Linden Lab Announces Massive Update to Second Life Including Cloud Deployment, Improved Windlight & Animation, Grid-Wide Game Experience

If anyone in the tech and VR industry (not to mention the Second Life userbase) had any impression that Linden Lab was mainly walking away from SL to focus on Sansar, CEO Ebbe Altberg just sent out a mass e-mail announcing major updates to the 14 year old metaverse.

Key points:

• We are hard at work upgrading all of the SL infrastructure and moving it to the cloud, which will bring a wealth of opportunities to Residents near and far, and allow us, among many other things, to make SL more performant for Residents across the world from us. It may also allow us to introduce new products with more flexible pricing.
• We're building out a series of great extensions to Windlight (code name: EEP!), which will give value, flexibility, and new marketability to land, and will make Windlight settings tradeable assets.
• We have an extension to the animation system in the works (code name: Animesh) that will allow non-avatar objects to use more powerful and efficient skeletal animations the way avatars can today, and even more changes planned for creators and merchants later in the year.
• We’ve also got new experiences and events coming. An exciting new grid-wide gaming experience is coming soon!

Emphasis mine. The top key points for me are the hints at land-based discounts, cloud deployment, and the grid-wide game:

Updating Second Life from its ancient connected server architecture to a cloud-based system could vastly improve the user experience. Ebbe adding that "[i]t may also allow us to introduce new products with more flexible pricing" is a strong hint at land discounts, because with cloud deployment, a given sim does not have to be "online" if no user is accessing it -- so perhaps Linden Lab is planning to change land costs from a flat monthly rate to a "pay per use" rate. (Just my interpretation.)

As for a grid-wide game, I've been begging Linden Lab to add that for years, as it could be a great way to increase engagement among the existing userbase (which has been slowly, surely eroding), and give the many new users an incentive to keep logging in to explore. Some Linden Lab staff have been trying to add game mechanics to Second Life for many years, but have been stymied by bureaucracy and fear of protests by the minority of hardcore "Second Life is not a game!" users. Looks like, at last, we'll finally get our grid-wide system after all -- hopefully not before it's too late.

All that said, if you haven't gotten the e-mail yourself, read the full announcement here.

Hat tip: Microsoft Senior Creative Technologist  and dedicated SLer James T. Reichert.

Comments

[HS]

I think the wording implies that they will be adding new products, not changing the whole economic structure of how land is paid for. Maybe they will have a higher pay per use fee and a lower pay per month fee. Or maybe they will have a more thorough subscription that lets you use x amount of resources per month and then caps you unless you pay more. It will be interesting to see where this goes, and a bit nerve-wracking as a business owner. Anytime they start making big changes it tends to disrupt. At least the linden is currently selling at a favorable rate.

[harvey]

Translation: Um, Sansar is a failure so lets see if we can still milk SL for all its worth." -Eggbert

[Mike]

I guess I'm one of those "secondlife is not a game" people but if it's done right and doesn't take away from the normal everyday sl experience and adds to it then all for it...but if it's done to make the "gaming experience" a priority then against it.

[Lusus]

Maybe this isn't logically the case, but maybe a cloud based Second Life could bring a browser system closer to a reality?

There already is a privately owned system in place allowing residents to access Second Life via their browser, but its not very cost effective for most SL users. If Linden Labs takes to the cloud then perhaps it will become easier and a practical posibility.

[Maxwell]

Second life is a game, it is not a real world. it is a compute game where you build an avatar and you use your mouse, keyboard or droidstick to move it around. Yes real life feelings might come into play but it doesn't make it less of a game. just makes the person playing the game real.

[metacam oh]

Sounds interesting but what took so long to announce this? They pretty much let the customer base get the impression that they were done upgrading SL. I left the platform for good when they made it fairly obvious that the SL platform would stop evolving and become a dead end. A lot of my investment in SL was with the belief there was a future there and when it become obvious that there wasnt, I left for good. Now I see this and while it interests me, once you divest, it's hard to find that passion and will to go back in.

[brian]

be nice to have sl on ps4

[Tim King]

My impression is one of optimism. It's great that LL is pushing forward with new developments, new improvements, and new efforts to attract more customers, even if some of those efforts would be in the 'gamer' realm. Games are fun. Why not.

It may change how non-gamers use SL. For example, the non-gamer social/builder class might be tempted to try out a new game, and vice versa.

I've had the idea that the social class and gamer class should mix a bit. Imagine a gamer going into a building and there's a few non-gamers hanging out killing time. Signs would be posted: "Don't shoot civilians". lol

Gamers would probably create their own places to socialize, or their 'Game Caves".

Let's see what happens.

[Chic Aeon]

" They pretty much let the customer base get the impression that they were done upgrading SL."

That is SO not true. You really haven't been paying attention or reading in the right places :D. Tons of new things have been achieved and are still being worked on. Bento for one and animated mesh (in the works for a long while now). Lindens are back inworld again and talk to folks on a regular basis via the SL Forums, framerates (I have seen mine at 220) are higher than ever before and the list goes on. Many technical issues have been solved and are working better than in years past.

Some of the things announced were already public knowledge for those attending open community meetings. Some new announcements are slightly vague but hopefully will be positive steps.

[cyberserenity]

This is so nice because i said this a million times before. LL will learn from Sansar and then put the new tech in SL. I am so happy ;)

[Dartagan Shepherd]

Pretty much what others have said. Sansar looks like a bomb. SL looks to milk more money from SL.

I think it's time for a new CEO.

