Latest OpenSim News

Hi all,

OPENSIM
The latest OpenSim binary, 0.5.9, is now available from the OSGrid website
http://osgrid.org/index.php?&page=smodul&id=14&btn=7&subbtn=14
(for those who have asked, the version number 0.5.9 indicates that the developers think that the degree of 'doneness' of the original roadmap is now at 59%).

HIPPO VIEWER
The Hippo viewer is also available from the same location. This great new viewer has all the main grids preprogrammed in, so you can choose whether to connect to the SL Grid, Central Grid, OSGrid, 3rd Rock, etc, or your own standalone region. It also allows 45,000 prims, building up to 10,000m, megaprims as standard, 250x250x250, and has in the tools box, not only the regular tools for creating prims, but also tools for instantly creating trees, shrubs, plants, and grasses, etc.

GRIDNAUTS
The LL Gridnauts program is coming along quite nicely, and I have been able to teleport successfully now between the LL Beta Grid, and my OpenSim, and back. The protocols and the OGP standards are progressing well.

TUTORIALS
There are more tutorials on the blog now too, the complete list as of today are:

*
o 12. Hosting a Region
o 11. Upgrading OpenSim
o 10. Using Toad for MySQL
o 9. Deleting Regions
o 8. Migrating from SQLite to MySQL and maintaining the contents
o 7. Terrain File to cover Multiple Regions
o 6. Creating more Regions
o 5. Migrating to MySQL
o 4. Installing a Standalone Sim - updated

* ▼ April (6)
o 3. Remotely Connecting to a Standalone Sim
o 2. Connecting two Viewers to your Sim
o 1. Installing a Standalone Sim

There are lots of usefull snippets in the Diary entries too.

http://rock-vacirca.blogspot.com

I have now used Second Inventory to successfully copy most of my SL objects to my OpenSim, and I will be moving to a Virtual Private Server this coming weekend, I will, of course, relate my experiences in the blog.

Rock

This is great news. I love to see the continuing progress of the Open Sim project. And Interoperability between the 2 grids..
I have started to work with opensim my self. I hope to become fully involved with it in the near future

I have been following the information about this when I can but I must admit not being tech savvy with older system I haven't tried it out.
I would prefer if I could figure out way to do offline grid on my own computer with some degree of connections online when I choose it but I don't have ablity to turn computer into server nor do I understand how to use those paid server sites.
It all seems bit intimidating.

+1 for free advertisments

There is a step-by-step guide to setting up your own standalone region on your own PC on the blog FD, Article 4 explains it all. If you run into any problems at all just IM me, and I will assist.

Once you have downloaded the OpenSim software onto your PC, and run the application, it becomes the 'server', you connect your SL viewer to it (details on this are in the blog), and your SL viewer becomes the 'client', requesting, and receiving data from the 'server'.

Configuring it so that friends can visit you there are in Articles 2 and 3.

Do have a go, you will find lots of people willing to give a hand, and it is great fun, and you get a better understanding about how SL works.

As for the paid server services, I will be getting my server service this weekend, and I will write all about the experience, in my usual step-by-step way, in the blog, so I hope that will explain it all for you.

Rock

I would be most interested in using OpenSim for standalone building with the intent of using the results in Second Life later... especially if I could write a script to manipulate prims in a real programming language.

Is that currently feasible?

Thanks for the update Rock!

The teleporting between the grids is awesome.

I cannot wait until LL sets up a "Trusted Grid" program.

I managed to download and unzip this but the instructions I had didn't tell me how to set it up and create a login.

I'm familiar with standalones, having had a 2-sim island (OpenLife download) for some time. I managed to get that all set up and working but the OpenSim one seems more difficult.

Rock.

Your updates are excellent and appreciated. Keep them coming.

I'm concerned about one thing though (Qie mentioned it in an unrelated thread). You said that you've successfully got your inventory from the beta grid into your own grid. Does that include other people's creations? I'm thinking about items with textures, scripts and animations that are not copyable. Once they've been taken to another grid, they are out in the wild, and that is a real concern.

