2019 Simulator User Group week #49 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Butter, October 2019 – blog post

Update, December 5th: a deployment was made to the grid. Server update version 2019-12-04T20:29:26.533447 comprises:

  • A build of release 2019-11-15T21:13:13.532828 using new build technology.
  • Addresses some cases of scripts erroneously stopping.
  • Fixes a crash.

Hopefully, this addresses the recent issues with scripts failing until a region is restarted (see BUG-227864).

Simulator Deployments

Please refer to the server deployment thread for news and updates:

  • On Tuesday, 3rd December, the planned Main SLS channel deployment was cancelled. Had it been deployed, it would have comprised server maintenance release 2019-11-19T22:26:38.532992, built with the updated server build tools, and which includes:
    • Improved crash detection during shut-down.
    • Fixes for some race conditions with LSL scripts that could cause them to handle the same event more than once during a roll.
    • Updates to improve simulator security.
  • The planned RC deployment for Wednesday, December 4th, comprising server update has also been cancelled.

The reasons for the cancellation are related to the return of recent issues with scripts failing until a region is restarted (see BUG-227864) and which has been an intermittent issue recently, with Simon Linden noting:

We originally had planned to update the main channel regions with the version that’s on the RC channels, but held off as we are looking into issues about scripts not running. It appears to be an old issue that’s always been there but is worth investigating … we’re trying to get an update together for tomorrow morning [Wednesday, December 4th]. It was a very small percentage [of scripts affected] but that’s enough to be painful when there are millions running.

– Simon Linden

So again, keep an eye on the server deployment thread / technology → second life server sub-forum for updates.

Simulator Performance Issues

There is a forum thread concerning simulator overload issues that occurred over the Thanksgiving weekend (see: Huge intermittent sim overload). These issues were further confirmed at the SUG meeting by others seeing similar problems on other regions. Linden Lab do not currently have an explanation for the problems, but Maxidox Linden, one of the Second Life QA team members, did take a moment to address claims in the thread that LL “not caring” about issues like this:

I’m going to let the devs here handle this topic but I just want to chime in that I’ve read that thread and we absolutely do care about issues like this, and don’t put our development time solely into new feature work (I’m the one who tests a bunch of the stability and performance change.

– Mazidox Linden

The discussion on this topic raised questions on the simulator statistic Simulation Time and what it actually records, given it is often tied to simulator issues – as is the case with this issue. Exactly what it records has been a subject of discussion for around the last decade, and came up again in terms of whether it might point to a possible cause. After taking a look, Simon Linden noted:

So I did some digging. “Simulation Time” seems to be a catch-all category that includes odds and ends like dealing with terrain layers, some physics synchronization, parcel info. So not a lot to use tracking this issue down.

SL Viewer

There have been no official viewer updates to mark the start of the week.

A Recollection in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Recollection, December 2019 – click any image for full size

Recollection is a 1/4 Full region designed by Edge Shabazz with HanaFairy that offers those who seek it, a summery place of rest, peace and  – if they choose – reflection.

As one might expect from the description above, as well as from its name, the parcel offers a relaxing, gentle setting that is easy to explore and appreciate. It is also a place that hides a secret for people to discover. That said, at the time of our visit in late November, the landing point had a decidedly Halloween feel to it, with a tiny Japanese style cemetery complete with ghost, skeleton and pumpkin. This feeling is increased by the somewhat gloomy default parcel-level windlight – I’d actually recommend flicking this to something a little brighter to fully appreciate the setting.

Recollection, December 2019

On arrival, it’s clear this is a place where free roaming is encouraged – while there is a “path” running through the landing point, it is not necessary to follow it; there is more than enough to see beyond it. For those who opt to use it, it links a small island to the south and the bridge stretching over the water to it, to a central (to the parcel) pond or lake, the way marked by tumbled drystone walls.

