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An actual product release for a change; yes, it is another pistol which may break down at a moment’s notice. Please see the following:
For the next few hours, available for half price from my Caledon shop! (That is, L$200.) (Not any longer.)
If you wish for more detailed Historical Information, please do read the following….
Read the rest of this entry »
I must say that we have not had a Good, Old-Fashioned, Update-Related Scripting Function Break for some considerable length of time, and it is good to see that Tradition is re-establishing itself with the most recent “Rolling Restart”.
I had been considering the announcement of a small product that I had produced, a simpler variant of my as-yet-unreleased-and-generally-exceptionally-tardy Galvanic Swordstick designed for use with Rifkind Hapsburg’s “En Garde” game. Whilst I have been both busy and distracted recently, I was charmed by En Garde, which combines simplicity and depth most pleasingly. The game allows the use of alternative weaponry to the standard épée, more as an Especial Effect than anything else as they will only give one an advantage in terms of Fashion, and I tinkered with the Swordstick for a little while, adding a few animations and such for good effect, to make it compatible.
Whilst I was absent over the weekend of En Garde’s release (engaging in a business in Europe of which it is best not to speak) and was forced to rush the crafting somewhat, I put the En Garde Swordstick up for sale on ShopOnRez, and also in a little box at the main En Garde stadium, for L$50, with the promise of adding a few more features in future days and weeks.
Unfortunately I discover today that a particular, and at first glance minor, use of a particular scripting has been disabled - the ability to change the position of a linked avatar using llSetLinkPrimitiveParams. Reactions to that previous sentence I would suspect to be one of:
For those responding in manner number One, I should explain that llSetLinkPrimitiveParams is a very useful little function allowing a script to change an awful lot of the details of a Prim that is linked into an Object - anything from its position through its type and sculpt texture to whether it emits light or not. In the past one was forced to use a subscript in that particular prim to change these things, and instruct it via a Link Message, but being able to do this from a central script is far more efficient and convenient.
For those responding in manner number Two, I should point out that, as most scripters will be aware, when an Avatar sits upon an Object, said Avatar is actually linked into that object much as any other prim and may be treated as one as far as Scripts are concerned - which is why the changed event triggers with CHANGED_LINK should someone sit on something, a Vehicle may only be 31 primitives including passengers, and so on. One may find the link number of the avatar (a simple loop through the prims suffices here, checking their names and keys) and then use llSetLinkPrimitiveParams to move them around, which otherwise is completely impossible. The use of llSitTarget defines where an Avatar first appears when initially sitting down on something, but changing it does not affect their position after that unless they stand up and sit down again.
(I will add a note of reassurance at this point that it is not possible to use said function to change other parameters of an avatar, merely its position. No script will be able to turn a hapless sitter into a torus.)
This function is widely used these days for all sorts of purposes. I myself have used it to adjust someone’s posed position when standing on a vehicle according to their height, so that their feet do not go through the floor and they do not appear to be hovering in mid-air; it is also used in different types of furniture, and in the case of Mr Habsburg’s En Garde, it is required to move the players back and forward as they engage in their swordplay. Clearly its removal is not cricket.
Why, though, one might ask, would this be removed at all? It appears that some sort of exploitable aspect existed which could be used to crash Sims, clearly something that no right-minded person would desire to remain. However, I wager that it is not at all impossible to restore the useful part of this function.
For those responding immediately in manner number Three, or those who have taken an interest on account of the preceding paragraphs, I humbly suggest that you visit the Jira Page “[#SVC-750] Avatar sitting on a prim no longer able to be manipulated with llSetLinkPrimitiveParams” and therein vote for the matter to be resolved. I am sure that it will be mere moments until we are all content once more; Mr or Ms Soft Linden has already stated that
There’s no plan for this to be permanent, and I’m asking for this functionality to be added to the test plan for future releases. (I’m bothered too - it broke some of my furniture!)
Well quite.
I should not finish this piece without at least mentioning that certain New And Improved Laws Of Physics are currently available for - and definitely requiring of - thorough testing within the parallel world known as the “Beta Grid”, but I dare not actually name them lest this cause them to disappear into the mists for another hundred years.
Well, I did say that I would release the thing, and so I have. In practice I decided to charge the princely sum of L$0 for it, including two sets of appropriate official flags; anyone wishing to leave a donation to offset my Uploading Charges is more than welcome, but I dare say they will not bankrupt me.
