Using Second Life

Using Second Life

Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is a 3D online digital world created and owned entirely by its residents. It provides a unique and flexible environment for teachers and learners interested in distance learning, simulation and new media – one which enables them to work together from anywhere in the world as part of a globally networked virtual classroom environment. Read more about Second Life at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SecondLife and https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/VueWiki.

Getting Started Second Life demands a high computer specification, so before you go any further you should find out whether your computer system will allow access and use of Second Life. Please read the minimum system requirements and Frequently Asked Questions to find out if you can use Second Life.

Minimum system requirements PCs Broadband Internet Connection Intel Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core or Atom, AMD Athlon 64 or later, with at least 512MB Memory and Windows XP (requires latest drivers), Vista or Windows 7 Macs Broadband Internet Connection

Using Second Life

1.5 GHz Intel Based Mac or better, with at least 512MB Memory and Mac OS X 10.5 or better Your computer must meet the minimum system requirements for you to successfully participate in SL. Please also visit http://secondlife.com/support/system-requirements for the recommended system requirements. If your computer meets these requirements but you are still having issues accessing SL, then the following FAQ’s have been compiled to try and provide you with a solution.

Frequently Asked Questions I have dial-up internet and Second Life keeps crashing? A broadband internet connection is essential. Second Life is not compatible with dial-up internet, satellite internet, and some wireless internet services, so if you would like to participate in SL activities then you must have a broadband internet connection. I cannot access Second Life because of firewall issues? Some institutions have firewalls, which prevent access to external applications such as SL. Please bear this in mind and check your SL access well in advance of when you will need it. If you’re running a firewall, then you should have your computing support staff configure the firewall to allow outbound traffic on these ports, and related inbound traffic: SL needs to connect to ports 443/TCP, 12035/UDP, 12036/UDP and 13000-13050/UDP. Unfortunately our support staff cannot help you resolve this issue, as your own computing service or ISP manage the ports. I have invested in a brand new computer and yet I still can’t access SL? SL has very high graphics card specifications and we have sometimes found that even the most up-to-date computers do not have the correct graphic card specifications - please visit http://secondlife.com/support/system-requirements to read about graphics card requirements. I can access Second Life but the landscape is grey and it keeps crashing? SL is quite demanding in terms of the graphics capability of your computer. If SL looks oddly empty when you go in, it could be a graphics card issue. Sometimes, even with a good card, you need to log in and wait for a minute or two for the graphics to render. Once logged into SL, adjusting your system preferences is another way of improving your system’s performance if your system is slow or your graphics card is old (edit your SL preferences according to your computer specifications – see “graphics” section). The technical details of graphics cards required are listed here: http://secondlife.com/support/system-requirements/ If problems persist, you may not be able to participate in the SL activities and you will need to contact your tutor to investigate alternative activities.

Create your Second Life account The following sections detail the key things you must do to create your account. Please allow about 10 minutes to complete these steps. You only have to do these steps once. However you must complete these steps in one sitting.

Using Second Life

1. Enter the following web address on your web browser (copy/paste might be necessary): https://join.secondlife.com/. The Join | Second Life screen displays. First you Choose an Avatar, from the various categories available. The avatar appearance you choose here is merely a starting point; you can edit your appearance once you enter SL (details on how to do this are below).

2. To register for SL you must give your new avatar (your SL

character) a username. Choose your Second Life username carefully as it cannot be changed later. Once you have chosen your username you need to Check Availability.

3. Next, you must fill in your Real Life details – email address and

date of birth. The email address must be a valid email address. Choose your password. Choose your security question and answer, which will be required if you lose your password. Read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (as you are about to accept them). Click on Create Account button.

Using Second Life

4. The Select an Account | Second Life screen displays. Second

Life is FREE to use as a basic member. You do not need to become a Premium Member to use Second Life:

5. Once your Second Life account has been created the Welcome to

Second Life screen displays:

Using Second Life

6. Please note your Second Life username. We will ask for the SL

username to be shared on the Course Forum in your Second Life weeks. We can then add you to our SL database so you can gain access to all areas of Holyrood Park.