To the west of this path is a small beach and to the east the ruins of an old tower. both offer places to sit and enjoy the location, as do the grasslands connecting them: benches midst the grass and sings hanging from tree branches.

Recollection, December 2019

Across the parcel are touches of fantasy, starting with the old tower mentioned above and continuing across the little brook that lies just over the little hillock from the tower, where colourful ‘Shrooms and a fairy ring can be found on the way to the central lake.

The sense of fantasy continues with the lake itself. Rich with a carpet of spider lilies, this is home to koi swimming serenely and quite naturally above the lilies and water as a flying boat is suspended overhead on a pair of balloons. Elsewhere, awaiting discovery is a summer greenhouse, an open air picnic bench and an ancient piano playing softly. Nor is that all that is to be found.

Recollection, December 2019

However, it is across the lake that the parcel’s secret can be found. Marked by a Torii gate and surrounded by a circle of rocks young trees, is a pond-within-a-lake. Step into the waters here and you’ll find them considerably deeper than those surrounding the ring, however, hiding as they do the entrance to a set of underwater caves and chambers within which can be found a hidden shrine.

Filled with oriental touches, Recollection is a delightful place to visit, finished with an appropriate sound scape. It is a place for photography or spending time with someone close or alone and reminiscing, and is very much a worthwhile visit.

Recollection, December 2019

SLurl Details

Hannington Endowment for the Arts (HEA) in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
HEA, December 2019: Thoth Jantzen

The Hannington Endowment for the Arts (HEA) is a new, community-fostered arts centre and group that has been founded to “to unify The Arts and artists in SL by providing a central info location to find all participating art related events and locations .”

Established following the closure of the Linden Endowment for the Arts  – with which it has no official connection, being entirely resident supported and run, HEA has been made possible by long-time Second Life resident Hannington Xeltentat, for whom the centre and group have been named, and who directly sponsors HEA activities and art installations available at the HEA’s in-world gallery spaces, which are managed by Tansee and available on a grant basis for 1, 3 or 6 months at a time.

HEA, December 1029: Cica Ghost

For the inaugural HEA grant series, which opened on November 30th, 2019, the gallery spaces present installations by Cica Ghost, Thoth Jantzen, Lorin Tone (building structure by Elicio Ember) and Betty Tureaud. Set to join them soon are two further installations by Patrick Moya and Bryn Oh respectively, although at the time of our visit, the space for Bryn’s exhibit was “temporarily” home to The Garage Gallery of Happy Stuff, presented by Impossibleisnotfrench (aka Harry Cover).

It’s important to note that the gallery setting – and the exhibits – are best appreciated by having your viewer’s Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) function enabled via Preferences → Graphics (you do not need to necessarily enable shadows, however), and having local sounds enabled. For Thoth Jantzen’s installation you should also be willing to accept the local parcel media.

All four of the “main” artists present at the time of our visit offer 3D installations that perfectly reflect their art. Cica offers Drawn Town Small, a charming miniature of her February 2019 installation Drawn Town (which you can read about here). Like the larger version, this one comes with sit points and animations for people to discover, while Betty presents a nicely layered piece with Art of the Game that reflects her traditional use of colour as expression.

HEA, December 2019: Betty Tureaud

For TJ’s Mess, Thoth Jantzen presents a selection of pieces, some of which might be familiar to those who have enjoyed Thoth’s work at events such as past SL Birthday celebrations. Combining light, colour and sound, Thoth’s work can be living pieces, interactive pieces, and this is certainly the case here with the three larger elements. Be sure to note the instructions on entering the exhibition space.

I’ve always enjoyed Lorin Tone’s use of sound and his demonstrations of what can be achieved with sound and LSL scripting in Second Life. Within Borealis Revisited, he presents another master class – one with a deeper narrative to it than might be apparent, so excuse me if I delve a little more deeply into it.

