As always, please refer to the forum discussion thread for the latest updates and information.
There was no scheduled deployment to the Main (SLS) channel this week.
On Wednesday 24th September, all three RC channel received a further update to the Experience Tool maintenance release deployed in week 38, which includes:
llUpdateKeyValue() now correctly creates a key if it did not previously exist
Objects using experience permissions and llAttachToAvatar() are no longer automatically detached when leaving an area where the Experience is allowed.
SL Viewer
The promised viewer using the new GPU benchmark system appeared as a project viewer on Thursday September 25th. Version 3.7.17.294710, includes MAINT-3131, which is simply described as “Death to the GPU Table”, which pretty much sums the viewer up!
Rather than using the GPU table as a means of determining default graphics level for a graphics card, the viewer measures the memory bandwidth of the card, and sets the default based on that (plus a couple of other parameters. The release notes add, “Initial settings on shiny powerful hardware should now let that hardware shine. Initial settings on low-end machines should not degrade performance from current experience.”
CDN and Regions
The Snack RC is currently being used for CDN testing on Agni. As noted in my week 38 updates, Denby, Hippo Hollow, Hippotropolis and Testsylvania Sandbox were initially placed on the RC, and they have since been joined by Brasil Rio, Brocade, Fluffy, Freedom City, Rocket City and Whippersnapper.
Group Ban Trivia
OK, so not exactly an update, but Baker Linden indicates that some 4500 group bans have occurred since the arrival of the group ban list functionality in the official viewer (and a number of TPVs). Will be interesting to hear how that number increases once Firestorm includes the capability.
The following notes were taken from the Open Source Dev meeting on Monday 22nd September 22nd, and the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday 23rd September.
Server Deployments Week 39
As always, please refer to the forum discussion thread for the latest updates and information.
There will be no scheduled deployment to the Main (SLS) channel this week.
On Wednesday 24th September, all three RC channel should receive a further update to the Experience Tool maintenance release deployed in week 38, which includes a fix for an issue with llGetExperienceDetails().
SL Viewer
The most recent Maintenance release viewer, version 3.7.16.294015, was promoted to the de facto release viewer on Monday 22nd September. This viewer includes fixes for inventory and outfit management; appearance editing; group & group ban management; camera controls; multi-grid support for favourites; notifications management; stability, bug and crash fixes – see the release notes for further information.
On Friday September 19th, the New Log-in Screen RC viewer reached release candidate status when 3.7.16.294345 arrvied in the release channel. This viewer brings a simple and clean login screen for new users, and a corresponding update for returning users. (download and release notes, my overview).
GPU Table Retirement
An ongoing project at the Lab is to remove the need for the GPU table within the viewer. This is currently used to set the default graphics level for a user’s graphics card, and requires constant checking and update as new GPUs and cards are produced. Recent work has seen the GPU table massively updated, with the Lab working towards an alternative strategy of determining the capabilities of a graphics system. This is primarily done by measuring the memory bandwidth of a card and setting the default based on that (plus a couple of other parameters.
A viewer utilising this approach is currently with LL’s QA team and should be making an appearance soon. This strategy has already shown sufficient promise that new GPUs are no longer being added to the GPU table in preparation for it to be phased out.
Other Items
iCloud Conflict
A recent update to Apple’s iCloud service aimed at users of windows system using the service has had an unexpected impact on various aspects of the SL including killing mesh uploads, snapshots (saving to inventory fails with “Error encoding snapshot”) and textures (upload fail with “Couldn’t convert the image to jpeg2000”), and UI elements can turn completely black.
Full details of the issue can be found on BUG-7343, and the problems have been particularly noted in both the official viewer and Firestorm, and Catznip. investigations are underway by both the Lab and the Firestorm team, and one line of thinking is that it might be some DLL injection poisoning issue.
The iCloud update, which was apparently deployed over the weekend of the 20th /21st September has, at the time of writing, yet to be deployed for Mac systems. There is some speculation that it may not result in similar issues for Mac users due to the way iCloud is implemented for each OS. One potential work-around is to roll-back to an earlier version of the service’s client, making sure that any auto-update option is disabled.
Group Tags
We’re probably all aware how changing group tags can often be a cure-all for a number of problems, even when logically it should be the case. One possible explanation as to why this is the case is that changing your group tag may trigger a full update of your avatar.
