Chat Log from Future of Second Life

Analysis

New, to me, thoughts:

  • The new platform needs 11 years of content creation to keep up with SL.
  • We replace most of our inventory all the time
  • You are paying usage not for virtual possession of pixels, it’s a service.
  • As long as they transmit data to the user, someone will make a TPV. – Cinder Roxley
  • I hope they also give us the equivalent in sim purchases

The thoughts that were new to me I think point out some interesting aspects of Second Life.

A new world is going to need new content. Where’s that content going to come from? From what’s been said we can pretty reliably predict it’s going to come from us, the users. But, when is a definite unknown.

Concurrent Users - May 2014

Concurrent Users – May 2014

We have no words from Ebbe to tell us how content is going to be added. But, I suspect that during the closed beta and in the open beta people will be building. Plus, I suspect builders like Madpea and others will be following the requirements for content in the new world. They will likely be building ready to import their bills as soon as the doors open. I think clothing merchants, furniture merchants, and all the others will be doing the same. I suspect it will take far less time to fill up the new world that it did Second Life.

As to replacing our inventory all the time, there are some different ways to take that. I don’t clean out my inventory all that often. So I wouldn’t call it ‘replacing’ as much as I would abandoning in place. Some people commenting apparently do the same has several thought there was about 90% of their inventory that they never use.

The take on what were paying for is interesting. Linden Lab is providing a service. I can’t really think of any stuff in my inventory that I bought from Linden Lab.

Cinder Roxley brought up the point that I hadn’t thought of. For a viewer or browser to display anything on your computer somewhere a server has to transmit information to it. That means someone can monitor the data stream leaving their computer coming into the computer from the servers and reverse engineer a viewer/browser to do the same thing. So, open source or not there is a possibility for third-party viewers.

Building a viewer for the new world without any code from the Lab is going to be slow going. I suspect third-party developers might hold off for a time. I’m not sure they would hold off forever.

The idea of the Lab giving us equivalent purchases is completely new. It just didn’t occur to me. I can see where it would be in the Lab’s interest to give existing sim owners a deal on moving their sim’s into the new world. Or maybe they’ll give a deal for those that have land in both worlds. I think it reasonable to assume something like that would happen. But, I’m speculating.

Now as for stuff in our inventory, I can’t see the Lab trying to do any kind of ‘equivalent purchases’ for that. After all, we didn’t buy that stuff from the Lab. Also, whatever stuff the lab gave us would deprive merchants that have worked to move their stuff to the new world of their just income. So, I just can’t see that happening.

Just Interesting

  • So you need to prepare to buy a new souped up pc
  • I would be concerned as a builder or artist to be able to transfer my work, tools, and materials.. Those are not money…they are time.
  • I’m in SL because I want to have fun and learn things NOW – not in the future. The new platform doesn’t change that.
  • Shutting down …who knows but I’m not worried about supporting LL I’m worried about supporting myself …somehow I think that’s a reasonable way of thinking .
  • Kitty, it would likely be only objects that you have created yourself. And would probably not include animations or mesh items.
  • Linden Lab doesn’t have a very good track record when it comes to doing things correctly.
  • Why get rich in real life? You can’t take it with you when you die?

Will we need to buy a new high-end game machine to run the new world? I seriously doubt it. The Lab has gone to create lengths to support users on all the equipment out there. They still support Windows XP, at least with service pack 3, and older hardware. I don’t see that building a new world is going to change the nature of Linden Lab.

While I didn’t see it asked during the event others have asked if Oculus Rift will be required. I also seriously doubt that will be a requirement. The idea with the new world is to make it available to as many people as possible. Requiring users to buy a new computer and oculus rift and some type of nifty user interface device would seriously reduce the number of people that could use the new world.

I found it interesting that some people are more interested in their expenditure of time and the expenditure of money. I see money and time as pretty much the same thing, so it’s kind of surprising to me.

4 thoughts on “Chat Log from Future of Second Life

  1. ”Cinder Roxley brought up the point that I hadn’t thought of. For a viewer or browser to display anything on your computer somewhere a server has to transmit information to it. That means someone can monitor the data stream leaving their computer coming into the computer from the servers and reverse engineer a viewer/browser to do the same thing. So, open source or not there is a possibility for third-party viewers.”

    Not if the client (the \viewer\) associated with SL v2.0 is a \lightweight\ one, such as a web browser… Who tells you there will be a dedicated viewer at all ?… A WebGL enabled browser could be what will be needed to log in SL v2.0, and all the data processing could be done server-side, meaning no data but rendering related one would have to be transmitted to the \viewer\. This would make it pretty impossible to design a third party viewer (or even a third party UI/skin for SL 2.0)…
    I of course hope it will not be the case, because after 2007, LL lost all sanity in UI designing (till the release of the first \voice\ viewer (1.18.2), I loved every UI change that got implemented by LL, but starting with 1.18.2, it went down-hill with every new release, thus my involvement in TPV development), but I alas think the probability is high that LL will attempt to make access to SL v2.0 dependent on just a web browser. In this case, however, LL could design their web-based \viewer\ software with some \plugability\ or skinning features, allowing to at least let third party developers to design an alternate UI… But I doubt it would be among their top-priority, at least in at first.

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