No mod, no copy...or not?

I am having a bit of trouble with an object I have.
I cannot figure out the best way to accomplish this so any suggestions are appreciated.

I have an object that I want to sell.
The object needs mod permissions because there is a config notecard that it reads from.
I do not want the next owner to be able to rez multiple copies of this object after they buy it but I cannot have the no copy permission set because the object has a time to live option.
Basically, the next owner can set the config card to have the object run for 2 hours and then die. The only problem is that when the object dies, it won't go back to inventory.
If it has copy permissions this will work, but then they can rez multiple copies of it in world...which I don't want.

Is there a way to control this through scripting? Can I have a script that will know if the object is rezzed more than once? It has to be able to know globally as well. I could use chat communications but if the objects are rezzed in 2 different sims then it won't work.

Am I at a loss here or is there some way around this?

Thanks for any help.

Hmm... so you need to prevent the user from rezzing more than one copy of the item but still have it available when it's used up?

If you disable copy, then you'll need to be a bit... creative about getting the object back into inventory. You could just have the object shift into an inactive state until rezzed again, possibly messaging its owner to come pick it up (simple, but inelegant and potentially annoying to users). You could have the object hurl itself off the edge of the world... and back into the owner's Lost and Found (melodramatic, low on usability, and not terribly reliable ). You could have it e-mail an inventory server to send its owner a replacement before it calls llDie (subject to all the problems associated with maintaining permanent servers in SL). None of them are really ideal, so you might have to rethink your design a bit...

If you leave copy enabled, you'd need to maintain some system external to the object that keeps track of who rezzed what. You could do that with a central (e-mail or XML RPC-based) server, but it's probably easier just distribute a rezzer object rather than the item itself. With a no-mod/no-copy rez control script that passes all the important configuration data to the item, you can safely make the item itself no-mod/copy. The control script could keep track of the item's time to live (or have some other system to enforce the single rez), and the item alone would be unusable without the control script to give it startup commands.

LOL, I thought of the edge of the world thing too.
Just seemed to be a pain in the arse.

With the object rezzer (is that a word?), how would I get it to control how many are released?
To sell the object I would need to put a script reset in the On_Rez event in which case the script would be reset every time it is taken from inventory.
So one could drop the rezzer in one sim, rez the object, delete the rezzer and move to another sim and start over. Then you have multiple copies.

The RPC thing might not be a bad idea though.
If I could send a message back to the rezzer, no matter when it is taken out of inventory, that one object has already been released. This would probably have to use email as well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Personally, I don't like no copy/no mod objects. Especially no copy: it's too easy to lose something.

Is there a reason the owner can't rez more than one? Will it cause its neighbors to malfunction? Does it lag the sim? You could possibly have your object die if it hears another object being rezzed (have your object shout some distinct thing on rez and have it listen for that from any other object and llDie if it hears that)

How about fixing the problem that prevents rezzing more than one of your object in the first place. That might be more beneficial in the long run.

Aurael,

I totally understand about the no copy thing.
That's why I want copy on.
The main reason is licensing.
It is a way to control the product license from being abused.
- You buy one, then you only get one "license"

If you can make as many copies as you need, I get less business.

It is also a way to control the product from being "overused".
It's a long story, but it's not a system lag or anything.

I just want it to work like a vehicle, you only get the one you buy.
But I don't want them to lose it either, like you said.

So there is my dilema.

I'd DEFINATLY make a vehicle copyable, coz theres no way you could use more than one at the same time, as long as its no transfer..

Well, it's not a vehicle. It is a marketing tool.
Let's just say, for the sake of conversation, it's a sign.
If I sell one to a customer I don't think they should be able to put up 20 of them.
Then I have to bring up the cost of the product. I'd rather make it more affordable and have it only be one copy per purchase.
Now there may be no way around it but I'd like to try and find one if I can.

Does that make sense, or am I just being greedy?

It does make sence.. But added with the comlication of the solution.. I think you'd be better off going one way or the other with an easy option and putting the time into a new product.. But I've never sold anything like that..

Couldn't it just turn blank texture and the script stop working after the time limit, and then have to be taken back and re-rezed before it will work again?

Well, yes and no.
It could be, but the owner may not know where the object is.
It doesn't just stay in one place. And I could put something in the scrpit to relay it's last position but that is still not convenient and not totally reliable.

I think I may have a solution for this. It might combine a few of these ideas but I will have to do some testing.

I could have the "sign' rez from another object, either attached to the owner or placed on the owners land. And as long as that rezzing object is attached or on the land it can count down the time to live. The rezzing object can be no copy because it will be either on the owner's land or on the owner and the sign can only be rezzed once. The rezzing object will not rez another sign until it is put away or shut down. In which case it can send an email to the sign to die...only allowing one copy to be running at a time.

I think that might work

Thanks for the suggestions!

If you want it configured with a notecard, you're stuck. If you want it configured with "say commands", you should be OK.

Or you could just price it appropriately for a "copy" object and quit worrying about losing business.

