Category: Exploring Second Life

Linden Lab has announced the return of the popular Winter Wonderland to Second Life, ready for the holiday season – and it brings with it some new wrinkles and twists.

First opened at the start of 2015, Winter Wonderland covered four regions, offering snow-filled fun in the form of a snowball fight arena, ice skating, a snowboard / snowmobile race track, a winter village and a Ferris wheel.  All these are back – but now collectively cover five regions.

Announcing the return of winter Wonderland alongside the latest Premium discount offer, the Lab had this to say:

Winter Wonderland is filled with lights, delights, and snowball fights! You’ll want to stop by one of the portal parks, follow the trail to the Winter Wonderland teleport, and prepare to be transported to a magical place.

Your journey begins in the Village of Lights – a whimsical icy village at the foot of all the other fun to be had in Winter Wonderland. In the heart of this sparkling village are giant gift boxes with some fun gifts for everyone! Once an hour, the village is blanketed in a spectacular fireworks show you don’t want to miss!

The gifts can be found at large gift-wrapped boxes scattered around the place. Premium account holders are also able to pick-up a Premium badge at a  Premium Kiosk which, when worn, offers “upgrades” to the gifts and equipment on offer in Winter Wonderland.

However, it is liable to be the enlarged snowball fight arena which is liable to be the focus of attention. As the Lab notes, this has been completely revamped, and offers a far larger playing area – complete with one or two surprises for anyone engaged in playing there!

The big question is, however – will there be a residents vs Linden Lab snowball fight this year?

The Premium membership discount applies to the first quarter of the Quarterly Billing plan, which sees it reduced to US $11.25; the remaining quarters all billed at the full price of US $22.50 per quarter. The offer runs from now through until 08:00 SLT on Monday, January 4, 2016. As noted above, the membership gift this time around is a badge offering upgrades to the gifts and equipment offered in Winter Wonderland, and free access to voice morphing, with free packs available at the Premium Voice Morphing island.

As usual, if you are considering the move up from Basic, might I offer some thoughts (as long in the tooth as they might be) as someone who has bounced from Premium to Basic and back again?

Related Links

• Winter Treats for All: 50% Off Your First Premium Subscription Payment*, New Gifts, and the Return of Winter Wonderland – Linden Lab
• Winter Wonderland SLurl (Rated: General)
• Portal Park 1 SLurl (Rated: General)

 

Whispering Wind (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Whispering Wind is a region I’ve visited on a semi-regular basis over the years. I was first drawn to it far back in 2012, when it was in the midst of winter. Since then, I’ve tended to hop back as the mood takes, although I confess that it dropped off my itinerary of “regular” visits this year  – at least until now.

Back during my early visits, the region was the home of Tab Tatham’s Tatty Soup and Lindini2 Lane’s L2 Studio stores. Tab moved on in 2013, leaving Lindini2 on her own, continuing the tradition of a beautifully landscaped region which offers so much more than simply being the location for a store. Truth be told, unless you were aware of the L2 Studio brand of low-cost, low-impact houses and buildings, you’d probably not even be aware this was a store location on first arrival; rather it looks more like a region designed for  photography or as a residential island.

Whispering Wind (Flickr)

I was drawn back to Whispering Wind because it has always offered some marvellous winter scenes, and I wanted to see what Lindini2 has come up with for 2015. “Well, I am changing some things,” Lindini2 told me as I arrived and enquired after things, “but it’s pretty much always open, even with the mess!”

“Mess” isn’t a word I’d use to describe things; what we have here is a region resembling a remote coastal area, the low-lying (for the most part) formed around a large natural inlet, with smaller bays scattered around. Snow covers most of the land,  although sandy beaches hug the shoreline in places, having escaped the worst of the snow, the water lapping against them looking frigid enough to discourage swimming.

Whispering Wind (Flickr)

For those brave enough to risk getting wet, rowing boats can be found at various points along the way, offering floating cuddle spots, while there are also little sitting area nestled here and there close to the waters.

