Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, October 29
This summary is published 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.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version 5.0.8.329115, dated September 22nd, promoted October 13th – formerly the “Moonshine” Maintenance RC – no change.
Scare Me Silly: one of the destinations for the 2017 Creepy Crawl
Following their recent call for venues, Linden Lab announced the route for this year’s Halloween Creepy Crawl on Monday, October 30th, via a blog post by Xiola Linden.
The Creepy Crawl is a growing tradition whereby Lindens and Residents get dressed up in their best Halloween costumes and roam from spooky spot to spooky spot for music, dancing, and celebrating.
Costumes are strongly encouraged for this event – and L$5,000 is available in a special costume contest (rules here). Just keep in mind that this event is for General and Moderate audiences when perfecting your look. There is also a special witch hat pack from DevilAii available from vendors placed along the Crawl route.
As Xiola has blogged, the event will take place between 10:00 and 14:00 SLT on Tuesday, October 31st, and will be moving through a number of selected venues:
In the middle of all this, from 12:00 noon to 13:00 SLT, there will be a stop-off for the Pumpkin Smash Fight. This will take place at the old snowball fight arena, which has been specially redressed for the occasion.
The Silent Mind is a beautiful retreat occupying a Homestead region. It was suggested as a place to visit by Shakespeare and Max (once again! ♥), designed by Belfana, who describes it as “A quiet, cosy place.” I actually think she undersells it; The Silent Mind is an absolute delight, mixing multiple elements – the every day, fantasy, fairy tale and even a little hint of seasonal curio and a dash of whimsy.
The setting is that of a rugged island, temperate in looks and feel, where a visit begins on the west side, mid-way up the tall cliffs that rise step-like from a curved beach. Here sits the first hint of fantasy: the landing point occupies a ring of elven arches, a friendly troll standing in greeting. A bicycle, basket laden with sunflowers, offers a subtle pointer that this is not purely a realm of fantasy. A look over the edge of the cliffs to the beach below will further confirm this, parked on the sand is a little VW Beetle and camper parked, a surf board lying in the waves.
A stone path and stairs offer a route down from the landing area, passing a look-out point complete with dance machine (one of several to be found across the island), to eventually arrive at a low-lying coastal track, offering two routes of exploration to the east and north. However, walk out onto the cinder shore, and you’ll be able to see the southern spur of the island, apparently reached by wading through the shallow waters.
At the time Caitlyn and I visited, part of this southern headland was given over to a little nod towards Halloween, with mists lying around arched thorns, a cloaked figure and two Gothic vampires waiting to greet those treading the path under the thorny arches. Beyond these, across a greensward, sits a charming wooden house built out over the water, a ribbon of beach passing under it. The house is open to exploration, and the beach offers a way to where the little Beetle car and its caravan are parked.
For those wishing to follow the tracks from the foot of the cliffs, the one pointing inland quickly brings you to a small lake, crossed by wooden walkways. It is here that another taste of fantasy can be found: ancient ruins built back into the cliffs and seemingly guarded by the skull of a dragon – one of two to be found on the island. This is also a place for romance as well; a little seating area can be found within the ruins, close to where water tumbles down from ancient aqueducts, and a dance machine is close by.
One of the wooden walkways connecting the ruins to the rest of the island re-joins the main track to the north. It’s along this track, and it curves around the island from the foot of the cliffs, that the fairy tale touches can again be found: more friendly trolls stand by the track and story books wait to be read. There are also delightful touches of whimsy as well – keep an eye out for the chinchilla enjoying a bath and a tropical drink.
Sitting off the north side of the island is a little green house, reached by a path of foam over the waves. facing it, beneath the shade of a great tree with leaves turning and autumn red, is a garden picnic watched over by chipmunks. Nor is that all. Across the island are little scenes worthy of discovery – although some might take a little careful walking / climbing to find – and places to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.
The Silent Mind really is superbly designed and laid out, and as Belfana says, it is an ideal location for those seek peace and relaxation, whether on their one or with a friend or companion. All-in-all, a genuinely delightful visit. Should you enjoy your time visiting, please consider tipping one of the trolls!
I don’t know how many souls I have. I’ve changed at every moment. I always feel like a stranger. I’ve never seen or found myself. From being so much, I have only soul.
