>>> All in all, I like the new visuals, but I'd like to be able to get rid on the 'fade' on the 3D ones (especially ShapeScape - it doesn't happen all of the time).

Yes, the way the fade is turned on and off is not very good for some visuals in Beta 10. At the moment, the type of fade (if any) is selected at random when the visual initialises.

In the long term greater control over visual modifiers should mean that you can choose your favorite variation rather than have it chosen for you.

Toby