Difference between revisions of "History/WindLight"

From Second Life Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(238 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''<font size="2" color="red">The WindLight viewer is currently being worked on internally. As of 2007-11-08, we hope to have a First Look re-release soon. YES, we are excited, and you are too. In the meantime, you may wanna read Torley Linden's [[User:Torley_Linden/Project_updates|project updates]] for (some of) what's been happening behind-the-scenes. :)</font>'''
{{Archive}}
WindLight was the code name for Second Life's "physically-accurate atmospheric rendering & lighting" project, which was [http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/04/02/the-dawning-of-a-new-viewer-second-life-1191-now-available/ released with the 1.19.1 viewer].  


[[Image:1262814127_d28dd46fa1_o.jpg|512px]]
{|style="width: 100%; font-size: 100%; background: #ffbfdf; border:2px dotted white;"
 
| <font size=3>'''[[WindLight_settings|Click here for 100s of ''FREE'' WindLight sky & water settings!]] '''</font>
= Introduction =
The Second Life WindLight First Look viewer offers brand-new atmospheric rendering — beautiful skies and immersive environments — for your enjoyment! See [http://blog.secondlife.com/?s=windlight our earlier WindLight blog posts] for more info.
 
= See Also =
* [[Render Roadmap]]
* [[User:Torley_Linden/Project_updates|Project updates]]
 
= Issues =
As emphasized in the blog posts, you can help us make WindLight better by reporting bugs with actionable details. To do this, use our [https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Issue_tracker Issue Tracker]. You can also easily see [https://jira.secondlife.com/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?mode=hide&requestId=10332 WindLight Issues by # of votes]. We thank you!
 
= Instructions =
The Environment Editor gives you a fine degree of control over Second Life's sky and atmosphere. Imagine a strange alien planet with a purple sky, or a smoggy, overcast city! This guide will help you to understand the many controls at your disposal, and set you on the path to becoming a weather-controlling mad scientist.
 
This article describes what each of the individual settings in the Environment Editor is responsible for. However, many of the settings described are closely interrelated, and may affect one another in subtle ways. The best way to truly become a sky master is to play with these settings and see how each one affects your sky. To help you get started, here are the basic facts:
 
{| width="600" cellpadding="3"
|
[[Image:icons_parature_note.jpg]]
| <font size="1">'''Note: '''The WindLight sky is currently a feature of the [http://www.secondlife.com/community/firstlook.php First Look] viewer. By definition, the features and controls in this article are subject to change and improvement at any time!</font>
|}
 
 
{| width="600" cellpadding="3"
|
[[Image:icons_parature_note.jpg]]
| <font size="1">'''Note: '''In order to see all of the WindLight sky effects you will need OpenGL 2.0 or higher. If you have the latest drivers for your graphics card and still can not see certain WindLight sky effects (such as clouds) try enabling Basic Shaders and Atmospheric Shaders in the Graphics tab of your Preferences menu.</font>
|}
|}


== Introduction ==
[[Image:Windlight_suns.jpg|256px|right|]]


==Opening The Environment Editor==
'''WindLight is a revolutionary atmospheric lighting and rendering system. What does that all mean? Gorgeous new Second Life visuals!!!''' Watch these demo videos:
 
To begin editing the sky and water, you must first open the '''Environment Editor'''. You can do this by selecting '''World > Environment Settings > Environment Editor''' or by pressing '''Ctrl+Alt+E'''.
 
[[Image:kb_sky_menu_open_2.jpg]]
 
==The Basic Environment Editor==
 
The basic Environment Editor gives you control over your perceived time of day, cloud cover, water color, and water clarity:
 
'''Time of Day:''' Sets the time of day as defined by the Day Cycle Editor.  The default Day Cycle parallels a day/night cycle in the real world.
 
'''Cloud Cover:''' Sets the amount of cloud cover visible in the sky.  Move the slider left to reduce the number of clouds, and right to increase the number of clouds.
 
'''Water Color:''' Sets the color of all water in the Region.
 
'''Water Fog:''' Sets the amount of "fog" in the water, making it more opaque with simulated particulate matter.
 
[[Image:kb_sky_menu_basic_2.jpg]]
 
==Advanced Sky Editor==
 
The Advanced Sky Editor contains more detailed controls for modifying environmental effects.  It is where you will be making visual changes to sky and atmosphere presets, also known as "keyframes" (see the [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/WindLight#The_Day_Cycle_Editor Day Cycle Editor] section for more about keyframes). It contains three tabs, each with a number of sliders for manipulating the sky's appearance. You may also save and load sky settings when you find a view you like.  Following is a description of each of the tabs and how to load and save your presets:
 
===The Atmosphere Tab===
 
[[Image:kb_sky_atmosphere_menu_2.jpg]]
 
This tab controls elements of the atmosphere itself:
 
'''Blue Horizon: '''Use the Red/Green/Blue (RGB) sliders to adjust the color of the sky. You can use the Intensity (I) slider to move all three RGB sliders in unison. In meteorological terms, this setting affects "atmospheric scattering", which is the scientific answer to the age-old question, "[http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html Why is the sky blue]?"
 
'''Blue Density: '''Blue Density affects the overall color saturation of your sky. If you move the Intensity (I) slider to the right, your colors will become brighter and more vibrant. If you move it all the way to the left, your colors will become duller, eventually fading to black and white. If you'd like to fine-tune your sky's color balance, you can control individual elements of saturation by using the Red/Green/Blue (RGB) sliders.
 
{| width="600" cellpadding="3"
| <font size="2">[[Image:icons_parature_tip.jpg]]</font>
| <font size="1">'''Tip: '''Blue Horizon and Blue Density are particularly closely related. Imagine Blue Horizon as the base color for the sky, and Blue Density as the sky's color intensity and color balance effects. Try turning Haze Density to zero and playing with these settings for yourself to get a better feel for how they interact with each other.</font>
|}
 
'''Haze Horizon: '''This setting affects the height of haze on the horizon. At higher settings, the haze will reach up into the sky and obscure the actual horizon. Haze on the horizon can help to accentuate the sun, and create a dusty, smoggy, or humid effect. This setting will not work if Haze Density is set to zero.
 
'''Haze Density: '''Haze density affects the amount of haze you can see in the atmosphere. At lower settings, this can make for some great outdoor views in dusty or tropical environments, and at higher levels it can create a thick, vision-obscuring fog. If you set Haze Density to zero, the Haze Horizon setting will have no effect.
 
