Category: Viewers

Text clients reviewed 1: Libretto

Posted on by Inara Pey

Note: Libretto ceased development in 2013.

We’re all familiar with the Second Life Viewer in one flavour or another. But what about the non-graphical “lightweight” clients that are available for accessing SL when using a “full” Viewer isn’t always an option?

Like the Viewer, these “lightweight”, or text-only clients come in a number of flavours, some of which can run on computers and others on mobile devices. Given I don’t have a suitable mobile device, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the former, focusing on the Windows platform, and given some kind of insight into their features and capabilities for those who have never used them. So over the course of three articles, I’ll be taking a look at Libretto, Metabolt and Radegast – all of which are on the SL TPV Directory, and all are still very much under enhancement.

Libretto

  • Platform(s): Windows
  • Available from: http://www.librettoviewer.com/
  • Version reviewed: 0.13.0

Libretto describes itself as, “A light weight, text-only viewer for Second Life. It’s designed to resemble and function as an instant messaging client, that can be used in an office environment, on low performance/bandwidth computers, or when multiple instances are needed.”

It is delivered as a standard .EXE install file for Windows, requiring a quick A/V scan prior to a double-click to install it with minimal fuss.

Once installed, it certainly looks somewhat like Microsoft Messenger, with the log-in screen comprising a window onto Libretto announcements and a log-in area with the obligatory check-box for accepting the SL ToS (with link for reviewing!) for people using the client for the first time.

A nice touch is once you have logged in with an avatar, the details for the avatar are saved by Libretto and can be accessed from the drop-down list displayed next to NAME.

As you are logged in, the Libretto window splits into a two-pane display, with any Message of the Day from LL is displayed in the upper section (where all messages appear), while the lower section lists all those in your immediate vicinity (if any).  There are several elements to this display, which are explained below.

The Menu Bar

  • File: allows you to Logout of Second Life and return to the Libretto log-in screen, or Quit (log out of SL and shut down Libretto)
  • Edit: currently displays the Preferences pop-up which allows you to:
    • Define your e-mail preferences
    • Select whether to run Libretto whenever you start Windows
    • Select Libretto to automatically log you in to Second Life when it is started (useful if you predominantly use only the one avatar with Libretto)
  • World: currently allows you to teleport to your home location – note this can cause Libretto to go unresponsive while the teleport is in progress
  • View: allows you to display / hide the Window tabs (see below) at the bottom of the Libretto window, and change the default colour for the Libretto client
  • Help: displays information about the Libretto client.

Action Buttons

The Action buttons are displayed in both the “people nearby” window pane and the Friends tab, and allow you to carry out a range of tasks:

  • View a person’s profile (seen in a separate pop-up window that closely resembles the old Viewer 1.x style of profile display)
  • Open an IM conversation with them
  • Teleport them to you
  • Pay them
  • Remove them as a Friend
  • Invite them into a Group.

A down-pointing arrow to the right of the buttons takes you to an option to remove or add buttons to the list. Buttons are activated by left-clicking on an specific avatar name and then clicking on the required button (buttons become coloured when active).

Window Tabs

Controlled from the VIEW option in the Menu Bar, these provide access to a range of dedicated tabbed windows:

  • Friends: displays your Friends list, complete with the Action Buttons, described above
  • Groups: displays all your Groups, with a set of Action Buttons that allow you to: display information on a specific Group (left click the Group name to select); IM the Group; activate the Group tag for your avatar; leave the Group
  • Objects: displays a list of objects surrounding your avatar (may need to use the Refresh button to get the list to display), together with buttons to Sit on a selected object (left-click to select the object from the list), and your avatar’s status will change to SITTING at the bottom of the Libretto window while the SIT button will change to STAND; and a button to Touch a selected object
  • Inventory: allows you to peruse your inventory, with a Share button to give items to other avatars (click on the item to be given, then SHARE & select the name of the avatar (from those nearby & your Friends list) to whom you wish to give the item (permissions allowing). Note that you can also accept inventory offers from others using Libretto as well
  • Find People: opens a search window allowing you to search for a specific avatar (first name; first name+ last name). Matching results are displayed in a list, and the window includes the Action Buttons described above to view an individual’s profile, etc.

