There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, January 12th. On Wednesday, January 13th, all three RC channels should receive the same sever maintenance package comprising:
Feature Request: llGetObjectDetails() constant OBJECT_TOTAL_INVENTORY_COUNT – when targeting an object, OBJECT_TOTAL_INVENTORY_COUNT will return the total of all inventory types in each link of the linkset. See BUG-10575 for further details
Feature Request: llGetObjectDetails() constant OBJECT_PRIM_COUNT – provides a means to get a worn attachment’s prim count (rather than just returning 0). See BUG-10646 for further details.
Simulator crash fixes.
SL Viewer
So far, no promotions or updates to the current batch of RC and project viewers, leaving the list as it stood in week #1:
Current Release version: 4.0.0.309247, December 17, 2015 – formerly the Chromium Embedded Framework RC viewer download page, release notes
RC viewers:
Project Azumarill (HTTP updates) RC viewer, version 4.0.1.309333, dated January 5th
Quick Graphics (Avatar complexity & graphics presets) RC viewer, version 4.0.1.309320, dated January 5th
Maintenance (30+ fixes and improvements) RC viewer, version 4.0.1.309460, dated January 5th
Vivox (Voice fixes and improvements) RC viewer, version 3.8.7.307744, dated November 17, 2015
Project viewers:
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions) version 5.0.0.309171, dated December 16, 2015
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13th, 2015
Obsolete platform viewer (SL access for Win XP / Mac OS X10.6 users), version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8, 2015.
During the last TPV Developer meeting of 2015, it had been indicated that the Vivox RC viewer and the HTTP RC viewer were being merged into a single offering. If this is still the case, we can likely expect the updated RC viewer to be appearing soon.
Weekend Issues
For those who may have missed it, April Linden from the Lab’s Operation’s team (who are responsible for trying to keep the grid available 24/7), provided a blog post on the issues Second Life experienced over the weekend of January 9th / 10th 2016, which I also covered in a separate blog post.
The weekly scheduled server deployments will not resume until week #2 of 2016 (week commencing Monday, January 11th), when there should be a deployment to the three release candidate channels.
SL Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer was updated on Tuesday, January 5th to version 4.0.1.309460. This sees MAINT-5760 “Favourites sort order reverts every session and no favourites display at the login screen for single name “Resident” accounts” removed from the resolved issues list.
The Quick Graphics RC viewer (graphics preset options and Avatar Complexity) updated to version 4.0.1.309320, also on Tuesday, January 5th. This sees the addition of two further fixes to the resolved issues list:
MAINT-5541 “[QuickGraphics] 0 complexity avatar renders as jelly”
MAINT-5567 “[QuickGraphics] A mesh attachment causes avatar to be jellybaby while Avatar complexity is set to No Limit”.
Login Failures – Friends List Updates
People have been experiencing log-in failures recently, which appear to be related to issues as the viewer loads / updates the Friends list as a part of the log-in process (see BUG-11032 and BUG-11127).
The log-in failure issue generates s generic error message
The problem is account-specific, and when I asked Oz and Simon Linden about the problem, and whether a more permanent resolution might be forthcoming, during the simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday, January 5th, Oz replied, “yes, we think we understand what’s up with that… fix is in the works”, although he declined to elaborate further.
In the meantime the advice remains as specified by Alexa Linden on BUG-11032: if you are unable to log in as a result of the problem, you will need to file a support ticket explaining the problem and noting it is a Friends List Login Failure. Support should then be able to fix your account.
Project Bento
There’s no major news on Project Bento beyond what I’ve already reported to date. However, given the project is now in a public beta, user group meetings associated with the project are now open to all as well.
Meetings will take place on Aditi at Mesh Sandbox 2 (note that is an Aditi, location, not the main grid) at 13:00 SLT every Thursday, with the first public meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 7th. In announcing the meetings, Oz Linden also requested those who have any available, to bring example content using the new avatar skeleton extensions along to the meetings (but do notes the region is rated General!).
