Someone's got a really inflated sense of his own importance in the SL Doctor Who fan sphere, and after a couple of months of absence is claiming that without him the whole lot is dying off -- people are losing interest without him there to do all the marketing yadda yadda yadda, and the BBC wants nothing to do with SL after seeing how many self-absorbed jerks are present not only in the SL Whovian community but across the sci-fi fan base in general.
Granted, there is a grain of truth somewhere in all of this idiot's egotistical nonsense. Certain regions never got the sheer amount of daily traffic others have, due mainly to being clique-ish, elitist, drama-causing jerks. No one likes to put up with bad attitudes, and word of mouth spreads rather quickly to kill off groups, businesses, and communities that engage in that sort of behavior. "We're the best around and our sh** doesn't stink" and "those other peeps are a**holes" only gets you so far, and then all you've got is an empty region no one wants to visit because you're all too busy having yourselves a circle jerk to notice that your attitude is what's driving people away.
So the claim that certain Whovian regions in SL are dying has some merit, but it has little to do with not having a certain lying, conniving, warpath-trodding bully around to handle all the marketing and do the bulk of the public relations. It has more to do with bad attitudes, and Mr. Loser has the biggest, baddest one of them all, which is more than likely the primary reason he was finally pushed out of the Whovian region he called home for so many years. Yet he'll continue to blame everyone but himself for his troubles and gloat over the havoc he thinks he's wreaked, and all because he couldn't be the one and only big dog in the proverbial kennel.
Ego. It ruins a hell of a lot for a lot of people, and in SL it's no different.
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But more than anything, if there is a decline in the SL Whovian community, I suspect it's more a symptom of a wider problem in SL altogether: ridiculously high tier and bad business decisions by Linden Lab that are combining to cripple Second Life itself.
Let me explain.
By acquiring xStreetSL and transforming it into the marketplace, even going so far as to convert to direct product upload instead of the magic boxes (which required at least some small bit of virtual land), the need for maintaining a highly expensive in-world store was effectively eliminated. Why spend hundreds of dollars of real money per month on a virtual region and maybe barely break even, or worse, lose money, when you can use a sandbox to build and upload content to the marketplace, thus eliminating a huge chunk of overhead cost? With tier remaining at an all time high and real-world incomes shrinking for most SL users, the writing was on the wall as to what the consequences would be, and the consequences include the steady loss of privately-owned regions that can now only be stemmed with cutting tier across the board.
To be fair, Linden Lab does seem to have finally learned from its mistake in eliminating the non-profit-education discount, and reversed that decision earlier this summer. This may help attract educational institutions and non-profits to return to the grid, though many may not want to come back after having been burned before by LL and they may not like all the new restrictions placed on content ownership on the grid. Basically, Linden Lab claims rights to all content created on the grid, and has moved to block people from being able to save their own created content for use on competing grids, effectively putting up a very high, very thick wall between Second Life and real-world people whose content has helped generate a lot of money for the Lab over the last ten years. Other grids, such as InWorldz and Avination, have far fewer restrictions or none at all, and sim-on-a-stick has freed up a lot of content creators to save their work to a format that allows them to practically take it wherever they wish.
So right now Linden Lab is betting that its other computer games will salvage the company's prospects, while belatedly realizing that some of its past business decisions pertaining to Second Life simply aren't sustainable in the long run and is now slowly working to remedy those mistakes.
Will Linden Lab eventually lower region tier pricing across the board? Sooner later it'll have to. No business that wants to remain open keeps its prices high in the midst of record low demand, especially when demand is so low because of an ongoing economic depression that shows no sign of recovery.
Wages have to go up and prices have to come down, in order for people to start spending again. That's economic reality. Only time will tell id the geniuses at Linden Lab will wake up to it.
Showing posts with label Second Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Second Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Of all the bloody gall...
Okay, so someone was posting in a Phoenix Self Help group chat asking a question, and I responded with a comment that, while not very popular in some circles, is nevertheless absolutely true.
Now, just to show you how true it is that the typical response to any and all issues with Firestorm really is to go out and buy a brand new computer, here's a screencap lifted right from the Firestorm blog itself.
Wow. That looks like someone being told to go out and get a new computer, with the ass clown making the reply not even bothering to ask if the person to whom he is replying is even on a PC that uses Windows XP. My computer runs Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, with the following specs:
And guess what? Firestorm won't run for you-know-what. If it doesn't crash on start-up, it does very soon thereafter, and in the interim all I get is blackness with nothing fixing it. My PC was designed to allow me to run graphics-intensive programs on high settings without breaking a circuit. Yet the typical response to any and all issues with the badly-programmed Firestorm is "go out and buy a new computer, come into the modern age", as though that and not the crappy programming by the developers is the only thing to blame. And when this is pointed out, it's met with name-calling, profanity, and censorship. This is what the Firestorm developers and their merry band of suckups are like, dear readers. You don't usually see this kind of behavior, this sneering contempt for one's own user base, in a lot of other places.
So yeah, I left that group and have no plans to return. Now that Server Side Baking has gone grid-wide, I'm using Singularity Viewer full time. Its building features still aren't quite on the same level as Phoenix, but the developers are a lot more receptive to input than the Firestorm elitists are, so who knows? It just may end up becoming the premiere viewer for builders.
[2013/08/22 15:53] Gulid Resident: Is there someone that can help me? My avi's body still looks grey even though I am on the v4.4.2 viewer, i did a clean update and everything and yet my avi si grey so idk what to do at this point :/At that point, the moderator blocked my ability to post in group chat. Here's the screen cap so you can see for yourself.
[2013/08/22 15:53] Gulid Resident: i mean clean install
[2013/08/22 15:54] Sophie Katsu: Guild you mean you're on Firestorm?
[2013/08/22 15:54] Archangel Mortenwold: Might want to check the Firestorm Viewer support group, though I'll tell you right now their only response is likely to go out and buy a new computer.
[2013/08/22 15:54] Mister Acacia: Guild, this is the Phoenix viewer group. You want the Firestorm group > secondlife:///app/group/3a1be8d4-01f3-bc1a-2703-442f0cc8f2dd/about
[2013/08/22 15:55] Mister Acacia: Archangel, don't be an idiot.
[2013/08/22 15:55] Gulid Resident: but mine says phoenix firestorm
[2013/08/22 15:55] Gulid Resident: i dont know the difference
[2013/08/22 15:56] Archangel Mortenwold: Who's being an idiot? That's their response to most issues raised by users.
[2013/08/22 15:56] Masdison Resident: You don't need a new pc other viewers work
[2013/08/22 15:56] Mister Acacia: Guild, Phoenix viewer is a V1-based viewer that is now obsolete. Firestorm is made by the same people, it's V2/3 based and is current.
[2013/08/22 15:56] XLR8RRICK Hudson: Guild I will IM you and help
[2013/08/22 15:57] Archangel Mortenwold: There's Singularity and there's Cool VL Viewer, which both work well. As for Phoenix being obsolete, that's true only so long as no one picks up the code and updates it.
[2013/08/22 15:57] Mister Acacia: That's bullshit Archangel.
[2013/08/22 15:57] Archangel Mortenwold: Isn't there anyone willing and able to that task?
[2013/08/22 15:57] Sophie Katsu: why is it bullshit?
[2013/08/22 15:58] StarlightShining Resident: really Arch - you told such troll rubbish
[2013/08/22 15:58] Sophie Katsu: Jessica said anyone can have at it if they want to update it
[2013/08/22 15:58] StarlightShining Resident: sure - go ahead - several have tried
[2013/08/22 15:58] Mister Acacia: Because the support team does not automatically tell everyone to buy a new pc.
[2013/08/22 15:58] Masdison Resident: Another thing the ssb has nothing to do with your avatar being gray, your av should look good its all the other av's that are gray
[2013/08/22 15:58] Archangel Mortenwold: What's this "rubbish" to which you refer?
[2013/08/22 15:58] Sophie Katsu: has that changed?
[2013/08/22 15:59] StarlightShining Resident: sophie - go ahead and pick up Phx - many that actually know how to deal woith a viewer have tried and given up
[2013/08/22 15:59] Sophie Katsu: oh ok i thought you were talking about his other comment
[2013/08/22 15:59] Sophie Katsu: why are you telling me that? i'm not a coder
[2013/08/22 16:00] Sophie Katsu: i just repeated what Jessica said in one of the interviews that i saw on video
[2013/08/22 16:00] StarlightShining Resident: as you said sophie - anyone can pick it up and take it forward
[2013/08/22 16:02] Masdison Resident: I still use phoenix at time and its working fine in most sims but if you go to a sim that has the ssb all the av's look totally gray but your av looks good
[2013/08/22 16:03] Mister Acacia: SSA (was ssb) is on all regions now.
Now, just to show you how true it is that the typical response to any and all issues with Firestorm really is to go out and buy a brand new computer, here's a screencap lifted right from the Firestorm blog itself.
