Will SL run using satellite internet

[Lynette673]

1. Will SL run with satellite internet?
If so, what is minimum required to do so
2. Is 5 Mbps or 10 Mbps enough to run SL ?

[KarenMichelle Lane]

It will run BUT and there is always a big BUT...

Latency can ruin your experience.

How so you ask?

1) Moving About - Avatar movement will not be reliable as moving requires sending and receiving telemetry packets without packet loss to and from the LL Servers. You can learn to compensate but you are forewarned.

2) Media & Music - Modern Music Streaming and Media streaming are optimized with most satellite Internet ISPs. This is their bread and butter. So once you get the needed Media or Music SLURL it will be handled by the SLPlugin.exe & lllib**.dll routine libraries pretty well.

3) Doing things Together - You'll need some patience with couples kinds of things. Getting in sync with a partner may require a few sync resets and a few minutes to get all the parts of the needed scripts loaded into your PC Session.

This said go for it. 5Mbps should get you started. If you plan on watching Netflix & playing SL at the same time then 10 Mbps is better.

[ChinRey]

I have mobile broadband as a backup internet connection and have used it a lot for SL with no serious problems in the past.

It's a very fast broadband though and besides, I haven't tried it for almost a year and SL has become a lot heavier to run since then. Not sure how well it would work today.

As for the connection speed, the computer and connection that can handle everything in SL without problems don't exist. The most complex scenes here can give even game streaming servers located close to SL's servers a hard time. So it's always a matter of making the most out of what you have.

SL will work with a 5 Mps connection but "run" is perhaps not the best word to use there. Whether it works well enough for you is up to you to decide.

[Rolig Loon]

The official word from Linden Lab, at https://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Wifi-and-satellite-connections/ta-p/1296823:

"Second Life is not compatible with dial-up internet, satellite internet, or some wireless internet services. Occasionally these types of connection may work with Second LIfe, but Linden Lab is unable to support them or to address issues related to their use. For the best Second Life experience, always use a hard-wired DSL or cable connection."

[Madelaine McMasters]

There are two issues that make satellite internet a risky proposition for use with SL.

First, there is tremendous latency in most satellite connections, as the satellites are 22,250 miles above the Earth's surface (as required to maintain their fixed position in the sky, called "geosynchronism"). Any packet sent to you from SL servers must go up to the satellite from LL, then back down to you. That takes about a quarter second. Presuming you have an "all satellite" service, which does not use a land line for the uplink connection, any response from your viewer takes equally long to reach the servers. That's a lot of delay (or latency) in the connection, several times more than the worst I ever experience from my cable internet.

Second, depending on the kind of satellite service you have, the uplink speed may be very low. Fortunately, SL doesn't usually require high uplink speeds, but when it does, you may suffer. I get 1Mbps from my cable internet, and that's always been sufficient. I think many satellite systems now achieve those speeds, so that may not be an issue.

So, you may have enough bandwidth and you may have too much latency.

[Chickasaur]

Thought i'd chime in on satelite internet:

My mother uses DISH service at her home, with WiFi for the internet. When i visit there i can log into SL easily, and travel inworld just fine- as long as i stay within close range of the router. I haven't had much issue with lag- i can visit inworld clubs and dance with music enabled.. (whereas sometimes with my UVerse at home, i get lots-o-lag.)

[LinuxGod4u]

Older thread, BUT good question even on Secondlife's site it is posted satellite Internet won't work.

A- Satellite ISPs have a download limit, which SL will use up quickly. After you exceed your download cap you are either reduced to dialup speed for a period of time, or even cut off  for an extended period of time til you buy more bandwidth.

B- Satellite ISPs have a HUGE ping (lag) of approx. 900ms - 1400ms you see that satellite dish has to communicate with a satellite orbiting the Earth, so there is massive lag.

C- I have only 5MB download speed & it runs SL well, BUT it is not satellite

D- Seek other options IF there are any in your area

"I Love Simplicity"

[DebbieMichaelSmith]

My only option to connect SL is satellite internet.  There is no reliable cell service in my dead spot rural home.  There is no DSL or cable.  A satellite is the only way and it is not cheap.  Also my data is limited for a month's worth of use, 50 gigs.  It's throttled also.  And prepare to become a self expert on your viewer for support.  Linden Labs does not support satellite internet due to the high latency.  You're on your own to solve a technical or software issue.

This kind of connection is NOT for the timid.  You will have high latency, delay, lag, ping times when you do much of anything.  When the internet is congested it aggravates the latency.  So popular times tend to be the worst to maintain a stable connection.  But... if you lower your draw distance way down, as low as possible like 56, lower your scripts and memory use, lower graphics, you have a chance.  I say chance because some days are far worse than others to even connect.  Packet loss has been my latest problem.  And I spend some time to just load and let my connection stabilize till the packet loss goes back down.  Going to a new sim I must wait quite some time for the sim to load.  And many times not all objects do load and will be invisible.  Don't get me started on high complexity avatars who are using lots of scripts and memory use.  I will most probably never render you completely and you turn into the jelly avatar for your efforts.

