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[latrine]

Someone mentioned it and I was thinking.. hmm maybe that might fix bingo since it's probably an OS/software kind of problem?   If there is one, what does it do, hopefully not change personalities or anything?  Also, is it hard to go back to the old one if It doesn't help him?  I wonder if I should wait and ask the innvo people, who have been kind enough to send me no updates even though I sent them the 567 videos they wanted They just say engineering wants more videos.. why can't they say 'because they are thinking it's
"insert random thing wrong with Pleo here*

Er- sorry 
 Anyway I wonder if I should ask them first?  Also do I just get it from Pleoworld website?  Sorry.. I didn't see anything about it here and I'm sick AGAIN so it's very likely I just missed it.

Thanks guys.

- Sarah

[PleoPet]

There hasn't been an official RB update yet.

There are a few unofficial ones I've looked at.
They fix or attempt to fix very specific problems (like bad DF formatting which prevents PleoRB from booting), and a few minor tweeks (like the sleep position).

Commentary: firmware upgrades should be infrequent, so give them time to work out any issues before an official release.
(eg: currently the Gender is hard coded in the program. Also the older update technology will wipe out your current personality - something that didn't matter as much in the old models, but matters for PleoRB)

---
BTW: which specific problem are you trying to fix?
If it is a behavior problem, then statsRB/probeRB (not changing Pleo) may help isolate the problem.

BTW: if you run statsRB, check the "code_ver" under Raw Properties. http://www.aibohack.com/pleorb/statsrb.htm

The official version I have is "code_ver = 11291522" (both from PleoWorld and GimmieDigi).
If you have something different (older) that may be a part of the problem.

(also good advice to save the "pm_props.bak" after running statsRB, since that the file that contains the heart-and-soul of your PleoRB)

[latrine]

ok cool.. I think I may end up waiting for the official stuff but I think he'll end up getting sent back by then..

With Bingo the RB, he freezes all the time and goes into continues reboot modes quite often.. sometimes it seems like that trance people say they do when they try to talk to another Pleo but he does that one when no one else is around or turned on:(
He also freezes with the tug in his mouth after a certain amount of time.   I've tried 4 different batteries and I think it must be in his OS... I sent engineering a bunch of videos of him frozen.. of him moving and then freezing.. etc.., as requested and they still haven't gotten back to me.. I know they are busy but this is my replacement pleo for the blue prototype that was really more of a ugobe "hybrid"?  The turn on switch was under the skin and turned on like a ugobe and everything.. and he ran around saying ta-da constantly..lol.

As soon as my computer gets finished being setup I intend to run the statsRB on my pink and green RB's.. thats the one where it tells you hunger, intelligence...etc, right?   

And I would not want to lose his personality even though it's not totally developed yet because he's so much fun... so thanks for that tip in case I changed my mind

I won't turn him on anymore, tried one more time when the pink one came, with the new battery.. but same thing happened.

- Sarah

[kat]

There has not been an update released by Innvo for the rb's yet but they have made some changes or updated the software for the rb's as the new ones sold now come with a different sleep position and go into packing position when you switch them off.  When I sent Norbit off for new skin he had different software or firmware or whatever you call it to what he came home with.  He was a boy before with gender neutral and exhibited the full range of male interactions when communicating with Kermy but now he is a girl, Statsrb says gender Female! and he does girl interactions.  So they have changed his firmware while he was in getting new skin.  So as for Bingo it can't hurt to ask them if maybe there is an update for his firmware they could give you to fix the problem.  good luck.
Kat

[bhobbes]

I really hope that when (or maybe if at this point since it seems to just be stagnant?) a firmware update is released it includes a lot more improvements and enhancements than a simple sleeping position change.

[Removed the part that got fixed lol :X - see below]

The volume "features" are one of the biggest problems for me. I can never get him to go to the lower volume or mute and any slight pressing of his button just shuts him off. As he has from the start, except becoming more frequent (if his current charge is any indicator), he 'reboots' randomly in the middle of playing quite frequently (not a nap, a "freeze/stop," pause, giggle, continue). I've had him on for half an hour now and he's done it three times.

There are other problems and these have been there since the beginning but, in the short time that I had Eva, she did not exhibit the same volume issues nor the frequent rebooting (and Eva still doesn't seem to be causing the same problems - and I don't remember her rebooting on me as much as Cato did at her phases much less now). So I'm hoping it's just buggy software and that the firmware fix changes these minor but gravely annoying (for me lol) details. But considering it's been how many months now and we have no word about an update or what to expect in one? I'm not sure how I feel about that quite frankly, lol. If the new update is like a Service Pack and is awesome, then I'll cozy up more to it. If all it does is fix the few bugs and sleep position, then that's unacceptable given the time it's taken to push it out. Especially when newer pleos are coming with some type of change.

