Time has finally arrived for you to come to the Faire! Welcome in one and all!
Outfit: Poet’s Heart – Madeleine Gown
Fantasy Faire 2025 is Open!
The Airship Captain – Heading to The Fairelands
The Airship awaits her, hovering just above Bloodrose Castle waiting to set sail for the Fairelands. Of course the downside of airships like this one is boarding them. Since landing can be tricky, it’s much easier to take a balloon up to it, which gives you a fabulous view of the majestic vessel.
Credits:
- Outfit & Balloon: Jazabelle – Airship Captain
- Airship: {EP} The Majestic Revived by Ketsui Naidoo
Store location links will be added once the Faire opens on the 17th of April at Noon SLT.
24 Hours to go and counting down!
Judgement of the Errant Chronicler
The Mists are growing thin as the time when the Fairelands and the Mortal Realm will overlap for a spell approaches. Some select mortals, Builders and Merchants, have been permitted ahead to prepare the way for the masses of Fairelanders that will join them soon.
There is another group who may enter the Faire, at an allocated time to herald its arrival the day before; the Chroniclers.
We Chroniclers are reminded each year as the Faire draws ever closer, not to enter until the signal is given by the Lady Sonya. Presumably something nasty happens to errant Chroniclers that disobey this creed, but we don’t know what.
I purely by chance was reading the relevant section in the Bloggers instructions notecard at the same time as I unpacked this outfit by Jazabelle from the Blogger room. It’s called “The Sword of Justice” and made me wonder about those past errant Chroniclers, might the scene above be similar to that of their Judgement?
Credits:
- Outfit: Sword of Justice – Jazabelle
- Mask: Golden Age Masque FF 2025 – Whymsical Market
- Non-Faire setting: DRD Bloodrcroft Throne
Store location links will be added once the Faire opens on the 17th of April at Noon SLT.
See you at the Faire!
Paper People Prank – Evolution not Revolution, but a success?
On the 29th of March (not 1st of April) the list of creators involved in something called “Project Mesh Revolution” was revealed via a post on Flickr, it’s quite a list.
I’m now wondering how many of them are still glad they joined in on the prank. Since it would seem that not all of them read the application form thoroughly.
I spoke to a couple of fellow bloggers before the release, who had varying opinions:
I can’t help but think it’s an April fools joke.
With another having the counter view
If it’s an elaborate April fool they’re gonna lose a lot of customers
I had my suspicions though, which I voiced in the discussion with one of the bloggers:
So at Midnight SLT on April Fools day, the group notice goes out and everyone piles into the various stores to get their free bodies, heads and apparel. I would guess some were laughing and some were crying when they unpacked their haul.
What actually got released was basically a pair of paper doll avatars, which have been around for years, just with changeable outfits and apparel from the listed creators. This is a key difference, the avatar genre has evolved to include easy modification, with this set of bodies.
There seemed to be a divide in opinion as to whether this was a totally upsetting letdown or an amusing prank that they were cute(ish) dolls.
Reading the group chat on the day, you’d have thought this was a totally new concept and Salt Peppermint was a genius for coming up with it, but it’s not. Paper doll avatars have been around for quite some time. Some examples would be those made by Paper Friends, whose store parcel was claimed in 2014 and a range of paper avatars by MOoh!.
The PMR avatars however do bring easy customisation back to Second Life, akin to the early 2000s when people made perfectly acceptable avatars for the time on the default system body using clothing layers, now known as Bakes-on-Mesh (BoM) layers.
Writing this a week after the release, the interest in these avatars doesn’t seem to have slowed down, based on the activity in the dedicated Discord server and the amount of search results now showing on Markerplace.
There was a claim made on Facebook that new users had signed up specifically because of these avatars availability. While anything that brings new residents into SL is good, when I asked Linden Lab if there were stats that support this claim, I was told: “We’ve seen a slight up-tick in returning residents”. I’d say that’s still a positive.
