Category: Second Life

A return to an Infinite Darkness in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Infinite Darkness, September 2026 – click any image for full size

In June 2024, Gian (GiaArt Clip – of Monkey Island and Buddha Garden fame (you can read about all his work in these pages) – invited me to visit Infinite Darkness, an utterly atmospheric build right in image, metaphor and reference.

At the time, my visit resulted in a rather lengthy piece on the build, in part because – as regulars to the pages (if they still come by…) know – I am particularly taken by locations in Second Life with have a depth of narrative to them and so tend to bang on a bit, but also because Infinite Darkness is genuinely captivating and rich in its imagery.

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

This past weekend (at the time of writing) I received a note from Gian, inviting me to pay a further visit to the region:

I’d like to show you this new area of ​​Infinite Darkness, in case it interests you for the blog: I built this cathedral (both the façade and the interior, more than a week to build) and set it right into the rock face of Infinite Darkness. …I also redid the entire Windlight setup, ranging from the lighter night cycle to the deepest night

– A part of Gian’s invitation for me to revisit Infinite Darkness

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

At its core, Infinite Darkness is a walk between the forces of good and evil and light and dark and into the realm of the Gothic-vampiric. As such, the setting comprises a number of locations, both at the ground level and up in the sky.

It is the ground level where those making a first visit should initially explore, starting from the Landing Point chapel. And then cross the bridge. Do take time to note the theme’s symbolism here (and throughout): the fact you “rise from the death” on arrival; the angel and the skull within the chapel, the statues (including Geefs’ Le génie du mal along the bridge). However, as I’ve already written at length on the overall design as noted above, I’ll just offer a very brief summary here before moving to the new element of the setting.

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

Each of the four islands at ground level continue the core themes through different perspectives and intertwined narratives (including the general layout of the region mirroring that of a cathedral, as I noted in my 2024 piece). The two small islands to the north and south perhaps most clearly carry symbols of religious “good” and “evil”. Do make sure to climb the two central islands before you head down, to first reach the house straddling its peak (and again, note the artwork on the walls and the statues), and from there take the bridge to the Gothic Castle where the mantle of vampirism lies heavy.

Throughout your explorations, do keep your eyes on the art and statues; nothing here is entirely coincidental. As noted, Geefs’ Le génie du mal  resides close to the Landing Point, adding a touch to the core narrative. Elsewhere it is possible to find Michelangelo’s Pietà from Saint Peter’s Basilica, Alexandre Cabanel’s rage-filled Fallen Angel and even a modified version of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa adding her story to the narrative – to mention but three more obvious pieces.

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

The new cathedral lies at the foot of the castle-bearing island, and can be reached on foot by descending around the left of the lower, house-bearing isle. Hewn from the rocks of the island, it is eerily lit by blue flames held by sconces and tall statues, exuding a sense of darkness as much as religious “light” – both literally and figuratively. Gregorian chanting can be heard echoing off the walls against the moaning of the wind whilst the altar stands wreathed in fog, a guarded pit behind it.

Red-lit archways to either side of and behind the altar join the original catacombs. Enter these and you’ll come first to a pair of flame-holding angels, one pointing left and the other to the right. To the left, the path leads by way of a small subterranean lake to where the Dark Master of Death awaits in his crypt to carry people away to hell (I actually managed to miss this entire part of the build back during my first visit in 2024. It is more clearly marked now, and I’ll leave you to discover it and what awaits beyond!).

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

To the right the path leads to another new element of the build: a passage through and up (via ladder) to a further crypt, this carrying clear references to the Knights Templar – note the chalice  (Grail) on the stone altar facing the Templar’s cross and the motto Deus Vult (“God Wills It”).

Follow that path from the chamber below the Templar crypt and you’ll reach a further gateway – with a polite warning to turn back and follow the dark route passing via the Dark Master of Death, as mentioned above.

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

Gian is, until October 31, 2026 (appropriately!) running a photographic contest featuring Infinite Darkness. It carries a prize pool of L$10,000. See the Flickr announcement for details and rules.