Wow. That looks like someone being told to go out and get a new computer, with the ass clown making the reply not even bothering to ask if the person to whom he is replying is even on a PC that uses Windows XP. My computer runs Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, with the following specs:
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 260 Processor (3214.35 MHz)
Memory: 8192 MB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
Graphics Card Vendor: ATI Technologies Inc.
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6600 Series
Windows Graphics Driver Version: 8.17.0010.1077
OpenGL Version: 4.1.10750 Compatibility Profile Context
And guess what? Firestorm won't run for you-know-what. If it doesn't crash on start-up, it does very soon thereafter, and in the interim all I get is blackness with nothing fixing it. My PC was designed to allow me to run graphics-intensive programs on high settings without breaking a circuit. Yet the typical response to any and all issues with the badly-programmed Firestorm is "go out and buy a new computer, come into the modern age", as though that and not the crappy programming by the developers is the only thing to blame. And when this is pointed out, it's met with name-calling, profanity, and censorship. This is what the Firestorm developers and their merry band of suckups are like, dear readers. You don't usually see this kind of behavior, this sneering contempt for one's own user base, in a lot of other places.
So yeah, I left that group and have no plans to return. Now that Server Side Baking has gone grid-wide, I'm using Singularity Viewer full time. Its building features still aren't quite on the same level as Phoenix, but the developers are a lot more receptive to input than the Firestorm elitists are, so who knows? It just may end up becoming the premiere viewer for builders.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Seriously?
With a host of bugs and security problems running rampant through their craptastic viewer, forcing many users to roll back to earlier versions, you'd think the lying douchebags who develop Firestorm would be smart enough to do something sane, like, you know, fix the damn bugs instead of denying they are bugs and ordering people to go out and shell out money they don't have for new computers. But no, now they're seriously considering blocking access to older versions so that the only viewer users can log in on is the last three updates.
Many users can't use the three most recent updates because of insurmountable problems with the viewer code, so they will be effectively blocked from using Firestorm at all should the developers decide to pull this stunt. Worse is that they are seriously considering blocking access to Phoenix, after a suggestion by one Firestorm user.
According to their own message on the viewer log-in screen on Phoenix, some 28,000 SL users still use Phoenix (I'm one of them). If Jessica Lyin' and her merry band of assholes do decide to block Phoenix, it would mean further alienating, literally, tens of thousands of people.
This obviously is not sitting well with blog readers:
Honestly, I have never seen this kind of behavior before by any organization or business that wanted to remain open. Do you think McDonald's got to be the top burger chain by ordering its customers to go out and spend money they don't have just to be able to make use of their product, lying to said customers, and preventing them from gaining access to their restaurants? Hell no, not when the competition is so fierce. It would be stupid and suicidal for them as a business. Firestorm may not be demanding that people pay money for the "privilege" of using their viewer, but just as with any business, they are producing a product — a defective one at that — and if they want people to use that product, they had better grow up and start going to work fixing their many mistakes.
UPDATE: 15 AUGUST, 2013:
Upon logging in this afternoon, I was hit with the following window in Phoenix:
What this means exactly is yet to be known, but I will keep you updated as information comes in.
Many users can't use the three most recent updates because of insurmountable problems with the viewer code, so they will be effectively blocked from using Firestorm at all should the developers decide to pull this stunt. Worse is that they are seriously considering blocking access to Phoenix, after a suggestion by one Firestorm user.
According to their own message on the viewer log-in screen on Phoenix, some 28,000 SL users still use Phoenix (I'm one of them). If Jessica Lyin' and her merry band of assholes do decide to block Phoenix, it would mean further alienating, literally, tens of thousands of people.
This obviously is not sitting well with blog readers:
Honestly, I have never seen this kind of behavior before by any organization or business that wanted to remain open. Do you think McDonald's got to be the top burger chain by ordering its customers to go out and spend money they don't have just to be able to make use of their product, lying to said customers, and preventing them from gaining access to their restaurants? Hell no, not when the competition is so fierce. It would be stupid and suicidal for them as a business. Firestorm may not be demanding that people pay money for the "privilege" of using their viewer, but just as with any business, they are producing a product — a defective one at that — and if they want people to use that product, they had better grow up and start going to work fixing their many mistakes.
UPDATE: 15 AUGUST, 2013:
Upon logging in this afternoon, I was hit with the following window in Phoenix:
What this means exactly is yet to be known, but I will keep you updated as information comes in.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
The End of an Era, and the Beginning of a New One
It's official: after five years, New London Village is leaving TARDIS region for a smaller, less expensive land somewhere. The realities of Linden Lab's artificially high prices have necessitated scaling back. So this year's London Village Festival has turned out to be the last at its present location.
Three years ago, when I was driven out of Who Island, the sim I started and initially ran, it was Kat, Laredo, and their core community who gave me a home in SL. They forgave my monumental fuckup in 2011 and let me stay without banning me from the region, understanding that I'd made a mistake and learned from it. They've endured relentless attacks from small-minded people who couldn't abide a more successful region than their own, endured through staff changes, kept things interesting and always strived to evolve the sim to see where and how far they could take it.
Now they're moving, and although things will continue, albeit on a smaller scale (New London Systems will continue with its store and lineup of goods), it won't be quite the same as before. Yet change is a constant factor in real life and Second Life alike, and what really matters at the end of the day is how we deal with it. I know I'm not alone when I say, "Thank you, Kat, Laredo, and all the others who have put in so much time and energy into New London, through the good times and the bad. You guys rock AND roll, and I wish you success and happiness in the next phase of your journey through Second Life."
Three years ago, when I was driven out of Who Island, the sim I started and initially ran, it was Kat, Laredo, and their core community who gave me a home in SL. They forgave my monumental fuckup in 2011 and let me stay without banning me from the region, understanding that I'd made a mistake and learned from it. They've endured relentless attacks from small-minded people who couldn't abide a more successful region than their own, endured through staff changes, kept things interesting and always strived to evolve the sim to see where and how far they could take it.
Now they're moving, and although things will continue, albeit on a smaller scale (New London Systems will continue with its store and lineup of goods), it won't be quite the same as before. Yet change is a constant factor in real life and Second Life alike, and what really matters at the end of the day is how we deal with it. I know I'm not alone when I say, "Thank you, Kat, Laredo, and all the others who have put in so much time and energy into New London, through the good times and the bad. You guys rock AND roll, and I wish you success and happiness in the next phase of your journey through Second Life."
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| Just to show you how popular New London was and is... |
Monday, April 8, 2013
Jessica Lyin' to Firestorm users: Don't Expect Working Update Any Time Soon
Well, at least she's not springing any big surprises on anyone. Jessica Lyin' posted an entry on her blog April 5th stating flat out that there will be no usable update to Firestorm any time soon. With server side baking coming at some undisclosed date in the near or not-so-near future, disgruntled users asking questions but receiving no honest or real answers, and as usual, Ms. Lyin' is, well, lying.
On the one hand, she says that the "coming Firestorm release DOES support Server Side Baking." Then she turns around and says that she and her team of suckups won't release the new viewer now "[b]ecause Linden Lab has not released their viewer with Server Side Baking yet. And if we release Firestorm now, and then LL realizes there needs to be more code changes for Server Side Baking that will affect both their viewer and ours, then we will have to do yet another release immediately after."
Okay, so where, you might be asking, is the lie? In the first sentence of the blog entry, Lyin' says flat out "that the release is quickly approaching." Define "quickly." If we go by the timeline Linden Lab has traditionally adopted, "quickly" could be six months or a year from now, or two years from now, or maybe never. That's not what any reasonable person would call "quick".
So basically, Jessica Lyin' is telling Firestorm users that although the next update will be ready to roll out very soon, if not now, they're going to wait to release it until Linden Lab officially rolls out Server Side Baking, which could be a while in coming.
Commenter Bear Silvershade rightly called B.S. on this one, stating:
User Sorrow made the following observation:
So there you have it. Jessica Lyin' has what she claims (probably falsely, as usual) is a workable update to her crappy viewer, but won't release it until after Linden Lab rolls out Server Side Baking, which means it could be any time between now and never.
Oh well.
By the way, for any of you programming wizards out there who might be interested, I managed to download the code for Phoenix Viewer (not Firestorm), so that it can be updated and resurrected under a different title. I have no programming skills, but I can pass on the files for you to work with. What you do with them is up to you. Send me an e-mail or reply in the comments to let me know if you're interested and I'll find a way to share the files with you.
On the one hand, she says that the "coming Firestorm release DOES support Server Side Baking." Then she turns around and says that she and her team of suckups won't release the new viewer now "[b]ecause Linden Lab has not released their viewer with Server Side Baking yet. And if we release Firestorm now, and then LL realizes there needs to be more code changes for Server Side Baking that will affect both their viewer and ours, then we will have to do yet another release immediately after."
Okay, so where, you might be asking, is the lie? In the first sentence of the blog entry, Lyin' says flat out "that the release is quickly approaching." Define "quickly." If we go by the timeline Linden Lab has traditionally adopted, "quickly" could be six months or a year from now, or two years from now, or maybe never. That's not what any reasonable person would call "quick".
