Second Life Release Notes - v7.1.11 "ExtraFPS"

[@secondlife]

This video includes: 00:00 - Introduction 00:13 - Read and learn more about the ExtraFPS viewer in the Release Notes: releasenotes.secondlife.com/viewer/7.1.11.12363455226.html 02:57 - HDR and Emissive Toggles: Optimize performance on older systems by adjusting these settings. 03:55 - Voice Dot Display Options: Choose to show or hide voice dots above avatars to reduce screen clutter during events. 04:23 - SMAA Antialiasing: Enjoy smoother visual edges with advanced antialiasing. 05:25 - Sharpening Filter: Enhance details in your surroundings, making every scene come to life. 06:27 - Tonemapping and Exposure Controls: Fine-tune the look of your virtual world with new settings like the Khronos Neutral tonemapper. 07:23 - Download and try the latest Second Life viewer, now with ExtraFPS: secondlife.com/support/downloads 07:59 - Your feedback is invaluable! Please share your thoughts and experiences at: feedback.secondlife.com These improvements are not just for the official Second Life viewer but are also included in the latest Firestorm Beta. We encourage all Residents to download the latest ExtraFPS Viewer. Filmed on the CLAW region, built by Tiger Claw and Pink Ocean: secondlife.com/destination/claw

[@0xc0ffea]

Please note - at 0:42 Philip says ExtraFPS is included with the latest Firestorm. The ExtraFPS changes are in the Firestorm Early Access, not Firestorm release. There is no set date for the beta to become the release. Don't let that stop you from trying it :)

[@jessicaannwrigglesworth718]

I think you need to keep doing the videos.... I think the residents of Second Life need to hear from you often...

[@brisablue9048]

Yep

[@EmunaZamani]

What a wonderful time to come back into Second Life and I am happy that Philip has returned. He always showed a passion for SL as if it were more than just a business because it is!

[@LiMarie25]

Philip ! I am so happy to see you again working in LL for our Second life! Thank you so much !

[@aritsun]

Im so happy that SL got a lot of nice updates through these months!

[@brianturner4818]

I agree on doing more content as you feel it's needed. Hearing an acknowledgement and an apology from you guys really means a lot. Thank You!

[@ClubIndustry-v1j]

Thanks A LOT for this video Philip! You just convinced me to come back to second life and to create again. Also, the last SL news and projects are very interesting and promising. I just feel like 17 years ago when I did join SL !

[@JuicyBomb]

I love that Philip is the face of Second Life! 💙

[@perrymcclusky4695]

I appreciate you walking me through the improvements. This type of video is really helpful for a resident like me. Even though I've been active in Second Life for around 11 years now, still trying to read up on the improvements, as they come out, can be confusing. I'm a visual person and these types of Second Life educational videos are not only helpful, but enjoyable. With a video like this, it's easy to go back to KZbin and watch the information presented again. Wishing you and everyone a great Second Life day!

[@DebAristocarnas]

Excellent ..very helpful. This is what makes SL stand out from the rest when we can have video's like this create the best viewing and experience possible. Thank you!

[@chrisjw8789]

A new chapter in customer support from Second life, brilliant.

[@JennyLoveTV1]

SO glad Philip is back!!!

[@MarciMasala]

This is so much better for us non techy people to understand the changes rather than reading all the technical blah blah blah. Thanks for the demo.

[@joenine3232]

Great approach to explaining new updates. Thank you Philip.

[@juliette__]

So happy to see Philip back with LL, he always showed such passion and love for SL beyond it's business side. He really cared about the residents, creators and all the wonderful sides of SL that make it a truly unique, beautiful world. I know it sounds weird but it always felt like we had someone fighting our corner with him, someone we knew would listen and who cared about our opinions, thoughts and feelings. Such a brilliant man 💗💗💗

[@YasAdele90]

Oh wow this is so different I used to play this when I was a teenager. I'm 35 and, well I defo wanna get it again ❤

[@lilyanankhe3924]

Thank you, Sir, we are all glad you're back 🙂

[@flinkyfink]

Would really love to see more updates like this on what’s happening behind the scenes 😊

[@BillHendricksShadowmason]

Thank you. It takes time... but I really appreciate seeing what is being created on our behalf.

