Team Firestorm Announces Viewer Statistics

 

Yesterday, Team Firestorm's Project Manager Beq Janus made their first blog post since December, wanting to explain why "It has been a little while since we released a Firestorm update, and I wanted to use this week to discuss why that is, where we are, and what to expect."

 

 She stated that "if all goes to plan," they'll be making a series of posts explaining upcoming features, "But before I do that, I wanted to quickly recap where things stand today." She began with saying that last week, the Lab was saying it's "ForeverFPS" viewer was the default Linden viewer, while Firestorm's official release continues to be "aligned with what LL called 'DeltaFPS.'" Why didn't the Lab's earlier version, called ExtraFPS, have a matching update from Firestorm? Beq stated that the team concluded, "in part on feedback through the early-access group and other interactions," that there wasn't enough appeal for it among Firestorm users, and they had already done a number of updates in a relatively short time. In contrast, the Lab's ForeverFPS viewer mostly added numerous improvements, such as water and sky rendering quality, and bug fixes

"So if we are now a couple releases behind ... where are we at today?" Based on statistics provided by Linden Lab, almost 80% of Firestorm users are using a PBR-capable viewer, most of whom are using the latest one (PBR-WebRTC aka 7.1.10). Of the remaining 20%, most are using 6.6.17, the last pre-PBR viewer. 

 

Beq would comment that most Firestorm users change to a new viewer within two weeks, 40% within 48 hours), commenting that some wouldn't move "until compelled by the three-version 'block,' relying on our roughly quarterly updates" to give them stable viewers.  But under their new update model in which older versions aren't automatically blocked, those using older versions "no longer have anything to compel them to update."

This is not a problem in the grand scheme of things, but it is a problem when it obscures the users who are not updating for reasons other than “can’t be bothered” as we are unable to tell if we need to do more to help those users or whether they are happy as they are and will move when compelled by broken content or some other reason. This is undoubtedly true of the 8% on the buggy 7.1.9 version, where many of those still clinging to it are saying “well it’s ok for me”. Those people can and will update to a later 7.X viewer when they feel the time is right, and because they are already on 7.1.9 we know that their machines are capable and overall most of them will see a further improvement when they next update.

At the end, Beq offered, "A quick survey. Tell us why you run the version you do." (link) She concluded, "There really is a lot of new stuff coming in the next update so please look out for more updates in the coming days."

 

To see the blog post in full, Click Here.

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

 

EOTB: Lab Announces New Viewer, Says It Will Help Fix PBR Issues

 

In the official blog late last week, Linden Lab announced that their latest viewer, 7.1.10, also known as Delta FPS, was now available for download. This viewer promised to bring "performance enhancements that are on par with our pre-PBR levels." 

After thorough testing and your valuable feedback, we’re happy to report that version 7.1.10, known as DeltaFPS, is now available for all residents as the official Second Life viewer. This update brings performance enhancements that are on par with our pre-PBR levels, ensuring a smoother and more responsive experience.

The Lab promises the new viewer offers improved frame rates, bug fixes and stability improvements, and enhanced rendering. 

The blogpost would also mention the new Firestorm viewer, announced a few days ago. 

The Lab would state they're monitoring feedback on the new viewer as they work on still another update, 7.1.11, also known as ExtraFPS.

With DeltaFPS now fully released we are going to be closely monitoring the performance metrics, and our team is hard at work on ExtraFPS (7.1.11), the next major update designed to push Second Life’s performance beyond previous limits. Stay tuned for more updates on ExtraFPS as we continue testing and refining this release.

To read the blogpost in full, Click Here. 

New Firestorm Viewer Update, Promises To Fix Some PBR Issues

 

After Firestorm released their PBR viewer in June, while there was praise for it as it allowed people to see what could be done with this new feature in Second Life, there were also numerous complaints about lag and crashes. In August, Firestorm announced they were making a change to their three-viewer policy and keep the last viewer before PBR, 6.1.17, around permanently, recommending those who were having serious issues temporarily downgrade, or adjust their viewer Preferences, while they were working on an update. A few days ago on Tuesday September 17, they announced that their new viewer update, one that would deal with some of the issues caused by the PBR technology, was ready. 

