Category: Outdated and Discontinued

CtrlAltStudio adds basic UI elements for the DK2

Posted on by Inara Pey

CAS-logoStrachan Ofarrel, known in the physical world as Dave Rowe, continues to enhance the alpha version of his CtrlAltStudio viewer for the Oculus Rift DK2 headset and windows.

Dave has been working steadily on adding DK2 capabilities to CtrlAltStudio for a while now, and this marks the third update to the DK2 Alpha version – officially called 1.2.2.41206 Alpha 3.

The Alpha 1 release, made on August 19th, added preliminary support for the DK2, then Alpha 2, released on August 25th, added positional head tracking. The Alpha 3 release adds initial viewer UI support, as Dave explains in his blog post announcing the release:

This alpha release of the CtrlAltStudio Viewer adds basic UI to the Rift DK2 display. This includes dialogs, avatar toasts, and floating text (i.e., the same UI as displayed with the DK1 in the 1.2.1 Release).

Other changes this release:

  • Added fade-to-black around the barrel distorted image edges.
  • Stopped showing the health & safety warning the second and subsequent times into Riftlook view.
  • Fixed barrel distorted images being displayed lower on the screen than they should be.
  • Fixed “landing” in the air when flying in Riftlook with an Xbox 360 Controller.

The blog post also contains a reminder that the Alpha version(s) is / are still preliminary, with Dave noting, “it does not work with direct mode and Advanced Lighting Model needs to be turned on. It is built using the 0.4.1 Rift SDK and should work OK with the 0.4.2 Rift SDK.”

Usage is the same as the previous alpha releases. With the DK2 configured in extended mode: use the Windows key + RIGHT CURSOR to move your viewer window onto the Rift’s display, then CTRL+ALT+3 to make the window full screen and switch into Rift view.

As with the previous ALpha releases with DK2 support, this version will install into its own directory, allowing it to be used alongside the release version (although it will obviously over-write Alpha 1 or ALpha 2, if installed).

Further information on the release can be found in the release notes.

Related Links

CtrlAltStudio now with DK2 positional head-tracking

Posted on by Inara Pey

CAS-logoOn August 25th, and continuing his work in providing preliminary support for the Oculus DK2 in his CrtlAltStudio viewer, Dave Rowe announced the release of version 1.2.2.41190 Alpha 2 for Windows.

This is essentially the same release as the 1.2.2.41183 release for the DK2 made on August 19th, but sees positional head tracking support added to the viewer.

Commenting on the release, Dave stated:

This alpha release of the CtrlAltStudio Viewer adds positional head tracking support to take advantage of the DK2’s camera. You can look around, over, and under objects by moving your head. This adds significantly to the sense of immersion.

Usage is the same as the previous alpha. With the DK2 configured in extended mode: use the Windows key + RIGHT CURSOR to move your viewer window onto the Rift’s display, then CTRL+ALT+3 makes the window full screen and switches into Rift view.

CtrlAltStudio 1.2.2.41190 supports Rift DK2 positional head tracking (image: Le Journal du Gamer, July 5th, 2014)

The release also sees two other additions to the viewer:

  • A CTRL+Spacebar command that zeroes Rift sensor orientation and tracking position.
  • A user warnings if Rift HMD or camera not found at start-up.

There is still no support for basic shaders or the UI in Riftlook in the viewer, nor is there any Rift direct mode support. However, these are on Dave’s “to do” list for the future.

As with the previously alpha release with DK2 support, this version will install into its own directory, allowing it to be used alongside the release version.

 Related Links

CtrlAltStudio offers preliminary Oculus DK2 support

Posted on by Inara Pey

CAS-logoDave Rowe, who develops the CtrlAltStudio viewer has announced he has some preliminary support for the Oculus Rift DK2 available in an alpha version of his viewer.

The viewer version – 1.2.2.41183 Alpha, dated August 19th, should also support existing DK1 headsets, but it doesn’t yet support head tracking for DK2 hardware.

Announcing the availability of the viewer in a blog post, Dave said:

I know some people are very anxious to try their DK2s in Second Life / OpenSim so I’ve released this alpha with some very preliminary DK2 support.

It works with the DK2 configured in extended mode: use the Windows key + right-arrow to move your viewer window onto the Rift’s display, then Ctrl+Alt+3 makes the window full screen and switches into Rift view.

Have I mentioned that this release is very preliminary? It does not work with direct mode yet as the current Rift SDK 0.4.1 Beta does not work in direct mode with OpenGL. Also, in this alpha, head orientation is tracked but not yet head position. Plus there’s no display of any UI. And Advanced Lighting Model must be turned on. For more details on usage, see the Release Notes.