Deeply immersive, rich in symbolism and narrative, Infinite Darkness remains an fascinating, highly atmospheric visit.

Infinite Darkness, September 2026

Slurl Details and Links

Infinite Darkness is rated Moderate

2026 week #38: SUG meeting summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Simulator User Group meeting place at Longfellow

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, September 15, 2026 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. These notes form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. A video of the meeting by Pantera is embedded at the end of this summary – my thanks to her 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 “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 Nectarine update is due to be deployed to the BlueSteel RC channel on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 providing it encounters no issues during it time with QA.
    • This  will include the server-side support for game_control, but may not have full LSL support, due to last-minute bugs.
  • The next update after that is codenamed Olive – details still TBD.

General Updates

  • Rider Linden is working on the last of the known bugs with the latest version of the VSCode plugin.
  • Leviathan Linden (via proxy in the form of Rider Linden) indicated there is a new test version of the game_control viewer (note this link will have a limited lifespan, pending the next update).
    • A request was made for game_control to include separate Flycam input for gamepads/controllers around axis control. A request was made for this to be formally filed via Canny to ensure it gets responded to.
    • This led to a general discussion on camera control (or lack thereof, depending on your point-of-view!), with the acknowledgement that “post game_control” scripted support for camera movement will need to be expanded.
  • Harold Linden (Lua) is working through a major refactor to hopefully ensure that following the upcoming update (which will break existing Lua scripts, requiring they be recompiling / resetting), there will be no further breakages with future deployments.
    • This led to a general discussion on Lua support interwoven with the discussion of game_control / controller / joystick, etc., support.
    • Kyle Linden noted there will be a new Lua portal on the SL Wiki “soon”.

General Discussion

Please refer to the video for details on the following:

  • A call for feature requests led to two region traffic-related requests which amounted to much the same thing: a new traffic metric that didn’t reward accounts standing in place 24 hours a day / only counts avatars that move. Together with a suggestion that “traffic” as a metric is done away with in favour of an “engagement” metric.
    • Another request was for a specific Group role for posting links to Group chats (as a further means of defeating phishing spams). Rider indicated there were “a few things coming” with regards to link posting, but did not have the details to hand.
    • The above led to a lengthy debate among users at the meeting on how to handle / mange links and the ability to post them in Group chats.
  • A general discussion of region / simulator restarts – particularly with regards to LL not running them during geographic peak hours of use (i.e. the Tuesday / Wednesday restarts run during the peak used of SL in Japan).
    • Monty Linden reminded people that the restarts are simhost server-based, not purely the simulators / regions running on it, and are required to also restart all underpinning services as well.
  • Inventory and storing items / use of inventory links and outfits manage also came up for user-led discussion / debate.
  • llStartObjectAnimation() & llStopObjectAnimation() no longer works on Animesh characters has been raised and is under active investigation.
  • Further confusion between water exclusion surfaces (which hide Linden Water when viewed from above, and water exclusion volumes, which would (if they existed) hide all Linden Water and its properties when seen from above and under water.

Date of Next Meetings

  • Leviathan Linden: Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
  • Formal SUG meeting: Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

STAY in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kondor Art Centre: Selen Minotaur – STAY

STAY is the title of an immersive exhibition by Selen Minotaur, currently open at the Kondor Art Centre, curated and operated by Hermes Kondor.

A multi-part, interactive installation, STAY is described as a journey that unfolds through spaces, images, and presences that evoke solitude, memory, and reconstruction – the overall theme  examining what remains after a fall, an inner upheaval.

Kondor Art Centre: Selen Minotaur – STAY

Exactly what form this upheaval has taken is up to us to discern, shaped by our own experiences / attitudes / outlooks at the time of a visit, together with our responses to the installation itself. As such, I’m not going to offer my subjective conjectures lest they colour your own perceptions in visiting.

