Optional "Low-Tech" Viewer?

There's already a 'low tech' version of the viewer - the main viewer with all the graphics settings set to the minimum.

SL is an incredibly complicated, interactive, streaming 3D environment. Unless you are willing to give up your avatars, objects, textures, and user generated content there is no way to make it accessible to lower end machines. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

The minimum system requirements for SL are actually much lower than most modern online games.

There are also web apps that will allow you to log in and use SL chat with no visuals. Can't get more low tech than that.

http://ajaxlife.net
http://kathar.in/

So someones post these on the blog. A good post infact! If we can still have graphics showing and we can build and create with it why not! But then again i can see the bots abuse this concept as well.

lower settings on a viewer coded spacificaly for few select systems and graphics cards does not work well.
Actually it can.
It's all on how the viewers are coded to process that graphics data.
Right now the coding is made for high end graphics cards.

i would be willing to sacrifice high end graphics for low end graphics for older graphics cards.

I too would like to see LL code a low tech viewer for lower grade graphics that older graphics cards can process.

I thought this was the low-tech viewer? Only SL could take quad-stacked 512mb graphics cards and then run like it was on a 64mb onboard graphics card.

Here's another non-graphical SL client. Metabolt.

http://www.metabolt.net/default.asp

Gesh those non graphic interfaces are 10 yen a dozen.........

I can keep up but i absoloutely vote yes as i want SL to be accessed by as many people as possible at all levels globally.
However i do wonder if LL share this view as currently they are struggling to cope with the numbers we have now and are still playing catch up from early 2007's boom.
It is apparent to me that LL decided to market hard then to get the users and their money to pay for the platforms developement.
Its kinda like inviting everyone onto a comfortable passenger jet for a ride when really its just a hot air balloon with cardboard wings.
It will improve though and when it does i hope to see ideas like this implemented so SL is as inclusive as it can be.

on :
http://nicholaz-beresford.blogspot.com/
you can find a nicholaz client running very well on the
1.18.0.6 (before the voice !!!!)
http://s3.amazonaws.com/download-secondlife-com/Second%20Life%201-18-0-6%20Setup.exe
so frist download that old sl client and install it
( in another folder than your usual SL client)
then get the oldschool download
http://www.blueflash.cc/users/nicholaz/OldSchool/
read the very simple install and patch
the nicolaz version of the old 1.18.0.6 has less functions
but all what we finally need ...
and RUN very well and Smooth on a "little" pc

This is for windows only, what about mac OS X and Linux?

read his blog ..... of course he linked people who used his sources and made mac and linux versions ...but i don't know how they works ... check and let me know
so far all i saw on mac was for me a disaster ... (ok anything about internet on a mac is a ravage) ... i use also a mac but just for my graphics works and to be honest since that intel and ibm are into ....mac is still expensive and more and more just a funny fashion "thing" ...great make up but inside ...omg .... power supply... hard disk ... pffff
you can build a perfect pc just for internet for less then 400 euros ...of course forget vista use coccinelle os and you will be "surprise"
have a nice day

The world is moving to portable computing devices, while it seems LL are moving in the opposite direction, with newer more powerful versions that simply don't work in that environment.

Those of us who spend much of our lives traveling need applications that work on laptops. The latest version of SL just doesn't, and if it's not improved I'll be joining the droves of users who just give up on SL and migrate to some virtual world whose developers 'get it'.

From what I understand there are huge technical challenges in maintaining a 'light' version of an application like this. If so, it will come down to a choice between serving a small number of users who sit like a bump on a log all day with the latest bulked-up multimedia desktop, and a much larger number of users who just want a reliable, enjoyable social experience.

Well I guess once they come up with upgradebale laptops needed to keep up with an evolving world they might have a chance, but other wise a new laptop every 2 years would be the go, rather than a new PC every 3 or 4.
Otherwise the choice is to never evolve SL, perhaps if the grid became a never ending ribbon of sims where old sims and old viewers were at one end and latest were at the other, so people could be left behind if they wanted to and others could keep at the edge.
There would be problems of course when you try and TP back to pre sculptie sims wearing sculpties etc.