...a significant minority of our users have been struggling with the higher performance demands of the last release (7.1.9). We have been in discussion with Linden Lab since that release, and, as you can read in the Second Life Blog post linked at the top of this section, there is a significant focus on making the viewer more capable and performant on lower spec and older machines. These updates are being delivered in phases, and this release delivers the first batch (aligning us to the Second Life release known as Atlasaurus). It does not mark the end of those improvements, Linden Lab has laid a roadmap of at least two further releases (DeltaFPS and ExtraFPS) that specifically focus on performance.

This release fixes a swathe of issues, those of you plagued by crashes after TP were almost certainly victims of the “mirror at home” bug. This bug was fixed soon after the release and has been tested throughout our beta phase for this update. the crash rate for this viewer is far far lower than for the 7.1.9 update. Performance too, the performance updates, should see most of you enjoying better, more consistent frame rates and where you had high rates already, simple seeing more consistency as you move around the world.

Also, the viewer was the first to be able to use Second Life's new Voice technology, WebRTC, Linden Lab switching away from Vivox.

This viewer release ushers in a new-era of voice services in Second Life. Linden Lab has been working on a replacement for the ageing Vivox “SLVoice” solution for some time now. The new voice system is based upon open standards, notably WebRTC. The new voice services significantly improve voice quality over the legacy voice system, offering up to 48Khz CD-quality audio. They are directly embedded inside the viewer, removing the dependency on an external support process (slvoice.exe) and hopefully increasing voice stability. Linden Lab has also used the migration to WebRTC to enhance security and reduce “data leakage.” WebRTC point-to-point calls will all route through a Second-Life-managed proxy service, ensuring that your IP address and identity are always protected.

For those used to using the SL-provided voice morphing, this will no longer be available. The team at Linden Lab has put together a FAQ page to help you resolve any questions. Importantly, WebRTC is not compatible with SLVoice. Moreover, the back-end services that support voice cannot co-exist so once Linden Lab roll out the new WebRTC services across the grid, the older voice services will cease to work.

To make it very clear, when Linden Lab rolls out the WebRTC backend across the grid, SLVoice will cease to work FOR ALL VIEWERS. This is not something Firestorm or any TPV can alter/fix/workaround.

For the blogpost in full, Click Here. 

EOTB: Linden Lab Acknowledges Some Residents Are Having PBR Related Issues

 

If you've been having issues with the viewer in Second Life since the PBR (Physical Based Rendering) updates, you're not alone. Numbers of people have complained since it's introduction of increased lag, longer rezzing times, and crashes.

 

In their latest post on the official blog, Linden Lab was basically acknowledging there was a problem,  

We are always striving to add more improvements to Second Life and we’ve been particularly excited to roll out integration of PBR Materials, which has the potential to improve and modernize much of the look and feel of our virtual world. However, the introduction of PBR has not gone as smoothly as we would like and we have heard community frustrations and feedback with recent PBR-enabled Viewer releases of both the Official Second Life Viewer and Firestorm Viewer.

We share your frustration and are taking steps to make things better for everyone on both lower-end and high-end systems. This means that we’re actively focused on improving the performance in a variety of areas including improved FPS, VRAM management, texture loading, alpha blending, and even how lighting is rendered within the world. Additional fixes are already in our development pipeline and will head to QA soon.

Of what to do, the Lab suggested that those using the Linden Viewer download this update (link).

If you are having issues with the Official Second Life Viewer, you can immediately download an update here that addresses many of the issues affecting performance, particularly among those who may be using older or less powerful computers. We are continuing to work on additional fixes that will further address texture loading issues and low framerates. If you don’t update proactively now, you’ll soon see a prompt when you go to login to Second Life in the coming days encouraging you to update. 

