Second Life Launches Beta Web Browser Access Test Using Gaikai Cloud-Based Streaming

Today Linden Lab is launching web-based Beta access of Second Life (mentioned last month.) As screenshots show, it's using the cloud-based streaming game service of Gaikai, headed by industry star Dave Perry, and according to Katharine Berry, it requires a Java plug-in in your browser. This version apparently logs you into selected locations as a guest avatar for a short period of time. Second Life blogger Alicia Chenaux has a full illustrated write-up here.

You go here to try it out here: http://interest.secondlife.com/beta. I myself wasn't able to log in -- apparently only select users are able to get in, probably based on connection speed or other factors. If you do, please feel free to discuss below!

Update, 10:20pm: Here's some video of Second Life running in Firefox, courtesy Metaverse TV:

Hat tip: Gwyneth Llewellyn, photo credit Katharine Berry.

Comments

[Adeon Writer]

I just got done playing with it for an hour, and it's great. I couldn't even tell it was on the cloud until a few minutes of using it and my jaw dropped at the eurika moment.

According to Fraps, it streams at a constant 30 fps. It supports basic and windlight shaders. It rendered a very nice 9+ region area without even stalling. I located myself on maingrid with my main account and tested various avatar switching. The web viewer beats it at rez speed more than four times over. It's crazy good.

There was no AA, but the fact that it was streamed gives it a slight blur anyway so jaggies aren't a problem.

I couldn't manage to lag the machine on the rendering end, either. Which was cool.

I appear to be able to jump back in for another 60 minute demo as much as I want, apparently this isn't the case for everyone, I wasn't aware it wasn't public until reading your post.

[Ziki Questi]

I was pleasantly (and significantly) surprised by the experience. As a vehicle to cultivate new constituencies to explore SL, it's surprisingly good.

One arrives at a pre-determined region. You can walk or fly around (there's no fly button, but the keyboard controls work). You can't pan around to see yourself, but otherwise things feel smooth.

Draw distance is impressive, and texture loading seems fast. Interactions with objects are very limited (zoom in, for example, on a vendor, but you can't purchase anything).

You choose from any of 26 pre-made avatars, male and female.

Limitations (which seem reasonable given what this is): no inventory, no map or mini-map, no menus.

But you can explore where you landed, and go elsewhere via the Destinations button at the bottom.

I was able to IM my partner, Barbie Pomilio, offline, and she met up with me (despite my crazy name!) where I logged.

Not bad as a way to give someone a quick peek at virtual worlds.

It sure needs to send people to popular and interesting destinations, though -- I already read one comment on Twitter from someone who ended up in a completely empty region.

An initial thumbs up.

[Oz Spade]

Doesn't work for me. Any idea on the specs required?

[Toxic Menges]

Worked for me, I was pleasantly surprised.

[Nine Warrhol]

Holy smokes!!! How awesome is this??!!

[Metacam Oh]

Ziki: you can pan around using normal mouse alt click etc, at least I was able to using firefox on Windows 7

[Nine Warrhol]

BOO I do not get a screen that allows login. I hope this is going to more widely available. :/

[celestial elf]

got in to limited locations, prims did not rezz well, but its an amazing system, will watch with interest.

[Molly Montale]

I must be missing something. I went to the site, watched the video, created an account, picked one of the avatars and was told to download viewer 2.x, and I rezzed on a welcome island. I had inventory, map, everything. I see nothing different here. I tried going to the site on my iPad was again directed to use viewer 2.x.

[Lili]

I see no way to enter the beta at all, only an opportunity to join Second Life at the bottom of the screen. It seems if there were some incredible requirements to enter the beta, they would at least list them.

[Oz Spade]

Wonder if its a Windows thing? Running Mac here.

[Lucius Nesterov]

I gave it a quick go. It didn't seem to work with Chrome - I go the same option to join Second Life that other people have mentioned.

I tried Firefox and it worked. There isn't a login option, only the ability to enter as a guest. It also looks like they use clones of the actual environments as well.

Navigation was very responsive; the environment looked good and rezzed quickly. There was a problem with the avatar only half rezzing and environment audio skipped occasionally, but overall a good experience.

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Firefox on Linux with Sun Java and it only gives me the regular "Join Second Life" link.

[Magnus Brody]

Not working for me: IE, firefox or Safari. The videos are only entertaining the first few hundred times.

What has surprised me however is how the lab have set this up. I considered, as I watched the video end, I could be a potential new customer, sent the link by a friend who is already a resident. Eagerly I waited for a place to enter my email address to enter SL via my browser. Instead, the video ended and the PLAY arrow popped up midscreen. I played it again and the process repeated.

Continuing to imagine myself to be a potential new customer, I tried clicking everywhere and the only link which worked took me straight to registration and, as described by Molly, onwards to download.

I now imagined myself to no longer be a potential new resident: confused, forced to answer lots of questions, download things and mess around when I wanted a quick glimpse inworld.

