Category: Second Life

Murder, alien encounters, monsters and magic

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

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.

Sunday, October 1st

13:30: Tea Time at Baker Street

The pages of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, the final set of twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories first published in the Strand Magazine between October 1921 and April 1927, are once again opened for another tale from the diaries of Dr. John Watson…

This week: The Adventure of the Lions’s Mane

“It is a most singular thing that a problem which was certainly as abstruse and unusual as any which I have faced in my long professional career should have come to me after my retirement, and be brought, as it were, to my very door. It occurred after my withdrawal to my little Sussex home, when I had given myself up entirely to that soothing life of Nature for which I had so often yearned during the long years spent amid the gloom of London. At this period of my life the good Watson had passed almost beyond my ken. An occasional week-end visit was the most that I ever saw of him. Thus I must act as my own chronicler.”

Thus begins the second of only two stories of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures to be narrated by the great man himself. As the opening suggests, Holmes is now in retirement in Sussex, where he meets an old friend whilst on the beach. Harold Stackhurst is the headmaster of a local preparatory school, and as the two men chat, one of the masters from the school, Fitzroy McPherson, staggers up to them, his torso covered in livid welts as if he had been whipped with a hot wire. McPherson manages to utter the words, “Lion’s mane,” before dying.

More mystery ensues when it emerges that McPherson was involved with one Maud Bellamy – much to the chagrin of her father and brother -, and he had a sometimes strained friendship with another of the school’s masters, Ian Murdoch. What’s more, Murdoch may have also once been a suitor for Maud Bellamy.

Is murder most foul in the air? Could hatred or jealousy be the reason? Is McPherson’s death the result of his involvement with Maud Bellamy? The mystery seems to become more perplexing when McPherson’s dog is found dead, apparently having suffered as agonizingly as its master. But is its discovery the clue Holmes has been seeking?

To find out more, be sure to turn up on time for a spot of afternoon tea at Baker Street!

18:00 Magicland Storytime: The Black Cauldron

Join Caledonia Skytower at Magicland Park.

Monday, October 2nd 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…

Tuesday, October 3rd 19:00: Monsters of the Midwest

Join Kayden Oconnell for tales of bigfoot, werewolves and other legendary creatures! They are all absolutely true … except the ones that aren’t …

Wednesday, October 4th, 19:00 The Water Mirror

Faerie Maven-Pralou reads Kei Meyer’s tale of magic.

Merle is apprenticed to a maker of magic mirrors. She even has one of her own, with a surface of water into which she can reach without ever getting wet – magic being a relatively common thing in Venice. Meanwhile, her friend Serafin, once a master thief, now works for a weaver of magic cloth.

Both Merle and Serafin accept the wonders of the city, from the mermaids in the canal to the stone lions on which the city guards ride on their patrols. But all is not well; beyond the walls of the city, the Egyptian Empire is laying siege, an army of mummy warriors and flying sunbarks held at bay by the power of the Flowing Queen, which runs through the city’s canals and hold the enemy forces at bay.

Then Merle and Serafin overhear a plot to capture the Flowing Queen and render the city defenceless. And while no-one actually knows what the Queen looks like, they set out to protect and / or rescue her. In doing so, they must ally themselves with the Ancient Traitor and journey into the realm of Dark Reflections…

Thursday, October 5th

19:00 From the Shadows

Shadows is a series of eleven horror anthologies edited by Charles L. Grant and published by Doubleday between 1978 and 1991. Grant, a proponent of “quiet horror”, initiated the series in order to showcase this kind of fiction. It dispenses with the traditional trappings of horror and avoids most physical violence. Instead, the stories take place in every day settings, and feature a slow accumulations of dread through subtle omens. While Grant himself was very adept at this kind of fiction, he contributed no stories to the anthologies, writing only the introductions and author profiles.

For this reading, Shandon Loring has selected Mrs Clendon’s Place by  Joseph Payne Brennan, and The Haunting by Susan Casper, both of which appeared in Shadows 7 in 1984 (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 August and September is Little Kids Rock, transforming lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education in schools.

