3rd, the VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/).
Currently the Mac version of the viewer is unaffected, as Apple still support QuickTime on that platform. However, it will be updated to use LibVLC in the upcoming 64-bit versions of the official viewer.
Visual Outfits Browser Project Viewer
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123 appeared on June 6th. Simply put, it allows you to use the Appearance floater to capture / upload / select images of your outfits and save them against the outfits in a new Outfit Gallery tab within the floater. See my overview of the viewer for further details.
Remaining Viewers
All other viewers currently remain unchanged from week #22:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Inventory Message Viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.315657, dated May 26th – includes the “reset Skeleton” option and additional slider updates
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
There is an update in progress for the Oculus Rift viewer, but no time frame on when that might appear. Currently, both it and the Obsolete Platform viewer are TLS 1.2 compliant (see below), so it will be interesting to see what happens with them both over the coming few weeks.
TLS 1.2
Linden Lab has issued a further reminder that as from June 15th, all Second Life users must be using a viewer and / or web browser that supports TLS 1.2 in order to make use of the Second Life WEB cashier services for L$ transactions (e.g. to send, receive, or exchange L$).
Actively maintained web browsers and viewers (official and TPV) should support TLS 1.2. However, older versions of third-party viewers and those viewers which have not been updated in recently, may not support it. Users are therefore advised to visit https://www.howsmyssl.com/ with their browser and, if they are using an older version of a viewer, the viewer’s internal web browser, to check whether their browser / viewer supports TLS 1.2.
The Version notification in the top left of the How’s My SSL? web page will indicate whether your web browser and / or viewer (via its built-in web browser) is TLS 1.2 compliant.
As has been previously noted, this isn’t an arbitrary change on the part of the Lab. It is in response to an ongoing set of regulatory / compliance requirements (as explained by the PCI Security Standards Council) which are global in scope.
The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, June 3rd, 2016. A video of the meeting is embedded at the end of this report, my thanks as always to North for supplying it. Time stamps in the text relate to this recording.
Server Deployments
As always, for the latest information, please refer to the server deployment thread.
On Tuesday, May 31st, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package previously deployed to all three RC channels, which included a server crash fix.
On Wednesday, June 1st, all the RC channels were updated with a new server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes.
The next RC deployment, scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th will including further anti-griefing measures, one of which will be if you try to rez a group of coalesced objects which between them have more the 10,000 items within their contents, the rezzing will fail on regions on the RC channels once this update has been deployed.
SL Viewer
Release Candidates
[00:45] there are currently two RC viewers in the release channel:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315551, dated May 23rd
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
[01:05] The Lab is hoping that TPVs will be picking-up the changes on the Inventory Message RC viewer ASAP, as they are hoping to be able to deprecate and removed the back-end support for the old messaging mechanisms completely as well, so that all inventory operations will go via AIS (Advanced Inventory System).
This will provide the Lab with a single point of enforcement for things like which folders in inventory are mandatory and cannot be deleted; which folders cannot be moved inside other folders, etc), in order to help eliminate points of potential inventory issues users may experience.
There are concerns over remaining bugs within the AIS system.
[12:14-17:20] BUG-9506, for example, remains open, although a fix which may help in part with in, relating to how AIS operations are threaded in the viewer, in the current Maintenance RC release, together with fixes for both BUG-10391 and BUG-11929. However, it may be that to deal specifically with the likes of BUG-9506, further tests are to be carried out to see if it still occurs on in the Inventory Message RC viewer, and if so, it may be that it might be merged with the Maintenance RC to see if issues can be resolved that way. The Lab will also re-examine what fixes have been recently made and where they reside within the viewer development pipeline.
Oculus Rift Project Viewer
[05:54] The Lab is still working on the Oculus Rift project viewer, but there are still assorted bugs to be dealt with. The time frame for this project viewer, which will support the latest SDKs and the consumer version of the headset, appearing remains as “pretty soon”.
64-bit Viewer Versions
[24:00] Work on the 64-bit versions of the official viewer is still “on hold”.
QuickTime Replacement
[24:09] A version of the viewer without any QuickTime support may be appearing in the next couple of weeks. This is as a result of Apple deprecating QuickTime for Windows without offering patches for a couple of potentially serious vulnerabilities, leading to the recommendation that Windows users uninstall QuickTime. As a result of this, the Lab has decided to completely replace QuickTime across all flavours of viewer. When made available, it will likely be called the Project VLC viewer, as some of the media handling will be through libVLC
Project Bento
With the move of Bento to the main grid, Bento User Group meetings will now take place at the Hippotropolis Campfire Circle at 13:00 SLT on Thursdays. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the meeting on Thursday, June 2nd, so there is no dedicated report in this blog for this week.
The male and female avatar skeletons have also been updated to support the most recent changes to Bento, and can be downloaded from the Bento Testing wiki page.
Work is continuing on bugs and issues, such as BUG-11538 (“Front legs crossing on Bento Mesh quad(animal) avatars”), and while new appearance shape sliders have been considered out-of-scope for the current iteration of Bento, issues have been raised with scaling limb sizes when trying to produce avatar add-on, rather than full avatars, which may in fact be in part solved through the use of a set of generic sliders. Further discussion on these ideas will likely come through the Bento forum thread, and potentially at the in-world meetings.
[05:15] Regardless of thoughts on slider sets and overall project scope, Bento will be progressing at its own pace, rather than trying to meet any specific deadline. There are a number of known issues still to be addressed, and it is anticipated that further issues are likely to be reported now Bento is available for more widespread testing.
Other Items
TLS 1.2
18:25] As per a blog post from the Lab, which I also reported here, users are being advised to update (if necessary) their web browser and their SL viewer to a version that supports TLS 1.2 by June 15th, 2016. After that date, any web browser or viewer that does not should TLS 1.2 will no longer be able to access Second Life cashier services to send, receive, or exchange L$.
