Category: V7 Style

Alchemy 3.7.19: mainlining HTTP and enhancing legacy search

Posted on by Inara Pey

Alchemy-logoOn Monday October 27th, the Alchemy team released version 3.7.19.34077 Beta of their viewer. This latest release brings with it a series of updates, nips, ticks and tweaks which collectively move the viewer further towards a full release status.

As with the last release (for which I also provided an overview), the latest version is available for Windows on both 32-bit and 64-bit flavours, and a “universal” Mac offering suitable for both 32-bit and 64-bit (Linux is still “coming soon”). As is common for my reviews of viewer updates, this is not a detailed examination of every change made in the release, but rather an overview of those items which are liable to be of significant interest to users. Details of all updates can be found both on the Alchemy release notice for the viewer, and the change log.

Lab Updates

As this release of Alchemy is based on the Lab’s 3.7.19 code base, it has almost all of the most recent updates from LL, with the notable exception of the revised log-in splash screen – so the log-in area remains in its familiar place at the foot of the screen. And I say “notable” here only because I’ve become familiar with using the Lab’s log-in screen while playing with various versions of the official viewer, not as any indication of anything else.

The viewer does, however, get the latest bug fixes, etc., from the Lab to make it to release status and incorporates things like the updated snapshot floater and AIS v3. More particularly given the deployment of CDN support across the grid, it includes Monty Linden’s latest viewer-side HTTP updates, which should see the viewer handle scene loading a lot faster, as well as generate significant improvements in inventory fetching.

Search

Search has been given an impressive overhaul with this release, allow the use of both the v3-style web search option and also legacy search. Considerable effort has gone into how results in the legacy search options are displayed, so that all the information relating to a specific search item can be shown in the right side of the search panel without the need to open additional floaters (see below).

Alchemy now has full legacy search support, which includes the ability to display all the information on a selected item (such as my profile, as seen above) in a single pane of the search floater
Alchemy now has full legacy search support, which includes the ability to display all the information on a selected item (such as my profile, as seen above) on the right side of the search floater panel

Another nice refine is that when searching for groups, if you select a group you have not joined, only the essential information is displayed – group description and purpose, the JOIN button, creator, who can join, etc. However, should you join the group, simply click on the reload button, and the displayed group will update to show all options and information.

When using the Search option to locate a group you have not joined, the results pane will only display the essential information on the group (l). However, should you then join the group, clicking on the reload button (highlightd on the left image) will refresh the g
When using the Search option to locate a group you have not joined, the results pane will only display the essential information on the group (l). However, should you then join the group, clicking on the reload button (highlighted on the left image) and the group information will update to a full display

World Map

The World Map gets an update with this release, with some trimming and realigning, together with a noticeable move of the legend and search options to the left of the map tile area. If I’m honest, I’m really not sure of how much of a difference this makes. There doesn’t seem to be that much space reclaimed, and the move of the legend, etc., to the left of the map seems as much as change for the sake of change rather than presenting a specific benefit. But then, that is the subjective nature of using viewers – we all see things differently.

Camera Floater

The old and new camer floater - note the button for minimising the controls on the latter
The old and new camera floater – note the button for minimising the controls on the latter

A potentially more appreciable change lies with the camera controls. Until now, Alchemy has defaulted to the v3-style camera floater which, as the website release notice states, takes a fair amount of screen space, a lot of which is made up of a blank panel.

The new Alchemy camera floater is a lot smaller and neater, making it a lot less real estate hungry without losing any of its useability.

For those who would like it almost completely out-of-the-way without having to close it entirely, the control buttons now include a button (highlighted in the lower image, right) which will hide / show the actual camera movement controls, sliding them neatly out of, and into view.

All told, a nice, tidy update.

Chat Updates

Alchemy 3.7.19.34077 includes a number of updates to chat, including:

  • When an avatar is typing in chat, “Typing” is displayed over their head (can be enabled / disabled via Preferences > Chat > Show Nearby Chat Indicators)
  • When someone engaged in an IM conversation with you is typing a message, a pen will appear alongside their name in the Conversations floater, indicating they are typing, and “XX is typing…” will appear in the header bar of the conversations floater, where XX is the other person’s name
  • You can prevent Alchemy from sending those people your own IM typing notifications via checking Preferences > Chat > Don’t Send Typing Notification in IM
  • You can change the nearby chat channel for use with translators and scripts:
    • /setchannel \  will set the desired channel (so /setchannel \1 will set it to channel 1)
    • /setchannel 0 will change it back
  • Alchemy will now allow up to 3096 characters in a single chat message.

