Category: Second Life

2026 week #18: SUG meeting summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
China Buddha Caves, March 2026 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, April 28th, 2026 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. These notes form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. They were taken from the video recording by Pantera, embedded at the end of this summary – my thanks to Pantera for providing it.

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 “SUG Leviathan 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

  • No deployments planned for the week, although all server channels will be restarted. The pause is to allow for more adjustments to be made to WebRTC prior to it going grid-wide.
  • There will be a new simulator update  – called Kumquat – which will contain the necessary infrastructure updates for the above, and which will be deployed ahead of the planned next simulator release (Loganberry).

In Brief

  • LL have added a new cap that delivers pre-generated configuration files for the Lua definitions and the viewer and the VS code plug-in are being updated to support this. These updates will allow for the removal all the language definition munging from the plug-in itself.
  • Leviathan Linden:
    • Has been working on updates related to the new Kumquat simulator update and “some related back-end services.
    • Had no progress to report on for game_control, and is hoping to get back to it soon.
  • Harold Linden (SLua):
    • Has been bundling up all the scripting-related definitions in a sensible way so they can be served.
    • Has also been working to complete the prim params builder RFC. He views this work as complete and warns that those will any input should “speak now or forever hold your peace”, as he will shortly start implementing it.
    • Harold noted that the prim params does it allow to set ‘nil’ or not provide a value or something else that would do “keep current” behaviour; it is strictly a wrapper around SetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast. He noted that requested work such at this would require an overhaul of SetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast.
    • The above formed the basis for a discussion through the meeting.

General Discussion

Please refer to the video below as well.

  • The request for llGetRegionWorldMapTile was raised. Apparently, Brad Linden has indicated implementation could be more complicated, suggesting LL should set up a web API that provides the map tile textures and make it possible for people to enable web on a prim for trusted domains.
    • The above led to a discussion on map tiles and options around the basic idea contained in within the feature request – such as making map tile textures function in a similar manner to Bakes on Mesh (using UUIDs – although the scale of this when using thousands of regions could be difficult / complicated).
    • This discussion went on through most of the meeting – please refer to the video below. The most positive idea given the amount of suggestions / confusion over map tiles, was for a design document to be put forward to allow focused discussion.
  • There was a report of issues with Vivox Voice service repeatedly failing at Fantasy Faire – notably within the Lost Pages region, home to the Literature, Film and Theatre festivals.
    • The Voice teams indicated they were not aware of any specific instability issue with Vivox – with the caveat the focus has been on WebRTC.
  • The question was if there are any plans to re-allow residents to upload animations with animation constraints (apparently turned off when it was found that there was no validation for chain length, which could cause a null pointer error if it goes too high up the skeleton). It was felt this has useful constraints such as “GROUND” which allow the feet to automatically IK feet to the ground, reducing the issue of an avatar  floating off the ground on un-even surfaces.
    • Currently, there are no plans in this direction at present.

Date of Next Meetings

  • Leviathan Linden: Tuesday, May 5th 2026.
  • Formal SUG meeting: Tuesday, May 12th, 2026.

† The header images included in these summaries are not intended to represent anything discussed at the meetings; they are simply here to avoid a repeated image of a rooftop of people every week. They are taken from my list of region visits, with a link to the post for those interested.

Visiting Varna in Bloom in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Varna in Bloom, April 2026 – click any image for full size

As I continue to try to get back into the swing of blogging – health things are finally showing improvement on a more solid footing – I dived into the Destination Guide to see what was new and / or interesting. And thus I came across Varna in Bloom, a setting created by AmyElle Atheria.

Varna in Bloom is a blooming fantasy destination where flowers and stories grow side by side. Books are woven throughout the landscape alongside flowering paths, hidden portals, and details that reward the curious explorer. It sits at the edge of a story: beautiful, a little dreamlike, and worth getting lost in. Popular with photographers, couples, and anyone who has ever wanted to fall into a good book.

– Varna in Bloom Destination Guide entry

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

I’ve no idea if the setting has in some way been inspired by Bulgarian city of Varna and its locale as it sits on the Black Sea coast. On the one hand, there are references to Bulgaria and Varna in the setting’s About Land description and within AmyElle’s Profile; however, whether this is in reference to the actual place or the setting in SL, I’ve no idea. Certainly, the majority of the setting appears to be drawn more from the imagination than being offered as a direct homage to a physical world location, so I’ll put that thought to one side.

