Two new products

It's new year's eve, so just enough time to squeeze one more product release into 2014. Today we're releasing another addition to our small range of wearable devices, as well as adding another cell to our growing line of new cells.

The new wearable device is a version of our body cage. Unsurprisingly we're calling it the wearable body cage:

As with the other items in this product range it's designed to provide something that appears to be a normal Z&A device but one that can be used in no-rez areas because it's really an attached restraint. Once worn it denies the victim any ability to move and the menus give access to a number of relevant RLV restrictions.

The menus also give a choice of three different metal textures:

You can find this in the new product area (as well as the restraints and gadgets area) of our main store as well as on the marketplace.

Today's new cell is designed to look like a cross between a cage and a shipping container. We call it the metal container:

On top of all the usual Z&A cell goodies the owner menu provides a choice of different metal styles:

If you'd like to see and try out this cell in person you'll find it in the new product area of our main store and, of course, it's available from the Second Life marketplace. If you'd prefer a copy-permission version you can also purchase that from the main store.

2014: Our year in review (Part 2)

This is the second part of our review of Z&A's 2014. You can find part 1 here.

July started out with the release of four new products, two of which had been our gifts for the recent D/s hunt. Other releases in the month included a chestnut version of the turntable, a reboot of the corner chained and the circle display; chestnut versions of the wooden horse and cell beds as well as a wearable version of the tall display cage; a reboot of the chain chair and display cross and finally reboots of the horizontal cross and the arm hang frame.

Behind the scenes more preparation work was being done on The Femdom Hunt V. By this point we were working on the theme for the new sign and also drawing up the lists of people to invite while checking who was still around from the previous hunt and where they were now.

The background development project that started in June also carried on this month with the code moving from being in the "under development" state into the "tweaking and testing" state.

Themes for Raven Park dances this month were Tarantino and British cult science fiction TV.

August kicked off with the announcement of the dates for The Femdom Hunt V, along with the opening of applications. It goes without saying that a lot of the background work this month involved dealing with hunt applications.

Releases this month included chestnut versions of the sphere cages and the cross hang post; a wearable version of the ground box and the wall hanging; the crate bed and the cage table and a chestnut version of the bondage frame.

The Z&A Submission HUD was also updated to v1.4.

The ongoing background development project was coming along nicely with the first proper products being built using the new scripts that had been written.

Raven Park dances this month were themed as fictional secret agent and Dune.

September was a very busy month with the ongoing work of handling Femdom Hunt V applications and also the ongoing background project which would finally be launched the following month, a very small teaser for it appearing at the end of this month.

Product releases this month included the wooden and metal yokes; the floor standing and wall mounted chestnut display cabinets; the wall box cage and the storage shelf. These last few releases concluded the effort to replace many of our original products with builds based around the work that started at the end of 2012 and which was launched in early 2013.

Raven Park dances this month included Steampunk (with the dance set being built by and provided by Drow Sicence and Sunshine Technology) and anarchy in the UK.

October was a very busy month for Z&A. It started with the closing of applications for The Femdom Hunt V followed by the first, second and final walk throughs and then, on the 17th, the hunt started.

Before the hunt kicked off, however, there was another significant event for us. We finally revealed the background project that'd started back in June: the brand new range of Z&A cells. As with the start of the new display device range in early 2013 the idea here was to slowly phase out our original cells and replace them with a range using a new script engine and, where it made sense, rebuilt using mesh to reduce land impact. Also, from the very start, we'd be offering the cells as both transfer and copy versions. This project is still ongoing and should conclude some time early next year. Not that we'll stop making cells then -- there's little chance of that.

After the initial launch the new cell range expanded during the rest of the month with the release of the slatted wooden cell, the bars field cell, the observation vault and the bars brig cell.

It wasn't all cells this month though. Antony also found time to make a HUD restraint that his Mistress has been after for quite some time: the Z&A Walkabout.

There was only the one Raven Park dance this month: the frocks dance. The following dance was moved to the Z&A main store and served as the opening weekend dance for The Femdom Hunt.

November started with the end of The Femdom Hunt V. That week we extended the cell range with the cell that had been our gift during the hunt, adding also the light glass cell and the brick and iron cell. Other products released this month included the cast iron cell and the reboot of the floor sleep; the gold inlay cell and the gothic stone cell and the red and blue carved wood cells.

The Z&A Submission HUD also got a further update with a couple of minor fixes and the addition of a couple of new features.

A second Raven Park dance was used over at Z&A, this time to serve as the closing weekend dance for The Femdom Hunt V. Raven Park dances proper returned with a Game of Thrones theme followed by the Antipodean Ball.

