Category: Viewers

Firestorm 4.6.7: rolling forward

Posted on by Inara Pey

firestorm-logoOn Sunday August 17th, the Firestorm team announced the release Firestorm 4.6.7.42398. As with the 4.6.5 release in May, this is far more of a stability and bug addressing update more than it is a release of major new features, although it does contain a lot of updates which most Firestorm users will find to their liking.

As always, the complete list of changes, together with attributions, can be found in the release notes / change log, 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

For best results when installing this release:

Firestorm Blocking

Note that as a result of the Firestorm team’s policy to keep only 3 versions running, version 4.5.1 beta will be blocked in the coming weeks. The advice from the team is that If you are on 4.5.1, to please update now. Version 4.4.2 will continue to remain for Mac users until all the major Cocoa Mac bugs have been resolved. However, if you are not a Mac user, then there really isn’t any reason for you not to have updated, and the team again ask that you update as well. 

Mac 64-bit Version And Mac Fixes

This release of Firestorm sees the arrival of a Mac 64-bit version. As with the original windows and Linux 64-bit versions, this first release of the Mac 64-bit variant of the viewer is regarded as a beta release. However, the Firestorm team fully expect it to have far greater stability than the 32-bit version, and better performance, so Mac users in a position to do so are encouraged to download it and try it.

Blog posts on the 64-bit version can be found on Tonya Souther’s blog and in my blog.

As a heads-up to Mac users, please note that this release of Firestorm also includes a couple of partial fixes for known issues:

  • Alt-clicking while moving the mouse moves the camera significantly (see STORM-2041 and FIRE-12241) has been partially fixed by Linden Lab
  • The Firestorm team have implemented a partial fix for the keystroke entry lag issue (see FIRE-12172).

These may not entirely solve the issues to which they relate, but hopefully they’ll give at least some Mac users a degree of improvement.

One thing those experiencing the typing lag, and who are in a position to do so, might like to try is to create a clean virtual desktop in Spaces, switch to it and then start Firestorm, pinned it to that desktop, and make it full screen (see the suggestion from Spikeheel Starr here).

Lab Updates

This release sees Firestorm reach parity with LL’s 3.7.8 code-base, together with cherry-picked updates from later releases. Updates and fixes directly from the Lab include, but are not limited to) the following.

Project Interesting Scene loading Updates

Project Interesting has been a part of the Lab’s long-term Project Shining updates which were recently officially drawn to a close. The interest list work, primarily led by Andrew Linden prior to his departure from the Lab to join High Fidelity, is a set of improvements to how the viewer and simulator work together to know what information the viewer has or needs in order to render the world around your avatar.

The interest list updates provide more predictable and faster scene rendering, such as large objects and those closest to you appearing first, rather than at random. More use is also made of the viewer's cache (so the warning for not clearing cache as a first action in "fixing" issues becomes even more important
The interest list updates provide more predictable and faster scene rendering, such as large objects and those closest to you appearing first, rather than at random, as with the scene shown here. More use is also made of the viewer’s cache (so the warning for not clearing cache as a first action in “fixing” issues becomes even more important

The work has seen several server-side and viewer updates, and the updates included with this release of Firestorm enable the viewer to more intelligently store and reuse scene data, helping to make regions you’ve previously visited load faster (as long as you don’t clear cache!), and help improve viewer performance.

Further information on the project interesting work can be found in the following blog posts:

Google Breakpad Updates

Google Breakpad is the tool used in gathering information used in reporting underpinning reasons for viewer crashes to help with tracing causes, etc. Linden Lab have been engaged in a programme of improving when and where Google Breakpad becomes active as the viewer starts, and ceases reporting as the viewer shuts down. This release of Firestorm sees the most recent updates and improvements made to Google Breakpad integrated into the viewer, allowing the support team to improve the triaging and debugging of issues.

