Tyche Shepherd has just published this week’s data on the new SL sims in past week SLU forum post and finally after 40 weeks there is “positive growth” in private estates in Second Life. It only increased by 13 regions this week which is better than the other way round I guess in a drop. Apparently the last time the grid saw growth in private estates was back on 24th June 2012. This is good news at last and hopefully the growth trend will continue in private estates for in 2013. There needs to be growth in private regions and main grid regions this year. 🙂
Since the start of 2013 the net number of private regions lost now stands at 510 (2.4% in 13 weeks) according to Tyche Shepherd. 24/7 tracking of the Second Life economy stats can be found on the SL Grid Survey.
Since October 2009 OpenSim grids have been growing in terms of total regions, total registered users and total active users. Hypergrid Business publishes monthly blog posts on the updated opensim grid numbers which is interesting to look at every month. During 2013 or 2014 it’s predicted OpenSim total regions will overtake Second Life total main grid regions.
Over recent years there has been more interest for OpenSim grids it seems and still Second Life continues to decline in terms of regions and active online users. These statistics below show data from October 2009 to March 2013 based on the top 40 opensim grids. Worth looking at I think!
Total Regions via Top 40 OpenSim Grids
6, 103 – 15th October 2009
7, 246 – 15th December 2009
8, 561 – 15th February 2010
10, 558 – 15th April 2010
11, 717 – 15th June 2010
10, 427 – 15th August 2010
12, 425 – 15th October 2010
15, 094 – 15th December 2010
13, 369 – 15th February 2011
14, 566 – 15th April 2011
15, 290 – 15th June 2011
18, 498 – 15th August 2011
19, 525 – 15th October 2011
21, 666 – 15th December 2011
23, 231 – 15th February 2012
20, 159 – 15th April 2012
18, 518 – 15th June 2012
21, 775 – 15th August 2012
25, 202 – 15th October 2012
23, 718 – 15th December 2012
24, 678 – 15th March 2013
Total Registered Users via Top 40 OpenSim Grids
183, 896 – 15th April 2011
194, 466 – 15th June 2011
206, 096 – 15th August 2011
215, 740 – 15th October 2011
222, 316 – 15th December 2011
228, 892 – 15th February 2012
235, 468 – 15th April 2012
245, 433 – 15th June 2012
257, 734 – 15th August 2012
258, 301 – 15th October 2012
276, 930 – 15th December 2012
286, 798 – 15th March 2013
Total Active Users Via Top 40 OpenSim Grids
15, 504 – 15th February 2012
17, 404 – 15th April 2012
16,391 – 15th June 2012
17, 364 – 15th August 2012
18, 124 – 15th October 2012
20, 695 – 15th December 2012
19,496 – 15th March 2013
Do you prefer Second Life or OpenSim grids ? Can you predict future numbers ?
Updated confirmed key dates, updated links and new SL10B videos have been posted on Prim Perfect’s blog about SL10B today which is going to be huge in June 2013. I’m really excited about SL10B because its ten years since the launch of Second Life and it marks a historical milestone for everyone.
Are you looking forward to SL10B ? Please share your views in comments! 😀
>>> 83 days left and counting until the official 10th birthday of Second Life <<<
Key dates for SL10B
April 15th 2013 – Volunteer/Performance, Exhibitor Applications open
May 20th 2013 – Volunteer/Performance, Exhibitor Applications close
May 27th 2013 – SL10B sims open to builders
June 16th 2013 – Grand Opening of SL10B
June 23rd 2013 – Second Life officially turns 10 years old
June 23rd 2013 – Final day of performances
June 29th 2013 – SL10B sims close to the public
July 1st 2013 – All builds to be dismantled – sims go offline
Today InWorldz has turned four years old and it’s time to celebrate 4 years with the founders of the grid. Elenia Llewllyn and Tranquillity Dexter with the rest of the InWorldz team who have worked really hard over the past 4 years to make the grid run smoothly. Woooot!
As far as I’m aware there are no birthday celebrations planned between now and the end of next week (7th April 2013). Last year for the 3rd birthday InWorldz had it’s first official IW conference that took place in Las Vegas. Next year is going to be extra special I think as InWorldz will reach it’s 5th birthday hopefully. 😀
Happy 4th InWorldz!