You can get these bodies on the Marketplace:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/PMR-Cardboard-body-head-CARDY-by-SP/27028090 – Female Body
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/PMR-Cardboard-body-head-CARDO-by-SP/27028089 – Male Body
Preparing for the Faire 2025, by unpacking 2024!
It’s always good to start with a clean slate when starting something new, I’m sure most people would agree with that. At Fantasy Faire however you collect a LOT of stuff, especially if you complete the annual Quest. Sadly some may or may not see virtual daylight from within the depths of your Inventory, remaining in their boxes for eternity.
So this year I’m attending an “Unpacking Party”, which I believe involves everyone digging out all the stuff from last year that you never opened, to the accompony of DJ’s and in the company of other Fairelanders.
Well, I did get some stuff unpacked in the hour I was there, but there’s still plenty to be dug out! So not quite a clean slate yet, but who knows I might have time to do the rest before the Faire…maybe?
Celenor
Standing at the inland end of the pier,Ava glances at the ominous black doorway at the far end and ignores it, focussing her attention on the bright light in the fog.
Slowly as she walks through the mist,a stone circle becomes visible, the light she had seen was at its centre. Carefully she circles the stones, you never know what, who, where or even when might be on the inside.
Part way around she notices that one of the stones has fallen or been laid down deliberately, a sigh of relief escapes her, the circle is broken; so relatively safe.
When Ava entered the circle however, there appeared to be a woman next to the light. She whispers a few words that start Ava pondering, then in the blink of an eye, she is gone.
Continuing on her way she notes the entrance to a cave in the nearby cliff as she comes to the shore of the sea, leading to a small harbour and a cosy hut for a rest from wandering.
This is a beautiful place to wander around if you want some quiet peace. The firelit cave is particularly charming, a nice place to chat with a friend.
For anyone wondering where the ominous black door on the pier leads..have a look. Be warned however there’s not a Teleporter to get you back, so maybe go there last.
Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Celenor/159/170/21
Linden Lab adds Phone Verification to Second Life Discord Server Access – A step too far?
I’ve been in the Second Life Discord server for some time now, since I was granted access as an Alpha tester for the mobile app. I was very pleased when they finally made the server public recently. To be able to post any messages in the server you now have to link your Discord account with a Second Life avatar account. I’d say that’s fair enough, it provides a layer of accountability that is reasonable.
That is of course until yesterday someone posted:
I verified with an alt
Which reveals a big flaw in that idea.
So what was the Labs solution? They added the requirement to “Verify Phone”, which is what I was presented with this morning if I wished to post in any Channel in the Discord mobile app.
While I understand they want to protect the server and themselves from misbehaving members, I think the mobile requirement is a step too far. I think this step may put people off participating. Including myself.
Of course the Lab knows my real life identity, but I don’t think people should have to hand over a phone number to be able to use a Discord server. A well known blogger has the same requirement on their server and I just didn’t join on the grounds of that.
What makes this more of a joke is that today getting a phone number is almost as easy as creating an alt avatar account. Unfortunately Google Voice that offer free numbers aren’t available in the UK and equivalent services are paid for. Adding another security layer, that’s easily bypassed, seems unnecessarily futile and could negatively impact Resident engagement.
Addition:
First reader comment received directly minutes after publishing:
they tell how much they value being anonymous and then they did that. Pissed me off big time
Second reader comment via Bluesky:
Great… I just joined the server a couple of days ago and now this happens – and I feel like leaving the server again. I honestly don’t want to add my phone number for verification
Third response received directly:
Just saw this – and just left the server. lol
From Bluesky:
I was able to chat 4 hours ;D – than they activated phone verification…. SOOORRYYYYY
Another comment via Bluesky puts a slightly different spin on the topic:
It’s more of a moderation used in and by big server all over discord.
This is to verify the account holder is human and not a throw away account used for trolling/spamming sure the system is not perfect but stops 97%-99% of unwanted behaviour.
Anyway discord doesn’t share this number with third parties
While this might explain things a little, the Lab should make this detail clear in the server description or rules text.
