The Open Source User Group (OSUG) meeting is an open discussion of Second Life development, including but not limited to open source contributions, third-party viewer development and policy, and current open source programs.
This meeting is generally held twice a month on a Friday, at 13:00 SLT at the Hippotropolis Theatre and is generally text chat only.
26.3 is to see a further RC / beta update prior to getting promoted. There has been an increase in log-out failures with the current RC, so LL is working on fixing that.
Viewer 26.4 is now confirmed as being the Lua editor viewer (with Linux support), and a further update to that viewer (currently alpha / project status) should be forthcoming in the next week or so.
Discussions are still continuing on where to place the viewer-side code for game_control. Per my SUG meeting summary notes, this in part rests on his API work semantic to help with naming controls, etc.
Geenz has resumed work on the Graphics Care package (GCP) viewer.
Other Items
Transparent Media on a Prim (MOAP) – the ability to have parts of a MoaP surface be transparent rather than the whole thing – appears to be moving forward as well. As a general heads up on this, Geenz noted it might bring a few security minded modifications along with it, but no details on this at present.
Roxie Linden noted that LL is still actively looking into transcription functionality, and the hope is to evaluate more technologies to make sure a good option for SL is identified.
Also being evaluated is transcription accuracy, to allow a fast follow-on for functional translation. Roxie reaffirmed that transcription / translation are being looked at is internal services, rather than utilising any 3rd party solutions, so as to maintain privacy.
However, Jerome noted that whether an internal service is created or there is a move to use an external service could come down to issues such as cost, maintenance, etc., – however, privacy will remain a priority either way.
A suggestion was put forward for a “decode once, use many” approach to the texture cache (e.g. decode the textures from the asset CDN once, then store them as something like KTX, which can be streamed directly into the GPU).
Brad Linden noted this is actually done for SL Mobile, and that it would be good to standardise on an approach across both Mobile and all viewers.
Geenz noted that whilst this would be good, it could be impactful on client performance, noting:
It’s definitely an interesting direction, and one I don’t think would be bad – but I think the bigger question is gonna be how do we do this without decimating every single texture that has text on it?
As a part of the above discussion, Geenz noted that moving away from OpenJPG as the graphics API will likely that the initial direction will be Vulkan and Metal (Mac) to start, with the potential for DirectX 12 to be added-in as well (although if LL stick to using slang-rhi, DX12 should be supported anyway).
A caveat here was that if LL doesn’t have to directly support hardware outside of what Metal and Vulkan will run on, then they’ll constrain the work to just what is needed.
Geenz also hinted that things might be changing more broadly with the graphics pipeline, suggesting that in the future, deferred rendering may not by a part of it – and people should think more in terms of forward+ or clustered. Again, this is not to say this direction will be taken; the comments were more things Geenz is mulling, as was the case with musings on the potential for froxels potentially being something worth looking into.
The last part of the meeting was more specific to viewer pull requests (PRs), and bug reports, including:
Savoy Rooftop Gallery: Babs Belmonte – Atmospheric Second Life
Currently being hosted through until the end of August 2026 at the Savoy Rooftop Gallery, Creations Park is Atmospheric Second Life, a collection of photographs captured by Babs Belmonte (Babette Bellios) from across Second Life.
This is an engaging collection of 40+ images showing Second life in its many facets as a world of natural beauty by capturing popular locations across the grid and presenting them in a manner which encourages the eye and imagination.
Savoy Rooftop Gallery: Babs Belmonte – Atmospheric Second Life
Presented in a variety of styles from near-watercolour in look and wash (such as Deadwood, Forgotten Waters, and Still Among the Reeds) through to bordering on photo-real (e.g. Silent Anchorage, Towards Tranquillity, The Sentinels and Moonlight), thee collection is reached varied in its approach to its subject as befitting the nature of Second Life. In doing so, they also underscore the artist’s sensitivity to the places she captures and her use of both EEP and post-processing to create both mood and narrative.