 

For those using Firestorm, the Lab stated, "We are working closely with the Firestorm team to coordinate the rollout of updates that will improve your performance." They would mention that Team Firestorm made the decision to keep their last pre-PBR viewer around indefinitely .

 

The next release of the Firestorm viewer will include all the performance fixes we are working on. You’ll be prompted to update your Firestorm Viewer once it is ready in the next few days, but you can also be one of the first to try it by joining the Firestorm Preview Group inworld and continue to stay connected with their development progress on the official Firestorm Viewer website and its dedicated download page.

For the blogpost in full, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Last Pre-PBR Firestorm Viewer To Be Around "Forever"

 

For years, Firestorm has had a three-version policy. Besides the current and latest version, they had available for download the two previous versions. All older versions would be no longer available, or be supported. So with recent trouble some have been having with the PBR update, there's been some worries that when the last Firestorm viewer made before that, version 6.6.17,  gets too old, it will be removed and a number of residents will find Second Life almost unusable. 

Several days ago, it was announced on the Firestorm blog that version 6.6.17 would not be going away and it would be available "forever." But, there would be a catch.

I am pleased to announce that, as part of a more comprehensive review of the so-called “three-release policy”, we are going to ensure that the 6.6.17 release is never blocked; we will also cease blocking in general in the short term pending a longer-term review to decide how we manage our ability to give our users support.

 

I hope that this will come as a relief to those of you who have been stressed and worried about potentially losing access to Second Life.

There will be no deadline to update now ...

So people who are having trouble with the PBR compatible viewer will not have to worry, for the moment. For those who use Voice, that option will soon be unavailable with the upcoming changes to it.

Linden Lab will launch a new WebRTC voice service in the next few weeks to replace SLVoice. These changes are entirely outside of our control and as this new system is entirely different to and incompatible with the old one, SLVoice will be turned off on the backend shortly after the launch, and older viewers will lose voice support.

And the problem with older viewers is they become more and more outdated.

 

The last non-PBR viewer will remain available for any users who are unable or unwilling to make the update. However, it will not be maintained, and we will not be able to fix bugs or retrofit new services, so the choice does carry a price tag; ...

As a non-PBR viewer, it will already fail to render PBR textures on objects and clothing, and any terrain that uses the new PBR terrain will show grey or white. You will also not have access to other post-PBR features such as Emojis.

They would also explain why their "three viewer" policy was changing.

 

The “three-version” policy for Firestorm allows only three active releases at any time. The oldest release is typically blocked three weeks after a new one comes out. This policy was established years ago to provide a degree of stability and certainty for our users who had made it clear that they would not readily accept the automatic updater employed by the Linden Lab viewer but satisfied the Lab that outdated viewers would not hold back progress.

Even though. at the time of this writing, almost 60% of Firestorm users have already upgraded to the latest version and while Linden Lab is busy developing further improvements for low-end machines, these will take time to get right and expected to be delivered over the remainder of this year. At the same time, major infrastructure projects, such as the imminent move to WebRTC voice, will mandate more Firestorm releases.

If we retained the three-release policy we were concerned that we’d be having to block the last non-PBR release well before all the improvements were ready and the maximum number of users felt able to update.

For some users, the problem is not technology but aesthetics; the lighting changes required for PBR have meant that many established custom environments and day cycles no longer appear as they should. It will take time for creators and communities to recreate those settings. Already, we are seeing a rapid growth of PBR products in the marketplace, and replacement environments (EEPs) are available, but the concerns from our users that they’d be locked out of Second Life or that their beloved way of life would be lost were clear.

While discussing the last release and the forthcoming Voice updates, we shared our concerns around our release strategy with Linden Lab. They were very willing to review the policy with us; and everyone is in agreement that while it might have been right back in the day, it is no longer appropriate.

So, with a big thank you to Linden Lab, we can now look to find a much better way to manage things.

They would also add that the promise not to block viewer 6.6.17 was not applicable to other viewers.

