A new release of the Singularity viewer is out. The Singularity Viewer download instructions and link are on the Singularity web site. Details of changes and the release notes are there too. Also the viewer has made it on Linden Lab’s SL TPV List. The viewer is in the second set of viewers where they are listed alphabetically.

Download & Install

Download file size is about 28mb. The instructions say to uninstall any currently installed version of the viewer. The uninstall program in version 1.5.3 does not clear the cache or remove the Singularity settings files. I chose to manually delete those files. The settings are in a file at and named: C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\SecondLife\user_settings\settings_singularity.xml

The cache is located in: C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\SingularityViewer\

The Program Files folder for Singularity is removed.

The install is quick and no options are offered, so it is as simple as it can get.

However, the install associates SLURL’s with the Singularity Viewer. There is no option or choice, it just does it.

Experience

The avatar I used for testing this viewer has no home (sniff sniff). So, I can’t test in my  typical simple environment. (My main av lives in a ‘gated’ community and it is way too hard to tp this av there). In Free Dove, a moderately complex region, I get 25 to 35 FPS.

I went freebie shopping. The viewer started giving me problems about an hour into the session, lots of small freezes. Frame rates down to 2 and 3. I suspected most of it was the region. The ping, Time Dilation, and Physics FPS were all looking good, so I was unsure. A relog cleared things up and FPS was back in the 25 to 30 range. But, it was only a few minutes until I was having problems again. Moving to another freebie area (Freebie Galaxy) the problem cleared up. I dug through stuff for over an hour with only a little jerkyness now and then. So, I think the problem was the all the region’s problem.

Near and far textures download and render poorly. In several places nearby textures rendered last. The viewer does have a built-in speed-rez. But, that only kicks in when one tp’s into a region. When tp’ing within a region speed-rez doesn’t kick-in. So, you can see how the render process handles near and far priorities.

Search

The search panel is the older one, which works better than the SLV2 search. I can actually find things. I suppose we should enjoy it while we can.

Mini Map

The dots for av’s in skyboxes are supposed to be a different size. Whatever, I can’t tell when av’s are above or below me on this mini-map.

Breast Bounce

The viewer has breast bounce as introduced by Emerald Viewer. You will find it in Preferences->Vanity Settings->Body Dynamics.

Summary

This is a good general use viewer. I had no problems and used the viewer for about a three hour stretch. The problems I mention above were most likely caused by the region I was in.

The viewer uses a series 1 user interface.