Category: TPVD / Open Source User Group

SL project updates 16 4/2: TPVD meeting

Posted on by Inara Pey

High Water; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr High Water (Flickr) – blog post

The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, January 29th, 2016. At the time of the meeting, Second Life was experience voice issues, and so the meeting was held in text. However, the meeting was still recorded and is available here. The following notes have been taken from the chat log of the meeting.

Server Deployments – Recap

As always, check the server deployment thread for the latest updates.

On Tuesday, January 26th, the Main (SLS) channel received server maintenance package 16.01.16.310114, previously deployed to the three RC channels, comprising a simulator crash fix and feature request OBJECT_REZZER_KEY) for llGetObjectDetails(), which returns the parent_id (object or avatar) of any task in the region. The function only works for those objects rezzed in-world after the code deployment (objects in-world prior to deployment will return NULL_KEY).

On Wednesday, January 27th, the three RC channels all received a new server maintenance package,16.01.21.310177, comprising Internal simulator fixes and a fix for BUG-1313 “LSL llSetPos in root prim of attachment behaves differently at high altitudes – viewer does not show updates”, which can cause attachments to fail to update correctly at altitudes over approximately 1500 metres.

SL Viewer Updates

HTTP / Vivox

The HTTP / Vivox RC updated to version 4.0.2.310349 on Wednesday, January 27th, which sees the addition of MAINT-5977, “Create a MailDrop event pump”  to the list of resolved issues, and the removal of MAINT-6055, “[corehttp] Mac – voice does not stay connected on resume from sleep”.

Quick Graphics

The Quick Graphics RC viewer (currently version 4.0.2.310127, dated January 20th), is getting some fixes to more accurately account for Materials, and possibly some other tweaks to how Avatar Complexity is calculated. The update should be appearing in the release channel soon.

One problem yet to be fixed within this viewer is an issue whereby avatars will still appear as solid colour jelly babies even when the Avatar Complexity slider in the viewer is set to “no limit” (which in theory should render all avatars normally). Commenting on whether or not this will be fixed, Oz noted:

The problem with those cases is that there are 2 more factors that go into making the avatar a coloured impostor, and they’re not obvious enough. We will probably change the thresholds on those, and maybe make the response to them different somehow.

When asked if those who have suitable systems will have the means to disable Avatar Complexity from running in their viewer (i.e. never see jelly babies unless the capability is expressly re-enabled) should the above issue not be resolved, Oz indicated this is a possibility, but is still to be decided.

Maintenance RC

A further Maintenance RC viewer is on the horizon, with what is described as a “nice set of fixes”. This should also be appearing in the release channel in the near future.

Project Viewers

The Project Bento viewer continues to be worked on, and the Lab is trying to move things towards a “final” (for this phase of the work) selection of additional bones – see my separate report on the Bento project for details.

Work is all under way in updating the Oculus Rift project viewer, with an update expected in the near future. The indication is that this will be built to the 1.x SDK. Oz also indicated that the Lab is potentially looking at how many alternative HMDs they might be able to support with the viewer, including “taking a whack” at Google Cardboard support.

64-bit Viewer Builds

As noted in my last TPVD update, the Lab is starting work on 64-bit versions of their Mac and windows viewers. There is no time frame as to when the first project / TC versions might appear, but it does also mean that there will be a 64-bit viewer Havoc library made available to TPVs in due course. However, this may take a while to appear.

Mac Builds

Currently, the Lab is using OS X 10.10.5 and Xcode 7.x for Mac builds, but are working to resolve a cmake file issue in order to build on OS X 10.11.2 or greater. This requires the Lab to re-arrange the order in which the current build tests are run to ensure the required libraries can be located as the integration tests can be successfully run.

Vivox Exploits

There is still concern over Vivox voice exploits being employed by some users. One example of this is a user located on one region being able to listen in on conversations on another region without showing up on active speakers list for that region.

The problem here is that the weaknesses allowing these types of exploits tend to be within the code package supplied by Vivox, and over which LL has no direct control. They therefore require action on Vivox’s part to fix them. This is something Oz pointed out at the TPVD meeting, before going on to note that the Lab will continue to work with Vivox to get things corrected.