The Semaphore Animation Device is available from my Caledon shop of course, and also from ShopOnRez. (I am afraid that I do not have the patience these days to list items on SLExchange, certainly not ones from which I gain no monetary reward.)
A lengthy page of instructions is available for the benefit of insomniacs, and for those who are still not asleep, the main script itself is also viewable.
The item itself is not transferrable. Whilst regular readers will be aware that I am not the most assiduous in pursuing Resellers of my Free Items, counting it as one of the consequences of releasing items that are both Copiable and Transferrable, that is not to say that I like it when some reprobate grabs things which I set out and re-packages them as part of some godawful “Business In A Box”. In actual fact I do not object too much if a New Resident decides to scour the Grid for free items for which he or she may con some Even Newer Resident out of a few coppers - at least some effort goes into that practice, and it may be said that they perform a service - but the industrial reselling of Free Items is something which annoys me somewhat.
Furthermore, this morning, when I approached someone in their appallingly-textured shop and politely requested that they cease selling my Grid Crash Protection Box for monetary gain (I have no illusions that such action is technically punishable by what Laws of the Land exist, very little is, but as a Free Citizen I am quite at liberty to make that sort of request with ethical justification, particularly as there are clear notices indicating that these things are Not For Resale) I was treated to a dull little lecture about how “we don’t own anything therefore I can sell anything” and how I should read the Terms Of Service, as if I had not read them enough times to be able to repeat them verbatim.
This annoyed me, even though said seller did in the end remove my products - apparently customers had been complaining that the Grid Crash Protection Box did not actually protect them! perish the thought - and thus I am disinclined at this time to offer copiable and transferrable items, even though many fine folk would find this convenient.
I do apologise for this tangent.
Hello World - in Semaphore from Ordinal Malaprop on Vimeo.
Well, that is really just a title to grab Attention, but I have been this evening working on a script which translates Letters and Numbers into the waving of Semaphore Flags (in the above case, in the Oscar pattern). The message sent there should be fairly easily deciphered. I think that it is all correct, but to be quite frank, I cannot myself easily decipher Semaphore, thus I may have missed a detail.
The script, however, will interpret anything said on channel 9 into a series of such gestures, and one is advised to have Flags or Beacons or some such in hand so that onlookers may more easily receive the signal. Given sufficient time, I shall post the script here for general consumption. (I shall also provide a set of flags and the scripted attachment for sale at a very small cost, in order to recoup my uploading expenses for the Animations and such.)
Addition: Please see my following post for details of how to obtain the thing.
I have spent quite a lot of time tinkering with this thing and thus, you should buy it immediately.
There can be few Engineers, Blacksmiths, Salvage Experts, Artists, Pirates, Safe-Crackers and so on who have not, at one time or another, wished that they had a portable yet effective solution to the problem of being required to cut through a Large Metal Plate Of Some Sort. Ordinal Enterprises, as part of its growing industrial tool selection, wishes to provide a possible answer in these instances - the Ordinal Cutting Torch!
This portable, adjustable device allows for the cutting of numerous different types of substance without being tied to bulky cylinders. Move inside the bowels of an enormous malevolent automaton, or amongst the boilers of a mighty aerial battleship, safe in the knowledge that you will be able to slice through solid steel at a moment’s notice! The most Advanced Compression Technologies employed allow the portable cylinders to last for a surprising amount of time, and well-oiled quick-release catchs and springs assure that one is able to replace them for fresh ones in only three seconds!
(It should also be mentioned that, whilst the Cutting Torch is not designed as a weapon per se, should one encounter any Clockwork Antibodies or Meddling and Aggressive Sailors, they would be extremely ill-advised to get in the way of the Torch’s flame.)
FEATURES
Intricate design
Particle and hardware light effects
Multiple custom sounds and animations, including safety typing AO
HUD control with gas supply indicator and touch commands
Compatibility with damage and combat systems
TO SEE MORE
AVAILABLE FROM
Ordinal Cutting Torch - final(ish) from Ordinal Malaprop on Vimeo
In recent days I have been observing many fellow artisans upon the Grid - well, I flatter myself that they are my fellows, I am a child playing with plywood and glue compared to most, but nonetheless - writing and speaking on the subject of Sculpted Prims, the new magical lumps of clay sent to us from the heavens that promise to make our fruitbowls that much more interesting. Initially I suspect this will result in little more than an enormous number of bananas, vases, goblets, fancy table-legs and so on, but given time they will likely become common in the primary markets on the Grid, those being furniture, clothes and body parts.