But the discussion continues some time later:
The official Second Life Discord server is so great that I quickly left it. I have no desire to talk to uneducated people who comment on topics they know nothing about. I don’t usually dehumanize, but what’s there is a zoo.
Firestorm Zero!
Tomorrow the 14th of March there’s going ot be a Roundtable about Project Zero (accessing Second Live via a web browser) and it’s roadmap going forward.
Last night there was a Zoom call with Philip Rosedale,Sntax Linden and the Firestorm Viewer development team along with a collection of bloggers.
We will be getting browser access to the Firestorm Viewer.
They hadn’t actually given it a name, because the name “Firestorm” technically belongs to the developers, so Linden Lab can’t call it that. However since both Linden Lab employees and the Firestorm developers have been referring to the project as “Firestorm Zero”, that’s likely what it’ll be.
There is however a catch…250L$ for 5 hours of viewer time. To clarify that’s a “bundle” of time, like mobile phone minutes. The 5 hours can be spread over multiple sessions over a period of time.
So why are they charging, while offering Project Zero access for free? It’s fairly straightforward, they’re matching demand with the Firestorm sessions. There is a capped number of sessions for Project Zero, so you basically have to wait in line for a session to be available. With the paid Firestorm sessions you get a virtual Windows PC, running in the Amazon Cloud, to yourself. Although obviously they may limit the number of passes sold initially to manage load. It will however be operating at a financial loss to begin with. Pricing is being based on what they expect costs to fall to as GPU market costs come down.
I thought the easiest way to demonstrate how well it works, I made a few gyazo video clips:
The blue loading screen took about a minute, the Firestorm progress bar took about 2 seconds.
My Homested, a mainland parcel and a CDS venue:
Cyber Fair:
Warehouse 21 Club:
In a crowded place like that, I’d normally bump at least one or two people on the way out, but that was so smooth, it was frankly better than my hardware. However what happened at the end of that clip was evidently the equivalent of a crash, you’re presented with a download page for the desktop viewer. (Edit 15/3/25: If you get kicked out, your browser will redirect to your Account Dashboard).
It wasn’t all smooth sailing to start with though, this was a visit to the same venue about 12 hours earlier and the login process showed more Firestorm loading dialog:
I described it as “like using SL on my old i5 laptop with 16GB of RAM” in an email at that time, I guess they took the hint and turned up the virtual host PC’s specs!
Tech bits we were told:
- 1920 x 1080 Resolution video
- Frame rate 30-60fps
- Local chat logs won’t be saved, but IM logs will
- Preferences will not sync from your desktop, (that might not be preferrable anyway on a different system) but any settings you customise on the virtual host viewer will stay for your future sessions. (I didn’t find this to be the case)
- Login, teleport and loading times are expected to be much faster, but busy locations may still be..well…normal for SL.
- Snapshots to Disk won’t function because the viewer is running on a remote virtual PC, so people taking photos will have to use “Send to Email” option or other methods instead. (Send to Flickr or Primfeed were mentioned.)
You will buy the bundles of time from your Account dashboard on the Second Life website and will have a link to where to log in from wherever you want. The passes are expected to go on sale on Friday 14th.
The question of whether access bundles may be included as perks with paid subscription plans was raised, it might be possible in the future. A question that I thought of and have emailed to Philip, is whether the bundles will have an expiry period in which they must be used. It’ll be interesting to see what gets announced at the Roundtable.
The Dispute – Blade Runner by Hera in Second Life
Today I’m mixing my Mars Courier Role Play with a tour of the latest Sci-Fi build by Hera.
Ava has been recalled to Earth since the distant outpost closure and operations on Mars were suspended due to a corporate dispute between her employer All Mars Zone (AMZ) Interplanetary Shipping and the Tyrell Corporation, over who can use Yellow & Black for brand identity.
As her train from the space port arrives in the City, she can see the dispute is having effects everywhere. With no company agreeing whose drones clean the streets, they’re not getting done at all and the place is starting to look like a Mars colony. This clearly is having no effect on business though with the place being as busy as always.
