14 years later

Bugs Bunny – October 2020

Today marks my 14th rez day in Second Life. It seems so long ago now since I signed up. It really has been an amazing journey from exploring places across the grid, writing blog posts, meeting loads of talented people, sharing snapshots and much more. Second Life is still the best virtual world out there and I love being apart of the community.

2020 has been rough in terms of the real world with the pandemic and I think the lab have done a good job running Second Life operations. I hope 2021 things will start to pick up again for the better.

I am now looking forward to the year ahead especially when it comes to my 15th rez day at the end of October 2021. I will still blog about Second Life and OpenSim going forward. You can find me on Plurk and Twitter to stay updated on what’s going on.

For the next few months my presence in world may be low due RL but hopefully I will be more active in 2021.

Thanks for subscribing and support over the past 14 years.

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The Moles Continue To Make Progress On The Log Homes Railway

In the past week or so the Moles have extended the railway track from SSPE1162 (from the tunnel) to SSPE1165. I have added two white lines on the map above where the newly added railway track has been placed. On the map the long green line is where the Moles will be adding new railway tracks.

This part of the railway line is still closed for the public. In the weeks ahead more new railway track will be added going further up north eastwards. The Moles have added more new Linden homes nearby and around the central areas/coastline recently.

Bugs bunny looks at the new railway track curving around into the trees.

The new railway adventure awaits….to be continued.

Second Life Cloud Uplift Update From April Linden

On Wednesday 21st October April Linden who is the Second Life Operations Manager announced the latest update on moving Second Life to the cloud (AWS). According to April there are now over 1, 000 regions running in the cloud as of now.

Over the next few weeks or so things might be a little rough April mentions in the blog post. The goal is to finish the cloud migration by the holidays. Hopefully this means Halloween but I do think it’s going to take until Christmas before it’s fully completed.

Now 1, 000 regions on AWS is a small number compared to the the total on the grid. As of 18th October there are 24, 979 so it’s still going take time to move all the regions across into the cloud. But 1, 000 is good progress I think compared with what it was like just a few months ago.

The lab have been working on this for a few years now and it’s good to know good progress is being made.

Here is the full blog post below…

Hi Residents!

I’ve come to ask for a favor.
We’re in a really exciting time in the history of Second Life. We’re in the home stretch on moving the grid to the cloud. We hit a fun milestone a few days ago, and now there’s over 1,000 regions running in the cloud!

Everyone in the Lab is working hard on this project, and we’re moving very quickly. I just got out of a leadership meeting where we went over what’s currently in flight, and there’s so many things moving that I lost track of them all. It’s amazing!

The favor I’ve come to ask you for is your patience.

We’re doing our very best to fix things that come up as we go. This means that we might need to restart regions more often than you’re used to, and things may break just a little more often than we’ve all been accustomed to.

In order to get this project done as fast as possible and minimize the time (and resulting bugs) we have to spend with one foot in our datacenter and the other in the cloud, we don’t want to limit ourselves to restarting regions just once a week. We’re ready to get this project done! We’ve seen how much better Second Life runs in the cloud, and we’re ready to have everyone on the grid experience it.

I’m sorry that things might be a little rough over the next few weeks. It’s our goal to finish the cloud migration by the holidays, so that everyone, Resident and Linden alike, can have a nice quiet holiday with our friends and families.

We can’t promise we’ll make it by then, but we’re sure giving it all we’ve got. The mood around the Lab is really positive right now, and we’re all working hard together to make it happen. I’m really proud to be a part of the team that’s transforming Second Life as we know it.

Thanks so much for hanging in there with us. We know it’s frustrating at times, but it won’t last for too long, and there’s a better future on the other side of this. We truly appreciate your understanding and patience as we finish up this project.

Thanks everyone. 💜

April Linden,

Second Life Operations Manager

Hopefully everything will according to plan and the uplift will be finished before the end of this year. However as always there is a small chance there could be delays pushing the migration into early 2021.

