Following-on from his work to add the ability to let users wearing the Oculus Rift headset to turn their avatar with a turn of their head when seated (see my update here), Dave Rowe (Strachan Ofarrell in SL) has added some more tweaks to the Alpha version of his viewer with the release of version 1.1.8.34412.
One of these updates is directly related to the Oculus Rift and another is for using stereoscopic glasses with the viewer. Both of these can be found under Preferences > Graphics > Display Output.
The two new additions to Preferences > Graphics > Display Output
The first option, Set Output to 120Hz is the stereoscopic update. As the name implies, it sets the display output to 120Hz, which is useful if you have shutter glasses and want to only display at 120Hz when you use the viewer.
The second option, Turn Speed, is a slider to control speed at which turning your head in Riftlook turns your avatar. Note that it will only work if Head Turns Avatar After is checked.
In addition to these updates, version 1.1.8.34412 addsvariable avatar walk / fly speed for SpaceNavigator proportional to pressure applied to knob (i.e., similar to SpaceNavigator flycam control), up to maximum of configured walk speed. Adjusted SpaceNavigator default values to suit. There’s also an update to the GPU table as well.
Sunday February 9th saw the Black Dragon viewer updated to version 2.3.9.3. Dramatically referred to as an “emergency” update, the new version is another interim release, with major changes on the horizon as the viewer moves ever closer to the 2.4 version number.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure quite what warrants this being called an “emergency” release. The quoted reasons for the update (HTTP and Fitted Mesh) haven’t exactly been hidden away by the Lab, but have been talked about openly for a while – and the code (while still being tweaked and banged on in the case of Fitted Mesh, admittedly), has been available for poking-at. But anyaway, suffice it to say the new version is here, comprising a lot of nips and tucks, as listed in the change log with the release notes.
This isn’t intended as a full review, but more an overview of key changes.
The first of these is that the viewer is up-to-date with the Lab’s 3.7.0 code base, and so includes Fitted Mesh, which the Lab announced as officially released on February 10th.
Niran is a keen gamer, and as such put considerable work into his first viewer in adding options and controls other gamers would find familiar, such as offering more shooter game style camera placement, etc.
With this release of black Dragon, he’s put effort into enhancing the ability to map the viewer’s options and functions into game controllers – most notably the Xbox 360 controller. In carrying out this work, he notes:
Works with up to 16 buttons (for other controllers or joysticks)
Adds the ability to map zoom in/out/default, roll left/right, jump, crouch, toggle flycam, toggle run, toggle fly and Mouselook to available buttons
Certain mappings only work in either Avatar / Flycam or Build mode.
A video has been produced showing avatar movement using a game controller.
In another move to provide a game-like feel, Niran has duplicated the click-and-hold left mouse button and then use the mouse to rotate the camera / move your avatar to the right mouse button, as demonstrated in another video, which demonstrates the capability in conjunction with using the movement keys.
As noted, this is a duplication of the original left mouse button click / hold functionality, which can still be used by those who are already used to it.
Alongside of both of these, although not directly related to it, he has also added the option to disallow using Mouse-wheel to change values in spinners. Prevents some nasty problems with hover tips accidentally getting set to infinite.
In lin with recent LL RC and release viewers, this Release of Black Dragon includes a good number of MAINT, STORM and OPEN fixes and contributions including STORM-1980, the updated region restart message and STORM-1981, the updates to avatar tracking beacons. All of these updates, together with Niran’s own fixes, additions, changes and tweaks can be found in the release change log noted above.
As many are aware, and as I’ve blogged about several times recently, Linden Lab are required to collect various items of documentation from Second Life users that meet certain transaction thresholds.
When the announcements were first made, it is fair to say that they resulted in confusion for a lot of people.
As a result of this, the Lab has put together a set of resources to help people to understand why the information is being requested, and what they need to do in order to comply with any request for information, should they receive one.
The new resources, in the form of two wiki FAQs, have been announced in an official blog post. Peter Gray, the Lab’s Director of Global Communications, dropped me a line to help spread the word of their existence, and I’m only too happy to do so.
As we’ve blogged about in the posts linked below, US law requires that institutions like Linden Lab collect documentation from Second Life users that meet certain transaction thresholds:
These documentation requests can sometimes be confusing, and so to help the users who receive them better understand what’s needed and why, we’ve created a list of FAQs about these requests here:
As noted in the FAQs, if you receive a request for documentation from Linden Lab and have additional questions, please open the request in your Case History in the Support Portal and reply to the Case.
Linden Lab have announced the formal release of Fitted Mesh. The announcement came as the former Fitted Mesh release candidate viewer was promoted to the de facto release viewer on Monday February 10th.
Today, we’re happy to announce that Fitted Mesh is available in the main Second Life Viewer! As we’ve previously blogged, Fitted Mesh gives Second Life content creators the power to craft mesh garments that make avatars look their absolute best. We’d like to thank the vibrant community of creators for their thoughtful feedback and help testing this feature.
