Lua Scripting
in progress
Signal Linden
Second Life's interactive objects rely on LSL—a basic scripting language largely unchanged since 2003. This limits creators’ ability to build advanced, dynamic experiences. By introducing Lua, a powerful and widely adopted language, we can modernize scripting and unlock new creative possibilities.
- Broadens Second Life’s creator base to more easily include developers from Lua-heavy platforms (e.g., Roblox, Garry's Mod).
- Reinvigorates existing creators who’ve struggled with LSL’s limitations.
- Enables advanced features like mobile-focused development kits and robust 3D content manipulation (e.g., GLTF).
Objectives
- New Audiences: Attract creators from popular Lua-based UGC platforms.
- Easier Scripting: Leverage Lua’s built-in features, large support community, and ample learning resources.
- Re-Engage Creators: Provide a smooth transition from LSL with bridging functionality, encouraging return visits.
- Advanced Features: Introduce long-requested language improvements (e.g., map-types, index operators).
- Richer Experiences: Allow for more complex, dynamic scripts to increase retention and drive engagement.
- Reduced Technical Debt: Replace LSL's difficult-to-maintain system with a modern, flexible alternative.
- Education Opportunities: Offer a full-featured language that helps new programmers build real-world skills.
Links
- Lua FAQ - Read this if you have questions about "Why Lua?"
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Izzatooona Enthusiast
As a scripter, I applaud new stuff. Let's embrace it and use it and make SL amazing! That's my thoughts. But also, after reading a lot of anger in the posts that are responding to this advancement, I see a lot of serous concerns. Maybe a bit of childish complaining, but underneath, there are some very legitimate concerns. Can someone address those? I've been around for 18 years now, and I am very happy, but I'm also worried SL will decline into nothingness unless a newer, younger, generation is enticed to join and make it even better!
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident
You want to know that SL really need more than a new language or development tools?
Users! The population on SL has been shrinking in the past 10 years that I've been active on the grid, and most of those who are left seem to be old timers who are 50+ years old. I've even seen people on other games refer to SL as "that old people's game", at least among those who have even heard of it.
Those objectives read like something from the BS Bingo card in a meeting presented by someone trying to make themselves look good though they have no clue what's really going on.
steph Arnott
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident, what you claim to see is false. Fact is that you have no idea of partisipation numbers except the bogus Firestorm count.
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident
The last thing SL needs is a new language. If anything it would be better to just add things obviously missing from LSL like maps, arrays and the ternary operator. Maybe something more like JS which is already familiiar to so many. Yes, maybe a new, more efficient, compiler but not a whole new language.
And then there are LSL's awful libraries. If you are going to make changes, this is where they are needed. The existing libraries contain gaping holes for tasks that are very commonplace and many current functions are poorly thought out.
Toothless Draegonne
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident Lua is far from being a new language, at least outside of SL. It's almost an industry standard "software modding" language by now, chosen by many different applications and games as the way to create active content.
Having knowledge of how Lua works, is a skill that is far more transferable than a language like LSL, which exists only to make active content specifically in SL. It's also easier for someone who already knows Lua, to use the llWhatever functions to do stuff in SL, rather than learning LSL with all its silly little quirks.
LSL is also going nowhere. The language will still exist, just like you can still choose to run LSL scripts in the old LSO interpreter rather than compiling to Mono.
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident
Toothless Draegonne I understand Lua isn't a new language but it's new to SL. Nevertheless it's just one more change that doesn't address SL's real problem which is the diminishing and aging user base.
Like I mentioned SL doesn't really need a new language. A better compiler wouldn't hurt however but how about a complete overhaul of the libraries to make them more friendly and useful. That's where the quirks exist.
I know it's pointless to say this because the decisions to go with Lua have already been made but I think something modeled after JavaScript would have been much more appropriate but inserting some type of object layer in place of its DOM.
steph Arnott
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident, Lua is pre-curser to cloud which at the moment LL say is vastly too costly.
Angie McGregor
Signal Linden Will Lua scripting allow an object to determine which direction an avatar is facing?
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident
Angie McGregor How about some decent time functions!
Thalyn Sabre
Basic but accessible. Another stupid move from Linden Lab to make SL "Pro business" only!
