TE3000 Gift Box Changes

The following message was posted by Ultralite Soleil to the TE3K Chat group:

Greetings all,

About 6 weeks ago, there was a change in the way Tiny Empires 3000 gift boxes were sent and received. That system required giftcodes to be managed by the giver, and the codes had to be entered by the recipient of the gift. It turned out to be an overcomplicated system that gave everyone headaches, including me.

Today I am introducing a new way to send the gift of Tiny Empires 3000 that is MUCH simpler, but still provides the security and authentication of the giftcode system.

With today's change, when you purchase a Tiny Empires 3000 gift box you will be given something called a "Tiny Empires 3000 Gift Giver". To use it, you (the purchaser) rez the Gift Giver on the ground and enter the avatar name of the person to receive the gift. That's all. If the name you enter is valid, that person will instantly be upgraded to paid status and they will automatically receive the Full Version of the game HUD without having to lift a finger.

There are no giftcodes to manage. You don't need to transfer any inventory objects or notecards to the recipient. You just rez the Gift Giver, and then enter their name on a specific chat channel. This moves all the effort to the gift giver, who is, in theory, more familiar with TE and SL. And it requires no effort on the part of the gift recipient, who is more likely to be a newbie to TE and SL.

I hope this change makes it easier to introduce more people to the fun of Tiny Empires 3000.

Some details:

• For privacy reasons and to keep clutter out of the main chat channel, you (the purchaser) must enter the recipient's name on channel 3001. So if you are trying to send TE3K gift to someone named Rose Smith, you would rez the Gift Giver and then enter "/3001 Rose Smith" in your local chat window (without the quotes). If you did it right, you'll get a reply from the box.
• When you successfully give someone an upgrade to the paid version of Tiny Empires 3000, they will receive a Full Version game HUD and an instant message telling them who sent it (your name). You will also get an instant message informing you of the successful gift. Then the Gift Giver box you rezzed will disappear.
• If the person was in Busy Mode or did not receive the Tiny Empires 3000 Full Version HUD for some reason, don't worry. They will still be marked as paid, and can continue using the Trial HUD. Direct them to the Tiny Empires 3000 HUD Replacer on the wall of the shop so that they can get a Full Version of the HUD at their leisure.
• If you enter a name incorrectly, the system will inform you that player does not exist, and you can try again on the same chat channel.
• The person whose name you enter must have already attached the Tiny Empires 3000 Free Trial, at least once. That puts their name into the Tiny Empires system so that they can be eligible to receive the upgrade gift from you. If you enter a name correctly but you keep getting a response that the name is not found, please make sure they have attached the Free Trial HUD at least once. The Free Trial HUD is available at the Tiny Empires 3000 shop.
• If you purchase several gift boxes, the system will keep track of how many you have, and it will tell you how many remain each time you rez a Gift Giver or successfully send someone a gift.
• You can still get a bulk discount on gift boxes. If buy 10 you get the 11th one free.
• The new Gift Giver boxes are non-copyable and non-transferrable. They can only be used by the original purchaser. If you have the need to transfer them to another avatar after buying them, let me know and I might be able to arrange something with you.
• Gift boxes purchased since December 15, 2009 that require the giftcodes can still be used and redeemed as normal. There is no need to cancel those and switch them for the new ones. However, if you wish to do so anyway, please contact me and I will work out an arrangement with you.
• The really old Gift boxes purchased before December 15, 2009 are still obsolete and must be exchanged for the newer ones. Contact me to arrange this.

If you have any questions about the new TE3000 Gift system, feel free to ask me.

Ultralite Soleil