Hi I started to write some cross sim notes to help make a cross sim trip easer . I found this note card From Mistress Zobo , She was the best I ever saw at racing cross sim . I hope this will help .
Diablo FFF Stable Master
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Here are a few hints on how to get more from your mainland cross country experience.
When carting in Second Life, you’ll want to use a cart that allows you to make copies. Make a few backup copies in your inventory and then rez your cart. Sometimes, carts can be lost in sim crossings and crashes, so it’s best to never use a cart you cannot copy as you may lose it forever. Also, be aware that there may be “Property Ban Lines” just off the road. You know those pesky yellow lines that keep you from going onto someone else’s property. Hitting those with a cart can cause you to become stuck, lose your cart, or crash, so keep on the road as best you can and try to avoid them.
Cross Country Carting can be very challenging for several reasons, but many find the biggest challenge to be sim crossings. First, let’s understand what is involved in a sim crossing.
Each body of land in SL is called a “Simulator” as it simulates a land mass. We all call them “Sims” for short. Each sim is on its own computer server that is networked to other servers that contain sims. When you cross a sim line, one server hands you off, and another server picks you up. So in other words, you move from one computer to another.
This very rarely happens smoothly, even when you’re walking. We’ve all experienced the delay of sim crossings, the feeling that you’re either floating away in the air, or dropping down under the ground, disappearing all together and then all of a sudden reappearing on the other side of the sim line. The server that runs the sim you are walking onto has to receive all the information that makes up “You”, process it, and make it appear on your screen. This includes your shape, skin, hair, clothing, attachments….everything.
The time it takes for the server to receive all this information, process it, and make it appear on your screen is what causes the crazy lag and flying loops we get at sim crossings. The server needs a bit of time to get all that information correct and we see it as; flying, walking under the land, disappearing, etc.
When you add a vehicle to that, it makes it even harder, because not only does the server have “You” to process, it has “You” and a “Cart”. To make matters even harder for the server, “You” are attached to the “Vehicle” or cart. Carts are vehicles just like a car, motorcycle, a sailboat, an airplane, or any other vehicle you might use in second life. Carts don’t roll along the ground; it is more like they fly very, very low. If you have a passenger on the cart, it gets even harder.
Two passengers, a pony, and the vehicle makes the sim line crossing very difficult and the lag loops will be very pronounced. The server you are moving onto has to process; You, A Vehicle, Passenger 1, Passenger 2, all your attachments and all your scripts, and you’re all attached to the vehicle. Get the picture? The more stuff for the server to process, the more pronounced the lag when crossing a sim line.
So how can we make sim crossings easier? Simple, get rid of things that cause extra processing time from one server to another.
First, lower your personal prims. Take off attachments you don’t need like jewelry, prim addition to clothing like collars, cuffs, prim belts, big shoes and big hair. Try to dress in “clothing layer” clothes only and use low prim hair and shoes.
Secondly, scripts are a big drain on sim resources and can really cause a lot of problems at sim crossings. Your cart, or vehicle, already uses scripts so you can’t get rid of those, but you can get rid of a lot of the scripts on your body. Many people walk around SL with more than 200 scripts on their body and wonder why the lag is so bad. A good rule of thumb is to try and keep your personal scripts under 3MB. However, the fewer the number of scripts you have on your body, the better off you’ll be. Try to get your personal scripts down to fewer than 10, that is excellent and you’ll have a much easier time crossing sim lines. I have included a script counter I made for you to use. Just sit on it and it will tell you how many MB of scripts you’re wearing and the number of scripts you have on. Then, simply look for scripted items you have on and remove or replace them. You can see if the items you are wearing have scripts by clicking on the item, going into “Edit” and then looking at the “Contents” tab.
Zobo’s script counter (Object in SL) <<Webmistress’ note: does anyone have that link?
FINDING SCRIPTS YOU DON’T NEED:
Shoes, hair, and resizable clothing are some of the biggest scripted items you may have. They can also contain lots of prims. For instance, the hair I’m wearing now has 164 prim. For cross country carting, I would put on a hair that has as few prim as possible and no scripts.
You can also remove scripts from items by deleting them from the item. But you will not be able to do things like re-size the item or change its color after the scripts are removed, so it’s best just to put on a different hair or shoes than it is to delete the scripts. Any menu items like locking, leashing, or RLV stuff will also be lost if you remove the scripts.
Equally important is for everyone riding the vehicle to remove any HUDs or AO’s. These often contain an enormous number of scripts; and during the ride they aren’t needed anyway.
