Exploring Witch’s Rock in Second Life

Witch’s Rock Costa Rica, January 2020 – click any image for full size

Note:  Witch’s Rock has relocated.

Alsatian Kidd recently pointed us in the direction of the Homestead region of Witch’s Rock Costa Rica, the work of VW Sands and JT Castanea.

Apparently inspired by Roca Bruja or Witch’s Rock, on the west coast of Costa Rica, the region offers, like that location, the opportunity for surfing in a broad bay backed by high hills of rich green, the foreshore area presenting a mix of beach, hill walks and places to relax.

Witch’s Rock, Costa Rica, January 2020

The landing point is located in a deep valley to the south-east of the region, tucked neatly between the hills of the region and the hills of the off-sim surround, a curtain of trees dividing the two. It’s a neat location in which to arrive: the rest of the region’s offerings are neatly hidden from view and, while there is a place to sit and relax close to hand, a sign beckons arrivals to climb a set of stone steps cutting through a cleft in the hills. This leads to a path that quickly forks, a group of signs suggesting possible routes to take.

Follow those pointing along the horse trail / towards the bar, and you’ll quickly come across the back of the latter – circle around to the left of it to find your way up to the deck at the front. This offers a view westwards and down to the the shoreline and an almost continuous roll of breakers heading towards it.

Witch’s Rock, Costa Rica, January 2020

A stream running down from the hills splits the landscape, separating the grass and shrub topped dunes below the bar from the sands and surf paraphernalia of the local beach, a couple of simple wooden bridges spanning it. Those wishing to surf the waves can do so from the beach, while above and behind the rezzers is a bar awaiting customers.

A further stream tumbles over rocks to separate the beach and bar from the northern reach of the region. Sandy in nature again, this features a large corral and a barn, a track cutting between the two. A saddle sits by the barn’s fencing; those touching it can rez a horse and take to the hoof and ride around the rest of the region, taking the trail that runs eastward up the slope and between misty trees.

Witch’s Rock Costa Rica, January 2020

Following this route will being riders – and walkers – to large rocky pool, a single channel extending from it to form the head of the two streams mentioned above. Crossing this via the lone rope bridge allows travellers to follow a grass trail that runs back past the steps leading down to the landing point, and thence to the hilltop bar. Continue south and west along the trail as it descends back to the west coast, where a ride can be finished off by a gallop along the shallows of the shore.

Those who fancy spending time on the water without having to surf can do so either by taking a seat in the little rowing boat calmly sitting offshore despite the waves, or – if an eye is kept out for it – grabbing the little motor boat mooring at the southern wharf.

Witch’s Rock Costa Rica, January 2020

For those who enjoy SL surfing, Witch’s Rock Costa Rica makes for an interesting visit, while there is enough within the region to keep SL photographers happy as well, the local bird life and the ambient sound scape give the region further depth.

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All4Art at Beau Belles Village in Second Life

All4Art: Agleo Runningbear

All4Art opened its January / February 2020 exhibition on Saturday, January 25th. Featuring another ensemble of artists, the exhibition this time has moved to Beau Belle Village, offering visitors both the opportunity to visit the art on display and to explore the region itself – although for those who wish to focus their time on the art, a series of teleport discs are available to carry them back and forth between individual displays and the main landing point.

Established by Carelyna Resident, All4Art has a mandate to move art in Second Life beyond the more traditional exhibition spaces, as the group’s description describes thus:

The vision of this group is to make art inclusive and not limit them to the galleries in SL. This is a group of artists who are driven by the need to express themselves and create art for art’s sake. The artists will show their artworks in public places other than galleries in successive itinerant exhibitions.

All4Art: Leonorah Beverly

For this exhibition, All4Art is showcasing Etamae, EvangelinaBurroughs, Kimeu, MTH63, Mylena1992, Nabrej Aabye, Leonorah Beverly, Judylynn India, Agleo Runningbear and Carelyna herself. Together they present a rich mix of SL and physical world art, with a lean potentially towards the latter, given some of the Second Life images are rendered as paintings. Almost all of the artists confine themselves to 2D works, although Nabrej Aabye offers a trio of sculptures alongside his paintings.

