Category: Exploring Second Life

When Shawn Shakespeare first sent me the landmark to Coven of Crows, I initially thought that perhaps it would led me to a region offering something of a Games of Thrones theme. Well, I was entirely wrong – and all the better for being so. Not that I have anything against the books or the TV series; just that having recently waded back through the first three volumes A Song of Ice and Fire, I am a little full with the likes of Jon Snow,  Daenerys Targaryen, Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, Cersei and Tyrion Lannister et al.

A Full region carrying the private island land capacity bonus, and designed by Sena Heartsong, Coven of Crows is, to quote the About Land description “a place between worlds, ruled by crows and magical souls”, to which I would add, “and a place with secrets awaiting discovery”, for such is the case on all counts.

Set in a south-north orientation, the region comprises two main rugged islands linked via the single span of an elegant stone bridge, a handful of smaller isles scattered to either side of them. The more southerly and smaller of this main islands rises on near-vertical cliffs to form the landing point. This sits within a large conservatory offering comfortable seating, information, and wide open doors standing in invitation, from which an arrow-straight path runs due north, passing over a stream that issues forth from the island’s peak and thence over that graceful bridge to reach the larger island.

Here, atop cliffs every inch as sheer as those of the southern island, the great flags of the path rise by way of broad flights of steps to where a great palace of steel and and glass rises, beckoning visitors towards it as its domed roof rises above the tree tops.

Intended as a place of music and dance, this circular house of glass of not the only destination upon this larger isle, however, for the path to it branches severally. One arm runs to the west to join with the island’s edge where water falls to the sea below and views might be taken of the islands that sit on the calm waters below. From here, the path joins with a second, as as it passes on around the island’s edge – and of which, more anon.

A further arm of the path points east, joining with an unpaved way that switch backs down to the waters edge and a small dock, one of many scattered among the islands. These docks form places where a boat might be rezzed (touch the dock and allow time for said boat to be delivered if one is not already available), such that travellers might make their way by water between the various isles.

To the west, two of the islands are linked one to the other by way of a floating bridge, to the east, the two islands can each only be reached the use of the boats. All have points of interest to be found, be they ruins, or round pavilion with cosy bed, or long-dead tree. To the north lies the last of the islands, a high-topped nub of rock, a balloon-supported bridge linking it to the largest island in the group. A long finger of steps crooks its way down one side of this isle, the ruins to top and bottom offering points of photographic interest.

But to return to the large island and the path that runs to the west and north around its high-placed lip. This is the same path as gives access to the high, balloon-held bridge, beyond which it ends in steps that present the way down to a broad shoulder of rock, where another switch back of rocky path winds to the waters below – and the candle-lit entrance to mine-like tunnel entrance might be found.  Enter this, and you will find a long passage, a throat hewn of rock that might swallow you into its depths by way of path and stair.

To enter it is to step into the region’s secret; for as the tunnel descends, so does it arrive at a huge cavern. High-ceilinged from which multiple chandeliers hang, and the broad entrance to a building hewn into the rock draws the eyes. Its columned façade forms the backdrop to what is at first glance a stage, and the great cavern a further place for dance. But a door in the façade gives access to a room beyond, wherein just a hint of the tales from Game of Thrones and thoughts of Aria Stark’s journey might reside.

Facing the entrance to this great chamber is a second tunnel, sitting on the far side of wood and door. Here the path runs beside water over which candles float, and the carved statue of a goddess rises. Thus with this small cavern and the chamber it faces, the mysteries of the island become clearer. But they are not the last of the secrets awaiting discovery, for the path leads onward to where another chamber sits, one perhaps with the largest surprise of all; a place that might be accessed through a second tunnel, one within its entrance somewhat hidden from the the view of the world at large.

Watched over by the crows of its name, their caws and cries filling the air, this is a region rich in detail without being overly burdensome on the viewer; a place where many photographic opportunities await, as do places to sit and cuddle or simply pass the time. Recommended.

SLurl Details

• Coven of Crows (Luminal Worlds, rated Moderate)

Okay, okay. I’ll just come out and say it (as if it wasn’t already obvious) I’m a Hera (Zee9) fangirl. There is simply not a build Hera creates that does not have me grabbing camera, pen, notebook and clicking my heels together in expectation of a teleport pretty much the moment I get to hear about it.

And so it is with her latest design, which has just opened to the public. Whitechapel is a build that takes over from (and kind-of overlaps with) October’s Whitby (which, if you missed it, you can read about here).

Whitechapel, in the East End of London, is perhaps most (infamously) well-known for the 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), five of which were said to have been the work of the mysterious serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. As such, it is a place beloved of drama and mystery, and in the last decade has been featured in two television series: BBC’s, Ripper Street (later financed by Amazon), and the UK Sky TV / American Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful.

