Corey In The House, SL Avatar Statue Builder

 

Have you ever wanted to get a statue of your avatar or that of a friend, for amusement, or some other reason? I was pointed to Corey In The House, who for some Lindens will do just that. So how does it work and what else is he noted for?

 

Read the story in People.  

Netflix Buys Avatar Maker For VRChat, Smaller Worlds

 

There's been a development that will likely make it more difficult for people in VRChat and similar virtual worlds to get new avatars. According to an article in Techcrunch, Netflix has purchased the program "Ready Player Me." For those who haven't heard of it, it's an avatar-creation platform for various virtual worlds and games.

 

Ready Player Me was founded in 2014 in Estonia. Over the past decade it has raised over 70 million US dollars from investors.  It has a staff of twenty, who will all be joining Netflix. It's services, including Player Zero, will be going offline on Saturday January 31st. 

 

The Techcrunch article stated Netflix "plans to use the startup’s development tools and infrastructure to build avatars that will allow Netflix subscribers to carry their personas and fandom across different games." 

 

Scott Hayden in "The Road to VR" called the purchase "a blow to one specific group of people, namely VRChat users." Ryan Schultz felt while this would inconvenience users of the popular next-generation virtual world, at least it had a Marketplace for avatars for people to chose from. From his point of view, it would be the users of smaller virtual worlds that would truly be hurt as those platforms, "which wholly rely on Ready Player Me’s services ... are now going to have to scramble to find and implement a replacement in very little time."

 

Hat tip: Ryan Schultz

 

Sources: Techcrunch

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Linden Lab Partners With Shopping Website Seraphim For "Membership Mania" Perk, More Profile Pics For All Residents, Expands AI Character Designer

 

 On Monday, Linden Lab made what it called it's final "Membership Mania" announcement. One was for all residents regardless whether they had basic or paid accounts. The picks section of resident profiles, used to "highlight ... your favorite inworld places, businesses, and personal memories." will soon have the maximum number expanded from ten to twenty.

 

Due to overwhelming community demand, we’re increasing profile picks across all membership tiers—including Basic members! Previously, residents could only create up to 10 profile picks to showcase their favorite locations, snapshots, and memories. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be expanding to allow for even more picks – soon all members can create up to 20 picks!

 

As stated, the expansion will take place sometime between now and about March 10.

 

Another perk should please some Paid Account residents who are shopping fans. For their latest perk, they partnered with the shopping website Seraphim. 

We’re thrilled to announce SeraPlus, an all-new exclusive perk in partnership with Second Life’s premier independent shopping site, Seraphim! This exciting new benefit will soon be available only to Plus, Premium, and Premium Plus members and brings you exclusive, high-quality virtual items from top Second Life creators.

Beginning in April, paid account residents will be able to claim gifts in the Seraphim sim. They will be there once a month, "Four times a year, members will receive a curated box filled with exclusive virtual creations ... For each of the remaining eight months of the year, members will receive one additional exclusive item ..."

They also expanded access to the AI Character Designer

 

Plus, Premium, and Premium Plus members can now access this innovative tool to craft and customize virtual characters with intelligent responses, unique personalities, and immersive roleplay capabilities. It’s an exciting way to enhance community-building, storytelling, and social interaction in Second Life. 

 

 The Lab offered this tutorial video, and a page with more information (here).

 

Currently, the only option for the Character Purpose is "personal companion," for accompanying you as you go about inworld, with "public character," designed for roles such as greeter and shop assistant, described as "coming soon."

 

Linden Lab first introduced the AI Character Designer in December, but soon suspended it after some residents expressed concerns, such as privacy worries and concerns residents might get in trouble for what their AI characters were saying.

 

To see the blog post in full, Click Here. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

Linden Lab Announces Then Pauses AI Character Designer

 

Several days ago, Linden Lab announced they were making available an AI Character Designer to Premium-Plus residents. 

We are making the Character Designer available on the main grid for early testing and feedback to Premium Plus residents. While we have completed initial internal evaluations, we encourage all interested residents to explore this alpha release, identify any issues, and share their input so we can continue refining the tool.

