Second Life

Things about SL

Imprudence-Kokua News

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The head of the Imprudence-Kokua Viewer Project, Jacek Antonelli, is… retiring. He has posted an announcement to that effect in the Kokua and Imprudence blog. See: Moving On.

It is difficult to predict how the Kokua-Imprudence project will change after his departure. I am not involved in the inner circles of the team… or for that matter even in the outer circles. I’m just another fan of the Imprudence viewer. So, I can only speculate. My guesses would not even be well informed.

Whatever becomes of Kokua-Imprudence I wish Jacek Antonelli all the best and thanks for all the fish.

Second Life Mesh Update Week 31

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Today’s meeting had a good turnout, about 37 people. Of course with that turnout comes a number of people that have not been regularly attending and the newly frustrated without a clue that want to have things fixed. I’ll skip all that boring stuff and get to the interesting items.

Mesh Cost

For many this is the only issue left with mesh. Mesh cost is complex. New mesh builders that have yet to learn the tricks and complications of Prim Equivalency (PE) are shocked that some factors of mesh can cause cost to double, triple, or more.

Mesh Meeting

The Script Hit

The thing one has to consider is which of the three primary cost factors, Streaming, Physics, or Simulation weight, is controlling your cost. Your PE is going to be the highest of the three. Adding a script can affect the objects tier cost. However, adding a script only affects your Tier Cost when the objects Simulation Weight is the controlling factor. So, one has to consider all the factors to get the best PE/Tier cost.

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Mesh Avatars Demos Out

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Listening in the Mesh Volunteers Group I heard someone has mesh avatars ready for sale. You can get a free demo (L$0). Visit Yabusaka to find them. Walk straight in the main door and past the teleport sign and group join. You’ll see three mesh avatars that will be for sale.

Free Mesh Body Demos

For now these are demo versions only. For SIM’s sake do NOT rez them in the sim. You will probably break them and have to get another copy. Take them to a mesh sandbox to try them out, which means you MUST BE in the Volunteers group to get into the sandbox. You can avoid joining that group by teleporting to NEO Aquel, which is a regular region that is mesh-enabled. Since these mesh avatars are already uploaded, you do not have to be mesh enabled. ALSO… you must have a mesh capable viewer. You can download that from the Volunteers’ page (236285).

There is a newer viewer that appeared Sunday. A post by Nyx Linden points to it. Post – Viewer Download (237157) It is not clear which one Mesh Volunteers should be using. I am going with the newer one. I wrote this article while using the older one. As I was finishing, the post popped.

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Second Life Viewer Non-Update Week 30

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I often use the SLV Development viewer. I’m on one of the version 2.8.3 builds. So, I have a sense of how well it is or is not working. But, that tells me nothing about planning for the viewer. For that information I rely on the Office Hour or as it is now called the Viewer Evolution User Group meeting. Recently that meeting has not been happening. Actually for the last two weeks the Lindens are not showing up. This group was one of the most informative and communicative. Now it is one of the worse if not the worst. So, it is hard to know what is going on with the Linden Lab viewer.

Viewers to be Blocked

Opensource Obscure noticed in the wiki a note in the 2.8.0 viewer release notes about versions of the SLViewer 2 series being blocked. Viewers from version 2.1.1 to version 2.6.8 will be blocked at logon. As the Lindens have promised the 1.23.x viewers are excluded and will be able to login.

I think there are enough code changes and new features in Second Life that one needs a 2.7 or better viewer to get the most out of SL. The blocked viewers are using support services that will likely be turned off in the coming days.

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Second Life Mesh Announcement II

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OK… it’s not their first announcement of mesh. But Thursday’s late afternoon post gives us more information about Linden Lab’s plans and timing.

What is Mesh?

I’ll say the majority of residents are asking, what is mesh? I’ve seen questions asking, how does mesh differ from sculpties? The Lindens have an answer in their announcement: Mesh Update: Part Deux.

It is All Mesh

If their definition-explanation works for you, great. It is definitely a non-techy answer. If you want to see MESH in Second Life, press Ctrl-Shift-R. It is a toggle, so press again to turn off Wireframe. If you are wondering how people figure out or remember all the keyboard shortcuts, see: All Second Life keyboard shortcut keys. Remember. There are different shortcuts in Third Party Viewers (TPV).

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Second Life Server Update Week 30a

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I couldn’t make the Beta Server Group meeting Thursday. But I lucked out and Oskar got the minutes posted on the wiki. So, here is the interesting stuff.

Homestead Performance

A couple of weeks ago a problem caused the script timing in homesteads to go haywire and slow things down. This week the fix for that problem made it to the main grid. So, performance should be much better now.

Release Channels

The Wednesday roll of new code to the release channels was delayed until Thursday. Even then only the Magnum release channel got new code. This is the code that improves the HTTP service. In its first few hours Coyot Linden says it has performed well. If that is the case for the rest of the week it could roll to main grid next Tuesday.

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