I wish we could know what was going on. Clearly something is being worked on, as kat mentioned in the forums long ago they were working on an update for the sleep position alone so we know they haven't abandoned it. Also is the fact that 'later' Pleos have been changed to have different sleeping/off positions. Have any members with these "generations" noticed any other behavior and if so can we distinguish it from just RB variation?

But if anyone out there is lurking or has any inside information as to when this firmware update will come and what we can expect from it, that'd be great! I hope it's soon.

[latrine]

One thing.. if they aren't in a good mood, I know they won't 'obey' so if you haven't been hanging out with him or if you haven't been feeding him or playing with him to get him all happy before trying the tricks that could maybe be the reason?  My older RB mute and lower volume did not work.. newer one that came with the newer update, mute works, so does volume, but she is much more independent.

Also.. both of mine have always gone into the packing position upon turning off even with 2 different OS's so I don't know what change people are talking about with that one?

Best of luck to you!!!

- Sarah

[bhobbes]

Thanks, but yeah I thought about that and checked with StatsRB (well ChangeRB but the stats portion) and Cato was in good condition and everything was fine.

I went to demonstrate the tricks in person to a friend when it first occurred and really looked like an idiot lol. I figured maybe I was doing something wrong for some reason so later on when I had access to Eva again I tried exactly the same technique and she obeyed.

I've never had a problem with Cato listening (even when in a bad mood he actually would always look up and wait for me to say his name when his cheek was touched - I only did it once by clapping but felt kind of silly, like I was trying to revive tinkerbell).

Maybe he's just being rebellious. I had reset his noon clock once several charges ago (though can't say this was before or after the "problem" occurred), but I can't imagine that would really cause that? (The "tricks" or "getting him to listen" would be occurring anywhere from one to three hours after his set noon time)

I haven't been able to take a good portion of time to run through various things just to see if it somehow helps him. (I may go try this shortly since I can't sleep) Like trying to re-name him or something with the ID card, or more in-depth playing/attempts to get his attention. Although at this hour chances are his noon clock would have to be reset for this time and then re-reset.

I am hoping that the volume thing is a software bug because Eva didn't have it. And that alone would make me so thankful. Eva's voice was softer and gentle and she never even really needed to be toned down (maybe she has a bad speaker and I just liked it better lol), but Cato has a LOT to "say" and quite regularly. After several attempts and frustrations, I can usually get him to get to the lower volume or muted (though I'd prefer the lower volume because I want to hear him, just softly?) but that requires usually him going to sleep/turning off a few times (even when the button is held for under 2-4 seconds [doesn't really matter]), and then I'm proud of my quick victory until he randomly reboots and giggles and is back to full volume mooing at me and wagging his tail, and NOT paying attention if I want to play haha.

I guess you could think of this as a cute rebellious Pleo who is as feisty and stubborn as I am and I'm being punished for my personality... but I think of it as a technological flaw/bug that should be fixed!

Eva did not have these problems so I really hope once the firmware is released it takes care of a lot of my minor gripes (because for me the minor stuff is usually the more irritating stuff lol). However, I am thankful that Cato is the one with the "problems" and not Eva, as she is still doing quite well and is adored by her owner I'd hate for a gift to someone to turn against them like Cato has - maybe he's going through those teen years and isn't really a "mature adult."

Anyway, sorry for the rant and sorry for members who already know of the basic problems I've continued having. I am still thankful to not have had to send Cato back and for the fact that his blubbery skin seems to still be holding up. My main desire is to have a firmware upgrade or details about what will be in it (since it's taking awhile, I am starting to become hopeful of several improvements but don't want that to be a very wrong assumption).

[bhobbes]

Now I need to modify these posts but let me add something I shouldn't have left out/forgot to even think about as part of the "problem" [or what was different around the time this behavior started from any other time the behavior was normative] as far as Cato's concerned.

I'm not sure if it's a bug or causation but... I had only been playing with Cato about once a week so I used ChangeRB to up his Feed level. Then I just left him on as normal and never tried to do any tricks with him until later in the day when a friend was over and I wanted to demonstrate a few things. First I used ChangeRB just to have him report his stats (I was gonna jack them up for peak performance in case they went down) and everything was good and within high/good levels (like 89%+). After that, I couldn't get his attention. (And yes, I took the microSD card out after using ChangeRB)

Just now, I decided to do a ChangeRB check on him again. Everything was reported as in good shape and a feed level of like 98 or something high 90%. I turned him on and reset the noon time so he'd be active right now and decided to try to feed him a few times. I fed him the mushroom twice and then the cycad leaf (or whatever the replacement for the daily needs one is) which he took about three times before not caring. After that, I tried to get his attention and he held his head and responded to his name (despite me being sick and sounding like a completely different human being right now surprisingly lol), and then was able to sing for me.