Rock Your Rack 2017 charity art show opens in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rock Your Rack Art Show and Auction

The 2017 Rock Your Rack Art Show and Auction in support of Rock Your Rack opened on Saturday, September 30th, 2017, and will run through until Saturday, October 14th, alongside the main Rock Your Rack 2017 events.

Rock Your Rack is the annual fund-raiser started in October of 2012 by Jamee Sandalwood and the team at Models Giving Back for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). Founded in 1991, NBCF’s mission is to help women in the United States by providing help and inspiring hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services. NBCF is also joining hands with organisations around the globe to provide breast cancer education.

Curated and coordinated by Kultivate Magazine on behalf of Rock Your Rack, the art show features 32 2D and 3D artists, all of whom are offering one or more items in their art displays with 100% of proceeds going to Rock Your Rack.

Rock Your Rack Art Show and Auction

The participating artists are: angyel Resident, artandsoul constantine, Astrid Zhangsun, Beth Pentewyn, Booyakashaka Resident, CalystiaMoonShadow, captainofmysoul, chanasitsayo, Daruma Boa, DrusillaGwind Resident, Eleseren Brianna, Elle Thorkveld, emberdearheart Resident, Eucalyptus Carroll, FreeDom Voix, ilyra chardin, Inquisitor Titanium, Jamee Sandalwood, John Brianna, Karma Weymann, Kerry Streeter, M8ty Resident, Meishagirl Resident, Myra Wildmist, NaTaS Janus, retroye resident, Sandi Benelli, Sheba Blitz, tisephone resident, Veruca Tammas, Vivienne Darcy, and Wintergeist.

Events accompanying the Art Show include the return of the Pink Art Ball with live performer SaraMarie Philly on Saturday, September 20th at 16:00 SLT, a special gift card raffle, and a special art auction bundle, featuring work by Cica Ghost and Bryn Oh. The art show will participate in the Rock Your Rack hunt, where hunt goers can search for hangers throughout the art area and the rest of the region.

Rock Your Rack

As well as the Art Show, Rock Your Rack features shopping, a silent auction, live entertainment, DJs, the aforementioned hunt … all in a beach themed location so those of us facing the approach of winter can enjoy a last moment of sunshine for 2017, and those in the southern hemisphere can greet the forthcoming arrival of summer!

The complete schedule of events can be found at the Rock Your Rack calendar, and on the entertainment page of the website, together with details of the hunt and auction, and a list of participating sponsors.

SLurls and Links

Bloggies 2017: last chance to vote

Posted on by Inara Pey
via BVN

September 30th marks the last day of voting in the Blogger and Vlogger Network (BVN) 2017 Blogger and Vlogger Awards, also to be known has “The Bloggies”, intended to recognise bloggers and vloggers covering Second Life. Nominations took place in July / August, and voting  / judging opened on September 1st.

Nominations for public voting have been split into a number of categories, which cover topics such as fashion, accessories, home and garden, news, SL travel, humour, tutorials, and newcomer blogs. A number of special awards will additionally be given for a selected set of categories: BVN Member of the Year, Founders Award, Blogger or Vlogger of the year, Best Female Fashion Blogger, and Best Male Fashion Blogger.

I’ve so far steered clear of writing about the awards, as I’m actually a nominee in one category, and writing when nominated feels somewhat self-serving. However, there is a lot of variety within the various categories (including a number of blogs I’d not come across before (to my loss) and am now enjoying taking a look at as and when time permits.Also, given this is the last day for voting, it seems a good time to offer a reminder that voting is about to close for anyone still intending to vote, but hasn’t so far done so.

So if you haven’t already voted, hop over to The Bloggies  before the end of the day on September 3th, 2017, look through the nominated blogs in the categories, and vote on those you like – note that voting requires a Google account to prevent multiple repeat votes.

Winning nominees will be announced on Saturday, October 14th.

SL project updates 39/2: Content Creation User Group

Posted on by Inara Pey
Content Creation User Group Meeting, Hippotropolis Camp Fire Circle

The following notes are taken from the Content Creation User Group meeting, held on  Thursday, September 28th, 2017 at 13:00 SLT at the the Hippotropolis Camp Fire Circle. The meeting is chaired by Vir Linden, and agenda notes, etc, are usually available on the Content Creation User Group wiki page.