What is the Character Designer?

Developed in collaboration with Convai, the Character Designer empowers you to craft, customize, and animate virtual characters within Second Life. This tool is intended for developers, community builders, roleplay enthusiasts, and anyone looking to enhance their inworld experiences through dynamic characters.

Current Capabilities and Intended Use

The Character Designer provides a solid foundation for immersive roleplay, offering a range of features that let you shape and refine the personalities and behaviors of your inworld characters. Current capabilities include:

• Early-Stage Roleplay Support – Characters respond intelligently through IM, adapting and evolving as you interact.
• Custom Personalities and Backstories – Define unique histories, preferences, and communication styles to bring your characters to life.
• Integration with Existing SL Systems – Connect through a dedicated alt account, set arrival points, and fine-tune behavior filters for a seamless inworld experience.

This was quickly mentioned in the forums, where it quickly got hundreds of responses. Some expressed interest in the AIs. Some made jokes, "the thought of Second Life being so dead that they're trying to occupy its antisocial user base with chat bots." Some wondered if Linden Lab was doing this because AI was "the new shinny" thing in technology. But some expressed privacy concerns about private chats being exposed, "f that's not a password harvesting bot, I don't know what is.  NO WE DONT NEED AI." It was also brought up that anyone signing up to use one would be entirely responsible for whatever output it made, even if it wasn't it's creator's idea, "By agreeing to this, the bot, a literal black box I have no control over, can be made to say stupid **** and I would be entirely responsible for it. This is dead on arrival and has no place in Second Life as it's used. No one will want to take the risk that their store bot (perhaps in an adult store) can be coaxed into saying something truly reprehensible by a random stranger and then abuse reported for it, which as this is AI, should be pretty trivial." 

 

Finally after a few days and 17 pages of posts, Darcy Linden announced the new bots were being put on hold.

 

Hey everyone, thank you for posting in this thread and continuing the conversation!

We've taken your feedback and the Character Designer experiment has been paused while we retool.

I bolded experiment as that's what this is, and it's how we want to proceed with new ideas: get it out early, collect feedback, and optimize/terminate.

When we started this test, the goal was NPCs like Greeters, store clerks, quest givers, etc. It's a creator tool. The companions were an attempt to scale down as NPCs will require more work and this space is in its infancy. AI has been in Second Life for years now and this experiment doubles as an investigation into how we facilitate the allowing people to make cool experiences while respecting the rights and privacy of others. 

With that said, many creators have reached out to me personally with excitement and ideas.

———

AI in/for Second Life is NEVER meant to replace people. EVER. It is a tool, to help us connect, create, and explore.

———

This statement isn't a marketing ploy. We all understand the value (and potential dangers) of AI and are taking incremental steps to integrate these tools to help creators make the best experiences without having to toil over servers, load balancing, prompting, model selection/fine-tuning, and of course getting the characters to work in Second Life within the parameters we all deal with each day.

For the creators watching this thread and especially to those who make AI characters for advanced, narrative-driven NPCs in roleplay — we are attempting to make a tool that would potentially have a deeper integration than LSL can provide, and are not in the market to directly compete. If you are interested in shaping this product, I highly encourage you to fill out the following form and we'll be in touch: https://forms.gle/6w1X9PuFsAfsjxJk9 (heads up, I will be reviewing these).

In terms of data collection, the term 'harvesting' data came up. We work very closely with Convai and have complete control over the pipeline. To reiterate, data is not being used to train any models, it's not being shared, sold, or used in any other way other than to return a response. If something like confidential computing (where only you hold the keys to the conversation) is important to you, let us know.. That goes for any additional feature that would give the grid peace of mind

The thread was left open, and people continuing to comment, some expressing a little sadness the experiment was over. As of the writing of this article, it was 25 pages long. 

So for now, Linden Lab's AI experiment is on hold. For how long is unknown. 

To check out the forum thread, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Help Wanted: Blogging Help Needed For Clothing Designer

 

Zantyago Mannonen, a clothing designer and maker known for his line of Victorian styles, is asking for some help.