The latter two – mood and narrative – is evidenced throughout. These are not only pieces intended to reflect Second Life, but to draw one into it; framing, cropping, focus all serve to generate a story behind each piece, one that reaches beyond its title to draw the audience into it. As a further individual example – The Quiet Way – it immediately draws the eye across the rickety bridge and instils a desire to see what lies within the grove of trees on the other side.
Savoy Rooftop Gallery: Babs Belmonte – Atmospheric Second Life
I have been capturing the beauty of Second Life through photography for several years, and I continue to be inspired by the incredible diversity I discover as I explore its ever-changing landscapes and communities. Every image is a reflection of the unique moments, creativity, and atmosphere that make Second Life such a remarkable virtual world.
– Babs Belmonte describing her Second life photography and her inspiration
Savoy Rooftop Gallery: Babs Belmonte – Atmospheric Second Life
I also confess to loving the appearance of photobombing within Welcome to the Beach. This is just utterly delightful and, being alongside the exhibition’s landing / entry point, it really opens the mind to appreciating all that Babs has brought together for this exhibition.
Loosely split into a series of themed elements – nature, seascapes, and the “artistic every day”, all of which flow one into the next such that they gently overlap rather than being rigidly demarked, Atmospheric Second Life is a richly engaging collection.
Savoy Rooftop Gallery: Babs Belmonte – Atmospheric Second Life
[REN] & Café Bar Manoaya, August 2026 – click any image for full sizeOver the past few years I’ve enjoyed occasional visits to [REN], an engaging parcel designed and held by Noa (Noa Cloud) in western Nautilus. For much of its existence it has been curated as a tranquil haven of imagination, a place to visit and appreciate, witness art or relax within on your own or with friends.
More recently, and due to physical world commitments, Noa has had to scale back on the overall size of [REN], reducing it (for the present, at least) to some 4,350 sq metres. This is more than enough, however, for [REN] to become the home to Café Bar Manoaya and to continue to offer a quiet retreat.
[REN] & Café Bar Manoaya, August 2026The café sits within a Japanese summer house set little back from a beach of golden sand, a ribbon of sunflowers hydrangea and wildflowers separating the one from the other. A terrace and flagstone steps form the public connection between the beach and café, with the terrace given over to cats and rabbits rather than the more usual tables and chairs to help maintain a feeling of space to breathe.
There is a gentleness to the parcel which helps encourage that since of peace and freedom to relax. A path circles the café, passing by way of a cluster of small waterfalls dropping gracefully into a rock pool to where tall curtains of bamboo have been pulled across the cliffs behind the café to soften their granite faces.
[REN] & Café Bar Manoaya, August 2026There is a raised platform at the back of the café for those who prefer sitting outdoors, green tea and shaved ice fruits treats waiting to entice.
More cushions for sitting outdoors can be found tucked between the rear wings of the café, and while it is possible that some of the feline patrons might either object to a human presence there – or demand payment by fussing them in return for intrusions into their garden space. However, two of them at least appear to have found a focus for attention which might preclude their interest in any human interlocutors (although the subjects of that attention probably wish this were otherwise, and the cats in question would indeed find more interest into and humans happening to sit down here!).
[REN] & Café Bar Manoaya, August 2026My favourite aspect of the setting, however, is the octagonal summer house on the east side of the the land and set slightly further back from the beach than the café. Within it can be found a kind of sanctum sanctorum for a multipotentialite whose interests encompass lepidopterology, national histories (notably South Africa and France) marine life, gemology and music. And there is something utterly relaxing in sitting there and listening to the cello music (whether or not you opt to try the cello yourself!).
Taken as a whole, Café Bar Manoaya and its surrounds make for a charming visit.
The Java Bean Café, August 2026
The same is true of a visit to The Java Bean Café, albeit for different reasons. Created and operated by Katie J. Ronas (Katrina Flowers), it is located on the central southern coast of Corsica, close to the waterway running up from Chopsaw to Skains. Despite the general sense of bustle to the area, it is a peaceful haven keeping itself tidily separated from any possible hubbub of boats arriving and departing the moorings just beyond its south wall.
Surrounded on three sides by waters flowing into it via a corner channel alongside those moorings, The Java Bean Café uses a curtain of maple, weeping willow and other trees as well as the noise-deflecting walls to offer a sense of cool detachment and peace from the more general goings-on beyond its boundaries.
