Quick Status

The Beta Preview has been updated with a new version of the Second Life simulator for public testing.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an update of the server-side code that runs at our data centers. This is not a viewer update. Please do not post about viewer problems here, as it distracts from the core discussion about beta testing of the next release of the simulator (server) software.

This version includes fixes for many important issues, including what we hope is a resolution for the llTargetOmega (spinning things stop spontaneously and don’t start again) problem. The Beta Preview is a separate system, and can be entered using the beta viewer, which can be downloaded on our beta software download page. I just noticed that the release notes link on that page is out of date, and will have it removed as soon as possible. The notes below describe the specific changes in this release.

What Has Changed In This Version?

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Six months ago we announced the beta test process of a new Second Life simulator, with the explicit goal of improving simulator stability. The new simulator went through six months of public beta testing, was in service on over 635 Second Life regions throughout the beta process, and during the public beta Early Adopter Program was found to dramatically reduce simulator crashes. (more…)

Overview

Second Life Simulator v1.20.0.84105 resolves several important issues discovered through deployment of our new simulator to all of Second Life last week.

In particular there are fixes that should improve performance on Openspace regions, camera behavior and the physical representation of dimpled spheres. Details of these fixes are provided below.

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Overview Of Results

The deployment of the new Second Life Simulator v1.20.83683 was completed early this morning. Overall, the process went smoothly, and the general reports we have gotten are positive. We also learned some things in the process, and I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on some information about where we are and what our next steps look like, and to provide an opportunity to hear more feedback on the update.

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2008-04-02 1:48am PST: Completed

2008-04-02 1:15am PST: 90% completed

2008-04-01 12:25pm PST: 70% completed

2008-04-01 11:00pm PST: 40% completed

2008-04-01 10:00pm PST: 30% completed

2008-04-01 8:30pm PST: Code distribution complete, rolling restarts beginning

What Were The Results Of Yesterday’s Initial Deploy?

Last evening we rolled out the new simulator to 1575 regions across Second Life, and today we have been evaluating the early results. A surprisingly small number of bugs were reported, with none of them serious enough to cause us to hold off on the rest of the deploy. I credit this early result to the hard work of the many resident beta testers who were deeply involved in the Early Adopter process for months, as well as the over 600 region owners who opted in to beta test the simulator on their regions on Second Life. Hopefully as we complete the rollout we will continue to see mostly minor issues, with the benefit of a noticeably lower simulator crash rate.

The team is already working on the issues discovered since the initial deploy. We are tentatively expecting to do a first update next week to resolve the highest priority issues seen during the intial rollout phase.

As I’ve said before, we expect that you may find some other oddities, and will be actively working new issues as they appear, and are prepared to do short-cycle updates as we resolved these issues.

When Will The Completion Rollout Happen?

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Second Life Simulator v1.20.0.83683 Is On The Way! (previously known as Havok™4 Beta Server)

This Saturday we announced the release readiness of the new Second Life Simulator, previously known as the Havok™4 Beta Server. Testing this weekend turned up a couple of issues that we took care of this morning. As a result of this successful initial run, we will be deploying the new Second Life Simulator today and tomorrow in two phases.

What Is Happening?

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What Is Happening?

As part of our continued effort to increase the stability and reliability of Second Life, we are happy to announce a new simulator that significantly reduces region crashes. This release is the result of the Havok™4 project, a project that updated the physics engine used to determine all movement of objects in Second Life.

When Will It Happen? (more…)