Tag: SL News

Lab announces Philip Rosedale appointed as CTO

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

The event venue has been given as Linden Estate Services Meeting Area.

On Tuesday, October 29th, 2024, Linden Lab announced that the company’s founder, Philip Rosedale has been appointed to the full-time role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), in a move that will undoubtedly cause excitement in some quarters.

As well as founding the company, Rosedale served as its CEO through until 2010, when he departed the company to work on various new ventures,  including Coffee and Power and, most notable, the VR-centric virtual world / social spaces company, High Fidelity.

The latter actually became an investor in Linden Lab / Second Life in January 2022 in a deal which included the transfer of some staff from High Fidelity to Linden Lab, together distributed computing patents held by High Fidelity, which has transitioned by that time toy working on solutions focused on spatial audio that would allow people to work collaboratively whilst geographically separate. Also as a part of that deal, Rosedale took up the role as a special advisor to the Second Life management team and the Board at Linden Lab.

In this role he has spent the last 2+ years providing advice and support to the Lab’s Board under Executive Chairman Brad Oberwager and the executive team, and has been visible at a number of Lab-led town hall meetings and similar events as well as participating in various Lab Gab events.

In his new role as CTO, Rosedale “will guide technology and product strategy daily” alongside the executive management team, and he will also resume a seat on the company’s Board.

Over the last four years since the acquisition, Linden Lab has re-focused itself on improving and serving Second Life. We’ve divested ourselves of unnecessary projects, streamlined our operations, increased the quality of customer support, and grown our overall revenues and profitability. We’re now in a unique position to define the future of virtual worlds, and Philip is returning to help myself and the exec team achieve that goal.

– Brad Oberwager, Linden Lab Executive Chair, via the announcement

Philip Rosedale Round Table Event

The announcement also indicated the Lab will be holding a Community Round Table event on Friday, November 1st, 2024, at 10:00 SLT featuring Philip Rosedale. At the time of writing, the venue for the event was TBA – this post will be updated with details when available. However, questions are being sought from Second Life users, so if you have a question for Philip Rosedale, you can submit it via this form.

Related Links

Linden Lab announces 2K Bakes on Mesh support on Aditi

Posted on by Inara Pey
2K Bakes on Mesh. Credit: Linden Lab

One of the most popular technical requests for Second Life in recent months has been to extend 2K texture support to the Bakes on Mesh service, so it can be accessible for use directly on avatar clothing layers. During the Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting of September 10th, 2024, Pepper Linden indicated that an initial release of 2K Bakes on Mesh support could be forthcoming within the next week or so via the Beta grid – or Aditi, as it is called.

In an announcement posted of September 1th, 2024, Pepper confirmed that the capability is now available on Aditi for testing – and that accessing Aditi had now been simplified. To quote from the announcement:

Previously, residents were required to submit a support ticket to manually copy their accounts to Aditi. This process is now automated. Upon your first login attempt to the beta grid, your account will automatically sync, significantly simplifying access. Please be aware that the initial login may experience a brief delay as your account is copied over, but subsequent logins will proceed without delay.

And:

Inventory Synchronization
Each night, the beta grid will sync your inventory from Agni, provided you have logged into the beta grid within the past 24 hours. If you encounter issues where inventory items appear to be missing after synchronization, clearing your viewer’s cache should resolve the problem, as it may have cached your old inventory.

2K Bakes on Mesh Notes

In order to reduce the rendering impact in using 2K textures on system layers (skins, tattoo layers, clothing layers), there are limitations imposed on the system, whereby bakes will only be made at the highest resolution texture used in the avatar layers. So, for example:

  • If all the layers are at 512×512 resolution, the resultant bake will be 512×512.
  • If the majority of the layers are 512×512, but one is at 1024×1024, then the resultant bake will be 1024×1024, with the 512 textures upscaled to 1024×1024.
  • If the layers are all 1024×1024, the resultant bake will be 1024×1024.
  • If the layers are predominantly 1024×1024, but one is 2048×2048, the result bake will be 2048×2048, with the 1024×1024 textures upscaled to 2048×2048.