So basically, Jessica Lyin' is telling Firestorm users that although the next update will be ready to roll out very soon, if not now, they're going to wait to release it until Linden Lab officially rolls out Server Side Baking, which could be a while in coming.
Commenter Bear Silvershade rightly called B.S. on this one, stating:
I had to think about responding to this thread, because invariably, the small number of people who voice an opposing view get bashed or labelled a troll. Sadly, that is likely to happen to me, but I am so frustrated.Naturally, Lyin' went on the attack with her patented brand of lies combined with condescension and dismissal. Bear replied:
So let me see if I have this right. You are not releasing a version of Firestorm you have, that you feel is stable, and would likely include the long awaited snapshot tiling fix, because… you don’t think it would be cool to have to release an update a few days to a few weeks after this one?
I admit I am not a loyal firestorm user. Though I think it is one of the best viewers available, the infrequency of updates to take advantage of newer code or newer features has always been a concern. That came to a head in December when the tiling bug fix came out. Since one of my main activities in SL is making images, that was a major fix, and one that many others had been waiting for as well.
That’s when Firestorm lost me completely. It’s now four months without that fix being implemented. The absurdity of including William Weaver’s phototools to make this an ideal viewer for image makers, even starting a flickr group to show off images made with it, but not getting out the tiling fix as soon as possible still has me shaking my head.
Other viewers, including LL, release regularly. Are you saying that you can’t even come close to living up to that standard?
More annoying, it appears from one blogger’s comments that there was a stable beta available some weeks ago, apparently only available to a select few.
Now we have to keep waiting, even though you have something you feel is releasable? I am sure I am not alone in being willing to update my viewer a few days after a release. It happens with all kinds of software.
Now, before the putdowns start, you really want users avoiding posting for fear of retaliation or otherwise being shut down or disregarded? Or would you rather have an inclusive group where users feel like they are contributing and their concerns are honestly being listened to.
I will likely try the new viewer when it comes out, hoping that it lives up to the wait, though I have some concern that it won’t.
But that’s as may be. The fact is, in the end, there are other viewers out there, including the Lab’s, that do offer regular updates, so problems are dealt with and new features/fixes are available.
Jessica, I applaud your and the team’s commitment to quality. But it’s time to leave this no beta model/favoured few model behind and show a little more respect for your user base.
Perhaps you could try not trying to pack so many changes into each release? You will always be chasing the next feature, and if you are waiting till a whole bunch is perfect, well this is the result, that needed working features aren’t released, because you are waiting on something else.More lies, condescension, and dismissal from Jessica Lyin', followed by a disheartened final response from Bear. Again, no big surprise there. The baseline response from Ms. Lyin' and her merry band of suckups is always to go on the attack, dismiss any and all criticisms no matter how legitimate, and engage in rampant dishonesty.
As to regular releases, well, I am not worried about how popular the viewer is. Exodus, like Zen, appears to have ceased development, though while they were developing, offered nightly builds. Singularity, when the tiling fix and others features/patches came out, got a baseline viewer out that they plan to build on, in a reasonable time frame.
But Dolphin releases regularly, usually every two weeks or so. Niran, while I think it goes too far wit UI changes, also releases regularly.
But as to “irresponsibly releasing a build” that’s what a system of development and beta releases are for… let us decide, instead of adopting this paternalistic and, frankly, somewhat condescending attitude. If I am trying a LL dev build, as I often do, and it has a problem, I don’t get angry at them, it was my choice. I’ve never got to report a bug, since others usually find them before me.
Though you say you are not dismissing my concerns, frankly, that is exactly what you are saying in your final sentence. “We have reasons, you just don’t understand” is how that comes across to me.
Maybe if I say it more clearly.
1) It is disrespectful of your larger user base to release betas to a special few so they can enjoy the benefits (and, yes take the risks)
2) It is a poor model that ends up with four months between releases, leaving users without fixes that are ready to go.
3) Incremental releases allow us to decide what level of chance we are willing to take.
4) Contrary to your comments, many viewers, including LL and TPVs, release more regularly, getting improvements into the stream as they are available.
User Sorrow made the following observation:
Only issue is they generally don’t screw up either. Every CoolVL weekly patch has worked flawlessly, every Singularity Alpha build aren’t problematic, same as Nirans, etc.I put the key parts in bold-type. *: I corrected a grammatical error so the sentence conveys the writer's meaning. Anyway, Sorrow makes a very good point: Henri Beauchamp and Siana Gearz update their viewers much more frequently than Jessica Lyin's team does, and their crews are smaller. They do, however, have the benefit of being more talented programmers, and they stay ahead on the updates. Lyin' is basically dismissing these and other TPV developers as being too small and insignificant to emulate so as to better serve her users. Do you feel insulted by that attitude? I am, and I don't even use Firestorm.
Only up to date released problematic and buggy viewer is Firestorm.
With firestorm updates being so slow, by the time this next version is released, it will already fallen 1-2 months behind the Official, CoolVL, Singularity Alpha, etc as the other viewers are already far ahead in development with the next batch of LL Patches, code, and new features..
It’s almost like, instead of thinking ahead like other 3rd party developers and working with LL developmental code and beginning to code and enact their own version of the LL future development, instead you wait until the official LL viewer to implement it, then barely start working on it, while on the other hand, the other 3rd party viewers have already released their own updates as they already completed development of the new features.
Sorta like this Server Side baking.. it’s been talked about for months and months, implemented on the developmental viewer then beta viewer for months as well, however it doesn’t seem like the FS team bothered* to begin working on it during this time (like the other developers), instead waited all the way when LL was ready to roll it out on the official viewer, thus months behind everyone else.
“viewers with such a small user base can afford to screw up where we cannot.”
you should follow CoolVL’s or Singularity’s model, have weekly or bi-weekly (even monthly would be better than nothing) releases labeled as “Alpha (Use At Your Own Risk)” no matter how small the patch, having regular releases, even if they are alpha or beta versions, this will more likely keep everyone satisfied, plus help your team locate and identify bugs if you have an alpha version JIRA rather than previously where the bugs end up being located within the official major releases (much better idea than this “Preview Idea” as a few days probably isn’t enough to locate all problems in a viewer.
So there you have it. Jessica Lyin' has what she claims (probably falsely, as usual) is a workable update to her crappy viewer, but won't release it until after Linden Lab rolls out Server Side Baking, which means it could be any time between now and never.
Oh well.
By the way, for any of you programming wizards out there who might be interested, I managed to download the code for Phoenix Viewer (not Firestorm), so that it can be updated and resurrected under a different title. I have no programming skills, but I can pass on the files for you to work with. What you do with them is up to you. Send me an e-mail or reply in the comments to let me know if you're interested and I'll find a way to share the files with you.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Did I mention I'm now in the Green Lantern Core?
This past Friday I was privileged to graduate from 'poozer' training in the Green Lantern Core group in Second Life. I have to tell you, it is an honor to be involved with these people.
The GLC began roughly ten years ago as a fan group for the Green Lantern comic book series published by DC Comics. Eventually they became involved in protecting a region called 'A Better World', which is dedicated to helping educate others on the crisis in Darfur (genocides, refugees, and so on) from attacks by griefers, and became more involved in anti-griefing activities as the years went by.
But the GLC is more than simply an anti-griefing group. We are heavily involved in charity events, including Relay For Life in Second Life, helping to raise money to find a cure.
One part of 'poozer' training was the class collaborating to put on a charity event, which tested our ability to work together to create and run a charity event. Unfortunately my participation in that was limited because of Internet connectivity issues, but those are (sort of) resolved now, and what I was able to contribute, I'm thankful to have been given the opportunity.
(Of course, with being a Core member comes my share of griefer attacks. Last night, for example, as I was popping into the group's sandbox, I came upon a bunch of 'bees' being rezzed, and an object caused a drop-down menu to appear ad infinitum with a link to some random blog. This all combined to crash the region, prompting a sim reboot on Linden Lab's end. Attacks like this are frequent enough to require Core member presence at all times, though obviously this isn't always possible.)
Thanks to GLC member, ION, and trainer Trinatiana, GLC member Cathy Gray, and others for leading the training courses and putting up with all our questions. You all rock AND roll!
The GLC began roughly ten years ago as a fan group for the Green Lantern comic book series published by DC Comics. Eventually they became involved in protecting a region called 'A Better World', which is dedicated to helping educate others on the crisis in Darfur (genocides, refugees, and so on) from attacks by griefers, and became more involved in anti-griefing activities as the years went by.
But the GLC is more than simply an anti-griefing group. We are heavily involved in charity events, including Relay For Life in Second Life, helping to raise money to find a cure.
One part of 'poozer' training was the class collaborating to put on a charity event, which tested our ability to work together to create and run a charity event. Unfortunately my participation in that was limited because of Internet connectivity issues, but those are (sort of) resolved now, and what I was able to contribute, I'm thankful to have been given the opportunity.
