Scripting, Coding, Technology

OpenSim is geek heaven. Seriously, if your idea of a great pastime includes trying out new stuff to see if it breaks, tweaking code, finding solutions to elaborate technical problems and sharing it with fellow techies, it’s the place for you. It gives you many more possibilities, as it allows for a much deeper access to the server side of the simulation. And there’s the great incentive to be on the forefront of technology, where there be dragons to slay. But actually – I don’t think I need to write much about that aspect, as those it is relevant for are already there.

Building

Things are a bit different for builders. Sure, OpenSim is builder’s heaven too. When you install it on your own PC, you can have as many regions and prims as you ever wanted, and there’s virtually no limit to what you can make. However, when it comes to sharing those creations, you’ll need to find a solution that’s accessible at all times. Obviously, we decided to post creations on this website, which works great for things that aren’t heavily scripted. Another solution would be to rent a region from a professional host or set one up yourself on a server you have access to and share them there, either linked to a grid or accessible via hypergrid.

Trading

Still, these solutions might be not adequate if you want to sell your creations. Even though it’s actually common on the 3D market to sell models without technical restrictions, for some reason it’s important for merchants coming from Second Life to get some kind of strict DRM – be it via a reliable permissions system, or pertaining creator names. None of these work reliably on OpenSim at the moment, and it’s doubtful they work in Second Life too, as we can see from all the things that are being copied. So, if your business requires strict control over the distribution of your goods, you might find a new home on one of the more heavy commercialized grids, like Inworldz. Those also offer some currency system and users who are willing to spend some money on creations, but crowds tend to be much smaller than in SL.

Community

Which brings us to another aspect: Communities. There are much less people using OpenSim as a whole than SL users, and the OpenSim community is scattered over a multitude of grids and versions. So, it’s hard to find a good place to socialize, and I wouldn’t exactly recommend it when all you want to do is meet new people. Travelling an OpenSim grid, even a very large one like OSGrid, is a lonely experience. Odds are better if you join into the related IRC rooms regularly or pay attention to forums, blogs and twitter, but even then there’s not much of an OpenSim music scene, clubs, meeting places, or even adult locations.

So, while OpenSim is the most exciting thing I have ever encountered and gives me unlimited possibilities, you might find it pretty disappointing, depending on your expectations. Still, I would keep an eye on it – much of it is similar to the early beginnings of Second Life, and it’s probably just a matter of time until it gains enough momentum for it to be attractive to you, too.

To start, take a look at your opensim.ini. In it, you can find a short section called [Trees], which only contains two settings: active_trees and tree_density. active_trees is false by default, and I advise to leave it at that; it can be switched on in the console whenever you want. tree_density is 1000 by default, and I’m assuming this is the maximum number of trees per region, but I’m not sure about that. Leave it as it is for now, too; you should lower it, if the tree module crashes because the density takes too many system resources.

The tree module works with “copses” – each copse needs to be defined in its own .xml document, and loaded separately. I made a folder “trees” in the opensim/bin directory to store all my copse definitions. Here’s an example copse file to show what it should look like: cypress1 (please save the file as .xml if you want to use it for your own opensim).

The m_name tag defines the name of the copse. It’s important for each copse to have a unique name, since several can be run at the same time. The m_frozen tag defines if growth is halted by default or not, and should be left to false. m_tree_type defines the trees of the copse. Note that the growth module only works with the default system trees, and not with prim plants, so the tree types you can use here are Cypress1, Cypress2, Pine1, Oak, TropicalBush1, Palm1, Dogwood, TropicalBush2, Palm2, Pine2, Plumeria, WinterPine1, WinterAspen, WinterPine2, Eucalyptus, Fern, Eelgrass, SeaSword, Kelp1, BeachGrass1 and Kelp2. The Imprudence viewer allows for you to rezz them in the edit-window; change prim type to plant (the tree or grass symbol) and chose the kind of plant you want to rezz if you don’t know what they look like.

m_tree_quantity defines how many trees are in your copse at the max. These trees will be spread out across the area defined in m_range. m_treeline_low and m_treeline_high define the terrain heights between the trees are to grow. Some of the system plants are underwater foliage, so you can set the growth m_treeline_high and m_treeline_low both to below 20, and they will only grow in water, while setting them above 20 will make them grow on land.

m_seed_point is the center of your copse (in region coordinates) around which the plants will grow. m_range sets the area your copse will cover (in meters); a copse will always cover a circular area around the seed point. m_initial_scale defines the size your plant will have when seeded, and m_maximum_scale defines the maximum size it will grow to. Please keep in mind that these sizes affect the different plant sizes differently; a 10 meter eucalyptus tree is much larger than a 10 meter oak. Again, rezz the plants inworld first to see which settings look right. m_rate is the size of the steps the plants will grow (in meters).

