Category: Viewers

CtrlAltStudio: Stereo 3D and first pass at Oculus Rift Support

Posted on by Inara Pey

CAS-logoCtrlAltStudio is a relatively new viewer to appear for use with both Second Life and OpenSim. The work of David Rowe, it is based on Firestorm, and the project is revisiting the use of stereoscopic 3D in the viewer, building on the release of the NVIDIA 314.07 video driver.  More recently, David has also been working at a first pass at Oculus Rift integration ahead of LL’s own work with the headset.

Version 1.0.0.34218: Stereoscopic 3D View

A proof of concept image with CtrlAltStudio (image: David Rowe)

After various proof-of-concept and beta iterations, the 3D-capable version of CtrlAltStudio appeared on July 27th, 2013.

Version 1.0.0.34218 of the viewer (release notes) uses OpenGL quad-buffered stereoscopic 3D, and requires NVIDIA graphics drivers with 3D Vision support (314.07 or later). It also requires monitors set to 120Hz, and for the viewer to be running in full screen mode. It should work with GeForce GTS250 or better, NVIDIA Quadro cards, AMD Radeon HD 6000 or better and FireGL V7600 or better with recent drivers.

To control the 3D capabilities, David has added an additional Display Output tab Preferences > Graphics, and an additional toolbar button, labelled 3D, which toggles the stereo view on / off.

Sadly, I don’t have the glasses to test the viewer itself, so will have to leave that to others to report on how things look.

Version 1.1.0.34244: Initial Oculus Rift Support

Second Life in Oculus Rift via CtrlAltStudio (image; David Rowe) – click to enlarge

On August 25th, David release version 1.1.0.34244 Alpha with initial Oculus Rift support (release notes). This is well ahead of the Lab’s own implementation of support for the headset, and people shouldn’t expect it to be in any way a complete integration of Rift support. As David comments on the blog post announcing the release:

If you want to stick your Rift-kitted head into Second Life or OpenSim and have a look around, well now you can. I’ve added some basic Oculus Rift support to CtrlAltStudio Viewer 1.1.0.34244 Alpha: you can look around and move about but there is no UI. Full Rift support including UI will come when Linden Lab release their viewer with Rift support in the not too distant future. But in the meantime you can now at least enjoy the sights of your favourite virtual world locations.

Options for Oculus Rift have been added to the Display Output tab in Preferences > Graphics, directly below those for the 3D stereo controls.

The Display Output tab of Preferences > Graphics, showing the 3d vision and Oculus Rift options
The Display Output tab of Preferences > Graphics, showing the stereoscopic and Oculus Rift options

To use the headset with the viewer, David recommends that you first sit down, then get to where you want to be before you don the headset. Once there, wear the headset and toggle “Riftlook” (using the 3D toolbar button or CTRL-ALT-3) to look around and use the arrow / WASD keys to move, remembering that “forward” is in the direction in which the Rift is pointing when “Rfitlook” is enabled.

So if you have the Oculus Rift SDK, why not download CtrlAltStudio and give it a go. Just do remember, the viewer is still Alpha, and subject to limitations, possible odd behaviour.

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Viewer release summary 2013: week 34

Posted on by Inara Pey

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.

Updates for the week ending: August 25th, 2013

Official LL Viewers

  • The current release viewer updated on August 20th to version 3.6.3.279564 – formerly the Maintenance Viewer RC (download, release notes)
  • Release channel cohorts:
  • Project viewers:
    • None at present

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

  • Black Dragon updated on August 21st to version 2.3.0 and then August 23rd to version 2.3.1 – core updates: inclusion of materials viewer RC rendering updates (ALM underwater, etc ), UI tweaks and general fixes (release notes: 2.3.0 and 2.3.1)
  • Kokua updated on August 24th to version 3.6.3.29169 – core updates: parity with LL 3.6.3 code base; implementation of .DAE format object export (respecting the SL permissions system), plus assorted updates (release notes)
  • Restrained Love Viewer updated on August 24th to version 2.8.5.3 (all versions) – core update: on-the-fly “z-offset” height adjustment ported from Cool VL Viewer; Linux and Mac version also updated to 2.8.5.3 (release notes)
  • Cool VL updated on August 24th to:
  • Metabolt updated on August 24th to version 0.9.69.0  – core updates: SL crash reporting implemented; sim Stats indicate if the sim has SSA enabled or disabled; “Attachments” button added to Object manager window; “Detach”button added to Worn Attachments window; New Protection to protect against attacks via chat, script dialogues and URL offers (release notes). Additionally, the METAnomy plug-in was updated with an SSA-related fix.