I, myself, have not been sculpting prims. “Why is this?” I hear you ask in my imagination (in all likelihood you care not a jot but I will tell you anyway). Firstly, the line of products manufactured by Ordinal Industries are pretty much all mechanical and sharp-edged, and sculpted prims really are not terribly good with harsh lines and suchlike, being by their nature rather softer and more organic in appearance. I am sure that a few details (for example, the holster for the Webley mentioned previously) would be better done with sculpted prims but I imagine that the point at which this becomes essential will be the point at which I am actually able to operate the tools.
Which brings me to my second point, which is that I really do not have the time to master that horrible item of torture, Blender, and I have neither time nor resources (or at least I am certainly not willing to spare them) for Maya, the only package for which an official exporting widget exists at the moment. It is certainly not the matter of a few spare hours to learn how these things work. I previously took Blender cautiously out of the drawer and opened it up when I was investigating the creation of animations, as I was told it could be used for this (perhaps mistakenly) and quickly put it back with a puzzled then scared expression on my face. I made a more concerted effort recently but quite frankly, the sheer number of buttons in irrational places, the bizarre and essential keyboard shortcuts, the inconsistency between elements of the User Interface… I was not encouraged.
My previous investigation of animations would have been entirely curtailed had it not been for my discovery of the excellent program Avimator (now developed as qavimator), which is an excellent free tool and extremely quick to master, particularly if your desired animations are limited to small actions, poses and incidental movements. This is the sort of program which is needed in the context of Sculpted Prims to maintain the Grid as a place where anyone might learn any of the basic skills to at least some extent. Clearly if one must learn Blender or Maya before sculpting, it divides us firmly into “does it for a living” and “doesn’t do it at all”, and that division in society is enough of a problem as it is.
At this early stage it appears as if the program “Wings3D” might turn out to be some sort of easily-accessible version, but I am unable to judge this. My stubborn and slightly insane insistence on using an “Apple” as a tool - and a Core 2 Duo Apple at that; two cores, what is the fruit world coming to - means that I am finding it practically impossible to use the plugin developed. The latest version fails consistently when asked to do anything, the last previous version to work does not support the plugin, and compiling from source… well, I am not a newcomer to this sort of endeavour but it has been a complete nightmare and an unsuccessful one at that.
Still, residents of the Grid are a resourceful and innovative bunch, and I have little doubt that someone, somewhere, will come up with something, somehow. I will keep an eye out, but in the meantime, continue to make things with the usual prims.
On that note and to end this piece with a little self-promotion, I have been working on a series of industrial tools - all in the very early stages of design - which I will illustrate….
I have been spending far too much time twittering and tumbling like some sort of circus chicken recently, and also far too much time engaged in Aethernet-Related Projects; thus it is my determination to concentrate myself on at least the semblance of performing Work On The Grid.
Let us begin with a forthcoming product, the Ordinal Pepperbox. This is, oddly enough, not actually a device for dispensing pepper, though one may be included in the package to pacify any disgruntled chefs; it is a firearm of a design some might consider antiquated, but let me reassure the prospective purchaser that modern engineering techniques ensure that it is only a little inaccurate and only misfires, say, once every ten shots, which I’m sure you will agree is an excellent safety record.
The Pepperbox is muzzle-loading and may be charged with ordinary ball ammunition, bullets with a core of Heinkel Phosphorus (a rare element which burns most fiercely and also causes an immense repulsion from the ground) and also my newest Ruby Bullets (patent pending) which, when hitting a ne’er-do-well upon a plot over which the firer has control, remind them most immediately and directly that there is No Place Like Home. Of course, all of these things are only to be used appropriately, as with all of my creations.
In addition to this one might expect the usual nonsense with custom animations, the drawing and hiding of the pistol, particle effects, revolving barrels, all that rubbish. Please note that it is not quite available yet, as I have been recently kept from my efforts by Circumstances beyond my Control, but may be tomorrow.