Moving through sim crossings can also be made easier by slowing down, at least in theory, there is still debate on this subject, but see if this works for you. If you have problems at sim crossings, try slowing down and moving inch by inch across the sim line. This sometimes can give the server you’re moving on to, time to get the information it needs without getting confused and sending you spinning off into oblivion.
There are also some things you can do to help you see sim lines. Your Second Life viewer has an option that lets you view property lines. Hit “Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P”. This will let you see “Property Lines”. Sim lines show up as “Blue” lines, and property lines show up as “Red” lines. The problem with this is that the “Blue” sim lines are often difficult to see or are covered up by objects such as roads or land terraforming. However, you can many times plainly see the “Red” property lines on either side of the road which lets you know there is a sim crossing there. Another easy way to see sim lines is to use your maps while carting, both your world map and your mini map are great assets to the cross country carter. Leave one or both of your maps open and you’ll easily see the sim crossings.
An additional trick is to watch the “Middle” number on the “Land Parcel Coordinates” at the top of your screen. You know those numbers, they look like this “Bae(31,5,59)”. Those are the numbers that tell you where you are on the sim. Depending on which direction you’re going, the middle number will either approach “0” or “250” when you’re about to cross a sim line. I’ll give you an example. Right now I’m on a sim named “Bae” and my coordinates are “Bae (31,5,59)” when I look at the middle number, I know that I am 5 meters away from a sim crossing. As I cross the sim line, the numbers change. My coordinates are now “Al Tang (24,248, 59) which tells me that I have crossed the sim line. As I approached the sim line in Bea, the Middle number dropped to “0” and I picked up the middle number of “250” in Al Tang. Had I been going in the opposite direction, I would have approached the middle number of “250” in Al Tang, crossed the sim line, and would have seen the middle number of “0” in Bea. Play with this a little, it is easier to see than it is to explain. Using the coordinate numbers is very easy to do and will keep your screen clear of maps and let you see everything around you.
The main thing is to enjoy carting in Second Life, there is much to do and see everywhere and cross country carting is a great way to do it. I hope these tips will help you get more out of your carting.
Zobo Shepherd
Frilly Filly Farm
Senior Trainer
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A nice challenge for off road carting is a climb of Mount Amondeu. Amondeu is the region south of Oraenji so it connects with the FFF Tack Shop. A route is outlined on the enclosed map.
To get there, take a cart south on Route 9 and turn right onto Route 9A. You will be in Mogwa sim. When you cross into Amondeu, go off road to the right (@Amondeu 253,87,67) and start climbing the open land until you reach the highest point. This is the peak of Mount Amondeu (Amondeu 102, 191, 123).
From there, head Northeast around Starbright’s Pony Training Center and into the back of the FFF Tack Shop. Once in the shop it is an easy ride back to FFF.
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Cross Country Lesson
Zobo Shepherd
Cross Country Carting is a test of endurance. The idea is to take a cart out of the farm on to the Linden Roads and maneuver the cart over several sims
and possibly off roads as well. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. The pony pulling the cart will encounter massive lag, horrible sim crossings, traffic, and possibly other pedestrians.
WE NEED TO BE GOOD NEIGHBORS, SOME OF THE SIMS YOU WILL BE CROSSING ARE RATED GENERAL. PONIES AND DRIVERS MUST HAVE BREASTS AND GENITALS COVERED BEFORE LEAVING THE FARM !!!!!
ONLY USE FFF CARTS FROM THE REZZER WHEN OFF THE FARM. CARTS CAN GET LOST IN HEAVY LAG AND PERSONAL CARTS MAY NOT BE RETURNED.
Before venturing forth onto the Linden Roads, ponies and drivers should do some things to help you see sim lines. Your Second Life viewer has an option that lets you view property lines. Hit “Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P”. This will let you see “Property Lines”. Sim lines show up as “Blue” lines, and property lines show up as “Red” lines. The problem with this is that the “Blue” sim lines are often difficult to see or are covered up by objects such as roads or land terraforming. However, you can many times plainly see the “Red” property lines on either side of the road which lets you know there is a sim crossing there. Another easy way to see sim lines is to use your maps while carting, both your world map and your mini map are great assets to the cross country carter. Leave one or both of your maps open and you’ll easily see the sim crossings.