Meanwhile, Beau Belle’s Village offers an intriguing space for the display, mixing as it does public spaces and private rentals. Those wishing to view the art by exploring the region should do so by following the arrows pointing the way from exhibit to exhibit – the first of these arrows can be found just down from the landing point teleport discs, directing people over a humpbacked bridge.

This route will take you first along the waterfront, passing JudyLynn’s art – a set of abstracts on the them of circles, thence to Leonorah Beverly’s Second Life landscape studies presented as paintings, and onwards still along the waterfront to Carelyna’s display (down on the wharf) which again offers Second Life scenes as paintings which might be said to have something of a Van Gogh influence to them, before arriving at Agleo Runningbear ‘s quite marvellous ink wash studies of New York City that are bracketed by two colour paintings.

All4Art: Mylena1992

A little back tracking from here is required to return to the tunnel leading to the rest of the region and the remaining artists (or you can scramble up a snow-sided hill and descend by wooden steps to reach the rest of the art!). Perhaps the most striking exhibit in this part of the region is Milena1992’s; this is in part because it is contained within a hard-to-miss semi-transparent yellow surround, but mostly because it pricks at the conscience by presenting concerns about the increasingly worrying state of the planet’s climate, and exhibition in part presented with a backdrop of trees engulfed in flames – a reminder of the wildfires that visited themselves on so many around the world in 2019.

Also to be found inland are the displays by EvangelinaBurroughs (which includes a part of eye-catching paintings-as-drapes), Kimeu, Etame and Nabreij, while nestled on the north-east beach is a selection of abstract expressionist pieces by MTH63.

All4Art: EvangelinaBurroughs

Taken together, this is a richly diverse selection of art, for which there is no official closing date – the exhibition will remain in place as long as the region holders are prepared to host it.

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Circuses, gardens, trees, daughters and seas

Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.

Sunday, January 26

13:30: Tea-Time at the Night Circus

Caledonia Skytower and Kayden Oconnell read selections from Erin Morgenstern’s 2011 tale about a circus that suddenly arrives without warning. One day a field is empty, the next the circus, with big top and paraphernalia is just there. Called Le Cirque des Rêves, it is only open at night and offers visitors a unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.

But behind the scenes, lies a fierce competition – a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.

Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. But Celia and Marco tumble head-first into love – a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons of the circus, hang in the balance, one as precarious as the swings used by the acrobats who entertain without a net.

18:30: The Secret Garden

Caledonia Skytower reads this classic of children’s literature  by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published in 1911, at the Golden Horseshoe in Magicland Park.

Orphaned after losing her parents in a cholera epidemic, young Mary Lennox returns to England from India, entering the care of her uncle Archibald Craven, whom she has never met.

Up until this point, Mary’s childhood had not been happy; her parents were selfish and self-seeking, regarding her as a burden over which they were not obliged to hold much responsibility. Not overly healthy herself, she is as a result  a temperamental, stubborn and unmistakably rude child – and her arrival at Misselthwaite Manor and the relative gloom of Yorkshire’s weather does little to improve her mein.

Her disposition also isn’t helped by her uncle, who is strict and uncompromising, leading to Mary despising him. But her uncle’s story is itself filled with tragedy, particularly the loss of his wife. As she learns more about her uncle’s past, so Mary learns about a walled garden Mrs. Craven once kept, separated from the rest of the grounds and which, since her passing has been kept locked by Mary’s uncle, the door leading to it kept locked, the key to it buried somewhere. 

Finding the missing key and the now hidden door, Mary enters the garden, and her passage into it starts her on a journey of friendship and discovery, one that leads her to the thing she never really knew: family.

Monday, January 27th 19:00: The Integral Trees

Dispatched on a mission of exploration, the Earth ship Discipline, operated by the the all-powerful State, encountered a strange phenomenon: a torus-like ring of gas and dust surrounding a neutron star. Within the torus, the crew discover a thriving ecosystem of plant and animal lifeforms that have evolved to living continually in a state of free-fall.

