#SL Viewer Update Week 21

Today I saw that we have a new Development Viewer out. It is version 3.3.3 (257716).

UPDATE: 2012-05-27 – Version 3.3.3 (258100) is out.

I’ve had some interesting experiences with it. The previous version had horrendous memory leaks. In a couple of hours I would be down to 6 to 8 FPS and memory consumption would be approaching 1.5 gigabytes.

This version took an unusually long time to initialize the texture cache when I first started it. That seems to have been a one time thing. But, I haven’t had much time to play with this version. I’ve been too busy redoing my clothing tutorial.

Once I started the viewer and in 5 minutes it crashed. I have no clue what happened. The next time I ran the viewer for over two hours with no problems.

I also find my Core2 Quad w/GTX560Ti is running at 15 FPS at times when it used to be running at 6-8 FPS.

Not for Everyone

If you are not into problems and cutting edge tech, avoid trying the Development Viewer. The viewer is not intended for every day use. It is a pre-Beta version.

However, if you want to help the Lindens with crash and bug reports then jump right in.

#SL Lab’s Viewers Update Week 21

Standard Viewers

Today there is a new release if the Lab’s Development viewer: 3.3.3 (257716). This is a big jump from 3.3.3 (255954).

The Beta viewer version is: 3.3.2 (2557442).

The main viewer is: 3.3.1 (254524).

Mesh Deformer Testing

You can get the latest Mesh Deformer Project Viewer, version: 3.3.1 (255595). There are a number of mesh items to test in Hippo Hollow.

Pathfinding

You can get the latest Pathfinding Project Viewer, version: 3.3.2 (256513). There are Pathfinding test regions in ADITI and AGNI. The server code is cutting edge and updated sometimes several times per day in ADITI. The Main Grid AGNI regions can run several days behind.

#SL News Update Week 19

Mesh Deformer Examples

It seems Inara & I are credited in some measure for getting the word out that mesh clothing examples are needed. Oz says a steady stream of examples are coming in now. If you want any say in how the Mesh Deformer works, get your samples to Oz Linden.

Server Beta Test Group

Spell Checking

Eventually the Linden SL Viewer will get spell check for chat. There is some user interface feedback to be handled and a couple of fixes. Then it can be merged into the viewer and begin moving through the QA pipe. No telling when the work will be completed.

The dictionaries to be packaged with the spell check are; US and UK English, Spanish Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

See STORM-83Interactive Spell Checking. Also get a copy of the Spelling Project viewer.

People Search

There is some cleanup work for display names that is incomplete that apparently affects people search. Hopefully the cleanup work make people search better. Until then you may find it works better if you type in a name and click the drop down to search for people.

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#SL Viewer News Week 19

There are a couple of bits of news that I found interesting. First the stable SL Viewer is version 3.3.1 (254524) and the Beta is 3.3.2 (255742). The Development version is 3.3.3 (255954).

New Local Textures

To go along with the viewers we have the current “stable” nVidia driver 296.10. There are some problems with the driver and that translates into problems for those of us using Second Life®. With later builds of the SL Viewer the driver has worked well for me.

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Second Life Wearing All Inventory

This article is about fixing a known problem in Second Life. The fix is simple enough. The cause is a bit odd. It has to do with ‘wearing’ and outfit folder and a selection problem, a sneaky gotcha.

Avatar wearing 90,000 Inventory Items' Rescue Operation Stopped for the Night - Image by Jon Diez Supat

The Firestorm-Phoenix wiki has a page on the problem: wearing_entire_inventory.

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Firestorm 4.1.1 Leaks

We haven’t heard much out of the Firestorm development team since early April and that was about avoiding phishing attacks. But, I am seeing some leaks of the coming 4.1.1 (?). About 7 weeks ago Firestorm 4.0.1 (27000) was released, March 20, 2012.

The release notes are being marked up. And they reveal what MAY be in the next release. Also, that they are being worked on probably says something about the ETA of a new release. Exactly what it says is pure speculation.

Firestorm Release

Many of the updates in the coming release can be assumed. An update to newer Linden code is always a part of any new Firestorm release. As are bug fixes and new improvements to existing features. It is also pretty predictable that some new features will be added. This release has some performance improvements. I’m not sure they will affect FPS, but other features are likely to be quicker and easier.

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