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Turning my back on Viewer 2

Vick Forcella

By Vick Forcella,
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Vick Forcella

Vick Forcella

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With the introduction of V2 many amazing featured were added. A great improvement. Didn't like the sidebar but also didn't hate it. I adopted quick and began to love the so many added features. Also it was obvious that V2 was updated with a high frequency, bugs were fixed fast. LL was doing it's best to make V2 even more amazing, more stable.

With the introduction of the Webprofiles LL is doing the opposite as before. They are removing features making the official LL viewer the viewer with less features.

Loss of functionality is described as Expected Behaviour....

So I went looking around for a viewer that has the added features without loss of functionality and tried Phoenix.

I am AMAZED!

It is very fast. The inv in V2 takes me 10 mins to load, in Phoenix 2 mins. A busy sim never renders in V2, in Phoenix I can look around and actually see people in their chosen outfits.
Profiles are complete again, with all the options that were removed. Profiles are fast and predictable! Search is back, almost as good as before. Land options are complete again. The CPU is back to 50% without causing lag, V2 often takes well over 70% and forcing it onto one core causes freezes.

The only thing I'm missing... the sidebar and a fully functional outfits folder. There is a workaround for the outfits but that isn't all to obvious.

So, sorry LL. I have dropped V2 and the Jira's  that go along with it. Besides.  I am back being a normal resident and not a guinea pig any more.

I had good reasons to adopt V2, it's the noob viewer and I want to give support for the products I sell, the added features, the stability, the completeness, the innovation, the UI, helping to improve the viewer with Jira's. V2 was a major step forward but someone has put it in reverse for some unknown reason.

I am sad and fearing the loss of functionality and lag will also hit TPV's one day.

I like the UI of V2 a lot more as the UI of Phoenix. I'm double sad feeling forced into this UI but the total package is more functional as V2 and that is what counts and what has pushed me over the edge.

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George Orellana

George Orellana

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You can always give Phoenix's version of V2 Firestorm a try, it is still in prealpha stages but nonetheless it is still better than LL official viewer and no web profiles. Also Dolphin 2 removed the web profile in its last update I believe. You don't have to completely abandon V2 due to LL's bad decisions. 

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Sapphire Hissop

Sapphire Hissop

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I understand the frustration many have with V2 - especially the webprofiles which is why I run V2.4 whatever it is :)  I am sort of stuck with V2 if I wish to continue in SL after 3 years.  I do not rez and nothing rezzes for me in ANY of the TPV and believe me I have tried everything.  It is hard to do much when I can't see anything and no one can see me.  So I am using V2.4 and will continue to do so until someone comes up with a TPV that I can actually use.  I do like many of the features in V2 but really dislike the webprofiles since they don't load for me.  Just my 2 cents :)

Sapphire Hissop

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George Orellana

George Orellana

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I will add that Dolphin 2 is built and updated along with LL code, you can download it here http://dolphinviewer.eregion.de/2011/03/23/dolphin-viewer-2-2-5-5-14985/ and like I said at least a couple last updates ago he removed web profiles.

The Firestorm viewer is built on old LL code and some things still do not work but it is work in progess, I do hope the Firestorm team considers always keeping up with LL code.

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Jean Horten

Jean Horten

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Well, Dolphin has always been some kind of unfinished and rough, especially for Linux users Dolphin is really not recommended, as the sound does not even work under 32 bit, because Dolphin is using using FMOD as audio driver, which usually stutters or fails under Linux. Firestorm is based upon LL V2.4 code and will soon be upgraded to V2.5 code too. and uses a massively improved GUI in regards of useability in comparison to LL V2.x, Dolphin V2 or Catznip V2.

Jeannie

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squashy Beeswing

squashy Beeswing

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@ Vick

I've persevered with V2 as long as i care to.  I don't object to the UI or the sidebar menu, but this latest version is unusable.  I can't move, things don't rez, and  it just isn't performing well for me.  I don't know what the problem is, or why it's become so much worse since V2.4 but it has. 

Oh, and the web-based profiles?  They suck to high heaven. 

I'm now using Phoenix because it works.

 

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Vick Forcella

Vick Forcella

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squashy Beeswing wrote:

@ Vick

I've persevered with V2 as long as i care to.  I don't object to the UI or the sidebar menu, but this latest version is unusable.  I can't move, things don't rez, and  it just isn't performing well for me.  I don't know what the problem is, or why it's become so much worse since V2.4 but it has. 

Oh, and the web-based profiles?  They suck to high heaven. 

I'm now using Phoenix because it works.

 

 

2.4 also worked ok for me except the inventory load that is broken since V2. The latest is pushing the CPU way up for no obvious reason and I can't get it onto one core or it will freeze over and over again.  If that is related to the extreme slow loading I don't know, often a scene doesn't load at all leaving many grey.

Something has also changed in the way network traffic is being handled. Looks like one one thing at a time can be rendered while in the old versions it rendered in parallel. Must be UDP and HTTP, but not only for textures, for other actions as well. It feels like it's coming through a small pipe one at a time.

Could it be HTTPS is being used slowing down everything?

Not rendering is BAD ©, not being able to fetch inventory is BAD ©, lag is BAD© and taking away functionality is worse as BAD©.

What is odd is that Firestorm has a few of the same bugs and that Phoenix is running soo fast.

It's my guess that LL is near to the servers and do not notice the massive LAG the rest of the world experiences. Also they roll out half tested Viewers and drop them on the noobs pushing them away in one minute. By cutting away critical functionality and dropping a half finished product they push out the ones that adore V2.

