So yeah. The island home; aka the job I’m always prattling on about, or “just when you thought it was safe to read this blog…” We hadn’t actually planned on changing things. Honest. But then I mentioned to Caitlyn that while the new layout worked, it was also a bit flat, She agreed. Thus, cue the unpacking of landscaping bits …
After spending time trying to integrate the northern and southern ends of the island into a “whole”, going back to rocks and cliffs might sound like things are being broken up again. However, what we’ve settled on – we think – returns some of the character to the island, giving it more depth (or should that be height?) while retaining a unified feel.
The base of the cliffs – retaining the pond
In essence, the gardens and beach at the north end of the island have given way once again to the Fanatik Rocky Island. If I’m totally honest, this isn’t my favourite piece of landscaping; the baked textures aren’t entirely to my liking, and the lack of differentiation between vertical and horizontal faces means it cannot be reasonably re-textured. But in terms of natural look, with paths and differing levels on the plateau, I’ve yet to find anything in SL that matches it.
The upper two levels of this are now the location for our little stone cottage, with front lawns, cypress trees and back patio / lawns and just a little touch of the old castle ruins. Alex Bader’s Tiered Wall Garden set allowed for a degree of landscaping on the lower two levels of the plateau, allowing us to add lawns and the Trompe Loeil Dorina Outdoor Hangout, converted back to use as a pool.
The Trompe Loeil Outdoor Hangout makes a nice vantage point to watch passing boat races through the channel south of us
One of the other positive aspects of the Fanatik rocky island is that it comes handed, so slipping it into the island and having the switch back path leading up one side match the moorings for our two ‘planes was nice and easy – and provided a route from house through island in the process. At Caitlyn’s suggestion, Alex’s Boardwalk set provided further integration between cliffs and fields by providing a wooden path around the rocks and over one side of our pond.
We also recently thinned-out some of the ruins, and shunted the old chapel across to the east side of the island. So in re-arranging things, we’ve been able to include an open grassy area at the base of the cliffs, Alex’s Ancient Stone Wall building set dividing it neatly from the “wilder” woodlands while a Stepping Stones set from Cube Republic offers a nice pathway to link everything together. Finally, a gift from John and Eles Briana means we now have a little “summer-house” in the form of the Trop Loeil Outcrop Hut, where we can watch the passing boats in the local sailing races.
I’m not the world’s greatest fan of the Fanatik Rocky Island, but there is no denying its dramatic potential
So, once again, a few more nips and tucks – and a very big rock – at home. Now, onto the next project!
On January 11th, 2017, the Lab announced a new beta programme – Second Life Place Pages.
In essence this allows region and parcel owners to create a web browsable page for their location(s) in-world where they can be shared through blogs, websites, etc. Included with each page are buttons to allow visitors to the page to launch their viewer and teleport directly to your location (assuming they are Second Life users – if not, they’ll have to sign-up via the provided link to the main sign-up process).
In order for people to be able to use the Places pages to promote their own locations, certain criteria must be met:
You must own the parcel / region in question OR you must be assigned a the group ability to Toggle ‘Show Place in Search’ And Set Category within the group owning the land
About Land > Show Place in Search must be checked (recurring fee of L$30 a week).
The announcement itself was – frankly – vague. Whilst explaining the purpose of Places, and the fact it is beta, the blog post itself doesn’t actually provide information on where to find detailed information on the new pages – such as how to get started or even how to view the new pages. While there is a link to a forum post, it also isn’t that much more informative on where to find information for those unsure of how to proceed. This being the case, here are the key links:
A part of the Places page set-up by the Lab for the Innsmouth role-play community – click image to visit the page
As a quick run-down of the basics, providing you meet the criteria for establishing public Places page(s) for your parcel(s) / region(s) as defined above, you can get started by:
Visiting the Places home page – note you may have to log-in to it.
Hovering the mouse pointer over your name (top right of the page) and selecting My Places from the displayed drop down – this will list all of your parcels and regions. You can then select those you wish to edit, and follow the instructions in the Knowledge Base article.
