Category: Viewers

Exodus updates: version 12.08.09.1

Posted on by Inara Pey

exodus-4It’s been a while, but the Exodus team released a new version of the viewer on Thursday August 9th. Version 12.08.09.1 is liable to be the first of two updates to Exodus this month (the second being aimed at incorporating the pathfinding tools for those keen to get to grips with pathfinding in Second Life). This release is the first to be made since Katharine Berry recently joined the Exodus team, and she’s been engaged in a number of the features presented with this release.

The 12.08.09.1 release (also referred to as Beta 8), brings with it a range of updates, including:

  • Ability to upload images from the snapshot floater to Flickr
  • New linear, Renhard and filmic tone mapping
  • New avatar troubleshooting menu
  • Ability to mute group chat
  • Inclusion of floating point “Normalized Blinn-Phong” shading LUT for deferred rendering
  • Latest RLVa support
  • Various UI updates including:
    • Vertical chat tabs (from Catznip)
    • Web browser toolbar button
    • Additional slider in the Quick Preferences floater for adjusting your own sound locally
    •  Request teleport button added to IM windows
  • Merge with the SL Viewer 3.3.3 codebase, bringing with it:
    • Merchant Outbox support
    • Local Textures (by Vaalith Jinn)
    • Graded shadow support
    • Various fixes to the mesh queue

This article has been written using the Windows release of 12.08.09.1, and is intended to be an overview of the core updates rather than an in-depth review of the Exodus viewer (see articles list at the end of this items for further information on Exodus).

Download and Install

The Windows downloader weighs-in at a modest 28.4Mb. Installation on my system was fast and smooth (as per usual, this was a clean install for me). Start-up revealed the familiar Exodus blue sky screen with core information (particularly updates from the Grid Status Page) along the bottom. No implementation of the official splash screen here. However, if you do have issues trying to run Exodus following installation – and in particular get error messages relating to .dll problems, you might try visiting the Exodus FAQ page and following the link therein.

Logging-in revealed the familiar Exodus default screen layout, with buttons to the left and button of the screen, which can still be repositioned to the left or right, top or bottom of the screen.

Avatar Troubleshooting

Avatar Troubleshooting takes a leaf from the Firestorm book and offers three options for dealing with avatar issues. These can be found in a menu under Me->Troubleshooting and comprise:

  • Reload My Avatar Data: sends a request to the SL servers to download your avatar data once more. Useful where you’re seeing outfit changes but other’s aren’t (often indicative that something is going wrong within your computer, rather than anything at the server end)
  • Rebake my avatar textures: performs a normal local rebake, with the data sent to the server for distribution
  • Reset my avatar: Ruths your avatar to default shape and clothing, allowing you to rebuild it in the event of a drastic error.

Toolbar Buttons

This release of Exodus includes two additional buttons, Web, which opens the viewer’s built-in web browser, and Panic. The latter is a hang-over from testing nightly builds and debugging. As such, it is not intended for general use and may be removed or re-purposed in the next release. It is  not recommended you employ the button, as it is intended to crash the viewer and generate a crash log.

Snapshots to Flickr

Flickr is a popular medium for SL photographers, so having an option to save pictures directly to it is likely to be a benefit to many. With this release, Firestorm obtains Katharine Berry’s code (Katharine also recently joined the Exodus team) to enable snapshots to be uploaded directly from the viewer to a Flickr account.

The option is presented as an additional button on the snapshot floater. The first time you click on this, it will cause a pop-up to be displayed:

Setting-up Flickr to accept snapshots from Exodus

Clicking on YES will take you to the Flickr authorisation page, which will outline the possible risks of connecting Exodus to Flickr (a standard alert page, common when using inter-application authorisation). Read the warning carefully, and if happy, confirm yo wish to proceed (refusing cancels the link and denies Exodus the ability to upload to Flickr).

Confirming that you’re happy to proceed will display a code number on the Flickr web-page. Type this into the authorisation pop-up displayed in Exodus. This will activate the link and allow you to take your snapshot and send it to Flickr. Again, note the authorisation process only has to be completed the first time you attempt to upload a snapshot directly to Flickr, thereafter snaps will be sent to your Flickr account without hindrance.

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Viewer release summary 2012: week 31

Posted on by Inara Pey

The following is summary of changes to SL viewers / clients (official and TPV) which have taken place in the past week. It is based on my Viewer Round-up Page, which provides 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 being in adherence with the TPV Policy.

