SLVP (6 March 2026)

Using: https://github.com/secondlife/viewer/releases/tag/Second_Life_Project%2314b74c9a-VisualPolishAlpha

Graphics settings: Ultra, Shadows On, HDR On, "Midday" EEP.

The latest version of SLVP has some new water bugs.

Bug 1: There is a strange darker, less reflective area on the water surface on both sides of the screen which is very noticible and undesirable.

Bug2: The reappearance of a boat wash/spray particle bug that was previously fixed in 2025. (See: https://feedback.secondlife.com/bug-reports/p/transparent-particles-over-water-make-the-water-look-black-under-their-transpare )

Light levels are less intense and better than in the previous SLVP version now.

There are no Moiré Effect striation lines on water with SSR on. No fuzziness at boat waterlines or overhanging objects.

Water reflections are good overall, their underside surfaces are reflected, but reflected just a little too faintly for my tastes. A little more intensity of reflections please.

Using build: https://github.com/secondlife/viewer/actions/runs/22707152363

I see white flashes on the water next to some objects when moving my camera

Example: https://gyazo.com/e9f92fde05ed361e0a3c848cf853ec18

Also when camera is stationary, there's a TV static effect around the stems of the Lotus

Example: https://gyazo.com/918b4953d417fe18e3ce27048a6bb1c3

Location: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Griffer%20Cove/66/51/24

Using shared environment

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Edit to add:

Set environment to Midnight & water to "Mirror Water" from the library.

On the Visual Polish build you can easily see a white halo around the lotus plants.

Release: https://prnt.sc/rtPIeOYc3hwd

Visual Polish: https://prnt.sc/lv87YZlq5BKA

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Edit to add again:

Better example of the white halo on the water around certain objects

Set on Midnight in screenshots

Location: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Griffer%20Cove/77/215/21

Look how the pink tree looks against the water

Release: https://gyazo.com/f3faef960bf398ebd2f28948b2593410

Visual Polish: https://gyazo.com/a0576d1b37dd1b99155bb9fde9287801

Almost TV static shimmering effect happens on surfaces that have PBR and are using reflection probes. It seems to come from having reflection quality set to high as turning off screen space has no effect on it. Switching reflection quality to medium or low fixes the issue.

No Linux viewer. Too bad

"Visual Polish" seems like a good time to tackle this long-standing visual bug, where rigged mesh with alpha blended textures doesn't light correctly with user lights. The easiest way to reproduce it is with a projector where the blended surfaces are only partially lit: any that are within the dark portion of a projector texture, or just outside the projector's range will get a sort of fullbright effect, or in some cases appear particularly dark when they should be lit. This can also happen when the outer limits of multiple point lights overlap. I've included photos to illustrate the problem using a simple projector and HD makeup layers on a Lelutka EvoX head, however it affects any rigged mesh with alpha blended textures, including hair, HD nipple add-ons, genital add-ons with detail layers, clothes, etc. Pictures were taken with the latest Visual Polish Alpha!

This bug has likely existed since rigged mesh with alpha blended textures became a thing...certainly it was there in 2017 when I joined. We've all hated it in all that time, but we learned to live with it...mostly just by avoiding using point lights and projectors in builds as much as possible! But since the PBR update it has basically become imperative to use lights to illuminate properly-probed interior spaces, which leaves us with a choice between sacrificing PBR goodness, or living with "disco nipples," as my dear friend calls them.

Though I can see what is happening and that it is happening, the technical details of the problem are beyond my expertise. If I had to guess though, it's probably related to alpha sorting and the way that lights fall off (my understanding is they use some form of alpha blending themselves), which I know is always a difficult thing. But you got it sorted with attachments, so maybe lights aren't out of the question!

I'll be happy to do whatever I can to help, which probably won't be much other than providing pictures or reproductions, which I'm very familiar with doing after all these years of fighting with this. And in case the included picture is not clear, the first 3 all display situations under which lighting and colors appear "normal" and the last one (Blends | Half Projector) show where it breaks.

Thank you for your time and for all that you do to keep making SL awesome!

💚

Beach at

Left pic = Visual_Polish. Right pic = FS_7.2.3.80088

location has several probes on the water, in this shot you can see 2 of them in the FS pic. Both taken using Midday. HDR and Ultra. No Mirror.

Here's some sunlight comparison screenshots, taken on FS V7.2.3 and SLVP. Same location, same settings (including HDR on, same EEP (Midday), both with shadows enabled). The SLVP one is the brighter of the two. The SLVP also shows some strange shadow bias effects on the white flooring, not noticible on the Firestorm version.

26 Feb update. Newer version viewer tried.

* Water moiré effect gone!

* Still some problems seeing water reflections from object undersides.

* Crisper better looking shadows!

* Dark PBR clothing now looks properly dark (instead of navy blue) above and beneath PBR water! (Probes in sim).

* Lighting is significantly brighter. If too bright, turn off HDR in preferences.

* Still some facial texture blurring in busy sims with high numbers of other avatars in vicinity.

* Some Shadow Bias rings visible on white floor surfaces.

* High FPS levels.

As an FYI to anyone popping in on this thread with any visual bugs and such - _please_ post screenshots. That's extremely helpful to me.

I will edit Sarah's post with the latest build as they become available prior to a full alpha deploy.

I liked the colouration which is softer. Having said that i saw it as having a wash of depth of field only closer. So for me, it had a rather physical effect of the desire for the softer view with a bit of seasickness. I know that sounds terrible and I dont usually give feedback on anything. I don't mean to be terrible. i just has no idea what produced that feeling. Maybe a slight blurriness over the whole frame. I put my pc full on because that is how i work on landscapes. I definitely want that softness but without the blur

[10:15 AM] Dousa Dragonash: I would def use it if i could sort that out