In the meantime, Cathy Foil, one of the content creators involved in Bento has produced video explaining how the work was handled within the initial development group,
Aditi Password Changes
As I noted in my 2015 week #51 project updates report, there are changes coming in the way Aditi inventory syncs with Agni are handled, which will also affect Aditi password changes. These changes are still to be deployed, so in the meantime, anyone wishing to change their password on Aditi should do so via a support ticket.
Those wishing to attend the Project Bento meeting on Aditi and who have not logged into the beta grid for a while, many want to check that they can in advance of Thursday, January 7th, and if necessary file a support ticket requesting a password update, as noted above.
Object_Rezzer_Key
Object_Rezzer_Key is a new parameter which is to be added to llGetObjectDetails() early in the New Year. It will allow a rezzed object to find the key of its parent rezzer, then use llRegionSayTo() to chat back to that parent – see my 2015 Project updates: server and Project Bento report for more.
Commenting on this work at the Simulator User Group meeting, Simon said:
OBJECT_REZZER_KEY is in QA and the release process … if things go steady, it would see the beta grid later this week or next, and possibly RC in 2 weeks. That’s all tentative, of course. … OBJECT_TOTAL_INVENTORY_COUNT and OBJECT_PRIM_COUNT are in the next release (before that one).
On Tuesday, December 22nd, the Main (SLS) channel received the same server maintenance project previously deployed to the three RC channels. This comprises crash and internal simulator fixes; LSL HTTP requests accessing data sources that require non-text Accept headers (such as the Destination Guide); and updates to group member counts to help deal with recent group database issues.
SL Viewer
With the no change window now in effect, no updates are anticipated with any of the current crop of official viewers until after Monday, January 4th, 2016. These are:
Release viewer, version: 4.0.0.309247, dated December 17th – formerly the Chromium Embedded Framework RC viewer – release notes
Project Azumarill (HTTP updates) RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308134 dated November 25th – release notes
Vivox (voice fixes) RC viewer, version 3.8.7.307744, dated November 17th – release notes
Quick Graphics (Avatar Complexity and graphics presets) RC viewer, version 3.8.7.306758, dated November 12th – release notes
Maintenance RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308556, dated December 3rd – release notes
Project Bento (avatar skeleton enhancement) viewer, version 5.0.0.309171, dated December 17th – release notes
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13th – release notes
Obsolete platform viewer (for users of Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7), version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8th – release notes
It is anticipated the HTTP RC viewer and the Vivox RC viewer will be released as a single RC viewer very early in 2016.
Project Bento
Abramelin Wolfe of Abranimations fame has issued a viewer demonstrating the enhanced Project Bento skeleton using mocap finger data – watch the avatar’s fingers!
Commenting on the video at the last Simulator User Group meeting for 2015, Simon Linden said, “that video is cool :)”!
Bone Translation and Rotation
As reported in my week 51 project updates, I reported how the Lab was asking for more detailed feedback on specific requirements animators and creators felt they might need with the Bento skeleton. The comment, made by Oz Linden, came after Vir Linden responded to feedback relating to bone translation through animations, rather than relying purely on rotation with the facial bones (as is currently the case).
These comments have led to more comprehensive feedback through the Bento discussion forum thread, including two videos by Raz Welles, and animated GIF examples from others, demonstrating the need for translation as well as rotation to achieve various results with facial expressions. However, the Lab would still prefer specific examples to be reported in detail (e.g. on the JIRA), with the appropriate files supplied, as Oz Linden again notes on the forum. He goes on to point out as well, that it isn’t just “new stuff” the Lab is looking to offer through Bento:
I’ve seen a number of posts here that include some variation on “we have always had to do XYZ this way because of the SOMETHING bug, and so we can’t do SO-AND-SO” (for example, joint offsets not loading correctly). If there are existing issues that are directly related to Bento (like joint offsets not loading correctly), we’d like to get them fixed so that we can get some of these obstacles out of the way. So, if you’ve got one, please describe it (see previous paragraph – concrete examples we can experiment with) by filing a BUG in JIRA (put [Bento] in the Summary). References to long-standing issues are ok; we’re not only trying to do new things, we’re trying fix at least some old ones too.