~*~
Other devices which I have spent considerable lengths of time on and yet failed to actually release at all include the Ordinal Galvanic Swordstick, a concealed weapon brimming with Electrical Power which also includes a convenient lightbulb for occasions when one simply cannot manage to get the dratted key into the door, sundry Air Vehicles such as the as-yet-unnamed elephant-spider-kettle-thing appearing in my Aethernetical Album, and also a drawable and hosterable version of the venerable Webley .455 revolver.
(Addendum: another of my flying devices has appeared in an excellent series of pictures - mine is the bulbous thing with doors, rather than the elegant ornithopter.)
I must admit that it has been my failure to actually make a satisfactory holster for the Webley which has kept me from releasing the drawable version, as it has been ready apart from that for a while now, but being aware that I am vain and picky and altogether pathetic when it comes to these things, I have resolved to make it available simply with the pistol itself appearing at one’s belt, and then after that perhaps I can make one with Sculpted Clay and send it out.
Oh yes, and that reminds me; I have resolved to add a “Registration” function to these new devices, allowing one to opt into having one’s details recorded by myself and, through that, having all further versions of a product (whether created for reasons of Improvement or Repair) sent out automatically.
~*~
And as a final note, I am also working on a small sign to be held up at opportune moments when the arrival of Otherworldly Voices comes about - let us not forget that this is only a week or so away.
I am sure as it happens that I also have a million other things that I should be finishing up and packaging off, but I see that I have finally been able to enter Caledon, and would thus bid you toodle-pip.
~*~
(A further addendum: I failed to make it explicit that I have been adding entries to a “sub-journal”, Ordinal’s Cabinet Of Ephemera, wherein I am storing small things which have caught my eye and brief notes on that upon which I am working. I hope that this will reduce the need for lengthy posts such as these in future.)
Apropos of not a lot: I was, this afternoon, conversing with Pavig Lok during one of the periods of Grid Irregularity that we face after having been thrown out for no apparent reason, and attempted to pull up a wooden crate to sit on with some vague hope for protection (those who know me will be aware that sitting on crates is in fact my preferred method of resting my weary bones, perhaps due to my inability to construct decent chairs). After the minute or so which said crate took to arrive, I reflected that more protection might be offered if I actually hid inside it.
Clearly this was something both accurate in theoretical nature and necessary for me to construct, and thus I have done so. You may find the Grid Crash Protection Box in the usual places (my Caledon shop - SLurl - or SLX or SLB) and for the usual price (not a bean). Merely right-click and Cower, and you will be immediately protected from all Grid Crashes and other Malign Events. (Also from the attentions of Griefers, Customers and similar.)
Some might say “but Ordinal, what use is a box which protects one as long as one is hiding within it, when, should the Grid fail, the box will be removed and one will be revealed?” To such nonsense I say “Officer! That ruffian there tried to steal my purse! Take them away, give them a sound thrashing and pay no attention to their witterings about boxes” and I will have you know that I am on very good terms with the constabulary.
Well, I have finally managed to put up the snowball technology for sale, and to celebrate, here is a little piece of video, which, well, was made with a slightly older version of the Triple Snowball Cannon, so does not actually demonstrate all possible features.
It is still relatively entertaining, I feel, even if it does not demonstrate the effects of retracting the snow duct shielding on the Chambered Farenbaum Engine, nor the triple-fire mode.
The free Snowball System and the two costly products are available as usual at my Caledon shop - do see the left-hand sidebar for a link to the location.
A weakness has overcome me recently, dear reader, whereby I have been drawn away from respectable life, the day-to-day affairs of the world - my profession, even - and into the shadowy Other World, wherein one may play at having a “real job”, though it is, truth be told, a poor imitation. After all, in the real world one picks an occupation which one enjoys participating in and produces items for the amusement of both creator and purchaser; resources and economic potential are distributed on a basis of mutual exchange of efforts.
In this Other World - bear with me, it is somewhat fantastical - certain folk are in possession of the means of production, and one must perform bizarre rituals to placate them and gain their favour, which is required to survive. I have heard such things referred to as “grinding” and it seems an appropriate term; carrying out tasks which one knows are pointless brings to mind the grinding of the gears of some immense, irrelevant machine. However, one can get into a state of mind where one is prepared to fritter away all the hours of the day not required for sleep upon such endeavours, and achieve nothing of note in the Real World.
