S24(8) Build 4015! Alpha 1.2

 

S24 DX Viewer Alpha 1.2

As the screenshot above hopefully demonstrates, the direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear.

One of the larger pieces of work in Alpha 1.2 is support for detached UI components outside the main viewer window. For initial testing, the chat window can now be spun out and placed on a separate monitor. This remains a work in progress, but it lays the groundwork for additional detachable panels in future. Inventory, Groups, and several other commonly used interfaces are currently on the roadmap as the underlying framework continues to mature.

Alpha 1.2 also brings the codebase back into sync with recent Linden Lab updates. During the merge process, 279 upstream patches were reviewed, with approximately 168 ultimately being backported. Many of the remaining changes were either not applicable to the DX codebase or were judged to be less suitable than the existing implementation and were therefore left out.

The viewer is now fully SLUA-compatible, so if you happen to visit a supporting region or server, the functionality is already there and should work as expected. Alongside this are dozens of bug fixes and several improvements to inventory-related performance and responsiveness.

As expected, the client continues to work well under DXVK, and I have a few ideas planned in that area for future releases. For those who enjoy experimenting at the bleeding edge, DLSS 5 is also functional, although it very much comes with a "buyer beware" disclaimer. Results can range from surprisingly good to occasionally questionable, depending on the scene and settings. My avatar below is perhaps a good example of both the strengths and the limitations of the technology.

While there's still plenty left to do, Alpha 1.2 represents another step toward a more flexible and modern viewer architecture.

A huge thank you as well to everyone who has bought me a coffee recently. Your support really is appreciated and helps keep the development machine running.

I may have accidentally spent some of it on a pack of strength 13 coffee pods. In hindsight, they are less "coffee" and more "controlled substance", but I'm certainly not complaining!

The next phase will be focused on bug fixing, polish, and general quality-of-life improvements as we move towards a beta release. Alongside that, I'll be turning my attention to RLV and starting a deeper dive into the API to see what interesting possibilities can be unlocked there.

As always, thank you to everyone testing, filing bug reports, offering feedback, and generally putting up with the occasional rough edge that comes with alpha software.

Enjoy the Grand Experiment!

Much love,
KL

P.S. If you'd like to try the detached chat window, look for the pop-out icon in the corner of the chat panel. Click it, then simply drag the new chat window wherever you'd like, including onto a second monitor.