However, possibly as a result of interest list changes, there is now one situation where changing your group tag is not a good idea – and that is when a scene is still loading, as doing so can cause the scene load to fail, and the only means of resuming it is to relog – see BUG-6299. So, if you arrive in a location that sends you a request to join a group you’d like to join, wait a couple of minutes in order to give the scene the chance to fully load before you do so.
This issue is known to the Lab, but a fix has yet to be determined.
llSetlinkAlpha Update Issue
This is an issue that is getting a little long in the tooth – see BUG-1786 – which sees llSetLinkAlpha failing to correctly update a percentage of prims when a large(ish) number are updated simultaneously. Weapons users are liable to be familiar with this, as it can occur in “holstering” or “slinging” a weapon which should cause the “held” version of the weapon to turn transparent and the “slung” / “holstered” version rendered, but often results in elements of the “held” version of the weapon remaining visible.
This issue appears to be related to UDP packets being lost between the server and the viewer, with Simon Linden commenting, “I remember digging into this and it seemed like lost packets. It’s really hard to predict when they’ll get lost, but it seems it’s not slowing down updates quite right when there’s a sudden flood.” He promised to pass the issue with LL’s product team, but wasn’t optimistic it might move higher up the “fix” chain due to the current volume of work.
The updated login screen viewer has made it past the experimental / project viewer status and is now a release candidate viewer, version 3.7.16.294345. This viewer, which I previewed while still a project viewer, features two log-in splash screens, one of which is seen by users logging-in to SL for the very first time, and one which is seen by returning users.
The “new user screen” provides a couple of hints as to what to expect when those coming to SL for the first time log-in.
The updated log-in screen which is only seen by a user logging-in to SL for the very first time, and which provides some information on what to expect.
The more “regular” log-in screen which is seen by returning users (i.e. those who have previously logged-in to SL), has the log-in criteria fields moved to the top, and introduces a few changes, which I described last time around, but will re-cap here for convenience.
The most obvious of these is that the credentials area now has three independent log-in buttons:
At last location – as most users will be familiar with, logs you in to your last location; you’ll also be logged in to that location if you type-in an avatar’s name and password and tap ENTER as per the current viewer log-in screen
My Favourite Places – a drop-down which lets you choose to log-in to your home location, or any landmark you have dragged and dropped into the viewer’s Favourites Bar / the My Favourites folder in your Inventory
The familiar Type a Location text entry box, allowing you to type-in the name of a specific region / sim to which you want to log in – this now works if you type a location and tap ENTER rather than having to then click the Log-in button.
The updated log-in / splash screen users returning to SL will see
Note that on computers which are used to access Second Life with multiple accounts, the user name field now has an auto-complete function based on the initial letters of an avatar name entered into the field (providing Remember Me is checked). However, do note that this does not extend to the password field, which is not auto-completed on the basis of the user name field. When logging-in with different accounts, you will still need to manually enter the password for the account you’re using.
The reason the log-in screen has been revised is that during A/B testing, the Lab believe they noted a rise in user retention of 3-5% among those new users who were supplied with viewers using revised log-in layouts when compared to those who received the release viewer download with the current log-in screen. Speaking at the TPV developer meeting on Friday September 12th, Grumpity ProductEngine Linden also indicated that these may be the first in a series of changes to the viewer log-in, saying:
We’re going to be putting forward some changes to the newbie log-in screen and then the subsequent returning user log-in screen. They’re going to be gradual, and sometimes not as beautiful as we might like all at once; however, you can be assured that they’ve all been tested and that they perform better.
If this does mean further updates might be appearing down the road, it’ll be interesting to see what form they’ll take.
With thanks to Gibson Firehawk for pointing out the log-in auto-complete and location fix.
The following notes are drawn from the TPV Developer meeting held on Friday September 12th, and shown in the video above. Time stamps, where relevant, have been included for ease of reference to the video. Note that items are listed according to subject matter, rather than chronologically, so time stamps may appear out-of-sequence in places. My thanks as always to North for the recording.
Viewer Updates
[00:00] The Maintenance RC was updated on Friday September 12th with the release of version 3.7.16.294015. This viewer includes a range of updates and fixes as specified in the release notes.
