Second Life Servers: 1,000 Avatars?

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No roll for the main channel of Second Life™ this Tuesday.

Second Life’s three RC channels all got the same package, a maintenance release. This one has a change in how large groups are handled. I think meaning the member list downloading. There are also more changes to the server log reporting process.

He didnt seek victory though it followed him
He didn’t seek victory though it followed him by Sunny George, on Flickr

At the Server-Scripting meeting Simon Linden talked about adding a setting to allow them to change the number of avatars a region will allow in before locking access. But, I doubt that change made it into this package.

The idea being worked on is how to get more people in a region and not over load the server or viewer. This new server/region setting allows easy changes to max population for the purpose of testing. That might hint at what the additional changes to logging are about. 

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Black Dragon Viewer Updated Week 22

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Inara is covering the update of the Black Dragon Viewer for Second Life™, version 2.4.2.5. See: Black Dragon 2.4.2.5: snapshot floater and cinematic camera.

The effect of the new Cinematic/Head Tracking Camera is shown in the video. I would have to play with the camera to see if I like it and think it useable, which has nothing to do with whether it is or isn’t. The effect in the video is pretty neat.

I may have to try it to see how it works with the SpaceNavigator, which uses flycam mode when controlling the camera..

NiranV is working on the viewer’s snapshot panel. NiranV designed the panel that appears in the SL Viewer distributed by the Lab. In NiranV’s viewer the panel is apparently evolving. That is S.O.P. for NiranV, which is the reason I like the Black Dragon Viewer but don’t use it. I like the innovation. I hate continually having to figure out how things work or what controls have moved to where with each update.

It isn’t as bad as I may make it sound. I think everyone that takes pictures or makes machinima in SL should try the viewer.

Second Life: Designing for Newbies and Oldies

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Second Life has its challenges for new players/users. Massively Overpowered started a conversation with the question: How Can MMO’s Design For Both Vets And Newbies? There are quite a few comments being added. It got me thinking about our challenges for new users in Second Life™.

Cassie and Ciara
Cassie and Ciara by Caitlin ‘Caity’ Tobias, on Flickr

Many of the comments on Massively suggest removing leveling. Fortunately we don’t have leveling as a basic part of SL.

In 19 screens of comments no one mentioned user interface and only a couple of times mentioned learning how to play. In SL I think learning is a significant obstacle for new users. With 3,000+ viewer controls SL is on a level similar to Photoshop or AutoCAD.

Considering new users in SL, I think the design challenge is making it usable and reducing the learning curve. For the experienced users the Lab needs to keep as many creative options as possible, which adds complication. These seem to be opposing goals. I am curious to see how the Lab handles these challenges in SANSAR aka SL 2.0.

Second Life Bits Week 21

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Bright Canopy

For Second Life™ users Bright Canopy is software and service taking the place of the discontinued SL Go as the software for phones, tablets, and under powered computers to use for accessing Second Life. Hamlet of New World Notes is playing with it. He doesn’t seem to be having much success. Read about his experience here: First Look at New SL Streaming Service Bright Canopy.

Two Sides
Two Sides by Carthalis Rossini, on Flickr

Some People…

There are those that pay little to no attention to what Linden Lab is doing or saying. The headline from a blog article caught my attention: Linden Bear digs grave. Did a Linden die? No. 

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Hooking Up in Second Life – Lessons

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Canary Beck is writing lots of Second Life related interesting stuff lately. Or maybe it is just that I’m following her blog now and seeing it now. Whichever, she has an article about how men can pick up women or at least how to approach them and improve their odds of success: How To Approach A Woman In Second Life.

Here's an idea...
Here’s an idea… by Canary Beck, on Flickr

There are mistakes guys make in Second Life that are not made in real life. Canary touches on most of those. She also has quite a collection of bad pickup lines to avoid using. Those alone make it worth a read. 

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