The Lumiya Viewer is still available via Slide.Me & still no word from Alina Lyvette

Back in early May 2019 I blogged about the Lumiya Viewer being no longer listed on the Google Play Store. Apparently it was removed from Google Play due to a change in the developer terms (change in SMS policy from Google). Lumiya was removed off the Third Party Viewer Directory page for a variety of reasons.

The Lumiya website was last updated in early October 2017 and the latest viewer version was 3.4.2. There has been no word from Alina Lyvette for some time now and it seems unlikely that the Lumiya app will be updated again anytime soon. Myself and many others have tried to get in touch with Alina but so far there have been no responses.

The Lumiya Viewer is still available through Slide.Me (risk) and other websites which may be risky. The last version still offers communications and other viewer functions. However from what I have heard the world rendering and avatar appearance etc are broken.

I hope someday we will hear from Alina Lyvette. For now it’s worth waiting for announcements on the iOS and Android version of the new Second Life mobile app that Linden Lab are working on now.

Apple Rejects iOS Version Of The Second Life Mobile Client

According to this week’s Web User Group (WUG) meeting held on Wednesday 7th October 2020 it appears that Apple rejected the first submission iOS version of the Second Life mobile client. For some reason it did not meet the requirements.

Linden Lab are now working to address the issues as part of Apple’s review process and when that is done then the iOS version will go through Linden Lab QA process. After that then the IOS version can be re-submitted to Apple for approval for a 2nd time.

Once the iOS version of the Second Life mobile client is on the App Store listings then it will go from the closed alpha phrase to the beta phrase most likely. The Android version is still behind the iOS version and is still being developed. I would imagine early 2021 we would see the Android version approved. Maybe late November or December for the iOS version if Apple gives the green light. Who knows!.

What to expect from the first release of the iOS Communications App

It’s important to understand that the first release of the iOS version of the Second Life mobile client will not have full capabilities like world rendering, purchases and more. Over time the app will have inventory management, group chat and more features. The app will be used for those that want to stay connected on the go rather than using it at home.

This is a delay for sure but hopefully everything can be resolved before the end of 2020. That depends on Apple of course.

U.S. Elections 2020: Register To Vote

Linden Lab posted a blog post within the past 24 hours about registering for the U.S. Elections. As many know already the election day is scheduled for Tuesday 3rd November 2020.

I’m in the UK so I cannot vote unless I’m in the USA. I have been watching the election coverage from this side of the pond and it will be interesting to see wins this time around.

I did think the first TV president debate with Trump and Biden was a mess and full of drama on both sides. The vice president debate was a little better last night and who knows who will win that. 

Here is the full blog post below…

Virtual Worlds Are Made By Real People

Just as we are free to create and shape the virtual world of Second Life, we can’t forget the power that we also have to shape the physical world.

We are all a part of something, and your voice matters.

Register to vote today!

To vote in the 2020 U.S. election, you can register in person or online. Voter registration deadlines vary from state to state, with cutoffs ranging from 7-30 days before the election.

It’s also important to check if your state requires identification, find your polling location, and apply for an absentee ballot if you can’t make it in person. Click here for more information.

Don’t forget that if your legal name, address, or political affiliation has changed, it’s best to update your information to make sure your vote counts.

Visit the 2020 Election Simulator to get a sneak peek at the newsroom rush.

I’m sure the American people will hopefully make the right choice. Good luck. 

Update from Patch Linden on Linden Homes, Halloween Events and Uplift Progress

On 1st October Patch Linden posted a update on this thread on the Second Life Forums about the latest news on the uplift efforts, Halloween events and the progress of the upcoming Linden Home themes. I’m glad Patch posted this update because it’s been a while since we heard anything from the lab since the 17th Second Life birthday back in June 2020. 

