Second Life Preview 1.9.1 Release Notes
Note: "Undocumented Features/Changes" were not mentioned in the official release notes for one reason or another. These are resident-added to this page.
Build 9, Apr 13, 2006[]
Features[]
- Hardware lighting
- Any primitive in Second Life may be turned into a light
- Light properties are radius, color, intensity, and falloff
- New options in the Preference panel indicate the type of lighting you want to use
- "Sun or Moon only" is best for low-performance hardware
- Everything in-world is lit in real time by the sun or moon only
- "Nearby Lights" is available for any hardware configuration
- Everything in-world is lit by sun or moon and up to six nearby light sources
- "All Lights" is available on systems with GPUs supporting Vertex Shaders
- Objects in-world, and terrain, are by sun or moon and all lights
- Avatars and attachments, trees and grass are lit by sun or moon and up to six nearby light sources
- "All Lights + Shadows" is available only to high-performance systems
- Includes features in "All Lights" above plus the ability for the sun and moon to cast shadows in-world and on terrain
- "Sun or Moon only" is best for low-performance hardware
- More information about the new lighting system is available here:
- Any primitive in Second Life may be turned into a light
- Flexible objects
- Cube, prism and cylinder primitive types can now be made flexible as a client-side effect
- Simulation parameters for material and responsiveness to gravity and wind
- Objects that are flexible cannot be physical and are always phantom
- Use of these is currently limited to preserve framerate as they increase amount of client-side processing
- Occlusion culling
- Frame rate is improved when objects that would normally be rendered are hidden from view
- FPS will be significantly improved when inside a structure
- Windows or other transparent surfaces will decrease effectiveness as objects in view will be rendered, whether or not they are within the structure
- Toggle with CTRL-SHIFT-o on all platforms
- New "Click Action" functionality for objects
- Object creators can select a default left-click action for objects:
- Touch (default), Sit, Buy, Pay, or Open
- These actions happen immediately when a resident left-clicks on the object, without a menu
- Builders set the action in the build tools "General" panel, at the bottom
- Click actions override touch events for scripts
- If you want the touch behavior, be sure "touch (default)" is the click action
- You can't set "Buy" as the action unless an object is for sale
- "Sit" should be useful for both chairs and vehicles
- "Open" should be useful for vendors that sell packaged objects
- Object creators can select a default left-click action for objects:
- Updated functionality for the Top Scripts/Top Colliders dialog
- Improvements allow Estate owners to return or disable offending objects
- Disabling an object makes it non-physical and disables all scripts
- Improvements allow Estate owners to return or disable offending objects
- Classified ads now have an auto-renew option
- Checking the "Auto renew each week" checkbox in Profile > Classifieds will cause your classified to be republished instead of expiring after one week
- You will be charged the same listing price as the initial classified
- To change the listing price, you need to make a new classified
- Universal Binary installer for Mac clients is now standard
- PowerPC and Intel Mac versions are now bundled together in one "Universal Binary" installer
- Minimum required version for Second Life is now 10.3.9
New LSL Functions[]
- llHTTPRequest
- Added new LSL call & event to support HTTP access from external scripts
- LSL Function usage:
- key llHTTPRequest(string <url>, list <parameters>, string <body>)
- Send HTTP request to <url> with <parameters> and <body>, returning key uniquely identifying the request
- Currently, the only supported parameter is the following key/value pair: HTTP_METHOD, <method name>
- key llHTTPRequest(string <url>, list <parameters>, string <body>)
- LSL Event usage:
- http_response(key <request_id>, integer <status>, list <metadata>, string <body>)
- Called when a pending HTTP request <request_id> completes with the HTTP <status>, <metadata> and response <body>
- This facility supports GET, PUT and POST methods, X-SecondLife-headers, text/* MIME types, and transcoding of body contents to LSL's Unicode strings
- http_response(key <request_id>, integer <status>, list <metadata>, string <body>)
- llGetParcelFlags
- Get the parcel flags (PARCEL_FLAG_*) for the parcel including the point pos
- Returns an integer that is a bit field of flags
- This bitfield can be ANDed with a flag to see if that flag is set for that parcel
- Usage:
- integer llGetParcelFlags(vector pos)
- Example:
- if (llGetParcelFlags() & PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_CREATE_OBJECTS) llOwnerSay("You may create objects in this parcel!");
- Bitfields:
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_FLY
- Used to determine if a parcel allows flying
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_SCRIPTS
- Used to determine if a parcel allows outside scripts
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_LANDMARK
- Used to determine if a parcel allows landmarks to be created
