Release Notes/Second Life Release/1.23


Second Life 1.23.5 Release - October 15, 2009 (blog post) - see release notes, below.

Release Notes for Second Life 1.23.4 - June 15, 2009


Getting the latest graphics drivers

As suggested in our Knowledge Base, Second Life will perform best if you are running the latest drivers for your graphics card. See the following links to graphics hardware vendors' websites:


Release Notes for Second Life Release 1.23(5) - October 15, 2009

Changes


Release Notes for Second Life 1.23.4 - June 15, 2009


Key Changes

    

Additions

  • 62 Votes - VWR-4826: Add an "Ignore" button to friendship requests to keep online status private
  • 57 Votes - VWR-5082: 'Set permissions on selected task inventory' feature, similar to 'Recompile all scripts in object', in Tools tab
  • 21 Votes - VWR-3060: Add a setting to hide the IMs in the background chat
    • NOTE: A debug setting, 'IMInChatConsole', has been added to allow residents to opt for the "Show IMs in Local Chat" setting instead.

Bug Fixes

  • 326 Votes - VWR-6110: I was attaching a hud when my other hud with animations-content (worth 22000LD!) disappeared
  • 173 Votes - VWR-8818: 1.21 and 1.22 Texture Picker & People Chooser lags when your inventory has >18K items
  • 149 Votes - VWR-770: llPlaySound() Sometimes loops sound or wont even play
  • 92 Votes - VWR-8211: Black terrain below the water line
  • 78 Votes - VWR-6744: If wearing an attachment that has animated an avatar before teleport, the animation is not active after teleportation
  • 67 Votes - VWR-9384: Modify the calculation of sculpty mesh size to eliminate bad texture mapping and bad LOD transitions
  • 66 Votes - VWR-5791: Multiple local lights cause flickering with Flycam
  • 47 Votes - VWR-11420: Objects/textures are removed from viewer memory too aggressively

Changes

  • In the 'Buy Currency' window, the auto-populated value in 'Buy L$' field has been changed from 1,000 to 2,000. For further information regarding this change, please see the Community Blog post on this topic.

New Features

Adult Content Access & Filtering

Are you uncertain what Adult Content access and filtering changes have been put into place? Are you wondering how you may or may not be impacted? For answers to these questions and more, please check out these links:

Viewer Available in more Languages

What You'll Notice First...

UI Changes in Support of Adult Content Access & Filtering

My Land Window Changes

  • The My Land window now shows a parcel's Type: (Homestead, etc) of each parent region.
  • The window was also widened and the columns re-arranged.

About Land Window Changes

  • The About Land > General tab now shows a parcel's Type: (Homestead, etc) and Rating: (PG, Mature, Adult) of its parent region.
  • The About Land > Convenant tab now shows a parcel's Type: (Homestead, etc) and Rating: (PG, Mature, Adult) of its parent region, and the layout has been re-arranged.
  • On the About Land > Options tab, the checkbox for PG/Mature content/Adult content will be greyed-out/disabled when it cannot be changed based on the rating of the estate/region.
    • NOTE: After a 60-day transition period, the Options tab will no longer display the 'Adult' dropdown choice on Show Place in Search under: [possible categories]
  • The About Land > Media tab options available under the Sound: and Voice: sections have changed.
  • On the About Land > Media tab, the options available under the Voice: section will be greyed-out/disabled when already set at the Estate level.

Buy Land Window Changes

  • The Buy Land and Buy Land for Group windows now show a parcel's Type: (Homestead, etc) of its parent region.
  • The Buy Land window will show an error message when a PG resident attempts to buy land with a higher rating (Mature or Adult) than the level indicated in their Maturity preference.

Group Info Window Changes

  • The Group Info window > Land & L$ tab displays a new column in the list of land parcels which shows the Type (Homestead, etc) of the region each parcel is in.
  • The Area column now displays "XXXX" instead of "0 / XXXX".
  • The columns have been re-arranged.