It is from both of these, mixed with some additional inspirations that has given birth to this build, as Hera explains:

Many years back I did a game level in Unreal Tournament called From Hell, based on the movie. When I got to SL I wanted to re do it, but unfortunately someone had already taken all my Unreal Textures and used them here to build a Victorian RP sim which looked suspiciously like My Level [from the tournament]. In fact I only came to SL originally because a friend said many sims were using my textures, and of course they were 🙂 Such is SL. 

Anyway, this is the Victorian sim I always wanted to build. It is based on three sources, which is why I call it “Penny Dreadful meets From Hell on Ripper Street” . Most of my favourite characters are here: Jack and all his murders, Sweeny Todd, Scrooge, Dorian grey, Alan Quartermain, Dr Jekyll, Victor Frankenstein, and all their associated locations from the aforementioned TV series. Hope you enjoy what you find, It was fun to do it at last!

– Hera (Zee9)

The setting is reached via Hera’s main landing point, which also gives access to Drune Gotham (which has reopened alongside of Whitechapel, the region having been closed to allow Hera to build the latter). From here, a further teleport will carry visitors to the sooty enclosure of Whitechapel underground station, a train hissing and chugging on the tracks (this is the era before the use of electricity as the means of locomotion for such transport under the city). No dress code is enforced, but Hera requests visitors consider being somewhat appropriately dressed for the period.

The station emerges on Commercial Road, which for those who are not familiar with the East End was, and remains, one of the main thoroughfares of the district, some 3 km (1.9 miles) in length, commencing a junction with Whitechapel High Street to run east to the (now old and redeveloped) London Docklands.

In particular, this part of Commercial Road connects to Hanabury Street (which I take to be a slight mis-spelling of “Hanbury Street”), where in 1884 Florence Eleanor Soper, the daughter-in-law of General William Booth of The Salvation Army, established The Women’s Social Work, a house intended to be a place where young woman might be persuaded not to turn to prostitution, and a retreat for those already suffering from the trade.

It was also in the back yard of No. 29 Hanbury St, that the body of Annie Chapman, believed to have been Jack the Ripper’s second victim, was found on September 8th, 1888. And indeed, the shop-come-house can be found here, complete with interior and its grisly backyard, although the real No. 29 Hanbury Street has long since gone from Whitechapel, with the number today applied to a building on the opposite side of the road.

Also within the setting are Berner Street, a further road exiting off of Commercial Road, and the place where the body of the Ripper’s third victim,  Elizabeth Stride was found (Sunday 30th September 1888); Mitre Square (Catherine Eddowes, also 30th September 1888, within an hour of Stride’s murder); the house at Miller’s Court (wherein the body of Mary Jane Kelly, the Ripper’s final canonical victim, was found on the morning of November, 9th, 1888, the only victim found indoors; and finally, the narrow passage of Bucks Row, where on the morning of August 31st, 1888, covered by a tarpaulin, the body of the Ripper’s first canonical victim, Mary Ann Nichols was found.

Nor is it just the Ripper murders awaiting discovery.

Whilst I have not seen all of Penny Dreadful, there is much from that series awaiting discovery – be it Malcolm Murray study, the chamber in which Dorian Gray hides his portrait, Frankenstein’s attic laboratory; while from Ripper Street one might find other elements – such as what might be the station house for H Division of the London Police, and base of operations for Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake. The latter, like many of the buildings along the streets, has an interior, making it – and them – suitable for photography and / or light role-play for the period; elsewhere, a reference to at least one game might also be found. All of this lies under an environment setting that is mindful of Whitby, but unique to Whitechapel.

As us usual with Hera’s builds, the work: structures, roads, signage,  and more are all her own work, with only the various street décor – cars, lamps, carts, etc., and various items used into interiors or additional dressing coming from other creators. This is one of the reasons – alongside of her vision and attention to detail – that makes Hera’s design so visually engaging and worthy of praise.

But for now I have said enough: Whitechapel awaiting explorers and those who wish to delve into some of the mysteries bound with it; and I urge those with a love of exploring Second Life to visit sooner rather than later, lest Hera’s muse whispers to her and calls for a new location to be built. And, if you do visit and enjoy, please consider a donation to the Batbear at the landing point in a show of appreciation for Hera’s continuing work.

SLurl Details

• Whitechapel / Drune Gotham landing point (Cloud Lake, rated Adult)

It’s hard to believe that Spielberg’s Jurassic Park is nigh-on 30 years old. Whatever you may think of the sequels, the original was a seminal piece of cinematic adventure, a lightning-in-a-bottle moment of film-making (even if the science is as wonky as ride on a bus with hexagonal wheels); even now, the scene where Grant and Sattler first see the dinosaurs on Isla Nubar, complete with John Williams’ soaring theme, can bring a lump to the throat and cause the eyes to water.

