I want to give a huge shout-out to Elisha Pakelena and Sidewinder Linden for their attention to sailing issues in Havok 4.
As most sailors know, Linden Labs is currently beta-testing Havok 4, the update for the physics engine that determines how objects interact and move in Second Life. Most of us don’t think about the physics engine while sailing SL, but it’s fundamentally important to nearly everything we do. Havok is the juice that determines how your boat moves when you raise sail.
Elisha Paklena is working with Sidewinder Linden to address sailing issues in Havok 4. The meeting she held on this topic two weeks ago was extremely helpful, and it brought the sailing community up to speed on the current status of H4 development and implementation. No surprise, there were more questions than answers, but Elisha plans to make sure sailors have a voice in beta testing and that sailing needs will be addressed as H4 implementation moves along.
As part of that process, yesterday Elisha and Sidewinder placed five connected sailing sims with H4 on the SL Beta Grid! I think this is an important step for sailors who want to help fine tune H4. Here is the map:
If that map looks familiar, it is! It’s a pretty exact copy of the NYC Clubhouse and race line in Bismarck Sea. it also includes three sims to the East and Santa Rosa to the North. I had a chance to stop by this morning and check out the windsetter and start line; it’s all ready to roll.
In fact, I was actually way late getting over there. The real reason everything is up and running is Bato Brendel! As soon as Bato found out about the new beta sailing sims last evening, he ran over and started pulling together maps, checking out possible race courses, and doing the initial crash-test trial runs. Thank you, Bato!!!! If you have any questions or suggestions about the H4 sailing test sims, ask Bato!
It’s probably no surprise that as soon as we each saw the place, Bato and I immediately started scrambling to get a race course going. I think a Beta Grid Hotlap circuit would give sailors the best chance to detect any subtle difference in sailing that result from the H4 upgrade.
Luckily it turns out NYC already has a course that covers the new sims on the beta grid! It’s one that Armchair Binder put together for the NYC Tuesday Night ACC boat races. I’ve modified it a little bit, and renamed it for the beta sailing sims. Take a look:
Pretty quickly we’ll be organizing some test races on the Beta Grid using the course; in the meantime, however, go download the beta grid viewer, and go check out th H4 test sailing sims for yourself!
8 responses so far ↓
1 Bea Woodget // Jan 8, 2008 at 9:32 am
I have tried it this morning also, quickly, just time to rez a Tako and do some runs. I haven’t got any problem. So, i am ready to race but… who did set the wind to 24 m/s!!! First time i see my old Tako sailing at 30 m/s upwind ! Surprising :). Call for race Jane, i am in the starting blocks…
2 MarkTwain White // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:07 am
Your map shows Santa Catalina as part of the Havoc test. Bea’s announcement last night on COM did not list Santa Catalina.
Is Catalina an inny or and outy?
3 Jane Fossett // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:17 am
Have I lied to you before?
(well… recently?)
I copied the map straight from the beta grid this AM.
4 Elisha Paklena // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:36 am
MTW - When I talked to SWL about this, I’d suggested Bismarck, Bougainville, and then New Georgia, and maybe either Santa Cat or Santa Ros. I hadn’t expected him to do both Santas, but clearly that’s what he did.
5 Elisha Paklena // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:37 am
Hm, I should also note - unless things have changed, these are the -only- sailing test sims on the Beta grid right now… in the interest of efficiency and consolidation of efforts, SWL removed the Sanchon and Hepurn courses from it.
6 Bato Brendel // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:43 am
LAWL @ Bea’s comment. BTW that was me who set the winds up that nice and high I was doing some hardcore testing all night. Specifically trying to purposely get TD (time dilation) to become a factor while sailing. TD is typically what caused you to go sailing to the moon or your journey to the center of the earth since it causes the delay or flat out pausing of physics movement calculations as well as other things. Also to see the effects of simcrossings at that speed. Note I have not even seen much of either. Also I have a map of Sims up over the NYC start line with bouy’s marked out as well. If you want the image just gimme a IM. See you there….
7 MarkTwain White // Jan 8, 2008 at 12:45 pm
In light of the fact that we have 5 contiguous USS-SL sailing sims in the Havoc beta may i suggest the use of the following course which has the following postives going for it:
1. It uses all 5 of the test sims
2. It adds a bit of fun with the inclusion of the gap in Santa Catalina.
3. It adds EOW test issues between purple and bottom marks.
8 jane fossett // Jan 8, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I like it. That’ll be the course we use to race “Hotlaps for Havok!”
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