Goodbye RG, Hello IZ!
GOODBYE REACTION GRID... HELLO INWORLDZ!
Greetings members. I have a bittersweet announcement to make today, but one filled with anticipation.
June 1, 2010 Elf Clan will be moving away from the Reaction Grid platform and establishing firmer roots with Inworldz. We've notified the RG people and they have given us their best wishes and goodwill-- which we most certainly return in kind.
OUR HISTORY ON REACTION GRID
Reaction Grid has been a fine opportunity for Elf Clan to get its feet wet in a grid outside of Second Life. We were first attracted to that grid for three reasons:
1. They have a total grid-wide PG policy, which we find to be commendable and smart.
2. As a result of that policy, they have attracted extensive educational and business interest-- concepts that cannot abide the sleazier side of VR so prevalent on SL. Catering to education = good environment. That's what I wanted for Elf Clan.
3. Reasonable prices and full control over our "mini grid".
It is item 3 that I will especially hate giving up. RG has a special situation in which while they host and support the grid... they give private sim owners full access to their "mini grids"... meaning I could at any time log in directly to the server remotely and perform essential functions. That is something I shall dearly miss.
One of the things I personally enjoy is their Saturday Afternoon "Bad Drive-In Movies" event. They have a drive-in theater set up, complete with cars... and they show the worst movies in existence aka MST3K. But what really adds to the fun is that the horns on the automobiles are "tomato launchers" that throw tomatoes at the screen when clicked (blissfully without an accompanying horn sound). Needless to say, audience members make ample use of those launchers throughout the film.
At first we set up four sims, but when that proved to be too much of a load for the processor we dropped to two. That improved performance somewhat. In the year we've been there, members have built several fine and interesting builds. It's unfortunate we were just getting on a roll when this decision was made, but the good news is that due to third party viewers we can export and import all builds to Inwoldz.
THE OPEN SIM FAILURE
But the sad fact of the matter is that Reaction Grid is based solely on the OpenSim project-- and that project appears to be in a year-long stagnancy. Since Reaction Grid does none of their own development work (I'm not exactly sure why)... that left their grid to the whims of whatever comes out of the OpenSim system.
As a result, in the year Elf Clan has been on RG, we have seen zero progress in either features or stability. In truth, as seems to be a trend in this industry, new OpenSim updates often produce worse performance than the one prior... and removed some features that had been present before. These blogs contain an extensive commentary on the OpenSim project, so no need to go into that here. But the bottom line is that since OpenSim was failing to progress-- Reaction Grid was failing to progress. It got to the point we felt we were just throwing our money away on a platform that evidenced little potential for our group. Indeed... after a year... the group Elf Clan didn't exist there per se, because groups don't yet work. This of course was disappointing for everyone. Without the grid progressing... it was hard for our group to progress.
ENTER INWORLDZ
I knew the Inworldz people from our old OpenLife days (remember OpenLife... the grid so bad that it was called the "Second LindenLab"). The Inworldz people were as disgusted with that fiasco as we were and decided the best way to deal with it was to open their own grid.
So knowing their origins, I kept an eye on them for some time to see which direction they would be going. I kept communications with CEO Elenia and watched the progress of the board. What was notable is that Iz *did* progress. Rather than profiting from OpenSim without contributing back to the community, Inworldz recognized OpenSim as a failing product and decided to start doing their own in-house dev work. As a result of having their own professional-level developers, in just the month and a half since we've opened a sim on Inworldz, here are some of the things we've seen happen:
* Groups are fully functional-- so Elf Clan actually exists there as a group
* Profiles are fully functional
* We can import items without a hitch
* We can send IMs to people offline
* We can send inventory to people offline
* Some search functions work
* They have completely re-built the database structure from the ground up, greatly improving its
internal structure and performance
* They're completely re-writing the inventory system
* They have instituted the code for a financial system
* They are fixing bugs literally on a daily basis
* Texture load fixing is on their list of high priorities
None of these things exist on Reaction Grid... which is what brought us to our final decision. Elf Clan needs to go where progress is being made. That progress is obviously being made at Inworldz... and severely lacking at OpenSim.
Despite their heavy investment in Dev work, Inworldz manages to do all this for a sim fee 1/4 the price of Second Life-- and more than double the prims.
ELF CLAN PLANS ON INWORLDZ
We already have our first experimental sim on Inworldz-- ElvenHolde. We have been using that as an open sandbox with fine results. With this new decision we will be re-structuring the purpose of that sim; I'll let you know the details when we get the final layout established. Suggestions and feedback are welcome.
