The Sub-continent of the new Fantasy theme of Premium Membership Linden Homes started coming on-stream on Thursday, August 12th, with an initial three regions being release, those with more being made available from the 13th onwards.
These new Homes have generated a lot of interest since there initial unveiling at the SL18B event in June, 2021. As indicated during Patch Linden’s Meet the Lindens session, these homes not only have their own styling, they are set within regions that have very different landscaping to the rest of Bellisseria, together with a custom ambient environment across all of the regions, which includes seasonal variations to go with the passage of the year.
All of this being the case, the decision was made to keep the Fantasy homes to their own sub-continent, separate from, but still a part of (in terms of naming and location) Bellisseria. As such, the new regions ley south of the Bellisseria extension that initially housed the Log Home theme, and eastwards of the Victoria Homes extension that allowed Bellisseria (with the aid of additional houseboat regions) to connect to Jeogeot. This position gives a fair amount of room for southward expansion, should it be required.
The theme encompasses four primary styles of home which, as I’ve previously described, are:
- Amberbrooke: a large, open-plan central room with stairs to the upper level and front and rear access, flanked by two additional rooms. Upstairs are three rooms, with the central room featuring a balcony overlooking the rear of the property.
- Mistbrooke: a large, single-level house with central entrance hall flanked by two rooms on either side, the two rearmost of which each provide access to a small terrace / patio sitting between the wings of the house.
- Rosebrooke: central entrance hall, flanked by a large room to the right with access to the rear of the property, and a smaller room to the left. Stairs from the hall provide access to a landing with a room to either side, each with skylights.
- Stonebrooke: a turreted entranceway provides access to a large main room with access to the rear of the property and further access to an inner hall / room that in turn leads to three further rooms.
At the time I wrote about these style, I speculated whether these might also be offered in open plan variants as well, as happened with the Chalet Homes – and this was confirmed by Patch. Whilst the initial release will be of the the styles noted above, their equivalent open-plan variants will, I believe be:
- Angelspell: a variant of the Amberbrooke, which combines the large central room with one of the two flanking rooms to provide a large ground-floor space with a second room to one side. Upstairs, a wall has been removed to provide a large landing / open room with balcony access, whilst retaining the rooms on either side of it.
- Moonspell: a version of the Mistbrooke, with a single large L-shaped room, and a single separate room in one of the rear wings.
- Ragespell: a variant of the Rosebrooke, presenting a large open-plan ground floor room with stairs and access to the rear aspect, a single ground-floor side room, and upstairs a single large room accessed directly from the stairs, and a smaller side room.
- Steepell: a version of the Stornebrooke, again with a single large room off of the turreted entrance, and a smaller front room.
In my original piece on this theme, I critiqued it for being a little too “English Cotswolds meets Lord of the Rings”. in form, and felt that – accepting the unique ambient environment (that tends to make itself felt more at night) – this theme was more tinkering at the edge of fantasy ideas rather than embracing them. In response to that comment, a couple of people noted that as they are, these homes occupy a comfortable middle-ground. Their general styling and environment means they are likely to appeal to Fantasy lovers whilst being reserved enough so that those seeking somewhere that is comfortably “different” and which does not belabour the “fantasy” element might also find appealing – and that’s a fair point to make.
When previewing the theme, Patch Linden indicated that some means needed to be found to allow passage between the rest of Bellisseria and the Fantasy sub-continent without actually physically adjoining the regions. At the time he suggested that some form of mystical teleport portals or similar might be used to waft people from one to the other. Placed within the community areas of the various Bellisseria themes, something like this would actually work. Currently, however, the selected method of reaching the new continent without using a direct teleport is on or over the water – a channel has been set-up linking Rigamarole to the new sub-continent. From here, one can either fly, or use the rezzing point if they wish to use a suitable vehicle to make the trip.
Linden Homes Fantasy ThemeBut route is not all plain sailing / flying: head away from the Log Theme coast and the shy darkens, particle clouds pepper the air, lightning arcs and rolling waves churn (well, as effectively as they can in SL!) whilst flotsam and jetsam float on the water and sharks await the unwary. It is all very The Fantastic Journey-ish, but it also works, as beyond the storm, you emerge into glowing skies and “calm waters”, with the fantasy realm sitting before you (although the bay in which you arrive could perhaps do with some TLC). I didn’t note any similar passages on the west side of the sub-continent, but I’m assuming they may come in time, together with a community centre for the new theme, which a certain Garden Mole whispered to me would also be coming…
It will be interesting to see what kind of take-up there is for these homes. At the time of writing, pockets of 15-20 avatars were popping up on various regions within the sub-continent. I suspect those who enjoy home-hopping and like to try out the new styles as they arrive will be keen to try things out. I’m also curious as to how many who have thus far resisted a move from the current Linden Home might be swayed by this environment – or indeed, how many might be persuaded to take a newer-style of Linden Home in general, now another Theme has arrived. Certainly, I understand that things have now reached a point where there are now sufficient Linden Homes to ensure that supply of most styles can in general keep pace with the demand.
Anyway. The Fantasy Theme is here, and the layout of the regions strongly suggests more are to come (and the sub-continent will hopefully get a coastline over time). So if you’re interested, go take a look. Or even if you’re not, you can still look at the Map and play, “spot the franchise / series / mythology” with the region names 😀 .
Links and SLurls
- Fantasy Homes release announcement
- SL18B Meet the Lindens: Patch Linden – a summary with video and audio
- Rigmarole pier and rez zone (Fantasy Theme sub-continent due south)
- Second Life Premium Membership page
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 