Other Items

Older Viewers

There are a number of changes which are being implemented throughout 2016 which will make older versions of viewers increasingly obsolete. These include further inventory improvements and the deprecation of outdated inventory messages which will impact older viewers and, most notably the switch to TLS 1.2, which is already available in the current release of the official viewer (and those TPVs adopting the CEF code base from the Lab).

As I noted (via a comment from Oz) in my last TPVD meeting report for 2015,  this switch-over is being driven out of compliance requirements, rather than for any technical reason. However, what it does mean that once it occurs – mostly likely in the spring – any viewer which does not support TLS 1.2 will be unable to carry out any interactions with the SL Cashier or anything that involves money, as there will be no back-end support.

Third-Party Viewer Releases

  • Catznip updated to release R10.0 for Windows only (at present) on Saturday, January 30th. This release brings Catznip back up to date with more recent code releases from the Lab, and I’ll have a review available shortly. Catznip users should note that R9 will be blocked from mid-February
  • Alchemy will be releasing an update “imminently”
  • Firestorm’s next release continues to look set for around early March.

 

SL project updates 16 2/2: SBUG / TPVD and 64-bit official viewers

Posted on by Inara Pey

Furillen; Inara Pey, December 2015, on FlickrFurillen (Flickr) – blog post

The following notes are primarily taken from the Server Beta User Group meeting of Thursday, January 14th and the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, January 15th, 2016. A video of the meeting is included at the end of this report, my thanks as always to North for the video recording and providing it for embedding.

Server Deployments – Recap

There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, January 12th. On Wednesday, January 13th, all three RC channels received 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.

RC Server Deployment Week #3

The RC server deployment scheduled for week #3 (week commencing Monday, January 18th), should include the feature request for llGetObjectDetails ( myKey, [OBJECT_REZZER_KEY] ), which returns the parent_id of any task in the region:

  • If the object came from an object rezzer it returns the ID of the parent object
  • If it was rezzed by an avatar, it returns the agent ID of the avatar.

It will only return details for those objects rezzed in-world after the code has been implemented. Objects already in-world prior to deployment will be ignored (NULL_KEY is returned).

SL Viewer Updates

[00:30] The Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.1.310054, was promoted to de facto release status on Friday, January 15. This view comprises some 38 fixes and improvements, including updates for some regressions introduced into the viewer with the previous release viewer, and some CEF bugs.

The Project Azumarill HTTP updates RC viewer and the Vivox voice updates RC viewer have been merged into a single release candidate, version 4.0.1.309943, release on Thursday, January 14th, 2016. This is expected to be updated in the next week to deal with a further issue, after which it is anticipated it will be promoted relatively soon to the de facto release viewer.

[01:43] The Quick Graphics RC (Avatar Complexity and graphics presets) is still undoing further refinement, particularly in the way that Avatar Complexity is calculated as a result of feedback provided by users testing the current RC version (4.0.1.309320 at the time of writing).

[0213] There is an update to the Oculus Rift project viewer (3.7.18.295296 at the time of writing) in progress, but no ETA on when it will appear.

Project Bento (Avatar Skeleton Extensions)

Main update: Project Bento User Group update 2 with audio

Issues with the Bento project viewer are viewed as a priority by the Lab. However, no time frames are being set for updates as the project is very much still in beta on Aditi.

There will be a “show and tell” event on Aditi on Tuesday, January 19th, where content creators working the new avatar skeleton extensions will be demonstrating their work for an upcoming episode of The Drax Files World Makers, which takes a look behind the scenes at the project.

CEF and 64-bit Official Viewers

[12:00] The switch to CEF has forced the Lab to re-think its position on 64-bit viewers. Essentially, the CEF code comes as a package, and those producing it ceased supporting Mac 32-bit a while ago (so CEF on the Mac viewer from the Lab is actually a release or so behind the version on Windows).

As a result, the Lab has started on a 64-bit viewer build project, which includes both Windows and Mac. It is possible that as a result of this, and once the 64-bit versions of the viewer are ready to go, the Lab may cease in offering a 32-bit Mac version of the viewer (obviously Windows will continue to be offered in both 32-, and 64-bit flavours).