The Browser You will access SL through a special browser, which must be downloaded onto your computer. The download outlined in this section needs to be done only once. Please follow these steps carefully. For the Introduction to Digital Environments for Learning we are advising that you use a third party browser called the Firestorm Viewer. If you followed the “Create your account” steps above, the Welcome to Second Life screen should be displayed – please do not click on Download & Install Second Life:

The Firestorm Viewer The Firestorm Viewer has been developed by Phoenix Viewer Project Inc. (http://www.phoenixviewer.com/), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to improve the user experience of Second Life. The viewer gives better performance and, we believe, an overall enhanced user experience as compared to the standard Second Life viewer.

Downloading the viewer

1. Go to the following URL http://www.phoenixviewer.com/downloads.php and look for Firestorm Downloads.

2. Click on the appropriate download button. SL can be used on both

PCs and Macs, therefore please ensure you are downloading the correct version. Save the installation file to an appropriate location on your local computer. Once download has completed follow the Browser Installation steps below.

Using Second Life

Browser installation (Windows) 1. Navigate to the location where you saved your download file (step

2 above). Click on the Phoenix Firestorm file to Open. The Installer Language displays. Choose your language from the drop down menu and click on OK. The License Agreement will appear. Click I Agree to continue. The Installation Folder displays. Select the location for the Second Life Browser. Click on Install.

2. Once installation is complete the Start Firestorm now? Window

displays. Click on Yes to launch SL. Or No if you are not ready to begin using it.

Browser installation (Mac) 1. Navigate to the location where you saved your download file (step

2 above). Drag the Phoenix Firestorm file to the Applications menu.

2. Open Firestorm from your Applications menu to begin using it.

Launching Second Life After following the above guidelines you should have your SL username and password created and the Second Life browser downloaded and installed. You are now ready to begin using Second Life.

Log in Screen 1. Navigate to the location where the Firestorm Viewer is installed.

Open the viewer. The Second Life login screen displays:

2. Enter your Second Life Username and Password. Click on Log In. If this is your first visit you will need to agree to the Terms of Service. Once you have agreed to these the Second Life Main Screen displays. You are now in Second Life!

Using Second Life

Alumni Seminar Event location The seminar event is being held in the Virtual University of Edinburgh campus. The link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Edinburgh%20University/229/155/24 Will allow you to ‘teleport’ directly there.

Features of Second Life In this section, we describe a few basic features of SL, which will help you navigate around Holyrood Park and help you prepare for your scheduled sessions within SL.

Interface Overview When you log into SL, your Main Screen should look something like this:

SL’s main screen features a top bar and a bottom bar. All features, tools and options of SL can be accessed in these bars. You will want to be comfortable using these bars and knowing their features. Side Bar By default the side bar contains a single button – Destinations. However you can drag and drop buttons between the bottom bar and the side bar, and reorder them, to your preferred layout.

• Destinations – destinations of interest.

Avatar Name

Voice Enabled

Bottom Bar

Top Bar

Side Bar

Using Second Life

Bottom Bar Pictured below is the default set up of the bottom bar. You can drag and drop the icons to reorder them to your preferred layout or move them to the side bar.

1. Nearby Chat – quick input to Nearby Chat (note that the Nearby Chat button to the left of the text input field brings up the Chat window).

2. Chat – contacts, Translation Service, Nearby Chat History and Nearby Chat input.

3. Speak – voice chat with people nearby using your microphone (if enabled).

4. Voice – volume control and calls. 5. Move – Open movement control panel for your avatar. 6. View – change camera angle. 7. People – friends, groups and nearby people. 8. Appearance – change your avatar. 9. Search – find places, events, people. 10. World map – detailed high-level map viewer and tools including

Find on Map, Teleport and Copy SLurl. 11. Mini-map – show nearby people. 12. Snapshot preview – take a photo of your current view with

options on where to save it. 13. Inventory – view and use your belongings. 14. Animation overrider – this is a more advanced feature for

managing animation sets. 15. Quick preferences – quickly access and edit your preferences.