Hell I would just be happy with an official desktop messenger that would let me get IMs without logging in with the regular client.

I do think the current client is low-tech enough. I have learned to never trust the client's automatic graphics settings. They still need to be tweaked to get the best performance for your particular set up.

http://nicholaz-beresford.blogspot.com/2008/05/release-old-school-os-p.html

this version works FINE on my old laptop ...( no way to enter sl on it since the 1.9)


the solution of light client exist since monthes ... stop to cry about lol
(but linden on course will never give you that opportunity)
nicholaz beresford DID

this version has no windlight ...and no voice
but except this it is a perfect complete and very smooth client
and my old HP laptop loves it

and for mac users go there

http://radio-boomslang.shacknet.nu/~bb/articles/nicholaz-edition-mac/index.html

and now enjoy sl on your old pc or mac

Unable to find mac OS X nicholaz-SL Viewers.

ALL down load links from the blog are directing me to Windows ONLY downloads.

Can someone please provide a direct link to the mac version?

all search attempts have yielded same results. Windows ONLY down loads.

turning down the settings means that you lose ALL terrain visibility but a blurred blob. Trees are green blobs. The ground is a green/tan/gray blob. I could live without glow and shiny and I definitely can live without windlight, but I can't live without seeing the landscape!

I will try downloading an older viewer, if someone will give me a site to go to (other than amazon).

My computer was running SL just fine before this latest version. Unfortunately I deleted my previous version in trying to "fix" the current crashing problem I have. Anyone know where to get previous versions EASILY ?? I'm sure lots of us would be interested.

yea i would like a scaled back optional viewer

heres my problem tho

i started playing SL on a 700mhz duron with 256 mb of ram and a geforce 4mx

since then the system requirements have constantly gone higher and higher, my computer that kicked 1.5's arse barley functions smoothly any more

and is it worth while?

well now we have pretty skys, ripple water and lights, on a 1999 based engine, the "meat" of this software hasnt changed AT ALL

my av still looks the same as it did when i tried this out on my roomates duron, so does the enviroment

and eventho i have a pretty sky to look at i still have ugly prims, chunky badly animated av's, useless roads, physics that make a better rng, and 1999 textures

gawd if i wanted to see a pretty sky id go out side, not buy a dual quad core mainframe with a morgage i put on the house

There are debug settings that make SL very low tech.

For starters there are settings that are CPU intensive, but don't require a video card.
Wireframe for example needs a lot of CPU time, but only requires line draw on the GPU

This gives SL a "tunnels of something" look.

I agree that we could use a low-tech version of the viewer. My desktop keeps up fine, but it's a quad-core w/ 4GB RAM and a good 3D video card. My laptop, however, doesn't run so well. It runs about 2 FPS over WiFi with all preferences dialed down in the viewer.

I like to sit on the couch and be in-world while watching TV. Not much needed there other than the ability to see what's going on and chat. I manage a club, so I do need to see what is going on and be ready to boot a griefer.

When I travel, however, I'm stuck with only the laptop option ... so I really could use a lower power viewer that would allow me to move around and function on the grid.

Folks, please consider also the Cool Viewer maintained by Henri Beauchamp. Besides a 1.20 Windlight version there is also a non-windlight 1.19.0.5 up top date with latest patches and features.

Linux: http://sldev.free.fr
Windows: http://my.opera.com/boylane

Voted yes, I think its a good idea. So far, the updates haven't ousted me yet but lag is considerable sometimes. I'm definitely at the low end of the computer spectrum, so this work for me too.

I'm glad to see the number of YES votes faaaar outnumbers the no and undecided...maybe this could get someones attention (a man can dream eh?).

LMAO IF YA WANT TO SEE MY ANCER ON THIS GO TO THIS /142/9d/261792/1.html

I have voted Undecided here because for myself, I can keep up - my computer is up to date enough I can even still run with graphics turned up to "High" most of the time. However I think a lower-tech viewer would be a good idea because I have already lost several friends simply because while their computers were good enough to play SL last year, they no longer are.

And for the poor fools who don't necessarily have old relics, just bad choices on the cards we bought. Like me, who unfortunately bought a 512 meg ATI card, which is useless.