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Avatar "Z offset" support http://sldev.free.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1494 |
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Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-01-31 12:35:22 ] |
Post subject: | Avatar "Z offset" support |
Some (many ?) of you may be aware that there has been a long standing (almost 2 years old now) issue with SSB (server side baking) and the breakage of a TPV feature that existed for years before SSB was introduced: the avatar height (size) offset, called (alas wrongly, see why below) "avatar Z offset" by its first implementer (IIRC, it was first implemented in Emerald, or was it Dale Glass' viewer ?...). I created a JIRA issue, SUN-38 as soon as I noticed the problem (and SUN-38 also addresses the Y and X offsets, i.e. the avatar bounding box as a whole, which is still an issue for tiny and giant avatars). The proper fix for that problem was trivial: it would have involved mimicking what was done before by non-SSB sims and I bet that, given the server sources, I could have implemented that fix in a single work day, for it was just a matter of adding a delta (offset) parameter to the avatar height (but also width and depth, as described in SUN-38, and which are still not addressed) as calculated by the SSB "ovens" before feeding the result to the physics engine, and allowing viewers to change that delta parameter in real time via a new capability (it was formerly changed via the viewer-to-server AgentSetAppearance UDP message, which is not used any more by the SSB protocol). Instead, LL disregarded that issue as too minor for them to care and delay the SSB release, and it was only the good will of one single Linden (Nyx) which brought us a temporary (but alas inadequate) work-around, via the new Hover visual parameter in shapes (inadequate because not modifiable in "real time" since it involved changing the shape parameter, saving the shape and rebaking each time the offset was changed, which in turn could not be performed on a no-mod shape...). A few months ago, the Firestorm team came up with a specification proposal, which, instead of using my own (trivial and fully backward compatible) proposed solution, involved using an extended messaging scheme that would break the "shared experience" for viewers not supporting it (i.e. in older viewers, the avatars won't render at the same altitude as in viewers with support for that extended message). I warned everyone (see the comment I posted in SUN-38 on 22/Jun/14 10:58 AM), but apparently, either the Lindens didn't read it, or they shrugged it off... Today, the solution (and, let's repeat it again, still partial a solution: the avatar bounding box issue for tiny/giant avatars is still not addressed) to SUN-38 as issued by LL came as the "Avatar Hover Height" feature (AHH for short), which is for now implemented in the sl-92 viewer branch (and backported in today's Cool VL Viewer releases). Alas, that solution involves the extended UDP message as suggested by the Firestorm team, meaning the "shared experience" is broken and will remain so until all residents update their viewer to one supporting the AHH feature (which could take months or even never happen, given the outdated viewers used by some)... Also, the "Avatar Z Offset" was not implemented as an avatar size delta (like it initially was in non-SSB sims and next in Nyx' Hover shape visual parameter), but as an altitude offset which is added to the avatar's position in the viewer to the position sent by the server (that's why the "Avatar Z Offset" was a bad choice of name: it confused the Lindens, apparently...). This means that, for now, the @adjustheight RLV command (used by RLV-aware scripted items to auto-correct the animations Z offset to match your avatar's actual size) would need different parameters than it used to because, instead of correcting the avatar size, it would now need to correct its altitude, and no, it's not the same thing, because the altitude depends on the pelvis to foot length, which in turn can vary based on the shape/shoes and the animation being played (kneeling, standing, laying, sitting on ground, etc...). I will have a look and see if I can find a formula to auto-correct internally the Z-offset value that is sent by @adjustheight so to restore the compatibility with existing RLV items, but a better solution would be for Lindens to read this message and change their mind on how AHH must be implemented in the end... Yes, I'm dreaming... EDIT: I found a solution for @adjustheight, see below. So, for now, AHH is taken into account by the Cool VL Viewer (i.e. you will see avatars using AHH for themselves rendered at the proper height), but the feature is disabled by default for your avatar, which will instead keep using the Hover shape parameter (for mod-ok shapes only, of course); you can nonetheless enable AHH for your avatar via "Advanced" -> "Character" -> "Use Avatar Hover Height" (*) (*) Before switching that feature on or off, make sure the current "Z offset" is at 0.00 because the viewer does not reset an offset (Hover or AHH) before switching to the other. |
Author: | Tillie [ 2015-01-31 18:07:54 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
Why do the Lindens so often just make the false decision if they already got a proper working solution proposal? Thanks for detailing it for us. |
Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-02-02 19:56:39 ] | |||||||||
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support | |||||||||
And, again, the very same arrogance and lies from LL... I'm pissed off today, big time. So, here is what I replied to them:
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Author: | Catten [ 2015-02-03 17:38:42 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
Incredible, that's like the most arrogant answer I ever saw, I can't belive they would do this. I gave up on the jira long ago when the lindens stopped participating it actively, I can't say if its changed or not though, plus all the Lindens I knew, left or got sacked, so my involvement in the development is rather limited. The email communication from Oz just confirms my decision. |
Author: | Lord [ 2015-02-06 04:16:45 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
To tell you the truth, I don't think it had anything to do with not knowing any better way to do it. I think it has more to do with injecting yet another feature, albeit forwarded to them by the Firestorm 'team' who also have a similar agenda, in order to make users of older viewers feel less comfortable using them, making them seem 'broken' to the user, in an effort to get them to use newer viewers, so they no longer have to support them and can cut back on their support staff. Always follow the money. |
Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-02-06 13:09:52 ] | |||||||||
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support | |||||||||
For a start, both LL's viewer and Firestorm got a deprecating "feature" implemented (i.e. they can blacklist from the grid old versions of their viewers). It is nonetheless indeed quite ironic that LL folks, who made out the rule 2.k in the TPV policy (i.e. the "no shared experience breakage" rule), is breaking their own rule when they had a backward-compatible method proposed to them as an alternative... |
Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-02-07 10:43:29 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
For today's releases (v1.26.8.88 and v1.26.12.30), I found a way to restore the compatibility between AHH and @adjustheight: for the techies (or TPV developers) among you, the trick consists in only keeping track (as usual) of the avatar height (Z size) delta in the viewer, and sending to the AHH-enabled sim servers that delta divided by a factor which is equal to the avatar shape total height divided by its pelvis to feet height (both being kept up to date already by the viewer code). There's however still the issues I described in my first message in this thread, namely the lack of a way to adjust the avatar bounding box (like it was possible in non-SSB sims) and, worst, the "shared experience" breakage (which will take ages to solve, since it relies on all residents updating to AHH-enabled viewers). Because of the latter reason, the AHH feature is still disabled for your avatar by default (toggle in Advanced -> Character menu). |
Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-03-28 08:18:19 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
Since releases 1.26.8.90, 1.26.12.34 and 1.26.3.2, when wearing a no-mod shape in a SSB-enabled sim (i.e. in SL) and the sim supports AHH, AHH is used to set your avatar's Z-offset regardless of UseAvatarHoverHeight being set to FALSE (since in that specific case we can't use the shape Hover visual parameter anyway...). |
Author: | ibigfire [ 2015-03-30 04:20:07 ] |
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support |
This might be a silly question, but could the technology used to adjust the hover height slider of a shape be used to retrieve and edit other shape sliders via RLV command of a body? Could open up some interesting options if this was possible. |
Author: | Henri Beauchamp [ 2015-03-30 07:34:48 ] | |||||||||
Post subject: | Re: Avatar "Z offset" support | |||||||||
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