Other Updates of Note

  • Added a viewer check box to extend parcel entry limits to a higher ceiling (World > Region Details > Region > Block parcel fly over): when checked, extends access checks vertically to prevent parcel flyover
  • Opening large chat histories from conversation log no longer eats huge amounts of memory resulting in a viewer crash (see: BUG-4517 and FIRE-12242)
  • Searching inventory for “online” now correctly returns online friends calling cards in search results (see BUG-4409 and FIRE-12178)
  • Merchant Outbox fixes: includes fixes for accurately detecting Merchant status and improves recovery for Merchant Outbox errors
  • Improved discoverability of the Region Debug console has been moved to Develop > Consoles > Region Debug Console. Also added to World > Region Details > Debug > Region Debug console
  • Having a space after your cursor and pressing return to add a new line no longer forces an extra space to be made in the next line in notecards and script editor
  • Opening square textures now sets the 1:1 size constraint.

Building and Scripting Updates

LSL Functions for Materials

Firestorm 4.6.7 sees the addition of LSL support for materials capabilities. Materials can be added to object faces with llSetPrimitiveParams() and llSetLinkPrimitiveParams functions using the following parameters:

  • [PRIM_SPECULAR, integer face, string texture, vector repeats, vector offsets, float rotation_in_radians, vector color, integer glossy, integer environment]
  • [PRIM_NORMAL, integer face, string texture, vector repeats, vector offsets, float rotation_in_radians]
  • [PRIM_ALPHA_MODE, integer face, integer alpha_mode, integer alpha_cutoff]
    • Valid alpha_mode options are PRIM_ALPHA_MODE_NONE, PRIM_ALPHA_MODE_BLEND, PRIM_ALPHA_MODE_MASK, PRIM_ALPHA_MODE_EMISSIVE
LSL support for materialsarrives in Firestorm with the 4.6.7 release
LSL support for materials arrives in Firestorm with the 4.6.7 release

Materials can be read with  llGetPrimitiveParams() and llGetLinkPrimitiveParams functions using the following parameters:

  • [PRIM_SPECULAR, integer face] returns [string texture, vector repeats, vector offsets, float rotation_in_radians, vector color, integer glossy, integer environment]
  • [PRIM_NORMAL, integer face] returns [string texture, vector repeats, vector offsets, float rotation_in_radians]
  • [PRIM_ALPHA_MODE, integer face] returns [integer alpha_mode, integer alpha_cutoff].

For further information, please refer to the relevant LSL documentation as linked-to above.

In addition:

  • CTRL + mouse grab of objects is now disabled by default in all of Firestorm’s log-in modes other than V3. This is because the option offers no “undo” option should it be used accidentally. A toggle option has been added to Preferences > Firestorm > Build 2 (Use CTRL+mouse to grab and manipulate objects) to enable / disable the ability.
  • Clicking the area in between the Full Bright check box and the Materials drop down box no longer incorrectly opens the colour picker.

Continue reading “Firestorm 4.6.7: rolling forward” →

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.

Lab issue viewer with a revised log-in screen

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Lab has been experimenting with a revised log-in screen for the official viewer. The viewer, version 3.7.14.292660, is referred to as offering  “a simple and clean login screen for new users.”

In actual fact, the viewer offers two log-in screens, although one of them (shown in the image below) will only be displayed the very first time a new user runs the viewer (or if an existing users performs a completely clean install of this release candidate).

The log-in splash screen new users will see when launching the viewer for the first time (or existing users will see following a clean install)
The log-in splash screen new users will see when launching the viewer for the first time (or existing users will see following a clean install)

Those who have previously logged-in to Second Life (or have not performed a clean install) will see a more familiar log-in screen on starting the viewer, and will immediately notice that the log-in credentials area has been relocated to the top of the screen (see the image below).

The keen-eyed may also notice that the Create Your Account option that used to appear over on the right of the log-in credentials area, and which was introduced as the Lab were making the viewer available through Steam, has been completely removed.

