For anyone that has not heard the news about SL20B yet the lab have officially announced details on when Second Life 20th annual birthday celebrations will take place.
The SL20B celebrations opens to the public on Thursday 22nd June through until Tuesday 11th July 2023. There will be “20 fun-filled days of live music, performances, shopping, and amazing community exhibits!”.
The SL20B theme is Our Fantastic Future. “The cornerstone of this idea is what we would define as eco-futurism including sustainability, a focus on our environment, and the next generation of our world”.
* Applications are open for SL20B Music Fest which will be held from 22nd to 24th June 2023. Deadline is 9th April 2023.
Saffia Widdershins recently announced that the 2023 One Billion Rising annual event in Second Life has been officially cancelled for this year due to real life commitments.
Next year in 2024 One Billion Rising event in Second Life will be returning if everything goes to plan. Saffia will be stepping back from an organisational role after ten years.
Here is the full blog post below….
It’s with great sadness that I have to tell you that One Billion Rising has been cancelled for 2023.
Although some of the team are very willing and able to stage the event this year, others of us have been overwhelmed by real life and other commitments. In view of this, it seemed best to cancel OBR 2023, and instead look ahead to a magnificent return in 2024.
I apologise to people who may have started preparations – the delay in informing people about this news is my entirely fault, and not anyone else’s.
For me personally, after ten years, the time has come to step back from an organisational role – although I do hope I will be able to attend and enjoy the event in 2024 and beyond.
The 12th annual Second Life Christmas Expo for 2022 will open to the public next week on Friday 2nd December through until Sunday 11th December 2022. The SL Christmas Expo 2022 theme is The Magic of Holiday Stories.
The SL Christmas Expo regions have arrived on the grid and now work is underway to get them ready for the big grand opening next week. The SL Christmas Expo is spread across 12 regions (Chapters – different holiday story) featuring more than 150 shops and more.
There will be live entertainment, live performances, special hunts, decoration competitions, photos with Santa and much more. The return of Linden Lights of Hope region showcasing Linden Homes from Linden Lab. There could new details announced about the next Linden Home theme during the expo.
SL Christmas Expo 2022 Regions
Please spread the word about next week’s SL Christmas Expo 2022.
On Friday 21st October 2022 there was a special live episode of Lab Gab featuring Patch Linden and Grumpity Linden. There was a lot of topics mentioned during the live session and some announcements too.
I think probably the biggest thing to take away is the Premium Plus will be able to hold a Homestead regions ($109 a month tier for a Homestead) without having the need to pay for a Full region. Premium Plus subscribers in Europe will soon see the removal of VAT from all subscription options (TBC).
There was a update on Linden Homes including the first premium plus selection of Linden Homes will be the Ranch theme – launching end of 2022 / early 2023 release (more themes are coming soon). There are new plans to get new floor plans for existing Linden Home designs before the end of 2022.
The lab are working on mobile plans and apparently there might be some teasing of this option in early 2023. Speedlight is still a third party viewer and is not part of the lab’s mobile development. The avatar expressiveness project is still in the early phases of development (more in 2023). The lab will be rolling out some big improvements to a first-time avatar customisation process soon. New starter mesh avatars may be released in the next few months or so.
There was more projects and updates mentioned. If you missed the live episode you can catch up below in two parts.
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The SciFi Expo 2022 applications for merchants, performers and bloggers are now officially open. The SciFi Expo starts on Friday 14th October and runs through until Sunday 23rd October 2022 fundraising for Making Strides Against Cancer and The American Society.
The SciFi Expo (Voyage Through The Stars) brings together designers, roleplayers, performers and supporters from across the grid. The 2022 SciFi Expo is made possible thanks to the great support from the region and event sponsors. More details see the press release here.
Apply Here – make sure to read the guidelines before appying…
The 2022 Sci-Fi Expo in Second Life opens to the public on Wednesday 18th May through until Sunday 29th May 2022. This year the Sci-Fi expo marks it’s 14th year and theme is Brave New Future. Please note the Sci-Fi website is under construction and the web pages will be updated once the main event gets underway.
There are many exciting events to attend from DJ events, fashion shows, movies, dunk a Linden event, Trivia and much more. Check out the Events page and note that all times are SLT. The SLURL for the location will be announced/published nearer to the time.
This annual conference is the largest gatherings of science fiction fans, merchants, entertainers, roleplayers, creators and more. The conference features sub genres from steampunk, post-apocalypse, cyberpunk, fantasy, superhero’s and more. The Sci-Fi expo is a good way to support the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life of Second Life season.
The Sci-Fi Expo is made possible every year in Second Life thanks to all the amazing exhibitors, builders, volunteers and the visitors who make it a huge success. Everyone is welcome to attend the Sci-Fi Expo and don’t forget to spread the word about this great annual event.
Work is underway over at the SL19B regions in time for Second Life 19th birthday celebrations starting 16th June through until 5th July 2022. As many know already the SL19B theme is Steampunk and it will be interesting to see how many builds will actually stay with this new theme.
Applications are still open for SL19B and this is a great time to be part of the birthday celebrations. Please note that SL19B applications close on 8th May 2022.
During the past month or so the SLB regions have changed visually slightly for those that have been watching/tracking progress on the map. In many regions the square parcels have been marked out already with new build constructions happening in the south which is good news. In the north and on the east side not much has changed as far as I can see. The planning regions in the south east have not changed recently.
The regions are not open until the public until mid June 2022.