The Java Bean Café, August 2026
A large deck extends out over the shallows of the waters to the front of the café, not as a place for small boats to come alongside (the entrance to the cove in which The Java Bean sits is guarded by a large semi-submerged rock to discourage this anyway) but to offer patrons outdoor seating and the opportunity to play table-top games or simply watch the floating lanterns drifting between the lilies guarding the waterside edges of the deck.
The café occupies a large, predominantly wooden framed and sided structure with large windows, high ceilings and skylights giving it a light, airy feel which encourages a sense of ease and desire to get comfortable with a really good coffee – particularly in the four deep armchairs ranged before the large stone fireplace (which would likely be a popular spot in winter!), whilst the back room presents a space for larger visiting parties to enjoy.
The Java Bean Café, August 2026
This a setting focused very much on the idea of a café being a social centre; a place to come to and spend time together without feeling the need to explore or to distract. True, there are the games out on the deck – but these don’t have to be be played; those who wish to to can sit at them, chat and watch the frogs hopping and round the lily pads and the dragonflies flitting around, deftly avoiding the attention of any of those frogs who might might be eyeing them as a possible snack.
Rounded-out by a summertime soundscape of singing birds (and croaking frogs!), The Java Bean is nicely presented and cosy.
Kondor Art Centre, August 2026: Janus Fall – Union of Opposites
Within Jungian psychology, the Union (or Unity) of Opposites – also referred to as individuation – is the idea that the ego, the conscious part of the personality that interacts with the external world, must acknowledge and integrate with the “shadow” – the darker, repressed elements of our personality – if we are to achieve balance within ourselves and so gain personal growth and fulfilment of purpose.
It’s a profound concept when you consider that most of our societies through history have been or are predicated on acceptance and rejection of both personality traits and emotional states, rather than seeking to integrate them. We are constantly told to only listen to our “better angels” and reject our “demons”; men are often expected to embrace strength (or stoicism) and reject weakness (or vulnerability), whilst women have often been expected to do the reverse: accept meekness and reject self-assertion, and so on.
Kondor Art Centre, August 2026: Janus Fall – Union of Opposites
In her remarkable exhibition Union of Opposites, which opened at the Kondor Art Centre on July 30, Janus Fall uses a series of captivating avatar studies to present the idea that beauty is found through the integration of opposing elements of our psyche and the harmony of contrasts. In doing so, she also explores the idea of individuation and reminds us of an important lesson.
Given that Second Life avatars remain very limited in their ability to non-verbally communicate much of anything let alone the workings of the ego or the inner “shadow”, the 15 pieces Janus presents nevertheless powerfully communicate of idea that the opposites and contrasts within us form a more unified whole.
Kondor Art Centre, August 2026: Janus Fall – Union of Opposites
They do so through a refined and quite captivating mix of technique and presentation, not just of the avatars themselves – in which expression is marvellously used, given the limitations noted above – but in the backgrounds and the use of colour and geometry. Each piece is a triumph of communication of the exhibition’s themes, whilst also standing as an exquisite work of art in its own right.
Accompanying the pieces are text elements. Some appear drawn from psychology / psychiatry, some from religious texts, some appear to be from Janus herself. All serve to to further challenge our thinking and perception of self and wholeness.
Kondor Art Centre, August 2026: Janus Fall – Union of Opposites
It’s been three years since I last covered an exhibition by Janus, and her work remains as powerful and thought-provoking now as it was then, carrying within it an inherent ability to present concepts, ideas and essays on the nature of self in a marvellously visual a manner.
Contemporary wisdom encourages us to “find” our balance and purpose by looking outside of ourselves, and that once found, that they are somehow immutable. Through Union of Opposites, Janus reminds us that balance and purpose come from within; that, like beauty, they arise from the constant integration of the contrasting qualities of our psyche.
The Simulator User Group meeting place at Longfellow
The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. These notes form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. No video for this meeting – Pantera is on vacation.
