Category: Second Life

The further revamp of Linden Realms in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The re-vamped Linden Realms and rock monsters. Credit: Linden Lab

Since it first opened in 2011, Linden Realms has proved to be an enduring game within Second Life. It’s seem various updates over the years, with the most notable (until now) occurring earlier this year when the existing playing regions were effectively fire-bombed as a part of an ongoing saga involving the wicked Ruth, she of the villainy in Tyrah and the Curse of the Magical Glytches (see my review here) and named for the original default avatar of Second Life.

On Tuesday, October 9th, linden Lab announced the latest revamp of the game, which sees it completely overhauled in looks and aims, building further on the backstory of Ruth and possibly – just maybe, perhaps – (I’m not going to give everything away) seeing the return of Old Boozehound himself, Magellan Linden.

In the new version of the game, the Linden Realms regions get a much-needed face-lift with much more modern-looking mesh items (most notably the rock monsters). In terms of game play, players must complete tasks and try to reassemble Ruth’s magical amulet … the breaking of which might have led to Magellan faking his own death in order to escape her wrath. (If this all sounds like the script from a soap opera, wait until Tyrah wakes up and finds Magellan stepping out of the shower*.  Just kidding! Although on second thoughts, I wish I hadn’t; the mental image of an undressed Magellan is now fixed in my head.)

Part of the re-vamped Linden Realms. Credit: Linden Lab

Anyway, I’m not going to go into great depth here, on account that LL have themselves with a veritable tome of documentation and images on the updated game. Suffice it to say, collecting crystals (exchangeable for L$) is still very much a part of things, so expect the new Linden Realms to be as popular as previous iterations.

I can say the new look is refreshing when compared to the old, and the detailing such that the locations spread across the 12 regions of each game area shouldn’t place too much extra load on things when avatars are running hither and thither in their hunt for crystals and amulet bits.

The game HUD has also been nicely updated, and looks the part – the old one really was looking long in the tooth.

The updated game HUD

As always, accessing the game is done via the Portal Parks (links below). As with previous iterations, those new to the game will have to accept the experience to gain access, but if you’ve previously played and have not revoked the game, you’ll be automatically granted access. And no, this isn’t anything to do with Project SSR 😀 .

More is promised by the Lab on Linden Realms, by way of an article on how this new version was developed and built, as a part of the Lab’s efforts to show creators how tools such as Experience Keys might be used.

*Yes folks, A Dallas reference!

Portal Park SLurls

Note the portal Parks and Linden Realms are all rated General.

When you’re Nowhere Else in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else – click any image for full size

Nowhere Else caught my attention through its apparently contradictory labelling: the region name refers to it being “under construction”, while the About Land description define it as a “fully landscaped sim to explore, take photos or just hang out.”

“So, it’s not finished,” Suzy Lekira (Suzy Brandi) says in reference to this apparent contradiction, before continuing, “It never will be. A special place. Drop in, if you like. Having visited the region with Caitlyn, I can confirm that “dropping in” is highly recommended.

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else

Currently sporting a rural setting that – to me at least – suggests somewhere in the north of England, Nowhere Else suggests a place on the edge of a lake surrounded by the peaks of the Pennines (albeit slightly tall peaks!), this is a place for hiking boots and a camera.  No set landing point is offered – or at least, one wasn’t being enforced at the time of our visit – so the SLurl given here is entirely arbitrary.

Located on the flat top of one of the higher points of the region, set well to the east, the location I selected has the advantage of offering views across the landscape whilst also presenting an ideal start to exploration: a small hamlet. It’s the kind of place hikers might start out from for a day on the moors. A broad cobbled road winds down from the chapel, running by the local shops and along which assorted vehicles are parked; vehicles which cast the setting perhaps in a more European direction, as do some of the buildings.

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else

From here, it is possible to strike out across the rough grassland to a thatched cottage, the garden overlooking the northern waters surrounding the region. The cottage, with its terraces, moorings for a rowing boat and outlook is the kind of place it is easy to imagine retiring to; a quite place, close enough to little shops for comfort whilst also offering numerous opportunities for walks without the bother of a lot of traffic.

It’s also, quite frankly, exceptionally picturesque in its setting.