The 64-bit versions of the official viewer will include 64-bit specific contributions from TPV developers, and Oz has also requested that a number of other open-source contributions which have been languishing since submission are folded into the project.

Aditi Log-in Issues and Inventory Syncing

[06:40] There are still issues being experienced by some people when logging-in to Aditi, which see them redirected to a “safe” zone (most frequently ACME H), rather than to their last log-in point. This is still subject to investigation by the Lab.

The new process for inventory syncing (see my report from 2015 week #52 for full details) between Agni and Aditi still has yet to be implemented. In essence, once this comes into effect, a password change will no longer trigger any syncing between your Agni and Aditi inventories. Instead, logging-in to Aditi will flag your account for inventory syncing. This takes place overnight (Pacific time), and cause your Agni inventory to be merged with your Aditi inventory, rather than overwriting it, thus preserving content unique to your Aditi inventory.

In the meantime, if you need your inventories syncing between the two grids, file a support ticket requesting a manual synchronising of inventories.

Continue reading “SL project updates 16 2/2: SBUG / TPVD and 64-bit official viewers” →

SL project updates: 51/2: TPVD meeting, Aditi inventory changes

Posted on by Inara Pey

Whispering Wind; Inara Pey, December 2015, on FlickrWhispering Wind (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The following notes are primarily taken from the Server Beta User Group meeting of Thursday, December 17th and the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, December 18th 2015. A video of the meeting is included at the end of this report, my thanks as always to North for the video recording and providing it for embedding.

Server Deployments – Recap

  • On Tuesday, December 15th, the Main (SLS) channel received the server maintenance package previously deployed to all three RC channels, comprising simulator crash fixes, and implementing feature request  BUG-10192.
  • On Wednesday, December 16th the three RC channels all received the same new server maintenance package, comprising crash and internal simulator fixes, LSL HTTP requests accessing data sources that require non-text Accept headers (such as the Destination Guide), updates to group member counts to help deal with recent group database issues.

There will be a further main (SLS) deployment on Tuesday, December 22nd, which will mark the final scheduled deployment for 2015.

SL Viewer Updates

Release Viewer

On Thursday, December 17th, the Chromium Embedded Framework viewer was promoted to the de facto release viewer, version 4.0.0.309247. This viewer replaces the ageing LLQTWebKit system used in the Web media plugin with a new one based on the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) that supports modern web technologies.

RC Viewers

The Vivox and HTTP RC viewers, currently version 3.8.7.307744 and 3.8.7.308134 respectively, are being merged into a single release candidate. This RC will also include the CEF updates, and the remaining Maintenance (currently version ) and Quick Graphics (currently version 3.8.7.308556) RCs will also be updated to include the CEF changes.

However, again due to the annual Christmas / New Year no change window, no further viewer releases are anticipated before the week commencing Monday, January 4th, 2016.

TLS 1.2 Implementation

As well as supporting the Chromium Embedded Framework  capabilities for media, the latest release viewer (4.0.0.309247, as noted above) also sees the LL viewer fully support TLS 1.2, which is an important point for TPVs to note, as Oz explained at the TPV Developer meeting:

That is going to be critical by next spring. Anything that does not support TLS 1.2, will not be able to do any interactions with cashier or anything that involves money. This isn’t optional on our part or just an arbitrary choice on our part, this is a compliance requirement. so, be looking for that in your own stuff; if you don’t support TLS 1.2, your users won’t be able to do anything that involves money, because we will have switched off everything earlier than that server-side.

When this change comes into effect, it will mean those users accustomed to using very old versions of viewers are going to have to move to currently supported versions of those viewer if they wish to do anything involving money.

Project Bento

On Wednesday, December 16th, the Lab issues the Project Bento viewer, version 5.0.0.309171, offering an enhanced Second life avatar skeleton. This viewer and the associated support for it, is currently in open beta, and can be tested using the Aditi (beta grid). You can read the Lab’s announcement, and my own initial coverage as background.