Meeting Overview
The Simulator User Group (also referred to by its older name of Server User Group) exists to provide an opportunity for discussion about simulator technology, bugs, and feature ideas is held every other Tuesday at 12:00 noon, SLT (holidays, etc., allowing), per the Second Life Public Calendar.
The “Leviathan Office Hour” meetings are held on the Tuesdays which do not have a formal SUG meeting, and are chaired by Leviathan Linden. They are more brainstorming / general discussion sessions.
Meetings are held in text in-world, at this location.
Simulator Deployments
The hot fix for some regions failing to grant capabilities correctly to the viewer (and thus crashing the viewer) deployed in mid-July … has a bug (causing log-in and teleport issues).
As a result, the fix was rolled back on August 4 for the SLS Main channel and will be rolled back on August 5 for the RC channels.
Once the roll-back is complete, things should behave as per the Kumquat simulator update.
This roll-back should help alleviate many of the recent region crossing issues people have been experiencing in the last week – see below for more.
Game_Control
Leviathan Linden continues to work on game_control (viewer and server-side).
Viewer:
He has added a “mouse” mode: it is possible to press a button on a game controller and move the viewer’s mouse the mouse around. This also allows mapping of mouse left- and right-click function to a controller.
However, he noted he is unsure of what to do with the “semantic data” there (e.g. axis values will currently show the delta_X and delta_Y input that is driving the mouse, which isn’t particularly useful; he imagines scripters would be more interested in “mouse_X, mouse_Y”, so he is still wondering about how best to make that info available, if it is needed).
He has, however further modified PromptFont (used for the game_control preferences UI) to make it more readable.
Server side:
As noted during his previous Office Hours meeting, there are some further server-side aspects to game_control he wishes to complete.
However, it might be a few weeks before this is in any way ready – and this work needs to be deployed ahead of the viewer-side code becoming generally available in viewers, and will include the required UDP message updates to pack “semantic data” & make it available to LSL via a new function call.
Region Crossings
As per the last SUG meeting and the previous Leviathan Office Hours, Pepper Linden has put together some fixes to address vehicular region crossings (see this bug report).
This are currently available on the Blake Sea region on Aditi (the Beta grid) for those wishing to test them.
Pepper encourages those who can to log-in to Aditi hand test things & provide feedback. Pepper can be reached in-world via IM or via the SL Discord server.
In terms of the recent (last week-ish) region crossing issues:
These are believed to be related to the bug introduced into the simulator coder, per the simulator notes at the top of this summary.
As most of the Blake Sea regions are on the BlueSteel RC channel, it was suggested that once the roll-back on the RC channels scheduled for Wednesday, August 5 has been completed, crossings can be tested there.
If people continue to experience issues which appear to be the same as or similar to those experienced prior to the roll-back
However, if people continue to experience significant crossing issues, they can message Rider with details on the SL Discord server.
A general discussion on region crossings – reporting issues, keeping people informed of changes / updates, etc., formed a major part of the meeting.
Lua Notes
Harold Linden has mostly finished the upgrade of the SLua repository to match the current upstream version of Luau.
The development version now has integers in Lua, and support for them has been added to lljson “and friends” so they should be supported when Lua is deployed.
He noted this has been a significant change, removing a lot of integer and yield-related code that now has an upstream equivalent, so in the next few weeks people working with Lua will need to recompile any existing scripts using Lua – although in the future, this will not be necessary, as there will be a compatibility framework which can be used.
Rider Linden has rolled out new wrappers for the functions relating to particles and HTTP requests enabling properly-typed tables to be passed to them without having to remember the arcane rule names and values for particle systems. He noted would welcome PRs that wrap some of the other lists as well.
As per my notes from the previous Content Creation User Group meeting, Rider Linden has produced a new version of the VSCode plugin with might tighter integration with the viewer.
However, it has been pointed out to him that it is not entirely obvious on how to set the plug-in up, so in order to help with this issue he has opened up a documentation page, which will be populated.
General Discussion
Monty Linden has been itemising some HTTP changes for LSL, “so that we can support things that are less weird and arbitrary”. He hopes to make this a public RFC or a blog post “soonish”.
