Welcome to the latest Alchemy Viewer update! We've packed this release with a mix of new features, important fixes, and a few tweaks to make everything run just that much smoother. Whether you’re here for the exciting debut of WebRTC voice or to enjoy more reliable performance, we’ve got something for you. As always, we've been listening to your feedback, fine-tuning the experience to make sure your time in-world is better than ever. Let’s jump right in and explore what’s new!

WebRTC voice, the headline feature for this release, has been integrated into Alchemy. This significantly enhances voice chat fidelity in regions where it is supported. As Linden Lab begins to roll out WebRTC voice functionality across the grid in the coming weeks, users can expect broader support for these improvements. Additionally, texture refresh functionality now extends to PBR materials and faces, working similarly to the previous texture refresh system but expanding its capability to handle PBR materials.

Several Linux-specific fixes have been implemented, including improved POSIX compliance for viewer scripts and a bug fix for the dbus service, which now correctly handles SLURLs. Reflection probe and mirror reflection issues have also been addressed, contributing to a more stable and visually accurate experience. Along with general performance and stability improvements, these updates should ensure a smoother experience for all users.

An important note is that WebRTC voice replaces the Vivox voice service that Second Life has historically used. This version of Alchemy supports both the outgoing Vivox voice service and the soon-to-deploy WebRTC voice service. When Linden Lab is ready to implement the server-side changes for this transition, this version of Alchemy will seamlessly connect to the new system as the old system is discontinued. Previous versions of Alchemy will lose voice chat capabilities once Linden Lab makes this change. To continue using voice chat on Second Life with Alchemy after this update, you will need to upgrade to this release or a newer one.

Downloads for Alchemy Beta 7.1.9.2501 are live on the downloads page.

We decided to give the website a fresh coat of paint and update a few things. The About page and the Downloads pages both got a bit of an update.

Also new is our GLTF PBR testing builds on the Downloads page!

And now for the pretty pictures!

Hey all Lumionos here,

We are actively and heavily working on the viewer, but due to our own internal discussions on what is deemed "release worthy" and our lack of deployment tools we are currently only release builds on Discord.

We are working towards better tools for us utilizing our GitLab pipelines we have, but it takes a lot of work and we are a very small team.

Latest builds can be found in the #project-viewers channel. If you are having trouble access that channel or don't see it, please let us know!

Discord Invite Link

We're releasing a small hotfix update to resolve issues with the windows installer and some windows-specific crashes.

• Fixed VLC package download failure
• Fixed installer finish page missing
• Various fixes and updates

• Windows ( x86 | x86_64 )

Hey all. Just wanted to give a small status update on Alchemy and where things are headed!

I've been hard at working revamping the client for improved performance and overall less bugs. Some of the new features that we've integrated from Linden Lab such as the Environmental Enhancement Project have also required a lot of polish and general cleanup.

I'm sorry for the delays in getting a new Beta out these past few months and some the issues that have been encounted with the current build. Just wanted to let everyone know we're all still alive and well.

Here's a screenshot of some of what we've been working on!

And also feel free to join us in our Discord! Discord Invite Link

Welcome to another totally exhilarating adventure into the Alchemy Bakery!

In today's episode of Cooking With Rye we find ourselves exploring the mysteries of the new Beta release! There have been many changes over the past few years such as integrating the often requested RLVa functionality created by the ever wonderful Kitty Barnett, Animesh, and Bakes on Mesh!

Other changes to our recipe include deep performance optimization to every part of the viewer so that ya'll can have an even smoother experience!

But really there's too many changes for this loaf of dog-shaped bread to remember and this is all one big in-joke anyways, so have a shiny new Beta. Enjoy before it goes stale. Like a sad forgetten loaf of bread in the back of your pantry.

It's only a flesh wound! We are actively working on a new update. We've been quite busy with real life and work. I'm working on infrastructure while the team is working on the viewer and polishing it up.

We have a big update planned including features that have been asked for quite a while. If you are wanting to help us, our Discord is active and avaliable. I'll put a link at the end of this post.

Happy Holiday's from us to you!

Discord Invite Link

TL;DR Use a format that allows use of the format at no charge to the user or developer of said software and protects you against being sued. I.E. Opus, VP8

Disclaimer: This is not a properly cited article. This is what I know to be true as of today. If there is something wrong. Please contact us and I will update this page and make corrections.

