WhimsiCuffs Launch & Whim v1.50
Today was a big day for Silenced. WhimsiCuffs was released and Whim got its biggest update ever in v1.50. You can read more about cuffs here or simply read the transcript of the event below. Rather than explain it all, I will post the entire transcript of the event. Enjoy!
-- Intro --
Hi everyone, thank you for coming! Welcome to the Silenced event! We have a LOT to talk about, but first, let me go over some things.
In order for the event to go as smoothly and quickly as possible, I ask that you keep discussion to the Silenced group or Discord server.
If you have any questions, please IM them to Foxy Megami, I will be hosting a Q&A at the end of the event and she will ask me all the questions in the order she received them. I won't leave until I've answered them all, so don't worry.
I'd also like to give a few thank yous to the people that made this possible. Foxy, Lily, Harley, and the rest of my staff, they have supported me my entire time with Silenced and they helped a lot for this to happen, I am very grateful to have them in my life.
I'd also like to thank the beta testers. They have worked tirelessly with me for the past few weeks to ensure that everything released today is as stable as possible. I couldn't have done it without them.
And with that, let's begin!
-- Whim (General) --
I have a few things to talk about today, but we will be starting with the product you are all familiar with, Whim.
When I launched Whim 2 years ago, it was the fastest, most efficient collar system SL had ever seen. Its performance was unmatched, its efficiency was unheard of, and not a single competitor was anywhere near it in any single metric.
In those 2 years, Whim has received countless updates. Some big, some small, and it has quickly grown to be a powerhouse of a system. I have improved it nonstop and today is no exception.
I am extremely excited to announce Whim v1.50, the biggest update Whim has received to date.
Calling it an update is truly a disservice. This is more of an upgrade, because the amount of improvements, features, and bug fixes Whim is receiving in this one is going to blow you all away.
This upgrade has so many things in it, but I'm sure you all have lives to get back to so I'm only going to go over the largest.
I'm going to begin with what made Whim what it is today, and what is most likely one of the reasons the majority of you choose to use Whim. Efficiency and performance.
Whim has had so many features added to it in the past 2 years that I had to rethink Whim's engine.
I want to keep adding features, but at the same time, I don't want it to turn into a bloated mess like some of our competitors. So I had to sit down and really figure things out.
What I came up with is truly revolutionary. I don't say that lightly.
I have completely rebuilt Whim's engine with a brand new dual-core architecture. It now has 2 cores inside of it which allow it to achieve greater performance and efficiency, while being able to continuously add new features without affecting those metrics.
The first core is a high-efficiency core. This core handles the majority of Whim's tasks and functions. It runs very efficiently, so Whim won't need to waste too many resources when it does simple tasks, such as leashing you.
The benefits of this new architecture are outstanding. Let me show you.
Whim v1.408, the current latest version, has a CPU time of about 0.003 ms. That's how much of the sim's processor it is using in order to exist. This is a great amount and is actually the most efficient in SL, as you can see by the chart behind me.
The competition is nowhere near the efficiency that Whim v1.408 and previous versions provide.
The new Whim v1.50 raises the bar even higher.
Thanks to this revolutionary new engine, Whim v1.50 only has a CPU time of 0.0008 ms when idling, which is an impressive 75% reduction. This is the most efficient engine ever in a collar.
75% improvement compared to Whim v1.408, to be more specific.
I was planning on demonstrating how fast Whim v1.50 is in a laggy scenario, but since you're all Whim users there's not much lag here, so I'm gonna go ahead and scrap that part.
The new engine script has also reduced its memory usage by 15%
-- Accessories --
Now let's talk about Accessories, a big part of Whim.
They are receiving a major upgrade with v1.50, and you're all going to love what's new.
For starters, accessories have been completely reworked, they now use a whopping 40% less memory than the previous version.
Leash holders have also been optimized. They now use a ridiculously impressive 84% less memory than previous versions.
They're not just more efficient, though. I've also added a few really nice features. For example, accessories now support multiple leash points. This is especially useful for those of you who have accessories that require multiple leashes, such as a pony bit.
Since Whim's major point is being able to use whatever accessories you want, I've also decided to make them not lockable by default, to make it easier to change collars with outfits.
