There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, July 12th.
Wednesday July 13th saw a new server maintenance package deployed to all three RC channels comprising “minor internal changes”. One of these sees worn scripts capped at a count of 2500. Attempts to add attachments which take an avatar over this limit should result in the attachments failing to wear.
SL Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 4.0.7.317394 on Friday July 8th, following a merge with the current release viewer code.
The Oculus Rift project viewer was withdrawn on July 6th, and development work with the headset has been suspended for Second Life – see my update from last week for more.
This leaves the rest of the current official viewer as follows:
Current Release version: 4.0.6.315555 (dated May 23), promoted July 5 – formerly the Inventory Message RC viewer download page, release notes
Project viewers:
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316422, dated July 1st – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.317134, dated June 30th
Project VLC Media Plugin Viewer, version 4.0.6.316258, dated June 15th – replaces the QuickTime media plugin for the Windows viewer with one based on LibVLC
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.
Despite the holiday in the US for July 4th (which has previously pushed server deployments back 24 hours), the Main (SLS) deployment did in fact take place on Tuesday, July 5th. This was the server maintenance package previously deployed to the three RC channels in week #26, comprising the following fixes:
BUG-11836 Increase max animation size – animation files up to 250Kb can now be uploaded
BUG-6035 (non-public) LSL email registration (for receiving email from outside the region) can break without automatic recovery.
There was no planned RC deployment on Wednesday, July 6th.
SL Viewer
As expected, the Inventory Message viewer, version 4.0.6.315555 (dated May 23rd) was promoted to the de facto release viewer on Tuesday, July 5th. This viewer sees the removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer. Pending its adoption by third-party viewers, it will also eventually see the removal of server-side support for these messages, most likely towards the end of 2016.
Currently, this leaves the official viewer line-up, RC and project, as follows:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.316883, dated June 24th –bug fixes and updates
Project viewers:
Visual Outfit Browser project viewer, version 4.0.6.316422, dated July 1st – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater. Expected to be updated to release candidate status soon
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 4.1.0.317313, dated July 1st – Oculus Rift DK2 + CV-1 support. However, this update appears to have significant issues, see below for more
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions) viewer, version 5.0.0.317134, dated June 30th
Project VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316258, dated June 15th – replaces the QuickTime media plugin for the Windows version of the viewer with one based on LibVLC
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.
Oculus Rift Project viewer 4.1.0.317313
There appear to be significant issues with this project viewer, which is intended to support both the DK-2 and CV-1 versions of the Oculus Rift headset. For further information, please refer to the following links:
There was not deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, June 21st.
On Wednesday, June 20th, the three RC channels were updated with the same new server maintenance package, comprising minor internal changes and Tool Tip/Constant text fixes.
The RC update includes a fix for BUG-18251, and a further fix for the Bento attachment issue documented in BUG-10979, which doesn’t change Bento models or how avatars are rendered by the viewer.
SL Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer updated on Friday, June 24th to version 4.0.6.316883.
The remaining official viewers were not updated during the week, leaving them as follows:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117 (dated May 11), May 18 – 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
Project viewers:
Project VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316258, dated June 15th – replaces the QuickTime media plugin for the Windows viewer with one based on LibVLC
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.316366, dated June 10th – bug fixes
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.
Larger Animation File Sizes
There has been a long-standing request to increase the file size for animations, a request which has been enhanced by the development within Bento, where there is now a far larger number of bones to be pushed around (see BUG-11836).
While the Lab had been open to this idea, it looked as if any change would be deferred until after the back-end services had been updated to deliver animation assets via the Content Delivery Network (CDN), which at the time of writing is used to deliver meshes and textures to the viewer.
However, the Lab has now decided to bring this change forward, rather than wait for the move to the CDN. As this is a server-side update, it is currently due to be in the Release Candidate channel updates for Wednesday, June 29th (from Caleb Linden, talking at the Server Beta User Group meeting on Thursday, June 23rd). This will see the animation file size limit raised from 120Kb to 250Kb.
One thing to bear in mind however, is that until animations are moved to CDN delivery (where they should enjoy somewhat faster delivery to your viewer on a first-time load), they will be delivered to your viewer via UDP, and the larger file size, as it comes into use, will probably mean a slightly longer delay before animations kick-in while they are being downloaded. Obviously, once caches locally, this should be an issue (unless you clear cache).
Vir Linden discussed this change at the Bento Project meeting, and I’m including the audio extract from that meeting below.
There was not deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, June 21st.
On Wednesday, June 20th, the three RC channels should be updated with the same new server maintenance package, comprising minor internal changes and Tool Tip/Constant text fixes.