Within a structure built by Elicio Ember, lie four small moons / planets, all orbiting a central sphere. Together, these five orbs form a set of musical emitters, the sound from the lower four constantly shifting aurally as you sit on the benches below them. Between the benches and the upper spheres are four larger, interactive orbs (three of which have a passing resemblance to the Jovian moons Io, Ganymede and Callisto respectively, and the fourth to Mercury), also circling a central point while rotating slowly about their own axes. As Lorin then explains:

The build is based on and inspired by a musical piece titled Aurora, composed by Hans Zimmer (used with permission from his management). [It] has been cut into almost 60 pieces and rebuilt into five sound emitters. Each set gradually fades in and out, and each sound emitter has a different number of silences built in; the result is five musical sections that constantly evolve, never repeating the same combination twice. [The lower spheres] contain 36 solo female voice sounds. When clicked, each will randomly play one sound one time.

– Lorin Tone, on Borealis Revisited.

HEA, December 2019: Lorin Tone

Aurora was written by Zimmer to commemorate those killed or wounded in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, mass shooting (at the time the 3rd largest mass shooting in the United States but which is now ranked 18th – which says a lot in and of itself). It’s a hauntingly beautiful piece, and Lorin’s installation presents it as such and entirely uniquely given the way the composition constantly shifts and changes between each silence, complete with the opportunity for visitors to add their “voice” to the choral by touching the interactive spheres.

Harry’s The Garage Gallery of Happy Stuff – which as noted is a temporary installation pending Bryn Oh’s arrival at HEA, although I very much hope Harry considers an installation of his own work – is a charming mix of pieces, 2D and 3D, many of which cannot fail to raise a smile. When visiting, don’t miss the eggshibition of his charming mesh eggs, which present scenes drawn from Harry’s life experiences and memories. Most are interactive (touch the lids to close / open them and hear an accompanying sound), and the “?” plaque on the plinths supporting six of the smaller eggs can be touched for a note from the artist on the meaning behind the egg.

HEA, December 2019: The Garage Gallery of Happy Stuff – Impossibleisnotfrench

All of the HEA gallery spaces are gathered around a central landing point and information centre / arts hub, the lower part of which presents room for events, and the upper platform the information centre. The latter includes a seating area, a teleport connecting HEA to other major art galleries, installation and facilities in Second Life, and a computer terminal where artists can obtain a grant application.

As noted above, grants are available for one, three, or six month periods, with awardees presented with a total land capacity of 1,000 LI each. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the HEA staff on the basis of concept, originality, ability and space availability, and applications are open to all who are “dedicated to The Arts to learn, teach, and display their own unique original style of creativity in Second Life for all to enjoy.”

SLurl Details

2019 viewer release summaries week #48

Posted on by Inara Pey
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates for the week ending Sunday, December 1st

This summary is generally 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.
  • Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.

Official LL Viewers

  • Current Release version 6.3.4.532299, formerly the Ordered Shutdown RC viewer, dated November 4th, – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts:
    • No updates.
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V6-style

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Thoughts on Second Life fees, tier and revenue

Posted on by Inara Pey
via: thebluediamondgallery.com

Monday, December 2nd saw the introduction of the new Marketplace (MP) commission fee of 10%, as announced in the Lab’s November 21st blog post The Return of Last Names and Changes to Marketplace, Events & Premium.

The announcement of the fee change unsurprisingly caused some upset, with a couple of forum threads popping-up on the subject (see: MP fees raising to 10% per sale. Thoughts? and Second Life® is still a world of opportunities). Various points are raised in both threads, some fair, some perhaps not-so-fair. While I’m the first to note that I’m not in any way, shape or size a “merchant” or “commercial creator” in SL I thought I’d try to step back and try to take a broader look at fees and tier, etc., in general.

The first point to note is that in making the claim that the increase to the MP transaction fees still leaves them “significantly lower than most digital content commissions across the industry” while citing Apple and Google as examples, the Lab did so with a certain amount of spin.

