Second Life users waiting for Firestorm to implement PBR. The problem is that PBR broke some Firestorm features. (However, modifications are planned.)

PBR before and after comparison from the official Firestorm blog

Adding PBR to Second Life will greatly improve the graphics of your virtual world. However, according to a recent survey, a number of Second Life users are waiting to give physically-based rendering a try when it is added to Firestorm, a very popular third-party SL viewer (or TPV).

One small problem with it is: Firestorm Developer BeqWrite a comment — PBR and Firestorm don’t work well together yet.

PBR breaks many of the features that users love, so you’ll need to fix them or find alternatives if necessary. You also need to make sure it caters to your user base, which encompasses everything from high-end gaming consoles to affordable budget laptops. In fact, our lead developer Ansariel spent months fixing performance issues that many people didn’t notice. What was affected "low price" A machine is one that can tolerate the least amount of performance loss.

When LL launched the PBR Viewer, we were still collecting data points from testers. The good news is that not only has Ansa identified and resolved the issue, anyone in the preview group can test it, but it will soon be part of the next Linden Lab maintenance release to benefit the wider community. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.

So PBR integration with Firestorm will have to wait a while before it exists for the majority of Second Life users who prefer TPV. And again the official SL viewer had issues with PBR, which is to be expected. Beq wrote:

Linden Lab released what it said was not as fully prepared as it would have liked in an ideal world, but in doing so it opened up the space and raised the profile of the project. It was the right thing to do. They have the product live, and the feedback that was probably stagnant is coming from the enclosed pre-launch audience.

In any case, as I mentioned last week, it’s still surprising that major graphical improvements to the highly profitable virtual world of Second Life are effectively awaiting Firestorm’s efforts serviced by a volunteer development team.

Beq wrote that Firestorm is well aware of this paradox and that it is still up to Linden Lab to solve these fundamental problems.

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The chicken-and-egg position we face isn’t entirely new, but Firestorm is taking it seriously. We have a responsibility not just to the small number of early adopters, but to the broader audience we serve. But while we can’t please everyone (this is Second Life, it’s one of the most diverse communities you’ll ever find and try), it would be no use trying to please everyone!), at least we can make sure that most of our viewers It’s important to try to get to a point where you feel ready to adopt.

But as you correctly point out, while there is a lot of pressure and responsibility on our small number of unpaid volunteers, it would be extremely disingenuous not to acknowledge the reality that most of the remaining rough patches will not be addressed. Thanks to the continued efforts of the Linden Lab team, not the Firestorm team. Of course, we have our roles to play, whether it’s interacting with the lab to help us or cleaning the house.

Anyone who wants to sample PBR, see what the noise is about, or just want to help us and LL get things to a level where widespread consumption is possible is very welcome to join the Second Life group. "Phoenix-Firestorm Preview Group" You can find the early access build of Firestorm PBR here. (Editor’s note: Links available on the Firestorm blog – WJA)

There is only one real rule. Please do not share the link outside of the group (within the world). This is not a supported viewer, so you’ll need to join the group to keep up with issues and advice, or if you can’t handle it, go back to the Release Viewer and try again later.

To be clear, I am not criticizing Firestorm at all! My bigger complaint is systematic. There has to be a better way to update Second Life to the modern era. This method doesn’t rely heavily on a team of unpaid volunteers working on a very sophisticated and outdated codebase as a labor of love.

At the very least, I hope Linden Lab buys a PBR case for the Firestorm team.