(Of course, with being a Core member comes my share of griefer attacks. Last night, for example, as I was popping into the group's sandbox, I came upon a bunch of 'bees' being rezzed, and an object caused a drop-down menu to appear ad infinitum with a link to some random blog. This all combined to crash the region, prompting a sim reboot on Linden Lab's end. Attacks like this are frequent enough to require Core member presence at all times, though obviously this isn't always possible.)
Thanks to GLC member, ION, and trainer Trinatiana, GLC member Cathy Gray, and others for leading the training courses and putting up with all our questions. You all rock AND roll!
Problems with Server Side Baking
Here are some links regarding the in-development server-side-baking feature being prepared for gridwide use by Linden Lab:
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/sl-projects-week-8-3-viewer-materials-and-ssb-load-test/
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/playing-with-ssb-and-viewers-quick-test/
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/viewer-round-up-summary-week-8/
As expected, there are some issues with the feature, but many Third Party Viewer (TPV) developers seem to be getting their viewers up to speed, most notably Singularity and Cool VL Viewer.
Not surprisingly, the Firestorm elitists and liars are having a tougher time getting their resource-hogging, crashtastic, low-frame-rate to work, and are claiming that it will likely be some time before a stable version that can handle Serve Side Baking will be released -- so naturally, the Firestorm clowns will release a version of the viewer that has SSB before they can even get it working properly with Linden Lab's code. "Genius" at its finest.
Also not surprising is that some commenters aren't buying the lies Jessica Lyin' and her merry gang of suckups are telling. "Joseph" writes:
As for the Server Side Baking issues, it's clear that the official roll-out may not come quite as soon as previously stated by Linden Lab or others. It'll be implemented across the grid sooner or later, but it seems clear that the TPVs most likely to have stable viewers that have SSB won't include Firestorm.
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/sl-projects-week-8-3-viewer-materials-and-ssb-load-test/
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/playing-with-ssb-and-viewers-quick-test/
http://modemworld.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/viewer-round-up-summary-week-8/
As expected, there are some issues with the feature, but many Third Party Viewer (TPV) developers seem to be getting their viewers up to speed, most notably Singularity and Cool VL Viewer.
Not surprisingly, the Firestorm elitists and liars are having a tougher time getting their resource-hogging, crashtastic, low-frame-rate to work, and are claiming that it will likely be some time before a stable version that can handle Serve Side Baking will be released -- so naturally, the Firestorm clowns will release a version of the viewer that has SSB before they can even get it working properly with Linden Lab's code. "Genius" at its finest.
Also not surprising is that some commenters aren't buying the lies Jessica Lyin' and her merry gang of suckups are telling. "Joseph" writes:
It really does not surprise me at all that Firestorm is in such a terrible state right now. And at the meeting it sure had a tone and implied like so many problems are caused by LL’s code even though Jessica did make sure to state that many problems come from Firestorm itself. The LL 3.4.5 is a GREAT viewer and certainly isn’t some mess of buggy code like it sounds like the Firestorm devs make it out to be. If any Firestorm user or any of the Firestorm devs truely used the LL 3.4.5 viewer for a decent amount of time they would see that not only does it perform a hell of a lot better than Firestorm it has a hell of a lot less bugs. Firestorm is a crappy clunky mess in comparison. All things considered the LL 3.4.5 viewer is an awesome viewer. The problems Firestorm is having right now is because instead of just adding features and UI improvements over the past couple of years to the LL viewer, they have delved and messed with so much of the internals of the program itself thinking they can do everything better than the lab. If one looks at the commits to the code since the beginning of Firestorm over two years ago, the developers have mucked and messed with so much more of the code than just adding features and UI changes. Instead of just letting LL deal with the internals of the program they have gone in and tinkered and messed with so much of the guts of the program itself and this is why now after merging it is such a terrible mess. If the Firestorm devs had a minimalistic approach to what they changed in the code other than UI improvements and adding features, the current internal version wouldnt be the unstable horrendous god awful mess it is now. Anyone can go to their mercurial repository and see exactly what they do to their source code, and see hundreds if not thousands of commits since the beginning of the project of them making changes to the core engine of the program so to speak and that is why they are in the mess they are in today. Often times Phoenix was described as a monstrous unmaintainable collection of hacks held together by bail wire, spit, duct tape etc…and the irony is that now a days that is exactly what Firestorm has become.As evidenced from this and other comments, not everyone believes what Ms. Lyin' has to say, and for good reason -- people know from actually trying to use Firestorm that it's an unworkable mess of code, the very same critiques used against Phoenix, which actually works on more people's computers and which has now been abandoned by the developers.
As for the Server Side Baking issues, it's clear that the official roll-out may not come quite as soon as previously stated by Linden Lab or others. It'll be implemented across the grid sooner or later, but it seems clear that the TPVs most likely to have stable viewers that have SSB won't include Firestorm.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
One Billion Rising in Second Life: How Effective Was It?
Apparently an event took place recently that was devoted to dancing in hopes of raising awareness of the one billion human beings on the planet, mostly women and children, who suffer daily violence including rape. It was called, "One Billion Rising", and it was blogged about on New World Notes, where Hamlet Au quoted critics and supporters alike.
The main issue critics have is the effectiveness of such an event. It sought no donations, and I heard little or nothing about it through SL or the groups I'm in that frequently become involved in charity drives, which leads me to question just how important the event's organizers or Linden Lab think the issue of violence against women and children is given the lack of information-sharing. As a survivor of physical and emotional abuse, I would like to have known about an event that seeks to both raise awareness of the problem and, most importantly, find solutions.
That seems to be the basis of the detractors' criticisms. What was actually done to raise awareness of the issue? We know that roughly one billion human beings — one seventh of the total estimated population — go through each day being beaten, raped, killed, or facing some other kind of violence, be it physical, mental, or emotional. Most of the violence is carried out against humanity's most vulnerable members: women and children. Okay, that's important information we need to know: how widespread is the problem and whom does it affect the most?
Missing from the event was any real discussion as to what can and should be done to end the violence. Other than throwing a big in-world dance party (the event took place across four connected regions), what did the organizers really accomplish? What did they really hope to accomplish? Answers to these and other questions don't appear to be forthcoming.
I don't doubt the sincerity or the good intentions of OBR's organizers. What I question is their effectiveness and the way they are going about their stated mission. It's all well and good to gather survivors in one place to provide each other with much needed emotional support. But more than that is needed if we as a species are to find ways to end violence against each other, to break the endless cycles and save lives.
Some things that can be done to make future events more effective include, but are not limited to:
These and other steps should be taken to ensure that future OBR events are more successful in achieving their goals. It's a worthy cause, one worth devoting time, effort, and money to. Let's work to make the cause an effective one.
The main issue critics have is the effectiveness of such an event. It sought no donations, and I heard little or nothing about it through SL or the groups I'm in that frequently become involved in charity drives, which leads me to question just how important the event's organizers or Linden Lab think the issue of violence against women and children is given the lack of information-sharing. As a survivor of physical and emotional abuse, I would like to have known about an event that seeks to both raise awareness of the problem and, most importantly, find solutions.
That seems to be the basis of the detractors' criticisms. What was actually done to raise awareness of the issue? We know that roughly one billion human beings — one seventh of the total estimated population — go through each day being beaten, raped, killed, or facing some other kind of violence, be it physical, mental, or emotional. Most of the violence is carried out against humanity's most vulnerable members: women and children. Okay, that's important information we need to know: how widespread is the problem and whom does it affect the most?
Missing from the event was any real discussion as to what can and should be done to end the violence. Other than throwing a big in-world dance party (the event took place across four connected regions), what did the organizers really accomplish? What did they really hope to accomplish? Answers to these and other questions don't appear to be forthcoming.
I don't doubt the sincerity or the good intentions of OBR's organizers. What I question is their effectiveness and the way they are going about their stated mission. It's all well and good to gather survivors in one place to provide each other with much needed emotional support. But more than that is needed if we as a species are to find ways to end violence against each other, to break the endless cycles and save lives.
Some things that can be done to make future events more effective include, but are not limited to:
- First figure out exactly what, besides throwing a big in-world party, organizers hope to accomplish. Is the purpose to educate people? What information can be provided to raise awareness not only of the nature and scope of the problem, but solutions?
- Plan out well in advance how many people organizers wish to reach and prepare ahead of time — at least a year. The IFT Sci-Fi Alliance begins planning for its Relay For Life fund-raising activities as soon as the previous event ends. It's a year-round crusade and there are no holidays. Events are planned and, most importantly, hyped for months prior to the start of RFL activities. Tens of thousands of SL residents learn about RFL-related events months before things start happening. OBR could take a few pages out of the RFL playbook on this one.