Note that A Places page for a parcel can also be “hidden” at any time by unchecking Show Place in Search in the About Land window, while all Places pages for a region, regardless of parcel settings, can be hidden by checking World > Region/Estate > Region > Block Land Show in Search.
Within the pages are options to embed image slide shows, machinima videos and include social media buttons to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ for those wishing to use them, as well as basic information on the location itself. There is also the ability to include a 360-snaphot banner / hero image, and to include links to the Places pages for locations / venues within the current location. For example, Loki Eliot’s Escapades Places page includes links to the Places pages for venues with his Escapades island, as shown below.
If you have a location with multiple venues / places to visit, you can create a Places page for it, and then link to the Places pages for each of the venues / places within it – as Loki Eliot has done with Escapades Island (click to go to the Escapades Place page)
All of which make the pages somewhat flexible. And while they are fairly basic at present, they could evolve into exceptionally useful items and make the L$30 a week search listing fee more than worthwhile.
Note, however that as a beta, capabilities are both limited and subject to bugs. The Lab is welcoming ideas and feature requests, and asks that specific bugs (the linking to places described above is buggy, for example), are reported via JIRA. General feedback and observations should be given via the official forum thread,
I’m not sure how many actually have access to the beta programme, or whether this initial deployment is restricted to those who actually OWN regions. However, I’ve been unable to access those parcels / regions where I have the required group rights as an Estate Manager and the land is listed in Search. Others in a similar position to myself have also reported they cannot view the Places pages for their regions. This being the case, and in addition to the screen shots above, here are some Places pages links for those wanting a closer look at things:
On Tuesday, November 15th 2016, the Lab launched the Premium members’ Horizons community, a “retro-futuristic” mainland environment featuring 36 residential regions each with 24 parcels available for auction to Premium members, with auctions commencing on Friday, November 18th 2016, with parcels being auctioned in batches of (generally) 10.
Obviously with 864 parcels to auction, it would take some time to get through things. However, the holiday period marked the half-way point in the auctions with 432 parcels auctioned across 18 regions. As Whirly Fizzle and I started monitoring things (largely out of curiosity), and I gave a snapshot at the end of the first weeks of auctions, the half-way point seemed a good opportunity to provide a further snapshot, based on how those 432 regions looked as of Friday, January 6th, 2017.
GENERAL STATUS OF PARCELS FOR BATCH 1 (10 regions) AND BATCH 2 (8 regions)
Auctioned
Parcels Available For
(Sold / Rented)
Original Auction
Others
Sale
Rent
Either
Sold
Rented
Comm.
Resid.
Aband
Pend
Unkn
Batch 1
240
95
55
9
(30)
(13)
4
18
1
13
47
Batch 2
192
45
66
24
(3)
(3)
7
13
1
0
36
Totals
432
139
121
32
(33)
(16)
11
31
2
13
83
Notes
Parcels Available For = those parcels bid for and placed immediately on sale / for rent / either
Sold / Rented= number of parcels actually sold / rented whether placed for sale or for rent or either. These set subsets of the Parcels Available For figures, and further breakdowns are provided below
Original Auction = those parcels which went directly to private residential use / commercial use during the original auction
4 of the residential parcels may in fact be rented out by bidder
Others:
Aband = parcels already abandoned by original bidder
Pend = regions obtained for sale, but either currently not on sale by bidder (6) or removed from sale by bidder (7 – see sales review, below)
Unkn = regions which are not currently in use, nor are they apparently for sale or for rent, and where parcel holders have not responded to enquiries.