This is the opening stanza of Fernando Pessoa’s lament about our relationship with self, I don’t know how many souls Ihave, the first two lines of which serve as an introduction to Theda Tammas’ Dissected Soul, now on display at Split Screen, curated by Dividni Shostakovich.
The poem examines the idea that throughout our lives, we never really know precisely who we are. Are we ever really just one person? Or are we an amalgam of experience and reaction – reaction to what we’re feeling, the environment around us, the situation we are in – and the way in which those around us perceive us at that point in time? And how are we affected by the masks we willingly wear according the circumstance – the parent, the lover, the work colleague, the confidante, et al? How do they affect our perception of who we might be – or who we think we are? Is it possible that throughout our lives, the only one who knows the mystery of who we are is God?
Against this backdrop, Theda presents an intriguing series of sculptures reflecting this idea of multiple selves. They are fractured, dissected, even presenting one face whilst holding aloft another. Through them wind red lines – heart lines perhaps, a reflection of the time we are given in life. Curling around these lines are strings of barbed wire; a metaphor, possibly, for the blades and sharpness of life which can so easily cause us to change our perception of self and step further away from really knowing ourselves. Central to all of this is a shattered heart, seat of the soul, further echoing the idea of dissected self, broken by our confusion over who we really are.
Given that Second Life is a place which allows us to wear whatever mask we choose and express ourselves in so many different ways, the lament perhaps has special significance; just how many of those masks we use within Second Life, the identities we adopt, further distance us from our core self – or soul?
Dissected Soul, is a fascinating, thought-provoking piece, both questioning who we are and presenting a new facet on the discussion of Second Life and identity.
It’s time to kick-off 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.
It’s that time of year when ghosts and ghouls arise, when demons and vampires and more walk abroad; it’s a time for spooky stories and terrifying tales to be told by moonlight or in darkened rooms. And if you’re someone who enjoys spine-tingling yarns, we have just the thing for you at Holly Kai Park – The Great Boo!
Join us on Sunday, October 29th from 12:00 noon SLT, as Seanchai Library presents an afternoon of Halloween stories live in voice, followed by devilish music and dancing.
Then at 2:00pm SLT DJ Joy Canadeo rocks the terrestrial plain, and the “beyond” with great tunes among the spirits. Grab a ghostly friend and join in the dance!
The event is in support of Feed A Smile, Holly Kai Park’s adopted charity, and will take place at a suitably spooky setting courtesy of Pandemonium Haunted Holly Kai – can also be reached via any of the teleport mirrors located at the landing points around the park.
Caledonia with Selections from Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book live at the Golden Horseshoe in Magicland Park.
Monday, October 30th 19:00: Reckoning Infinity
Gyro Muggins reads John E. Stith’s alien first contact story, once described as “Rendezvous with Rama meets James and the Giant Peach“!
Lieutenant Commander Alis Mary Nussem, her body partially bionic, isn’t to happy about finding herself aboard the same space vessel as the man she deems responsible for the accident which robbed her of a part of her natural body. However, she must put aside her differences with scientist Karl Stanton when a massive object enters the solar system, apparently on course to be swallowed by the Sun – but not before it will collide with a space station in Earth orbit.
Ordered to investigate the object, which is as large as a moon and quickly given the name “Cantaloupe,” Nussem, Stanton and the crew of their ship rendezvous with it, only to find they are not the first: the wreck of another vessel lies on the surface, a hole drilled into the object close by. The only means of entry to the Cantaloupe, Nussem and Stanton lead a team down through it – to make a stunning discovery.
Like Nussem, Cantaloupe is an bio-mechanical entity. It is alive, but it’s interior also have pipes, elevators chambers and more within. But it is also a place of danger – as Nussem and her also companions quickly discover – some to their cost. It’s also a place of unexpected surprises, as the crew’s biggest discovery proves…
Also presented in Kitely hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/108/609/1528.
Tuesday, October 31st
19:00 Halloween At Hogwarts
With Caledonia Skytower.
20:30 Halloween Late Night
Spooky tales with Shandon Loring and Kayden OConnel, including a special presentation of The Fall of the House of Usher.
Wednesday, November 1st, 19:00 Dia De Los Muertos
Tales of celebration and family with Caledonia Skytower. Also presented in Kitely hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/108/609/1528.