- Is there any fund-raising apparatus in place to send money to non-profit organizations that seek to assist victims of violence in escaping their situations to better, violence-free lives, such as RAINN? If not, shouldn't there be one? If so, what accountability measures are in place to ensure that funds are actually going to organizations that are working to help end the violence? RAINN and similar organizations may have a presence in SL, and if they don't, it would be very good to reach out to their members in-world to work out some kind of arrangement, like RFL and the American Cancer Society have with their donation kiosks.
- Generating mass discussions among abuse survivors can go a long way toward helping. People who've found ways to escape could share their stories, thus inspiring and informing others who haven't been so lucky to get the help they need to empower themselves and get away from the violence.
These and other steps should be taken to ensure that future OBR events are more successful in achieving their goals. It's a worthy cause, one worth devoting time, effort, and money to. Let's work to make the cause an effective one.
Monday, January 7, 2013
End of an Era for Phoenix Users
As many of you already know, the Firestorm snobs have officially abandoned their only viable SL viewer in favor of an unusable, bug-riddled, resource-hogging piece of software junk. The decision to kill Phoenix Viewer was always that of its developers, and now they've pretty much done it. People can still log on to Second Life using Phoenix, but since it's no longer being updated features will continue to break as Linden Lab implements new code that is incompatible with Phoenix.
And it's a real shame, too. Phoenix has a user interface that is far superior to Firestorm, is intuitive, and doesn't force you to spend countless hours trying to figure it out. What's more, Phoenix always had and will always have a higher frame rate, more stability, and use fewer computer resources, than Firestorm. Abandoning it might just bite the Firestorm snobs in the arse as people move on to Singularity and Cool VL Viewer.
Well, I guess it's time for me to move on to Singularity full time. I won't be able to do as much building on that viewer, since its abilities to position prims aren't as precise as Phoenix, but I'll keep on the developers to get that problem addressed.
And it's a real shame, too. Phoenix has a user interface that is far superior to Firestorm, is intuitive, and doesn't force you to spend countless hours trying to figure it out. What's more, Phoenix always had and will always have a higher frame rate, more stability, and use fewer computer resources, than Firestorm. Abandoning it might just bite the Firestorm snobs in the arse as people move on to Singularity and Cool VL Viewer.
Well, I guess it's time for me to move on to Singularity full time. I won't be able to do as much building on that viewer, since its abilities to position prims aren't as precise as Phoenix, but I'll keep on the developers to get that problem addressed.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Return of the Time War Daleks!
As previous entries will reveal to readers unaware of last year's fiasco, the last time Dalek avatars came up in association with my name, it didn't go very well. That was entirely my fault, it was stupid, I got caught, and had to admit it publicly. That cost me a few friends and trashed my reputation. Again, my fault entirely.
Since then, many things have happened, but lately work has been underway to correct my previous mistakes.
And so, without further adieu, I am proud to present you with the first of what is hoped to be the resurrection of the (hybrid) Daleks.
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/SFE-Dalek-Supreme/4261825
The new Dalek Supreme was made under the account of Malcolm Danick, and is priced at 400L$. Features include HUD control, flashing dome lights when typing, head rotation, laser beam effect, and an opening and closing casing.
The avatars were built under supervision. Some parts, such as the eye stalk, plunger, and interior parts, were used from my old line with permission. Everything else was made by Malcolm Danick and scripted to function as you see in the pictures. Other Dalek avatars in the line will be released as they are finished testing.
The design is a concept one blending the classic series Daleks with the Russell T. Davies-era versions, with some features unique to this line. The shoulder slats are spaced farther apart, and two handle bars are mounted on each shoulder behind the arm boxes, the for attaching grenade belts and other weapons or tools. Color schemes include gray, red, blue, and supreme, with rank numbers below the eye stalks.
In-world, you can visit our vendors here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Naughty%20Naughty/220/100/23
Stay tuned for further updates!
Since then, many things have happened, but lately work has been underway to correct my previous mistakes.
And so, without further adieu, I am proud to present you with the first of what is hoped to be the resurrection of the (hybrid) Daleks.
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/SFE-Dalek-Supreme/4261825
The new Dalek Supreme was made under the account of Malcolm Danick, and is priced at 400L$. Features include HUD control, flashing dome lights when typing, head rotation, laser beam effect, and an opening and closing casing.
The avatars were built under supervision. Some parts, such as the eye stalk, plunger, and interior parts, were used from my old line with permission. Everything else was made by Malcolm Danick and scripted to function as you see in the pictures. Other Dalek avatars in the line will be released as they are finished testing.
The design is a concept one blending the classic series Daleks with the Russell T. Davies-era versions, with some features unique to this line. The shoulder slats are spaced farther apart, and two handle bars are mounted on each shoulder behind the arm boxes, the for attaching grenade belts and other weapons or tools. Color schemes include gray, red, blue, and supreme, with rank numbers below the eye stalks.
In-world, you can visit our vendors here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Naughty%20Naughty/220/100/23
Stay tuned for further updates!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Institutional Wishful Thinking: Why Steam Won't Save Second Life
New World Notes has taken to deleting my comments when made from certain terminals, so to bring a long-running debate from there over here I'm including a screen capture along with a copy-paste.
Recently there has been a debate over the issue of Linden Lab's outrageously overpriced land model, which forces users to fork over one thousand U.S. dollars and an additional two hundred ninety-five dollars a month for server maintenance. Hamlet Au has given his reasons for why he thinks Linden Lab won't be lowering prices any time soon: it would have, in his opinion, a crippling short term effect on the company's bottom line, speculation that has little basis in fact. The reason for his opinion? It would hurt the five hundred or so land barons who make their living, most only barely, renting out virtual real estate.
The flaw in Hamlet's reasoning has always been the assumption that an across-the-board price cut wouldn't be compensated for by an influx of new and returning customers. But Desmond Shang, a small land baron, stated in comments that he agrees that land tier prices have to come down sooner or later, and he was invited to post his own guest entry on New World Notes. That entry led to some unreasonably hostile responses in-thread, which led to Hamlet expanding on one that piqued his interest.
Unfortunately, Hamlet seems to be clinging to the notion that Second Life can be successfully marketed as a gaming platform even though Linden Lab has not developed and is not developing the tools that will make it attractive to hardcore RPG gamers.
Well, no it isn't, and my response is posted below with some additions.
The reason is this: Wishful thinking isn't going to save Second Life, and having a link on Steam isn't going to do it either as long as land tier prices remain unaffordable to most users. This point cannot be stressed enough. Second Life does not have the tools to become anything like what Steam users are accustomed to, so the chances of an influx of users flocking to an overpriced, buggy grid that is woefully inadequate to 3D gaming are remote.
Currently monthly tier for a private region is nearly three hundred U.S. dollars, and for a brand new region the initial setup fee is one thousand dollars. That's an outrageous price tag fewer and fewer people are willing and able to pay. If the initial setup fee were, say, one hundred dollars and the monthly tier returned to $195.00, then it might become economically feasible. (Note: there are groups that allow members to sell private regions to others at far less than Linden Lab's initial setup fee — I've used one in the past to acquire a full region transfer for only three hundred dollars, although the tier on it was due soon after, something buyers have to take into account.) But with the current pricing model RPGers becoming the Thing That Saves Linden Lab...er, Second Life...just isn't realistic. The most likely scenario is that there will be some kind of exodus of hardcore gamers from SL to Steam, where they can play games that have the tools necessary for the genre. How large or small such an emigration is remains to be seen, and it may not even be significant enough to worry over. But what should be obvious to everyone is that there will be no mass migration from Steam to Second Life — not when Linden Lab hasn't done the work to make it into something RPGers would get into.
And that's the crux of the problem. For all people keep touting Second Life as a gaming platform, the tools for developing it toward that end were never created. With the hideously complicated scripting system that is constantly undermined by Linden Lab's often unstable changes, RPG developers have to create HUDs, floating text attachments, and items such as weapons, and that has the problem of generating higher lag depending on the number of scripts associated with all these items. And because there are so many different RPG systems (i.e. DCS and SGS), players and roleplay developers alike have to compensate for incompatibility issues, leaving less time for actually playing the games.
In the virtual world games Steam carries, tools such as weapons, potions, gadgets, and other necessities have already been created and provided. The only problem is the limited range of customization options inherent to most RPGs, which is the only area SL could potentially be better in offering to users. But the high prices make coming to the grid prohibitively expensive.
With SL losing an estimated 8.3 regions every day to the ridiculously high prices, literally thousands of sims a year, at some point something's got to give, and it's going to have to be land prices. Baby steps toward making SL more affordable, as Desmond Shang has suggested, simply aren't going to do the trick. Land prices are going to have to come down to a reasonable level, because if they don't then Linden Lab is looking at financial bankruptcy within one or two years.
Recently there has been a debate over the issue of Linden Lab's outrageously overpriced land model, which forces users to fork over one thousand U.S. dollars and an additional two hundred ninety-five dollars a month for server maintenance. Hamlet Au has given his reasons for why he thinks Linden Lab won't be lowering prices any time soon: it would have, in his opinion, a crippling short term effect on the company's bottom line, speculation that has little basis in fact. The reason for his opinion? It would hurt the five hundred or so land barons who make their living, most only barely, renting out virtual real estate.