The important aspects when visiting the installation are that you preferably use a PBR-enabled viewer, accept the Shared Experience, and add the STAY companion HUD when offered and ADD. You’ll then have to accept the SL Experience as offered by the HUD and make sure media and sound are enabled. If, for any reason, the HUD is not offered, there is a small icon mounted on the wall close to the landing point which will deliver it when touched.

Kondor Art Centre: Selen Minotaur – STAY

Once the above are all set, progress through the various rooms of the installation is by means of seeking – and passing through – the white lights. This might itself be somewhat symbolic, perhaps, particularly given the nature of the first room to be visited – but again, I’ll step aside from adding my own conjectures here.

A further point to make here is that STAY is an installation to be taken at a leisurely pace, the name itself offering a dual meaning. The first is related to the theme of the installation:  that which remains – which stays with us after a personal upheaval. The second is a more traditional meaning of the word: to tarry, and spend time.

Kondor Art Centre: Selen Minotaur – STAY

The latter is important, as this is – as noted – an immersive experience; one which only unfolds if one gives it the opportunity to do so. This definitely requires pausing in all of the rooms and taking the offered seats within those offering them in order to trigger the room’s visual contents. The latter should then be considered – and note, images may not only appear on the wall in the direction in which you are facing).

A very small note here is that the first of these interactive elements is a video presented through You Tube. Sadly – and due to You Tube itself, this video cannot auto-play (and in fact may not run at all in-world). As such following the dialogue box to view the video via browser is necessary.

Kondor Art Centre: Selen Minotaur – STAY

In all there are eight rooms to visit, including a “double room” connected via walkway rather than white teleport, plus the final room in which visitors are reminded over a further use of the words “stay”. Richly visual, STAY is an engaging installation with quite a lot to set with those with the – so to speak – eyes to hear the unfolding story.

SLurl Details

  • STAY, the Kondor Art Centre (Royal Tea, rated Adult)

2026 SL viewer release summaries week #37

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, September 13, 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  26.3 – 26.3.0.31203661088, August 10, promoted August 17 – quality of life improvements; performance improvements; bug fixes – No Change.
  • Default viewer  26.3 – 26.3.0.31203661088, August 10, promoted August 17 – quality of life improvements; performance improvements; bug fixes – No Change.
  • Second Life Lua Editor RC / Beta viewer with Linux support 26.4.0.34502396632, September 11 – NEW.
    • Lua scripting support (on regions with Lua scripting enabled).
    • Improved communication between the Viewer and the newly published Second Life VS Code extension.
    • Offers an experimental Linux viewer build.
    • Includes the latest WebRTC Voice and viewer-maintenance updates.
  • Second Life Chat Modernization viewer 26.3.0.33643480083, September 4 – No Change.
    • Recent conversations follow you seamlessly: a direct message you receive on SL Mobile can also be available when you return to desktop, and vice versa; Recent direct message history will be available on logging-in; existing desktop chat logs are preserved – previously saved local history isn’t being replaced or removed; conversation history feels continuous: on desktop, your existing local history and newer message history are brought together into a single conversation.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V7-style

  • Kirstens Viewer S24 DX Pre-Alpha 04 – September 11 – release notes.
  • Megaphit viewer version – 26.4.0.564544 – September 10 – changelog.

V1-style

  • Cool VL viewer Stable: 1.32.4.47; Experimental 1.32.5.17:  September 12 – release notes.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

An Autumn Trace and Heron’s Nest in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Autumn Trace, September 2026 – click any image for full size

Not too long ago, I wrote about the tendency for SL explorer-writers to perhaps focus on writing about those regions which are new to SL or which demonstrate seasonal or other changes in their look and overall design, perhaps at the expense of those which offer a sense of constancy in Second Life.

The example I used in that article was Lost Lagoon. Another such location – well, to a large degree at least – is Autumn Trace (or as it was originally called, Fall Trace), one of Elvira Kytori’s mixed-purpose region designs offered under the White Dunes estate banner.

