Updates for the week ending: Sunday May 11th, 2014
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 Current Viewer Releases 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. This page 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
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information
Official LL Viewers
Current viewer release: update to version 3.7.7.289461 (formerly the Interest list RC – improvements to how the viewer and server work together to know what scene objects to draw) on May 6th (download page, release notes)
Catznip updated to version R9 on May 9th – core updates: CHUI integration, materials processing support, initial overhaul of Preferences floater; improved camera / movement floaters; profile display updates; bug fixes; and more (release notes) – review here
Firestorm updated to version 4.6.5.40833 on May 11th – core updates: Vivox 4.6.x; FmodEx updates & fixes; Fitted Mesh fixes; Mac Cocoa fixes; OpenSim updates; building & scripting updates; communications updates and fixes; bug fixes; and more (release notes) – review here
V1-style
Cool VL viewer updated on May 10th, as follows: Stable: version 1.26.12.0; Legacy: version 1.26.8.58 – core updates: please refer to the release notes (downloads)
Mobile / Other Clients
Lumiya updated to version 2.6.0 on May 9th – core updates: Fitted Mesh support; Request Teleport; Support for selecting avatars in 3D by touch; significant 3D performance improvements; reduced memory footprint; improved bandwidth usage (release notes) – review here
On Sunday May 11th, the Firestorm team released Firestorm 4.6.5.40833. Given this release comes just two months after the 4.6.1 release, it does not have a huge raft of new shiny. What it does offer is a nice package of new features and updates, together with a fair few bug fixes from both the Lab and the Firestorm team.
As always, the complete list of changes, together with attributions, can be found in the release notes, and I refer readers to that document for specifics on all contributors, FIRE JIRA links, etc. The following is intended as an overview of some of the more major / interesting changes, updates and fixes to be found in the release.
The Before We Begin Notes
Downloading – a reminder: while the Firestorm download server performed perfectly for the 4.6.1 release, please remember it is the only server handling downloads. So in the unlikely event you encounter delays or a slow download, please be patient / consider re-trying a little later
Version blocking: Jessica informs me that there are no plans to block any older Firestorm versions following this release
Installation: as always, a completely clean install of the viewer is recommended.
Lab Updates
This release sees Firestorm reach parity with LL’s 3.7.4 code-base, and add a number of fixes and updates from the Lab, including (but not limited to):
Vivox 4.6.x updates
Advanced Lighting Model can no longer be enabled for Mac OSX 10.6.8 as Mac OSX 10.6.8 is no longer supported by Linden lab (The ability to enable ALM on 10.6.8 was removed because it caused rendering glitches when enabled)
Fix for huge amounts of memory being used & viewer crashing when opening large chat histories from the conversation log
Fix for BUG-5537, introduced as a result of changes made to the avatar_lad.xml for Fitted Mesh. These changes caused a non-rigged mesh attachment object worn on the chest attachment point shape to look fine in the wearer’s view whereas anyone else it would appear as if the wearer’s chest was showing through the clothing item
Fix for crash when editing certain rigged meshes at high altitude
Fix for crash when uploading corrupt .DAE file (BUG-4961)
Fix for BUG-997,terrain texture changes caused by changing texture elevation ranges or terraforming can not be seen until after relog or teleporting out and back to the region
Fix for a suspected thread race crasher in the FmodEx library.
A Note on Interest List Updates
The recent LL viewer-side interest list updates are not a part of the Firestorm 4.6.5 release. As noted elsewhere in this blog, the interest list code is a non-trivial merge due to the extent of changes included alongside of the core interest list updates. It’ll therefore take a little longer for this work to appear in Firestorm.
Building and Scripting Updates
Firestorm 4.6.5 see the Build options in Preferences revised, with two Build sub-tabs (Build 1 and Build 2) under Preferences > Firestorm.
The revised Build-1 sub-tab in Preferences > Firestorm
Build 1 (above) contains the options for setting defaults for all newly created prims (size, settings, texture, permissions and pivot point) and the LSL pre-processor options.
The Build 2 sub-tab contains the six check-boxes (Save Scripts Edited from Inventory to Mono, Save Textures from Inventory to Disk as PNG Instead of TGA by Default, etc, which had been in the previous Build sub-tab). It also contains four new options.
The new Build 2 sub-tab in Preferences > Firestorm
The new options are:
Limit select distance (meters) – disallows selection of objects beyond the specified selection distance from your avatar
Limit drag distance (meters) – when enabled, this limits the translation distance of objects in a single operation of the translate tool (metres from start point)
Constrain rotations to multiples of X degrees, when not using ‘snap to grid’ – all rotations via the rotation tool are constrained to multiples of this unit (degrees)
Preview animations on own avatar during upload – when enabled, you can preview animations during the upload process on your own avatar instead of on the avatar dummy in the upload window.
Firestorm 4.6.5 also includes the following build related items:
An option to prevent avatar from turning to selected object when editing (Preferences > Move & View > Firestorm > Turn Avatar Towards a Selected Object)
A fix so that when previewing an animation for uploading it (in paused mode), moving the track of the slider will now correctly change the displayed frame of the animation.
Communications Updates
There are a number of new options for communications with this release, together with a number of fixes. The new features include:
The new multiple voice instances option should enable you to run voice on multiple viewer instances on the same computer & without generating warnings like this
An option to allow voice to connect in multiple viewer instances simultaneously (Preferences > Sound and Media > Voice Settings), allowing you to run voice on multiple viewer instances, and without seeing the connection warning pop-up message (shown right)
An option to hear voice equally from everyone, rather than being dependent upon either avatar position or camera placement. This is a useful addition for meetings, etc., where attendees may be located at difference distances from your avatar / camera position, thus impacting voice quality when they are speaking.
The new voice options in Preferences > Sound and Media > Voice Settings
A new option has been added to enable the full profile of an avatar to be opened when clicking on an inspect SLurl (Preferences > Firestorm > General > Open Avatar Profile Directly When Clicking on its Name).