'''Density Multiplier: '''The Density Multiplier can be used to affect the overall atmospheric density. At lower settings, it creates a feeling of "thin air", and at higher settings, it creates a very heavy, smoggy effect.
 
'''Distance Multiplier: '''This setting affects your perceived distance within the atmosphere. To make everything look hazy and distant, move the slider to the right. If you want to completely remove the Sky Settings' effects from terrain and objects, set the slider to zero.
 
'''Max Altitude: '''Adjusts the altitude calculations Second Life makes when it is computing atmospheric lighting. At later times of day, it can be useful for calculating how "deep" a sunset appears, while at noon it can be used to achieve proper brightness values.
 
===The Lighting Tab===
 
[[Image:kb_sky_lighting_menu_2.jpg]]
 
This tab controls the sun, ambient lighting, and the stars:
 
'''Sun/Moon Color:''' This setting affects the color of the light your sun and moon produce. Keep in mind that the color of your sunlight/moonlight will affect the color of your sky! To change Sun/Moon Color, use the Red/Green/Blue (RGB) sliders, or use the Intensity (I) slider to move all three RGB sliders at once.
 
'''Sun and Moon Position: '''The Sun and Moon Position setting affects the vertical position of the sun and moon, from sunrise (0.0) through noon (0.25), sunset (0.5), midnight (0.75) and back to sunrise (1.0).  Note that this setting is different than Time of Day in the Basic Environment Editor.  The Time of Day setting shifts through your WindLight keyframes (see [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/WindLight#The_Day_Cycle_Editor Day Cycle Editor]), while the Sun and Moon Position setting only affects the physical location of the sun and moon. 
 
'''East Angle: '''The East Angle affects the horizontal position of the sun/moon, and is similar to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azimuth azimuth]. At settings of 0.0 and 1.0, the sun will rise in the East and set in the West. The settings in between define the entire circle of the horizon; at a setting of 0.5, the sun will rise in the West and set in the East, at a setting of 0.25 the sun will rise in the South and set in the North, etc.
 
'''Sun Glow: '''There are two settings under Sun Glow: '''Size''' defines the size of the sun, and '''Focus''' adjusts how much the sun blurs over the sky. At very high settings, Focus can cause the sun to completely wash out a portion of the sky with brilliant light, and at zero, it will cause the sun (but not the light it casts) to disappear from the sky.
 
'''Ambient: '''This controls the color and intensity of ambient light in the atmosphere. This is used for simulating how the light from the sun is scattered by the atmosphere and other objects once it hits the Earth.  You can create a very bright sun, and a relatively dark world (think of a sunset!) with an Ambient setting of zero, but if you want to simulate mid-day illumination while the the sun was low in the sky, you need to increase the Ambient setting.
 
'''Scene Gamma: '''This control functions similarly to the '''Gamma''' setting in the Graphics Hardware Settings (formerly Adv. Graphics) tab. It adjusts your screen's distribution of light and dark output. Lower settings will cause everything to appear dim, while higher settings may make the scene look gray and "washed out".  '''Scene Gamma''' is more precise than the older '''Gamma''' in that it only affects your rendered view of the SL world- not the menus and rest of your computer's screen.
 
'''Star Brightness: '''Star Brightness defines how visible the stars are in the sky. If you play with this slider while the sun is up, you can see stars in the middle of the day!
 
===The Clouds Tab===
 
[[Image:kb_sky_clouds_menu_2.jpg]]
 
This tab gives you control over the clouds in the sky:


'''Cloud Color: '''This affects the color of your clouds, if you have any. Use the individual Red/Green/Blue sliders to change the color, or the Intensity (I) slider to drag all three at once.
<videoflash>h4BMmq4dono</videoflash>


'''Cloud XY/Density: '''Use the '''X''' and '''Y''' sliders to change the horizontal position of all clouds in the sky. The '''D '''slider affects the overall density of the individual clouds; at low settings you will see thin, wispy clouds, and at higher settings you will see thicker, more solid clouds.
<videoflash>Ctp1Uh-D034</videoflash>


''' Cloud Coverage: '''As the name implies, this control sets the amount of cloud coverage. At zero, there isn't a cloud in the sky, but at higher settings, you can get a completely overcast effect.
This page provides information on the project, as well as useful information that will help us all make sure that WindLight is well-tested before it's integrated into the main Second Life viewer.


'''Cloud Scale: '''This setting affects the perceived altitude of the clouds... if you slide the control to the right, it will make the clouds appear to be higher in the sky.
Please read the [http://blog.secondlife.com/author/pastramilinden/ Release Notes] for the latest features and bug fixes.


'''Cloud Detail (XY/Density): '''These settings affect the detail imagery of your clouds. The '''X''' and '''Y''' sliders shift its horizontal position, and the '''D''' slider controls how puffy and/or fractured your clouds look.
== Using the WindLight-powered viewer ==
For starters, make sure you read the [http://secondlife.com/community/support.php?folderID=161 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.


'''Cloud Scroll X and Cloud Scroll Y:''' These sliders affect the direction and speed at which the clouds float in the sky. You may also check the '''Lock''' checkbox to prevent clouds from moving on the selected axis.
== How can I participate in WindLight testing? ==
You can participate in WindLight testing with a few easy steps:
# <font size="3">'''[http://secondlife.com/community/downloads-optional.php Download the newest Release Candidate viewer which includes WindLight].'''</font>
# Read the '''[http://secondlife.com/community/support.php?folderID=161 Documentation]''' to get started — you'll need to login with your Second Life account info before you can read it.
# Play around with all the new features! Check out your land, other Residents' land, your favorite places — and see what's now possible. Once you find settings you like, take some screenshots and [http://youtube.com/watch?v=iFzbvZc1BX4 send them to your friends!]
# If you find any issues, login to the [https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Issue_tracker public Issue Tracker] to tell us about problems you find. [VWR-960 See an example.] ''Make sure'' to set "Affects Version/s" correctly.


'''Draw Classic Clouds:''' Check this box to enable rendering of Second Life's classic clouds in addition to WindLight's clouds.
=== A note on features ===
Many of the new features can really benefit (and some can only be used!) with newer graphics hardware. Not unlike popular games on the market, '''WindLight's advanced effects require a graphics card with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader_model Shader Model 2.0 (DirectX9 shader)] support.'''


