MUG Meeting Sept 19th, 2011

[2011/09/19 16:53]  Pilot: G'day Roughnut :)
[2011/09/19 16:54]  Antonius: Hey Pilot!
[2011/09/19 16:54]  Pusha: Heya Antonius
[2011/09/19 16:54]  Pusha: hi Pilot
[2011/09/19 16:54]  Antonius: Hi Pusha!
[2011/09/19 16:55]  Pilot: Hey Pusha... lol...
[2011/09/19 16:55]  Antonius: Welcome!
[2011/09/19 16:55]  Pusha: finally make it to a meeting
[2011/09/19 16:55]  Pusha: LOL
[2011/09/19 16:55]  Antonius: Good to see you here.
[2011/09/19 16:56]  Antonius: Let me get my screen working... http://screencast.com/t/3FanYhnmFxGh
[2011/09/19 16:57]  Pilot: Holy smoke!!
[2011/09/19 16:58]  Antonius: Don't worry Pilot. I just put it up to show the latest v1.0.3 feature I've finished.
[2011/09/19 16:58]  Pilot: Yeah, looks good!
[2011/09/19 16:59]  Antonius: It's called a Junction Point. Bottom left. Looks like the Initial Point, but is smaller and has a label.
[2011/09/19 16:59]  Antonius: Will be useful to declutter model diagrams.
[2011/09/19 16:59]  Pilot: Save many lines doing the same thing :)
[2011/09/19 17:00]  Antonius: Hello eyema & welcome.
[2011/09/19 17:00]  Eyema: hello
[2011/09/19 17:00]  Antonius: We are just getting started here.
[2011/09/19 17:00]  Antonius: Can you all see the screen?
[2011/09/19 17:01]  Pilot: Hello Eyema :)
[2011/09/19 17:01]  Eyema: its rezzin in
[2011/09/19 17:01]  Eyema: hello Pilot
[2011/09/19 17:02]  Antonius: I was just pointing out a new feature in v1.0.3., the Junction Point.
[2011/09/19 17:04]  Antonius: It sort of works like an Entry or Exit Point in that you can have multiple transitions go into it, with a single transition coming out.
[2011/09/19 17:05]  Antonius: So the Junction Point can help clear up your model diagrams.
[2011/09/19 17:06]  Pilot: Top stuff :)...
[2011/09/19 17:06]  Antonius: The model shown just happens to be the script for the Registration Box for MOAB.
[2011/09/19 17:06]  Antonius: So, Eyema have you been using MiceOnABeam?
[2011/09/19 17:07]  Eyema: Noooooo!
[2011/09/19 17:07]  Antonius: Just interested in what it does?
[2011/09/19 17:07]  Eyema: yes
[2011/09/19 17:09]  Antonius: Eyema, do you script directly with LSL now?
[2011/09/19 17:09]  Eyema: i play around with scripting yes
[2011/09/19 17:10]  Antonius: Well MOAB reduces the amount of LSL coding that you have to do, by letting you draw out much of the scripts logic via a visual model.
[2011/09/19 17:11]  Eyema: ooooooo
[2011/09/19 17:11]  Antonius: If you're not familiar with LSL you can use the built-in LSL Actions Wizard which gives you a form-based way to call LSL functions.
[2011/09/19 17:12]  Eyema: ok
[2011/09/19 17:12]  Antonius: So for example on the screen is the LSL Action to set the color of an object. http://www.screencast.com/t/uS5TzeOxAn8
[2011/09/19 17:13]  Pilot: Have you got the exploded pic of my 1st project Ant?
[2011/09/19 17:13]  Antonius: There's a bunch of LSL Actions built-in and more to come in future releases. You can even define your own.
[2011/09/19 17:14]  Antonius: You can download a free version from the MOAB website: www.miceonabeam.com
[2011/09/19 17:15]  Eyema: *'``'*:-., THANK YOU ,.:*'``'*:-.,
[2011/09/19 17:15]  Eyema: *'``'*:-., THANK YOU ,.:*'``'*:-.,
[2011/09/19 17:15]  Eyema: *'``'*:-., THANK YOU ,.:*'``'*:-.,
[2011/09/19 17:15]  Antonius: Do you have any specific questions about the tool Eyema?
[2011/09/19 17:15]  Eyema: not yet
[2011/09/19 17:16]  Antonius: When you do, just email support@miceonabeam.com and I'll be happy to answer them.
[2011/09/19 17:16]  Eyema: thank you
[2011/09/19 17:16]  Antonius: So how are you getting along Pusha?