Other Items of Note

  • Ability to display a pop-up when people enter / leave a region (People floater > Options > check Radar Alerts)
  • Option to select the display of user names, display names, both, etc., (Preferences > General > drop-down menu under Usernames (the Highlight Friends option the drop-down replaces can now be found under the Colors tab)
  • Preferences > Move & View includes three new check boxes:
    • Always enable flight ability
    • Moonwalk (aka don’t turn avatar around when walking backwards)
    • Nimble (aka don’t run certain animations, such as the landing “splat” when falling, to appear more nimble)
New movement options under Preferences > Move & View
New movement options under Preferences > Move & View
  • Inventory auto-accept options moved from Preferences > Privacy to Preferences > Interface > Inventory
  • Preferences > Interface has two new sub-tabs, Mouselook and Security, and numerous new options throughout all the sub-tabs
  • Teleport progress bar now displays the region to which you are teleporting
  • Geenz Spad’s projectored reflections improvements.

Feedback

A further nice update from the Alchemy team, which adds some neat additions to the viewer – the work on legacy search is particularly impressive. There has also been a lot of under the hood work as well, with memory leak fixes, fixes for bottlenecks, slowdowns, etc., which the Alchemy team say should lead to better performance in addition to the updates that have come from the Lab.

For those who tend to ask, there is still no support for the Restrained Love API as yet, but it the promise is there that it will be added in the future.

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Black Dragon 2.4 Beta

Posted on by Inara Pey

Blackdragon logoUpdated, Thursday October 2nd, 2014: Niran released Black Dragon 2.4.0.1, a “feedback update” containing a number of additions and revisions based on feedback received for the initial 2.4 release. These includes a revision to the world map, see the end of this review for details, and the Black Dragon 2.4.0.1 blog post for a complete list of revisions.

NiranV Dean released the latest version of his Black Dragon viewer on Sunday September 28th. Version 2.4 Beta, which is supplied in two flavours, a “normal” version, which comprises Niran’s additions and modifications to the viewer merged up to the Lab’s 3.7.15 code base (and is thus also referred to as version 3.7.15.33763) and a “current” version, which also has Niran’s updates and additions, but merged with the Lab’s 3.7.17 code (and is thus also referred to as 3.7.17.34052).

As well as emphasising this is a beta, with work still to come, Niran notes that the 3.7.17 version has not been thoroughly tested, and as such, may be subject to issues which might not be found in the 3.7.15 version. Keeping this in mind, for the purposes of this look at Black Dragon 2.4, I opted to go with the 3.7.17 version.

Note that this isn’t intended as an in-depth review of the viewer, but rather an overview of some of the more significant updates, together with some initial feedback.

Log-in / Splash Screen

This release of the viewer does away with the YouTube video which has been a feature of many of Niran’s viewer releases, and the log-in credentials area of the screen has been updated. Gone are the bold links to the right of the log-in area, replaced by a set of smart-looking buttons directly above the log-in credentials fields, with the Quit button ranged to the right and a link to the Black Dragon change logs to the left. A large, friendly CONNECT button has also been added below the credentials fields.

The old log-in credentials area for Black Dragon (top) and the cleaner, smarter new version (bottom) - click for full size
The old log-in credentials area for Black Dragon (top) and the cleaner, smarter new version (bottom) – click for full size

UI and Toolbar Buttons

The 2.3 release of Black Dragon, as noted in my last look at the viewer, saw some changes to the UI and to the toolbars, The “ink blots” effect within the UI are still there, but are more subtle in nature that the last release, although they have now found their way onto the various panel floaters as well, giving them a ragged look I personally found distracting; I found my eyes being drawn to the edges of any floater I opened, particularly if opened against a much lighter in-world background, rather than focusing on the options within it.

In my last overview of Black Dragon, I pointed to the new toolbar button placement area Niran had implemented, up in the top left corner of the viewer window, where one would normally expect to see the menu bar options. Buttons displayed in this area default to Niran’s “Tiny” size, and while it was a good use of available space, it could quickly become overrun if button labels are used rather than icons, or someone went daft placing buttons there, leading to the buttons wrapping themselves over two or more rows. More particularly, displaying the Navigation Bar / Favourites would result in the Navigation Bar clashing with any buttons placed there.

