What If This Breakthrough Changed the Second Life World We Travel In?

I saw this way interesting video. It is about how we are mapping the world into 3D space for computers. It is so good it is being used to train pilots for rescue missions in dangerous terrain. Also for training self-driving vehicles.  So, can we walk our avatars through such a world?

The interesting part of Bilawal Sidhu’s “Craziest Mapping Breakthrough” is not the map UI. It is the idea that this tech could eventually change the 3D world we move through, especially for sailing and flying in spaces that feel bigger and smoother than today’s 256×256 regions.

So… instead of dreaming about a shinier World Map window, think about longer, more continuous routes. Less “box to box,” more “real journey.”

Where SL Is Today

Second Life’s foundation is still the region grid: each standard region is 256×256 meters, with teleports, crossings, land impact budgets, and simulators all tied to that. It works and it is part of why SL has lasted this long.[2][4] Or so some think.

You feel that grid most when you travel. Sailors in Blake Sea, pilots over mainland, and drivers on Bellisseria roads all hit the same issue: region crossings can be smooth or they can be… memorable.[5][6][7] Duh!

LL has been modernizing in other ways — performance, mobile viewer work, better onboarding, and AI helper experiments — but the 256×256 region structure is still the skeleton everything hangs on.[8][9][2] So… can that change?

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Second Life User Group Tech Report – June 2026

NEW

I went looking for more interesting news. This post is an experiment. A.I. is doing the research and structuring the information. I’m trying to keep it focused.

There are videos posted by the Lab and third-parties that get very little notice by the basic search engines. Also ‘X’ does not seems a favorite of Google or Bing. But much of the juicy news is in those sources. I don’t have time to make it to all those meetings nor watch all those videos. So… A.I. It researches it all in less than 5 minutes.

Leave it to AI
Very Tired Hobit Researcher – Leave it to AI

I know many are concerned about AI hallucinating. I got burned earlier this year. But as I learn, I have realized ‘machines’ do not hallucinate. But AI has been taught to speculate, guess, theorize, and unless told to do otherwise, make up answers. Often doing whatever is easy. Do we have lazy machines now?

Humans hallucinate. You cannot tell them to stop. They can’t. But you can prompt AI to NOT speculate, guess, theorize, nor make up answers. It works. So, the information appearing here should be solid. See what you think. – Nal

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Second Life Technology Report – June 2026

This is a busy month with Pride celebrations and SL23B. Lots to see and do.

Official SL Platform Updates

  • June 8, 2026: Linden Lab announced fee adjustments, including reduced land tier prices for many Private region types (effective June 15), lower minimum L$ purchase fees, changes to LindeX transaction fees, and increased Premium membership subscription fees (effective for new/renewed subs from July 8). These aim to make land more affordable while expanding membership value.
  • Ongoing: SL23B celebrations (June 18–July 19) highlighted platform aspects through “Meet the Lindens” sessions, including discussions on engineering challenges like performance/rendering, OpenGL-to-modern API transitions, region crossings, WebRTC voice, and upcoming Lua scripting.
SL23B - Funky Monkey Temple
SL23B – Funky Monkey Temple

Simulator / Grid Updates

  • June 12 & 25: Simulator releases with routine maintenance and rolling restarts.
  • Grid Stability: Multiple rolling restarts. L$ transaction issues around June 25–26 (investigated and fixed). World Map region name display issues in some TPVs addressed.

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Second Life Mesh Bodies Popularity & Designer Support Analysis

I am again considering making some clothes and accessories for my avatar. Maybe even sell some. And there is the possibility I will make more paint for mt helicopters. Be fun to see what wild A.I. paint can be created.

But, to make stuff in SL you need Dev Kits. These are kits with the models, UV Maps, Applier specs, and other bits only the original creators have. Fortunately, most of them make them available to most of those that ask.

SL Mesh Body Analytics

Some time ago I choose the Maitreya Lara-X body. It came very close to providing the Slink body shape I like. So, of course, it is the first body I considered making things for. I filled out the online forms for the Maitreya Dev Kit. Maitreya is now, weeks later, hiding and not responding to my requests for a Dev Kit. I’ll pester them for another week or so. Then I’ll decide what to do about them.

In the mean time I have found it is very easy to get Dev Kits for eBody Reborn and Legacy. But how popular are those bodies and how many designers are making stuff for them?

I do numbers. I ask questions. I research. And now I have the dogs of A.I. to lose on such research. This article is what AI found and at the end what I think. So, check it out.

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AYAstorm Viewer for Second Life®

I was reading a New World Notes article that mentions a JuicyBomb article about a viewer named AYAstorm. Wow. Never heard of it. I read Juicy’s AYAstorm article. Interesting.

OH WOW!

I find this viewer fixes the alpha glitch I have been working around for a couple of DECADES. OMG!

What is the ‘alpha glitch’?

AYAstorm Firestorm Comparison
AYAstorm and Firestorm ViewersComparison

You can see the glitch in the images at C & D.

The top two images were captured using AYAstorm. The bottom two using Firestorm 7.2.4 (beta/preview).

Notice how the hair renders at A & B and compare to C & D. If you look at D you’ll see the hair transparency is causing the wall to render on top of the painting. Not as clearly but the same at C.

At A it is transparency on top of transparency. Both A & B render the hair and transparencies correctly.

In like 20 years no one fixed this problem. Yay! We now have a fix!

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Second Life® Technology Updates Summary: May 2026

Another month passes. There are several updates this month. Voice is the big one, for those that use voice. For the SL Viewer, you need to be on a version 26.1 or newer. Firestorm users need to be on 7.2.4 or newer.

Some of this month’s changes show where things are going.

SL Viewer 26.2 - May 2028
SL Viewer 26.2 – May 2026

Official SL Platform Updates

WebRTC Voice Service Full Grid Deployment

May 5: Linden Lab completed the rollout of the WebRTC voice service across the entire main grid (Agni). Previously available on ~25% of regions via RC channels, this shift ends reliance on the third-party Vivox service. Linden Lab can now directly maintain and enhance voice capabilities, with future potential for features like voice-to-text. Users were advised to use compatible viewers (official 26.1 or later, or updated third-party viewers) to avoid voice issues.

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