Autumn Trace, September 2026

It’s a place I’ve not visited since 2019, and even then, it hadn’t changed that much from my visit in 2016. This is largely true of my most recent visit in September 2026; the region remains much as it has always been: a captivating wetland region largely open to public wandering (and boating) and with some scattered (and clearly denoted) private residences.

The wildlife rich wetlands of the Autumn Trace come alive as the sun break through the mists of the morning. Immerse yourself in this romantic and heartfelt destination.  

– Autumn Trace About Land description

Autumn Trace, September 2026

This is a setting worthy of photography; one rich in ambience, sounds, wildlife and quiet corners and unexpected surprises. Getting around is mostly a case of following the wooden boardwalks as they march out over the waters and reeds, perhaps resting at the various seating areas some offer along the way.

These boardwalks allow the central area of the region – which includes the Land Point – to be explored with ease. However, there are two further parts of the land open to the public which lay separated from the landing Point by water (although one has its own LP, which I’ll come to).

Autumn Trace – Heron’s Rest, September 2026

Both of these latter areas can be reached via boat rezzer, this being available at the end of the boardwalk pointing right as you leave the Landing Point – sit in the boat to obtain oars. The first of these other areas lies to the south and includes a further a boardwalk mainly serving two further private homes (although the boardwalk itself is public access).

The second sits to the north-west and at first might appear to also be a private house. But appearances can be deceptive.

The Heron’s Rest Coffeehouse, Autumn Trace, September 2026
This is because whilst it may have once been a residence, the current occupant, SL photographer Carla Zeiss (Carla Amiot, exhibiting a nice play on names with her Display Name!) has turned it into The Heron’s Rest Coffeehouse, a completely charming – if a little quirky – coffeehouse which is part of the ever-increasing co-working network of cafes and coffeehouses.

Sitting on sturdy wooden piles above the waters of the wetlands, Heron’s Rest is aptly named, given much of the wading birds to be found within the region, along with waterfowl. It offers both shaded veranda seating as well as indoor space. I refer to it as quirky as the indoor seating area opens directly into Carla’s bedroom space! I was also a little unsure of the potted plant sitting in the backgammon board – but that’s probably because I’m a keen backgammon player!

The Heron’s Rest Coffeehouse, Autumn Trace, September 2026

It also appears to be a very much a self-service establishment: baguettes and cold meats, etc., are available on the front veranda for people to make their own sandwiches whilst a large espresso machine (looking as if it would be equally at home powering a steampunk airship!) sits alongside.

The seating on the front veranda is particularly comfortable and offers fine views across the region, marking it as a prime spot to pass the time with friends.

The Heron’s Rest Coffeehouse, Autumn Trace, September 2026

Whilst the rowing boats offer the means to move back and forth between the different parts of the setting, they also allow for waterborne explorations as well. The southern side of the region offers open waters which are home to geese and ducks and heron, whilst to the north they are move given over to reeds and tall grasses but are equally navigable and contain more wading birds and waterfowl.

The default EEP setting is suggestive of a heavy later autumn evening which can perhaps feel a little oppressive, but can make for dramatic photography. I’ve largely used it in the images herein, but admittedly have lightened their overall tone somewhat.

Autumn Trace, September 2026

However, the region really does lend itself exceptionally well to most EEP day settings, so if the Shared Environment isn’t to your liking, just try some of your own; you’re guaranteed to find one which works with the region’s design.

Autumn Trace has always been an attractive setting; and while I’ve obviously no idea how long it will remain, Heron’s Rest has simply added to its charm.

Autumn Trace, September 2026

Slurl Details

Tranquil Bay is rated Moderate

2026 week #37: 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, September 10, 2026.
  • Please note that this is not a full transcript of the 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  26.3 – 26.3.0.31203661088, August 10, promoted August 17 – quality of life improvements; performance improvements; bug fixes – No Change.
  • Second Life Lua Editor RC / beta viewer 26.4.0.34502396632, September 11 – NEW.
    • Lua scripting support (on regions with Lua scripting enabled).
    • Improved communication between the Viewer and the newly published Second Life VS Code extension.
    • Offers an experimental Linux viewer build.
    • Includes the latest WebRTC Voice and viewer-maintenance updates.
  • Second Life Chat Modernization viewer 26.3.0.33643480083, September 4 – NEW.
    • Improved chat (IM) history retention, including integration between the viewer and SL Mobile; on desktop, any existing local history and newer message history are brought together into a single conversation..

