Greetings, all! You may have noticed that Cornucopia3D slowed to a crawl not long after opening yesterday, and has had periods where it's been inaccessable for the last 24 hours. We made the decision to take the site offline temporarily due to the unprecedented load on the server. We know this was because of the excitement generated by having the store reopened, but there were so many folks who visited us and were downloading content in a short period of time that the server load was just too much. Our tech team is working feverishly to configure another server to help spread the load, and I expect they'll be working through the night to get this sorted out. All of us at Cornucopia3D are disappointed by this roadblock, but we hope to have things up and running and back to normal very soon. I've been told that no data has been lost, so you can be assured that any downloads in your accounts will be available to you when the site comes back up, and all transactions are safe. We've had a few content glitches with the reopening, and those are all being sorted out as well. Both the Cornucopia3D and e-on tech teams apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. We're working very hard to get things back up and running; we ask for you to be patient a little longer, and thank you for your understanding. Regards, ChristieK Cornucopia3D Site Administrator Store and Brokerage Manager General Factotum

Hummm how bout another $50 coupon and we will beta test for you again. Marque

Personally I think E-ON should consider hosting their site in the USA with Professional Level Servers, back-up Servers and Back-Up switches. I know of some companies that can do this. It seems like the servers and network access you have in France can't handle the traffic or business... At DAZ they can handle FOUR simultaneous downloads from one connection- I know because I have a high speed connection and regularly download purchases like that. What it shows you is DAZ has MASS CAPACITY and is SERIOUS about having customers getting access to their purchases FAST. This is how users expect the "internet" to operate for them in the U.S. Renderosity (Bondware) also learned a lesson too just the other day- Blowing a Switch- not hard to do when you have MASSIVE daily traffic and downloads. Better have a TOTAL BACKUP of Servers, Switches, etc. as users FREAK OUT when they can't access their favorite sites. I called Renderosity TWICE (over two days) and I could tell their phone was ringing OFF THE HOOK! (And that was just by people who knew how to FIND the telephone number!) Bottom LINE: E-Commerce is a SERIOUS BUSINESS. Customers want it NOW and FAST. E-on better WAKE UP to how business is done on the Internet- or just get out of the store business! Pissing off customers is not a good thing. Losing a Server or a Switch later, as the traffic INCREASES, will only add to the bad rep... Get a MAJOR Server (with Server, Switch and redundant Power Back-Up) provider on a MAJOR network pipe! Maybe also consider switching to Bondware!...

Thanks for the update. ^_^ So many titles? Had to go to the dictionary and look it up. Factotum: A Son who does many varied tasks. Found that interesting. Thx Max Vance

"Personally I think E-ON should consider hosting their site in the USA"

Oregon has seceded from the union? Message edited on: 10/07/2005 15:38

Yup just the other day...lol Marque

Attached Link: http://www.verio.com

...I would FIRE whoever is running it! They must be running the server off an old 486 with a low grade telecom connection! I (and I believe DAZ) use VERIO for PROFESSIONAL LEVEL internet service. I've been using them for nearly 10 years and they have NEVER failed EVER. 24-7 Service, HUGE Servers, HUGE Switches, HUGE Back-Up, MASSIVE Network Connections right on the MAIN Internet PIPES. NTT- Japan's "AT&T" bought the company a few years ago, but VERIO is run totally independently- and in fact was the main advisory company for Japan's massive Internet Upgrading. The Japanese ALSO expect things FAST and Always There, 24-7...

Our tech team is working feverishly to configure another server What they did after the last disasters? Cocking some Coffee? E-on has had all the time they need, but they didn't do anything between :X Mazak

Quote from Marque "Hummm how bout another $50 coupon and we will beta test for you again" ROFLMAO!!!!!!

