This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 Saturday April 4

 

    ~*~

 

At 10 AM PST  

 

Functional Morphology and Eye Evolution in The Trilobite

 

By Dr. William F. Schmachtenberg

 

Exact location in sim unknown

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝  

 

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

SL Video: "SL Mobile - First Look"

 

 

 (Click here if the video fails to play)

Also part of the March 10 Lab Gab (more on that later), this video would showcase the Second Life Mobile viewer in action. To sum up what was spoken, it's still very much in development, with an open beta unlikely to be made available until sometime in the second half of 2023. It's built on the Unity engine, and can use multiple mobile phone and tablet platforms, including Android and iOS.

The news is making some technology and gaming news websites. Game Developer predicted the move would help breathe new life into the virtual world, or "give Second Life a second life." Arstechnica wasn't so sure, calling Second Life a niche product, "and a mobile app might not be enough to change that."

For more information, check the article on the Lab Gab video.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: A Replacement for Singularity, Linden Lab Bringing in Chat History

 

I have been using the Singularity Viewer for years as it has the kind of interface I like. However, over the last year or so, it began having problems getting functions to work, finally ending with constantly getting logged off while in the middle of building, causing lots of lost work, especially when it happened while making a new railroad rout. Unfortunately, Singularity is no longer recieving regular updates, and as a matter of fact hasn't in a very long time. So I started a search, and I found the Genisis Viewer (https://genesisviewer.org/).

It has the same interface and performs very well. I also find that it has regular updates, so updated that it is already testing in a Nightly Build, a new function being readied by Linden Lab, Group Chat History!

(https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/12652-coming-soon-to-a-viewer-near-you-group-chat-history/)

What it does is that when you log on and you either open a group chat or it opens when someone types, you get to see the prior conversations up to an hour before you logged in. I'm sure we all have logged on numerous times to see someone say something, leaving you wondering "What in the world have they been talking about?" Well, you will soon have your answer, as all that was spoken before will be displaced in italics. I downloaded the Genisis Nightly Build, sperate from the regular viewer, and test drive it, and YES it works. I can't show you an example because that's busting privacy and Terms of Service, but I'll state that I was seeing all the conversation that took place before up to an hour in any group. This does not apply to your friends but not needed anyway. Right, you already know that.

I'm sure that other viewers will soon follow and have this very useful function included. As for Genesis, it is the perfect replacement for those of us who use Singularity.

Cynthia Farshore

Linden Lab Working on "Puppetry" Feature

 

 A few days ago in the Tools and Technology blog, Linden Lab stated they were working on a new and experimental feature for moving Second Life avatars, which they called "Pupetry."

 We have been working on this feature for some time and now we are ready to open it up to the Second Life community for further development and to find out what amazing things our creators will do with this new technology.

The codebase is alpha level and does contain its share of rough edges that need refinement, however the project is functionally complete and it is possible for the scriptors and creators of Second Life to start to try it out.

The Lab explained some how it works.
 

 Puppetry accepts target transforms for avatar skeleton bones and uses inverse kinematics (IK) to place the connecting bones in order for the specified bones to reach their targets.  For example the position and orientation “goal” of the hand could be specified and IK would be used to compute how the forearm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder should be positioned to achieve it. The IK calculation can be tricky to get right and is a work in progress.

The target data is supplied by a plug-in that runs as a separate process and communicates with the viewer through the LLSD Event API Plug-in (LEAP) system.  This is a lesser known functionality of the Viewer which has been around for a while but has, until now, only been used for automated test and update purposes.

The Viewer transmits the Puppetry data to the region server, which broadcasts it to other Puppetry capable Viewers nearby.  The receiving Viewers use the same IK calculations to animate avatars in view.

People can find more information in "Puppetry : How it Works" in the Knowledge Base. There are some known limitations and issues such as avatars needing to be Bento technology and the project viewer occasionally crashing. 