This is so sad since LL will one day cut some things server-side making it impossible for any TPV to correct it.

We all loose.

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Vick Forcella

Vick Forcella

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Opensource Obscure wrote:

As another JIRA contributor, that's good to know. Pity! Thanks for your reports anyway.

 

It is not what I want.
I want a viewer that works for everybody, that welcomes old and new users. It's the reason why I worked with Jira, making it better.

Thy did good so far but the latest is just unusable, it's broken in many ways making Second Life impossible to use. We, the old, know where to find a TPV that works but the new? The new just don't enter.

We need new residents!

Just download Phoenix (not Firestorm yet) and you will find out yourself.

So sad.

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Paulyta Miles

Paulyta Miles

Posted
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ITS JUST PEREFECT...

fast, easy, very customizable.... *_*  i loved it.... the viewer 2.0 can be very nice thanks to Jessica Lyon.... its just a preview, ok?

 

Phoenix-Firestorm Preview 2 v2.4.2.14915

IMPORTANT!! Uninstall previous Firestorm installations and make sure you install to a CLEAN EMPTY FOLDER! Do not overwrite an existing installation!

Downloads
Windows:http://downloads.phoenixviewer.com/windows/Phoenix_Firestorm-Preview_2-4-2-14918_Setup.exe
Mac:http://downloads.phoenixviewer.com/Mac/Phoenix_Firestorm-Preview_2_4_2_14918.dmg
Linux Debian:http://downloads.phoenixviewer.com/Linux/Phoenix_Firestorm_Preview_debian_i686_2.4.2.14918.tar.bz2
Linux Ubuntu:http://downloads.phoenixviewer.com/Linux/Phoenix_Firestorm-Preview_i686_2.4.2.14918.tar.bz2

 

Join in the official group for check the news and updates.

Phoenix-Firestorm Preview Group

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Kascha Matova

Kascha Matova

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For me, version 2 has been a very exhausting and frustrating waste of time. It hasn't mattered which viewer I've used :

Firestorm (latest) -> Better than SL 2.5.x-2.6.x. Which don't set the bar high. Endless cloud rather than rezzing me. Everything takes WAY too long to rez. Interface is better than SL, but less intuitive than 1.x viewers.

Kirstens (latest) -> Almost the exact same experience as Firestorm, except that what does finally rez looks better when it finishes.

SL 2.6.x -> No. Oh HELL no. NEVER finishes rezzing the environment. Endless cloud. Non-intuitive interface. Less features than any of the others. A complete non-starter for me.

SL 2.4.x -> Was only on it long enough to get forced onto 2.5. Can't even speak about it with insight, but the one time I was in-world with it it seemed to be faster than later versions.

This is annoying for me because I love some of the new additions with version 2, specifically and especially the allowance for multiple tattoo layers, which ends the whole tattoos, or cleavage enhancers, or makeup, or a hairbase, but never more than one dance.

And it's not my machine or connection either. Every version 1.x viewer runs as smoothly as liquid. I have been bouncing between Ascent and Phoenix, settling on Ascent, and tried Singularity today because it's an improved Ascent and I misunderstood what they meant about multiple attachments being in the code, thinking that included multiple clothing and tattoo layers. Guess not. But these viewers make SL possible again. I tried for 4 hours last night just to get my avie to finish rezzing on log-in, between the viewers I mentioned above, and I could never do it until I went back to Ascent.

SL 2.6.x actually bounced my router for crying out loud. Twice! Sorry, done with them all until this code is stabilized. :smileysad:

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  • 4 weeks later...
Linda Brynner

Linda Brynner

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Same kind of experience here. I have turned my back on 2.x a few days ago. However my reservation for 3rd party viewers is very high since the procedure to get on the TPV isn't exactly too critical.

When i finally started to use 2.x (2.4 version) in Dec. 2010 it was because it finally had become to some level of acceptance for me. Still the UI is not really to my liking. The UI looks boring, it clutters smaller notebook screen way to much and at this moment too much is broken. Also my experience with 2.x is stuttery, bumpy thus very annoying. I have a micro freeze every other 3 - 4 seconds. Very very iiritating.

Actually 2.4 made me login less in the last 3 months.

I went back to 1.23.5 and all is fluent and smooth. Sim crossings are hardly noticed and fps is very high and stable. My fun has come back too :smileyhappy: Not all features are supported i know, but at least my fun is back.

I do hope that LL's viewer will come to a higher level. At the moment, this piece of software should never had come out of Beta stage really. It's really that bad :smileysad: And with 2.6.3 even more is broken. 

The only way to update my profile is to use 1.23.5. If  i do that via the web or via 2.6 i get error messages and the profiles isn't updated.

More and more gets broke by the day, and where does it all end :smileysad:

Basic login doesn't bring a higher monthly login either.

To my opinion "easy to use"  has never been the real issue although Philip thinks so. 

 

The real issue has always been overall low technical quality, super slow fixing of bugs, hardly evolved inworld experience, lower graphics quality compared to other games and a bumpy moving around experience for too many since it relies strong on individual internet connections, and serious bugs never repaired.

Too much is focussed on new geek stuff for the current horriblly poor developed viewer which should not be out of Beta.

SL isn't about viewer geek stuff, it is about smooth, reliable inworld immersive fun your way. Having a viewer facillitating just that should be evident, rather than being confronted with serious issues 80% of the time.

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