I accept the in-viewer experience is not going to run for everyone, but rather than having potential new residents become annoyed as they watch the video several times, in vain hope, resulting in their first taste of SL as being something frustrating which does not work, perhaps the lab could have had some sort of "sorry your browser does not support" message accompanied by links to finding out more, rather than straight to registration to compound the confusion.

I would have been delighted to have sent this to several rl friends, but not now. The problem is not that the experience doesn't work properly for some, the problem is...

"uhm, ok, video finished, do I wait a while? A while longer? Nothing yet! Hmmm! I'll play the video again. Still doesn't work, looks interesting though, where do I find out more? Oh! This link has taken me straight to registration?! Oh, am I supposed to fill this in to get it to work or, uhm, ah, help page anywhere, anywhere, FAQ?"

Confused, frustrated, idiot friend sending me this time wasting rubbish, close browser, take dog for walk.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

There's evidently some work to be done cross-platform, or they're just trying to limit variables for testing purposes.

Smells like a potential game-changer to me, and in a positive way (for a change).

[ColeMarie Soleil]

Just a join group link

[Metacam Oh]

Magnus it really just is a beta not really publicly promoted right now, you are right that beta browser page is ridiculous but lets assume they will iron out some of those kinks before it goes live.

[Silverfox Rainbow]

i see no actual link that lets you try it out, though i am a bit disappointed in the video, everyone is using the typing animation ( i hope that can be turned off) showed it to a friend - and he said it looks like a 3d myspace.
that scares me a bit o-o

[jjccc]

Some one paste a working link please

[Claus Uriza]

Should work with regular browsers but might depend on bandwidth as FAQ states they'll test various speeds. Maybe some IP lottery used as well. Been up elsewhere but FAQ on Skylight can be read at http://bit.ly/bwJyDz
Glad to see many positive comments here... already

[Adeon Writer]

Odd, for me, it worked for Chrome, but not Firefox or IE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5V4k-2lVM

[qarl]

i suspect there a low limit as to how many people can use the service at the same time. once the link became popular, no one could get in.

that's the biggest problem with cloud-based rendering - it takes a TON of cpu - which means it costs a TON of cash.

probably not something LL can afford to give away for free.

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

Musta smelled me coming. Just a "Escape to Second Life" link.

Escape from what? I'm getting really vexed with that metaphor for these places...grumble grumble.

But I want to "float on the cloud." How's that for a metaphor?

[Arcadia Codesmith]

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

But there are a wide variety of creative ways to split the tab with the big wallets.

[Ron Overdrive]

Got to try it, but only used it for a few minutes. Rendering seemed rather slow imo compared to my basic Intel Core2Duo paired with a Geforce 9800GT I tried it on. Maybe this is due to the resource sharing nature of cloud computing, but who knows. Overall the experience is rather limited, but if they only intend to use this for demonstration purposes this is fine though I highly recommend a little bit of avatar customization beyond a pre-made selection.

[Nalates Urriah]

I made it in. I have a blog account of the process. It is trial and error getting in. There are images of the right and wrong screens for the browser based version. See: http://nalates.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/second-life-in-a-browser/

The speed was ok (Duel Core2 8800 gts). I ran into lag and rubber-banding and slow rez'n textures on vendors. But, it was not as bad as I often run into in regular SL.

[ColeMarie Soleil]

Finally made it in... everything seems ok so far... I mean I could hardly tell I was running in a browser except that I couldn't use search, had no anti-aliasing and was limited to a small and already visited list of sims that was a very short list :( you're limited to 60 minutes as well

[Nine Warrhol]

I have tried and tried and it won't let me in! GRRRRRRRR. I even F5'd the hell out of multiple browsers for a few minutes..lol.

[Bea Woodget]

Don't you think this technology may bring issues with SL vehicles (response times), and also is questionable in term of economic model?

[hexx]

Hmmm ..... this could definitely turn into something very interesting. Works like a charm here, in Chrome.

[AymericPM]

Worked for me like a charm. At first glance, I only got a mere "join second life now", but when i went back 5mn later, the bottom screen had changed to an invitation for a 60mn trip.

I've been disconnected somehow for insufficient throughput, but i can say that graphics are OK, and short keys are the same as in SL viewer, so one is immediately familiar with the tool.

Looks great !

[Mitch]

I followed link, registered avatar, cliked link from email and last opportunity was to download software :(
Am i missing something? Or is that just link to yield number of new accounts?

Pff...

[TimeRider]

What a load of DREK!

This does not work, I was invited to BETA this and had to sign up for ANOTHER SL account for the beta. Now it wants me to DL the SL Viewer again?

This is supposed to be browser based LL if I want to load the software... OH WAIT I ALREADY DID!

Can you say Vaporware?

Just another LL fail, I guess I should not be surprised well January is almost here and I have migrated to OPENSIM Goodbye Lindens we won't miss you!