Suggestion: in-game texture editor

Hiya. I have a proposition for a new feature: an in-game texture editor. now, I know that bugfixes have been put ahead of new features, so I wouldn't expect this to be implimented any time soon (or it may be impossible for all I know) and it's probably been proposed, but I think a really simple texture editor would be a very nice thing to have.

Nothing on the level of PSP or Photoshop, just something say, on or below the level of MS-Paint. As it stands now, you have to minimize or exit SL to open an editor, and edit a texture, then spend ten lindons to import it, then test it on whatever you're texturing.

Mnimizing, or outright exiting can be a hassle for some, especially those without buckets of time to spend, and the ten lindon upload fee can add up, if you just can't seem to get the texture right; an ingame editor would allow us to test a texture after saving changes to it, without having to delete the old one, and upload a new one. In fact, it may even save on bandwidth and server load.

As I said, this has probably been suggested before, and may well be impossible. But I'm a SL resident too, and just wanted to share my ideas to make it a better place.

I was just thinking last night that it'd be great to have a way of making basic signs inworld... nothing fancy, just something to choose a font and apply text to a prim without having to minimize the game while you open another program, create the sign, and upload it. I'm sure there'd still have to be a fee to save it, but it'd save a lot of time if simple text things could be done this way.

Endorsed!

It does bother me that while we struggle to keep bandwidth down, our alternatives for communicating using written words is so commonly implemented via a high bandwith graphic while a sign using a generic font could be transmitted to clients in a very low bandwidth manner. And rendered into a texture locally.

Currently Lindens are planning to use HTML on a prim for signs.

The isssue with any graphic editing is keeping SL a "thin" client.

We currently have to download very little each time we need a new version.

If the "graphic component" could be separate that would be great... but a texture editor... animation editor.. all the things people want "built in" would interfere with keeping SL a small download.

i thought LL was moving toward a procedural texture system. that would afaik not only allow for an inworld editor, but for a much faster texture system. except the procedural systems i know aren't "graphics" tools (i.e. no signage). but in that case they could perhaps go with an SVG editor. and an ability to bring the two tools together would be ideal. high quality - low bandwidth.

Theres a side to the 10$ upload fee that people aren't considering. Its got basicly nothing to do with bandwidth: If that were the case, a 1024x1024 tga should cost more to upload than a 64x64 jpg.

Its to keep people from uploading every texture they ever see and cluttering up the asset server. If you have to pay a tiny fee, it makes you think before you do it.

Besides, lets say LL did put a texture editor in the client. The texture is still produced client-side. So there isn't any savings of bandwidth in any event, because when your done the client still has to send all the data to LL.