2019: sixteen years for Second Life and twenty for Linden Lab

Posted on by Inara Pey
Courtesy of Linden Lab

We’re all familiar with the Second Life Birthday (or more correctly, anniversary, given Second Life is technically older than the celebrated date), marking the month and date on which the platform opened its doors to the public – June 23rd, 2003.

In 2018, we celebrated the platform’s 15th anniversary – a remarkable milestone given the speed at which software and hardware and platforms themselves can rise to prominence before fading away, replaced by the Next Big Thing.

However, as Linden Lab noted in a March 14th blog post, this year’s anniversary marks another special year:

Sixteen years ago, on June 23rd, 2003, Second Life launched to the public. Though it feels like just yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time, this year we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go retro and embrace the “Sweet Sixteen” theme for our big party. Sock hops, bowling alleys, and late nights at the diner were a quintessential part of many teenagers lives back in the 1950s, but the 1950s were also a time of political and social change. The world was shocked by the iconic ‘Elvis pelvis,’ and poodle and pencil skirts changed the fashion world forever. Rebellion became the titillating pastime among all that soda shoppe sweetness. It was an era that – like Second Life – rocked and rolled! So, this summer we’re throwing a 1950s themed SL16B with a TON of fun events and happenings. Here is a brief run-down of just a few.

– Linden Lab official blog post

This year the official celebration period will run from Thursday, June 20th, 2019 through to Tuesday, July 8th, 2019, and to mark it the Lab is promising an array of activities, including:

  • The SL16B Shopping Event: scheduled to run throughout the celebration period, this multi-region shopping event is now accepting applications from merchants. Those wishing to participate should ensure they have applied by June 1st, 2019.
  • The SL16B Music Fest:  popular during recent SLB events, the Music Fest will be returning for 2019, and details on how performers can apply will be forthcoming soon.

There will also be the grand community celebration, plus from the Lab the return of the Swaginator and gifts and parties.

Linden Lab Also Turns Twenty

Courtesy of Linden Lab

2019 also marks anther significant anniversary, one that is also worth noting and I would hope (assuming plans aren’t already in-hand) it will also form a part of the SL16B celebrations: the 20th anniversary of the founding of Linden Lab itself.

Linden Research – to give the company its formal name, although it does business under the name of Linden Lab – was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale, the company’s first CEO and former Chief Technology Officer of  Real Networks. The company’s original focus was on the development of a immersive virtual reality system comprising both hardware and software known as “The Rig” (which, rumour would have it, still lies in boxes at the Lab’s head offices in San Francisco.

However, unable to develop a commercially viable version of The Rig, Linden Lab turned to software application, producing LindenWorld, the precursor of Second Life.

Initially developed by Andrew Linden, one of the first employees at the Lab (and who would remain with the company until opting to re-join Philip Rosedale and work on the fledgling High Fidelity). LindenWorld wasn’t open to the public, and was more a game than social environment, with a focus on guns and the avatars were made out of prims and carried the name (appropriately enough, of Primitars.

Then in 2001, during a meeting with investors, that Rosedale and his team noticed those at the meeting were particularly responsive to the collaborative, creative potential of the nascent Second Life.

Thus, the objective, game-like focus of the platform’s development shifted towards a more community-drive, social environment, focused on user-created content, and thus Second Life as we  know it today was “born”. On March 13th, 2002, Steller Sunshine became the first public resident of Second Life, and the platform’s public beta commenced in October of that year. Then in June 2003, Linden Lab released Second Life to the world at large.

The first Second Life trailer

So … here’s an early “happy Birthday” to Linden Lab itself. While we may not always agree with the company or its decisions, the fact remains that without the Lab, many of us might never have entered user-collaborative, immersive social digital environments. So I hope that SL16B will mark the company’s birthday as much as it marks SL’s anniversary.

The Culprit Sonata Baby Grand piano in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Culprit Sonata Baby Grand in two of its finishes

In September 2018, I wrote about the Culprit Sonata Bento Piano created by Eku Zhong and Yure4u Sosa (see The Culprit Sonata Bento piano in Second Life). At that time, I noted that Eko and Yure4u were working on a baby grand edition, and on March 13th, 2019 they graciously sent me a copy.

