Computer run avatar? Is it possible

I was just thinking, can linden labs build a few computer run avatars? Most, computer games always have computer-run enemies or partners.... the computer-run character has a certain amount of goals, moves, etc.... much like playing the computer in chess.... or your neighbors in the game The Sims.

Can we have a few computer-run lindens put in place to begin running their lives? perhaps ones that can respond to basic communication, or spout out random cool tips and tricks, and meanwhile, one may have the goal of buying land and building a house to live in... one may have the goal of finding all the parties, making friends, and trying to socialize... one may have the goal of being a worthy opponent in a battle sim...

Linden Labs, is that possible? Want to make us a few computer run avatars for us to play with?

This is possible ;0 You can do it yourself with a little C# knowhow!

https://gna.org/projects/libsecondlife/

I dunno any of that stuff. I know nothing about C... I only know stuff about F-

That's all right ;0 Development goes on! I'm sure someone will make a bot controller soon ;0

Sounds like a fun challenge, but I expect the AI required for that would be immense. It'd have to be a whole lot more complex than the AI for a dating game, more like the AI in those latest android (well, gnoid) robots that Sony showcased last year. At that time, 5 year old Japanese kids couldn't tell it from the real thing. Of course, 5 year old kids are rather stupid, but it's still impressive.

Hell. I'd be happy with just having remotable avatars that I can use to check sim conditions, TP to people and talk to them.

Cylons.

:::::By your command.:::::

Does LL have a posted policy on bots of this type? Some MMORP companies explicitly forbid them due to farming abuses. SL is very different, and I'd like to see bot run avatars used as NPCs in resident-created games.

Yeah. And for, say, use as escorts. Replace those whores with very small perl scripts.

I have done a lot of "exploring " since I was born in SL and i have run into some bot 'guards' in some "public" but very low traffic areas, sure looked like scripted behaviour to me as it could be eliceted repeatedly by my actions. Go look at the software called Massive, it is ai character generator used in the Film business, some of the stories associated with the end products are hilarious.

I don't suppose there are detailed instructions for the beginner on how to use libsecondlife with the Microsoft free C#? Minutely detailed instructions.

Could this be that start of something sinister?

Not really... You have to write code and compile things ;0 It's sort of techie ;0 developers are working on end user systems and nailing down all features of the client ;0



Totally

Yup, then they'll use it to populate as many in-world camping chairs as possible from single computer. I mean, free alts available in unlimtied quantities, no graphics render overhead from regular SL client, so minimal bandwidth use... like, duh.

Then eventually you're gonna see the controller on slExchange for hefty price, so original creator can make fast buck, while SL gets overfilled with alts of gullible people trying to get their investment back... while camping chairs disappear abruptly because once store owners can have their own computer-controlled dwellers with no running cost attached, then who needs the campers.

Funny times ahead

I learned how to write stuff like this by looking at a anti idler i bought once. http://www.autoitscript.com/ Basicly the language is almost like LSL, and you can use it to automaticly hit keys or move the mouse.

With enough skill you can write programs that completely control your avatar. I don't see why you would need bots in SL, when scripted objects exist. Unless you would like a NPC.

Autoit + httprequest + possible scripted attachment + something to have your webserver communicate with autoit.

I had assumed that NPC's and AV bots must be outlawed in
SL due to it's open nature and potential for abuse.
The possibilites are interesting to say the least. As Burke
mentioned there are various roles that on site av bots could play. Second hand citizens, security, skilled and unskilled
labor. They would emlinate the need for most of the few
job categories that exist currently. A bot av of this kind would need to be clearly distinguishable from a real av or there could be a huge potential for abuse. Self replicating griefer bots are a
scary thought!
Hey there is a thought like something out of the Matrix, where
my script could "Agent Smith" your real av into one of my bot av's while you watch from your screen helplessly. hehe.

I so totally do not have the ability to do something like that myself, but it is easy to visualize
There are many positive purposes a bot av could fill such
as automated anti greifing av's. Bot greeters than answer
simple questions and give new people contact info.

Bot combat warriors, bot campers, dancers, bot newbs ya
know for parties, primbots...etc.

Here is a parting thought: What if there are already av bots
inhabiting SL?

Would not this be just the ideal context for Turing experiments? Possibly one of your friends is really an AI experiment.
Or here is one to bake your noodle, how about
a bot av that poses as an unverified minor that wants to
cyber, that is actually being deployed by law enforcement
If average members can create an alt to pose as someone they are not, why should'nt powerful business commercial groups or legal entities do the same?

Not to cause paranoia or anything I just think it is very interesting. Perhaps a nice spin to this thread would be
to mention any ideas you guys can come up with the use
of bot av's for good or evil.

