A Message from On High

The messenger has made his way down from the towers of the gods.

The herald has read the proclamation and it is posted outside the city hall for all to see.

All is well in the world and the future is bright!

Specifically:

• The Linden’s first experiment with creating a new feature set, then actually making an application of it (Linden Realms) has worked out well. In the process of actually creating something using the new gaming code LL learned a lot and hopefully gained some respect for the residents struggles when they have to debug half baked ideas implemented before they are ready.
• As a result of their hands on experience with the new gaming tools they recognized that there is potential for abuse in some of the features so they will not just be made available willy-nilly to everyone. They will be introduced via a “creators” program which will verify those with access to them.
• Linden Labs introduced a new viewer with an improved user interface. I can’t help thinking that they are still following the lead of the Third Party Viewers like Firestorm, but they are doing it their way, incorporating their own take on the “ideal viewer”. The way they handle buttons is in some respects an improvement over the Firestorm viewer I am most familiar with.
• After a very long and painful development period Mesh is with us to stay. There is still more to do, a parametric deformer so clothing works properly being the most obvious thing still lacking. Over the next year or two we will see what resident creators can do with the new technology. Right now it seems limited, but so did sculpties when they first came out.
• Additional benefits of premium memberships began to appear in the past year. Not enough I think to make a real difference but more are promised in 2012, hopefully enough to inspire more people to buy land of their own. The mainland really needs it. (Dare I again suggest increasing the tier allowance for a premium account?)
• We are assured that tier will not increase in the coming year. Ironic in that there has been an unrealistic outcry that tier should be decreased.
• The first promised new feature of next year will probably be “pathfinding”. This will greatly improve the performance of Zombies 🙂 and other objects which are tasked to move around a region.
• Lastly, and far from least; Linden Labs will be launching some completely new products that have nothing at all to do with Second Life. – – – – – calm down! – – – – -. This is actually a good thing. Diversity will increase stability for Linden Lab, both as a business and with their workforce. Give them a chance, this does not necessary mean they are taking their eye off Second Life.
• Finally we are thanked for being customers. That is something LL has not always remembered. Customer is a big step up from guinea pig or victim.

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa and a Bright Sosltice.