I cannot promise the same reaction when visiting Justice Vought’s Jurassic Park! in Second Life – but I can say you’ll get to have quite the adventure when visiting (complete with a extract of Williams’ theme). In places drawing on the entire film franchise but with a strong emphasis on Isla Nubar, Justice presents a personal interpretation of the film and novel that captures several of the former’s iconic moments, and which includes some rather unique chuckle moments that set outside of the film’s story, but very much feel well-suited to the moment here.

A visit starts down within caves where dinosaur skeletons are being uncovered together with insects trapped within fossilised amber. From here, visitors are invited to find their way to where they can board a helicopter (rezzed on touching the box at the helipad) to fly, a-la Alan Grant, (Sam Neill), Eliie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm  (the always brilliant Jeff Goldblum) to John Hammond’s fabled park.

From there, and progressing through the visitor centre, the park is laid out as several distinct sky-based areas linked by teleports and various means of travel (including the caverns of the arrival point). The visitor centre itself gives a nice feel of the one seen in the film, complete with the T-Rex skeleton (check for a sit-point!) and the huge banner that is intended to greet guests. A little ride (best taken in Mouselook) reveals the secrets of creating dinos, whilst touching the door at the back of the centre will carry you to the park gates, where you can start your tour via jeep.

I really do not want to give too much away here, for fear of spoiling a visit; however, some elements are hard to avoid mentioning. The jeep ride will take you so far – passing by way of the T-Rex enclosure and its hapless goat – before you’ll have to continue on foot, coming across a Triceratops and a pair of Diplodocus, passing on the other side of the T-Rex enclosure (now looking somewhat the worse for wear and with a fun pose), whilst close by, a Baryonnyx appears to be stalking a Parasaurolophus.

Other dinosaurs waiting to be encountered include Carnotaurus, Pteranodon (one of which you can rez and ride), Stygimoloch (which may actually be juvenile Pachycephalosaurus), Iguanodon, Allosaurus – and, of course, velociraptors and ol’ T-Rex himself, complete with a novel recreation of a scene from the film (with pedal extremities replacing the jeep!).

Along the way there are numerous things to click on, from rezzers to givers and assorted interactive elements – look for the red and blue arrows and click where directed – but also be sure to Mouse over in places. There’s also a trap featuring monsters of its own, and one particularly novel way of … blasting … yourself between points in the park!

At the end of the adventure, you can rez and grab a helicopter to escape what might otherwise be a grizzly fate, and this will carry you to a waypoint you can use to either journey back to the start of the adventure, or hop back to the visitor centre or the disaster area. With tiny meteor periodically falling the the ground, this also offers a reminder of the eventual fate of the dinosaurs. Donations for the maintenance of Juctice’s Oxygen locations (of which this is a part) can be made here as well.

Justice always puts a lot of effort into his builds, and Jurassic Park is no exception. The range of dinos means that most of the film franchise is represented, although the focus is clearly on the original film / book, as noted. Yes, not all the reptiles are animated – but this does help reduce script load and things like animation loading / running on the viewer, and it doesn’t stop a visit from being fun; I think I can safely say it’s the first time I’ve ever been digested by a closet when travelling!

Fun to visit and explore individually or with friends. My thanks to Justice for the personal invite, and to Shawn for also sending me the LM!

SLurl Details

• Jurassic Park! (River, rated Moderate)

There can be very few of us who do not have at least one Linden Bear sitting in Inventory somewhere – and most likely more than one (I have a good handful tucked away, and I’ve not been a major collector). Primarily created by the staff at the Lab (together with the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works), they are one of the Great Staples of Second Life, much sought-after by many, and held as prized possessions.

Linden Bears were, alongside of Linden Collector Cards, the brainchild of Nicole Linden, who joined Linden Lab as the first female international liaison, and the first female Linden from Australia, far back in the mists of time. I have no idea if she ever realised how popular they would be, but Linden Bears have become something of a rite of passage for Lab employees, who are expected to create one (with those at senior level being asked at virtually every public appearance they make if they have one available to give to collectors!), with special in-house courses being given in their construction.

At one time, Linden Bears used to all be made to the original template developed by Nicole Linden – but I have absolutely no idea if that is still the case today. What I do know is that, as well as individual bears being produced by Lab staff,  there has also been a long tradition of creating celebratory bears to mark events and occasions – such as the “1,000,0000th Bear” produced to mark the 1,000,000th user entering SL (at precisely, for those interested  at precisely 8:05:45 SLT, October 18th, 2008).

