A new version of the Dolphin Viewer 3 (DV3) is out. This release includes code from the Lab’s Shining branch and version 3.2.6. The fixes from the Shining branch should correct OpenGL compatibility problems for those with newer graphics cards.
Shadows in Dolphin Viewer 3
The compatibility issues have been around since mid 2011 and became a serious problem for those using nVidia 460 cards. See: nVidia Driver GTX 460 Problems. As more people updated to new 400 and 500 series cards we saw more problems. I think since the 3.2.3 versions we have been seeing fewer problems. But, there is supposedly more of the shining fixes in 3.2.6 than any of the previous versions. Whatever the case, I’m not having problems with my GTX560.
Download and Install
File size is about 27mb. I think more files download during the install.
The install is the typical Dolphin Viewer 3 install, nothing special about the install. It works.
Experience
Finding new features at this point is a matter of reading release notes rather than exploring the User Interface (UI).
This version extends a bit more control over received items. You can now set the viewer to automatically accept textures/pictures and note cards. The controls are in Preferences -> Dolphin Viewer 3 -> User Interface.
See the image for the other inventory controls available in DV3.
New Inventory ACCEPT Controls
There is a feature that hides empty System Folders, i.e., Objects, Notecards. I don’t understand why one would do this. If one were ever to empty out the Notecard Folder, how would they get the folder open to create a new note card?
There is a control to suppress one of the redundant pop ups, the notice that you just saved a land mark for the land mark you just saved… I’ve always hated that notice. Now if I could just find the setting control…
Inventory Buttons
More filters have been added to the inventory controls. Many of the Firestorm features are now part of DV3. There are new buttons at the top of the inventory panel. That is about the only visible change this feature brings. See the image.
Item Properties - Notice Creator
The actual change to be able to search by Creator Name and other new fields is somewhat invisible. The change is in how the panel’s search feature works. Unfortunately the feature is not intuitive. You can see if you just type in the creator’s name, it doesn’t work. It only finds the items that have the name in the item description. (Notice the jacket is not found.)