Topic

Staff Topic

Butlers

Those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of butlers will be glad to know that our training program has reached the point where we think the butlers can be trusted to reliably perform simple tasks.

Butlers can hold packages and messages for you, and give information to your visitors. You can give your butler a name, and customize its appearance.

If you see any problems, please let us know and we will send the offending butler to remedial training.

Updates:
Forgot to say: Your butler can also open your mailbox.

And, for people who find their butler is stuck on their porch or door, switch your  house style to the Hobbit house or Groddle Cottage, then switch it back.

Further update:
Messages are now echoed in local chat, so you can read them later! (Note: in general, butler conversations that get echoed to local chat are only visible to the person the butler is talking to.)

Tuesday!
When you leave info, the butler now shows you what your info currently is and asks if you want to change it.

Wednesday:
For those people who don't like their butler standing next to the door, we now have a way for you to tell the butler where to stand. Simply click on your butler and choose "Set post" to change the butler's assigned post to your current position.

Also, we increased the maximum length of butler names by a few characters, and butlers will now leave their IM windows open after you leave the location so you can continue reading your list of visitors.

Posted 6 months ago by Etna Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Balatik, I think a great recommendation (to perhaps put in the ideas forum) is to give him some new looks at some point:  made of wood; made of a collection of stones; made of mushrooms and toadstools; etc.

    But, the botlers do fit into the Glitch world, just not your street.  There are other areas of Glitch where they fit in just fine, such as the Cebarkul style street, or Jethimadh tower, or some of the seam streets.  There are all kinds of things in Glitch.  Ur and the land of imagination are not just limited to the things found in nature.
    Posted 6 months ago by Carl Projectorinski Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Need help naming your butler? Check this out for some ideas! =)
    Posted 6 months ago by Eye Wonder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mine appeared and it looked creepy. Now it looks even creepier. : )

    Which Giant made it, btw? Alph due to its "creation" status? Is it a "straw beast" and then it would be Humbaba's making? Or is it Friendly due to its communication and helping purposes?
    Posted 6 months ago by Aumir Subscriber! | Permalink
  • balatik – you can hide him behind a gnome, for a short while anyway.

    I love my butler, he's very cute and entertaining. Useful too, from what I can tell so far. xD
    Posted 6 months ago by Lilleh Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had to log in just to check out my new butler. Very cool.

    lem.to/p/aU7L
    Posted 6 months ago by Hexamony Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Carl Projectorinski :  I agree with you ! It would be nice to have multiple choices in the materials and finishes... like we have on the furniture... Imagine if every available table decoration was a flower vase, and the shape of the flowers varying stlightly from one to the other. But instead we have different shapes and concepts, and table decorations are awesome!

    I'd love lots more of customization in the butlers!
    Posted 6 months ago by balatik Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lilleh : I'm not saying anything against the butlers for their use. The mechanics to leave a package or a message were needed, but I'm really unhappy about their appearance...
    Posted 6 months ago by balatik Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ooh, another look that'd be great for the botler, a mud baby!
    Posted 6 months ago by Carl Projectorinski Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Exciting!
    I think they look a bit like ragdolls.. pretty cute.  :3   I can't wait to get in-world and try mine out!
    Posted 6 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's cool, but mine has stationed himself in my doorway and it's very hard to click him, I keep going inside instead of talking to him.  Is there any way to move him?
    Posted 6 months ago by Cabinwood Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Carl : haha yeah, or a miniature stone giant : http://img.geocaching.com/cache/e5b16863-5d83-441b-bec7-17f70d421731.jpg
    Posted 6 months ago by balatik Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Agreed that a hide option would be nice for those who are creeped out by these things, or simply don't want them visible on our streets (until they have a message for us or something).
    Posted 6 months ago by Joe Blow Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've heard a few stymied by the character limit on naming.  Would be nice to have a bit more, maybe as much as we do for animals. 
    Posted 6 months ago by Smaug: Hoardkeeper Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Adorable (and awesome! hooray for pretty much every single function they have)! So, so great.

    Two small things:
    The colors when you're playing with customization are really nice and bright, but once you leave the window, they look very, very dull by comparison (at least with the lighting on my street). Would be nice if there wasn't a discrepancy there.

    More, slightly matchier options for arms and legs maybe? If I want to match by color, some of the pattern differences are a bit...bold for my taste.
    Posted 6 months ago by MX Ghostie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Green Meanie, Cabinwood and anyone else whose butler is standing on their steps or in the doorway - your butler is supposed to stand next to your door. However, there was a problem with the steps up to the doors of houses, that prevented butlers from moving past the house properly. This problem was fixed, but if you haven't changed your house style you may still see it. The fix is to change your house style to something like a hobbit house that has no steps, and then change it back to the original style. This should fix the problem.

    You can also choose "chat" on the butler, and ask him to "come here" or "go away" if he is in your way.
    Posted 6 months ago by Etna Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wouldn't mind having a couple of non-creepy face options.
    Posted 6 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I would like to name my botler "KAYNE" - is there an option to have it talk in all caps?
    Posted 6 months ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks Etna, changed house style and that did the trick. He's not in my doorway any more!
    Posted 6 months ago by Cabinwood Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So, first off, love it.
    Second, I'm kind of a symmetry freak, so the inability to get its arms and legs to match was a trifle...disappointing.
    I also thought the "accessories" were a bit washed out  -- a bit too much grey in all the options.
    I like my butlers natty.
    Otherwise, pleased with the addition and the new functionality.
    Posted 6 months ago by CrashTestPilot Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dear Tiny Speck,

    LOVE.

    So much love.