The best feature, though, is how they update. Starting with v1.50, every Whim update will include an Accessory Updater. No more having to manually update all your collars, you simply attach the accessories you wanna update, attach the updater, and it will list all the outdated accessories it found, along with their versions and the new version. Confirm you want to proceed with the update and it will automatically update all your accessories for you, while also preserving all your settings.
You don't even need to rez them, it will update them all on your body.
So that's what's new with accessories, now let's talk about Closet.
Closet was a very popular update when I added it. It's the most efficient outfit manager in SL, and with this new update, it gets a lot more powerful.
Outfits now support multiple folder levels. This means you can organize all your outfits in as many categories as you want. You can dig through all folders until you find the outfit you want to wear and Closet will intelligently detach the one you're currently wearing, then attach the new one.
Organize them by color, style, sluttiness, etc. It's all up to you.
Gear also supports multiple folder levels, as well. You can now organize them just like outfits, so you don't have to stuff them all into one folder. And just like the current method, selecting anything will give you the option to add or remove it.
And lastly, Custom also supports multiple folder levels. It works a bit differently than the previous two, though. When you reach the final folder, the one with the actual item in it, it will intelligently detach the first level and then attach that item. For example, if you were to attach Custom/Hair/Casual/Pink/Ponytail, Closet will detach everything in Custom/Hair and then attach the one you selected, so you never end up wearing two of the same type of item.
There's also a few smaller features, like a new Duplicate button to make it easier to create new forms that are all similar, you can now edit Forms in Strict Mode if your owner allows it, and you can open Closet now even if you don't have a Form.
-- Whim (Mechanical) --
Now let's talk about the Follow system, the most efficient leash system found in any collar.
I have optimized it to use 14% less memory than the previous iteration
And the biggest feature which I have had a LOT of requests for, it now supports a new Ribbon leash by default, for those of you who would prefer a thin, elegant ribbon instead of chains.
Trusted have also received some improvements. There's a new option in the Relay to allow Trusted to bypass Ask mode and grab without asking, you can now enable Trusted IM exceptions, and you there are two new commands for adding Trusted or Owners through chat
You can also set group access to a specific group, even if you're not a member of said group, using the new chat command "group<uuid>"
And lastly, Animations have received an upgrade. There's a new Installer included in the Whim package which allows you to add animations to Whim without having to rez or unlock the HUD. Simply add the animations to the installer and click it to install them onto your Whim HUD.
Animations also integrate with Firestorm now. Whenever an animation is played by any function inside Whim, it will automatically disable the Firestorm AO so there is no interference. It will enable it again once the animation is ended. This applies to playing animations manually, or if a Form has an animation, or... something else which you'll hear in a moment.
Oh, I almost forgot, you can now edit the Gravity of your leash, which I know a lot of you have been asking for. You can also use Force Sit without automatically restricting stand, so you don't get stuck when your owner forgets to unlock it before logging off.
There are a few other small improvements which you can find in the changelog. But that's about it for the Whim update
-- WhimsiCuffs --
Now let's talk about something else, which is probably why most of you are here
When I fist launched Whim, I had a very specific vision in mind. I wanted SL to break free from the traditional BDSM systems. The slow, inefficient, bloated ones that have been around for decades.
I wanted everyone to have a quality option. One that has high performance, high efficiency, and active development that didn't quit innovating as soon as they became popular and didn't need to care anymore.
My first step was the collar, the item which is at the center of it all. It was a big success, as you know. In these 2 years, Whim has become the fastest growing collar system in SL. Now everyone has the choice of using any collar they want. They have a collar that doesn't have to be taken off everywhere they go because it's too laggy. And it's backed by a developer that actually cares and continues to improve it. (That's me ♥)
But what about the second most popular BDSM item in SL? You know what I'm talking about, cuffs.
If you want to tie someone up, or get tied up yourself, what do you have to do? You have to choose one of the same old cuff sets that have been around forever and use their old proprietary system which is slow, bloated, and impossible to use half the time.
If you're lucky to find a newer set of cuffs, you then have to learn whatever proprietary they decided to shove inside them. And if it sucks, well too bad, you don't have many choices.
Why do we have to be stuck with so many shitty options?
Because there aren't any quality options. Until now. Introducing WhimsiCuffs, the fastest, most efficient, and most powerful cuff system SL has ever seen.
