Linden Lab have offered-up further gifts with which to celebrate SLs tenth birthday – only these are both numbers and time-limited, and only available in-world.
The first items are mesh varsity jackets in the SL colours and bearing the 10th anniversary logo on the front and the Lab’s logo on the left sleeve. These come in male and female styles and a range of sizes (items are no modify / no transfer) and with an Alpha layer base. Also on offer is an “SL10B teddy male” – actually two bears (father and son?) the smaller sitting on the larger one’s head.
The jackets and bears are limited to 1 per avatar, and only available until 23:59:00 SLT on Monday June 17th.
To get yours, visit the SL10B gift vendor in-world at SL10BCC (there are others scattered around the regions). If gifts are your thing, keep your eye on the vendor for future offerings…
We’re into the first full day of festivities at SL10BCC. Given the size of the event, trying to review everything on offer simply isn’t feasible, and some hardware issues at my end mean that I’m not in a position to do the kind of “region round-ups” I did last year.
So instead, I’m going to offer some personal picks from what’s on display by way of suggestions as possible stop-off points in your explorations.
Marianne McCann’s History Walk is a must-see. Find out about the entire history of SL year-by-year, from the earliest glimmerings through to the present day. Find the year you first came in-world and read-up on the notable events.
I mentioned this in passing yesterday, but didn’t give the SLurl or go into specifics. For those not in the know, Shatoetry is an app that lets you arrange words – into statements, comments, messages, sentences, phrases, haiku, poetry, or even just random words. Once arranged, you can then hear the inimitable William Shatner speak it back to you in his own unique way, and presto! – You have created a Shatism!
Crap, with the assistance of a few friends, has put together a series of SL-focused Shatisms for your aural enjoyment. Just step on to the parcel and enjoy Mr. Shatner’s ruminations on Second Life.
Want to add your SL-related Shatism to the build? You can!
If you have the Shatoetry app (iOS only), record your own and e-mail it to isfullofcrap-at-gmail.com. If you don’t have the app, read the Shatoetry word lists and IM Crap with your Shatisms he’ll then render them for you. Remember! in order to work in-world, although remember that all recording must be 10 seconds or less in length in order to play in-world.
You can also see a list of current SL Shatisms in the build here.
I chose this exhibit because it is it is eye-catching, simple and highly effective, making it very photogenic. The piece looks at storytelling through fantasy role-play in SL, with a focus on Ynys Seamaide, a “Celtic medieval RP” immersive environment with an “emphasis on story and character not meters or guilds.”Small this build may be compared to others, but it is worthwhile taking a look around it carefully; there are some very subtle details which can be missed in a rapid look-see.
Note: This is a personal piece, and not reflective of any stance from the organisers of SL10BCC. As I’ve previously stated on this blog, items which express a personal opinion here do not carry the SL10BCC logo. They do not form announcements, but are my personal take on events, activities, and where to find information I believe to be of value to people attending the celebrations.
The time has come. The regions are open. Are you ready to party? Have you staked-out your spot to watch the hoisting of the flags?
To help you get the best vantage-point from which to see the flags being hoist at 13:00 SLT on Sunday June 16th, a map has been produced showing exactly where the flag will rise – simply pick a spot close to any one of red Xs ahead of the ceremony.
X marks the spots – where the SL10B flags will be hoist to mark the official start of SL10BCC and a week of celebrations (click to enlarge)
What to See, Where to Go?
SL10BCC offers twenty regions, many with 36 exhibits apiece in them, plus the Cornfield and Bear Island, and all the various entertainments running 24/7 on the main stages and elsewhere in the regions – and only eight days in which to see it all!
When you have limited in-world time, the numbers can be overwhelming and leave you wondering just how you’ll manage to see all the best bits.
Well, help is at hand. Crap Mariner, SLB veteran, raconteur and robot-about-SL has put together an informative, if personal, guide to all there is at SL10BCC. Each and every exhibit is located, named, and rated. I perosnally find it an invaluable guide if you want to cut to the quick and use your time to the best advantage.
And don’t forget to check-out his Shatoetry exhibit while you’re at it. After all, where else are you ever likely to come across Crap Mariner and William Shatner in the same space, other than in Second Life!
If you want to add some fun to your explorations of SL10BCC but are unsure of where to go, you might consider following in David Abbot’s footsteps as he start out on The Long Walk.
The Long Walk will lead you through the streets of the SL10BCC regions on a journey of discovery.
David Abbot and The Long Walk poster
Every day for the Birthday Week, David will be posting an account to the official SL10BCC blog of his explorations of the celebration regions and recounting some of the amazing sights he sees along the way.
All you have to do is follow in his footsteps. Along each stage of the journey, if you pick-up on the hints and keep your eyes peeled, you can pick up one or two special gifts. But be warned! These may not always be in the locations he mentions directly, although the clues will be there – even if they take the form of an X marking the spot!
He’s already posted his first diary entry in preparation for his explorations, so be such to catch-up with David through the blog and follow in his footsteps daily!
Make Time to Meet The Designers
If you’re not in the mood for partying, or if you’re simply partied-out from the pre-opening entertainments, then why not drop-in to the SL10BCC Auditorium? There will talks and presentations in the auditorium throughout the week, kicking-off with two special Meet the Designers events on Sunday June 16th, hosted by Saffia Widdershins of Prim Perfect:
13:15 SLT – Just Meshing About with guests Maxwell Graf, Cain Maven and Froukje Hoorenbeeke
16:00 SLT – The A’stra Team of Toady Nakamura and Flea Bussy will be talking all things – which will doubtless include their beloved and astounding Grendels. As Philip Rosedale once remarked: As goes Grendels, so goes the grid.” Find out why as Toady and Flea sit down with Saffia.
