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HippoTech Networked Rental System
Version 2.0
Designed and Developed by Andy Enfield
? Hippo Technologies, 2006
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RENTAL BOX GUIDE
The Rental Box is the heart of the HippoTech Networked Rental System 2.0. It sits on a plot of land, allows tenants to rent, keeps track of their payments, warns them if they're about to run out of time, keeps you briefed and up to date ... and can be configured in a huge range of ways. This notecard describes two things --- first, every possible option you can specify in the Configuration Notecard and, second, every menu command provided by the Rental Box.
Please note that the rental box is fully modable, so feel free to change its shape and size to suit your needs.
CONFIGURATION NOTECARD
Editing the Configuration Notecard allows you to control dozens of options. Once you're done editing, save it back to the box, click the box and choose "Reset" from the menu that appears. If you've typed any wrong commands, this will be reported as the notecard is loaded. You'll also be reminded if you're sharing rental income with any friends.
Note that you can edit and reset even when the box is rented, since tenant details are saved in "permanent" memory that can survive resetting, sim crashes, earthquakes etc.
There now follows a brief description of each *possible* notecard option. Note that you don't need to list all of them, so for speed you can use a much shorted notecard if you wish. My advice is to experiment to get the settings you want.
NAME: <name>
e.g. NAME: My First Rental
- Specifies how the rental box will describe itself in messages and to the server and vendor
PRICE PER WEEK: <amount>
e.g. PRICE PER WEEK: 50
- Set the price per week in L$
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If you wish, you can set the price in US dollars and the rental box will contact Lindex and work out the price, based on the day's average prices. To do this, use e.g.:
PRICE PER WEEK: $0.5
If you're using the dollar option, you can also use these three notecard options if you wish:
EXCHANGE RATE ADJUSTMENT: <value>%
e.g. EXCHANGE RATE ADJUSTMENT: 10%
- Specify how much to markup the conversion. The default is 3.5%, since this is how commission Linden Labs charge you to convert L$ into US$. Note that you can also use negative values, if you wish to discount the price down, e.g. EXCHANGE RATE ADJUSTMENT: -50%
DEFAULT EXCHANGE RATE: <amount>
e.g. DEFAULT EXCHANGE RATE: 280
- This specifies what exchange rate (L$ per US$) to use if, for some reason, the Lindex website is down and the rental box is unable to contact it.
CHECK LINDEX EVERY: <time in seconds>
e.g. CHECK LINDEX EVERY: 3600
- Specify how often to check Lindex for an up to date exchange rate. The default is 3600 (e.g. 1 hour).
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MIN WEEKS: <value>
e.g. MIN WEEKS: 1
- Set the minimum rental period tenants are allowed to rent.
MAX WEEKS: <value>
e.g. MAX WEEKS: 4
- Set the maximum rental period tenants are allowed to rent.
Note you can also, if you wish, set the rental period in DAYS rather than weeks. To do this, use these commands:
PRICE PER DAY
MIN DAYS
MAX DAYS
e.g.
PRICE PER DAY: 25
MIN DAYS: 10
MAX DAYS: 50
Note you can also use US$ instead of L$ by prefixing the PRICE PER DAY amount with a $ symbol, e.g. PRICE PER DAY: $0.25.
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PRIMS: <value>
e.g. PRIMS: 7
- Specify how many prims the plot comes with. Please note that due to the way Second Life works, the rental box cannot count the prims on the plot; this amount is just for contractual information between you and the tenant.
EXTRA: <text>
e.g. EXTRA: + a free prefab of your choice
- Display extra information that you want to promote to tenants. This command is optional.
NOTECARD NAME: <notecard name>
e.g. NOTECARD NAME: Example Description
- Provides the name of the information notecard given to tenants and enquirers. This notecard should be added by you to the rental box inventory. It is also given to enquirers who click the vendor, if you're using that.
SERVER KEY: <key>
e.g. SERVER KEY:
- If you're using the server to monitor multiple rental boxes, insert its key here so that the rental box can talk to it. (You can get it by clicking your server and choosing "Server Key".)