RENTAL PARCELS SUMMARY
For Rent
Total Rented (16)
Residential
Commercial
153
13
3
153 is the total number of parcels available for rent (121), and those offered for rent or purchase (32)
Of the 153 parcels currently for rent / rented:
89 are offered through one group of rental operators
The remaining 64 are offered through 11 rental groups, with between 1 and 14 parcels on offer per group
The average weekly rental for those parcels offered for rent is L$885 (low: L$550; high: L$975)
The average weekly rental for parcels offered for sale or rent is L$608 (low: L$495; high: L$800)
PARCEL SALES REVIEW
Total for Sale
Sold (32)
For Sale Below Bid Price
Residential
Commercial
Both
Re-sale
139
17
10
1
4
20
Total for regions on sale does not include those parcels offers for sale or for rent – see rental figures above
Of the 139 parcels currently available for sale / sold:
98 are offered by three land sales groups
The remaining 41 are offered by 12 land groups / individuals, with between 1 and 12 parcels per individual / group
5 parcels are on sale at prices above L$100,000, ranging from L$112,000 (58.98% mark-up on bid prices) to L$249,000 (255.67% mark-up on bid price) by two land holders
Average sale prices:
Among all 139 parcels for sale: L$45,408.
Among the three biggest parcel sellers (98 parcels): L$37,360
The margins between bid price and sale price vary hugely, between just 2.42% (L$41,000 on a bid price of L$40,033) through to 231.38% (L$199,999 on a bid price of L$62,232)
Some 45 parcels have been reduced in price since first being offered for sale
The average mark-down on their original price being approximately 25.88%
20 are current for sale at below their original bid price
Average drop below bid price: 17.44%
Largest drop 50.02% – sale price of L$15,000 on original bid of L$30,010
Smallest drop is 0.3% – sale price of L$38,000 on original bid of L$38,010
The majority of these drops have been to parcels auctioned in the first batch, and bring prices down to more closely match the prices of parcels the same bidders are selling on other Horizons regions
Of the four regions purchased and flipped for re-sale, 3 are by residents without an associated land group / business; one is by another land company active in Horizons.
Commercial Activities
Commercial activities are largely stores (avatar accessories, building materials etc.). Two adult club environments are within Horizons and one sci-fi themed bar.
Approximate Revenue Breakdown
The following table gives a breakdown of approximate revenue across the 18 regions auctioned to date. The US $ value is based on L$260 to the $.
APPROXIMATE AUCTION REVENUES – BATCH 1 AND BATCH 2
Auction Batches
Approx L$ Raised Through Auction
Approx US $ (at L$260 / US $)
Batch 1 (10 regions / 240 parcels)
8,714,966.00
33,519.10
Batch 2 – (8 regions / 192 parcels)
4,309,833.00
16,576.28
TOTALS:
13,024,799.00
50,095.38
Unsurprisingly, the two regions with direct access to open water (that is, parcel which directly access water, with no intervening protected land) – Apollo and Pandora, both located on the south side of Horizons and facing Zindra across water open for sailing / boating, drew the most competitive bidding.
BATCH 1 BY REGION (All 24 Parcels per Region)
Region
Total L$
Approx US $
Highest
Lowest
Direct Water Access
Apollo
962,882.00
3,703.39
L$80,000
L$29,787 (x2)
6 parcels
Astrid
749,142.00
2,881.32
L$45,009
L$27,087 (x2)
None
Galatea
882,008.00
3,392.34
L$70,010
L$27,010
None
Halley
857,738.00
3,298.99
L$60,010
L$27,111
None
Mercury
903,371.00
3,474.50
L$60,010
L$28,110
None
Nova
857,107.00
3,296.57
L$65,010
L$27,110
None
Pandora
1,029,400.00
3,959.23
L$102,454
L$27,110 (x2)
6 parcels
Polaris
960,663.00
3,694.86
L$60,020
L$27,111
None
Thule
785,673.00
3,021.82
L$45,565
L$27,087
None
Triton
726,982.00
2,792.08
L$40,033
L$26,010
None
The second batch of regions auctioned drew considerably lower value bids, with the third batch of regions more-or-less matching the second thus far.