SL19B Regions Map – 27th April 2022
SLB regions / SL19B Regions – 27.4.22
Stay tuned for more SL19B updates on my blog during May 2022 and June 2022.
The Fantasy Faire 2022 in Second Life opened it’s doors to the public on 21st April and has been very popular so far. The event ends on Sunday 8th May 2022 so there is still time to visit the 2022 Fantasy Faire. The Fantasy Faire is one of the major events in the Relay For Life of Second Life season.
The Fairelands have returned from the Mists; twenty fantasy worlds forming a circle of lands, a chain of people across the many realms. Welcome home, Fairelanders!
The best place to get started is at the Fairelands Junction. This year there are 20 regions in total to explore full of awesomeness and nice scenery. Don’t forget “The Faire has long been considered the premier annual shopping event for fantasy-themed merchandise in Second Life, showcasing fantasy avatars, clothing, furnishings, gadgets, and exclusive items by 250 of the grid’s top fantasy creators”.
On Friday 15th April 2022 Patch Linden officially announced that the next Linden Home theme is Sakura which is a modern take on the Japanese revamp of the old Linden Homes Asian style.
There is beautiful landscaping, cannels, tall bamboo forests and it has it’s own road network to explore. This new theme comes with 512sqm and 1024sqm parcels and comes with it’s own unique features (regular/open floorplans etc).
Patch Linden Speech at Bellisseria 3rd Anniversary Celebration 2022
There are four preview regions located here (SSPSD1, SSPD2, SSPD3 and SSPD4) which is actually near the SSP development area where the Moles/Lindens work on upcoming Linden Home themes. Yay! 🙂
Many have been waiting for years for the lab to refresh the old Asian Linden Home theme and I would imagine the release will be sometime over the summer. This looks to be a huge improvement for sure.
There are active rez zones around the demo regions and there are 16 home styles that have been found so far. Every region has public rezzing zones with 100 limits and Sakura will not have seasonal changes like with the Fantasy sub continent.
Ajisal
Haibisukasu
Himawari
Kinmokusei – (512)
Kosumosu – (512)
Kuchinashi
Rabenda
Sumiere
Tenjikubotan – (512)
Tsubaki – (512)
And more!
The feedback for this new theme seems very positive so far with many saying that the layout is excellent, it’s a wonderful concept, the regions are lovely and there is more.
Check out the Linden Home section via the Second Life Forums for the latest discussions and latest snapshots of the new theme.
It’s time to celebrate 3 years of the Bellisseria continent
Today on Friday 15th April 2022 marks Bellisseria third anniversary in Second Life since the second generation of Linden Homes were first launched on the grid. The Moles and many Lindens have worked really hard over the past three years to keep growing the Bellisseria continent so that more releases can happen regularly.
Bellisseria Fairgrounds – April 2022Chalet sub continent windmills
When the Bellisseria continent first opened to the public back on 15th April 2019 there was only like 384 regions. Today there are thousands of Linden Home regions spread over many themed sub continents connecting up to former continents. It’s been exciting to keep track of progress since then and even before that back in late August 2018 when the first 80 SSP regions arrived on the grid.
11th April 2019
A few days or so before the big opening the lab added the Linden Homes section on the Second Life Forums. The SSP? thread is still running today with 263 pages full of historical findings. It’s amazing it’s been active since 21st August 2008.
In early April 2019 Patch Linden went live on Relay Rap Radio Talk Show to talk about the new Linden Homes project that the lab have been working on since mid 2018.
Here are were the updates from the radio show….
The opening “will be announced when it happens”
Currently “one week past the original roll out date”
There will be four house styles to choose from. Eventually “there will be six to eight more styles” for Linden Homes – some 512sq and some 1024sq
The new SSP continent will “grow futher down South then East” where the new water regions are
It’s recommended to get a new Linden Home quickly as there may be a long wait
The old Linden homes will be going away and will be shut down. At least a year or two before this happens.
Back in late March 2019 the first part of the SSP continent showed up on the world map. Over the weeks that followed the continent became much bigger. See the comparison maps below 2020 vs 2021 vs 2022. Linden Lab back then said it was to do with a Super Secret Project they are working on.
Bellisseria SSP continent – Late March 2019SSP Continent – 16th January 2019The houseboats release opens – 15th May 2019New area of land – 17th August 2019
During the past year the Chalet, Fantasy and Newbrooke sub continents have arrived on the grid with new areas to explore, more Linden Homes and a bigger community overall. Work is not completely done yet and further expansion of Bellisseria during the next year or two is highly expected.
Newbrooke sub continent
The lab is due to announce details on Premium Plus by the end of May 2022 and maybe there will be more interest for Linden Homes after that. The next theme reveal may happen at SL19B which happens from mid June 2022. The release will most likely happen before the end of the year if there are no delays.
Campwich Forest All Hours – April 2019Fourze – April 2019
Bellisseria growth over the years – (August 2018 to April 2022)
First SSP Regions Arrived – 20th August 2018
Bellisseria Continent Opening Day – 15th April 2019
April 2020 vs April 2021 vs April 2022
Bellisseria Continent – 15th April 2020Bellisseria Continent – 15th April 2021Bellisseria Continent – 15th April 2022
I can’t wait to see what the Bellisseria continent will look like in a year from now and even two years from now. It’s going to be triple the size that’s for sure and I will continue to keep track of new developments on my blog. Stay tuned for that.
Feel free to share your best Bellisseria memories from the past three years in comments.
Daniel Voyager 