Archive for April, 2012

The next showhorse is……..

Hi guys its Monday, hows everyone out there in virtual world? Hope you are all doing well ! So I know how I have been teasing you guys about the next show horse being a Amaretto Breedable Horse! Well its true the next show horse is…………

Starting May 05, 2012 Amaretto is introducing a new Show Horse from May 5th 2012 to June 5th 2012 . We move from Jaysin’s favorite Mustang to Tmzasz’s favorite Clydesdale!!

  • Starting May 5th 2012 at 12:01 am SLT any bundle dropped from the breeding of 2 Clydesdales (any 2 which includes classic, painted, limited editions etc) you have a chance at the bundle being an “Amaretto Clydesdale Showhorse”!
  • That’s it! The only qualification is they both have to be Clydesdale, they can be any color! Mother & Father MUST BOTH be Clydesdale.
  • We will announce what horse is next close to the end of the 30 days of Clydesdale!
  • Keep your eyes peeled as you won’t know what the“Amaretto Clydesdale Showhorse” looks like until it hits the grid !
  • This “Amaretto Clydesdale Showhorse” will have a chance of passing its special eye!
  • And as a special surprise this time it will pass a special coat to its offspring (the showhorse itself can pass the special coat to its offspring)
  • So Amaretto community… gather up your Clydesdales and get them ready for an excitement filled month of breeding!

Well good luck everyone and get those Clydesdales out and get to breeding, until next time Happy Breeding!!

Do’s and Dont’s for when LL does Maintenance

Hello everyone today i would like to cover a few things that should not be done while LL does Maintenance.

Occasionally during LL Maintenance sessions their servers cause things to happen to the Horses/K-9’s that shouldn’t. Anything that does happen can be fixed but in order to minimize the chances of something happening here are some helpful tips to pass along:

  • Do not pick up or attempt to rez out horses/K-9’s/bundles/kennels as sometimes the asset server gets a hiccup and decides to eat them. If you must pickup or rez a horse/K-9/bundle/kennel please copy down its FULL API from the description field before doing anything, to make recovering the horse/K-9/bundle/kennel as quick as possible.
  • Do not attempt to send a horse/K-9/bundle/kennel to Horse Haven/Puppy Paradise as the maintenance can prevent that communication from going through.
  • Do not attempt to birth Bundles/Kennels as the maintenance can cause the Bundle/Kennel to not birth correctly.
  • Do not move Bundles/Kennels from under the mother until the hover text says it is ready!

I hope this helps everyone have less lost horses/K-9’s/bundles/kennels 🙂

Help us get it right

Why do we need folders?

 

The reason we ask for a folder with your name and ticket number on it is because it’s easier to sort and look for a folder than it is to find an object or a horse/K-9/bundle/kennel and a notecard and it helps us help you faster and more efficiently!

Now the fun part ideally we want all folders to have 2 parts to their name like so (Your SL name (no display names please) – Your Amaretto Ticket Number (i.e JJC-xxx-xxxxx)) this will help us find your folder quicker and be able to quickly find your ticket number please be sure that your ticket number follows this format: JJC-xxx-xxxxx the easiest way is to copy and paste the ticket ID from the ticket system.

 

How did I create a folder?

 

Now creating a folder is easy all you do is right click (or command click if your using a mac) in either the My Inventory folder or another folder (like the Objects folder) and click New Folder then under the folder you clicked on a New Folder will be created and ready to rename to whatever you want to name it. Once you are done changing the name it will fall in order with the other folders and be ready to add your inventory to it. After you have placed the horses/K-9s/bundles/kennels and any additional information you can add for the ticket pull our name up in search and drag the folder over to us and we will get it (even if we are offline!) and we will respond in your ticket if more information is needed or if no info is needed you will have your fixed breedable sent back in the folder described at the end of this blog

 

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

 

A few things you need to do after filing a ticket.

 

1. You do NOT need to send a note card or an instant message to the CSR.

2. You DO need to reply to your ticket.

3. You DO need to reply in the original ticket.

4. If you do instant message a CSR have your ticket ID on hand, we talk to so many people when you randomly message we have no idea who you are. It may be awhile before we notice your IM, as we are working on fixing your breedables

5. Do NOT file duplicate tickets for the same issue.

 

How do I reply in the original ticket?

 

After you have logged in find the button on the top menu bar that says View Tickets. Once you are in this view you will see your ticket list. To view your ticket and make a reply click on the title of the ticket above the status bar for it. Once in the ticket you can post a reply in the upper right hand corner with the post reply button. Be sure to reopen the ticket or your response will not be seen

 

Please be proactive. Read every Customer Connection (that’s what we call these blogs). Know what’s going on so when you do file a ticket it’s not something that has already been addressed.

