Forum Activity for @bedrich-panacek

Closer Connections: Duché de Coeur & Rocca Sorrentina

Communty News & Events

I am one of those from 1787 that has no idea what a book of faces is for, and that blaughing is something you do when you drink more at the tavern than you can handle. Therefore, my skills at finding a page of friend requests are lacking.

Seriously, despite my lack of interest in social networking, I love the practical implementation of devices and exploring the limits of what can be done in SL from a simulation perspective. Many people find this as a way to safely socialize. I find it enjoyable to create a simulation within our constraints. The constraints raise challenges and help me to understand the world from the perspective of someone living in the 18th century. Because of my interest here, I travel in RL to research how things work and how people lived (exhibits around Charlottesville, Virginia and Winston-Salem, North Carolina have been especially interesting).

The rowboats, carriages, and barges depend on technology outside of SL to operate (e.g. the carriages use a server for routing, providing your favorite destinations, finding your home, knowing where shops are located that sell what you are looking for, giving you the option to call your own carriage), but the fact that it is possible to use external resources makes SL that much more interesting!

The next step will be up to people to take part in trading and immerse themselves as you so eloquently put it. Let us know what would make the simulation even more immersive and realistic.

How can we show people not only the time frame, but the concepts that radically changed how we see the world (for better or worse)? On a social scale, we have backed away from religion in large part because of the enlightenment, but what do we put in its place to maintain morality? If we can't encourage people to care about each other through superstition and blind acceptance, how do we lead our children to follow the "golden rule"? We didn't need huge amounts of power in the 18th century. In some cases, we have lost the technology they used to keep their house cool in the summer (e.g. using a south facing wall as a solar chimney to vent out the house through the roof), created residential zoning to keep businesses away from our homes so we must use cars to do almost anything, etc.

There are numerous topics to explore and we are exceptionally pleased to work with Aldo, Sere, and entire team at Rocca Sorrentina and many of our own people as well, esp. Farzaneh and our other educators as we help bring these issues to light!

Closer Connections: Duché de Coeur & Rocca Sorrentina

Communty News & Events

Initial tests on the new barge/ferry service are positive, though there are a number of details to work out. There will be two ferry services, one scheduled, and the other an "on-demand" version that can be directed by a passenger. The on-demand service will be intended for delivering rawmaterials and picking up processed cargo at the mills. This system will use the locks, so they need to be automated (since very few people have figured out how to use them).

The scheduled ferry service will run between the commercial centers. The initial rollout should have support for a number of passengers that will "seat" themselves on the ferry by standing or sitting on the railing. The center of the barge will carry crates, though it is not yet clear whether they can be loaded and unloadedin Rocco Sorrentina. We know this can work anywhere in the duchy.

The idea behind the cargo will essentially be for RP and advertising for the merchants of both sims. If you recall the wagon tests we did a couple of years ago, marked physical crates could be loaded in the wagon at the warehouse. These were then delivered to various points in the village. This system would be used on the barges to carry crates to any of the docks. If we find problems with permissions between the two sims, we will have the crates load "virtually".

The barges will also be large enough to carry a carriage. This has not yet been tested, and it may not be practical to do. However, in preparation for that, the barges will approach some docks head-on. A ramp will be used to help with loading. This may not be in the initial February release, but it would be fun to do!

For clarity, the scheduled barges will not be under user control. These will be completely autonomous, though will have a bell announcing arrival, pending departure, and actual departure. The on-demand barges will allow the user to set the destination, but the actual navigation will be handled by the barge.

Help! What shall I wear?

Communty News & Events

Perhaps for this special event, you might want to consider an appearance as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South from the Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum. According to Wikipedia, "Glinda is depicted as a beautiful young woman with long, rich red hair and blue eyes, wearing a pure white dress." This dress would be reminiscent of the duchy snow. The article goes on to say "Glinda is strongly protective of her subjects in the South." In the 1939 movie, she appears as the Good Witch of the North (rather than the south)wearing a pink gown, with matching crown and a long magic wand with a glittering star on the tip.

At the end of the film, Glinda reveals to Dorothy the function of the Ruby Slippers, i.e.,that of travelling between lands and thereby allowing Dorothy to go home.

Incidentally, in "The Giant Horse of Oz", Ruth Plumly Thompson names the Good Witch of the North "Tattypoo".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Witch_of_the_North
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glinda_the_Good_Witch

Languedoc Coeur Renaissance

Communty News & Events

Long ago, someone told me that the Duch de Coeur was not a "Royal Court", because it did not focus on "royalty", nor did it have an official "court". Bedrich therefore avoided saying anything after that. While it maybe true that the duchy has a different focus, the story of the royal courts can only be told in the broader context that includes the bourgeois. Despite poor decisions by the royalty that kept the kingdoms on the verge of bankruptcy (e.g. the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV to ensure his peace with the Catholic popes), it was the bourgeois that continued todrive the economy.

