Avastar 1-1 Release Candidate

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Gaia Clary has an update of Avastar out: RC 1-1. This version has files dated 2/10/2014.

There is also a test version out: avastar-1-1-973_blender-2-65. The files in this release are dated 2/14/2014. So, the test file is a bit newer than the RC release. There is no information on what has changed.

There is also a preview video out (updated 2 weeks ago) showing the rigging of a quadruped, horse in this case. See:

[youtube wnsZiaD6CPY]

Remember. In regard to Fitted Mesh the Blender Collada export for Second Life is broken. For now only the Avastar Collada export is working for Fitted Mesh. If you are rigging to only the mbones, Blender’s Collada export works.

 

Fitted Mesh Blender Problem 2014-7

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Listening in the Avastar User Group tonight I found out there is a problem with both Blender and the SL Viewer when working with Collision Bone exports.

[youtube I91MqgrbQyw]

The viewer does not preview the weighted mesh you are uploading correctly. That means you will have to upload the mesh item and try it on to see whether it is working or not. This seems to be a problem in the SL Viewer code and apparently is reported as happening in Singularity too. I expect we’ll hear of the problem in other third party viewers too. 

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Black Dragon Viewer Update 2.3.9.3

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Niran has an ‘emergency’ release of Black Dragon out. Niran announced it a couple of days ago, I’m just now getting around to mentioning it. The announcement is here: Emergency Update 2.3.9.3.

 

This viewer has changes to the UI and how one controls their avatar. The video does not really explain what is happening. I have Niran’s explanation that appears in the blog after the video.

[youtube yRuGYRydCkg]

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CtrlAltStudio Viewer Version 1.1.8.34413 (Alpha 8)

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David Rowe has been building a version of the SL Viewer, well, the Firestorm version of the SL Viewer, that supports Shutter glasses and the Oculus Rift. These versions are labeled experimental., probably for multiple reasons. There is no doubt the viewer is experimental for the very obvious reasons the Rift has yet to be officially released and the Lab has yet to release a viewer with Rift support.

David has deliberately avoided doing much with the user interface for his Rift supporting viewer. His intention was to wait until the Lab released their viewer. I suppose with a base UI established a decision could be made whether that wheel was round enough or needed improvement. 

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Breaking #SecondLife News

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There is a post up on the Second Life™ BLog: Fitted Mesh Is Here!

What this means is the avatar and viewer have been finalized for the Fitted Mesh Project. The Release Candidate Viewer has rolled out and is now the main SL Viewer.

Within a couple of days the majority of those using the SL Viewer will be running the new viewer and capable of seeing Fitted Mesh clothes correctly.

I suspect Jessica was hinting that the Firestorm viewer with Fitted Mesh is going to main release version. Other third party viewers support Fitted too. So, very quickly the majority of SL will be able to see Fitted Mesh clothes rendering correctly. I am certain 60% of SL users will be able to see Fitted Mesh. I am pretty sure the number is going to be between 80-90%. But, I have only my opinion to base that on.

Advanced Lighting (ALM) is not important to whether you can see Fitted Mesh. Enabled or Disabled the Fitted Mesh will have the same shape. ALM may affect how the material used on the clothes looks. If the designed used the new Materials feature to make the clothes they will look different depending on whether ALM is enabled or disabled.

Blog Change

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I have the Viewer Pages working… mostly. These pages use a custom page template that finds all the pages about viewers and then lists the posts for a specific viewer. Access the pages from the menu on the left.

The viewer pages are based on post category. So, you can get a similar list using the drop down category selector over in the right-hand column.

I want a different presentation with a sort-of sticky post at the top of the pages. That requires some tweaking to the WordPress files. I had that in the previous theme. Since my last blog theme was made from scratch and this one uses the theme Sunspot by Automattic I needed to build a child theme. That means I have to figure out what Automattic did and how to change it to get what I want.

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