Lab announces improved region capacity and access in Second Life

On Tuesday, April 2nd, Linden Lab announced the roll-out of Improved Region Capacity and Access, which see increases in the default number of avatars able to access a region, and how regions are accessed when approaching the upper limit of avatars allowed into them.

The new limits are being rolled out gradually, so you may find the default for your region may not have changed. It will, however, as the deployment continues.

Overall, the default limits on avatars able to enter each type of region have been increased by between 10% and 25%, depending on the region type, so:

• The default for Full regions is increased from 100 to 110 (10%)
• The default for Homestead regions is increased from 20 to 25 (25%)
• The default for Open Space regions is increased from 10 to 12 (20%)

Note that the percentage bonus remains the same if the region owner changes the maximum number of avatars able to access a region. So, for example, if the owner of a Full region has set a limit of – say – 50 avatars on their region, this is increased by 10% (to 55) under the new limits.

This is straightforward enough – now for the twist: this new bonus capacity is only available for entry purposes to Premium members. As far as Basic users are concerned – and only for the purposes of region access, the limits remain unchanged.

This means that if you’re a Basic user and trying to get into a Full region which has, say, 105 avatars (out of a default total of 110)  – you’ll be unable to access the region, and will get the Region Full notification on trying. However, up to 5 more Premium members will be able to still get in.

Note also that once an avatar is in a region, whether they are Premium or not will not matter; they count the same as anyone else. It doesn’t matter what the mix of Premium, Basic, or owner/managers in the region is: they all just each count as one occupant.

As a final piece of the changes, the region occupancy limit does not apply to a region owner or an Estate Manager for the purposes of entry. They will always be able to enter the region, even if it is full. However, once they have accessed the region, then will increase the avatar count for the region. So, if a region is at its limit and the owner enters, then two avatars will have to leave before a non-owner/manager would be able to enter.

Again, do note that the new limits are being rolled out gradually, so you may find the default for your region may not have changed. It will, however, as the deployment continues. If you are unclear on any of the above, please refer to the Lab’s blog post.