WhimsiCuffs uses that same new engine that Whim v1.50 is based on. It's lightning fast, its efficiency is unmatched, and it makes you question how cuffs work altogether. Let's dive into the details and see /why/ you should use WhimsiCuffs.
We'll start with what Silenced is known for, performance metrics.
When you wear a set of cuffs, lag meters immediately start yelling at you. And with good reason, some of the most popular cuffs in SL are extremely inefficient! The most common one in SL has 54 scripts for a set of 4 cuffs (both wrists, both ankles)!
Even the newest entry into the cuff market, which is a lot more efficient than the traditional ones, still has a whopping 8 scripts for the same set of 4 cuffs, and that's without counting the AO that they all require you to wear.
WhimsiCuffs sets a new standard for cuff efficiency. It only has 4 scripts for the same 4 cuffs. Which is exactly how it should be. The amount of scripts it should have should be the same as the amount of cuffs you're wearing, no more.
Memory usage is no different. The nearest competitor uses a ridiculous 479 Kb of memory for those 4 cuffs. Insane!
WhimsiCuffs only uses 192 Kb, which is less than HALF of its nearest competitor.
But you know, it's not just efficiency that makes WhimsiCuffs the superior cuff system.
When you buy a set of cuffs, you're stuck with those. If you want to use another set, you have to hope that they come with scripts. And if they do, you have to learn yet another proprietary cuff system. Why can't you just use the same system for all your cuffs?
Well, now you can. WhimsiCuffs is not tied to any single set of cuffs. You can use ANY cuffs you want with it. Using the same revolutionary technology as Whim, with a simple drag and drop and some quick setup, you can link any cuffs to your WhimsiCuffs.
Your settings are all held in the Whim HUD you already wear. So when you switch from one set of cuffs to another, nothing changes. Your animations and whatnot will still be there. This means you can change your cuffs as often as you change your clothes or collar.
You can even grab one of the competitors' cuffs, strip them of their inferior scripts, and insert the WhimsiCuffs accessory script. Boom, you can now use their cuffs, with the superior cuff system. Best of both worlds. Not that I'm encouraging this, wink.
You can use no copy cuffs, only thing you can't Whimsify are no-mod cuffs
But that's not the only thing you can customize.
What happens if, say, you want to use WhimsiCuffs, but you want to use a competitors' animations? Say no more! WhimsiCuffs allows you to use any animations you want, too. So if you want to use a competitors' cuffs AND their animations, but still use WhimsiCuffs, you can. Simply extract the animations out of their cuffs, shove them into your Whim HUD using the fancy installer, and boom. You now essentially have X Cuffs, but with WhimsiCuffs as the system handling everything.
As I've always believed, customers should have choices. The choice to use whatever you want. If you like Store A's mesh cuffs, Store B's tying up animations, and WhimsiCuffs, then do it. Why should anyone tell you you can't? You paid for all these products, so you should be able to use them however you want.
I am sure my competitors won't be happy about this, but it doesn't matter. The only people I want to make happy are you, the users. I work my ass off on these products for you and only you, nobody else matters to me. You put your trust in me when you buy my stuff, and I want you to feel that you made the right decision.
You do NOT need an anim HUD to use WhimsiCuffs. You only need ONE HUD, the Whim HUD. Everything, and forgive me for quoting Apple here, but everything Just Works™
Doesn't matter if you use anims from another company or cuffs from another company, if you're using WhimsiCuffs, you only need one HUD and that's Whim.
I don't get out much, ignore me if I misquote something
Look, I've been around SL a long ass time and what has always frustrated me to no end is the lack of freedom that BDSM products give you. You have to be stuck using their mesh or their animations or their system. Why? No. I want to create an SL where you can make the products of your dreams. You can already make the collar of your dreams. Starting today, you can make the cuffs of your dreams.
Here comes another quote
But wait, there's more! We haven't even covered 10% of what WhimsiCuffs can do.
If they have access to your Whim, they can control your animations from there. You don't need the RR Anim HUD to use RR anims
So we've covered cuffs and animations, but you can customize so much more
When I say you can create your dream cuffs, believe me, I mean it.
When you use traditional cuffs, what happens. You choose a "bind" and the animation for that bind plays, your speed is limited to whatever that bind is set to, and whatever RLV restrictions that bind have set get applied. Right?
Well, WhimsiCuffs works differently. Things aren't just set in stone and you have to deal with it. You have choice. Literally everything is up to you.