The 30% charged by Apple, for example, incorporates payment clearing, fraud, indemnity, insurance, and dunning; local tax law enforcement & reporting; service provisioning and distribution, etc. Due to the nature of Second Life these fees are incurred separately to the MP – but they are still incurred by many merchants using the MP, and when taken into consideration, they amount to somewhat more than 10%, a point Cat Hunter makes in this comment.

Also in their blog post, the Lab note that that fee change is to help offset costs incurred at the Lab due to investing in new Marketplace features and improvements. This is fair enough; however, given that the first of these changes is apparently within weeks of being deployed (improved MP search filtering), it might have been an idea to perhaps to wait until these changes had been introduced  before announcing the fee increase – and then to champion them alongside the improvements that have been made over the last 12-18 months, such as the much-requested Store Manager capability and the notifications and redelivery capabilities and wishlists and favourites¹.

However, there is a more intrinsic reason for fee increases – be they with transaction fees or anything else (such as the recent increases in Premium subscriptions), and it is one the Lab perhaps doesn’t communicate clearly: and that’s trying to reduce virtual land tier.

While tier has contributed to the loss of regions in SL, including places such as Venexia (above) and its sister region, Goatswood, lowering it without increasing fees elsewhere would always hurt Linden Lab more than help users

This is something that users have (rightly or wrongly – there are actually arguments on both sides of the coin) been demanding for at least the last decade. And since the start 2018, Linden Lab’s CEO, Ebbe Altberg, has repeatedly stated the company would like to reduce land tier – but would only be able to do so if the resultant loss of revenue the company would suffer as a result could be compensated for through other means².

In fact, the Lab have taken steps to reduce tier: in 2016 there was the private region buy-down offer³ (the interim boost to LL’s revenue as a result of the fees payable likely long since having passed), and in July 2018 reduced private region tier from US $295 to US $249 for Full regions (that now stand at US $229), and Homesteads from US $125 to US $1094.

While it is hard to accurately quantify, given the various factors involved (e.g number of grandfathered, skill and educational regions, the more recent slight increases in region count, etc.), it is – with the help of Tyche Shepherd’s Grid Survey and the Internet Wayback machine – possible to reasonably (conservatively?) estimate the impact of the July 2018 tier reductions at around a LS $300,000 a month fall in the Lab’s land revenue. This may not sound a lot – but it is something LL would likely want to recoup – and it can only be done through increases in other fees, as Altberg noted in his comments on the matter.

This should not be taken to mean the transaction fee is wholly associated with compensating for the tier reduction, but it’s not unreasonable to assume it might nevertheless help, either now or in the future. More to the point, and regardless of where the revenue from the MP fee increase is used, it wouldn’t hurt for the Lab to remind people of the strategy to pivot revenue away from land tier and to other options when making similar fee adjustments elsewhere (or indeed, the introduction of new fees, even it they may also help offset the cost of implementing new options and capabilities).

There are two final points that come to mind when looking at the MP transaction fee change. The first is that of all the fee changes thus far introduced, it is the one that merchants can most directly compensate for, as some in the forum threads have noted. Merchants can raise their MP prices, for example, whilst keeping their in-world prices lower (which is allowed5); or those with in-world stores might focus more on sales through that channel, with associated group advertising.

The second point comes back to the timing of the announcement. It would seem that the increase has been made so that the Lab can benefit from the likely increase in MP sales during the run-up, and indeed over, the holiday season. There’s nothing wrong with this per se; but given the increase has likely been on the cards for a while, it would have perhaps have been preferable had LL given more of a lead time on its implementation so allow merchants more time to prepare for it, and so help them in compensating in what might come across as a reduction in their own ability to generate revenue through the same holiday period.

Related Links

  1. See:
  2. See (all with audio comments by Ebbe Altberg):
  3. Lab: get grandfathered tier in 6-month buy-down offer (April 2016).
  4. Linden Lab announces major SL private region pricing restructure (June 2018) and Looking at the new private region and L$ fees (July 2018).
  5. Web Team Springs some Deploys on you, April 2018.