[@paris1610]

very interesting video and always great to see the CEO of Second Life ❤ One of my favorite people for sure.

[@VenusTattoos]

Great to see this Philip, yes to keep doing these.

[@EdieSedgwick1943]

For me Firestorm performance has been unbearable, although for whatever reason the LL Viewer performance has been OK. This really a helpful update!! Yes, the info is great and it's nice to hear from Philip! I especially loved, loved, loved, your conversations with Andrew Meadows and Avi Bar-Zeev! Both were inspiring and thoughtful. Big ideas, great information, fantastic!

[@dulceelodia]

thank you, Philip I will try. Please keep doing the videos...I hope I see you one day in RL, and thank you personally ...SL is an amazing world with no play or toy. It is different..........

[@Bangcat]

So not sure anyone will read this, but I have a bit of a follow up. Beta FIrestorm didn't go great for me. However, the standard firestorm update back up with a complete clean re install did wonders. Handshakes are still a lil rough out there, for that I'd say toy with your slider of how much bandwidth you're letting go through firestorm. Even if it means going into the area where it warns it could cause un usual behavior. things still aren't perfect, but it's what you can try in the meantime. Otherwise for travel, the other usuals. turn off transparent water, your shadows, and not rolling around with mirrors on. the whole limit on avatars non imposters may also have only so much effect these days with newer machines, so experiment actually leaving them all up. Seems like in some cases having a ton of imposters instead of non imposters could actually be a determent. Good luck travelers, from the Aeropunk Sky Pirates Coalition.

[@RussMcClay]

Very encouraging to see Philip still with us in Second Life after all these years!

[@oldmanvinny]

Excited to test out the latest release. My 18th SL birthday is coming up in two days and a tester before that, this release is very exciting to check out.

[@zoe_blackmore]

Very good explanatory video with a relaxed human touch from Philip Rosedale SL's creator and stategic advisor. Plus you refreshingly openly admit that a mistake was done in the premature release of PBR before these essential Extra FPS updates. Thanks for linden labs hard work, even though i am on sl break. I do find it amusing that you have the button noises switched on, its something i immediately slide off.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Creator, strategic advisor, and now Chief Technical Officer, a position Philip is clearly enjoying *a lot*, from the videos and in-world conversations he has!

[@edanalafleur]

Thank you very much for this and I am excited to see what else will be possible in the near future! Best regards from Germany!

[@saltybob8667]

Thanks so much! Our friends with older computers will be much happy :) Glad you're back!

[@yokorose]

really nice to see and really good looking update for the viewers

[@TrinityAphrodite]

I really enjoyed your video, Philip. Nice to see your face! I would love to see more videos like these in the future. In addition, I'm excited to see the new updates in Second Life. Thank you!

[@BruceCarpenterSL]

Great video with easy to understand explanations, gets straight to the point and explains it very naturally. Thank you very much, Philip.

[@Analisa-y2z]

Thanks for doing a video, thos is the first time I have all the details of a new release.

[@rexforestwanderers]

Keep up the great work! Thanks for doing what you do!

[@danaenyo]

THANK YOU! This was really enjoyable and informative. And as a maker of PBR clothing, I'm REALLY happy to see the improvements. I'll keep encouraging avs stuck on the old viewers to at least install and try the new ones!

[@Cuhulin1]

Thank you so much for the video. Changes get made in groups, so I, for one, often do not know of all the progress that is being made. The video format is a much better way for people like me to learn it than release notes.

[@BarryAmare]

Phillip, Welcome Home! Good to see you back in 'the chair' 😉 Excellent video, making clear some of the many improvements going on. Thanks for all you do!

