Summary of Tech and New Second Life Features Announced or Released in August 2025

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This summary organizes key technological updates, new features in Second Life™ (SL), and enhancements to SL and third-party viewers based on announcements and releases during August 2025.

There is some stuff for the every day not so technical user.

Second Life Core Platform Updates

Second Life Viewer Release: 2025.06 (Version 7.2.1.17108480561) – Released August 28, 2025

  • Inventory Favorites System: Users can now mark items (e.g., outfits, objects) as favorites for quick access, improving inventory management. This community-requested feature streamlines organization and reduces clutter.
  • Avatar System Improvements: Enhanced skeleton reset as a networked ViewerEffect for better synchronization; fixed hand size settings not saving; restored full 90-degree upward pitch in mouselook camera mode; resolved anti-flipping regression in mouselook.
  • Camera and Movement Enhancements: Improved arrow key movement description; fixed teleport history landing height issues; added “Disable Camera Constraints” and “Disable Minimum Camera Zoom Distance” options for greater flexibility.
  • Chat and Voice Fixes: Fixed empty conversation logs; enhanced emoji picker for correct insertion; resolved voice echo across regions (Vivox to WebRTC transitions); improved voice reconnection after tuning; fixed slider text truncation in voice settings.
  • Content Creation Tools: Mesh uploader now allows reducing material counts; detailed LOD (Level of Detail) information in Build Tools; better error messages for texture uploads.
  • UI and Text Polish: Automatic placeholder text selection in fields; fixed blurry thumbnails; resolved issues deleting links to worn objects; improved “Away” status handling.
  • Environment and Rendering Fixes: Fixed shadow FPS drops on Mac vs. PC; resolved stream toggle greying out; corrected viewer URI links for parcel maps.
  • Stability and Crashes: Numerous crash fixes, including those related to notifications, voice connections, and SD (Serialized Data) handling.
  • System Improvements: Enhanced performance for inventory finder floater; memory allocation fixes; OpenJPG and PBR texture panel improvements.
  • Impact: This release incorporates community feedback via GitHub and the SL Feedback Portal, focusing on quality-of-life enhancements. It builds on prior updates like glTF mesh import (from July) and supports ongoing WebRTC voice rollout. Download available via official SL site; full notes at releasenotes.secondlife.com.

WebRTC Voice Beta Testing for Private Estates – Announced August 2025

  • New Voice Infrastructure: Linden Lab invited private estate and region owners to beta test WebRTC Voice, a next-generation protocol replacing Vivox. Benefits include lower latency, better audio quality, reduced bandwidth use, and cross-platform compatibility (e.g., mobile/desktop).
  • Implementation Details: Beta focuses on estate-level opt-in; grid-wide rollout targeted for late 2025. Includes moderation tools and potential AI enhancements for noise suppression and echo cancellation.
  • Technical Specs: WebRTC enables peer-to-peer connections for improved reliability; supports spatial audio and group voice channels. Fixes Vivox issues like echo across regions and device detection problems.
  • Community Feedback: Testing emphasizes stability in high-traffic areas; early reports note smoother transitions during sim crossings. Full rollout expected post-beta, with backward compatibility for Vivox regions during transition.
  • Impact: Addresses long-standing voice complaints; aligns with mobile app integration. More details in SL Community Blog; opt-in via estate tools.

Marketplace Subscription and Listing Enhancements Issue – Resolved August 26, 2025

  • Bug Fix and Monitoring: Reports of Marketplace subscriptions and listing enhancements failing were investigated and fixed. Users advised to double-check settings, as some reverted during the patch.
  • Technical Details: Involved backend stability for auto-renewals and premium listings; fix implemented without downtime. Ongoing monitoring for edge cases like disabled enhancements.
  • Impact: Improves reliability for creators relying on Marketplace for income; part of broader web platform optimizations. Status update via SL Grid Status blog.