This summary is published every Monday, and by its nature will always be in arrears. Therefore, for the most up-to-date information on viewers and clients, please see my Viewer Round-up Page, which is updated as soon as I’m aware of any changes, and which includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., for Viewers and clients as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.  

Updates for the week ending: 5 August, 2012

  • SL Viewer updates:
    • Beta: rolled to 3.4.0.262596, July 30 – core update: addition of viewer-side pathfinding tools (also see my notes on the tools)
    • Development: rolled to 3.4.1.262722 on Aug 2nd
    • The Pathfinding viewer has been removed from the list, as the code is now incorporated in the Beta viewer
  • Dolphin rolled to 3.3.12.24739  on August 2nd – core updates: the reset, start, stop, remove, recompile script operations now request confirmation & can be accessed from the context menu of an in-world object; temporary upload is available when doing snapshots to inventory (release notes)
  • Niran’s Viewer rolled to 1.47 on Jul 30 – core changes: updates to experimental Preferences overlay; FPS counter will be displayed as text by default; assorted fixes (release notes)
  • Cool Viewer:
    • Stable branch rolled to 1.26.4.23 on Aug 4th, and is referred to as a “catchup release with the v1.26.5 branch”
    • Experimental version (SL3.3 renderer) rolled to release 1.26.5.2 on Aug 4
    • Release notes for both
  • Group Tools rolled to installer release 2.2.8 on July 28th.

Related Links

Mountain Lion issues for SL viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

An issue has emerged trying to use the Second Life Viewer on Mac systems running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Notification of the issue has been posted to the Grid Status Page, which reads:

Issues Opening the Second Life Viewer in MacOSX

[Posted 8:30am PDT, 1 August 2012] Some residents may be experiencing problems opening the Second Life Viewer in a MacOSX Mountain Lion environment. This is due to a security feature of this operating system which is misidentifying some programs as potential security risks. While this is not indicative of any actual issues with our software, we are working on an update to our viewer which should address this. In the meantime there are instructions on how to bypass this feature temporarily, as well as an explanation of the cause of this issue, here:

http://osxdaily.com/2012/07/27/app-cant-be-opened-because-it-is-from-an-unidentified-developer/

Please note that this is not a problem with the viewer, and that we are not responsible for the workaround above – we are merely providing a link to a possible fix posted by a third party.

If you are experiencing issues using Second Life on Mac OSX, you might try the workaround noted above – but again, please note, as the report states, it is a link from a third-party, and Linden Lab (nor I) cannot be held responsible if the workaround fails or causes other unforeseen issues with your computer.

Teapot: brewing-up a viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

Teapot is a Kokua-inspired, SL 3.x-based, viewer for Second Life and OpenSim grids, compiled by Armin Weatherwax (on OS Grid, or ArminWeatherHax Resident in SL). It includes numerous TPV derived functions and capabilities (please refer to the About Teapot pop-up in the viewer itself for additional credits), but is not top-heavy in terms of additional functionality.

The version reviewed here is 0.2.5, released on July 20th.

Download and Installation

Teapot is available in three flavours: Linux 32 and 64-bit, and Windows. The Windows installer is 42.3Mb in size, and downloaded and installed on my PC without any issues.

On start-up, the viewer displays the familiar splash screen, but with a slightly different approach to grid support.

Grid list pull-down and New Grids button

Clicking the arrow next to the grid name field will display a default list of popular grids, as per most other viewers that support OpenSim. However, if the grid you wish to log-in to is not displayed in the list, you can click NEW GRIDS. This will display a more complete list of grids (some 168 with this release of the viewer) in a pop-up window, which also contains a warning that “some of these grids, especially smaller ones, might be not online all day, or at all”. Clicking on the name of a grid in the list will initiate an attempt to log-in to it.

If the grid you wish to access is not displayed in either list, you can type the uri for it directly into the grid name field. When you click the refresh button next to the field, the grid name (if found) will be added to the drop-down list and an attempt to log-in to the grid will be initiated.

User Interface

Once logged-in to a grid, Teapot reveals itself to be something of a hybrid. The overall layout is very much Viewer 3.x, but the menus combine elements of both viewer 3.x and viewer 1.x, including as they do File, Edit and View from the latter and combining them with World, Build and Help from the former (with Advanced and Develop also available).