Clicking on an tab name in VIEW will open the associated tab, which can then be closed either by clicking on the tab name in VIEW or by clicking on the X in the tab itself, at the bottom of the Libretto window.

Multiple Instances

Libretto handles multiple instances without issue – simply double-click on the application icon to start an additional session.

Website

The Libretto website is adequate, if a little basic in looks and information – but then, the application is so intuitive, you’re unlikely to be spending a lot of time there.

Use and Opinion

Using Libretto is very intuitive and easy to get to grips with. It may not offer all the capabilities found in other text clients, but it really does do, “exactly what it says on the packet” without the need to refer to lengthy help files or anything. Working in chat or IM is easy, while the Action Buttons provide enough functionality to get things done.

Libretto is still a work-in-progress, and it is certainly the most lightweight of the three clients I’m reviewing. The window layouts are all clean and easy-to-follow (although the colours are perhaps not so easy on the eye: for “red” read “pink” and for “blue” read “violet”). The current options are sufficient to take care of many basic tasks that don’t rely on an in-world view.

Overall, an extremely intuitive application that exceptionally easy to pick-up and use.

Firestorm: usage grows & new video out

Posted on by Inara Pey

firestorm-logoThe Firestorm development team report that Linden Lab has confirmed Firestorm is now the third most popular viewer by number of distinct users and in terms of hours spent using SL. This moves it into third place in terms of popularity, ahead of the old official 1.23 Viewer.

According to the Viewer Directory (last updated 12th July), Firestorm sits in sixth place overall in terms of crash rates, putting it directly behind the official 2.7.2 release, and up on the official 2.7.5 release. Interestingly, the current full release of the official Viewer (2.7.4) isn’t listed.

To aid people making the transition from the Viewer 1.x environment, Phoenix have produced a new video tutorial, which is well worth a look-in:

(with thanks to CS Pfeffer for the nod on the video)

Over the Rainbow

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rainbow Viewer

One of my first experiences with V1 TPVs was via the Windows Cool Viewer compiled by Boy Lane, and which became the Rainbow Viewer. For a long time, this was simply my Viewer of choice. I was therefore intrigued to see that after over a year, Rainbow has been overhauled and made available once again.

Based on the 1.22 release of Viewer 1, Rainbow has a core of die-hard fans, and the new release does much to bring it up to par with the likes of Phoenix and Imprudence 1.3/1.4, given it now includes:

  • Client-side AO
  • Media filtering
  • TP history
  • Display Names
  • Multiple attachments (but like other V1 TPVs, no multiple wear for the same layer of clothing)
  • Tattoo and Alpha layers
  • Outfits creation
  • Prim alignment tool
  • Multiple grid support

Using Rainbow is like a blast from the past. At installation, you’re informed that you need to obtain several files from either the “official” Viewer 1 or from Snowglobe. This is something I haven’t had to do in ages, and while I can understand why Boy has gone this route (better performance where the Kakadu system is concerned), I nevertheless wonder as to how vulnerable this leaves Rainbow: Viewer 1 is no longer available and there is no guarantee LL might not at some point simply remove snowglobe access, given it is now a dead project.

Once in the Viewer – and my use of Firestorm of late notwithstanding – there was something nostalgic in using Rainbow; the interface, the Preferences options – all hark back to the “good old days” in many respects when things were indeed, “fast, fun and easy”. However, the nostalgia is actually very short-lived. There is much that Rainbow lacks that I find hard to do without: there is no vertical tabbing for IM windows, for example, and no Quick Preferences option (although granted, both may come). Even the inclusion of avatar physics is – to be honest – now dated. The Viewer 2 system (already adopted by Firestorm) is far superior for those willing to give it a go.

