Linden Lab announces first invitations to Project Sansar

On 31st August Linden Lab released a new press release announcing that the first invitations are being sent out to creators this week for the Project Sansar Creator Preview. This is very exciting news for all those interested in Project Sansar and have waited some time for news. Apparently selected applicants (creators) will be invited to create their own social VR experiences.

• Four new screenshots have been uploaded showing Project Sansar via Linden Lab Flickr Page

There have been more than 6, 500 people that have applied for Project Sansar. The lab will be inviting more and more creators in the months ahead, so check your email on a regular basis. If you don’t make the first round of invites there will be more to come soon. If you are invited then you must agree to an NDA and EULA according to the legal department.

Project Sansar is still on course for a public release in early 2017. There are now four months to go until the official opening to the public. To apply to the Project Sansar Creator Preview, visit www.Sansar.com.

The full press release reads

Rolling Invitation Process Continues to Public Release in Early 2017

SAN FRANCISCO – August 31, 2016 – Linden Lab® today announced that the first invitations to theSansar™ Creator Preview are being sent this week. Select applicants will be invited to create their own social VR experiences with the new platform, slated for public release in early 2017.

Sansar will democratize VR as a creative medium. It will empower people to easily create, share, and ultimately monetize their own interactive social experiences that can be enjoyed in VR with head-mounted displays like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as via PCs and, later, other platforms. Sansar enables professional-level quality and performance, while also solving the complex engineering challenges that have previously made creating and publishing social VR experiences an extremely complex and costly endeavor.

“Since opening applications for our Creator Preview, more than 6,500 people have applied to use Sansar to create their own social VR experiences,” said Bjorn Laurin, VP of Product at Linden Lab. “To start, we’re inviting a select group of creators whose skills and projects are the best fit for Sansar’s capabilities today. As the platform matures, we’ll continue inviting more and more creators up until public release early next year. Feedback from this early community will help us improve the platform, and they’ll create a range of incredible social VR experiences that everyone can enjoy at Sansar’s public release.”

To apply to the Sansar Creator Preview program, visit www.Sansar.com.

About Linden Lab

Founded in 1999, Linden Lab is best known as the creator of Second Life, the largest-ever 3D virtual world filled entirely by the creations of its users. In 2013, the company expanded its product portfolio with Blocksworld®, a lighthearted build-and-play system for kids and grownups alike. The company is currently developing Sansar™ , a new platform for creating social VR experiences, which is slated for public release in early 2017.

For more about Linden Lab, its products, and career opportunities please visit LindenLab.com.

Please spread the word about this latest press release about Project Sansar.  

I have added a new page on my blog named Project Sansar where I will be updating it with latest news, videos and more. 

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Second Life Viewer v4.0.8 (319143) Adds The Visual Outfit Browser!

On 30th August Linden Lab released a new version of the Second Life Viewer v4.0.8 (319143) via the Release Notes page on the Second Life Wiki and the good news is that it now comes with the Visual Outfit Browser where you can see thumbnail images of your outfits in your inventory.

Me > Appearance > Outfit Gallery 

Right click the outfit folder to either upload a photo from your computer = L$10 or select a texture from your inventory (free) or take a snapshot L$10 for each outfit. The aspect ratio is 256×256 pixel image.

Ever think how nice it would be to see the different outfits you have collected in your inventory? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a simple thumbnail that you can easily see and select and change into? Well, now you can with our latest Viewer offering!

Introducing operation Visual Outfit Browser! You can now do all of the above with the ease of a customized snapshot tool found in your appearance floater. Simply download the latest Visual Outfit Browser Project Viewer, launch the Viewer, and in your Appearance floater, under the Outfit Gallery tab, you’ll find default thumbnails (currently coat hanger icons). You want to change into those outfits, pose, and then right click on the thumbnail and choose “Take a Snapshot.” It’s that easy! It does cost the usual L$10 per upload which is standard for all textures uploaded. But hey, can you really put a price on awesome?

For more information check out the Knowledge Base article.

Spread the word! 🙂

 

Linden Lab announces new Second Life Marketplace Search

On Monday 15th August Linden Lab announced that the new Second Life Marketplace Search went live and the new search comes with a “learning algorithm that will further improve search results with time –  the more it’s used, the better it performs”.

In the new search “you can use boolean operators in search (AND, OR, NOT) for more specific searches”. The new system should now be faster and more robust than ever before when searching for stuff.

