Seems like ages
In point of fact, this project started months earlier, and began with the simple observation that ER latex items should come in more colors. This singular observation triggered a massive re-visiting of my latex base textures, some deep thinking about how I designed my products, the realization that I spent too much time scripting things, that I needed too many prims to sell many more things that came "in colors" (just one new catsuit style would add 12+ vendors to the store!). Along with all of this, came the realization that my store was too cramped, and the more I looked, the more I saw that needed to change in order to get to the point where I could add even one new shade of pink to the latex items.
I'd need a whole new set of scripts for the prim items, and switching to a HUD system would make it easier to add new textures to the mix. New mesh based vendors would allow me to sell more of the "per color" items like the catsuits where you buy one color at a time. The HUD system would mean also, that I'd need to cut away the locking functions of my items.. and in the process I decided to improve that locking system, and make it more modular between products.
One step after another came and went. A new store, new vendors.. took a couple of months to put into operation. And from there, I began work on the locking system, with the understanding that I would probably be buying a prefab texture and color changer HUD system to take care of the HUD stuff.
The Great Escape
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The Unlock Tool[/caption]I came near to the end of the locking system, when I realized that I'd need a snappy new "escape" system to go with it. One of the biggest complaints I've had about the Fetish Doll Hood, is that it's simply too easy to escape from it. Making it simple to escape was an intentional decision, based on how *I* interact with my bondage equipment. But as time wore on, I learned that a lot of end-users crave a more.. challenging system that lets them lock themselves, or a system that makes them work to escape.
What I came up with, after several days of trial and error, was a puzzle game. The first time a user tries it, they'll get a full 60 seconds to try and solve the puzzle. Fail, and you can try again. Succeed, and you'll have the option to unlock the item, or to play the game again. I'm sure there will be people who want to play the game just for the game's sake, trying to improve their performance.
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Escape? or Play Again?[/caption]Playing the game can be fun, but it comes at a cost. Each time you solve the puzzle correctly, you'll lose 5 seconds for next time. Solve it once, and next time you'll only have 55 seconds. Win again, and you'll only have 50, then 45, then 40, and so on. The puzzle won't get any harder, but the amount of time you have will get less and less.
Escape once, and you'll have a fairly easy time of it. 2, 3, even 4 times, and it won't be any serious challenge. But the more you break out of your locked items, the harder it's going to be next time. Eventually you'll get just 10 seconds to solve the puzzle.. and trust me, even in the lowest lag sim, it can be very challenging to solve with just 10 seconds.
Appearance is half of everything
Once the unlock tool was done, the next logical step was to work on the HUD problem.
When I'd originally planned this all out, I'd had every intention of purchasing the BoSH Ultimate v5 HUD system. This was a system that a friend of mine used in her shoes and boots. I'd used the system repeatedly, and I was impressed with the simplicity of the system, and it's versatility. But as I got closer to the purchase date, I started having some very specific questions about the BoSH system, and whether it would work for my fairly complicated needs.
A few of my products have "multiple stages".. that have items that should only appear on the active stage.. the example being with the Hood, where the base prim changes, depending on whether the straps, or laces, or mouth are hidden or showing. Similarly if I wanted to add piercing jewelry to the genital attachments, those piercings would have to only be visible on the currently visible stage. (you'd want optional labia piercings to follow the labia on Venus, for example).
As I started asking the maker of the BoSH system about my specific needs, I started exposing functionality that his system simply didn't have, that I was really going to need. I wasn't prepared for what happened next.
He told me not to buy his product.
For several months, I had been working through all the parts of the project that I would have to make in-house.. with the assumption that the appearance stuff would be handled by the BoSH system. Now the maker was telling me he had faith in me, that I could make my own HUD system. This set me back from "almost done" to "not even half done".
Do it yourself
So, with the creator's blessing (and assistance!) I started trying to make my own HUD, picking through his HUD product and making my own versions of the functions his system provided, and began trying to pioneer the functions that his system couldn't provide. Within a couple of weeks, I was able to get a fairly simple color-picker working.. with a little help from some friends.
Well it was something. About a month later, I had managed to get MOST of the appearance controls I needed, working.
Clearly, a LOT of functionality for the appearance HUD was finished. In the last couple of weeks, I've managed to add checkmarks for showing and hiding sections of the model (straps, mouth, laces, for example), and I've created the code neccessary for choosing the correct ONE hood base of the 8 possible combinations, and making that one visible. I've begun work on so-called "radio buttons" which allow only one choice among several options (arousal state for a penis, open amount for Venus).. and I've been working on the code to enable certain "checked-on" elements to show, and follow a choice made in the radio buttons. (a piercing following a morphing genital, for example).
So what's left?
I'd be lying if I said I knew everything that's left at this point.
I know that the function I'm calling "arousal and jewelry" is only about half finished at this point. It's getting closer to done, but it's not done yet. Once that stuff is done and working, I'll need to add some support for "particle buttons".. so that a male genital with fluid particle generators, can trigger that particle from the generator attached to the currently visible arousal state. In other words, so that "pee" comes out of the urethra, and not out of thin air. It seems simple, but this modularity actually makes a lot of things very complicated.
Beyond that, I'll need a resizing function (no small task), and I'll need controls to actually rotate the HUD, so that the hud can have up to 4 "pages" of controls, rather than one huge HUD facing with a hundred tiny buttons.
Once I hit that point, I'll have some cleanup to do in the locking script. Changes that I've made in the process of building the HUD system, plus a few tiny functions that weren't totally finished. (letting the scape tool actually send the "escape" message, sending alarm IMs when a locked item is removed without permission, etc).
At that point, what's left is a lot more cosmetic than anything else. I'll need to actually decide what the first ER product should be to receive this update. What will follow then, is a period of setting the product up, building a HUD with just the required controls, and testing it for any unexpected errors. Then I'll need to dress up the HUD a bit, give it a little "Winter Ventura" treatment, and make it look spiffy.
There's a bit more to be considered after that. One question I've yet to solve is "How can I get paid for the work I've done on this?"
When do I get paid?
I learned my lesson with the Fetish Doll Hood update. I won't be forcing people to "buy a whole new one", but I do have bills to pay too. One idea is to issue these functionality updates for free, and then when new colors and textures start getting added to the product, sell a discounted "upgrade" tool to existing owners that would unlock the new colors and such for them.
I personally like this option, as it allows me to provide these new HUDs and the multi-owner locks with the timelock option to people who have already purchased the item(s).. giving them the functionality they paid for, AND a few bonus features for free.. and yet it lets me make a bit of money for the continued effort to update the line with new textures and colors.
There are of course, some situations where it's just going to be more appropriate to just "retire the old one, and sell a new one".. but I'll do my best to keep that situation to a minimum. And of course, some items will be new items!
And that really is the point in all of this.. not just to update existing products, but to enable me to make new products, with a more flexible stance in relation to adding new products and functionality.. without being tied to a "3 days to build and texture, 2 months to script" building process that leaves me hating the products by the time they're done.
Assuming I ever get this whole thing done.. maybe it will be easier, and more fun, to make new items.
Here's hoping, anyways.
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