Which is best?

[Shari Bing]

Hello :)

 

Other than the latest viewer which I believe is 2.0 ( something like this), which would be the best viewer available?

 

I don't really like this new one (anway, it's new to me as I been away a while) as I can't seem to find my way around. I'm used to the old one we had back a long time ago the 1.23 but I don't want this one either as many times my music from sl is turned off and I can't turn it back on.

If this is a seperate problem and it can be fixed another way without taking off the 1.23 viewer then I appreciate any info on this too.

 

Many thank yous for any help.

[Venus Petrov]

'Best' is very subjective.  People use a different viewer or viewers for different reasons.  I currently use Phoenix.  I have dabbled in the beta Firestorm but am waiting until another version comes out to play again.

Just try some for yourself.  Your computer configuration may mean that some viewers are better suited to your setup than are others.  Experiment and see.

[Perrie Juran]

Once upon a time there was this thing called Viewer 1.0.  It was buggy, prone to crash, suffered from intense lag, objects not rendering and many other problems.  We complained to the Linden God's but very little changed so we just learned to live with it. 

Then some very smart people who both loved Second Life and loved to play with code began to look at these problems and discovered they could be fixed.  In their generosity they began to make these fixes available to their fellow Residents who embraced and loved these fixes and hence were born Alternative Viewers.

And the Linden God's sat there and did nothing.  Until.......

One day a War erupted in Second Life, what became known as The Viewer Wars.  Residents chose sides.  Friends were pitted against friends, brothers against brothers, mothers against fathers.  Even partnerships broke as Residents chose sides.  And great chaos fell upon Second life and darkness upon the faces of the deep.

In their great wisdom, the Linden Gods gathered together a great treasure trove of golden prims and paid a company to develop a new viewer.......a viewer to end all viewers, and hence was born Viewer 2.

The Linden Gods came down In World and gathered the Residents together and said it is time to end the War and to do this we have a great gift for you and they gave to us Viewer 2.  They passed this gift out to us and many of us unwrapped the gift but as we gazed upon it our joy and wonder slowly changed to insanity.

The Linden Gods had made a great mistake.  Rather than seeking from the Residents those who loved both Second Life and coding, they had given the job of creating the new viewer to a company who knew nothing about Second Life. And great dismay fell upon the Residents and War broke out again.

The Linden Gods were dismayed.  They did not know at first how to respond.  At first they said there is nothing wrong with this Viewer.  After all we payed a great treasure trove of golden prims for it.  But finally they had to admit that there were some problems and they patched together a couple of fixes and some of the chaos was assuaged.

But there were still some problems.  We asked of the Linden Gods that they fix these too.  But the Linden Gods replied that it couldn't be done.

But then some Residents who still loved Second Life and loved to code took another look at what was happening.  They discovered that there were ways to fix some of the problems that their fellow residents were having.  And hence were born new alternate viewers.   Among them is one called Firestorm.

I myself decided to try this new Viewer, being wearied by lag and crashes and objects constantly not rendering.  And behold, I discovered a whole new world.  My eyes were opened and I suddenly could see things I had never seen before.  I stopped crashing all the time.  When I logged in I didn't  have to wait forever for objects to rez.  When I'd go places with friends, I would be rezzed and ready to go long before they were.  I even found that I could walk in places that previously I had been unable to walk.

So this is my story.  While I know I read of those who claim that Firestorm does not work for them, every one whom I know personally who has tried it has found its performance superior to both Viewer 1 and Viewer 2.  Yes there are still some functions I find easier to do in V1 and in Phoenix (mainly building and sorting inventory) for my every day general living in Second Life, I am totally loving Firestorm.  After going through a brief learning curve which the Firestorm Gods have provided tutorials for, My second life is more enjoyable than ever before.

If only the Linden Gods would learn to listen........................................



[Tristizia Demonista]

It seems you forgot to mention that a.) Firestorm is still in Beta (which would explain it NOT working for some) and b.) is missing quite a lot of functions of other viewers (Official and TPV), for example Shadows, 64m Prims , mesh etc. I do not have these problems you speak of (lag, crashes etc.) therefore i continue to use Viewer 2 (or Beta 3 in this case), because it works best for MY enjoyment of SL .

[Perrie Juran]

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Tristizia Demonista wrote:

It seems you forgot to mention that a.) Firestorm is still in Beta (which would explain it NOT working for some) and b.) is missing quite a lot of functions of other viewers (Official and TPV), for example Shadows, 64m Prims , mesh etc. I do not have these problems you speak of (lag, crashes etc.) therefore i continue to use Viewer 2 (or Beta 3 in this case), because it works best for MY enjoyment of SL .

---

I could have been more specific as to why I sometimes still use other viewers.  But my tale was getting long.

Amazing still that though in Beta, that it is performing so well.  And I am slowly seeing more people embracing it.

But to be clear, I totally support, "Your World, Your Viewer," and I know individual preference and performance may vary.  However, I do think I have written an excellent synopsis of what has happened.

There were other things I was going to include in my story but that may be "a tale for another time.........."