Quite frankly I tire of this “game” - though its irrational adherents deny that it is any such thing - and I have made a personal decision to concentrate a little more on what is important. Recently I have been constructing - never one to actually produce something on time for any festive season one cares to name, but there will be snow on the ground for some while yet - a triple-barrelled Snowball Cannon, as well as an attachment which makes one vulnerable to the excessive chills of snowball assault.
(It must be said that somewhat exotic power sources were required to construct a machine which not only sucked in water vapour from the atmosphere but also froze it into ballistically-suitable projectiles - but the snowballs emitted are only slightly radioactive, and pose no real threat from brief exposure, except if one were to eat them, which I would not advise.)
The snowball victim attachment in fact detects any collision with an object having the last seven letters of its name “nowball”, and with each one increases one’s cold percentage, so that one moves from “Toasty Warm” to “Frozen Stiff” if one is not careful to evade such projectiles. This system allows for any sort of snowballs to be thrown, as long as, well, they are actually called “snowball” or similar. The Cold percentage can be reduced by moving through boxes of warming brandy.
The basic principle of this attachment is that it takes one’s movement controls when one reaches “Frozen Stiff”, and refuses to do anything with them, or pass them on. Thus one is paralysed. In addition to this there is a signal sent on a particular channel, which scripts can listen for to prevent their users from firing snowballs etc when they are frozen.
The system has been tested this afternoon and seems robust enough. A scoreboard prim is available to keep count of who has been frozen solid and how many times. I also have a less formidable Snowball Rifle, without quite the engine capacity of the larger version, and a simple hand-held Thrower of Snowballs (at low velocity and with a far lower rate of throwing than either of the preceding devices) will be available free, gratis and for nothing.
One issue perhaps of interest to Scripters is that the “cold victim” attachment, when taking controls, at times interferes with existing attachments that have previously taken controls before it is attached. For instance, if one holds a snowball rifle, then attaches the victim cube, occasionally, when frozen and then released by time, one will then be unable to fire the weapon. This is not very convenient and has no rational reason behind it that I can see, though if one attaches the cube then the weapon (or detaches and re-attaches the weapon) it does not seem to occur.
(Please note that none of the above are immediately available - I will post when I have actually put them up for sale.)
(Addendum 2006-12-31: blast it, due to everything I’ve been unable to get the things out this weekend; I will attempt to finally do so tomorrow.)
Caledon 85,46,26 - Version 0.4 of the Slurlblogger is now available! As previously demonstrated by mice with hats, this version will now post directly to a blog as well as to email, and is notecard-configurable.
Caledon 87,47,26 - I have tested it with Blogger and Wordpress (on my own server), however, if anyone could confirm the stuff in the instruction card about other hosts and systems, that would be good. Typepad testing would be useful too. I’m sure I will be tweaking.
Caledon 87,47,26 - The following logo was not actually posted via the Slurlblogger, but after submitting this I will be adding it by hand….
(A further addendum: this is, please note, very much an experimental version, and may not work perfectly with everything. Please do not shout at me and knock off my glasses if it does not work with your system. There are a few issues, such as post titles perhaps not working outside of Wordpress, that I am looking at.)
During the latest DownTime I have noticed that certain of my esteemed fellow residents seem to delight in posting the same complaints repeatedly across the forums. In actual fact the details of these complaints seem to vary little between events, and I imagine that it must be something of a strain to produce different prose each time.
With that in mind I have produced one of my Automated Tools for the convenience of anyone wishing to do so. Merely by visiting the Random Linden Lab Flame Generator, one may produce compositions such as
On top of everything else, we have to deal with closing the forums! I signed up so that I could sell inflatable penises - and I can’t!
Is this all some trick to get rid of us so you can sell SL to Microsoft? I put my kids through college by selling badly-made orbiters!
I’m a internet dietician and if I did this in my job I’d be fired! As a paying customer I don’t expect missing textures! This is the worst level of service I have ever seen. I pay for SL out of my hard-earned wages! YOU SUCK!!!
or
Being a Chicken Shack manager means that I know how things should be run - and this isn’t it! On top of everything else, we have to deal with freebie reselling! I’m a lawyer with twenty years experience and if any of my employees behaved like you do, I’d fire them! Why don’t we get more warning about W-Hat? I demand compensation!
for the delight of all readers. I know that I certainly appreciate reading such things. Any further suggestions for professions, issues, products or anything else will be gratefully received.