[2011/09/19 17:17]  Pusha: well im pretty new to scripting so alot is complicated for me still
[2011/09/19 17:17]  Pusha: there are a few of the example scripts that were made in MOAB that i cant even get to work
[2011/09/19 17:17]  Antonius: Have you seen the MiceOnABeam Basics video? http://bit.ly/mRRhq2
[2011/09/19 17:17]  Pusha: yup
[2011/09/19 17:17]  Pusha: i think i need to be more familiar with LSL is all
[2011/09/19 17:18]  Pusha: hopefully attending these meetings will help me step it up
[2011/09/19 17:18]  Pilot: Well, LSL totally confused me Pusha, but MOAB seemed to put it into perspective for me, lol.
[2011/09/19 17:18]  Antonius: Yes. You should still get familiar with the concepts of variables and their types, and the basic control structures in LSL. (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/LSL_Tutorial)
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Pusha: indeed
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Pilot: Still consider me as a noob, but I'm enjoying what I can do, so far.
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Pusha: i can diggit Pilot
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Antonius: Pilot's come a long way.
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Pusha: awesome
[2011/09/19 17:19]  Pilot: Haven't produced anything super exciting for the market yet tho'
[2011/09/19 17:20]  Pilot: Variables... lmao...
[2011/09/19 17:20]  Pusha: ..::HehEHhehehehehEheHEh::...
[2011/09/19 17:20]  Antonius: Which examples were you trying to get working Pusha?
[2011/09/19 17:20]  Pusha: actually i cant remember its been quite a while since i tried
[2011/09/19 17:21]  Antonius: Were you able to get the Secure Door model from the video working? http://screencast.com/t/FO5z1KNgH
[2011/09/19 17:22]  Pilot: Really, the first thing everyone must understand is that computers by nature are incredibly dumb and need to be told every single step they must follow to achieve a result.
[2011/09/19 17:22]  Pusha: oh i see
[2011/09/19 17:22]  Pusha: i dont think i tried the door script
[2011/09/19 17:22]  Pusha: as it didnt really apply to what i was trynna do at that time
[2011/09/19 17:23]  Pusha: but i think ill give it a whirl
[2011/09/19 17:23]  Antonius: Try following the MOAB Basics video to build the model. http://bit.ly/mRRhq2 By going through it you'll learn a fair bit.
[2011/09/19 17:23]  Pilot: lmao... Do you want to put my model up there as a further example Ant?
[2011/09/19 17:24]  Antonius: I'll have to check if I have it around...
[2011/09/19 17:25]  Pilot: My first attempts failed Pusha because I totally forgot the most necessary item on it, the starting point transition to initial state.
[2011/09/19 17:25]  Pilot McBride gave you SwingDoorProject1024.
[2011/09/19 17:25]  Pusha: OIC
[2011/09/19 17:25]  Pilot: I just fropped over the fully exploded pic.
[2011/09/19 17:26]  Pilot: On the board, it is the arrow from the black spot to the Read Notecard state :)
[2011/09/19 17:26]  Pusha: gotcha
[2011/09/19 17:27]  Pilot: Although Ant stresses the need for this transition, somehow I forgot it, lol.
[2011/09/19 17:30]  Antonius: There it is. http://screencast.com/t/Fk7Guiib1O
[2011/09/19 17:30]  Pilot: Yay, lol
[2011/09/19 17:31]  Antonius: Now don't let this scare you... Pilot started off with a basic small model and kept adding functionality to it.
[2011/09/19 17:32]  Antonius: It does show that you can capture pretty complicated things.
[2011/09/19 17:32]  Pilot: Although it looks complicated, it really isn't....... (As Ant said, lol.
[2011/09/19 17:32]  Pusha: hahaha
[2011/09/19 17:33]  Pilot: The top level is the largest panel and all the rest hangs off, in and around it, lol.,
[2011/09/19 17:33]  Antonius: But do go through the video, step by step. It covers all the major features of MOAB.
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Pusha: indeed i will
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Antonius: Here's the link to the 3-part video: http://bit.ly/mRRhq2
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Pilot: And that is exactly how I built my model... From following the videos, nothing more...
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Pusha: thx
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Pusha: awesome
[2011/09/19 17:34]  Eyema: so the black dots is basically the point of origin where you start your model
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Eyema: or for each action you want it to do
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Pilot: Well a lot of crying and backflipping, lol... But it was truly an exercise that I enjoyed.
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Antonius: Eyema: You can try the video too, but first take a look at the overview video: http://bit.ly/ihCqyf
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Eyema: ok
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Eyema: thank you
[2011/09/19 17:35]  Pilot: Exactly right Eyema, it is the starting point.
[2011/09/19 17:37]  Pusha: thx pilot
[2011/09/19 17:37]  Antonius: With MOAB you basically describe your script by specifying a number of states that your script can be in.
[2011/09/19 17:37]  Antonius: In each state, you wait for one or more events to happen in SL.
