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lucagrabacr

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Posts posted by lucagrabacr

    Future of the metaverse, and all that

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

    It's not. Even back in the early days when we had a massive evangelizing base and growth so hard the servers couldn't keep up .. SL was about the same things, and the revolving door just spun faster. The sign up rate for SL has always been high, retention has always been incredibly low.

    The problem is accessibility.

    Why am I here. What do I do now ?

    SL requires people that are prepared to invest time, effort, money and find there own fun. Hand holding mentors, video guides, tutorials, blogs ... are all additional content that has to be consumed with no payoff in sight.

    Getting established and emotionally invested takes time. Time that could be spent getting invested in anything else with more immediate reward (and less "brand stigma". there is plenty of weird sex in world of warcraft, no one is going to blink if you put that on your resume).

    SL isn't about virtual sex, it's just the people looking for that as an end goal have it easiest. Hence the reputation.

    Having better accessibility will certainly help, I'm totally for that, but even then people still won't get excited about SL more than they are now. When something excites people accessibility becomes less of an issue or barrier for adoption.

    Yes, we had a massive evangelizing base but what they were selling to people was still "this" image of SL, it's a great and beautiful thing but it can be better. We can make it so when people see what SL is all about, they will not only want to be a part of SL, but feel the urge, the need to, as if they are missing out on something great if they don't

    • Like 2

    Future of the metaverse, and all that

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr
    changing details

    We have the necessary infrastructure. We are still, as of yet, the biggest virtual world in the world, we have the momentum, we have the content, and we have the creators and userbase necessary to keep going. Those are the things we need more than better tech or infrastructure, those can come if we make more

    The main thing that prevents Second Life's growth is brand perception. Now don't get me wrong, I love Second Life, the Lindens with how passionate and genuine they are and I'm sure most of us here do, so don't take this as me saying SL or LL aren't good enough, SL is still the biggest virtual world thanks to them after all

    But there's just very little organic hype or excitement around Second Life, because we do very, VERY little in term of visionary projection and narrative control. These things can be done without veering off the current rather preservative directive of SL. We can do better

    There are lateral vectors of approach for growth that can possibly be force multipliers in regard to growth instead of the known linear paths

    • Haha 1

    Future of the metaverse, and all that

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr
    adding details

    Second Life can be WAY bigger than it is now with little to no risk, it's almost insane how conservatively SL's potential is being harnessed, I'm sure a lot of the Lindens believe that as well, they're really smart people, the right people just need to see and believe that as well 

    We are losing momentum with each passing day by sticking on mostly preservative direction, we can't lose more before SL's few edges got overshadowed by competitors slowly creeping in

    • Haha 1

    The Biggest Rally in Second Life and Virtual Worlds History, on The Eve of SL's 18th Birthday - Let's show the world!

    in Upcoming Events and Activities

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr
    adding details

    Disclaimer: Some people have somehow gotten the impression that a rally is a "protest" for some reason, so just putting it out here that this is a supportive, positive kind of rally to show our support and encourage LL to do more, and continue doing their great works, show them we're not afraid of positive changes! c= but most importantly so everyone can see how much SL's Residents care and are grateful of this world! And just how special SL is

    Join the biggest virtual rally in the world! Supporting and encouraging even more modernization of SL's image and for SL to be imbued with even stronger vision and sense of ambition

    To join the rally, get inworld, join the group "Virtual Existence Society" and on June 22, 2021 at 10:00 PM SLT, the eve of Second Life's 18th anniversary, society officials will give out props, materials and landmarks through group notices for the rally which will be conducted on the public roads of SL's mainland (Waterhead region and surrounding areas)

    We have received a little more than 100 potential confirmed attendees for the rally, but we are hoping to get at least 1,000 confirmed attendees during the next 3 months.

    If we get 10,000 confirmed attendees, we will try to submit an application for a new category to the Guiness Book of World Records for the Biggest 3D Virtual World Rally record and see if we can get it although the chance is fairly slim

    The rally will start at 10:30PM SLT and ends at midnight, where we expect to have the biggest firework show in SL's history if everything goes to plan c= Further information and instructions will be given out soon

    We hope to see you there!

    • Like 4
    • Haha 1

    Super-Slowmotion Machinima Using AI (Demo Reel)

    in Machinima Forum

    Posted

     

    Achieving super-slowmotion machinima on SL where super high framerate which is required for true slowmo might not be possible, by harnessing AI-powered video frames interpolation (Flowframes). The framerate for animations of characters or objects might also not be high enough, so this technique can be used when that's becoming an obstacle when you're trying to achieve super-slowmo on your SL machinima

    This technique can work well when you know and understand the limitations of the interpolation AI's ability to predict the form of frames between frames

    Credit to Zewanderer for telling me about the application c=

    • Like 1

    Attention LL marketing - IMVU is after you

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    I'd say if they do, it would somewhat backfire and get people who never knew about SL to begin with find out about it, and those who do look for SL to begin with would see past their pitch

    Interesting decision by their marketing though, I rarely ever saw a company in the virtual world / social media niche making direct shot to another and for very good reasons, it's usually a thing done by their users

    Are we living in a Simulation?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 1/26/2021 at 3:28 AM, Luna Bliss said:

    I have no idea if we are in a simulation, or if we could ever be in one. But I see the first step in achieving this would be to detach from how we typically experience the physical world. Meditation can help us perceive the world in new ways, even on a physical level. Is meditation one of the tools you envision for your book?

