We have all seen the trend of decreasing concurrent users and poor player retention numbers. There seems to be a turn around. I think it is too early to actually say that with any certainly… or if I wanted to be a wiener, certitude.
Sign Up Rate
Tateru’s site has stats on Second Life. One of her graphs is displaying signup rates.
Signup Rates - from SL via Dwell On It
Since the SL Signup process changed we are seeing a climb in signups. On average the signup were about 10,000 per day for over a year. It looks like that has jumped to between 13,000 to 14,000 per day. It appears to be in an upward trend. It is early in the trend change, if it is a trend. We don’t know if this is a long term change or not. But the old trend has been broken.
This morning I see KirstenLee has a new release candidate out. This one is based on Linden Lab 2.7.3 code. So, this viewer is on the very edge of the latest viewer code. The full version number is 2.7.3.8. The viewer remains Anaglyph 3D capable and it now works with my 8800 GTS card. My first impressions review follows.
Download and Install
One of the KLV users with an nVidia 460 card on driver 275.33 is experiencing crash on start. So, it is a good idea to keep your previous RC1 install package. I’m on an nVidia 8800 with driver 270.61 (per Windows driver ID 8.17.12.7061). Watching Group chat I see others are having crash problems. The crashing seems to depend on the nVidia driver version. Some have gone back to version 266.38 and say they get 3x better FPS. This very much looks to be an nVidia and OpenGL issue.
The meeting notes from the Beta Server Group came out. There is some interesting stuff from the meeting. We got great information on CHAT. 🙂
Server Stability
The Lab has been working on what is labeled Server-Maint. This is a group of fixes and features that allow better roll out and problem recoveries. It has taken several tries and roll outs from the Release Channel had to be rolled back each time. The problems seems to have passed and Server-Maint. has made it to the main grid.
Mono2
This upgrade has been cycling through the Release Channel for 3 or 4 weeks now. This changes touches so many aspects of SL that it is a complex change. While performance of new scripts rezzing in a region has been greatly improved, avatars with hundreds of scripts are still a problem. The Lab was working on that last week and the new fixes are in testing on Le Tigre this week. If they prove up, they will make the main grid next week.
On June 3 Maestro Linden emailed the Scripters List that the Mesh Prep version of the server software has been updated on ADITI grid. These changes are to fix problems experienced with some vehicles. Refer to these JIRA issues:
SVC-7015 “Vehicle Physics Issues with Magnum 11.05.31.231501”
<no SVC Jira #> “The Monorail in the TOYOSU region gets stuck”
SVC-7011 “Sim lag after last server maintenance”
You can find the latest version deployed to the following ADITI grid regions:
Thinking about uploading mesh? There are some issues. Intellectual Property Rights are at issue. To keep things at least somewhat in check, residents will have to become Mesh Upload Enabled. So… how does one do that?
The basics are pretty simple. One must complete a Mesh Tutorial and take a test, which neither has been created yet, or at least there are no links to them. And one must have payment information on file for the avatar, in other words, a RL identity is required. Once those items are complete, a value in your user profile is set to show you Mesh Upload Enabled… which obviously means you be a bomb.
To start the process, one attempts to upload a mesh. The step by step is on the Wiki page.
Lots of things are breaking loose. New features are coming and new Project Viewers are being released. Some interesting stuff.
WindLight
A new Project Viewer is out that incorporates the region controls for WindLight settings. There is a SL Wiki page for the project: Windlight Region Settings Project Viewer. There are Windows, Mac, and Linux versions. Of course this viewer feature is only useful if you have control of a region. There is lots of information about the new feature and how it works on the same page.
Update: Lindens announce Project Viewer for Estate Windlight 6/13 Link
New Windlight Testers Group
The purpose of this feature is to allow region owners to set the environment for their region. Residents that use the viewer’s default environment setting will see the region as the owner intends. So, you can see how regions with Windlight settings work.
The feature is incomplete. But, it allows some testing to begin. For those testing Oz Linden wants them to join the “Windlight Region Testers” group. With the newer viewers with updated search you can select GROUPS and find it. But, there is no link for use in chat or email. There is a cut, copy, and paste, if one right clicks, but they don’t work. Annoying.
The ability to set region Windlight is already in all servers on the main grid. For those that awnt to see a region with Windlight setting changes visit: BlakOpal region, Caledon, Hippo Hollow and Hippotropolis.