[@Omnya9157]

Thanks a lot for this video; very useful. Looking forward for more !

[@beckhanra]

Invisiprims are really important for water vehicles. Thanks for looking into bringing them back.

[@toffylikesgames]

These upcoming changes look amazing! I'm excited to test them out in Firestorm when the time comes :) That smoothness and FPS jump looks fantastic.

[@lunabluelarsen6396]

Great video and very helpful. I joined SL in 2006 and many things changed since then. Some changes were good and some not so good. A few times I was close to leave SL but we are in 2025 and I am still around ;-) With Philip Rosedale as CTO things begin to change in a good direction. Welcome back :-)

[@vanirman]

Excellent! Keep the communication coming.

[@switch-f4u]

missed you Philip! Glad to see you !

[@endorkugo]

i admire his dedication to sticking with his old avatar

[@winterphoenix09]

Ive been using the same avatar for close to 20 years.

[@st33ldi9ital]

Awesome, good to see! Thanks! Hope to see more of this and you in the future.

[@JordiSeuma]

Just wanted to thank Mr. Rosedale for creating Second Life. Period.

[@Zapp969]

Thank you so much Philip,. This has encouraged me to try 7.1.11 again. I rolled back to 6.6.17 after having a bunch of issues, but with the info you shared here, I'm going to give it another try. I'd LOVE to see another video from you once the next FS becomes available.

[@a.9913]

Oh my GOOOOOD, dude, the FPS problem in SL has been such a wild issue for so long. About time it's tackled! I'd love to read a white paper or something about how that was done.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Magic! They sacrificed a few goats and lighted some black candles.... lol

[@EscutCavaller007]

Thank you for being the voice of reason and we know you are working your ass off!

[@kevinnapier8996]

Never heard of this second life. Not a gamer but I have a top shelf computer. i will look into this now. Thanks for this content!

[@Constance-z2s]

Not a game.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Don't worry - the vast majority of the people in Second Life are not gamers, either, so you'll find yourself at home here! (Granted, gamers are also most welcome, and there are plenty of those around as well - writing their own games, since *everything* you see in Second Life was done by its users, even the founder's own avatar!)

[@AcheliusDecimus]

I am four months into the game, and I have invested a lot in my fun, so it's good to see improvements. I mainly use Firestorm but my system is strong enough to run this game and render all around me with lights and more. So these improvements will only make my screenshots prettier.

[@kleec0203]

Love the graphics but the extra features that Firestorm incorporates into their viewer is a must have at this point for me. Happy to see you back!

[@PaulineClary]

Thanks for the update! ❤

[@stephanieamare]

Always love long-form and in-depth videos like this. I know he's moved on, but it's what I loved about the old videos that Torley used to do with tips, tricks, and overviews. I always wondered why we didn't get more from that person Boston Blaisdale, who did a few videos a year or two ago for "Second Life University". I think it's always going to be difficult to find balance between graphical fidelity, and wanting to introduce new technologies--while making sure those with older hardware are taken care of. I've found HDR just doesn't look that great unless you have an actual HDR monitor, and those still aren't accessible to many.

[@bren8309]

I hope eventually you will make it possible to use SL with VR. I thought I read somewhere that you didn't like virtual reality, but I think being able to walk around in SL like you can in Skyrim and other VR games would be so cool I would just love that.

[@Voxmovie-sr2rd]

I'm very happy to see updates and improvements in Second Life, this is a perfect time to make S.L come back with full force and explode in the world.

[@douglashornick4388]

I have always wanted to access Second Life with my VR headset. We already have the mouse look capability which is kind of similar, viewing from your avatar's eye level. If we could just put that ability through a VR headset it would bring a person more immersively into the Second Life environment.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

It used to work flawlessly - 12 years ago or more. Currently, it's tough, because it's so focused on having to use a mouse, keyboard, and floating menus and such. However, here's a tip: try the Second Life Mobile App with your VR headset; it's a completely different interface (it had to be - much more suited for a mobile experience), and some users have reported reasonable success in running that app on their Apple Vision Pros. Your mileage may vary, of course, but you might be surprised at what's already possible with the mobile tech (it's the Unity engine beneath it, but the content you see is all 100% Second Life)

[@mubeenD]

Can you show us the actual frame rates? What are your computer CPU and GPU specs? By the way, I appreciate the video, it's good to see you back and giving us an overview of what is and some insight into what's to come.

