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And the winner is…

You people made this decision so very hard. All judges were very surprised not only at the sheer number, but by the quality and creativity exercised by the contestants. After careful deliberation, however, the judges cast their decisions and settled on these winners…

In first place: Salen Welesa for her gyrocopter

In second place: Kamatz Kuhr for his VTOL tailsitter

And in third place: Trina Strauss for her float biplane

As well, I’d like to make mention of some designers who I personally feel should be acknowledged for their creative designs: Karsten Rutlege, Chase Speculaas, Maxx MacKenzie, Selene Gregoire, TxGorilla Falcone, Arrai Lobo, Akira Boyama, Mazack Frua, Miko Molinari, and Scifer Fielding.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. It was great fun, and one of Abbotts Aerodrome’s biggest events. I hope to see your designs again in the 2006 competition!

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Terra Talon

The Terra Talon is a compact jet with combat capabilities. With combat off, Talon is easy-to-manage and stable. With combat on, it’s agile and deadly.

Terra Talon is available at Abbotts Aerodrome (click here)

Terra Talon is the first Cubey Terra aircraft to include a heads-up display (HUD) attachment! This instrument panel includes:
* Speed indicator
* Altimeter
* Throttle
* Artificial horizon
* Buttons for landing gear, canopy, smoke, combat, and eject.

Features:

* Terra Combat System. Engage in combat with any other vehicle that uses the TERRA COMBAT SYSTEM. Works in no-build zones, too.

* Lift and maneuverability vary with speed.

* Customizable tail decal. Customize it with any texture in your inventory.

* Smoke trail for stunt flying.

* Seats 2 avatars.

* Changes colour — choose from several preset colours or specify your own by RGB code.

* Change keyboard controls: choose between first-person shooter key setup and standard flight sim key setup.

* Can taxi on the ground (steers like a ground vehicle when not flying).

* Ejection seat… plane vanishes after you bail out.

* Engine sounds.

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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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New skydiving altimeter HUD

Keep your eye on your altitude, even in mouselook. The Terra Skydiving Altimeter is a HUD attachment, so that it appears on your screen at all times. With the clickable buttons, you have an easy way to set the auto-deploy altimeter and manually open the chute.

The analog altitude indicator is easy-to-tread, and includes an inset digital readout for accuracy. Indicator lights show you when your altimeter is armed and when you’re in freefall. To open your chute, just click the big, red button.

NOTE: Some features of this altimeter will only be available if you wear a Terra Sport Chute 2.1 or later at the same time.

Features:

* Permissions: (no copy)
[ ] Modify, [ ] Copy, [X] Resell/Give Away

* Easy-to-read analog altitude indicator shows altitude over ground level. The long needle indicates hundreds of meters, the short needle indicates thousands.

* Inset digital readout shows precise altitude. The digital display is built with a retro feel: watch the numbers spin around.

* Auto-deploy altimeter readout. Use the plus/minus button to adjust the altitude. Click a digit to select how much to increase/decrease.

* ARMED indicator light shows when the altimeter is armed. Click it to arm or disarm.

* Freefall and canopy indicator/button. Lights up red in freefall. Lights up green when your parachute opens. Click it to open the chute manually.

* Help button. Click it for instructions.

Only L$55, only at Abbotts Aerodrome.

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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.