As Pepper revealed at the SUG meeting, the exception to this is eye textures: these are capped at a maximum resolution of 512×512, no matter what the resolution of the rest of the bake.

Issues and Feedback

Again to quote the official blog post:

We anticipate a temporary increase in system activity due to these enhancements. If you encounter any issues with these new enhancements, we highly recommend attending the Server User Group meetings held every Tuesday at 1 PM PST in the Denby region. Alternatively, you can submit a bug or feature request on feedback.secondlife.com. Your feedback is essential for refining and improving our services.

I’ll also continue to update this work through my SUG meeting summaries and, should the topic be raised at them, my Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting summaries.

 

 

Linden Lab promotes updated SL Combat System 2.0 with video

Posted on by Inara Pey
Combat 2.0, courtesy of Linden Lab

As regulars to these pages are probably aware, I covered the Combat User Group meetings from February 2024 through until late July, 2024, during which Rider Linden worked with members of SL’s widespread community of combat enthusiasts on an initial overhaul of Second Life’s combat system (SLCS). The aim was not to develop a new combat game or combat system, but to provide combat enthusiasts with a much improved box of tools (scripted capabilities) for better, more immersive combat experiences within Second Life.

Details of what many hope will be the first phase of the Combat 2.0 project can be found in my Combat User Group summaries.  However, two spin-offs (so to speak) of this work have been the Combat Partnership, and the return of three much-loved combat regions (which were originally part of the Teen grid): Concord, Lexington and between them, No Mans Land, with the promise that the latter would undergo a facelift and act as a new nucleus to help encourage combat enthusiasts – both within Second Life and those who may have departed the platform – to give the new and updated capabilities a go.

An inaugural (and informal) meet-up within the regions was initially held on July 25th, mainly featuring those combat enthusiasts who had participated in the user group, the session being to mark a wrap on the first phase of work and to put the Combat User Group on hiatus for a time.

Combat 2.0: Concord (with personal EEP setting)

Now the facelift work on the three regions has been completed, and on September 5th, 2024, Linden Lab launched a new promotion for Combat 2.0 utilising a video produced by Vrutega‬, expressly aimed at encouraging people to come back into Second Life and give things a go. And going on preliminary responses, it has been well-received. 

Concord and Lexington act as the base locations for two teams for those wishing to engaged in team-based combat, but the regions are also open to more general player versus player (PvP) or player versus environment (PvE) combat. They each have  dedicated landing point:

No Mans Land is the epicentre for combat. It includes a network of WW1 style trenches, open land, for PvP and cover for PvE against the roaming armed aerial drones. For team-based combat, Red and Blue flags are also located in the region, ready to be attacked / defended. Nor do those wishing to join in have to equip themselves before joining in – those who are new to Combat in SL or are making a return out of curiosity, can obtain various free weapons, generously provided by creators with the Second Life combat community. These can be found within the hangers at Concord and Lexington, and some might be floating around elsewhere.

As well as the showcase regions at Concord et al, the updated Combat 2.0 capabilities are available to all combat regions holders in Second Life to leverage. As a very, very small thumbnail of the updates, the following are now available with Combat 2.0:

  •  Damage events (llDamage) and healing (incl. objects having health).
  • Better control over what happens on death.
  • Spawn points.
  • A new and dedicated combat log – “Brigadier Linden” combat region owners can leverage in administrating combat in their regions.
  • region-wide settings available to combat region owners.
  • new LSL functions and events.

All of these are covered in much greater detail via the dedicated Combat 2.0 SL Wiki page, which also includes links to specific information on things like the Combat log and updated / new LSL functions.

Combat 2.0: No Man’s Land (with personal EEP setting)

Combat Partnership

With Combat 2.0 becoming available, Linden Lab has announced the Combat 2.0 Promotion Partnership Programme has been launched.

