AiLand is set up to allow anyone with an avatar on any hypergrid-enabled grid to visit and use the facilities. To reduce management of AiLand, this is the preferred method for students and vistors to access AiLand. Avatars directly on AiLand are normally reserved for builders and facility managers who need elevated rights. Contact Ai Austin if you wish to establish an AiLand avatar for direct access.
The recommended viewer to access AiLand and other OpenSimulator-based virtual worlds is Firestorm. The latest OpenSim Version should be used. It can also be used to access Second Life but some advanced physics capabilities will not be available. See below. A Step-by-Step Guide (PDF format)
After installation, run Firestorm and go to Viewer -> Preferences -> OpenSim tab. In "Add New Grid" enter the loginuri as follows and hit "Apply".
http://ai.vue.ed.ac.uk:8002/You can then select "AiLand" in the "Log into Grid" drop down menu in the viewer.
You cannot use the Linden Lab standard Second Life viewer to access OpenSimulator-based virtual worlds, since it contains a commercially licenced library for advanced physics computations.
You can use any open source "Third Party Viewer" derived from the core of the main Linden Lab viewer (open source under LGPL licence) to access Opensim grids so long as it does not make use of the commercial licenced library. Examples are FireStorm, Singularity and CtrlAltStudio (including Stereoscopic 3D and Oculus Rift support). They provide way to add the details for access to alternative grids, and can still be used to access Second Life.
Instructions to allow Abobe Flash content (e.g. for YouTube videos) to be displayed in OpenSimulator are here.
Virtual Worlds viewers generally rely heavily on advanced graphical and grapical user interface features. However, some viewers do try to provide support for textual interfaces that are amenable to use of support tecxhnlogies for the blind or visually impared.
Object-Object Occlusion (which skips rendering of objects that are hidden behind others) when on can cause the watre surface of adjacent regions to flash on some graphics cards. If this happens it can be turned off with Ctrl+Shift+O (or via the Develop menu -> Rendering).
For meshes, levels of detail can drop out even when the objects are viewed from close by. This leads to details not being displayed. Adjust Advanced -> Show Debug Settings -> RenderVolumeLODFactor from the default to 4.0. This can also be done in the Firestorm viewer more directly via the Firestorm "Quick Preferences" button and using the "LOD Factor" setting.
| Grid | Grid URL | Access |
|---|---|---|
| AiLand Grid | http://ai.vue.ed.ac.uk:8002
Visit via Hypergrid: |
Visitors welcome via HyperGrid. Terms of Service are available here. |
| Other OpenSimulator Grids | ||
| OSGrid | http://login.osgrid.org/
Vue-hosted Hypergrid Gateways and Regions on OSGrid: |
Register Here (Open to all).
Avatars from OSGrid and other Grids which are Hypergrid enabled may also visit AiLand. |
Terms of Service are provided here.