As I noted in that piece, as a pianist, I have a leaning towards the grand (concert or baby), as I appreciate the more rounded richness of its note. As having one in the physical world is impractical (although I do have a Yamaha N1), I enjoy having them in-world, and have been looking forward to the opportunity to try this particular baby grand and seeing how the Bento animations work with such an instrument.

The Culprit Sonata Baby Grand

Unlike the upright variant, the Culprit Baby Grand is supplied in one size, and follows the accepted shape of a grand, with a sweeping case built around a horizontal plate and pin block / action. In this, the Culprit Baby Ground might appear little different to other grand pianos in SL. However, it is fair to say that it is the play mechanism in this piano that is one of the aspects that sets it apart from others, even without the Bento play capability.

Where others might in part reproduce the mechanism – some strings,  the plate and sound board – or offer a texture of a grand’s “innards”, the Culprit Baby Grand goes much further. A peek under the raised lid reveals the cast iron plate with soundboard below – and a beautiful pin block and hammer set, with strings neatly positioned, presenting one of the best facsimiles of a grand I’ve yet witnessed.

Play-wise the Culprit Baby Grand is similar in nature to the Sonata upright: sit at the piano and you’ll be placed in an “idle” pose – and moving your arms as if conducting – or perhaps warming-up in readiness to play. While mentioning this pose, note that as playing the piano can result in your avatar’s eyes rolling up into the head and flicking back to this option – available from the Muted option (see below) before standing will avoid this. Sitting will also display the piano’s menu, which has the following options:

  • Texture: allows the piano body and the stool’s cushion to be textured to suit your preferences.
  • Muted: presents a total of 12 different playing styles without any associated music – so you can set a style in keeping with the music you’re listening to out world, or on your parcel stream.
  • Songs: offers 54 solo pieces to play, all public domain, representing a good cross-reference of music.
  • Duets: offers 11 duet pieces of public domain music to be enjoyed with a friend of partner playing with you.
The Culprit Sonata Baby Grand – mechanism detail

The menu also includes options to adjust the seated position on the stool, and to swap positions when playing duets, all of which makes for a pretty comprehensive set-up.

Selecting a piece of music from the Songs or Duets menus will display sheet music on the piano and move your avatar into a matching playing animation. It is here where the Bento element comes in. If you have Bento hands and watch yourself play (note that non-Bento users can still play the piano, it will just be minus the finger movements). The animations appear to be those used in the Culprit Sonata Upright, so just like that piano, they are fluid and natural, if with a slightly dramatic flair in a couple of styles  – although even the fact this is a grand, they are perhaps more in keeping with playing classical pieces than might be the case with the upright version.

Bento hand movements  are available in the three playing options built-in to the Culprit Sonata Baby Grand. Note the thumb-led glissando (filmed on the Sonata)

For those who like their in-world pianos to autoplay without being physically seated at it, the Culprit Baby Grand is perhaps not an ideal choice, simply because it does require and avatar to be seated (you can set rights to control who can). But then, this is a piano that is all about the Bento playing actions. On a personal note, I found the Culprit Baby Grand a little larger than I was expecting; the width of the piano means the reaching the extremes of the keyboard is a stretch for an avatar proportioned close to a physical world build, like mine. However, this is a minor point when compared to the “interior” modelling of the piano, its music selection and playing animations mean, all of which make it an ideal addition to any home – and it is now the preferred piano at Isla Pey, replacing the slightly smaller Lisp Persimmon grand.

With a total LI of 11, the Culprit Baby Grand will début at the Boardwalk shopping event from March 15th, 2019, at a price of L$995. It will be generally available, including via the Culprit store, from April 15th.