Try out the new Second Life Marketplace Search here – https://marketplace.secondlife.com

What do you think about the new Second Life Marketplace search ?

 

Project Sansar will open “to the world” in January 2017

Ebbe Altberg has confirmed in a recent interview with Donnie SC Lygonis about a week ago that Project Sansar will be open “to the world” in January 2017. It’s great to hear that we now know the actual month for the opening of Project Sansar and that close to 5, 000 people have signed up so far to get access.

Ebbe Altberg mentioned in the interview that a few months ago those that tested Project Sansar gave it a high discomfort rating. Today there is a low discomfort rating and people now have a good experience.

Ebbe Altberg mentioned that Project Sansar will be around for decades once it opens to the public. The lab are adding more users to test Project Sansar in the months ahead and invitations are being sent out.

Listen to the full podcast here (48 minutes & 45 seconds)  > Episode 7, Ebbe Altberg, Virtual Reality Snowball Champion.

Windlight Art Gallery’s Summer Art Show Press Release

The Kultivate Magazine has released a press release today for the upcoming Windlight Art Gallery’s Summer Art Show featuring live performers, DJ’s,, parties, tribute bands and more. The event will take place on Friday 12th August through until Saturday 20th August 2016.

The event will feature 2D and 3D artists, merchants and creators. The full press release can be read below…including all those that are participating in the event…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Windlight Art Gallery Summer Art Show

Dates: August 12, 2016 to August 20, 2016

Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Water%20Haven/140/137/21

Website:  https://kultivatemagazine.com/summer-art-show/

Kultivate Magazine’s Windlight Art Gallery is pleased to announce it’s Summer Art Show! This show will feature 2D and 3D artists, a variety of Second Life merchants and creators, live performers, DJ’s, and a hunt!

Participating 3D artists include: Alpha Auer, Betty Tureaud,  Bryn Oh, Cica Ghost, Eleseren Brianna, Johannes1977 Resident, and Silas Merlin.

Participating 2D artists (Gallery A): Adi4guam Resident, Aradia Aridan, Bluesrocker Resident, Boudicca Amat, Byrnedarkly Cazalet, Cadence Caine (heathermknopp Resident), Eleseren Brianna, Hana Hoobinoo, Kodymeyers Resident, Lagoa Resident,  Miele Tarantal, Pam Astonia, Sandi Benelli, Saulgoodie Resident, Sparkie Cyberstar, Wicca Merlin, Wintergeist Resident,  & Wrennoir Cerisse.  Participating 2D artists (Gallery B):  Carley Noonan, Ceakay  Ballyhoo, Cherrycarr Resident, Dawnbeam Dreamscape,  Glitterprincess Destiny, Ilyra Chardin, Inara Pey, Inquistor Titanium, Jamee Sandalwood, Johannes1977 Resident, Kaijah Chrome, Kismetkills Resident, Lucia Tophat, Myra Wildmist, Ramsa Luv, Roxanne Fyanucci, Scarlet (Doasilike Resident), Sheba Blitz, Pipit Peacedream (retroye Resident), Tiszo Cioc, & Warm Clarity

Participating merchants: Aka, Aleutia, Alme, Azul, Byrne, Chop Zuey Couture Jewellry, Dotbe, Faster Pussycat, Ghee, Legendaire, Lillou’s Designs, Pink Ice Boutique, Potomac Signature Homes, Propose, Silvan Moon Designs, Sonatta Morales, Spyralle, TRS Designs, Vivienne Darcy, Windlight Workz, & Zuri Rayna Jewelry.

Events will include live performers Phemie Alcott and Tallyesin; Bad Amp Tribute Bands will perform tribute shows for Metallica and Queen; DJ’s Mia Deluca, Paradox Messmer, and Johannes1977 Resident will be spinning the tunes throughout the event and Whymsee will have a special dance event with DJ Cordie!

Guests will also have the chance to participate in a variety of raffles and the Summer Sandcastle Hunt, where they can hunt for 25 sandcastles to win 25 FREE prizes!

About Windlight Art Gallery & Kultivate Magazine

Windlight Art Gallery is the main art gallery for Kultivate Magazine. The gallery features both new and experienced artists in Second Life. The gallery has a fellowship program that provides free gallery space to artists for a period of 30 days. Kultivate Magazine (formerly Windlight Magazine) Kultivate Magazine is a publication about the cultural aspects of Second Life. The goal of Kultivate Magazine is to support art, photography, music, and fashion. Kultivate Magazine consists of the magazine, The Edge and The Edge Gallery, The Windlight Art Gallery, The 30/31 event, and The Kultivate Bailywick Gallery.