I haven’t tested this alpha with a DK1 yet but it should in theory work. Note though that the mirrored windows mode used in previous viewer releases for the DK1 is and will not be supported by the new Oculus software.

Austin Tate has provided an overview of his experience with the viewer and the DK2, for those who would like more first-hand information.

Related Links

 

SL Go: SL Share for Flickr, Twitter and Facebook also now included

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL go logoImportant note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read this report.

On Friday August 15th, I posted about OnLive announcing that their SL Go viewer for Android devices & low-end computers  / laptops had been updated with a fix to enable it to render fitted mesh items correctly.

The update saw the viewer updated to Linden Lab’s 3.7.12 code base, and while the OnLive e-mails didn’t mention this, it meant the viewer also gained some additional capabilities and updates. Perhaps the most notable of these is the inclusion of the SL Share 2 feature for sharing photos directly to Facebook or Twitter or Flickr, together with the default post-process filters.

I had been a little curious as to whether this would work or not (I did wonder if there would be an authentication issue, given everything is running via the OnLive servers). However, now I’ve had a chance to give things a go, I can say that they do indeed work as expected. Well, at least where Flickr and Twitter are concerned;  I don’t use Facebook, so have been unable to test that side of things, but there is no reason to assume it won’t work.

Testing the Flickr upload from SL Go, on FlickrTesting the Flickr upload from SL Go – a quick snap of the house in SL, August 2014, using the snapshot floater’s vignette filter  – click for original

That said, trying to authenticate SL Go with Flickr did admittedly have an initial hiccup; I got stuck on Flickr’s “Bad Panda!” (aka, “oops, something stuffed up, sorry”) page the first time. However, second time around, it worked as expected, and I was duly connected. Given the issues with Flickr over the last couple of days (as those using Firefox or Internet Explorer may well still be muttering about), I point the finger at Yahoo as the cause of the hiccup.

After that little problem, everything worked as anticipated. I was able to upload a snapshot  (using the Spotlight filter, as shown above), which quickly appeared in my photostream.A follow-up test with Twitter so no problems in authenticating, and the snap (this time using the Sepia filter) and text uploaded fine.

Some might notice a couple of rendering issues in the images. These are not related to the uploads. In particular, because access to the Advanced menu is disabled in SL Go, RenderVolumeLOD is locked-in at a relatively low number (1.25?), so some sculpts refused to render properly, and can be seen semi-rendered in the images. As this was just a quick-fire test of the uploads, I wasn’t that fussed about arranging things so the sculpts were properly “popped-out”.

And the same shot from SL Go uploaded to Twitter, but using the Sepia filter

There is still no capability to save snapshots locally. This isn’t surprising, given SL Go is a streamed service, rather than something running locally with access to the local hard / flash drive, and so is likely going to take a lot more banging on things before it works – if it can be made to work. In the meantime, the SL Share options (particularly Flickr) might at latest offer an additional alternative for saving photos alongside the existing inventory, profile and (my preferred method with the SL Go) e-mail.

Although the viewer is listed as based on the 3.7.12 code base from the Lab, it does not include the Group Ban functionality, which reached official release status on August 4th, 2014. However, as a 3.7.12 based release, it should include all of LL’s updates to the viewer code up to 3.7.12.

All-in-all, a tidy little update which sees a major glitch (fitted mesh) corrected, and the addition of a useful feature in the shape of SL Share 2.

SL Go: viewer update fixes fitted mesh issue

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL go logoImportant note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read this report.

Dennis Harper, Senior Product Manager at On Live has been slipping out word that the company’s SL Go product has been updated.

On August 14th, e-mails were sent to those SL bloggers who previewed SL Go ahead of the launch, announcing that the update resolves the fitted mesh issue which saw any fitted mesh items distorted and stretched to the 0,0,0 point in a region when viewed in the initial release of the viewer. Dennis’ e-mail to me announcing the update reads:

Hi Inara,

This is not a huge announcement, but we finally got an update to SL Go that is compatible with the new ‘fitted mesh” feature.  I’d like to get the word out there to SL Go users, and hopefully to some the used SL Go but cancelled due to this bug.

SL Go is still alive and kicking here at OnLive.  This code merge took way longer than anyone expected, but now we have a clean version representing the latest code from Linden.  Now we get to work on the cool stuff.  We have some great plans for the near future that I’m sure you will be excited about.

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks again for all your support.