The flaw in Hamlet's reasoning has always been the assumption that an across-the-board price cut wouldn't be compensated for by an influx of new and returning customers. But Desmond Shang, a small land baron, stated in comments that he agrees that land tier prices have to come down sooner or later, and he was invited to post his own guest entry on New World Notes. That entry led to some unreasonably hostile responses in-thread, which led to Hamlet expanding on one that piqued his interest.
Unfortunately, Hamlet seems to be clinging to the notion that Second Life can be successfully marketed as a gaming platform even though Linden Lab has not developed and is not developing the tools that will make it attractive to hardcore RPG gamers.
As I said, I don't entirely agree with Masami -- for instance, I don't think this suggestion would preclude land barons like Desmond (who runs an RPG themed area himself). But with SL soon to launch on Steam, a roleplay focus seems to be an ideal solution to a lot of Second Life's problems.
Well, no it isn't, and my response is posted below with some additions.
The reason is this: Wishful thinking isn't going to save Second Life, and having a link on Steam isn't going to do it either as long as land tier prices remain unaffordable to most users. This point cannot be stressed enough. Second Life does not have the tools to become anything like what Steam users are accustomed to, so the chances of an influx of users flocking to an overpriced, buggy grid that is woefully inadequate to 3D gaming are remote.
Currently monthly tier for a private region is nearly three hundred U.S. dollars, and for a brand new region the initial setup fee is one thousand dollars. That's an outrageous price tag fewer and fewer people are willing and able to pay. If the initial setup fee were, say, one hundred dollars and the monthly tier returned to $195.00, then it might become economically feasible. (Note: there are groups that allow members to sell private regions to others at far less than Linden Lab's initial setup fee — I've used one in the past to acquire a full region transfer for only three hundred dollars, although the tier on it was due soon after, something buyers have to take into account.) But with the current pricing model RPGers becoming the Thing That Saves Linden Lab...er, Second Life...just isn't realistic. The most likely scenario is that there will be some kind of exodus of hardcore gamers from SL to Steam, where they can play games that have the tools necessary for the genre. How large or small such an emigration is remains to be seen, and it may not even be significant enough to worry over. But what should be obvious to everyone is that there will be no mass migration from Steam to Second Life — not when Linden Lab hasn't done the work to make it into something RPGers would get into.
And that's the crux of the problem. For all people keep touting Second Life as a gaming platform, the tools for developing it toward that end were never created. With the hideously complicated scripting system that is constantly undermined by Linden Lab's often unstable changes, RPG developers have to create HUDs, floating text attachments, and items such as weapons, and that has the problem of generating higher lag depending on the number of scripts associated with all these items. And because there are so many different RPG systems (i.e. DCS and SGS), players and roleplay developers alike have to compensate for incompatibility issues, leaving less time for actually playing the games.
In the virtual world games Steam carries, tools such as weapons, potions, gadgets, and other necessities have already been created and provided. The only problem is the limited range of customization options inherent to most RPGs, which is the only area SL could potentially be better in offering to users. But the high prices make coming to the grid prohibitively expensive.
With SL losing an estimated 8.3 regions every day to the ridiculously high prices, literally thousands of sims a year, at some point something's got to give, and it's going to have to be land prices. Baby steps toward making SL more affordable, as Desmond Shang has suggested, simply aren't going to do the trick. Land prices are going to have to come down to a reasonable level, because if they don't then Linden Lab is looking at financial bankruptcy within one or two years.
Monday, August 20, 2012
More Regions Disappearing from SL
Over at New World Notes Hamlet Au is disappointed to learn that one of the Next Big Things to save Second Life isn't doing what he hoped it would, namely, turn SL into the gamers' paradise he apparently wants it to be. This latest revelation comes on the heels of his blog entry last week that hyped the "publish[ing]" of SL "on Valve's Steam distribution network", which is apparently the latest Next Big Thing that will save SL from the slow disintegration of the grid.
Some people are joining Hamlet in hyping this Steam thing as the feature that will bring swarms of 25-40-year-olds to the grid, injecting new life into it and making up for the loss of regions that has been taking place over the last couple of years. Others are downplaying these developments as not having any significant impact on the number of new users to SL, and I happen to be among that crowd. And there's a reason why we don't expect this to take off: the high price of land in SL and the inescapable fact that Second Life is simply not a gaming platform. It never was and never will be.
A popular region called Hosoi just announced that, because of financial difficulties, the sim owner is forced to close it down and leave the grid. And it's not just one but four full regions shutting down.
Now, this should not be surprising to anyone who has kept up with news of SL on NWN. In May and September last year, and in June of this year forecasts predict a ten percent loss of privately-"owned" regions. The single biggest reason for these region losses is the ridiculously high price of land in SL, with Linden Lab charging people up to $1,000.00 USD to buy a new region and $295.00 USD a month for maintenance fees on the server that houses it. And since servers are shared by several regions, this means that each server brings in many hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month. It's a pricing model that only barely worked back in 2006, when there was still the illsuion maintained that the U.S. and world economies were somewhat strong. But that illusion ended in 2008 — four years ago — and it is just plain stupid to expect people to sustain what has become an outrageously expensive luxury when most of us are not even able to earn a living wage and the ones who are able are finding their savings being gobbled up by everything from higher food prices to economically-crippling medical bills.
Now, the simplest solution to bring in more revenue is to cut region prices by one half to two thirds, making SL land pricing competitive with grids such as OpenSim and InWorldz, both of which charge less than $100.00 USD for private islands — both the initial buying price and the monthly server maintenance fee are around $75.00) — and provide far more resources for those regions. Linden Lab currently allows only 15,000 primitives (the basic building blocks that are used to generate the amazing constructs users have made over the years). InWorldz allows up to 45,000. If you had a choice between paying $75 a month for 45,000 prims and shelling out $295 a month for 15,000 prims, the choice really doesn't even exist. You'd opt for a grid that charges far less and gives you far more for what you're paying.
That's exactly what SL region owners are doing. OpenSim was reported this past February as having experienced a small explosion of new users flocking over from the ridiculously expensive Second Life, a healthy increase following a December 2011 report that OpenSim gained 915 regions with InWorldz being the busiest of the independent virtual grids.
It is simply foolish to market something that isn't a gaming platform as a gaming platform, especially when none of the tools are present for turning it into one and the interest from users isn't there. But that's exactly what Linden Lab insists on doing, and with its primary revenue base drying up without a replacement to make up for the losses, the company really can't expect to fund all the non-SL projects it wants to. The latest deal with Steam may be an attempt to secure a new revenue source, but I can think of plenty of more efficient, more viable ways to increase it than by trying to attract gamers from one virtual environment to one that is not set up for gaming.
That's why the Bloodlines clan I belong to is trying to raise funds for a full year for the Nocturne Project. Until or unless Linden Lab wises up and dramatically lowers land tier prices, it's just prohibitively expensive to try and maintain a full region unless you have the business acumen to rent it out at a price that bring in a healthy profit. You can have mesh and pathfinding and all the deals with Cloud and Steam and whatever going on, but at the end of the day it's still the economy stupid. And if Linden Lab refuses to wake up to that reality, it's going to price itself out of business within a few more years.
For an alternative take on this subject, go here.
Some people are joining Hamlet in hyping this Steam thing as the feature that will bring swarms of 25-40-year-olds to the grid, injecting new life into it and making up for the loss of regions that has been taking place over the last couple of years. Others are downplaying these developments as not having any significant impact on the number of new users to SL, and I happen to be among that crowd. And there's a reason why we don't expect this to take off: the high price of land in SL and the inescapable fact that Second Life is simply not a gaming platform. It never was and never will be.
A popular region called Hosoi just announced that, because of financial difficulties, the sim owner is forced to close it down and leave the grid. And it's not just one but four full regions shutting down.
Now, this should not be surprising to anyone who has kept up with news of SL on NWN. In May and September last year, and in June of this year forecasts predict a ten percent loss of privately-"owned" regions. The single biggest reason for these region losses is the ridiculously high price of land in SL, with Linden Lab charging people up to $1,000.00 USD to buy a new region and $295.00 USD a month for maintenance fees on the server that houses it. And since servers are shared by several regions, this means that each server brings in many hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month. It's a pricing model that only barely worked back in 2006, when there was still the illsuion maintained that the U.S. and world economies were somewhat strong. But that illusion ended in 2008 — four years ago — and it is just plain stupid to expect people to sustain what has become an outrageously expensive luxury when most of us are not even able to earn a living wage and the ones who are able are finding their savings being gobbled up by everything from higher food prices to economically-crippling medical bills.