Niran has solved this latter problem in version 2.4 Beta by providing a new toolbar button. This is displayed by default when clean installing Black Dragon (or can be selected from the Toolbar Button floater). When clicked, it “opens” the Navigation Bar and Favourites, hiding the top button area (and also the Dragon menu, it must be said). The Navigation Bar has a corresponding button on the right-hand end which will hide them again.

The new toolbar buttons in Black Dragon 2.4 Beta
The new toolbar buttons in Black Dragon 2.4 Beta

Two other new toolbar buttons with this release are the Teleport History buttons, which allow you to teleport back to the last location visited, or on to the next location (if any) in your teleport history. Again, these buttons are displayed by default during a clean install, or can be selected from the Toolbar Buttons floater.

Preferences and Panel Updates

The Preferences panel witnesses improvements in layout, with a number of outdated options (such as Niran’s own Navigation Bar buttons for editing the sky, etc.) removed, and a general improvement on font and colour contrasts against the darker background of the viewer’s UI which does much to assist readability. Those perhaps small, these updates do much to make scanning through the Preferences options a lot easier on the eye.

Specific improvements to Preferences see the following panels overhauled: General, Display, Sound and Media, Chat, Camera, Interface and Viewer. Some of these see layout overhauls, some include new options or updated capabilities – please refer to the change log for specifics.

Alongside the Preferences panel, a number of other panels have also been overhauled, including the: People floater (incl. the Group tab), appearance panel, Outfit selection panel, Picks, and Destinations floater. Please refer to the change log for a full list of updates and changes.

World Map

Please refer to the end of this article for notes on the black Dragon 2.4.0.1 update, which revised the world map to address some of the comments mentioned below.

The World Map gets a further update with the 2.4 Beta, which sees the layout once again resemble the World Map found in other viewers – albeit with the legend moved to the left side of the map this time, rather than along the top, where they are joined with the coordinates display and the option buttons. The search options remain to the right of the map, and slide  into view when an additional Show Search button to the left of the map is clicked.

The revised Wolrd Map showing the legend and options moved to the left of the map, and the open search options to the right (displayed by clicking on the button)
The revised Wolrd Map showing the legend and options moved to the left of the map, and the open search options to the right (displayed by clicking on the button)

Personally, the World Map legend in something I tend to set & forget. It’s the search options I use a lot more frequently, together with the coordinate fields and Copy SLurl options. I think  I’m likely not alone in this, so if the World Map is to be revised, I’m surprised that no-one has made the legend the section hidden by default (if, indeed, anything really needs to be hidden) and left the more frequently used search options available for use, be they to the left, right, top or bottom of the map itself. It may not result in so much of a saving in screen (or map display) real estate, but I’d take convenience of use over having to click buttons to reveal slide-out options.

Continue reading “Black Dragon 2.4 Beta” →

Updated log-in screen viewer reaches RC

Posted on by Inara Pey

The updated login screen viewer has made it past the experimental / project viewer status and is now a release candidate viewer, version 3.7.16.294345. This viewer, which I previewed while still a project viewer, features two log-in splash screens, one of which is seen by users logging-in to SL for the very first time, and one which is seen by returning users.

The “new user screen” provides a couple of hints as to what to expect when those coming to SL for the first time log-in.

The log-in screen displayed by the experimental viewer the *first time* a new user runs the viewer ready to log-in to SL
The updated log-in screen which is only seen by a user logging-in to SL for the very first time, and which provides some information on what to expect.

The more “regular” log-in screen which is seen by returning users (i.e. those who have previously logged-in to SL), has the log-in criteria fields moved to the top, and introduces a few changes, which I described last time around, but will re-cap here for convenience.

The most obvious of these is that the credentials area now has three independent log-in buttons:

  • 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 – this now works if you type a location and tap ENTER rather than having to then click the Log-in button.
The log-in / splash screen in the experimental viewer that is seen by user who have previously logged-in to SL
The updated log-in / splash screen users returning to SL will see

Note that on computers which are used to access Second Life with multiple accounts, the user name field now has an auto-complete function based on the initial letters of an avatar name entered into the field (providing Remember Me is checked). However, do note that this does not extend to the password field, which is not auto-completed on the basis of the user name field. When logging-in with different accounts, you will still need to manually enter the password for the account you’re using.