2019 Spoonful of Sugar merchant registrations

Posted on by Inara Pey
Spoonful of Sugar 2018

The 2019 Spoonful of Sugar (SOS) festival will be opening its doors on Saturday, September 14th, 2019 and will run through until Sunday September 29th. It will bring together fashion, home and garden, breedable designers and creators, artists, DJs and live performers to help raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Merchant registrations for the event are now open, with an extensive range of tiers available for those interested in supporting the event. Full details on these options can be found of the SOS Registration page – all of which should be read in full before applying – but a summary is provided here as a means of quick review.

Sponsor Tiers

Facility

  • Only 15 spots available.
  • 500 Li awarded.
  • 30 x 30 metre build size.
  • 2 x 100% donation to SOS vendors required (more if you wish up to LI limit).
  • As many 50% or 75% donation to SOS vendors as you wish, up to LI limit.
  • Up to 15 vendors allowed for your store (exceptions for hair ans skin vendors – see Registration page).
  • Individual fashion show for your brand – see Registration page).
  • fee: L$9000.

Triage

  • 300 Li awarded.
  • 20 x 25 metre build size.
  • 2 x 100% donation to SOS vendors required (more if you wish, up to LI limit).
  • As many 50% or 75% donation to SOS vendors as you wish, up to LI limit.
  • Up to 12 vendors allowed for your store (exceptions for hair ans skin vendors – see Registration page).
  • Participation in general fashion show.
  • fee: L$6000.

Surgical

  • 200 Li awarded.
  • 15 x 12 metre build size.
  • 1 x 100% donation to SOS vendors required (more if you wish, up to LI limit).
  • As many 50% or 75% donation to SOS vendors as you wish, up to LI limit.
  • Up to 8 vendors allowed for your store (exceptions for hair ans skin vendors – see Registration page).
  • Participation in general fashion show by invitation only, and if space available.
  • fee: L$3000.

Clinical

  • 100 Li awarded.
  • 10 x 8 metre build size.
  • 1 x 100% donation to SOS vendors required (more if you wish, up to LI limit).
  • As many 50% or 75% donation to SOS vendors as you wish, up to LI limit.
  • Up to 4 vendors allowed for your store (exceptions for hair ans skin vendors – see Registration page).
  • fee: L$1000.

Additional notes:

  • All fees form a 100% donation to SOS / MSF and are non-refundable.
  • Each tier has requirements and responsibilities specific to the type of merchant applying (fashion / home and garden / breedables) – again, please refer to the Registration page for details.
    • There are exceptions to these requirements at each tier level as well.
  • All SOS/MSF proceeded items must be placed within SOS vendors that will be supplied by the organisers.
  • Non-scripted vendors must be used for all non-SOS/MSF proceeded items offered for sale.
  • Again, all applicants must read the full requirements and guidelines on the Registration page prior to applying.
Spoonful of Sugar 2017

About Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Also known as Doctors Without Borders, MSF was founded in Paris, France in 1971 as a non-profit, self-governed medical humanitarian organisation delivering emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare around the globe, based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

Since that time, MSF has grown to a movement of 24 associations, bound together as MSF International, based in Switzerland. Thousands of health professionals, logistical and administrative staff – most of whom are hired locally – work on programmes in some 70 countries worldwide. See the video at the end of this article for more on MSF.

Additional Links

Monochrome at Rainbow Painter’s Gallery

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rainbow Painter’s Gallery: Fabio Castelli

In March, a new ensemble exhibition opened at the Rainbow Painter’s Gallery, curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (patience Roxley), this one with a focus on monochrome images.

Once again, this is an exhibition that features a broad cross-section of artists and art, featuring works created both in-world and from the physical world. Nor is the exhibition restricted to art: Keyah Kyomoon and Mountain String include pieces formed by both images and words.

Rainbow Painter’s Gallery: Cullum-Writer

With such a cross-section of art and artists, the is much to see throughout the gallery, from Nil Urqhart’s starkly beautiful photographs of the Mount Blanc massif in Chamonix region of the French Alps, through in-world photography by Fiona Saiman, Tara Aers, Josie Anderton Ilyra Chardin, Lena Kiopak and others. These run between avatar studies and landscapes, and I confess to finding Josie Anderton’s Valentine to be quite captivating.