Medhue Simoni live steamed the meeting to You Tube, and his video is embedded at the end of this article, with key points of discussion noted below. Time stamps to the recording are included below, and clicking on any of them will launch the video in a separate browser tab at the assigned point. However as these notes present the meeting in terms of topics discussed, rather than a chronological breakdown of the meeting, so some time stamps may appear to be out of sequence.

Animesh (Animated Mesh)

“I like the name ‘animated objects’ because I think it’s unambiguous, but it takes a long time to type!” – Vir Linden joking about the name “Animesh”.

Project Summary

The goal of this project is to provide a means of animating rigged mesh objects using the avatar skeleton, in whole or in part, to provide things like independently moveable pets / creatures, and animated scenery features via scripted animation. It involves both viewer and server-side changes.

In short, an Animesh object:

  • Can be any object (generally rigged / skinned mesh) which and contains the necessary animations and controlling scripts in its own inventory  (Contents tab of the Build floater) required for it to animate itself.
  • Can be a single mesh object or a linkset of objects (link them first, then set them to Animated Mesh via the Build floater > Features).
  • Has been flagged as and Animesh object in the project viewer, and so has an avatar skeleton associated with it.
  • Can use many existing animations.

Note that the focus of this project is not currently about providing fully-functional NPCs at this point in time, which is seen as a follow-on project.

Current Progress

[3:32-4:00] We are getting close to seeing a project viewer for Animesh.  Vir is about to submit a build to the Lab’s QA team for testing, which should be done by the time of the next meeting (Thursday, October 12th, 2017). The outcome of the testing will help determine when we might see the project viewer made publicly available.

[4:00-4:37] Most recently, Vir has been working on issues with the transform matrices when handling Animesh attachments. He’s now got these to a point where things can be edited and positioned where they are needed. There may be some further iterations on this work, but it appears to be working well enough for testing now, once the project viewer is available.

Constraints

This discussion on constraints, and triangle limits in particular ran throughout most of the meeting in chat, with a large portion of the meeting from around the 50 minutes to the end of the hour being almost exclusively personal viewpoints chat. I’ve attempted to highlight the key points of the discussion below.

[6:05-7:25] As noted in previous CCUG meeting notes, some constraints on Animesh are required to prevent undue impact at either the simulator or (particularly) viewer end of the system. These constraints will be in addition to any already in place in SL, and include:

  • Limiting the overall complexity of an Animesh object
  • A land impact surcharge for in-world Animesh objects (currently set to 200LI per region for testing purposes).
  • Limiting how many Animesh items an avatar can have attached at any one time (currently set to one for testing purposes).
  • Limiting the number of triangles an Animesh object (attached or in-world) can contain, the figure for this the topic of debate.

[8:21-9:08] The initial limits will be documented when the project viewer is released. Vir will be working on this and other related Animesh documentation when the viewer goes to QA for testing.

[12:30-13:30]  The limit will come into play when converting an object (or linkset) to Animesh in-world (note there is no check at upload, as a) the uploader has no way of knowing if a rigged mesh item is specifically Animesh or not without changes; and b) an in-world check allows existing in-world mesh to be used as / with Animesh without the need to re-upload). It will be triggered through the viewer, enforced by the server.

[15:04-15:58, [16:02-18:35] There is doubt is the 20K tri limit is high enough – even Vir is not sure, and may raise it before the project viewer is made available.

[18:39-19:22] Concern was raised about the impact of the servers decompressing mesh objects in order to calculate the number of tris the number of objects in an item in order to check if the Animesh limit is exceeded. Vir explains this isn’t how it’s done. Rather the server has a estimation for the likely tri count based on the size of the data objects which store the triangles – which is essentially the same figure used in the rendering / streaming cost calculations, and gives a close enough estimate to be reliable.

