New World Notes

3D Mesh Models Coming to Second Life August 2011 - But is Our Prim-Based Economy Ready for Them?

"By the end of August," the Lindens just announced, "everyone in Second Life will be able to import Mesh objects." And then Second Life objects will look like this:

Important caveat: "Of course, if we run into unforeseen issues or bugs, then this time line will need to shift." And the Lindens once promised mesh for the 2nd quarter of 2010. However, after many delays, it looks like it's finally happening.

When it does, 3D modelers will be able to create Second Life objects that are industry state of the art. Which brings up a bigger question: The Second Life economy and creative ecosystem has been prim-based for over 8 years, with whole cities of content made from those essential (if rudimentary) building blocks. This is like a developing nation suddenly switching from buildings made from stone and mortal to steel and polymer composites. Optimistically, this will revive the now-stagnant in-world economy after a painful period of creative destruction. But other scenarios are also possible. What's your take?

Second Life Displays in 3D with New 3rd Party Viewer!

I hope you kept your 3D glasses from the last big dumb Hollywood movie you saw, because you'll want to put them on when you watch this machinima that showcases the latest innovation in open source Second Life viewers:

That's right: This is Second Life displayed in 3D. It's an effect that's been done before, but now you can try it out for yourself: Go here to get the 3D viewer from KirstenLee Cinquetti, version S21 of Ms. Cinquetti's popular and innovative open source third party Second Life viewer. As with previous versions, you'll need a powerful system to run it. But hey, Kirsten heard you liked 3D, so she put 3D in your 3D so you can be in 3D while you're in 3D.

"A couple of weeks back the Machinima Monday crew invited me to do a Q&A session," as Kirsten tells me. "[O]ne of the questions took the form of a very heartfelt plea for some 3D, so I said I will see what I can do!"

And so she has: "Basically," KirstenLee explains, "[I] looked at several code examples (including previous examples), none of which would work with the current viewer, then set about creating something that would. The result is a fairly decent full colour red/cyan anaglyph mode (it's not perfect ) but it's good enough."

But how does she do it? Here's the full geek exegesis after the break:

Sim Deathwatch: Second Life Shakespeare Globe Theatre Creator's Account in Jeopardy

Ina Centaur, avatar name for the ambitious multimedia artist who created a four sim-wide Globe Theater for her virtual live Shakespeare productions and financed them with some clever techniques is now in imminent jeopardy of having her SL account deleted due to over USD$3200 in unpaid fees. So while her sims "are prepaid six months in cash already", her avatar is the creator of thousands of items which exist in the Globe and elsewhere. "[M]uch of this content, being created for Second Life, can’t really be used elsewhere," she writes, "and if Ina Centaur has no future in Second Life, I guess the natural thing to do is to have her simply not be... in Second Life." So while other Second Life sims are in jeopardy due to failure to cover tier payments, in this case, it's the sim creator's account which hangs in the hazard. (And the sims would be difficult to sustain without her.) Go here to Ms. Centaur's blog to read more. Hat tip: Graham Mills.

Chinese Prisoners Forced to Farm for Virtual Gold - And Get Real Beatings If They Don't Harvest Enough - UK Guardian

According to a UK Guardian report, prisoners in China's Jixi labour camp are forced to gold farm in online games, so the guards can sell their harvest for real money. And here is the punishment for prisoners who do not meet their daily quota of virtual gold:

"[T]hey would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said. [emph. mine]

I'm somewhat skeptical of the claim [see update below], if only because it's single-sourced. Then again, only a few years ago, people were skeptical that gold farming was an actual cottage industry (especially in China), and now it's taken for granted. Speaking of which, the Guardian quotes US documentarian Ge Jin on the general topic of gold farming (but not apparently about gold in prisons); I interviewed him in 2006, and am checking with Ge now for an update.

Update, 6:00AM: Just heard from Ge Jin: "Yes, I think the article is plausible," he tells me. "Actually back in 2005 I already heard about the use of prison labor in gold farming. At that time, a gold farm owner told me that one of their competitors put thousands of computers in a prison in the city Hei Longjiang of Liao Ning Province... It's great that the Guardian journalist found a political prisoner and got first-hand confirmation on the story."