PASSWORD: <text>
e.g. PASSWORD: lemmingsurprise
- Provide a password to protect network traffic between boxes, servers and vendors. It is theoretically possible if you have no password for a clever hacker to send messages to your server and cause mischief. However, use a password and this becomes impossible and the network 100% secure. Make sure you set the same password in each rental box, server and vendor otherwise communication will fail and you'll get an error message.
PICTURE: <texture/snapshot name>
e.g. PICTURE: Example Picture
- The vendor, if you plan to use that, can only display properties whose rental boxes have pictures to show. Add a snapshot to the rental box inventory and put its name in this configuration line to tell the server which picture to send to each of your vendors for this property.
IM ON PAYMENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. IM ON PAYMENT: Yes
- Specify whether you want to get an instant message whenever the box is paid.
EMAIL ON PAYMENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. EMAIL ON PAYMENT: Yes
- Specify if you would like an email sent to your real world email address (see below) when the box is paid or a tenant evicted.
EMAIL: <email address>
e.g. EMAIL:
pathfinderlinden@ilovecats.com
- Provides the email address messages will be sent to if you use EMAIL ON PAYMENT: Yes
SEND RENEWAL NOTICE: <Yes/No>
e.g. SEND RENEWAL NOTICE: Yes
- Specify if you want to send instant messages to tenants to remind them when their rental is about to expire.
RENEWAL NOTICE DAYS BEFORE: <value>
e.g. RENEWAL NOTICE DAYS BEFORE: 3
- Tells the rental box how days before a rental expires the tenant should be instant messaged if you've said "yes" above.
The next four configuration options allow you to specify messages that are spoken or instant messaged to tenants:
WELCOME MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. WELCOME MESSAGE: Welcome to Acme Rentals. Enjoy your stay!
- The message spoken when a new tenant begins their rental.
RENEWAL MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. RENEWAL MESSAGE: Please come and top up your rent soon!
- The message sent when tenant is being asked to renew.
REMOVAL MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. REMOVAL MESSAGE: Questions about why your rental has been terminated? Drop the landlord an IM.
- The message sent if you terminate a tenant's rental period early.
TAKEN OVER MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. TAKEN OVER MESSAGE: A new person has now commenced renting and you have been evicted. Please remove your objects.
- Sent when a new person has rented a box when the current renter was in arrears. See below on how to configure the options around this.
IMMINENT EVICTION MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. IMMINENT EVICTION MESSAGE: If you wish to continue renting, please come and pay your rent as soon as possible.
- Sent if a tenant has gone into arrears (if you've allowed this, see below).
EVICT AFTER DAYS IN ARREARS: <value>
EVICT AFTER DAYS IN ARREARS: 3
- How many days can a tenant go into arrears before they are automatically evicted. Note the box can track a "negative" rental period, so if they go into arrears by one day, then pay for six, their rental period will be -1 + 6 = 5.
IN ARREARS OTHERS CAN RENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. IN ARREARS OTHERS CAN RENT: Yes
- If set to "Yes", a new tenant can come and rent the box when the current tenant is in arrears. If this option is turned on, the rental box hovertext will include a message to this effect.
PAYMENT BY PROXY: <Yes/No>
e.g. PAYMENT BY PROXY: Yes
- If you turn this on, somebody else can pay rent for the tenant. They'll be warned that any money they pay will be crediting another's rent, so accidents are unlikely. This is useful if you have tenants who often have be logged off for long periods of time ... they can then ask any of their friends to simply pay their rent for them.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: <Yes/No>
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:: No
- If you set this to yes, tenants will have to agree to any terms and conditions you have specified in the information notecard. A dialog menu will appear to them when they first rent and if they refuse to answer, or say "No", they will be refunded and their rental rejected. This helps avoid the situation with an awkward tenant saying "I didn't know I couldn't set up a 100 foot high phallic symbol in my garden" ... that sort of thing.
REFUNDS: <Yes/No>
e.g. REFUNDS: Yes
- Specify whether you want tenants to be able to end their rentals early by clicking the box and choosing "Refund".