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else

The cottage is just one of a number of houses scattered across the region outside of the village, although the other like across the body of water that cuts an “L” through the region. One of these is a country farm, sitting to the south-west. Again offering plenty of scope for photographs, the farm is linked to a camp site to the north with tents and opportunities for swimming.

One of the attractions of the region is the minimal use of trees, something that gives portions of it the feel of a moorland or high fell. This is further enhanced by the use of Cube Republic’s very excellent sedimentary layered rock forms across parts of the landscape, some of which rise tor-like from the grasslands.  These touches add an air of familiarity as well as realism to the setting that enhances its photogenic appeal, while the considered use of static figures in the village help to bring a greater depth of life to the setting.

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else

While travelling, keep an eye out for the little places where hikers might take a rest: the little deck built out over the river, complete with a barbecue; the Land Rover and its camp site, the rowing boat (and its suitcases!). Throughout the region, the attention to detail is a joy to see.

Simple in design, elegant in execution, Nowhere Else is a visual delight, a place well worth visiting and spending time within. So if you don’t go anywhere else, be sure to visit Nowhere Else.

Nowhere Else; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrNowhere Else

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The artefacts of love and lust in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Artefatos, the G.B.T.H. Project

The hotel sits alongside a canal, the one building lit within the gathering gloom of night. Limned in teal, the entranceway beneath the heavy awning looks cold even in the gloom, but inside is the warm yellow glow of ceiling lights offering a more friendly invitation to come inside, while more of the warm illumination pours out of the entrance leading up to the hotel’s rooms.

This is clearly a discrete establishment: the fact that the rooms can be accessed without the need to pass through the lobby area once a room is booked means patrons – and their guests – can come and go without too much notice. Thus, it is the perfect setting for a lover’s tryst – and for Artefatos (Artefacts), a provocative story-as-art installation by Ash (Ashratum), the latest exhibition presented at the G.B.T.H. (Grab By The Horns) Project, curated by Megan Prumier and Marina Münter.

Artefatos: The G.B.T.H. Project

The hotel lobby offers an introductory guide to the installation. In short, ensure you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled in your viewer (absolutely essential, as the installation uses projected lighting and effects) – just go to Preferences > Graphics and ensure the ALM option is checked. Then climb the stairs to each floor in the hotel and visit each room in turn – there are two rooms to a floor for a total of 6 visits (although the 6th room offers more of a farewell, suggestive that the individuals in the stories might all be one in the same), each with a teleport door that should be touched to “enter” the room (touching the door also returns visitors to the landing “outside”) so they might proceed to the next door.

Each room forms a chapter of a story – the meeting of people brought together in love and – particularly – lust; erotic and sexual encounters. Written from a personal perspective (that of the / a woman in each story), they cast those visiting the rooms into multiple roles.

Artefatos, the G.B.T.H. Project

The most obvious of these roles as that of the storyteller’s male lover; written as recollections of recent encounters. In this, some might be stories designed to titillate and arouse as a kind of foreplay between lovers; in others they might be seen as expressions of regret for what has passed, while other hint at an unburdening of hurt. At the same time, there is an air of revealing secrets through the stories, casting the visitor almost into the role of confidante – although this is overshadowed by the sense that we are in fact voyeurs, having stumbled across the intimate letters from lover to former lover.

Thus, Artefatos presents a layering of interpretation through the stories, which are themselves made further tangible through the objects found within each of the room. These both reflect the story specific to each room whilst also casting visitors into two roles: that of the male lover – the props making us very much part of the story; and (again) that of voyeur, witnessing individual moments from each story from the outside, through the study of the artefacts that have been left behind.

Artefatos, the G.B.T.H.. Project

There is more to these objects than passive illustration, however. For those who speak Portuguese, approaching the items in each room allows the story to unfold through the spoken word via local sounds. For those who don’t speak Portuguese, a note card giver in the wall of the entrance hall to each room will supply the story in English, while extracts are projected onto each bedroom wall – hence the need to have ALM enabled.

The audio project can sometimes be disconcerting, as it is possible to stand within the room and hear multiple voices; but it can also deepen the sense of immersion within the installation, regardless of whether or not you understand what is being said. The passages layered one over the other can become fragments of memory; words said in the past, echoing in our ears. Thus we become not only the man to whom each story is projected, but the male half of the story as he perhaps revisits the scene of an encounter, hearing once again the words said to him in its wake or aftermath.

