Category: SL User Group Meetings

The Mesh timeline has been published. Well, “timeline” is a bit of a stretch, but the details are now out. To save you from clicking a link, here’s the announcement in full:

“Of all of the things that excite us about Second Life, and there are many, Mesh is near the top of our list. Since the Mesh Project Viewer has been available, many content creators have given it a try on the test grid and we have only seen a small glimpse of the unlimited creative potential that this technology brings to Second Life. On behalf of everyone at the Lab, we want to thank everyone who have participated in the test and created these cool videos demonstrating the power of Mesh. 

“So, now that you are excited about trying it out on the Main Grid, we wanted to share the launch time line, as promised.

“In July, we will enable a limited set of regions to use Mesh and will it roll out, in a phased approach, throughout August. By the end of August, everyone in Second Life will be able to import Mesh objects. Of course, if we run into unforeseen issues or bugs, then this time line will need to shift. 

“We know that you must have a lot of questions regarding policies, costs, and how Mesh objects will be weighted. Although we cannot share these details yet, we will continue to keep you informed on our progress and other relevant news on this blog. 

“So buckle up and get ready for a whole new wave of creativity in SL.”

Or you can read the above here.

Mesh has been a long time coming – and the announcement is somewhat welcome, a little more depth-of-detail would have been helpful. I’m assuming at this stage that the regions for the initial roll-out will be connected to a specific Server Release Channel. If so, will sim owners on that channel be given the opportunity to opt out until later in the roll-out? Mesh is obviously a complicated subject, hence the caveats in this announcement – but I certainly hope we’ll be seening a greater depth of information as July draws closer.

It has been confirmed that Linden Lab will be publishing a timeline for the roll-out of Mesh at the end of May.

Note this is not the actual roll-out of Mesh itself; it is the timeline on what will happen when. It’s a good move on LL’s part: people have been hungering for Mesh for a long time, and all that has been happening on the Beta grid had increased overall levels of excitement / curiosity / confusion / demands to see it “now”.

Mesh is potentially one of the most revolutionary new aspects to be introduced to SL in a long time – at least in terms of content creation and technology. It will possibly completely redefine entire market sectors in terms of both the look of objects, how they are created and the skill sets required to produce them. It can be applied to almost anything – objects, building shells, vehicles, so the impact is potentially huge, although there do appear to be some limitations as to precisely what can be achieved  – and how much will be modifiable – within mesh objects.

Take just one market sector, the one I’m most familiar with: buildings.

The potential here is mind-boggling: beautifully sculpted exteriors to buildings that mimic their real-life (or fantasy!) counterparts, and for the equivalence of a few dozen prims, and fitted-out inside with traditional prim-made floors, etc.

Avatars are another area where mesh could revolutionise things. While our current avatars are themselves mesh creations, they are somewhat limited; augmentation currently requires the use of prims and sculpties – both of which can be cumbersome. Mesh imports allow avatars to be massively altered / augmented – so the potential here is massive, although there are allegedly some initially limitations as to what can be done with such rigged meshes.

Given the sheer scope of impact mesh represents, then defining a timeline / roadmap leading to its roll-out is undoubtedly a good move. While there is much about Mesh that probably won’t become apparent until after it is “live” – precisely how popular mesh designs will be, what they will do to the market sectors where they are principally used, precisely what the initial limitations will be, how these will be overcome, and so on, there is still a need for people to have as much information in advance as it is possible to give. This can only be achieved through full and proper communication and avoiding the desire to give into pressure to simply “get it done”.

We’ve waited a long time for mesh – kudos goes to LL for dealing with its arrival sensibly and in a step-by-by manner that has fully engaged with the user community on the Beta grid, and which look set to continue now on the main grid. Hopefully, the new timeline will do much to clarify where everything stands with regards to mesh, and in the coming months, we’ll see even more engagement between users and Lab as we move towards it’s arrival.

Further Information

• SL Wiki Mesh page
• Wiki mesh FAQ
• SL mesh Flickr stream

Various questions have been floating around, re: Mesh. In the hopes of providing clarification, here’s a couple of points of clarification:

TPV users will not be able to see Mesh objects.

• Users of 1.23.5 / snowglobe-based viewers will likely not be able to view Mesh objects.
• Users of Viewer 2.x-based TPVs will be able to view Mesh objects correctly.

TPV users will not be able to upload Mesh imports

• Users of 1.23.5 / snowglobe-based viewers will not be able to upload Mesh objects
• Users of Viewer 2.x-based TPVs might be able to upload Mesh objects, depending on whether Linden Lab agrees to release a “wrapper” that will make this possible.