REFUND IF AT DAYS AT LEAST: <value>
e.g. REFUND IF AT DAYS AT LEAST: 6
- Specifies how many days of rent the tenant must have in credit with the box to be allowed to get an automatic refund.
REFUND SURCHARGE: <value>%
e.g. REFUND SURCHARGE: 10%
- Sets the surcharge you apply to a tenant who ends their tenancy early. Thus if the rental price is L$70 a week, the tenant has 5 days left, and you set this to 25%, an early termination will result in a refund of ((70 / 7) * 5) = L$50 less a surcharge of L$12 so L$38 in total.
URL ON RENT:<web address>
e.g. URL ON RENT:
http://www.slrentalbaronrentals.co.uk/
- If you specify a web address here, the tenant will be asked if they want to visit that web page when they first rent. Note that Second Life is very fussy about web addresses, so ensure you use http:// and don't try short versions of urls.
URL ON RENT MESSAGE: <text>
e.g. URL ON RENT MESSAGE: Look at this great website!
- If you specify a web address above, this message here will be shown in the dialog box Second Life offers your tenant asking if they want to visit the website.
HOVERTEXT RENTER NAME: <Yes/No>
e.g. HOVERTEXT RENTER NAME: Yes
- Specify if you wish to display the tenant's name in hovertext over the box when it is rented.
HOVERTEXT DAYS REMAINING: <Yes/No>
e.g. HOVERTEXT DAYS REMAINING: Yes
- Specify if the box should display the days left on the current rental when it is rented.
AVAILABLE HOVERTEXT: <text>
e.g. AVAILABLE HOVERTEXT: Pay me to rent, click for more info.
- Sets the hovertext shown above the box when it is in its unrented state. Note you can force a new line in this message by using the | character, but be aware that the box can only display 5 lines of text in total.
SHOW PRICE AND PRIMS WHEN AVAILABLE: <Yes/No>
e.g. SHOW PRICE AND PRIMS WHEN AVAILABLE: Yes
- Specify whether you would like the box to also display the price and prims on offer in hovertext when it is not rented.
HOVERTEXT COLOUR: <colour vector>
e.g. HOVERTEXT COLOUR: <1, 1, 0>
- Sets the colour to use for hovertext. To read about how colour vectors work in Second Life, see e.g
http://rpgstats.com/wiki/index.php?title=Color or search at forums.secondlife.com for advice.
CHANGE SIZE ON RENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. CHANGE SIZE ON RENT: Yes
- Specifies whether the box should change size when it is rented. The default is, like most Second Life rental boxes, "yes".
RENTED SIZE: <vector>
e.g. RENTED SIZE: <0.35, 0.35, 0.35>
- Sets the box size when rented. Note that an unrented box can be any shape or size you like, it doesn't need to be a cube. When it is rented, it will remember how it looks and change to a cube (unless you've turned off shape changing, see below). Once it becomes unrented, it will flip back to whatever shape and size you had before.
AVAILABLE SIZE: <vector>
e.g. AVAILABLE SIZE: <1.4, 1.4, 1.4>
- Should something like a sim crash cause the rental box to "forget" how you'd made it look in its unrented state, it will default to a cube and the size you specify here. This command also existed in version 1 notecards, so remains here to support those.
CHANGE SHAPE ON RENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. CHANGE SHAPE ON RENT: Yes
- Should the rental box change shape (to a cube) when rented. If you want to create clever, funky rental designs, e.g. a billboard, you may wish to turn this option off.
CHANGE TEXTURE ON RENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. CHANGE TEXTURE ON RENT: Yes
- Should the box retexture itself when rented? You can specify how it does this below.
STANDARD TEXTURE: <texture name>
e.g. STANDARD TEXTURE: Rental Texture 1
- Which texture (must be in the box inventory) should the rental box used when not rented?
RENTED TEXTURE: <texture name>
e.g. RENTED TEXTURE: Rental Texture 2
- Which texture (must be in the box inventory) should the rental box used when rented?
FACE TO CHANGE: <prim face number or -1 for all faces>
e.g. FACE TO CHANGE: -1
- By default, the texture changes you ask for get applied to every side of the prim. But if you are an expert, inquisitive, or merely fond of adventure, try changing this number to have just a single texture face change when the box is rented or becomes unrented again.