The change is apart of the Lab’s efforts to improve its compliance needs for handling money, but some confusion has remained over exactly what will be affected in terms of L$ transactions, which still persists around matters of in-world purchases. The confusion prompted Oz Linden to comment during this meeting:
I believe that it will affect being able to purchase items in-world and to send and receive Linden dollars to other avatars, because it’s all interactions with the cashier.
So again, if you are using an older version of the viewer, it is essential you check to ensure it is TLS 1.2 complaint before June 15th.
To do this, use the viewer’s built-in web browser to visit How’s My SSL? and check the Version information displayed in the top left of the page. You may also wish to check your web browser as well, if you are using an older version of a browser and wish to ensure you can continue to make SL Marketplace transactions, etc. However, do be aware that some ad blockers can prevent the TLS 1.2 checks performing correctly.
In order to further confirm what may “break” as a result of this change, it has been suggested the Lab enable some form of testing on Aditi. This will be looked into.
“Feature Surprise”
[6:35] A further hint of an upcoming “feature surprise” was given at the meeting. I’m assuming this is actually the Visual Outfits Browser, designed to provide a means by which users can store and browse images associated with their outfits in inventory, simplifying the act of identifying an outfit prior to wearing it.
As always, for the latest information, please refer to the server deployment thread.
On Tuesday, May 31st, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package previously deployed to all three RC channels, which included a server crash fix.
On Wednesday, June 1st, all the RC channels should be updated with a new server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes.
SL Viewer
There have been no changes to any of the viewer channels so far this week, leaving things as per the end of week #21:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315551, dated May 23rd – a modest but useful set of 24 fixes and updates to the viewer
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project viewers:
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.315657, dated May 26th – this build includes the “reset Skeleton” option and additional slider updates
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13th, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete platform viewer version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
Project Bento
As anticipated, Project Bento, the avatar skeleton enhancements project, was deployed to the main grid to mark the start of more widespread testing, on Tuesday, May 31st. You can find out more via the following posts:
Project Bento, the Lab-initiated, collaborative project involving Second Life content creators to bring greater capabilities to mesh avatars and – potentially – rigged attachments – is now available on Agni, the Second Life main grid.
The news – not entirely unexpected, as the Lab has been gearing-up to make the move for the last few weeks – came via an official blog post on Tuesday, May 31st.
Project Bento has been in development for over a year, the initial phases of the work being carried out by the Lab behind closed doors, before a period of closed development involving a number of expert creators and tool makes – notably the Avastar team who produce the avatar plug-in for Blender, and Cathy Foil, who produces Mayastar, a similar plug-in for Maya. I was also invited to observe this initial work – my sincere thanks to Oz Linden for the opportunity – so that I could follow the project and report on its development, which I was able to start doing in December 2015, once the project had been publicly announced, and the project opened to greater input from content creators and animators.
An early Project Bento meeting. The project has involved staff from Linden Lab, notably Troy Linden, Oz Linden and Vir Linden, together with assistance from Alexa Linden, Simon Linden, Rider Linden, Aura Linden and others. It has also involved the folk from Avastar and Mayastar as well as many content creators and animators
At that time, Bento introduced over 90 additional bones to the avatar skeleton, with no fewer that 30 being added to avatars hands to allow for finger manipulation, and another 30 to the head for facial expressions. To further support the new additions, new attachment points were added to the skeleton and – most recently of all – a good number of the bones (particularly those in the face) were hooked-up the viewer appearance sliders, allowing them to adjust elements of suitably rigged mesh heads, etc.
Net result: the ability for mesh avatars to be far more expressive and customisable than before, and much, much better support for non-human avatars. There’s also the potential for a wide range of other uses – such as Aki Shichiroji’s wyvern pictured below, or rigged attachable pets – even the potential for gowns and other clothing to move naturally with an avatar’s movement.
Aki Shichiroji demonstrates a wearable wyvern utilising Bento bones for animation. Inset: the model under development at a Bento meeting (main image courtesy of Linden Lab)
Many of the possibilities for Bento are highlighted in a special promotional video released by the Lab and embedded at the end of this article, made with the full support for the creators who have been actively engaged in the project for the last 6-12 months.
It is important yo note that – as the official blog post states, this still a testing release of Project Bento: making it available to a wider audience than is possible when it is constrained to Aditi, and thus allowing further testing of things like overall simulator / grid performance with larger numbers of Bento avatars operating, looking out for other issues, etc., which may not have come to light during the Aditi testing, and also further refining and improving the viewer so it might progress to a release status.
Which brings up a further important point, again as the official blog post notes:
If you encounter Bento avatars and are not using the Bento Project Viewer, you may see some strangely behaving avatar animations and meshes. If you’re using a very old (i.e. no longer supported) viewer, encountering Bento content may even cause a crash.
Some TPVs have already starting integrating the Bento code into experimental versions of their viewers. However, if you are testing Bento, working with content which leverages Bento capabilities, you are best off using the official project viewer for the purposes of bug reporting, etc.
There is also a Project Bento User Group wiki page for those wishing to get involved in the project. However, please note that the meeting venue will likely be changing from Aditi to Agni now the project is available on the main grid.
Note, as well, that Project Bento is intended for use with mesh avatars and models – the capabilities are not intended to work with the default avatar form, as it was felt that attempting to do so risked potential content breakage and / or other issues which could impact the project.
Nevertheless, the new capabilities could herald a new era for mesh avatars within Second Life, with more realistic non-human avatars, greater dexterity with human-style avatars and even the potential for expressive, customisable mesh heads! So, welcome to the start of a new era for mesh avatars in Second Life.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 