    Meditation can certainly help since it does switch the base of our perspective and makes us think of or perceive things differently than usual, but in that regard the book's main goal is to solidify the informative foundational basis of the understanding and perspective, so that those who read it can have that as a solid platform to pivot their perception from without having to meditate c=

    • Like 1

    Are we living in a Simulation?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

    Evidence please?

    Our thoughts are a form of simulation, which is the most ancient proof we have that virtualization in principle is possible. A virtual existence is the most feasible, efficient and therefore likeliest route any civilization would take to fulfill the fundamental purpose of existence based on existential reasoning

    A "simulation" really is a redundant term in the broader sense and definition of existence itself, it's a useful derivative pointer to determine certain paths of sequence and arbitrary boundaries of certain datasets which encapsulate an existence or consciousness, but that's about it as all there is but the same other than some high-level formative differences

    In the modern days, we have computers which provide further proof beyond the confine of our mind that virtualization is possible

    Once we understand those fundamental nature of existence, the self and consciousness which are fluidic constructs of combinatorial constants, we should see how these are self-evident truths

    I'm writing a book for Virtual Existence Society right now which consolidate and solidify our teachings which incorporate these elements of existential philosophy, and hopefully can communicate these understandings better, and also be used by our members as a teaching guide or directive :)

    • Like 2

    Are we living in a Simulation?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

    I doubt that there's any way to tell whether it's "likely" or not, but this part

    is right on target.  Reality only extends as far as our biased perception of the universe. If there's more out there beyond what we can detect -- another dimension beyond the fish  bowl -- it really doesn't matter except as a realm for our imagination.  As long as our perceived world is self-consistent and appears closed, anything else is pure speculation.

    It is more likely because we understand now that the essence of existence and by extension the building blocks of consciousness is information, which can be digitalized and or virtualized through any other mean of virtualization to achieve more preferable existential arrangements more efficiently, thus it is more likely that our own physical reality is one since that's the direction any civilization is most likely and logically heading toward the longer they exist, and the more advanced they are

    Spatiality shouldn't be the pivoting point of how we perceive this as well, there's really no beyond or outside as these are all really meta-spatial and metaphysical constructs if the simulation hypothesis is correct and any such boundary should be arbitrary container of dataset then much like our consciousness or sense of self / individualism itself c=   

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1

    Are we living in a Simulation?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr
    typo

    It is more likely than not that we're living in a simulation c= but existence is existence and sentience is sentience so it doesn't matter, plus no civilization or sentient being can tell whether or not their plane of reality is truly the "first" anyway, so that makes it even more of a moot point, and virtual simulation is where every civilization or sentience will lead to anyway since it's more efficient and serve the purpose of existence by the logic of existential reasoning better

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1

    Uplift - Still a good idea in 2021?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr

    Like someone said, it is pretty unlikely that SL will be perceived the way Parler is. And if it somehow did, AWS or not won't matter, it can be shut down or forced to change in other ways

    If the perception that big tech are having too much power worries you, try thinking about it this way - as much as they seem like a monolithic entity, they're not, they're a collection of many people's interests whose actions and power are direct consequences, and reflections of the overall sociocultural state of society and its demands. If it's not them, it would be some other entities who fill the void, they're just entities supplying or executing demands

    Of course that's not an entirely sound argument and competitions would give choice, which is a good thing, but I find that thinking about it that way is healthier because it changes how we see it in a more reasonable and healthy way c=

     

    Sad day

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by lucagrabacr
    adding details

    Seems like it would be nice to some people if there's a stipend-less premium tier that cost like $40 per year or something like that, would make the upfront payment much cheaper for people who want to keep their land / try owning land on SL :) maybe LL can make it annual-only as a catch. I wish LL would consider doing something like that, sorry to hear about your lands greek

    [Video + images + text] Tips on increasing immersion on Second Life and how it can be on-par with triple A games, without lag, on all viewers (if you feel like it)

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    19 hours ago, Drayke Newall said:

    Whilst I agree Second Life can look good and thanks for the helpful tips I am sure people will find them very useful, I'm going to play devils advocate and say I disagree that SL can be comparable to similar modern AAA games.

    Whilst yes, looking at your screenshots I would agree with you that SL does look good when comparing it to GTA V but, using that game as evidence "to help erode the myth that SL's rendering engine limits it to the point of making it can only look as good as some old game" is not going to be in your favour. You fail to mention that GTA 5 is a very old game dating back to 2013.

