#SL llListen() Functions

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When I first started learning to write scripts for Second Life I heard how bad LISTEN was for performance. In last Monday’s Scripting UG I learned that a llListen() is not as bad as I was previously told. That will certainly change how I script. If you are curious about how LISTEN affects your scripts, read on.

Frames

Everything in SL seems to be keyed to frames. The meaning of fames in SL basically the images rendered to the viewer. We see that in the Viewer Statistics (Ctrl-Shift-1) as both viewer FPS and server FPS. Both the viewer and server take a fragment of time and do all the calculations to figure out where everything is and draw the picture we see on the screen.

The servers run at 45 FPS, unless they over load and start to slow down. Your viewer runs at whatever it runs. Ideally your viewer runs at 45 FPS. It been some time since I’ve seen my viewer run that fast. But, 45 FPS gives the server and viewer 22.2 milli-seconds to figure out where everything is and draw it.

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#SL Scripting llGetAgentList()

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Kelly Linden announced Monday in the Scripting UG and again in the Tuesday Server/Sim/Scripting Ug that he has progressed far enough on the function that it is now in QA and winding its way to a Release Channel. It is probably two weeks away from a roll out on an RC.

You can find pre-release information in the wiki: llGetAgentList(). The page was posted 3/20.

This function will return a list of the agents in a specified area within a single region.  The areas you can specify are;

  • AGENT_LIST_PARCEL – returns only agents on the same parcel where the script is running.
  • AGENT_LIST_PARCEL_OWNER – returns only agents on any parcel in the region where the parcel owner is the same as the owner of the parcel under the scripted object.
  • AGENT_LIST_REGION – returns any/all agents in the region.

The function will return a list of avatar keys. The limit is 100 avatars per the wiki. There is no discernible order or randomness to the list.

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Second Life Dev Viewer 3.3.2 (251752)

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The build process’ linking for the Development Viewer is not working correctly. So, the Snowstorm Page is not updating as it should. It is stuck on 3.3.2 (250772). However, there have been a number of builds and improvements in the Dev Viewer. We just can’t get to them.

However, you can get the latest Development Integration Viewer. This is not a daily use viewer. But, the current rumor is it is stable. I find it is only using 650±mb of ram. That is way down from 1.2 to 2.1mb I have seen in previous versions.

Another branch named Viewmaster is the branch the bug chasers are working on. It is said to be very very stable. Now if I can just figure out the link.

Direct Delivery Launches

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The Lindens have enabled Direct Delivery on the main grid today. There is also a nice new shiny blog post creatively titled: Direct Delivery Launches Today.

The post has links to Wiki pages with more information and a Torley Linden video, Yay! Torley! Titled: Direct Delivery Essentials.

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I am one that believes in avoiding the rush and never being first… even if there is a virgin involved. First is dangerous and full of surprises.

UPDATE: Getting your Merchant’s Outbox working is trick. To get the Received Items folder visit the Market Place and get the Direct Delivery Bear. The Received Items folder will appear when it arrives. Actually buying anything that is Direct Delivery ready will cause your Received Items folder to appear.

Getting the opposite side of the coin working is more complex. Some are saying log in and out of SL and it will start working. (Me->Merchant Outbox…) But, that has not worked for many of us. The in-world commerce group is flooded with people asking, ‘WTF?’

Some are recommending logging out of and into the Market Place then logging out of and into of Second Life. A number of people are saying it works for them. I tried it and it worked for me. \o/

UPDATE: For those moving things to the new DD Market Place… when you make a folder to place an existing product into DD, the name must match the product name exactly to auto-associate. Otherwise, you must manually associate the new DD item with the existing Magic Box item.

#SL Pathfinding Tools in Beta

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Pathfinding is advancing. Tuesday Lorca Linden visited the Server/Sim/Scripting User Group and updated us on Pathfinding.

New Pathfinding Viewer Tools

Lorca told us the Pathfinding Viewer Tools need testing. The tools are built into the viewer and interact with the SL Servers. The system is ready for Open Beta testing. Of course one needs a viewer with the tools. You can now get that at: Second Life Alternate Viewers.

Next one needs a place where the tools work. The place is ADITI in the Path Test regions. Use the World map once in ADITI to find them.

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