Despite being overseen by the ship’s AI system, Sharls Davis Kendy, from which they received advice and information, the crew abandoned the Discipline in favour of living among the plants and trees of the torus, which they call the Smoke Ring.

Now, 500 years later, the descends of the original crew have formed a tribal society focused around some of the trees of the system. Adapted to free-fall life, their societal structures are sharply divided, with “wars” common among them, as well as stronger tribes raiding or enslaving weaker tribes, whilst in all of them, artefacts from the original mission are sought-after and venerated. 

In the midst of a round of aggression between various tribal factions, one group find themselves aboard an original craft from the Discipline and caught in space beyond the Smoke Ring, where the Discipline and Kendy are still waiting – and Kendy is willing to provide assistance.

Join Gyro Muggins for more.

Tuesday, January 28th 19:00 The Daughter of Odren

For fourteen years, Weed, as she is called, the daughter of Lord Garnet, has brought offerings to the standing stone. Alone in a shallow valley, she implores the stone not to forget her. To remember who he is and the life he led. To wait until the day he will be avenged.

Now the day has finally arrived. After fourteen long years of waiting, he will have his revenge and she will have her father back.

Or will she?

Willow Moonlight reads Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea Cycle 6.5.

Wednesday, January 29th, 19:00:The Starless Sea

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Erin Morgenstern’s novel.

Deep beneath the surface of the Earth and upon the shores of the Starless Sea, lies a network of tunnels and rooms filled with stories and tales. The ways into this secret place are many, but hidden, and perhaps set for just one individual to find. They exist where least expected: on the floors of forests, behind doors inside private homes or around alleyway corners or within mountain caves – almost anywhere in which they cannot be anticipated.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place.

When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is…

Thursday, January 30th

19:00 The Furies Part 2

Myths and Legends with Shandon Loring. Also in Kitely – grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

21:00 Seanchai Late Night

Contemporary Sci-Fi-Fantasy from online sources such as Light Speed, Escape Pod, and Clarkesworld presented by Finn  Zeddmore.

2020 TPVD meetings week #4 summary

Recollection, December 2019 – blog post

The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer meeting held on January 24th, 2020. A video of the meeting is embedded below, my thanks to Pantera for recording and providing it. As always:

  • Time stamps are given with links that will open the video at the appropriate point in a separate browser tab for reference.
  • Core points of the meeting are listed below. Other subjects of lesser import may have been discussed, please refer to the video.

The latter part of this (brief) meeting comprised a text chat discussion amongst Firestorm people on profile picture aspect ratios and Firestorm UI skins. If interested, please refer to the video.

SL Viewer News

[0:13-6:35]

The rest of the viewer release pipelines remain unchanged:

  • Current Release version 6.3.5.533275, formerly the Wassail RC viewer, dated December 4, promoted December 12 – No change.
  • Release channel cohorts:
  • Project viewers:
    • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
    • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
    • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.3.2.530836, September 17, 2019. Covers the re-integration of Viewer Profiles.
    • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

General Viewer Notes

  • It is anticipated the Xanté Maintenance RC will be promoted to de facto release status in week #5 (commencing Monday, January 27th). This is a milestone viewer for the Lab as it will be the first to be built and released using the new Github infrastructure.
    • Under the new structure, both viewer-dev and viewer build should have their master branch updated when a viewer is promoted.
    • Most viewer builds outside of the release version should now be seen as branches within viewer-dev.
  • Viewer build work is now primarily focused on the transition to using Visual Studio 2017 and a recent version of Xcode.
    • Python 3 will be made a part of the viewer build process “over the next couple of months”.
  • [13:48-14:00] Despite it being only a project viewer, the Legacy Profiles viewer is being touted as the next in line for release after the Xanté Maintenance RC, so it would seem the viewer is going to go through a rapid RC promotion and cycle.

