Tag Archives: KVw

Kokua goes CHUI

Update February 28th: Nicky has posted that the CHUI code has now been merged with the main Kokua code, and a new version of Kokua is available for testing with it.

kokua-logoNicky  Perian, working on the Kokua viewer for SL / OpenSim, issued an experimental version of the viewer on January 24th which includes the new SL Communications Hub User Interface (CHUI).

Release 3.4.4 (CHUI) has a dedicated repository, and is available for Windows and Linux.

As reported on its launch, CHUI complete overhauls the communications floater within the official viewer, and introduces a new Conversations Logs floater, allowing users to access saved chat and IM histories from within the viewer. In updating the Conversations floater, CHUI brings some functionality to it which users of several TPVs may find somewhat familiar, even if the presentation doesn’t match anything they’ve been used to in the past.

CHUI goes purple: the initial integration of the CHUI code into Kokua

CHUI goes purple: the initial integration of the CHUI code into Kokua

A Kokua blog post accompanying the release of the experimental viewer provides additional information:

The Communication Hub UI  has Instant Messaging , Chat,  and Voice controls in one floater as was done in version 1 viewers.

Imprudence users have asked that Kokua implement the Imprudence UI for communications. I would like comments from Imprudence users about this interface .

This merge affected many parts of Kokua code. Please test and report problems using our bug tracker.

There is also a link to the Kokua wiki page on recommended practices for using Kokua experimental viewers.

The implementation appears to be a “straightforward”  merge of the code, with the familiar Kokua UI colour changes, but otherwise no additional updates. “Straightforward” is given in inverted commas because, as the Kokua blog post notes, the CHUI changes impact many areas of the viewer’s code, making integration somewhat difficult – particularly if the TPV merging the code already has modifications to how  communications within the viewer are presented to the user.

The experimental viewer also includes the default “account creation” prompt found in the beta and development versions of the SL viewer which appears to be in relation to the forthcoming SL / Steam link-up, and which is displayed on the viewer’s log-in splash screen if no account details are found on the local computer when the viewer loads. As with other viewers which have merged-up with SL viewer development code, this should be taken as a sign that the code has been included in Kokua by default rather than having any deeper meaning associated with it.

Other recent updates for Kokua (from the 3.4.4.25633 release of January 13th, 2013) include:

  • The use of Vivox as the default Voice system, as a result of the latter relaxing licencing requirements for grids
  • The addition of a draw distance slider to the top right of the menu bar
  • The ability to set a minimum draw distance of 3 metres (seen as a means of improving performance for those involved in close-quarter combat / duelling)
  • Minor UI changes (such as the “Me” menu being renamed “Avatar”).

Overall, this looks to be a clean implementation of CHUI, and one which gives OpenSim users a further opportunity to get a look ad feel for the revised  / new floaters for communications.

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Kokua and Firestorm: moves and views

It’s been relative quiet on the Viewer front of late. However, there is now news emerging about two TPVs: Kokua and Firestorm.

Kokua

Nicky Perian has updated the Kokua code on Bit Bucket to release 3.1.1.22989(Beta-1), dated June 11th. Available for Windows and Linux, it is unclear as to how “official” this release is  - there is no blog post associated with the release, nor does it appear on the Kokua wiki download page. Notice of its arrival has, however, been doing the rounds on Twitter.

I’ve not had a close look at it as yet, but it appears the release is more about bug-fixing and general enhancements of the current code (with fixes code that addresses both SL and OpenSim) more than prepping a major release and shouldn’t be treated as such – or even as a recognised experimental until the team release further information. As it stands, the release still references itself in places as the “Second Life Viewer” rather than Kokua, again indicative that this is very much still a work in progress. One thing it does do away with is the console window that would open on starting the Windows version of Kokua (and which you had to keep open while logged-in to SL in order to avoid the Viewer crashing).

I’m not recommending the release be put to general use – that is down to the Kokua team; rather I’m reporting that the version’s availability has been reported on via Twitter. Those wishing to know the exact status of the project should keep an eye on the Kokua blog, where hopefully there will be an update soon.

Firestorm

After an extended period of quiet from the Firestorm end of things, I recently noticed Jessica Lyon logging back in to SL once more after what appeared to be something of a period of absence. She’s provided a blog post at Firestorm entitled “Progress Report” , which indicates that the team had in fact  eased off from development; with some taking an outright break from things, as burn-out was becoming a factor.

The announcement highlights three things:

  • The team has new developers in the form of Holy Gavenkrantz, who has been a regular code contributor to both Firestorm and Phoenix, and Armin Weatherwax who, co-incidentally enough given the information on Kokua above, was formerly a lead developer on that project
  • And update on the status of the Firestorm 4.1.1 release, which is still officially labelled “coming soon” but which will include various requested tools and capabilities including Growl support, an LSL pre-processor, additional Windlight effects an “improved build floater”, and a host of goodies
  • The news that the team is branching development for Firestorm between Second Life and OpenSim.

