Category: Exploring Second Life

:Oxygen: is the name of a new Full region that has opened its doors to the public and makes for a superb visit for Second Life explorers, with plenty of opportunity for fun and photography.

Designed by Justice Vought and SixDigital, the region offers an engaging mix of beaches, rugged hills and a small town awaiting exploration, while those looking for a little romance or quite times will also find things to do, be it sitting quietly or catching a film at the beach-side drive-in. Those who enjoy thrills might also find things to do as well.

We’ve been working on this sim for the last couple of months and it’s finally finished and open to the public.

You will find lots of spots for your photography, a train station and quaint street, a lodge with board games as well as pool and shuffle board, surfing, bumper boats, a harbour, a watermill and small gallery, and a drive-in movie theatre as well as tons of places to chill and hang out. There are also some hidden surprises so be sure to explore.

– SixDigital, introducing Oxygen

There is no set landing point for the region, so I’ve simply followed the suggestion offered by Shawn Shakespeare and selected the little town’s railway station platform (given a familiar number of 9 3/4!) as a starting point for explorations. From here, it is possible to walk west along the single street of the little town, passing cosy little houses and boutique shops while the grassy hills fall away northwards to a surf-fronted beach.

The beach runs south-to-north along one side of the region, offering numerous places to sit and the chance to go surfing. However, do keep in mind the houses that book-end it to the north and south are private – so please avoid trespassing into them. A path from the beach runs past he drive-in and behind the gardens behind the northern house to where a busy little waterfront wharf and piers are laid out.

Above this, and reached via sets of wooden stairs and platforms is The Mystic, the region’s public mountain lodge. This offers cosy places to sit and relax, play board games, enjoy views out over the region, or explore onwards and downwards into the rugged gorge separates the lodge from the little town.

This is where the gallery referred to in SixDigital’s description of the region can be found, nestled in a slightly careworn watermill and displaying some of SixDigital’s photography. Outside of the lodge are bull riding, bungee jumping and a zip-line for thrill seekers, while an open-air deck provides a home for live music events, the grass before it a nature dance floor.

Finished a full sound scape and surrounded by high peaks, :oxygen: is a picturesque setting deserving of photography. It is easy on the eye and on the viewer. The official opening for the region will take place on Sunday, October 27th, when DJ Apple Xevion will be spinning the records between 12:00 noon and 14:00 SLT, and a prize pool of L$10,000 is on offer in a Halloween costume contest – just go along dressed in your favourite Halloween outfit for a chance to win a prize!

SLurl Details

:oxygen: (Bora Lota, rated Moderate)

For those who enjoy a touch of Halloween without things going overboard in terms of pumpkins, witches, ghosts and so on, then the Homestead region of Nostalgia Falls designed by Noisette Haller could be just the ticket for a visit in the next couple of weeks.

Caught under an orange sky that is suitably atmospheric for the time of year, the region offers some touches of Halloween throughout, but also offers other opportunities for enjoyment and photography.

Forming a rough L-shape, the lower arm running east-west and the vertical south-north and with a gentle westward curve, Nostalgia Falls is a region of roughly two parts. The southern arm of the island is defined by a railway line and little end-of-the-line country station, the tracks occupied by the familiar form of the DRD Arctic Express, this one pulling just the one carriage – which also forms the landing point.

To the east of the little station sit the ruins of houses, one of which appears to have suffered a gas explosion – a large propane tank is ablaze, as is the house. North of the station is a large plaza overlooking open water and a small wharf, a little coffee shop and a carousel offering distractions for visitors – or the opportunity to appreciate all the little touches within the space and along the waterfront.

The Halloween influences are subtle but apparent – cobwebs a-plenty can be found, while a ghostly mist swirls around the locomotive while pumpkins are a little in evidence. There is also a nice touch of humour here as well, in the form of an old lady selling cats in an echo of the “mad cat” old ladies of legend (do catch the Schrödinger’s Cat poster on the stall!).

Beyond the plaza, the north-south arm of the island is home to a little group of houses, all of which appear to be open to the public and are also lightly decorated for Halloween, but again without anything being too excessive. This is another place where there are a lot of little touches to be found, while the track passing before the houses offers the way to a little headland and a pumpkin patch where things do get a little more fanciful, with some of the pumpkins having reached quite extraordinary sizes!

The southern end of this track rises to the top of a little promontory that is home to a stables sitting with its back to the horseshoe of waterfalls that likely give the region its name. A paths and steps from here offer a way down to a meadow where the horses can roam – and which under a brighter sky offers a wonderful taste of autumn splendour.

For those who like more of a touch of Halloween, this can be found in the haunted house located in the south-east corner of the region, together with a little haunted ruin alongside. Here, and across the region can be found places for dancing for those so inclined while overhead – for those who look up, more of an air of mystery is await discovery as an off-shore Moon is at times given to impersonating some of the planets.