[Thinkerer Melville]

Best depends on the user,  the use, and the familiarity.   Yo can get more familiar with Viewer 2.8 (the current  version).  Here is the table of contents for my tutorials about Second Life, including more than you ever wanted to know about Viewer 2.x.   

Hobo Kit: Table of Contents

http://thinkerer.org/SLintChan/SLiHoboKitonWeb.htm

Regarding sound issues, I don't know of any genreral issue with streaming audio in Phoenix or 1.23.  If you are using Phoenix  or Firestorm and have a persistent sound problem, I recopmmend that you  join the Phoenix/Firestorm viewer support group.  (Find it in Search and join.)  You can then ask for help from them

TKR

[Opensource Obscure]

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Shari Bing wrote:

Other than the latest viewer which I believe is 2.0 ( something like this), which would be the best viewer available?

---

Whatever you choose, be sure it can display Mesh - or at least, that that its developers plan to add Mesh support soon.

BTW - since today, the latest official viewer is actually named 3.0. If compared to the earlier releases of last year, it's more user-friendly, especially if you customize your Preferences. If you go with a third-party viewer and something doesn't work, try the official viewer.

 

[Abigail Raymaker]

First off, I have to admit something. I have been on SL for almost 4.5 years and while I learned there were alternative third party viewers  and some peopole prefered one viewer over the others early on, I never realised how partisan people can get over their viewer preference. It's downright silly. Different people do different things and therefore their needs may vary. We should all be grateful there is a variety of viewers that cater to different audiences. There are even TPVs that cater to a very specific audience like Kirsten's Viewer. At the end of the day I think it's best to try out a few viewers and see which one works best for you. Generally, I would recommend using a viewer that is based on 2.x, rather than 1.x. From my own experience there is no "absolute best" viewer for everyone. :matte-motes-smile:

[161488303349]

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Abigail Raymaker wrote:

 there is no "absolute best" ... :matte-motes-smile:

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Windows Explorer is the bestest browser evah. Annnndd.... everyone knows that Holdens are waayyyy better than Fords, because Holdens are real Australian cars. :smileytongue:

[Amber Palowakski]

Actually, the latest official viewer is 3.0. :-)    It is understandable that when 2.0 first came out, many people were uncomfortable with the change, and wanted to stay with 1.23.  There was one hell of a learning curve, especially for those of us who had used the 1.x versions for several years already, myself included.  On the tech side, there were multiple issues and bugs with the early iterations of 2.x.  

When 2.0 came out, I *hated* it.  I couldn't find anything, and it was difficult to work with.   Nevertheless, I saw the "handwriting on the wall", so to speak, and realized that was were the future of SL was going to lie.  I could remain within my comfort zone, and stay with 1.23, or move on, and enjoy all the future innovations that LL would implant into the new viewer.  I remembered that at one time 1.x was totally new to me, and I wasn't able to find anything in my first weeks in SL, but I figured I am a fairly intelligent person, so I stuck it out a few weeks, and learned a new viewer.  Those first weeks with 2.x were hell to me, but once I learned my way around it, I saw that it actually was easier to work with than 1.23.

Ultimately, my decision to move to 2.x paid off.  2.x has progressed considerably over the past two years, and later revisions answered many of the complaints of the early versions, sometimes as optional choices, or retrofitting some earlier features. The total graphics capabilities and features are so much better. I am finding I can't live without my lightings and shading.  Features such as that, avatar physics, multiple attachments to the same attachment points, Estate Windlight settings, Display Names, etc. are all things I had long hoped to see in the viewer.  New developements like mesh are even more exciting.

As far as official viewers go, 3.x (the current official series), is by far superior to 1.23.  There is so much more one can do with it.  While it will still have bugs and quirks, that argument is a straw man, so to speak.  1.23 has bugs and quirks.  There has never been a perfect viewer that didn't have issues.  If one is still using 1.23 and refuses to touch 2.x/3.x, they have absolutely no idea what they are missing.

That being said, there *are* times when 1.23 is a superior viewer.  That is in the case when one's computer system, especially the graphics card, is incapable of handling the advanced features of the latest viewers.  By all means, use 1.23, otherwise, you will find your SL experience to be entirely unsatisfactory.  The whole point of Sl is to enjoy it, afterall!

Now as for the issue of thrid-party viewers, we fall much closer into the realm of what personal opinion.  As many others have noted, the various 3rd-party viewers address specific needs of their following.  I have tried several of those viewers, and didn't like them.  But the *only* reason I didn't like them was for the same reasons I didn't like 2.x initially.  It was new to me, and I didn't want to bother learning a new viewer.  If you don't like the official viewer, and find the graphics of 1.23 too weak, by all means, experiment with the 3rd parties.  hopefully, you will find the one that meets *your* needs!  Once again, *your* enjoyment of SL is paramount here, not what some other self-proclaimed techie feels is the best viewer to use.

All these things considered, you have many options by wich you could explore and enjoy SL.  Be bold, be brave, and find what works best for *you*! Blessings! :-)