You can create your own Binds and customize them down to the last detail, however they work for you.
Let me go over some of the things that you can customize.
Name — Every good bind needs a name, how else will people know what each bind does?
Type — Designate what kind of bind this is: arms, legs, or full body?
Stand Animation — If you're tied up, you've gotta look tied up, so choose what animation will play when you're
Move Animation — For those truly pesky binds, you'll have a hard time moving, so you'll want to select an animation that exemplifies your predicament when you move. This is the one that plays when you move or walk.
Turn Animation — If you can't move too well, you certainly won't be turning too well, either. You'll have the option to customize how you look when you're turning.
Speed — What good is being tied up if you can still move? WhimsiCuffs comes with a state-of-the-art movement system which allows you to limit your movement speed in each bind with extreme precision; from fully immobile to unrestricted movement. It works in a very simple to use scale, too. The number you set equals the percentage of normal SL walking speed you'll be limited to. For example, 5 would be 5% normal walking speed
And the last two things are truly my favorite, I bet they'll be yours, too.
You can customize the particles very, very deep.
First, you can customize the texture, color, gravity, etc.
Secondly, you can choose where they go and where they show up. For example, you can set chains to come out of both ankles, to the wrists. You can even select which linked prim they come out of! So if a cuff has metal loops for the chains, you can have them come out of those loops.
And yessss, the settings are universal in WhimsiCuffs, so you don't have to set them up every time you change from one set of cuffs to another. It will literally just work.
Unlike other systems, you don't have to mess with naming each linked prim or whatever they do. It's all handled in a simple menu. You drop the accessory script in the cuff, you get a menu to select what type of cuff it is (left wrist, right ankle, etc.) and then you simply set the link numbers of each leash point. Just like you already do with Whim collars.
Each cuff can support up to 4 leash points, which is more than plenty to make whatever fancy chains you want.
And lastly, a bind isn't complete without RLV. You can set custom RLV restrictions /per bind/ so whenever you enable a bind, it will apply its own restrictions. And they stack! For example, tying my hands behind my back will restrict my inventory and touch, while tying my ankles together will slow down my movement and restrict whatever you want. So if your hands are tied up, then your ankles, the restrictions from both stack.
There is a full, complete tutorial on how to do everything I am talking about on the website, which will go live after the event. It has step by step instructions, complete with YouTube videos and everything.
And of course, there's the group and Discord server, or messaging me directly, I will be happy to help anyone in need.
Lastly, let's talk about improvements my system has above the competition.
Not that you don't already have more than enough reason to use WhimsiCuffs over any other, but I like to overachieve.
The movement and animation system for the competition has always has some very annoying issues, which you won't find with WhimsiCuffs.
For example, when I use one of my [Redacted] cuffs and get hogtied, every time I start to move, or stop moving, the animation seems to die for a few seconds and my avatar stands up. Not exactly what you want when you're trying to immerse yourself in the scene.
I've built the animation system in WhimsiCuffs from scratch and I've improved upon these imperfections. You won't be having those issues with it. The animation stays playing the entire time, your avatar does not stand up, it is completely seamless.
It also properly switches from turning, walking, or standing animations to each other with 0 issues, it's all seamless and smooth.
The movement system is also very well optimized, it is extremely smooth, it even modifies your jump attempt depending on your movement speed limit
Now I know what you're thinking, in order to achieve everything I've mentioned without making the cuffs high script like the competition, WhimsiCuffs must add like 20904387 scripts to your Whim HUD, right?
Nope! WhimsiCuffs is only 1 script. You simply click the installer that comes in the package and it installs into your Whim. Done, you now have WhimsiCuffs. It is 100% integrated with Whim. You can access WhimsiCuffs in the add-ons section of your Whim, clicking your cuffs will open the WhimsiCuffs menu, anyone who has access to your Whim will have identical access with your cuffs, it all works together beautifully. Whim and WhimsiCuffs on their own are already industry-leading. Together, they create a magical experience.
And that right there, folks, is my vision. I want to create an SL where you only need a single HUD for everything. I am dedicated to achieving that dream. Whim was step 1, WhimsiCuffs is step 2. And as a thank you for showing up to the event, I'm going to give you all a tease at what's coming next.