The project did come up for discussion at the Third Party Developer meeting on Thursday, December 18th, and I’ve provided a separate report on the matters discussed.

Aditi Inventory Syncing

Recently, people have been experiencing assorted issues when attempting to log-in to Aditi, the beta grid (see here for an example).  As a result of these various issues, the Lab has made changes to the Aditi log-in process, and one of these changes will affect how inventory is synced between the two grids.

Up until now, inventory syncing between the two grids (so that your inventory on Aditi matches your inventory on Agni) has been a manual process: change your Second Life log-in password and this triggers an update to your Aditi inventory (which could take 24-48 hours to apply).

With the new update, which will be coming into effect in the near future, changing your password no longer triggers an Aditi inventory update. Instead, a new methodology is employed, as Coyot Linden explained at the Server Beta meeting on Thursday, December 17th:

The current method of syncing accounts from Agni to Aditi has … issues,  even when you wanted it to happen, it sometimes wouldn’t and when it did it overwrote inventory. Now, there are two major differences: 1. It MERGES AGNI inventory into ADITI inventory instead of overwriting; 2. It is based on whoever has logged into ADITI in the last 24 hours when it runs in the middle of the night SLT. No changing passwords any more.

The merging means that items unique to people’s inventories on Aditi (items they have created there but not replicated on Agni) will no longer be overwritten. However, duplicates of items will not result from the merge, as Oz Linden explained:

If an item is only on Aditi, it will still only be on Aditi; if it was only on Agni, it will be added to Aditi, if it was on both you will have just one copy on each grid … When you “modify” an object, you’re really making a new object, so yes, it knows that it has been modified… they are no longer the same object.

The upshot of this is that as this update comes into effect, changing your SL password will no longer trigger your Aditi inventory being overwritten by your Agni inventory; instead, a nightly process will run automatically, and anyone who has logged into Aditi since the last time the process ran will have their Agni inventory merged into their Aditi inventory. If you are logged-in when the process runs, a re-log will be necessary to see the updated inventory.

Continue reading “SL project updates: 51/2: TPVD meeting, Aditi inventory changes” →

SL project updates 45/2: TPV Developer meeting

Posted on by Inara Pey
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint Michel

The following notes are primarily taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, November 6th 2015. A video of the meeting is included at the end of this report, and time stamps to it are provided. My thanks as always to North for the video recording and providing it for embedding.

Server Deployments Week 45 – Recap

  • On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Main (SLS) channel received the server maintenance package previously deployed to BlueSteel and LeTigre, comprising a simulator crash fix
  • On Wednesday, November 4th, all three RC channel received a new server maintenance package comprising a fix for group invite throttle notifications, and an internal server code clean-up.

Following the main channel deployment, issues were variously reported with llHTTPRequest returning NULL_KEY even when it should not be throttled (see BUG-10627). The issue was initially noted with skill gaming mechanisms, but has also been encountered by those using Sculpt Studio, and reportedly with breedable systems.

SL Viewer Updates

[0:20] A further Maintenance RC viewer due to be released in week #46, which includes a range of fixes, including some for the regressions present within the current de facto release viewer (version 3.8.6.305981).

It currently appears that the next viewer promotion to release status will either be this maintenance viewer or the HTTP viewer – however the promotion is unlikely to occur in week #46, due to the Maintenance RC only just having been released and because the HTTP viewer his a number of issues to be resolved – see below.

Quick Graphics RC Viewer

[0:35] There are still issues with this viewer which although described as “nothing terrible” in the Lab’s view, are sufficient to prevent its promotion in the immediate future.

HTTP (Project Azumarill) RC Viewer

[1:04] There are a number of issues which have been identified by both the Lab and reported by users which are sufficient to block the promotion of this viewer to release status. One of these is an increased number of viewer disconnects on teleporting. The causing of this is proving elusive as it seem to only occur for some people with others never encountering issues. Other significant reported issues include:

  • BUG-10230 – Voice often fails to connect on the Azumarill viewer
  • BUG-10391 – Avatar often bakes fails on Azumarill.

