Category: Second Life

Second Life: $1.3B to build; $1.1B paid to creators

Posted on by Inara Pey
Frost Peak, Second Life, November 2024

During the December 6th, 2024 Blogger Town Hall, the company’s co-owner and Executive Chair Brad Oberwager, revealed some outstanding facts concerning the platform: how much, cumulatively, Linden Lab has spent on building Second Life, how much has been paid out to creators, and how much money the company’s various owners have taken out of the company over the years.

At the time he revealed these figures, he did so under and embargo preventing them from being reported until such time as the number were officially released – which occurred on December 20th, 2024, with the publication of an article by VentureBeat’s always excellent Dean Takahashi – see: Linden Lab has spent $1.3B building Second Life and paid $1.1B to creators.

In summary, the figures Mr. Oberwager revealed were that:

  • Linden Lab has spent in excess of $1.3 billion in building Second Life over 20 years, and
  • $1.1 billion over the above, paid out to creators in that time, and
  • $0.0 taken out of the company by shareholders / owners (presumably outside of buy-outs).
That is not a company that strips out profits. That is a company that puts its residents first. 1.3 billion dollars building Second Life. That is something I’m incredibly proud of, and I want the rest of the world to know.

– Brad Oberwager, December 6th Blogger Town Hall Zoom event

However, in talking numbers, the VentureBeat article goes much further, presenting some interesting comparisons between Second Life and Roblox (a platform which also published its own economic summary), are made. These include:

  • A breakdown of pay-outs the two platforms made to their respective creator communities in 2023 (shown below).
2023 pay-out comparison, Second Life and Roblox. Credit: Linden Lab via VentureBeat
  • Despite increasing the costs of cashing-out over the last 8 years, Second Life still only takes some 10% in fees; with Roblox taking an estimated 27%.
  • When taking the comparative size of the two platforms creator communities, it is estimated that a creator in Second Life is 100 times more likely to achieve $10,000 pa income (or greater) than a creator in Roblox.
  • Given the relative sizes of the platforms’ creator pools  / active user counts, the Second Life figures on creator pay-outs are not that far removed from those for Roblox. This is something Philip Rosedale ruminated on (in a wider context) during the December 6th Zoom round table.
Second Life has generated about as much economic opportunity for its community as Roblox has. The population of Roblox, though, is about 50 to 100 times higher than Second Life; so one of the other things it suggests is the ability that a community needs to participate economically in its own activities is probably a lot higher with Roblox … People have made that much money [as those in Roblox], but they’ve done it in a much smaller community in Second Life,  and that’s probably what’s necessary to get the virtual world looking more like the real world. 

– Philip Rosedale, December 6th, 2024

And if the 14 people cashing out US $1 million (or more) comes as a surprise, keep in mind that the SL mesh body / fashion market is huge (and has even led to ventures involving physical world fashion designers); thus, the earning potential within this particular market segment is potentially equally high for gifted creators.

Further, the article notes that the Second Life economy continues to equate to some US $650 million a year, with $78 million paid out to creators in 2023 (up $10 million compared to 2017). And whilst the number of engaged users remains smaller than Roblox, individually, those users have on average been involved in Second Life for some 14 years. All of which offers food for thought – and I recommend reading the VentureBeat article in full.

Looking Ahead

When revealing the numbers on expenditure and total pay-outs to creators on December 6th, Mr. Oberwager noted that since starting his tenure as a co-owner of the Lab in 2020, he has placed the emphasis on spending almost entirely on investment within the platform and it services – and going into 2025, this will be changing.

I can tell you [that] over 20 years, investors have not taken money out of this company. Now the company is worth money [but] everything that we’re making, we’re putting back in.
What I am going to do, is I’m going to start changing where I’m putting that money; and I’m going to start to put that money into marketing dollars, because I want to bring folks into the world – a re-energising of that. It’s not going on be a $100 million dollar marketing campaign, but I think that [with] Second Life, there’s an imperative that it continues, and that it is extremely valuable for folks out there to learn about and come in. 

– Brad Oberwager, December 6th Blogger Town Hall Zoom event

The marketing effort will primarily be focused on attracting users to Second Life through the desktop (as I’ve previously noted – see here and here – the SL Mobile app is currently seen as more as supporting existing users rather than a tool with which to engage new users). Some of this spending actually started in December 2024, but it will become more involved from January 2025.

