Windlight going RC soon?

Just noticed that in the new windlight snapshot from SVN http://svn.secondlife.com/trac/linden/changeset/254 they have changed several tags in the source that makes it look like the next RC. Some examples:

const char * const LL_CHANNEL = "Second Life WindLight";
changed to
const char * const LL_CHANNEL = "Second Life Release";

CFBundleShortVersionString = "Second Life version 1.19.0.79809";
changed to
CFBundleShortVersionString = "Second Life version 1.19.0.2";

Me, I'm happy... the Linux versions of windlight have seemed pretty stable for me. Are you ready for Windlight?

I'm pretty happy with the latest release. The teleport bug seems to have been fixed, or at least it hasn't bothered me in the last couple of days.

The only thing that is still driving me crazy is the new IM tab behavior. It's a case of being careful what you wish for, I guess.

Before, I used to bitch about the flashing IM tabs bothering me when I wanted to concentrate on work. Now, they flash just once, and then sit there with a slightly lighter shading on them to indicate that there's something there you haven't looked at yet. It's too bloody subtle...now, I'm missing messages from my friends!

Please, LL, I'm sorry. Put it back the way it was!

I believe this has been the plan for some time. It definitely *feels* like it's getting closer to final.

Mari

It's getting close, but there are still major glitches with planar textures that croped up in the last release, and with group management as well. It's not stable enough yet to release even as an RC version.

Ok, now I am confused. I thought RC stood for release candidate (as in a candidate for release; why would the regular viewer be called a candidate for release?). Windlight isn't a release candidate viewer? It is some third viewer type? I know it is a first look viewer, just didn't realize that RC and first look weren't the same.

Do not mind me, I have no idea what I am talking about. Or doing.

Beta Grid Client = Client changes that may be too unstable to try on the main grid, like the initial changes for HAVOK 4 physics. Unlike the other clients, this runs on a seperate grid.

First Look = This isn't ready for release at all yet, but we want users to play with the cool features and beta test it, and report bugs so we can fix them.

Release Candidate = We think we can release this realy soon as the normal client, and are just working ot the last few bugs.

Normal client = This is the official version of Second Life.

Bah, humbug...I've fiddled with the settings fairly extensively and I still think it makes avs look like crap. Less crappy than they originally did, but still crap.

Ann, your problem is that you are so devastatingly beautiful that ANY change HAS to be for the worse.

Ive noticed this too - Avs look better in the non windlight version.

In all cases.

Do you think this is temporary? I mean will the skin/hair/clothing makers start making their builds for Windlight?

I obviously not an expert, so am curious what those who do those things think....

There was mention in some thread where someone had a male friend showing them their male part, and the person burst out laughing. The female was in the regular viewer and saw the prim as yellow (or something like that), while the male was in Windlight and saw the prim as matching his skin.

And, while I have no knowledge of this myself, I have read in these forums that the male prim that attaches to the male for sexual copulation matches better in the changing light in Windlight than it does in the changing light of the Regular viewer.

Nomine has a huge wall of "Windlight" skin.

And? Is it better? I mean what a great way to improve business, when we have to go out a buy new skins and hair, etc...

We did a little informal, uncontrolled testing of the Nomine WindLight skins at the Hangout one night. Somebody (Claire? Rioko? I don't remember) went out and got some of their demos. Then we compared them to the appearance of non-WindLight skins (mostly CS, as I recall).

We couldn't see any significant improvement, or for that matter, differences.

I also noticed that Nomine doesn't have anything like a comparison photo up...you know, "This is what you look like with an old skin in WindLight...THIS is what you'll look like in our new WL skins." From this, I suspect that there really ISN'T much of a visible difference.

So were supposed to replace stuff?

My bank account just started crying.

And? You asked if "mean will the skin/hair/clothing makers start making their builds for Windlight?" - and I mentioned one that has made something for Windlight. I noticed it in passing. I have no idea if that skin is good or not.

I wouldn't panic, honestly. I love Windlight, and I think my av actually looks better under the Windlight lighting (examples of vanity here - http://flickr.com/photos/14772404@N08/), and that's without any fancy uber-tweaked settings and only occasionally using my very low-watt facelamp. Nor have I run into another other avatars that made me think "goodness, I bet her skin looks *much* better in the old viewer!". Granted, I do find that sunrises and sunsets are still extremely ORANGE! and RED!, so I tend to adjust the clock to avoid those times.

the lighting for Avs simply isn't as good.

Not that it was great before.

I have quite a few skins it seem to be more noticeably bad in some than others.

I am a bit lost here, but if Windlight allows one to set different sky and light rendering, how would, for example, a skin designer know which rendering to use to make skin look good in Windlight?

Mine doesn't and neither does anyone else's I've seen when using Windlight. The light is generally too harsh, the shadows are darker, and - the thing I perhaps hate the most - the edges where an av's polygons come together are much more obvious.

Yay for ugly noses and looking like theres a lump in the middle of our chest

Hmm yes sometimes I wonder if it's not a beatup buy anti-windlighters who still want their old 2004 office clunker PC to run SL in 2010 or people selling skins

This might matter if there really was no difference in how Avatars were lit up.

Basically all the glitches in the shape mesh that come out from the wrong lighting, are more likely to show up with windlight.


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Nomine would be a bad choice to do the comparison really, since Munchflower's skins are highly painted and thus have always been very forgiving of lighting

A photo realistic skin is where you are going to see it most.

Extra Boob!!

I'm loving Windlight! It's like SL went from 1998 to 2004 in a short step!

Can't wait for Havok 4!!!

IN another 5-10 years, SL will be up-to-date with the graphic qualities I've come to expect in 2008!

2 out of my 3 faults fixed.
Camers/Movement contols now lock in possition, and music stays on when I TP to othere parts.

But new IMs not flashing to alert me as they did up to 3 or 4 weeks ago.
Hope that fixed next time.
Love
June