Suggestions 3 - Snapshots and Textures

This post is the third part of a list of suggestions that I've been compiling.

This one concerns snapshots and textures.


1. PNG Support!

Function: PNG support for texture uploads and snapshots.

Rationale: BMP and TGA considered huge. JPG considered lacking in alpha channel and lossless compression support.

I expect this one has probably already been suggested in the past (I'd be surprised to learn it hadn't), but if not, here it is!


2. JPG snapshots

Function: Saves snapshots in JPG format.

Rationale: See above. BMP is a ridiculous format.


3. Automatic naming for Snapshot to disk

Function: Automatically names snapshots in one of two ways - either with the date and time taken ("20051030-142759.jpg", or with a sequential number ("snapshot-0015" starting after the most recently used number in the folder.

Rationale: I don't want to name each and every snapshot individually.


4. Disable "camera" animation and noise when snapshot taken

Function: Self-explanatory.

Rationale: It's a bit silly-looking and kind of disruptive to others, honestly.


5. Snapshot data

Function: Store Sim name, avatar name, coordinates, parcel name, etc. in snapshot extended data fields (EXIF, etc.).

Rationale: Could be useful information to have later.

YOU'RE ON A ROLL!

I have some feelings about snapshots... postcards... they mainly concern the puny size and lousy JPEG compression. Here if you're curious.

I like PNG.

Some extended data does make it's way with postcards too...

I presume you've been to Snapzilla?

I know of Snapzilla but I haven't investigated it yet. I actually did think about it and the possibility that this data was saved when I was adding that last item, but somehow my comment didn't make it into my post.

I think I took it out because I was mostly thinking of Snapshot to disk, which is just BMP (I haven't used postcards, so they didn't occur to me). I don't think BMP has data fields like this, but I could be wrong.


Fortunately or unfortunately, that's all the suggstions that I have for now

Yush. I find BMP archaic. Like 1995-era JPEG compression it sucketh and worships at the altar of teh most lame.

These things are all related, I see them like stars in the sky. I'm glad you brought this up, really I am, because it energizes me and hope improvements are on the way.

I agree with the first three suggestions.

My L$0.02 worth:

1. PNG Support!
Nah - TGA is supported by just about everything. There are meny, many buggy PNG implementations out there. Simple rule :- upload your stuff to SL as TGA - and SL is gonna JPEG2000 it for you anyway.

2. JPG snapshots
Yes - please give us a "Save As" for at least JPG and TGA (and remember which one was used last )

3. Automatic naming for Snapshot to disk
Good news, Dyne (at least on a PC, I dunno about the mac client) - this is already in place.
Just save your stuff as, for example, the default name of "snapshot.bmp" and SL will add an auto-incremented index to it.

4. Disable "camera" animation and noise when snapshot taken
yes please - seconded and approved

5. Snapshot data
yes pleaser - even more seconded, and approved of more thoroughly

I know TGA is supported by nearly everything (though not flawlessly ... I've seen stuff get it wrong too).

It's still a pretty space-wasteful format. I never create or store anything permanent in TGA on my machines if I can avoid it (space is cheap, but I do a fair amount of space-intensive stuff (e.g., multiple pass renders of animations, for example) and have very little wiggle room in my budget for more harddrive space right now. 2-4 times the size for the same image is something I like to avoid. That means I have to go through an extra step every time I want to upload, when it could be converted automatically without too much development effort I suspect.


The automatic numbering does exist, you are right. I'm kicking myself, because I've seen it, and it simply didn't register until you pointed it out. It doesn't ask for a name after the first one you take in a session, it just appends the number (it doesn't matter if you use the default "snapshot.bmp" name or not).

And when I said "name each and every snapshot" I really meant "Name the first snapshot each and every session" (which is annoying enough, especially as often as SL is crashing right now).

So, what I really should've suggested was:

1. Sequential numbering should have an option to just never ask for a filename (you set the base name in the prefs, or it just uses "snapshot"

2. We need automatic date/time naming, which is more useful than the sequential numbering for something like SL anyway