Viewers

General Viewer Information

KirstenLee Viewer S21(8) RC2 Release Review

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KirstenLee Viewer Install

This morning I see KirstenLee has a new release candidate out. This one is based on Linden Lab 2.7.3 code. So, this viewer is on the very edge of the latest viewer code. The full version number is 2.7.3.8. The viewer remains Anaglyph 3D capable and it now works with my 8800 GTS card. My first impressions review follows.

Download and Install

One of the KLV users with an nVidia 460 card on driver 275.33 is experiencing crash on start. So, it is a good idea to keep your previous RC1 install package. I’m on an nVidia 8800 with driver 270.61 (per Windows driver ID 8.17.12.7061). Watching Group chat I see others are having crash problems. The crashing seems to depend on the nVidia driver version. Some have gone back to version 266.38 and say they get 3x better FPS. This very much looks to be an nVidia and OpenGL issue.

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Second Life Viewer Update Week 23

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Lots of things are breaking loose. New features are coming and new Project Viewers are being released. Some interesting stuff.

WindLight

A new Project Viewer is out that incorporates the region controls for WindLight settings. There is a SL Wiki page for the project: Windlight Region Settings Project Viewer. There are Windows, Mac, and Linux versions. Of course this viewer feature is only useful if you have control of a region. There is lots of information about the new feature and how it works on the same page.

Update: Lindens announce Project Viewer for Estate Windlight 6/13 Link

New Second Life Windlight Testers Group
New Windlight Testers Group

The purpose of this feature is to allow region owners to set the environment for their region. Residents that use the viewer’s default environment setting will see the region as the owner intends. So, you can see how regions with Windlight settings work.

The feature is incomplete. But, it allows some testing to begin. For those testing Oz Linden wants them to join the “Windlight Region Testers” group. With the newer viewers with updated search you can select GROUPS and find it. But, there is no link for use in chat or email. There is a cut, copy, and paste, if one right clicks, but they don’t work.  Annoying.

The ability to set region Windlight is already in all servers on the main grid. For those that awnt to see a region with Windlight setting changes visit: BlakOpal region, Caledon, Hippo Hollow and Hippotropolis.

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Second Life Viewer 2.7.2 (232036)

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The Development Viewer is an Alpha level version that users can test. A recent release of it has a couple of changes to the cache. Cache size has been increased to 10gb. There is now a real Cache Clear button that actually clears the cache.

The operation of the previous Cache Reset button was confusing. It has been renamed to better represent its action, Default Location, which resets the cache’s location to the default location.

The changes and new buttons have been moved from the Setup tab to the Advanced tab. Me→ Preferences → Advanced.

Chat Logs are saved by some residents. To facilitate saving logs there is a control to allow you to have the viewer use a location other than the default location. While it seems odd to me, the setting is on the Privacy tab. Me → Preferences → Privacy.

Search – The new search is in this version of the viewer. It still has some oddities. When searching for people use the People filter. Otherwise names and display names can make it hard to find a person.

The frame rates (FPS) are low on this version.

 

 

Second Life Translators Dying

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Many if not most Second Live Viewers have automatic language translation features. Those translators depend on Google’s translation services. The viewers use a Google API (Application Programming Interface – basically a protocol for asking a question and getting an answer). Google has announced that as of December 2011 the service will be turned off. (Reference) Google’s translation page will remain. But, the door to the service which SL viewers use will close.

Effective immediately, the service is being ‘throttled’. A limit is set on the number of requests an application can make per day.

Why?

Google sited their reason for closing the API part of their translation service as abuse. It seems it was too popular. As it was a free service the ‘abusive’ load on Google servers was a financial drain.

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KirstenLee Lee Viewer S21(8) RC 1 Release Review

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KirstenLee has the new release candidate of S21(8) out. This one has 3D. This is anaglyph 3D, the red and blue shift image one looks at using blue/red glasses. 3D is not the only change, but it is the big change you can see on your screen.

Second Life 3D Stereoscopic
Second Life 3D

3D in Second Life

We are seeing more 3D in theaters and 3D TV’s are on the market. There are several types of 3D. Anaglyph was first used in movies in the 1950’s. Eclipse, Interference, Pulfrich, Spectral, Lenticular, and Autosterioscopic with all except the last two requiring some type of glasses to view. Anaglyphic glasses are cheap running from US$0.03 (Amazon) to $10. Glasses for Eclipse (shutter glasses) are typically over $100.

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SLV 2.7.1 Development Quick Look

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Once a week or more often I upgrade to a new version of the Snowstorm Development Viewer. It is one of these versions that eventually becomes the next Beta Viewer. This version has a couple of features I’ve been expecting.

Update: The SL Viewer 2.7.0 Beta is out and the 2.7.1 version is the same.

Graphics

Kirsten’s viewer has had dynamic shadows revealed as Preference settings for some time. Now this version of the SLV has the settings out where users can turn them on and off. In the left column of settings in the Graphics tab you’ll see the new settings.

Lighting & Shadows – This setting will be grayed out if your hardware does not support it or if Atmospheric Shaders are disabled (another setting in Preferences). Turning this feature on should engage deferred rendering. You should see little difference in the render, but the image should look better. The impact on Frames Per Second (FPS) while using medium power hardware should be small if even noticeable. There is a major improvement on the number of lights rendered. Previously 6 or 8 was the max. It is unclear how many can be handled now. In the past months we have seen over 200 render in tests. (See: KirstenLee Viewer S20(40) Released) The quality of Avatar Impostures improves. You probably won’t realize when your viewer is or isn’t using impostures. Shiny and Bright should look better.

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