In addition, as of June 1 we will be adding another sim to Inworldz... ElvenSong. ElvenSong will be our core group sim there and will contain our mandatory Castle... as well as community and residential surroundings. In effect it will be very much like ElvenMyst on Second Life. Over the next year as Inworldz progresses-- we will see just how viable we can make that land.
We will be renting parcels there just as we do on Reaction Grid-- so yes, you can set up your homes on ElvenSong and ElvenHolde. Cinnamon has indicated interest in moving her holdings from RG to a 1/4 sim on IZ... and we'll certainly look forward to her doing that... as well as seeing our other members currently on RG transfer their holdings as well. So we should have a fairly good start.
RENTING ON INWORLDZ
We will be setting up rental lands. Costs will be slightly higher... but you'll be receiving more for you dollar. On Reaction Grid we charged L$1500 a month and you received a 1200 prim allowance, 4096m land.
On Inworldz we will be charging L$1750 a month (250 more)-- but you'll be getting 2000 prims. That should allow you to do some killer building! : )
COOPERATIVE SIMS
In addition, we are going to allow something on Inworldz that we haven't allowed for some time: privately-owned adjoining sims!
What this allows is a new situation: Elf Clan members who want to host their own sims (and make that sim available for public visiting) can adjoin that sim to the primary Elf Clan lands. The charge for this is US$75 a month paid directly to Inworldz. You will be a private sim owner operating under the Elf Clan Charter with 35,000 prims at your disposal. You will be an official part of the Elf Clan "mini-continent"... a world dedicated to fantasy and fun. You'll be renting directly from Inworldz, not Elf Clan, running your own sim as an official part of Elf Clan lands. So if you've wanted to experience owning your own sim while remaining within the harmonious foundation of Elf Clan, this is definitely the opportunity!
YES, THERE ARE BUGS... AS USUAL
Of course, Inworldz is a "barely beta" product like other grids, so there are still many bugs, severe lag and other issues. But... look at Second Life. They've had 9 years and are still buggy as can be. Inworldz has been in business a year. Give 'em time... and expect great things.
We are finding the platform at IZ to be far more stable and consistent than RG. As an example, on RG importing of builds could result in a sim crash at any time. The IZ platform seems to be quite a bit more solid.
The main thing you will have to contend with will be sudden crashes and periods of extensive lag. But we crash on SL and lag like a fiend there. Unlike SL, logging back in to IZ is fairly quick, without the silly "You're logging out right now, expect ruddy ages to be logged back in." So that's an advantage over SL.
The lag issues are predictable. Lag occurs when:
* Someone teleports in or out of a sim (just like on SL)
* A large build is deleted
* A large build is rezzed
* An item is copied to or taken to inventory.
In such instances, lag can be sim-wide, dead-stop, and last for up to 2 minutes. When that happens, just breathe easily, wait patiently for it to subside... and appreciate that you're paying a lot less for a lot more. : ) Unlike SL... the folks at IZ know what is causing that lag and have it on their high-priority fix-list. So it's just a matter of time (and I don't mean the years-long-still-no-fix time and methodology of Linden Lab. IZ folks get things done).
There are other buggy issues that have existed for years on OpenSim and that IZ is still needing time to correct. Editing a worn item (changing its layout) can result in its destruction (never edit a worn item. Always rez it and use a posing stand to place it.) You can edit worn items to place their position... but never alter its composition while worn.
Scripts are iffy at best. Many don't work. Scripting currently takes up a LOT of overhead time, so we heavily recommend avoiding scripting at this time. Seriously-- the fewer the scripts-- the better the sim works overall. Use only the most necessary of scripts-- doors, seats, teleporters, notecard givers and an occasional particle script are fine. Just use the major rule: if it's not an essential script... leave it out for now.
EVER FORWARD
Elf Clan is going where there is forward movement. We've enjoyed our year on Reaction Grid... but it's been a year without progress. It was a learning opportunity in a peaceful environment, and that's what we needed. But after a year we still were not an official group, couldn't send offline communications, couldn't transfer inventory to someone offline, couldn't make notes in people's profiles. On Inworldz we have all of those things and more... as well as an upcoming financial system so that non-builders will be able to buy items from others... and merchants will be able to sell those items.
Elf Clan has a good relationship with Inworldz staff... a relationship that is constantly improving as we assist the company in fulfilling their dream as well as ours.
Our very best wishes to Reaction Grid. Thank you for the peaceful grid that allowed us to dip our toes outside of the Second Life fence. Onward to Inworldz!
--o--
PS note for legality: Elf Clan sims are for legal purposes owned and administered by Wayfinder Wishbringer. All builds and creations on the land are the exclusive and sole property of their creators/owners, but the sims and general assets belong exclusively to Wayfinder and are not property of the group Elf Clan.
