Official Second Life Viewer for Apple Silicon offers 20-200% FPS Improvement

Update: The viewer was promoted to the default official viewer on 16th of October.

During the Zoom call last Thursday (25th September) something was mentioned that seems to have slipped under the radar, everyone focussed on the new “Premium Plus no stipend” news.

What didn’t make so much news was the mention of a new official Second Life viewer for Mac, written to run on the “M” series of chips, or “Apple Silicon” as it’s known.

This viewer has been mostly created by third-party open-source developers who did most of the work coding a viewer to utilise the technical capabilities of these chips. Philip Rosedale admitted during the call that there’s no way the Lab could have dedicated enough time or resources to do this work and they are very grateful to the community.

Linden Lab then used this code as a base for a new Official Viewer which is integrated into Viewer 7.2.2.17774206511 Beta and according to Brett Linden  “will soon be advanced to the default Mac Viewer”.

What got my attention was Philip Rosedale’s excitement as he commented that the difference they have seen in FPS (Frames per Second) is “between 20% and 200% improvements”, even on his old M1 generation MacBook.

However, I was at the WebRTC voice stress-test last night and it was Phillip that kept disconnecting. To be fair though, there were well over 100 avatars present, which would strain most systems. He was reporting 30fps in that crowded space though, which he sounded very happy about and is pretty impressive.

So I thought I’d try it for myself and asked a friend very nicely if they’d lend me their MacBook for a couple of days. It was a MacBook Air 15, 2023 M2 with 8GB RAM, I was pleasantly surprised.

I did some very unscientific tests noting the FPS at a few places with the current Release viewer then cleared the cache and updated to the current Beta. I then went back to each place to note any differences.

Current Release Viewer

LocationFPS on arrivalLowest FPSApproximateaverage once all RezzedAvatars Present
FaMeshed61282750
Warehouse 214311.427 (but laggy and crashed)51
Muddy’s452120’s45
Totally 80’s453430’s(didn’t count)

Beta Viewer

LocationFPS on arrivalLowest FPSApproximateaverage once all RezzedAvatars Present
FaMeshed3424.6mid 30’s44
Warehouse 21431527 (stable not laggy)44
Muddy’s44243562
Totally 80’s402640’s to 5239

I left the graphics settings at the installed defaults which were in the Low range, but increased the Draw Distance to 240m. The Beta viewer was noticably smoother and seemed to lag less where the previous viewer had, but maybe just a complex avatar had left between my visits. If you have a Mac though, I’d definitely download the Beta, you’ll notice a marked improvement.

Information from the release notes:

Known Issues:

  • Apple Silicon does not support convex decomposition for physics meshes
    • We are looking to have a new convex decomposition solution for generating physics meshes in a subsequent release for all platforms
  • Apple Silicon does not support pathfinding tools
  • Navigation buttons in the in-viewer browser are no longer present for marketplace and search
    • We will be restoring these in a future update
  • Subtle rendering differences might be noticed on certain configurations and EEP environments
    • We are working to improve these.

You can find more details and download it from the Release Notes page.

Being a Windows user, this really won’t affect me, but I know there’s a lot of Mac users out there and I feel this should have got a bit more of a fanfare for their sake. Maybe that’ll come when it’s promoted to being the default.

The header image is a screenshot from the WebRTC test session.

Herb and Fable: The Dandelion Trail

Herb & Fable in Second Life is out of Beta and into Live Phase One, starting with a new Quest: The Dandelion Trail.

Like the Beta Quest before it, the Dandelion Trail has you hunting all over the Centauria region for ingredients to make recipes. In this case you’re hunting for dandelions to make dandelion tea. You can also make dandelion cookies, which if you do all the steps yourself, can take some time! Youll require these ingredients:

HnF_dandelion_biscuits requires the following ingredients:
HnF_cookie_mix: 1
HnF_dandelion_flowers: 15
HnF_lemon_juice: 1
HnF_lemon_zest: 1

You can see some of the various ingredients at the differents stages of the process in the picture above (which took a lot of time and corn to have enough to display them all!)

The lengthy part is making cornflour, which requires you to:

  1. Grow Corn Cobs
  2. Soak the cobs to get kernels
  3. Grind the kernels up into mush
  4. Dry the mushed kernels
  5. Grind the dried, mushed kernels into flour

Alternatively you can buy some cornflour at the Herb & Fable store, like you would in the real world, but the process was educational and you gain an extra badge. When you’ve got your cornflour you’ll be able to make cookie dough mix. There are several other ingredients you’ll need though:

HnF_cookie_mix requires the following ingredients:
HnF_sugar: 1
HnF_butter: 1
HnF_eggs: 1
HnF_wheat_flour: 1
HnF_cornflour: 1
HnF_whipped_egg_white: 1
HnF_sea_salt: 1

So your shopping list consists of:

  • Herb & Fable – Bowl (to soak the corn)
  • Herb & Fable – Whisk (to whip eggs into egg white)
  • Sugar
  • Butter
  • Lemons (to make into juice)
  • Lemon Zest
  • Eggs (to whip)
  • Sea salt
  • If you don’t have them already, you will also need Wheat, Dandelion and Maize beds plus seeds for growing your other ingredients.