===Sky Presets===
We strongly suggest looking at our [http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php System Recommendations] to ensure you're up-to-date!


Along the top of the Advanced Sky Editor window you'll find controls for creating, loading, saving, and deleting Sky Presets.  Sky Presets are essentially snapshots of WindLight slider settings you can re-load later or use as keyframes in the Day Cycle Editor.  To create a new preset, simply press the '''New''' button and name your preset.  It will, by default, have the settings currently loaded in the WindLight sliders.  To load a preset, simply pick it from the drop-down menu of Sky Presets.  Deleting a preset is as easy as pressing the '''Delete''' button once it's loaded.  Creating presets is useful both for re-loading your favorite settings and for creating day cycle animations using the [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/WindLight#The_Day_Cycle_Editor Day Cycle Editor].
=== 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).


==Advanced Water Settings==
=== Also see ===
* '''[http://jira.secondlife.com/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?mode=hide&requestId=10970 Open bugs by # of votes]'''
* '''[http://jira.secondlife.com/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?mode=hide&requestId=10352 Fixed issues]'''


The Advanced Water Settings window contains more detailed controls for modifying water effects.  Here you can modify water fog, reflection properties, refraction, and reflection normal maps.  This window contains two tabs:
== Frequently Asked Questions ==
Hot stuff we keep getting asked — ''we're here to help!''


===The Settings Tab===
=== Is WindLight more laggy than the main viewer? ===
Let's be more specific to have a worthwhile answer here, since "lag" can refer to many things. In this case, since WindLight is viewer-side, we're focusing on viewer — also called "client" or "local" because it's on ''your'' side, and not our servers — performance.


[[Image:advanced_water_settings_settings.jpg]]
Long story short, '''our goal is for the WindLight viewer to have equal or better performance than the main "release" viewer at equivalent settings'''. There's a lot of code cleanup (which we've wanted to do for ages and finally found an opportunity to!), various optimizations, ''and'' some new features to boost speed which made it into this viewer. For example, Avatar Impostors renders distant avatars more "cheaply", increasing your viewer frames-per-second (FPS) in crowd scenes — which translates to "less viewer-side lag".


The Settings tab allows you to change several properties of your current Region's water:
That being said, we ''are'' aware of specific performance slowdown bugs limited to certain hardware, some of which are in [http://jira.secondlife.com/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?mode=hide&requestId=10970 our Issue Tracker list] — we ''highly'' recommend checking that list and reporting new issues not already on there.


'''Water Fog Color:''' This changes the color of the particulate matter in your water, essentially defining the color of the water itself.  If your water has no fog, it will appear crystal clear and colorless.
Also, keep in mind some of the new graphical beauty, especially water reflections, may incur a significant performance hit depending on your hardware, and this is expected.


'''Fog Density Exponent:''' Controls the density of your water fog; this setting defines how far you are able to see into the water.
Of related interest and featuring WindLight and the Lag Meter, watch the "'''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/11/22/tip-of-the-week-12-how-to-easily-boost-viewer-performance/ How to easily boost viewer performance]'''" video tutorial.


'''Reflection Wavelet Scale:''' Controls the scale of the three wavelets that make up the surface of the water.
=== Will WindLight make the System Requirements higher? ===
At the time of this writing (2007-12-04), no. '''We're working to support existing supported systems as much as possible while providing extra visual beauty for higher-end systems which meet our System Recommendations.''' [http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php See the System Requirements/Recommendations page] for further details. ''Do'' note that we ''did'' update that page to list an expanded range of supported cards, as well as [[Windows Vista]] compatibility.


'''Fresnel Scale:''' Determines how much light is reflected at different angles; increasing this slider reduces visual reflection effects on the water's surface.
If you have a lower-end system, you can set WindLight's Edit menu > Preferences > Graphics tab to "Low" or "Mid" and as emphasized above, your performance shouldn't be less, and may even be better.


'''Fresnel Offset:''' Determines how much total light is reflected; increasing this slider increases the amount of light reflected by the water's surface.
=== What are you doing about WindLight looking "wrong"? ===
First, it's important to understand that aesthetic concerns fall into several categories, so any discussion involving them should be specific. We've also started {{jira|VWR-3463}} to track your valuable feedback.


'''Refract Scale Above:''' Controls the amount of visual refraction you can see from above the water's surface; this is the "wobbly" effect you can see when you look at an object that is underwater.
Second, ''education is essential!'' Many concerns & complaints we get are a result of not knowing how to change WindLight settings to make things look the way ''you'' want! There've already been some [[Windlight#What.27s_our_community_doing_with_WindLight.3F|great Resident tips about this]], so please be sure to familiarize yourself with the powerful-yet-easy-to-use Environmental Editor (found under World menu > Environment Settings), and [http://secondlife.com/community/support.php?folderID=161 read our documentation].


'''Refract Scale Below:''' Controls the amount of visual refraction you can see from below the water's surface.
The following isn't all-inclusive, but:


'''Blur Multiplier:''' Controls how waves and reflections are mixed. Increasing this setting increases the amount of distortion you see in reflections as a result of wave activity.
''[UPDATE @ 2008-02-08]'' We've continued to tweak the day cycle. We've reached a point where almost no textures (noticeably light ones like sand and snow) get washed out at midday, save for the absolute very lightest that are near-white. As for the longtime local lighting strength concerns in {{jira|VWR-3171}}, we're making them stronger, and in the next update, you'll be able to boost them back up to 100% brightness via a debug setting, RenderSunDynamicRange, if you want. This should serve the purposes of both casual and specialized usage.


===The Image Tab===
Remember that historically, avatars were treated differently than their surroundings, hence why they tended to look "flatter" compared to WindLight. WindLight, of course, has a more unified, cohesive, and realistic (or unrealistic if you want) lighting model with an expanded dynamic range, so there's understandably inevitable change which will likely lead to creators making avatars slightly brighter over time. This isn't the first time a new feature has introduced a gradual shift, but we've certainly taken a lot into consideration and explored many possibilities in order to retain the "essence" of existing content while enabling it to be richer through WindLight.


[[Image:advanced_water_settings_image.jpg]]
''[UPDATE @ 2008-01-10]'' We still aren't happy with the "washed-out/too bright textures at noon" and similar situations. We understand your concerns, and we're going to keep grinding on this so things are expectedly brighter, but not harshly (e.g., obliterated detail on snowy regions) so.