"I am looking for (a) female blogger who can do something for me. I have big pile of outfits that re mutually compatible, many tops fitting many bottoms. It will be long work with lots of pictures needed, and I will offer compensation."

Zantyago is the owner of Zan's Clothing, which has locations in Steelhead Bay, New Babbage, and Caledon.

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137652297@N04/
 

Rand Lupindo of Timber Wilds Industries

In his most recent interview, Cyfir talks to Rand Lupindo (Randermander), the founder of Timber Wilds Industries. Often called TWI for short, this avatar company has been around for almost a decade. Cyfir talked to how he and his company got it's start, what goes on in their sim, a noteable challenge they faced early on, and one of their upcoming plans.

Read Cyfir's interview in Design.

RFL Announcement: Closing Ceremony Awards

The following awards were given at the Closing Ceremonies of the Relay Weekend. More Awards will be made at the "Relay Wrap-Up" later this month.

*  *  *  *  *

CANCER EDUCATION AWARENESS   
Awarded to campsites earning top scores for incorporating information and education about cancer and/or the American Cancer Society into their build.    
3rd    Circle of Life
2nd    UFS Metamorphosis
1st    Inspired Dreamwalkers

BEST THEME DECORATED   
Awarded to the campsites earning the top 3 scores for the all-around design interpretation of the 2019 Relay For Life of Second Life theme: All Aboard! For A Cure!  The inclusion of www.cancer.org information from the American Cancer Society is important.    
3rd The Goreans
2nd Inspired Dreamwalkers
1st UFS Metamorphosis   

BEST WALK THRU   
Top score for Best Walk Thru Experience

TIE for 3rd Camping for a Cure
TIE for 3rd  Questing for the Cure
2nd  SUNBEAMERS  
1st Team Live Wire 

BEST RIDE THRU   
Top score for Best Riding Experience    
Guardians of the Grid

DESIGNER
Awarded for the design team build that captures the essence, reality and scale of the real or imaginary worlds they represent, and truly gives a world to call our own for a brief and unforgettable moment in time.  

3rd RFL Survivor ~ Designed by:  Darkstone Aeon & BB Woodford with the Hope Haven Survivor/Caregiver Support Group

2nd RFL Support ~ RFL Support- Mac Pierce  

1st  RFL Celebrate~ Rex (Archer Mactavish)

EPIC OUTREACH MEGA   
3rd Christmas Expo 
2nd Sci Fi Convention 
1st Fantasy Faire 

EPIC TEAM EVENT Awarded to groups, individuals or teams, who reach outward into Second Life to promote awareness of Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society, it’s Mission, and encourage participation to new audiences.

3rd Inspired Dreamwalkers  An Eggstra-Ordinary Event       
2nd Relay Rockers  Relay Stock
1st Harmony of Hope Life is a Beach  Muddy's Music Cafe  

BEST NEW EPIC
Inspired Dreamwalkers  An Eggstra-Ordinary Event

MC AWARDS   
1st Head Hunters MC
2nd HAMC Renegades/HAMC Texas
3rd Heaven's Vixens

Announcement: Chris's Hurricane Disaster Fund

We need your help!

C H R I S' H U R R I C A N E D I S A S T E R F U N D

Dear Designer,

In times of need, every penny counts. A good friend of ours, McChris Flanagan, lives in Florida and experienced major flood damage to his house as a result of Hurricane Irma which struck land in Florida on Sunday, September 10. As a result of the flooding, Chris's house currently needs new floors and walls and needs to be cleared of mold that has already started to grow. A lot of his furniture had to be thrown away and kitchen cabinets were destroyed. In addition, the fence around his yard was destroyed. Chris has a physical disability that prohibits him from being able to walk or use his hands and arms properly and is bound to a wheelchair. His mother works very hard and very long hours to make ends meet. The family is struggling to pay for the repairs to the interior of the house and we would like to help!

ORGANIZERS: Kira Paderborn  and Jolene Carami

We have started a GoFundMe account where you can see photos of some of the damage to his house.
https://www.gofundme.com/ChrisHurricaneFund
Please feel free to share this site on all social media.

