Linden Lab – Page 55 – Ciaran Laval

June 30, 2015

Experience Tools Now Available For Premium Members

Yesterday I was highlighting how Loki Eliot has been making good use of Experience Tools in Second Life and today Linden Lab blog Experience Tools Available Now For Premium Members! Coincidence? Most definitely, but that’s not the point!

First things first, what are experience tools? There’s a good knowledge base article but basically it’s a means by which a lot of the interaction notifications for a location can be agreed to in one foul swoop. So for example if you’re on a sim where scripted objects want to teleport you, take control of your camera, animate your avatar, attach a hud to you etc. this can be done in one step. For example I visited Electrobit City this evening, as I hadn’t been there before and I was greeted with this :

So basically, if I say yes to this, I’m agreeing that whilst in ElectroBit City scripted objects can :

Act on my control inputs
Animate my avatar
Attach to my avatar
Track my camera
Control my camera
Teleport me

As you can hopefully see, I have a choice in this matter. Another thing to note, is that if I change my mind, I can revoke these permissions. Now to make sure I have full access to all these options, I’m using the latest version of the official Second Life viewer, which is available from the downloads page. The current version is 3.8.0.302622.

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June 30, 2015

Literature Is Alive In Second Life

Literature Alive! have had a presence in Second Life going all the way back to 2006, their goal is :

The goals of Literature Alive! are to help faculty create ethical and immersive learning environments that provide “added value” to students in composition, professional writing, and literature courses: to help students use the resources of a 3D world to add to the depth and breadth of understanding literature; to foster a community of open access educators dedicated to the sharing of teaching content; and, finally, to promote a lifelong love of learning through a lifelong passion for reading.

Personally I’m a big fan of learning and a big fan of reading, so I like the cut of their jib. Literature Alive! currently have a couple of exhibits in Second Life. One is a virtual pilgrimage of The Canterbury Tales and the other is Edgar Allan Poe’s House of Usher.

We’ll start with The Canterbury Tales. The starting place is Tabard Inn and being a Dwarfin I can’t resist a good inn! There’s also a mini game here, which if you complete you will be able to claim a free meal … that definitely appeals to a Dwarfin too!

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June 29, 2015

SL12B – Loki Eliot’s Exhibit Demonstrates Good Use Of Experience Tools

Whereas the performance schedule at SL12B is over, the exhibits are still open and one exhibit that is really worth a look at is Loki Eliot’s Childhood Dreams. The reason it’s worth a look is because this exhibit makes really good use of experience tools to tell a story and move you in the right direction.

Traditionally in Second Life, when you want to interact with an object, you click it. Whereas Loki’s build does still include some clicking, it’s largely related to the HUD that automatically attaches itself to you when you accept the experience tools.

To put this simply, you click the hand to progress. This makes for a pretty seamless experience.

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June 28, 2015

Sl12B – Performances End Today

Today is not quite the end of Second Life’s twelfth birthday celebrations, but it is the last day of the performance schedule. This is a shame and it all seems to have finished far too quickly.

Today’s highlights included a particle show from ChangHigh Sisters. However if you’ve missed that fear not, there’s plenty more entertainment planned for today including JueL Resistance at the Main Stage at 4 pm. and Laz Dresler doing Lady Gaga meets Katy Perry for a big happy birthday at the Cake Stage starting at 10 pm.

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June 27, 2015

SL12B – Ebbe Altberg Interview Now On youTube And Music Fest Continues

Meet The Lindens featuring the interview with Ebbe Altberg is now available on youTube for your viewing pleasure. The interview was conducted by Saffia Widdershins and Jo Yardley and runs for around one hour ten minutes. I covered it in an earlier blog post : SL12B Meet The Lindens With Ebbe Altberg, No Scoops, No Bears, But Plenty Of Chatter. However this video is the full kit and caboodle and I heartily recommend it.

As for SL12B itself, it continues at an amazing rate of knots with entertainment and festivities galore. Today’s highlights include The Follow, a powerhouse trio, who are making their first appearance at a Second Life Birthday bash since Sl8. They will be performing on the Cake Stage at 8 pm SLT.

Beyond that we have the second day of the Linden Lab sponsored music fest.

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