The face count mismatch bugfix remain in limbo, having raised numerous internal questions at LL during code review. Leviathan – was had been looking at it – has also been focused on game_control but will try to take another look at that as soon as game-control is “mostly done” (e.g. server- and viewer-side communication changes, new LSL call, as mentioned above).
Monty Linden added that a fix is “very much wanted”, as the current coding around the issue is “interesting”, but he wants the final result to be “absolutely solid”.
The request for a llGetRegionWorldMapTile function remains on a “thing that would be nice to get done” at LL, but does not have any resources looking at it at present.
Gaeta 1: no longer to be removed from Second Life – but will it ever be completed?
Back in April 2026, Linden Lab announced some significant Mainland changes involving the Gaeta 1 continent and the Adult continent of Zindra.
In particular, the announcement noted Gaeta 1 would be closed and removed from the grid once all land holders (and any tenants they might have) had been assisted with relocating elsewhere within the Mainland continents.
A Town Hall meeting was held subsequent to the announcement of these changes, which saw – along with a forum topic on the subject – considerable concerns raised (see all relevant links at the end of this article for further details).
After further review of resident feedback, relocation activity, and our long-term plans for Mainland, Linden Lab has decided that Gaeta 1 will remain open.
… We are sorry for the disruption and uncertainty this reversal has caused, especially for residents who made decisions or completed relocations based on the information and direction we previously provided. We recognize that those residents acted promptly and in good faith, and we are committed to providing affected residents with meaningful choices moving forward.
– from the official blog post on plans for Gaeta 1 and the Mainland as a whole
What This Means
For Former and Current Gaeta 1 Land Holders
Those who have relocated from Gaeta 1 should have already received direct communications from the Lab outlining their options (e.g. remaining where they are or receiving assistance in relocating back to their original parcels on Gaeta 1).
Those who hold land on Gaeta 1 / have yet to complete any planned relocation will be receiving communications from LL outlining their options (e.g. those who have not given up their land on Gaeta 1 no longer having to face relocation if they have no wish to move).
For Gaeta 1 and Mainland
Gaeta 1 will remain as an active Mainland continent.
Mainland will in turn see a renewed focus on making small, but noticeable improvements and updates, such as:
The addition of further open water homesteads in an effort to improve the sailing and flying experiences around some of the continents.
Repairs to many legacy Mainland regions with badly baked edges, to fix longstanding region crossing issues between these specific regions, and make them more attractive overall.
Of the comments made thus far, feedback appears to be the typical mix of Second Life responses: favourable, unfavourable, questioning, theorising, arguing.
In broad terms, that the Lab has reversed direction on Gaeta 1 and is indicating that the Mainland continents outside of Bellisseria are to have a renewed focus for improvements and updates has been welcomed. I find myself particularly in agreement with the positive response to the Mainland as a whole.
Whilst understanding that Bellisseria is a core part of demonstrating the valve of Second life subscription memberships, the overwhelming focus it has received during the last five years has been to the broader detriment of the rest of the Mainland (I also think the entire development of Bellisseria has been poorly managed, leaving the Second Life World Map looking like a cat coughed up across it – but that’s another matter entirely). So seeing a commitment being offered to make even small improvements to the latter is a positive thing (one which will hopefully continue well beyond those outlined).
In terms of Gaeta 1, I have no strong feelings other that noting it would be nice to see it completed, and – more particularly – emphasising with Gaeta 1 land holders and their tenants for any consternation they may have felt or feel towards both announcements, and any relief felt at this latest announcement.
It is not unfair to say that everything from presenting Gaeta 1’s demise as a fait accompli, through the Town Hall to taking a further three months before announcing a change of course, has been a less than optimal course of events; one that just might have been avoided had there been more in the way of a closed discussion with those directly affected ahead of any announcement. But then, anything is possible with 20/20 hindsight – although hopefully, a lesson has been learned, should it be required in the future.
† Those with specific feedback, suggestions or requests about Gaeta 1 or Mainland improvements they wish LL to see/ consider, should make them via the forum topic rather than here, as LL are far more likely to take note of such feedback via the forums than they are by reading this blog!
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 