The Oculus Rift project viewer, with the first round of updates for the Oculus DK2 has been through LL’s QA process, and is currently undergoing further refinement as a result. There is no ETA on when it might appear other than “soon”; however, it is anticipated it will continue to support DK1 as far as possible, as well as supporting DK2.
As noted in part 2 of this report the Experience Keys project viewer was updated to version 3.7.16.293901. and it appears further updates may be on the way.
Experimental Log-in Viewer
[21:20] For the last several weeks, the Lab has been running some A/B tests with new users using a viewer with a revised log-in screen alongside of the familiar log-in screen (see version 3.7.14.292660).
The log-in screen displayed by the experimental viewer the *first time* a new user runs the viewer
Commenting on this testing, Grumpity ProductEngine Linden said:
We’ve found that there are some changes we can make that increase retention by a fairly sizeable number of thee to five percent. So we’re going to be putting forward some changes to the newbie log-in screen and then the subsequent returning user log-in screen. They’re going to be gradual, and sometimes not as beautiful as we might like all at once; however, you can be assured that they’ve all been tested and that they perform better.
The log-in / splash screen in the experimental viewer that is seen by user who have previously logged-in to SL
This means that there will be an RC viewer appearing in week 38 which will have updates based upon the results from this testing incorporated into it. These changes should not affect any of the widgets / embedded features within the log-in screen used by TPVs.
There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday September 9th, largely as a result of there having been no RC deployments in week 36.
On Wednesday September 10th, the RC channels all received the same server maintenance project, which includes crash fixes and a fix for a bug that prevented some people from leaving Skill Gaming regions – notably Linden staff who entered a region using their admin powers …
SL Viewer
The Experience Keys projects viewer got its long-awaited update on Wednesday September 10th, with the release of version 3.7.16.293901. The viewer remains at a project viewer status, but now has parity with the current release viewer.
Group Chat
There is no major news here; as noted in part one of the week’s report, the Lab are still working on adjustments to the group chat code, but according the Maestro Linden, there isn’t anything as yet ready for further testing on Aditi – although the implication seemed to be that there may well be in the near future, as the comment on the work was made in terms of “upcoming stuff”.
In the meantime, people have been reporting further increases in group chat issues, prompting questions on whether increasing the number of servers used in support of the chat service might help. However, when this idea was last discussed, it was indicated that increasing the amount of available hardware isn’t considered to be a suitable solution at the moment, as it is the exponential manner in which ancillary messages (status updates, etc.) flood the service is seen to be the issue; something which just the provision of new hardware may not resolve / ease. As such, bringing the volume of the messages under better control is seen as key step in improving the service.
Other Items
Gesture and Object Sounds Parcel Restrictions
During the Server Beta meeting the subject of restricting sounds between parcels came up, with a request for a parcel setting to restrict sounds from other parcels being heard within a parcel. Currently, there is an option to restrict sounds from objects and gestures played within a parcel to that parcel, this can be found under About Land > Sound.
The option to restrict sounds from gestures and objects to a parcel will also block the same sounds originating from other parcels from being heard within the parcel where set
The question led to an experiment with this option, which revealed, to the surprise of several at the meeting (myself included), that the setting is actually bi-directional: enabling it not only restricts sounds from objects and gestures being heard outside of a parcel, it blocks such sounds played from other parcels from being heard within the parcel as well. In some respects, that the options is bi-directional shouldn’t really have been a surprise; the other parcel options of a similar nature – restricting voice, restricting avatar visibility and chat, for example, are bi-directional, so why not gestures and sounds?
The option may not be perfect; looped sounds, for example, may not be restricted, and during a short test at the meeting, some indicated they could still hear a sound generated on one parcel when moving from it to a parcel with the gesture and objects sounds restriction set, prompting Maestro Linden to muse if the restriction was enforced server-side or in the viewer. However, if you are troubled by sounds from a neighbouring or nearby parcel, it might be worth trying the option if you haven’t already.
There was no deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday September 9th, largely as a result of there having been no RC deployments in week 36.
On Wednesday September 10th, the RC channels should all receive the same server maintenance project, which includes crash fixes and an “obscure bug”.