For More Information:

https://kultivatemagazine.com/summer-art-show/

Upcoming Events & Exhibitions

• ** 12, August to 20, August 2016 – Windlight Art Gallery’s Summer Art Show
• -12, August, 2016 – Summer Art Show Opens
• -12, August, 2016 – Sandcastle Hunt Begins
• -12, August, 2016 – 4pm slt – Bad Amp Metallica Tribute Band Concert
• -12, August, 2016 -1pm slt – Live performer Phemie Alcott
• -13, August, 2016 – 12pm slt to 2pm slt – Summer Rave Party with DJ Paradox Messmer
• -13, August, 2016 – 2pm slt – Live performer Tallyesin
• -15, August, 2016 – 6pm slt – Whymsee with DJ Cordie
• -16, August, 2016 – 12pm to 2pm slt – Tribute and Crown Pub event with DJ Mia
• -17, August, 2016 – Tribute and Crown Pub event with DJ Mia
• -18, August, 2016 – Tribute and Crown Pub event with DJ Mia
• -19, August, 2016 – 4pm to 6pm slt – Summer Ball event with DJ John
• -20, August, 2016-TBD- Queen Tribute Band Concert
• -20, August, 2016- Last day of the Summer Art Show & the Sandcastle Hunt
• ** 20, August 2016 – Deadline to enter the Kultivate & Maven Homes’ Home Away From Home Photo Contest
• ** 1, September 2016 – September Edition of Kultivate Magazine will be published

Stay updated on the latest news on the Kultivate Magazine website.

Lumiya Viewer 3.0.3 Released

On 30th July the Lumiya Viewer was updated to version 3.0.3 with various bug fixes and one new feature that is the ability to move HUDS around the screen by dragging them. Lumiya Viewer is a Second Life grid client for Android phones and tablets. Lumiya supports mesh content, server-side appearance, opensim and it’s compatible with RLV. See here for full list of features.

List of fixed issues:

• Fixed a crash in 3D mode on Intel-based devices;
• Fixed incorrect screen layout in 3D mode after rotation;
• “Don’t save user name” option now works as it should.

Lumiya Viewer can be downloaded on the Google Play Store for £2.69 and the size of the latest version 3.0.3 is now 8.2M. Since the launch the app has had between 50, 000 – 100, 000 installs which is very impressive. The Lumiya Viewer requires Android version 2.3.3 and up.

In late July 2016 the Lumiya Viewer was updated to version 3.0 where the app was completely revamped from the ground up. There is now a new user interface, improved navigation, group management, improved interaction with inworld objects and more.

What’s New

• Ability to move HUDs around the screen;
• Ability to play animations from inventory;
• Optional Camera button in 3D view;
• New user interface with material design;
• New Pink color theme;
• Avatar pictures in chat and contacts;
• Group management;
• Persistent chat history;
• Improved nagivation in 3D mode, with pinch and drag gestures;
• Improved interaction with in-world objects;
• Option to keep Wi-Fi awake while connected;
• Fixed crashes in 3D mode on certain devices.

For more information visit the official Lumiya Viewer website.

Firestorm Viewer 4.7.9.50527 Released

On 8th August Firestorm released a new update viewer (4.7.9.50527) which brings it up to date with the Linden Lab viewer release 4.0.6 codebase with many long-awaited features and bug fixes. The Firestorm team mentioned in the blog post that this is the first release where you won’t need to perform a clean install of the Firestorm viewer.

The big news is that this new release comes with new rendering complexity controls (JellyDolls) that lets you prevent expensive avatars from lagging you in Second Life. Also custom graphics presets and the http project has been added to this latest release. Yay! 🙂

Here are some of the highlights from this new update release and it’s worth checking out the release notes page for a complete list of the changes.

Linden Lab-Specific Highlights

Fully merged up to Linden Lab’s current release 4.0.6 codebase plus some cherry-picked fixes from upstream. Version 4.7.9 includes the following new features from the Linden Lab viewer:

• Quick Graphics — custom graphics presets. The Quick Graphics feature lets you save optimal graphics presets for all different occasions and quickly switch between them using a new top-bar pulldown.
• JellyDolls — avatar rendering complexity controls. A new Avatar Maximum Complexity control found in graphics preferences lets you prevent expensive avatars from lagging you.
• The HTTP Project — a complete replacement of the under-the-hood HTTP infrastructure. They provide improved performance and stability, resulting in fewer problems with high-volume operations like loading inventory.