 

************IF A CSR REPLIES TO YOUR TICKET, AND YOU DO NOT RESPOND IN 3 DAYS THE TICKET WILL BE CLOSED************

 

 

Now when we send you back your fixed horses/bundles/K-9s/kennels you will get a folder like this ( in this case when i send the folder mine looks like this: Amaretto Horses/Bundles from maleficent Farshore -Repaired ) all folders from the CSR’s follow the same naming scheme Amaretto Horses/Bundles from CSR NAME -Repaired this way when you get the folder back you can use the inventory search feature to find the folder easily and be able to enjoy your fixed horse(s)/K-9s(s) sooner

 

Name that …..

Second Life has many issues, as it reminded us all yesterday, and these issues can cause duplication of breedables, disappearance of breedables, or incomplete transfer of breedables. By having your breedable named it can be very helpful especially when SL “eats” you Horse or K-9.

We need information to remake your breedable. What we need is the Name of the breedable and/or UUID number. If you leave you horse or K-9 as Amaretto Breedable Horse or Amaretto Breedable K-9 it can make it harder to find, many times impossible. The same goes for kennels and bundles.
We can only replace/remake your item if we have the information, so please take the time to name all your breedables.
Names can be as simple as using a number. It will also help you keep track and know when you are missing a horse or K-9.
When you get a bundle or kennel and you decide not to birth it, name it before you take it into your inventory. Let’s say a few weeks down the road you decide to birth that bundle, and the horse stays white and doesn’t birth. You probably don’t remember who the parents of the bundle were, but if you have named the bundle and paid attention to the bundle name before you clicked birth, you now have some information to give us that can help in finding out about that bundle. Just a precaution that could make all the difference provided SL hiccups!  Happy Naming!!

My Bundle/Kennel has an Error?!

If there is any interference (with Second Life, the Amaretto Server, lag etc.) when the mother goes to drop her bundle/kennel she will go into recovery but the bundle/kennel will not automatically drop. The mother will try to contact the server again and if all the conditions are favorable the bundle/kennel will then drop. Depending on the issues stated this may take some time so just be patient. As stated in the notecard horses/k-9s will not birth more than one viable bundle/kennel within a 3 day period. Please give a few hours if she doesn’t drop before filing a ticket.

There will be no twins

Here is a breakdown of what your Bundles/kennels can say, and what it means

“NEVER_RECEIVED_MOTHER_COMMUNICATION”

Didn’t receive the message from the mother. The mother will have a second bundle/kennel if this occurs; the current bundle/kennel is a dud. Wait a few hours before filing a ticket with these, it might not be necessary.

“Connecting…”

Typically unseen, this is what happens when the horse/k-9 receives a message from the mother in its description.”ATTEMPTING_RECONNECTION”

“DUPLICATED_UNBIRTHED”

Means that somehow two copies of the same bundle/kennel existed in world. File a ticket and we can fix it.

“MOTHER_HAD_SECOND_BUNDLE_IN_THREE_DAYS”

“MOTHER_HAD_SECOND_KENNEL_IN_THREE_DAYS”

If for any reason a mother horse already had a bundle/kennel in the past 3 days, this prevents it from occurring. We log these issues server side with the parental information, if you can’t find the mother’s bundle/kennel, file a ticket and we can try to find it.

“ALREADY_BIRTHED”

Rare, horse already birthed from bundle/kennel

“DUPLICATED_BIRTHED”

Rare, horse/k-9 already birthed from bundle/kennel

“SUCCESSFUL_KENNEL”

“SUCCESSFUL_BUNDLE”

Ready to be named or birthed

For any of the above errors that requires a ticket, you can file one here http://support.amarettobreedables.com/index.php

I hope this helps clear up some confusion when a bundle/kennel error happens!

Happy Breeding!! Until next time…………

Keeping You Informed

There are a few options to stay informed about Amaretto issues or announcements.

The best and easiest way is to join the Amaretto Ranch Breedables group.

You can join the group by touching any of the group joiner boards at

any Amaretto Store location. Once you are a member of the group,

go to group info and make sure the box is checked to allow you to receive

Group Notices. If you get capped on notices a lot you can always go

to the notices tab at the top of the info box and look at past notices.

As this group has grown larger and larger it can often times be very

difficult to keep up with the chat in the chat tab, and asking questions

can be hindered by chat lag, so when in doubt be sure to check those

past notices. **Remember** This group is for general this group is for info

about the horses. NO ADVERTISING OF ANY KIND (including freebies

or giveaways) and CONSTANT ARGUING WILL NOT BE

TOLERATED, that is not what this group is for.
Also located at all the Amaretto Store locations is a Hippo Group Joiner.

