Jessica is back with a further Firestorm Tool Tip Tuesday video, this one focusing on the People panel – notably the Nearby tab and mini-map functionality within Firestorm.
The Nearby Tab of the People panel is a quick and easy means of keeping an eye on what is going on around you, and the Firestorm team have, in response to requests for users, added a lot of additional functionality and options to it – so much so that getting to grips with it can be a trifle bewildering.
Jessica offers walk-through of a number of option and settings for the People Panel, including the display options, and how to configure it so that it displays the information you want. As the video indicates, all of what is referred to within the People panel is equally applicable to the Radar panel as well.
The Nearby tab in the People panel (shown here with the mini-map displayed as well), offers a wealth of options to users
An overview of some of the mini-map options follows, noting how these can be linked to options within the People panel.
As the video demonstrates, there is a lot to cover with both panels, so much so that i places the video feels a little rushed (breathe, Jess, breathe! 😉 ), however, this doesn’t detract from the amount of information provided, and if you haven’t plumbed the depths of the People panel / radar, this video offers a great introduction. You can also find more information on the options available through both the Nearby tab on the People panel and the Radar panel by visiting the Firestorm wiki’s Radar page.
Updates for the week ending: Sunday February 8th, 2015
This summary is published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Importer project viewer version 3.7.25.298441 released on February 3rd – provides a modified mesh uploader with optional debug output, performs name-based LOD association, and handle models with many materials, allowing models with more than 8 unique faces to be imported (download and release notes)
Black Dragon updated to release 2.4.1.8 on February 6th – core updates: Inclusion of LL,s December 2014 maintenance release (3.7.23.297296) plus assorted tweaks and updates (release notes, download)
Kokua updated to release 3.7.25.35124 on February 9th- core updates: parity with RLV 2.9.6.6 and a fix for avatar appearance issues (release notes, download)
UKanDo updated to release 3.7.24.28064 on February 4th – core updates: parity with recent LL code released through to version 3.7.24, and with RLV 2.9.6.6. (release notes, download)
V1-style
Cool VL Viewer updated on February 7th, the stable branch to version 1.26.12.30 and the legacy branch to 1.26.8.88 (release notes for both)
Both the UKanDo viewer and Black Dragon saw updates in week #6. Each of the release contain under-the-hood (so to speak) changes, with UKanDo in particular being something of a catch-up release more than anything else, as noted below.
UKanDo 3.7.24
The last UKanDo update was in October 2014, so it’s been something of an extended period between releases for the viewer. However, there is a good reason for this: Connor Monaron, the man behind the viewer has a good reason for this: he’s been off in the United States tying the knot with his SL (and now real life) partner. So the first thing to do here is offer congratulations to Blackrose and Connor.
Obviously, being away and being focused on such a major event in one’s life means that all things viewer naturally take a back seat. As such, the new release of UKanDo, version 3.7.24.28064, released on Wednesday, February 4th, is more about catching-up with all of the recent output from the Lab. This being the case, the release see the viewer gain parity through and up to the following LL releases:
3.7.19.295700 – Monty Linden’s last round of HTTP updates, also for October 2014, which improve texture and mesh data fetching and which offers significantly faster inventory loading
3.7.20.296094 – the GPU removal update and the subsequent 3.7.22.297128 update which fixed an inherent crash issue within the 3.7.20.296094 release
3.7.21.296724 – the winter open-source contributions release from November 2014, providing improved Japanese language input, improved projectors rendering, fixes for object editing when rotating and for an OS X Yosemite full screen crash issue
3.7.23.297296 – the winter maintenance release from December 2014, which included a range of fixes to voice, texture animation, object rendering, privacy, inventory management, etc., and which included fixes to previously released changes in the way joint offsets in rigged meshes are handled
3.7.24.297643 – the Experience Tool viewer (at the time this article was written, the de facto release viewer from LL).