Sunday 16th June will see celebrations commence across the SL10B Community Celebration regions – 20 sims packed with exhibits, stages, galleries and more – all for you to enjoy. From the 16th through to the 23rd, there will be entertainment going on right across the regions, including the huge set-piece stages such as A’stra (already very much a feature of this blog!) and the amazing birthday cake.
A peek inside the Cake Stage
Given this is SL’s 10th birthday, there are some special pieces to see and enjoy as well – such as the History Walk, which brings you the entire story of Second Life from those “pre-history” years on the late 1990s and early 2000’s right through to today, allowing you to look back over Second Life’s past, and perhaps recall with a smile memorable events you can recall for yourself.
As well as the main celebration regions, you can also tour Bear Island, a traditional aspect of SL birthday events, and – especially for this year – you can pay a visit to the Corn Field, SL’s original Sin Bin, where miscreants would once sent to ponder on their ill deeds.
A portion of SL10BCC’s History Walk
Celebrations kick-off at 12:00 noon SLT on Sunday June 16th
We’ll have music from all four of the SL10BCC stages:
For the complete entertainment schedule for the week of celebrations, please check-out the SL10BCC Event Schedule – there is going to be something going on 24/7 right up until the celebrations come to an end on the 23rd June!
There are exhibits of all shapes and forms at SL10BCC – including those which demonstrate how SL has been able to positively impact and support real-world activities and charities throughout its 10-year history
The Grand Opening – 13:00 SLT
SL10BCC is HUGE, so much so that gathering everyone together in a single group of regions to join in an opening ceremony wasn’t ever going to be easy. And when we have TWENTY regions available, why should we try cramming everyone into just four?
So, to mark the start of the 10th anniversary parties for Second Life, there will be a simple opening ceremony across all 20 regions of SL10BCC – giving you plenty of time to locate a suitable vantage-point to witness the event.
At 13:00 SLT (1:00pm), the SL10BCC flags will be raised right across all 20 regions, symbolising the official opening of the celebrations. All of the flags will remain flying until celebrations come to an end on Sunday June 23rd.
THe SL10BCC Skyline by Whiskey Day (via the SL10BCC Pics of the Day)
Raising and lowering a flag is a very simple ceremony, but an important one. It marks the beginning and end of the Olympics and other special events; in some countries, the raising and lowering of a flag might mark the beginning and end of a school day. In Second Life, doing this on as many sims as possible, all at the same time, means that as many people can attend as possible — and it is symbolic of the way so many people in so many countries can come together in Second Life and share the experience. So we will all share the experience of seeing the flags rise.
You can choose your own vantage point, as you can see a group of flags from almost everywhere. You’ll find them positioned near the edge of sims – and we’ll be posting a full list of locations soon both to the groups and on the blog.
We hope you will be able to join in this very special Opening.
In the meantime, here’s a little something from Kool and the Gang to get us in the mood.
P.S. A Little Word on Lag
I don’t want to dampen anyone’s spirits, but the inevitable reality is that “if you build it and they come” – then you’re going to have lag issues in Second Life. Put 40-50 avatars together in the same region and lag will be looking over everyone’s shoulder.
A lot has been written about lag, and there are a lot of myths and half truths. There is much that can occur server-side which can lead to lag issues. With the assistance of Linden Lab, the core organising team has done as much as possible to minimise these issues, and will be working throughout the week to do the same – regions will be restarted daily and they will be continuously monitored, etc.
However, a good deal of lag users experience isn’t down to the server-side of things – it comes from the client-end of Second Life. To try to alleviate matters a guide on combating lag has been put together, and we do ask that those attending SL10BCC read it, and follow the advice given within it in order for everyone to have a more enjoyable experience when joining-in the celebrations.
The Lab has launched a further part of its input into the SL10B celebrations, with a new free pack offered on the SL Marketplace and a new grid–wide hunt for Premium members.
The Party Pack contains a handful of items all designed to help promote the arrival of materials processing in Second Life, and comprises various items including top hats, lunchboxes, a bottle of something or other (you decide), novelty and sunglasses and jewellery.
Whether the glasses and jewellery will fit the 10th anniversary bear avatar, remains to be seen, but doubtless someone will give them a go (along with the top hat!), so expect to see more wacky pics on Crap Mariner’s SL10B Bear Flickr group!
Premium Hunt – Magellan Linden At Large!
It appears the fabled explorer of Second Life, Magellan Linden, has uncovered a dastardly plot on the part of evil genius, Doctor Talpa. The good bad doctor is attempting to build some form of mind-control machines and take over the world, the Magellan Linden, (mysteriously returned, it would seem, from his mysterious disappearance) is busy building a machine to counter this scheme, but in the meantime YOU are needed to gather materials and components — and to destroy any of Talpa’s machines you can find.
Would you fly with help this man? (image courtesy of Linden Lab)
Premium members can start the hunt right away, by following a link to the Destination Guide, while non-Premium users who would like to participate are invited to upgrade to a Premium account.
I’ve already posted a couple of pieces on the main stage at this year’s SL10B Community Celebrations. However, such the the work of Toady and Flea, that I couldn’t help but get snap-happy as I explored this utterly amazing build. Not even issues with my PC could keep me away!
With press day upon us, and the celebrations due to kick-off on Sunday 16th, I couldn’t resist putting some of the shots I’ve grabbed together into a video piece. Hope you enjoy (best viewed at 720p)!
In appreciation of all of Flea’s and Today’s hard work in bringing this incredible design to life.
P.S. I really should add that not all the secrets on, around and inside A’stra are shown here. These are simply some of my favourite elements of the build; there are more to discover and see – and doubtless some I’ve yet to discover myself!
Linden Lab have offered-up further gifts with which to celebrate SLs tenth birthday – only these are both numbers and time-limited, and only available in-world.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 