We will review how we manage our releases, including access to beta and alpha builds, to see if we can improve the timeliness of updates and if we can interest more of you in helping us test forthcoming updates to get feedback early and often. We will need to ensure that anything we do is aligned with the needs of the Second Life platform and, thus, is approved by Linden Lab. This is new territory for everyone, should it be found that this is not working out then we may by necessity have to revisit some form or retirement process, I would hope that anything we need to impose is still markedly better than the draconian three version limit.

 

For the blog post in it's entirety, Click Here.

 

Bixyl SHuftan

Commentary: Reflections on the SL21B

 

Second Life is now "old enough to drink." And while most residents are happy, a few feel like having a drink themselves.

There's no doubt that the Lab would have prefered that this year's Second Life Birthday be remembered when it showcased it's PBR update and finally brought out it's mobile viewer. While that's part of how it will be, unfortunately there are some details the Lab would prefer we the residents forget.

In late February came allegations in an anonymous online article that a number of Lindens and Moles had been involved in ageplay, offering no real evidence. Despite the caution of the Second Life media, the Newser and others only giving hints of what was going on or limiting themselves to saying there was an investigation, and that the host website took down the article, word got around as rumors do. While most may believe "all remain innocent until proven guilty," some instead were "once accused, always suspect." A few Lindens and moles named in the accusations were regulars on Bellisseria chat and stopped chatting, laying low. They would not appear at the WVBPE Conference and one would briefly show up at the Fantasy Faire. Finally at the Second Life Birthday they would appear as normal. This was a relief to most, though there were still one or two people going, "Hide the children!"

About a month and a half before the Second Life Birthday came the Linden response to the ageplay allegations: more restrictions on child avatars. They would all need to have "modesty layers" under their clothes. But more importantly would be completely barred from  Adult-rated sims, even if there was nothing overtly sexual outside private homes and the rating was there only because those making their home there were afraid the Lab would ban them for what went on behind closed doors under any milder rating. The Moon Dance and possibly a few other Relay events were barred to child avatars, and while Burn2 once allowed both nudity and child avatars, it is currently deciding which to do away with. Marianne McCann and possibly others whotook part in the past may not be able to do so any more without changing from the look they've been known for.

Soon after, it was announced that the mobile viewer could not be used to take users to Adult-rated areas either. The viewer could be gotten only through Google Play and Apples App Store, both of which had rules about what products available there could show. Between this move and the rule about child avatars, for better or for worse Adult sims were no longer as acessible as they were compared to Mature ones. For some places, this brings up a choice. Do they remain Adult to soothe nagging fears by some who make their home there about what the Lab will do if they spend a little private time with a loved one (or friend with bennefits), or do they lower the rating to make the place more accessible?

And this was the time in which Firestorm, the most popular viewer, released it's PBR (Physical Based Rendering) update. And so the majority of residents were now able to see objects made with this feature, notably the first truly functional mirrors. It was a joy to a number of residents. But for others, notably with older computers, it wasn't. A few people I talked to complained of greater lag and even crashes. Former Newser reporter, who was scheduled to DJ at the Second Life Birthday, had to cancel as he lagged heavily and repeatedly crashed. He would make the decision to leave Second Life for good. How many others did the same is unknown. And a better computer isn't always better for Second Life. I was told about someone's brand new expensive PC that was "barely able" to play the new viewer.

In some ways, it's a reminder of Linden Lab's delima. Unless Second Life is updated, fewer new users will come in. But the problem is, updating means higher requirements for computers. And so those with older machines end up with slower virtual experiences that can make going about here less easy and more difficult, and eventually not able to get on. And 21 years after Second Life's creation, working class residents often have less disposable income than their forebears, and it takes them longer to save for a better computer, if they can save at all.

The Second Life Birthday itself would reflect some of these happenings. People cheered at the sight of certain Lindens and Moles who had been lying low for a while. Much of the terrain, and many of the exhibits took advantage of the new PBR technology, which was a treat for those who could see it. The theme "Elements" was an odd one, but thankfully one didn't need to make their exhibits adhire strictly to the theme. And there is quite a variety of exhibits to see. Plus with this year's SLB lasting a month, more time to see them.