  • The intention behind the Promotion Partnership Programme this is to give those actively involved in combat activities in Second Life the “opportunity to help us spread the word across the grid about Combat 2.0 in Second Life”.
  • Participants will have their regions / communities included in a Combat section of the Destination Guide. There may be other benefits for participants as well.
  • Those interested can sign-up via this Google form.
Combat 2.0: Lexington

So, if you’re curious about combat in Second Life, why not hop over to Concord or Lexington and have a look around.

SLurl Details

The showcase combat regions are rated Moderate

SL21B: SecondLifeTime Premium (+Upgrade), SecondLifeTime Premium Plus limited Offers

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

Update: following the publication of this article, Linden Lab published their own official announcement blog post.

In 2023, at SL20B, Linden Lab announced a pair of “limited availability lifetime memberships”: Second LifeTime Premium and Second Lifetime Premium Plus. As I reported at the time, these accounts:

  • Featured a one-off payment and provided all of the benefits applicable to either the Premium Account subscription package or the Premium Plus Account subscription package, depending on which LifeTime membership is applied for.
  • Would remain in effect:
    • Even if the account holder cancels their membership – if they re-join later, they will be able to continue with their Second LifeTime membership.
    • As long as Second Life remains operational.
  • Were offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

On June 28th, 2024, Linden Lab announced these Lifetime Memberships are once again available on a first-come, first-serve limited number basis, specifically:

  • 121 applications for SecondLifeTime Premium.
  • 21 LifeTime Premium upgrades to LifeTime Premium Plus for those who took out a LifeTime Premium membership in 2023.
  • 21 applications for SecondLifeTime Premium Plus.

These packages are offered at the following on-off payment prices of:

  • US $859.00 at the time of upgrade for SecondLifeTime Premium.
  • US $1150.00 at the time of upgrade to go from Second LifeTime Premium (2023) to SecondLifeTime PremiumPlus
  • US $$1,899.00 at the time of upgrade for SecondLifeTime Premium Plus.

As with the original offer, Lifetime memberships:

  • May not be available to upgrade to other account types (e.g. from SecondLifeTime Premium to Premium Plus). However, requests for upgrade can be submitted via support ticket for case-by-case review.
  • Will not be available for downgrade, but will become the base-level membership account type for the holder.

Further Details & How to Apply

Applications can be made by Support Ticket only.

  • Go to the Second Life Support portal.
  • Click the orange Submit A Ticket button on the top right of any page of the support portal, and sign in if you have not already.
  • In the support ticket form, select the ticket type Account Issue, and choose Request SecondLifetime Premium Account from the second drop down that appears.
  • Select which membership type you would like – SecondLifeTime Premium, Second LifeTime Premium to Premium Plus upgrade or SecondLifeTime Premium Plus.
  • Check the box that states, I accept the fee. This will be required for support ticket submission, and will allow your membership to be processed as quickly as possible.
  • Fill out any additional necessary details in the description section (e.g. if you have recently renewed either your Premium or Premium Plus subscription, add the date of renewal) and click Submit.
  • Allow up to 10 business days for Second LifeTime membership support ticket requests to be processed.

Linden Lab announces venue for 1st Second Life community Round Table

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

Following recent announcements about efforts to improve communications and engage with the users, and to provide the opportunity to ask questions of members of the Lab’s senior leadership (see: Linden Lab: updates to policies and new initiatives on community relations (May 2nd, 2024) and Summary of Tilia acquisition Lab Gab + SL Round Table News (April 24, 2024)), on Thursday, May 16th, 2024, Linden Lab announced both the venue details for the the first Community Round Table and those from the Lab’s leadership team who will be attending.

You can read the full details in the official blog post: Community Roundtable on May 20 – Your Chance to Help Improve Second Life. However, and in brief:

In addition the the above, the post provides details on how users can engage with the Lab through the Feedback Portal and Support Portal, and by attending the regularly scheduled User Group meetings held in-world on a range of specific subject areas. For details on the latter, please refer to the SL wiki Official User Groups page, and for dates and times, please see the SL Public calendar†.