    Love, me.
    Posted 6 months ago by diaveborn ♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • How many messages can a Butler/butlette remember? I just tested it and it has 4. Sure it can hold more, though.
    Posted 6 months ago by I Love You TS Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Why is it that the only words the butlers know beyond the commands listed in "help" are "hello/hi" and curse words? At least, that's all I've found that they know...
    Posted 6 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • How is message delivery s'posed to work? The set up is different from the gnomes (so I can't read and edit) and visitors aren't seeing it automatically.
    Posted 6 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • FAVORITE! I love this little guy so much, THANK YOU!
    Posted 6 months ago by JillyBean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *checks pants*
    Yup. Peed them. Just a bit though.

    One request: can you make the character space for the names a bit bigger? I need about four more letters. TY!
    Posted 6 months ago by Tricky Woo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Pascale - if you choose "leave info", you can enter a message for your visitors. They will see this message if they choose "Tell me about...".
    Posted 6 months ago by Etna Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The botler doesn't seem to physically or orally indicate if there are packages or messages waiting. And the messages ought to at least be duplicated in local chat, I think.
    Posted 6 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Will it be possible to have the 'step back' or 'go away' option persist, so that we can place them in a specific location on our street permanently? They seem to wander back home.

    What is the difference between the two options anyway?
    Posted 6 months ago by Joe Blow Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I adore Hugo! He is so funny when he acts like a zombie.
    Posted 6 months ago by GreyGoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Etna Yes, I got that. It's just there 's no way to see what message you've already entered (as there is with gnomes) or to edit it. You can only replace it.

    Well, I hope I warm up to Asterisk. At the moment I'm finding her more creepy than cute (sort of the teddybear/ragdoll version of Uncanny Valley). I think the arms are a bit too long—more deformed looking than charming. And I would much prefer a non blank-black-eyes-crazed-grimace version.

    ETA: I'd be perfectly okay with having my Magic Rock preform the functions of the Botler (no need for dancing or zombieing).
    Posted 6 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Given the butler's appearance. I think D for Dance should be changed to C for Caper.

    ETA: or K for caper since C is already for chat.
    Posted 6 months ago by Grackle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had a visitor while I was there and they never showed up as visited. I tested this with someone, visited while they were there and showed up on list. Both are on my buddy list neither have a key ?
    Posted 6 months ago by Misha Subscriber! | Permalink
  • my butler...wants my brain.
    is this normal?
    Posted 6 months ago by Awe24 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I really like my little Butlerella (great work, devs!) but I agree I would like art options to make her look pretty rather than spooky or "edgy." 
    Posted 6 months ago by Vocable Subscriber! | Permalink
  • They are so cute! Thank you!
    Posted 6 months ago by welfy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Amazeballs.
    Posted 6 months ago by Adoralie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • my butler is crashing me :(

    I'll submit a bug report, but I can't help but feel that my butler and I are off to a rocky start. I think he has rebellious tendencies.

    Perhaps we could arrange for him to be involved in some ... special remedial training?

    ETA: I've also decided he's a she.
    Posted 6 months ago by Oopsy Daisy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, these are very neat, especially considering future possibilities.... I think it would be cool for the butlers to slowly learn more words and commands with time, which we have to unlock by just trying them out. It would also be nice for them to have sounds. I must say I was impressed that they could walk around, though: I wasn't expecting that.
    Posted 6 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I LOVE my butler.  I want one irl (only small - cos a big one standing at my door would be seriously creepy).  Seriously.  Thank you TS.
    Posted 6 months ago by Foofala Fury Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ohhh my  ohhh my ooo my !!! just i wanted !!!! many thanks !!!!! I made a topic wishing this !!!!
    Im happy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
    Posted 6 months ago by ameixa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Does anyone else think it's odd that the butler will greet you with "Bonjour!", but won't respond if you tell them "Bonjour!" chat like they do with "Hello." and "Hi."?
    Posted 6 months ago by Zigniber Subscriber! | Permalink
  • oh, yes! i wanna teach maria how to harvest, pet and water and save some time to other things:) in the future, i know, and i hope it will be possible:) but this is so awesome already! thank you:))
    Posted 6 months ago by mira gaia maia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • My butler has a magical star Tattoo!

    It moves depending on what direction he is looking

    Pic 1
    Pic 2
    Posted 6 months ago by UrgleBurger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love my butler.  Can she get the purple bunny ears too? I love that style! for now she is the one with horns and flowers.
    Posted 6 months ago by Thursday Soleil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • OMG they're AWESOME!! TYVM!! (any chance on being able to make mine into a cyclops, pleeeaaassseee?)
    Posted 6 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wish i'd left mine in the box, I have to say personally for me i'm not that impressed with it.. 
    Posted 6 months ago by LittleAngel Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh!!
    Also wanted to ask about the visitor thing - will it tell me who visited or just how many visited?
    Posted 6 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • OMG this is awesome!!!! Love how theyve got a creepy factor, and Im loving the zombie impresssions!

    And the whole mail, package and tell me who was here options are fantastic.

    TO THE WHOLE TINY SPECK TEAM, YOU GUYS F**KING ROCK!
    Posted 6 months ago by Serenity's Mommy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • sgjo it tells you who

    Edited to say thanks to Tiny Speck because I wanted to know who visited my street.  :D  You all rock!
    Posted 6 months ago by Thursday Soleil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the looks are a bit....diff-ernt,....but even with the looks I have already fallen in love with my new little friend.
    :)
    someone to greet me after a hard day in the mines and someone to get and send mail for me,....very nice TS...again thank you!!
    Posted 6 months ago by Baldiboo Subscriber! | Permalink