Second Life: EEP Testing Begins

Enhanced Environment Project or EEP has begun testing (9/20/2018). The server-side code and inventory changes are only in place on Aditi, the preview grid. You also need the not-yet-project viewer. Which you can get here: OSX, Win-64, and Win-32.

Ed at DEAD 09212018_066

Ed at DEAD

These versions of the EEP viewer do NOT have the animesh code. However, the EEP enabled server code does have the animesh code. So, while you can see animesh animating in EEP regions you have to be using the Animesh RC viewer, which means you can’t see the EEP changes.

Confused? Think one or the other. Not both at the same time.

The region previously named Animesh1 is now named EEPTesting (URL).

Those regularly attending the Content Creators’ UG meeting have a priority in acquiring a parcel in the EPPTesting region. ‘Acquire’ as in own. There is a limited amount of land available for testing. So, please only pick up a parcel if you plan to test.

Realize this is a temporary ownership for testing EEP.

Also, I delayed publishing by about a day to allow those at the meeting to get their parcels.

How Does It Work?

The Lindens have published a new wiki page explaining how EEP works and showing the viewer changes. Look here: Environmental Enhancement Project.

EEP Things

From the Wiki, “EEP provides 3 new inventory assets called settings. Settings may be created and destroyed through your inventory, they may be given to other people or sold through the marketplace.” So, they are now a ‘thing’ or things.

There are EEP skies, water, and day cycles. These things have permissions; Copy, Modify, and Transfer. You can sell them in the marketplace. You can give them to people, provided you have trans-permission.

Making Your Own EEP

Now you go into Inventory and click like you would to make a new folder or system shirt. There is a New Settings choice with sky, water, and cycle choices. If you make Windlight settings, you can make EEP settings.

Using EEP Settings

Once you have settings, just right-click them and select; Apply Only to Self, Apply to Parcel, or Apply to Region. Of course you have to have parcel or region rights for the last two.

Summary

Read the wiki article for all the details. There is lots more to learn about EEP.

Now, what is it going to do with our old Windlight settings? :/  We don’t know. There was some talk of importing Windlight settings to EEP as the new assets. I don’t see mention of that.

There is a second phase of EEP development. With this first release there will be no scripting functions. However, there is a sun dial in the testing region that has some of the functions Rider Linden used when testing EEP. These aren’t published, there is no documentation, and they do work in EEP regions. So, there is some scripting to play with. These are likely unpolished raw prototypes for the functions to come. I have yet to check them out.

My big question is what happens with the Firestorm Photo Tools panels? They are going to have to change to be compatible. How sun and moon settings work has changed. So, even the basics of the Tools have to change.

Firestorm has used their FS Windlight for some time. It is a ‘hack’ to give users more control over WL in their regions. There are some number of regions using FS Windlight. So, they can’t just drop it from the viewer. I think they will likely run both for sometime. Then they’ll have to decide if they are dripping FS Windlight to go with EEP or keep them both, which seems awkward and likely confusing to new users.

The tutorials for arranging photoshoots in Second Life™ are going to have to change too. So, Strawberry Singh and William Weaver will need to update there stuff. I probably will probably make some new tutorials once EEP makes it to RC. My old ones I’ll just add a note to to see the new ones.

While all these updates are work, we are getting many of the things users have been asking about for years. Some of the ideas expressed in Firestorm Windlight have been incorporated in EEP. It is a big improvement and when complete will provide way better control of the SL environment.

EEP is something I’ve been looking forward to.

4 thoughts on “Second Life: EEP Testing Begins

  1. Just a note …

    Alexa did actually indicate at the meeting that she’d prefer the URLs for the viewer not to be given out at this point in time, due to the limited number of parcels available.

  2. SL isn’t letting me buy land there. I can see it for sale but the transaction doesn’t close.

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