CEF (Project Valhalla) Project Viewer

[1:19] The Chromium Embedded Framework viewer is performing well on Windows in the Lab’s estimation, and is getting “really close” on the Mac. The hope is that this viewer will progress from project status to a release candidate “pretty soon”.

[16:40] There have been some reports of issues with this viewer, including BUG-10598, logged out when tping from one LM to another, which is likely related to the disconnect issues being experienced with the HTTP viewer (both the HTTP viewer and the CEF viewer are closely related).

[17:25] There has been a report of “major” HTML video performance issues (see BUG-10558). However, running 30+ YouTube videos via HTML 5 in a single location is viewed by the Lab as possibly excessive and, as noted on the JIRA, the problem hasn’t been easy to reproduce and the video footage supplied might suggest a problem other than simply with running multiple HTML 5 videos.

Vivox Project Viewer

[1:44] A new project viewer, version 3.8.7.307189, was released on Friday, November 6th. The Vivox project viewer should correct a number of Voice quality and connection issues on both Windows and the Mac.

The Lab requests that anyone who has experience Voice issues to try this viewer, and if it does not resolve their issues to raise a JIRA, being sure to cite this viewer’s version number in the report. Those failing to indicate they have tried the project viewer are liable to be asked to do so, simply because Vivox has asked the Lab not to forward bug reports to them unless they have been tested against the Vivox package included in this viewer. For a list of fixes, please refer to the release notes in the above link.

Simulator Behaviour Changes

Attachment Point Validation

[30:15] As noted in the last TPVD meeting in October, the Lab are shifting a number of validation checks from the viewer to the simulator. One of these is attachment point validation checks, which will mean that attachments attempting to fix itself to an invalid attachment point ID will be attached to the chest by the simulator.

Mesh Upload Validation Checks

[31:15] A further simulator-side check the Lab has been considering would prevent the upload of animations and meshes weighted to valid attachment points. The Lab have been discussing this given the feedback given in October (see also FIRE-17144 and BUG-10543 for feedback as well), and have decided to investigate options further rather than implementing any immediate changes. However, they do note that there is no guarantee the ability to upload meshes weighted in this way will continue in the future.

[32:05] The Lab has made it clear what will be implemented in the near future is a simulator validation check to prevent the upload of animation or mesh items weighted to use joints  /attachment points which are not a part of the recognised set of avatar joints.

Other Items

Gateway API

[22:20] An issue has emerged around the upcoming gateway trial programme which is loosely connected to the avatar updates mentioned above. The new avatars (mesh and “Classic”) are only available via the Lab’s “new” registration API. Currently, the API presented to gateways is the older version, which relies on the default Character Test avatar.

As noted at the TPVD meeting, this could be immediately off-putting to new users entering Second Life through the new trial gateways. However, the Lab appears to be “pretty close” to being able to switch the gateway SPI to using the newer set-up – and this may be one of the reasons the trail gateway programme hasn’t as yet been officially announced.

Firestorm Release

Not directly related to news from the Lab, but the next release of the Firestorm viewer should be around Monday, November 16th or Tuesday, November 17th. However there are still dependencies on this, and it is not a hard set of dates.

SL project updates 43/2: TPV Developer meeting

Posted on by Inara Pey

Belleck House; Inara Pey, Oct 2015, on FlickrBelleck House, Oct 2015 (Flickr) – blog post

The following notes are primarily taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, October 23rd, 2015. A video of the meeting is included at the end of this report, and time stamps to it are provided. My thanks as always to North for the video recording and providing it for embedding.

Deploys for Week #43  – Recap

There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, October 20th. On Wednesday, October 21st, all three RCs should receive the same new server maintenance package, which include server-side improvements for delivering group notice attachments, together with some simulator crash fixes and code to prevent the uploading of “hacked” mesh content (e.g. mesh items which show a LI of 1 no matter what their actual complexity, or which spoof a creator’s name).

SL Viewers

[00:00] There have been no further updates to the SL viewer currently at RC or project status since the update to the Quick Graphics RC, which I covered in part 1 of this week’s report.