Some attending the Simulator User Group meetings have expressed a hope that Bento might offer (or pave the way for) animated objects which could use the skeleton. This would provide a means to provide NPCs and creatures which are not necessarily reliant on bots (see SH-2642 as a rough example of this kind of suggestion as well). responding to this at the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday, December 22nd, Oz said:
Skeletons for non-avatar objects are out of scope for this round. It’s an obvious improvement that would be good to do someday; whether and when is not currently knowable.
Asked if filing a feature request would be appropriate, he added, “I’m pretty sure we’ve got several variations on that request, but one more certainly won’t hurt.”
Overall the Bento discussion is healthy, although how it all translates into actionable items with regards to the new avatar skeleton extensions remains to be seen. As the Lab has indicated, hopefully there will still be plenty of opportunity to put forward and test further ideas, examples and suggestions during the first part of the New Year to help improve what is currently being offered.
Object_Rezzer_Key
Object_Rezzer_Key is a new parameter which is to be added to llGetObjectDetails() early in the New Year. It will allow a rezzed object to find the key of its parent rezzer, then use llRegionSayTo() to chat back to that parent. It’s an option which has come up for discussion at User Group meetings a number of times, and at the meeting on Tuesday, December 22nd, Simon Linden indicated that it is something he is currently working on.
The parameter will only work with new objects within a region (existing objects will return a null_key when queried), but it should work after restarts and region crossings (incl. teleports), and with objects which are initially attached and then dropped. Full details will be available when the parameter is officially added to llGetObjectDetails() – Simon offered this news at the User Group meeting by way of being a small gift to those who have been requesting it.
Further Scripting Options for Experiences?
Another set of requests frequently put forward is for further scripted capabilities to be added to Experiences – such as more permissions, camera function additions / fixes further attach / detach / switch object options and an increase in memory for compiling Experience scripts. On these, Simon would only say that he has been looking into increasing script memory for Experience, “and ran into a really sticky problem … how to deal with it when the object goes outside the experience… how it should behave when you go outside the experience area.”
Oz Linden also stated, “Without trying to guess which changes we might make (because I have no idea yet), it has been noted that Experiences gives us some more latitude to provide script capabilities we would not have before because of griefing potential.”
So, it will be interesting to see what might lie in store for Experiences once the Lab are willing to reveal more about what they have planned, and what actually made it into those plans.
On Tuesday, December 15th, the Main (SLS) channel received the server maintenance package previously deployed to all three RC channels. This package comprises simulator crash fixes (including one for the issue found during the original final testing of the package in week #49) and implements feature request BUG-10192: adding constant OBJECT_OMEGA to llGetObjectDetails(), so that it can return a vector matching what is returned with llGetOmega(), allowing applications to determine an object’s rate and axis of rotation.
On Wednesday, December 16th the three RC channels should all receive the same new server maintenance package, comprising:
A simulator crash fix and internal fixes
LSL HTTP requests can access data sources that require non-text Accept headers (such as the Destination Guide)
Some of the group member counts as reported in the viewer will now be larger. These member counts will include inactive users, and will only updated on a daily basis. This change is to help with some of the problems we have encountered recently with group functions.
This last item is intended to help with the group database issues I reported on in my last project updates report.
SL Server
There have been no updates within the viewer release channel, leaving things as they were in the latter half of week #50:
Release viewer: 3.8.6.305981, dated October 26 and formally the Notifications RC viewer
Valhalla RC viewer, version 4.0.0.308641 and dated December 7th, comprising the Chromium embedded Framework updates to replace LLQTwebit
Maintenance RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308556 and dated December 3rd, comprising over 30 fixes, updates and enhancements
Azumarill RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308134 and dated November 25th. comprising a complete replacement of the under the hood HTTP infrastructure within the viewer
Vivox RC viewer, version 3.8.7.307744 and dated November 17th, comprising a number of Voice quality and connection issues on both Windows and the Mac
Quick Graphics RC viewer, version 3.8.7.306758 and dated November 12th, containing the new Avatar complexity code and the ability to create, save and load graphics presets – see here for more.
