Tag: Kirsten’s Viewer

On Sunday 23rd September, Kirstenlee Cinquetti made a surprise update to Kirsten’s Viewer. It was accompanied by a short blog post:

I cannot help but find myself drawn in once more, you would think after nearly ten years of what sometimes seems like punishment you would throw in the towel.

But like I have stated in the past you catch a spark of what could be.. and once more you re-discover.

The shape or form of your time devoted to this most unusual habit is not yet set in stone, but you know you quite fancy the journey once again.

Version S22(1a) was not a major update to the viewer, and wasn’t intended to be, although it has been followed by a second release on the 26th, version S22 2.8.2 (11). Both are still very much Viewer 2 in terms of UI, and are more “tidy-ups” rather than any resumption of development.

Seeing the old V2-style UI actually brought a smile to my face. Well, not so much a smile as a big, sloppy grin. Even though I’ve never been a fan of the tabs on the right side of the screen, I’ve still missed the Sidebar in so many ways. It is ironic that by the time LL decided to remove it altogether, several TPVs had re-worked it into something that was both reasonably functional and no longer a blight on people’s use of SL – with Kirsten’s Viewer being at the forefront of many of the early improvements and Sidebar innovations.

That this isn’t a return of Kirsten’s viewer – and shouldn’t be taken as such – was made clear by Kirsten’s partner, Dawny Daviau, who chatted with me earlier this evening about the updates. “He grabbed the latest Kirstens viewer and just played a bit with it and compiled it again with just here and there an adjustment,” she explained. “There wont be any serious work anymore done as he still works and doesn’t have the time for that. It’s just refreshed, and wont get the new things LL offers now like pathfinding etc. See it as recreational work on the viewer but because we had so many requests for the viewer we put it up for the fans.”

One of the last releases on Kirsten’s Viewer included a (still unique) 3D view of the world. That’s still present in the updates – you can find the option under Preferences->Graphics->Advanced-> Misc->Toggle Anaglyph Render. You may also need to disable deferred rendering (lighting and shadows) – but if you’re able to view 3D rendering on your computer, it brings a whole new depth to Second Life.

Being based on V2, performance isn’t perhaps as good as the latest generation of V3.x viewers. On my system, it ran at around 23 fps at ground level with deferred off and Draw set to 128m. Pushing Draw up to my usual test range of 360m reduce the frame rate to around 18 fps. However, I do have an older GPU, and it did always tend to struggle with Kirsten’s, sadly. This is reflected by the fact that with deferred active, I was reduced to single digit frame rates – just 7 fps at 128m, and 4 at 360m.

There is far too much in V3.x I’ve become used to  – and dependent upon, in some respects –  to make a return to using Kirsten’s viewer full-time, but seeing these two releases was a welcome trip down memory lane, tinged with no small measure of regret at what might have been, had the Crowdfunder funding raised enough for work on the viewer to continue.

Related Links

• Kirstenlee’s Blog
• Kirsten’s Viewer downloads – note the viewer is  unsupported

With thanks to Nalates Urriah.

The crowdfunder effort to keep Kirsten’s Viewer alive did not reach the required target of £25,000.

Kirstenlee (Lee Quick) posts a sad message today on the subject, confirming that the end of the road has now been reached, saying:

I will no longer have the time ( or inclination ) to develop any more, on January the 1st I start a new job, and will be busy looking after my nearest and dearest.

Given all they are facing, a move back to England, getting into a new home, Dawny’s health and the need for full-time work, one cannot help but extend both Lee and Sylvia (Dawny) love and best wishes.

It’s easy to dwell on what might have been in terms of the crowdfunding effort, and not to feel regret that Kirsten’s Viewer will not longer be under development. However, I’d like to remember some of what Kirsten’s gave us.

It may not have been my primary Viewer, but it was the one I always looked to when I wanted to take really good photos in SL – simply because it was so good, it made anything I took look good.

It was the first Viewer (indeed, the only Viewer for a long time) on which I could experience shadows in SL.

It was the first Viewer to demonstrate what Viewer 2 could have been and that the V2 UI could actually be made into something usable.

It was the first Viewer to give us DoF in a usable degree and the first hybrid TPV to bring us both mesh rendering and mesh uploads.

It remains the most comprehensive viewer made available for photography and machinima.

It was the first – only, to date – Viewer that dared to go 3D.

To Kirsten and Dawny, and on a personal note, I hope that Second Life continues to bring you both fun, friendship and enjoyment throughout 2012, and I’d like to wish both Lee and Sylvia a happy and bright Christmas and a prosperous and healthy 2012.

Thank you to both of you, and to everyone involved in Kirsten’s Viewer.

Today, the attempt to get Kirsten’s Viewer crowdsourced has just about 10 days left in which to achieve its goal.

So far, some £6,150 ($9663) has been put into the project, representing 25% of the required total of £25,000 ($39279). Whichever way one looks at this, it is a remarkable achievement. However, the fact remains that in order for Kirsten’s Viewer to survive, it’s not enough.

Kirsten, and her rl “avatar” Lee Quick, together with partner Dawny Daviau have been caught-up in moving from Europe back to the UK, and so haven’t been able to maintain full internet access. Nevertheless, I did manage to catch up with Dawny this evening, and asked her if there were any chances of the fundraising effort being rolled forward another 60 days (assuming Crowdfunder allows this – it is something sites like Indiegogo support). Her reply was very clear and very understandable:

Hey Inara, No we won’t. If the target isn’t met the viewer will not return.