This basically allows me to administer these sims as needed for the good of the group. The best rule is that of a benevolent monarchy. It's how we've always run Elf Clan-- and is how we operate our current lands on Second Life... which belong not to Elf Clan but to Eldar Peter Lioncourt and is administered by Wayfinder for the benefit of our group. When it comes to the group Wayfinder has the final say. When it comes to SL lands, Peter has the final say. It's a good and beneficial arrangement.
I do foresee more firmly making the Elf Clan Council a part of everyday activity for the continued administration of Elf Clan should something happen to me or Peter. Such is sensible arrangement. Currently the Greeters serve that purpose. We'll see how the final "government" turns out. The government is best that governs least-- which is why you seldom see me on Second Life. :D
---
Greetings members. I have a bittersweet announcement to make today, but one filled with anticipation.
June 1, 2010 Elf Clan will be moving away from the Reaction Grid platform and establishing firmer roots with Inworldz. We've notified the RG people and they have given us their best wishes and goodwill-- which we most certainly return in kind.
OUR HISTORY ON REACTION GRID
Reaction Grid has been a fine opportunity for Elf Clan to get its feet wet in a grid outside of Second Life. We were first attracted to that grid for three reasons:
1. They have a total grid-wide PG policy, which we find to be commendable and smart.
2. As a result of that policy, they have attracted extensive educational and business interest-- concepts that cannot abide the sleazier side of VR so prevalent on SL. Catering to education = good environment. That's what I wanted for Elf Clan.
3. Reasonable prices and full control over our "mini grid".
It is item 3 that I will especially hate giving up. RG has a special situation in which while they host and support the grid... they give private sim owners full access to their "mini grids"... meaning I could at any time log in directly to the server remotely and perform essential functions. That is something I shall dearly miss.
One of the things I personally enjoy is their Saturday Afternoon "Bad Drive-In Movies" event. They have a drive-in theater set up, complete with cars... and they show the worst movies in existence aka MST3K. But what really adds to the fun is that the horns on the automobiles are "tomato launchers" that throw tomatoes at the screen when clicked (blissfully without an accompanying horn sound). Needless to say, audience members make ample use of those launchers throughout the film.
At first we set up four sims, but when that proved to be too much of a load for the processor we dropped to two. That improved performance somewhat. In the year we've been there, members have built several fine and interesting builds. It's unfortunate we were just getting on a roll when this decision was made, but the good news is that due to third party viewers we can export and import all builds to Inwoldz.
THE OPEN SIM FAILURE
But the sad fact of the matter is that Reaction Grid is based solely on the OpenSim project-- and that project appears to be in a year-long stagnancy. Since Reaction Grid does none of their own development work (I'm not exactly sure why)... that left their grid to the whims of whatever comes out of the OpenSim system.
As a result, in the year Elf Clan has been on RG, we have seen zero progress in either features or stability. In truth, as seems to be a trend in this industry, new OpenSim updates often produce worse performance than the one prior... and removed some features that had been present before. These blogs contain an extensive commentary on the OpenSim project, so no need to go into that here. But the bottom line is that since OpenSim was failing to progress-- Reaction Grid was failing to progress. It got to the point we felt we were just throwing our money away on a platform that evidenced little potential for our group. Indeed... after a year... the group Elf Clan didn't exist there per se, because groups don't yet work. This of course was disappointing for everyone. Without the grid progressing... it was hard for our group to progress.
ENTER INWORLDZ
I knew the Inworldz people from our old OpenLife days (remember OpenLife... the grid so bad that it was called the "Second LindenLab"). The Inworldz people were as disgusted with that fiasco as we were and decided the best way to deal with it was to open their own grid.
So knowing their origins, I kept an eye on them for some time to see which direction they would be going. I kept communications with CEO Elenia and watched the progress of the board. What was notable is that Iz *did* progress. Rather than profiting from OpenSim without contributing back to the community, Inworldz recognized OpenSim as a failing product and decided to start doing their own in-house dev work. As a result of having their own professional-level developers, in just the month and a half since we've opened a sim on Inworldz, here are some of the things we've seen happen:
* Groups are fully functional-- so Elf Clan actually exists there as a group
* Profiles are fully functional
* We can import items without a hitch
* We can send IMs to people offline
* We can send inventory to people offline
* Some search functions work
* They have completely re-built the database structure from the ground up, greatly improving its
internal structure and performance
* They're completely re-writing the inventory system
* They have instituted the code for a financial system
* They are fixing bugs literally on a daily basis
* Texture load fixing is on their list of high priorities
None of these things exist on Reaction Grid... which is what brought us to our final decision. Elf Clan needs to go where progress is being made. That progress is obviously being made at Inworldz... and severely lacking at OpenSim.