[Pulsar]

Creating grid-wide games would be fun and opens new possibilities. SL is a platform with many purposes: you can create games, roleplay, play with fun stuff, but you can use it for other purposes too. E.g. I can't label some meetings and lectures "games". I see "game" as a subset of of SL. Thus SL isn't just a game (or a dating game or a porn game, I know, that's popular). It isn't real life either. People behind the screen are real; if you feel something, that's real; what you feel for other people too (and maybe you are very lucky and you make a true friend or a love that eventually you meet in real life). But the virtual world isn't real. Neither just a game.

[Carlos Loff]

Did they see the LIGHT across the darkness ??? Im ready to jump back in if they lower land prices for real !!!

[Just Say'n]

A return through the cloud of SLGo would sure motivate me to log in more.

[Carlos Loff]

Saying SL is a game is just as saying Facebook is a Game - No work around this, PERIOD

[Iggy 1.0]

A bit late in the (ahem) game but it's good news for those of us uninterested in Sansar and still enjoying SL. May have to keep logging in. If land prices got low enough, I'd rent a sim.

[Clara Seller]

Comment of the week by Dartagan Shepherd : "I think it's time for a new CEO."

SL deserves more than some Hail Mary Pass by a CEO who is obviously sweating bullets about his profit and loss tree not bearing any fruit.

Repairing and majorly improving SL is a good idea that was common sense years ago. Now it's an emergency operation that's best left in the hands of someone new who hasn't spent the last few years trying to butcher the remaining cash cows and package them as dinosaur meat.

This wasn't the plan. They just launched their brand new flagship and they are heading back to port? It was sinking before the cracked the champagne.

Nah nah nah nah hey hey hey goodbye.

[Lusus]

@ metacam oh. I don't know where you get the idea that LL made it obvious they weren't going to continue upgrading Second Life. In fact they made the point on a number of occassions that they have every intention of improving and upgrading whenever they can.

[V.Celine]

Voila qui ais très intéressent pour l'avenir

[Tamar]

I would definitely consider buying a sim (or two) if they lowered land prices to a more reasonable rate. I've wanted to start up a roleplay sim or two for years now and the costs have just been too prohibitive with the insane land pricing.

[Saffia Widdershins]

That developments have been on going in Second Life is hardly news. We've been featuring regular reports on the Designing Worlds shows, ranging from Bento, prim allowance increases, new gaming experiences.

On top of that, in discussion shows (both on Designing Worlds and Second Life Birthday chats), it's been constantly underlined that Second Life is still developing and is not going away any time soon.

And we're not the only news source covering these changes. Hamlet, Inara, Daniel, Ciarian and many others have written about this.

If people remain unaware of developments, I suspect that the problem is less with Second Life and more with the lack of penetration of Second Life media in broadcasting the news. And that's an interesting discussion to be having.

[Kate Miranda]

I am part of the "minority of hardcore "Second Life is not a game!" users" and am concerned about the gamification of SL. What assurances do we have that this game element is not going to impinge on business, event and educational uses of SL?

[Masami Kuramoto]

"Moving SL infrastructure to the cloud" probably means sharding. In case you've never heard that term before, it means people visiting the same place in SL will end up in separate instances (copies) of that simulator hosted in their respective geographic region. So for example if you log in from Europe, you will not see anyone logging in from America or Asia because they're in different shards. While this is likely to reduce lag and increase availability of crowded places (because additional simulator instances can be launched on demand), it will also make SL less cosmopolitan. If your favorite SL musician happens to live overseas, you may need a VPN to attend their in-world performances in the future.

[Evangeline Biedermann]

@Kate Miranda... I agree with what you're saying... LL will have to think carefully about the gaming element... gamers are fickle and move on when the next new game comes along unlike 'us' Second Lifers who have been loyal and moved with and through the ups and downs on the SL developments for the last 10+ years... as far as my husband and I are concerned, we're here to stay and we spend a great deal of currency to maintain our standard of living on the grid... it's way more than a game to us and no one should make fun of the social aspect... for many people in SL, it's the only social life they have, be it for physical, mental or circumstantial reasons

[Quinn]

I don't think they'll change land costs at all. I think it'll be more leaning on that cloud storage for say, avatars and land. Cost per amount of storage used and possibly how land interacts with that storage. Overhauling the land price point would ruin businesses built on renting land, and those companies give an awful lot of dosh to LL for them to disrupt that. I can only see cloud storage with land being a newer type slowly moving people onto that system over time. I can't see LL discounting anything at any point, but that may be my glass half full attitude.

[Erik]

I'd love to have VR come back. I may not move around much in SL, but for me that would really give more depth to the whole experience.

[Alex]

Well ... this is good news. SL has proven for many years to be a hard contender to defeat for any virtual world. A huge Marketplace and many people living together for a long time, many new Residents arrive daily (yeap... many enter and leave), but we will never know how many of those new residents stay as long as us, maybe they are few, but few growth it's guaranteed.

[AJ]

This was an encouraging read. It's heartening to know they have't forgotten about SL and aren't placing all their focus on Sansar (a place I have no interest in visiting - I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment).

[Bob]

Border crossing between sims must improve. Exploring in a plane or boat is one of the most enjoyable things to do on SL, but border crossings completely ruin the experience due to the inherent "glitchiness" that only seems to be getting worst instead of better.

[Orbit]

I'm not for or against the whole concept of the cloud, but as talk of the cloud has been announced Iv'e seen more and more issues on SL relating to performance. More and more of my friends and myself are having issues doing the same things we have always done on SL. Also the region idling may not effect all scripts but for those it does; its created an issue. Forcing all developers to have to update old scripts to the new method should not be something that has to be done. I have a ton of breedables and while it doesn't effect those I also have a huge farming system, when the sim goes into idle the water and food I have in auto rezzers doesn't rez in world and I log into dead animals and crops which has been a huge loss of money for me. I think this should be a optional thing if you own a sim or are an estate manager, so that it can be turned off on sims by choice and not have to be ran all the time.