The Image tab allows you to alter the normal map used for determining wave and reflection behaviors; Second Life's wave effects are generated by superimposing a large normal map image over a smaller version of itself:
''[UPDATE @ 2008-01-03]'' The following have been substantially improved. '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/12/21/the-new-windlight-viewer-pondering-aesthetics-76116/ See this]''' for an indepth explanation. WindLight is nearing Release Candidate status; we welcome continued issue discussion at [[Windlight#Visit_our_inworld_Office_Hours|our Office Hours]].


'''Big Wave Direction:''' Controls the X and Y direction and speed of  the large wave image.
* '''WindLight in general may be too bright''' - ''Yes!'' This is on our list of things-to-do. Specifically, WindLight Team Leader Pastrami Linden observes, "I believe the haze and/or direct light contributions can wash out colors, but am not 100% convinced this is a problem." We'll investigate the causes further.


'''Little Wave Direction:''' Controls the X and Y direction and speed of the small wave image.
* '''The default day cycle is too bright''' - We're definitely going to tweak settings like gamma so the end result is more balanced. Also, remember that when WindLight goes server-side, any region owner can customize WindLight to ''their'' tastes. In addition, every Resident can still override environments locally (World menu > Environment Settings). And unlike the current way things are, WindLight on the server-side with custom day cycles means there'll be a variety of "looks" which are extensively Resident-customizable, so any fears of a single generic day cycle spoiling everything are moot.


'''Normal Map:''' Controls the normal map used for determining reflections and refractions. Any texture may be used for this setting- but true normal maps work best. Try snake skin, tiles, or any other normal map for some wacky effects!
* '''Avatars look like crap''' - Strongly arguable, and ''severely'' dependent on the specific sky settings. We've seen a variety of Resident-taken snapshots featuring avatars that look awesome. Lighting is more realistic and has a higher dynamic range now, which ''we understand'' may take time to get used to, but it's ultimately more realistic, and if you want it to be, unrealistic too. We emphasize that you have a ''lot'' more control over how ''you'' see Second Life ''AND'' how you look — to yourself, and eventually, how others will see you — so if you're basing your judgment without delving into the Advanced Sky Editor, we recommend you give it a go, and give it time. It's kind of like seeing the naked sun after living in a cave all your life. ''Also'' consider that improving some of the other things on this list will hopefully have a positive effect on avatar lighting too.
** '''''TIP:''' The primary difference between old and new lighting is the level of ambient lighting. Try going to World menu > Environment Settings > Environment Editor and click "Advanced Sky Editor" button. Then, in the Lighting tab, increase Ambient sliders uniformly towards "1.00". You may also want to lower Scene Gamma (also found in the same tab) a touch. Also see Caliah Lyon's "[http://secondsoigne.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/optimising-windlight-for-avatars-20/ Optimising Windlight for Avatars]" guide.''


==The Day Cycle Editor==
Also:


[[Image:kb_sky_day_cycle_menu_2.jpg]]
* '''Local lighting is too weak during the daytime ({{jira|VWR-3171}})''' - We deliberately toned this down because WindLight effectively has a ''new'', bright light: THE SUN. Local lighting is now weakest at noon, and strongest at sunset — its brightness approaches "normal" strength as the sun gets lower to the horizon, with dusk being full local light brightness. More realistic solar modeling and increased dynamic range means that it'd be too easy to wash out your surroundings, which is why we need a balance (see "The default day cycle is too bright" above). Also think of how much a flashlight would affect its surroundings in daylight. ''Remember'', we're continuing to fine-tune light levels and gamma while optimizing the default day cycle, so local lighting is still subject to change.


You can bring up the Day Cycle Editor by pressing the '''Day Cycle Editor''' button on the Advanced Sky Editor window. The Day Cycle Editor gives you control over the sky during Second Life's day/night cycle. This is the cycle that is used by the Basic Environment Editor's '''Time of Day''' slider.
* '''Tree lighting appears uneven and harsh during certain times ({{jira|VWR-3287}})''' - AKA "Linden trees look like 2D cardboard cutouts". We thought we fixed this internally (as of 2007-11-29) so that trees have more even lighting overall but we're aware of the ugly transition between low-polygon and high-polygon trees... so this is still ongoing...


The Day Cycle Editor works by setting keyframes. These are nodes (represented by the gray blips on the time graph) that have Sky Presets associated with them. As the Time of Day progresses, the WindLight sky "animates" as it interpolates between these keyframes.  This is really useful for creating everything from photorealistic day/night cycles to strange alien environments.
* '''Shiny is too shiny (and other shiny stuff in {{jira|VWR-3133}})''' - The main issue was [http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/12/04/super-cool-new-windlight-first-look-viewer/ fixed in the 2007-12-04 update]. [[User:Torley_Linden/Project_updates/2007-08-20_to_2007-11-30#.5B2007-11-28.5D_Shiny_is_less_shiny|More context to our progress.]] The future holds possibilities for a more versatile "materials" system, which will retain backward compatibility yet offers a lot more options. (We might even say it'll do for object surfaces what WindLight does for skies & water!)


The yellow arrow above the timeline represents your current view, based on Time of Day.  Click and drag it to see how your day will animate.  You may add or delete keyframes by pressing the '''Add Key''' and '''Delete Key''' buttons to the right of the timeline.
For more of our direct responses, '''[[Windlight#Transcripts|read our office hours transcripts]]'''.


You can set the time position of a keyframe by either dragging it along the timeline, or by setting its value manually in the '''Key Frame Settings''' frame. Within the '''Key Frame Settings''' frame, you'll be able to associate the keyframe with its respective WindLight preset.
=== What's already been fixed in WindLight? ===
<font size=4>'''[http://jira.secondlife.com/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?mode=hide&requestId=10352 See this big list!]'''</font>


'''Length of Cycle''' dictates the overall duration of a "day".  Setting this to a low value (for instance, 2 min.) will mean your entire 24-hour timeline will animate in only two real minutes!  Once you are satisfied with your timeline and keyframe cycle, use the '''Play''' and '''Stop''' buttons to preview the results.  Remember- you can also move the yellow time-indicator arrow above the timeline to see the cycle animate interactively.  Using the '''Use Estate Time''' button will set the time-indicator arrow to the estate's current local time. 


