Second Life to Get Voice,Sculpted Prims [or not]
The virtual world of Second Life will apparently get native voice support and sculpted prims in tomorrow’s software update, as promised, according to back-channel chit-chat. The features have been available in beta for some weeks now, but Linden Lab apparently feels they’re now ready to go live in full release. That’s a pretty quick development cycle for LL, you have to hand it to them in this case. But get ready for a certain amount of disruption as SL culture grapples with the presence of voice (which caused a certain amount of social stratification when it was introduced into There.com) and new building techniques that are closer to the way the rest of the world does things and may, to an extent, increase the competitive pressures on SL’s native master builders. Interesting times ahead in the virtual world. [UPDATE: Further back-channel chit-chat seems to contradict at least the voice part of earlier reports. Either the right Linden doesn’t know what the left Linden is doing, or there be rumor-mongers among us. Tune in tomorrow to find out just what LL has up its virtual sleeve.]
Feeds
Mark,
exciting times… I really hope that the grid can handle this.
UV
The LL blog at the moment just says 1.16 client - no mention of features.
Which Linden says no voice but MAYBE sculpties.
We’ll have to wait and see I guess. Hopefully Linden Labs will clarify later today.
I thought tomorrow’s update was just to fix some bugs?
I’ve been testing voice for some weeks, and it adds a totally new dimension to the in-world experience. It is incredible to interface with residents from around the globe. I think you are correct about raising the question as to acceptance, stratification, etc. Ulitmately, I think it will pretty much become a normal part of Second Life and indeed virtual worlds, same as ‘talkie’ movies ultimately eclipsed silent films. That being said, I hope a balance can be found so those that want voice can feast on it, and those that choose not find others of like preference.
Technically, there are still many issues to be worked out, not to mention privacy, and griefer associated ones.
Still, for now ‘I think’ I welcome voice, but let’s see how it all pans out in due course.
Okay, so we will ‘breathlessly’ await MW’s latest scoop on when voice is turned on in the main grid.
I’m all for these new developments. Voice may create a subdivision, but I don’t necessarily think that it will be a stratification. It’s more of a diversification. Besides, anyone who’s tried VoiceBeta realizes what happens once your typing fingers are free; your avatar comes to life. It can move around and communicate simultaneous. It’s a lot of fun and will be really useful for in-world interactions.
I just learned about Sculpted Prims this morning. What a weird baby! They are no more intuitive than the tools that LL has already provided, though. No worries to the existing SL builders. In fact, I think it is a boon to them, another tool in their box.