As well as these LL-derived updates, this release also sees UKanDo reach parity through recent RLV updates from Marine Kelley from 2.9.3 through to the latest 2.9.6.6,
So while this release many not offer anything “new” in terms of TPV updates, it does bring the viewer right up to the cutting edge in terms of formal releases from both LL and RLV, which should be more than enough to keep UKanDo users happy.
The latest version of Black Dragon, version 2.4.1.8, was release on Friday, February 6th, and is the latest in a series of nips and tucks to the viewer as Niran continues to integrate code updates from the Lab and also work on refining the UI.
The core update from the Lab with this release is the inclusion of the winter maintenance release code from the Lab’s 3.7.23.297296 release, including the fixes for previously released changes in the way joint offsets in rigged meshes are handled. This means that deformations to an avatar’s shape are more intelligently tracked, and the viewer should be able to correct them without necessarily having to have the attachment causing them removed, or requiring a re-log in order to fix.
The other major update for this release see the Friends List undergo a revision. The accordion tabs separating on-line from off-line friends have been removed, and the Friends list rationalised so that on-line friends appear at the top – their names now in blue – and an duplication of names has been removed.
with the accordion tab removed, and the list sorted so that on-line friends always appear at the top, their names coloured blue, the Friends List in black Dragon 2.4.1.8 (left) is a lot more streamlined than previous versions (right), which also saw on-line friends duplicated between the “Online” and “All” accordion tabs
The release notes also list the following updates / changes:
A possible fix for RLVa detach and re-attach issues via RLVa commands
A possible fix for a crash caused by the connection issues panel when the region becomes invalid
A viewer compile fix
Max VRAM has been changed 1024 Mb in Preferences > Display Settings
Incremental steps for Shadow Blur changed to 0.1 in Preferences > Display Settings
The connection issues panel will no longer briefly appear when logging-in with the viewer
Appearance floater outfit status colour has been changed
Worn items are now listed in italics in the Appearance floater, rather than in bold
Beacon colour has been changed to stream “blue-ish”.
SL Go user? Now you can get help and personal assistance at the SL Go Island – and it’s a good place for escaping the worlds, as well!
Important note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read this report.
On Wednesday, February 4th, Dennis Harper, OnLive’s Product Manager for SL Go kindly invited me to preview the new SL Go island in Second Life, which is designed to offer users of the the SL Go service a in-world place they can visit should they need assistance.
SL Go Island officially opens its doors for business at 10:00 SLT on Thursday, February 5th, 2015, and is modelled along similar lines to the Firestorm Support Island, which originally opened in August 2012 (see my review on it).
The idea for such a in-world venue was originally suggested during the special Firestorm Q&A meeting, alongside the idea for the SL Go support group, which launched in January 2015.
SL Go Island: the landing point offers information and clickable signs for obtaining assistance – and more, with the SL Go greeter bot standing alongside
SL Go island offers a rural environment, with the landing area acting as the support hub. Here information boards and signage provides initial assistance.
A main board offers basic information, while thee signs hanging from it will take visitors to the OnLive Support web page, the support forum, and – for those who have yet to try it, a link to the SL Go sign-up page. A further sign allows SL Go users who have not already done so to join the in-world SL Go support group.
However, it doesn’t end there. On the table under the main noticeboard sit s small silver bell. If a member of the SL Go support team isn’t already on the island (they all tend to spend a fair amount of time there) or near the landing point, ring it, and personal help should be forthcoming.
SL Go Island: support staff can frequently be found at the beach bar ….
The rest of the island, all of which has been designed by OnLive web engineer and Second life resident Jersey Silent, is given over to walks among the trees and down to the beach. Here sits a bar (providing support is thirty work!), and if folk aren’t around the landing point, they can generally be found here. There are also a number of spots scattered around the island, make it a welcoming place for those who wish to sit and relax.
