History/WindLight

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First Look: WindLight Information Hub

Windlight suns.jpg

Introduction

WindLight is a revolutionary atmospheric lighting and rendering system. What does that all mean? Gorgeous new Second Life visuals!!!

This page provides information on the project, as well as useful information that will help us all make sure that WindLight is well tested in First Look before it's integrated into the main Second Life viewer.

Please read the Release Notes for the latest features and bug fixes in the WindLight releases.

Using the WindLight-Powered Viewer

For starters, make sure you read the WindLight Documentation - a lot has changed in this new viewer, and you want to make sure you're up to speed on WindLight's usage, as well as that of the other new components- like high-end water, glow, and the new Graphics Preferences tab.

How Can I Participate In WindLight Testing?

You can participate in WindLight testing with a few easy steps:

  1. Download the latest First Look viewer
  2. Read the Documentation to get started
  3. Play around with all the new features! Check out your land, other peoples' land, your favorite places- and see what's now possible. Once you find settings you like, take some screenshots and send them to your friends!
  4. If you find any issues, login to the Public Issue Tracker to tell us about problems you find with the viewer.

A Note on Features

Many of the new features can really benefit (and some can only be used!) with newer graphics hardware. We strongly suggest looking at our Recommended Hardware List (http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php) to ensure you're up to date!

What To Test?

Make sure that all of your content, creation creation, and experiences work with this new viewer. Bear in mind that WindLight is client-side only for now- that means nothing is changing on the servers or in any of the data- just what's being shown on your screen. You will notice some aesthetic differences, especially in some of the material properties and lighting. Some of these are intentional (like more dramatic sunsets) and some are still being worked on (like the desaturation of some textures). Have a go at it, and tell us what you think either through the Public Issue Tracker or at our office hours (see below).

How do I stay "In the loop" with WindLight?

Inworld Office Hours

Come to the Linden Stage @ Brampton (106, 166, 25) at these ongoing times:

  • Tuesdays 8-9 AM PST
  • Thursdays 1-2 PM PST

At these sessions, you can tell us about issues you find using the...

[Public Issue Tracker

Include step-by-step repros and your system info, and please make sure to set "Affects Version" to "WindLight". Here's an example: VWR-960.

You can also see:

Read the Official Linden Blog

We've already made several WindLight-related blog posts (in reverse chronological order):

and there'll be more to come! Some of them will touch on issues that come up during our office hours and Issue Tracker, so check the blog regularly, or you can search for posts mentioning "WindLight".

What's Next for WindLight?

We'll continue to bulletproof the stability and visuals of the viewer. More important, though, are our plans to make all of the sky settings, day cycle settings, and water settings tradeable assets (this is where the server-side part comes in), as well as giving you, the Residents, the ability to script and define these settings for your own estates. Like martian settings? You'll be able to make sure ALL of your visitors see the same thing when they come to your land!

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