If it's a vehicle, then they can only use one at a time, so fuggedaboudit. Make it copyable. Most vehicles in SL are.

Anyway, I have an idea that SHOULD work, but...

If it's a coyly-described "marketing tool" then I'm not sure I *want* to help you. I've had too many bad experiences with "marketing" online.

Argent,

It is a marketing tool. It's like a sign, with a lot of extra features.
LOL, I'm not scamming anyone

I know I can do the voice commands if I need to get past the notecard thing, but I was trying to make it a bit more user friendly because there are quite a few parameters.

{ad_order_s1}
<texture_name1>
<texture_name2>
<texture_name3>
<texture_name4>
<texture_name5>
<texture_name6>
<texture_name7>
<texture_name8>
{ad_order_s2}
<texture_name1>
<texture_name2>
<texture_name3>
<texture_name4>
<texture_name5>
<texture_name6>
<texture_name7>
<texture_name8>
{ad_cycle_time}
<3-15>
{max_height}
<50-300>
{rotation}
<on/off>
{rot_speed_max}
<1-6>
{move_speed_max}
<1-6>
{notecard}
<yes/no>
{lights}
<on/off>
{run_time_max}
<0-12>
{range}
<sim/grid>
{sim_block}
<sim_name1>
<sim_name2>
<sim_name3>
<sim_name4>
<sim_name5>
<sim_name6>

I would rather have them load that into a notecard than say it.
And you are right, I could just adjust the price, which is what I may have to do.
This is just my first product and I am trying to base it on what I know of products in RL.

You can post your idea if you like, I will understand if you don't want to.
Just trying to work around this and still offer the best product I can.

Thanks.

From looking at the notecard, I'm going to guess it's an airborne multi-sim meandering billboard?

...or single sim or static above owned/rented land, but yes that's the idea. And not exactly meandering, it has a very predictable path.

But I am also giving away an invisible wall and/or the script for people who want nothing to do with it.
It will make the sign transparent or jump about 60m until it passes by.
Plus it has a minimum ground height of about 50m.

how about selling "one time use" licenses?

In other words, to use this sign, people have to buy a copy of the script that works for different amounts of time. Think of it as "fuel".


for example, the "two hour" script would be L$50. The "5 hour" script would be L$100. The user buys a no mod/no copy version of the script and plugs it in to their copy/mod billboard or even a billboard that they created from scratch.

Or you could create another script that's required for the process to work... if you want more ideas on how to make this all work together, IM me in world or e-mail me: [email]aurael.neurocam@gmail.com[/email]. I can create both sides to the puzzle: the "fuel" that lasts for a short time and then dies, and the main script that lets your object wander and uses the "fuel".

This idea is not without precedent: The fishing villiage sells fishing poles and bait that works the same way.

you want to make it as easy as possible for land owners to "ban" this object from their land without having to AR you.

Make it clickable.. and if someone clicks it while it's on their land, it goes invisible... and goes invisible/phantom any time it's over their land. Another possibility is for it to go under the ground as it goes over land it's "banned" from.

But the click event should only "ban" the object if it was clicked on by the land owner, not just by any passer by.

Ja. I could imagine a hefty group of landowners mighty pissed at billboards invading their space. I would be really irritated at something like this.

Aurael,

Those are really good ideas and I am testing something now for the time limited option.
But I may end up having to use that concept.

Also, I am trying to make it very easy for people to block it.
If it could be effective at a height above most builds then I will use that as the minimum height.
I wanted to use the touch event to hand out a notecard so I would have to add a "Block from land" button on the object somewhere.

Wouldn't sending it under the land make it go off world?

Kage,

I understand your concern and I am going to do everything I can to not bother people that don't want to deal with this.
I am going to do test runs before I release it and if it bothers people then I won't release it.
But I think there must be some happy medium to satisfy a market losing there telehub advertisement while not pissing everyone else off.

Perhaps you could sell a no-copy attachment. The attachment, upon being rezzed, would store the current date/time in a variable.

If it's been at least 2 hours since the last time it was rezzed, it will create a sign, then use llGiveInventory to put a copy of the (copyable) notecard in the sign, update itself with the current date and time, then detach itself.

If it's been less than 2 hours, it will scold the owner, then detach itself.

The actual sign would be a free-roaming object that deletes itself eventually, and does not need to go back to the owner's inventory.

Kolya,

That is pretty much what I am testing now except that the object that rezzes the sign keeps track of the time. When the time is up it will send an email to the sign and the sign will die.

But here is another question that you or someone else might know.
If you rez an object in one sim and it moves to many other sims, does it's key change on entry of each new sim? Or does it keep the same key until it dies/does back to inventory?

Thanks again.

Bundle a "configurator". The configurator just takes a notecard and "reads" it to the sign. The configurator is modifiable but has no value other than as a configurator for the no-mod sign.

Argent,


That's a really cool idea. I am just concerned with the stability of sending the commands via chat instead of reading from a notecard. I suppose I could add 2-way comms to make sure every piece of data gets sent.

Thanks.