[20:40-28:58] Some would like to see it raised “just for testing”. however, Vir’s concern is that once the project viewer is available, the Aditi test regions are liable to be inundated with Animesh objects, resulting in them being overloaded with no meaningful data collected. The flips side to this is that an initial limit of 35K or 50K would mean that more existing content could be “flipped” to Animesh status, without the need necessarily for creators to have to create models specifically for Animesh testing.

[31:47-32:47] As the tri limit is managed server-side, it may be possible to have different regions set with different limits to offer a variety of testing environments.

[20:01-20:30] Animesh will increase the server load in other ways. Whereas the tri count was only affected by in-world objects, it will now have to account for worn Animesh as well.

[34:54-35:42] The important thing to note with these constraints is that they are preliminary and for the purposes of testing. Depending on the results obtained, some of them might well be relaxed both as testing progresses and prior to Animesh being formally released. As Vir notes, it is potentially much easier – and less upsetting – to start with very tight constraints and then loosen them as data is gathered, rather than start with very broad constraints and then try to restrict them over time. so, the intent is with the testing is to lay the grounds for a more informed discussion on limits – tri counts, LI, and everything else. Nothing, at this point in time or with the arrival of the project viewer in due course, is set in stone.

[47:21-50:23] Could the number of tris in an Animesh be tied to land impact, rather than a basic surcharge regardless? Possibly; again, the 200 LI surcharge is purely for initially region-based testing. This is already how land impact works elsewhere. However, there is always a basic cost associated with an avatar skeleton, so this needed to be factored-in as well, however minimal it might be for a single skeleton.

Test Content

[4:50-5:42] The idea for the Lab to provide more in the way of test content to help those wanting to get started with Animesh has been passed to the Linden Department of Public Works (LPDW) team. They’ve in turn assigned someone to produce some test content which will be made available through the Library (and so will appear in people’s inventory under Library when available).

How Will Animesh Attachments Work?

[9:10-12:10] Essentially the same as any other attachment, using an avatar attachment point. The Animesh item is attached via its root joint, and then can be edited to fit (translation / rotation).  Animesh can also currently be attached to HUD point, but this is liable to be disabled, particularly as it is will require more work to get it to function reliably, and there aren’t any obvious use cases.

Bakes on Mesh

Project Summary

Extending the current avatar baking service to allow wearable textures (skins, tattoos, clothing) to be applied directly to mesh bodies as well as system avatars. This involves server-side changes, including updating the baking service to support 1024×1024 textures, and may in time lead to a reduction in the complexity of mesh avatar bodies and heads. The project is in two phases:

  • The current work to update the baking service to support 1024×1024 textures.
  • An intended follow-on project to actually support baking textures onto avatar mesh surfaces (and potentially other mesh objects as well). This has yet to fully defined in terms of implementation and when it might be slotted into SL development time frames.

This work does not include normal or specular map support, as these are not part of the existing baking service.

Current Status

[7:40-8:04] The updates to the service to manage 1024×1024 textures and compositing has been in testing with LL’s QA team, and it has been reported that the higher resolution texture capability (the baking service only supports 512×512) has the potential to impact the performance of the bake service, so a load test is being planned.

[14:17-14:37] The first part of the bakes on mesh project will not include any kind of API for injecting layers into the bake stack (e.g. to ensure that layers from the likes of appliers are stacked correctly (e.g. underwear, shirt, top), by the baking service. The might be added in the future.

[29:00-29:40] Essentially, the project currently breaks down into two core activities:

  • First stage: just to increase the maximum resolution the baking service can support (1024×1024, as noted above)
  • First (and larger) stage: to get the bakes on mesh to help with baking to mesh bodies. This work is “further down the line”.

[38:00-41:10] Once Animesh is released, the plan would be to also extend bakes on mesh to support Animesh objects as a part of the Animesh follow-on project, which would see Animesh objects have a notion of a shape, plus wearables in their object inventory.

Other Items

[14:39-15:03] As a ploy count will be used for Animesh constraints, can llGetObjectDetails() have a parameter to return the count is a scripted enquiry? Possibly, but not as part of the Animesh project.

There is no Content Creation meeting in week #40 (commencing, Monday, October 2nd). As noted above, the next meeting will be Thursday, October 12th, 2017.