All of this is by way of introducing the fact that for the bear minded, Claire Atheria has opened the Bear Castle, an incredible display of 497 Linden (and Mole!) bears, 281 of which are from her personal collection(!), with the rest being provided by Maryposa Paine, Michael Takakura, Nicci Pond, Melvin Starbrook and Prokofy Neva.

Located alongside Route 8A within the continent of Satori, Bear Castle sits on a table of rock overlooking the road (and so hard to miss when casually travelling through lower Satori) and is brimming forth with bears from Lindens and past and present, Moles and from Claire and other residents. So many in fact, that they call cannot fit inside the main building or its courtyard, but can instead be found gathered in the pavilion alongside the museum proper and also lining the road (so be sure to cam around / descend the steps from the landing point and have a good look around). Such is the collection that, look long enough and you’ll find some of Nicole’s original bears as well as some more recent creations such as Magic Mole’s Ebbe Linden Bear, as offered to help raise funds for RFL of SL, and various “Team” bears offered on behalf of different Linden working teams, and more.

Of course, not all Linden Bears are bears, so within the collection might be found Leo Linden’s lion, Blue Linden’s dragon, one of April Linden’s bunnies, Terrance Linden’s Monkey, Torley Linden’s … abstract art (no-one could create a bear quite like Torley!), and several of Alexa Linden’s annual bears, to name but a few. Not all bears are of the same approximate size either – so be prepared to zoom in at times –  and also zoom out!

For those wishing to start their own Linden Bear collection, Claire also offers some hints and tips on where to find them through a note card giver, and even a “starter pack” of 50 sharable bears by LL staff and members of the LDPW! All of which makes for a pleasing visit / trip down memory lane.

Given this is all about the bears, I cannot help but close by “borrowing” a song from Disney’s version of Baloo Bear and tweaking the lyrics a little:

Look for the bear necessities
The Linden Bear necessities.
Forget about your worries and your strife;
Our Linden Bear necessities
Are why avies can rest with ease
Collecting bears right here in Second Life!

With thanks to Claire and all involved in this project.

SLurl Details

• Bear Castle (Dechene, rated Moderate)

We’re getting to the time of year when Second Life tends to be awash with winter / Christmas / end-of-year themed regions, all rich with snow and winter wonderland settings to tromp through and enjoy.

One such place that recently opened as a winter’s setting is that of Eccapaiari Mountains, a charming quarter-region design by Terrygold, located on the ground level of the Solo Arte parcel, where it replaces her earlier Osta Nimosa setting (see: Resting in Osta Nimosa in Second life). As with that setting, this snowy design is easy on the eye, but offers plenty to see whilst forming an ideal backdrop for photography.

From the landing point, a cart track winds its way around the edge of the parcel, high cliffs to one side, rough lowland to the other spotted by trees, shrubs and bird houses, all of them – cliffs, rocks, bare ground, flora and bird houses  – brushed over with snow, which also frosts the shrubs and plants bordering the track.  As the this track curves to follow the base of the cliffs, so the land to its right opens out to reveal a broad lake, its water frozen into stillness.

As the land opens, so too do buildings come into view: a small chapel and outhouses for a farm, the track splitting before reaching them, one arm following the edge of the lake, the other curling back on itself to pass by the outhouses and reach the low-slung farmhouse, its roof heavy in an insulating blanket of snow. A small summer house sits across the trail from the farmhouse, its interior heated by a wood-burning stove, with both farmhouse and summerhouse thus offering cosy retreats from the snow for those who seek them.

The lake offers the opportunity for skating – there is a skate giver sign on the edge of the ice as the track loops around a rocky outcrop to bring its two arms back together into a single path. Here, sitting outdoors, visitors can enjoy a hot glass of mulled wine  or, if skates aren’t to their linking, rez a sled from a second sign and scoot their way around the ice.

Beyond the little hut serving the hot drinks, steps climb up to a small viewing point looking out over the off-region elements of the setting. Those who are so minded might find the dance system as well, sitting in the lee of the tree that also helps shade the little hut, while across the ice a love seat sits within a little wooden shelter where couples might cosy up together.

Rounded out by an outdoor fire pit with chairs awaiting those who wish to use them, and the a large sled that also offers single sits and couples cuddles, Eccapaiari Mountains is hardly going to tax anyone’s viewer and is nicely finished with a suitable soundscape. For photographers, the local EEP setting are fine, although for the images here, I opted to use one of my personal settings, which I hope gives a sense

My thanks to Terrygold for the invite to visit!

SLurl Details

• Eccapaiari Mountains (Mystic Bay, rated Moderate)