December 22, 2003
Graphics Card Memory Settings
- Graphics card memory in v1.2 is set to a default of 32MB. If your card has more than 32MB of memory (and most do), you’ll need to go to Preferences/Options and change this setting to the proper level for your card.
Parcels, Land Fees, and Object Allocations
- Parcels now work as described in the 1.2 release FAQ on the web site – residents pay per month for the amount of land they wish to own. A new My Land tool in the World menu allows you to keep track of all of your land in Second Life and lets you teleport to it, mark it on the map, or create a landmark for it. Landmarks are no longer created automatically when land is purchased.
- Land in v1.2 can be divided into smaller parcels to facilitate release and resale, can be sold directly to an individual by setting Sell To in the About Land tool, and can be given a specific category (like "Store") that is shown in the Find Places list. On land set to sell access passes, clicking on the yellow barrier will sell passes directly.
- In v1.2, each land owner in a region is given an object allocation equal to the percentage of the total land that owner holds in the Region. To keep track of object usage, the About Land Tool now has an "Objects" tab that lets the land owner see how many objects are on the current parcel, as well as how many total objects they’re allowed on that simulator. Objects on the parcel are broken down by objects owned by the land owner, group objects, and other objects, and buttons allow for the automatic return of objects to their owners. In addition, a timer can be set to automatically remove other people's objects.
- A new "Temporary on Rez" option on the "Object" panel can be used to set some objects (e.g. a bullet from a gun) to be automatically removed after a few minutes. Objects on public land are automatically deleted when you leave the simulator, though attachments and objects with agents on them do not count against simulator or parcel limits.
- Objects can be set to phantom without using a script by choosing the "Phantom" option in the "Object" panel.
Buying and Selling
- Second Life merchants will enjoy a number of new features. By using the new "For Sale: Contents" checkbox, retailers can have the contents of the box sold when a customer selects "Buy…" from the pie menu, saving the complication of rezzing a box and removing the purchased item. If the contents are an article of clothing, the buyer will also have the option to wear it immediately after buying.
- A new Buy window shows the item for sale, any contents, and what the permissions will be after you buy it. Merchants can shift-right-click to buy their own for-sale items if they want to see what their buyers will experience.
Enhanced User Interface
- Second Life v1.2 features an enhanced user interface. A new Chat Bar centralizes communications functions and is always visible on-screen when chatting. Windows that pop-up don't interrupt conversation by stealing keystrokes. A Gesture starter in the Chat Bar lists and triggers gestures.
- ..Program Files\Second Life\app_settings\ now contain a file called colors.ini containing all the user interface colors. Want to change the color above people's heads? Go to it! Use Debug > Reload settings > colors to see your changes immediately, without closing Second Life. Not all colors, however, can be changed – yet.
- A new Notify Box in the upper right corner is used to for exchanging cards, accepting inventory items, and other goings on. Clicking anywhere in the rectangle activates the leftmost button – actually hitting the button isn’t necessary. Right-clicking anywhere moves that notification to the back to be dealt with later.
- The inventory now sorts items by the date you acquired them. Newer items appear at the top of the folders. A new Sort menu allows for items to be arranged by name if so desired. All items acquired before version 1.2 list their acquired date as "unknown". When receiving new items, the inventory no longer automatically pops open. It will however, scroll to the new item the next time it’s opened. The inventory also remembers which folders were open last, and the same folders will be open if the inventory is closed and reopened.
- Using the Alt-Zoom camera control now allow for following moving objects, but doesn’t track objects being moved with build tools.
- Resizing the Second Life window causes all the on-screen floating windows to follow the nearest edge. Floating windows like the inventory can be partially dragged offscreen, but they won't appear on your desktop. Sorry.
People, Places and Events
- Find Events now has a clock showing Pacific Time, which is the time used by Linden Lab to schedule events. The time is based on the time reported by our servers, so it will be correct even if your computer's clock is a little bit off. Find Places is now based on center of parcel, not southwest corner, and when searching the directory for places you can specify the category and/or simulator you are interested in.
- Rating other users is now a tiny bit more expensive. For each individual rating or rating change (behavior, appearance, and building) costs L$1, rather than a single Linden Dollar for all three ratings.
- Tracking arrow is now always visible, even when the tracked destination (or avatar) is in the field of view, and clicking on the center on the tracking arrow will stop tracking it.
New Scripting Features
- LLDialog (key avatar, string message, list buttons, integer channel) – This new features opens a Notify Box with up to four customizable buttons. A clicked button chats its information on a specified channel.
- string llDumpList2String(list src, string separator) -- Write the list out in a single string using separator between values .
- integer llScriptDanger(vector pos) -- Returns true if pos is over public land, land that doesn't allow everyone to edit and build, or land that doesn't allow outside scripts.
- llVolumeDetect(integer detect) – Allows for a collision_start event when a phantom object detects interpenetration as well as a collision_end event when interpenetration ends. While the other is interpenetrating, collision events are NOT generated. The script must be applied to the root object of the link set to get the collision events.