A Dark Moon rises for Halloween in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

MDark Moon, Calas Halloween 201; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrDark Moon, Calas Halloween 2017 – click any image for full size

Every year, Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith produce a stunning immersive environment in Second Life to celebrate Halloween and to help support their Calas Galadhon regions. In 2017, they opted for a sci-fi design with the title Dark Moon; it carries a degree of emphasis on a certain film franchise ideal for  Halloween, richly re-imagined and with little twists of humour along the way.

“It’s something that’s been fun putting together, and a little bit different for us,” Ty informed me when inviting Caitlyn and I over for a sneak peek shortly before the region opened to members of the Calas Galadhon group.  To be honest, “different” is not the word I would use – not unless it is spelt “astonishing”, at least; because Dark Moon is a stunning build. It will open to the public on Sunday, October 1st, 2017 and will remain so through to the end of the month. However, until then, anyone joining the Calas Galadhon in-world group can enjoy advanced access.

MDark Moon, Calas Halloween 201; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrDark Moon, Calas Halloween 2017

Spanning several levels, Dark Moon carries visitors on an adventure from space ship to moon’s core, with much to discover along the way. The voyage begins on the EVA / cargo handling deck of the Cargo Ship Utopia, where visitors can find instructions for best viewing the installation. In short order, make sure you have Graphics > Preferences > Advanced Lighting Model enabled (you do not need to enable shadows, so hopefully the performance hint won’t be too great), set your viewer to the region Windlight settings (Midnight) and make sure both local sounds and the audio stream are active. I’d also recommend dropping draw distance down as well; this is largely an enclosed build, and except for one or two points along the way, a draw distance of 128 metres is more than sufficient.

It’s pretty clear that the Utopia has encountered serious troubles. The cargo deck is in disarray, and many of the crew appear to have taken to space suits to escape the ship – some of them perishing in their attempts, smashed visors and broken suits testament to the violence which overcame them. Corridors are splashed with blood, and the causes of the panic await visitors within the ship’s biodomes, which might be encountered whilst seeking the teleport portal off the ship.

MDark Moon, Calas Halloween 201; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrDark Moon, Calas Halloween 2017

This will lead visitors down to the surface of a moon. Here the tour shuttle awaits visitors, waiting to whisk them through the remaining levels of the build and to the Dark Moon itself. I recommend the ride; it gives a feel for the explorations to come – although it far from reveals all. However, Caitlyn and I did at times find the default camera positioning in the shuttles a little troublesome.

At the end of the tour is a teleport to get back to the moon’s surface – and from there a further portal, once reached, carries visitors into the bowels of the satellite, on the first step of a progressive downward journey. This take you through stunning aliens scenes from the gigantic setting of a high-tech civilisation, through a field of very familiar mist-enshrouded eggs and down into catacomb-like halls. to where a final portal awaits those who find it.

MDark Moon, Calas Halloween 201; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrDark Moon, Calas Halloween 2017

The sheer scale of these builds is such that it can be hard to find the way – so look for the silver figures as they point towards routes which can be taken. There are also secret ways, tunnels and chambers awaiting discovery, one of which holds the famous Space Jockey. These may not have obvious points of entry – or have entry points which take you by surprise; such as dropping through a coruscating pattern on the “ground”.

And there is a touch of familiar humour as well – when aboard the Utopia,  for example, take a look at one or two of the spacesuited figures nearer the ship’s hull; you might note a familiar someone. There are also nods in place to other sci-fi franchises  – such as the guardians of the final portal lading to the Dark Moon, where a month of entertainment is planned throughout October. Keep your eyes out, as well, for the zero gee dispenser in the catacombs and an opportunity to float around parts of the installation.

MDark Moon, Calas Halloween 201; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrDark Moon, Calas Halloween 2017

The Calas Galadhon Halloween and Christmas builds are ways a joy to visit. They are a reminder of the rich vein of creativity evident in Second Life and offer superb opportunities for exploration, photography, and fun and socialising through the events held within them. However, they also serve another purpose: to help raise the funds needed to keep the Calas Galadhon regions open for the enjoyment of everyone in Second Life. Ty and Tuck meet 40% of the cost of the eleven regions (including Erebor, the home of the Halloween / Christmas builds) out of their own pockets – so, when you come across the donation kiosks scattered throughout the Dark Moon builds, please do drop some Lindens into one of them.