 

To be able to use this technology, go to the Alternate Viewers page and download the Puppetry Viewer. The regions that support it are all in the Preview Grid, which is separate from the main one, and are Bunraku, Marionette, and Castelet. With the viewer, you should be able to see others use it. To use it yourself, the Lab says you need, "a working Python3 installation, a plug-in script to run, and any Python modules it requires." One can get more instructions at the Puppetry Development page on the wiki. 

 

Also at Bunraku, Marionette, and Castelet on the Preview Grid, the Lab will be having a discussion at Thursday Sept 8 at 1PM SL time, "We're also happy to talk about this at the upcoming Server User Group or Content Creator meetings.  Come by, let us know what you think, and hear about our future plans!"

Bixyl Shuftan

NUX Avatars Demonstrated At "Meet The Moles"

 
The Lindens revealed some things at the Second Life Birthday discussions last week. The one that got the most attention was the "Premium Plus" option for accounts. But there were others. At "Meet the Moles" on Friday June 24, it was revealed the Lindens and Moles were working on a new line of starter avatars, called the NUX avatars.

Patch would say NUX was short for New User eXperience, and reminded that the current line of starter avatars was "probably going on five to six years old." Unlike the existing line which are "a blend of system body with some mesh attatchments," the NUX will be fully mesh with Bento skeletons and "modernized using all the latest and greatest in avatar building technology, including bakes-on-mesh."

Jester Mole had on one of these new avatars, and hopped on a rotating platform to show it off. Patch stated they would have, "they'll have a whole array of initial outfits available to choose from when they go to sign up and create their avatar, including hairstyles and full ranges of various bodies and types." The avatars are also modifyable, "It's fully slider-rigged, so yeah, you can change the sliders around, change the body shape ..."

Patch stated others will be able to create clothes and other items for these avatars, "We will put out development kits and such that people will be able to design and make clothing and such for it." He did admit they wouldn't be as "robost and fully capable" as some resident-created avatars.

He would go on to say he felt the avatars would be a big help in encouraging new residents to stay and invest more time in the virtual world, saying they "I think will be a really big huge thing and have a tremendous impact on the new user experience and getting people in Second Life, because one of my key interests and goals is I want to grow Second Life. I want to get more people in. And that's very important to me. So, being able to give people a good foundation to start with, and then be able to move on to the larger creator ecoshpere and ecology of products that are available today is another huge consideration for us and how we're approaching this and designing it."

Of when the avatars would be available, Patch wouldn't give a date, "In the future, because I'm not saying soon anymore." There are still some bugs and things to work out.

The video in full can be seen here, with the disussion about the avatars starting after 11:15, and ending at around 22:00.

Pictures from Youtube recording

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Sunweaver Chief Rita Mariner in Hospital

 

Over the weekend, troubled news came to the Sunweaver community (and Sunbeamer Relay team). Their leader was taken to the hospital. 

Nothing had been heard from Rita for a couple days. Then on Friday, the first news came.

Thanks to Shocky we have been able to hunt down the whereabouts of our much loved Chief and learned she is in a hospital. All the details we have at this time. Will fill all of you in when we get more.

Not everyone got the news at first, possibly because Friday was April 1. But word gradually spread and more details came. 

Rita update.  Rita is going to be in the hospital for foreseeable future.  And her phone is broken somehow, great timing.  Shes out of danger but wont be inworld for awhile.

Shockwave would explain that the sims are on autopay, so the sims are fine. As for the Sunbeamers Relay team, plans for some events such as the air show have already been set in motion, so the team will continue to take part in fundraising.

The Newser's main office building is located in the Sunweaver Estates.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Development on SL Mobile Viewer Reportedly Paused

 

Since at least January 2019, if not earlier, Linden Lab has been working on a mobile app for Second Life. In July, one that was basically a chat app was approved by Apple, though the Lab was waiting to improve some things before sending it to the store.

But according to an article in New World Notes, it seems work on the app has been postponed, possibly indefinately. Hamlet Au stated "A veteran Second Life insider" had send him a message, saying it was sent to him as one of the mobile app test group.