Describing the crash mode fixes at the Simulator User Group meeting, Simon Linden said, “The crash fixes aren’t normal usage but some edge cases that needed attention. The “obscure bug” was one that Maestro Linden had mentioned at the last Server Beta meeting, describing it as preventing Lindens from being able to leave Skill Gaming regions. Simon expanded on that saying, “It wasn’t just Lindens, but it was really anyone that didn’t have proper access.” Quiet what the proper access might be, isn’t clear.
A separate issue with Skill Gaming regions is that some who have had payment information files with the Lab for some time, but who have not actually used it for a period of time, may have to refresh their information prior to being able to access such regions.
SL Viewer
Release Viewer
Monday September 8th saw the Snowstorm contributions RC promoted to the de facto release viewer, version 3.7.15. 293376. This viewer includes assorted contributed fixes and updates, including the unified snapshot floater and support for ‘older than’ when inventory filtering).
The new snapshot floater by Niran V Dean is now available within the official viewer
There has been a report of this installation of this viewer pausing with the message “unable to find Second Life Crash Logger”, but that clearing the message will see the viewer complete installation OK. As there are reports that this has happened with other releases of the viewer and where allow automatic updates has been enabled, it might be connected to the automatic update process within the viewer itself, possibly as a result of the viewer not shutting down correctly as a part of the automatic update process, although this is by no means certain.
RC Updates
A new maintenance release viewer arrived in the release channel as an RC on Friday September 5th. Version 3.7.15.293253, which includes fixes for inventory and outfit management; appearance editing; group & group ban management; camera controls; multi-grid support for favourites; notifications management; stability, plus bug and crash fixes (download and release notes).
New Viewer Autobuild Process
The Lab’s new viewer autobuild process is now in the final phases of preparation for deployment, with Oz Linden reporting at the Open-source Dev meeting that there are only “minor fixes here and there” that seem to be required. There are expected to be some further updates to the new autobuild wiki page to assist self-compilers.
Other Items
Viewer Fixes in the Works
In week 34, I referred to a Mac Cocoa issue with theapplicationShouldTerminate function, reported by Cinder Roxley, and which she described as:
Say you are logged into sl, and you open appstore and there is an update that needs a restart to complete. Normally you click restart and it shuts down all apps completes the update and when you login your apps are reopened. Because the viewer is sending a bad value back to OSX, OSX will not close it, and it stops the restart from happening.
The fix for this, submitted by Cinder under STORM-2053, is now under review, and so should be progressing forward soon.
STORM-2053, “Viewer no longer asks for confirmation before ejecting a member from a group like in previous releases, also no confirmation for banning”, also submitted by Cinder is also in the same state.
OPEN-268, “FFLOAD_XML missing on linux and darwin, FFSAVE_XML missing on darwin”, also from Cinder Roxley, may be a little more obscure, given it is apparently a long-standing issue which hasn’t previously been reported, but it to is progressing the Lab’s internal review phase.
Opting Out of Group Chat
As noted in my SL project updates, the Lab is working on trying to improve group chat (see the Group Chat tag list for articles). While this doesn’t form a part of the Lab’s work, Cinder Roxley has submitted STORM-2079, “As a group member, I would like to opt out of joining chat”.
The JIRA itself is still pending, but it highlights one of the ways in which some of the message load face by the group chat service might additionally be reduced. As previously noted, the major issue with group chat is not so much the volume of actual chat messages being sent, but with the number of updates the service must send as people log-in and out of SL, and as they join / leave group chat sessions. However, cumulatively, this still adds up to a lot of message traffic. So having a means by which users can opt-out of group chat altogether (and just receive notices, for example), could help reduce the load in terms of actual messages being sent and with the volume of updates for people joining / leaving group chat sessions.
Firestorm already provides a toggle for opting-out of group chat either on a group-by group basis from within a Group Profile floater, or en masse via options in Preferences > Chat > Firestorm. However, these options only cause the viewer to discard incoming messages, they don’t actually reduce the volume of messages being sent by the chat servers.
Firestorm includes options to discard group chat messages – but this doesn’t reduce the volume of messages being sent
As a result of the JIRA and a brief discussion at the Open-source Dev meeting, there is likely to be some more poking around to identify where values relating to received group notices and chat are stored in the viewer with a view of seeing what might be leveraged towards helping reducing the volume of chat related traffic.
The Trace, April 2014 (Flickr) – blog post
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 