This last point is interesting, as Firestorm has been gaining popularity among OpenSim users (Kitely even set it as their default Viewer).

The use of Viewers to access both SL and OpenSim has been the subject of much debate in the last couple of months since Linden Lab announced they were sub-licencing elements of the Havok physics engine. This requires that any applicable Viewer using the licenced code to only connect to LL’s own servers. In May, Jessica gave a hint that the Firestorm team were considering their options vis-a-vis SL and OpenSim, commenting on SLU that:

There is the possibility that we could have Havok code disable when the viewer is not logged into the SL grid. I have asked Oz if this would be acceptable and he is looking into it. If it turns out this is NOT acceptable, we will provide two versions of our Firestorm viewer. One for SL and one for everything else.

While she has not followed-up the comment with further information directly, it would appear from the blog post that – for whatever reason – the Firestorm team has opted to take the route of developing two flavours of the Viewer. It will be interesting to see how this actually plays out.

Call for Imprudence volunteers – meeting this weekend

When the decision to proceed with the development of Kokua was made, a problem remained for the Kokua / Imprudence team in how to support those users in the wider metaverse who still prefer to use – or even rely on – Imprudence. While the team hoped to be able to bring the 1.4 release of Imprudence to maturity, it was noted that this would only be done if it did not impact work on Kokua.

Following on from this, Onefang Rejected, aka David Seikel who is known to many as the developer of the Meta-Impy Viewer (itself based on Imprudence 1.4) stepped forward with a stated desire to continue Imprudence development.

As a result of Onefang’s willingness to volunteer himself, the Kokua team have opted to bring him into the fold as a team member, where he can hopefully build and lead an Imprudence-focused team that will work alongside of, but independently from, the core Kokua team.

To help establish this new Imprudence team, the Kokua / Imprudence project has put out a call for volunteers, requesting that anyone interested in getting involved in Imprudence as a  developer or tester or some form of support category put themselves forward. Those wishing to join the team are asked if they can attend the next All Hands meeting, which will be devoted to Imprudence and its future.

As ZATZAI (Sean Greyhound) put it in the Kokua blog, “This will not be a ‘reboot’ of the project but a continuation. So for all of you out there who lamented the ‘death’ of Imprudence, here is your chance. Join us this Sunday, be you a potential developer or tester and help us to bring Imprudence into the future alongside Kokua.”

The meeting will take place at the usual time and venue: 12:00 midday SLT (20:00 GMT), Sunday February 26th at the Hoagie sim of the 3rd Rock Grid. Requests for further information should be directed to the Kokua / Imprudence blog.

Kokua team issues “small update”

It’s been a little over two weeks since the Imprudence/Kokua team announced they’d be moving towards focusing on Kokua for future development, but work is progressing. On the 16th, ZATZAI (sean Greyhound) from the team put out a “small update” on progress, which reads in part:

Work continues on the new Kokua viewer. We’re moving forward using the v3.2 Linden viewer as a base, we feel this version of the viewer is stable enough and has solved enough of the UI problems from v2 that our users will be happy with it. It’s also what many of you recommended in previous blog comments and at our meetings. We’re currently focusing on releasing a stable viewer on at least three platforms, Linux 32bit, Linux 64bit and Windows 32bit. You can follow our progress by trying our experimental viewers if you’d like, but buyer beware, these are alpha viewers and you should read the warning label carefully before use. You’ll find the link to our experimental viewers page on our wiki below…

There follows a link to the Kokua wiki and links to the Windows and Linux release 3.0.0 downloads. However, before you get too excited, it should be pointed out that while the blog post refers to V3.2, the release available on the wiki, and the one immediately prior to it (0.1.1) are not based on the current V3.2 code, but rather on V3.0 code. Those installing and running either experimental will notice, for example, that the log-in splash screen still has the BASIC / ADVANCED mode toggle button.

Kokua *will* be moving to V3.2, but for now it is still based on V3.

I raised this point with ZATZAI, who was able to confirm after checking that, “The current Experimentals are indeed based on v3 … future ones (I don’t know how soon) will be based on 3.2+.” A clarification on the releases has since been posted on the blog entry itself.

So for those wishing to see a release of Kokua based on V3.2 code will have to wait just a little longer – and should keep an eye on both the blog and the wiki page!

How to Get Involved

For those who are further interested in the Viewer’s development, the team hold a weekly meeting every Wednesday at 20:00GMT on the Hoagie Sim in the 3rd Rock Grid. The meetings are for Dev and Project Contributor discussion and open to the public – although the meetings are not intended to deal with support issues. Transcripts of recent and past meetings cane be found on the wiki.

People can also join the Developer Mailing List (again: please note that this is not intended to deal with support issues).

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