Possibly that sounds a little overwhelming if you’re just starting out, but start with the tea and go from there. There’s a great coomunity of other players that can help you along the way in the Inworld Group and the Discord server.

Herb & Fable links:

A Cheaper Premium Plus, but who’s it for and who wants it?

So here’s my take on the news that’s appeared on several blogs already; Linden Lab announce a new subscription plan . “Premium Plus – no stipend” quite simply a subscription with exactly the same benefits as Premium Plus, just without the signup bonus and monthly payment of 650L$, at a cheaper price. You can expect this to become available mid October.

Table showing different Second Life subscription plans, with Premium Plus highlighted that has a check box labelled “Save $105.12 US without Stipend & Bonus”.

Targeted particularly at creators or store owners that want the other benefits like free uploads, but don’t need the stipend payments because their business provides a Linden dollar income. The Lab believe it will also suit enthusiastic residents that want the benefits like the extra groups, but prefer to buy Lindens as they need them. Apparently the majority of current Premium Plus members buy extra Lindens anyway, so reducing the monthly/annual subscription outlay might be appealing.

Brad said in a Zoom call on Thursday “It’s the best option for SL”(people taking a no-stipend subscription). This is because paying Residents stipends puts extra lindens into circulation in the virtual economy, which is a pool that’s already flooded, which affects the exchange rate negatively.

After the Zoom call, I took the above image and posted it into the Fantasy Faire Backstage Discord server with a brief explanation to see what the merchants thought. Here’s some of the responses;

“They vastly overestimate how much I actually make lol. I spend more on stuff to make stuff with than I earn back lol I like the stipend but i could see it (non stipend plan) being handy for some”

“yeah i’ll keep my stipened some weeks it’s all i have coming in […] but certainly a good deal if you are only going to cash out”

“The stipend is the reason i have premium plus…they gonna give us one thats just free uploads with a stipend? lol i dont need the group space, or the land bonus, just the uploads and the stipend…actually i could do without stipend if theres just free uploads”

“As someone who is neither a creator nor a DJ, I always have more outgo than income in SL. My stipend goes right to the tipjars of the couple of events I attend each week, and the rest out of pocket. I wish there was a level between Premium and Premium Plus Minus Stipend. Maybe something with 110 groups and 450 L$ stipend but leave all the upload fees at Premium level since I don’t mind paying 10 L$ for the occasional texture a couple times a month.”

In contrast a larger brand creator I shared the news with said:

“Wow”

They seemed keen on the idea, despite having just renewed their annual Premium Plus subscription. However since there was talk of being able to switch plans quickly, that might not be an issue.

What I take from this is that the no-stipend plan is much more suited for large-scale businesses. Smaller businesses still appreciate it, but also raised above are the things people don’t need but are paying for. Some don’t need the land bonus (they possibly have a full region for their store), others don’t need masses of groups. I think this should be the first step in creating a custom subscription system, allowing you tick boxes for the benefits you want or don’t want and have the price adjusted accordingly.

Crimson Dancer

Here I’ve a couple more items from Enchanted Realms, if you’ve not gone and had a browse there yet, you better hurry. Enchanted Realms closes on Saturday 27th September at 11pm SLT.

Credits:

  • Outfit: [Circe C] Lilian Red LARAX – Event Booth
  • Tattoo: Mithril Store _Tattoo Draconis Pact 100% – Event Booth

Encahnted Realms Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VennaCity/140/13/2001

Enchanted Realms is being hosted on the City of Venna Roleplay sim, you can read about it on their website : https://cityofvenna2025.wixsite.com/city-of-venna

The Strawberry Witch of Enchanted Realms

As promised, more from Enchanted Realms event. I saw this outfit and knew exactly how I could picture it…in front of a Strawberry Moon.

Sized for Maitreya LaraX (and 5.3) inc Petite, Legacy, Reborn, Waifu & Perky

Encahnted Realms Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VennaCity/140/13/2001

Enchanted Realms is being hosted on the City of Venna Roleplay sim, you can read about it on their website : https://cityofvenna2025.wixsite.com/city-of-venna

Non Event Items:

  • Hair: Lavender from Raven Bell
  • EEP Lighting: Herb & Fable Strawberry Moon – Available by completing the Strawberry moon ritual from Herb & Fable – all elements are either available now or soon in-store.

The Return Of The Lumiya Viewer – Coders Needed!