The reason the log-in screen has been revised is that during A/B testing, the Lab believe they noted a rise in user retention of 3-5% among those new users who were supplied with viewers using revised log-in layouts when compared to those who received the release viewer download with the current log-in screen. Speaking at the TPV developer meeting on Friday September 12th, Grumpity ProductEngine Linden also indicated that these may be the first in a series of changes to the viewer log-in, saying:

We’re going to be putting forward some changes to the newbie log-in screen and then the subsequent returning user log-in screen. They’re going to be gradual, and sometimes not as beautiful as we might like all at once; however, you can be assured that they’ve all been tested and that they perform better.

If this does mean further updates might be appearing down the road, it’ll be interesting to see what form they’ll take.

With thanks to Gibson Firehawk for pointing out the log-in auto-complete and location fix.

Firestorm turns four on the third

Posted on by Inara Pey

firestorm-logoOn Wednesday September 3rd, the Firestorm viewer turns four, and the team are inviting all who can to join them in a 4th anniversary party.

The blog post announcing the event reads in part:

September 3rd we turn four! Hard to believe but it has already been 4 years since we started developing viewers! First the popular Phoenix viewer and now of course the crazy popular Firestorm Viewer. Firestorm is by far  the most popular viewer used in Second Life and we have you to thank for that! After all… we couldn’t have done it without your support and encouragement! So as a show of our appreciation and with what is becoming a bit of a tradition for us… we have partnered with a couple of content creators to bring you some really cool free gifts AND organized a Rockin anniversary party with Rockin entertainment!

Things will kick-off at 13:00 SLT on Wednesday September 3rd, at the Phoenix-Firestorm support Island, where Mankind Trace (aka Seth Regan in the physical world) will be starting things with a live performance, and he’ll be followed by Firestorm’s Ed Merryman, who will be spinning the discs until the last avatar drops (which in 2013 added up to a 18+ hour party!).

Do keep in mind that the region’s capacity is liable to be limited, but people will be coming and going – so if you don’t get in the first time – try later!

To further mark the event, two special gifts will be on offer. The first of this is another Firestorm cat from KittyKats. This one is called FireBall, and like the 2013 kitty, is fully interactive – it can wander, follow and even be held –  and comes complete with a party hat, engraved collar and a cute matching bed!

The Firestorm 4th anniversary KittyKat and custom bike from
The Firestorm 4th anniversary KittyKat and custom bike from Desert Morning Motors

Also on offer for a limited time is a Firestorm themed Cafe style easy rider bike, donated by Desert Morning Motors. Inspired by the Classic American Motorcycles of the late 1930′s to the late 1960′s, and capture the spirit of the American chopper bikes. So get ready to be a Firestorm Easy Rider!

Locations for obtaining both of these limited-time gifts will be announced through the Firestorm blog on Wednesday September 3rd, and will doubtless be available at the party!

Which just leaves me to pass on congratulations and best wishes to Jessica, Ed, and the team on reaching their 4th anniversary!

Alchemy brews a new beta

Posted on by Inara Pey

Alchemy-logoOn Wednesday August 27th, the Alchemy team released further beta version of their v3-style viewer, which they refer to as a celebratory release, marking their inclusion in the Lab’s Third Party Viewer Directory.

As a beta, version 3.7.14.33534, the release obviously isn’t a full feature release; as Cinder notes in the blog post, it is still a work-in-progress, and the Alchemy team are still working on things. As such, this article is a rapid-fire overview of points-of-note, rather than an in-depth article.

The new release is available for Windows (32-bit and 64-bit) and Mac (64-bit), with Linux referred to as “coming soon”. I installed the Windows 64-bit version, which not only suited my system, it allowed me to run the new beta alongside the 32-bit version of the previous beta release, which I looked at back in April. Installation was smooth and direct, with the viewer firing-up automatically once installation had finished. No anti-virus flags triggered, just my usual firewall warning about the SLplugin for voice,

Starting the viewer revealed the most notable change to it – the UI font presentation. To quote Cinder’s blog post:

We’ve decided that Adobe® Source Sans Pro is a little nicer on the eyes, and Sovereign went to great lengths to push around the pixels and make everything fit just right.