Once you are pleased with your Day Cycle, you can save and load it with the '''Save Test Day''' and '''Load Test Day''' buttons.  Note that, for now, we only allow one Day Cycle.  Soon, these too will be saveable and changeable like the other WindLight presets.


=Other New Features in WindLight First Look=
=== How do I turn off classic (old-skool) clouds? ===
* Go to World menu > Environment Settings.
* Click Advanced Sky button.
* In the Advanced Sky Editor, click Clouds tab.
* Uncheck "Draw Classic Clouds". (This applies across ''all'' your sky settings, and isn't currently saved per-preset.)


This WindLight First Look release includes a few other new rendering features for your continued enjoyment:
=== Why are avatars so blocky? ===
If you think avatars look like 16-bit Nintendo characters, that's because Avatar Impostors, which boosts performance by rendering distant avatars like sprites, is on. You can either:


==Glow==
* Go to Preferences > Graphics tab and uncheck "Avatar Impostors".


Glow is another new tool for your special effects palette.  Increasing this value creates a glowing colored aura around the selected prim; the color is determined by the prim's color.  To alter a prim's glow setting while editing it, go to its Texture tab and set a '''Glow''' value between 0.0 and 1.0.
OR if you want to keep it on but increase the distance at which impostors takes effect, minimizing the blockyness, then:


[[Image:firstlook_glow.jpg]]
* In Preferences > Graphics tab, move the "Avatars Mesh Detail" slider towards the right to "High".


==Water Glow==
You can easily find a crowd, zoom your camera, and adjust this to taste.


You'll also find that the sun and moon now cast dramatic, glowing shimmers on the water!! (Basic Shaders need to be enabled in [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/WindLight#New_Graphics_Preferences_Layout Graphics Preferences].)
=== How do I take awesome snapshots with WindLight? ===
You may've seen [http://flickr.com/search/?q=windlight&s=rec&ct=6&ss=2&z=t Flickr], [http://slpics.com/ Snapzilla], or another site where WindLight beauty abounds. Try leaving a gracious comment on snapshots you really enjoy in hopes of the photographer getting back to you!


[[Image:water_glow_02.jpg]]
In addition, Torley Linden's created a [[User:Torley_Linden/Snapshot_tips|Guide to High-Quality Photography]] you'll enjoy, including a [[User:Torley_Linden/Snapshot_tips#WindLight-specific_Debug_Settings|WindLight-specific Debug Settings]] section.


==New Graphics Preferences Layout==
=== What's the future of WindLight? ===
The three graphics preferences tabs in the Preferences window have been condensed into a single Graphics tab.  This new graphics preferences interface allows you to choose between four graphics levels: '''Low''', '''Mid''', '''High''', and '''Ultra'''.  Residents who feel comfortable doing so may choose to customize their graphics settings by checking the '''Custom''' checkbox and manipulating the following settings:
WindLight is currently viewer-side only, which means, among other things, that when you change sky settings, ''only you'' will see those changes. Longer-term, WindLight will ''replace'' server-side functionality, meaning:


[[Image:firstlook_graphics.jpg]]
* Estate owners can take advantage of WindLight to create custom skies & water their visitors will automatically see upon visiting their regions.
* You'll be able to use skies & water as tradeable assets (similar to how you can currently share objects, clothes, etc.).
* The current day cycle (and other environmental effects) will be replaced by WindLight. (Those who prefer to have a blander atmosphere more similar to the present look can disable shaders in Preferences > Graphics tab.)


'''Shaders:''' Allows you to enable or disable various types of pixel shaders available in the Second Life client.
So, ''when'' will this happen? '''Tentatively, near-mid 2008.''' We don't have a specific date yet, as it depends on successfully fixing the bugs in the current [http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/04/02/the-dawning-of-a-new-viewer-second-life-1191-now-available/ WindLight-powered main viewer] first and doing other work which preempts the server-side phase, but we promise to announce more news as it becomes available.
*'''Bump Mapping and Shiny:''' Enables the rendering of shiny and bump mapped surfaces.
*'''Basic Shaders:''' Allows rendering of high-quality water, basic lighting, and other graphical effects.
*'''Atmospheric Shaders:''' Enables advanced atmospheric and lighting (WindLight).
*'''Water Reflections:''' Allows water to reflect terrain, objects, and avatars.


'''Reflection Detail:''' Allows you to set the types of objects that the new water can reflect:
=== When will we get scriptable glow? ===
*Terrain and Trees
It's arrived! See [[PRIM_GLOW]] for usage information.
*All Static Objects
*All Avatars and Objects
*Everything


'''Avatar Rendering:''' Allows you to set options that affect how the Second Life client will render avatars:
=== Are you ever going to add [INSERT COOL FEATURE HERE]? ===
*'''Avatar Impostors:''' Allows far-away avatars to be subtly rendered as two-dimensional images in order to improve your framerate in crowded areas.
''Re: dynamic shadows (including objects "blocking" light), non-water reflections, materials, reworking Linden trees, etc...''
*'''Hardware Skinning:''' Formerly '''Avatar Vertex Program''', this allows some aspects of avatar rendering to be handled by your graphics card to improve performance.
*'''Avatar Cloth:''' Allows the rendering of flexible cloth on avatar clothing, such as shirts and flared pants.


'''Draw Distance:''' Affects how far out from your viewpoint objects will be rendered in the scene.
We have a lot of exciting plans for a progressively better-looking and faster-performing Second Life that depends on our present work — the first phase of integrating WindLight into the main viewer — to be done. '''Some of the most popular feature requests we've heard we hope to do ''eventually someday''.'''


'''Max Particle Count:''' Determines the maximum number of particles you are able to see on your screen at once.
If you're anxious and think that sounds too vague, that's because we'd rather not promise [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware vaporware], and '''we'll give you specific details of implementation when work on each project is actually underway''' — until then, we welcome the inspiration that comes from your suggestions because it helps shape our future!


'''Post Process Quality:''' Determines the resolution with which Glow is rendered.  A lower setting will cause Glow to look slightly pixelated.
In them meantime, we encourage you to put your feature requests on the [[Issue Tracker|public Issue Tracker]] so we can keep easier track of 'em.