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_TERRAFORM
- Used to determine if a parcel allows anyone to terraform the land
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_DAMAGE
- Used to determine if a parcel allows damage
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_CREATE_OBJECTS
- Used to determine if a parcel allows anyone to create objects
- PARCEL_FLAG_USE_ACCESS_GROUP
- Used to determine if a parcel limits access to a group
- PARCEL_FLAG_USE_ACCESS_LIST
- Used to determine if a parcel limits access to a list of residents
- PARCEL_FLAG_USE_BAN_LIST
- Used to determine if a parcel uses a ban list
- PARCEL_FLAG_USE_LAND_PASS_LIST
- Used to determine if a parcel allows passes to be purchased
- PARCEL_FLAG_LOCAL_SOUND_ONLY
- Used to determine parcel restricts spatialized sound to the parcel
- PARCEL_FLAG_ALLOW_FLY
Other Changes[]
- Implemented atmospheric scattering 'fog' algorithm for Vertex Shaders to replace existing fog
- Performance enhancements for audio streaming
- Texture loading performance improvements
- Improved "Interest List" functionality keeps objects from being reloaded in view so often
- Improvements to the Properties window for objects
Bug Fixes[]
- Universal Binary alpha issue with sound uploads has been resolved
- Resolved several sim crashes
- Resolved an issue with z-fighting during edit mode and when using ALT shows physical
- Improvements to hardware detection to prevent erroneous incompatibility messages
- llMapDestination no longer clamped to 255 z-coordinate
- Improvements to Estate Tools Object Bonus Multiplier to make use more clear
- Parcel landing point no longer overrides telehub
- Client now sends better crash report logs when Second Life freezes or the computer locks up
- Nametag no longer disappears while dragging an item from inventory
Known Issues[]
- Vertex Shader Support for Mac clients is forthcoming
- settings.ini file can spontaneously become empty
- "Cannot find msvcr71.dll" error on some Windows machines causes Second Life to be uninstallable
- Second Life crash when running on PowerPC Macs with NVIDIA 5200 cards
- No shadows cast by objects/avatars when local light + shadows is enabled
- Move To Inventory button doesn't move (no copy) objects
- Some Flexible objects give "You are not allowed to change this shape." error message
- Faces of a hollowed out cube with alpha texture applied draw in the wrong order
- Left-Click option to pay leaves a selection highlight if you click cancel
- Changing object from "for sale" to "not for sale" still keeps the left mouse buttom click buy script attached to it
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Transparency + shiny is possible when vertex shaders are enabled.
- UI
- Several minor changes to UI wording and formatting.
- Improved art: inventory arrows (for opening and closing folders) and land icons at screen top.
- Preferences
- Preferences > Network: Maximum Bandwith slider/input box now shows in what units it is being measured (kilobits per second).
- Better Preferences > Graphics handling: restart is no longer required for changes to take effect (except avatar rendering).
- Disable Far Clip, Shadows, Local Lighting checkboxes, and Disable Draw Distance If FPS< editor box deprecated and/or removed from preferences window due to addition of other features.
- Find > Classifieds
- New Place an Ad... button (opens up resident's profile window to Classifieds tab).
- Mature check box, Category combo box, Date posted and amount paid input boxes have been removed from a clicked ad (editing is now done exclusively through the profile window).
- Profile window: Mature check box removed (unused/deprecated).
- New Move To Inventory and Move And Wear buttons in an object's Open window. When the buttons are clicked, a folder with the same name as the object is created with the contents inside in the user's inventory (and contents that are clothes/shapes are worn if Move And Wear is clicked).
- Debug menu
- New
- Flex Objects (Ctrl-Shift-.): toggles client-side flex object rendering
- Rendering > Object-Object Occlusion (Ctrl-Shift-O)
- Rendering > Vertex Shaders (Ctrl-Alt-V)
- Rendering > Info Displays > Octree: occlusion tree
- UI > Double-Click Auto-Pilot: double-click a location on the ground and your avatar will move there on its own
- Character > Rebake Textures
- Removed/Deprecated
- Rendering > Local Tree Lighting and Rendering > Features > HW Lighting
- New
Build 10, Apr 14, 2006[]
- Enabling ripple water but not Vertex Shaders (or vice versa) no longer results in the fog being unattractive
- Resolved a crash when rendering lighting effects
- Fixed a crash when running Second Life with Intel Extreme graphics cards
- Fullbright can again be used with objects having different textures or colors on their faces
- Shiny and Vertex Shader settings have been properly decoupled in the Graphics tab of Preferences
- Cube endcaps now have bump maps
- Linked set of objects can once again be made physical
- Multiple flexible objects in a linkset no longer disappear when zooming
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Light Radius is now toggelable via Tools -> Show Light Radius for Selection. Turning this on will give a visual effect showing the light radius and intensity for the selected prim if it is using the Light feature.