    After reviewing the current state of the SL Mobile Viewer and the helpful feedback from residents, we have decided to pause development on this branch. The team is actively working on a new direction to take from here. We should have some news on that soon.

    We’d like to thank you all for your time and feedback. It was very valuable to us! We will be closing TestFlight and the mobile regions on October 29th, 2021. Again, thank you for participation! Linden Lab

The source would also say of the development of the app, "It had been stagnant for months."

Hamlet messaged the Lab about the decision and is waiting for a response.

Stat tuned for more details

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "The Past and Future of Virtual World Psychological Research and Development"

 

"The Past and Future of Virtual World Psychological Research and Development"

Saturday September 18

10 AM to 11 AM SL time

Second Life is underutilised as a platform for wide-ranging psychological research and community development projects. That statement was also true in 2003 when Linden Lab created the virtual world. Although other virtual world platforms may offer advantages for academic research and community impact projects, none are as robust and established as Second Life. In this presentation, I describe several funded research and development projects I have led in Second Life, including reflections on past pilot work using the platform for people with autism. I reflect on successes and ideas that were abandoned along the way and the different people I have encountered on my professional virtual journey. I  will also summarise some of the background published literature supporting a proposed research project with Science Circle, looking at communication styles in the virtual world. Questions, comments and challenges are encouraged.

By Dr. Simon Bignell (Milton Broome in SL)

For more on the event, Click Here.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/104/125/1114

Apple Says No To IOS SL Mobile Client

 

As you may know, Linden Lab has been working on a Second Life app for mobile devices. Last month, it looked like one would be soon be available in beta. But it appears the wait will be a little longer. In the Web User Group meeting held on Wednesday October 7, it was revealed that a beta version of the IOS (iPhone Operating System) version of the SL mobile app had been submitted to Apple to appear in it's app store, and was rejected. The reasons for the rejection were not revealed, only that the Lab is working to correct the issues.

For now, the IOS app remains in closed alpha. The Android version is described as behind the IOS in development.

Unrelated to Second Life but of note to gamers,  Apple has been at odds with Epic, the company behind the popular Fortnite game, over what both sides claim is unreasonable behavior. Apple took Fortnite off it's app store over what it called violations of the agreement between them and Epic. A week ago on October 9, a judge ruled that Apple didn't have to put the game back.

Sources: Daniel Voyager, Modem World, CNN, Forbes

Bixyl Shuftan

Details on Second Life Mobile App

For those of you waiting for Linden Lab to come up with a Second Life app for mobile devices, there were a few small bits of information made available. First, in the Technology section of the forums, there's a new sub-section: "Mobile." A thread soon started, and Keira Linden made a few comments.

In response to how much longer for an app for the Marketplace:

Marketplace does pose it's own set of challenges.  We have had (and will continue to have) many internal discussions about what features to introduce at what time and Marketplace did rank high on that list.  Right now, we're really focused on the social aspects like chat (both IM and group) and getting those right.

About an hour later:

I've got a little gossip, but not sure how juicy it is.  😆  Android app is in the works!  We went with iOS first because we have more Residents on iOS devices, not because we don't love our Android Resis too!  Release for an Android app is going to be a little delayed after iOS because we still have some backend work to do and (in case you hadn't heard) we are frantically working on this eency little project called UPLIFT.  🤣  But, we're still working on what we can along side iOS.  Once we have a beta version of it that we can open up for you all to bang on, I'll drop an announcement in here so you all can sign up. 

SL blogger Daniel Voyager feels this means sign-ups for a beta version of an SL mobile app will be "very soon." The full version of the app is not expected to be available until sometime in 2021.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan

Breaking News: Last Names Are Back

Good news for Second Life residents with "Resident" as the last part of their account name, which is everyone who signed up after late 2010. Linden Lab just announced that after months of development, users can now either get or change their surnames. Or in layman's terms, last names are back. At least if you have a Premium account.