You can join the Hippo group and be informed of all major announcements

without taking up a group slot.
We now have a K-9 Group that can keep you informed on what’s happening

with the K-9’s

K-9 Update Version 1.4

**As always, update means new starter kennels as well**

***IMPORTANT NOTE***After Tuesday May 7, 2012 we will NO longer

provide support for K-9s that are NOT v1.4***

So please update your K-9s!!!!

Update v1.4 Fixes/Changes:

Fixes:

1. Fixed the sunrise and sunset kennel errors

2. Fixed Wolf sound when sleeping and when turned off

3. Fixed Hell Hound animations

Changes:

1. New lower prices on all K-9 products!!

2. New and improved K-9 HUD (new animations added and new look)

3. GPS now available for use from the K-9 HUD

4. Owner name added to set text

5. Custom field added to set text

6. UUID of K-9 is now shown in local with stats from menu options.

Also parents UUIDs are shown in local from parent menu option.

7. We have retired the following Non-Starter eyes:
Maroon with Gold Glitz
Violet with Gold Glitz

8. We have retired the following Non-Starter collars:
Classic Ivory
Classic Onyx
Classic Imperial
Classic Sky
Classic Iris
Classic Petal
Classic Hotrod
Classic Tangerine
Classic Summer
Classic Atomic
Classic Suede
Somethings you need to know about the updater:

1. It will not work if there is more than one updater out. It gives you

a message that there are 2 updaters out please remove one.

If you continue to try and update your K-9 It will give you another

error message and have you pick one updater up and reset the other.

(touch and wait 5 seconds to reset)

2. It will not update pregnant K-9s. The reason being the updater can

potentially abort the pregnancy. Waiting to update your pregnant K-9s

will not effect the K-9s functions, they will continue to eat, move,

animate etc. When they give birth to the kennel, then you can update

them. The kennel will be the old version and need to be updated when

birthed.

3. The updater will not work on sims with a high load. Dilation needs

to be above .65 and region fps must be above 25 for the updater to work.

You will get an error message that says the sim dilation is too low, we

have enclosed a sim monitor that will display these values for you. Just rez on your sim next to the updater.

 

Update Instructions:

Single Updater: Place the updater near the K-9 that isn’t updated and click the K-9 and click the update button. The K-9 will be updated and the settings will be the same as before the update process. ***DO NOT PICK UP K-9s OR THE UPDATER UNTIL IT HAS COMPLETED THE UPDATE PROCESS***

Bulk Updater: Place the bulk updater in the middle of your K-9 breeding area, click the updater and adjust the settings you want your K-9s to be set to after the update process, then click the update K-9s button on the updater menu. This updater has the ability to update all K-9s that are not v1.4 in an entire region. However, depending on sim performance it may only do the K-9s in a 96 meter radius. Do not remove the updater until it has completed updating all K-9s and the hover text above the updater reads FINISHED. ***DO NOT PICK UP K-9s OR THE UPDATER UNTIL IT HAS COMPLETED THE UPDATE PROCESS***

Updaters can also be found at all of the Amaretto store locations:

Retouching on Mother had Second…

Hi there… as we’ve been working with the support tickets and watching the group chatter I have noticed numerous mentions and concerns about bundles/kennels having the error over them stating the mother had second bundle/kennel in three days.
Example of Error Message:

Bundle:
MOTHER_HAD_SECOND_BUNDLE_IN_THREE_DAYS:5dc0a8f5-cc6d-b75f-36d3-85bcbd85ed5c:NULL:2.21

Kennel:

MOTHER_HAD_SECOND_KENNEL_IN_THREE_DAYS:Kf6ddcd9e6f5e-6e98-925d-d642f2db2455!21!1!1!1!0!0!54:NULL:1.3
Please file a ticket at http://support.amarettobreedables.com/ with Amaretto with this message.
This message usually occurs when there has been a LL rollback or restart or due to normal everyday sim lag.
A majority of the time the mother has in fact had a viable bundle/kennel already and the bundle/kennel with error can be deleted and a ticket is not needed. Twins or more are not possible. A horse/K-9 will only have one viable bundle/kennel per pregnancy.
Example of a successful bundle ID:
SUCCESSFUL_BUNDLE:c34421df-d8b0-ca67-5aff-59608c411329!9!0!0!8!0!0!0!0!0!0:NULL:2.21

Example of a successful bundle ID:

SUCCESSFUL_K9 Kennel:Kf6ddcd9e6f5e-6e98-925d-d642f2db2455!21!1!1!1!0!0!54:NULL:1.3
The only reason you need to file a support ticket for a bundle with this error message is if you did not receive the original viable bundle/kennel.
If you need to submit a ticket for this issue please be sure to include the mothers information in the ticket. Also, if you have already filed a ticket for this issue and have the successful viable bundle/kennel already. Please go back to your ticket and reply letting us know we can close the ticket.
I hope this helps clear up some confusion and help eliminate unnecessary support tickets.