Vicktor Savior present three of his pencil drawings of celebrities – of which Keanu Reeves tended to hold my attention; but where drawings are concerned, it is the two pieces by Fabio Castelli I found most attractive. I was also pleased to see some of Paula Cloudpainter’s art on display – although I confess, I’m not sure monochrome fully captures the richness of her cloud images. Nor is all of the gallery given over to fully monochrome; there are touches of colour here and there, notably in the poems by Mountain String.

Rainbow Painter’s Gallery: Fiona Saiman

Such a large ensemble exhibition inevitably makes it hard to write about individual artists or pieces. As such, I can only give a hint of what is on display; but for a relatively young venue, I will say that Rainbow Painter’s is maturing into a very capable gallery that is rightly attracting the interest of artists new and old within SL. As such, I do recommend paying it a visit, and on keeping an eye on exhibitions there.

SLurl Details

2019 SL User Groups 11/1: Simulator User Group

Posted on by Inara Pey

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – blog post

Server Deployments

Please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest news.

  • There was no deployments to the SLS (Main) channel on Tuesday, March 12th, leaving it on server maintenance package 19#19.01.25.523656. Regions on the channel were, however, restarted.
  • On Wednesday March 13th, the RC regions should be updated as follows:
    • The BlueSteel and LeTigre RCs should receive a further EEP  update with server maintenance package 19#19.03.07.525089.
    • The Magnum RC channel should remain on server maintenance package 19#19.01.25.523656, comprising internal fixes. Region on that channel should, however, be restarted.

SL Viewer

  • The Environmental Enhancement Project RC viewer updated to version 6.1.1.525044 on March 7th.
  • The Love Me Render RC viewer updated to version 6.1.1.524929 on March 6th.

These updates bring these viewers to parity with the release viewer. The rest of the SL viewer pipeline remains as follows:

  • Current Release version 6.1.0.524670, formerly the BugSplat RC viewer February 13, promoted February 28 New.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Estate Access Management (EAM) RC viewer, version 6.2.0.524909, March 5.
  • Project viewers:
  • Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
  • Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.

Environment Enhancement Project Notes

The meeting suggested a few misconceptions / misunderstandings with the EEP project. While I plan to have an in-depth tutorial on the subject available shortly (with the very welcome assistance of Rider Linden), it’s worth making a few points here:

  • As is widely known, EEP makes in possible for region / estate holders and parcel holders to apply EEP settings to their land (subject to region / estate level permissions, in the case of parcels).
  • However what may not be more widely recognised is that EEP also allows environment settings to be directly applied to your own avatar. When this is done, the applied settings will override any in-world settings when seen in your own viewer. This means for example:
    • Aviators can apply an environment to themselves and experience that environment across multiple regions / parcels where they might otherwise encounter multiple environments affecting their viewer during their flights.
    • Photographers can easily apply their preferred settings when taking photos no matter where they are.
    • Once applied, setting will apply until either you re-log (local settings do not persist across sessions) or you set your viewer to use shared settings (i.e. those of regions/estates and parcels).
  • Further, there are some 15 LSL commands that can be used with EEP. The majority of these can be used without restriction; however two of them – llReplaceAGentEnvironment and llSetAgentEnvironment must be used in an experience.

The Question of Script Load III

At the last two SUG meetings (March 6th  and February 27th), there were reports that the percentage scripts run seems to be falling across Mainland without a noticeable increase in script count. If true, this would indicate something is going wrong. However, making an evaluation of possible causes is difficult, and there have been requests to make some of the script-related monitoring available at region / estate level more accessible. A feature request on this has now been raised – see BUG-226501.

Touring CandleWood in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandlewood – click any image for full size

We received two suggestions to visit CandleWood, a Full region making use of the 10K additional land capacity, almost simultaneously (thank you AJ and Miro!). Designed by Adalynne Romano (AdalynneReed), who also runs the region along with her partner, Doc Romano (Doc Battitude), this is a picturesque region with an About Land description that is certain to pique the interest.

Destination and community Sim. A whimsical journey of love and care with mystery, romance, and inspiration riddled everywhere.

