Rust virtual world server
A from-scratch Second Life–compatible server in Rust: physics, economy, presence, terrain.
Ever since Linden Lab open-sourced the Second Life viewer, Earl has been taking the technology apart. OpenSimulator re-engineered the server side in C#/.NET and then slowed down; in March 2026 he started building his own Second Life–compatible server from scratch in Rust. Existing viewers connect to it; everything behind the wire is new, following the classic SL architecture on a modern engine.
By the first public update the login and account systems were working, base economy and asset servers were up, and Rapier was handling prim physics. By June 2026 it had an in-world Buy Currency flow with live estimates — something OpenSim never fully integrated — user presence, an improved avatar texture-baking pipeline, upgraded water shaders with waves and optional buoyancy (prims float, and ripple when moved through the water), better terrain generation, grass rendering, and wind that trees and grass actually respond to.
In progress: a wet/glossy surface shader and the core infrastructure for granular permissions and parcel settings. The server runs significantly leaner than the legacy counterparts. Also: a custom plywood texture, because it would not be a virtual world without one.
Highlights
- Rapier rigid-body physics for prims; optional buoyancy with ripples
- Login, accounts, presence and avatar texture baking
- Economy and asset servers; in-world Buy Currency with live estimates
- Terrain generation, grass and wind; water shaders with waves
- Granular permissions and parcel settings in progress