SL Go Product Manager, Dennis Harper, in-world
“I really like it here,” Dennis said to me as he and Jersey showed me around. “If you want to find me, I’m usually at the beach bar, it’s a great place to relax, although there’s a cool swamp on the other side, which is also nice to visit after a day at the beach. But we’ve tried not to make it anything fancy – just a place to hang out.”
“But don’t forget, for the fastest and most timely support for SL Go, visit us on SL Go Island!” He added.
Wandering the island with Dennis and Jersey, I couldn’t help but notice the care take to keep things open, relaxed, and as welcoming as possible. Jersey’s Landscape blends content from a number of designers who are bound to be familiar to many visitors, and she’s taken a huge amount of care to provide open spaces and quiet little spots for visitors to enjoy.
So – if you’re an SL Go user and need help, or if your curious about SL Go, or if you just want somewhere new to wander and spend time in, SL Go island may offer the perfect solution!
Jessica Lyon was back on Tuesday, February 3rd with another Firestorm Tool Tip Tuesday video, and this one focuses on the use of the Auto-Replace function, and how it might well be more useful than people might appreciate.
As explained in the video, Auto-Replace can be found under Preferences > Chat > Text Input in Firestorm, and generally under chat in other viewer supporting the same Auto-Replace functionality. It is shipped with two lists: Spelling Corrections, which offers corrections for common spelling errors, and Abbreviations (which is the list I actually use and have customised myself).
The Auto-Replace function in Firestorm and the supplied lists
The Abbreviations list converts commonly used abbreviations such as bbl, afk, gtg, etc., into their long-hand equivalents (be back later, away from keyboard, got to go, etc.), just by typing-in the abbreviation followed by a space.
So far so good, nothing especially exciting there. But did you know, using Auto-Replace you can:
Create a custom greeting you can use when working as a greeter or host, or simply on meeting people?
Combine abbreviation entries to create statements?
Use abbreviations to display SLurls and URLs in chat without having to type them long-hand?
Export / import your lists so you can share them with friends or easily copy them between the computers you use with SL?
If you didn’t – then this video is certainly for you, as Jessica reveals all!
Note that you can use Auto-Replace like this in any viewer that supports the same Auto-Replace functionality as found in Firestorm, including the official SL viewer.
Important note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read this report.
OnLive, the company providing the SL Go service, announced on Tuesday, February 3rd, that they had implemented a fix for the issue that prevented users of their SLV version of the viewer (the version based on the Lab’s code) teleporting anywhere when using SL Go.
The news the the fix had been made broke on the SL Go support group when Dennis Harper, OnLive’s SL Go Product Manager announced, “I’d like to announce: THE SLV TELEPORT ISSUE IS FIXED AND LIVE ON PRODUCTION!”
The problem initially started around week 3, with a handful of users initially reporting problems in teleporting, but only when using SLV – the version of Firestorm running on SL Go was unaffected. However, this gradually spread until anyone using SLV could not teleport.
By Friday, January 30th, the Lab had traced the issue down to something going wrong within the handshaking between the two simulators involved in a teleport attempt, although at that stage, what was initially triggering the problem had yet to be determined.
Further investigation revealed that a recent server-side update involving a cleaning-up of the code related to how avatars are handled during region crossings (see my week 3/1 SL project update) has triggered the issue. Essentially, the update removed the ability to have a single quote (“‘”) in the viewer’s channel name. Unfortunately, the channel used with SLV had been called “‘Onlive”, and the presence of the quote lead to teleports failing.
Once the problem had been identified, OnLive were able to make a small change to the SLV viewer via a command line change, and after some extended testing, were able to deploy that change to the production SL Go service.
As a result, any users employing the SLV viewer on SL Go (whether via computer, iPad or Android tablet) should find teleports are once again working as soon as the log-in to the service; there is no requirement to re-download the SL Go client or anything.
I’ll have more news from OnLive ans SL Go coming later in the week.
Jessica is back with a further Firestorm Tool Tip Tuesday video, this one focusing on the People panel – notably the Nearby tab and mini-map functionality within Firestorm.
Important note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read 
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 