Artefatos, The G.B.T.H.. Project

A fascinating installation offering a different perspective on artistic expression in Second Life, Artefatos further establishes the G.T.B.H. Project as a forward-thinking gallery space in-world, and will remain open through until November 8th, 2018.

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2018 viewer release summaries, week #40

Posted on by Inara Pey
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates for the week ending Sunday, October 7th

This summary is generally published on every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
  • Note that test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are not recorded in these summaries.

Official LL Viewers

  • Current Release version 5.1.9.519298, dated September 5th, promoted September 26th. Formerly the Rakomelo Maintenance RC viewer – No Change.
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
  • Project viewers:
    • Environmental Enhancement Project (EEP) viewer, version 5.1.10.520121, released on October 3rd.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V5-style

V1-style

  • No updates.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Detectives, nannies, clocks and ghosts in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
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 at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, October 7th

13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street

The third full-length novel written about Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles is likely to be the one Holmesian story which – at least in outline – known to most, whether or not they have actually read any of Holmes’ adventures.

But how many of us know the story as it was originally written? Over the decades it has been adapted for film and television more than 20 times, starting as early as 1914/15 with the 4-part series, Der Hund von Baskerville, and continuing on through to Paul McGuigan’s The Hounds of Baskerville, featured in the BBC’s brilliant Sherlock series.

All of these adaptations have offered their own take on the tale. Some – such as McGuigan’s, have simply taken the title of the story and used it to weave a unique tale of their own; others have stayed true to the basics of the story whilst also adding their own twists and turns quite outside of Conan Doyle’s plot in order to keep their offering fresh and exciting to an audience.

So why not join Cale, David, Corwyn and Kayden as they read from the 1902 original, and discover just how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle unfolded this apparently supernatural tale of giant hounds and murder, and the pivotal role played by John Watson himself?

18:00: Magicland Storytime: Mary Poppins Comes Back

Pulled down from the clouds at the end of a kite string, Mary Poppins is back. In Mary’s care, the Banks children meet the King of the Castle and the Dirty Rascal, visit the upside-down world of Mr. Turvy and his bride, Miss Topsy, and spend a breathless afternoon above the park, dangling from a clutch of balloons.

Find out more with Caledonia Skytower at the The Golden Horseshoe.

Monday, October 8th 19:00: Murder is Bliss

Gyro Muggins reads the first volume in the Jasper Stone series by Ellen Anthony.

In the year 2179, police lieutenant Jasper Stone finds himself called upon to solve the high-profile murder of Elizabeth West. The case appears to revolve around a valuable house – and the leading suspect is West’s disabled son.

But then the son is murdered – and the evidence points towards West’s grand-daughter, Jewell. Only she appears to have a rock-solid alibi for West’s murder. So is there more than one crime, or will Jewell be the next victim?

The more he investigates, the more Stone finds himself entangled in a complicated web of motives and a situation involving not just murder, but drug smuggling and blackmail. And the more he investigates, the more he might just be protecting the woman behind it all.

Tuesday, October 9th 19:00: The House with a Clock in it’s Walls

Faerie Maven-Pralou reads the first in John Bellairs’ Lewis Barnavelt series, originally published in the 1970s.

In the mid-west United States in the 1950s, 11-year-old, orphaned Lewis Barnavelt arrives at the home of his Uncle Jonathan, who has been appointed his guardian. Overweight, shunned by other children, he finds himself in his uncle’s the ramshackle mansion where the ominous ticking of a clock can be heard coming from within the walls.

Lewis soon discovers his uncle is a witch, as is his eccentric neighbour, Mrs. Zimmerman – who is obsessed with the colour purple and anything with “Z” on it – are witches. Fortunately, they are witches of the “good” kind, and they are engaged in a literal race against time.

The ticking coming from within the mansion’s walls belongs to a doomsday clock, and if Uncle Jonathan, Mrs. Zimmerman – and now Lewis – must work out where the bewitched clock has been hidden by the warlocks who once owned the house.