The new log-in splash screen sees the removal of the Create Your Account option and the placement of the log-in options at the top of the screen in a new header area
The new log-in splash screen most users will encounter sees the log-in credentials area moved to the top of the screen and the removal of the Create Your Account option

The new header area offers three independent log-in options:

  • At last location – as  most users will be familiar with, logs you in to your last location; you’ll also be logged in to that location if you type-in an avatar’s name and password and tap ENTER as per the current viewer log-in screen
  • My Favourite Places – a drop-down which lets you choose to log-in to your home location, or any landmark you have dragged and dropped into the viewer’s Favourites Bar / the My Favourites folder in your Inventory
  • The familiar Type a Location text entry box, allowing you to type-in the name of a specific region / sim to which you want to log in.

Note that if you have the grid selection drop-down active, it appears to the right of the log-in options, as shown in the enlarged view, below.

A closer look at the revised log-in area and the three separate options
A closer look at the revised log-in area and the three separate options

Relocating the log-in area like this certainly makes it a lot more attention-grabbing for new users, although existing users are likely going to have to go through a period of muscle memory re-training to get used to things, assuming this progresses to the status of being the de facto release viewer.

I suspect the three log-in options, with their separate buttons may generate a mixed response among existing users; I’m not altogether convinced by them myself. I assume that things have been done this way due to the addition of the My Favourites drop-down, combined with feedback from new users as to what they’d like to see. However, when taken as a whole, the approach comes over as clumsy and potentially less than intuitive, particularly when compared to the older version, which offered a logical left-to-right flow of information.

Outside of the log-in screen updates, this version of the viewer doesn’t appear to contain any additional functional updates, but does include a fix to prevent the viewer crashing when opening Preferences.

One thing I did notice while fiddling with this version of the viewer, is that if you already have landmarks in your viewer’s Favourites Bar / in the My Favourites folder, they may not actually appear in the drop-down in the log-in area until  after the first time you’ve used the viewer to log-in to SL. Similarly, should you subsequently log-in with another version of the SL viewer, you will need to log-in to SL at least once with this viewer to get your Favourites to again be displayed in the drop-down. Given most users don’t hop between different versions of the same viewer that often, this shouldn’t be a problem for those opting to grab a copy of this viewer and take it from a run.

At the time of writing, the viewer has yet to be added to the official Alternate Viewers wiki page, as it is experimental. I suspect it will appear there soon if the project is carried forward. In the meantime, please use the link to the release notes and download options at the top of this page if you wish to look at the viewer yourself.

 

Viewer release summaries 2014: week 32

Posted on by Inara Pey

Updates for the week ending: Sunday August 10th, 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 Release: updated to version 3.7.13.292225 on August 4 (formerly the group ban RC) download, release notes
  • Release channel cohorts (See my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • New Log-in Screen RC viewer version 3.7.14.292660 released on August 6 – a simple and clean login screen for new users (download and release notes)
    • Library Refresh RC viewer updated to version 3.7.14.292638 on August 6 – contains an update to a large set of libraries used by the viewer to provide security, stability and consistency improvements to this and future viewers (download and release notes)
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V3-style

  • No updates

V1-style

  • Cool VL viewer updated on August 9th – Stable release to version 1.26.12.11 and Legacy version 1.26.8.69 – core updates: please refer to the release notes

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Viewer release summaries 2014: week 31

Posted on by Inara Pey

Updates for the week ending: Sunday August 3rd, 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 Release: no change to version 3.7.12.291824
  • Release channel cohorts (See my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Zipper Viewer RC viewer version 3.7.13.292263 released on July 30 – faster viewer installation (download and release notes) (note it is likely that this viewer is liable to be removed from the channel shortly, due to older operating systems not supporting the archive format used to zip the viewer skins for faster installation Removed from the channel on August 6th)
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V3-style

  • Dolphin viewer released a beta version 3.6.99.32369 on August 1st – core updates: mostly under-the-hood changes – download and  release notes

V1-style

  • Cool VL viewer updated on August 1st – Stable release to version 1.26.12.10 and Legacy version 1.26.8.68 – core updates: please refer to the release notes

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links