Given the ongoing interest in “last names” among our community,  we’ve reinstated “last names” effective today as a new option for Second Life Premium Members. If you have a Premium account, you will be able to visit https://secondlife.com/my/account to change your first, last or both names. In the true spirit of the original “last names” option last seen in 2010, participating Residents will once again be able to choose from a rotating list of available last names. Some names may only be available for a limited time, so if you see one you like then you might want to claim it quickly!  

Already changed your name and want to go back to one of your old names?  You can do that too!  After you have changed your name once, you will see a list of your previous names below the list of available last names.

To begin with, the option is available only to Premium accounts, which are $11.99 USD a month. Also, one will need to pay a fee to have their name changed, $39.99 USD. So someone with just a basic account will need to pay $51.98 USD.

The Lab has made available a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Stand by for further details in what is clearly a long-anticipated and big development in Second Life


For the blog post in full, Click Here.

Update on the Sansar Layoffs

Yesterday, the Newser reported on a number of layoffs in the Sansar team that included Kona Linden whom had been with Linden Lab for close to 16 years. While CEO Ebbe Altberg made a short statement in Sansar's Discord channel, there wasn't anything else from the Lab at the time. Yesterday afternoon, the Lab posted the following on the official blog.

There’ve been quite a few rumors about changes at the Lab and their possible effects on Second Life and Tilia. The truth is that we have made a few operational and personnel changes to ensure that we continue to stay strong for the next decade and beyond. This means that we had to say goodbye to a few employees, but at the same time we also strengthened our team by bringing back some heavy hitters who will help make Second Life better than ever.  

So, Second Life is still here and still strong. We’re continuing to invest in its future and you’ll see the results of our commitment this year as we roll out a new mobile companion app, new Linden Home themes, performance and usability improvements, and a number of other new features and enhancements. The ability to change names will be available in the next few weeks, too.  

These changes reflect our commitment to making SL strong for many years to come. To infinity and beyond!


There would be more. In the forum thread "Linden Lab CEO Confirms New Round of Layoff," Soft Linden would speak in response to "hopefully this means they'll have more time, money and effort to spend on SL"

100% what this was about! Second Life has THREE rock star graphics devs now, an engineer with a proven track record for asset optimization to make texture delivery and management fast and reliable, and so much more. The various teams will have more to say in coming months, or just watch the viewer and server release notes. Right now, some of them are literally re-learning to get dressed. They missed the era between Bento bodies and Bakes on Mesh. :)

It was a painful adjustment. But a lot of the old timers and hardcore off-hours SL users here believe these changes are important. It's part of the strategy for breathing many extra years of life into our favorite world.

There was some speculation of who were these "three rock star graphics devs" were. But so far, no confirmations. In any event, it seems much of the effort that was going to Sansar will be now focused into improving Second Life, at least for now.

Bixyl Shuftan

News and Commentary: No New Announcement On Last Names, Yet

On November 21, Linden Lab stated that they were "working furiously" to have the option for residents to get a last name or change it (if they had a Premium account) by January 31. Since then, the only announcement on the subject was their contest asking for suggestions for last names, and January 31 came and went with no option for last names.

So why no announcement over the past several days? One can only guess. Perhaps the Lindens feel they're on the verge of solving one or two technical issues and that finishing the big change is just around the corner. Or perhaps when they tried testing the change, they keep finding bugs and decided to take a little extra time to squash them before releasing the option.

There should be an announcement on the issue soon. In fact, it might be later today.

Bixyl Shuftan

Facebook Announces Upcoming Virtual World "Horizons"

 By Bixyl Shuftan

Today, Facebook announced it was in the process of making it's own virtual world: Horizons.

Today at OC6, we unveiled Facebook Horizon, a new social VR world coming to Oculus Quest and the Rift Platform in 2020. A culmination of what we’ve learned so far about virtual spaces and communities, Horizon is the first step into an ever-expanding world of connection and exploration where anything becomes possible.

... Starting with a bustling town square where people will meet and mingle, the Horizon experience then expands to an interconnected world where people can explore new places, play games, build communities, and even create their own new experiences.

