Black Dragon

NiranV has added a modified version of the Linden’s new Notifications Panel. If you read anything about the Third Party Dev’s (TPD) meeting this weekend you know the Lindens have a project viewer out with a Notifications feature change.

Normally TPD’s leave project viewer features out of their viewers until the Lab stops changing them, which is usually when the viewer goes to RC status. NiranV is usually experimenting with user interface (UI) and panel arrangements to avoid screen clutter. Adding the feature early gives users a chance to see how a new feature can work and see a UI that might be better.

This version has more RLVa fixes.

You may not know that in most viewers shadows are rendered according to how you have your draw distance set. NiranV has added more control by adding a slider control that gives you access to the shadow setting. Read more in NiranV’s blog. There is an image showing the effect of the control.

The new shadow control also affects Volumetric Light, God Rays.

The version 7 release adds the Linden Maintenance Viewer version 3.8.1.303166 updates. A large collection of fixes. (Release Notes)

There are some known bugs in 6 & 7. One is the ability to accept animation permission requests and group join requests.. After the request fades you can’t accept.  NiranV is aware of the problem and plans to wait for the Lindens to fix it. NiranV is playing with other stuff.

There have been a couple of updates to the Black Dragon Viewer since I started using 2.4.2.6. NiranV is up to release 2.4.3.1. The changes fix some minor problems, adds Windows 10 support (Win 10 coming the end of the month), and includes the change to how we can use clothing layers.

RLVa is still broken…  but, that’s not a Black Dragon issue, if I remember correctly.

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Inara is covering the update of the Black Dragon Viewer for Second Life™, version 2.4.2.5. See: Black Dragon 2.4.2.5: snapshot floater and cinematic camera.

The effect of the new Cinematic/Head Tracking Camera is shown in the video. I would have to play with the camera to see if I like it and think it useable, which has nothing to do with whether it is or isn’t. The effect in the video is pretty neat.

I may have to try it to see how it works with the SpaceNavigator, which uses flycam mode when controlling the camera..

NiranV is working on the viewer’s snapshot panel. NiranV designed the panel that appears in the SL Viewer distributed by the Lab. In NiranV’s viewer the panel is apparently evolving. That is S.O.P. for NiranV, which is the reason I like the Black Dragon Viewer but don’t use it. I like the innovation. I hate continually having to figure out how things work or what controls have moved to where with each update.

It isn’t as bad as I may make it sound. I think everyone that takes pictures or makes machinima in SL should try the viewer.

Niran has a new version of the Black Dragon Viewer out:  2.4.2. You can read the announcement and downloads can be found here. Some of the changes are: 

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