Hes One Of The Daleks!!!! Destory!!! Destory!!!!

LOL

I can promise you, Suezanne, that even if such documentation existed, it wouldn't be in any form of recognizable English. Developers have a language all their own.

(I know -- I get paid to decipher it. Oh, my aching head...! )

The idea of a scripted avatar is fascinating. I just don't know how accessible it is in the SL scripting language -- good AI is hard enough to develop for normal games.

Making an AI that acts on its own routine but is still obviously an AI (rather than a real person) wouldn't be too bad, I imagine.

I supose I should go to the libsecondlife website and read the whole thing, and read all the emails on the mailing list.

Those dont make much sense either ;0 The best thing to do is spend a few hours doing an intro to C# and then dive into one of the example programs and start modding ;0

If you know any other programming language, espicially if you're coming from Java, C# is a synch to pick up. Download Visual C# Express 2005 from Microsoft's website, the IDE really helps when you dont know the exact names of common methods.

Here are some useful links:
Class Library Reference
Tutorials

I recently picked up C# for libSL and OSMP and came from a primarily LSL background. I dabbled in Java and knew its syntax, but never really did anything serious with it.

The folks working on libSL have made things pretty easy when it comes to abstracting away the nitty-gritty network packet building stuff. There are nice methods for creating objects, sending/receiving IM and chat, and many other high-level commands. Once you're familiar with the basic C# language syntax, it really doesn't take that much to build something interesting.

Also, download TortoiseSVN, it makes getting the most recent copy of the libSL source very easy. Here's how I had mine set up:

1. Download and install Visual C# 2005
2. Download and install TortoiseSVN
3. Create a folder called "dev" (w/o quotes) in C:\ (or in the root directory of some other harddrive)
4. Create a folder called "libsecondlife" (w/o quotes) in dev.
5. Right click the libsecondlife folder, select SVN Checkout... from the context menu.
6. In the URL of Repository field, put in "svn://svn.gna.org/svn/libsecondlife/trunk" (w/o quotes)
7. Click the Ok button.

You should see a status window pop up with a lot of lines starting with "Added" scrolling by.
Once the last line in the window starts with "Completed", press Ok.

Now open the libsecondlife folder you created. You should be presented with three new folders, libsecondlife, libsecondlife-cs and snowcrash. The one we're primarily concerned with is libsecondlife-cs. (The cs stands for C#. libsecondlife was rewritten from C++ awhile ago, the original C++ version is in the libsecondlife folder. Work on it has been pretty much abandoned)

Open the libsecondlife-cs folder, and then open the libsecondlife.csproj file. Visual Studio 2005 will open, and will probably ask you to convert the file. Just step on through the wizard it provides for you, it does all the work. (Also, there's no need to create a backup or view the log)

Voala! In the right pane, all the relevant source files should now be at your disposal. Files not within the bold libsecondlife namespace (like name2key and sldump) are bots that have been written to take advantage of libsecondlife. Take a look at the code in each to get a feel for how to use the libsecondlife API.

Feel free to ask for any clarification
==Chris

As an addendum... some of the examples don't build right now.

That's okay.

The ones you'll really be interested in build fine. As an aside, I have a chat/IM program working now. It basically logs you in to SL and lets you chat it up with whomever was at your last location.

And the look is definitely distinctive... my avatar stands there in the default avatar shape with gray skin, kind of hunched over like she's really gotta go.

Soon, I'll take the time to figure out how to trigger an animation and put some clothes on... when I get that far, I'll make a "default" avatar shape that uniquely identifies the avatar as being a 'bot.

Personally, I LOVE the idea of bots. NOw that I can connect directly to the SL server, I can communicate directly with objects without the need to go through the HTTP Request hassle. There's lots of potential there...

One thing I want to do (that I just thought of) is build a "wedge": a program that sits in between SL and the client that lets me do stuff, like list everyone nearby, move my friends list, chat window, and IM window out of the SL screen and in to separate windows.

Also, someone's working on a program to spawn prims in SL based on Blender meshes. So we'll *finally* have the ability to create stuff off-line. You could also, theoretically, back up stuff, too. But I don't think anybody's written a program for that, yet.

In short, the possibilities are endless... libSL is just about the best thing since sliced prims. I love it!

Please tell us about the registrations process?

Are there any fees for registration? If so, what are they?

What do you need to register?

I notice that MicroShaft was pretty vague on these things.

Oh! forgot about that. To use the VC# IDE, you need to register with Microsoft. Its a free registration, and will let you use VC# for free forever. If you dont want to register, you can compile and run the source from the commandline if you download the SDK
==Chris

Thanks for the detailed instructions, Chris.

I already had the VC# installed. I followed the rest of your instructions. It appears to have worked properly so far.