However, it’s not going to be a case of throwing money in the hope of generating an immediate return in terms of new users (although that would obviously be nice!), but rather a case of spend, review and extend / change, depending on how initiatives work. That said, one potential interesting aspect with the upcoming marketing drive is that it will be synced to the likes of product releases and “new things” LL plan to release in 2025, thus potentially generating more of an interest in those to whom the Lab is marketing in actually signing-up and giving SL a go.

Obviously, how successful these marketing initiatives are remains to be seen. And there will doubtless be more to report on them in the future. For more however, I’ll close with a further recommendation to read Dean’s article over at VentureBeat. Meanwhile, the numbers mentioned above make for interesting reading for the curious and interested; while the VentureBeat article makes for positive reading above Second Life as a whole as Linden Lab commences a new drive towards marketing and (hopefully) growth within the platform’s user base.

Related Links

Linden Lab leverage Convai for AI character generation in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

Update, December 21st: this alpha experiment has been suspended for the time being – read more here.

On December 18th, 2024, Linden Lab announced the Alpha release of a new Character Designer, a toolset for the creation and management of AI-backed NPCs (non-player characters) for in-world use.

Access to the new Character Designer is, at the time of writing, limited to Premium Plus account holders only – as was originally the case with access to the Second Life Mobile app; so expect access to be expanded over time in a similar manner to that seen with the SL Mobile app.

The Character Designer provides a solid foundation for immersive roleplay, offering a range of features that let you shape and refine the personalities and behaviours of your inworld characters. Current capabilities include:
  • Early-Stage Roleplay Support – Characters respond intelligently through IM, adapting and evolving as you interact.
  • Custom Personalities and Backstories – Define unique histories, preferences, and communication styles to bring your characters to life.
  • Integration with Existing SL Systems – Connect through a dedicated alt account, set arrival points, and fine-tune behaviour filters for a seamless inworld experience.
For a comprehensive overview of all options and detailed instructions, please see the Getting Started with the AI Character Designer guide.

– from the Second Life blog post on the Character Designer

Character Designer is being developed in collaboration with Convai, a platform for developers and creators proving an intuitive approach to designing characters with multimodal perception abilities in both virtual and real world environments.

Precisely how much of the Convai interface and workflow has been incorporated into the Second Life Character Designer flow is unclear to me (primarily because I do not have a Premium Plus account, and so am currently ineligible for the alpha trial). However, aspects of Convai’s ability to build character backstories and personalities appears to have been utilised, and will potentially be built upon, with knowledge and situational awareness capabilities recorded among a list of “planned enhancements” for the toolset.

With multiple experiments already in progress within Second Life in the use of AI alongside in-world NPCs, the development of the Character Generator and the noted work on an upcoming NPC functionality specifically to compliment its use could be of interest to many in developing NPCs for a range of NPC-related capabilites: for utilisation in actual immersive role-play environments, to shopping assistants, tour guides, to assist with simulations and training, education, and more.

Soon, you will be able to place multiple dynamic NPCs that welcome visitors, provide assistance, and enrich the overall atmosphere of your regions. By combining rule-based behaviour tools with Convai’s Narrative Design system, you can craft evolving narratives that adapt to your visitors’ actions and choices.

– from the Second Life blog post on the Character Designer

Convai promotional video. Note that not all capabilities shown may be applicable to the current SL Character Designer

Further information on the new capability can be found within the official blog post announcement, and the links below. I hope to be able to report more on the capability as I gain access to it with other Premium subscribers in due course.

Related Links

Cherishville’s winter 2024 in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cherishville, December 2024 – click any image for full size

Lam Erin has redressed his homestead region of Cherishville for the holiday / winter period, bring to it hints of both the Winter 2023 and the Autumn 2024 iterations in small touches, whilst offering something new to visit and appreciate.

Those small touches are perhaps easy to miss – the winding road through the countryside and and arrival of a steam train; but they help remind those who regularly visit Cherishville that there are nice little visual touches to be found, reflecting Lam’s eye as a photographer-artist.

Cherishville, December 2024
Cherishville is a peaceful, photogenic destination set in the heart of winter. With snowfall and stunning scenery, it offers a tranquil escape. Using PBR textures, this region is perfect for capturing the beauty of the season.

– Cherishville’s Destination Guide entry, December 2024

Caught in a night setting with surrounding hills and distant mountains semi-shrouded by falling snow, the region might be seen as  being divided into two halves. to the north, and running west-to-east from the Landing Point is a little hamlet, bookended by a carousel close by the Landing Point and a Ferris wheel at the far end, the two linked by a main street.  It is by the carousel that the steam train might be seen, together with a very familiar touch from Lam which also gives a sense of continuity through many of his region designs: a railways station.

