Linden Lab

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Vintage Fair Preview", photo by EvionEmber. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Sometimes Laughter is the Best Medicine", photo by Chance Raynier. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Shifting Sands", photo by KayleSL. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Vintage Fair 2012", photo by Willow Zander. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Shopping Passport", photo by Luna Jubilee. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Baby I got your number and I know that you got mine", photo by Sophia Harlow. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

As some sharp-eyed developers have speculated, we’re going to make Second Life available on Steam in the next month or so. Many of us have friends who are avid Steam gamers, but if you’re not familiar, Steam is a very popular online game platform that offers a wide range of titles (and will soon also offer other software as well). What does this news mean for Second Life? You’ll still be able to access Second Life just as you can today; there won’t be any change to that. But, the more than 40 million people who use Steam will also be able to get Second Life as easily as they can get games like Portal. We’ll make an announcement on the blog when Second Life is actually available on Steam, but in the meantime, if you have friends who are Steam gamers, let ‘em know it’s coming!

pr3AP_DADAY One of the challenges that virtual world creators face is the trade-off between rich visual detail and geometric complexity. Ideally, by adding more and smaller faces to an object, a designer can model different surface textures and create realistic variations in the interplay of light and shadow. However, adding faces also quickly increases the size of the model and its rendering cost. Normal and Specular Maps are ways to address this by allowing for the appearance of a complex surface without actually modeling fine scale geometry. A Normal Map is an image where the color codes indicate how the renderer should reflect light from each pixel on a surface by modifying the direction that the pixel "faces" (imagine that each pixel could be turned on tiny pivots). This means that pixels on a simple surface can be rendered so that they appear to have much more detail than the actual geometry and at much lower rendering cost. Light and shadow are rendered as though the surface had depth and physical texture, simulating roughness, bumps, and even edges and additional faces. Similarly, a Specular Map allows each pixel to have its own degree of reflectivity, so that some parts of a single face reflect sharply, while adjacent pixels can be dull. The open source developers of the Exodus Viewer are contributing Viewer support for Normal and Specular Maps, as well as some additional controls for how light reflects from faces. Linden Lab is developing the server side support so that this powerful tool will be available in Second Life. Design and development are under way. Watch this blog and the Snowstorm Viewers page for information on when test Viewers with these new capabilities become available. For additional information, or to learn more about how you can participate in the open source program, please contact Oz@lindenlab.com.

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Style - Vintage Fair", photo by Alicia Chenaux.. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Purplemoon Vintage Fair 2012 Jackie", photo by Dyana Serenity.. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Lost at the End of the World", photo by Skye Donardson.. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Untitled", photo by Rosie Renfew. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Midi", photo by La Bouchère. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Now it's time and we proceed", photo by Lauren Minuet. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Cyberstar", photo by Shortcake Sugarplum. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "beaming", photo by Sinful Rhapsody. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Vintage Fair Previews #3", photo by MaribelButton. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "52 Weeks - Aqua Island", photo by Amy_Beebe of Pixel Vanity. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Day 123 - A Royal Affair", photo by Alicia Chenaux. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Fluffy", photo by Aliza Karu. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Nothing Better", photo by Zachary Zufreur. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Biotech", photo by carthalis rossini. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "The BIG Impact", photo by ★ Editorial Clarity~Flux ★. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Wall Salve", photo by sadbab shan. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

udqUIxSkvoo We’re excited to announce that the first set of advanced creator tools, which includes the Teleport Agent and Temporary Attachment launched today. Teleport Agent The Teleport Agent is a new LSL call that allows scripts to teleport agents to a particular SLURL or local position. You can now create "portals" or even objects that cause an instant teleport upon being touched. For scavenger hunts, this tool might be used to instantly direct participants to the next clue or location after they discover a hidden item. However, there are plenty of other possibilities to consider. In Linden Realms, we used the same feature to "return" players to a safe location after they made contact with any pursuing rock monsters. We look forward to seeing what innovative uses our creative community comes up with for the Teleport Agent. Temporary Attachment Temporary Attachment allows you to create temporary objects like demo attachments or “region specific” gear, without creating unnecessary inventory to manage.* In the context of shopping, you now can try on outfits or accessories before you purchase them. Think having the ability to "try before you buy.” In other examples, an author can provide some unique ways to present information via the HUD. The next time a visitor enters your establishment, you can push on-screen notifications out to them with ease. This tool is as versatile as the creator’s ingenuity. How will you use Temporary Attachment? *It’s important to note that Temporary Attachment is NOT forced attachment. We accomplish Temporary Attachment through our Experience Permissions system requiring an opt-in scenario for the recipient.