Where Rainbow is likely to score is in being aimed at other OS Grids. I tested it with InWorldz and Avination, both with few issues other than getting the “you have been logged out” message, complete with options to review chat / IMs each time I logged out of InWorldz, rather than getting s “clean” exit. Other than that, performance was easily as smooth at Imprudence 1.3, and a lot better than the likes of Phoenix. As such, it is a welcome addition to the list of Viewers that can access other grids.

In terms of SL, however, I do wonder about the Viewer’s longevity. As I’ve already commented, the reality is that V1-based TPVs for Second Life are likely coming to their End of Days, what with the Search issues, mesh, and so on.

One of the problems facing Rainbow: Mesh as seen in the V2 Mesh Viewer (left) and in Viewer 1 (right) – with thanks to Linden Lab

To be fair to Boy Lane, the Viewer has been released with a clear statement of intent:

“Rainbow does not intend to be a competitor of viewer 2 or any other of the 3rd party viewers around. All of them are based on either V2 or Snowglobe code. Rainbow is based on 1.22, and playing in a league of it’s own. To support legacy hardware, and to support all my friends in Opensims.”

The last part of this statement is a worthy goal in itself – and again, full kudos to Boy for providing OS grid users with a greater choice. However, where Second Life is concerned, and even with a loyal following, given all that is coming down the road in the next few weeks and months, it’s hard to see this latest Rainbow release as having a decent shelf life.

Viewer 1: adieu!

Posted on by Inara Pey

Some may count this post as premature, but given we’re now into July, and what is coming down the road, I’m getting my goodbyes in early.

Viewer 1 has been with us since Second Life opened its doors. Over the years, it has seen features added, tools moved around, the capability for API elements to be introduced (perhaps the most widely-used being Marine Kelley’s Restrained Love Viewer); the code has been open-sourced, allowing a raft of famous (and not a few infamous) Viewers to come into use: the OnRez Viewer, Cool Viewer, Rainbow Viewer, Meerkat, Imprudence, Phoenix and of course the “Devil incarnate” itself: Emerald (and that’s without mentioning the various “blackhat” Viewers).

Many changes to the Viewer were welcome (remember the introduction of the first skin option? of Windlight?), many were being decried and striking fear in the hearts of some even before they rolled out (remember the hoo-haw in some camps over the arrival of Voice?); others were met with much facepalming and LL’s apparent failure to grasp how people used their viewer (remember the consternation when the chat windows all changed and “communicate” turned up?). Some of the criticism aimed at the Viewer and LL was justified; a lot of it wasn’t. But through it all, Viewer 1.x, in all its many guises has remained a perennial favourite among Second Life users. Not even the demise of the official 1.x series of Viewer did much to put a dent in this: people simply switched over to V1-based TPVs in preference to going over the Viewer 2.

Viewer 1.18 at the Windlight launch (with thanks to Eckhard Jager)

Now all of that is about to change. In truth, the writing has been on the wall for V1-based Viewers for the last 12 months or so: ever since Linden Lab depreciated all versions of their Viewer prior to 1.23.5 and then turned off Snowglobe work in favour of Snowstorm for Viewer 2.x.

Snowglobe showing the silver skin (thanks to SamanthaS Nightfire)

From this month, however, even those using V1 TPVs are going to have to consider where they are going to move to next. As LL remind us (via retweets of this announcement, at least through @SecondLife), mesh commences its roll-out this month, starting with, I understand, the Blue Steel Release Channel prior to the remaining Release Channels & the rest of the main grid being mesh-enabled by the end of August.

The key issue here is that V1-based TPVs apparently will not be able to render mesh objects in-world, nor will they be able to upload mesh imports even if they follow LL’s “registration” requirements.

Ergo, if people want to see mesh objects, they are going to have to move to a V2-based viewer. What’s more, unless the TPV developers have persuaded LL otherwise, it is possible those wanting to upload mesh imports will be forced to use Viewer 2 for this purpose, given LL were looking to ring-fence this capability (whether this is still the case is unclear – like much else around mesh).

Mesh: heralding the end of the road for Viewer 1 TPVs (model by Timmi Allen)

Nor does the bad news for Viewer 1 end there; Oz Linden is on record as saying that developers of such Viewers are facing an uphill battle: “[A]ny Viewer that isn’t being actively maintained is going to start having fairly serious problems over the next months. We’re making a lot of changes… if viewers don’t keep up, things will break.” 