BATCH 2 BY REGION (All 24 Parcels per Region)
Region
Total L$
Approx US $
Highest
Lowest
Direct Water Access
Atlas
542.964.00
2,088.32
L$40,010
L$15,010
None
Celeste
495,317.00
1,905.07
L$30,010
L$12,022
None
Halo
461,464.00
1,774.86
L$32,010
L$13,038
None
Neptune
583,522.00
2,244.32
L$40,121
L$12,121
None
Orion
589,377.00
2,266.83
L$37,799
L$15,009
None
Pluto
521,321.00
2,005.08
L$40,000
L$13,039
None
Sirius
580,799.00
2,233.84
L$42,010
L$12,455
None
Venus
535,069.00
2,057.96
L$40,033
L$26,010
None
General Observations
Outside of those bidding on the parcel lots, there appears to be little direct interest from Premium members in obtaining a property within Horizons. Some may be put off by the Adult rating, others by the lack of any covenant. While the high price of bids places during the first batch of auctions might be considered a reason, the second batch of auctions averages close to half the per parcel bid price of the initial batch, and still generated little direct take-up. This appears to be the case with the third batch.
Rentals – which should allow non-Premium members to gain a parcel within Horizons if they wished – are currently gaining little traction, although this could be own to lack of promotion on the part of the rental groups. Obviously, the advantage of Mainland holding is they are not a tremendous drain on resources in the way that partially occupied private regions can be.
There may be a follow-up report at the conclusion of the bidding. Or at least a summary of potential revenues. Putting this report together was too much like hard work!
On January 2nd, Tyche Shepherd issued her year-end summary on the general size and state of the Second Life main grid.
In all, 2016 has seen a slightly larger loss of private regions compared to 2015: 992 private regions (Full and Homestead) removed from the main grid in 2016 compared to 825 the previous year. This represents a reduction of some 5.6% over 4.4% for 2015. In terms of grid size, the loss of private regions was slightly mitigated by an increase in Linden owned regions, leaving the grid with a net shrinkage of 884 regions overall for 2016.
Taking the year-on-year figures from 2010 onwards (that being the last year the grid exhibited a growth in the number of regions), we get the following breakdown for private regions:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
24,483
23,857
20,994
19,273
18,600
17,775
16,783
Increase
%age
Loss
%age
Loss
%age
Loss
%age
Loss
%age
Loss
%age
Loss
%age
810
3%
626
2.56%
2863
12%
1719
8.2%
673
3.5%
825
4.4%
992
5.6%
While the loss is something of an acceleration over 2015 and 2014, it is still not as drastic as the declines in private regions seen in 2012 and 2013 . Nevertheless, it does indicate a further drop in approximate gross monthly revenues for the Lab. Working on the basis of Tyche Full Private Region surveys I have to hand, a breakdown of recent monthly revenue from private regions can be given as:
November 2013: US$3,857,000 (+/- US $52,000)
March 2016: $3,385,000 ( +/- US $43,000)
December 2016: US$3,162,000 (+/- US $39,000)
This represents around an 18% drop in monthly revenues over a three-year period. While uncomfortable, it’s not outright alarming at this point in time, representing an average loss of about US $19,305.55 per month, compared to the staggering US $63,500 (approx) per month loss the Lab experienced in 2012.
Of course, a loss is still a loss, and sooner or later, continuing revenue decline will have an a visible impact. But it is hard to determine when that might actually be. The surface evidence seems to be that at this point in time, while of concern, the decline isn’t adversely affecting the Lab’s ability to do business. They are still continuing to invest in both Second Life and Sansar, including recruiting for positions working on both. While it is hard to be precise, a reasonable estimation suggests that the company is generating around US $49 million in revenue through Second Life. While we don’t know how much of that is bankable as profit, it’s still a tidy sum in terms of operating revenue for a company of LL’s size.
Some have raised concerns over how much of an impact Sansar will have on SL’s landmass in 2017. I actually don’t think it will. While I anticipate the decline in land will continue (but hopefully at a slower rate than 2016), I simply don’t think Sansar will have any immediate impact on Second Life one way or the other. Not in its first year, at least.