There was one other difference from previous recent birthdays. Instead of a Musicfest at the start with a lot of DJs and singers at the begining weekend with a smaller number of stage events the rest of the celebration, this year all the scheduled performances were in the first ten days, then no more. But there will almost certainly be a few performers step up in the closing hours to help end things with a bang.

As with previous birthdays, there were a few things that raised eyebrows, but much to celebrate, such as despite all the naysayers saying we were doomed, the glitches, the recessions, and the occasional Linden blunder, we're still here.

Happy twenty-first birthday, Second Life. And here's to many more.

Bixyl Shuftan 

SL Newser

Mirror at The SL Newser Office

 

 With both the Linden and Firestorm viewers now having the PBR update, Shockwave Yareach made a working mirror. He placed it at the Newser office at HV Community. So if anyone wants to try out the latest Firestorm update to see how mirrors work, they can head here. HV Community, (140, 85, 25)

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Firestorm PBR Viewer Online

 

 Last week on Thursday June 20, Firestorm announced on their blog that their latest viewer version, the 6.6.17 viewer, was out, one that could view PBR (Physical Based Rendering) content. This includes some high detail content, and mirror surfaces. 

It is time! After nearly seven months of testing and seeking bug fixes and merging improvements and features, we are unleashing the Firestorm PBR viewer today. PBR was first released by Linden Lab back in November 2023. We have been working with them to help ensure that bugs and glitches in those early releases were addressed before we passed it on. Since then many improvements have been made, not just in the performance and stability but with new features such as realistic mirrors and better terrain. It is now time to pass all that on, and we felt that there was no better occasion to do this than just before the SL21B celebrations, where—I have been told by someone who got an early insight—”some of the best builds I have ever seen in Second Life” have been created.

 

They listed a "timeline of release notes and updates" to help keep track of what features were under development and when.

I downloaded the new viewer, and I went to a place where there was some PBR content: The Shop and Hop. The hallways separating the sims, I had noticed panels with wavy gray patterns before. With the new Firestorm viewer, they took shape as leafy plants. 

 

Someone (I forget the name) pointed out a place where I could see a PBR mirror. I went there, and I went to my Preferences and made sure "Mirrors" were active. And it worked. 

But, it wasn't perfect. Lag seemed to be slightly worse, and I couldn't get water surfaces to reflect. Firestorm admitted there would be problems for many, "This is a big step."

I don’t want to underplay the enormity of this change from the 6.6.17 viewer. The visual experience will be drastically different, and for some, it will take some getting used to. The hardware demands will be quite different, too, and you will have to make some (sometimes significant) changes to your “normal settings” to get the best out of your experience.

A lot of why we have held back is to try to get ahead of many of the bug fixes and issues that we knew would dominate the support teams time. While this release is certainly a lot more stable than early PBR viewers and I would say it is probably as stable as any previous viewer, the bugs and annoyances that you will experience will be different and new, and people naturally worry about this. Our support team will be working very hard to help you all through this transition ...

And bugs there were. The very first to comment wrote, "Being on an older computer it was horrific, more useless SL bells and whistles..." another went "I am going to be perfectly and brutally honest, its worst. From what I have seen the settings are changed into a way that the reflections became more unreal then before, the water is horrible" A marketing manager for a boat show wrote, "this is just AWFUL. What terrible timing. ALL the vendor’s semi-transparent sails are now ruined and need to be redone... the water is purple, and the foliage all has a blue-purple fringe at the transparent edges ... Worse yet, I had to clear my cache to get my slide-show textures to load and finally display properly. And, of course, the average attendee doesn’t have the skills to get into their settings to clear the cache or turn down settings to even make the boat show remotely viable."

Two friends of mine reported trouble. One told me she experienced bad lag at the SL21B, worse than last year, and when looking at another friend's PBR mirror she crashed. Former Newser writer Grease Coakes told me he had so much trouble crashing at the SL21B trying to play music, and had problems going back to May, he made the decision to leave SL with no plans on coming back.