Once you defined and saved your copse file, change to a region in the opensim console by typing: change region xyz (where xyz is the name of your region). Keep in mind that opensim selects the root by default, so if you’re not changing to a single region, the tree growth will affect all your regions, which might result in a dramatic performance drop and some undesired plants.

To enable the tree module, type: tree active true in the console. This will not start the growth, but simly turn on the whole module. Then, load your copse with the command: tree load ./xyz.xml (xyz.xml needs to be replaced with the name and path of your copse file). After that you can start the growth by typing tree plant xyz (here, xyz needs to be the name of your copse, as defined in the m_name tag; it is not the name of your copse file). You can see the trees start to get planted and grow inworld.

The tree module actually makes your avatar plant trees and change their parameters all the time, so editing something is impossible while the tree module plants. The trees will grow by the size defined in the m_rate tags every millisecond by default. You can change the growth speed with the command tree rate x (x is the speed in milliseconds).

If you want to stop your copse from growing, type: tree freeze xyz true (xyz is, again, the name of your copse); to continue growth, use tree freeze xyz false. The command tree statistics shows you some information about your copses and the number of trees in them; tree reload scans the region to get copse definitions from existing trees. You can load as many copses as you like, even though they can slow down your performance considerably. Finally, the command tree remove xyz deletes all trees of the copse with the according name (xyz needs to be the name of the copse) and will also remove the copse definition, so it needs to be reloaded again if you want to use it.

Some things to keep in mind: I found that certain tree types don’t work (the pine trees, for example). I don’t know if this is a problem with my opensim version, or a performance problem, or a bug. They just grow one tree at the seed point and no others around it. Also, keep in mind that growing a lot of trees at a very high speed is very demanding of your system; all tree definitions need to be rewritten in the database constantly and the trees need to be updated in the region, too. Thus, I’d advise to set the tree rate to 2000 (which is 2 seconds), making the overall growth slower and performance better.

Source: Seriath

Please see the tutorial on how to import this creation.

One year ago, we launched TGIB as a blog about our Second Life / OpenSim endeavours. Technically, TGIB the site exists since 2004, and TGIB the project since 1999, but the last year was the first time it really gained some momentum, and setting some personal records. So far, this blog is the longest I have ever kept running; I created more things the last year than I did in the three previous years in Second Life; I performed and held more events than ever before; I made better friends in the OpenSim community, and I met some amazing people that I never thought I’d get a chance to talk to. And I brought my partner home.

I don’t want to bore you with the looking-back-looking-ahead crap, but I guess it’s the time of the year when people get introspective, so let me draw a short résumé. I finally published all the SL/OpenSim creations I ever made, with the exception of those, where I reused creations of others and therefor can’t publish, and some private creations that I made just for myself, my partner, or friends. Of course, I’ll continue to make things, but what exactly it will be I can’t divine yet.

However, there is something else that I will try to put into form and publish in the near future, because I’ve seen several OpenSim implementations that might need it: Many years ago, getting upset with Dungeons & Dragons, I created my own role-playing system and world, including maps, descriptions, characters, stats, and rules. I’ll try to get those sorted and then will post them on the website, if anyone might be needing some open-sourced RPG system.

2010 taught me many many things, and changed my views and perspective on several issues. I started out intending to make some kind of shop on OSGrid, but quickly changed my mind and afterwards learned a lot about creative commons, sharing ideas and copyright. I can say that, as a creator, I am much more comfortable and at ease with my current approach than I was when I just tried to do what everyone else does and tried to sell stuff. Paradoxically – or maybe consequentially – my creations got better.

So, to celebrate one year of TGIB, and the future of OpenSim, I would like to invite everyone on Sunday, 16th January 2011, 18:00 UTC (10:00 AM SLT) until ca. 22:00 UTC (2:00 PM SLT) - right between the HGAC meetings – to TGIB. I might perform / DJ a little, we get to talk, have fun, and relax together, maybe watch a movie when we feel like it.

Here’s to tomorrow. Let’s glare into beyond.