General Viewer Notes

  • 26.4 was initially released on September 9, but suffered a high crash rate, with one crasher in particular needing a hotfix, resulting in the release of the September 11 update as listed above.
  • Graphics Care Package (GCP) viewer:
    • Work continues with bug fixing within the viewer.
    • Additionally, server-side work is underway to provide support for the new glTF parameters (e.g. IoR, Specular, and possibly, depending on further internal testing against viewer performance, some of the glTF Transmission capabilities).
      • If included, the latter will enable pseudo water prims – that is prims that have the appearance of Linden Water, but not the native attributes such as buoyancy, underwater haze, etc.
    • Once this server-side work is completed, the plan is to put up a region on Aditi (the Beta grid) so that the GCP (when available) and the new glTF parameters can be tested.
    • GCP includes the ability to have more than two shadow-casting light projectors in a scene (although the default remains at 2).
      • Initially (at least) this will be a Debug setting, not a Preferences option, as setting the value too high can result in murdering the viewer’s frame rate.
      • This update includes a fix to the long-standing bug that the number of projectors casting shadows is not correctly calculated.
  • Confirmation that game_control is now entering the queue for inclusion into a viewer update, but no confirmations as to when this is likely to occur or which viewer update will see it surface.

General Discussions

  • Raise the maximum lighting radius beyond 20 meters was raised, together with the positives and negatives to it (the latter being one parcel with extended lighting overpowering neighbouring parcels + the idea of making lighting (like sounds and avatar visibility) so it can be limited to the parcel boundaries.
    • It was also suggested that better static shadow mapping could eliminate many of the problems such an extension might cause.
    • This led to a brief description of the issues of adding capabilities such as point lighting shadows and static shadow mapping to SL (in short: adding the required parameters to the existing protocol “is a little bit painful right now”, and requires the cleaning-up of some technical debt).
    • As such, improvements to lighting without it being a nuisance to other users is not impossible, it’s just not a current focus.
  • Introducing Opacity Control for BoM Layers was raised, and Geenz indicated that there are numerous improvements which could be made to Bakes on Mesh (BoM), such that it is fast becoming a project or group of projects in its own right.
    • One of the first could be a clean-up of the UI/UX around BoM in order to make it less cryptic and easier for lay users to understand / use.
    • This led to a more general discussion on how capabilities and features in Second Life have often evolved and options for improving aspects of BoM and avatar attachments (e.g. making creators define the default attach point at upload, rather than simply leaving it undefined and the right hand being selected as the default). This took up much of the latter half of the meeting.
  • A request was made for the ability to bulk upload glTF materials. This is not something currently under consideration, but could be explored in the future.
  • Work is continuing on improving texture streaming – although LL are anticipating “some noise” to be made about some of the behavioural changes involved with this work once it surfaces (which is one of the reasons a quality drop-down selector for textures is being included in the viewer).
    • This led to comments that textures should perhaps show an “average” colour when loading, rather than just being grey.
    • Geenz also suggested it would be nice to have some form of mechanism which could better sample / size textures on upload as well.
  • A request was made to make the options to rescale the viewer UI more obvious – particularly for incoming new users with vision impairments – was made. This will be looked into (no pun intended), and might possibly be done through something like a further “Accessibility drop-down” in the two right of the viewer (where the Graphics and Camera presets, etc, are already located), or even via auto-detection (as is already done for MacOS under high definition mode).
  • Whilst not content creation related, it was indicated that the simulator Snack RC to contain Pepper Linden’s region crossing improvements (see my recent Leviathan Office Hours update for further information) will be deployed in the next week or two, and will likely include regions on Blake Sea.

Next Meeting