The File, Edit and View menus (click to enlarge, if required)

Default buttons are all arranged at the bottom of the screen, and are displayed with icons only visible. They comprise (in left-to-right order): Chat, Speak, Voice Settings, Preferences, Snapshot, People, Build, Camera, Map, Mini-map, AO and Inventory.

The AO (Animation Overrider) is by Zi Ree, and is as found in Firestorm – including using the #Firestorm folder (so if you have run Firestorm with the AO set-up, Teapot will use the same settings).

Preferences

Teapot more-or-less uses the default SL viewer Preferences floater and tabs, with the addition of an OpenSim Grid Manager  tab, and the inclusion of options to enable the pie menu for those that prefer it over the V3.x context menus (enable / disable the pie menu in the Advanced tab of Preferences, set background colour and opacity via the Colors tab).

Other Functionality of Note

  • Teapot uses V1-style profiles by default (using older code from Firestorm) and includes Nicky Dasmijn’s open-source mesh upload floater
  • Objects can be temporarily derendered from your world view, however:
    • They will only be derendered while they remain in your world view, and will be rendered once more should you re-log or teleport away and back
    • The derender option is only available when using the pie menu – it is not displayed in the context menus
  • There is no RLVa support included in the viewer at present.

Performance and Feedback

Performance-wise, using my standard set-up with the viewer and on my home sim, Teapot produced the following frame-rates: ground level: 16-18fps; 370m: 29-32fps; 2875m: 40-43fps. With lighting and shadows enabled, these became 7-9fps, 14-16fps and  20-21fps respectively. These figures put Teapot roughly between my recent “tests” of Niran’s 1.46 and Firestorm 4.4.1.28744.

Overall, the viewer performed well during a 4-hour test run on Second Life, which was crash-free. There are some nips and tucks required in places – such as ensuring options included in the pie menu are also available in the context menus (inspection option, derenderer) – but overall, Teapot presents itself as workable and pleasant viewer. It may not be as feature-heavy as other viewers that are out there, but this shouldn’t be held against it. Indeed, if you’re an OpenSim user looking for a reliable, fast and well-presented V3.x-style viewer that offers core functionality and things like Media On A Prim, mesh uploads, etc, then Teapot might well be … just your cup of tea!

Some Things to Remember

  • Teapot should not be confused with the Teapot-Viewer, used for viewing OpenGL models
  • The viewer is very much a personal project Armin has put together, and his time / ability to provide support or add specific functionality is limited
  • Efforts have been made to ensure Teapot is compliant with the TPV Policy, but it is not currently listed in the TPV Directory
  • While inspired by Kokua, Teapot stands as an independent viewer, and should not be confused with the Kokua project.

Related Links

Viewer release summary 2012: week 30

Posted on by Inara Pey

The following is summary of changes to SL viewers / clients (official and TPV) which have taken place in the past week. It is based on my Viewer Round-up Page, which provides 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 being in adherence with the TPV Policy.

This summary is published every Monday, and by its nature will always be in arrears. Therefore, for the most up-to-date information on viewers and clients, please see my Viewer Round-up Page, which is updated as soon as I’m aware of any changes, and which includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., for Viewers and clients as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.  

Updates for the week ending: 29 July, 2012

  • SL Viewer updates:
    • The release version rolled to 3.3.4.262321 on July 24 (release notes)
    • Development: rolled to 3.3.5.262596 (July 26) and then 262681 on July 27: core update: addition of viewer-side pathfinding tools (also see my notes on the tools)
    • HTTP Project Viewer 333.262585, July 27th – initial release of a unified approach to HTTP-based communications between the viewer and grid services with a goal of achieving reliability, consistency and a better overall experience on the grid.
  • Dolphin rolled to 24724 on July 27th, which apparently contained “serious flaws on windows”, prompting the release of 24731 on July 28th, with an advisory that anyone running 24724 on Windows should immediately update – release notes are as per 24724
  • Niran’s Viewer rolled to 1.46 on July 26th – core changes: experimental new Preferences overlay; removal of Darkness skin; some rendering updates
  • The Cool Viewer Experimental version (SL3.3 renderer) rolled to release 1.26.5.1 on July 29 – core changes: renderer updated to SL 3.3.4; added options for Classic Clouds and animating trees; backport of support for private memory pools from viewer 3; Advanced menu more logically arranged
  • Group Tools rolled to installer release 2.2.8 on July 28th.