It’s by no means certain that the second point above actually happen; Linden Lab appears keen to ring-fence the ability to upload Mesh within Viewer 2.x. However, those TPV developers developing Viewers based on the 2.x have requested a means by which they can provide the means for users to upload Mesh objects, and Linden Lab have apparently agreed to look into the matter and see what can be done, without necessarily lifting the fence on the code completely.

One thing that is clear is that if the ring fence remains firm, those wishing to see – as well as upload – Mesh objects will, at some point, find it necessary to make the move to a Viewer based on the Viewer 2.x code. Both the Imprudence and the Phoenix teams are already moving in this direction – with Jessica Lyon of the Phoenix team going so far as to state that the upcoming release of Phoenix will likely be the last major release to that particular code base, with future releases being restricted to bug fixes and the like, while the focus within the Phoenix team shifts more to the Firestorm (Viewer 2.x-based) Viewer project.

Jack Linden posts today that the Mesh beta import programme opens today. As previously posted, Mesh offers the potential to revolutionise the appearance of objects into-world, and also avatars, clothing and the rest, and has been a long time coming to SL.

As one would expect, the Beta is active on the Beta grid and requires the use of a dedicated version of Viewer 2 in order to upload and import Meshes. The former is understandable – there is still much to be understood about Mesh without further screwing up the main grid; the latter decision, while unexpected, may yet see some howls from people not that enamoured of Viewer 2. BUT…in keeping with their promises at SLCC 10, and providing people have a little patience, the howls should be short-lived as the code base for the Mesh imports is targeted for release via Project Snowstorm wiki, so that Third Party Viewer developer can incorporate it into their own code.

It’s going to be interesting reading-up on feedback on the project and seeing how well LL respond to the feedback, particularly with reference to improving the Viewer side of things, which, as with everything else, is “still in development”. If we’re brutally honest here, LL haven’t responded overly positively when listening to valid concerns about Viewer 2 and its associated tools so far…

Nevertheless, this move should be welcomed; one still has concerns about the overall impact of Mesh on businesses across the grid; there is a potential for mesh to be more revolutionary than evolutionary in that regard – and many may not be able to easily adapt. Personally, I hope that we see the two types of content creation also meshing – with traditional builders who cannot manage Mesh creation able to work alongside those with Mesh skills who don’t have the desire to work with the older tools. But – time will tell.

Jack Linden has announced the next steps in the scheme of things to establish “full” Mesh imports into Second Life.

Mesh has been something of an elusive Holy Grail for many when it comes to content creation in Second Life; it’s been promised for years and various You Tube videos demonstrating it have been around for almost as long, yet it has always remained tantalisingly over the horizon, leaving those wanting it faced with gazing at tea leaves in an effort to guess when it would actually arrive.

For those unfamiliar, Mesh is the system used to create our avatars, using a complex series of polygons to render highly detailed forms. Mesh is common through the gaming world, and is alive and kicking in “rivals” to Second Life such as Blue Mars.

Unlike the current system of primitives, Mesh constructs are created using graphics rendering programs that provide a complexity of detail far beyond anything that can be achieved in-world – as the images and videos accompanying the announcement show. They could, quite simply revolutionise and revitalise Second Life.

Mesh properly entered the SL roadmap earlier this year, with Mark Kingdon and others indicating that it would be entering a beta phase around now, with a potential roll-out by the end of the year. However, following Kingdon’s departure and Philip Rosedale’s “return”, things on the Mesh front went quiet – almost ominously so, with barely a mention being given in various addresses, prompting some to wonder if the entire idea was once again vanishing over the horizon. It was not until SLCC 10 in July that Philip confirmed the plans were still moving ahead, although on a revised timetable.

Now Jack’s blog provides further – if sketchy – insight to further moves.

There is little doubt that given the capabilities presented by Mesh, that it could very well revolutionise the appearance  – and possibly the appeal – of Second Life; as such, its arrival should be largely welcomed; but that is not to say there are still concerns surrounding its eventual use. Question such as how it will be placed alongside the “traditional” means of prim-based design and construction of objects and what Mesh means to those who are proficient in prim building, but who are unable to move to 3D rendering for whatever reason. There are even questions around how it could impact in-world “building for pleasure” activities. Beyond this, as N, a good friend with considerable knowledge of 3D rendering, there is also the question of intellectual property and ripped content; there are already masses of rendered material out there, much of it in breach of established copyrights and IP rights: what mechanisms will be put in place to prevent such material flooding into SL?

It’s good to know Mesh is coming; but I think it far to say there are many who are as anxious about the answers to some of these questions as they are enthusiastic about the arrival of Mesh.