Where you roam after arrival is entirely up to you. There are some paved footpaths to follow, but for the most part it’s a case of setting off across the snow. L2 Studio itself is located somewhat towards the centre of the region, facing a boat house across one of the smaller bays. I particularly found myself drawn to the causeway running along the west side of the region, leading to a semi-rugged headland which does much to give the large inlet cutting into the region the feel of being a naturally formed harbour, and which offers excellent views back across the region to the south and to the east.

Whispering Wind (Flickr)

The delight of Whispering Wind lies within the simplicity of Lindini2’s approach, which clearly takes it cue from nature, and offers a perfectly natural environment in which her building designs are admirably displayed. There is much to delight the SL photographer here as well, the region naturally lending itself to a range of windlight settings.

Whether you’re looking for a new house, or a place to explore (with a great little store), Whispering Wind offers a suitably seasonal welcome.

SLurl Details

• Whispering Wind (Rated: Moderate)

Kaleidoscope (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Kaleidoscope is the name of Krys Vita’s delightful homestead region, which invites visitors to Explore the peaceful tranquillity of both country and nature. visit the two homes, cuddle under the stars. visit the beautiful church or just relax and let magical feel of the sim lift your spirits. And when I say a visit will make you want to do precisely that, I’m not exaggerating.

Currently caught in the grip of winter, the region offers a rural setting on which snow is falling, the sky leaden with clouds, the trees raising bared branches towards it. From the landing point, a country track leads inland, border on either side by fence-bound fields. The trees lining the track are frosted white, and have lights hanging from their boughs. Walk between them and you’ll come to a fork in the track. Here sits a little cottage, Santa’s throne outside, the track sweeping left and right around it.

Kaleidoscope (Flickr)

Go left, and the track will take you past a barn where horses munch on the grass poking up through the snow, then onwards to the steep banks of a watery channel separating a small island and chapel from the rest of the region, a single wooden bridge offering access to them.

Take the track to the right and it will lead you past a frozen pond on one side, the bulk of a house looming through the snow mist on the other. Further along, and across the long grass,  sits a large wooden gazebo offering a place to dance and  / or play the piano and cello. further on, the track sweeps back towards the chapel island before arriving back at the little cottage once more.

Kaleidoscope (Flickr)

Livestock are much in evidence here, furthering the feel of this being a distant farm hidden from the world by the winter snow. As well as the horses, sheep and cattle graze peacefully, while elsewhere rabbits might be found and geese fly overhead.

Throughout the region there are places to sit and contemplate, or if you are with someone special, enjoy a cuddle. For the more active, a wooden deck over the frozen pond has a sign offering ice skates, although you might have to get close to it to click it through the snow (or you can click CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-2 to temporarily turn the latter off – although a few other things might vanish with it). You may need to join the region group, tho, to have rezzing right to unpack them – and this may well go for throwing the snowballs on offer from buckets as well.

Kaleidoscope (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Kaleidoscope is a region which is beautiful in both its design and simplicity, offering a charming winter’s break for those wishing to enjoy snow, wanders and cuddles. Both the house and the cottage on the region are open to all, so there is no risk of trespassing. Photogenic and peaceful, and currently full of good cheer for the season,

Kaleidoscope also has a Flickr pool for those wishing to add their pictures. and if you do visit, please consider a donation at the landing point to help towards keeping the region available for everyone to enjoy.

SLurl Details

• Kaleidoscope (Rated: Moderate)

Furillen (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Furillen, Serene Footman’s homestead region has been on my radar for a while, having been labelled as “under construction” the first time I dropped in during November. This past weekend offered an opportunity to make a revisit to see how things are progressing, so Caitlyn and I headed over to look around.

The region is named for – and modelled after – a small island off the north-east coast of Sweden’s largest island, Gotland. During the 20th century, Furillen was a centre for limestone quarrying, but in 1970 it was taken over by the Swedish military to become the location for two air defence radar installations, the quarries being abandoned as a result. With the military presence now largely gone from the island, it has, since 2000, it has been the location for a minimalist hotel and conference centre owned by photographer and entrepreneur Jonas Hellström.