Build 11, Apr 18, 2006[]
- settings.ini file no longer wiped out during a viewer crash
- Fixed an issue with fonts not displaying in debug menus
- Light color can not be set when using default system color picker
- Fixed several lighting related viewer crashes
- Disabling fog with Vertex Shaders enabled no longer increases fog level
- SetText command now has ability to change color and alpha level of HUD objects
- Disabling far clip no longer fails to reduce draw distance
- Improved HUD attachment change LOD
- Underwater haze no longer looks unusually bright
- View > Landowners can once again be displayed when Vertex Shaders are enabled
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Changing Avatar Rendering preference no longer requires a restart of the client to take effect.
Build 12, Apr 19, 2006[]
Other Changes[]
- Added region rating to listings in the Find menu
Bug Fixes[]
- Full Bright objects no longer appear black when vertex shaders are disabled and Sun and Moon lighting is enabled
- Taper value of a prism can now be changed
- Texture colors now look correct when lit and Sun and Moon lighting is enabled
- Flexible object no longer disappears when linked and moved
- Fixed a typo in Edit > Objects tab
- Resolved an issue where Second Life could not load due to missing msvcr71.dll file
- "Purchase" button in Buy Currency window is now greyed out while transaction is being processed
- Removed redundant text in Map window
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
Note: These are features or changes that were not mentioned in the official release notes for one reason or another. These are resident added to this page.
- Improved art for Left-Click mouseover icons Sit, Open, and Pay.
- Bug Fix: Avatar eyes are now properly effected by lighting when Vertex Shaders are enabled.
Build 13, Apr 20, 2006[]
Script Changes[]
- Added support for flexible object and light parameters to llSetPrimitiveParams()
- To set the light parameters of a primitive, use llSetPrimitiveParams with the keyword PRIM_POINT_LIGHT
- USAGE:
- llSetPrimitiveParams([PRIM_POINT_LIGHT, BOOL Enabled, Vector Color, Float Intensity, Float Raduis, Float Falloff]);
- To set the flexible parameters of a primitive, use llSetPrimitiveParams with the keyword PRIM_FLEXIBLE
- USAGE:
- llSetPrimitiveParams([PRIM_FLEXIBLE, BOOL Enabled, Integer Softness, Float Gravity, Float Friction, Float Wind, Float Tension, Vector Force]);
- To set the light parameters of a primitive, use llSetPrimitiveParams with the keyword PRIM_POINT_LIGHT
Other Changes[]
- Added "Wear" and "Take" options to "Open" menu for objects
Bug Fixes[]
- Nighttime lighting now affects Linden clumps of grass
- Invisiprim hack works again
- Resolved issue with Vertex Shaders causing color corruption at certain camera angles
- Hollowed cut spheres once again appear hollowed
- Shiny cylinders no longer have crooked reflection
- Ripple water now disables itself if Vertex Shaders fail to load
- Planar mapping can now be used for flexible path objects
- HUD settext is no longer rendered behind other prims
- Resolved several viewer crashes
- Fixed some typos in Buy Currency Window
- Updated wording in About Land window to refer to "primitives" instead of "object"
- Twisting flexible cylinder now no longer causes rendering abnormality
- Resolved a crash caused by enabling Anisotropic Filtering
- Water no longer invisible on certain video cards
- Bumpmap appearance no longer changes when objects are moving
Build 14, Apr 25, 2006[]
Other Changes[]
- IMs now include time stamp for local time when message was received
- "Pay" now included in left-click options for objects
Bug Fixes[]
- Second Life now works correctly when settings files are in path with special characters
- Avatar lighting on some Macs no longer reversed
- Move to Inventory button now moves No Copy objects along with other contents and gives a warning
- Terrain no longer unrendered when not in front of one's avatar
- World Map "Region" field now takes keyboard focus upon opening map
- Shadows now cast by avatars and objects when Local Light + Shadows is enabled
- Top and bottom face of shiny objects no longer lose bumpiness at Noon and Midnight
- Object Content panel now cleared upon object deselect
- Improved flexible object LOD
- Fixed a problem preventing inventory offers from succeeding when recipient is offline
- Resolved issue where enabling Vertex Shaders would cause avatar hair to flicker
- Fixed some viewer crashes
- Terrain no longer rendered as all white when Vertex Shaders are enabled on some systems
- Animation state now set correctly after teleporting when flying
- Skirt and jacket clothing layers no longer become invisible when changing camera zoom distance/position
- llSetPrimitiveParams parameters for light and flexible objects now consistent with UI
- llGetPrimitiveParams now correctly returns enabled state of flexible object
- llSetTextureAnim animations now more smooth
- Avatar rendering options now can be saved, and are obeyed upon save
- Avatar now rendered correctly on ATI 9700 cards when Vertex Shaders are enabled
- View > Landowners no longer appears patchy when Vertex Shaders are enabled
- llHTTPRequest now works in all regions
- Copied flexible objects no longer have reduced polygon count
- Offline IM that has gone to email also appears when you log in
- Changing object from "For Sale" to not for sale now resets left-click-ability
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Improved Art: Left-Click option Buy has new mouse over icon.