So if the Viewer is to be saved, there’s a lot to be done.

Participating in the project can bring with it certain benefits, as defined on the right, making it even more worthwhile for people to get involved.

Over the years, Kirsten’s Viewer has been leading-edge in terms of capabilities and usability, renowned for its ground-breaking support for photographers and machinema makers throughout SL. Many of the innovations found in the official Viewer(s) owe their heritage to Kirsten’s Viewer.

In its more recent developments, the Viewer was the first TPV to offer full mesh upload capability within Second Life (and other grids) and also introduced 3D Viewing to the grid.

For KirstenLee, the Viewer has been a labour of love for more than three years of his life, and only recent and unavoidable changes to his and Dawny’s personal circumstances forced them into shelving the Viewer – while a huge response to the news that development work on the viewer would be indefinitely suspended, coupled with the response to an idea put to the community by Hamlet Au, encouraged them to try the crowdsourcing route.

We’re entering the season of miracles and giving, so if you are a Kirsten’s Viewer user, and you’ve not contributed to the project and are in a position to do so – why not visit the project page (click the image above right, or click here). £18,000 sounds a lot to raise in just 10 days, but if people do pull together, who knows what might be achieved.

And if there is anyone out there with especially deep pockets, a love for virtual environments and who enjoys technology – KirstenLee and Dawny would love to hear from you as well!

Coming on top of yesterday’s tweet, there is good news for those who wish to see Kirsten’s Viewer continue.

Kirstenlee Cinquetti has announced that, following the outpouring of support for the Viewer, the team are going to try and obtain funding by going the Crowdfunder route.

In announcing the approach, Kirstenlee blogs:

Many of you have asked and wondered what the future would hold for the Viewer, well here is the answer..

After lots and lots of thought and quite a bit of behind the scenes activity we are going to go Crowdfunder!

The upshot of the whole deal is this, a target has been set to fund the entire project and it’s continued development for a period of one whole year. What happens remains to be seen, I can however reveal a few details of what does happen if we hit the target, and more critically what can occur if we exceed the funding target. If we seal the deal, almost instantly the binaries will become available for download the project will become active again and an updated and early build of S22 will become live.

If the funding target is achieved, it means that the binaries will be released once more, and work will immediately continue, with a list of juicy enhancements coming down the line over time:

• Programmable camera positions
• Enhanced photo making features
• “Radical changes” to the user interface
• Enhancements in the area of post processing and 3D vision

If the required funding level is exceeded, then the team will look into other aspects of Viewer development, such has obtaining a KDU licence, funding other developers, etc.

For those helping to fund the project, a special area of the Viewer’s website will be set up, providing preview access to builds and features, and where funders can vote on proposed new features and enhancements, etc. Rewards for funders will be based on their level of funding.

The project’s Crowdfunder page is now open. Using Crowdfunder is pretty much a win/win situation for all involved: if the target is reached, the project will go ahead; if the funding target isn’t reached, then money promised to the project will be refunded. So there’s no reason not to get involved!

At the start of September came news that Kirsten’s Viewer was effectively frozen as a result of Kirstenlee Cinquetti having to withdraw from the project in order to be better placed to care for partner Dawny Daviau.

While this news came a cause for regret, coupled with warm support for both Kirstenlee and Dawny, Hamlet Au put forward an intriguing idea to the community as to how the Viewer might survive. This resulted in a massive outpouring of further support for the Viewer, as evidenced in the KV blog, which prompted Jabba Aabye to post sincere thanks to all who had come forward, hinting that something may well be forthcoming, as he referred to the Viewer thus:

But there might be some light on the horizon. Tho it is not official yet, there is some hope growing it will work out and benefit all of us.

Not long after that post was made, I heard a rumour  – and I emphasise the word rumour – that there had been a further code commit for Kirsten’s Viewer. A check on the Kirsten’s Viewer SorceForge page revealed that, on the day Jabba made the announcement, a subversion of the Viewer code  – No. 1060 – was in fact committed. A total of 13 files were submitted to the SVN repository – most of which appear related to the forthcoming Direct Delivery mechanism / Inventory changes.

Obviously, the above is not indicative that there is about to be a further release of the Viewer; the commit could simply be related to placing work-in-progress into the repository pending the project being unfrozen at an unspecified point in the future.

However, earlier today, the following was sent out today via the Viewer’s Twitter account:

Given the upbeat tone of the Tweet (note the smiley), it would seem that some very welcome news may be in the offing where Kirsten’s Viewer is concerned, and the commit of the 22nd September may yet find its way into another release of the Viewer. Here’s to keeping fingers crossed that the forthcoming announcement carries some very good news.

Jabba Aabye has posted over at Kirsten’s Viewer blog, on behalf of the entire team. The message is one of hope and thanks for all the support offered over the last few weeks.

On the Viewer in particular he states:

A lot of people have stepped forward to help, contribute and/or volunteer in a future plan for the Kirstensviewer-project. And not only the project, also for all the hard work that has been already done. But there might be some light on the horizon. Tho it is not official yet, there is some hope growing it will work out and benefit all of us. Details will come out in the coming weeks. Keep this website close to your mousepointer…

This is very encouraging feedback / news. Hopefully the team can find a way to keep the Viewer going and moving forward, especially after all the hard work they have put into things.

You can read Jabba’s post in full here. To him and the team as a whole, I’d again like to pass on my thanks for all of their efforts over the years. To KL and Dawny especially, I offer every best wish for now and the future.