TGIB

And so here we are…the last day of the year. What a year it has been, no? It has been full of twists and turns….so much has happened. It seems like an eternity…and yet like just yesterday. I looked back at the logs trying to see the way things “felt” a year ago…and some of them were hard to follow. It appears that even then we had started to use skype more than we did SL…and so our conversations are kind of choppy and disconnected…because as usual…I was typing…and you were talking!

I remember feeling so alone a year ago. My life had been turned upside down and I felt like I was completely shaken….everything I had ever known had been done away with…changed…or at the very least questioned. I did not know if I would ever fully recover and I remember feeling like I would have to make a new life…on my own…alone….not unlike many other women I have known. But still, a prospect to which I was not looking forward. It was quite overwhelming; almost more than I could handle at the time.

I did not know that I would be here only a year later. I knew that you would always love me…of that I was always sure. And I knew that I would always love you. I did not know if we would ever have more than what we had at that moment…but I knew that even with just that…it was still more than what most people had in an entire lifetime. And so I had reconciled myself to be happy with what I had…and to love….against all odds…the only way possible at the time.

I sit here now…just a few feet from you as I type this. I can hear you quietly moving around…typing and clicking away. If I stop and think about it, I can still remember what you smelled like as I buried my head in your chest just a few moments ago. I can still feel the softness of your lips against mine, your large hands and long arms wrapped around my body holding me tight. ALL of these…things that I thought we would never have…never experience in a real world. I had resigned myself to loving in a virtual world…and to find a way to be happy and fulfilled with that. And here I am, having ALL the things I longed for the most. So why is it that at times that it almost seems harder? I seem to have SO much trouble expressing myself with verbal words and statements…and I feel silly when I sit here and type all the things that I KNOW I should be SAYING to you.

Honestly, I do not know if it will ever get any easier for me. I always considered myself to be someone who had no trouble communicating my thoughts and feelings. And so now, I have to stop and ask myself if it was always this way…or if the things that have happened to me in the last 30 years of my life somehow changed that. Did I learn how to hide my true feelings and desires in an attempt to make things better or to be someone that I was not? I don’t know. I know that you want me to be able to TELL you all the things that are deep inside me…and I desperately want to…but I just cannot seem to find the words or the way to say it so that it makes sense. I feel like anytime I try…the words just come out all wrong and I just end up making the BIGGEST mess of things. You may have to be patient with me a while still, love. Can you give me that? I NEED to be able to “talk” to you in a place that is safe and easy for me…and for now, that may still be in a world away from the real world that we now share. I will try to do better…and I hope as time passes that I will learn how to be ME in every world that I inhabit. It has just been so long, love….SO long…..Please don’t think that the efforts that you make to draw me out…or to comfort me are for naught. I HEAR the things you say to me. Every time you call me “El”…I hear it…I remember it. And it helps me to put things in perspective. Thank you for reminding me of who I am and of who and what we are. Please…don’t stop. It is the ONE thing that I can put my finger on…it is sometimes the ONLY thing I hear inside my head. Sometimes…it is the ONLY things that makes sense. Please remember that I NEED that. It helps me to heal.

SO…as this year draws to an end, the main things that I wish to tell you are the same that I have been saying for quite some time now.

I LOVE YOU. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in all my life. I love you with a love that will not be quieted. I love you with a want and a need that courses through ever fiber of my being. When my head hits my pillow at night, it is YOUR face I see…and when I awaken it is your arms that I long for. It is the love that I have always wanted to give. It is the one thing for which I was created. I hope I can do it justice.

PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME.  I am so grateful that you are a patient man by nature.  I am also grateful that you have a natural tendency to see things as they CAN be…as well as what they are at the moment.  I am changing and growing in ways that I did not know I could still do.  There are many, many things that are still new to me…on a DAILY basis.  I am trying to assimilate it all.  I am trying to change.  I am trying to learn.  I want to understand it all.  But sometimes I do not do a very good job of it.  Sometimes I do not understand WHY things are the way they are…or WHY they need to change.  Sometimes I am just not capable yet of being what I know I need to be.  I have not given up.  I simply can only handle SO much at one time.  So if you see me quiet…or alone at times…it may just be that I need that time to recoup.  I need a moment or two to take another breath and say “OK…let’s try this again….or lets do this differently”  I am not trying to be difficult.  I am not giving up.  I am not diving into a sinkhole.  I am simply resting for a moment.  I will be ok.  Just hold me tight…remind me of who I am…and let me know that you appreciate my attempts…even when I fail at them…and I will be able to go on and adjust and grow as needed.

