Debug Settings

The following is a list of debug settings for Second Life that you might find of value. It is not comprehensive, and I’ll try to add to it as a when. Note also that some of the settings given can be reached more easily through the additional Preferences options found in many TPVs.

How well some of the options work for you is dependent on a number factors, including the overall video rendering power at your disposal and personal preferences. As such, none of these are personal recommendations of the setting you should use, rather those you may find beneficial.

To Access Debug Settings

1. Activate the Advanced menu if it is not already displayed (CTRL-ALT-D on Windows / Linux; CTRL-OPT-D on a Mac).
2. Click on the DEBUG SETTINGS option towards the bottom of the menu.
3. A pop-up window is displayed. Enter the Debug setting command in the upper text box, change the required settings to those given below in the lower text box.

General

AutoLogin: set to TRUE to skip the Second Life login screen and go directly in-world when starting the Viewer  using the last-used login credentials. Useful if you have a version of the Viewer that you only use with a single avatar.

EffectScriptChatParticles: set FALSE to disable the swirling particle effects seen when scripts communicate (or you are talking via a scripted item).

MaxDragDistance: Alter the distance you can drag an object in a single move. Default is 48 metres. Useful if you are working in a confined space and don’t want things zooming off through walls, etc. Conversely, if working over large areas, an increase allows you to drag an object further on a singled move.

NotifyBoxColor and GroupNotifyBoxColor: Changes the colour / appearance of the blue (default) system notification pop-ups and Group Notice pop-up. Use the colour swatch (click the COLOR  box to open) to set a different colour. Lower the Alpha value to set the desired level of transparency (255 = solid).

PrecachingDelay: set to 0 to reduce your initial logging-in time by around 6 seconds BUT be prepared for textures and attachments to take longer to rez once logged-in.

RenderUnloadedAvatar: renders avatars in your view, even if they are still downloading to their own Viewer.

• Will not work on your own Avatar in the event of a bake fail
• Some TPVs include this an an option accessible through the Preferences floater

UISndObjectCreate: leave BLANK to avoid hearing the heavy rumbling every time you rez a prim.

World View / Camera

CameraOffsetDefault (V1) / CameraOffsetRearView (Viewer 6): Alter the X, Y Z co-ordinates of your camera relative to your avatar. Useful for adjusting the position of the camera while in your default in-world view. Can move the camera to the left / side side of your avatar and raise / lower the relevant position. Requires a re-log to implement changes on 1.x Viewers.

CameraOffsetScale: Alter the distance your camera is from your Avatar: lower values = closer; higher values = further away. Use with the focus offset options (below). Dynamic for both Viewer 1.x and Viewer 2.x, so can be experimented with. A good recommendation is 1.50.

FocusOffsetDefault (Viewer 1) / FocusOffsetRearView (Viewer 3): adjusts the camera focal point relative to your avatar. Dynamic for both Viewer 1.x and Viewer 3.x, so can be experimented with.

Note: For a set of recommended settings, see the Camera Offset Tutorial.

Video and Rendering

RenderDynamicLOD: set to FALSE to create a more organic look to far away terrain.

RenderTerrainLODFactor: Controls level of detail of terrain (higher=more detail; values above 4, little difference). The official Viewer tends to be set around 1.0, TPVs may be slightly higher.

RenderVolumeLODFactor: Increase to improve the rendering of in-world objects, particularly mesh objects which may only effectively have two LOD models: high and low detail, and so may “fall apart” at intermediate distances from you.

• Generally speaking, you should not go above 4.00 with this setting, as higher values can start to noticeably impact viewer performance.
• Values above 8.00 are pointless, as they have no impact on how mesh models appear, and are just making the viewer work harder for the same end result.

Machinema and Photographic Aids

AppearanceCameraMovement: Sets the camera position when entering Editing Appearance mode. True=camera will zoom in on current avatar position; False = camera does not move from current position. Useful when editing appearance when camera is set for a photoshoot.

CameraPositionSmoothing: smooths camera motion when panning / zooming, resulting less less “juddering”. Use in conjunction with ZoomTime to achieve smoother panning and zooming.

RenderGlowMinLuminance: Set to low values to increase the natural glow of objects around you in daylight; excellent for creating ethereal looks (set to around 0.250). Can be set to negative values for increased effect, but may need lower Gamma settings on the Windlight sky editor to be fully effective at extremely low values.

PitchFromMousePosition: Controls the the vertical range of motion over which you avatar’s head will move when tracking mouse movement (i.e. looking up / down in). Setting this to 0 will stop any vertical movement, while setting it to 90 will cause the avatar’s head to track a full 90-degrees up or down as the mouse is moved. Set to 0 or lower values when you are taking photographs of yourself and wish to limit undue head movement.

YawFromMousePosition: Controls the the horizontal range of motion over which you avatar’s head will move when tracking mouse movement (i.e. looking from side to side). Setting this to 0 will stop any horizontal movement, while setting it to 90 will cause the avatar’s head to track a full 90-degrees left or right as the mouse is moved. Set to 0 or lower values when you are taking photographs of yourself and wish to limit undue head movement.

• Some TPVs include options to control both PitchFormMousePosition and YawFromMousePosition from within the Preferences floater

ZoomTime:  Sets the time taken for the camera to pan / zoom; higher numbers will cause the camera to transition more slowly and gently. Use with ALT-zoom or Mouselook to create a range of effects (examples: set to 10 seconds and ALT-click on an object to transition the focus, the transition will be much slower / smoother; zoom in on and object / avatar and set to 20 seconds then go to Mouselook for a long, slow, pull-back).

A full list of debug settings can be found in the SL wiki.