We are organizing a sales event which will take place from October 6th - 22nd, with 100% of donations collected going to Chris and his mother.

Here is how you can help:

Designers:
1) Create a new item to be sold at a charity event to be held from October 6-22 (with 50% or more going to Chris)
* Designers will have 35 prims available. If you need more please ask!
* Gachas are allowed as long as they have at least a 50% split to the charity
2) Place older items at the event at a discount (with at least 50% or more going to Chris)
3) Place a kiosk at your store to collect donations
4) Create a one of a kind item to be auctioned off at an auction event
5) Advertise for the event in your groups

Bloggers:
1) Advertise this event!
2) Link to our GoFundMe page on your blog
3) Auction your services at the event and donate the money earned to the event!
- auction a profile photo
- auction a 1 hour lesson about how to take a great photo, etc.

General Public:
1) Donate to the event!
2) Spread the word about the event
3) Spread the word about the GoFundMe page
4) Offer services and donate proceeds to the event

**other ideas are welcome!

TIMELINE

September 24 - Kits Released
October 1 - October 5 - Setup for event
October 6 - Event opens (noon SLT)
October 22 - Event Ends (9pm SLT)

******** I F Y O U W O U L D L I K E T O H E L P P L E A S E F O L L O W T H I S L I N K *********

APPLICATION: goo.gl/F8uNfq

*** All items donated must follow Linden Lab's TOS and must not break any copyright rules. Anything questionable will be returned.

Please contact either Jolene Carami or Kira Paderborn or Enticestore Resident with any questions

Interview With Grace Devin (Grace Loudon)

Among those on the Relay Committee this year was Grace Devin. Although she started later as a Relayer than many of it's personalities, she's accomplished much. One of the two Co-Leads on the Committee, in the past she has been a designer sim builder, "Track boss," and was the person who built the current structures of the American Cancer Society sim. The Newser recently had a chance to talk to her about these and more that she's done.

Read the interview in People.

Cerridwen's Cauldron: Preview

The Second Life Newser recently heard about a place called "Cerridwen's Cauldron." Owned by Elicio Ember, the man is a first class designer, and has put up most of what he's made up for sale. Recent events, however, have given Elico a sense of urgency as his father has suffered a stroke, and he needs money to make sure he gets better.

One of the Newser reporters is currently writing a review about the sim. In the mean time, one can head there and buy something to support its owner.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cerridwens%20Cauldron/124/35/982

Source: Prim Perfect 

SL Video: "The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 42: Death Row Designs"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Draxtor Despres on December 16, "Jaimy Hancroft makes a living creating 3D content in the virtual world of Second Life. Yes, this still seems an esoteric concept for some: bills and vacations paid for by assembling pixels? Well, it has been 10 years since Jaimy created her digital alter ego in the metaverse and judging by the ubiquity of her creations around the SL grid it seems that the post apocalyptic/dystopian architecture, fashion and accessories industry is firmly dominated by the creative force of her brand Death Row Designs.

"Helping to churn out massive amounts of product - everything from gigantic grungy theme parks to cute Disney-esque castles - is her 3D modeler sister Eowyn Swords who lives close by in a small Belgian mining town. We hope this inspiring story of creative empowerment, where a young, self-taught woman loses a father after he shows her a world full of opportunity and life, will connect and inspire! While friends and family may shake their heads at the phenomenon of the economic viability of a virtual goods based business, Jaimy and her mom are already planning their next vacation in a sunnier spot than their native Flandern, all thanks to the mighty Linden Dollar."

SL Video: "The Drax Files: World Makers [Episode 39: Sergio Delacruz]"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Draxtor Despress on July 15, "Is Second Life a game? 'No!' answers game designer Sergio Delacruz from Sicily decisively: 'It is a virtual world where I can imagine and build whatever I like. For example a game. But I don't have to. It is total freedom!'

"Sergio is a self-taught programmer and 3D modeler who came to SL in 2008 with little digital skills but thrived quickly by hanging out in public sandboxes, studying in-world building and scripting techniques.