'''Mesh Detail:'''
== How do I stay "In the loop" with WindLight? ==
*'''Objects:''' Determines the amount of detail the client will use in rendering object shapes; a lower setting causes objects to appear more angular and polygonal.
=== Visit our inworld Office Hours ===
*'''Flexiprims:''' Determines the amount of detail the Second Life client will use in rendering flexible object shapes.
[[Image:WindLight_Office_Hour.jpg|256px|right]]
*'''Trees:''' Determines the amount of detail the client will use in rendering tree shapes.
*'''Avatars:''' Determines the amount of detail the client will use in rendering avatar shapes.
*'''Terrain:''' Determines the amount of detail the client will use in rendering terrain.


'''Lighting Detail:''' Allows you to select what types of lights you would like to render:
WindLight issues are now discussed at [[Bug triage|Bridie's Wednesday Bug Triages]].
*'''Sun and moon only:''' Renders only the light coming from the sun and moon.
*'''Nearby local lights:''' Renders, in addition to sunlight and moonlight, the light coming from local and nearby light sources.


'''Terrain Detail:''' Allows you to choose the amount of terrain detail you would like to see.  Setting this option to '''Low''' replaces the ground texture with a low-resolution ground texture.
==== Transcripts ====
Check these out if you're curious or if you missed out!


===Hardware Settings===
* 2007-11-'''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-11-15|15]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-11-20|20]]''' / '''22''' was cancelled due to Turkey Day / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-11-27|27]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-11-29|29]]'''
Hardware Settings allows you to configure some additional, more advanced graphics settings. Press the '''Hardware Settings''' button to access the Hardware Settings menu.
* 2007-12-'''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-12-04|04]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-12-06|06]]''' / '''11''' was cancelled due to [http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/12/11/grid-service-outage-planned-for-11-december/ a service outage] / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-12-13|13]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-12-18|18]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2007-12-20|20]]''' / '''25 & 27''' were cancelled due to holidays
* 2008-01-'''01''' was cancelled due to New Year's Day / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-03|03]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-08|08]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-10|10]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-15|15]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-17|17]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-22|22]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-24|24]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-29|29]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-01-31|31]]'''
* 2008-02-'''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-05|05]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-07|07]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-12|12]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-14|14]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-19|19]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-21|21]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-26|26]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-02-28|28]]'''
* 2008-03-'''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-03-04|04]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-03-06|06]]''' / '''[[WindLight/Office_Hours/2008-03-13|13]]''' (last WL-only office hour!)


[[Image: hardware_settings.jpg]]
=== '''[[WindLight/Office Hours/2008-04-10|2008-04-10 (Super Mega Office Hours - 4 hours long - covering EVERYTHING! 100+ Resis!!)]]''' ===


'''Anisotropic Filtering (slower when enabled):''' Enables [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisotropic_filtering anisotropic filtering] in order to improve texture quality.  This setting may reduce your Second Life viewer's performance.
=== '''[http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/community/transcript/WindLight_Office_Hours_2008-04-10.txt UNEDITED 2008-04-10 (Super Mega Office Hours - 4 hours long - covering EVERYTHING! 100+ Resis!!)]''' ===


'''Gamma:''' Brightness; lower values create a lighter scene.
=== [http://blog.secondlife.com Read the Official Linden Blog] ===
We've communicated frequently! '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/author/pastramilinden/ See Team WindLight leader Pastrami Linden's posts.]'''


'''Nighttime Brightness:''' This is no longer used.  Instead, use the Advanced Sky Editor's Sun/Moon Color and Ambient Color controls.
Related, in reverse-chronological order:


'''Enable VBO:''' Enables OpenGL Vertex Buffer Objects.
* 2009-05-18 - '''[http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/tnt/blog/2009/05/18/video-change-how-your-glub-glub-water-looks Change how your *glub glub* water looks]''' - The water "normal map" can be replaced with any texture, but you can optimize one to make realistic (or unrealistic) ripples.
* 2009-04-22 - '''[http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/tnt/blog/2009/04/22/video-windlight-using-the-day-cycle-editor WINDLIGHT: Using the Day Cycle Editor]''' - You can use custom WindLight settings to make your own Day Cycle, and save it so you'll see it on future logins.
* 2007-11-22 - '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/11/22/tip-of-the-week-12-how-to-easily-boost-viewer-performance/ Tip of the Week #12: How to easily boost viewer performance]''' (featuring the simplified Graphics Preferences and Avatar Impostors)
* 2007-11-15 - '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/11/15/tip-of-the-week-11-welcome-to-windlight/ Tip of the Week #11: Welcome to WindLight!]'''
* 2007-11-14 - '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/11/14/knowledge-base-article-of-the-week-windlight-fever/ Knowledge Base Article of the Week: WindLight Fever!]'''
* 2007-06-01 - '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/06/01/first-look-windlight-update-beauty-bugs/ First Look: WindLight update - beauty & bugs!]'''
* 2007-05-29 - '''[http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/05/29/windlight-first-look-viewer-released/ WindLight First Look viewer released!]'''


'''Texture Memory:''' This is the amount of video memory Second Life will use. By default, it is set to the size of your graphics card's memory. Lowering this value may resolve certain texture corruption and performance issues, but under normal circumstances you should not alter this setting.
Also [http://blogs.secondlife.com/search.jspa?q=windlight&resultTypes=BLOG_POST&resultTypes=DOCUMENT&resultTypes=MESSAGE&resultTypes=BLOG&resultTypes=COMMUNITY&resultTypes=COMMENT&peopleEnabled=true&dateRange=all&communityID=&username=&numResults=15&rankBy=10001 search for posts mentioning "WindLight"].