CandleWood’s a treat for the eyes to see, come out and make your own story.

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

The About Land description goes on the note there are rentals in the region – but these are not excessive enough to make public visits a chore. In fact, and in a manner akin to Puddlechurch which we dropped into recently (see Exploring Puddlechurch in Second Life), CandleWood has been designed as a place to visit, with the eight rental units, forming a natural part of the landscape and placed in such a way as to not interfere with general exploration.

“I designed it to be a destination sim but for people who would like to live here, that option is available too,” Adalynne informed me as we visited. “There are five town houses for rent and three regular parcels.”

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

The five town houses are located in CandleWood’s little corner “town” on the south-west side of the region. Setting atop low cliffs rich a foliage and with their backs to the sea, the sit across a short paved road from an old railway station – this being the landing point for the region.

The layout of the street makes it clear that while it might once have been a busy place of commerce, it now experiences quieter times. The station itself is no longer active, with one of the aches glass roofs that may have once protected a platform from the elements has been converted into a covered seating area, nestled between station and the local tea house. The remaining platform also clearly isn’t in use any longer; the train parked within it is now more a feature for plants to grow against, and the single remaining track running down from the back of the station is now little more than a path pointing the way to explore the rest of the region.

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

It is in wandering along the street, passing tea house and café, peeking into the folly-as-a-photo-studio at the end of the road, that a part of the backstory Ryanna Foxclaw has written for the setting, and which can be found in Adalynne’s Profile Picks come especially to mind.

Just off the mainland lies and isle hidden in a thin mist of forgotten time. A busy town once driven by the railway and exports brought in by the ship, now gives way to a quieter, simple life. The fresh air from the sea, the wind blowing in the trees, and if one listens carefully they may hear the forgotten train whistles melody.

– Ryanna Foxclaw describing Candlewood

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

Perhaps the easiest route of exploration is via the old door at the back of the railway station (a second door is hidden behind the little tea house  and reached through the covered seating area. Going via the back of the station provides access to the old railway line that, as noted, offers a route of exploration. It also reveals just how extensive the town’s use of rail transport once was. Leading the way past old warehouses, it forks several times, often disappearing into what appear to be tunnels, offering a choice of possible exploration routes. Follow it far enough, and you’ll wind your way through the heart of the island to reach an old sliding, long overgrown and marked by a forgotten shipping container and a broken remains of a car, now used as a snuggle point

Note, however, this is only one possible route through the region, turn off the track in the little cluster of old commercial buildings, and you can follow the path around an aged warehouse looking out over the deck to the sea, and then along a shingle beach that skirts much of the region. This will take you to where a quaint little cottage sits to the south-east of the land. pen to the public, this can also be reached by follow a spur of the railway track close to the inland commercial units and passing through the short tunnel where it apparently ends. Two similar tunnels sit within the region, one in the north-east the other to the north-west – but take care with these as the former leads the way to two of the rental parcels in the region, and the latter marks the start of the Romano’s own home, so privacy should be respected.

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

The remaining rental property stands a grand house atop a table of rock near the centre of the region, commanding views on every side, water cascading from a pool to feeding a further pool below. This, in turn, feeds two narrow and crooked fingers of water as they flow outward to the sea, dividing the land between them.

And that is really just a beginning of all that is to be found in CandleWood; a place that deserves time and care when visiting, as there is much more to discover, including the elven-like dance area, the many places to sit and relax, the signs of semi-abandonment, the impressive footbridge, and more, all of which sit neatly within the backstory mentioned above.

Candlewood; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrCandleWood

Yes, the load placed on a viewer can make a visit a little heavy going if you have a lot of bells and whistles running, but don’t let this deter you. For photographers, the region is rich in opportunity, and Adalynne notes she and Doc run a weekly contest where they will pick one photo from those submitted to the CandleWood Flickr group for display at the landing point, and the photographer awarded with L$500. I also understand from Adalynne larger photo competitions might also be in the planning – so if you are interested, be sure to join the region’s group (which will also grant you rezzing rights – just be sure to pick things up after!).

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