Wolf Grid is an OpenSim World With AI Integration and Other Innovations

Seems this virtual world is only 3 years old, but it already has a landmass larger than Second Life’s. The reason could also be that land is cheaper than Second Life and there is the assistance of AI for generating the landscapes versus Second Life which is more manually done. Its land parcels are also a lot larger, so there is a lot more to explore in each area you end up in.

At first glance it really looks very similar and in fact you can use the same viewer. Just note, you cannot use the dedicated Second Life viewer for Phoenix Firestorm, you need to use the OpenSim version.

I’d certainly say though that Second Life’s destination guide is way more complete and interesting. Yet when I found Hobbiton I must say it was perfectly beautiful to be in. The Avatars are dressed in mesh objects so have lots of detail and movement.

The speech-to-text (and vice versa) technology isn’t simply intended as cool tech, but to benefit the entire user community: “I have autism,” Lone explains, “and I find it easier to communicate in a virtual world than real because there are no facial expressions to get wrong. We have quite a few autistic people here, and one of the goals of this grid is to be as inclusive as possible. So that’s why we built the voice recognition and text to speech.”

They are already profitable (from only 95 landowners) so this at least means they should be around for a while. They make their money from “renting out the land” and from merchants who sell goods.

See nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2024/05/wolf…
#Blog, #autism, #gaming, #technology, #virtualworlds

https://www.opensimfest.com/post/osfest-2024-theme-voting-underway

First round ends January 24, 2024 to decide on a theme for OSFest 2024 happening from Oct 4 thru Oct 20, 2024. Not on discord? vote by email to opensimfest@gmail.com

#opensim #OpenSimFest #osfest #virtualworlds #hypergrid #secondlife
OSFest 2024 Theme Voting Underway!

New Second Life Mobile App Preview Shows Off Greatly Improved UI, Graphics & Avatar Rendering — Aiming For Late 2023/Early 2024 Beta Release

Yes, some long existing metaverses do still exist without Meta. Second Life has been going so long that it preceded much of the mobile phone boom, and has probably lost out on growth due to not having a good mobile app. Previous efforts had not been that successful, but it does now look like they have something that is working quite well, and today’s phones also have a lot more RAM and CPU power than 5 or 10 years ago.

There is also a video demo at the linked article below, that shows it in action.

See https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2023/06/second-life-mobile-ios-android-preview.html
#Blog, #metaverse, #secondlife, #technology, #virtualworlds

Improbable launches MSquared, a network of metaverses, to open borders between virtual worlds

The company spent a decade building immersive virtual worlds, from military simulations to K-pop parties, before pivoting to building metaverse infrastructure. While the unicorn’s focus (and fortunes) have fluctuated, Improbable’s faith in open spaces has persisted.

“We have seen how walled gardens and closed networks exploit the people that spend time on the services for the benefit of few,” Herman Narula, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said last year.

“We want to contribute to ensuring the metaverse holds its promise of being a network of meaning that unlocks creativity, social interaction, and economic opportunities, free from gatekeepers,” he said last month.

The intention seems to be creating the ability for a universal wallet and asset inventory for users to accompany them across the different platforms. It’s something I’d like to have seen tying social networks, or even instant messenger networks, together as well. Technically, it is possible, but practically the people of each network, and their egos, get in the way. The closest I’ve seen to something like this succeeding was Pidgin messenger and also the Flock browser, where the user logged in to each separate service, and was presented with a unified interface. In other words, it gets done from the outside.

Still, it seems that they have produced a Metaverse Markup Language (MML) and also have some big players involved. So let’s keep an eye on this.

See https://thenextweb.com/news/improbable-metaverse-network-m2-connected-virtual-worlds-outside-metas-walled-gardens
#Blog, #interoperability, #metaverse, #technology, #virtualworlds

Project EchoVoice – A Social Impact Return on Investment

It's been a while since I've posted. We are launching a #TechForGood GoFundMe campaign and appreciate any help folks can offer even if only to get the word out and make it viral on all social media platforms. (I've provided supporting social science and health research on the GoFundMe page for those who would like to see just how much the need exists.) Here's the situation:

Virtual Worlds are the heart of the free Metaverse.

People are the soul of the free Metaverse.

Using free online voice communications in the Metaverse has helped lift people up for over 15 years. The OpenSimulator Virtual World community alone has an estimated 16,000 unique users. Most currently use free voice communication from Vivox and most are women, seniors, students, and the disabled living in poverty or on fixed incomes.

The problem we want to solve…

Free voice communication for all Operating Systems is going away.

The whole of the Metaverse will be diminished without a replacement system for users of all Operating Systems in OpenSimulator Virtual Worlds.

The Metaverse is growing and so is the need.

We're raising money to develop EchoVoice: a freeware/open-source software solution for all supported OpenSimulator server and viewer versions. Find us on GoFundMe!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/give-people-free-internet-voice-communication

#echovoice #freevoice #metaversedepot #virtualworlds #virtualreality #socialvr #desktopvr #metaverse #hyperverse #ima #infinitemetaverse #infinitemetaversealliance

Roblox, explained - Up to 42 million daily players with live concerts and virtual worlds

It’s a platform where you can play millions of different... experiences... specifically created for the platform. A vast majority of those experiences are games, but you can also do things like attend concerts or visit Stranger Things’ Starcourt Mall re-created in Roblox. Roblox has a huge range of virtual worlds that you can go to and games to play that can take place in any kind of environment that a developer can imagine.

And while more than 50 percent of Roblox players are under the age of 12, it’s not just kids playing it; 30 percent of players are older than 17.

You could set up a private party in Roblox’s dedicated space, which can almost feel like a virtual rave. But I’d expect that more Roblox birthday parties look like a bunch of friends opening up the app, partying up, and just jumping from game to game and world to world right from the launcher. In the span of an hour, you can hop through all kinds of different experiences because the app loads everything really quickly, which means it’s pretty easy to replicate the chaotic energy of a real kids’ birthday party.

Lil Nas X threw a concert, towering over crowds of tiny dancing Roblox avatars and teleporting them to new virtual stages for each song. The concerts were a smash hit, garnering 33 million views across two days and four shows.

See Roblox, explained

#technology #gaming #roblox #virtualworlds #concerts

Games, experiences, Lil Nas X concerts, and more.

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https://gadgeteer.co.za/roblox-explained-42-million-daily-players-live-concerts-and-virtual-worlds