Furillen (Flickr)

Serene Footman takes these elements from the original Furillen and brings them in-world to present, in keeping with  Hellström’s approach to his hotel, a minimalist design shrouded in the bleak skies and heavy snows of midwinter, which is quite starling and captivating in its desolate beauty.

Explore the island and you find not only the squat, angular lines of the hotel, but also other landmarks from the original, including the remnants of the old limestone quarries, complete with rusting heavy equipment, traces of the former military presence, and some other quite unexpected sights.

Furillen (Flickr)

There is also a touch of the surreal to the design as well, something I particularly felt on seeing the door marked “Exit” in the south-east corner of the region, separated from the island by a stretch of cold water, and apparently beyond reach. This, with the presence of the Peatonville Asylum’s Queen of Denial put me in mind of the final lines of The Eagles’ Hotel California. Whether this is intended or not, I’ve no idea; although to me the echo of the lines didn’t seem to be entirely out-of-place.

Which is not to say Furillen is in any way sinister; far from it. As I’ve already noted, there is something remarkable in its desolate look. It is hard not to be drawn in to the rugged beauty of the landscape and the functional, stark lines of the buildings here. It’s an attraction that is very hard to leave behind, as I’ve discovered for myself, having bounced back a number of times throughout the weekend and since.

Furillen (Flickr)

Serene Footman plans to keep Furillen going for as long as there is an interest in visiting the region, and has indicated he’ll be adding to it and changing things as the mood takes. So, if you do visit and find yourself as captivated as I, do please consider leaving a donation at one of the tip jars to help towards running costs. And to fully experience the region, do take time to listen to the accompanying music stream, which adds further depth to the region as one explores.

SLurl Details

• Furillen (Rated: Moderate)

Frisland (Flickr) – click any image for full size

It’s been a while – a year in fact – since my last visit to Frisland, the region Charlie Namiboo, Anna Barzane and Frislanda “Fris” Ferraris created while imagining what the mystical land for which it is named might look like, if it were to actually exist. however, a note from the team announcing the region has once again put on its winter coat for the end of the year prompted me to suggest to Caitlyn we jump across and take a look.

The region takes its name from the “phantom island” which started to appear on maps as a place in the North Atlantic from around the 1550s onwards, and continued to do so for at least the next 100 years, although its position was prone to movement. Some maps would place it south-west of Iceland, others closer to the Faroes off the coast of Britain, while still others depicted as a part of a chain of islands extending from the Labrador coast almost as far as Scotland. It even appeared on maps produced in the 18th century, when it was thought to be the southern part of Greenland, separated from the rest by an ocean strait.

Frisland (Flickr)

Given the island’s imagined location, it is only right that winter should come to Frisland in second Life and bring with it a full blanket of snow and coats of wind-blown frost on the trees. The tracks around the island are still visible, even with the ruts filled with snow, and the local animals appear to be accepting the turn of the weather with equanimity, while the locals appear to have retreated indoors.

As this was Caitlyn’s first trip to Frisland, we wandered along the paths – gracefully ignoring the sleds sitting waiting for use; neither of us was particular sure our driving skills would be suited to careering down a hill and possibly into innocent bystanders! – and found our way past the horses and up onto the higher grounds before making our way down to a riverside fireplace for a warming snuggle and chat.

Frisland (Flickr)

While the passing of the year is marked on Frisland, the overall layout of the island remains constant. As such, there is an obvious familiarity the returned visitor feels on arrival; one that carried with it the warm assurance that this is a place we know and where we can feel at home. At the same time, Frisland offers those new to it with plenty to see and enjoy.

For my part, I found that a year away was really to long a period of time, while Caitlyn said she found Frisland to be a warm place, despite the snow on the ground and overcast skies! so i think it safe to say Frisland is firmly back on the roster for regular outings for us!

Frisland (Flickr)

SLurl Details

• Frisland (Rated: Moderate)