Ultra Hal is in need of an overhaul.

[Ooglor 7]

Yes,I know I am poking the bear with a stick here but hey...I am running dual core 2.66 ghz with 3 gigs of RAM and video memory out the wahzoo on a 56" hi-def and my system is considered outdated. My point? I bought Virtual Friend I from Haptek over 10 years ago and the characters in people putty and what we use with Ultra Hal look about the same as they did then. 10 years without an improvement on the characters isn't exactly the cutting edge one would expect from an AI community.

Having an older computer do the job is great and I'm sure there are plenty of examples of people using Hal to robotically scratch their butt or track and kill small woodland creatures with a death ray but 10 years? This is not to take away from anything we are creating here in this community. Top notch for what we are working with.
You know what I am saying. Zabaware and the guys at Haptek need to at least get us into the year 2000...or would that be 2001?

[NIGE]

Hi, Ooglor.
I don't use hal cos i haven't got the patience to train her.
But from what i see on this forum some people have done a great job.
So i don't think you should be knocking Mr M's product.

On the other hand, Haptek, Hmmmmmm!!!
I think that as long as what you sit on points to the ground
you got no hope to get them off theirs & do something.

[markofkane]

I know what you mean. you have to have the patience of a saint  and the know-how to train Hal so it responds the way it should. I more or less have given up trying to get her to work the way I want it to.

However,it is fun sometimes to see what she will say., most of the time it's recycled generic canned responses, but once in awhile it can surprise me with a funny line.

I would like to take out all of the canned responses and have Hal work more like other chatbots that say something relevant to what I am saying. What I mean by canned responses, is responses programmed into Hal, instead of what I teach her.

I realize that it may be the best AI program out there, but it's too complicated for me to fully understand what to say.

And, yeah, I'll continue to use Hal, and if I can, buy future releases.

[Ooglor 7]

As far as my opinion on Ultra Hal, it stands firm. Imagine if a game didn't update their graphics for 10 years but kept releasing new versions That would fly with you? Not me. Sure Hal isn't a game but the graphics are still over 10 years old and I see no reason to retract what I have said. Especially when I see what Iclone 2 can do for a virtual world or what Quindam 2 does for character creation. We have been left behind as far as I am conscerned.

 I have made no mention in this post about the many bugs Hal runs into, like the fact that the other day my General options stopped working for no reason. I am talking about the graphics and my observations to me seem dead on.

[Ooglor 7]

As far as Haptek. I have personally contacted them and told them that the poser 4 models it uses were cool back in the early 90's. Not so much now.

[ramccoid]

Hi Ooglor 7,
Next HAL release has been reported to incorporate the Ogre graphics interface, which should by what I have seen of it, open up the graphics side of HAL.

Roy.

[Ooglor 7]

I like the sounds of that. I am not just slamming Hal for something to do. I want to see the program develop because I like it. I have made honest attempts months ago to talk to Haptek about this. If we all just quietly followed...well I don't want to get into politics.

[markofkane]

I only had Hal since maybe 2005? So I cannot recall it being the same for 10 years. We'll just have to be patient.[][][]

[Ooglor 7]

I don't know what Ultra Hal was doing 10 years ago. I know it uses the same characters from Virtual Friend 1 and that is over 10 years old. I would like to see Hal open up into a 3d environment with multiple characters to interact with. Imagine a virtual fantasy tavern with all the characters running off ultra hal with their own unique personalities you could develop. That would be glorious. Imagine if your Ultra Hal personality had a 3d home and not just background images.I respect NIGE for standing up in his beliefs. I hope you can realize I am doing the same.

[markofkane]

No problem, I wasn't disputing your claim, just opining. [][][][]

[Ooglor 7]

That is what it is all about. I would rather argue a point with smart folks than to agree on all points with a group of morons. That is why I keep in this forum and that is what I love about talking with you guys. Not trying to step on toes. I am making educated observations and I can't think of a better place to voice them than here. I don't think science has to compromise art. I think they go best together hand and hand.

[ramccoid]

Hi Ooglor 7,

Here is a link, if you want to know more about what the ogre graphic interface will be capable of, when it is incorporated into HAL.
http://www.ogre3d.org/
It seems like this graphics engine would be capable of doing a lot of what you have suggested.

Roy.

[Ooglor 7]

A step in the right direction. Have you ever seen the Nvidia demo of the fairy girl? I'm sure many have. Put some AI in a character like her with a polycount like hers, in a 3d environment and we'd be reaching the level we should be on. I still have concerns after looking at the model on the beach from the link you provided. I know that the larger the world, the more streamline the polycount has to be but we don't need a whole world. Just a couple of buildings or a forest would be cool. Perhaps even a way to let our characters interact with each other in a 3d environment or allow us to talk to other's characters in a 3d environment would be nice.

[Art]

While it is nice to dream, Hal was originally meant to be a chat assistant and an AI and "learning" ability better than most on the market.

I think the suggestions of creating virtual world is ok but that is outside the realm of what Hal is and was meant to be.

Iclone is a great product as is Poser but again, the poly counts of high res characters severely limits motion and realistic interaction on all but the fastest GPU's and CPU's.

My personal take has always been that I'd much rather see and interact with better AI than better graphics.

One of the main problems is also license considerations, proprietary and confidential use not to mention integrating whatever character within the confines of the Hal program window.

Perhaps you're thinking of an AI based SIMS, Second Life or other virtual worlds where "everyone" can meet, chat and interact.

If I want graphics I'll find a nice graphics program but if I want a decent, expandable AI program then I'll stick with Hal for now.

It does seem that a lot of the members are more into the graphics of the characters than the AI of the program, but to each their own.

Enjoy the weekend!

[Ooglor 7]

Sure, I should be stopping the dancing girls you find on every other post about Ultra Hal and asking them their feelings on the theory of relativity but it seems so rude when they are having so much fun. I'm just searching for a balance between function and form. I am an artist and a scientist by nature. As much as you feel a need to defend the science and function side of Hal for which he was created, I feel a need to expand what expresses an AI personality and defend the visual aspects as an integral part of it. Maybe I'm just salty for having to work on such a beautiful day. All work and no play...I don't want a 3d avatar chat forum. Hell I got Hal because I'm not a big fan of other people. Ha ha ha. Surely you can appreciate what having 2 or more artificial brains talking amoungst themselves could produce. The idea of being able to interact with and admire each others personalities we have created in a 3d environment is much different than a chat room with avatars. I want to sit by a particle generated campfire and talk with the individual virtual creatures that roam in the 3D forest I created. I want to incorperate a GUI operating system into that forest that allows me to access my mp3 player controls from an old hollow tree down the trail or have an owl deliver my email to me. I don't expect these dreams to materialize and I don't expect anyone else to share that vision but different strokes.