Snapshot from InWorldz 2nd Birthday
Snapshot of InWorldz Login Screen taken at 2:50am SLT today.
It’s been announced on the Patterns Steam page that Patterns is now available to everyone which is great news after many months of waiting. Glad that Linden Lab are making progress on Patterns and it won’t be long until other non-SL products are released on Steam too I would imagine.
See below for the latest video, new announcement and what the developers think of Patterns.
See the new video mentioning that Patterns is available on Steam.
The Announcement as of 22nd March 2013:
We first launched Patterns as a ‘genesis release’ in October 2012, and we are now happy to make it available to everyone on Steam as part of the Early Access program. We are still very early in the game’s development, but have already made many updates. If you’re interested in seeing how Patterns has grown and improved so far, check out our update history in the News section.
As genesis release users, your feedback will help shape Pattern’s evolution. Please keep the comments, screenshots, videos and your thoughts coming! Know that we are reading and paying attention to your feedback, even if we are not able to respond to every post with a comment.
If you encounter a bug with the Patterns genesis release, please report it to us directly through buildpatterns.com/support so that we can investigate and address it.
We’ll continue to frequently update Patterns with new features, performance improvements, bug fixes, and more, so please check in regularly to keep up to date with the latest!
Sincerely Patterns Development Team
What is Patterns ?
It’s your universe to shape. Patterns is an ever-expanding 3D space, where you’ll construct simple and complex structures as you harvest substances and discover new shapes that can be used to enhance your creativity.
Patterns starts at a low level with simple, basic shapes and allows you to expand your universe as you add together other shapes to make more and more elaborate constructs. Build large scale structures that reach high into the sky or bridges that traverse wide chasms. Use your constructions to reach new areas and break out of your space to discover other worlds.
Be careful! Each substance contains different physical properties that can cause your creations to tumble, crumble or crash down to the ground. Will your creations withstand the power of gravity?
What the developers say about Patterns ?
Patterns is still in development and we are actively providing updates in order to flesh out this early experience.
We are working hard on new features and content as well as bug fixes and tuning. Take a look at our update history to get a sense of how Patterns has evolved since we went live. Check in regularly for future updates.
For a limited time, the Genesis version of Patterns is available for USD $9.99. That’s a savings of 50% off the regular price!
Steam is introducing early access to games. See FAQ
Starting at 11am SLT tomorrow there will be a interesting event about the Overview of the Firestorm Viewer and Project. This presentation will take place on Virtual Ability Island hosted by Ed Merryman who is the Firestorm Support Team manager who has been working on Firestorm since September 2010.
Details about the Firestorm presentation
Overview of the Firestorm Viewer and Project PRESENTERS: Ed Merryman (voice), Lette Ponnier (text) THURSDAY March 28, 11am PDT/SLT Blue Orchid Cabana, Virtual Ability Island
Learn about what makes the Firestorm Viewer and the project on the whole unique. We’ll discuss some of its most popular features and customizability options and cover how to find help and more information from our large and active support team and its resources.
PRESENTER BIOS: Ed Merryman is the Firestorm Support Team manager. He has headed the team since the beginning of the Phoenix Firestorm Project in September 2010. Lette Ponnier has served on the team since February 2011 and is the lead of the English-language section of the Firestorm Support Team. Both are active teachers for the team, presenting information almost daily about Firestorm settings and features, as well as solving and reporting problems.
The big news this week is that there is new details about the upcoming big 10th birthday of Second Life which has been announced on the new official SL10B blog. It’s resident supported this year for SL10B and it’s set to be the bigger and better than ever before. Second Life 10th Gala anniversary takes place this year from Sunday 16th to Sunday 23rd June 2013. Apparently there will be around 20 regions for SL10B this year and much more. The theme for SL10B is Looking Forward. Looking Back. which is a very interesting theme I think.
Previous themes for Second Life Birthdays:
SL1B – Second Life First Year Anniversary Gale < LL Supported
SL2B – Giant museum displaying various large builds, pictures of SL over time < LL Supported
SL3B – Hooray for diversity and looking towards the future < LL Supported
NEW VIDEO of the show announcing details about SL10B
NEW VIDEO #2 of funny SL10B
SL10B Press Release
The SL10B Community Event is coming!