Digital media includes a very large range of formats. Many began life in the 90s when computers when the Internet was starting to take off and digital media was becoming popular. MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is the working group for ISO and IEC standards regarding compression and transmission for audio and video. However, there is a company by a similar name. MPEG LA which is a firm solely for the purposes of licensing patent pools for essentials patents required for legal use of MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Visual (Part 2), IEEE 1394, VC-1, ATSC, MVC, MPEG-2 Systems, AVC/H.264 and HEVC standards. I will be focusing on video compression format H.264 only because it would take quite a bit of time for me to research more into every other format not including all of the audio formats.

H.264 has become the de facto standard for video streaming and compression today. This has many unfortunate side effects. For starters, the H.264 format’s patents are in the MPEG LA patent pool. This means you need to license out use of the patents by paying money to the patent pool. This means if you use H.264 for certain purposes (mainly distributing hardware or software) then you will be required to pay royalties. The amount paid depends on the agreement and the agreement can change. If you are in certain countries, then you can bypass these restrictions easily, but since we are located in the US and our web server (at the time of this writing) is in Canada, we have to obey US and Canada law.

Google and others have created royalty-free video formats that work just as well in most cases as H.264 (VP8) and HEVC (VP9). They do not have the hardware decoding support as widely available as H.264 does, but they do have support on many platforms including ARM and x86 (Intel processors).

As for Alchemy Viewer, we do not enable the H.264 and other patented codecs because of this. If we have something enabled let us know so we can remove it, CEF’s defaults should not have them.

Here are a few references to look at:

1. http://www.zdnet.com/article/a-closer-look-at-the-costs-and-fine-print-of-h-264-licenses/
2. http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/What-the-Nokia-Apple-Lawsuit-Means-for-the-Streaming-Industry-115511.aspx
3. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/sling-tv-sued-on-use-of-h-264-standard-77878/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG_LA

Welcome to another exciting episode in What's in This Release?

Today, the contestant is you! So what's in the release? If you guessed bug fixes, you would be correct! This was supposed to be a bug fix release, but dear oh dear, we all got hosed by this ridiculous thing known as responsibilities in real life. It was horrible, but eventually it passed, and I can't speak for the entire team, but it sure is nice to have no life again.

Ok, moving on. Ten points for guessing bug fixes, although I've got the suspicion you've been looking at the (Release Notes)[]. Next up, we've fixed some IME handling, but for what language? If you guessed Japanese, you are correct!

Next question, what has Liru been up to? If you said, Making Our Graphics Panel Great Again, you are absolutely correct! You have received another seven points.

The next question is true or false. Did the Alchemy Team give up on OpenSim support like Kokua has? The answer... is... NOPE! There are several bug fixes specific to OpenSim, and not only that, we now support the Hypergrid currency extensions proposed by Chris Colosi.

That's about it. Want more stuff? Report more bugs!

Welcome to another exciting adventure of Alchemy Release mode. In our last episode is was one year ago TOMORROW and we were updating the things to match Linden Lab changes and performing small graphical feats of tweakage. There have been a few beta releases along the way, got thirsty, stopped at the sev for an ice cold beverage, and then came back for the new season. This season stars a fresh new cast of characters as we've had some new contributors to the team. The rendering system got a revamp from Shyotl and Drake. Oh, you want to know what else has changed? Well, I'm gonna tell you.

Profiles, group, avatar, inventory, all the profiles now bust out into their own floaters, no more sidebar shenanigans. You want to open a dozen profiles and maybe two or three group profiles right now? Well have at it you wild animal. You can also edit your picks and classifieds from your own profile now. Go on, open up that profile and add a pick telling everyone Alchemy really whips the llama's ass. Did you do it? Oh come on, show us some love and add that pick. You know you wanna, fam. We added an undeformer to cure your mesh woes. It isn't perfect, but you aren't that pretty anyway. I'm just kidding! We love you, that's why we added undeform and reset skeleton so you're always looking your best.

On the OpenSim side of things, we now warn you when you're sending your login credentials over an insecure connection. The grid manager got some tweakage too that makes it more reliable. I also sneaked into the Catznip and borrowed some code that now lets you save all your passwords for all your alts. Yep, Aunt Cinder knows about your alts, children, but don't worry, me and your favorite viewer will keep those alts and their passwords safe and secure. We're looking out for you.

It's been a busy year and I'm sure I've missed some things, you can check back at some of the beta posts for a sneak peek, but real talk, most of the work on this here viewer has been performance enhancements and improvements along with keeping up to date with Second Life (you can check out their release notes too, if you are so inclined.)

So kick back, slap that download button, and enjoy the benefits of staying up to date with the most kickingest ass of viewers. OH, AND REPORT BUGS ON OUR JIRA PLEASE! See you again, soon!