Real-time Graphic CLIP PLANE Slider

Okay, this one is a doozie... so here goes.

I am sure everyone here is well aware that part of the reason we all encounter horrendous lag/latency issues when we move from one Sim Area to another.. is the wealth of information having to be exchanged in the background between Client and Server each time we move into another zone, or if the current Zone gets 'crowded' with players.

This has been a big problem with other graphic-intense online games as well, such as EQ.

One way they chose to deal with the madness and clutter, is to provide the client user with a real-time Slider that CLIPS off the background graphic elements so it no longer has to be drawn on the screen. Well, the better ones 'Grays' out these elements in a FOG-LIKE effect, but the results are incredible: No more video lag when moving about! And no more DELAYS when trying to Type something in Chat, which makes the brain get all 'befuddled' at times, because of the delay between the actual typing and 'seeing' the words pop up seconds later on the Edit Buffer line. It's psychological torture to deal with in Chat and Group conversations! ;P

I know that SL has something 'Buried' in the Preference Menus under Graphics, where you can choose to tell it how far away from the camera to draw the elements in the distance, or else how much memory to devote to these items. But this is a cumbersome and time-consuming way of handling things as it takes a lot more time to adjust, and might also require re-logging on to see any changes made (this is my guess). This wastes time and effort, although it is a good feature to have and should remain in place.

So what I would like to see made as a Menu / Hot-key slider would be... an on-the-fly dynamic VIDEO CLIP PLANE Key Adjustment, which a player can make changes to matte out the background. As the MOVE the Slider UP, more and more of the Background suddenly FOGS to gray and is no longer Rendered and taking up CPU power. Push the slider down and all those missing elements suddenly fade back into camera view, bringing more and more of the background into view as the slide-value is reduced.

The Net Effect of all this should be obvious to the programmers: MUCH LESS Intensive effort made on the Client CPU, RAM and/or Graphics Board.. no longer having to deal with the mounds of unneeded background/distance graphic and animation elements on the screen each time movement occurs. This is something a player might want to use when engaged in nearby Chat coversations and doesn't NEED to see all the way to the Event Horizon when they are simply STANDING there trying to hold a Chat or IM conversation or only needed to see the immediate area Avatars or Surroundings only a few meters away. The RESULT... A MUCH FASTER Screen Render and the elimination of Client LAG due to the result of way-fewer background sprite / graphic elements having to be constantly redrawn in and shaded.. textured.. animated.. etc. Better for all!

Whew.. hope I made the request clear enough. ;P Questions?

I wouldn't call the option in the Preferences menu 'buried'. And as far as 'wasting effort' if you can't take the effort to goto the preferences and make the change, you aren't going to be taking the effort to do most anything in SL. One thing I don't need is another silly control cluttering the main UI. I like the control where it is, I say leave it. All the functionality is just as you say, it's just not 'out in front' (although the fogging effect isn't perfect, it's good enough for me).

P.S. Are you a Princess of a extremely wealthy small country? Cause you don't seem willing to do anything that is even a slight inconvenience, but I got news, that's life. (Not that you shouldn't post your ideas, you just come off as kinda picky, that's all)

-Pat Murphy

anyone willing to place bets on this thread getting locked?

Actually, I take a LOT of time and effort to do things in SL. And that is exactly the problem here. There shouldn't BE so much effort to make a basic adjustment in this video lag problem. The whole idea is to STOP the time-wasting issue of having to choose 'Edit'... Wait.. having to choose 'Preferences'... Wait.. having to choose 'Graphics'.. Wait.. and having to WAIT for the poor, stuttering mouse cursor to 'catch up' to these items each time.. and then trying to decide on the right 'values' to enter into WHICH data-fields. All as a result of running into a literal 'brick-wall' of Lag, resulting when enough players fly into the area, or when moving your avatar to one Sim Server from another. And even after I tried once going through these horrendous steps, I did not even SEE any improvement on the screen. What to do now? Do I have to waste even more time logging off and back on again just to see if any improvements are made in the video? Or perhaps it is not taking care of the problem to begin with... so I just wasted all that time experimenting? Bah! One Slider to pop up.. one solution.