I LOVE MY LIFE WITH YOU…in ANY world. It is sometimes a difficult one. It is not always the way I would want it to be. But it is a life that I would never willingly leave or change. I am sometimes still figuring it out, trying to figure out where I fit in all of it. But it is a good life. I am happy. I am well cared for. I am loved in more ways than I ever imagined. I am secure and I am safe. Thank you, love for giving me all these things…it is OUR life. It is a life that we CHOOSE to keep living over and over again so that we can be together. We were not meant to be alone. Sometimes I find it odd to think of what loners we are. We are both perfectly content to let the outside world go on without us, and yet…we NEED one another. I never want to be without you love….ever or anywhere.

SO…as I look forward to the next year…I look forward to great adventures with you, my prince. I love to see the twinkle in your eyes and the excitement in your voice as you talk about pioneering new worlds. My dreams are often spent in new adventures with you. I will be there with you, love. Where ever you go…whatever you do. I was truly created to be your partner. I was made to be at your side. I am excited to see where this next year will lead us…and for what the future holds for us.

You are now…and will always be…my one great love…immer…..D

Source: Ever.oar; Deco Train

This is the final gift of the year. It contains the main elements from the train station I made towards the beginning of 2010, and which served as our homebase on OSGrid for a while. The XML file for the train is included for a separate import. I remodeled the sim somewhat for Neo’s Hyperbase 42, and I release it here for everyone to use, copy, share, modify or just to play around with. I’m afraid the work is unfinished; the train and station are both empty, and the door scripts don’t work too well. However, both can easily be furnished with the furniture I released on this site or some other furniture you might find elsewhere. The control room of the train contains some reminiscent pictures of mine; feel free to replace them with whatever you find adequate.

Thank you all for a great year 2010.

Godspeed.

Source: exhausted 4

Please see the tutorial on how to use these poses and the scripts for a poseball.

And then, I have no predictions. Not really. I have no hot wire to high places, no deep insight in things. All I have are my hopes, and dreams, and thoughts and feelings. And I feel the picture is not complete. But first: Koster is right. He’s using a lot of big words, and I only understand one fourth of what he’s saying, and I’ve got the feeling I’m on par with him there, but he’s right. Second Life is lacking mainstream adoption, it’s very promising, but the big bucks are going elsewhere, and all that’s left is this weird esoteric group of geeks (we, a.k.a. THEM) which is somehow not enough to create momentum. LL is failing on so many fronts that it’s finally begging for facebook friends, which is only the the latest embarassment coming from the Lab. All those are realities. But for us, who are living virtual worlds, reality is only part of the whole, and a small part at that.

I admit, spending all my spare time on OpenSim does make me blind to the bigger picture, that’s why I appreciate Koster’s post – and even more Terdiman’s article which Koster responds to. I just fail to see the big news, or even the “problem”, if there is one. “Second Life failing at mainstream adoption” has been in almost every newspaper article about it, ever. We are a specialized bunch, and just because most people do not like what we like doesn’t mean we’re doomed. Yes, it’s complicated, and by god, it’s not going to get simpler, ever, because then it wouldn’t be SL anymore. The one thing that sets SL apart from all other virtual worlds is the ability of the users to shape the world themselves. That concept is revolutionary, courageous and great. But it’s also complicated, frustrating and requires a high-er level of technical understanding, creativity and artistic skills, and this is obviously a mixture of characteristics not shared by Major Public.

So what? It’s not like we’re alone at that. The whole community of 3D creators – be they on blender, Maya, Daz Studio or whatever – are a specialized and small lot. And even in a broader scope, when it comes to 3D games, they’re still not something everyone and their aunt is playing. Yes, more than 3 million sales of Left 4 Dead are great, but still there are more people thinking of Solitaire and Minesweeper when talking about computer games, than there are thinking of Counterstrike. If I was Linden Labs, I would be happy with the users I’ve got, and build my business around them. You’d think 100,000 regulars should be sufficient to run a company on, and every new user would be welcome, but not sorely needed for survival. So, I don’t know why they even care.

I’m happy in my little corner of the world. I don’t need everyone jumping my train. But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream big. Even virtual shopping tours aside: Wouldn’t it be great to use your OpenSim/SL avatar in Steam games? Or to play Left 4 Dead on regions I created? So, if you ask me – the next big thing is what we make it to be. Let’s do it.