He said he used Second Inventory. AFAIK, Second Inventory won't download items that are no copy or no transfer.

I don't know what Second Inventory is, but it sounds promising.

Even so, take textures for instance. A texture can be on a copy/trans object but it still isn't available for use on other objects, but if it's out in the wild, it could be a cause for concern.

you can just use the ripper program, no need for any other tool wich is charged

that tool is great tho for sl when not intending to do harm, like checking skin textures for the creator`s watermark in unused parts of the textures outside the mesh (most commen their name is written there) to see if it`s stolen or not

Cheers, Alicia. I keep seing such utilities mentioned but I don't have any interest in using them so I'm extremely unfamiliar with what is possible.



I do like the grid to grid developments though, so keep the updates coming, Rocky.

Hi Rika,

Yes, one of the biggest benefits to a standalone sim is the ability to build and hone your skills, then transfer your builds to SL. You can script in OpenSim, but only around 70% of the commands are implemented at the moment, but I never seem to need a command in the other 30%. That is changing day by day though. What do you mean by a 'real programming language' for manipulating prims?

Rock

Hi Conifer,

Detailed step-by-step instructions for setting up a standalone sim using OpenSim is given on the blog, Article 4.

http://rock-vacirca.blogspot.com

Let me know if you have any problems at all.

Rock

just saying 2nd inventory regarding textures is the least of everyone`s worry as the other is free, but has an use to see if you bought stolen content (what i use it for)

Hi Phil,

Second Inventory only works on full-perm objects, AFAIK, so it is only my own creations and full-perm freebies that I can transfer to my OpenSim. That is still a lot however, but I am actively trying to persuade creators to make their premium products available to the OpenSim community, and some have done so, if you visit Wright Plaza in OSGrid.

Some people have been tempted to user ripper-style programs to get their stuff into OpenSim, but I would strongly discourage this. Permissions are there for a purpose, and the rights of creators must be respected. Once in OpenSim they are truly 'out in the wild', so creators are naturally nervous. I sincerely hope that the avatar suitcase concept gets finalised, so we can take our essential items (our normal shape, skin, hair, other attachments, and a few personal belongings, with you wherever you go in the Metaverse, in much the same way as when you travel in RL.

Rock

so true

Rock.

Is it yet possible to use animations in the OpenSim environment? If it is, it would help enormously with creating them - no need for messing about with lots of tweaks on the beta grid.

I think s/he means languages like VB, C++, C#, etc.

I think I'm going to have to install an OpenSim again as it seems to have developed quite substantially since I last did it.

Yes Phil, anims are supported, and several are built-in.

It is true that it has come a long way, and in a short period of time of time too. The roadmap is about 60% complete already, and from a purely user perspective, it is very useable right now, and I thoroughly enjoy building in mine. I come across the occasional bug now and then, which I report, and the developers fall over themselves to jump on it and get it fixed.

The most satisfying thing about this whole OpenSim thing is the degree of co-operation between the open-source community and LL, and the several co-operative projects they are involved in now.

I just hope I am never asked to give up my 45,000 prims though

Rock

Rock, this may come off as completely off the wall from someone who is deeply invested in the Company main grid and generally not keen on the whole opensource scenario - but you've been a dazzling bright spot in what might otherwise be a morass of bugs and confusion. I quietly run a totally private grid myself for main grid development.

I'm sure there are untold thousands with little money, but a lot of do-it-yourself spirit benefiting from your efforts. Just goes to show how important not just doing, but *documenting* it, can be.

Keep up the great work.

Agreed.

Well, I tried. Three times I tried, but to no avail.

I'm running Vista, and each time I tried to extract all files from the zip, Windows Explorer stopped working during the process, and closed down. I downloaded the current version again but to no avail. I simply can't extract all the files. I wonder if WinZip will manage it.