Covering slightly less than the full 65,000+ sq metres of a region, Varna in Bloom sits within a Full Mainland region towards the western end of Corsica, and at an altitude of 1466 metres. A Landing Point is enforced (so no TP hoping around!) and sits towards the northern edge of the setting.

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

As the Destination Guide indicates, this a setting designed for relaxation, photography, spending time with others (or someone special) – and which contains some secrets of its own. Given this, the setting is unsurprisingly largely rural in design, and while paths do lead away from the Landing Point, visitors are left to their own devices as to where they wander.

Sitting within the glades and meadows and along the coastline of the setting are numerous points of interest – vignettes, as I like to call them – where visitors might like to tarry. These carry within them various motifs or themes as it were – notably those of books and on reading – whilst remaining varied and independent of one another.

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

One of these vignettes sits a little to the south of the Landing Pont and emphasises Varna’s over-arching themes of restfulness, harmony and reading. Guarded by two large mushrooms, it presents a place to sit back and relax with the crescent Moon, pull out a book or cuddle with a loved one and simply be.

Further afield, visitors might also come across a little garden space offering a homage to Alice and her Adventures, complete with an Alice-like little figure dressed as the Queen of Hearts at the gate (an interesting combination!) and reference to that famous tea party within the garden together with other references to the stories, watched over by a more familiar take on Alice.

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

The setting is not entirely without buildings. To the south there is a large cloister-like structure built around three sides of a rain-soaked stone square – the rain falling as heavy inside the covered walkways as outside of them. Away to the north and sitting with its back to an off-shore island and lighthouse, sits an open-sided wood-built pavilion where couples might dance (touch the statue for dance poseballs).

The above are not the only structures to be found, but by virtue of their size, they are the most prominent. Elsewhere to be found are tree houses, a VW camper van and even half a subway train car tidily converted into a haven from the rest of the world. As well as these, there are plenty of other spots where visitors and couples can sit and pass the time, both on land and on the various waters within and around the setting.

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

As to the “secrets” contained within Varna, these take the form of Experienced-based teleport portals (labelled by hovertext to aide in their discovery) leading to further skybox-style locations or islands floating overhead. You will have to accept the Experience when encountering one of the portals for the very first time, thereafter all teleports are automatic. Each of these destinations offers a bookish theme (one carrying you from a garden featuring Alice et al, to a room focused in part on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden (I’ll not mention the little Tolkien references also waiting to be found here and there!).

Whether you are seeking a place to explore, a place to spend time with a loved one, a place to photograph or simply somewhere you can wander and catch your breath, Varna in Bloom could well be the destination you’re looking for. So why not pay it a visit?

Varna in Bloom, April 2026

Slurl Details

2026 SL viewer release summaries week #17

Posted on by Inara Pey
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates from the week through to Sunday, April 26th, 2026

This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy.
  • This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
  • Outside of the Official viewer, and as a rule, alpha / beta / nightly or release candidate viewer builds are not included; although on occasions, exceptions might be made.

Official LL Viewers

  • Default viewer  – One-Click Installer = 26.1.1.23806384790 – April 10 – No change.
  • Second Life Release Candidate (RC) viewer: Flat UI – 26.2.0.24254827122, April 15 -“flat” UI and font update – No change.
  • Second Life Project Viewers:

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V7-style

V1-style

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

2026 Raglan Shire Artwalk in Second Life: call to artists

Posted on by Inara Pey
Raglan Shire Artwalk 2025

The Raglan Shire Artwalk is one of the staples of the SL art calendar, and for 2026 it will take place between Sunday, May 17th and Sunday, June 14th, inclusive.

Running across four weeks, the Artwalk is popular event among artists and residents, often attracting over 150 artists, who display their 2D and 3D art across the regions of Raglan Shire. All the displays are open-air, with 2D art is displayed on hedgerows in and around the regions, while sculptures and 3D art is displayed in a number of designated areas, all of which allows visitors to both appreciate the art and explore the Shire regions.