"Today he runs the popular Delacruz Park which features elaborate immersive action and horror games like his latest 'Susan's Diary': here, any SL resident can play - and this is the unique feature of this world - while retaining their own virtual avatar identity throughout the experience.

"One might even encounter a Koala bear with a laser rifle alongside humanoids, shooting robots in Sergio's 'Drone War'.

"In between applying the latest Second Life features to his games and selling hundreds of roller-coasters, water-slides and bumper cars all around the Second Life grid, Sergio is developing for Android using various programming languages as well as Blender and Unity, even dabbling in the latest VR development.

"Who would have thought that relentless creative pursuit coupled with a free, accessible and limitless virtual world can result in personal growth and a wide range of applicable skills for the experiential age?"

Interview With Mikati Slade

In June 2011, Second Life Newser reporter Grey Lupindo interviewed one of the SL8B exhibitors named Mikati Slade whom had made a cheerfully bright art exhibit she called "Japanese pop art." Since then, Mikiati has gone on to build greater things, notably three of the Second Life Birthday's massive Cake Stages. As the thirteenth of the SLB events was winding to a close, we caught up with the noted builder, and she explained a little about how she came to Second Life and what kinds of skills were involved in making her huge confectionery creations.

Read the interview in People.

SL Video: "The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 38: Eboni Khan "

(Click here if the video fails to load)

By Draxtor Despress on June 8, "'My income from my Second Life sales enabled me to raise my son after I was laid off during the recession!' says fashion designer Eboni Khan who started her Hucci brand of virtual female clothing over 10 years ago: 'I think SL has helped many single mothers to become independent business owners that way. The barrier of entry is low and - if you are good and work hard - you can immediately build up an international customer base!'

"And as one may expect - since Eboni Khan is mostly known for making high quality shoes and sexy dresses - she is unapologetic when it comes to the often heard criticism that VR is nothing more than escapism: 'Everyone needs a bit of escapism when life is hard. There is absolutely nothing wrong with living a glorious fantasy life online!'

"A college graduate who grew up in a middle class family surrounded by academics, Eboni Khan credits her interactions in Second Life for becoming a more tolerant person: 'You meet people from all walks of life and all age groups. It forces you to question your own assumptions about people who are different from you, every day. We become more open rather than closed in an environment like this!'"

Interview with Alejandra Jumanya of Wetherby's

I recently interviewed storeowner and clothing designer Alejandra Jumanya. The lady has done quite a bit of work on her line of outfits. But what makes her stand out is doing so while dealing with the real-life economic and crime difficulties in her home country of Venezuela. As time has gone on, her Second Life business, once more or less a hobby, is more and more supplementing her real life income as the latter has been shrinking in value.

Read the story in People.

TS Creations

When it comes to avatars and avatar design, Xymbers Slade isn't an easy one to impress. But recently he came across a place that got his attention: TS Creations. The place had a number of knight avatars that he felt were well done. He met up with the owner, Topa Adamski, and they had a talk about designing the avatars, and other subjects.

Read more in Design.

Ub Yifu – RFL Designer Builder

While at the Relay for Life track, DrFran Babcock ran into one of the more interesting builders, Ub Yifu. Going about in his one of a kind avatar, Ub had been busy at work on one of the Relay's designer sims. He talked to DrFran about how he came to Second Life, his work as a 3-D artist, and his build at the Relay.

Read DrFran's interview in People.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum

Gemma Cleanslate goes to a museum in Second Life dedicated to one of the best architects of the 20th Century: Frank Lloyd Wright. Here, one can find many highly-detailed replicas of the man's work, as well as much information to read about Wright himself. The museum also hosts a semi-annual contest for house design.

Read the story in Places.

King Kong vs Mega-Macro Lomgren

Among the unofficial events held in in the Relay sims between the Walk and the teardown was a party thrown by the Relay Rockers. A party crasher soon appeared in a gorilla big enough to be King Kong’s cousin. How does one top a giant ape? One skilled builder in the party had a way.

Read the story in People.