I feel that I should mention the contest being run by the publication Second Life Insider, where one might win a veritable cornucopia of delights. Or, at least, a limited subset of the produce of a cornucopia, as traditionally a cornucopia would keep on producing whatever was desired by its owner, and I fear that the designers in question here will not continue to make whatever it is the winner wishes on demand. I imagine that contacting Ms Aimee Weber for the fifth time in the middle of the night insisting that she make you a pair of furry kitten knickers immediately might not meet with a favourable response. So, in actual and prosaic fact, it is simply that there is an array of prizes to be claimed.
I mention this as I will be contributing a prize, and indeed, as stated on the entry concerned, it most definitely is a secret. I do not feel that I am giving much away, though, in saying that it may, perhaps, explode. Or it may not.
The list of entrants is at the moment rather short, shorter even than I, and thus I would advise readers to add their names and predictions. Ms Tateru Nino’s prediction, based on Proper Scientific Methods, has been made public, but of course the Millionth Resident could arrive at any time. No apocalyptic events have been foreseen to take place when this occurs, but given the nature of the Grid it might be advisable to hang on to whatever headgear you are currently wearing.
Oh God, I simply cannot help myself.
The Ordinal Revolving Flare Pistol on Vimeo
I was discussing the tediousness of the “end phase” of commercial production with Mera Pixel earlier today, as I put the final touches to the box that sells the above product (available from Caledon and shortly SLX and SLB, as usual). I simply cannot imagine that anyone actually finds it fun. For the non-commercial and the new resident, I present the following guide to what I, at least, do:
1. Take photographs of product and of my good self holding product. Edit these to put in appropriate text for an advertisement.
2. Copy a product sales box in my showroom. Edit it so that it is appropriately named. Add in the above advertisement on the front. Change the sale price. Add the product to the inventory. Check that it has the correct permissions. Realise that there is no documentation.
2a. Open a bottle of wine and fetch a glass.
3. Write the damned documentation, mentioning all of the functions that one has introduced and how to use them. (No afficionado of the Difference Engine has ever enjoyed this in itself, even though I, being irrepressibly verbose, do not mind this as much as many do.) Place the documentation into the item. Make sure the item has a help function that provides the user with the documentation. In times of sloth, merely place the documentation into the sales box, though this can be most annoying later if people then lose their product instructions and bother you, the creator, with questions.
4. Place updated product in inventory. Add documentation notecard to sales box, to be given out to customers looking for further information. Sigh with relief that everything has now been done.
5. Realise that it is still not in the vendor (I have my sales inventory mirrored in a separate vendor even though I usually sell from boxes, just in case I ever wish to sell things elsewhere). Luckily, I have designed my own custom, immensely-simple vendor, into which I merely need to drop the object, notecard and advertisement, and edit the product listing notecard therein. Sigh with relief.
6. Realise that folk only sometimes pop into my showroom on the off-chance that I have added something new, and thus advertising is necessary. Open new bottle of wine. Compose advertisement in BBCode for inclusion in the Classified section of the SL Forums. Post advertisement. Think about posting it on other forums, generally conclude that one cannot be bothered.
7. Add things to SLExchange and SLBoutique. This is easily the most tedious part of the enterprise. Adding the item itself is easy, simply drop it into the appropriate box in my “Room Of Things That Are Not Very Interesting”, but then one must go to the appropriate sites, click the correct links, type in the details all over again, add photographs and test both the item page and delivery.
8. Knock over half-empty wine bottle, curse, attempt to find salt to pour on carpet.
9. (optional) Realise that there is a fatal flaw in item which requires complete re-engineering and changes in the entire behaviour, and that this means going back to stage 1. Swear indecorously, making abusive gestures. Fall over while attempting to do something completely innocuous. Realise that it is probably time to go to bed.
~ * ~
I do not mention the “compose a product demonstration video” part above because that is quite fun, though I expect that, in time, it will become dull. I still do not understand why it has not become a standard part of commerce on the Grid, though, at least for people who sell things that, well, do things, not furniture or houses or whatnot. Prospective customers do not gain any greater understanding of the nature of a sofa if they see a grainy video of somebody sitting down on it.
