The Kokua-4.0.2 viewer updated March 29. Since then there have been significant updates to the SL Viewers. The Kokua blog has posted about the new additions and the status of their 4.0.5 viewer and made a request for testers to help as they bring Kokua up to date. See: Kokua project status update and request of testers.
Current Download: Download Kokua_4_0_2_38137_i686 (53.6 MB)The, I guess, RC version of Kokua (4.0.5) has the HTTP update, all the items in the Maintenance update, and the fixes and new features in the Quick Graphics update. Plus they have made an RLV version and NO-RLV version of Kokua.
I’m not sure why the 2 RLV versions. The RLV version works as most RLV capable viewers do, you can enable or disable the RLV features. The NO-RLV version is built without the RLV code. They mention something about those with a moral objection to RLV… but, that sounds like fuzzy PC thinking. Maybe they are concerned about having to provide counseling to those that can’t handle seeing an RLV setting in the viewer…
The Kokua team is asking for help testing this release. The team is too small to have QA testers. They rely on users to test the viewer. With the Avatar Complexity JellyDolls feature they need help testing whether or not the feature messes up RLV visibility features… or is messes up ACI visibility? Whichever, they need help testing with RLV on and off. So, maybe the NO-RLV version is just in case there are major RLV-ACI problems, which I hadn’t thought of but, can see could be a problem.
Kokua is pointing out that newer viewers using the HTTP changes are crashing on grids that depend on UDP. OSGrid and 3rd Rock have added support for HTTP delivery of content. But, others have yet to update.
The HTTP change is a wedge between SL and OpenSim grids. Kokua is considering splitting their viewer development for SL and OpenSim. That highlights the divergence between OpenSim and SL and we aren’t even talking Sansar’s effect on OpenSim, yet.
The list of viewers already shows the OS and Linden grid versions and the RLV and NO-RLV versions. My original take on reading the post was this OS things was a coming thing. But, it is obviously here now.
The team points out some known bugs… most have to do with inventory and appearance.
I seldom use Kokua these days. I have it installed and do update every so often. I suspect if I were more active in OSGrid I would be more interested in the Kokua Viewer. As it is now, I just don’t see a reason to use Kokua over Alchemy, Firestorm or Linden viewers. The Linden viewers are now pretty much the cutting edge viewers for Second Life. But, from time to time the Linden viewers have a crash problem and I fall back to Alchemy, Firestorm, and/or Kokua.