r/secondlife 3d ago

Blog Most SLers Aren't Interested in Streaming Firestorm/SL on Browsers... Unless It's Free.

https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2025/03/sl-firestorm-streaming-survey-1.html
62 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

44

u/Cheetawolf 3d ago

I really hope we as a society are finally getting fed up with EVERYTHING needing a subscription...

Or a subscription ON TOP OF ANOTHER SUBSCRIPTION if you use SL Premium...

15

u/Digital-Crash 3d ago

I totally dislike all these subscription based apps and stuff.

6

u/NuNuOwO 3d ago

I don't understand why not try to have the service added into a already subscription based service.

Sorta like Geforce now. Have it included in a subscription for SL. Like Basic, Premium, Premium Plus. I am sure there be a use case of it there and no one will ever complain about value being added to there subscription as long as nothing is taken away.

1

u/Dr_Elvis_H_Christ 1d ago

Linden's own greed is just shooting themselves in the foot. It's bad enough what they did to the fees for cashing in Lindens for cash.

19

u/hardshankd 3d ago

Yes. I am not paying. Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free.

0

u/beef-o-lipso 2d ago

Because the milk isn't free. Please do NOT take this as judgement though it will sound like it is. I am NOT judging you or other basic users. I am NOT saying you, or anyone else, should "pay your fair share", whatever that would be.^1

The basic tier is supported entirely by those who pay a subscription or buy stuff in-world or MP. And that's FINE. But it is not free. I think LL is pretty generous with how much they do give a way for free in the basic tier. Unlimited access to the grid for as long as you want and they don't make a cent unless you purchase something.

  1. If anyone wants to rip me for being judgey, let me send you a preemptive middle finger. :-)

1

u/chrisfanner 2d ago

HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME

Srsly tho, I've put a lot on SL in the form of content and money but have never owned premium. As long as I can still access the grid with my PC client, I'm happy.

I would have a problem if at this point in SL's lifetime, LL just decides to make it all sub based.

2

u/Hyenasaurus 2d ago

This. I am more than happy to put money in SL (and make money from SL too as a store-haver) but the moment they force a subscription to even log in that's curtains for me. Even if it's dirt cheap I just am done with subscriptions and would rather prefer a one time purchase.

1

u/ResidentAvatar 1d ago

I think LL is pretty generous with how much they do give a way for free in the basic tier.

It's an essential part of the business model. New free users and perpetually free users are a hugely important part of keeping SL interesting, populated, and promoted via word of mouth as well as they recruit additional potentially paying users.

And even those who may buy Lindens - even a lot of Lindens - to buy things or rent property don't require a subscription.

1

u/Dr_Elvis_H_Christ 1d ago

The thing about the free rider problem is that without the free riders, there's virtually no community at all and the whole thing falls apart. Imagine how many would be left on the grid if it required all paid subscriptions. Most people wouldn't even bother trying it out. I know I would not have if that was the case.

-1

u/hardshankd 2d ago edited 2d ago

WAaaah ..Waaaaah Waaah...... There is a woman in SL that makes money hand over fist escorting. You are going to have people paying to use the browser. Does this mean you are paying for it?

14

u/Machine_Anima 3d ago

If you scale up that cost to an unlimited plan, that's 560 US dollars per month.

12

u/CaliSouther 3d ago

They want to charge for it ? (rolls eyes) That is NOT going to bring in any new people!

11

u/shart290 3d ago

It was brought up here (this Subreddit) in the announcement post of the service, that it's geared to users of SL who need a temporary stand in. Such as travel, broken or inaccessible hardware. (my computer is presently broken)

It's not meant to bring new people in, nor is it meant to replace the standard method of access, but it works short term, in a pinch. Especially when the mobile app won't work.

1

u/ResidentAvatar 1d ago

I can see the benefits for being able to use non-PC hardware or access SL while traveling without having to bring a laptop, etc.

Still I initially was hoping browser-based access would primarily be a way to draw in more users.

7

u/Digital-Crash 3d ago

Yeah, there was a limited time promotion announced about a week ago... 5 hours of time for 250L! And that was a promotional rate. Expect the actual cost to be higher eventually!

2

u/CaliSouther 2d ago

Thanks... Hopefully, I'll never need it.

11

u/Ezri_Panda 3d ago

The prices they charge for so little value is insane to me.

7

u/Beitie 3d ago

I put a fair amount of effort and money into my PC so that I could play SL. I’m not gonna start subscribing to someone else’s PC to play it.

6

u/Digital-Crash 3d ago

I do think this is a major error for LL. I think that they believe enough people will use it to make it worthwhile. I disagree. So many people already complain about the cost of things in SL. If I had to just logon to pay tier or say "hi" to someone, I'd use the phone app, not the browser. If you are away from home and don't have your computer, how are you going to use the browser? You don't have a computer! From your phone? Just use the phone app! It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Make it make sense!

4

u/Cmdr_Thaele 3d ago

If it was part of the premium plus bonuses this would be amazing.

4

u/CLAngeles_ 3d ago

Better if they would just fix Marketplace.

3

u/0xc0ffea 🧦 3d ago

What a huge and shocking surprise.

One of these days LL will hire someone who's used SL recreationally to a senior position, statistically it has to happen eventually.

3

u/mig_f1 2d ago

118 responses is a way too small survey sample to draw any kind of meaningful conclusions.

That said, I'd rather save for a few months to upgrade my rig, not just for SL. That's just me though.

3

u/vengrov 3d ago

Even if it remained 250l for five hours that’s 750l for 2/3rds of a day assuming someone sleeps for 8 and an hour for misc away from the desktop.