The fact is, it will become harder and harder for TPV devs to try and maintain Viewer 1 code. Kirstenlee Cinquetti saw the writing on the wall over a year ago, and has moved over entirely to the development of the outstanding S21 Viewer. Announcements made at the end of last year concerning the future of the Viewer 1 Search prompted Phoenix and Imprudence to start down the road to developing a V2-based Viewer each. While Imprudence are still putting effort into their V1-based 1.4 Viewer, it is evident that their longer-term aim is not merge this work into their V2 Kokua Viewer, while Phoenix already have the outstanding Firestorm available. Individual TPV developers are also transitioning: Lance Corrimal hasn’t done anything significant with his V1-based Viewer since the end of April, while his V2-based Viewer comes on in leaps and bounds.

It is going to take a while for mesh to really make its presence felt – assuming, again, that the roll-out goes smoothly and without any major updates; it’s also possible that some TPV developers will look to try and backport the Search 2 functionality into their offerings in the hope of keeping things alive. So it’s possible that some may try to cling to Viewer 1 for a little longer; but while it may be seen as an unpopular statement in some quarters, the era of Viewer 1 really is now drawing to a close.

I don’t say that with any sense of superiority (I am an unabashed V2-based Viewer convert – Firestorm and Kirstenlee’s S21); I started out with Viewer 1 (version 1.14 or 1.15), and personally have no problems with it. But, sad to say, we all come to a time where, for better or worse (depending on one’s own feelings), we must move with the tide.

And the tide is now assuredly flowing to Viewer 2’s shore.

New Firestorm Beta

Posted on by Inara Pey

firestorm-logoFirestorm today released a second public beta version of the viewer. The 2.5.2.16922 release came somewhat unexpectedly and added a slew of new features and bug fixes which do much to move the viewer very much closer to a prime-time release status.

Note: the following comments apply to the Windows version of Firestorm. Other OS versions may differ.

Build Tools

Chief among the new features is a full port of the Phoenix build tools, so that Firestorm now includes:

  • Clickable group name on build floater
  • Object highlight toggle on build floater
  • Pivot point controls
  • Default size and material controls
  • Link number of build floater (with same bugs as Phoenix)
  • Build options pref panel Prefs> Firestorm> Build
  • Copy/paste object position, size, rotation, parameters and textures
  • Alt, control and shift keys modify increment on spinners (Alt: x10. Control: x1/10. Shift: x1/100)
  • Higher precision on position, size and rotation (4 decimal places)
  • Phoenix’s additional path profiles and transforms types
  • Added button for copy keys (UUID) to clipboard
  • Added requirement to confirm before setting object for sale (prevents sale sniping)
  • Expand/Collapse button
  • Added always show last owner.

Other notable changes include:

Quick Preferences Button

Quick Preferences options

The inclusion of “Quick Preferences button” in the bottom tool bar that provides quick and convenient access to a host of options that can often require frequent adjustment (see right), including the ability to rapidly step through windlight sky and water defaults or select them from a drop-down menu in much the same way as can be found within Phoenix via the arrow option at the extreme right-hand end of the tool bar.

Group Pop-up Window

New Group pop-up window

It’s pretty well known that I’m not a fan of the Sidebar, which tends to be little more than a disruptive waste of space where I’m concerned – so anything that Firestorm adds that prevents me having to be tossed around the Viewer and into the Sidebar is going to get a big thumbs up from me.

So it’ll come as no surprise that the new Group pop-up window is a big hit with me. As with Viewer 1.x, it allows you to pull-up information on a Group and peruse it quickly and conveniently in a simply pop-up.

It even includes a couple of new buttons – although one of them could perhaps do with a clearer title. CHAT opens up a Group Chat window – very handy when you want to make an announcement; GROUP CALL also opens up a Group Chat window, although the function of the button is actually to initiate a VOICE call between group members. As such, the latter button might be better off labelled “Voice Call”.