As there has not been any TPV Developer meeting in the last three weeks, it is hard to determine the overall status of these viewers, or what (if any) the delay is in promoting one of those which had looked set to become the de facto release viewer (the Maintenance viewer looked most likely, following recent issues with the HTTP RC viewer).
Animation Syncing
BUG-7729 is the latest iteration in a long-standing request related to syncing animations, the idea to be to present a consistent view of animations, rather than having animations (e.g. couples dances, etc), either start out of sync or drift out of sync. Commenting on the idea at the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday, December 15th, Simon Linden said:
[It’s] part of a list of script feature requests we’ve looked at and said “that’s a good idea and would be nice to do someday”, and it probably involves a new message between the server and viewer. But I totally agree that it would be nice … I’ve seen way too many funky animations glitches due to them being out of sync.
There is certain information that the viewer has which should allow it to more easily track animations and help to maintain sync being avatars using them; however, things get complicated when the user is camming around, which can cause Interest list updates to come into play, or the arrival / departure of other avatars can have an impact, all of which can cause animations to drift out of sync.
One of the concerns with BUG-7729 is that it could evolve into a fairly major project, involving both server and viewer updates and the potential need for new messages, as Simon notes above, hence why he stated on leading-in to the discussion:
When we pick what to work on, the obvious high priority things are stuff where the grid is breaking (like the group db problems) or crashes or exploits, then it’s a matter of figuring out the best thing for a limited effort .. some projects are just too big.
As such, it would seem that a more economic solution in terms of scale possibly using what information the viewer already has, or what it might do, might be a preferable approach.
Firestorm, for example, already has a Resync Animations button, which can be a one-stop means for someone to resync the animations in their personal view should they show signs of drifting. The suggestion is that something like this, or a simple timed adjustment to sync animations might stand a better chance of implementation, were it to be contributed to the Lab for implementation into the viewer.
There was no Main (SLS) channel deployment on Tuesday, December 8th, following after the update planned for release in week #49 had to be cancelled when a simulator crash bug was uncovered.
On Wednesday, December 9th, all three RC channels should receive the same new server maintenance package, which comprises simulator crash fixes (including one for the issue found during the original final testing of the package in week #49) and implements feature request BUG-10192: adding constant OBJECT_OMEGA to llGetObjectDetails(), so that it can return a vector matching what is returned with llGetOmega(), allowing applications to determine an object’s rate and axis of rotation.
Viewer Updates
On Monday, December 7th, the Valhalla RC viewer, which comprises the Chromium embedded Framework implementation intended to replace LLQTwebkit for handling media in Second Life, was updated to version 4.0.0.308641. This update includes 13 additional fixes when compared to the previous Valhalla RC version:
MAINT-5846 – MOAP audio is too quiet
MAINT-5849 – MOAP does not run if parcel media texture is on same face
MAINT-5852 – Parcel media url can be hijacked from parcel to parcel
MAINT-5855 – media navigation bars overlap all floaters in viewer
MAINT-5856 – toolbar search can be interrupted early get stuck on blank page
MAINT-5859 – Terms of Service are not loading in Linux only
MAINT-5896 – Add support for viewing PDF files in the viewer
MAINT-5901 – Click-to-Walk should work through transparent objects
MAINT-5902 – Qihoo 360 Anti-virus blocks SLPlugin.exe and login page web content
MAINT-5909 – Japanese can’t be input in CEF
MAINT-5911 – Pressing “return” (or “enter”) no longer performs a search
MAINT-5941 – Default flash to on by default.
Other Items
Interest List and “Ghost” Prims
there have been reports at the last couple of Simulator User Group meetings about “ghost prim” – objects which have been deleted / killed via llDie, continuing to render viewer-side, even though they have been removed by the simulator, requiring a right-click to remove them from the viewer’s outlook on the world.