Christmas tales and science fiction in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.

Monday, December 2nd 19:00: Teacher’s Pet / War and Peace

Gyro Muggins returns to Larry Niven’s Known Space universe and the Man-Kzin Wars series to bring us two short stories from that series written by Matthew Joseph Harrington, and which appeared in the Man-Kzin volume 11 (edited by Niven), first published in 2005.

Set after the end of the war, the stories within Man-Kzin XI are predominantly set during a period where the Kzin are down (but not necessarily out) and having to adapt to no longer being the masters of all races they encounter, and are in roughly chronological order.

The two stories by Harrington follow the trio by established writer Hal Colebatch, and marked his début as a published author at the age of 35. They are regarded by many as being strong studies in the Man-Kzin lore, whilst also drawing on other literary sci-fi sources. The stories are also noted for Harrington’s ability to round-out a number of “loose ends” within the Man-Kin wars as well as offering new slants on the broader carves of Niven’s Known Space universe.

Both stories use a play on words in their titles, with War and Peace doing so both in the manner it reflects the period of peace following war, and also for the way it focuses on the life and work of Peace Corben, a human female Protector, who returns in Harrington’s sequel story, Peace and Freedom, published in the 2009 volume Man Kzin Wars XII.

Tuesday, December 3rd

The library is closed.

Wednesday, December 4th

14:30: The Dickens Project

Music in Dickens Square.

19:00 Spirit of Steamboat

Kayden Oconnell returns to the tales of sheriff Walt Longmire, reading the ninth volume of Craig Johnson’s tales about his laconic US Marine-turned-lawman protagonist.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol in his office when he is visited by a ghost of Christmas past: a young woman with a scar across her forehead. He doesn’t recognise her, but she clearly knows him and his predecessor, sheriff Lucian Connally, under whom Longmire started his career as a deputy sheriff in 1972.

His interest aroused, Longmire takes the the young woman to see Connally, now a resident at an Assisted Living Home. But Connally, a former US Army Air Force pilot who flew B-25 Mitchell bombers in the Second World War, fails to recognise her. This is in some ways hardly surprising, given Connally’s frequently inebriated state.

Disappointed at the two men’s reaction, the young woman whispers a single word, “Steamboat”. In doing so, she embarks on a tale that tales Longmire and Connally back to Christmas Eve 1988, when Longmire had been a deputy sheriff just two months. The holiday season had brought with it a record-breaking blizzard – and a road accident that left Longmire and the (again inebriated) Connally with no choice but to pull a B-25 out of mothballs and make a dangerous flight through the blizzard to Denver, Colorado, in order to save a life.

Thursday, December 5th

19:00: Rock Crystal

Seemingly the simplest of stories—a passing anecdote of village life— Adalbert Stifter’s Rock Crystal opens up into a tale of almost unendurable suspense.

Young Conrad and his little sister, Sanna set out from their village high up in the Alps to visit their grandparents in the neighbouring valley. It is the day before Christmas but the weather is mild, though of course night falls early in December and the children are warned not to linger.

The grandparents welcome the children with presents and pack them off with kisses. Then snow begins to fall, ever more thickly and steadily. Undaunted, the children press on, only to take a wrong turn. The snow rises higher and higher, time passes: it is deep night when the sky clears and Conrad and Sanna discover themselves out on a glacier, terrifying and beautiful, the heart of the void…

With Shandon Loring, and also presented in Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

Contemporary Sci-Fi-Fantasy with Finn Zeddmore

Friday, December 6th 22:00: The Dickens Project

Idle Rogue Productions present The Midnight Dinner in the Opera House.

Saturday, December 7th 11:00: The Dickens Project

VCARA Read Aloud at the Dickens Resource Centre.