Qualifying Art

For the purposes of this show, qualifying art is defined as original representations of RL photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and digital fine art that can be displayed on a prim; and SL photography, manipulated SL photography and SL sculpture. AI-generated art and pictures of RL crafts, such as beadwork, leatherwork, etc., are not part of this show definition.

Call to Artists

A Call For Artists for the 2026 event has been issued for those wishing to participate, and key points about the exhibition in addition to the above, are as follows:

  • It is a non-juried show.
  • Artists can display more than one piece if they wish.
    • 2D artists (“flat” art – photos, paintings, etc.) will be awarded a maximum of 15 LI. Individual pictures should be 1 prim, including the frame, and pieces should not exceed the height of the hedgerows against which they are displayed. No hovertext allowed.
    • 3D artists (sculptures, etc.), will be awarded a maximum of 500 LI for up to three pieces of work. Artists are requested to state the LI per piece in their application, together with its overall dimensions (length, width & height). Note that any piece exceed 10m in any of these will require special permission from the organisers.
  • In addition:
    • Sales of art are allowed, but tip jars and floating text are not allowed.
    • All art must be rated PG / G: so no nudity, please!
    • Group membership will be required in order to display work.
    • Touch-based landmark / biography givers may be included, but will count against an artist’s total LI allowance.

Registration

Those wishing to display their art should review the 2026 Artwalk Information & Requirements and then complete and submit the 2026 Artwalk Registration Form by no later than 21:00 SLT on Tuesday, May 11th, 2026.

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2025

Event Dates

  • Tuesday, May 11th: applications close at 21:00 SLT.
  • Friday, May 15th (after 09:00 SLT) and Saturday May 16th: Artist set-up days
    • Hedgerow space for 2D artists is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
    • Areas within Heron Shire,  Athen Shire, and Morning Shire will be designated for sculpture set-up with available locations designated by a marker.
  • Sunday, May 17th: Artwalk Opens.
  • Sunday, June 14th: Artwalk closes.
  • Sunday, June 14th (after 21:00 SLT) through Tuesday, June 17th: take-down of works.

Event Contacts

In-world contact preferred.

  • Artwalk Director: Linn Darkwatch.
  • Artwalk Assistant: Panacea Pangaea.
  • Artwalk Assistant: Beth Ghostraven.
  • Artwalk Assistant: Karmagirl Avro.
  • Questions may also be asked through the Friends of Raglan Shire in-world Group.

Related Links

2026 week #17: SL CCUG meeting summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hippotropolis Campsite: venue for CCUG meetings
The following notes were taken from:

  • My chat log and audio recording  of the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting of Thursday, April 23rd, 2026.
  • Please note that this is not a full transcript of either meeting but a summary of key topics.
Table of Contents

 

Meeting Purpose

  • The CCUG meeting is for discussion of work related to content creation in Second Life, including current and upcoming LL projects, and encompasses requests or comments from the community, together with related viewer development work.
    • This meeting is generally held on alternate Thursdays at Hippotropolis and is held in a mix of Voice and text chat.
  • Dates and times of meetings are recorded in the SL Public Calendar.

Official Viewer Status

  • Default viewer  – One-Click Installer = 26.1.1.23806384790 – April 10 – No change.
  • Second Life Release Candidate (RC) viewer: Flat UI – 26.2.0.24254827122, April 15 -“flat” UI and font update.
  • Second Life Lua Editor Alpha viewer 26.1.0.21525310258, February 12.

Viewer Notes

Viewer 2026.02

  • 2026.02 remains the current Release Candidate viewer (next in line for promotion to release status).
  • This viewer will likely have a further RC update prior to any promotion. This update should result in much sharper text rendering within the UI.

Viewer 2026.03

  • LL are working on implementing “whatever performance wins that we can”.
  • This includes “batching” changes – that is, taking multiple objects within a scene and rendering them in a single pass, rather than multiple passes.
    • This work was initially undertaken for what is called the “simple draw pool”, which had batching logic added some time ago, but the work was never extended to the Blinn-Phong or PBR draw pools, and this is now being done.
    • The hope is that this change should help lower specification computers render scenes more comfortably. 

General Viewer Notes

  • Work is currently stalled on the Graphics Care Package (GCP) viewer given the focus on performance improvements for 2026.03. However, work should resume on the graphic improvements and updates for this viewer soon.
  • Given the above, it is still anticipated that the Lua Editor viewer (which is currently available as a project viewer) will go to RC status and then release ahead of the GCP viewer.