With the announcement there was a youtube of a spokes-avatar showing off the place.



"Beyond our world, there's another world. And it's right here, on my face!"

"Horizon's filled with possibilities. We can play stuff, make stuff, fly stuff. ... Horizons isn't about rules or limits ... It's about getting out there and trying new things, making your mark, making friends ... And you can even build a world of your own. In Horizon, the world is your lobster. ... So come join us, a never-ending, ever-changing world beyond your world."

Horizons will be playable with Facebook's Oculus VR headset and controllers. It was not specifically stated that the virtual world would be playable without a VR rig.

Judging from the pictures, while there's things to do, including able to build things, and places to go, the Horizons is still very much in beta. The most obvious example of this is the legs for the avatars haven't been designed yet, so they just float over the ground instead of walking.

As part of their announcement, Facebook announced they would be closing Facebook Spaces and Oculus Rooms in one month, October 25.

The announcement stated Horizon would be open to play, in beta, "early next year" in 2020. There was a link for people to sign up for access to the currently closed beta.

Hat tip and image credit: Ryan Schultz

Bixyl Shuftan

Update on Bellisseria For Mid-August 2019

It's been about a year since the "SSP" landmass first appeared on the map.  In April, the real new continent appeared on the Grid, and became known as Bellisseria. Since then, the moles have continued to work on and expand both the land, and build the Linden homes on them. In early June came an island that would become it's community center.

Since then, the work on Bellisseria continues. More of the continent's southeast landmass has been built, and a second "pickle" island has been added off the coast to the southeast, to go with the "squishy pickle" to the northeast.

And as the land has been developed, the roads, piers, and Linden Homes aren't too far behind. The land ones initially appear as green shapes, then take familiar form with green fields around them and orange squares on top. There's also what looks like coding over the homes, both the land homes and houseboats.

When someone asked on the forums how long does it take the Lab to make the homes, Quartz Linden answered:

Each region in Bellissaria is unique,  designed and laid out individually.   When we make new regions to add to Bellissaria, we start with a completely new one, flat as pool table and completely featureless.    Each one needs terraforming and dividing up into parcels, and roads laying,  and slips for the boats, and then decorating with trees, flowers, rocks, fences and whatever else for the parcels and then some general landscaping on the remaining LDPW land plus some community areas building here and there.   



That's all done by teams of LDPW Moles, working together, and pretty much flat out.    It involves several passes, and several QA inspections at different stages in the process. That's what takes the time,  and it's because the terraforming and decorating is done with such care and attention to detail that the regions look as good as they do.   

... everything we put out on a region is made and scripted by LDPW Moles, and those of us who work primarily in content creation for Bellissaria rather than setting up the regions are already well advanced into creating items for future themes.

There was one build on the southeast island that got my attention. In the middle of the place were three towers that bore a resemblance to a nuclear reactor. Just what the towers are for can only be speculated on at this point.

As the land continues to grow, the people making the continent their virtual home and their friends have formed a community that continues to do well. It's not just human avatars, but also furs, ferals, and others. The Bellisserians channel on Discord has numerous entries every day, and brings attention to places such as the Belli's Blues Cafe (left). Creative residents have been making add-ons to Linden Homes, such as pools, porches, sheds, and more.

Daniel Voyager predicted the continent's land would be completed before Spring 2020. He very well may be right. We'll report more on the continent as things develop.

Last picture from Bellisserians Discord channel

Bixyl Shuftan

Note: I tried getting a good picture of the map showing Bellisseria in relation to nearby continents. But something kept the sims from view when smaller than shown on the picture, and even then many of the sims would vanish after a few seconds.

Linden Lab Confirms Work on Mobile App For Second Life "In Early Stages"

There's been some talk in the past several months about Linden Lab coming out with an app for mobile devices, such as iPhones and Android phones. During the "Meet the Lindens" events at the Second Life Birthday in June, Ebbe Linden stated the Lab was "thinking hard about mobile." In August, Linden Lab had a job opening for a "Senior Mobile Engineer."