[@highgodsl]

Excited about the updates, thanks for sharing 😁

[@laurar7955]

Thank you Phillip! keep this kind of communication going ;)

[@RiverVortexSL]

Thanks! Appreciate the video very much. Hope to see more. It would benefit a lot of folks that don't know what all these items/terms are that you are checking/unchecking by explaining what they are and actually do. There are a lot of people that are not tech savvy and they shouldn't have to be. This is what affects retention as well. IMHO

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Ahh such a cavalier introduction, mentioning Firestorm, a third-party viewer, without any problems whatsoever. I'm really loving the new attitude of Linden Lab in general (and yours as well, of course!) towards what *others* are doing with *your* tech! (Obviously, the majority of SL residents use Firestorm exclusively, so I'm sure that's the main reason for mentioning it!) And aye - thank you for the extra FPS :) My old 2014 Mac surely appreciates the effort! SL never ran so fast on this obsolete hardware,,,

[@LishaJoya]

thank you so much for this- i can bust out my older machine and test it out!

[@TaamonJules]

I like this, heck I like everything about it. I like that sl actually cares enough about its residents that it spends time and resources on projects like this. I love that you are back Philip! I have always kept your framed photo on a wall in my little self made cottage, as an homage to the human responsible for all of this. I only recently updated it with your new pic and profile bio. Thank you! I also love that you continue to rock the old school avy with your punk hair. I watched the video of you getting a new one, and we need more of this, but I was so relieved that you kept OG Philip. It reinforces the message of inclusive acceptance of all, and that sl doesn’t demand anything of you. I’ve often thought that if I ever run into Philip I’d be too star struck to talk/type. How do you thank a man who is responsible for so much? I can’t think of an “invention” that has impacted my life to the extent of sl, short of electricity itself.

[@sonyas.1124]

Thank you for updates.

[@beejoyful7679]

Thanks very much for this video, especially showing the differences the settings make. Its always a pleasure and an inspiration to see Philip Rosedale/Linden visit and talk about this wonderful world he founded ♥ ExtraFPS v7.1.11 is working well for me with a few minor issues such as some mesh fails to rez no matter how long I wait (not always the same objects) and occasional freeze-ups right after log in and teleports which last 15 - 30 seconds. The failure to rez mesh usually happens after a teleport and for now the only resolution seems to be a relog... some way to refresh or re-rez would be helpful. I really need to get a newer pc but... ugh - such things get so hard the older I get! I think I need some updated human brain RAM to get through it! I hope there will be some Second Life Tutorial videos for using the mobile app as well as the zero.secondlife Browser so many new or returning Residents can love SL as much as I do ♥

[@Ultramesh]

I look forward to seeing the updates.

[@Ic3C0lDM3]

Maybe you should try all of this with a Mesh body with attachments, to see if your Performance are the same!

[@masterbond9]

He doesn't, probably because it's hard for him to represent mesh because they're all user generated, however, I can assure you that he has been spending a lot more time exploring the mainland and has been interacting a lot more with other users and has been listening to all the feedback given

[@bioodymarry761]

@@masterbond9 I hope so because I can't use the new viewer update. Tormented when the old viewers no longer exist... I love SL, but... I don't have the financial means and I live in Brazil to buy a compatible PC.

[@2faces508]

Good job, more explaining videos ✌✌✌✌

[@neotoy]

Awesome! Thanks Philip.

[@spunkyrowley]

Thanks for the update ❤

[@wormdocdme]

thanks Philip, great helpful video!