Top bar

1. Teleport back and forward through your Teleport History. 2. Teleport home. 3. Land – pops up Land Information window. 4. Sky – pops up Sky Editor window. 5. Get information about your current location. 6. Your current location. 7. Add current location to your landmarks. 8. Teleport History. 9. Quick Search. 10. Notification and Instant Message status area. 11. Linden Dollar (L$) balance. 12. Media Controls: Start, stop, and adjust volume for streaming

audio and video.

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Using Second Life

Communication – Text and Voice There are three different forms of communication within SL: Local Chat, Instant Message (IM) and Voice Chat (Speak). Please note that in all SL sessions we use text communication via Local Chat. Voice communication will be used in SL sessions only when specifically instructed by your tutor.

Log your chat You might find it useful to have a chat log of all your discussions in Second Life. To log your chat (and/or your IMs) click on Avatar > Preferences from the top bar, click on the Privacy tab within the Preferences Panel and tick the relevant boxes.

Voice Voice communication is an optional feature and you enable it by clicking on Avatar > Preferences from the top menu and opening the Sound & Media tab and then the Voice Setting page. If you enable voice you will have a tiny white dot over your avatar’s head (as highlighted in the main screen photo earlier) and the Speak button will be active on the bottom bar. We use text chat in the majority of tutorials. If "voice chat" is to be used, your tutor will make this clear before a tutorial.

Text communication Instant Message (IM) and Local Chat are the two main forms of text communication within SL. The main difference between them is that you can only local chat with someone if they are online and in the same location as you in SL. Local chat conversations are not private and any avatar near you will see your chat conversation on their screen. When a person is not right by someone else in Second Life (co-located) they can use Instant Messages to chat to that person online. Instant Messages (IMs) are completely private and you can also leave an IM for someone who is offline.

Teleport Invitations Teleport invitations will appear in the notification area of the screen, as an Instant Message. You then have to Accept the teleport and you will come directly to where the avatar who has invited you is located.

Contextual Menu Right clicking (or Command click on a Mac) on almost anything/anybody in SL brings up a contextual menu. The menu’s options are context-specific and depend on the properties of the object/avatar you clicked on. This right click shortcut option is very useful because if you want to add an avatar as a friend, sit on a chair or drive a car you need to right click on the object in question and options will be given – see pictures below for details. Your Avatar

Other Avatar

Using Second Life

Object

Movement In Second Life you can walk, run or fly. You can walk around Second Life using your keyboard arrow keys. You can also click on the Move button (bottom bar) to open the movement control panel (picture bottom left) to walk, run or fly: Walk Fly

Walk

Run

Fly

Using Second Life

When you press the fly button on the movement control panel your avatar begins flying. You can also press “Page Up” and “Page Down” to fly up and down (with a smoother landing).

Camera Controls Second Life has a camera view, which by default is behind your avatar. With a few keys and your mouse you can reposition this camera, zooming in on objects (or your avatar) and rotating around a scene (to take a photo of your avatar, for example). Note that when your avatar is sitting you can use right or left arrow key on the keyboard to move the camera around your avatar. You can press “Esc” (on keyboard) at any time to return the camera to the default position. The easiest way to control the camera is using your keyboard and mouse (PC commands): To Zoom – Alt + Up/Down Arrow (also use your mouse roller ball if you have one) To Orbit – Ctrl + Alt + Hold Mouse Click and move mouse To Pan – Ctrl + Shift + Alt + Hold Mouse Click and move mouse Alternatively you can also click on the View button (bottom bar) to open the camera control panel. Camera controls does take time to get used to but it is necessary if you want to take a snapshot of your avatar, or once you start building within Second Life.