Menu Bar Changes

  • The parcel name displayed in the menu bar [eg. "LindenWorld B 132,123,24 (Mature) - Main Stage"] will now indicate "(Adult)" as well as "(Mature)" and "(PG)"

Edit > Preferences Changes

  • A new option on the Preferences > General tab allows you to choose your desired maturity rating (I want to access content rated:)
    • This option is greyed-out/disabled before you log in, since it must be read from the database.

Profile Changes

  • On the Profile > Classified tab, creating a new Classified now generates it for the parcel location you are standing at the moment.
    • If on a PG region, the classified can only be rated as PG Content.
    • If on an Adult region, the classified can only be rated as Adult Content.
    • If on a Mature region, you can specify the new classified as "PG Content" or "Mature Content".
    • If you try to create a PG or Mature classified but in the description utilize keywords which are deemed to be "adult terms", an error message will indicate which of those terms may not be utilized for this Classified, and will link to the Knowledge Base for further info.

Region/Estate Changes

  • The Region/Estate > Region tab allows you to set or change the region's Rating: (PG, Mature, Adult). NOTE: This is the only location in the UI where a region's maturity Rating can be set.
  • The Region/Estate > Region tab shows the region's Type: (Homestead, etc).
  • The Region/Estate > Convenant tab now shows (read-only) the region's Type: (Homestead, etc) and Rating: (PG, Mature, etc). The layout has also been re-arranged.

Search Improvements

  • Many controls on the Search tabs have been re-organized.
  • Search is now responsive to a) your maximum maturity access and b) what you choose to see, as set in Preferences:
    • Search will show an error message if you do not have Adult access but attempt to query on certain "adult terms"
    • The Search > All, Search > Classified, Search > Events, and Search > Groups tabs now include checkboxes to indicate whether you want to include [X] PG content, [X] Mature content, [X] Adult content in your search.
      • If you are a resident rated Mature, the [X] Adult content will be greyed-out/disabled.
      • If you are a resident rated PG, the Mature content and Adult content checkboxes will not appear and the tab will simply indicate that PG Content is being displayed.
      • If you are a resident cleared for Adult content but have selected a lower rating in Preferences, then any checkboxes above that level will be greyed-out/disabled.
    • The Search > Land Sales tab now includes checkboxes to indicate whether you want to include [X] PG content, [X] Mature content, [X] Adult content in your search. The panel displaying your search result details will also indicate whether the Land Sale's Location is on a region which is (PG), (Mature) or (Adult).
      • If you are a resident rated Mature, the [X] Adult content will be greyed-out/disabled.
      • If you are a resident rated PG, the Mature content and Adult content checkboxes will not appear and the tab will simply indicate that PG Content is being displayed.
      • If you are a resident cleared for Adult content but have chosen a lower rating in Preferences, then any checkboxes above that level will be greyed-out/disabled.
    • The Search > Places tab now includes checkboxes to indicate whether you want to include [X] PG content, [X] Mature content, [X] Adult content in your search. The panel for your search result details will also indicate whether the Place's Location is on a region which is (PG), (Mature) or (Adult).
      • The ability to choose "Adult" as a category of Places to search for will disappear after the 60-day transition period. Any places still categoried as "Adult" at that time will then be migrated by Linden Lab to the "Other" category.

World Map Changes

  • A new icon has been added to the World Map Legend to show Adult events, as distinct from PG and Mature events
    • If you are a resident rated Mature, the Adult events icon will be greyed-out/disabled.
    • If you are a resident rated PG, you will see neither the Adult nor the Mature event icons.
  • The World Map now shows land for sale (yellow) only when the land is rated at or below your Maturity rating.
    • In other words, only Adult residents will see yellow indicators on the World Map for Adult-rated Land for Sale.
  • The tooltip over any region on the map will show the rating of that region, appended as "...(PG)", "...(Mature)", "...(Adult)"

Teleport Changes

  • A Teleport error message will appear if you attempt to teleport to a region with a higher maturity rating than your rating.
    • If you are not cleared for the higher (e.g. Adult) access, the message will direct you to the Knowledge Base for more information.
    • If you simply have set your personal maturity Rating too low (in Preferences), the error message will include a button that will allow you the option to immediately raise your maturity Rating preference.