-Dennis Harper-

Sr. Product Manager – SL Go by OnLive

The SL Go viewer now supports fitted mesh, as this screen capture of me wearing one of LL's new default mesh avatars demonstrates
The SL Go viewer now supports fitted mesh, as this screen capture of me wearing one of LL’s new default mesh avatars demonstrates

Dennis recently contacted me concerning the need to continue to enhance and refine the SL Go product, and asked if I could help spread the word about the company being willing to offer viewer developers paid contract work in order to help them achieve this goal.

The request resulted in my drafting and publishing a press release / article on behalf of OnLive in early June. So far as I’m aware, the company is still seeking support and assistance with the project, so if you are a TPV developer, and you’d be interested in helping OnLive carry the product forward, adding additional features (and even advising them on features), tweaking the UI and so on, please refer to that article and drop Dennis an e-mail at: dennis.harper@onlive.com.

In the meantime, the fitted mesh update is now live, and should be available to users the moment they log-in to Second Life using the SL Go viewer (obviously, as the viewer is streamed as a part of the service, there is no need to download and viewer update). Congrats to Dennis and the team.

Replex: A new viewer for SL and OpenSim

Posted on by Inara Pey

Replex-logoLatif Khalifa is well-known if the viewer community. Not only does he maintain the very excellent Radegast lightweight client for SL and OpenSim, he has also been a regular contributor to Singularity, the popular viewer using the v1-style UI. Now Latif is working on a v1-style viewer of his own.

Replex is still very much in the alpha phase of work; as such, there is no formal release version of the viewer, but alpha builds are available for download with the caveat that there is no official support as yet. There is, however, an in-world group where questions can be asked of other users and information exchanged. There is also an IRC chatroom #replex on Freenode where the developers can be reached via an IRC client or Freenode webchat.

The viewer itself is based on Singularity, unsurprisingly, given Latif’s close ties with that team, and there is an acknowledgement on the Replex website of their role in providing the Singularity source code. The viewer is available in Windows and Linux flavours as both 32-bit and 64-bit builds, and also for Mac in a 32-bit build.

The following is a very brief overview of the viewer; I don’t pretend to have covered all the options and capabilities; rather I’m just pin-pointing some of the features it includes.

Replex is a v1-style viewer based on Singularity
Replex is a v1-style viewer based on Singularity

As might be expected given its heritage, Replex has a default skin with a decidedly dark tint to it – although not so far towards the black default of Singularity, more a charcoal colour. The Singularity dark skin is also available via Preferences > Skins, as is the classic LL  v1.x blue skin and – something I’ve not seen in a while – the equally classic LL silver skin; this brought back some very old memories, as that was my preferred viewer 1.x skin when it came out.

The Replex change log lists recent features and additions to the viewer, and these are handily split between “Common” updates, indicating they are shared with Singularity (presumably in an upcoming release of that viewer), and those specific to Replex.

Toolbar Buttons

One of the more interesting updates from Singularity which appears in Replex is the ability to add / remove buttons from the viewer’s toolbar, a-la 3.x viewers. Obviously, buttons are restricted to the bottom of the viewer, but this is liable to be of interest to users as it allows some degree of customisation in the UI.

Change the buttosn you have displayed at the bottom of the viewer window in Replex, and coming soon to Singularity
Change the buttons you have displayed at the bottom of the viewer window in Replex, and coming soon to Singularity

Adding / removing buttons is a simple matter of opening the button chooser (View > Change Toolbar Buttons) and then checking those buttons to be displayed and unchecked those which are not wanted. There are a fair number of button options available, including debug options, windlight / sky /water / post-process effects, camera & movement controls, search options, etc. This can mean the button bar can get a trifle packed and a little hard to read if you go button bananas, but the feature is certainly a useful addition to the v1-style UI. Kudos, Lirusaito for the development work!

Emergency Teleport

Oddly enough, during the Simulator User Group meeting on Tuesday June 17th, a wibni (“Wouldn’t it be nice if”) comments was made about having a viewer-side capability to automatically teleport you somewhere if you happen to be AFK when a region restart occurs, rather than being logged-out.

I’ve no idea if the comment was passed as a result of someone peeking into the Singularity repository or taking Replex for a drive, because Replex has implemented this very capability using code also from Lirusaito.

Replex includes the option to define two LMs for auto teleporting you away from a region restart, should you be AFK
Replex includes the option to define two LMs for auto teleporting you away from a region restart, should you be AFK

Continue reading “Replex: A new viewer for SL and OpenSim” →