Now, the simplest solution to bring in more revenue is to cut region prices by one half to two thirds, making SL land pricing competitive with grids such as OpenSim and InWorldz, both of which charge less than $100.00 USD for private islands — both the initial buying price and the monthly server maintenance fee are around $75.00) — and provide far more resources for those regions. Linden Lab currently allows only 15,000 primitives (the basic building blocks that are used to generate the amazing constructs users have made over the years). InWorldz allows up to 45,000. If you had a choice between paying $75 a month for 45,000 prims and shelling out $295 a month for 15,000 prims, the choice really doesn't even exist. You'd opt for a grid that charges far less and gives you far more for what you're paying.
That's exactly what SL region owners are doing. OpenSim was reported this past February as having experienced a small explosion of new users flocking over from the ridiculously expensive Second Life, a healthy increase following a December 2011 report that OpenSim gained 915 regions with InWorldz being the busiest of the independent virtual grids.
It is simply foolish to market something that isn't a gaming platform as a gaming platform, especially when none of the tools are present for turning it into one and the interest from users isn't there. But that's exactly what Linden Lab insists on doing, and with its primary revenue base drying up without a replacement to make up for the losses, the company really can't expect to fund all the non-SL projects it wants to. The latest deal with Steam may be an attempt to secure a new revenue source, but I can think of plenty of more efficient, more viable ways to increase it than by trying to attract gamers from one virtual environment to one that is not set up for gaming.
That's why the Bloodlines clan I belong to is trying to raise funds for a full year for the Nocturne Project. Until or unless Linden Lab wises up and dramatically lowers land tier prices, it's just prohibitively expensive to try and maintain a full region unless you have the business acumen to rent it out at a price that bring in a healthy profit. You can have mesh and pathfinding and all the deals with Cloud and Steam and whatever going on, but at the end of the day it's still the economy stupid. And if Linden Lab refuses to wake up to that reality, it's going to price itself out of business within a few more years.
For an alternative take on this subject, go here.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Kickstarter Project! (And NWN Fail)
Okay, part of the title is called 'NWN Fail'. Gonna get that right out of the way now before launching into the bigger and better news. That part of this entry's title isn't really meant to come off looking like it does, because the discussion was actually a lively one. New World Notes had a thread going that posited three ways to salvage SL, only two of which the author thinks are even worth trying to get Linden Lab to change its collective mind about. That third way, lowering tier prices, is actually about the only way Linden Lab will be able to save not only Second Life but also any future prospects for its own, non-SL projects.
Okay, to sum up, the SL land barons that provide LL with the majority of its revenue are steadily closing up and leaving the grid for greener, more affordable pastures. With the economy still in the toilet and no sign of emerging any time this decade, Linden Lab's outrageously high tier prices have got people deciding that they just can't afford SL anymore. Builders and scripters can't peddle their wares on the grid itself, where most SLers congregate (the marketplace revamps haven't allowed sellers to make up the losses enough to justify using that as their primary business home base), and gamers can't afford to create vibrant, sustainable roleplaying experiences because land is prohibitively expensive. The blog author thinks that by converting SL into a spiffy gaming platform, people with money to spend will come. And he can't seem to understand that what's preventing people from coming is the very finite financial resources that are less and less at their disposal every day that passes. Sinply put, SL is degrading into a haven only for the monied elite who can afford to toss away $295.00 USD a month on region tier, and even they're waking up and starting to realize that there's no more profit to be had renting virtual land since fewer and fewer people can afford to rent it. So they're leaving while they still have a chance to get out and not lose a ton of money.
You can have all the ideas for gaming engines and pathfinding and mesh and every other Next Big Thing you want, but at the end of the day, if people find it too expensive to use they're not going to buy it. That's just plain common business sense. It's all about the money, and when demand is low you need to price low to increase demand. Otherwise you'll price yourself out of business.
So, having gotten that out of the way, I'm going to tell you about a project some friends of mine are trying to pull off using Kickstarter. Back in March I read about a tinies group in SL that wanted to build a roleplaying region in SL with plans for expanding it to other media as well as doing charity work. So they created a project on Kickstarter with the fund-raising goal of $8,500.00 USD. They exceeded it to raise a total of over $11,000.00.
That gave us the idea to try it ourselves. Hell, if a bunch of people who enjoy roleplaying tiny forest creatures can raise that kind of money, maybe we can do it for what we want to do. Now, it's no secret that Bloodlines doesn't exactly have a pristine reputation in SL. The idea started out with merit: create a vampire RP system that lets players be vampires, and later werewolves (or lycans, as the game calls them) were added. Only the system quickly earned a bad rep, and I suspect it has mostly to do with the failure to properly account for the casual noobs who get the system, go around annoying people with bite requests, and then leave once they get bored (or banned enough times that they give up). Worse is that with blood barrels and lumen prisms (the werewolf equivalent of blood barrels) being transferrable (albeit no-copy), people realized they could buy at rock-bottom prices from departing or desperate players and sell at a profit with prices that are less than what the Bloodlines official stores sell. Similarly, players trade the "souls" they collect within the system for profit and to stack their stats.
In other words, Bloodlines quickly devolved into a money-making scheme that saw the intended gameplay dry up except for the dedicated RPers who have money enough to own their own regions but for various reasons haven't tried expanding those sims the way the tinies group is doing.
That's where the Nocturne Project comes in.
The backstory is a post-apocalyptic tale that sees the human race conquered by vampires, werewolves, demons, fallen gods, and other creatures of myth and legend, following a global environmental disaster. Society quickly returns to a feudal system under the rule of their supernatural overlords, with modern technology gradually giving way to medieval-style tech and methods. This roleplay region is designed to cater to dedicated Bloodlines players, complete with a war arena (based on the capture-the-flag model), a social area for hunting and partying, and a shopping area for vendors to sell themed wares.
But beyond the Bloodlines aspect, the Nocturne project will also cater to general roleplaying needs, with an involving backstory lending itself to the atmosphere to create an experience that will keep people coming back. If this works out we'll be able to expand to other media as well.
We've already got $251.00 pledged so far, but our goal is $10,000.00 with a deadline of September 16th. That's now just over a month away. Can we do it? I'm confident we can, but we need your help — and your donations. Please visit the Kickstarter page and pledge as much as you can afford. The fund-raising goal was set to allow us to keep the sim running for its first year. If we can raise the money necessary we'll have the sim up and running within a month. Check us out and come back for updates!
Okay, to sum up, the SL land barons that provide LL with the majority of its revenue are steadily closing up and leaving the grid for greener, more affordable pastures. With the economy still in the toilet and no sign of emerging any time this decade, Linden Lab's outrageously high tier prices have got people deciding that they just can't afford SL anymore. Builders and scripters can't peddle their wares on the grid itself, where most SLers congregate (the marketplace revamps haven't allowed sellers to make up the losses enough to justify using that as their primary business home base), and gamers can't afford to create vibrant, sustainable roleplaying experiences because land is prohibitively expensive. The blog author thinks that by converting SL into a spiffy gaming platform, people with money to spend will come. And he can't seem to understand that what's preventing people from coming is the very finite financial resources that are less and less at their disposal every day that passes. Sinply put, SL is degrading into a haven only for the monied elite who can afford to toss away $295.00 USD a month on region tier, and even they're waking up and starting to realize that there's no more profit to be had renting virtual land since fewer and fewer people can afford to rent it. So they're leaving while they still have a chance to get out and not lose a ton of money.
You can have all the ideas for gaming engines and pathfinding and mesh and every other Next Big Thing you want, but at the end of the day, if people find it too expensive to use they're not going to buy it. That's just plain common business sense. It's all about the money, and when demand is low you need to price low to increase demand. Otherwise you'll price yourself out of business.
So, having gotten that out of the way, I'm going to tell you about a project some friends of mine are trying to pull off using Kickstarter. Back in March I read about a tinies group in SL that wanted to build a roleplaying region in SL with plans for expanding it to other media as well as doing charity work. So they created a project on Kickstarter with the fund-raising goal of $8,500.00 USD. They exceeded it to raise a total of over $11,000.00.
That gave us the idea to try it ourselves. Hell, if a bunch of people who enjoy roleplaying tiny forest creatures can raise that kind of money, maybe we can do it for what we want to do. Now, it's no secret that Bloodlines doesn't exactly have a pristine reputation in SL. The idea started out with merit: create a vampire RP system that lets players be vampires, and later werewolves (or lycans, as the game calls them) were added. Only the system quickly earned a bad rep, and I suspect it has mostly to do with the failure to properly account for the casual noobs who get the system, go around annoying people with bite requests, and then leave once they get bored (or banned enough times that they give up). Worse is that with blood barrels and lumen prisms (the werewolf equivalent of blood barrels) being transferrable (albeit no-copy), people realized they could buy at rock-bottom prices from departing or desperate players and sell at a profit with prices that are less than what the Bloodlines official stores sell. Similarly, players trade the "souls" they collect within the system for profit and to stack their stats.
In other words, Bloodlines quickly devolved into a money-making scheme that saw the intended gameplay dry up except for the dedicated RPers who have money enough to own their own regions but for various reasons haven't tried expanding those sims the way the tinies group is doing.