Region Crossing Changes

  • Attempting to walk/fly into a region which has a higher maturity rating than your rating will result in an error message.
    • If you are not cleared for the higher (e.g. Adult) access, the message will direct you to the Knowledge Base for more information.
    • If you simply have set your personal Rating preference too low (in Preferences), the error message will include a button that will allow you the option to immediately raise your maturity Rating preference.
    • You can choose to suppress this error message in the future, but you will always see a blue notification "tip" appear briefly & fadeout as you fail to walk/fly into a prohibited region, to make sure you understand why you were denied access.

Claiming Land Changes

  • Attempting to claim a parcel from a region which has a higher maturity rating than your rating will result in an error message.
    • If you are not cleared for the higher (e.g. Adult) access, the message will direct you to the Knowledge Base for more information.
    • If you simply have set your personal maturity Rating too low (in Preferences), the error message will include a button that will allow you the option to immediately raise your maturity Rating preference.

Additional UI Changes

Pie Menu Changes

  • When you right-click on another avatar, the Pie menu now includes an option to Report... abuse from that resident. The Abuse Reporter will then come up pre-populated with that Resident's name.

Preferences Changes

  • Edit > Preferences > Input & Camera now includes a new camera option: Camera View Angle
  • The camera option Camera Follow Distance now affects the camera more comprehensively; setting the persistent distance the camera follows behind your avatar at its default position when you press ESC to reset.
  • The option Camera Transition Time has been removed from Preferences > Input & Camera.
  • The option Camera Smoothing has been removed from Preferences > Input & Camera.
  • The option Distance Factor has been removed from Preferences > Input & Camera.
  • Edit > Preferences > General > Rotate Mini-Map option has been moved to Advanced > UI as a menu item.
  • Edit > Preferences > General > Use default system color picker option has been moved to Advanced > UI as a menu item.
  • Edit > Preferences > General > Show Search panel in overlay bar option has been moved to Advanced > UI as a menu item.
  • Edit > Preferences > Voice Chat now includes a new option Switch off microphone when ending IM calls. When checked, it will automatically unlock your toggled microphone and turn it OFF when you press End Call on any private voice call.
  • Edit > Preferences > Communication > Include IM in Chat History option now more comprehensively suppresses IM text when turned off -- it will no longer display the text of incoming IMs in either Local Chat nor the Chat Console.

General Changes

  • Unused options from the right-click menu at the top level of My Inventory have been removed.
  • The minor cardinal directions (NW, NE, SW, SE) on the Mini-map will no longer display when the mini-map is sized to a very small window.
  • The People Chooser has been renamed "Resident Chooser" for consistency. It has also been remodeled and organized into three tabs - each representing a different method for choosing a resident:
    • Search for a resident by name (no change)
    • Choose a resident from your list of Calling Cards (no change)
    • A new tab that will automatically list those residents who are Near Me. The scan range can be set to any distance from 5-40 meters from your avatar.
  • Minimized windows now remember their last position, so if you position a minimized window, it will return to that place next time it is minimized.
  • Linden plants and trees no longer sway with the wind (performance improvement).
    • Note: set the Debug Setting 'RenderAnimateTrees' to TRUE to enable legacy behavior.

Changes

General

Edit > Preferences > Input & Camera includes new camera behaviors:

  • Camera View Angle is the angle of view of the 3D world. This is similar to a camera lens' focal length. Like earlier viwers, this can also be controlled from the menu or keyboard: View > Zoom Out (Ctrl-8), View > Zoom In (Ctrl-0), View > Zoom Default (Ctrl-9).
  • Camera Follow Distance now affects the camera more comprehensively. This sets the persistent distance which the camera follows behind your avatar at its default position when you press ESC to reset.
  • Note: the options Camera Transition Time and Camera Smoothing have been removed from Preferences. These are only available from advanced Debug Settings.