It still appears as if the next RC that will be promoted to a de facto release status will be the Notifications RC viewer (currently version 3.8.6.305981), although this won’t be confirmed until the start of week #44.

[00:37] As previously noted, the Quick Graphics and HTTP viewers still have some problems which need to be addressed before either one can proceed forward to release status. So except to see further RC updates to both of these in due course.

[00:54] The Chromium Embedded Framework project viewer is getting some good public testing, and is expected to get some “fairly frequent” updates.

[01:05] The Oculus Rift viewer currently isn’t being worked on, as attention is focused on the other viewers in the various pipelines. However, it is hoped work will resume “pretty soon”.

[01:20] There are further bug fixes and updates in progress, including some fixes for some minor regressions in the current release viewer, and these are getting fast-tracked and will be appearing in a further Maintenance RC in due course.

[15:00] It is likely that when the next release viewer promotion takes place (Notifications viewer), the Lab will block a series of much older versions of their viewer, but not the Obsolete Platforms viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, which they still plan to have available until such time as it simply stops working – although it should be remembered this viewer is already regarded as unsupported by the Lab.

Grid Status Page RSS Feed

[01:58]  In week #31 I reported that the Lab are working to update the Grid Status page RSS feed from RSS version 1 to RSS version 2. As existing web pages, etc., using the feed may need to be adjusted to accept the updated feed format, a proxy URL (http://beta.status.secondlifegrid.net/feed) has been available for testing purposes. It now appears that the switch will be thrown very soon to make the new version 2 RSS feed the default.

Inventory Updates

[02:15] As per  the Lab’s recent SL improvements blog post, the first set of viewer-side updates aimed at improving inventory reliability are being queued up ready to appear in the project viewer. however, these are unlikely to appear before the HTTP updates currently in RC reach a release status. Once the viewer-side changes appear, the Lab will start work on deprecating the outdated inventory messages which are no longer required on the simulator side.

Server-side Upload Checks  for Assets

[02:50] As a part of their overall work in trying to improve reliability within second Life, the Lab is looking to add further server-side checks to ensure viewers aren’t attempting to do anything the simulators aren’t equipped to handle, or which may cause unintended issues or outcomes, etc., for users.

This work will see the introduction of further validation checking on various asset types at upload. An example of this might be checks to ensure animations are what they say they are, further checking of mesh uploads to ensure they can be rendered correctly, etc.

[08:00] In particular with mesh, a simulator check is to be introduced to prevent the upload of mesh items weighted to all attachment points. There has been a viewer-side check designed to prevent such mesh items from being uploaded, which will in future be enforced simulator side. Existing content weighted in this way should not be “broken”, appearance-wise; but the simulator check will ensure such meshes cannot be uploaded (see FIRE-17144 for further details).

Attachment Point Validation

[04:20] Alongside the above, the Lab will be looking to introduce simulator-side attachment point validation checks. Right now, it is possible to have the viewer attach items to an avatar using points with are not correctly defined on the avatar skeleton.  This can result in other viewers showing the item randomly attached to the avatar (or possibly floating nearby – for those with long memories, think of the Emerald “attachment tail” which multiple attachments were introduced on that viewer without adequate simulator support).

To prevent this, the Lab are looking to enforce the recognised attachment points simulator-side, so that any attachments using an incorrect attach point will be mapped to a defined attachment point, and moved there. This work will be carried out incrementally, and will initially offer the changes to Aditi to allow for testing.

Other Items

Firestorm is now in Feature Freeze in preparation for the next release, which is now undergoing testing. Assuming no major blockers are uncovered, the next release should be available in November. This will be up-to-date with the Lab’s current release viewer (3.8.5.305531 – Maintenance release), and may included some additional items cherry-picked from upstream of that release. However, it is unlikely to have the new notifications updates, HTTP, Quick Graphics, etc.

SL project updates 41/2: TPVD meeting, attachments & Interest List issues

Posted on by Inara Pey

Ironwood Hills; Inara Pey, October 2015, on Flickr Ironwood Hills (Flickr) – blog post

The following notes are primarily taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, October 9th, 2015. A video of the meeting is included at the end of this report, although the opening few minutes of the meeting are missing. Because of this, I’ve included an audio file as well to cover the opening of the meeting.  Time stamps to both the audio and the video are provided, and my thanks as always to North for the video recording and providing it for embedding.