To (hopefully) entice you into visiting, here’s a little video I shot ahead of the opening – and I hope 20th Century Fox don’t mind the choice of music! 🙂 .

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Taking a drift through Tokyo in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo – click any image for full size

Stretching across the skies of three Full regions (each making use of the additional 10K LI allowance available to private region holders to increase their overall capacity to 30K), is Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo.

Designed by a team led by Eripom Moonwall, it’s a meticulous build, one which has taken several months to bring together, but which is stunning in its look. Blending together elements powerfully evocative of modern-day Japan and periods from the city’s earlier history, it is awash with detail, and only lacking an active population- hopefully that will change over time.

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo

As the build is spread across three regions, it can be a little bewildering to find your way around – and there is a heck of a lot to see and discover. The middle of the three LMs for the city – which delivers visitors to the Morpire City downtown area – is a good place to start, setting visitors down in a small open air area alongside a cafeteria-style restaurant (the Mitsumi-Town LM disconcertingly drops visitors in the middle of one of the city’s expressways). The restaurant provides access to a shopping mall awaiting occupation, and is bracketed on the other side by an elevated train track paralleled by part of the city’s impressive road system, while skyscrapers push their why into the heavens beyond.

The road system winds its way around, over, through, and under the city, slicing it into blocks and districts, which can vary in look and feel – just like no two areas of a physical world city really resemble one another beyond superficial similarities in building height, possible road layout, etc. It’s a system which can also – with consideration and care – be driven along. Rezzing in the city is (at the time of writing) allowed, and auto-return is set to five minutes.  This being the case, I pulled out the Beverly 812 that so far has only really seen one outing as a prop, and we took a little drive around the streets.

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo

However, exploration on foot is perhaps the best way to fully appreciate the overall design. Head westward from the landing point, for example, and you’ll pass through canyons standing between high rises towering overhead, pass entrances to subway stations and then – suddenly – come to the “old town”, where the skyscrapers have yet to encroach.

This is an area where the buildings are clearly of an older period – the 1960s or 1970s, perhaps. Advertising boards are mounted on walls, awnings shade doorways and vending machines, street lamps fight off the long finger shadows from the neighbouring towers of steel and glass. Among these older building, the streets are narrower, often lined with ranks of power distribution poles bringing electricity to the shops and apartments.  Little arcades vie with low-level plazas to tempt the wandering feet into exploring.

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo

Here and elsewhere, many of the buildings are accessible. Climb the stairs in one and you might find your way to a roof garden or all the way to a rooftop coffee-house; ride the elevator in another, and you could find yourself in a dragon-decorated restaurant. Teleport disks might also be found here and there, waiting to whisk you some place, while pedestrian walkways and travelators offer competition to the roads and rail tacks in pointing ways around the city.

Some businesses are already talking up residence in Mitsumi-Town. Eripom’s own combat weapons business sits towards the east end of the city, with fashion stores close by. To the west, hanging in the sky over it is the huge glass and steel edifice of the R2 Fashion headquarters. This looks down on the hanger-like hall of where US military hardware can be found. Other building look like they are awaiting occupancy – although this is an assumption on my part.

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo

What helps to make this build immersive is that it actually extends beyond the boundaries of the three regions on which it sits. Off-sim builds have been used to extend the look of the city to great effect (so much so that on a couple of roads, it’s easy to miss the fact you’re heading towards a region boundary until you bounce off of it!). The most impressive of these off-sim areas – which appears to be still under construction – is to the north, where two massive bulk carrier vessels lie alongside the makings of a docks area.

Presented under a bright sky in which horizon haze has been used to good effect, softening the more distant views over the city, Mitsumi-Town is a magnificent build offering plenty of scope for photography – and perhaps more over time. Certain more than worth a visit!

Mitsumi-Town in Tokyo; Inara Pey, September 2017, on FlickrMitsumi-Town in Tokyo

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