Viewer 1.0 UI on Viewer 2.0/3.0

[Merkin]

I've been playing SL since early 2007 and was compelled to make this post due to the recent release of mesh and it's incompatibility with Viewer 1.0. Since I started, I have opted to use Viewer 1.0 for its UI even with the release of 2.0 and now 3.0. I'd love to say that I could use a word other than disgusted to describe how I feel about the UI used in Viewers 2.0 and 3.0. The pie menus are no longer in use, which happened to be a great feature. There is no more simple-and-easy-to-use taskbar on the bottom of your screen, yet there is a more complex sidebar that gets in the way of whatever you're doing by taking up 1/3 of your view. 

I understand that many people prefer Viewer 2.0's and 3.0's UI over 1.0's, but there are a handful of people that prefer the opposite. Would it be too much to ask to have the option to use Viewer 1.0's (old-style) UI along with the newly updated ones? I don't see the reason why this can't be done seeing as it is merely the UI of the Viewer, not anything too complex to add the option in the Preferences Menu to revert to.

These are just my thoughts. I'm sure people will disagree with me, but I'm also sure that people will agree with me.

[Lanas Criss]

http://www.youtube.com/user/phoenixviewersl

 

This is a tutorial video demonstrating how to easily set up your Firestorm viewer to look and behave more like Phoenix and other V1 viewers.     

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Merkin, this may be an early Christmas present just for you... You didn't mention playing with Phoenix or Firestorm (or I missed it), but this may be your easy answer... I looooove it!  I even played with Linden's Snowglobe forever just because it 'felt' right even though the 'Official' viewer had moved on... and on... and on...

 

Jessica, the project manager, clearly had you in mind since she mentions working hard to make Firestorm "very V1~able".  Clearly there's hope for you and so many others like us.

 

Get all the Mesharoni support you need and all the V2/3 features you want while feeling like you never left V1 (that's a little but not too much overboard... anywho)  Try it, you'll enjoy the refreshing V1~ish favors!

 

Lanas

[Baloo Uriza]

Do you have anything constructive to say, or is this just an excuse to start another Linden hatefest, when you know full well there are other options?

[161488303349]

Is more that the code was changed heaps underneath when LL moved from V1 to V2..3. So retrofitting the UI so is backwards compatible would take a lot of time to do. I realise they maybe should have done this at the start but they didn't and is just the way it is now. So best to work out how to go forward now.

I think the best way is to make a UI that is full-mod with dock windows, menus and button bars. So can make menus and buttons bars with just what you want on them. Dock windows that float outside of main window and can dock with other windows and dialogs including the main one on any side or top and bottom. Is also not easy to do this so looks the same on Windows, Linux and Mac. Some of this is already in QT that LL uses for UI but is still a lot of work to do. Maybe LL will do in a V4, hope so anyways.

With colors and skins then is already possible to do, Hitomi Tiponi has already made heaps of Starlight skins for V2..3 so would prob also make for a V4. With a full-mod V4 and skinning then would be easy to retrofit a V1-style interface, except for stuff that has been moved to web services like Search, Profiles and Inventory.

Some people don't like the web services way but I think is an engineering and cost decision, as web services can be put on places like Amazon and Live, like mirrors. Means stuff can be moved closer to people in other countries and will go faster for them. Web services also means that LL doesnt need to make their own server farms outside of the USA. I think they already starting to think about doing this with some things like HTTP Textures and HTTP Inventory.