Not much more was revealed, until January 9 when Inara Pey blogged that Brad Linden, Second Life's Marketing Manager, had posted about work beginning on such a project. The following day on January 10, Inara posted that he had responded to her questions, and confirmed ''we’re in the early stages of work on an iOS companion app for Second Life."

    ...we discussed at our Town Hall events last year that we’re actively looking at ways to extend the reach of Second Life to new audiences including mobile platforms. For example, we’re in the early stages of work on an iOS companion app for Second Life. 

    Right now we’re focused on getting a prototype out to our Residents, at which point we’ll be looking for feedback and suggestions. In the early stages, we will not be tying the app to a streaming service. However, we don’t have anything to formally announce yet about the specific features, capabilities, and availability.

Inara felt this wasn't much information to go on. But it did say they were in the early stages of the project. When they'll have something to release for the public is still unknown.

Source: Modem World

Bixyl Shuftan

Animesh Arrives in Second Life

On Wednesday, Linden Lab announced that their "Project Animesh" was now part of the main Grid. For those whom are unfamiliar with Animesh, it offers content creators to allow "independent objects," or NPC creatures that are not "bots" or accounts left along by their owners and controlled by scripts, to be fitted with mesh and animations.

Animesh, first announced a year ago (!), allows independent objects to use rigged mesh and animations, just as you see today with mesh avatars. This means that you can now have wild animals, pets, vehicles, hair, zombies …. The possibilities are in your hands! We’ve created a Wiki which outlines how you can begin playing with Animesh. If you are a Premium Account, you will be able to attach two Animesh attachments instead of one.  Note: You will need to be on an Animesh Enabled Viewer to see Animesh objects work correctly; if you are using a third party viewer they can let you know when support will be available.

Linden Lab does have a User Guide page for Animesh. It also mentions five locations where you see and test it, four Moderate sims, Animesh1, Animesh2, Animesh3and Animesh4, and one adult sim, Animesh Adult. They have an "Animesh Freebie Package," with three moving characters (with pathfinder scripts), a human named "Aditya," a teddy bear, and a raptor. When rezzed on the sims, they will move about, sometimes heading back to where they were rezzed. If someone wears the "raptor steak hat" included in the package, any raptors nearby may become curious and try to pounce.

There's also a new category on Marketplace intended for Animesh objects, though not limited to them: Animated Objects.

Comments in VirtualVerse (the successor to SL Universe) are somewhat light, at least at the time of the writing of this article. In the SL forums, there's nothing in the General Discussion threads yet (though that  may soon change), but there is an Animesh category with several threads.

Inara Pey stated one advantage of Animesh was for the ability to make moving objects without "alpha flipping," or a series of objects combined and scripted so only one is visible at a time to give the appearance of movement, "like a set of flip book drawings." As alpha flipping "can be render intensive, impacting viewer performance," it is hoped that Animesh objects will be a way to make objects that will be less laggy for residents.



Hamlet Au found this video by Medue about animesh in action. He commented that he'd been told by builders that they haven't been selling as much as they've been in the past and thought "Animesh is just the thing to boost the virtual world marketplace." He also commented on what it would likely lead to, "Multiplayer FPS games in SL where enemies no longer look like herky jerky puppets, mini-RPGs with highly detailed character interactions.... and, of course, inevitably, much virtual sex with NPCs."

What do you the readers think Animesh will lead to? Feel free to leave comments.

Source: Linden Lab, Modem World, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Themed Learning Islands in Development by Linden Lab

First impressions, while not everything, can mean a lot. And for Second Life, the first impression new users get is Learning Island. Having been around since 2013, they're part of a two-step process in which new arrivals first arrive in a place only they can be, and after some basic instructions head on to Social Island to continue their orientation, though possibly with the guidance with established residents. In 2017, they were remodeled with a new look. In a recent article in Modem World, Inara Pey stated over the past few months there's been something new in development by Linden Lab: themed Learning Islands.

