Nani releases new, possibly last, version of OpenSim

Luv Plaza on Hgluv Grid. (Image courtesy Hgluv.)

In addition to the official distribution of the OpenSimulator software, there are several variations of the open-source virtual world platform, including the mini-grid Diva Distro version, the easy-to-install-at-home DreamGrid version, the HalcyonGrid distribution from the now-defunct InWorldz grid, the AuroraSim distribution which hasn’t been updated since 2014, the still actively developed WhiteCoreSim, as well as grid-specific versions of OpenSim such as the one distributed by OSgrid, or the one used internally by Kitely for its cloud-based region management.

One that’s been getting some attention lately is the Nani OpenSim distribution, by Lanani Sundara and Hyacinth Jewell from the Hgluv grid. Grids using it include Hglub itself, as well as Discovery Grid. Some people also use it to run individual regions that they host on home computers and attach to OSgrid.

Discovery Grid. (Image courtesy Discovery Grid via Facebook.)

Nani OpenSim is a fork from an earlier version of the official OpenSim code base and is designed to offer stability and performance improvements.

Two days ago, however, Sundara released what may be the final version of Nani OpenSim.

“It is getting harder to keep up with the changes in new viewers,” she wrote in the release notes.

In addition, the official OpenSim development team has released its own updated version at the end of October, which includes a new script engine and support for animated mesh.

To keep pace with new features in the viewers, and in the official release, Sundara would either have to redo the work of the core OpenSim developers, or throw out all her own work and start over from the latest official version.

“I think I am on a thin branch now and need to let go of it,” she wrote. “Thank you all for using my code when you did, I hope you enjoyed it. For now, I will stop updating this branch here.”