Sailling/Boating questions/problems from a new person

[StacyP2016]

Hey guys,

I have recently took up sailing/boating in SL. I have purchased a couple of yachts and was wondering if you guys could help me with a few problems.

The first one is whenever I am using a mesh body/head, after a couple of minutes, my character appears out of the boat and is stuck travelling in one direct. I can't seem to stand or return to my boat. After some research this seems fixed by using a classic/more basic avatar. A friend said this could be caused b/c I have an older computer/hard drive. While I was testing my boat he was able to ride w/ others and they had mesh bodies as well. Question here: is this normal?

Secondly, while travelling from square to square on the map, there is a slight hiccup. I will be travelling in one direction and then it will knock me back a second or two before hand to where I entered the new square on the map. I was told this was normal and usually happens. 

Finally, if I said and then stand from the drivers seat to look around or walk around my boat, it will disappear after a while. After some research I am assuming this is because of autoreturn, correct? My question here is, am I able to change the autroreturn rate? Also, does the autoreturn time refer to where my boat was rezzed or where I am currently? For example, if I had my own land and rezzed my boat there would I be able to sail/stop without my boat disappearing after a while. (Also, I've only got a warning once out of the 4 times it has happened.)

Hopefully you guys can give me some answers or perhaps let me know if my experience is normal. I can still enjoy boating for a little while at a time but it would be nice to be able to take my boat out for a little longer/with less problems.

Thanks,

StacyP

[Theresa Tennyson]

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StacyP2016 wrote:

Hey guys,

I have recently took up sailing/boating in SL. I have purchased a couple of yachts and was wondering if you guys could help me with a few problems.

The first one is whenever I am using a mesh body/head, after a couple of minutes, my character appears out of the boat and is stuck travelling in one direct. I can't seem to stand or return to my boat. After some research this seems fixed by using a classic/more basic avatar. A friend said this could be caused b/c I have an older computer/hard drive. While I was testing my boat he was able to ride w/ others and they had mesh bodies as well. Question here: is this normal?

Secondly, while travelling from square to square on the map, there is a slight hiccup. I will be travelling in one direction and then it will knock me back a second or two before hand to where I entered the new square on the map. I was told this was normal and usually happens. 

Finally, if I said and then stand from the drivers seat to look around or walk around my boat, it will disappear after a while. After some research I am assuming this is because of autoreturn, correct? My question here is, am I able to change the autroreturn rate? Also, does the autoreturn time refer to where my boat was rezzed or where I am currently? For example, if I had my own land and rezzed my boat there would I be able to sail/stop without my boat disappearing after a while. (Also, I've only got a warning once out of the 4 times it has happened.)

Hopefully you guys can give me some answers or perhaps let me know if my experience is normal. I can still enjoy boating for a little while at a time but it would be nice to be able to take my boat out for a little longer/with less problems.

Thanks,

StacyP

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1) Every 256 meter x 256 meter section of the Second Life world runs as a different simulation on (usually) a different machine at the Linden Lab server farm and every time you cross a region border the simulation you leave needs to "hand off" your avatar to the one you're entering. The more data that gets sent, the slower this handoff will be and the more likely it is that something will go wrong. If a handoff takes too long the new server may decide not to wait for certain data and simulate you using what it has. The scripts you and your vehicle run will especially have a big impact on the time and success of the crossing - mesh bodies and heads have a variety of scripts that they need to function properly but are just dead weight when you're traveling.

2) When you cross a region border what actually happens is you stop dead for the time it takes for the handoff from one region to another to take place. In order for the world to look smoother, your viewer usually "fakes" your motion during this crossing, assuming you're going the same direction and speed, and draws you and the world as if you were still moving. When the server eventually catches up it will send the viewer your actual location and if this is significantly different from the viewer's guess you'll jump to this location. This is usually mild for something moving at a constant speed or direction like a boat or airplane but it can be aggravated if you start turning or changing direction right before the crossing.

3) Object return is always determined by the region and parcel you're in at the time and you can't change it if it's someone else's land. As long as you're "seated" in the vehicle it's treated as a special case and can enter areas that don't normally allow other people's objects to enter, but as soon as you stand up the vehicle is treated as an ordinary object and is subject to the settings the owner of that parcel set. If the parcel doesn't allow object entry it will be returned instantly. If the land allows objects to enter but has auto-return set the vehicle will be returned after that amount of time. If you're on your own land your vehicle will never be returned until you consciously delete or take it.

[Vulpinus]

Good answers above.

From experience sailing, I know to remove scripts from my mesh body. It has that option on the HUD although (at least with my Aesthetic) it could be done manually. I forget how many there are, but there are a lot of scripts to remove. Region crossing is where script count really matters. It's not that it's a mesh body - it's just the scripts inside it that cause the issue.

I also try not to buy (or wear when sailing) anything that cannot have its scripts removed. Unfortunately many designers seem unaware of this issue and make their items no-mod with no script-removal facility. So, they don't (usually) get my money.

By the time I've descripted an outfit I can be down to just a couple of scripts for my sailing outfits and those are mostly ones I wrote myself. Even for combat (Pirate RP - sailing with active weapons, combat HUDs etc) I rarely carry more than ten scripts, again mostly my own. It really does make a difference.

 

The rubber-banding when region-crossing can get really bad in a big battle or busy yacht race. I seem to have a habit of firing my cannons just as it happens and missing my target by a mile, if they even fire at all as the commands sometimes get lost on the crossing too. Such is (second) life.

Learn to keep an eye out for the region edge and just sail as straight across as you can without making any adjustments as you cross. Fingers off the keys! And at all costs avoid crossing at the corner of four regions, where you might only pop into one edge of a region briefly and confuse matters alltoegther.

I must say things seem to be better than they used to be in these matters, but they are still very much there.

 

As to the auto-return issues when you get up to explore, I found a solution to that... of sorts. I run a simple bot software (secondbot) on another PC and wote a simple script that summons the bot and sits it on my boat at the push of a button.

So, I can then get up and go exploring all those neat places we find when sailing along the coast. My boat is safe and waiting for my return. The bot gets dismissed when I've seated again, and it goes back to its dungeon.

 

Enjoy your sailing!

[Christin73]

I do alot of boating in the SL waterways. To answer your questions. Both questions, that is a glitch in the sl system. Usualy it happens when you expierience lag. I would recommend less scripts your wearing the better for sailing/boating in sl. Just makes things easier.

[Callum Meriman]

I exist for sailing, really.

Mostly i will sail a 512LI Frigate at about 10knts or a 30LI catamaran at 20knts and on both sim crossings are as smooth as I think is possible with the technology we have to live with.

 

Get your ARC as low as possible - this means ditching mesh bodies, heads and even hair and wearing system clothing and a hat to cover the baldness.

Remove every script possible, even sail hudless if you can manage it.