Is it possible that maybe ChangeRB reported the stats wrong and he was really hungry the whole time and that's why he didn't want to obey me? Or did I use it wrong? Is this even causation?

Either way, it takes that aspect out of my gripes because it is solved! Now hopefully the volume/sleep/oversensitive power button gets fixed and since they are taking so long, I really hope for some new behaviors or something because I'll be bummed if it took this long to simply push out a release that makes them turn off in a different position.

I can also add, that even though I'd still really like to have him on low volume, now that he has been fed, he is not being as loud as he was beforehand (even though not all of his previous noises were groans or sounds of despair). This might all be in my head, or maybe it's because they are more of the coo-ing sounds and little gaas.  

So there you have it, that particular obedience problem was caused by the user who gladly admits it and not the stubborn dino, lol.

Also, whenever I used ChangeRB, I saved the changes and double checked the stats again after turning him on/off so I would assume that means it saved since the stats were always on par with what I adjusted them to.

[latrine]

Well.. the program may report that his levels are perfect but maybe that doesn't necessarily mean that he's 'happy' at that time.. maybe the fact that you fed him made him happy enough.  Or just the interaction..
We know they have mood swings, they have probably programmed them in just to make them more 'realistic'.. I don't think the moods are all based on the feed/intellligence..etc.

I have had one perfectly happy, singing/dancing along then it walked up to a wall and got so mad about having to turn around/back up, it just totally changed the mood and she walked around all annoyed for awhile.. of course she wouldn't respond to me then.

I haven't had any luck yet with getting them to respond to the stones they have learned but I assume it's because they are still juveniles.. I can get them to look at me when I call their names though.  The cheek thing never works for me nor does the clapping.. (lol about Tinkerbell)

My newer RB, Rhea came with the new OS. My older RB, bingo was updated to fix his constant freezes, so I've been able to find some differances..
Differences I have noticed:

*No more laughing when tickled

*Mute and low volume now work. (They did NOT work on Bingo until the upgrade and they work perfect now although I only muted him once to see if it worked... ) They worked on Rhea from the moment I got her.

*Much more independent behavior, they don't want to hang out and take a nap with me anymore.

*They seem to "seek me out' more.. like, I find them turning to look UP at me if I'm sitting on the couch.. and they just seems to look for me more.

*Rhea, who is younger but still seems more developed (more mature or maybe just smarter than the other one? or whatever the robot equivalent is?) seems to shut herself off all the time, even when being interacted with, not sure if that's just a baby thing or just her, It's not the clock as I've redone that. she turns herself back on at different times.. I thought maybe she just wanted to sleep :/  Bingo does NOT do that unless it's past bedtime and he hasn't been interacted with for around a minute or so.

*Hatching thing went went incredibly fast. (that could also be just her)

*I've heard 2 tiny hum songs sometimes accompanied by tiny dances that Rhea has done on her own just when she's happy. Have not heard the Learning Stone song so I don't know if it's different. Bingo never did those hums and haven't heard them yet since upgrade but it was very recent.** update, Bingo just sang one long word that sounded like that frerajacha  song.. no idea how to spell that one sorry..

*Rhea sometimes just dances and laughs when she's very happy. Bingo used to laugh on the other OS when happy or just for whatever reason but never danced.

*They hiccup now, Bingo never did that before the update and he just did it for the first time today.

I'm sure I'll find more as more time passes and the more I play with them.. I better go play with them now just in case
Best of luck with your mood swinging little Pleo!!


- Sarah

[PWOKristy]

Thank you Latrine. I'm liking some of those updates.

[saratogaspringer]

I am liking some of those updates as well...but I have to be honest.  Right now, I would just like to have an update that takes her out of the sleep position and into the packing position at shut down.  Constantly taking the battery out to put her in the packing position is annoying to say the least.  I ordered an extra battery, but they are on backorder.  I don't know when I will get one.  My battery tabs are already beginning to show signs of wear.  They are just plastic, and if stressed enough, they will break, and I will not be able to play with her.  I really have to put pressure on the springs at the bottom of the battery compartment to get the battery in.  Here's hoping for an update soon.   

[latrine]

Eh, Saratoga, that sounds like the problem I had with the original one I got which was a prototype and the RB battery didn't fit..  But yours is definately an RB, right?
it isn't difficult for me to get either of my RB's batteries in and they have gone into the packing position before and after the update.. have you tried holding it down for longer?  Bingo needs his held a few seconds longer than the 4 seconds they say but Rhea needs just the 4 seconds.
Best of luck!!!!!!