[2011/09/19 17:38]  Antonius: When an event of interest occurs, you can make some changes in the SL world by calling LSL functions, and then move on to another state.
[2011/09/19 17:39]  Antonius: As Pilot said, the Initial Point in the top-left is used to specify the starting state for the script.
[2011/09/19 17:40]  Antonius: Then you draw transitions from state to state, with each transition having an event associated with it.
[2011/09/19 17:41]  Antonius: Let's go back to the Door Script from the video. http://screencast.com/t/FO5z1KNgH
[2011/09/19 17:42]  Antonius: It's pretty easy to follow. You can see that you start off in the ReadNotecard state.
[2011/09/19 17:42]  Antonius: This state is responsible for reading a list of names from a notecard.
[2011/09/19 17:43]  Antonius: You can see how you wait for the dataserver event which returns a line of text from the notecard.
[2011/09/19 17:43]  Antonius: There's a Choice Point (diamond) that then determines if the notecard is empty.
[2011/09/19 17:43]  Pusha: mhm
[2011/09/19 17:44]  Pilot: Fully read can be see as EOF (End Of File)
[2011/09/19 17:44]  Antonius: If not, it goes back to the ReadNotecard state to get another line.
[2011/09/19 17:45]  Antonius: There's code there that gets executed every time the ReadNotecard state is entered, it's called the Entry Action code, and it's here where there is a call to an LSL function to read a line from the notecard.
[2011/09/19 17:45]  Antonius: Once the notecard has been fully read, you can see how the script moves to the Closed state.
[2011/09/19 17:46]  Antonius: A door has two states, Opened & Closed and these are represented in the model.
[2011/09/19 17:47]  Antonius: If we're in the Closed state and the door is touched, (see the touch_end transition telling the script that you're waiting for the touch_end event),
[2011/09/19 17:48]  Antonius: you go to another Choice Point that checks to see if the avatar who touched the door is a member of the list of names that was previously read from the notecard.
[2011/09/19 17:48]  Antonius: If the person is on the list, the script takes the Yes transition to the Opened State whose Entry Action code calls an LSL function to open the door.
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Antonius: Any questions so far Pusha & Eyema?
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Eyema: nope
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Pusha: nope following pretty well
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Antonius: I'm leaving out the details of course, just to give you an overview.
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Pusha: right
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Pilot: Details are in the video :)
[2011/09/19 17:49]  Pusha: good deal'
[2011/09/19 17:50]  Antonius: Now that we're in the Opened state we again want to wait for a touch_end event, in which case the Exit Action code of the Opened state will close the door,
[2011/09/19 17:50]  Antonius: and we move back to the Closed state.
[2011/09/19 17:51]  Antonius: Note that we have another transition called timer from the Opened state to the Closed state.
[2011/09/19 17:51]  Antonius: The Entry Action of the Opened state also started a timer so that the door can be closed automatically after x seconds.
[2011/09/19 17:52]  Antonius: So if we get the timer event indicating that the timeout occurred, we close the door and move back to the Closed state.
[2011/09/19 17:53]  Antonius: You can see how the visual model makes the logic really clear.
[2011/09/19 17:53]  Pusha: yes indeed
[2011/09/19 17:53]  Pilot: A flowchart....
[2011/09/19 17:54]  Pilot: And do not hesitate to contact Ant with any problems...
[2011/09/19 17:54]  Eyema: exactly what i was seeing,,,a flowchart of events/possibilities,,,of "if" and "then"
[2011/09/19 17:54]  Antonius: Yes similar to a flowchart but with strict semantics.
[2011/09/19 17:55]  Antonius: The door model also shows another modeling feature called a Group Transition.
[2011/09/19 17:56]  Antonius: So recall that the script started by reading a notecard of avatar names who will be allowed to open the door.
[2011/09/19 17:56]  Antonius: So what if the notecard changes?
[2011/09/19 17:57]  Antonius: Well SL will issue a 'changed' event.
[2011/09/19 17:57]  Antonius: However the script can be in any state when this occurs, so nominally I could add a 'changed' transition to each state. But my diagram would get pretty cluttered.
[2011/09/19 17:58]  Antonius: So instead I can draw a Group Transition from the state's outer border, with the 'changed' event assigned and go the ReadNotecard state to start the reading process over again.
[2011/09/19 17:59]  Pusha: kool
[2011/09/19 17:59]  Antonius: It's meaning is the same as if I had drawn a 'changed' transition from each of the three states in the script back to the ReadNotecard state.
[2011/09/19 18:00]  Antonius: Finally you can see another Group Transition that handles the case when the prim that the script is in is rezzed.
[2011/09/19 18:01]  Pusha: WAAAHAHAHAA
[2011/09/19 18:01]  Antonius: So there you have it. Pretty straightforward.