- Chat History also has timestamps.
- New Flexible Object Detail slider in Preferences -> Adv. Graphics.
- fixed: llSetTextureAnim animations appear jerky
Build 15, Apr 27, 2006[]
Other Changes[]
- Restructured Vertex Shaders to allow multiple layers of compatability
- World map now puts focus on "Teleport" button after entering a region name and pressing "Enter"
- Initial load of Events page defaults to current and upcoming events
Bug Fixes[]
- Resolved a problem where all objects would be white when Vertex Shaders were enabled on some video cards
- Music played on a parcel now begins playing when you accept the "Parcel can play music" dialog
[Note: This version apparently introduced a bug which made everything shiny, Linden Lab did not open .15 for immediate testing to residents because of this bug. See this forum post.]
Build 16, Apr 28, 2006[]
Features[]
- Vertex Shaders restructuring
- Shaders now display three levels of detail
- Different graphics cards will be able to access different values based on their capabilities and OpenGL version
- Many options previously broken out into components are now part of Vertex Shaders options
- Ripple Water is now available when Medium or High level of Environmental Detail is selected
- Bumpmapping (was Bumpmap Draw Distance) is available when Medium or High level of Object Detail is selected
- Avatar Rendering Detail is now available in the Avatar Detail section of the Vertex Shaders options
- Terrain Detail set to High automatically when Vertex Shaders are enabled
- Terrain Detail can be toggled between Low and High detail when Vertex Shaders are not enabled
- Avatar Vertex Program is always on when Vertex Shaders are enabled
- Shiny is always on regardless of Vertex Shader settings
Other Changes[]
- Added a flag to toggle whether or not an object casts shadows
Bug Fixes[]
- Terrain no longer appears white with Vertex Shaders enabled and set to Low Detail
- Keyhole frustrum is once again working
- Resolved a crash when enabling Full Bright on objects
- Copied objects now have same "cast shadows" settings as original object
- Occlusion culling now works at all camera angles
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Checkboxes for Show Timestamps added to Preferences -> Chat and to IM.
- Edit Menu -> Features -> Flexible Path now has Force X, Y, and Z spin controls.
- Debug menu change, Flexible Objects toggle moved to Rendering -> Features -> Flexible Objects (Ctrl-Alt-9)
Build 17, May 1, 2006[]
Features[]
- The Login screen now features a box to select the region to log into. This has the same effect as using a SLURL to log into a region.
Other Changes[]
- Mouselook now shows region, position, and damage at the top of the screen, but does not show currency, time, or packet loss
- The 'X' on the toolbar has been removed
- To open/close the toolbar, choose View -> Toolbar
Bug Fixes[]
- The toolbar no longer disappears automatically when leaving Mouselook
- Preferences -> IM -> 'Show Timestamps' now remembers its setting
- Pressing Tab within the object Edit window now cycles through the text boxes in a more intuitive order
- All object Edit window text boxes now grey out when no object is selected
- Improved LOD on avatars and objects
- The Land Owners overlay now renders correctly in Vertex Shaders mode
- Fixed a crash that occured when switching to windowed mode with Vertex Shaders enabled
- HUD objects now show color correctly with Vertex Shaders enabled
- HUD objects no longer turn red and transparent while editing an inworld object
- Textures no longer invert unintentionally on some object surfaces
Build 19, May 4, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Made several fixes for the Mac performance issue introduced in 1.9.1.18
- Performance may still be hindered; additional fixes are on the way
- The Medium setting for vertex shaders were accidentally disabled on some configurations
- Altered the Login Location box on the login screen so it no longer overlaps fullscreen warning text
- Objects no longer cast shadows after 'cast shadows' is disabled
- Fixed a crash that occurs while switching fullscreen/windowed while shaders are enabled
- Fixed a crash associated with the debug command 'show updates'
- Fixed a bug that was causing significant delays in object/terrain rez after a teleport
- Fixed a bug that caused some Mac avatars to stay grey indefinitely
- Fixed a bug that was causing some viewers to see only one terrain texture
- Fixed a bug that caused Ripple Water to affect your avatar's eye color
Build 20, May 4, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Resolved a performance issue on Intel Macs
- Fixed a problem with IMs that caused residents to be logged off
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- New "More Details..." button in "Account History" window, takes you to secondlife.com transactions page.
