General Discussions

[GhostRider Crystal]

Hello, I've been playing Second Life for 3 weeks now and it's been great. I've heard everywhere in the community that there are 3rd party viewers that can be easier and increase performance in Second Life. So I was wondering which 3rd party viewers are best to use currently?

[Imnotgoing Sideways Recognized Member]

All of them.  Just pick your favorite. (^_^)y

[Rayne Keynes]

Phoenix

http://www.phoenixviewer.com/

[GhostRider Crystal]

I'm not sure if i can trust Phoenix though since it hasn't been approved by Linden Labs yet! Though I heard great things of Emerald and how a few staff members made Phoenix.

[Peggy Paperdoll Recognized Helper]

"Easier" is relative.  That is dependant on which viewer you are most familiar with.........they all do the same things but in somewhat different ways.  As for performance, you being a 3 week user, you are probably using Viewer 2 (or Viewer 2.1).  That viewer is one of the viewers that requires the least resources from your computer...............so it's probably one of the best for performance.

I mostly use the older 1.23 viewer but I also use Viewer 2............of the two V-2 is the least laggy.  1.23 is easiest...........but I've been using viewers based on that UI for almost 5 years (I know where everything is intuitively).  Pick one.  Stick with it till you learn it well.  And forget what others say is best, easiest, fastest, or anything else.........go with what you like and know.

[Artificial Flux]

Comes down to different tastes. Ask ten different people, get ten different answers.

Head on over to the third party directory http://viewerdirectory.secondlife.com/ And choose the viewer that has the features you like.

My personal preference? Imprudence, though I'm keeping a close eye on Phoenix.

Phoenix isn't on the list there, but perhaps it might be in the future.

[Milla Janick Member]

Personally, I like Kirsten's for the graphics enhancements, but it can be a little quirky.  Marine Kelly's RLV can be fun.

Those are both for special purposes.  For everyday use, I'll stick with the latest Linden Lab viewer.

If it's not on the TPV list, I won't touch it.  The same for anything from a former Emerald developer.

[Ophelia Pelazzi]

Phoenix is quite safe. LordGreg, the one that blew the whistle on the shenanigans, is on the team as is Dimentox, the developer of DCS2, an inworld combat system. He has far too much time and money invested in DCS to take any chances. He had a fit when he found out what was going in with Emerald. The entire code is completely open and they are just waiting for the approval from LL for the TPV list.

[Artificial Flux]

Proven safe or not by reputable Second Lifers. It's always best to wait for something to hit the Third Party Viewer list before basing your entire experience around it.

I have high hopes for Phoenix, having been a former Emerald user myself, and missing a couple of the features it offered. But it's still best to wait, just on the off, outside chance that it doesn't get approved because of some possible huge glaring flaw.

I'm keeping a close eye on it though, as it is being developed by former approved staff of Emerald. And has the seal of approval from Second Lifers such as LordGreg and Dimentox.

[Ishtara Rothschild]

Why, Troll of course. Erm, I mean Phoenix. Damn Freudian slips.

The second place goes to Kirsten's S20 for outstanding visual quality. I just can't work or shop with the thing, or do anything but take photos.