There isn’t any new information, so I won’t call this an update. But, there is probably some information you have not seen.
Geenz Spad, a developer of the Materials System, has a web site with information about the Materials System. See: Geenzo.com. The article outlines the process that started in February 2012 and went public about July or August 2012. It is worth reading if you have something you wanted added to the viewer or Second Life™ or have any other proposal for Linden Lab to consider.
In the article the features environment intensity and specular exponent are mentioned. We hear little about these in most discussions. Without the features in the viewer to demonstrate them it is harder to explain them. I’ve linked to a couple of page I hope will help.
I’ve mentioned that Maestro Linden spoke of the server side of the project being in testing on ADITI. There once was a code repository where people could pull and compile a viewer with the latest viewer side version of the project. That seems to have disappeared from public view.
We have no ETA on when the project will go into open Beta, meaning when we get a project viewer.
At first I was like “oh, a viewer to download!” and then “awwww it disapeared” 🙁
Kinda a bit weird no one did a video for those able to test thoese features.
By the way, thank you very much for those links, I will take a deep look into them 😉
Keep the good job, regards.-
I think having new materials are going to get tricky to work with, for LL I mean.
I just hope people won’t ask for full material effects like CryEngine 3 / HL2 Source has. There’s too much to abuse and drag SL down under with lag.
Lag is a constant concern. But, creative freedom, just like RL freedom, creates problems and a degree of chaos. Once people are experiencing the problems and chaos solutions are found and things work out, the problems are reduced and the chaos minimizes. Unless of course government or an authority steps in, like the Lab, and removes the freedom and mandates what can be done. The creative advancement is killed off and we are stuck with an aging stale system. The transportation industry is an excellent example.
People will ask for everything. It is what people do. In a free society people figure out how to supply those requests. People can have anything they can pay for. If the Lab gives them everything for free, the people will use it all and bury the system. As people learn what is happening they start to adjust and correct the problems. In the end it works out. It is when we leave it to others that we seem to be most unhappy with the results.