Given the mist, particles and other items around the landing point, some might find their viewer / systems struggling with the load  – something that can be exacerbated if there are several visitors to the region. However, the north end of the region and the middle-area meadow did, on our visits, tend to be kinder to our systems. Other than this, Nostalgia falls makes for a photogenic visit and is happy to be seen under a variety of windlight settings.

SLurl Details

• Nostalgia Falls (Isle of Navarre, rated Adult)
• Exploring Second Life 2019

Update, December 1st: ChatuChak has been replaced by RioSisco Studio Pictures – see for more.

We visited ChatuChak, a relatively new region design by Lotus Mastroianni and frecoi (aka Fred Hamilton) earlier in October, but it has taken me a while to get around to writing it up. Lotus and frecoi are responsible for developing a number of regions I’ve covered in these pages, and so while it has taken a while to write about it, ChatuChak had been a place I was keen to see, a desire somewhat increased because of the region’s subject matter.

Welcome somewhere in Thailand … Turn on the sound and your graphics , let yourself be in immersion with the nature and elements….Enjoy your visit <3.

– ChatuChak About Land description

I’ve never really spent much time in Thailand, but I love the Far East (notably Hong Kong and China), and have had a fascination with Indo-China / South-east Asia, which encompasses Thailand, together with Myanmar (Burma), peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, so was really keen to see what ChatuChak has to offer. And the truth is, it is a remarkably atmospheric region, well in keeping with the description, if a little reliant on some elements that perhaps lean towards a more Japanese style of environment (but which nevertheless fit well here).

The landing point sits on the west side of the region, within a small courtyard at the back of a riverside hamlet split by rail tracks that encircle the region. As it passes through the hamlet, the railway is the focus of a small market offering fresh garden produce, flowers, fish and – at one end and rather incongruously, good that might be considered more in keeping with the tourist industry.

This incongruity adds a level of authenticity to the market – the dresses, headsets, brightly-coloured bags and sun hats are exactly the kind of odd items that one can so often unexpectedly find in little off-the-beaten track villages and towns when exploring places like this in the east.

Down on the river banks below the village are all the signs that this is a place reliant on the river and the fertile soil of the area. Along the river banks are stone an wooden wharves where local fishermen bring their catches ashore for weighing, drying and filleting – and where local produce may well be packaged in preparation to be shipped out, going by the cases on one of the wharves. Behind one of the wharves, to the north, sits a rain forest through which paths wind, one of which slips through a narrow gorge to lead the way to a little beach.

On the south side of the river, the land has been cleared to form a series of terraces for growing crops and to provide space for cattle to graze. A path climbs the eastern  – and natural – steps here, allowing a little village of single-roomed houses to spring-up, a path climbing through them to the railway tracks beyond.

Rounded out by an immersive sound scape, ChatuChak offers a multitude of opportunities for photography as well as opportunities to explore. Those taking photos are welcome to submit them to the region’s Flickr group.

SLurl Details

• ChatuChak (Dfine Island, rated Adult)

DylanShadows presents his Homestead region of Shadowlands Retreat as a “relaxing sim with series of photographic areas. Enjoy a walk around, horseback ride, a dance or cuddle with someone special,” and there is little to argue with in this description. There are number points throughout the region for photography, for spending time with friends and for enjoying that romantic cuddle or dance.

Surrounded by off-region hills that match the autumnal feel of the region, Shadowlands Retreat offers a series of areas within it that are very mixed in their individual attractiveness, from a beach through rocky outcrops with winding paths, to open grasslands offering paddocks and ancient ruins, to hints of fantasy and mysticism and which include woodlands, a high plateau, and more – all of which weave themselves into a landscape rich its attraction for exploration.

The region’s landing point – which is unenforced – can be found on a large deck area built over an artificial water close to the Western side of the island’s central plateau. It sits close to a stone cottage and alongside a tall windmill that points a blunt finger to the sky. A sea of late summer blooms washes across most of the plateau, flowing under the shade of trees to one side and breaking against islands of rock and water in what can only be described as a garden of wild flowers, waterfowl and restful spots, be they on the deck, under the boughs of trees or within the cottage or the gazebo keeping it company.

Below and surrounding this central flat-topped hill are the island’s lowlands that can be reached through several means: by the simple expedient of walking down the steep grassy slopes that vie with rocky cliffs to support the hill, or by finding one of the numerous paths offering a way down. Some of the latter are obvious – such as the worn, winding trails running down either side of the waterfalls to the south side of the hills; others are still rocky, but perhaps not-so-obvious at first glance, like the fern covered path running down the east side of the hill, or the aged blocks of rock close to it that offer more of a switchback route down.