Main Highlights

• The Uplift efforts are “proceeding very well” which is good news to hear. The Uplift is expected to be done before the end of 2020 which is less than three months away. 
• Linden Lab have been busy working on large scale events like Titmouse, Swagginator, the Millbank surprise and they have been preparing the Halloween Haunted Tour. 
• The Stilt homes “can’t be released yet due to uplift and simulator availability constraints”. The theme after Stilts is in the “end stages of content production completion” It’s set soon to be positioned for release. 
• The theme after that is “ready to follow it pretty quickly”.
• Soon Patch will be starting a “regular town hall type meeting for Bellisseria”.

Here is the full update from Patch Linden…

In general, everything is still running full steam ahead.  There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, and not just for my team, but across the Lab. The uplift efforts are proceeding very well and you’ll see even more about that soon I’m sure.   

As for me and the LDPW team, I took a real vacation with a bit of a daring trip to the house of mouse.  Prior to that the we’d been super busy working on several large scale events, such as Titmouse and all the fun stuff we’re just releasing around Halloween like the huge shopping event, Swagginator, all our gift and Halloween content, the Millbank surprise, readying the Halloween Haunted Tour and it’s modifications for the year and so on.  The stilt homes can’t be released yet due to uplift and simulator availability constraints.   The theme following Stilts is in the end stages of content production completion and will also soon™ be positioned for release.  The theme after is entering content production now, and the theme following is ready to follow it pretty quickly.

To that end, and as gently as I try to remind everyone, the Linden Homes model of home ownership is positioned as a constricted value proposition type of new user or starter home.  I have said before that at some point you probably would or should naturally want to “grow” out of the Linden Home ownership model and want bigger, better, more control, etc.  That is totally ok and by design, but some people are also perfectly happy with staying put in a Linden Home, also ok.   There are many other amazing land ownership options out there from Mainland to Private Estates.   No matter where you end up ultimately, we were glad you were part of something really special, we still equally love everyone and the community that continues to be a huge part of Bellisseria’s continuing success.

At some point in the near future, I’m going to start a regular town hall type meeting for Bellisseria.  Who knows what tidbits of information could potentially drop from that.  😉

Sounds like good progress is being made at the lab and once the Uplift is done then I’m sure the Stilts will be released soon after that. With three months left of 2020 hopefully the lab will be able to complete everything that needs to be done (see above). 

I do like the sound of regular town hall meetings for all things Bellisseria and I’m sure it will be very popular indeed. For now for the latest updates please keep checking the Linden Homes section on the Second Life Forums. I will be posting updates on my blog when new developments happen. 

Log Homes Expansion March 2020 vs October 2020

The new railway line expansion launching soon

It’s been six months since Patch Linden first announced the new release of Log Homes via the official Second Life forums. The first batch included 4, 828 new Linden Homes (over 230 regions) and since then the Moles have added thousands more new Linden Homes on the log homes continent.

I am back, and this time with another staggering 4,828 new Linden Homes ready for your ownership! The theme, as many of you saw in the ACS Demo region, is Log Homes.

– Patch Linden – 1st April 2020

The Randelsham Tree House was added in late April 2020 which is located in the Randelsham Forest region. A nice community hangout place surrounded by lovely scenery. The Moles are working on expanding the railway line further eastwards which is very exciting indeed. I will post more updates on this soon.

Log Homes Railway Version 1 = July 2020

Here is what the log homes continent looked like back in late March 2020. There were loads of clone versions of the log homes all over the place. Access from the west was not possible for a while until the log homes opened to the public. Back then there were loads of empty areas and was not much to view.

Log Homes – 27th March 2020

Log Homes – Early April 2020

Here is the latest new photo of the log homes continent as of 1st October 2020. The Moles have made great progress in six months as you can see below with thousands of new Log homes built and more connections made compared with the map from March 2020.

• Red = Upcoming areas that will be built on soon
• White = Areas that are being worked on now

Log Homes continent – 1st October 2020

I would say the log homes continent is roughly 80% done so far. As everyone knows the log homes continent is going to take another month or so to complete. It’s going to be amazing once the Moles finish because then the next phrase will start expanding the continent out futher.

It’s going to be great when the new Stilt Linden homes go live on the grid later this year hopefully. I am looking forward to the other new themes in the works which have not been unveiled yet.