An additional trick is to watch the “Middle” number on the “Land Parcel Coordinates” at the top of your screen. You know those numbers, they look like this “Bae(31,5,59)”. Those are the numbers that tell you where you are on the sim. Depending on which direction you’re going, the middle number will either approach “0” or “250” when you’re about to cross a sim line. I’ll give you an example. Right now I’m on a sim named “Bae” and my coordinates are “Bae (31,5,59)” when I look at the middle number, I know that I am 5 meters away from a sim crossing. As I cross the sim line, the numbers change. My coordinates are now “Al Tang (24,248, 59) which tells me that I have crossed the sim line. As I approached the sim line in Bea, the Middle number dropped to “0” and I picked up the middle number of “250” in Al Tang. Had I been going in the opposite direction, I would have approached the middle number of “250” in Al Tang, crossed the sim line, and would have seen the middle number of “0” in Bea. Play with this a little, it is easier to see than it is to explain. Using the coordinate numbers is very easy to do and will keep your screen clear of maps and let you see everything around you.
Ponies can practice cross country on their own by taking a cart out onto the Linden Roads by themselves to get a feel for the road and how sim crossings work when pulling a cart.
Testing:
Testing can only be done with a driver. Ponies cannot pull an empty cart for a test.
Ponies will be tested on;
1. Ability to use proper speeds when handling the cart
2. Proper sim crossing techniques
3. Ability to obey whip commands properly
4. Avoiding traffic
5. Ability to complete the test course
The test course is this;
Ponies will exit the farm. They will pull the cart and driver all the way to the far end of LORDSHORE sim, which is across the bridge, OR, the Little Circle course may be used, OR, the Queens Circle course may be used. It is up to the trainer giving the exam as to which testing course will be used for the test.
Lordshore Run Course:
Little Circle Race Course:
Queen’s Circle Race Course:
If the pony loses the cart, driver, or crashes, they may return to the farm, get another cart and try again.
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Farm Carting Lesson
Zobo Shepherd
Farm Carting consists of a few different things, all of which you should get to know and be ready to be tested on all of them.
1. Cart Handling:
Cart Handling is about pulling the cart at the correct speed for the road conditions. Slow around curves, and faster on straightaways. It is also about your ability to keep the cart on the road. The pony has control over the speed of the cart. The driver may instruct you by chat commands to go faster or slower, but it is usually up to the pony to determine speed.
2. Whip Commands:
Whip commands are how the driver communicates with the pony pulling the cart.
These are your whip commands. You should get to know them.
1 whip….Forward
2 whips….Stop
3 whips….turn left
4 whips…turn right
5 whips…back up
3. Rules of the Road:
The Rules of the Road are simple;
a. If you are approaching an intersection and no whip command is given, you should stop BEFORE the intersection and wait for a command. DO NOT enter the intersection before a command is given.
b. If you are approaching a natural bend in the road, go around the bend. There is no need to give a command for this.
c. If you experience lag or the cart starts flying, wait until the lag subsides and then continue pulling the cart.
4. Knowledge of the farm:
Ponies are expected to know where everything is on the farm and the fastest route to get from place to place. You should familiarize yourself with everything and every place on the farm, and make a mental note of the fastest way to get from place to place. A good way to do this is to walk the roads of the farm and look at everything and plan your routes.
Testing:
The test will consist of two phases;
1. Knowledge of whip commands, cart handling, and rules of the road. The pony will demonstrate that they can pull a cart smoothly around the farm while being given whip commands. They should be able to effectively control the speed of the cart and display knowledge of the rules of the road.
2. The pony needs to know their way around the farm. When a visitor is taking a tour of the farm and is given a cart tour, a driver will act as tour guide and will give a pony chat commands as to where they want the pony to take them. In this part of the test, chat commands will be given to the pony. A location on the ground level of the farm will be given and the pony is to take the fastest and shortest route to that location. Several locations should be given to the pony to test their knowledge of the farm.
Some locations after Remodeling 18 Feb 2019 by Pony Sorrowsong:
Cart Park
Pole Bending Slalom
Curved Polo field
Barrel Race
Animal Clinic (& emergency heliport on roof)
Clinic Animal Pond
Silent Dressage
Flower Dressage
Small Steeple
Memorial Garden
Line Slaloms
Whip Circle
S-Slalom
O-Slalom
The Switchback (because the road switches back and forth)
Barn
Pony Walker
Pavilion
Pool
Meeting Hall
Covered Bridge
Campfire’
Piano Deck
Large Steeple
Tack Shop
Pony Sorrowsong: The test is to go to 5 random locations in the shortest way possible using the roads closest to them. The pony will be given a location, then can think or use camera control and look at map, and when read stomp to start and stomp when arrives at what they think is the correct spot. Then another location will be given until 5 correct locations in a row are performed.
Frilly Filly Farm 