'''Fog Distance Ratio:''' Determines how far away Second Life's fog effect begins.  Lower values = closer fog.  Only used when you have '''Basic Shaders''' disabled.
== What's our community doing with WindLight? ==
''Amazing things!'' Like:


==Avatar Impostors==
* WindLight snapshots on:
You may notice that some far-away avatars now seem to animate a little more jerkily than you remember; that's because they have been replaced by Avatar Impostors!  Avatar Impostors are two-dimensional renderings of avatars, designed to improve the performance of your Second Life client when there are many avatars on your screen at the same time. Even though the Impostors are two-dimensional animated textures, they do not look any different than the 3D avatars they represent- with the exception of your improved framerate, you may not even notice their presence!
** '''[http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=windlight&s=rec&ct=6&ss=2&z=t Flickr]'''
** '''[http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/ Snapzilla]'''
** '''[http://www.koinup.com/works/tag/windlight/ Koinup]'''
** '''[[:Category:WindLight Images|A category on this wiki]]'''
* '''[http://www.vintfalken.com/windlight-comparison-project/ "WindLight Comparison Project"]''' - Resi-initiated project to compare WL aesthetics across different systems.
* '''[http://www.vintfalken.com/windlight-how-to-controlling-avatar-impostors/ "WindLight How To - Avatar Impostors Settings"]''' - Vint Falken's helpful explanation that Avatars Mesh Detail affects the distance at which avatars become impostors.
* '''[http://secondsoigne.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/optimising-windlight-for-avatars-20/ "Optimising Windlight for Avatars"]''' - By Caliah Lyon, a great educational primer for "lighting is yucky" concerns.
* '''[http://technorati.com/search/windlight?authority=a4&language=en Misc. mentions of "WindLight" in the blogosphere.]'''


[[Category:Features]]
== [[WindLight_settings|Torley's WindLight settings]] ==
[[Category:WindLight| ]]
<font color="red" size="4">'''^ We've moved to our own page! Click through!</font>

Latest revision as of 14:48, 2 June 2011

KBwarning.png

This article is obsolete, but kept as a historical record. Do not rely on this information in any way. However, it may be used in the future, so please do not delete or modify.

WindLight was the code name for Second Life's "physically-accurate atmospheric rendering & lighting" project, which was released with the 1.19.1 viewer.

Click here for 100s of FREE WindLight sky & water settings!

Introduction

Windlight suns.jpg

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

<videoflash>h4BMmq4dono</videoflash>

<videoflash>Ctp1Uh-D034</videoflash>

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

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

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 newest Release Candidate viewer which includes WindLight.
  2. Read the Documentation to get started — you'll need to login with your Second Life account info before you can read it.
  3. Play around with all the new features! Check out your land, other Residents' 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. [VWR-960 See an example.] Make sure to set "Affects Version/s" correctly.

A note on features

Many of the new features can really benefit (and some can only be used!) with newer graphics hardware. Not unlike popular games on the market, WindLight's advanced effects require a graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 (DirectX9 shader) support.

We strongly suggest looking at our System Recommendations 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).

Also see

Frequently Asked Questions

Hot stuff we keep getting asked — we're here to help!

Is WindLight more laggy than the main viewer?

Let's be more specific to have a worthwhile answer here, since "lag" can refer to many things. In this case, since WindLight is viewer-side, we're focusing on viewer — also called "client" or "local" because it's on your side, and not our servers — performance.

Long story short, our goal is for the WindLight viewer to have equal or better performance than the main "release" viewer at equivalent settings. There's a lot of code cleanup (which we've wanted to do for ages and finally found an opportunity to!), various optimizations, and some new features to boost speed which made it into this viewer. For example, Avatar Impostors renders distant avatars more "cheaply", increasing your viewer frames-per-second (FPS) in crowd scenes — which translates to "less viewer-side lag".

That being said, we are aware of specific performance slowdown bugs limited to certain hardware, some of which are in our Issue Tracker list — we highly recommend checking that list and reporting new issues not already on there.

Also, keep in mind some of the new graphical beauty, especially water reflections, may incur a significant performance hit depending on your hardware, and this is expected.

Of related interest and featuring WindLight and the Lag Meter, watch the "How to easily boost viewer performance" video tutorial.

Will WindLight make the System Requirements higher?

At the time of this writing (2007-12-04), no. We're working to support existing supported systems as much as possible while providing extra visual beauty for higher-end systems which meet our System Recommendations. See the System Requirements/Recommendations page for further details. Do note that we did update that page to list an expanded range of supported cards, as well as Windows Vista compatibility.

If you have a lower-end system, you can set WindLight's Edit menu > Preferences > Graphics tab to "Low" or "Mid" and as emphasized above, your performance shouldn't be less, and may even be better.

What are you doing about WindLight looking "wrong"?

First, it's important to understand that aesthetic concerns fall into several categories, so any discussion involving them should be specific. We've also started VWR-3463 to track your valuable feedback.

Second, education is essential! Many concerns & complaints we get are a result of not knowing how to change WindLight settings to make things look the way you want! There've already been some great Resident tips about this, so please be sure to familiarize yourself with the powerful-yet-easy-to-use Environmental Editor (found under World menu > Environment Settings), and read our documentation.

The following isn't all-inclusive, but:

[UPDATE @ 2008-02-08] We've continued to tweak the day cycle. We've reached a point where almost no textures (noticeably light ones like sand and snow) get washed out at midday, save for the absolute very lightest that are near-white. As for the longtime local lighting strength concerns in VWR-3171, we're making them stronger, and in the next update, you'll be able to boost them back up to 100% brightness via a debug setting, RenderSunDynamicRange, if you want. This should serve the purposes of both casual and specialized usage.

Remember that historically, avatars were treated differently than their surroundings, hence why they tended to look "flatter" compared to WindLight. WindLight, of course, has a more unified, cohesive, and realistic (or unrealistic if you want) lighting model with an expanded dynamic range, so there's understandably inevitable change which will likely lead to creators making avatars slightly brighter over time. This isn't the first time a new feature has introduced a gradual shift, but we've certainly taken a lot into consideration and explored many possibilities in order to retain the "essence" of existing content while enabling it to be richer through WindLight.

[UPDATE @ 2008-01-10] We still aren't happy with the "washed-out/too bright textures at noon" and similar situations. We understand your concerns, and we're going to keep grinding on this so things are expectedly brighter, but not harshly (e.g., obliterated detail on snowy regions) so.

[UPDATE @ 2008-01-03] The following have been substantially improved. See this for an indepth explanation. WindLight is nearing Release Candidate status; we welcome continued issue discussion at our Office Hours.