The duchy is intended to be a respite from court life. Our focus is on natural beauty as opposed to the excesses of the rococo. We do the things that bind communities rather than tearing them apart. This is the place to get away from the politics and religion that seem bent on keeping the 99.5% of the population "in their place".

In short, with all of the turmoil in today's courts, it was time to speak out and say that the 18th century was a time of enlightenment. As an extension of the Renaissance, this is a time when the common people are put first, education is for the masses, spiritualism comes from within, and anyone can be who they want to be, if they make the effort.

It is an amazing place. I love to walk the streets of the village and discover that merchants havecreated new products. The color and vibrancy of the pottery, costumes, furniture, dining accessories, and art, not to mention the treasures to be found at the Bibliotheque du Coeur, combined with the romance of boat and carriage rides, hideaways for lovers, and beautifully decorated homes, all form a world of harmony. After more than 5 years, the renaissance of the duchy is bringingit to new levels, and we are very proud of it.

Languedoc Coeur Renaissance

Communty News & Events

As the sun sets on another late summer day in Languedoc Coeur, the sailboats return to the waterfront and the shop owners begin setting out their products. The splash ofwarm colors will soon be highlighted by the autumn leaves lining the harbor.

Norns Studio located in both the village and the waterfront top level has already set up most of their art, including a beautiful Renaissance table in the center of the gallery. This gallery filled with earth tones also has a studio for the beautiful custom portraits created by Amas Veritas.

Meanwhile, the shops lining the top level have been joined to create "Angelwood Bay Arts Center". This area is dedicated to the promotion of artists who sell their work in RL and SL.

The storm seems to have brought a blessing in disguise as it is rapidly becoming one of the most beautiful and relaxing areas in the duchy! Visitors are welcome to use the blue sailboats to explore Languedoc and Provence in each other's arms, or the green sailboats if you haven't yet found that significant other!.Residents can rez their own small sailboats and hold races around the area and navigate the obstacles inthe waters east of the tavern.

We frequently see people relaxing to classical music on the south side of the waterfront or dancing to romantic music at the caf across from the library. Imagine being in the arms of the one you love... at sunset.

To address the needs so as to attract the different groups necessary to create a Active, Interesting Regency Sim.

General Discussion

Monsieur Neil, As Monsieur le Comte states, I do not wish to give the impression that we are mad at you.

There have been individuals that have come along and asked people to commit to their projects, only to have them lost when they realized that they were in over their head. I doubt that any of these were malicious, but rather a result of poor planning. As I am sure you know, the regions are quite expensive, and as my darling duchesse stated, you must balance the limitations of each platform (i.e. Full, Homestead, Open) with the cost of maintaining these regions.

You must also consider the goal you are trying to achieve. You mentioned methods of maintaining low lag. You must balance these against the realism you seek. You cannot have the beauty and artistry of Paris 1830, Versailles, or the Duch de Coeur sims, among others, if you limit yourself to 256 colors, low resolution images, no sculpts, no mesh, and few scripts, as you suggest.

Having sims fail is not a good reflection on our community. It is in the best interest of all of us that major projects such as yours succeed. However, this can only be achieved through planning and experience. We know that you will have problems when you put 8 regions adjacent to each other. We know that 256 colors cannot produce any kind of realism. We know that you must allow your residents and merchants to have some freedom in order to generate revenue.

Look more closely at what you want to achieve, and why you believe the other successful sims have not approached things the same way. Be sure to *measure* what is going on, and ask questions. Look at the limitations (e.g. homesteads are limited to 20 avatars, but we have performance issues with ice skating or row boating if more than 10 are racing in the same region at the same time). Remember that the clothing styles in the Regency period are nearly as complex as those in our period and will add significantly to lag. Evaluate your potential revenue vs. your expenses, but be realistic. You will be surprised what it really costs to run a sim.

Be sure that everyone has the same vision. The Duch is VERY fortunate to have 3 owners that have very similar visions, yet very different skill sets. The consistency of the Duch comes from a very close relationship between the 3 of us.

If you are new to managing a region, be very careful with security. Griefers can destroy your sim very easily with default settings. And some seemingly trivial changes can open up your security to allow destruction of land, excessive loading, etc.

Bon chance mon ami!

To address the needs so as to attract the different groups necessary to create a Active, Interesting Regency Sim.

General Discussion

...and what's wrong with French anyway? It is one of the world's most beautiful languages and in our day was probably the world's most important language in science and numerous other fields. I dare say that when you say "culture" in 1812 or (1787), you are thinking France, not England.

Would the Americans have won the battle for Independence from Britain without help from France? The War of 1812 was fought against Britain because they were trying to prevent trade between the US and France. Britain's Industrial Revolution will result in the loss of jobs for millions..

Yes, it will be nice for people to see both sides, especially French and English. Our hope in the duchy is to encourage people to think about the Enlightenment and tyranny. But at the same time, we are a peaceful sim and look at the harsh and unacceptable life by today's standards in the 18th century from a romantic viewpoint. There is certainly a place for a sim that looks at the other side, just as the duchy views life from outside of the 0.5% of the population that are the nobles.