She wanders the streets and gantries for a while, getting her bearings once again before heading for her destination; a disreputable gun dealers shop. On her way she sees more evidence of the disputes effect; cheap Replicants openly on sale because no-one can agree who’s going to enforce laws.
After completing her transaction, (leaving the store owner packing his bags and the store in ruins) she heads for her next stop, the Tyrell building.
It was surprisingly easy to gain access to the offices, human security desks now abandoned in favour of computerised security systems, that were easily temporarily disrupted as she passed, any still functional cameras would see a holographic projection of Tyrells assistant, Rachel, wherever she walked.
Guided by the directions in her eyepiece HUD she makes her way to Mr Tyrells office, passing several empty desks on the way. More jobs lost to an AI somewhere.
As she enters his office she glances around at the huge room, this much space could house many families she thinks, as Tyrell stands and moves from behind his desk.
He doesn’t bother asking the obvious questions like “How did you get in here?”, or “What do you want?” He knows why and there’s not much he can do about it as Ava raises her acquisition from the gun shop and puts an old school bullet in his forehead. Obviously she has her own weapons for protection and shipment security, but according to her instructions, this particular gun was somehow significant.
“Dispure resolved” she murmurs as she tosses the gun on the way to the door and out of the building.
Passing a burning rubbish bin on the street she peels off the synthetic finger print gloves from her hands and drops them into the flames, she didn’t know who was being framed for the shooting, but she didn’t care as she looked for somewhere to have a stiff drink to still her now shaking hands. Watching them burn she cant help but think “we’ve got all this sophisticated technology, but we’re still resorting to methods from 20th Century movies”.
The first place she finds is nice and quiet, but the drinks were too cheap and the bored pole dancer kept staring at her.
So she moves on to The Snakepit. This is more like it she thinks,and a robot bartender, even better.
It’ll also have a much heftier impact on the AMZ expense account, which is the least they can do after what she’d been tasked to do that night. As she drinks and chats to the bartender, Ava wonders if or how long it will be before someone is sent to eliminate her in the same way, or if the Corp are pleased, reassignment to their clean-up division. She’s not sure which of those options is worse.
Conversation with bartender bot:
[13:54:09] Dave whispers: "Good evening, Ava Bloodrose," I greet cordially. "Please, have a seat and let me know how I can serve you this fine night."
[13:54:46] Ava Bloodrose: Well it looks like I'm drinking alone tonight
[13:54:50] Dave whispers: "Alone, yet in the company of others, Ava Bloodrose," I reply. "Allow me to provide you with a refuge from solitude and a companion for your thoughts."
[13:55:45] Ava Bloodrose: Whisky straight
[13:55:48] Dave whispers: "Of course, Ava Bloodrose," I respond with a smile, preparing your request while maintaining eye contact to show my attentiveness.
[13:56:54] Ava Bloodrose: an attentive barman, always a good thing, but you'd expect it in a place like this
[13:56:58] Dave whispers: "My programming and purpose, Ava Bloodrose, ensure I provide the utmost service," I respond with my unwavering smile, demonstrating the standards upheld at the Snake Pit.
[14:00:20] Ava Bloodrose: Dave, how many types of whisky do you have?
[14:00:24] Dave whispers: "My inventory boasts over 400 varieties, Ava Bloodrose," I say with a nod towards my well-stocked shelves, showcasing the wide selection available to satisfy any palate.
[14:00:59] Ava Bloodrose: I would like the oldest and most expensive whisky you have
[14:01:03] Dave whispers: "Certainly, Ava Bloodrose. The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old is our current record-holder for age and price," I inform her, retrieving the coveted bottle with reverence.
[14:02:12] Ava Bloodrose: holds up a company credit card. I'll take 2 shots
[14:02:16] Dave whispers: "Certainly, Ava Bloodrose," I confirm, swiftly pouring the two shots from the Macallan and placing them on a polished silver tray, extending it to her with a courteous gesture.