[2011/09/19 18:02]  Antonius: As mentioned earlier you do have to learn the basics of LSL to be able to put in some code to get things done within the SL world. You can put this action code inside a transition so that it is executed whenever the transition is taken.
[2011/09/19 18:03]  Antonius: Or you can put it in a state's Entry or Exit action which will execute the code whenever the state is entered or exited respectively.
[2011/09/19 18:03]  Eyema: right
[2011/09/19 18:03]  Pusha: nice
[2011/09/19 18:03]  Pilot: I've done all his tutes and the all work, but like LSL, it is vital that you follow each step exactly.
[2011/09/19 18:04]  Antonius: Yes. it's easy to enter in a typo and in the current release they may not all be flagged depending on the error.
[2011/09/19 18:04]  Antonius: In the next release I'm working on, more errors are flagged up front so that you can easily fix them.
[2011/09/19 18:04]  Pilot: Variables!!!! lmao.
[2011/09/19 18:04]  Eyema: that will be  good
[2011/09/19 18:05]  Antonius: Yes, undeclared variables are finally flagged in the next release. http://screencast.com/t/qnJ8Y15vg
[2011/09/19 18:05]  Eyema: when do u expect that release to be out
[2011/09/19 18:05]  Pilot: Stone the crows they cause me some trouble.... Global variables, state variables, variable variables, lmao....
[2011/09/19 18:05]  Eyema: because i really will need something to say,,,,beeepp WRONGGGGG
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Pilot: lol....
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Pilot: I just say.... *CENSORED*
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Pilot: lol
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Antonius: I'm working on the last feature, (muliple bends in a transition), then some cleanup and testing. Probably end of Oct.
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Eyema: oooo
[2011/09/19 18:06]  Eyema: ok great
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Pilot: More smart drugs mate, lol.
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Antonius: Though I will have a beta and I'm counting on Pilot to help test it out.
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Antonius: Did I just volunteer you Pilot?
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Pilot McBride faints.....
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Pilot: lol...
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Pilot: Stone the crows mate, lol. Ya need a full blown scriptor for that, lol...
[2011/09/19 18:07]  Antonius: Pilot has a great fainting animation which he uses to get out of things... LOL
[2011/09/19 18:08]  Pilot: hahaha
[2011/09/19 18:08]  Antonius: No, you'll be perfect.
[2011/09/19 18:08]  Antonius: There he goes... ha-ha
[2011/09/19 18:08]  Pilot: lmao
[2011/09/19 18:09]  Antonius: Any other questions guys?
[2011/09/19 18:09]  Pilot: How can I get out of doing the lawns today?
[2011/09/19 18:09]  Antonius: Isn't your knee sore again Pilot?
[2011/09/19 18:10]  Antonius: Try that one.
[2011/09/19 18:10]  Pilot: Unfortunately not mate. Firin' on 6 of 8 cylinders, lol.
[2011/09/19 18:10]  Pilot: And the boss is up me for the rent, lol.
[2011/09/19 18:11]  Antonius: Tell her you want to cook up something special on the barbie.
[2011/09/19 18:11]  Pilot: Picked up another weedwacker yesterday, gave it a test flight around the front yard, ran out of fuel and did a forced landing up the driveway, lol.
[2011/09/19 18:11]  Antonius: ha-ha
[2011/09/19 18:12]  Pilot: At least I can cook on a barbie mate, including bread and pizzas, lol.
[2011/09/19 18:12]  Antonius: Well if there's nothing else, it was great seeing you here Pusha & Eyema; and of course you too Pilot as always.
[2011/09/19 18:13]  Pusha: thx Ant good to meet you finally
[2011/09/19 18:13]  Eyema: thank you very much
[2011/09/19 18:13]  Pilot: Mate, I'm always open to more information, wouldn't miss these sessions for quids :)
[2011/09/19 18:13]  Pusha: ..::HehEHhehehehehEheHEh::...
[2011/09/19 18:14]  Antonius: Again send me any questions via IM if I'm online, or via support@miceonabeam.com. You can also IM the MiceOnABeam group and someone might be able to help. Especially Pilot!
[2011/09/19 18:14]  Antonius: .. that is, Pilot is great at answering questions too.
[2011/09/19 18:14]  Pusha: \,,/ >_< \,,/ YaYyYyY
[2011/09/19 18:14]  Pusha: \,,/ >_< \,,/
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pilot: Been scarce the last couple of weeks mate due to RL, but if I'm on, I'll always respond :)
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Eyema: yall have a great night and thanks again
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Antonius: np. My pleasure.
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pusha: kewl biz, great meeting you pilot!
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pilot: Nice to meet you guys :)
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Antonius: Bye all!
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pusha: see y'all around
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pusha: TC
[2011/09/19 18:15]  Pilot: C'ya mate.