  • WindLight in general may be too bright - Yes! This is on our list of things-to-do. Specifically, WindLight Team Leader Pastrami Linden observes, "I believe the haze and/or direct light contributions can wash out colors, but am not 100% convinced this is a problem." We'll investigate the causes further.
  • The default day cycle is too bright - We're definitely going to tweak settings like gamma so the end result is more balanced. Also, remember that when WindLight goes server-side, any region owner can customize WindLight to their tastes. In addition, every Resident can still override environments locally (World menu > Environment Settings). And unlike the current way things are, WindLight on the server-side with custom day cycles means there'll be a variety of "looks" which are extensively Resident-customizable, so any fears of a single generic day cycle spoiling everything are moot.
  • Avatars look like crap - Strongly arguable, and severely dependent on the specific sky settings. We've seen a variety of Resident-taken snapshots featuring avatars that look awesome. Lighting is more realistic and has a higher dynamic range now, which we understand may take time to get used to, but it's ultimately more realistic, and if you want it to be, unrealistic too. We emphasize that you have a lot more control over how you see Second Life AND how you look — to yourself, and eventually, how others will see you — so if you're basing your judgment without delving into the Advanced Sky Editor, we recommend you give it a go, and give it time. It's kind of like seeing the naked sun after living in a cave all your life. Also consider that improving some of the other things on this list will hopefully have a positive effect on avatar lighting too.
    • TIP: The primary difference between old and new lighting is the level of ambient lighting. Try going to World menu > Environment Settings > Environment Editor and click "Advanced Sky Editor" button. Then, in the Lighting tab, increase Ambient sliders uniformly towards "1.00". You may also want to lower Scene Gamma (also found in the same tab) a touch. Also see Caliah Lyon's "Optimising Windlight for Avatars" guide.

Also:

  • Local lighting is too weak during the daytime (VWR-3171) - We deliberately toned this down because WindLight effectively has a new, bright light: THE SUN. Local lighting is now weakest at noon, and strongest at sunset — its brightness approaches "normal" strength as the sun gets lower to the horizon, with dusk being full local light brightness. More realistic solar modeling and increased dynamic range means that it'd be too easy to wash out your surroundings, which is why we need a balance (see "The default day cycle is too bright" above). Also think of how much a flashlight would affect its surroundings in daylight. Remember, we're continuing to fine-tune light levels and gamma while optimizing the default day cycle, so local lighting is still subject to change.
  • Tree lighting appears uneven and harsh during certain times (VWR-3287) - AKA "Linden trees look like 2D cardboard cutouts". We thought we fixed this internally (as of 2007-11-29) so that trees have more even lighting overall but we're aware of the ugly transition between low-polygon and high-polygon trees... so this is still ongoing...
  • Shiny is too shiny (and other shiny stuff in VWR-3133) - The main issue was fixed in the 2007-12-04 update. More context to our progress. The future holds possibilities for a more versatile "materials" system, which will retain backward compatibility yet offers a lot more options. (We might even say it'll do for object surfaces what WindLight does for skies & water!)

For more of our direct responses, read our office hours transcripts.

What's already been fixed in WindLight?

See this big list!


How do I turn off classic (old-skool) clouds?

  • Go to World menu > Environment Settings.
  • Click Advanced Sky button.
  • In the Advanced Sky Editor, click Clouds tab.
  • Uncheck "Draw Classic Clouds". (This applies across all your sky settings, and isn't currently saved per-preset.)

Why are avatars so blocky?

If you think avatars look like 16-bit Nintendo characters, that's because Avatar Impostors, which boosts performance by rendering distant avatars like sprites, is on. You can either:

  • Go to Preferences > Graphics tab and uncheck "Avatar Impostors".

OR if you want to keep it on but increase the distance at which impostors takes effect, minimizing the blockyness, then:

  • In Preferences > Graphics tab, move the "Avatars Mesh Detail" slider towards the right to "High".

You can easily find a crowd, zoom your camera, and adjust this to taste.

How do I take awesome snapshots with WindLight?

You may've seen Flickr, Snapzilla, or another site where WindLight beauty abounds. Try leaving a gracious comment on snapshots you really enjoy in hopes of the photographer getting back to you!

In addition, Torley Linden's created a Guide to High-Quality Photography you'll enjoy, including a WindLight-specific Debug Settings section.

What's the future of WindLight?

WindLight is currently viewer-side only, which means, among other things, that when you change sky settings, only you will see those changes. Longer-term, WindLight will replace server-side functionality, meaning:

  • Estate owners can take advantage of WindLight to create custom skies & water their visitors will automatically see upon visiting their regions.
  • You'll be able to use skies & water as tradeable assets (similar to how you can currently share objects, clothes, etc.).
  • The current day cycle (and other environmental effects) will be replaced by WindLight. (Those who prefer to have a blander atmosphere more similar to the present look can disable shaders in Preferences > Graphics tab.)

So, when will this happen? Tentatively, near-mid 2008. We don't have a specific date yet, as it depends on successfully fixing the bugs in the current WindLight-powered main viewer first and doing other work which preempts the server-side phase, but we promise to announce more news as it becomes available.

When will we get scriptable glow?

It's arrived! See PRIM_GLOW for usage information.

Are you ever going to add [INSERT COOL FEATURE HERE]?

Re: dynamic shadows (including objects "blocking" light), non-water reflections, materials, reworking Linden trees, etc...

We have a lot of exciting plans for a progressively better-looking and faster-performing Second Life that depends on our present work — the first phase of integrating WindLight into the main viewer — to be done. Some of the most popular feature requests we've heard we hope to do eventually someday.

If you're anxious and think that sounds too vague, that's because we'd rather not promise vaporware, and we'll give you specific details of implementation when work on each project is actually underway — until then, we welcome the inspiration that comes from your suggestions because it helps shape our future!

In them meantime, we encourage you to put your feature requests on the public Issue Tracker so we can keep easier track of 'em.

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

Visit our inworld Office Hours

WindLight Office Hour.jpg

WindLight issues are now discussed at Bridie's Wednesday Bug Triages.

Transcripts

Check these out if you're curious or if you missed out!

2008-04-10 (Super Mega Office Hours - 4 hours long - covering EVERYTHING! 100+ Resis!!)

UNEDITED 2008-04-10 (Super Mega Office Hours - 4 hours long - covering EVERYTHING! 100+ Resis!!)

Read the Official Linden Blog

We've communicated frequently! See Team WindLight leader Pastrami Linden's posts.

Related, in reverse-chronological order:

Also search for posts mentioning "WindLight".

What's our community doing with WindLight?

Amazing things! Like:

Torley's WindLight settings

^ We've moved to our own page! Click through!

Retrieved from "https://wiki.secondlife.com/w/index.php?title=History/WindLight&oldid=1145255"