For more information see: Skinning How To/The XML files/fonts.xml

Building and Scripting Improvements

WARNING - Don't use this feature! See:

This is a small time-saving feature added to the Build tool:

  • Go into Build mode for any object
  • Select the 'Content' tab
  • Click the new button, 'Permissions...'

There are some limitations to how it works:

  • You cannot grant any next owner permissions which you do not already have
  • The next-owner permissions are merely requests; if any inventory item cannot take all of the new permissions, none of its permissions will change
  • Snapshots are included under textures
  • You will only be setting permissions on the contents (contained items) of the object you have selected in the Build tool, not the permission of the object itself.
  • Closing the window while permissions are being changed will halt the operation

Note: This version of the viewer introduces the viewer side fix to allow larger a Land tool cursor than before. However, the server-side support is not yet available on the Second Life Grid. Therefore the full functional use will not be in place yet for these larger brush/cursors, until a future version of the Server.

GStreamer Compatibility Improvements

Experimental/Not Supported

This feature is a prototype of a new renderer in the viewer graphics engine. It is turned off by default. The new renderer supports only high-end graphics cards and requires a GeForce 8 or Radeon HD2600 or later, but will not work on Mac OSs. This version is a debugging prototype only and is not yet supported by Linden Lab.

Because display particle systems in HUD attachments are still considered experimental, 'RenderHUDParticles' has been set to FALSE by default.

Bug Fixes

SpaceNavigator and Joystick Fixes

Voice Fixes

General Fixes

Important Note: This fix addresses a bug in SL visibility calculations which has allowed some objects that we require to be visible (e.g. avatars) to be rendered invisible. While the side-effect of this bug has been useful to some builders in creating tiny avatars, its potentially harmful application has necessitated that it be fixed. Any content created by the exploitation of this bug will be broken in 1.23. An alpha-masking feature is currently in development and will be made available in a future release.

Crash Fixes


Internationalization Fixes

Localization Fixes

Source code


Known Issues

    

Incorrect Minimum System Requirements Warning - NVIDIA Video Cards

  • VWR-13947: Viewer gpu_list.txt does not include some recent NVIDIA graphics cards - On systems running NVIDIA GTS 250, GTX 270 and GTX 275 graphics cards, SL may indicate that the minimum system requirements have not been met. The viewer will still function, but graphics will default to Low or Medium settings. If your system uses any of these graphics cards, click the 'Don't show me this again' check-box, then choose 'No' to continue logging into Second Life.

Experimental HUD Particles

  • SVC-2396: Particles not handled properly as HUD - Because display particle systems in HUD attachments are still considered experimental, RenderHUDParticles has been set to FALSE by default. The JIRA will remain open until the known issues can be resolved.

HUD Display Issue

  • VWR-13151: Improper display of HUD in RC / HUD alpha layers ordered incorrectly prior to being selected - HUDs with alpha may not display properly after relog. Right-clicking or reattaching the HUD will correct this problem. NOTE: This same issue exists in the 1.22.11 viewer.

Issues Relating to SL Window Resizing

  • Resizing the viewer window from the default size to the minimum size allowed, then restoring it to near full-screen, may cause the Toolbar to disappear off the bottom of the window - The only way to resolve this issue is to exit SL and re-log.
  • Resizing the viewer window to the minimum size allowed, then exiting SL and re-logging, may render parts of an avatar invisible.
  • Resizing the viewer window to the minimum size allowed forces floaters to viewer edges.

Running SL on a Secondary Monitor

  • Rebaking an avatar on a secondary monitor may cause parts to become invisible. Please note, however, that running Second Life on a secondary monitor is not a supported configuration.