I mentioned previously that the latest version of WindLight® was an abomination, but only now is the true measure of FAIL being discovered.

Apparently, the issue with C:SI swords and other attachments being partially visible (or as Colin puts it: "turned my Wave into airport landing lights) when they are not supposed to be is intentional.

Lemme just pause while that last sentence sinks in….

…

…

Yes, Seriously.  Torley Linden specifically commented on this fact way back on 2007-12-13, but I only discovered it today on the Torley Linden/Project Updates page of the Second Life® Wiki.  Specifically, here’s what that page has to say regarding the issue:

[2007-12-13] [WINDLIGHT] Alpha textures becoming opaque at a distance

Yes, it’s intentional that alpha (32-bit, see-through) textures become opaque (solid) at a distance — this was done as a speed booster, since layered alpha textures decrease performance.

At the same time, I know how ugly it looks in some situations, and how it impairs other things — for example, if want to take a picture of an apartment building and the contents of its floors, but when I zoom out, the glass windows (alpha textures) go opaque, blocking my view.

I wonder if it’d be a good idea to map this to Objects Mesh Detail… or provide an option in Debug Settings.

Next steps: collate Issue Tracker stuff related to this like VWR-3101, forward to our Developers on Team WindLight® for a better solution…

There are apparently no less than 20 issues in Jira related to this, and it seems from everything I’ve seen so far (especially given the amount of time that this issue has apparently already existed), that there is no intention of fixing it.  The best indication that I’ve seen thus far that LL has any intention of doing anything at all is a quote from Torley on the 15th :

Look for a fix for this soon — the transition should be more reliable.

In other words, "we intend to keep alpha textures opaque, but we’ll try to make it so that it only happens at 5 meters instead of 0.5", or something very likely to that effect.

Thinking forward, since WindLight® is effectively a beta test version that runs on the main grid, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that they intend to migrate this fucked up idea to all versions of the viewer in the future.

I’m so flabbergasted I can’t think of anything else to say.  I’m just… 

Seriously, Linden Lab® : WTF were you thinking?  Do you *ever* actually USE Second Life?

P.S.: I know that at least Torley uses Second Life® and I love Torley, but Torley is an always-optimistic, "make the best of things" person who doesn’t appear to be the one making these asinine decisions, so please don’t think I’m picking on Torley in this post.

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