The idea is that Linden Lab will run various Internet advertisements with a certain theme, such as the science-fiction one pictured in Inara's article. Clicking on the ad brings up a page in the theme of the ad, and those signing up through it will be taken to a Learning Island that is in the style of the theme of the ad and page. These are not yet complete, still in the testing stage as Brett Linden told her.

Linden Lab is still in the early weeks of testing the concept of Themed Learning Islands. The initiative began quietly a month or so ago with a Romance-themed island test that is not currently active. Next up is a Sci-Fi-themed learning island that we’ll begin testing very soon. We’re also looking at several other themes for future tests, [and] it is also possible that we’ll revise the Romance and Sci-Fi themes as we gather more data on them.

Besides the themed ad campaign and sign-up process, the Lab will be looking into just how well it is working. It will also be looking at smaller elements as to what works and what doesn't, such as offering the new user a lot of information or having them find out more on their own. Patch Linden would state the new Learning Islands would not usually be open to established residents during testing.

We actually want to discourage public access to the islands while in testing so that our statistics, measuring and data-gathering don’t get influenced by having the islands inundated with established users coming into them and possibly preventing new users from naturally proceeding through the anticipated test flow. That way, we can gather as accurate information as possible on what’s happening in terms of acquisition and retention against everything else.

Talking to Brett, Patch, and Leira Linden, Inara came to the conclusion that the Lab was making a more intensive effort at user retention than before, "One thing that struck me ... is just what is going into user acquisition and attempts to improve user retention, when it is perhaps a little to easy to assume the Lab is just “tinkering without understanding”. Considerable thought is being put into trying to increase new user engagement and retention, and it does involve a lot of number crunching, analysis, and trying to build on what is shown to work, as well as trying entirely new approaches. ...it’s clear from talking to Brett, Keira and Patch that the Lab is pouring a lot of effort into this approach, as well as looking at other avenues of user acquisition and retention."

The earliest effort at the newbie experience, Orientation Island, was estimated to have only a ten percent retention rate. Destination Island, which was around from 2012 to 2013, was a bare-bones experience that was much more confusing and frustrating to new users and most likely had a much lower retention rate. Why a fair experience was replaced with a bad one back then, one can only speculate at the reasons why. But it's clear several years later, Linden Lab is making a much more serious effort to not just bring new people into Second Life, but to make a good first impression in the first hour or two that can make all the difference in which a new user decides whether or not to keep coming back.

Source: Modem World

Bixyl Shuftan

Breaking News: New Project Elemenoh Sim Region, Second Life Birthday Sims, Appear

Tyche Shepherd's weekly Grid update in the SL Universe forums had some interesting news. Among the 66 new sims on the map were those for the Second Life Birthday. Each with "SLB" and "Build" as parts of their names, there are 21 in all from SLB 1 Build to SLB 21 Build. A few already have water, and roads or other builds on them. As time goes on, there will certainly be more. As of now, the Newser has heard no announcements by the Second Life Birthday organizers, but no doubt there will soon be a call for volunteers, performers, and exhibitors. The sims are closed to all but a few, and are just south of the Paleoquest game areas, which are far to the southwest of most other sims.

There was also a group of 13 sims that Tyche called part of a new project by Linden Lab: Project Elemenoh. Twelve of the sims are labled "Elemenoh 1 Build" to "Elemenoh 12 Build," with a "Elemenoh Dev" seperate and a little to the northwest. Aside from their appearances on the map, which are varried, not much else is known about these sims. There are two groups of 12 sims each nearby, Build LR 1 to Build LR 12 and Staging LR 1 to Staging LR 12, which Tyche didn't mention. Also nearby was a four sim group each with "Snuffle" in it's name and two other sims. It's unclear if they're part of Project Elemenoh, or are part of something else is working on.

The sims, along with the Portal Partk Winter Build just south of them, are south of most sims on the map, with the Black Rose sim some distance to the east being the closest open to all I could find.

Stay tuned for more information on both when it becomes available.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager 

Bixyl Shuftan