Environmental Enhancement Project (aka EEP!) Feedback Thread

[Chic Aeon]

I have been asking about this issue for awhile now and today I have some example pictures of what I have been talking about so perhaps I can get some better answers besides "lower your gamma" (which doesn't work at all by the way).  

 

This is about IMPORTING Windlight made skies into the EEP viewer (I am using the most recent Linden viewer for importing). 

 

I made a very dramatic sky which works really well for some things like indoor shots with outside night viewers, stufio work etc.

 

IF you take an outdoor photo in WINDLIGHT (Firestorm) the sky looks like this:

Photo pasting isn't working. Going to try again. 

 

That same sky doesn't import into the Linden eEP viewer with a night sky.

That is NOT a night sky.

 

Here is a picture in the same spot with the BOM Firestorm viewer.

 

I CAN make a night sky within the Linden viewer. I cannot seem to IMPORT a dark night sky however.

 

Any ideas or is this something that will just never get fixed?  It seems to be very much related to the fact that we have lost the contrast ramp from Windlight. I have other not so obvious but still "not right" skies that will not import well.  

 

Any clues appreciate. 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Chic Aeon
adding info

[Stevie Davros]

I went through this issue a few months back when I imported a few hundred WL settings to EEP. Many of them required substantially different settings. In the end I got close with most of them. There is no shortcut way to do it. If you persevere with trying to get the look you want you will get there. Sometimes, counter intuitive quite different settings are needed. I reported my issues to Linden Labs.

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Stevie Davros said:

I went through this issue a few months back when I imported a few hundred WL settings to EEP. Many of them required substantially different settings. In the end I got close with most of them. There is no shortcut way to do it. If you persevere with trying to get the look you want you will get there. Sometimes, counter intuitive quite different settings are needed. I reported my issues to Linden Labs.

I agree that many regular looking skies can be tweaked (and some come over perfectly) but I HAVE TRIED and have not been able to change an imported setting with these problems. I could most likely try and reproduce something from scratch in EEP but again, I have tried and the CONTRAST is the missing part.  Thanks for your reply. 

[Whirly Fizzle]

The conversion from windlight to EEP when you import a windlight xml file to EEP is as close as it can be.  It's never going to be a 100% perfect match.  You'll have to tweak your imported windlights on an EEP viewer to get the look you want.

This problem really isn't something that can be fixed any further to give a closer match. Converting from one renderer to another is always going to look slightly different.

[Chic Aeon]

5 hours ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

The conversion from windlight to EEP when you import a windlight xml file to EEP is as close as it can be.  It's never going to be a 100% perfect match.  You'll have to tweak your imported windlights on an EEP viewer to get the look you want.

This problem really isn't something that can be fixed any further to give a closer match. Converting from one renderer to another is always going to look slightly different.

 I understand that, but did you see my example photos where the ALL BLACK sky becomes the ALL WHITE sky?   And that as far as I can see cannot be tweaked to make work (lowering gamma as someone suggested converts the whole screen to black).

 

That was what I was specifically asking about.  :D.   Apparently it will just always be that way and some Windlights will not convert at all.   

 

BUT if someone has found a fix for this please DO comment. It would be appreciated. 

 

 

[rhonin Nissondorf]

i've been hunting around ,, how do you import a existing windlight?  i assumed i just dump the xml in the skies folder in the eep viewer.  but they don't show up the environment editor

 

 

Edit.. ooo i found the importer.   odd place.

Edited November 26, 2020 by rhonin Nissondorf

[Chic Aeon]

https://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2020/04/eep-versus-windlight-another-new-normal.html

Official chart towards the bottom. I can't seem to find that page this morning :D.

[Mari Moonbeam]

I use FS, they say their new version based on what LL **required** for EEP. I have settings for water sky I liked from the scrolled list in previous FS version. I like to see "fancy" regions where they've made things special. Then go back to the old settings. Was able to do this with a click in/out SLICK.