Related Links

Niran’s Viewer 1.46: the Skyrim influence

Posted on by Inara Pey

Niran’s Viewer continues to be updated on a weekly basis, with various new ideas being tried out. Version 1.46 sees an interesting take on the viewer Preferences, and as such, I thought it worth a look, as well as providing an update on some of the changes occurring in recent releases.

Download and Installation – 1.46

The x64 download weighed-in at just over 41Mb

On starting the viewer the first time, I received a virus threat warning for SLPlugin.exe. This tends to be a frequent false positive for the likes of Nortons, but rarer with AVG; this is one of the few times I have had the warning flagged.

New Preferences Layout

The most significant change within this release is to Preferences. As well as including the main Preferences floater (NV->FILE->PREFERENCES or CTRL-P), NiranV has included an experimental Preferences overlay, which can be accessed via the F2 key (you will have to re-assign any gesture using F2 to another key in order for this to work).

“Skyrim”-style approach to Preferences

NiranV describes this as his “Skyrim inspired” approach to Preferences – and I have to say that, overall, I like the concept.

Right now, the option is clearly experimental and offers access to a limited set of Preferences options, so it is a little hard to judge as to how well it will scale and whether it will provide improved access to all Preferences options. However, the potential would appear to be there – and the ability to use the entire screen rather than a defined floater area would appear to offer significant advantages in terms of information presentation. As it stands, my only potential critiques of the approach is that:

  • Some of the text within the Preferences is poorly defined against the background (this has been something of a problem in general with Preferences in the viewer)
  • Some people might not like the fact that in using an overlay in this manner they cannot access other on-screen floaters (such as being able to IM others with Preferences open). A way around this might be to offer a toggle switch allowing users to display Preferences either as an overlay or as a “traditional” floater
Readability issues exacerbated?

I’m personally not so bothered by the second issue as I am by the first; elements of Preferences in Niran’s Viewer have always been hard to read at times, although swapping skins has tended to alleviate the problem. However, everything in the overlay Preferences is displayed on a relatively dark background which tends to mask some text in the displays very well (see the image above), exacerbating the problem of legibility.

Nevertheless, I’ll be watching to see how this idea develops over time, and how NiranV translates-over the use of multiple sub-tabs within a panel (e.g. incorporates the RLVa and  Setup sub-tabs into Viewer, for example).

Server-side Avatar Baking

This release of Niran’s viewer includes a debug setting to “enable” server-side avatar baking. As this service is not actually available at present – and is unlikely to be rolled-out for least another 4-to-6 months – it is probably worthwhile pointing out that enabling the debug setting will not alter the way in which your avatar is baked.

Other Recent Updates

The following is a summary of the significant changes made to Niran’s Viewer since I last blogged on it:

  • 1.40: saw the machinima sidebar (released in 1.39) modified so it slides over the Ui, rather than shunting things to one side (a-la the original Viewer 2 Sidebar); the Picks and Places floaters were added to NV->EDIT
  • 1.41: primarily saw the update / addition of Windlight presets
  • 1.42: local chat fixes to show the speaking indicator correctly; toggle check box added to the Machinima Sidebar for easy switching between Region default and Custom Windlight
  • 1.43:  ability to sat the time after which the Navigation bar will auto-hide; new World Map layout; ability to right-click/zoom to People floater for avatars within draw distance; alignment with LL’s code releases
Niran’s updated World Map
  • 1.44: replaced rendering engine with the current Linden Lab rendering code; addition of spell checking.

Performance (1.46)

Performance has been a mixed bag for me with this viewer – and NiranV Dean has some comments in the release notes for 1.46 on the subject. Overall, performance on my usual system & with the usual settings (see the panel on the right of the home page of this blog), I had the following results, based on my home sim with 4 other avatars present. With deferred / shadows and lighting disabled: ground level: 14-17fps; 370m: 35-39fps; 2875m: 48-50fps. With shadows and lighting enabled: ground level: 7-9fps; 370m: 11-12fps; 2875m 13-14fps. All of this was remarkably consistent, and only slightly lower in all cases than I’ve experienced of late with other viewers.

Related Links