    Lets compare some more recent modern games:

    MS Flight Simulator 2020 - Graphics are 100x better than SL both externally and internally with the outside world being generated for miles from actual aerial photos with 3D objects generated with LOD variations depending on height and distance. Cockpits are life like with maps that dynamically show your location in the world and also track weather and altitude with dynamic imagery of surfaces. All of which are impossible in SL.
    microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-update-1830-patch-notes_feature.jpg

    msfs-ifr-ep8-images-3.png?w=1024

    Cyberpunk 2077 - Whilst it may be plagued with bugs and missing promised features the world itself is visually stunning. Modern raytracing allows reflections on the ground to look ultra realistic, lighting and materials are realistic, dynamic weather with rain drops splashing on the ground etc. Second Life cant even compare and many graphic details features are impossible to do in SL flawlessly such as light reflection, atmosphere and model detail. Try getting a perfectly blended low laying fog effect that looks real. These images have film grain on therefore don't do the graphics justice:
    Cyberpunk-2077-street-RT-Ultra.jpg

    Cyberpunk-2077-4K-Ultra-2060x1159.jpg

    Cyberpunk  2077 Apartment detail - Tried to find an image but couldn't. Keep close watch on the glass in the apartment which shows reflections of the world around, something not possible in SL as reflections are not even possible which are prevalent in all AAA games leading to have to do duplication tricks to get the same effect impacting performance. Not to mention I wish we could have grass like that that allows blood splatter to appear on single blades of grass.

    So whilst yes I do not deny that SL can look good. Saying that it can look as good as modern games (even if you say some, if you compare apples with apples as far as atmosphere goes) is not accurate. At best SL is comparable to as you have mentioned an old 2013 game which shows that 'myth' you claim is wrong to actually be correct.

    If anything can be garnered from the above and especially in relation to cyberpunk 2077, SL is severely gimped due to Linden Labs somewhat weird idea that they need to pamper for people that still use computers from 2010 era. Cyberpunk is a prime example of this as most of their refunds requested and turmoil in their release wasn't due to the bugs but from console players not being able to run the game due to old hardware making it look terrible where on modern hardware it has the best graphics seen in a game to date environment wise.

    If LL decided to just develop for PC's from 5 years ago and forgo all the old hardware, they could have graphics on par with modern games.

    Hey :) yeah, the upper limits of how good SL can look won't exceed newest things like CP 2077 or MFS  considering the engine and what it is (an interconnected, persistent, mostly user-generated virtual world), I'd also still consider GTA V / Online to be a modern game, R* is still actively developing it and they're still constantly in Steamcharts' top 10

    But not all triple A, modern or popular game releases are as good looking as CP 2077 or MFS either, then most people also don't usually put every settings on max in those games, so I'd say saying SL can be on-par with those is not that far-fetched, but I get what you're saying because there's certainly an upper limit to SL which it cannot yet exceed

    1 hour ago, Lucia Nightfire said:

    I would estimate 95% of their paying customers are on hardware older than that so it would be biting off the hand that feeds them.

    Kind of diverting from what you were replying to, but I'd say LL should have more confidence in how willing people are, especially current active users or paying users, to adapt and how much they would tolerate modernization of SL imo, especially if that makes SL even better overall and potentially attract more people. And then there are things they can do what won't impact performance, like modernizing default camera settings (which I'm sure they've tested at some point, maybe test users didn't react well to it? Idk)

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

    [Video + images + text] Tips on increasing immersion on Second Life and how it can be on-par with triple A games, without lag, on all viewers (if you feel like it)

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Hey guys, so made an in-depth and rather long video on how you can make SL look and feel on-par with a lot of triple A games out there (if you feel like it) :)  

    I've posted this on other places and some of these in some threads here as well, but figured it would be  better if this has its own thread just so everything's in one place and people can refer to this easily if they need it. Also to help erode the myth that SL's rendering engine limits it to the point of making it can only look as good as some old game

    I went through not only graphics, here's a list of the things I adjusted in the video, some through debug settings, to make SL feel more modern overall

    • Camera
    • Graphics
    • UI
    • Environment

    And while it is true that SL's rendering engine is rather old compared to modern game engines and lack some modern rendering features, a lot of what make good games out there look as good as they are goes beyond graphics, camera, UI, object & environment design, and quality has a lot to do with it as well, and in that regard SL can compete, I even manage to get a "bloom" effect for the viewers

    All this can be achieved with very usable FPS on rather budget systems too, so it's not like a photo mode where everything looks good but you're getting 10 FPS

    Screenshots comparing SL to GTA V / online in term of environment / object quality, showing that it is possible for SL to look just as good;

    comparison2.png

    Screenshot showing bloom effect, check how the lights and lighted surfaces give an impression that they reflect the lights back to the surrounding airspace, and how it gives a more sense of being / immersion and a more modern look / composition overall (not how my adjusted camera look, in case people think it is, camera is like that just for screenshot);

    Snapshot_2908.jpg

    The video;

    Some debug settings for the settings if you're on a viewer where the settings aren't available on pereferences;

    CameraOffsetRearView - adjusts rear view camera offset

    FocusOffsetRearView - adjusts rear view camera focus offset

    CameraPositionSmoothing - adjusts camera smoothness

    RenderGlowX/Y/Z - adjusts glow settings for "bloom" effect

    I hope it's useful! c=

    • Like 6
    • Thanks 5
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