Phoenix Viewer Release Candidate 1.5.2.1050

No sooner do I see the Kirsten release than up pops a Phoenix Viewer 1050 release. This is another Release Candidate. While the Phoenix team is calling this an RC they say they will provide support for it. So, again the lines between esoteric alpha, beta, RC, and final versions gets fuzzier, at least from my side.

Update – Bug Fix Release

This release is mostly bug fixes and improvements to existing features. The goal was to get a stable viewer. Over the previous part of this year most developers have been getting previous features and new code and features from Linden Lab working. That has lead to crash prone viewers.

Mixing new and old code has created problems and oddities in how things work. Clothing and inventory problems have bloomed all over the place. It seems this release is the result of a concentrated effort to resolve problems.

The Bridge

You may not know that the Phoenix Viewer uses a ‘bridge’. The term ‘bridge’ is used to describe the tool that reaches across the viewer and server sides to allow the viewer to do things otherwise not possible. Radar is a good example. Radar needs information that is easy for scripts in world to get and a problem for the viewer to get.

The Emerald bridge took and now the Phoenix bridge takes advantage of a bug in the SL server/client system to create an invisible, not clear or transparent but truly invisible, prim and attach it to your avatar. Phoenix uses a sphere attached to your waist. With the bug fix you will likely see your self wearing a plywood prim on your waist. Not exactly a fashion statement.

The Phoenix Blog describes how the bug fix will affect Phoenix users. One will have to log into a region where they have build rights. Otherwise the Bridge Update is not going to happen. If the region has build rights available the bridge will automatically update. Or at least that is the plan.

It worked for me. If it works, you will not see a plywood bear-belly on your avatar and there will be a new bridge labeled #LSL<->Client Bridge v0.13 in your inventory. Look in Recent.  Also, the viewer offers to remove old bridges from inventory. I can’t imagine a use for the older bridges. So, I toss them.

RLVa

This release does not have Restrained Love Viewer (a) features. They ran out of time.

RLVa is a feature in many TPV’s for those into bondage. It allows others to have some control over your viewer and avatar. It can be used for other things than bondage, but as far as I know that is its primary use. It is disabled by default.

Download & Install

The file size is 29mb. The install program allows you to register or not the viewer as the default viewer for SLURL’s. The default is to set the viewer as the default. If Phoenix is your primary viewer, leave the option checked. The setting will stick until you install another viewer. Usually the last viewer installed takes over as the default viewer.

Somewhere in the versions (908?) is one that messed up the folders in the Start menu. One is PhoenixViewer and another is Phoenix Viewer (with a space). The one with the space is the newer one.

The viewer remembers your previous settings.

Things seem to work well. I used it for about an hour. I was getting 28 FPS or so in my cottage.

You may notice I didn’t call this a review. That is because I haven’t had time to do the review, yet. More later.

2 thoughts on “Phoenix Viewer Release Candidate 1.5.2.1050

  1. Hello. I had phoenix yiewer 1050 and absolutlely lovved it. then one day it wouldnt load in,so i deleted it and phoenix 1102 was installed insted, and ive have nothing but trouble with it. can someone please tell me how i can get viewer 1050 back? the phoeix home papge does not have it listed, and i cant find it anywhere, Thank you for any help that can be provided. My email is boraskym@yahoo.com

    Marc Borasky

    • The newest Phoenix and the current Firestorm Beta are the best viewers available from the Phoenix/Firestorm team. You can chase down a version of the older viewers, if you want. Just ask on the Phoenix forum. But, you are probably only weeks from the older viewers being obsolete to the point of unusable. Also, installing the older viewer may not fix your problems. While it seem intuitive that it would, things are more complex than that now that you have started changing viewers. There are some common installation problems that people run into when changing viewers or even just versions. The Phoenix wiki has fixes for all the problems.

      I suggest you do a clean install of all your viewers. The SL system and TPV’s have gone through major changes and support DLL files and other settings files and even chat logs have changed. Read through my Clean Install to understand why ONLY installing a TPV may not work well and how to get multiple viewers to play nice. Then read the Phoenix Wiki for common problems to get your viewers working.

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