Again, I am NOT suggesting that the current Preference Option menu be changed at all. If being a slave to time while taking care of these problems is your 'cup of tea' (another Princessian expression used in my small, rich Nation that's fine for you. Enjoy all the buried pull-down menus and instructions one currently has to wade through to correct a Real-time lag situation while their CPU sits pumping at 110% usage-cycle and literally melts on the Motherboard. Good Luck!

These are needed ideas and this is the Forum to discuss them in. The developers are either for it or cannot add them. But I will not go through more and more nights of constant on-line Lag frustrations without offering up a solution which has worked WELL for other Graphic games such as EQ, AO and the like.. a voice to be heard.

I guess the reason we aren't seeing eye-to-eye on this is a difference in computer, I'm running a dual proc 1.2 GHz AMD w/ 1gig of ram, and a Elsa Gladiac ultra. It takes me <5 seconds to navigate the menu and turn down the viewing distance. I use this feature because of network lag, not local hardware lag.

So from my perspective, if you can't take <5 seconds to do something, you are either really lazy, or the value of your time is measured in gold bars (hence the Princess remark). But I guess from your perspective it's much more of a hassle, since I gather from your description that it takes quite a bit longer.

I'm still not for this slider thing, but I can see where you are coming from now,
-Pat Murphy

i am ok with any silders, buttons, interfaces, as long as i can turn them off. <shrugs> and i think that is what would happen, given how much they are trying to do to make everything fully customizable

Well, I admit to being a 'Commoner' in this area. I am saddled with a lower ended system: a 2.0G Pent4 /1Gig RAM and a Geforce 4 /TI 4600. Not Dual-CPU either. All on a Cable connection. I suppose my setup will be outdated by the time this game hits the stands (or web downloads). And that is another issue, what hardware we REALLY will need to properly play in this SL environment.

But I have no problem with making adjustments and calling up mega-menus to get to common stuff.. AS LONG as I don't hit that 'Brick Wall of Lag' I and others routinely encounter when flying from one Sim Area to another, or when a new group of players log on in the same Zone. That is when things... are..... allllwaaaays.... shiiiiffted... into.. to.. toooo.. slllooooow... mooootttttioon......

And hence, my hope that to battle such performance gremlins, we are given the most effecient Tools the designers will afford us to add in.

i just need to pop in here and say, for such a complex and limitless game, the Lindens are doing an amazing job of keeping the options and doodads to a minimum. i also have secret wishes for a few onscreen checkboxes and options that i would find useful, but after a few months of playing i really appreaciate the clean interface.

use MMORPGs like EQ, DAOC, etc as a basis for any reasoning, but in all honesty, they do have their good points, that do apply, even if SL doesn't have the hack and slash aspects.

The way EQ handles the clipping plane is, just like SL, a menu option somwhere on the option screen.

However, EQ also allows you to adjust the clipping plane on the fly, by using a key combo like CRTL+PLUS and CRTL+MINUS (I was about to type CRLT++, but how silly is that? Heh)

I don't think some functionality of that type is so hard to ask for. When your comp is slowed to a crawl because of all the extra stuff in the way, having to use even more processing cycles to call up various menus to adjust a setting to use less processing cycles seems a bit, well, counter-productive.

I do think the first reply to this thread was rude and uncalled for, but let's leave that in the past. To get to my point, I don't think it's lazy to want features accessible for use in an efficiant and quick manner. I'm not lazy, I simply want to maximize my time in game.

That is exactly what I would suggest Ryozu.

The menu uption for the clip plane is no more hidden in SL than it is in EQ or other games. The problem just lies in that when the game is laggy the interface is laggy. Which means it can be a pain to get to the features to make it non laggy. However a keyboard shortcut (which at least EQ offers) would eliminate the need to deal with a laggy interface while still keep the interface clean and simple like it is.

Exactly! Couldn't have said it better. Here is hoping the developers will allow us to have an easier way to call up such a needed function for those of us who like to explore the Maps but can't handle the myriad of excessive far-distant 'objects' that clog up the client-server data-pipe and hog up the video processing so to speak. Thanks for the supportive views on the matter.

ctrl plus and ctrl minus get my vote.