Thursday, November 2nd
19:00 Ellen Glasgow’s The Shadowy Third
With Shandon Loring. Also presented in Kitely hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/108/609/1528.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary science fiction with Finn Zeddmore.
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for October – December 2017 is Habitat for Humanity, with a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live – a safe and clean place to call home.
After a two-year absence, Loki Eliot’s The Well has returned to Second Life for the Haunted Season. This is the fourth instalment of hat had been intended to be a 3-part series, as Loki explains, ” I thought that, with The Well Infirmos, that was it with regards to The Well. But here we are again with a 4th and this time (I promise) final chapter!”
The WellThe Well first appeared in 2012, offering a horror themed mystery adventure centred on attempts to rescue a little boy who had fallen down an old well and into the labyrinth of tunnels and caverns which lay beneath it. In 2013, he followed this with The Well:Sollicitus (see here for more). There then followed a two-year break before the aforementioned The Well Infirmos appeared in 2015 (see here for more).
With each iteration, Loki has expanded The Well to incorporate various capabilities which were, at the time, either new to Second life (such as materials and Experience Keys), or new to Loki. The latest instalment continues this tradition, Loki having used photogrammetry to help him develop the build:
I went out into real woods and took photo surveys of muddy pathways. These were then used to create 3D models of the woods which I then used in The Wells woodland scenes in the hope of adding realism to the spooky atmosphere.
Having spent well over an hour within the latest instalment in the series, I can say the Loki’s efforts in modelling this way were well worth it. His woodlands look and feel “real”, and are about as confusing as walking at night through a dense woodland can be.
So, what is The Well: Ultimum all about? To start with, it is something of a prequel to the other instalments, the story focusing on a young boy (the one from the original 2012 instalment?). He perhaps doesn’t live in the happiest of households, as we learn through his diary. It’s a place where strange activities take place, and even the youngster himself seems to be drawn to the dark things that may be creeping through the woods – and to the mysterious well of the title, which he sees as a maw waiting to devour people, spurring him to wonder what it might be like to be eaten alive…
Those who have played previous instalments of The Well will recognise the basic format: read the information regarding viewer settings, join the game experience (if you’ve previously played The Well Infirmos and have not revoked permissions, you’ll already have the Experience permissions enabled), pay a fee (L$200) to gain the game HUD (which will attach to the bottom of your screen and needs to remain attached through your visit), then read the instructions which are initially displayed on your screen once the HUD is attached.
I don’t want to give too much away as to what you’ll find / encounter along the way. Suffice it to say, the game is interactive – there are items scattered around the various locations you must stand near – or avoid.
Those you must stand near are located in the first two locations in the game – the boy’s bedroom and the woodlands outside his home. They are signified by rising orange particles, and when close to them, an orange-on-black information icon is display on the game HUD – clicking it will display instructions or a page from the boy’s diary. Returning to any of these information points will display the Information icon as yellow-on-black, indicating you have previously read it.
There is one piece of information you must obtain before you can leave the boy’s bedroom, while the woodlands have multiple information points scattered through it, although the goal is to reach the titular well. It’s worth spending a little time in the woods to make sure find most or all of the information points. There are also additional interactive points in both the bedroom and woods, which give insight into the boy’s interests.
The well itself drops you into a labyrinth of tunnels. It is here that the SANITY bar in the HUD comes into play, as you are warned on arrival Do Not Touch The Shadows. These are blood-red apparitions which will appear and attempt to touch you (so don’t stand still for too long!). If they do, you’ll find your sanity slipping away. There are other things in the tunnels which can drain your sanity – but oddly, they can also give rewards!
As with the woods, the aim is to find your way through the tunnels to where another portal lies. This leads you on to – well, I’ll let you find that out on your own.
The Well: Ultimum – for those from England, there are some Easter eggs to be found: poetry by Robert Duncan and an appearance by Michael Parkinson (above). “He’s a throw back to when I was a kid watching Ghost Watch,” Loki said. “It was one of the first ever reality TV shows. The fact Parkinson was presenting it convinced many it was all true.”
The Well: Ultimum is as enjoyable as the previous instalments of The Well, and well worth the L$200 HUD price to play – although I’d recommend giving yourself at least an hour to do so, particularly as this really is the last instalment in the series.
“Next year will be even more terrifying with Animesh!” Loki informed me as we chatted about the adventure. “But I think I’ve done enough with wells. It will be something new!”