I’m reblogging this recent post by Daniel Voyager,with my own thoughts thrown in. I got excited when I saw Daniel’s post, since in my opinion Lumiya was the best mobile viewer of its time. I may actually go as far to say of  any time for that matter. Linden Lab are doing their best building their own viewer from the ground up, but it’s focussed mainly on new residents as an entry path, not for seasoned residents that might want to quickly log in to do some task or other.

This is a reverse engineering project to resurrect a much loved piece of software. If you have the skills and are interested in helping out, you can check out the GitHub Repo for more details. Click below for Daniel’s original post.

(Header image from internet search, no credit claimed)

While checking the Second Life Reddit posts over the weekend I came across this post named Restoring Lumiya Viewer to the public posted by Kaleaon who is the last member of Alina Lyvette staff. Kaleaon has not been in contact with Alina for nearly a decade. The plan is to open up the Lumiya Viewer […]

The Return Of The Lumiya Viewer 2026-2027

Enchanted Realms Event is Open!

Enchanted Realms is an event which welcomes all types of Fantasy in Second Life. I grabbed this toga that caught my attention and I picked up a few other goodies I’ll be sharing with you soon.

Outfit Credits:

  • Toga and Hood: [Good Fairy] – Three Graces {Maxi Toga} – Event Booth

Encahnted Realms Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VennaCity/140/13/2001

Enchanted Realms is being hosted on the City of Venna Roleplay sim, you can read about it on their website : https://cityofvenna2025.wixsite.com/city-of-venna

Witch “Day” is it at Nevermore?

There’s a new season of a certain Addams Family spin-off released, so unsurprisingly Second Life creators are hopping onto it, but obviously a different “day” as the name of their product.

I’ve been wandering the Enchantment: Nevermore event, you’d have thought it was Halloween already.

I put together an outfit featuring some stuff from the event, mainly around the “Friday” limited edition outfit from Jangka (who previously released a “Tuesday” one too).

Credits:

  • Outfit: [JANGKA] FRIDAY Outfit BLACK
  • Boots: //RKS// Medoros Boots – Fatpack
  • Pantyhose: +ARANA+ Cross Pantyhose BOM – 80%
  • Skull: MirageDoll.Helga Scull
  • Eye applier: Misteria – Tarot Eyes
  • Lips: +ARANA+ Black Rapsody Lipstick HQ 2K- Lelutka EvoX

All at Enchantment Nevermore Event

Non Event items:

  • Hair: no.match_ ~ NO_DELIGHT ~ Pack of BLACKS – Store
  • Skin: SF:: Gwath LEL Skin EVOX – Scarlet Fey Store
  • Eye Makeup: ::Midori’s Store:: HD Makeup – Torvi (Shop & Hop GIFT)

Draxtor Retires from Video creation but not Second Life

For approximately 18 years Bernard Drax,aka Draxtor Depres, has been making videos about Second Life. Yesterday he did a live stream announcing he wouldn’t be doing any more. He may upload more unreleased videos he still has, but he doesn’t plan to make any more.

I’m not overly surprised to hear this, after his monologue last month, regarding the closure of the Second Life Book Club islands.

Drax says he’s not “burnt-out” he just wants to change his focus in life, some self-care after many busy years. He intends to focus more on his family and himself doing such things as producing for his son’s band, since his background is in music. To me it’s sad news, but a totally understandable decision that I totally respect. Especially since Linden Lab withdrew their sponsorship in March 2024, which I think was a big mistake on their part.

However Drax isn’t leaving SL, he’ll be logging in to reply to messages and may well turn up if you invite him to any events you may be having.

Watch the Announcement Video for more details.

The channel will remain as a curated archive of videos documenting Second Life, along with the documentaries he produced, going back as far as the 17th May 2007.

Here’s the link to the channel: https://youtube.com/@draxtor

Related links:

The Landlord you shouldn’t let on your land.

I’ve just finished reading a blog post by Merryjest StarchiId-Fairelander (merryjeststarchild) regarding some recent events surrounding the store Belle Epoque. I’m not going to repeat the entire blog post, you can read it here:

https://bywordofmaus.com/star-dispatch-1/

But a very short summary being that the owner of Lighthouse Real Estate,  Iandland.ansar,  evicted the owner of the store Belle Epoque from the land they had rented for over 10 years. The reason for it boils down to one word: Homophobia.

I suspect that by the time you finish reading the article linked above, if you have a store or public venue you manage, you’ll feel like adding this guy to the ban list.

Once the store had relocated, Belle Epoque released a gift item featuring the landlords homophobic comment as a slogan “Gang of Homos” (post header image)

Introducing –  the GANG OF HOMO CHALLENGE!

Put on your Gang of Homo tee, snap a pic, send it to the one who dropped the oh-so-charming comment, and send me a screenshot so we can laugh our homo little a**es off together!  Let’s turn shade into sparkle, babes! 

Jani La Belle (Janire Coba) owner of Belle Epoque.

You can get the Tee at the new mainstore location:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jacksboro/128/193/37