Additional TPV Resources

Depreciated / Discontinued Viewers

  • Niran’s Viewer – discontinued as of version 2.2.0.2701 & superceded by Black Dragon
  • SLiteChat removed from listing; no updates since 2011, removed from TPV Directory & no response from developer
  • SL Second Life Beta viewer – depreciated as of version 3.6.2.278491, July 15, 2103
  • SL Development viewer – depreciated as of version 3.5.2.274629 April 24, 2013
  • Zen Viewer – discontinued by developer and no longer available, January 27th, 2013
  • Phoenix viewer – development and support ended on December 31st, 2012

Related Links

From Niran’s to Black Dragon

Posted on by Inara Pey

Blackdragon logoOn Wednesday August 21st, NiranV Dean officially confirmed that Niran’s Viewer is now depreciated (or as he put it, “Dead”).

He first announced plans to end the viewer’s life in May 2013, when he also announced its successor, Black Dragon. Since that time, he has been working on the replacement viewer, producing a number of beta releases along the way, the latest being version 2.3.1, which appeared on August 23rd.

As I’ve not covered Black Dragon to date, I decided to take a quick look and provide a mini-overview – not a full review, just and overview of the viewer and some of the work Niran has been carrying out.

Download and Installation

The download weighs-in around the same file-size as the official viewer. As with Niran’s Viewer, this isn’t an installer per se, but rather a self-extracting archive which will install the viewer files in the required folder, but which will not generate a Start menu entry, desktop shortcut, etc. You’ll need to do that yourself (not that it’s particularly taxing).

Splash Screen and Logging-in

Black Dragon’s splash / login screen is very similar to that used with Niran’s Viewer. Instead of the usual Destination Guide, etc., options found with the official viewer and a number of V3-style TPVs. Instead, users are treated to one of Niran’s music videos.

Black Dragon Splash / Log-in screen
Black Dragon Splash / Log-in screen

If the viewer has been installed for the first time, or is a completely clean install, the Create Account / Continue pop-up options will be displayed as per most V3-style viewers.

On logging-in, anyone who has used Niran’s Viewer will get a further feeling of familiarity – by default, Black Dragon has its toolbar buttons ranged at the top of the screen, and has a number of other Niran’s-like UI elements, including the vertical menu list, now called Dragon.

I confess, I’ve always liked this approach to the menus. Training the hand to use it doesn’t take long, and it offers a relatively tidy and compact means of having the menus available.

Black Dragon retain's Niran's approach to menus
Black Dragon retains Niran’s approach to menus

Preferences, Floaters and Panels

One thing that has always bugged Niran (and myself to a certain degree) is the amount of “white space” (or “wasted space”, as Niran calls it!)  some of the viewer’s floaters and panels have. While there is an understandable need to consider all levels of eyesight and readability, some of the viewer 3 panels do seem to have an over-abundance of blank space in them which could perhaps be better utilised. Black Dragon goes some way to reversing this; several of the floaters have been tided-up such that they do take-up less screen real estate, offering a more compact display.

However, Niran hasn’t (perhaps wisely) gone to some of the extremes seen in his older viewer, at least for the time being. Frankly, I hope he doesn’t. While a degree of tidy-up in floaters is welcome, I did feel that some of the large-scale redesign of evidenced in various floaters in Niran’s Viewer actually left a lot to be desired. A reduction in “wasted space” didn’t always correspond to an improvement in usability.

Materials and Build Floater

One of the new Lindeny shiny bits to appear in Black Dragon is materials processing, and it is an area where Niran has taken a slightly different direction to the official viewer, offering-up a completely re-worked Texture tab for the application of maps.