- Some video cards that previously could not select "High" settings under "Graphics Details" preferences may now be able to.
- "Login Location" box now works properly with region names but coordinates do not work (i.e. "Ahern" works, but "Ahern 128, 125, 50" does not).
- New padlock icon in properties window for no-modify objects in one's inventory (right-click > "Properties").
Build 21, May 4, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Login Location should now work correctly for Home and other locations
- Flexible objects no longer blink out when their LOD changes
- Planar texture mapping now repeats correctly
- No-modify objects now display the proper icon in Properties
- Fixed cases of holes in the terrain
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- blank line at chat history bottom no longer appears (and in IMs)
Build 22, May 5, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Particles effects are now lit like other bright objects
- Resolved a bug that caused attachments to become detached when logging in again
- HUD objects no longer environmentally lit
- Residents can once again pay money to other users
- Particles no longer look shiny at certain angles
Build 23, May 8, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Fixed cut-off text for "AGP Graphics Acceleration" in Preferences->Adv. Graphics
- Teleport offers are now more reliable
- Residents invited to a group as an officer are given the correct membership invite
Build 24, May 8, 2006[]
Bug Fixes[]
- Internet Explorer sends correct SLURLs to Second Life
- Made changes to how fog renders distant terrain and objects
- Shiny ON/OFF setting is available when vertext shaders are off
- Turning this setting OFF is recommended for Geforce 4mx users
- Flexible objects phantom correctly when an avatar sits on them
- Granting/revoking modify rights now takes effect immediately
Undocumented Features/Changes[]
- Preferences > Graphics Detail tab looks more like 1.9.0's.
- Specular effect removed.
- Debug menu changes:
- Deleted:
- Debug > Rendering > Vertex Shaders (Ctrl-Alt-V)
- Deleted:
Build 25, May 11, 2006[]
Important Update[]
With release 1.9.1, we have begun the process of converting the Second Life render pipeline to use GLSL (OpenGL Shader Language). The reason for this is to accommodate some of the changes we are planning to introduce to the graphics engine, including the new lighting model,
Unfortunately, during our testing process (which includes Preview) we have found that many graphics drivers either do not fully support GLSL, or have significant performance issues with GLSL.
As a result, we have decided to scale back our initial introduction of GLSL support. Instead of using GLSL for the majority of our rendering, we are initially only using GLSL for rendering avatars and for ripple water. Previously we were using Cg (another shader language) for these features, and a non shader fall back is still available.
What This Means[]
- The new lighting model currently only supports "Sun/Moon only" and "Nearby local lights". The "Nearby local lights" option is still a significant improvement to the "local lights" option in 1.9.0, largely due to the fact that it has a relatively small performance impact on most machines. The limitation of this option however is that only the six lights nearest your avatar will be used to light the scene.
- Some subtle rendering effects that were available in Preview with shaders enabled will not be available yet (specular highlights and some advanced fog effects).
Coming Soon[]
- We hope to be able to provide the "All local lights" and "Shadows" lighting options soon, but these rely on GLSL and will have to wait until we have had more time to test the new shaders. We hope to make this available in the next release.
Bug Fixes[]
- Fixed crash when retexturing your avatar
- Fixed a bug that was causing objects to be incorrectly culled
- Fixed a bug which added a skirt when changing vatar textures
- Users can no longer rename themselves temporarily
- Alpha objects no longer render on top of flexible alpha attachments
- Flexible objects no longer have a larger editing glow
- Light color picker swatch now shows current color
- Mute IM->e-mail if the sender is muted
- Map beacon now removed when clear button is pressed
- Changing Cube to Sphere to Cube in building block type no longer results in a prism
- Disabled one-click 'Sit' for flexible objects
- Animated textures now work more smoothly on flexible objects
Build 26, May 15, 2006[]
Version 1.9.1 was reversioned to Version 1.10, see version 1.10 for a continuation of this versions release notes.