The latest problem, or casualty, has been the built in AO on Firestorm.  Up until now it has helped lower my scripts so I would not have to use an extra HUD, which just added to my script count.  But starting with version x64 6.3.9.58205 the AO went to server based.  And so lag of response of animation change from movement went up dramatically, 1 to 3 sec.  So I had to go back to a scripted HUD and adding more scripts so I don't look like a Nube as I move.

Even with all these issues I do have fun on SL and I know it is a privilege to be here and not a right.  But the digital divide is a real issue and it is not just money or equipment.  You can have the best high end computer in the world and have connection problems due to the services you forced use to connect in your area of the world.  It's something to think about when you see a lagging avatar struggling in this beautiful virtual world.

[bigmoe Whitfield]

11 hours ago, DebbieMichaelSmith said:

My only option to connect SL is satellite internet.  There is no reliable cell service in my dead spot rural home.  There is no DSL or cable.  A satellite is the only way and it is not cheap.  Also my data is limited for a month's worth of use, 50 gigs.  It's throttled also.  And prepare to become a self expert on your viewer for support.  Linden Labs does not support satellite internet due to the high latency.  You're on your own to solve a technical or software issue.

This kind of connection is NOT for the timid.  You will have high latency, delay, lag, ping times when you do much of anything.  When the internet is congested it aggravates the latency.  So popular times tend to be the worst to maintain a stable connection.  But... if you lower your draw distance way down, as low as possible like 56, lower your scripts and memory use, lower graphics, you have a chance.  I say chance because some days are far worse than others to even connect.  Packet loss has been my latest problem.  And I spend some time to just load and let my connection stabilize till the packet loss goes back down.  Going to a new sim I must wait quite some time for the sim to load.  And many times not all objects do load and will be invisible.  Don't get me started on high complexity avatars who are using lots of scripts and memory use.  I will most probably never render you completely and you turn into the jelly avatar for your efforts.

The latest problem, or casualty, has been the built in AO on Firestorm.  Up until now it has helped lower my scripts so I would not have to use an extra HUD, which just added to my script count.  But starting with version x64 6.3.9.58205 the AO went to server based.  And so lag of response of animation change from movement went up dramatically, 1 to 3 sec.  So I had to go back to a scripted HUD and adding more scripts so I don't look like a Nube as I move.

Even with all these issues I do have fun on SL and I know it is a privilege to be here and not a right.  But the digital divide is a real issue and it is not just money or equipment.  You can have the best high end computer in the world and have connection problems due to the services you forced use to connect in your area of the world.  It's something to think about when you see a lagging avatar struggling in this beautiful virtual world.

@Whirly Fizzle But starting with version x64 6.3.9.58205 the AO went to server based.  ???  from their topic

[Whirly Fizzle]

19 hours ago, DebbieMichaelSmith said:

But starting with version x64 6.3.9.58205 the AO went to server based.

I have no idea where you got this information from but it's incorrect.

[Zi Ree]

There was a change in the AO to fix double starting of animations, which resulted in jerky movement whenever an animation state change happened. The AO now does the same as a scripted AO, it sends a request to the region to animate your avatar, and the region will signal this back to the viewer. That means, you have a delay according to your ping time towards the region. This also fixes the case when you would see a different animation than other people looking at you would.

Having said that, the AO itself is still viewer side and will remain viewer side.

 

[Whirly Fizzle]

20 hours ago, DebbieMichaelSmith said:

The latest problem, or casualty, has been the built in AO on Firestorm.  Up until now it has helped lower my scripts so I would not have to use an extra HUD, which just added to my script count.  But starting with version x64 6.3.9.58205 the AO went to server based.  And so lag of response of animation change from movement went up dramatically, 1 to 3 sec.  So I had to go back to a scripted HUD and adding more scripts so I don't look like a Nube as I move.

So I showed your post to the Firestorm developer who coded the AO.
She said the change in behaviour your are seeing is real.
This is because in Firestorm 6.3.9, there is a fix for animations double-starting or looking differently on your own viewer vs. other people.
It now behaves exactly like a script based AO does. It requests the animation from the region and the viewer only sees it when the region comes back with the "start motion" call.
This is susceptible to region ping time.
But the AO itself is of course still viewer based.

Edit:  Zi beat me to it 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Whirly Fizzle

[DebbieMichaelSmith]

Thank you for everyone who replied to my post.

As to where I got the information... It was from the Firestorm Support English group.  But I did miss-quote saying... server based.  And so I apologize for using the wrong term.  It was my simplistic way to say it was now based on my connection and not local.  Firestorm Support English group does work hard everyday to try to help residents with the Firestorm viewer.  And thank you Zi Ree and Whirly Fizzle for your explanation as to the new behavior of the FS AO.

So now I know why.  Because of the high latency in Satellite internet, 550 ping time at the very least which LL does not support, my connection latency, my high ping time, is why.  The start motion is delayed because of my high ping time.  Was there some adjustment or setting I could do to change?  Apparently not.  I was hoping to change the behavior of the FS AO so I could continue to use it.  I spent hours, days, setting up multiple profiles of animations in it for quick use and stop using extra HUDs.  But nothing stays the same.  It's just one of the many challenges of Satellite internet.

Thank you all.  I still have to smile despite how progress can sometimes take a turn I did not expect.  🙂