So it seems we have a viewer update with much to offer. But it seems work to fix the bugs is needed. 

Readers with problems (and praises) are encouraged to make a comment below.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Lab Announces Viewer Update With Mirrors, BPR, 2K Textures Is Ready

 

 For those who use the official (aka Linden) Viewer, some good news. On Monday June 10, Linden Lab announced the much anticipated mirrors feature, as well as the Physical Based Rendering or PBR and 2K Textures features, were now ready and operational, and part of their latest viewer now available to download. 

We are thrilled to officially launch three groundbreaking updates designed to elevate your virtual experience: Mirrors, PBR Terrain, and 2K Textures.

Mirrors: Step into a more immersive world with real-time reflections. Our new mirror functionality uses reflection probes, providing stunning and dynamic reflections. Perfect for adding realism to your virtual environments, whether it's for a sleek modern home or a bustling cityscape. You will find the options to make a reflection probe on the Build window, under Features.

PBR Terrain: Prepare to be amazed by the next level of terrain detail. With Physically Based Rendering (PBR), you can now apply advanced GLTF materials to your landscapes. This means your terrains can have intricate normal maps and metallic-roughness maps, bringing a new depth and realism to the ground beneath your feet.

2K Textures: Say hello to high-definition details. We have increased the maximum texture size from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048 pixels, allowing for more detailed and efficient textures. This upgrade is perfect for creators looking to enhance the visual richness of their builds, clothing, and objects.

These updates are designed to help you create more realistic and visually stunning environments in Second Life. Whether you're a seasoned builder or just starting, these tools offer new possibilities for creativity and innovation.

As a reminder, this update doesn't affect third-party viewers such as Firestorm, which more residents use than the official viewer. But in a May 28 post on the Firestorm blog, the team leader did say to expect a PBR-capable Firestorm viewer "soon."

For more information, check the Linden blog here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life's Lab Gab - April 2024 Update, Progress on Mobile Viewer and PBR, Child Avatar Policy "Strengthening"

 

 

On Friday April 19, Linden Lab had a pre-recorded episode of Lab Gab. It included the following shorcuts to certain subjects. Strawberry Linden would interview Grumpity Linden, then later in the video (on the Beta Grid) Signal and Kyle Linden, then Kiera Linden.

00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - Grumpity Linden Introduction (Senior VP of Product and Engineering) 01:15 - Mobile App Questions 02:55 - Premium Plus subscribers can sign up for Second Life Mobile Private Alpha testing here: https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000171885-premium-plus-second-life-mobile-private-alpha-sign-up 03:27 - Mobile App progress and updates: https://second.life/mobilenews040524 06:45 - Second Life Mobile App - Developer Update Video (April 2024): https://youtu.be/ciRARYhZcZ4 09:25 - Feedback Portal: https://feedback.secondlife.com 10:15 - Rapid fire questions for Mobile app features 10:27 - Will there be support for HUDS on Mobile? 10:31 - Ability to create and build on Mobile? 10:52 - What about voice on Mobile? 10:55 - Region Estate management on Mobile? 11:03 - Mobile-specific features like GPS, vibration, and webcam integration? 11:20 - Support for keyboards and mouse control on tablets? 11:29 - Will Mobile access be free? 12:03 - Mirrors, PBR Terrain, and 2K textures: https://second.life/technews032824 12:49 - Teleporting over to the beta grid! 12:56 - Signal Linden (Director of Engineering) and Kyle Linden (Product Manager) Introduction 13:50 - Mirror Demo by Signal Linden 15:48 - 2K textures information - pricing and performance impact 17:27 - PBR Terrain Demo by Kyle Linden 17:37 - Location is Rumpus Room 2048 on the Beta Grid 18:40 - Materials Featurettes Viewer: https://releasenotes.secondlife.com/viewer/7.1.4.8270899680.html 19:14 - Accessing Aditi (the beta grid): https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000156725-accessing-aditi 20:05 - Teleporting back to the main grid! 20:23 - Keira Linden Introduction (Manager of Support Operations) 21:14 - Second Life age requirements and Child Avatar Policy information and update 23:30 - Governance and Conduct Policy updates 23:59 - New content moderation tools for both inworld and on the marketplace 24:14 - New Community Roundtable with Second Life Leadership coming in late May 25:23 - SL21B Updates: https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/blog/4-featured-news/39-second-life-birthday 26:22 - Mark your calendars - https://second.life/calendar 26:26 - Follow the Featured News Blog for upcoming updates: https://second.life/featurednews