Whichever route you take, there is much to be found between the hill and the water’s edge. To the north, for example, visitors will find a barn, complete with tractor and a small mix of livestock. These add to the suggestion that cottage and windmill above were perhaps once part of a working farm. However, whatever animal husbandry is now performed is perhaps more about self-sufficiency than the setting being a working farm.

Just around to the west, and beyond a stone henge, the farm element continues with a small paddock of horses. As these are Waterhorse rideables, I wondered if they would be set to allow the horse riding described in the region’s description, but it would appear not. As we also didn’t find a horse rezzer in our wanderings (although we could have missed it!), this led me to conclude that riding required ownership of your own wearable horse.

A hint of ancient mysticism is enfolded into the setting as well. The region is bracketed to the south-west and north-east by the stern faces of Moai, for example. Looking inward, they appear to be keeping an eye on all the coming and goings by visitors. More hints of an ancient past are also awaiting discovery: old stone rings, the broken wrist and hand of what must have once been a huge statue (now converted into a cosy cuddle spot), the broken statue of what appears to be a elf maiden at rest… All of these add an air of mysticism to the region, while the numerous little seating spots and dance areas scattered between them present further reasons to tarry within Shadowlands Retreat and explore.

Nor is this all; for those who enjoy beaches and sand, these can be found to the south and east of the region, curving as they do around the island’s high point: a large table of rock rising on vertical cliff faces from the sand.  A path winds its way up this cliffs to the flat summit where can be found a gazebo kept warm by a stone built fireplace, sharing the space with more ruins of different eras, while a crooked promontory thrusts its way across the lower-lying plateau towards the cottage, a further path winding down it.

Ruggedly photogenic, finished with a rich sound scape and – as noted – plenty to see and enjoy, Shadowlands Retreat lends itself to a range of Windlight settings and to time spent in exploration and in enjoying the setting. Those taking photos are invited to share with through the region’s Flickr group.

Slurl Details

• Shadowlands Retreat (Outlaws, rated Moderate)

The Boho Refuge is a homestead region designed by Jaccaranda Jael which recently opened to visitors, offering a mix of public spaces and private rental properties. We were alerted to its presence by Sorcha Tyles, who recommended we hop over and pay a visit.

As I’ve noted before in these pages, writing a review about a region that offers rentals can be difficult; by its nature it is intended to offer people a private home, so providing a write-up that encourages people to drop in and wander around can interfere with the privacy those renting the properties might otherwise want. This can be particularly true if the balance between public spaces and private residences is biased towards the latter.

Fortunately, The Boho Refuge offers a good balance between public and private that makes a visit rewarding for casual visitors whilst keeping private residences reasonably well apart from the public areas. Most of the latter – 11 homes in all – sit around the coastline of the region or along the gorge that splits the region in two.

This gorge runs from west to east, leaving the bulk of the region as two rugged islands linked by a road bridge. The southern island offers the landing point, with the rental office sitting within a pink walled hacienda that looks like it might in another life offer a cosy bar / lounge, and that sits to one side of a dirt road that winds over the island from the bridge and down to a working quayside to the west. This, and the other little public buildings scattered  over the island offer plenty of opportunity for photography, while two of the rental properties lie on the southern coast and one on this side of the gorge splitting the region into its two main islands.

Follow the track toward the bridge and you’ll find it forks, one arm turning north to link with the crossing to the north island, the other continuing east. Follow the latter, and it will lead you down to the access points to the rentals, and also to a fourth private home at the eastern end of the region that sits on its own little isle; so do please respect the privacy of anyone renting the houses.

The slightly larger northern island is more rugged, and features seven rentals around its edges, either snuggled against the coast and facing to the north and east, or perched higher up on the cliffs and facing either north or west, a singleton tucked into the gorge rounding them out. A T-junction at the north end of the bridge allows visitors a choice of routes: west to the access point for rentals and a climb up to the island’s peak, or east and a curving route down to where the road becomes unsurfaced once more and splits to provide access to the homes at the eastern end of the island or to a small public beach (with a rental home just off to one side, so again, be careful when visiting).

The upper reaches of this island are open to the public, and accessed by stone steps or a board walk and wooden steps that curl around the highest peak from the western end of the island – although be aware that these were blocked at the time of our visit by a non-phantom tree throwing its physics across the steps. The tops of these hills offer an number of little points of interest: an outdoor spa, a little greenhouse that would make an ideal lovers’ meeting place, the old tower of an abandoned observatory and numerous lookout points.

Packed with plenty of detail, The Boho Refuge offers a fair amount to see, while each of the rental properties sits within its own parcel, making privacy possible for those renting them. They also include a security orb to help warn away straying feet. Finished with a rich sound scape and offering plenty of water fowl and otter to be spotted by keen-eyed visitors, the region could be a cosy home for those seeking somewhere to live – prices available from the rental office.

SLurl Details

• Boho Refuge (Albermarle Cliffs, rated: Moderate)
• Exploring Second Life 2019