WebRTC Deployment

  • The current deployment of WebRTC has hit a few bumps, but the Lab is hopefully the deployment will be completed in “the next two weeks”, and certainly before SL23B.
  • The lack of voice attenuation over distances less than 60 metres (allowing personal conversations to be heard over a large distance) will likely not be addressed prior to WebRTC deployment is complete, and will be looked at afterwards – although it was also noted that attenuation under WebRTC will be different to Vivox.

General Discussions

  • Question: will there will be further updates to Animesh, particularly with regards to having to click on them without having to put a transparent prim around them for interactions?
    • Short answer: the need to click is intentional, and currently, there is no work on Animesh any time soon.
  • Question: will the one-click installer process also be applied to alpha and beta/release candidate viewers, or will these have their own install options?
    • LL is looking at “future options to make opting-in to alphas and betas have a lot less friction”, but discussions a re ongoing and not ready to be announced.
    • Alpha and beta/release candidate viewers will retain their own cohorts within github, allowing people who opt to use them from the Alternate Viewers page to continue to be opted-in to updates to those viewers as they are made available.
    • The ability to select and download a viewer from the Alternate Viewers page will continue.
  • Aside from general text chat on matters such as Animesh (between users) and on Fantasy Faire, this was a quiet meeting, and as such was brought to a close after some 30 minutes.

Next Meeting

Fantasy Faire 2026: your (almost) complete unofficial guide

Posted on by Inara Pey
Fantasy Faire 2026 – Kallissya
If you are just after links and Surls, click here to jump to them!

The largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, Fantasy Faire 2026, opened its gates to Fairelanders at 12:00 SLT on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. It will remain open through until Sunday May 10th, 2026 inclusive, once again raising money for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) efforts to bring about a World Without Cancer.

 Table of Contents

As with previous years, 2026 will see a wide range of activities and events taking place at the Faire, with role-play, parties, Jail & Bail, the LitFest, live performances, auctions, and more, together with the using multiple opportunities for fantasy- focused shopping.

The notes below are intended to get Fairelanders old and new up-to-speed with a one-page look at the event as it opens.

If You Are New to the Faire and Other Notes

If you are new to Fantasy Faire, the many regions it encompasses can be overwhelming to the point where you might fill panicked into trying to see everything at once.. But – the Fire is here for two weeks, so you have lots of time to visit, and remember: shopping and sightseeing can be much easier once all the initial rush is over!

The best place to start a first-time visit is Fairelands Junction. From here you can reach all of the regions via the teleport portals, so it makes a good hub for exploring. You can also grab a Fantasy Faire teleport HUD from here (or at the region landing points).

Also:

  • Keep up-to-date with the Faire and all that is going on through the official Fantasy Faire website.
  • The Fairelands have their own mythology and history. If fantasy is your thing, be sure to read about the History of the Fairelands.
Fantasy Faire 2026 – UlimHyl

Enjoying a Better Experience / Performance

  • For the best visual experience:
    • Make sure your viewer is set to Use Shared Environment (World → Environment) as the regions all have their own environment settings, and several have dedicated day / night cycles.
    • Try to travel light! Remove heavily scripted attachments you do not require for visiting the Fairelands – including any HUDs you don’t need while visiting (thus reducing things like the texture footprint they take up on your computer and the resources they might claim on the simulator, making the latter a little better for everyone).
    • Please don’t use particle-generating attachments / effects, they may look pretty on you, but they can really impact performance.
    • If you use them, turn off Shadows rendering.
    • When there is no Linden Water visible, set Water reflections to None: Opaque.
    • Reduce your Draw Distance to lighten loading.
    • If you’re familiar with it, use the Improve Graphics Speed floater to adjust your viewer’s rendering and performance on-the-fly.
  • Regions can be busy! So if you teleport into one, be sure to move a little way from the landing point as soon as you can to avoid becoming part of an avatar tower!
  • And, despite the comments about HUDs above, don’t forget to pick up the Fantasy Faire Teleport HUD for quick and easy access to all the regions!
Fantasy Faire 2026 – Golden Hour

Shopping

Fantasy Faire is very much about shopping. Merchants from across SL can be found in the shopping regions, all of whom offer some of their items through official RFL of SL vendors, so that proceeds of sales go to RFL / ACS.

