Lingering issues that need tweaking

I've not been playing SL for very long but there are things in SL that seem to have been there for along time with little improvements made to them.

In my opinion these are the things that have fallen by the wayside and need improving:

* Camera controls - This is a biggy. I despise the camera. It seems constantly the camera will focus on the wrong object or you have to fight it to look at what you want. It gives me a headache.

* Interface - This is quite a biggy. Plain bars and ugly dropdowns... makes me feel like I'm using something from over 10 years ago. Ever played The Sims or used an Apple product? Compare SL to that... ewww.

* Behaviour of multiple items - Why can you shift select multiple items but not do anything with them?

Eata, these are valid concerns and I share in them. AFAIK, Lindens are well aware of these three points you outlined.

For the first, I haven't personally had too much trouble but using the scroll wheel on my mouse, as well as using modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, etc.) to manuever the camera is handy.

For the second, Lindens are moving towards this direction. The interface is already a drastic change from much earlier versions, and more rounded Apple-ish edges are coming into play -- check out the bevels on the login progress bar.

Regarding handling of multiple items, this is also being looked into for a future release. You can delete multiple items with the Delete key at the same time after they're selected, however.

Take care.

I'm with you here, the camera controls do suck and frequently have a mind of their own.



Honestly, I don't care. I hate the TSO interface but that's just a difference of opinion. That's why XP has 'classic' mode -- for old farts like me



Agreed! If you can select them you should be able to perform some action with them.

Good post. My guess is that they are working on too many higher level issues to deal with these but maybe someday they will have the staff and time to get to them.

The Lindens I have spoken to about this thankfully do consider this a priority issue, in part because it is brought up time and time again, and not only that, it's very much a matter of commonsense intuitivity when it comes to existing in SL. *Not* having it runs counter to people's expectations while using just about any modern computer GUI. I'm hangin' in there... someday we'll get it, and we'll all go YAYZERAMA!!! Well, me anyway.

And another one,

* Windowed mode - Some things are unusuable in windowed modes at 800x600 or smaller (EG, Find) as the buttons go off the screen.

what if they made skins for like windowmedia player

Skins are a matter of taste. I personaly like dull and drab when it comes to interfaces. I don't want to be entertained; I want it to work. Ease of use is way more important to me then how it looks. Connected to ease of use is the learning curve associated with softwares interface. A fine example is from the mid 90's with kai's power goo, very inventive interface, a pain to learn and use. Good interface layout and structure is more important then looks.

Hehe this is a little like complaining about changing the SL icon on the desktop from "cool blue" (what it used to be) to "radioactive green" ...

As Strife so eloquently put it, "skins are a matter of taste" I like mine crunchy. Some prefer more of a yoghurt flavour. The ability to change skins is an intriguiging idea though. Say whatever you like about Everquest, at least you can configure the interface ... I don't hate SL's interface, I've grown to love it but variety is always nice. Adding scripting ability to change the interface on the fly would be really cool, I think. This was touched on by Byron McHenry in another recent post about vehicles but really you could use it for anything.

IMO, the camera controls are irritating and clumbsy. You get used to it after a while I guess. Lord knows it's been mentioned over and over. Same with "multiple-copy"...

--Jack Lambert

I've seen some friends of mine work in the oddest ways, and I'm about to go "How the heck can you do that??" when I turn to myself and realize my methods of accomplishing things are pretty unorthodox unto themselves, but they GET THINGS DONE.

I'm one for customizability, recognizing that each of us learns in our own way and applies the processes throughout life uniquely. Forcing a singular mindset on us all dooms those who want to "color outside the lines", so to speak. More people need to be bonded and connected, even those who think differently but actually share base commonalities.

For example, I cannot begin to approach the method in which someone such as Jade Lily, my honey, approaches managerial tasks and organizing. She is extremely proficient at explaining and laying out situations in an orderly and apt fashion, while my brain is constantly on pulse-burst mode, firing off scattered ideas that need to be collected like Pokemon. Ultimately, when we connect, it's like the ORDER meets the CHAOS and we absolutely bridge things in such a loving and magical and wonderful way, getting more done for both of us.

That being said, there are some more general user preferences that may be uniform but fit a relatively large portion of the Residents. If each of us can approach SL in our own way, express ourselves, yet collaborate transparently and fluidly -- and I mean these not as marketing buzzwords but as the feeling you get from within when your ideas, your imagination come to life -- then it'll be a beautiful future for us all indeed.

What i didn't say is I'm all for having an interface that can be hacked. I know SL can have it's interface configured, it's all in the xml settings files, just haven't gotten around to doing it. If there were a nice set of templates with all the settings i'd be more interested in doing so.

I've been working on an XML-driven interface system professionally. It's doable. At a LOT of power over the look and even the behavior can be moved into the XML. (And that means end-user customization.)

I'd love to see SL use the system I've created, but that's not likely to happen unless they hire me and I move to the other side of the country.

maybe i'm on drugs but i seem to recall one of the "what's coming in sl" posts from the Lindens saying the interface was going to be xml based and all customizeable and stuff in a few versions.