Please note that any extraneous noises on either the audio or the video are the result of an open mic in the meeting itself, and not from myself or North

Server Deployments: Week 41 – Recap

As per the server deployment thread, there were no scheduled deployments / restarts for the three RC channels during the week, while the Main (SLS) channel received the same server maintenance package deployed to the RCs in week #40.

SL Viewer Updates

 

[00:00 – 02:10 on audio]

CEF Project Viewer

On Wednesday, October 7th, the Lab issued the long-awaited project viewer utilises the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) for media handling – and more – in Second Life. Version 4.0.0.305703 sees CEF replace the ageing llqtwebkit functionality for media management in Second Life (also see my separate update).

[13:25 video] The emphasis from the Lab is that if you use web media in-world test your products / projects / uses thoroughly with the CEF project viewer, and make sure you continue to test as the project viewer is updated, in order that specific issues encountered can be reported and looked at while the lab is still developing the viewer.

It also appears that QuickTime media may still work on this viewer, rather than being disabled, as had been indicated in my last TPVD update. However, this should not be taken to mean either QuickTime or Flash will be supported by the Lab going forward, or that media using them will be viewable by all users. CEF, HTML 5, etc., are the future of media in SL.

Other Viewer Updates

On Friday, October 9th the HTTP updates viewer (project Azumarill) was promoted to release Candidate status with the release of version 3.8.5.305771. This viewer provides improved performance and stability. Impacts include: asset uploads, AISv3 inventory manipulation, VMM, Experience management, LSL compilation, Simhost event polling, etc.

Currently, it appears as though the Maintenance RC viewer, version 3.8.5.305531, is in line to be promoted to the de facto release viewer in week #42 (week commencing Monday, October 12th).

An update for the Oculus Rift project viewer (currently version 3.7.18.295296, and now almost a year old), is still expected, but it is subject to other work being undertaken at this point in time.

Attachment Loss on Region Crossings

[03:44 audio;  00:00 video]

The Lab recently carried out extensive work to reduce the number of attachment loss issues occurring as a result of issues caused directly within the viewer itself (project Big Bird). However, while this work fixed a lot of issues, some still remain, particularly during region crossings, whether physical or via teleport (see BUG-7761 as an example).

Essentially, what happens when moving from one region to another is that all of the attachments on your avatar must get new IDs from the simulator to which you are moving. The viewer then has to associate these new IDs with the attachments you are wearing, and the locations where those item as actually attached. In doing so, it attempts to preserve continuity  by keeping things where they were according to the region you’re leaving, and then updating them with the information it receives from the new region.

A problem I sometimes encounter when flying / boating is returning home and finding one of my scripted mesh shoes has been detached at some point during the trip
A problem I sometimes encounter when flying / boating is returning home and finding one of my scripted mesh shoes has been detached at some point during the trip

This obviously involves a lot of messages being passed back and forth between server and viewer – and the more attachments you have, the greater the number of messages being passed back and forth.

Additionally, if the attachments are scripted, further messages relating to script states, etc., also need to be passed relating to their state, etc., which adds to the load. Finally, all of these messages may use different transport mechanisms to pass between server and viewer.

This means there are many opportunities for messages to arrive out-of order due to race conditions, etc., or to be dropped and lost because of possible network issues and some messaging mechanisms not having a retry option, etc. It is these problems which tend to result in issues with attachments being removed, etc.

The Lab is interested in trying to eliminate as many of these problems as they can (allowing for the fact some might be related to your network connection, and possibly outside of their ability to control). However, in order to do so, they first need to identify exactly what is going on, and this requires examples of attachment losses, etc., that are consistently reproducible (e.g. attachment type X will always detach when crossing between regions Y and Z, for example). It is these kinds of consistent examples which are proving hard to find – so if you do know of one, please raise a JIRA outlining it step-by-step.

Continue reading “SL project updates 41/2: TPVD meeting, attachments & Interest List issues” →