Hat tip: Boing Boing. Image: UK Telegraph.

Visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Second Life

Memorial Wall

Pay tribute to fallen soldiers at this virtual memorial. Over 58,000 veteran names are inscribed on this replica of the Washington, D.C. monument.

Visit in Second Life

Hope you're having a lovely Memorial Day weekend, NWN readers! If you haven't visited it before (or in awhile), you may want to take the time today to stop by the Vietnam War Memorial in Second Life, a tribute to Maya Lin's Washington D.C. memorial, which I first blogged about here, and which actor/comedian Drew Carey (an SL regular) also admires. I shot a machinima of the Wall a few years ago, which you can see below.

Interesting machinima/content creator sidenote to this video: The Wall includes an audio stream of classic rock tracks from the Vietnam War era, including Jimi Hendrix's "Along the Watchtower" cover, a snippet of which is included in my coverage. Representatives for the guitar god's music originally got YouTube to remove the audio track, but I filed a fair use protest against the claim (because it's definitely fair use), and YouTube restored the music. So here it is in all its evocative glory:

Top 5 Noteworthy NWN Posts From Last Week

• Lindens Launch New Second Life Search Engine That Seems Less Full of Fail - Discuss!
• Facebook Reportedly Deleting Many Second Life Avatar Profiles; Linden Recommends Facebook Pages Instead
• Should OpenSim Use Bitcoin As Its Virtual Currency? (And Why Not Sell Linden Dollars for Bitcoins Too?)
• Cull is Cool: Linden & Second Life Alum Launch Kickass Music Video Streaming Service - Get Closed Beta Invites Here!
• Miss Ophelia's Metaverse Manners: How to be a Polite Narcissist & Handle a Sex-Crazed Second Life Partner

Is OpenSim's SL Competitor InWorldz Ready for Prime Time?

InWorldz, an OpenSim-based virtual world, is garnering a fair amount of attention from Second Life users, especially those chafing at Linden Lab's exorbitant land fees. And while it definitely has a lot of potential, NWN alumnus Chestnut Rau isn't sure it's ready for prime time:

Nothing rezzes even when I wait a long time. I find it impossible to TP without hanging up or crashing. Textures, when they load at all, flicker in an epileptic fit inducing manner. I can barely walk without rubber banding or getting stuck totally. Seriously? SL in 2007 worked better for me.

Much more here. I haven't tried InWorldz yet myself, but I trust Ms. Rau's perspective implicitly. To be sure, InWorldz may have advantages over Second Life, growing pains aside.

Trouble With Linden Lab's 24/7 Support Line?

I recently mentioned Linden Lab's new 24/7 billing support phone number, which seems like a stellar idea in principle. According to a post by Dolly Ewing, it still has some kinks to say the least:

... Dolly tried to contact billing support, but she was repeatedly cut off when trying to call the new 24/7 toll-free helpline. She then attempted to submit a support request via the website, but was continually logged out of her account. After a protracted online chat with billing support, she was no nearer having her account reinstated. The operator advised Dolly that they had problems with the new system they were trying to resolve and that her account should not have been closed, but could only offer to switch her account back to the old system. She would be left to try on her own to make payment again in 48 hours, during which time her account would remain suspended. She now has less than 30 days before LL cancel her account and foreclose on her in-world land holdings.

Much more here. What's your experience been with the toll-free number, oh reader?

Ophelia's Gaze: SL Avatars Meet a RL Doll Craze with Emma Gilmour's Bloom Dolls

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Bloom Dolls: Super cute, or super creepy? If you're one of the many Second Life users on Flickr, no doubt you're already familiar with their giant heads and somewhat vacant stares. The Bloom Doll Flickr group boasts nearly 400 members with over 800 Bloom pictures so far. Fashionistas love any reason to take pictures of their avatar, so gimmicks like these customizable avatars tend to take us by storm (as anyone who remembers the DP*yumyum bunny trend will tell you.)

So what the hell are these things anyway? Love them or hate them, keep reading for all the details!

Aquaman Meets Second Life Mermaid Dominatrix

In this sassy mash-up of old school comics and Second Life screenshots, Aquaman gets schooled by an SL mermaid with a dominatrix bent. Oh Cat Craddock you clever kinkster!