Wednesday, October 10th, 19:00: A Haunting We Will Go

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from E.F. Benson’s ghost stories.

Thursday, October 11th 19:00: The Strange Stairs at the Aldebourne Estate

With Shandon Loring. Also presented in Kitelyhop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/144/129/29.

 

Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The current charity is Feed a Smile.

The ghostly echoes of Pendle Hill in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill – click any image for full size

Pendle Hill, the latest Homestead region design by Lauren Bentham, takes its name – as the introductory note card offered to visitors on arrival states – the hill of the same name located in east Lancashire, England.

England’s Pendle Hill is steeped in history. Standing just 557m (1,827 ft) above sea-level, it is somewhat isolated when compared to the Pennines as a whole. In the 17th century George Fox climbed it and had a vision that resulted in him founding the Religious Society of Friends – and to this day, the name “Pendle” has strong connotations for Quakers. The hill is also the site of a Bronze Age burial ground; while again in the 17th century (and perhaps most famously), it was the location for the  trials of the Pendle witches. Because of this event, it is still regarded as one of the “most haunted places in Britain” in some circles.

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill

It is in reference to Pendle Hill’s notoriety as a haunted place that Lauren – who is also responsible for the another haunting region in the shape of Arranmore (which you can read about here) – has created Pendle Hill in Second Life. She’s actually done so quite cleverly as well, touching as it does her love of the north of England (as seen through her marvellous Netherwood – which you can also read about here, whilst also offering echoes of the physical world Pendle Hill.

As a ghostly / haunted region, Pendle Hill has opened in time for Halloween, but isn’t intended to be purely for the Halloween season; like Arranmore, it will hopefully remain available the year round for people to visit and enjoy. And I have to say that like Arranmore, it is exquisitely atmospheric in its haunted presentation and feel – do make sure you have local sounds enabled when visiting.

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill

The echoes of the physical Pendle Hill can be seen in the way the region is surrounded on three sides by high peaks while remaining apart from them – just as Pendle Hill stands apart from the Pennines. Within the region, black figures hover among the wizened, weathered trees, a possible allusion to the spirits of the Pendle Hill  witches of Pendle Hill, while to the north-west of the region a stone henge can be found, possibly echoing the bronze age history of the hill.

But this is not a place designed to emulate its namesake; nor is it intended to stand in a single moment of time. It has its own unique character, one that spans centuries, from the ancient stones of the henge, through to the wreck of the man-o’-war lying in the shallows off the coast, then forward to more recent times, as evidenced by the sunken and abandoned trawler sitting on the water close by and the tower of a lighthouse with its single, almost baleful eye surveying by turns land and sea. On the land is further evidence of this mixing of times as bent  Victorian gaslights looking like crooked old men are accompanied by the poles of electrical power lines.

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill

There are several routes from the landing point, offering by turns routes to the ancient henge, the lighthouse, an apothecary / magic shop and a hunted house. There is the inevitable cemetery, while skulls hang from branches of trees or even make up their trunks, malevolent green eyes that glow through the mists and darkness staring outwards in menace whilst also drawing visitors to travel beyond the haunted house and the lighthouse and out to a headland. Nor are these green eyes the only ones watching: owls and vultures are in the air or perched where they can, the latter looking as if they might be hoping one or two visitors receive a shock severe enough to keel over … and provide a meal.

As with all of Lauren’s builds there is wonderful attention to detail throughout. Catch the monkey from Stephen King’s The Monkey for example. Other hints / reminders of horror flicks can be found as well; even Hogwarts (which can be a spooky place after all) gets some visual references.

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill

Lauren’s region designs always make for an engaging visit, and Pendle Hill is no exception – although I strongly recommend that for best results you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled in your viewer (Preferences > Graphics > enable ALM), particularly if you’re going to use the supplied torch, as it uses projected light. If you can also manage the region with shadows enabled, so much the better – but this is not an essential requirement for enjoyment of the region.

Photographers can join to local group for a single payment of L$175 and gain rezzing rights to rez props (do please remove them after use!), and a Flickr group is available to those wishing to share their pictures with other visitors to the region. Should you appreciate Pendle Hill, please consider making a donation at the landing point towards its continued presence in Second Life.

Pendle Hill; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrPendle Hill

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