It’s that time of year when we celebrate the anniversary of Second Life – and this year, the tenth anniversary of the founding of Second Life, will be very special.
This year we will have 20 sims for builds and stages and fun and freebies, and we invite you to be part of the festivities.
The theme of the event will be: Looking Forward, Looking Back.
Some key dates for your calendar:
April 15 Volunteer/Performer, Exhibitor Applications open
May 20 Volunteer/Performer, Exhibitor Applications close
May 27 Sims open to builders
June 16 Grand Opening
June 23 Official Birthday day
June 23 Final day of performances
June 29 Sims close to the public
July 1 All builds to be dismantled – sims go offline
Many of your classic favourites will be back. There will be a cake. There will be a main stage, and other stage venues. There will be gifts to take away – which may well include a (non-Linden) souvenir bear. There will be an auditorium for talks and presentations. And finally, there will be a time capsule into which you can put your past year’s best creations.
How can I be part of this?
You can volunteer to create your own celebratory plot, as Exhibitors are invited to show off their community and its special nature to others.
You might prefer to join the team of Hosts welcoming all the visitors and handing out gifts, helping find locations, mentoring any newcomers who might need extra help and making the party happen.
Maybe you’d rather join the rock concert atmosphere and be a Stage Manager or you are a DJ or Live Performer and would like to share your talent from one of our stages. Or perhaps you want to share your passion and knowledge as a Presenter through a lecture or roundtable discussion in our Auditorium.
Others of you might be interested in Security or Public Relations. You might be able to help us translate press releases and information into different languages. We’re looking for your energetic participation in all of these roles.
You are invited to sign up for one or more of these areas (yes, you can volunteer for everything if you like). Orientation and Training will be provided for many of the roles. Expect that some time will be required prior to the event for that purpose.
How can I stay informed?
Read the SL10B blog – there will be regular updates and information posted there!
You can also follow us through various social media:
We also have an information group inworld – “The SLB Community” (without the “”) – it’s free to join so sign up inworld to hear announcements there before you hear them anywhere else.
More details will be following soon, so watch this space!
The resident created Second Life Google+ page has now reached 1000 members which is an amazing achievement. It’s good to know that people can set up SL Google+ pages without it being deleted/banned by Google. Chuck Baggett managed to set up this SL Google+ page back on 8th December 2012 and back then the page had 94 members with hundreds joining within the first few months.
Linden Lab has a official Second Life page presence on Google+ which can be found here with more than 3, 193 following the page.
On the Kitely Forums there is some updated details about the plan for the Kitely Marketplace which has been planned for many months. According to Ilan Tochner who is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kitely there should be a merchant control panel which should be available to Kitely users to start creating in April 2013. This now gives Kitely merchants more time in setting up their shops before the official opening.
The Kitely Marketplace will be open officially for business in June 2013 which is a month later than planned. The month delay is due to the recent transfer stations work and infrastructure work that effects performance and sociability on the Kitely grid.
Episode 2 is now live of the new series of The Drax Files. Episode 2 lasts for 5 minutes and it’s had more than 525 views already by the SL community. I’m really impressed by the new series so far and graphics in this video is really amazing I think. Overall fantastic video and i’m excited to see what comes next month. 😀
Details about Episode 2
Jo Yardley listens to Marlene Dietrich on a hand crank gramophone because she lives in Weimar era Germany and electricity is rather scarce: oh yes, although Frau Yardley lives in Amsterdam, her house is decorated with original furniture and accessories from the 1920ties and German magazines from the Interbellum Period are everywhere.
But Yardley, who is a historical consultant for film, TV and museums has done much more than opting out of microwaves, cell-phone and TV usage: inside the virtual world of Second Life, Yardley rebuilt a Berlin that is long gone, a Berlin, where ehrenwerte Damen sport cigarette-holders and gallant Herren are seen in three-piece suits rather than blue jeans.
This digital Berlin is home to the affluent who dance wide eyes shut straight through the roaring Twenties at the Hotel Adlon as well as the orphaned street children, begging for a few Mark to get through the day. 1920sBerlin in Second Life operates 24/7 and is complete with accurate signage, a functioning Zeppelin and a steam-engine Reichsbahn…so: let’s take a trip back in time!
Do you like the new series so far? Comment below! 🙂
Daniel Voyager 