In Brief

  • [9:16-10:25] the graphics / rendering team has been focused on trying to clear the EEP bugs so that project can be released. However, the issue of OSX OpenGL deprecation issue is “pretty much” next on their list to dig into. Even so, it might still be a while before the Lab is in a position to discuss anything related to decisions and future direction on the matter, although as changes start to be made, they will be through publicly-viewable repos.
  • [13:17-13:46] There are some issues in dealing with “long names” that are affecting the deployment of Name Changes. As this is a web-based capability, it is not anticipated there will be a project of RC viewer specific to the capability.

First looks: Camera Presets Second Life RC viewer

On Friday, January 24th, Linden Lab issued the Camera Presets release candidate viewer – links at the end of this article.

Developed as a result of the code contributions and work of Jonathan Yap, who was responsible for bringing graphics presets to the viewer (which allows users to create and store custom graphics settings for their viewer – see: Early looks: Avatar Complexity and Graphics Presets (2015)). This idea with this viewer is to provide an easy and intuitive means for users to be able to create avatar camera positions they find comfortable to use, and which can be saved and used as needed.

Many people have developed custom camera placement options that range from instructions on editing the camera debug settings through to the use of scripted HUDs. Some third-party viewer developers also provide adjusted defaults within their viewer offerings. There are many reasons for doing this – from things like improved game play (combat games, etc.), through to being able to better build to scale without fear of cameras ending up stuck the wrong side of ceilings, etc. For my part, and as an example, I’ve long used Penny Patton’s camera offsets, which she first allowed me to reproduce in these pages far back in 2011 (see: SL Camera Offsets), and which I still use today, saved as a part of my personal settings for Firestorm.

However, manually setting up a camera preset involves a dive into using the viewer’s Debug settings – something many users do not find comfortable and which is not particularly easy unless you know exactly which debug options to play with. The Camera Presets Viewer eliminates this by providing access to the required options through the viewer UI and by using the camera controls. What’s more, it makes it possible to create and save multiple camera presets that cane be used as requires with a simple click or two of the mouse.

To achieve this, the Camera Presets RC viewer presents five new or updated UI elements::

  • The Camera Presets icon and drop-down – presenting the means to quickly access and use created camera offsets.
  • An updated camera floater, which is used to both control your camera and create any camera presets you may need. It in turn provides access to three new options:
    • A new Camera Position floater – allows you to create a camera preset using the Camera Offset and Focus Offset debug settings.
    • A My Camera Presets floater – allows you manage your camera presets:
      • Delete any custom ones you have created or
      • Reset a “standard” Front, Rear or Side camera preset you may have replace with your own values to its default position.
    • A Save option – directly save a camera offset you have created under a unique name (adding it to the Presets drop-down) or using it to replace one of the default camera positions of Front, Side or Rear.
The Camera Presets options and floaters (includes the updated Camera Controls floater, centre)

A Quick-Fire Guide to Creating and Using a Camera Preset with the Viewer

Note that you can create multiple camera presets, depending on your SL needs.

Creating a Custom Preset Using the Camera Controls

  1. Open the Camera Control floater by:
    • Either clicking the Custom Preset icon at the top right of the viewer window to open the drop-down and then clicking the Open Camera Floater option.
    • Or clicking on the Camera Controls (Eye) button in your viewer’s tool bar.
  2. With the Camera Control floater open, clicked the required view button (Front, Side, Rear) if required.
  3. Use the camera orbit, slide and zoom controls on the left of the camera floater to position your camera as you would like it to be relative to your avatar.
  4. When you are satisfied with the camera position and angle, click Save As Preset button in the floater, and:
    • Either make sure the Save As New Preset radio button is selected and type a name for the preset in the text box.
    • Or click the radio button for Replace a Preset, then click the button to display a list of current presets and highlight the one you wish to replace (including one of the three default positions, shown in italics).
  5. When you have entered a name or made your choice, click Save.
The revised Camera Controls floater and using it to create camera presets

Creating a Custom Preset Using the Precise Controls

If you have a numeric set of camera and focus offsets you use (e.g. such as those provided by Penny Patton):

  1. Follow steps (1.) and (2.) above to display the Camera Controls floater.
  2. In the Camera Controls floater, click Use Precise Controls to display the Camera Position floater.
  3. Enter your X, Y and Z figures for the Camera and Focus offset positions. Use the spinners to fine-tune your positioning, if required.
  4. As there is no field for entering a CameraOffsetScale adjustment, zoom must be used as an arbitrary means of setting camera distance from the avatar, should this require adjusting.
  5. When you are satisfied with the camera position, follow steps (4.) and (5.) above to save your camera preset.