December started with the release of a new wearable punishment picker, a reboot of the popular Z&A Tree and the addition of the boxed field cell to the growing new cell range. Other releases in the month were the latex box cell; the field brig, wooden plank cell and the balcony cell and the Z&A Goggles and the wooden cage. We finished the year off with the released of a wearable version of the body cage and another addition to the range of cells.

We also celebrated the time of year by dusting off the Z&A Christmas Tree and remaking it with the new display device system and making it available as a gift to all. We then followed this up by doing the same with the Z&A Snowman and the Z&A Subbie Gift Box.

Because we prefer not to hold a dance over the actual Christmas break (too many people are too busy with RL) we only had the one dance, but we made it a Christmas dance. Well, a very gothic Christmas dance.

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And that brings us to our the end of our review of Z&A's 2014. It's been a very busy year with lots of changes in the shop and lots of builds and scripting going on. As of the time of writing 204 products were released with a release happening every week of the year except the week of Z&A's birthday (because that week's "releases" were made available as gifts for everyone who came to the party). Of course, lots of products were also retired from sale (101 if our calculations are correct) so there's still plenty of room (and thanks to the move to mesh lots of free land impact) left for whatever we come up with next year.

To everyone who has shopped with us, hunted with us, visited Raven park, made Raven Park their home and have come and had fun with as at the Raven Park dances (and especially Eve Terr who has provided lots of great music for all the dances): thank you so much for helping make 2014 a really fun and rewarding year for us. We hope it was fun for you.

2014: Our year in review (Part 1)

2014 has, without a shadow of a doubt, been the busiest year yet here at Z&A. As with 2012 and 2013 we thought it'd be fun to review the year's key events.

January kicked off with a new release on the first first day of the year, possibly setting the tone for a year with a huge number of releases. A week later we reintroduced the Z&A Punishment Pickers having rewritten them to provide a lot more functionality. Our first Raven Park dance of the year was goth/Victorian themed and held to celebrate the opening of the Raven Park Abbey.

Other releases this month were the bend over barrel, the dog cage and reboots of the whipping posts and staked out. We also made a little gift for all VT members to help celebrate VT's 6th birthday.

The second Raven Park dance of the month was originally to be Beatles-themed but turned into a no-theme dance when Vila couldn't attend (the Beatles theme was for her).

February was a fairly busy month that saw the release of the new range of Z&A restraints. Other releases included the Quadcopter and the reboot of the single ceiling chain point. Because it was Z&A's 4th birthday we also made the Misfortune Cookies and the Chandelier Gag available as gifts to everyone who came to the birthday party and we then released them along with the Stocking Gag the following week.

Raven Park dances this month included a Beatles theme (postponed from the previous dance) and, of course, the Z&A birthday dance (which was actually held at Z&A).

March continued with a mixture releases of brand new builds as well as reboots of older products. The first release was a reboot of the popular Z&A Lamp Post, now all in mesh and with a much lower land impact. Next we extended the restraint range with the Z&A Nipple Pins. The following week saw the release of the Z&A Arm Cuffs as well as reboots of the wall chains and single wall chain. Finally we released an update to the Z&A Sub HUD as well as reboots of the Z&A Dootmat and Quadripod.

Raven Park dance themes this month included Cyberpunk and anniversaries.

March was also the month where we were saddened to hear of the passing of Madame Lizbeth, someone who has a significant place in the history of Z&A.

April brought the Z&A Soap Gag, Z&A Thought, reboots of the Leaning Cross, Staked Wide and Pet Cage, reboots of the carry restraints (including the ever-popular shopping bags), the start of a small range of wearable devices (great for restraining people in no-rez areas) and reboots of the shackle rod and sitting cross, a reintroduction of the leather and bunny hoods and the addition of a wool hood and catsuit and finally a reboot of the Z&A Anti-Cam and the release of a non-RLV mesh stable suitable for pony boys and girls.

Dance themes on Raven Park for the month were deranged circus and twisted Easter.

May kicked off with the release of two new cells, the first in a while (something that would change later on in the year). The following week saw the start of a project to replace our original Rosewood products with a new range of Chestnut-textured reboots. The following week saw the first release of a Z&A vehicle in quite a while along with two more additions to the chestnut range. The final releases for the month included reboots of the relief cushion and the bend back stand.

Raven Park dances this month were themed pony play and all things related to the British comic 2000AD.

June kicked off with the first hunt we'd taken part in since The Femdom Hunt IV. Given the theme we couldn't not be part of the D/s hunt.

