Niran has added Qarl’s Mesh Deformer code to the Niran viewer 1.03. I tried it out and played with mesh. There are some things I learned.
Fit
The size of the mesh does matter. The Deformer does not move all mesh to the outside of the avatar. In some cases I found small mesh clothes were inside the avatar. Also, large clothes left a space between the avatar and the mesh.
[youtube gRT0fWacyEY]
An explanation of the video is below in the Video section.
So, I guess the base avatar that one designs mesh from is going to be important. I’ll have to do some experiments to see how using a personal shape avatar works compared to using the base avatar.
This release has a couple of notable changes. The ability to set a default material for prims you rez has been added. The feature is from the Firestorm Viewer code. And the new V3 avatar button now works in Dolphin.
The release announcement page and link to the download is in the Dolphin Viewer Blog.
Dolphin 3 Install
Download and Install
The download is typical. The stalled copy panels still appear. But, they now close when you start the viewer. Their failure to close was a problem in my Vista 32. So, the install is nicer.
Experience
The viewer performs in the 10 to 15 FPS range, for me. If you have not seen the thread in the SL forum about viewer performance check out: How Fast is Your Viewer? – Second Life. If you haven’t already, add your information.
As best I can tell there are not earthshaking changes or additions to this version. The viewer is advancing at a steady pace.
I found a notice today that Svensk has linked a new article to my Milkshake Viewer review. It was his new article on the Milkshake Viewer. It is in Swedish but Google does a pretty good translation of this one. Whatever, it seems there is a new release of Milkshake out. I don’t see that much new in this release. So, this review is about a controversy that started up around the Milkshake Viewer.
Milkshake? Logo
The last review of Sven’s and possibly mine stirred up some drama, mostly about Milkshake’s author not properly attributing where parts of the viewer originated. That has been corrected in this version and Cinder has spoken up.
People that create things often graciously share those things. In the viewer development world related to Second Life and in other open source game worlds, creators expect some recognition for their work. Considering that this is often the only payment they will ever receive it is understandable they get annoyed when it is denied. But, such upset usually signals the donation was not as freely given as it might have been.
The failure to provide the expected acknowledgement is not surprising in Milkshake. It appeared, at least to me, the viewer was made mostly for the developer and her friends. Unfortunately, it seemed so obvious to me I failed to mention it in my previous article, Milkshake: a New #SL Viewer. Cinder’s recent comments verify that.
Niran has released the ‘Final’ version of Niran’s Viewer. That is final as in finally complete, not the last. Niran’s blog has an article that is worth the read. I’ll mention the main points, but I won’t cover all the details.
Niran’s Niche
Some viewer developers want their viewer to be the best viewer. Kirsten’s was bleeding edge technology for the best rendered image. Henri’s Cool Viewer seems to be about stretching the life of V1 viewers, which in Henri’s case is probably more about the user interface than the code. Linden Lab’s viewer is about being easy to learn. Firestorm is a power user’s viewer, imo.
Nirans Viewer 1.00
Niran wants to create a viewer with the best render image. For Second Life I think that is an awesome goal. I may be a bit more visually oriented than most. So, I like high quality graphics. I loved exploring Blue Mars. But, I need more computer to run at the quality I want. My duel core just isn’t cutting it with my new graphics card.
Hopefully in the first quarter of 2012 the need for Magic Boxes will go away. Until then, we occasionally have to move them. That often creates problems with the items we have in the Market Place. But, it is possible to move them and avoid the problems.
Magic Box Move
To avoid problems you need to understand that everything rezzed in-world gets a UUID, a Universal Unique Identifier. I get confused trying to remember how an object’s UUID changes or does not change when we take it back into inventory and later rez it again. In general each time something is rezzed it seems to get a new UUID. Also, it gets confusing figuring out which things in the box have which UUID’s and how those match up with the items in the Market Place. Thinking that through is too much brain damage.
So, this is actually a tutorial on how to move objects and RETAIN their existing UUID. This process is not limited to just Magic Boxes.
If you read the announcement of the Firestorm-Phoenix (FS-PH) Q & A, you know there was a reason for having the secession. Jessica Lyon, the voice for the FS-PH Team, said the reason was anger and frustration in the community. So, what is the anger and frustration about and where is it coming from?
[youtube G4eIB-BGYCU]
You probably know Third Party Viewers (TPV) developers are leaving, KirstenLee and Kirstens Viewer, and new ones are appearing, Cinder and Milkshake Viewer. We also know Linden Lab is advancing their viewer at a blistering pace. In general we see things moving forward and new technology is adopted. A Neilson report shows that Second Life has almost doubled market share (New World Notes) in the last few months.