Avatar Appearance In SL your avatar is your virtual representation, and when you created your SL account you choose a basic appearance. We would encourage you to change your avatar’s appearance to represent yourself virtually – have some fun with your SL identity! You are not restricted in SL to the usual embodied constraints relating to gender, ability, race or class. In SL your only restriction is your imagination! To edit your appearance click on Avatar > Appearance from the top bar (or right click on your avatar and choose “Appearance >”). To save your appearance at any time click on Avatar > Appearance from the top bar and choose the My Outfit button (circled above). Click Save As and give your outfit a name (for example “Frank Default”) and click on OK. A folder will appear under the My Outfits tab.

Inventory Click on the Inventory button on the bottom bar (and the Inventory tab). The main folders are “Inventory” which contains clothing and objects that you have acquired and the “Library” folder: which is a public library full of free clothes, gestures, accessories and objects. For clothes or drinks (for example) – select the item and click on the Wear button. For cars and bicycles (for example) – drag the item to the ground near you and then right click (or Command click on a Mac) and choose Ride to drive these objects.

Make Friends/Find Friends Using the People button on the Bottom Bar (and the Friends tab) you can Instant Message or Voice Call your friends, you can view their Profile or Offer Friends a Teleport to your location. This tab lists all the people who’ve agreed to be your friend and tells you who is currently online

Using Second Life

(their names are in white). We encourage you to befriend others on the course when you meet them!

Groups We use the group function to limit access during scheduled sessions. It is imperative that you accept the “Holyrood-Park” group membership invite when you receive it in SL. You will not be able to gain access to Holyrood Park during scheduled sessions unless you are an active member of the “Holyrood-Park” group. To activate a group click on the People button on the Bottom bar (and the My Groups tab). Your current active group will be displayed here in bold. Click on “Holyrood-Park” and then click on the Tick button bottom of the screen to activate.

Navigation The World Map is a map of the entire world of Second Life. To open the world map click on the Map button in the bottom bar, or select World > World Map from the top menu bar. This opens a re-sizeable, re-scalable map of the entire world:

It includes Search functions for places, your stored landmarks, your online friends, your home and more. It also allows you teleport instantly to any location. Because Holyrood Park is fairly large, the Mini-map function is useful. To open Mini Map click on World / Mini Map (top bar). It is useful if you are trying to see where other avatars are located in your area and also for finding your way somewhere by foot. We will encourage you to visit other places in SL outside of Holyrood Park and to landmark these places of interest. To landmark your current location click on World / Landmark This Place (top bar) or click on the star icon in the location field in the top bar:

Using Second Life

To return to a landmark you have created select World > Places / TP History in the top menu (and the Landmarks tab) and double click on the landmark you wish to visit.

Graphics Adjusting your SL preferences is a way of improving your system’s performance while using SL. To adjust your graphics settings click on Avatar / Preferences from the top bar, click on the Graphics tab within the Preferences Panel. The graphics tab presents a slider control (between Low and Ultra) of better quality (detail of the virtual world) and faster speed (running of SL). Lower settings on quality improve performance on slow systems or old graphic cards. These adjustments will help reduce the risk of SL crashing. We recommend a Low to Mid setting. Please take the time to review the default settings in the Preferences Panel and adjust them as appropriate for your system and Internet connection.

Force the sun Second Life time (SLT) is based on Pacific Standard Time. Therefore it will often be dark (as in night-time) when you visit SL. You can however “turn the lights on” at any time so you can see our beautiful “Vue”! Click on World > Sun Position from the top bar and choose Midday.

Support There is a good Second Life support website from Linden Labs (SL owners) with video tutorials and help guides: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Help_Portal and http://secondlife.com/support/quickstart/basic For more information on SL within the University of Edinburgh, please visit the Holyrood Park Wiki https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/VueWiki

Using Second Life