The revised Texture tab in Black Dragon's Build floater
The V3 build floater’s Texture tab (l), and Niran’s re-working in Black Dragon (r)

Continue reading “From Niran’s to Black Dragon” →

Dolphin and SSA: a further word from Lance

Posted on by Inara Pey

dolphin-logoServer-side Appearance is now live, as we all know, and issues seem to be minimal / getting dealt with. The majority of maintained viewers used to access Second Life were ready for the event; but due to real life commitments, Lance Corrimal has been unable to get his Dolphin viewer ready in time.

He’s recently issued an update on things,  – and the good news is that an SSA-enabled Dolphin 3 is on the way. In his note, Lance says:

I’m working on it as hard as I can, and it shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks now. I have to do a bit of QA on it, I do want to release something usable after all.

So, if you’re a Dolphin user, don’t worry. an update is on the way. When it arrives, I’ll plunge in and have a look :).

Kokua offers .DAE exports

Posted on by Inara Pey

kokua-logoKokua have released a further update in the form of version 3.6.3.29169 (August 23rd). With it comes some important notes, and the addition of the .DAE (Collada) object export capability.

Installation Notes

This is the first release from Kokua to use the auto update mechanism from Linden Lab, which was incorporated into the viewer with release 3.6.2. However, for Windows users, there are two important points to note:

  • If you are a Windows user and have a pre-3.6.2 version of Kokua installed on your PC, you should first try to run the viewer and allow the auto-update process to fetch and install the latest release. This should work OK with versions of Kokua at least back as far as version 3.6.1.28998 (June 28th 2013).
  • Because all Windows versions from 3.6.2 onwards are installed into a folder called Kokua (rather than Kokua Viewer). So if you have a version older than 3.6.2 already installed on your PC, note that the new version will be installed alongside it, rather than over it. If you then subsequently remove the older version using the uninstaller, your settings (located in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Kokua) will be lost – so make sure you back-up / move this folder before removing any old versions of the viewer & then restore it afterwards.

Those on older versions of Kokua (pre-3.5.1? I’m not entirely clear on this from the blog post) may find that the updater will direct them to install the official SL viewer from the Lab. As Nicky points-out, this is not some conspiracy to force people into using the SL viewer. Should it happen, quit out of the installer and use the Kokua download links (and take note of the 2nd bullet point above).

Collada Export

The major update for Kokua 3.6.3 is the inclusion of the Collada .DAE export capability which was recently added to Singularity, together with the ability to export objects in Wavefront .OBJ format. As the Singularity team made the export options available under a LGPL licence,  Jessica Wabbit has extracted the.DAE export capability and contributed to Kokua.

The export option works in exactly the same manner as with Singularity: it respects object permissions, and you can only export those objects for which you are the creator and owner.

To export an item which fit the criteria, simply right-click on it and:

  • If you are using context menus, select EXPORT > COLLADA DAE
  • If you are using the pie menu, select MORE > MORE > EXPORT COLLADA DAE

Either option will open a window allowing you to save the object to your hard drive. Once exported, the object can be used into applications which support the editing of .DAE files and / or imported as mesh to other virtual environments.

The DAE expoert options in Kokua's context and pie menus. If you're not the creator & owner of the item you're trying to export, they won't be available to you
The DAE export options in Kokua’s context and pie menus. If you’re not the creator & owner of the item you’re trying to export, they won’t be available to you

Note that if you do not have the requisite permissions to export the item, the export option will be unavailable on both menus.

Currently, the system only exports naked prims / sculpts (no textures), but this may be changing in the future – keep and eye on the Singularity team for news.

Commenting on the export capability, Kokua’s Nicky Perrian has said that if there is sufficient interest, the option to export to .OBJ may also be added to the viewer.