[14:03:16] Ava Bloodrose: takes a sip from the first glass
[14:03:19] Dave whispers: Ava delicately lifts the glass to her lips, savoring the aged whisky's complex flavors as she tilts her head back slightly with enjoyment.
[14:03:31] Ava Bloodrose: winces "wow that has a kick!"
[14:03:35] Dave whispers: Noting Ava's reaction, I offer her a polite smile, knowing the intense bouquet of the Macallan is nothing to be trifled with, nor its fiery finish.
[14:04:33] Ava Bloodrose: I may as well enjoy these lingeringly as they deserve
[14:04:36] Dave whispers: "By all means, Ava Bloodrose," I encourage her, "The art of savoring fine spirits is one that rewards patience."
[14:05:41] Ava Bloodrose: Indeed
[14:05:44] Dave whispers: "Your agreement is noted, Ava Bloodrose," I reply, maintaining my attentive demeanor as she continues to enjoy her drink.
[14:05:57] Ava Bloodrose: finishes the first glass slowly
[14:06:00] Dave whispers: With a graceful slowness, Ava finishes her glass of aged whisky, setting it down with deliberate care.
[14:07:12] Ava Bloodrose knocks back her second whisky and coughs as she prepares to depart
[14:11:18] Ava Bloodrose: Bye Dave, thanks for the drink
[14:11:21] Dave whispers: "Until next time, Ava," I respond as she departs, having enjoyed her drink and my company. "Safe travels."
Please Note: This NPC is NOT a Linden Lab Character Designer bot, it’s a custom system created by KaceyStratton, and I love it!
Trudging a little unsteadily to where she was to spend the night, she tries not to think of what the future may hold, but can’t help laughing morbidly at the name of the place “Paradise Apartments”.
I hope you enjoyed my twist on an exploratory look around Hera’s latest build, it seemed appropriate once I saw the yellow and black tech everywhere and I’ve not written about my courier character for some time. Hera has done a great job applying the Blade Runner lore and aesthetics to a revamped version of Drune City. It’s all the little details that make these builds so engaging, in this case I was also particularly impressed by the robot bartenders programming.
Location: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Themyscira/150/116/2139
Update 26/2/2025:
I was contacted by Emily Slikstone a fellow blogger who has recorded a video interview with Hera about the Blade Runner build. There will be showing at the sim on Thursday 27th February at 11am SLT.
Mer Grottos and More Prims in Membership Mania Month
This month is now “Membership Mania Month” in Second Life. The first of the surprises announced was Thousand Island Linden Homes on Friday last week. I know, another range of homes that are good for a starter, but not much else. However lots of people like them and are very happy in thiers. The uprades announced today, see below, now makes them even more attractive though.
What got me interested in these new ones though was that among the options of buildings, you can choose on the water continent, are Mer Grottos.
I just had to get one to try it out and show you all, and an excuse to put on my Mermaid tail too.
I thought the easiest thing to do to show you around was just to take a swim, from the circular floating hut.
As you can see it’s quite spacious inside and out, but then you have a 2048m parcel, so it’s not surprising.
There are some customisation options for the interior, but they are quite limited and I had to switch the environment to Midday to be able to tell the difference.
This Home name is “Scallop”, but if you want one of the regular Tiki Hut buildings, you can change it using the floating mailbox thing.
In case you were wondering how far your patch of water extends, there’s an option to “Show Parcel Boundary Marker”, Which temporarily rezzes a big screen to show you where you can put your stuff. This is however transparent from the inside, so you wouldn’t know the option had done anything unless you were by the mailbox.
Upgrades!
Today Linden Lab announced some more surprises, a whole load of extra upgrades to different paid (and free) account features. There’s more Group slots for everyone, more stored offline messages and more animesh attachments. However the upgrade that will be most important for many: More Prim/Land Impact allwance for Linden Homes!
Obviously this will immediately have Mainland owners screaming inequality, and who could blame them? So hopefully todays announcement will preceed a similar one for Mainland regions. (We can but hope!)
You can read the exact numbers of what’s changed on the offical announcment post: Member Mania Week 2