Thhis a joke to read you are comparing SL to Roblox (GAME for psycho kids!) or Garry's Mod (SANDBOX for fun people, because SL insn't fun anymore.. "Business business business"... and communatarism everywhere with fake "inclusivity" for people speaking "ENGLISH ONLY" ....) while in reality, SL in now compared (as less nice than) to Sims 4 and GTA RP... because 90% of your new "customers" come to RP.... but with prices and physical limitations (totally crazy in 2025!) and the graphic engine asking for 3000$ PC just because 0 optimization about avatar (and that Linden Lab give up the war against lag!) while my ten years PC turn GTA Online in ultra/60FPS (and every other new games in High (60FPS min) !
Linden Lab believe to compet with ferrari and lambo while in fact, you are seen as a pedal car, and "LUA" will not change anything.
Liden Lab miss the blockchain and cryptocurrency opportunity, missed the VR and Enhanced/Augmented Reality, you have missed the "metavese" turn and you continue to sink, believing that (the only good) creators of Garry's Mod (Roblox are GAMERS and stupid kids!) will come on SL for fun and/or make RP with your high prices and this stupidity of 5 different shapes (an avatar cost 20-50€ now. It's not competition, it's atomization : everyone lose in the end. Let's come back "Project Mesh"!). Garry's MOD is free, and a SIM equivalent to SL "holds" on a server at $20/month (another good thing, give up by Linden Lab : SIMs on dedicated personal server)!
I stop here, you don't care. You still prefer listen "low level business money makers".... rather than real CREATORS BUILDERS (as ALWAYS, when you given the "Mentor" statuts only to big sims owners unable to BUILD something.... rather helpfull people....)!
Thalyn Sabre
Linden Lab have never supported Blender 3D for example while it's very accessible for everyone but still continue to promote paid/pro solutions like Maya, C4D and co. And dare pretend to be "open source friendly' (like Apple or google, only when it can give you free and cheap solutions... otherwise, you promote not better "closed solutions" because former "friends from College"...), with now 99% of heavy Mesh in SL build by students in 3Dmodel universities who doesn't care about SL, just there to fill their "marketplace" with their unoptimized sh... (and quit once they have a real job.....)!
Without talking about opportunist selling solutions at 40-100€ to create AN avatar because Linden Lab killed the excellent MeshProject, while if LL would have invest some money in Blender and OPEN Source (instead to just act like a USER of open source solutions just to save money, not to help the open source world!), EVERYONE could be creative on SL !!
Now, place to "pro-coders"... with the choice to make everything inaccessible for everyone....
Angie McGregor
Thalyn Sabre Lua has one of the easiest learning-curves of most modern scripting languages. This is only a benefit to creators who have struggled trying to learn LSL, including myself. I have recently started learning Lua for different purposes, and I'm excited at the prospect of knowing that the skills I'm learning now will also benefit my Second Life experience.
Personally I'm glad that LL completely avoided the whole cryptocurrency scam culture. A Second Life swarming with crypto-bro grifters sounds like hell to me. I will agree with you that they were idiots for not making an offer to buy Oculus before Zuckerberg did.
Petite Doll
Thalyn Sabre I don't know if you notice or not, but anything on the internet that is running a server needs money to stay up and running. The more money that comes in the more well off everyone is.
You dislike that they need/wan to make money but it is because people pay that you can play. The more money they make, the more things that can come into second life, and you're trying to make them look like Roblox, when Second Life is an adult space. This is just trying to ease things for creators, to help them create and creators help keep second life and any other social/virtual/simulated world alive. Why do you think Roblox has more people, players? Because creators create. I don't see second life making you have to pay for EVERYTHING you do in S.L anytime soon, but the fact of the matter is, if you just have people like you who want free, it's going to fail.
More people that are around, more creators that are around, the more you have.
DrElvisHChrist0 Resident
Thalyn Sabre Right on! They need to work on getting new players and keeping them engaged rather than rearranging the furniture with another, completely non-portable, language.
Signal Linden
Merged in a post:
Better Scripting Language
Janet Rossini
Since we're in this for the long term, please consider adding a more modern scripting language, such as Lua or Python, with support for such amazing new things as objects and arrays.
Signal Linden
marked this post as
in progress
Signal Linden
This is a bit of a belated post, as Lua scripting development has already begun.
Vulcan Viper
How about using something along the lines of Unreal Engine?
Nelson Jenkins
Wasn't Lua rumored to be on the horizon for client-side scripting? I think a lot of the problems with LSL stem from it being entirely server-side, so if you want to make anything comparable to other popular user-scripted games (like, say, Roblox) you've got to do a lot of work scripting HUDs that run server-side for no real reason. There's a reason virtually no other game handles everything server-side. It's just not scalable.
Nelson Jenkins
Eating my words a bit with the announcement that Luau is in testing and server-side Lua scripts are on the horizon...
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