But anyway. Honestly, why would anyone wish to submit themselves to that?[1] My vintner clearly would encourage me to continue, but it is not terrific fun. Someone offering a one-stop service for such a process - “give me a copy of the item, I will write up documentation and ad copy, do promotional photographs and video, post it on all of the appropriate sites and go around to Ahern and show it off” - could make a veritable mint.
On that subject, I wonder if there are already any firms offering the services of “street teams” as I believe they are called nowadays. Since so much on the Grid happens by word of mouth and personal contact, a group of people who went around to the popular dancehalls or bingo parlours or coffee shops or wherever it is that people go (I do not keep up with the behaviour of the young these days) talking about their latest amazing purchase could do very well for themselves and their customers. It is rather tricky to evaluate the efficacy of such a company beforehand, but were I so inclined, which I am not, I’m sure I could build up a reputation through an initial promotional phase of low prices in exchange for testimony.
Incidentally, I am only at stage 5 right now, if that. I do rather like the flare pistol, though, it really is rather colourful.
~ * ~
[1]: The question of why I do is, I feel, a matter for another post.
A conversation with Rebekka Ruff yesterday reminded me of something which I made a very long time ago - the Fabulous Multicoloured Snuffbox. Specially-imported and treated snuff from distant lands makes every refreshing sneeze a marvel!
Ordinal’s Fabulous Multicoloured Snuffbox on Vimeo
Another thing I must release as soon as I gather up the nerve. A little tip: if one is attempting to use the product known as “Windows Movie Maker”, and also attempting to use an piece of music in “MP3″ format, and dragging said piece of music onto the file causes incessant crashing, simply use a product such as Audacity to convert the required part to “WAV” format and drag that instead.
Reading a piece by the esteemed Mr Prokofy Neva this afternoon, I was reminded of certain previous efforts that I undertook to produce such devices as the Slurlchatter. Whilst it is useful to be immediately told the Slurl for a particular location, it strikes me that to produce a proper travelogue, a device which records notes, reformats them into language more friendly for the Aethernet, and then sends them to the prospective author all at once, might be more useful.
I therefore have produced the “Slurlblogger”. This is a HUD device of unfortunately rather primitive appearance, which lurks upon one’s screen, listening for any comments. Saying something on channel 910 (for instance, “/910 This is where I am right now”) will make a note at one’s current location. Then saying “/910 email” will send all of the notes so far collected to a particular email address, defined via a notecard within the device.
I would provide an example here: I took a short tour around Caledon, making comments on channel 910 as I went. I then said “/910 email” as one does, copied the code that was sent to me, and pasted it into this document - and between the lines, one can see the result.
Caledon 94,33,29 - The rear terrace of Ordinal Enterprises - an occasionally dangerous place, but usually most pleasant.
Caledon 161,73,99 - Professor Jefferson Gould has lifted an entire building using the marvellous substance Cavorite! It must be tethered by a heavy steel anchor, but surely this is the wave of the future.
Caledon II 41,186,23 - The “silentsparrow” emporium is where I spend most of my currency. (Sparrows, though, in my experience, are rarely silent, and in fact usually very noisy. I suppose the silence is a further factor to mark this establishment out.)
Caledon Tamrannoch 102,49,27 - Here, at Elsewhen Tower, one might see the mysterious copper and glass “TM-08″ by Dyne Talamasca.
Caledon Tamrannoch 36,178,23 - At the Tamrannoch Public Community Garden, one may sit amongst exotic blooms, very few of which will cause allergic responses!
Caledon Highlands 155,211,39 - One should most definitely visit the Caledon Academy of Virtual Wizardry - go, House Malaprop!
Caledon Highlands 152,150,37 - And of course while one is in the area, one should also visit the Observatory opposite, a most wonderful place.
Port Caledon 112,211,44 - Anyone wondering how it is that Caledon remains so unspoilt in the face of a troubled world might care to see the fearsome coastal cannonry to be found in Port Caledon.
Port Caledon 140,157,26 - And finally, before my patience and fingers both expire, the trading ship “Venture” sits here by the harbour, carrying fine products to native peoples across the Grid.
For each entry here, I simply said “/910 (whatever nonsense)” when I was at the place concerned. No touching of devices, reformatting or insertion of links was necessary.