I know it is inconvenient, but it always amazes me to see the reactions to these situations. e-on software is a rather small company, yet they are treated as if they were Microsoft or IBM. And I know... DAZ and Bondware are not Microsoft either, but they had years to build up their system to face the demand. If I remember well, the first couple of years at DAZ was full of issues. I had orders vanish into thin air, things to download again many times, people even had locked credit cards because of these glitches. And Mazak - for your information - they did spend a lot of time working out issues, and that includes the works of volunteers who helped them test. I develop (and test) software in my day job, and I can tell you that between pressures coming from budget and business, it is not always possible (read: generally not at all) to test things in ideal conditions and release a solid, finished product. For example, one of the main systems I support needs a team of 4 people a full week to test completely. You really think we spend a full week of test each time we change something ? If they had taken another month setting up simulated high load to test the robustness of their servers, you would have seen the forums full of people complaining about how long they were taking. Go figure.,..

I don't really understand the anger here. Ok, we had an awful update that sc***ed everything up, and we had the right to be angry, and the store closed for 2 months, but it's not like we couldn't make renders in the meantime. And we've had updates that patched 99% of our program's functions, though it didn't patch all for me, and explanations about copy protected/non copy protected that should have come before downloading anything from C3D, I agree. And yesterday everything was fantastic, life was worth living again... Now the site is off for 24h, and it's the end of the world? C'mon, guys! How about RDR being off for 2 days this week? How about two many sites to keep count that were off today because of 2 megaservers in the US went down? ( yes, in the US of A, where Oregon used to be yesterday before secession!) But I agree with Marque, though, another 50$ voucher would be nice!

Well, I've been running the "Pre-Fiasco" release for V5I and have NO PROBLEMS with V5I. I have learned a LONG TIME ago to let others be the first installers of new software releases (heh!) So no problems with V5I with me... RE: The Cornucopia Store- I haven't previously said a word during the FIRST go around because I figured that they would LEARN from their mistakes (but it was made worse by the bungled beta release)- anyway- so you expect even SMALL companies to learn from the mistakes and correct them. I never saw anyone screaming about "Why doesn't the Cornucopia Store open again". In fact, it seemed that nearly everyone was saying- "Give them the time to fix it- we're in no rush, etc." ... but the SECOND TIME AROUND- not expecting a high traffic rate, and not being ABLE TO HANDLE IT- seems NAIVE too me! E-on has already been running a commercial site for years- and they and everyone else knows about the initial problems DAZ was having- so you would THINK- Gee- EVERYONE can learn from THAT! BONDWARE has some very REASONABLY priced options for web commerce! Verio has some very REASONABLY priced e-commerce server solutions that can handle HIGH VOLUME! The SOLUTIONS are AFFORDABLE and already out there... Personally- I have never bothered downloading ANYTHING from the Cornucopia Store as I figured it was a very BETA type of operation- and still seems very much like that. There is nothing I need from there right now. If they FINALLY get it working, -then great. I'm in no personal rush to get anything from there. But they need to think "E-COMMERCE" First. If not, then drop the STORE idea and just be a FORUM! I hope they eventually figure it all out...

BTW- despite reports of Internet network traffic blockages- I can reach Verio sites just fine, as well as E-on's site and even Cornucopia3D- which "appears" to be WORKING from my own initial walk-through... Maybe Oregon had second thoughts and has re-joined the United States-World internet?

...Actually NOT Oregon. The Cornucopia3D server is located in Pittsburgh, PA....

On my first visit at Cornucopia3D is purchased for over $100 content. But it ends in a disaster and I got a refund. Then I purchased a little test object for $2. Even this object did not work on my machine yet. No update did work; no suggestions by there moderators did work. And now they are down again, that make me very frustrated with that store.

http://www.cornucopia3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=793
http://www.cornucopia3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=373

Mazak

Message edited on: 10/08/2005 02:19

Actually this is good, I'm cutting back on my spending, still have most of my monthly mad money and it's normally gone 2 days after I get it. Marque

Hi, all... Just another quick update and a bit of information. The techs did some reconfiguring and the site and store went back online very late last night (UK time). I've been in and out of the forums, gallery, and store, and response is good. Since there's been some speculation about server locations, etc, let me say that, unlike Veritas' observation about DAZ and 4 downloads per connection, we had thousands of people rush to the site on Thursday and download hundreds of gigabytes of content all at the same time. Considering this, I think the tech team did a great job getting us back up and running in such a short time. And the servers are indeed located in the US, not Paris. The entire Cornucopia3D team has tried very hard to be helpful to any of you who have had problems with the site or with content, and while we understand your frustration, I want to assure you that both e-on and the C3D team are taking this all very seriously. Regards, ChristieK