 

Now I am told I need to research my old settings , make a FOLDER of them , and every TP where I wanted to see the beauty (or horror) of SL and then leave -to restore y settings--  have to dig in my inventory to find the settings I use 95% of the time and reinstall them. 

This is like jump starting a car every intersection. So I just won't ever change my settings. Which makes SL drab, the efforts of region designers useless, and me very sad.

Why? How is making the visual in a visual place so messy so slow so complicated a win? Why didn't you make seeing custom things EASY  one click--- like we HAD?

 

[Milk Pixelmaid]

2 hours ago, Mari Moonbeam said:

I use FS, they say their new version based on what LL **required** for EEP. I have settings for water sky I liked from the scrolled list in previous FS version. I like to see "fancy" regions where they've made things special. Then go back to the old settings. Was able to do this with a click in/out SLICK.

 

Now I am told I need to research my old settings , make a FOLDER of them , and every TP where I wanted to see the beauty (or horror) of SL and then leave -to restore y settings--  have to dig in my inventory to find the settings I use 95% of the time and reinstall them. 

This is like jump starting a car every intersection. So I just won't ever change my settings. Which makes SL drab, the efforts of region designers useless, and me very sad.

Why? How is making the visual in a visual place so messy so slow so complicated a win? Why didn't you make seeing custom things EASY  one click--- like we HAD?

 

Select -> Use region settings

[Marianne Little]

13 hours ago, Mari Moonbeam said:

I use FS, they say their new version based on what LL **required** for EEP. I have settings for water sky I liked from the scrolled list in previous FS version. I like to see "fancy" regions where they've made things special. Then go back to the old settings. Was able to do this with a click in/out SLICK.

 

Now I am told I need to research my old settings , make a FOLDER of them , and every TP where I wanted to see the beauty (or horror) of SL and then leave -to restore y settings--  have to dig in my inventory to find the settings I use 95% of the time and reinstall them. 

This is like jump starting a car every intersection. So I just won't ever change my settings. Which makes SL drab, the efforts of region designers useless, and me very sad.

Why? How is making the visual in a visual place so messy so slow so complicated a win? Why didn't you make seeing custom things EASY  one click--- like we HAD?

 

I saw that we can get all the Firestorm windlights converted to EEP for free on the Marketplace. Bless him who did it. ❤️

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/465306-new-updated-enviroments/?do=findComment&comment=2226862

 

[MoiraKathleen]

6 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

I saw that we can get all the Firestorm windlights converted to EEP for free on the Marketplace. Bless him who did it. ❤️

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/465306-new-updated-enviroments/?do=findComment&comment=2226862

 

Also, take a look at the "Environments" folder in the Library section of the Inventory.  There are a number of EEP settings there, as well...  I haven't used Firestorm for quite awhile, so I don't know how much of the WL's Firestorm had are included here, but it's worth taking a look to see if what you're interested in getting is already in the Library section of your inventory.  (I also don't know how these were converted or if special adjusting was done to get them close to how the WL's worked, but still, worth a look, in my opinion).

 

You can access those through the "My Environments" window, right click and choose "Apply Only to Myself" to try them out and see which ones you like well enough to copy up to your Settings folder. 

[Mari Moonbeam]

19 hours ago, Milk Pixelmaid said:

Select -> Use region settings

There is no button to go BACK to my personal choices-that's the issue

[Milk Pixelmaid]

5 hours ago, Mari Moonbeam said:

There is no button to go BACK to my personal choices-that's the issue

That button would be whatever setting you prefer to use normally.... just go back.

[Mari Moonbeam]

1 hour ago, Milk Pixelmaid said:

That button would be whatever setting you prefer to use normally.... just go back.

Last attempt, on the prior FS it was a ONE button click region/personal settings ON/OFF ; now you have one button to go shared but to return to personal settings you have to open both sky and water scroll menus and select ---- a pain when you need to leave a dark region quick . Went from simple, easy, practical to a cumbersome chore--solution: don't use shared environments.