Hopefully this device will be of some use to travel writers, journalists and others who wish to detail their exploration of the Grid for the Aethernet consumption of others. It is limited to the taking of twenty notes at this time, but really, that should be enough for anyone, and one can always clear the list and record more. I shall put the prototype version in my free box as soon as I am able, and also place it upon SLX and SLB, for convenience’s sake.
Edit:
The SL Boutique listing
The SL Exchange listing
All free, of course.
I was, a little while back, alerted by Ms Torley Linden to the fact that there are residents wishing to use the SLurl as a tool when referring to places in Second Life, but finding it awkward, slow or otherwise inconvenient to do so via the web form. I have thus built a small item that should help - something I call a “slurlchatter”.
This is simply a HUD device that sits there and, when touched, will tell you a SLurl for your current location. One merely then has to cut and paste this SLurl into whichever document one is creating. It can also be commanded by speech - say “/121 Caledon,128,128,128″ and it will give one an appropriate SLurl for that specific place. It is available for free from SLExchange or SLBoutique, or, as usual, from my humble establishment in Caledon.
Another item that I have been working on, I am in something of a quandary regarding. With the removal of the “PVP Abuse Tool” within Second Life there has been some demand for alternatives; a collision sensor has been released for free by Babbage Linden, but of course one problem with collision sensors is that they only respond to actual collisions.
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As we all know, the entire grid is under savage attack from free account griefers armed with freebie pushguns and unsavoury furry body parts. Sensible folk of course have banlines up on their property at all times, and ideally sit inside concrete pillboxes as well.
However, we all must go out into the rest of the world sometimes, and what is one to do on such an occasion? The device I believe you require is a Personal Ban Zone. Arm yourself in the knowledge that no damnable lower-class freeloading ruffian can get near!
Available for free as a public service from SLExchange, SLBoutique or the freebie box in my Caledon home.
(Please note that this product may not actually do anything at all.)
Seeing as how my Duelling Pistols seem to have attracted some interest, I have put the entire system up for sale for anyone wishing to take advantage of it themselves, with a few modifications:
* Custom poses exist (for those who have not seen them as yet);
* The powder load is now variable, to deal different levels of damage, and can be selected by the duellists concerned;
* Pistols for retail, as standard, can be reloaded from any ammunition box, or their damage changed using any damage selection device. If anyone wishes to have pistols that will only respond to objects owned by a particular person (as is the case on my Duelling Ground - one can only load the free pistols from my cartridges) they need only make the request and I will be happy to create pistols modified to their specifications.
The Duelling Pistols crate comes with all of the devices required for a duel, as well as two pistols, one copiable (for the owner) and one transferrable (to be passed to his or her opponent). Additional transferrable pistols are a mere L$25 apiece.
~ * ~
Commercial announcement completed: I can now speak on other matters. I was pondering possibilities regarding the Following Camera in Second Life, and found it odd that it was always the movement of the camera that was determined by the direction of the vehicle or person moved, which would tend to ignore the camera angle. Why not the other way around? Or near to it in any case. With this in mind I built a Giant Glass Pinball.
Englobing oneself allows one to move around by changing flux density in response to the Grid’s magnetic field; so nothing unusual there, then. And there is some fun to be had just from bouncing around the landscape and watching oneself spin dizzyingly. However, one will notice when using one’s forward, backward, left and right controls that they move in relation to the current camera position. Forward will move you away from the camera, backward towards it and left and right perpendicular to its direction. (The pinball has been modified so that it will not launch into the air or attempt to drive itself into the ground, though by bouncing off solid objects one can achieve some amusing heights and tumbles.) Thus if one holds down the backwards key, one will repeatedly travel towards a certain point, pass through it and then go backwards.
The suggested process to see this properly would be to rez the Pinball, move the camera to a suitable position - I would suggest a high-up one - then Englobe oneself, locking the camera there. It can be released for repositioning or locked again by simply touching the Pinball.
It should be noted that this is not technically a vehicle at all, merely a physical object propelled by llApplyImpulse, and as such its facing is entirely irrelevant, as can be seen by the peculiar angles that one englobed within it finds themselves at.
The Pinball may be found in the Gadgets dispenser at either the Laboratories or Ordinal Enterprises, along with whatever other ridiculous things I’ve made since the last time I wrote here - I think there was a drunkenness attachment as well, for instance. I am sure that regular readers know the sort of nonsense that I tend to create.
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