Despite their heavy investment in Dev work, Inworldz manages to do all this for a sim fee 1/4 the price of Second Life-- and more than double the prims.
ELF CLAN PLANS ON INWORLDZ
We already have our first experimental sim on Inworldz-- ElvenHolde. We have been using that as an open sandbox with fine results. With this new decision we will be re-structuring the purpose of that sim; I'll let you know the details when we get the final layout established. Suggestions and feedback are welcome.
In addition, as of June 1 we will be adding another sim to Inworldz... ElvenSong. ElvenSong will be our core group sim there and will contain our mandatory Castle... as well as community and residential surroundings. In effect it will be very much like ElvenMyst on Second Life. Over the next year as Inworldz progresses-- we will see just how viable we can make that land.
We will be renting parcels there just as we do on Reaction Grid-- so yes, you can set up your homes on ElvenSong and ElvenHolde. Cinnamon has indicated interest in moving her holdings from RG to a 1/4 sim on IZ... and we'll certainly look forward to her doing that... as well as seeing our other members currently on RG transfer their holdings as well. So we should have a fairly good start.
RENTING ON INWORLDZ
We will be setting up rental lands. Costs will be slightly higher... but you'll be receiving more for you dollar. On Reaction Grid we charged L$1500 a month and you received a 1200 prim allowance, 4096m land.
On Inworldz we will be charging L$1750 a month (250 more)-- but you'll be getting 2000 prims. That should allow you to do some killer building! : )
COOPERATIVE SIMS
In addition, we are going to allow something on Inworldz that we haven't allowed for some time: privately-owned adjoining sims!
What this allows is a new situation: Elf Clan members who want to host their own sims (and make that sim available for public visiting) can adjoin that sim to the primary Elf Clan lands. The charge for this is US$75 a month paid directly to Inworldz. You will be a private sim owner operating under the Elf Clan Charter with 35,000 prims at your disposal. You will be an official part of the Elf Clan "mini-continent"... a world dedicated to fantasy and fun. You'll be renting directly from Inworldz, not Elf Clan, running your own sim as an official part of Elf Clan lands. So if you've wanted to experience owning your own sim while remaining within the harmonious foundation of Elf Clan, this is definitely the opportunity!
YES, THERE ARE BUGS... AS USUAL
Of course, Inworldz is a "barely beta" product like other grids, so there are still many bugs, severe lag and other issues. But... look at Second Life. They've had 9 years and are still buggy as can be. Inworldz has been in business a year. Give 'em time... and expect great things.
We are finding the platform at IZ to be far more stable and consistent than RG. As an example, on RG importing of builds could result in a sim crash at any time. The IZ platform seems to be quite a bit more solid.
The main thing you will have to contend with will be sudden crashes and periods of extensive lag. But we crash on SL and lag like a fiend there. Unlike SL, logging back in to IZ is fairly quick, without the silly "You're logging out right now, expect ruddy ages to be logged back in." So that's an advantage over SL.
The lag issues are predictable. Lag occurs when:
* Someone teleports in or out of a sim (just like on SL)
* A large build is deleted
* A large build is rezzed
* An item is copied to or taken to inventory.
In such instances, lag can be sim-wide, dead-stop, and last for up to 2 minutes. When that happens, just breathe easily, wait patiently for it to subside... and appreciate that you're paying a lot less for a lot more. : ) Unlike SL... the folks at IZ know what is causing that lag and have it on their high-priority fix-list. So it's just a matter of time (and I don't mean the years-long-still-no-fix time and methodology of Linden Lab. IZ folks get things done).
There are other buggy issues that have existed for years on OpenSim and that IZ is still needing time to correct. Editing a worn item (changing its layout) can result in its destruction (never edit a worn item. Always rez it and use a posing stand to place it.) You can edit worn items to place their position... but never alter its composition while worn.
Scripts are iffy at best. Many don't work. Scripting currently takes up a LOT of overhead time, so we heavily recommend avoiding scripting at this time. Seriously-- the fewer the scripts-- the better the sim works overall. Use only the most necessary of scripts-- doors, seats, teleporters, notecard givers and an occasional particle script are fine. Just use the major rule: if it's not an essential script... leave it out for now.