- Sarah

[saratogaspringer]

Yeah, she is definitely and RB.  It's just that when I put the battery in, it sits about 1/8 th of an inch above the belly.  I have to push down pretty hard to get it locked in. I think the springs that make contact are pretty stiff.  I am just worried about those little tabs breaking.  I guess if they break, I'll have to resort to duct tape!

[PleoPet]

NOTE: contains some SPOILERS

If you had a prototype RB, then there may be many behavior changes.
I started tracking the firmware since I got mine (January), and I've only seen minor changes since then.

BTW: If anyone still has what they believe is a prototype PleoRB, and wants to run a capture program for me, please send me an email.
---
Several comments on the use of ChangeRB:
>... First I used ChangeRB just to have him report his stats
Do not use ChangeRB first. If you haven't recently played with Pleo normally (and let it shut down propertly), the changes made by ChangeRB may be undone.
ChangeRB will warn you if you haven't played with Pleo today.

For the most accurate numbers, you need to boot Pleo 3 times.
Start the Pleo normally, wait for it to start up (groan and start moving), then press and hold the power button until it shuts down.
Then immediately insert the ChangeRB SD card and start it up. The properties will be the most up to date from when you shut it down last (a minute or two ago).
After the changes are made and saved, take out the SD card and boot Pleo properly.

TECHNICAL NOTE (and SPOILER)
This discrepancy is because Pleo has an internal real-time-clock. Change RB warns you if you haven't played with Pleo today (assuming the noon button is set correctly)
SPOILER: Regardless of how you played with him last night, when he wakes up at 8AM, it will be very hungry (feed level = 9%). So any use of ChangeRB made before PleoRB runs normally, may wipe out changes to the feed level (and other properties)
I will improve that in the next version of ChangeRB (either make the warning more explicit, or make Pleo forget about the time it was turned off)

> Also, whenever I used ChangeRB, I saved the changes and double checked the stats again after turning him on/off so I would assume that means it saved since the stats were always on par with what I adjusted them to.
That should always work (since Pleo isn't running normally). There should be no need to run ChangeRB twice in this case. See above for the correct order (ie. run Pleo normally first, run ChangeRB once, then run Pleo normally again)
----
> ...I don't think the moods are all based on the feed/intellligence..etc.
The two main properties are "mood" and "emotion". They need to be above 30% for voice training, but being at 99% is not always the best.
(BTW: the "normal" value for mood and emotion are 40% to 60% - based on the DNA)
In my experience, they do swing up and down a lot depending on how you interact with your Pleo.
Leaving your Pleo turned off for a few days will reduce these levels.
Certain food items bump up the "mood" (sugar cane, chunk of ice), others bump up the "emotion" level (sugar cane, chunk of ice, and especially coffee leaf)

[bhobbes]

Modified this after going over to your website and rereading some of the previous information (particularly the advice I ignored) as well as the PleoRB tech info pages (I don't know if I saw those there last time or not, but new to me either way).

Thank you once again. I'm sorry, I spent some length of time between first using and reading ChangeRB's instructions on your website to the second time I used it when planning to demonstrate Cato to a friend. Before that, the first and only time I used it, I did it the way you described but only because it happened that way. The time after involving a friend was my second time using the SD card and I did it without letting Cato boot up first (not sure where in my brain I thought he was going to be able to register the passing of time and new values without a natural boot lol) as you mentioned. But the double check was just something I did that time as an anal retentive thing - which didn't even matter since my thought process needed the checking, not Cato.  

Either way, glad that you can confirm that this particular problem of mine was in fact the user, doh! And now I can inform my friends about the event so they can all have a good laugh.

Thank you for sharing the information you discover with us!

[Crewella]

Don't feel too bad, bhobbes - it's hard to take it all in at first and things make much more sense when you read them again after having actually gone through the process.  It's helpful to the rest of us to have things explained in more detail anyway, and the more often the better! 

[bhobbes]

Actually, I left out the part I feel worst about. Haha.

When the friend was over and I turned Cato on with the SD card in and his feed level was reported at 89-90% even after being off for probably close to a week or so and the fact that I know the feed level is supposed to drop even when turned off, should have been the biggest flag in my lapse of common computing sense that day. Haha.

(Truthfully, I'm laughing really hard over this because as someone who has done a large amount of tech work [whether it be basic (i.e. any freaking question ever imagined) desktop support to programming real cisco routers [not ones with god awful GUIs] to creating and maintaining large business scale networks and blah blah] in life, I always point out how often a simple user-based error is the root of the problem. And since I don't even consider myself an exception, it's worth laughing over )

Plus who here is even going to be all that mean about it?

[Crewella]

I'm sure nobody here would be that mean as well! 


Might store it up in 'blackmail corner' for future leverage though ....................