 

Among what was discussed, Grumpity stated there were "No plans to charge for access" to the mobile viewer. It will be able to use HUDS, but of being able to build inworld and manage estates, maybe, "For serious creation, you're still going to have to use desktop." They are hoping to open the mobile viewer access further to include Premium residents "soon."

 

Progress is being made on mirrors in the Beta Grid, as well as PBR terrain, "you can see the sunshine bounce off the surfaces." There is no scheduled release date, though they felt "weeks and not months." 

 

Of the issue of underage residents in areas with clearly adult content, Kiera Linden would say, "one thing we are looking at closely is strengthening our age verification process, something we'll be sharing more about soon. ,,,Let me be clear on this one, we do not and will never allow sexualized ageplay. We do have a policy on this, and it is strictly enforced. In addition, we want to acknowledge and recognize there are residents who enjoy roleplaying as child avatars, and we have no intention of preventing that." They wanted the community of child avatars to continue to feel welcome, "but child avatars should not be present near or in regions that also have adult-rated activities. We're in the process of strengthening our child avatar policy right now, and you'll see us roll that out soon. But one of the guiding factors to these changes is to ensure an even stronger separation between child avatars, and adult-rated content and activities." 

Kiera would also say there would soon be "better clarity and stronger guidelines on conduct and policies both within our community and in our organization. Internally, we're finalizing an update to the conduct policy which addresses a wide range of topics such as how Linden Lab employees interact with the community, and policies that address perceptions of conflict of interest, or favoritism."

 

There was also a mention of a "Community Roundtable" in late May, which Grumpity called part of the desire for better communication with the residents.

Strawberry would also talk about the upcoming SL21B

Bixyl Shuftan

EOTB: Updates From Linden Lab

 

Last week, Linden Lab posted some updates about what changes, and projects, it's been up to involving our virtual world. The first one mentioned was the one that's been in the news the most: the mobile viewer, saying there were "big and small updates." In what will make it's users a little happier, it has sound now. 

We recently updated the Second Life Mobile Alpha to support streaming audio! You can enjoy music in Second Life on your mobile device while hanging out with friends inworld.

Sound is off by default. To turn it on, go to the "Settings" on the viewer, then "developer tools," then "enable streaming audio." There's also a couple new features on the User Interface. One can now start a new chat, and on the "Nearby Chat" area, one can see how many are nearby.

The Lab also announced that the process to replace JIRA was officially over. In it's place is the Second Life Feedback Portal.

There will also soon be a fifteen percent reduction of the land impact of "many mesh assets."

Also mentioned were scripting changes, and on the beta grid, a PBR Materials package was available to test out. The Lab would add, "Please keep your eye on our blog as we will post more details in the coming days."

Source: Linden Lab

Bixyl Shuftan

EOTB: Linden Lab Gives 2023 Year In Review, "What To Expect" For 2024

 

 

A few days ago on the official blog, Linden Lab posted what they felt were the highlights of the past year, and a few things on "what to expect" for the next. 

As the end of 2023 approaches, Second Life is entering an exciting and pivotal moment in its development and evolution. The past year has seen the release of several new features and breakthroughs ...

Of the "new features and breakthroughs," they first mentioned their mobile viewer, which a few days ago an alpha version was available to Premium Plus residents. They also talked about PBR (Physically Based Rendering) Materials which offer the promise of working mirrors, and other reflective surfaces, in Second Life. They also mentioned the new Ranch and upcoming Mediterranean Linden Homes for Premium Plus residents, and the new Senra starter avatars, replacing the previous ones with better-made mesh. There was the new WelcomeHub area and Motown.