EVER FORWARD
Elf Clan is going where there is forward movement. We've enjoyed our year on Reaction Grid... but it's been a year without progress. It was a learning opportunity in a peaceful environment, and that's what we needed. But after a year we still were not an official group, couldn't send offline communications, couldn't transfer inventory to someone offline, couldn't make notes in people's profiles. On Inworldz we have all of those things and more... as well as an upcoming financial system so that non-builders will be able to buy items from others... and merchants will be able to sell those items.
Elf Clan has a good relationship with Inworldz staff... a relationship that is constantly improving as we assist the company in fulfilling their dream as well as ours.
Our very best wishes to Reaction Grid. Thank you for the peaceful grid that allowed us to dip our toes outside of the Second Life fence. Onward to Inworldz!
--o--
PS note for legality: Elf Clan sims are for legal purposes owned and administered by Wayfinder Wishbringer. All builds and creations on the land are the exclusive and sole property of their creators/owners, but the sims and general assets belong exclusively to Wayfinder and are not property of the group Elf Clan.
This basically allows me to administer these sims as needed for the good of the group. The best rule is that of a benevolent monarchy. It's how we've always run Elf Clan-- and is how we operate our current lands on Second Life... which belong not to Elf Clan but to Eldar Peter Lioncourt and is administered by Wayfinder for the benefit of our group. When it comes to the group Wayfinder has the final say. When it comes to SL lands, Peter has the final say. It's a good and beneficial arrangement.
I do foresee more firmly making the Elf Clan Council a part of everyday activity for the continued administration of Elf Clan should something happen to me or Peter. Such is sensible arrangement. Currently the Greeters serve that purpose. We'll see how the final "government" turns out. The government is best that governs least-- which is why you seldom see me on Second Life. :D
---
Views: 25
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Comment by Bryster Shan on May 6, 2010 at 9:16am -
Well I'll happily move to InZ - Count me in.
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Comment by Moontan Valeeva on May 6, 2010 at 9:20am
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Ohowohw...i just spend a couple of weeks to bring stuff to RG and now I have to do this all over again to bring it to Inworldz ......
But I'm in both worlds and for me Inworldz felt more stabile. The last week in RG I can hardly tp, inventory won't load and I'm greyed out or a cloud (depending on wich viewer I use). Have to say though that filing a report was answered very fast and problems solved , unfortunately not for long. So good customer support from that side...
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Comment by Wayfinder Wishbringer on May 6, 2010 at 9:43am -
Absolutely Moon. We had very good response from Reaction Grid. No faulting them on friendliness or customer support. If the platform was regularly improving, we'd still be there. But the fact that they don't invest in doing their own dev work and have to rely on the OpenSim project was the clincher-- because OpenSim hasn't made any notable progress in a year. We have to go where we see the future being made and as you pointed out... it was becoming difficult to even function on RG (several noted the same problems you noted). So we made the hard choice and as much as we love the folks at RG... decided to take our group where we can happily wear our group title and function as a group. : )
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Comment by Pixie Hammand on May 6, 2010 at 10:17am -
Lord Way...as a MAC user I have not been able to log in to Inworldz at all...even after receiving guidance from another MAC user....I am at a loss as how to proceed with this. I will appreciate any help from anyone who can address this situation for me...and as I have stated before, I am not a techie so everything must be written in black or white for me...Thank you!!!!
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Comment by Elenia Llewellyn on May 6, 2010 at 10:33am -
Welcome all btw :) I did keep track of this announcement, but until I saw Pixie had a problem, didn't want to intrude.
Pixie, we have the Imprudence Viewer listed on our site for MAC users. Which viewer have you tried til now? And might I recommend a post on our forums, as several of our MAC users can help guide you.
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Comment by Wayfinder Wishbringer on May 6, 2010 at 10:41am
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I am aware that Koni has been able to log in to Inworldz using a Mac. Perhaps she can step-by-step guide you. I would make sure to edit preferences and put graphics settings on LOW until logged in. Then you can test from there.
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Comment by Zauber Paracelsus on May 6, 2010 at 10:54am -
One thing I've found about InWorldz is that it is VERY fun to build there, because you don't have nearly as many limitations as you do in Second Life. What I'm doing is constructing a floating cluster of steampunk sky islands on the sim Equilibrium. If anyone wants to check it out, IM me when you log in and I'll send you a TP!
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I've been to Equilibrium Zauber and I'm impressed :) It looks wonderfull indeed !
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Comment by Cinnamon Raymaker on May 6, 2010 at 3:12pm -
Pixie as a Mac User I have logged into InWorldz using both Meerkat and Hippo on two different machines. I will make contact with further info.
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Comment by Zauber Paracelsus on May 6, 2010 at 3:27pm
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Here's the web address for it: http://inworldz.com
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