[Linnrenate Crosby]

I started to use EEP yesterday with the new Firestorm release, i'm not by far impressed about how mainland default look with "Use enabled shared environment" enabled. It look dark and dull and terrible, even when Riders Sundial tool (thanks for the copy Whirly) show the sun to be almost midday the sunlight isnt't anything close to forced midday. Now the sun only show for me during sunset and sunrise, the rest of the day cycle are dark and dull almost what i have in RL now that the sun are below the horizon until late January.

First picture showing Riders Sundial tool  where one see the sun are almost midday. Second picture show my shop when my viewer are set to "Use enabled shared environment". Third picture show my shop with sun forced to midday.

At midday with "Use enabled shared environment" it don't even look close to forced midday, 1000 USD question are... WHY IS THAT???

For now i will just keep forcing midday as i find "Use enabled shared environment" amking SL (at least mainland) look dark and horrible.

Edited December 11, 2020 by Linnrenate Crosby

[Linnrenate Crosby]

I just poofed over to Builders Brewery with "Use enabled shared environment" set, and that sim look way more normal than mainland. I could not find that they had done anything to the environment settings on parcel nor estate level (unless they are hidden for the general user). Even the Sundial tool  was showing the sun at approx the same position as on my mainland.

To me this are getting stranger and stranger It really start to feel like the good old days was way better

Edited December 11, 2020 by Linnrenate Crosby

[Love Zhaoying]

3 minutes ago, Linnrenate Crosby said:

I just pooed over to Builders Brewery

Is that using the classic Flying toy that "poos" (or pharts, loudly) when you fly?

[Linnrenate Crosby]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Is that using the classic Flying toy that "poos" (or pharts, loudly) when you fly?

No, it was one of my typos.... was supposed to say poofed... as in teleported

[namssab1nad Piers]

Been playing with EEP.  To me it sucks the big time.  They need to go back to the previous windlight system.  It was easy and fast to change windlights.  When taking photos of a strange landscape I do not want to have to spend all friggin day playing with EEP to get one shot.  Ridiculous that they even did this introducing EEP.  Make one wonder if management really has a clue about the normal everyday user of SL.  

[Linnrenate Crosby]

18 minutes ago, namssab1nad Piers said:

Been playing with EEP.  To me it sucks the big time.  They need to go back to the previous windlight system.  It was easy and fast to change windlights.  When taking photos of a strange landscape I do not want to have to spend all friggin day playing with EEP to get one shot.  Ridiculous that they even did this introducing EEP.  Make one wonder if management really has a clue about the normal everyday user of SL.  

That's the Lab in a nutshell my friend, they think they can make things better by putting loads on their overworked servers. I stand by what i previously said

 

[ThaRealestOne]

I don't like the new update I can't find my custom windlight settings anymore on Firestorm

[Eduardo Minghuang]

If you go one version back (Firestorm 6.3) everything looks great again 🙂

Is there a work around to kill EEP?

Edited December 11, 2020 by Eduardo Minghuang

[Linnrenate Crosby]

I sort of fixed my problem with dark midday, but i have to keep reload the default day cycle to make the sun move

[Stevie Davros]

I also had misgivings when using the Beta Firestorm at first, but eventually I got used to the differences in the way things are and I much prefer EEP over Windlight now. Familiarity with the user interface changes and how the new settings work is necessary to achieve good results with the sky and atmosphere.
Check out these environments I put into a video:
 

 

[Penny Patton]

1 minute ago, Stevie Davros said:

I also had misgivings when using the Beta Firestorm at first, but eventually I got used to the differences in the way things are and I much prefer EEP over Windlight now.

I have a feeling this is how it will be with a lot of people....eventually. SL users were in an uproar against Windlight when it came out, too. Most of the complaints I'm seeing seem to come from unfamiliarity with the interface for EEP.

I have a feeling that the TPVs will work out a better UI for EEP given enough time, and that will help get more people onboard with it. (I still want LL to learn what real night skies look like and increase the amount of stars that appear when they're maxed out.)