There were also smaller things such as improvements to chat history and Marketplace search. They also mentioned "a certain Linden executive cameo during a pivotal scene that prominently featured Second Life in the season finale ... of the popular Apple+ program 'The Morning Show'."

Finally there was also the 20th anniversary celebration, along with some media outlets using the milestone to write about the virtual world for the first time in years.  

For 2024, the Lab promises more developments with it's mobile viewer. It also says they plan "something spicy" with some "new adult-friendly initiatives." They plan on improving the new user experience. And they plan to make use of AI technology.

In the coming year, we plan to carefully explore some cutting-edge use of AI in Second Life including experimental use of smart AI-driven chatbots to help greet, educate, and mentor newcomers. We know that there are additional opportunities to integrate AI across all aspects of Second Life, but we also know that AI can be a polarizing topic and there are many sensitivities on how (and if) we should explore AI integration at all. We've already established internal policies governing the selection and use of AI tools with user privacy as the foremost consideration. Our goal is to find the right balance to bring some AI advancements and innovations into the virtual world – but only in a way that respects the rights of content creators, while also advancing the overall Second Life creator ecosystem and quality of the overall community experience.

 

 At the end, they wished the residents Happy Holidays

On behalf of the entire Second Life team, we would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy new year! We are thankful to be part of your virtual family and send you blessings from both the virtual (and physical) worlds!

But not everything newsworthy would make the Lab's official word. The Newser will make it's own year in review later. 

 

 Source: Linden blog

Bixyl Shuftan

PBR Officially Launched For Linden Viewers

 

 Last month, Linden Lab stated that it's PBR Materials update (Physical Based Rendering) would soon be coming to the Grid. Last week on the official blog, it stated the update had arrived, and was available through the latest version of the official Linden Viewer, which was released the same day.

Today is the official release of the literal new shiny in Second Life, PBR Materials! With our weekly grid update, all of Second Life will now be capable of using PBR Materials in the Second Life viewer.

The goals behind the PBR Materials project are increased visual realism, keeping with industry standards, and bringing GLTF content into Second Life with expected results. One method of enhancing realism is to create scenes with real reflections which mimic how our eyes have learned to identify that a surface is metal, plastic, or some other material. Whether you create objects in Second Life or simply enjoy seeing and wearing them, PBR Materials will provide a big step up in the appearance of the Second Life world.

There were more details in the blog entry for those interested in building things with PBR, such as material features and future features. The Lab would also say "we’re going to reduce the download cost of objects by 15%, across the board, without any additional charges, which will create more available Land Impact for everyone." 

It should be noted that the update only applies to the minority of residents who use the official viewer. For those who use Firestorm and other third-party viewers, they will have to wait until the viewer updates to include PBR. 

Source: Linden Blog

Bixyl Shuftan

Eye On The Blog: PBR Materials

 

In the Tools and Technology blog last week, Kyle Linden posted that PBR Materials will be coming to the Second Life Grid.

PBR stands for Physically Based Rendering. PBR is a richer way of specifying the surface of an object that better simulates how objects appear in real life. PBR allows for realistic lighting for metals, plastics, leather, fabric, and more, including realistic reflections and bounce lighting.  The Second Life Viewer will now be able to display these more realistic-appearing objects in world, as well as allow creators to include this more advanced information in the object texturing.

The goal of this particular update is more realism in items, among the additional qualities being able to have reflective surfaces, such as a mirror. The time period the materials will be rolled out onto the Grid is described as several weeks. It should be noted there is a risk to items in which PBR is used as they might break in sims where it is unsupported "Until PBR server support is released across the entire Second Life grid." For now, PBR can only be applied using the latest Linden Viewer, and not Firestorm and other viewers.

More information can be read on the Tools and Technology blog (here).

Bixyl Shuftan