Word reaches me that Viewer 2 is moving closer to having features that will make it far more appealing for the masses. One of the points I’ve raised before about Viewer 2 is that it doesn’t have enough in it to make people want to switch over from viewer 1 based viewers. Media on a prim doesn’t do it, the sidebar doesn’t do it, land sales search certainly doesn’t do it. Inviting people to groups? Nil points. Search in general? Nil points?
So what can viewer 2 offer that makes people want to use it? This thread over at SL Universe has the answer, the latest Snowstorm development download has a feature called Avatar physics, what does this mean? Jiggling boobies are coming to a viewer near you soon.
Jiggling boobies have been a big success for TPV’s that implement them, they also have a downside, prim bits don’t jiggle with them, so if you’ve got prim clothing instead of system clothing then expect to find yourself jiggling out of decency in some situations if you apply too much oomph.
However this isn’t just about boobs …….. hmm did I really just type that? No no this isn’t just about boobs, this is about butts and bellies too, which might be interesting when Jen “The Dealer” Noel comes to my sim with her bellydancing entourage.
Now this may all sound a tad shallow, and in reality it is, but features like this will make people want to take another look at the viewer, I guarantee it, whether once the intiial tittering (no pun intended) is over, they will stick with the viewer when some of the other defects manifest itself remains to be seen, but this is something that will make people feel viewer 2 is worth a dabble.
Of course the TPV’s have a bit of a headstart here, I’ve been using Firestorm recently, I haven’t even looked to see if jiggling booobies… I mean avatar physics are part of firestorm, I’m in Fantasy Faire mode and have been alternating between Firestorm and the official viewer 2, I may adopt Firestorm as my regular viewer as it feels nice but it is different to viewer 2 which brings me back to issues of familiarity, I am used to viewer 2, warts and all now.
However, expect to see viewer 2 usage increase in some form, especially as some viewer 1 features are rumoured to be being nerfed anyway, making viewer 1 less useful in the future.