The RC update includes a fix for BUG-18251, and a further fix for the Bento attachment issue documented in BUG-10979, which doesn’t change Bento models or how avatars are rendered by the viewer.
SL Viewer
There have been no updates to the Lab’s viewers so far this week, leaving the list currently as:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117 (dated May 11), May 18 – formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Release channel cohorts:
Maintenance RC viewer, 4.0.6.316614 dated June 16th
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 VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316258, dated June 15th – replaces the QuickTime media plugin for the Windows viewer with one based on LibVLC
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.316366, dated June 10th – bug fixes
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated on October 13, 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.
In terms of the Oculus Rift viewer, speaking at the SL13B Meet the Lindens event on Tuesday, June 21st, Ebbe Altberg indicated that he’s been invited to a demonstration of the updated viewer. This doesn’t necessarily mean the viewer will be updated in the Oculus project channel immediately, but it might be taken as a sign of the continuing progress with the viewer.
Other Items
Utility Server Maintenance
There will be further maintenance on a cluster of the Lab’s utility servers on Wednesday June 22nd, at 01:00 SLT. During this time:
Residents served by the cluster may be logged off of Second Life, and unable to relog until the maintenance is complete
Resident groups served by the cluster may be unable to send messages or initiate group chats during the maintenance.
Users are advised to monitor the Lab’s Grid Status Twitter feed at @SLGridStatus. This is reportedly the last phase of current Utility Server Maintenance work, with previous phases occurring on June 17th and June 21st. While it is only speculation on my part, I suspect this work might be in connection with the core database cluster issues experienced on Friday, June 10th.
CTRLALTStudio Withdraws from Third Party Viewer Directory
The Oculus Rift supporting CtrlAltStudio viewer has withdrawn from the Second Life Third-Party Viewer Directory following an announcement by its developer, Strachan OFarrel (aka David Rowe), in which he states that while the viewer remains available for download, it is no longer being maintained.
Many thanks to Dave for his work in developing CtrlAltStudio and for his ongoing work with High Fidelity.
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”
There was no deployment to either the LeTigre or BlueSteel Release Candidate channels
After being in doubt (see part 1 of this report), the Magnum RC deployment did take place. This contained the same code as is currently on the RCs, other than some additional diagnostic code executed when some enters a region.
SL Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer updated on Thursday, June 16th to version 4.0.6.316614, which includes two additional fixes:
MAINT-6446 Correct password length handling to match web sites
MAINT-6486 Recompile Scripts does not process beyond first object/prim.
The VLC Media plug-in project viewer updated to version 4.0.6.316258 on June 15th, which includes on additional fix:
MAINT-6488 [Win LibVLC] After using a drop down list on a web page, it remains stuck on-screen even when URL is changed.
All other viewers remain unchanged:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117 (dated May 11), May 18 – 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
Project viewers:
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.316366, dated June 10th
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
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 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
Group Ban / Chat
A major annoyance among many groups is that when an irritant is banned / ejected from a group whilst already engaged in group chat, they can continue to engage in the chat session until they close the group chat session window / tab – see SVC-32. However, an upcoming change to the group chat services, currently undergoing testing on Aditi, will change this.
While subject to change prior to going live, the updates on Aditi worked so that:
If a person banned or ejected is in the same region as the person banning them, the banned individual sees a dialogue box displayed over their group chat:
Group chat warning following a group ban / ejection when in the same region as the person carrying out the banning / ejection
When they click on OK, the dialogue clears and the group chat closes. The group should also be removed from their group list, preventing them from re-joining the chat.
If the person being banned / ejected is in a different region to the person banning / ejecting them, there is no dialogue box displayed over their group chat. Instead, the chat window remains open, but any attempts to post chat messages result in the system message:
Message displayed when attempting to continue to use and open group chat after being banned / ejected from a group, when in a region different to that of the person banning you
The group will also remain in their group list until such time as they re-log. However, if they close the chat window and attempt to re-join it, they will receive the following message:
Message displayed on attempting to close / reopen the group chat after having been banned / ejected from a group
Currently, it appears as if this update will be included in a main grid Release Candidate update for week #25 (commencing Monday, June 20th).
Bento Fix
A fix for BUG10979 – “Scripted attachments attached to the new enhanced skeleton attachment points show as worn on ‘Invalid Attachment Point’ in the script limits floater” is available for testing on Aditi on the Fire Ant 1 region, if anyone wishes to try the fix. If all goes according to plan, it should also be on the main grid in a Release Candidate server maintenance package in week #25.
With thanks to Rex Cronon for the SBUG meeting chat tanscript.
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.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 