Problems like this aren’t new, and many have encountered them, particularly since the core of the changes made to the Interest List. However, positively identifying what is going wrong where in the code, and why it is going wrong has been proving difficult, as the has not been a consistent means of reproducing the problem. However, it now appears that just such a consistent means of encountering the issue has been found, and a JIRA raised. Hopefully, this means that the Lab will be able to dig a little deeper into things and at least rectify the problem for some of the situations where “ghost prims” can be encountered.
Join / Leave Group Failures
There have been significant issues with people attempting to join or leave groups recently – see BUG-10869. The problems are apparently caused by a back-end database overload within the group services,
There are many issues in handling large groups which can be problematic: number of members, number of inactive users, impact of changes to things like established group roles (and the numbers of group members they affect), and so on. These are all largely down to the way the back-end group services were originally designed, something which is not the easiest of issues to overcome, as Simon Linden explained at the at the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday, December 8th:
It’s a long story, actually, but comes down to scaling issues and design. It doesn’t make sense that we basically treat a group with 100k people in it the same as 10 people . There are some things that just take more time with a large group.
However, Simon is looking into the problems, as he did with the issues of group chat earlier in the year, which so that side of things dramatically improved, but there is currently no ETA on when any fix / fixes might be issued.
No Change Window
Subject to official confirmation by the Lab, week #51 (week commencing Monday, December 14th) is liable to mark the last week in which simulator and viewer releases will be made ahead of the Christmas / New Year “no change window” coming into force, which will probably remain in place until approximately the week commencing Monday, January 4th, 2016.
The no change window is intended to ensure the grid and viewer are both relatively stable, so that the Lab can offer support, engineering and operations staff time off over the holiday period to be with their families and friends.
The technical news is very light for week #49, hence my lack of updates as the week progressed.
There were no simulator deployments during the week. A new server maintenance package had been planned for deployment to the three RC channels, but this suffered a last-minute postponement do to a simulator crash situation being discovered if a simulator spins-up with a specific debug mode enabled.
As a result of this cancellation, there is unlikely to be a Main (SLS) channel roll in week 50, although the RC update should see deployment. After that, with the Christmas / New Year no change window rising over the horizon, further simulator updates are liable to be conspicuous in their absence until early 2016.
The viewer has been similarly quiet during the week, with only the Maintenance RC being updated, with version 3.8.7.308556 being released on December 3rd. There was (again) no RC promotion to release status for any viewer, thus leaving the usual suspects in the viewer release channel:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308556, dated December 3rd, as noted above. Some 38 fixes and improvements, including updates for some regressions introduced into the viewer with the current release viewer
Project Azumarill (HTTP updates) RC viewer, version 3.8.7.308134, dated November 25th, which provides a complete replacement of the under the hood HTTP infrastructure within the viewer
Project Valhalla (CEF media update) RC viewer, version 4.0.0.307894 dated November 18th, which replaces the LLQTWebKit functionality used in the Web media plugin with one based on the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF)
Vivox RC viewer, version 3.8.7.307744, dated November 17th, which corrects a number of Voice quality and connection issues on both Windows and Mac
Quick Graphics RC viewer, version 3.8.7.306758, dated November 12th, which provides the new Avatar Complexity options and graphics preset capabilities for setting, saving and restoring graphic settings for use in difference environments / circumstances.
The two potential candidates for promotion to release status would seem to be either the HTTP RC viewer or the Maintenance viewer. However, the former’s promotion would appear to be dependent upon whether the remaining niggles have been ironed out to the Lab’s satisfaction, and the later on whether the most recent RC update gathers sufficient stats to indicate whether it is ripe for promotion.
There were assorted reports of issues with teleports, etc., through the first part of the week, and during the Server Beta User Group meeting, the question was asked by Caleb Linden if people had noticed an increased rate of teleport issues / failures, suggesting the Lab may have noticed something going awry.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 