Parties, Entertainment and Performances

The Fairechylde: DJ Events

The Fairechylde will once again be docked at the Faire, spending her time within The Golden Hour region, hosting DJ parties to keep Fairelanders entertained. These parties – live or via Fantasy Faire Radio – will be running right throughout the Faire.

Fantasy Faire 2026 – Bèn Tôm Rơi

Live Performances

Throughout the run of the Faire will be live performances by musicians, singers, dance troupes and more from across Second Life. Performances will be hosted on the Arts and Performance region of Pixieland.

The Fairelands Masked Ball

Fancy a more formal soiree where tuxedoes and gowns are encouraged and an air of mystery is added with eyes behind masks? Then head for the Fantasy Faire Masked Ball. Keep an eye on the 2026 Masked Ball page on the Fantasy Faire website for details..

Fantasy Faire 2025, Misplaced Melody

Events and Activities Highlights

Literature, Theatre and Film Festivals 2026

Now in its 12th year, the Fantasy Faire Literary Festival is  being hosted at The Golden Hour, and brings with it a celebration of fantasy in the form of story. The LitFest offers many ways to experience the stories of the Faire and inspire your own tales of journeys, wonders, and adventures.

  • A core part of the LitFest are the region tours. Held on most days of the Faire at 13:00 and / or 17:00 SLT, offering the chance to explore the Fairelands and seeking the stories they have to tell as well as their special secret places and details. Find out more on the LitFest Tours of the Fairleands page.
  • A further part of the LitFest is the Poetry Festival (TBA at the time of writing).

The Theatre Festival will feature Talks, Practical Sessions and Rehearsals all focused on stage productions in Second Life, and will include the premiere of a new play, 310788, at the end of the Faire!

The Film Festival is returning for its fifth year at Fantasy Faire. Led by Chantal Harvey and Saffia Widdershins within the Great Library, where  there will be almost daily events at 11:00 SLT, including talks, discussions and retrospectives of the works of different machinimatographers.

All Literature, theatre and film festival events take place on The Lost Pages, and the full schedule of these events can be found in the Festivals Calendar.

Fantasy Faire 2026 – Ebonfall Aetherium

Role-Play Activities and Classes

Role-play activities and classes will once again for a part of Fantasy Faire 2026. The featured role-play event will be The Squires of Garland and the Mystery of the Golden Hour.

Once upon a Time, Junction was the only Faireland that returned from the Mysts periodically. Every year, this magical realm changed completely and without explanation. The nature of Junction remains debated by scholars to this day with secrets still to be discovered. On the rare cases other realms returned from the Mysts they were mostly the same. However, the Golden Hour has now returned to the Faire for several years, but like Junction they constantly alter their own appearance.
The Golden Hour had always been seen as a realm devoid of danger. The Order saw the chance to delegate the study of the realm to Scholars and their Squires. The Squires of Garland are apprentice Bards that have not proven themselves worthy of advancement yet. They might not completely understand the orders ideals, but their hearts are ‘mostly’ in the right place. This is their chance to prove themselves.

– from The Squires of Garland and the Mystery of the Golden Hour

You can also learn more about the Squires of Garland here, and details on role-play classes, held at Moonfleet Bay, can be found on the 2026 Role Play Classes page.

Fantasy Faire 2026 – Stoneveil Crossing

Fantasy Faire Quest: The Pilgrim’s Forest

This year’s chapter of the Fantasy Faire adventure quest series is The Pilgrim’s Forest (details TBA at the time of writing). Once again the Bard Queen will call upon adventurers bold of heart to purchaser a Quest HUD (also proceeds to RFL / ACS) and follow the clues in a quest of two parts, the first a Fairelands-wide Hunt, and the second focus on the Quest region of ???.

You don’t have to join the Quest as soon as it opens; the prizes are for everyone who completes the adventure, and the Quest will be open right through until the end of the Faire.

And There’s More

Don’t forget, all the staples of Fantasy Faire will again be available, including the live auction, the silent auction and jail and bail – see the Fantasy Faire website for details on these .

Links and Region SLurls

Website Links Event Region SLurls Shopping Region SLurls
Website Home Page

Social Media