Finding a New Home
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 10:29 pm
With the closing of Eder D'Uru, Devokan on the brink, and many other Uru builds in Second Life struggling to stay afloat, there is much talk among the D'ni Refugees in SL about trying out one of the new Open Source grids. Whether this is worthy of a new project section here or not, I don't know, but I'm exhausted from all the IMs and chatter about it, so I'm starting this thread to give everyone an opportunity to voice their opinions about the various options.
From what I understand (and, please don't hesitate to point out my uninformed errors here), there are many new Open Source grids based on Second Life code. The options range from having a personal sandbox on your personal computer (which I believe Nalates has said she has) to something like the Builders of Arda grid which is open to the public and is much like Second Life, but with a greatly reduced cost.
I visited the Builders of Arda grid briefly this morning and was impressed by its similarities to Second Life. I could use the same viewer (although I understand other viewers might be necessary to perform certain tasks such as bringing items from SL); the interface was the same, etc. The greatest difference is in the cost. A full sim that cost $295/month in SL only cost $25/month in the BoA grid and there's no set up fee.
Naturally, since it's still very new, there's not all the things you'd find to buy in Second Life, so vanity may have to be set aside until skin and hair creators migrate over. But, it seems like it should be appealing to builders and scripters who just want to do their thing without paying an arm and a leg to do it. Another draw back would be the lack of people to see your creations - and, what's the point of building if no one ever sees it? But, if some are willing to be pioneers, then perhaps others will follow.
If anyone else has other OS grids they have visited, I hope they'll post their findings and opinion here.
From what I understand (and, please don't hesitate to point out my uninformed errors here), there are many new Open Source grids based on Second Life code. The options range from having a personal sandbox on your personal computer (which I believe Nalates has said she has) to something like the Builders of Arda grid which is open to the public and is much like Second Life, but with a greatly reduced cost.
I visited the Builders of Arda grid briefly this morning and was impressed by its similarities to Second Life. I could use the same viewer (although I understand other viewers might be necessary to perform certain tasks such as bringing items from SL); the interface was the same, etc. The greatest difference is in the cost. A full sim that cost $295/month in SL only cost $25/month in the BoA grid and there's no set up fee.
Naturally, since it's still very new, there's not all the things you'd find to buy in Second Life, so vanity may have to be set aside until skin and hair creators migrate over. But, it seems like it should be appealing to builders and scripters who just want to do their thing without paying an arm and a leg to do it. Another draw back would be the lack of people to see your creations - and, what's the point of building if no one ever sees it? But, if some are willing to be pioneers, then perhaps others will follow.
If anyone else has other OS grids they have visited, I hope they'll post their findings and opinion here.