The official post concludes:

We understand that agreement on every idea or suggestion may not always be possible. However, we can assure you that your ideas and suggestions matter deeply to us, and those perspectives help shape our decisions. Your voice is valued in our ongoing journey together.
We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with each and every one of you in shaping a world that is not only enjoyable and prosperous but also vibrant and flourishing. Your presence here means the world to us, and your contributions are invaluable in making Second Life an exceptional place to belong. Thank you sincerely for sharing your time with us and for being an integral part of our journey towards creating something truly special together.

Again, please read the official blog post for all information on the meeting.

 

†While they are not officially representative of the Lab or these meetings, please note that I attempt to provide summaries of a number of user group session within these pages, and Patera Północy provides video recordings of the meetings she is able to attend via her You Tube channel).

Linden Lab: updates to policies and new initiatives on community relations

Posted on by Inara Pey
© and ® Linden Lab

On Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, Linden Lab issued the promised updates to both public-facing (i.e. linked to the Terms of Service) and internal policies.

These updates, together with additional internal changes (as noted below), have been made in the wake of investigations carried out in the wake of allegations made pseudonymously in February via the social journalism website Medium (and since removed).

In March, Linden Lab Executive Chairman Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden) made a public statement on these matters indicating as much as was deemed necessary at the time (see my own reporting here, if interested), and that a further statement would be made in due course. It was further indicated by Keira Linden, speaking during a Lab Gab session released on April 19th, 2024 (and summarised in my own words here) that updates to policies were (then) being finalised, so the May 2nd statement – entitled Enhancing Our World Together – comes as no surprise.

Within it, Mr. Oberwager provides a short summary of the outcome of the investigations into the allegations made, before going on to summarise actions that have been / are being undertaken in the wake of those investigations, stating:

The investigation determined that all Lindens and contractors have stayed in compliance with our own community guidelines, as well as unwritten, ethical guidelines. I do not make this statement lightly, and I know there will be plenty of discussion. What I can say is that there is no incentive, monetary or otherwise, for me to mislead the community. At some point, the community has to trust that we, the Lindens, do well when the community thrives. We may make mistakes along the way, and we know that our community will engage with us when we do. Second Life is an enormous virtual world and we have to walk a very fine line between policing and preserving freedoms while also protecting the future growth and health of Second Life as a platform that respects diversity and creative expression among our community.
The findings did highlight opportunities for improvement. As a result, we are making updates to our internal policies to raise the standard for how Linden employees should respectfully engage with community members. This addresses multiple forms of engagement including how we present ourselves, how we interact with the community (even in moments of conflict), and how we minimize the perception of conflict of interest and favouritism in our interactions. 

As a result, the Lab has:

  • Updated the Child Avatar Policy related to the Second Life Terms of Service (ToS) – hence the need to re-accept the ToS on accessing Second Life or its related web properties.
  • Updated internal Policies and Procedures
  • Implemented personnel changes
  • Initiated management improvement programs
  • Committed to Community Roundtables (see below)
  • Committed to increased transparency and accountability

In terms of the the changes to the Child Avatar Policy, the statement notes:

We know that this update has the potential to cause confusion or concern in our community, so we’ve prepared an FAQ which we will continue to update as questions come up.

Community Round Table

  • The first of the Community Round Table events, as referenced in the statement and as previously announced by Linden Lab, will take place between 09:30-11:00 SLT on  Monday, May 20th, 2024, although the venue still to be announced (at the time of writing).
  • The event will feature Mr. Oberwager among those taking part from the Lab. It has been indicated that this event will have a focus on the acquisition of Tilia Inc., by Thunes, but also that reasonable questions / concerns on matter such as this might be addressed.
  • At the time of writing, and anonymous form for those wishing to ask questions of the Lab / offer feedback / suggestions on improving Second Life remained open (but I would advise using it sooner rather than later, if you intend to do so).
  • There will also be a Q&A portion during the Round Table at which questions  / ideas can be put forward.

Please note: if you opt to comment on the Lab’s statement, as outlined in this article, please refrain from discussing / naming any individuals, whether or not they may be related to the matters pertaining thereto.