Firestorm-Specific Highlights:

• KDU updated to version 7.8,
• RLVa updated to v2.0 — http://catznip.com/index.php/RLVa_2.0_Release_Notes. The main changes in this update are:
  • Added RLV 2.9 camera commands/restrictions (vision spheres not yet included due to time constraints but coming soon!).
  • Formalized documentation of the nine existing RLVa-specific commands and restrictions
  • Added five general new commands, 12 new camera-related commands and 14 extensions to existing commands.
  • Fixed a number of issues relating to folder locks (@unshared/sharedwear/detachthis/etc.).
  • Creators/scripters, please read the full release notes athttp://catznip.com/index.php/RLVa_2.0_Release_Notes.
• For photographers — new option to disable default eye movements and blinking.
• For builders — new option to show parcel boundary lines when building above ground level.
• For combat — avatar hitboxes are now colored in the same color as on the minimap to distinguish between  friendlies and enemies.
• Inventory — new filter to search inventory items by transferable permission.
• UI — new look to the pie menu and login screen.
• Windlight — the cloud density setting now updates correctly, resulting in better-looking clouds.
• OpenSim — increased the maximum sound length to 60 seconds; improvements to var region handling, fixed IZURLs in Inworldz.
• Many crashes fixes, bug fixes and performance improvements.

Spread the word about the new version of the popular Firestorm Viewer! 🙂

Press Release: Windlight Magazine Rebrands to Kultivate Magazine

 

Windlight Magazine Announces Name Change to Kultivate

Windlight Magazine announces its name change to Kultivate Magazine. The name change is part of the rebranding of Windlight to reflect its expansion into other art forms, including music, fashion, and literature.

Kultivate Magazine will continue being a provider and supporter of the arts in Second Life and will continue providing these services to the many artists and creators in Second Life. The brand will also continue providing services to it’s real life virtual patrons in the form of tutorials and classes.

The name Kultivate was chosen for a variety of reasons. Brand founder and publisher, John, explained his reasoning for the choice of name: “When I created Windlight last year, I wanted to assist artists and to provide resources for the art world to anyone who wanted them. I also started Windlight in memory of a much beloved younger sister, who tragically passed away two years ago…….Kandis, my sister, experienced growth in more ways than one in Paris and took her photography to new heights and levels as she perfected her craft. This growth is what has lead me to rebrand Windlight into it’s new name: Kultivate.” The choice to spell cultivate with a K was in honor of John’s sister Kandis.

Kultivate will encompass Kultivate Magazine, The Edge and The Edge Gallery, Windlight Art Gallery, Windlight Bailywick Gallery, The Riff, and the upcoming Team Diabetes of Second Life Art Gallery.

“Cultivation is the art and science of growing things. We hope that you will continue to grow with us and Kultivate our love of all things artistic. Please note that our strong commitment to the arts will never change. We will continue to have our art shows, our galleries, and our many artistic events to bring you the resources you have grown to love and utilize. If anything we will simply expand and bring you additional resources to help you to cultivate your craft, “ continued John.

For More Information

For more information on the brand’s name change, please visit the following link:

https://kultivatemagazine.com/2016/07/29/rebranding-of-windlight/

About Kultivate

Kultivate’s goal is to support and further the arts in Second Life. The main art forms that the brand supports are 2D and 3D art, literature, music, fashion, and lifestyle elements. For more information please visit: https://kultivatemagazine.com/about/

Linden Lab posts about Recent Second Life Developments

On 2nd August Linden Lab posted a blog post on the Recent Second Life Developments – What’s New and What’s Coming. In recent months the lab have been working on a lot of projects and improvements in Second Life. There are updates on Project Bento, the Visual Outfit Browser, the Quicktime replacement, updates on Learning islands & Social Islands & Gaming Island, Group Chats and much more.