Movement Controls

I’ve rarely used them, but many do like Viewer 1’s movement controls. Until now, these haven’t been offered within Firestorm as a discrete option.

This latest Beta changes that by presenting them with a toolbar button of their own, and the palette fully repositionable. This will doubtless be seen as a very welcome addition by those who prefer to use the palette.

Land Details

Another small, but to me significant, improvement is that with this release, the land name displayed at the very top of the Viewer window is once again clickable and will bring up the ABOUT LAND window. This has been one of my hang-ups with Viewer 2.x; despite having the LAND button sitting in the navigation bar (which I rarely turn off), I must admit that I’ve been unable to break the habit of pointing to the land name and clicking on it, a-la Viewer 1.x, in order to bring up ABOUT LAND. Kudos to the Firestorm team for rescuing me from the need to consciously break myself out of this habit!

Bits of the rest

Other changes I particularly like with this release are:

  • “Restore to last position” added to inventory right click menu
  • Contacts tab in Conversations is now closable
  • World map search results are now alphabetical
  • Copy outfit your wearing to text option in the worn tab on appearance panel. From gear menu, copy to clipboard.

Performance-wise, this represents, on my hardware at least, the best results to date with Firestorm. When on a sim with one or two others and draw set to 360m, I can achieve 60-65fps, easily putting Firestorm on a par with Viewer 2.6. On more crowded sims, this falls to between 45-50fps, which is still superior to the last release. What really stuns me however, is that on a sim with 5 other people and with shadows enabled, Firestom can manage 20-25fps on my machine, making it easily the best when it comes to rendering shadows for me.

Opinion

Firestom simply goes from strength to strength and this release potentially marks it as ready to move to a “final” release status.

If you’ve held-off downloading Firestorm or making the move to a Viewer 2.x-based TPV, now is really the time to start re-thinking your position, especially with Viewer 1.x search about to lose effectiveness in some areas and mesh due to be rolled out over the next 6-7 weeks. And if you’re not impressed with Viewer 2 either from direct experience or through the reports of others, Firestorm is liable to suit you right down to the ground.

Livin’ the 3D Sec’ Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Klee 3D

Kirstenlee’s Viewer has always been bleeding edge; it is the Viewer for the serious SL photographer and Machinimaist.

At the end of May, the Viewer took another leap forward as it went…3D!

I hadn’t been able to test it myself, due to a lack of any appropriate glasses. However, a trip to the local cinema solved that problem, so this afternoon I got to have a paddle with it.

The first thing I will say is that my PC is not top-of-the-line, nor is my graphics system. That said, it handles shadows reasonably OK, if with something of a performance hit, so I was pretty sure 3D would work – and it did! I’ll be honest, there was a performance hit (GeForce 9800 card with 1 Gb, btw, running with a Q6600 2.63 Mhz processor & Win 7 32), but it was nowhere near as massive as when enabling shadows. My normal 40-50fps tumbled to around 25-28. The glasses I have from the cinema perhaps weren’t the greatest (after all, your supposed to be sitting tens of feet from a big screen when wearing them, not sitting a dozen nose lengths away from a table-top screen), but with some jiggling of the sliders, I got a reasonably impressive result and spent 20 minutes bimbling around my sky platform.

Given my GPU / CPU, I didn’t hold out too much hope of running shadows and 3D effects – and I was right. While both enabled, I was left with a frame rate of 1 fps. Erp, as the spokesperson once said, but not surprising.

The only real problem I had lay with the fact that while the in-world view was 3D, my HUDs weren’t – and the colour separation on them was appreciable to the point of making text illegible.

The 3D controllers can be found in the PREFERENCES -> VIEWER -> MISC tab, and comprise a check box to enable and a couple of slider controls – adjust with care. If you try it, be aware that the Build 8 Viewer is experimental and may do Unpredictable Things.

As photos don’t really do the 3D justice, here’s a video made by Chantal Harvey showing off the results:

S21 Build 8 is currently only available in for Windows; Mac and Penguin versions to follow.