I think it's just the fact of not being able to reach anyone or get any response after you've bought something that gets frustrating. I can deal with the fact that folks are having problems, but to be ignored tends to really pi$$ me off. Yours is not the first and most likely not the last, but it seems to be a trend lately. Like I said, it IS saving me money so I shouldn't complain. Marque

Marque, if you've tried to get help with something over at Cornucopia3D and not gotten a response, please PM me about it over there. I repond to EVERY post I possibly can, and where I can't, one of the other moderators responds. I have never, and I mean never, ignored someone with an issue. If it's something from early August, you need to remind us, as we can't possibly remember everything. I have, however, while trying to help someone, been treated quite nastily and rudely, which is a shame when you're doing your best to fix a situation.

Just for positive thinking:no problem for redownloading the items i first bought...and i can say that autunm birch now don't have maple leaves

No actually you at the store have been very quick about dealing with problems, I was speaking of e-on in general. Thinking about that autumn birch. My mad money will probably have to go for a new motorcycle tire, hit a screw with my front tire, had to have it towed home just now. Very depressing. At least the bike insurance covered the tow. Marque

One way DAZ handles their traffic is to try to space it out. There's a reason why their newsletter goes out Tuesday, even though the new stuff in the store goes up Friday or earlier. The hardcore DAZ junkies buy Friday and over the weekend. Monday is for the people who only have broadband at work. And Tuesday's when the official announcement goes out. Might be a tactic worth trying for E-on. Announce it here first, say, then send out the e-mail notifications a few days later.

Stupid question, what is the difference btwn the copyright and non copyright items, other than price? Thanks, Marque

Means copy protected items can't be exported from Vue Infinite in any 3d format.

Ahhh, thanks. So if I want to port it over to use in poser I need to get the more expensive one, makes sense. Thank you just wanted to be sure before I buy. Marque

"So if I want to port it over to use in poser I need to get the more expensive one, makes sense."

Actually, no. Items without copy protection are not limited to use with any one particular Vue installation. So, if you have multiple Vue installations, buying the unencrypted version allows you to download once for all installs, rather than once for each of your registered installations.

That is a completely different thing from the ability to export to other 3D formats. Whether export is allowed or not is the descision of the artist who created the mesh involved.

Hope this clears up any misconceptions.

jw, copy protected objects are non exportable. Same difference. They will only work with one registered copy of Vue. The only exception being the plants in the .veg format: apparently, they are exportable in 3d formats , though copy protected.

"18. Re: Cornucopia3D Update by Marque on 10/8/05 03:43 I think it's just the fact of not being able to reach anyone or get any response after you've bought something that gets frustrating. I can deal with the fact that folks are having problems, but to be ignored tends to really pi$$ me off. ... 19. Re: Cornucopia3D Update by ChristieK on 10/8/05 03:50 Marque, if you've tried to get help with something over at Cornucopia3D and not gotten a response, please PM me about it over there. I repond to EVERY post I possibly can, and where I can't, one of the other moderators responds. I have never, and I mean never, ignored someone with an issue. If it's something from early August, you need to remind us, as we can't possibly remember everything. I have, however, while trying to help someone, been treated quite nastily and rudely, which is a shame when you're doing your best to fix a situation." ChristieK, from my experience and it seems the experience of others, you are the exception. I personally have had tech support threads at e-on's forums ignored for weeks at which point they then just vanish without a trace although they were successfully logged and visible for a while without response. This is why this morning I was gratefully surprised that the C3d forums are tended much better. It was your response there that told me my problem was fixed -- eon forum never bothered to respond at all to my trouble-ticket there (AGAIN, 3rd time). FYI, they still never responded as of tonight either, and that IS infuriating.

I must be a lucky guy, because I never had to wait more than 2 days to get an answer from Tech support at E-on.

"jw, copy protected objects are non exportable. Same difference. They will only work with one registered copy of Vue."

But the opposite is not true. Copy protection is unrelated to export locking. Non copy protected items may still be locked from export, as most of Alain Cracia's buildings are, yet as you say, copy protected trees may be exported.