It’s worth a read if you are interested in staying updated on active Second Life projects and improvements that are in the works. Please spread the word about the recent Second Life developments. 🙂

The latest updates are as follows:

Project Bento – extended Avatar Skeleton

Bento is making great progress! Week by week, the collaborative efforts between the Lab and Bento content creators and Resident testers continue to improve this project. We couldn’t be more excited about working with creators in making Second Life avatars better than ever! Stay tuned for updates or join us at our weekly user group meetings! We’re getting very close to promoting the Bento-capable viewer to Release Candidate status, the next step in making it a part of everyone’s Second Life experience.

Visual Outfit Browser

We realize Second Life Residents have dozens and dozens of outfits and looking at a list can be boring and uninspiring, not to mention difficult to remember what is what (imagine that you couldn’t look at the clothes in your own closet at home, but instead could only see a list of their names!). With the new Visual Outfit Browser, you’ll be able to see your outfits via an all new gallery-style display, making selecting outfits a snap. You provide the images that are displayed for each outfit or try out VOB’s new snapshot utility. Playing dress-up has never been so easy and fun! You can download this viewer now by visiting VOB’s Viewer download page.

Quicktime Replacement

Apple recently withdrew support for the Quicktime player for Windows, which has in any event been a steady source of security vulnerabilities over the years. This project replaces that plugin for the Windows Viewer with newer and more robust media support (the Mac Viewer will also get this new tech soon). It will play some media that Quicktime would not, but will not play some older Quicktime-only media. Content creators that incorporate media should be testing with this Viewer to see if the media they use is supported. In general, we recommend upgrading any shared media to mp3, mp4, or any HTML5 compatible format for best performance and stability.

Learning and Social Island

The latest Learning and Social Islands launched in March – the first to utilize Experience Tools as part of the new user experience. Early results have shown the new Learning/Social Island setup outperforming all previous (both Linden and Community) introductory setups in some key retention metrics.  We’re continuously making optimizations to that experience based on the data.

Gaming Island

We launched Gaming Island – a new Linden Lab region dedicated to educating Residents about skill games in Second Life.  On this region, anyone can learn how to play all available games of skill in a free-to-play setting. If you want to then go play the games for Linden dollars, the Portal Park makes it easy to find them.

Server Robustness

Over the last several months we’ve been working to make Second Life servers more robust with new limits and checks to manage bandwidth usage and CPU resources between Residents. This is to make sure that a shared experience will not turn into a shared crasher, and in addition to improving stability for everyone, these changes make things more difficult for would-be griefers.

Group Chat & Bans

We found a way to finally fix a long-standing issue with group chat and bans. Group moderators have the ability to remove troublemakers from a group; with the new change, this causes them to be immediately removed from the group chat and prevents them from returning or causing further disruption in the group.

Quick Graphics & JellyDolls

In order to give Residents more control of their graphics/performance balance and improve their performance, we released the JellyDoll Viewer which allows Residents to set limits on the amount of avatar complexity they render in their viewer. The Quick Graphics feature lets you save optimal presets for all different occasions.

TLS Update

We implemented TLS 1.2 for state of the art security to protect SL users’ financial transactions.

Verified Emails

As part of our continued efforts to improve security and reliability of our services, we’ve set a goal of only sending emails from Second Life to verified email addresses. One step on the road to achieving this goal has just shipped – we now request all new accounts to verify the provided email address. Keep an eye out for the next steps!

CoreHTTP

For improved performance and stability, we replaced the old HTTP infrastructure of the viewer – no small feat, but one that we know was much needed. This has resulted in fewer problems with high volume operations like loading inventory, and has significantly reduced certain kinds of load on the simulator hosts (leaving more time for actually simulating). It’s also made the viewer code easier to maintain and extend.

Marketplace Search

In November we introduced BetaSearch for the Marketplace with a new search engine and infrastructure.  Though it performed much better in some regards, Merchants also let us know about some issues, so we’ve proceeded carefully.  We’ve utilized Merchant feedback to refine and optimize the experience, and now we’re close to promoting the new Search.  Additionally, we’re looking forward to getting off the ageing infrastructure that’s been causing nightly service lockups.  We’re excited about providing better search results and a more reliable service.

Bug Fixes

We’ve been putting in a lot of effort to be more responsive to bug reports and improve turnaround time on fixes.  We triage bug reports daily and you can often see a fix in a public code repository within days of filing a bug.  We carefully consider feature requests and are always thrilled to accept and follow through when we can.  In addition to the focused projects above, just on the Viewer side we’ve had 3 Maintenance Viewer releases this year, with a 4th one in RC, fixing more than 200 bugs in total. And of course, we do try to introduce fewer than we fix!