In article <4819e1c6$1@news.povray.org>, dne### [at] sanrrcom says...
> Patrick Elliott wrote:
> > Well, they spent a lot more time thinking about how to get the data to
 
> > and from the client and run sims on servers, than they did making the
 
> > client work. I would have imho, done things more the other way around
 
> > (or found someone that had a clue to work on the front end, while I 
> > worked on the back). 
> 
> It's just really hard to program some sorts of things because you *have*
 
> to deal with the physics, and their security model sucks. Everything is
 
> independent once you create it - you can't have two parts of one object
 
> communicate with each other except by actually talking out loud within 
> earshot of the other part. There's no simulation of "wiring" or "radio"
 
> or anything (I know about the channels - not the same thing), and things
 
> have to move by actually moving at some fixed maximum speed. Plus, as I
 
> said, since they're independent, there's no good error recovery. You 
> can't, for example, make a button on a machine that changes a picture 
> from a plus sign to a circle when you push it and also causes some other
 
> object to run a script without the player being able to overhear the two
 
> items whispering back and forth.
> 
You have been out for a while then. lol For example, the stargates have 
three prims that do things, at minimum, some have at least 6 others, and 
they do talk to each other "without" you hearing them chat at all. Not 
sure the maximum speed thing is a problem any more either. I am not sure 
if error handling is possible yet, but there is a "script error" window, 
for when things fail. Just not sure if it works internally to the script 
too. I think a fair number of these things where corrected along with 
the adding of huds and menus, where you obviously don't want the 
hud/menu "talking" to the item to make it do anything. Again, using the 
stargate as an example, you can either tell the gate "/d SGC", or, if 
you know the address and there is a DHD there, you can actually click 
the buttons on the DHD. Each one, without whispering or showing visible 
text at all, will send data to a script, which then lights the panel for 
that, and if you have 6 lit and press the center button, it will attempt 
to "dial" that, again, talking to the gate, without you seeing anything 
at all, other than the gate saying, "Dialing SGC". Note, this is also, 
somehow, linked to a DB on Alpha Fox's website, which keeps track of 
active gates, so that when you dial the address, it knows where the gate 
in that "region" is, and can send the gates event horizon a "location". 
When you click on the horizon, you get the map location shown for where 
the gate is, and can then teleport. Supposedly there is an up and coming 
script function that will also allow llteleportagent, which will just 
teleport you direct, so you would just detect collision with the event 
horizon and have it go "llteleportagent(123,456,789)", or something like 
that.

But the limitations you are talking about... Don't exist anymore.

Hmm. Mind you, the communication between them "may" still be talking, 
but if so, its like channel -900000 or something, so, its hidden from 
view for anyone that can't "see" the channel in question.

Mind you, however it "does" work, there must be some bugs. Tried to 
install a script to have the event horizon automatically give me a map 
link, so I could come "close" to what its supposed to do, but either the 
existing script in the object messed it up, or it just doesn't work 
right. :(

> Plus, to prevent abuse, they had to make it a PITA to affect any player
 
> with any sorts of restrictions on what they could do. They should have 
> had a mode where you get prompted once "can I take over your character?"
 
> If so, then the script can do whatever it needs until you issue some GUI
 
> command like "take me home", at which point you go back to the state you
 
> were in when you gave permission to the script. *Then* you could do cool
 
> kinds of interactive fiction/story, rather than just having interactive
 
> environments.
> 
You mean, like a pose stand. Bought a swim override recently that way, 
you click "pose" on the menu, it moves you up onto the platform and 
places you in the right position, then starts the animation. Some of 
them will "ask" if you want to allow certain things too. When you want 
to leave it you just use the menu, or a button at the bottom of the 
screen, which says "stand up", works just like the pose balls, but with 
more control. There is also huds like the Zhao which store overrides for 
your motion, so you can have better walks, etc. You drop them into the 
device, change some settings in the note card in there, then wear it, 
click load, and now you don't walk like everyone else does. It can 
override all of them. The only gripe I have is that it takes over your 
keys, so if you also wear one of the "flight assist" devices, which do 
the same, then clicking "release keys" to remover the assist also kills 
your animation overrides. Sigh...

> That's why the vast majority of everything interactive is either dance 
> balls or vending machines selling dance balls.
> 
> I wanted to build a jumpman type game, but there was no way to make it 
> work - no way to set the weight of the character, or keep them from 
> flying or setting teleport points, or etc.
> 
You can now set an area to disallow flying, as well as preventing 
teleports.

I think you would find that while there is a lot the same as you 
remember, there is a *lot* that is different too now.

-- 
void main () {

    if version = "Vista" {
      call slow_by_half();
      call DRM_everything();
    }
    call functional_code();
  }
  else
    call crash_windows();
}

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