-- Tease --
In the coming months, I will be releasing two more products. One will be a powerful speech and hearing system that will be designed to work with your gags, hoods, earmuffs, etc. Just like with WhimsiCuffs and Whim, you'll be able to use any items or toys you want with a single drag and drop of the accessory script. The second item will be a powerful vision system. It will link to the accessory script in your hoods, blindfolds, and more. And you'll be able to customize the vision modifications down to the last detail. Once these products are released, you'll go from needing 17 products to use all these BDSM experiences, to only needing 1, Whim, and being able to do virtually anything you want.
-- Wrap up --
One last thing...
In case anyone was wondering, as this was one of the biggest requests
Yes, WhimsiCuffs is 100% compatible with both Lockmeister and LockGuard. So any furniture you have will seamlessly work with WhimsiCuffs. And the best part? Unlike other cuff sets which have extra scripts specifically to support these protocols, WhimsiCuffs will be the first cuff system in SL's history to fully support both protocols natively. That's right, the accessory script for WhimsiCuffs fully supports Lockmeister (v1, v2, all versions) and LockGuard (v1, v2, v3, all versions). The moment you drop the accessory script into a cuff, it automatically becomes fully compatible with all protocols. That is the power of WhimsiCuffs and Whim.
Anyway, that's it! Thank you all for coming, I will now be starting the Q&A and I will open sales for WhimsiCuffs and start the Whim v1.50 rollout once that is over.
Before I forget, a Whim Partner is releasing the first WhimsiCuffs-ready cuffs tomorrow at Black Fair, here is a picture of them.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1015421250316804108/1018200524396437565/Morg.jpg
-- Questions --
Q: Does Whimsicuffs have findom pay-to-release integration?
A: It does not, but I will go ahead and write that on my list for a future update.
Q: Is there a timeline for when grid-wide functionality be added?
A: Since grid-wide functionality requires me to have a server, and a server requires money to maintain, I had to push that back to after WhimsiCuffs and the next two expansions release. After that, if all goes well, my income should be well enough to support a server.
Q: Will there be WhimsiCuff devkits; how could creators get them?
A: Yes, I will be updating the Whim Partner Devkit later today, it will now include a WhimsiCuffs accessory script with C/T permissions so creators can make cuffs compatible with WhimsiCuffs out of the box. To apply, simply use the same form to apply to become a Whim Partner: https://forms.gle/FmZexoE22nU3YwRD6
Q: What happens if the WhimsiCuff scripts are put into cuffs and not configured?
A: If they are not configured, nothing happens. SL won't explode or anything, they just won't produce any particles when you're put in a Bind. But WhimsiCuffs will still work, just without particles. The cuffs are only for particles, they do not impact the actual functionality of WhimsiCuffs.
Q: At any point will an easier menu be provided to make color/chain customization easier to avoid dealing with LSL values; Something like a color picker or equivelent?
A: I wanted to add that to this version, but I ran out of time because I had already added SO MUCH to this update. But I promise you, it IS in my list to support RGB and HEX values.
Q: Will there be any default animations/binding setups in the cuffs or will they be bare?
A: Yes, WhimsiCuffs comes with an installer which you can use to add the default binds and animations, I believe there are around 15, which are common ones like hogtie, bend over, tight/loose ankles, etc. They were made by a professional animator, they are VERY good.
Q: Will there be integration APIs that allow creators to add their own menus into the system for their own custom scripts for custom things exclusive to their own cuffs and collars?
A: At the moment I do not plan to allow that, no. Allowing creators to insert their own custom scripts can snowball very quickly and the last thing I need is for creators to sell WhimsiCuffs-compatible cuffs with a million scripts inside. I want the experience to be clean when you buy cuffs made for WhimsiCuffs.
Q: How do WhimsiCuffs integrate with the Owner HUD?
A: The Owner HUD will be receiving an update either tomorrow or next week that will add a dedicated button for opening the WhimsiCuffs menu. I may also add additional buttons, like for releasing binds, but I haven't decided on that one yet. I wanted to release WhimsiCuffs first and see how they are received before updating the Owner HUD.
-- Goodbye --
Okay cool, well thanks again for coming. I will now go open sales at my mainstore and MP, plus release the updated devkit for partners. Remember, WhimsiCuffs is a new product, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any suggestions, feature requests, bug reports, and the like. I'll be improving it as often as I can.