*Goes back to his terminal to stare at server status numbers*

Having Happy K-9s

K-9 Hud:

When you use the hud you can command your K-9 to do the following:

Come

Stay

Fetch

Follow

Playing with your K-9 and the hud will make your K-9s happiness increase over a length of time!

So if you have a K-9 that is feeling a little blue you can use the hud to bring up their happiness so they will be ready to breed.

If you do not have a Amaretto K-9 hud you can get one by clicking on your K-9, then help, and get hud

 

*Wear the HUD – It will attach to your screen in the upper left corner

 

*Touch the K-9 you want to interact with and chose HUD from the Blue Menu

 

*Touch the Connect button on the HUD – It will confirm in local which K-9 is connected to the HUD

Now you can choose to what you want to play with your K-9

 

Avalon has made a K-9 hud video for a visual explanation on how easy it is to use!

http://amarettobreedables.com/videos/7/9/amaretto-k9-hud

 

 

The Amaretto Brand Chew Toy gives a 1% increase in happiness over time. One Amaretto Brand Chew Toy last 2 K-9s 2 weeks.

 

How to use Chew toy:

 

Rez the chew toy close to the K-9s you wish to increase the happiness. For the K-9s to use the Amaretto Brand Chew Toy it needs to be within their set range, just as the food and water is.

 

Click the Amaretto Brand Chew Toy to set options for Owner only, Group only, or All.

 

*Owner only: Will only be consumed by the owners K-9s.

*Group only: Will only be consumed by K-9s in the same group as the Amaretto Brand Chew Toy is set to.

*All: Any K-9 within range of the Amaretto Brand Chew Toy will be able to consume it.

 

Once the Amaretto Brand Chew Toy has been completely consumed it will disappear.

 

The Rawhide Lollipop will increase one of your K-9s happiness by 15% . This consumable can only be given once every 24 hours.

 

How to use Lollipop:

 

Rez lollipop next to the K-9 you wish to increase the happiness.

 

Click the K-9 and go to the consumables option on the menu.

 

Find Rawhide Lollipop from the options on the menu and click it.

 

Once the K-9s stats have been updated the Rawhide Lollipop will disappear.

 

4 Mega Woof Vitamins This wonderful little concoction is just what your K-9 wants to feel happy and ready to start producing kennels by raising energy, happiness, and fervor by 5% and decreasing hunger and thirst by 5% ensuring that your K-9 can stay up late with his favorite gal! Note that again this consumable can only be given once every 24 hours.

 

How to use Mega Wolf:

 

Rez Vitamins next to the K-9 you wish to increase the happiness, energy, and fervor of

 

Click the K-9 and go to the consumables option on the menu.

 

Find Mega Wolf from the options on the menu and click it.

 

Once the K-9s stats have been updated the Vitamins will disappear.

Happy Friday everyone!  I was watching my K-9s play in the yard today and it got me to thinking about how really cool the K-9 sim is.  So I picked up a few “good boys” and we all went to play at the playground built special just for the K-9s!!  It was so much fun; I would definitely recommend that everyone take at least one afternoon a week to just let everything else wait while you take time to go to the park and play!  While playing at the dog park it dawned on me that all of the Amaretto sims are so very beautiful and great places to go visit and enjoy spending time with your breedables, while doing something fun!  So if you haven’t visited them in a while, or even if you have, go again!! Check out Boomtown while walking through the beautiful little town, go over to the main sim and ride your horses threw the gorgeous fields, head on over to the K-9 sim to play in the dog park. You’ve only just gotten started! Now you have to head on over to the Barnyard Bird sim and walk around before heading over to the Amaretto Ranch University campus and checking out that beyond fabulous Amaretto museum! Now you can finish out the tour de’ Amaretto by going to the Haven sim, kicking back in the field and relaxing while thinking about all the work you could be doing back at the ranch!!

 

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amaretto%20Ranch%20Horses/71/132/23

 

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amaretto%20Ranch%20K9s/74/107/22

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amaretto%20Ranch%20Haven/118/53/24

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amaretto%20Ranch%20Boomtown/143/155/21

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amaretto%20Ranch%20University/133/129/21