Second Life Mobile – April 2024 Update
On Friday 19th April 2024 Linden Lab blogged about the latest progress they are making on the new Second Life mobile app via Lab Gab. There is a new developer video from the latest Private Alpha release for April 2024 which runs for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. It’s been five months since the lab first announced Second Life mobile private alpha to the Second Life community.
The full release of the Second Life mobile app is so close. Premium subscribers will really soon be invited into the alpha testing program. The lab have made big improvements to the Second Life alpha mobile app so far including connection stability, reduced the memory footprint and fixed issues relating to where some avatars weren’t appearing at all.
The lab have improved the user experience by decreasing the sensitivity of pinch and camera controls, moved the camera target closer to the centre of your avatar and improved the size of the area for the V-Stick. The user interface has been recently been updated and now you can start a chat from any screen (friends, nearby and groups).
The lab are now working on getting avatars with skeleton deformers looking better, getting moving vehicles synced with the vehicles, improving teleports and notifications. Sounds very exciting indeed and it’s going to be amazing once the Second Life mobile app goes into the Beta/Public phrase. The lab are still accepting new testers into the Second Life mobile private alpha program for Second Life Premium Plus subscribers.
Lab Gab – April 2024 Update
There was a new Lab Gab that was uploaded on YouTube on 19th April 2024 where the developer update for April 2024 preview was shown (see above). The lab are working through the roadmap and feedback is needed to make the experience better. There was a interesting mobile Q&A section during the lab gab episode talking about whats coming soon to the Second Life mobile app…
- Second Life supporting HUDS – yes
- Creating and building – possible in the longer term
- Voice support – yes
- Estate Management – maybe
- Supporting GPS, webcam etc – maybe
- Keyboard & mouse support – maybe
- Free/Pay To Access – No plans to charge for Mobile use
Other Updates In The Lab Gab Episode
- Mirrors: This is currently available for testing on Aditi (Beta grid). Simulator support is starting with limited deployment from Monday 22nd April via the glTF Featurettes RC viewer with viewer support
- 2K Textures: Full support for 2048×2048 textures: Basic/Plus account is L$50 per texture & Premium account is L$40 per texture & Premium Plus: L$10 per texture.
- Second Life Age Requirements: Second Life is for adults 18 and older / Anyone 16 and 17 years old are allowed but only in G-rated areas / Second Life is not meant to be experienced by people under the age of 16 / Students aged 13 – 15 are restriced to Second Life sponsoring institutions like schools which involves a special registration process
- Age Verification Process: The lab will be sharing more information about this soon
- How consenting adults engage in roleplay in avatars that are child presenting: The lab do not and will never allow sexualized age play in Second Life. There is a policy on this issue and it is strictly enforced. The lab have no intention of preventing adults role playing as child avatars.
- Child Avatar Policy: The lab are in the process of strengthening the child avatar policy right now and the roll out will be soon. The lab wants an even stronger separation between child avatars and adult-rated content and experiences
- Governance/Community Changes: The lab are looking at updates with better clarity and stronger guidelines on conduct within the community/organisation. The lab are now finalizing an update to the conduct policy which addresses issues raised recently including how Linden employees interact with the community and policies that address perceptions of conflict of interest or favouritism
- Upcoming Community Roundtable: This will be linked with Second Life leadership and the lab plans to launch this in late May 2024. Details about how to participate will be announced soon.
- SL21B: Birthday celebrations start from 21st June 2024 and the theme is Elements. More SL21B announcements will be announced very soon.
Daniel Voyager 