Cherishville, December 2024

The handful  of houses forming the hamlet are all furnished, presenting indoor elements to explore (and escape the snow!), whilst the road turns south as it reaches the Farris wheel to cross the local (and frozen) river. Here lies the second half of the region takes over, a rural setting a little mindful of the autumn 2024 design, the road winding through the countryside, looping back towards the little hamlet as it does so.

As the road does so, it passes a pleasantly-located farm; to one side, and overlooking the stream, a barns has been converted into a warm house; on the other two form a brightly-lit Christmas Tree farm.

Cherishville, December 2024

Tucked into this is a wealth of detail – places to sit, details to photograph – from polar bears playing on the ice, through reindeer wandering the countryside to teddy bears exchanging gifts. Those requiring props for photography will find rezzing in the region is open – but as Auto Return is off, do please remember to pick-up afterwards!

As ever, an engaging visit.

Cherishville, December 2024

 

Cherishville, December 2024

SLurl Details

2024 SL SUG meetings week #51 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Dominae Templum Doloris, October 2024 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, December 17th, 2024 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript, and were taken from Pantera’s video of the meeting, which is embedded at the end – 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.
  • These meetings are conducted (as a rule):
  • Meetings are open to anyone with a concern / interest in the above topics, and form one of a series of regular / semi-regular User Group meetings conducted by Linden Lab.
  • Dates and times of all current meetings can be found on the Second Life Public Calendar, and descriptions of meetings are defined on the SL wiki.

Simulator Deployments

  • On Tuesday, December 17th, 2024, the simulators on the Main SLS channel were restarted with no update.
  • On Wednesday, December 18th, the servers on the RC channels should be restarted without any deployments being made.

With the holiday period starting in a week, the engineering team will be making a call in the next day or so on whether to run re-starts over the holiday period or not.

SL Viewer Updates

  • Release viewer: version 7.1.10.10800445603, formerly the DeltaFPS RC (multiple performance fixes, etc), dated September 11, promoted September 17 – No change.
  • Release Candidate: ExtraFPS RC, version 7.1.11.12363455226, December 17.
    • Performance improvements: enhanced texture memory tracking, broader hardware compatibility and higher FPS gain;  additional code to improve texture streaming on rigged attachments (e.g. if an earring is made with 2K textures, the viewer will correctly calculate the required resolution for the textures and download them, rather than downloading the full 2K textures), etc.
    • Aesthetics improvements: new Antialiasing setting – SMAA; Contrast Adaptive Sharpening; Khronos Neutral Tone Mapping (can be changed to ACES via the RenderTonemapType Debug setting).
    • UI Optimisations.

In Brief

Please refer to the video below for the following:

  • A discussion on llGetObjectDetails, together with llGOD() or using a rezzer to check for an object’s presence, and potential confusion which can potentially arise, and the potential benefit in using llGetOwnerKey.
    • This sparked ideas for additional functions / parameter for check on objects with regions / parcels – e.g.: llDoesExist() with parameters IN_REGION, IN_PARCEL and IN_OWNERS_PARCEL.
  • A request was made for an update on the server-side lua implementation project, and information on challenges encountered. This prompted Rider Linden to respond:
The project is moving forward, but it is a pretty complex undertaking and we need to move forward cautiously. Remember, we’re trying to swap the VM out from under 20 years worth of scripts… in place and on the fly.

– Rider Linden

  • The above led to a further discussion on Lua some of which can be addressed via the Lua FAQ, although one of the the easiest to answer (“Why replace Mono”?) is perhaps best answered by the observation that the Mono version SL is running is old, and Mono itself is becoming seemingly frozen in time.  This discussion wound through the rest of the meeting.
  • The Lua / Mono exchange segued into a discussion on region performance slowing as avatars enter, together with anecdotal reports of an increase in region crossings timing-out and people being logged-out as a result.
    • Monty Linden again noted the issue of avatars entering regions is being looked at, and requested that reports be filed (including locations and times) when these issues are noted.
    • To help, he has opened a report to which people can append their information via comments.
    • In terms of avatars entering regions and slowing things, he added: “Note that the recent avatar work makes entering *worse* for the offending avatar, better for those already in-region.”
  • Testing llTransferOwnership has shown the function generates two confirmatory message: after opting to Accept whatever is being offered by the in-world object, recipients are hit with the messages similar to “an object owned by somebody gave you a thing”, followed by “you are now the owner of a thing. [ OK ] “.
    • The duplication of messages is in known issue, and due in part to the viewer automatically generating the first message as soon as the Accept button is pressed, whereas the second message comes from the server.
    • The implication appears to be that the viewer message will be addressed, as it can be misleading.
  • An issue has been reported (and reproduced) relating to llGetEnvironment (+ related functions) returning inaccurate unit vectors for Sun / Moon position. There is some potential disagreement as to what is being seen / where the issue might reside, but it is being looked into.