Additional Updates

This release sees Kokua use the Lab’s viewer 3.6.3 code base, and the following updates / additions:

  • The upcoming OpenSim Community Conference grid on OS Grid has been added to the grid drop-down list
  • Some tuning of the auto-update feature
  • Addition of a plain text chat history option in the chat preferences tab
  • Addition of new “Permissions” sub-menu for friends on the People floater for setting the usual options of whether friends can see when you’re on-line, etc. Enabled options display the requisite icon alongside the avatar’s name
  • Addition of group and role UUIDs at the end of the group’s General and Roles panels.
(l) Setting permissions for friends can now be done via a sub-menu int he people folder; (r) the UUID for a group can now be obtained from the group's general tab (role UUID can also be obtained from the Roles tab)
(l) Setting permissions for friends can now be done via a sub-menu int he people folder; (r) the UUID for a group can now be obtained from the group’s General tab (role UUID can also be obtained from the Roles tab)

Feedback

Another, small, tidy update with Kokua which adds what is likely to be a popular feature, given the excitement which followed Singularity’s release with the export options. Using Kokua 3.6.3 myself (although again very briefly due to RL commitments), I found it to be fast, stable and smooth – pretty much as with 3.6.2.

As I already had 3.6.2 installed, I allowed the auto-updater to upgrade me. This actually took a few seconds to acknowledge that an update was available (the delay seemed to be longer than the official viewer, which often has the update pop-up appear as soon as the splash screen has loaded). This tiny point aside, update was smooth and returned me to the log-in splash screen when finished, with 3.6.3 ready to go.

It’s great to see Kokua rolling along like this.

Related Links

Kokua 3.6.2: all set for auto-update

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update August 21st: Nicky Perrian from Kokua has added a comment about a Windows issue with uninstalling, due to a change in the installer.

kokua-logoKokua released version 3.6.2.29072 on August 16th, becoming the first TPV to start operating LL’s viewer update capability since the Lab formally announced it was making the capability available to TPVs if they want to make use of it (Catznip has actually has an auto update capability since release R7, but I’m not clear on whether that uses any of the LL code, or is something the Catznip team built for themselves). Along with this change comes a number of smaller updates.

Download and Installation

The latest Kokua installer (Windows) weighs-in at 36.8 Mb. As expected, the installer runs without a hitch. As I’m still getting around to re-installing viewers on an “as needed” basis on the new PC, I didn’t have to perform a clean install (not that one is recommended in the release notes).

Auto Update

Oz Linden announced that the Lab would be making their viewer release mechanism available to TPVs via an e-mail earlier in the month and also at the TPV developer meeting on Friday August 9th, when he indicated that the Lab were already working with some viewer development teams to help them implement it, Kokua clearly being one of them.

Kokua implements LL's viewer update mechanism code
Kokua implements LL’s viewer update mechanism code

With Kokua, the update options are presented exactly as they are in the official viewer – complete with the check box to update to release candidates. Whether this means Kokua will be completely following suit with the overall release process implemented by the Lab, I’ve no idea.

Obviously, while the code is from LL, viewer updates obtained via it are still coming from Kokua – it doesn’t mean people sill suddenly start getting SL viewer updates!

The change does mean that from now on, updates will be obtained from Kokua’s SourceForge repository as the code does not work with BitBucket. However, the team are at present continuing to post updates to both BitBucket and SourceForge.

Additional Updates

This release brings the viewer up to parity with the Linden Lab 3.6.2 code base, which means it has the more recent materials processing code updates, although not necessarily the very latest to surface in the SL Materials Project viewer, and well as other recent updates within the official viewer. Other notable updates comprise:

  • A return to standard SL viewer Debug for the login menu. This allows the selection of Debug level before logging in
  • “Stop animating me” short cut has been assigned to Shift-S
  • There are several Linux build changes to allow compiling on current compilers (builds on gcc-4.7 and gcc-4.8 have webkit runtime issues)
  • Maximum number of groups has been corrected for OpenSim
  • Freeze/Unfreeze and Eject/Ban context menu options have been added to the people / radar floater, as per Feature Request #1254
  • The Reach Out slider on the people floater mini-map is renamed Radar Range, has been repositioned above the mini-map and now has a maximum range of 4095 metres
  • The Map button in the tool bar is renamed World Map
  • Clicking on the bandwidth or packet loss graph will bring up the Statistics floater
  • The middle mouse button can now be used as a paste function and / or to scroll the world map.

This is another small but very tidy update for Kokua, and the release notes are available on the Kokua blog. While I only had a very brief time to try it out over the weekend, I didn’t notice any issues of import / impact (other than the issue of mesh clothing on other avatars failing to render, which I frequently encounter on Firestorm and the official SL viewer, so is not a Kokua issue).

All-in-all a tidy update.

Related Links