So, as the story goes, I pontificate more on what I'd like to see in Second Life. And my wishes are often simple (in concept), childlike ones—but perfectly parallel to rediscovering your youth in here. I observe a lot of great, very highminded ideas going up like those flags at the end of Super Mario Bros. stages, and what's left for me is often missed, so I might as well take it.

As I like to say, the reason why I don't do some things is: because someone else is already doing them, and doing them excellently! Why would I want to be redundant? Now, I'll mimic and copy to learn and grow on an instructional basis, but saying what someone else would say is not me. I AM ME.

AND ME WANT SUN DOG. I was looking at water in SL, and how the terrain now looks so staid and mismatched at points. It's like "Heyhoo landlubbers, Miss Aqua is a lot more beautiful, catch up—if ya can!" As clear as mud. Looping back in, when I look at the water, then the sun… our sun has no distinct glow, it doesn't cast so much as a hyperbolic Photoshoppy lensflare towards the eye-in-hand of an avatar. And it could cozy up more to the horizon which nourishes and supports it like a Wonderbra, with the exception of sunsets and sunrises, which I love… but which I'd prefer to be called sunclipses and sunsights (gratuitous nod to the Buckyball man).

Here exists several historical facts:

  • Skyline since version 1.7 looks richer and the blues are more colbalty and majestic, while amber awakenings (as pictured above) are a new category of glorious. Wish I had an easy before+after, I know I have old snaps, and take my word for it.
     
  • Ripple water in 1.8 was introduced as a "minor feature", but with sooo much H2O in SL, if you can turn it on, and I commala say PLEASE_DO.EXE, it will make your experience better.
     
  • Sun itself, even without ripple water, no longer jags through the horizon (it used to be very ugly and unfixed for a long time). So does the moon.
     
  • Fog Distance Ratio is by default set to 2.0, which will make panoramas look unimpressive. Many Resis have not yet changed this. AWAKEN-YE! Go to PREFERENCES —> ADV. GRAPHICS and change it in there to 4.0 (to the max!), and see what you think. It makes no performance difference. It simply lets you see further, clearer. I BRING YE PROOF!
     
     On the left… this is what you might see the first time on SL before making any tweaks. Draw Distance is a standard 128 m, and Fog Distance Ratio = 2.0.
     
    On the right is a simple clickity-click and APPLY. Fog Distance Ratio = 4.0. These images are unaltered apart from the watermelony letterboxing.
     
    Photos taken on location @ Kor-Azor.


And back to SUN DOG… bring on the parhelia!