Linden Labs completed the roll-out of its new Second Life Simulator v1.20.83683 on Wednesday morning, leaving a devastated Second Life surfing community in its wake.
According to the Second Life surfing blog SurfWatch (surfwatch.blogspot.com) the new code is upsetting surfable waves, surfboards and other objects that are rezzed in the water. Surfing sim owners all over Second Life have been contacting Linden Labs support staff as their simulated waves crash, stop, sink, fly into the air or simply make it very difficult for surfers to ride them. At least one sim has had to switch off its big surfable ‘Epic’ wave, while other sim managers have been kept busy trying to keep their waves running.
Meanwhile, due to changed ‘physics’ in the new ‘Havoc4′ software code, surfers are finding that their boards float 6-12 inches below the waterline not on top! Surfers and sim owners alike are hoping that Linden Labs or Second Life’s principal wave developer Heather Goodliffe find a solution quickly, but industry sources say that practically speaking it could take weeks to find a solution.
Top of mind for many Second Life surfers, is the Second Life Surfing Assocation’s SurfLine Shortboard Pro surfing competition scheduled for Saturday 5 April. Competitors have been practicing for weeks in anticipation of the event and sim owner Rezzable has created a new surf sim especially for the competition day, which by all reports was performing exceptionally well right up until Linden Labs’ simulator update. Surfing has gained a great deal of momentum in Second Life during the past 12 months, with thousands of surfboards being sold, which now may not function properly as a result of the new software code, and some sims being established and funded specifically to provide surfable waves for Second Life communities.
Hundreds of regular surfers in Second Life stand to be affected during the next few days by the disruption. “With no immediate fixes from Linden Labs or wave-creator Heather Goodliffe in sight, surfers may be in for a bumpy ride over the next few weeks,” says SurfWatch. Photo: SLSA ranked surfer VW Sands, happily shreds up a big Epic wave prior to the Havoc4 software update

Submitted by Barchan Paderborn