The viewer certainly reflects this effort; font presentation is crisp and sharp (doubly so, perhaps on my new shiny monitor! 🙂 ), and everything fits the floaters, button, icons, toasts, etc., perfectly when using a default UI size, and it scales nicely with the UI size slider. Alongside of this, the UI itself has been generally refreshed, although some of the updates may not appear obvious to the eye.

Preferences

The additional move & view options in Preferences
The additional Move & View options in Preferences

Preferences get the same UI refresh as the rest of the viewer, and a couple of changes in the Move & View tab, which see the addition of two camera constraints check boxes (Disable Minimum Zoom and Disable Object Push), and a check box for Realistic Mouselook (which comes to Alchemy via NiranV Dean).

Toolbar Buttons

Alchemy 3.7.14 sees changes to the toolbar buttons available to users.

Alchemy Toolbar Buttons floater
Alchemy Toolbar Buttons floater

Of particular note with this release is the addition of the buttons for sharing to Twitter and Flickr, the Region Tracker and Quick Settings buttons (both of which are examined later in this article), and the removal of the Windlight button.

Legacy Profiles

Alchemy's new legacy profile display - integrated into the People floater
Alchemy’s new legacy profile display – integrated into the People floater

Legacy profiles come to Alchemy with a completely fresh implementation of the profile floater, which has been neatly integrated into the People floater. Accessing your own profile can be done from the Me menu or the Profile button, as per usual, while accessing other people’s profiles can be done through the right-click avatar context menu, also as per usual.

All of these options open the new profile panel within the People floater, and the arrow at the top left of the floater will switch you back to the People panel display itself, allowing you to page back and forth between, say, Nearby People and individual profiles quickly and easily, and without opening additional floaters. Note that in this regard, your own avatar is listed in Nearby People, allowing you a further means of accessing your own profile information.

This entire approach is smooth and sweet, and followed through with all other means of accessing a profile (e.g. through the mini-map, and so on). Nor does it end there. The updated Profile display neatly organises the various tabs – Second Life, Groups, Interests, etc, vertically, with what might be the mostly common-used option buttons (Chat, Add Friend, Block) ranged at the bottom of the display, with a gear icon providing access to additional options – share, offer teleport, request teleport, Pay, etc.

Snapshot Floater Update

As I’ve recently reported, the official viewer is gaining a more unified snapshot floater (at the time of writing, available via the Snowstorm RC viewer version 3.7.15.293295). Given that this beta release of Alchemy is based on the Lab’s 3.7.14 release code, it doesn’t include the newer snapshot floater; instead it provides its own means switching to the Facebook, Flickr and Twitter floaters.

This has been achieved via the addition of three links (rather than buttons) at the foot of the snapshot floater itself. Clicking on any one of these will close the snapshot floater and open the required upload floater.

The Alchemy snapshot floater with the links to switch to the Flickr, Facebook orTwitter upload floaters (l); and the additional image size options
The Alchemy snapshot floater with the links to switch to the Flickr, Facebook or Twitter upload floaters (l); and the additional image size options

Continue reading “Alchemy brews a new beta” →

Firestorm issue blocking warning for version 4.5.1

Posted on by Inara Pey

firestorm-logoFollowing the recent release of Firestorm 4.6.7 (see my overview for details), the Firestorm team has announced that Firestorm 4.5.1 will be blocked as from Friday September 12th, 2014.

The blocking of version 4.5.1  – which does not affect any of the more recent releases of Firestorm, is in keeping with the Firestorm team’s agreement with Linden Lab to only allow – as far as possible – only the most recent three releases of Firestorm to connect to Second Life.

Also unaffected by the block, and for the benefit of Mac users, is version 4.4.2 – in keeping with their promise to Mac users, Firestorm will not be blocking version 4.4.2 until such time as more of the Mac-specific bugs which have occurred in more recent SL viewer releases (and inherited by Firestorm and other TPVs) have been dealt with.

However, although the blocking is related to Second Life, please note that this announcement does mean that as from September 12th, Firestorm version 4.5.1 will no longer be able to connect to OpenSim grids as well.

If you want to know why Firestorm block versions, you can find an explanation on their blog. Similarly, if you wish yo know how Firestorm implement a block, you can do so via the Firestorm wiki.

In terms of the upcoming block, those users who are still running 4.5.1 are asked to update to a more recent very of Firestorm sooner rather than later. As the official blog post from the team notes:

If you wait until the last minute to update you will have a harder time reaching support since most people seem to wait until the last minute and then contact support for help.

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