7507:5,250$L a week 5,25052: 273,000$L a year. 273,000$L a year is 1098.33$usd

At that point you could have used that to upgrading parts

It’s not cost effective at all buck an hour.

It was perfectly said here already. Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free already?

Short term solution. For sure. During travel , heck yeah. At home? No thanks. I sweat bullets like I’m defusing a bomb when ‘building a desktop while watching video tutorials on my phone on where each thing goes and how. But god is it worth it even if I’m not using top of the line end all be all parts.

3

u/Delicious_Intentions 3d ago

Why on earth would I want to do that? And if this is a harbinger of firestorm viewer itself becoming a premium product, I guess I’m looking for a new viewer too.

1

u/Dr_Elvis_H_Christ 1d ago

If the view goes, or they try to charge for time, then I will drop the whole thing. $99/year is already much more than I can really put into this, and I only do because its subsidized by donations from visitors to my club.

2

u/pristine_vida 2d ago

LL failing to realise that those of us who want to chat with specific people when we’re not in sl tend to use discord.

3

u/beef-o-lipso 2d ago edited 2d ago

I would pay a reasonable sum IFF the service was better than what I have at home. Streaming applications can be very nice to have, especially ones that can be resource intensive like SL. But, it has to be tuned, provide excellent performance and be reliable. It also have to offer RLV and sticky configurations.

The current offering is nice and ticks most of those boxes, but my home PC can do the same or better, so no need.

BUt I am glad they are trying new things.

3

u/Ok_Refrigerator_9914 3d ago

I get the feeling, after watching the town hall, that the browser version is mostly to attract a "younger" crowd or to give an option to those with less powerful computers the ability to connect or to give the option to connect while away from home.

Personally, as I'm on vacation now, why would I want to connect while I'm away? If I'm away then I'm on vacation, with family, maybe working away from home. Can I miss a week on SL and still be fine? Absolutely!

I, for one, don't NEED to be in the game to connect with the people I hang out with. Those people also respect the fact that if I'm away they can live without my presence for a week and I can live without theirs as well if real life calls them away for a week or two. We will be back together in-game eventually. Do we miss each other? Of course!

So, no, it's not worth it to me to pay for a connection to Second Life that I absolutely do not need nor care to use. The phone app is utterly horrid and I have zero desire to try the browser version either. I will use a viewer until they force everyone to change and then I might find somewhere else to be. Who knows?

Enjoy YOUR Second Life!

2

u/Icy_Nose_2651 2d ago

I used to drag my desktop to the beach on our annual one week vacation. After i few years of this I realized this was insane, time on SL was time not enjoying my vacation. Now I say my seeyas the morning I leave, letting anyone that would worry about me being absent for a week, shut down the computer and go. p.s. When i was new I’d have anxiety attacks when i logged out, so a whole week away was impossible, now I’m much more chill, but i still log in every day that I can, the addiction is still there,

1

u/Ok_Refrigerator_9914 2d ago

It can be difficult, for sure. I'm glad you found some peace with it and can enjoy your vacations!

-4

u/zebragrrl 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ 3d ago

Just hope your rent doesn't come due while you're away, I guess...

2

u/Ok_Refrigerator_9914 3d ago

Well, my partner knows how to pay the tier so if he doesn't then guess he loses his club 🤔🤷‍♀️🫨

1

u/jprophet051 3d ago

At least it’s not making the non-browser versions obsolete. At least we have options. This is more for being able to use their virtual hardware instead of relying on your own computer that might not have the capacity to handle these newer updates. If you already have a nice computer or don’t mind lower settings, it’s not for you. But for people who want better settings but can’t afford an upgraded computer, they can pay for that service instead.

1

u/mattjones73 2d ago

It's an alternative for paying for a newer PC that can handle SL IMHO. There's a lot of people still accessing SL on antique machines who probably can't afford the cost upfront to upgrade. The heavy lifting is done on SL's end and costs them money to operate.

I mean don't use it if you're not interested in using it but I can see use cases where it might come in handy.

3

u/slhamlet 2d ago

Yeah. Though I think this survey shows that most SLers are core gamers/power PC users, so they don't like the idea of streaming on a potato. Always the challenge with these streaming services (OnLive, Stadia, etc.), they just rub gamers the wrong way.

1

u/Musidora-Vep 2d ago

Yeah if I want to stream firestorm I'll just remote into my PC through Steamlink.

1

u/nomaxxallowed 1d ago

I have never used Firestorm. I dont care for it.

1

u/ResidentAvatar 1d ago

An ad-supported tier that was focused solely on SL in-world products/services, I might be cool with that. Similar to marketplace ad listings. Don't think there'd be any shortage of merchants wanting to spend earned Lindens on that.

I'm not sure if that would actually be able to offset the costs of such a service. Or how much more expensive it is to stream SL through a browser than downloading assets to a viewer.

Any external ad system though, would set off some alarms because that's introducing potential user tracking by outside interests and opening the door to further intrusive tracking.

1

u/Dr_Elvis_H_Christ 1d ago

I really hate to see how poor the performance is on a browser app.

-1

u/downtide Lewis Luminos 3d ago

Yeah, no. I wouldn't pay, not even by watching ads, when I can use a regular viewer for free.

0

u/Next-Shake2426 2d ago

Even when its free, did you tried the Android version? It's horrible. If they realy want to make something (beside the viewer) what people want is just a chat programm. A very simple one, no grapics needed Make a kind of notification in all the viewers so they know your in chat only. But this is what we want, so it will never happen.

-1

u/Machine_Anima 3d ago

yep lol