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Grid downtime update: Talon and new HUD

The grid’s down for the latest (and hopefully greatest) patch, which — according to the release notes — further improves the texture loading. Hopefully, this means the end of lag storms when I turn the camera in the wrong direction.

So what does one do when the grid and the forums are closed for maintenance? Well maybe I’ll give you an update on all that’s happening in the world of Cubey Terra.

This weekend, I managed to get in some solid development time on the new Terra Talon jet. One of the Talon’s key features is a HUD-attachment control panel, which I’ve never done before. The interesting thing about a heads-up display is that it’s part object-building and part UI design. While it’s tempting to simply follow a Windows-style interface simply for its universal familiarity, that’s really not what my vehicles are all about.

Instead, this HUD is all about replicating dials, chunky buttons, and indicator lights. It has to have the clunky, tactile, and slightly inefficient feel of metal and plastic. Controls need to make that satisfying “click” when you switch something on. I’ll post snapshots of it later on, when the grid’s back.

In terms of timeline, I’m not to far from the finish line. Given several hours or so of tweaks and polishing, I think I’ll be able to maybe declare it mostly pretty much almost close to what I’d sort of admit to being virtually done. And you can hold me to that.

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Aviators take to the skies again

Yesterday, to the collective relief of the entire SL population, Linden Lab released Second Life 1.7.2. Immediately — after the servers settled down, anyway — everyone noticed the improvement in framerate. Sims that previously ran at a snail’s pace with a handful of avatars now run smoothly with a couple dozen visitors.

And of course, over at Abbotts, the aviators of Abbotts Aerodrome took to the skies again. Arrekusu Muromachi is putting the finishing touches on some sleek-looking blue-and-white planes, and the recently-promoted Commander Jillian Callahan has stocked her new hangar with goodies. I had the pleasure of trying out Arrekusu’s flying wing and biplane, myself. After trying a few rolls and loops, Arre and I met up with Rei Kuhr over in Balance, where Wupatki was taking a look at Mike Westerburg’s brand-new orange Husky (a plane, not a dog). I didn’t see it in the air, but it the model looks quite realistic. Jakal Sauvage, as well, has a new P-51 Mustang that I saw only in passing as I crashed hard into the ground, but the blurry outline on my screen looked quite convincing. I’ll have to bug him later for a better look.

It was in Balance that Rei showed me the latest SL bug: out-of-position bounding boxes. Where there’s a moving prim on a model, the prim moves one way, but the invisible physics bounding box moves another. That means that collisions between the object and avatars, the ground, and other objects will occur in the wrong place.

This new bug affects my Cormorant plane-sub, as well as the doors Noir SkyLife modules. I’m sure it affects others as well, but I haven’t had time to check my inventory. So if you notice that your plane acts like the landing gear are in one place, but they appear in another place, it’s the bug.

On another entirely unrelated note, several of Second Life’s most well-known residents have glommed together to create SLOG. It’s a collaborative blog about the goings-on in Second Life, and very much worth bookmarking.

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The skies are quiet

Since the recent release of SL 1.7, and subsequent lag issues, Second Life has seemed a little quiet. From time to time, there are surges of activity through Abbotts when a group shows up to go skydiving or maybe try out a few planes. I supposed they’re not bothered by sudden, crippling bouts of lag, but for myself, I’m going to avoid aircraft until the next patch, which — according to Philip — will address the root cause of the lag.

As much as these issues can be annoying, I take the more philosophical view. The bugs are a good sign, in part — they’re a sign that the code isn’t stagnating. We wouldn’t see new bugs appear if the Linden Lab devs weren’t constantly improving code. Every time you add something new to a complex system, it naturally reveals new and unforseen bugs which, over time, can be trampled out of existence, one-by-one. Add feature, reveal bugs, kill them, repeat ad infinitum. That’s the software development cycle.

In the meantime, it seems like many SLers are biding the time to the next patch by turning their attentions to other pursuits — politics, forum drama, and real-life meetups. That’s the sign of a healthy online community. Give SL another couple of weeks, and this whole 1.7 kerfuffle will be forgotten, and we can once again take to the skies.

Say, that’s the first time I’ve used “kerfuffle” in a blog entry.

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Making the unreal real

As I’ve mentioned before, I have an unhealthy addiction to Second Life — an online, shared, virtual world (not a game, say Second Life’s makers). It’s an environment where the users create their own world, then live and play in it.

Simon Goldin, an artist from Sweden, wasn’t content to leave virtual creations in Second Life. He’s selected a handful of items from various residents and fabricated them in real life for an exhibition, calling the collection Objects of Virtual Desire.

Penguin Balls in Second Life
Penguin Balls in Second Life

Penguin Balls in real life
Penguin Balls in real life

Our interest lies in exploring the concept of product design in a virtual world and what kind of interpersonal value objects carry in this context. Further questions are raised by transferring these objects to physical space and a ?first life? economy. What is immaterial value-creation and can it be materialised? What does it mean to use a virtual world as a site of production?

The issues raised are relevant in a wider context, as value-production in the ?post-fordist? era has become increasingly immaterial. Nike, for example, exploits the physical function of a shoe to create and market immaterial values, so pervasive that the shoe itself becomes almost virtual.

Objects of Virtual Desire exploits the augmented value of immaterial objects to create and market tangible products, thereby reversing the process and highlighting the materiality of the immaterial. (link)

Among the items he fabricated are jewelry, butterflies, a Jedi orb from Star Wars, and one of my creations, Penguin Balls. In Second Life, Penguin Balls are big, bouncy, penguin-laden spheres that you can drag around and throw at people. It’s great fun to fill a crater with them and fly through them with a jet pack.

Simon’s penguin balls are two-meter infatable balls with an inflatable penguin inside. As much as I’d love to have one of these, I think I’ll have to forgo the pleasure, since the price is currently set at 3,300 Euros (about 3,969 US dollars). Ah well… I don’t have room in my apartment for one anyway.

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Cubey’s retirement

As you may know, the avatar known as Cubey Terra is old and grey. Eventually, the time comes when one has to set aside the business, sit back in the Lay-Z-Boy rocker-recliner, and put up the aching feet while enjoying a nice cold one.

As of today, I’m retiring as “commander” of Abbotts Aerodrome. It’s been an amazing and enriching experience, engaging in almost unbridled creativity in Abbotts since February 2004. I’d like to send my thanks to Apotheus Silverman, co-founder of Abbotts, without whom the Aerodrome would never have been called into existence. Also I’d like to thank the mysteriously-absent Reitsuki Kojima, whose friendship and creativity was inspiring to me (where the heck are you??). And thanks to Chage McCoy, whose enthusiasm for the Aerodrome led to new aircraft, new security, and a piece of corporate artwork in the lobby that I can’t begin to describe. Really, I can’t describe it.

My corner of Abbotts will be empty for a while. When I figure out what to do with my massive inventory of aircraft and gadgets, I may build something new to leave there. I’ll be around on occasion, though not very often. Although I won’t be designing anything new, I plan to continue to sell Noir SkyLife skyhome kits (as Blanc Noir), and perhaps wander around as a tourist.

To all of the aircraft builders in SL, Abbotts Aerodrome has always been, and will continue to be, a centre for the development of cutting-edge aviation. I hope you’ll all lend your support to the remaining members of Abbotts Aerodrome: Chage McCoy, Reitsuki Kojima, Apotheus Silverman, Rei Kuhr, and Arrekusu Muromachi.

Cheers!