That's where the Nocturne Project comes in.
The backstory is a post-apocalyptic tale that sees the human race conquered by vampires, werewolves, demons, fallen gods, and other creatures of myth and legend, following a global environmental disaster. Society quickly returns to a feudal system under the rule of their supernatural overlords, with modern technology gradually giving way to medieval-style tech and methods. This roleplay region is designed to cater to dedicated Bloodlines players, complete with a war arena (based on the capture-the-flag model), a social area for hunting and partying, and a shopping area for vendors to sell themed wares.
But beyond the Bloodlines aspect, the Nocturne project will also cater to general roleplaying needs, with an involving backstory lending itself to the atmosphere to create an experience that will keep people coming back. If this works out we'll be able to expand to other media as well.
We've already got $251.00 pledged so far, but our goal is $10,000.00 with a deadline of September 16th. That's now just over a month away. Can we do it? I'm confident we can, but we need your help — and your donations. Please visit the Kickstarter page and pledge as much as you can afford. The fund-raising goal was set to allow us to keep the sim running for its first year. If we can raise the money necessary we'll have the sim up and running within a month. Check us out and come back for updates!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
SLSFC5!
Yes, we're at Second Life Sci-Fi Convention 5! Among this year's guests are Star Trek's Johnathan Frakes and Gerrat Wang, Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch, and more! Here's the booth location.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SLSFC5%20SOUTHWEST/177/207/30
Someone sent me a snapshot of my avatar inside the GL booth. Thanks!
On a sadder note, one of the booths across from SFE's was forced to leave for not placing RFL vendors on her parcel. Sucks, but unfortunately the rules required one or two this year. I can kind of see why the other booth owner felt the rule was stupid, but at the same time there was plenty of notice for them this year and there was more than enough time to pull out before setup. It's still a pretty big loss though, and the convention won't be the same without that group's presence.
The Richard Hatch interview was broadcast over Trek Radio, which you can listen to here. It's really interesting hearing his views on the original Battlestar Galactica, the new version, and much more.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SLSFC5%20SOUTHWEST/177/207/30
 |
| My girlfriend and me inside the other day during the setup period. She's wearing Green Lantern underoos underneath her outer garment. I love her. |
On a sadder note, one of the booths across from SFE's was forced to leave for not placing RFL vendors on her parcel. Sucks, but unfortunately the rules required one or two this year. I can kind of see why the other booth owner felt the rule was stupid, but at the same time there was plenty of notice for them this year and there was more than enough time to pull out before setup. It's still a pretty big loss though, and the convention won't be the same without that group's presence.
The Richard Hatch interview was broadcast over Trek Radio, which you can listen to here. It's really interesting hearing his views on the original Battlestar Galactica, the new version, and much more.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Sapphire and Sinestro Central Batteries
The next pair of Central Batteries are the Sapphire and Sinestro Corps. Each is low-prim, large, and a wonderful decorative piece for your sci-fi and roleplaying needs.
Come check them out at Sci-Fi Enterprises in New London Village!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
Come check them out at Sci-Fi Enterprises in New London Village!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
Monday, June 18, 2012
New Central Batteries!
I redid the Green Central Battery and added funnels to make it look more lantern-like. Because of the time and energy that went into making it, the size of the build, and the suggestion of those who offered input, the price has doubled to 200L$. But it's still a great buy for land-owners and renters, and still very low-prim at a count of 34.
And I didn't stop with the green version, either! No, I made all nine Lantern Corps central batteries, along with a concept tenth one combining blue and green. Soon all central batteries will be in the vendors, but here's the Red Central Battery:
This one is actually thirty prims — four fewer than the green one! Still, this took a lot of work to get the look just right. Here are the links for the marketplace:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/RL-Central-Battery/3644298
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100
To visit Sci-Fi Enterprises in-world, go here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
Next up for release is the Star Sapphire Central Battery. Here's a sneak preview.
And I didn't stop with the green version, either! No, I made all nine Lantern Corps central batteries, along with a concept tenth one combining blue and green. Soon all central batteries will be in the vendors, but here's the Red Central Battery:
This one is actually thirty prims — four fewer than the green one! Still, this took a lot of work to get the look just right. Here are the links for the marketplace:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/RL-Central-Battery/3644298
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100
To visit Sci-Fi Enterprises in-world, go here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
Next up for release is the Star Sapphire Central Battery. Here's a sneak preview.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
GL Central Battery!
After a long hiatus Sci-Fi Enterprises is back with an awesome new build from yours truly. After joining a Green Lantern Corps group in SL, I was inspired by some of the region builds and decided to make my own central battery. Here's the ad:
You can find it on the Marketplace here:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100
Or visit the in-world store:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
The build is tall, about twenty-four meters, and has a footprint of about 18x18. At thirty-two prims it won't max out your land's prim allowance. This of course means you will need land to keep it on, but if you do then it'll be a great attraction.
Just to give you an idea of scale:
Note the guy at the bottom who's away from his keyboard. Anyway, feel free to visit the Marketplace page or the store in New London in TARDIS region. The Central Battery is only 100L$, so it's a real deal. An SFX handheld battery is built and awaiting scripting.
You can find it on the Marketplace here:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GL-Central-Battery/3608100
Or visit the in-world store:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/26/39/25
The build is tall, about twenty-four meters, and has a footprint of about 18x18. At thirty-two prims it won't max out your land's prim allowance. This of course means you will need land to keep it on, but if you do then it'll be a great attraction.
Just to give you an idea of scale:
Note the guy at the bottom who's away from his keyboard. Anyway, feel free to visit the Marketplace page or the store in New London in TARDIS region. The Central Battery is only 100L$, so it's a real deal. An SFX handheld battery is built and awaiting scripting.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Steelhead City Dance Event and Yogic Flying
Last night I was invited to a 70s-themed RFL dance event at Steelhead City. Things went well until a certain serial griefer who's on my mute list showed up and stuck around a few minutes. Knowing his penchant for calling for my banning from the grid altogether, as well as spreading drama, I was worried that he'd start something. Fortunately, I was assured by the event host that Steelhead City is a neutral sim and that Griefer wouldn't start shit.
Someone spammed the TLoG group chat in SL a few minutes ago. We set him straight, but Kat Kassner posted a funny link about yogic flying that I just have to share.
Ha ha, epic win!
Anyway, my SL girlfriend and I had a pretty good time at Steelhead. Knowing now that I'm not banned from all of the steampunk regions, I feel a bit freer to travel to some of them.
Someone spammed the TLoG group chat in SL a few minutes ago. We set him straight, but Kat Kassner posted a funny link about yogic flying that I just have to share.
Ha ha, epic win!
Anyway, my SL girlfriend and I had a pretty good time at Steelhead. Knowing now that I'm not banned from all of the steampunk regions, I feel a bit freer to travel to some of them.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Heroes and Villains RFL Event!
This Tuesday, 22 May, 2012 from 6-8PM SL time, we've got a Heroes & Villains themed RFL event at Club Wamphyri. 500L$ starts us off on the board, with DJ Nonamei Scribe providing the tunes. The best hero or villain will receive 500L$, and we'll be taking donations to help raise money in the fight against cancer. There is a Relay For Life donation kiosk near the stage.
http://bit.ly/J78RoB
Again, the party starts at 6PM SL time. Our goal for this event is to raise 5,000L$. Can we do it? HECK yes! Let's kick butt! See you Tuesday. :^)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aquatica/221/96/25
http://bit.ly/J78RoB
Again, the party starts at 6PM SL time. Our goal for this event is to raise 5,000L$. Can we do it? HECK yes! Let's kick butt! See you Tuesday. :^)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aquatica/221/96/25
Friday, April 20, 2012
Ass Clownery and Upcoming RFL Events
Remember when I wrote earlier about a clown who got himself banned from a London-based region? He's up to his usual tricks again, this time going on the offensive against a vendor who sent out a note card warning people about alleged griefing activities by a group to which clown-boy belongs. He's in a tizzy because someone did to him what he did to another group entirely last year. The hypocrisy on display is stunning.
Anyway, on to important matters. With the semester winding down I plan to schedule three RFL events in May. I'll post more info when I finalize the themes, but I hope to do a May Day fund-raiser as the first one.
Relay for Life is managed in Second Life by dedicated people, many of whom are or know people who have cancer. Some of the RFL captains, volunteers, and other members have already suffered losses this year and my thoughts go out to them. Cancer is a nasty disease and it takes no prisoners. Whatever we can raise to help wipe it out, let's raise it!
Anyway, on to important matters. With the semester winding down I plan to schedule three RFL events in May. I'll post more info when I finalize the themes, but I hope to do a May Day fund-raiser as the first one.
Relay for Life is managed in Second Life by dedicated people, many of whom are or know people who have cancer. Some of the RFL captains, volunteers, and other members have already suffered losses this year and my thoughts go out to them. Cancer is a nasty disease and it takes no prisoners. Whatever we can raise to help wipe it out, let's raise it!
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