MOVEMENT ON RENT: <vector>
e.g. MOVEMENT ON RENT: <0, 0, 2>
- Specify how the box should move when it is rented. And, of course, it will peform the reverse of this when it falls unrented again. If you want it stay still, use <0, 0, 0>.
PHANTOM ON RENT: <Yes/No>
e.g. PHANTOM ON RENT: No
- Should the box become phantom on rent? This can be a useful function because you can set the box to entirely fill, say, a market stall as a solid when not rented, but then become phantom and a non-hindrance when rented.
ALPHA ON RENT: <value between 0 and 1>
e.g. ALPHA ON RENT: 1.0
- How transparent should the box turn when rented. Rememeber, 0 is totally invisible and 1 is totally solid.
SHARE RENT WITH: <avatar key> (percentage)
e.g. SHARE RENT WITH: 0e9fd382-7f9b-4ea4-8cb8-4228767b04bc (15%)
- If you want to share rental box income with friends, specify the percentage share here along with the key of the friend you'll be paying. If you need a little gadget to help you find their key, drop me an IM and I can provide one. You'll also find the popular Multi-Gadget tool can help you; type "cmd|keygetter|near" when your friend is nearby.
Note, if you want to share rent with a second, third, fourth ... etc ... person, just add a new SHARE RENT WITH line for each person. Note that the rental box won't let you share more than 100% of the rent, for obvious reasons; if you try, you'll get an error message.
OTHER MANAGERS: <names>
e.g. OTHER MANAGERS: Kermit Frog, Miss Piggy, Pathfinder Linden
- If you'd like other managers to be able to use the rental box menu commands, list each name here, separated by a comma.
SDK CHANNEL: <chat channel>
e.g. SDK CHANNEL: 123456789
- If you wish to make Software Development Kit functions available (contact Hippo Technologies for information on how to write scripts that can hook into rental boxes, servers and vendors), then set the communication channel for commands here. If that last sentence sounded like meaningless gobbledegook, then don't worry and leave all well alone.
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Okay, that's the Configuration Notecard! Now for the menu options, accessed by clicking the rental box.
STATUS
- Tells you the current status of the rental box, from rental price and prims, to details of the current tenancy and tenant if there is one.
NOTECARD
- Gives you a copy of the box's information notecard. A good way to test you haven't made any mistakes with this.
PAYMENTS
- Allows you to view the list of the last 20 payments (and refunds, if there are any). You can also reset the payment history from the sub-menu that appears, should you wish to.
EDIT
- Edit the name of the tenant and the tenancy length if you wish. Simply follow the instructions that will appear.
REMOVE
- Remove the current tenant. A sub-menu will appear offering "Boot", which boots them with no refund and "Refund". The latter allows you to choose whether to refund the whole days or weeks outstanding and will tell you exactly how much this will be before the tenant is removed and refunded.
LOCK
- Lock the box so it can't be paid. Useful if you want a tenant to leave at the end of their tenancy and not renew. When the box is in its locked state, this menu item changes to UNLOCK which does ... well, I bet you can guess. The box will display it's locked status in hovertext if turned on.
RESERVE
- Allows you to reserve the rental box so only the person you choose can rent there. Follow the instructions that will appear to provide the name.
UNRESERVE
- Removes a reservation if you have set one.
SHARING
- If you've elected (via the Configuration Notecard) to share rent with friends, this menu options tells you the keys of the people you are sharing with and how much they are getting.
RESET
- Resets the box and reloads the Configuration Notecard. Use this after changing configuration options. Note it won't cause the box to forget details of the current tenant at all, this information is preserved at all times. Please note that only the owner can use this command --- even if you've set other managers. This is because after a reset payment permissions need to be regranted and only the owner can do this.
REGISTER
- Forces the box to register itself afresh with the server, provided you've set the correct server key and password in the Configuration Notecard. Note that normally the box automatically does this when it is paid, a tenant is removed, or failing that, every 30 minutes.
HELP
- Shows the first of the information help notecards.
Andy Enfield
? Hippo Technologies 2006