To me, the more interesting question is what can LL do to further offset revenue drops incurred by region losses (and sadly, the answer isn’t simply to reduce tier: that could actually do far more harm than good, given the amounts involved). The Horizons initiative, for example, is one way of spawning additional revenue. We’re now around half-way through that process, and I estimate the Lab has generated around US $45,000 from it thus far. 2016 also saw the private region buy-down offer, which appeared to be enthusiastically received, although numbers are far harder to ascertain on that. Are we liable to see further initiatives in 2017? I’d actually be very surprised if we didn’t.
The Lab has been awash with blog posts this last week. There was news of a new Marketplace promotion – the 12 Days Of Savings, which launched on Wednesday, December 14th and runs through to December 25th. It sees the Lab hook-up with selected content creators to offer up to 70% off selected goods for the period.
That was followed by the announcement of the Jolly Holiday Crawl, and a chance to meeting Linden staff as they hop across wintry regions before retiring to Winter Wonderland for the time-honoured residents vs Lab snowball fight.
The Jolly Holiday Crawl will start at 1:00 SLT on Monday, December 19th, and conclude at :12:00 SLT at the Winter Wonderland, ready for the snowball engagement at Winter Wonderland, which will continue through to 14:00 SLT (officially!). There’s a special gift on offer for those taking part, and the itinerary reads as follows (all times SLT):
To coincide with the above, and the opening of the all new Portal Parks (see my post here for more), the Lab officially announced the re-opening of Winter Wonderland on Thursday, December 15th, together with an end-of-year Premium Membership discount drive.
The five regions of Winter Wonderland offer the Village of Lights (with the main landing point), the snow track for snowboard and snowmobiles (rezzers at the starting point), the skating rinks, Ferris wheel, walks in the snow, and – of course – the snowball fight arena.
The Premium Membership discount is this time in respect of the Quarterly Billing plan, and relates to 50% off your first payment under that plan. (all subsequent payments will be at the standard rate), and provides all the usual Premium perks. In addition, new and existing Premium members can claim yet another premium gift, which this time also includes a Premium Badge which unlocks exclusive options at Winter Wonderland (e.g. upgrading snowball weapons in the snowball arena).
For those who are interested in the Premium Membership offer, it expires on January 2nd 2017, at 08:00 SLT – be sure to read the small print on both the official blog post and the Premium sign-up page.
Back in October 2016, Linden Lab blogged about various updates to Second Life (see here). One of the updates mentioned concerned the new two-region Portal Parks, which I wenet on to write about in a little more depth (see here).
Well – guess what? It’s all changed again!
“We made everything fit into one region again,” Naughty Mole told me as I dropped into one of the new Portal Park regions on the suggestion of Dee Linden. “These will be replacing the 2-region ones, which will be gone in a few hours.”
There is something distinctly Tolkienesque about the new parks, which offer a very compact design. At the centre is a huge tree, rooted in a massive crystal, which itself hovers gently in the air, light rising in twists and spirals around it from the glimmering water below.
Around this is a circular pathway, sitting between the rim of the pool and the great walls of an all-encompassing dome, ageist which great statues and pillars stand, feet garlanded in flowers and plants, the walls behind them set with growing ivy while crystals light the scene. Within these walls are set great doors. Some are closed, their lintels guarded by ancient runes – representing destinations still to come. Others are open, offering walkways to waiting portals, the destination displayed in glowing letters above the runes which might otherwise guard them.
All of the current Lab-provided destinations are represented: Gaming Island, Halloween Haunted, Horizons, Isle of View, Linden Realms, PaleoQuest, The Cornfield and Winter Wonderland. However, if any are not currently open to the public, their teleport portals are sealed and inactive.
Of the various portal parks designs, this is both the most compact – and potentially the best looking. A landing point built out over the central well present people with a place to sit and a map of the available portals on the surrounding walkway. Admittedly, this started to get a little crowded as people were diverted from the “old” parks – but things will hopefully settle down as both of the portal parks come into use.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 