Releases for the month started out with a chestnut version of the hanging plank and a reboot of the weight hang in light, dark and chestnut versions. The following week saw 10 new products released, including the Z&A Floor Scrub, a reboot of the arch hang frame, the stress display and the arms up display. The following week was equally as prolific with another 10 releases that included reboots of the cage frame, the tell display cage, the forced all fours and the kneel cross. The month ended with the release of 8 more products that included the wall display cage, the storage box and versions of the single and double wall chains to match the chestnut range of devices.

One short-lived release this month, made especially for members of the RLV Communities group, was the Z&A Cake.

Raven Park dance themes this month were Mel Brooks, Messed Up Disney and Armagriddon.

Behind the scenes this was the month that the very early planning work for The Femdom Hunt V started. Also behind the scenes Antony had his head deep into lots of scripting, working away on this year's second big product range release. More on that in the second half of our review of 2014.

Z&A Goggles and a new cell

Today we're releasing two very different products into the main store and onto the Second Life Marketplace. The first is another addition to our range of RLV restraints and gadgets. This is a pair of goggles designed to give someone control over your eyesight. We call them the Z&A Goggles:

The goggles, much like our contact lenses, give control over the victim's environment, allowing it to be set to various levels of darkness, going from perfectly clear:

to very dark:

As well as making things dark you can also control how sharp, or blurred, the victim's vision is. Eight different levels of "blur" are provided, going as far as:

Of course, if you feel the need to really punish them, you can combine the darkness and the blur.

Complete darkness is also an option so, of course, the goggles can be used as a blindfold of sorts.

On top of the above there's also control over various aspects of the victim's vision, so you can turn on or off the ability to see names of avatars around them, see hover text over objects, see their location and maps, etc. Finally there's also an optional forced-mouselook mode.

The goggles themselves are designed to look as if they're made from latex and they come with a menu option for selecting from a range of different colours.

Another release this week is an addition to our new cell range. Designed as a small rustic wooden cage we call it, surprisingly, the Wooden Cage:

You can find both these items in the new releases section of our main store as well as on the Second Life Marketplace. If you would prefer a copy-permission version of the cell it is also available in the main store.

Three new cells

Today we're releasing three new cells into the main store and onto the Second Life Marketplace. The first completes the rebooting of our original science-fiction themed cells, providing a "brig" style cell that uses an invisible force-field (which becomes visible when bumped into) to keep the inmates inside. We call it the Field Brig:

Next we have a very rustic-looking cell made out of simple wooden planks:

Finally, we have a slightly different style of cell. It is designed to look grand in an outdoor setting and has been given a balcony where those who control the freedom (or lack of freedom) of others can stand (or sit -- it could be the perfect spot to site a throne). We simply call it the Balcony Cell:

All three cells can be found in the new products area of our main store as well as on the Second Life Marketplace (simply click any of the images above to be taken to their listings). You can also find copy-permission versions of these cells in the main store.

PS: Don't forget that, until Christmas, you can pick up a free RLV Christmas tree as well as a RLV snowman and subbie gift box while you're in the main store.

Z&A Snowman and Subbie Gift Box

Following on from the dusting off of the Z&A Christmas tree earlier this week we decided to give the same treatment to the Z&A Snowman and the Z&A Subbie Gift Box. These two devices are more about hiding your victim away while helping them play their part in your festive celebrations.

As with the Christmas tree you'll find the boards for these in the free products area of our main store, just to your right as you walk in through the main entrance.

Z&A Christmas Tree

Given the time of year we thought we'd revamp an old Christmas gift from the early days of Z&A. We've given it a good dusting, yanked out all the old scripts and remade it with the newer RLV device system and, from now until Christmas, made it available for free for anyone who feels that their life just isn't complete without an RLV-enabled Christmas tree.

To get one just come down to the Z&A main store and head to the free product section (to your right as you walk through the main entrance). Simply touch the vendor and you'll have your own copy.

While you're there you might also want to admire Zanda, the Z&A shop bot. For a couple of weeks we're letting him out of his shopping trolley and we've given him his very own tree!

We've even been nice enough to let him have clothing!

Very Gothic Christmas dance

Yesterday, pretty much heading in the opposite direction of the previous dance, we went all Christmas and winter with a goth twist. We have a full album of all the photos we took; here are a few highlights:

Many thanks to Eve for coming up with a very festive/gothic/metal set, and to everyone who came along and took part.

Raven Park dances will be taking a short break over the Christmas period and will be back in the new year. We hope we see you all again then!