Using Your Presets

  • From the Presets icon:
    • Click the Custom Preset icon at the top right of the viewer window to open the drop-down.
    • Click on the required preset name to select it.
  • From the Camera Controls floater:
    • Either click on the required view button (Front, Side Rear).
    • Or click on the Use Preset button (only available if custom presets have been created) and select the required custom preset.
  • Note that with either approach, the currently-selected custom preset will be indicated in both the presets drop down (by a tick appearing next to it) and in the Camera Controls (the Use Preset button will update to display the name of the preset being used).

Deleting or Resetting Default Presets

Note you can only delete custom presets and reset default presets. Note that no confirmation is requested: actions will be immediately implemented.

  1. Display the Camera Controls floater.
  2. Click the gear icon.
  3. The My Camera Presets panel opens (may default to the top left of your screen).
  4. Hover the mouse over the preset you wish to delete or reset.
    • Custom presets will display a trash can. Click it to delete the preset.
    • Default presets will display a reset icon. Click it to return the preset to its original values.

Feedback

This capability has been in development by Jonathan for a while, and it is good to see it finally surface. As a long-time user of custom camera presets I’ve been looking forward to Jonathan’s work seeing the light of day in the hope it will provide an easier means for people to adjust their camera without the fear / concern of having to dive into debug settings.

In this, I was somewhat disappointed to see there is no option to quickly enter a value CameraOffsetScale using the “precise controls”. It’s a minor niggle, although it can be advantageous to some views in having the camera set back further than the usual default distance. While the zoom slider can still be used to achieve this, it is somewhat arbitrary compared to entering a precise value, which still requires the use of the debug setting to achieve.

On the positive side, being able to set a preset through the familiar orbit, zoom and slide controls in the Camera Controls floater is probably going to be more than enough for most users, and the approach makes experimentation and playing with camera presets a lot less off-putting than tweaking debug settings.

Also, all of the new panels and drop-downs are clear and easy to understand, although some on laptops or lower-resolution screens might find the increased size of the Camera Control floater gives rise to a certain amount of gritting of teeth if it is a floater they like to keep open. For my part I admit to liking the way in which it brings all the Camera Control options together as a single visible element, rather than having to “page” between them as is currently the case with the release viewer.

Given the contained nature of the capability and the fact it appears to be working exactly as advertised – and my hope that CameraOffsetScale might find a way to being included in Camera Positions Floater with a future release notwithstanding – I suspect this might be a viewer that could quickly find its way to being promoted to de facto release over the next few weeks, rather than awaiting its turn in line behind others.

Links

A Dream of Asia in Second Life

Th Dream of Asia, January 2020 – click any image for full size

Miro Collas recently suggested we drop into the regions designed by Tatjana DeCuir and her SL partner, arvo, which have recently been redesigned to have an Asian / far east theme. Comprising two Full private regions making use of the additional 10K Land Capacity, they form a two-region estate that is home to a range of activities, including DJ sessions and dancing, and some that are more adult-related.

The range of activities is reflected at the skyborne landing point, which features a large teleport board (also to be found at various points on the ground) directing visitors to various locations. Which option you take is entirely dependent upon personal choice and the reason for visiting. However, if you’re dropping in to explore and / or to take photographs, Caitlyn and I would recommend the Bubble Tour teleport as a good place to start.