[@loltubelvr007]

I love the sky and clouds!

[@claudiaumbarundu7478]

Thank you!

[@Terry2A]

This was great information. I am looking forward to the beautiful oceans returning.

[@kirayoichi3113]

Thank you very much for showing the updates of PBR controls to increase better FPS(frames per second). I own a 2018 gaming PC and was suffering sometimes when PBR was released. Im sure I won't have problems now once I'm officially back

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Welcome back officially 😆 I know your feeling. I'm on a mid-2014 Mac. Ironically, SL *today* is faster than what I have ever experienced in the past decade!

[@quertie]

For something like this, it would be nice to be able to know your graphics card. So we can rate our system relative to yours. Otherwise, welcome back. 😃

[@dennisvanbuytene7339]

Really Enjoyed the Video, very helpful. You are good at it too, Do more lol

[@lucardplays2182]

Great this new features for improvements performance on pc low ends grafics, Thanks Mr. Philips.

[@marileblank4300]

Thank you so much !

[@AlessandraRaynierSecondLife]

this is amazing ^^

[@VreamArt]

I just had to reinstall my OS and was happy to see SL running noticeably better. I am happy to share the blame with the Lindens...not for botching my HD replacement but most likely for me installing the latest versions of SL and FS :)

[@candidoferraris]

Thanks a lot Philip 👊😉

[@SpotAllen]

Nice work. Thanks for the update.

[@tunawithmayo]

Hi Philip, Nice to see you around. Cool work that the team is doing. It would be cool to see you do a video like this from somewhere like Warehouse 21. I want to see what its like when there's a load of avatars nearby.

[@oldskoolcloud3224]

nice to see and hear that your telling us about improvements and updates to the engine alot of people use firestorm because it feels more user friendly and gives more accessibility to settings which you can treak yourself and or turn off things

[@anteriorlobetube]

Very helpful! For me at least, the 7.x Firestorm has been a lot more stable of late than it was a couple months ago.

[@Jeram79love]

Thanks Philip ❤❤❤

[@alexiahykova]

Thanks for explaining those graphics options. I don't see those options in Firestorm though. Yes, I am on the latest version.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Hm. You might need the beta version. Or maybe the Firestorm team has moved to somewhere else... but they should be there.

[@ConnieGMK]

Good to see SL working hard to make things better!

[@robingonzales9758]

Thank you Philip

[@keysotin2433]

I love this Game!

[@JinSeonMiSamJang]

Gosh haven't seen a avatar like Mr. Lindens in a long time... Looks great will be glad when I get another new pc as sl has over taken my gaming laptop.. sighs.

[@secondlifespectrum]

My favorite feature is being able to remove the voice dot 😁

[@gregiskat8354]

VERY COOL! I have been in SL since 2012

[@ashasekayi]

This was really helpful. Thanks!

[@melodeypond]

You incorrectly state that ExtraFPS is in the latest version of Firestorm, it's only currently in beta from them.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

'latest publicly downloadable version' 😆

[@demistrong6859]

Keep up these videos, Philip - I learned some really useful things from this one. One question though - what WL were you using in the video, and is it available to us in SL? I really loved it :)

[@Raven-Bell]

I think the region tested here was a bit empty in comparison to most average places in SL! A video on how to reduce lag from both viewer side, and from a sim manager/builders side would be amazing.

[@GwynethLlewelyn]

Ha! You're the first person in twenty years that complains about an _empty_ place in SL! For years and years I have heard complaints about how SL is 'always empty' on average (and it is), because such people never figured out where the 'hotspots' are in SL... That said, _I_ haven't visited any of those 'always full' regions myself, but I have been to events with 40+ avatars (not full' but not empty either), and it works reasonably well on my 10+ years old Mac. Much, much better than ever before. Sometimes I can even see those 40+ avatars fully rezzed and all! 🤣

[@JacksonRedstar]

looks great! Hi Strawberry!