Best wishes to you sir for attempting such a grand project!

To address the needs so as to attract the different groups necessary to create a Active, Interesting Regency Sim.

General Discussion

Greetings sir,

There are a number of factors why one may encounter lag. As my partners have mentioned, we rarely encounter lag but for different reasons.

Since you took the time to critique the duch, then I presume you have also measured the performance of the duchy to find where the problems are so that you can make an informed decision how to create yours properly. You would of course have used the Statistics Bar to measure the server side lag and of course found that except under substantial load (20+ avatars), none of the 15 regions have any substantial lag under normal conditions.

Unfortunately, the past few months have not been normal. The homesteads have all been failing even when there are 0 prims on the region (we know this because we use a number regions for development and demo and frequently clear those regions. We have seen the server frame rate continue to drop to near 0 despite being empty. This seems to have been corrected somewhat, and the most recent server release is supposed to have fixed a problem where client viewers were seeing prims from 2 regions away even if you had your draw distance set to 64 meters.

So, seeing that there is no server problem under normal conditions, the lag you are referring to must be client side. Here again, you used the tools available to you to measure the lag problem. The problem is not the color depth (> 256 colors), but with the image resolution. We frequently use 1024x512 images when they are used on large areas or repeated frequently. But I'm sure you saw that in your measurements.

Another problem you surely saw was that because the duchy is the largest sim among those in Royal Courts, you are seeing the same problem that you will encounter, i.e. from most regions, you can see 8 others. Unlike the single and double region sims that are fairly common, you are seeing the prims from up to 9 regions, and possibly more, depending on your draw distance. I personally run at around 450m and I usually don't have problems except in the village near the dock.

The duchy has a cluster of 6 full regions that each have over 10,000 prims. Perhaps you forgot that the duchy is a residential sim and over half of the prims belong to residents and merchants?

So, we know that many people have client side issues with the duchy. Skye and I have similar computers and as I mentioned, we rarely encounter lag. Both of our systems are gaming systems with i7 Intel processors and 8+ GB of RAM, but probably the most important thing is the video cards, which are today fairly upper mid-powered graphics cards. Mine is an NVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti. There is definitely a problem with this card where my frame rate drops to near 0 under weird conditions. Skye has a slightly lower powered ATI card and does not see the same problems I do.

btw, did you know the duchy is not French? Why make a point of saying your sim is going to be English, when you are representing Spain, Portugal, and France? The owners of the duchy don't even speak French! We are from North America and from English speaking states and provinces.

We are trying to accurately represent France in the 18th century, so we our carriages run on the left side of the road, our roads are of a material that predates tarmac, our construction materials are obtained locally (e.g. from the Touraine caves).

In conclusion, you may want to reconsider your color depth (number of colors used in your palette). 256 colors is not going to decrease lag. Decreasing resolution will help considerably, but the textures will be repetitive. Keep prims spread out as much as you can. Clusters of prims (e.g. serving trays with 75 prims), kill low end machines. And finally, encourage people to get computers that can handle SL!!!

Respectfully,

Duc Bedrich Panacek

Content Rating & OOC vs IC

General Discussion

Excellent suggestion!

The Duch de Coeur focus is not IC, but it is intended to be semi-serious as RL in the 18th century. I personally would prefer to see the core part of Ning focused on historic life and products. I enjoy seeing the research that people do, and the stories that people create related to human life. There is so much to explore!!!

Regarding OOC experiences, seeing personal photos of various locations could be fun as long as they do not exceed the limits set by the administrator. There would be nothing wrong with establishing links to external photo sites for OOC experiences.

As far as maturity level, there is a mix of G and M sims. The duchy has both (Languedoc and Provence Coeur Est are the only G regions). Personally, I believe we should be targetting the lowest common denominator. I would like to see kids involved in serious discussions. After all, the events that occurred in our time changed the course of governments throughout Europe and North America.

As far as the context, I'm not sure it should be focused on Europe alone, although we start getting into gray areas when we move outside of Europe. For example, North America strongly influenced what happened in Europe. The American Revolution impacted France enourmously, and may have influenced the French Revolution. There are also impacts from the West Indies, slave trade with Africa (yes, France did it too), the Moors in Spain, a huge impact of Asian trade, and the impact of Imperialism throughout the world.

We do want to encourage people to be themselves, but I am aware of a number of people that have given up coming here because the content has reached the point of foolishness with a great deal of arguing and disagreements between people that previously deeply respected each other.

Non-authentic Music

General Discussion

I own hundreds of classical music CDs that would be absolutely perfect for our sims, and we also have a streaming server. The problem is that you cannot legally use any of those CDs in SL unless you also pay for the license. Licensing is not at all reasonable, and many of the CDs are not covered by any one particular licensing organization, and you must pay the licensing fee each year.Of course, the laws in Europe may be different, but in the United States, public performance of anything you own, even for no fee, can result in severe fines and imprisonment. Is it worth the risk?