For more information, check out the video below, then update your Viewer to the latest release and get creative with Fitted Mesh!
A video narrated by Torley is included with the post.
For those unfamiliar with Fitted Mesh, it is a technique adopted by the Lab to help make worn mesh garments fit avatars more correctly. I was fortunate enough to be allowed a preview look at the technique when it was first announced, and you can read my report in this blog.
The code, which is not the same as the mesh deformer (again, see my preview post), is also starting to appear in TPVs as well, with several already having adopted it into release or pre-release versions. Those that have not (as yet) release versions of their viewers incorporating the code can be expected to do so over the coming weeks.
As today marks your first official day at the helm of Linden Lab, I’d like to formally welcome you to the hot seat and wish you every success!
Thanks to Twitter, you’ve already seen that we’re a pretty passionate bunch – which can be good and bad when it comes to company / user relations, as you’ve no doubt experienced in the past!
I’m not about to offer-up sage (or otherwise!) advice on what needs to be done with regards to “fix” Second Life and its direction. You’ll be aware of what the board is seeking, and I appreciate you need time to gain familiarity with everything that is going on at the Lab and with its partners in terms of products and services before determining courses of action. However, I would like to say a little something, if that’s OK?
Through those Twitter messages, you’ve likely also already caught-on to the fact that company / user community communications are a concern to many.
Truth be told, there are areas within the Lab – most notably within the technical teams managing the servers and the viewer – where communications are excellent, and the people responsible deserve thanks and recognition. However, over the years, broader communications have been left to wither on the vine. This has led to frustrations, upsets and misunderstandings which could so easily have been avoided with a positive, outward communications policy. So, with this in mind, I’d like to encourage you to:
Encourage the board to see broader outward communications as a positive thing which helps both company and users
Get a team together who can drive positive outward communications through the SL blogs, the forums and e-mail in a consistent, open, and informative manner – and who can listen as well!
We don’t need to know absolutely everything that’s going on, but even a monthly round-up of news is better than prolonged (and painful) silences which have been the hallmark of the Lab’s attempts for the past few years. And if folks in the Lab tell you the blog isn’t used because no-one reads it; then rest assured, if posts are provided, and Twitter, Facebook, Plurk and the SL feed, etc., are used to promote them, people will come and read. The same goes for an e-mail newsletter (and how better to reach and woo those who have perhaps stopped visiting SL?).
We’re a supportive bunch at heart, and we want SL to continue to thrive and grow. Just give us the word, and we’ll be ready to help. We might even have a few ideas to help with some things; we just need to know someone is listening!
Looking forward to seeing you in-world on occasion – and if you want a guide to some of SL’s wonders, feel free to give me a call!
Best regards,
Inara
… and as I know you enjoy Formula 1, here’s a Ferrari (sorry, couldn’t find a Merc or McLaren) from 2010, by SL user Timmi Allen
This summary is published every Monday and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Viewer Round-up Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware) and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy
By its nature, this summary will always be in arrears
The Viewer Round-up Page is updated as soon as I’m aware of any releases / changes to viewers & clients, and should be referred to for more up-to-date information
The Viewer Round-up Page also includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version: no change (version 3.6.13.284995, formerly the PackageFix RC)
Fitted Mesh RC updated on February 5th to version 3.7.0.286015 – core updates: latest updates to the Fitted Mesh project (download and release notes)
Google Breakpad RC version 3.6.14.285686 released on February 4th – core updates: update to Google Breakpad and restructures the crash reporting mechanism to support out of process crash reporting (download and release notes)
HTTP RC updated on February 3rd to version 3.6.14.286010 – core updates: DNS look ups changed; improvements to mesh uploads / downloads (download and release notes)
Project viewers:
Sunshine / AIS v3 project viewer version 3.6.14.285190 released on February 4th – core updates: removal of old viewer-side baking code, stability and performance improvements (download and release notes)
Black Dragon updated to version 2.3.9.3 on February 9th – core updates: merge with recent LL code release, including Fitted Mesh; merge with latest RLVa, improved game controller button mapping, right-click rotate cam/turn avatar (release notes)
V1-style
Cool VL:
Available for: Windows, Linux
Stable version: 1.26.10.10 – February 8th
Experimental version: 1.26.11.10 – February 8th
Legacy version: 1.26.8.47 – February 8th
Release notes (all) – core updates: sim map texture tiles and 3D (relief) sculpt maps saving; improved watchdog timeout code; improved algorithm for the login screen login credentials; backport of crash bug fixes from LL’s viewer-interesting branch; code cleanup and unused code removal
Following-on from his work to add the ability to let users wearing the Oculus Rift headset to turn their avatar with a turn of their head when seated (see my update here), Dave Rowe (Strachan Ofarrell in SL) has added some more tweaks to the Alpha version of his viewer with the release of version 1.1.8.34412.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 