Scheduled Server Maintenance and Rolling Restarts – August 26-27, 2025

  • Main Grid Restarts: Rolling restarts on August 26 (starting 6:00 AM PDT) for stability updates; no-copy objects not recommended during process. RC channels restarted August 27 (7:00 AM PDT).
  • Unscheduled Maintenance: Billing phone lines and live chat support maintenance on August 30; feedback portal maintenance on August 21.
  • Technical Focus: Aimed at performance tweaks, including post-PBR optimizations and WebRTC prep. No major new features, but ensures grid reliability.
  • Impact: Minimal disruption; users reminded to save builds. Part of routine infrastructure work supporting viewer updates. Details on status.secondlifegrid.net.

Support Team Expansion Progress – Update August 2025

  • Backlog Reduction: Expanded team closing tickets faster; urgent issues prioritized. Internal systems improved for smoother operations.
  • Technical Context: Addresses higher ticket volumes from viewer updates (e.g., PBR, glTF) and mobile beta. New staff names appearing in responses.
  • Impact: Faster resolution for tech issues like crashes or rendering bugs. Ongoing from July; full normalization expected soon.

Third-Party Viewer Updates

Firestorm Viewer Release 7.1.13.78266 – August 15, 2025

  • Performance and Stability: Incorporated LL’s DeltaFPS for better frame rates; optimized for PBR and WebRTC compatibility. Fixes memory leaks, inventory floater performance, and world map issues.
  • New Features: Enhanced phototools with composition guides and depth-of-field improvements; Firestorm Poser for in-world avatar/animesh posing; Primfeed integration for direct photo sharing.
  • UI and Tools: Overhauled preferences search; added folder locking to prevent accidental edits; improved group moderator options.
  • Rendering Fixes: Better anti-aliasing, tone mapping, and legacy lighting compatibility; fixed animated water issues.
  • Other Enhancements: Single-click AO (Animation Override) playback; profile editing previews; 20 picks support for all users.
  • Impact: Focuses on creator tools and stability; 80%+ users on PBR-capable versions. Download at firestormviewer.org; notes emphasize the importance of antivirus whitelisting for smooth installs. On a personal experience level, I had to redo all my Firestorm white list items. Clear them all for all versions and start over.

Cool VL Viewer Stable Release 1.32.4.1 – August 16, 2025

  • Core Updates: Merged LL’s 2025.06 viewer code; supports glTF mesh import and WebRTC voice.
  • UI Coherency: Maintains V1-style interface with modern tweaks; expanded preferences for new features like water exclusion surfaces.
  • Stability Fixes: Crash resolutions for audio, rendering, and inventory; improved LOD handling in Build Tools.
  • OpenSim Compatibility: Full support retained; dual renderer (ALM + PBR fallback).
  • Impact: Emphasizes reliability and quick open-source integration; ideal for users preferring classic UI. Download at sldev.free.fr; changelog highlights Lua scripting enhancements.

Ongoing Tech Developments and Roadmap Notes

  • glTF Mesh Import Alpha (Ongoing from July): Continued testing in Project Viewer 7.2.0.16356654553; simplifies .glb/.gltf uploads but lacks unified materials (future update). Constraints mirror COLLADA; sample assets via Khronos Group GitHub.
  • Mobile App Beta Evolution: August updates (2025.7.560 Android / 0.1.557 iOS) include networking fixes, achievements, camera improvements, and Unity 6 upgrade. Lobby for quick access to chats/friends/events; no full inventory yet, but address bar and maps planned for Q3 2025.
  • PBR and Performance Refinements: Post-July DeltaFPS, August focuses on Mac/PC shadow parity and texture repeats per meter. Reflection probes adaptive to hardware.
  • Future Teasers: WebRTC grid-wide by end-2025; AI Character Designer paused September 1 (evaluation phase); Marketplace responsive design (Q4 2025).

This summary highlights August’s emphasis on viewer stability, voice tech, and creator tools, building toward broader 2025 innovations like full mobile integration.

Total regions stable at ~27,910 (slight growth from January); concurrency flat at 45k-46k peaks. So…. Lots of new stuff out in August. Yay!

This turned out to be a bigger post than I expected.

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