Date of Next Meeting

  • Tuesday, January 7th, 2025.

† 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.

2024 SL viewer release summaries week #50

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, December 15th, 2024

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.
  • Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.

Official LL Viewers

  • Release viewer: version 7.1.10.10800445603, formerly the DeltaFPS RC, dated September 11, promoted September 17 – NO CHANGE.
  • Release Candidate: ExtraFPS RC, version 7.1.11.12306234817, December 13 – New.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V7-style

  • No updates.

V1-style

  • Cool VL Viewer Stable: 1.32.2.28, December 14 – release notes.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Astoria’s wintertime in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Astoria, December 2024 – click any image for full size

Astoria is a Homestead region held by Eromara Vita and Dots (Dotties Stoop). For December 2024, and unsurprisingly, the region is dressed for the winter season and decorated with touches in keeping with the time of year. The easiest way to summarise the region is via its Destination Guide description:

Astoria is a Dutch winter destination perfect for snow lovers. Glide along ice skating paths, explore hidden caves, or take a scenic walk with loved ones. Enjoy dancing on the spacious dance floor or relax in cosy cuddle spots. Ride the ski lift to the mountaintop ski bar and descend on skis, snowboard, or sled for an exhilarating experience.

– Astoria Destination Guide description

Astoria, December 2024

In terms of design, the region is split into five islands (although the channel between two is so small, it’s easy to think of them as a single finger of land running long the north edge of the region). The waters between and around the island are frozen, thus forming the skating paths, the ice reaching out to touch the off-region surround of snowy mountains.

It is on the eastern end of one of those islands that the Landing Point resides, complete with a couple of jolly (if slightly argumentative!) carollers waiting to greet incoming visitors. Reindeer are fenced in here, possibly awaiting Santa’s arrival as the snow falls, and their time hitched to his sleigh. Going on the red-and-white logoed tractor-trailer inching its way over the ice, complete with red-suited guide, they may not have to long to wait before he arrives!

Astoria, December 2024

A hump-backed bridge spans the ice here to reach the largest of the islands. This forms the setting’s highest (indeed, only) summit: a tall hill with a steep but climbable gradient crowned by a coffee bar with outdoor seating and, at the time of my visit, vehicle which looked at if Batman might be out trying to remember where he left it – although as rezzing is open and Auto Return is off, I’m not sure if it was made to be part of the setting or left by a visitor who used it as a prop (but it is unlocked).

If you don’t fancy the climb up the hill, a walk around the coast to the south-western extent will bring you to the chair lift for an easy ride up to the coffee bar. Sleds and snowboards can be obtained from rezzers at the top of the chair lift for an easy ride down.

Astoria, December 2024

It is to the south-east of the main island that visitors will find the dance floor mentioned in the description above, sitting on its own snowy island across the ice. And speaking of ice, those wishing to skate appear of have three choices: pop on their own blades and set out on the ice freestyle, or keep and eye out for the skating balls along the edge of the Landing Point island. The latter take two forms: couples and singles. As I was on my own during my visit, I cannot speak to the doubles skating balls, but the single follows a scripted path around the island in a manner that reveals everything whilst leaving you with hands free for dramatic photos, if you so chose!

If you opt to remain on the northern islands for exploration, you can follow them as they point west, a little covered bridge neatly linking them. After this an avenue of tree with boughs bent as if to try to protect you from the falling snow will lead you onto the a further bridge and the larger of the two islands on the eastern extent of the region. From here is it just a short hop to the tall island with its hill – or if you prefer, you can remain where you are and escape up into a cosy tree house.

Astoria, December 2024

The final – and smallest – of the islands is something of a wildlife reserve; a magical place where not only do penguins and polar bears meet – but they seem just fine in roaming and skating around together 🙂 .

Through all of this are many places to sit and relax, together with opportunities for photos and fun – not all the sit points are to be found on chairs or benches! And make sure you check out the entrances to the caves – they sit on opposite sides of the large island and should be hard to miss –  a visit is not complete without a trip through one of them!

Astoria, December 2024

Astoria is a pleasant and engaging place to visit, so be sure to pop over and take a look.

SLurl Details

  • Astoria (Porto Leone, rated Moderate)