This evening’s spot for relaxation and inspiration is a beach, whose location will be revealed later (like it’s a big exciting secret). I’m scouting beaches for a photo shoot. This one felt like a good place to stop and do some writing. It’s also gorgeous and I will probably do the shoot here in the next day or two.
To wrap up on the new Firestorm viewer, hopefully before they release the next one and I have to start all over again, there are just a few more features and changes to cover.
For RLV Users
Version RLV v3.4.3 / RLVa v2.4.1.64531
Some tweaks have been included in support for RLV that brings it up to the next version. These are a bunch of fixes and three big adds.
- Added @share restriction to block giving inventory
- Added @editattach to block editing attachments and @editworld to block editing rezzed objects
- Added @touchattachother exception to block touching a specific avatar’s attachments
The last one looks particularly interesting.
Updated Modules
Several of the components that are built into the Firestorm viewer have been updated as part of this release. This includes new versions of:
- FMOD Studio
- KDU
- OpenJPEG
- Vivox
- LibVLC
- Chomium Embedded Framework
So, How is it to Use?
I’ve been using the new release for over a week now and it seems reliable. I have crashed only once – as noted earlier when I was toying with the alert settings. It hasn’t happened since.
Note that I did a basic install, not a clean install. I have not noticed any problems from taking that path. If I remember right, it will automatically clear the cache as part of the upgrade, so not too much junk will hang about from the previous version anyway.
I think I am seeing things around me render more quickly. The result of the image decoding pipeline changes? Could be. Could also be I’m seeing things. I haven’t any objective benchmarks before or after the update.
The only persistent problem that I have encountered has to do with ground sits. When I use the “Sit Down” option from the pie menu to sit but I’m not sitting on the actual ground, I sometimes do not get a “Stand” button. Which is awkward. (No, it’s no grayed out. It’s just not there. Give me some credit!)
Only way up from there that I’ve found is to do a proper sit on a nearby object and stand from it. Awkward. If I can make it happen a few more times, and maybe learn a little more about what situations make it more likely to happen, I’ll try reporting a bug.
Summary
So what we get in the new version of Firestorms is a big basket of fixes, a fair number of new features, some performance enhancements, and keeping up with the Linden Labs viewer. It appears to be stable and reliable so what’s not to like? I have no regrets over having upgraded. To the contrary, so far I’m pleased with the changes. If you’re asking me, I’d say (backup your settings and) go for it.
Update – Aug 6th
The ground sit thing is a thing it turns out. Browsing the JIRA, I find this report. https://jira.firestormviewer.org/browse/FIRE-31093
Thinking Outside the Plywood Box 