The Dream of Asia, January 2020

Located on a beach sitting in a broad bay, the Bubble Tour is a point from which it is possible to complete a full tour of the regions either on foot or via the multi-seat bubble that will fly you around and over the islands to give you a bird’s eye view of their layout and surrounds. The latter is a particularly unhurried way to pass the time when travelling with someone, as the speed ensures you can relax, set your camera position (and rotate it occasionally) and enjoy a conversation, point of the sights to one another and just appreciate the view.

Given the setting does cover two regions, there is a lot to see, and there is more than enough variation in the design to keep visitors fully engaged in travelling from beach to hilltop walk, passing through rain forest or along semi-paved paths along the way, discovering ancient ruins or well-maintained gardens, all the while drawn by the high roofs of buildings perched on cliffs or straddling stone plateaus. The network of paths and trails means that is is possible to find your way around both regions without resorting to the use of the teleport boards, but care needs also to be taken as some of the paths may not be as obvious as others.

The Dream of Asia, January 2020

This rich mix of settings brings together hints of Malaysia and the Philippines with those of Japan and China (notably through the buildings and the presence of panda). Given the off-sim surrounds, the feeling is very much that this is a place hidden somewhere along the Pacific coast of Asia (the presence of African elephants on the beach notwithstanding); a realm hidden amongst a group of protective islands, shielding itself from prying eyes.

From the bubble tour landing point, it is possible to go inland, climbing a natural “stairway” that looks to have been worn into the rock by the passage of time and feet (or perhaps in the distant past, by water), rather than being cut by hand, or follow the beach to the north. I’d recommend the latter route, as it presents a logical means to circumnavigate the regions, starting by taking the low bridge to cross the channel of water feeding the bay to enter the eastern region. Here the land points a bent-tipped finger out into the eastern sea, home home to a DJ stage built both over a natural pool of water and partially under the protective arc of a natural rock arch.

The Dream of Asia, January 2020

The finger ends in the tall and foreboding form of what might have once been a fort watching over the bay to the south. Sitting in  its own grounds and elevated in a defensive manner, it is now a location for some of the more adult activities in the estate, being a Shibari house. To one side of its paved forecourt stands a red wall with circular open gateway. Pass through this, and a shrub and tree bordered path leads back to the western region, passing by way of pandas and a bamboo glade into the region’s rain forest.

Here can be found a sense of ancient design – flagstoned ground, a broken statue to Buddha (which appears to have a rock formation sprouting through it!), shrines, water channels and much of the region’s wildlife. multiple paths wind through it, offering opportunity to explore. Some of these lead the way directly up to the plateau sitting above the rain forest that is home to what might be regarded as a former palace or similar official residence, complete with outbuildings, a water garden, reception pavilion and fountains. All are open to public use and make for a striking setting.

The Dream of Asia, January 2020

Just below this large terrace, however, and nestled into the south-west corner of the region is the most marvellous house and gardens setting. It can be reached by both the rock steps leading up from the beach not far from the bubble tour, or by finding the corner path and steps that clip one side of the rain forest as they descend from the plateau. I’d highly recommend leaving this aspect of the estate for the final part of any exploratory tour, and that you reach it via the path down from the high terrace, simply because the beauty of the design is well worth holding until last.

The path from the plateau will bring you by way of rock and stone arch to a gorgeous hanging garden lit by cast-iron lamps (found elsewhere in the region as well), presenting a shaded path to the house and its broader gardens. With the mix of trees, plants, water and winding paths, it is an idyllic and romantic setting which invites visitor to again relax and appreciate a natural beauty. The house itself does not appear to be a private residence, although I would suggest the best way to appreciate it is from the gardens, where there are several places to sit and pass the time.

The Dream of Asia, January 2020

Being a predominantly mesh build that has a very high volume of textures, it can be somewhat taxing on viewers, so saving the use of shadows for taking photos and turning them off when walking might be advisable, as might dropping draw distance if you have it set to longer distances.  However, with much to see and many places to sit and enjoy a cuddle or a dance to be found throughout both regions, and additional attractions such as the self-fly bubble cars (rezzers marked by signs), this iteration of LebensRaum is a place that can easily entice visitors into passing their time.

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