Category: Exploring Second Life

Golden Hair is a Homestead region held by BruiserBest and open to the public to visit and appreciate. Defined as a being a place “in defence of quiet places”, it is an engaging, very natural setting that reflects Bruiser’s love of nature and animals. It is also a demonstration of what can be achieved within a region to offer a rewarding visit to those who drop in without being in any way top-heavy in either mesh objects or textures.

Sculpted into a curving island which occupies roughly a third of the region’s total land area, Golden Hair gently undulates outwards from a rocky upland flowing into the main island from a northern headland, the slope rising gently until it meets west-facing cliffs, and then dropping away gently on its way to the south.

The top of this hill provides a superb vantage point from which to observe the island’s western and southern aspects. More particularly, tucked into the hill behind its cliff-edge is a small cave which forms the region’s landing-point. This ensures those arriving do not interrupt those already in the region and who may be taking photos, by avoiding avatars suddenly popping-up into the frame.

Both the cave and the rugged ground outside of it reveal Bruiser’s love of animals – a bear stand quietly inside the cave, while outside can be found deer apparently informally guarding the cave’s entrance.

A steam bubbles its way past the cliffs, running from the southern side of the main hill to pass by the cliffs and a small hill on its far bank. Tumbling over rocks and a fallen tree, the stream is a haven for animals seeking a drink, with its lower extent patrolled by a beaver.

The wildlife here is to be found throughout the setting, together with some more domesticated animals. In the case of the latter can be found cats, dogs, goats, horses, sheep, chickens, and a cow; with the former there are birds, the deer, wild boar, wolves, a snake, lizards, hares, and rabbits. However, none of the islands inhabitants have been randomly placed; gathered in groups at various points around the island, they offer little vignettes that are ideal for photography, either in their own right or with avatars suitably posed (rezzing rights can be obtained by joining the local group, 2 hour rez time).

This is a setting refreshingly free from the trappings of civilisation. There are no houses or other significant structures; the paths are – with one small exception where kerbs have clearly been laid to allow the ground to be pounded into a series of broad steps – all entirely natural, either following the line of flat rocks exposed over the years by the passage of the wind, or dusty trails most likely laid down by the passage of the animals to be found here.

The open nature of the region means that exploration is entirely on the whim of the visitor, while the nature elegance of its design presents opportunity after opportunity for photography. Those who look carefully may also spot the island’s more exotic animals, drawn from the world of fantasy.

Finished with an encompassing soundscape in which the heart of nature quite literally beats, Golden Hair might lack places to sit / cuddle, etc., but this is to its advantage as it is very much a setting to be appreciated through exploration and not for plonking oneself down and chatting.

All told, a genuinely engaging setting well worth visiting. My thanks to Shawn Shakespeare for the landmark to Golden Hair.

SLurl Details

• Golden Hair (Mordor, rated General)

In May, Cube Republic passed me a Landmark to a place I’d never heard of – The Void – A Full region designed by Ninavah Snowflake and home to The Void and Minttea in-world stores. As I’m curious about stores that offer places to visit outside of their central business, I found time to take a look – and found something of an engaging, innovative setting.

Before going further, I’d like to stress a few things:

• This is a review of the public spaces of the region, it’s neither a recommendation of endorsement of the products sold in either store, none of which I’ve viewed, much less purchased.
• To access the region, you need to join the region (you will be offered the chance to join on trying to teleport view the SLurl given in this piece). This is necessary as the Experience runs the interactive elements within the region.
• Some of the teleport and other effects use both light and motion, so those sensitive to bright / flashing white light or rapid motion / flashing should take care.
• Make sure you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM – Preferences → Graphics → make sure Advanced Lighting Model is checked).

Accepting the Experience (if you haven’t already) will deliver you to the initial Landing Point; just follow the arrow to the portal and walk through it (be warning: flashing effects!) to arrive at the main hub. This is a setting where geometry is king, and which carries within it hints of Tron and Tron Legacy. Rendered almost entirely in black and white, this artificial landscape exists as islands over a grey body of water, below which machines sit.

Above the water, the setting is dominated by a gigantic cube rotated through 45º degrees to rest on edge on one of the flat islands. Limned in white neon-like light as with the rest of the setting, it is home to the Void / Minttea main store lobby and teleports, and sits flanked by two far more modest islands – one the home of Atherium, and the other, the Portals – which will be the focus of the rest of this piece.

Three teleport disks are ranged before you on arrival, each clearly labelled. However, they are not your usual touch / sit teleports; they are instead collision-triggered. Walk onto / close to one of them and your avatar will be caromed into the air with a vivid, screen-saturating flash and somersaulted through the air, camera capturing the move from several angles. This can be a little unsettling the first time, but you will arrive at your destination safely.

Atherium is pretty much a Traffic Trap – visitors are asked to register with an obelisk that put me in mind of the MCP in the original Tron (albeit without the CGI and lights) and either remain close by or within the region as a whole in order to win the opportunity to pick from a (long) list of rewards.

The Portal island, however, offers the opportunity to walk through three additional portals to further locations. These are:

• Archive: enter a dark world where a console lit by two arrows pointing in opposite directions awaits. Approach it, and the room around you will turn white, revealing which computer-like objects hang overhead, together with scrolls of hieroglyphs. Use the arrow’s to “page” through the scrolls and touch a scroll to gain a dialogue of diary entries that form an evolving story – each entry will appear in local chat when selected.

• Muses: a field of green under an azure sky of white fluffy clouds; a place to relax.
• Dreamscape:   The most engaging element: walk the bridge across a misty void to the far wall. Touch the wall and enter the Chamber of Muses. Touch the device at the centre to rez a number of scenes – and watch the chamber literally spin them into being (with a certain amount of bright light / flashing).

Finding your way back from any point is simply a matter of finding the archway (Portals) or teleport disk.

Immersive, unusual, and cleverly scripted / presented, The Void makes for a visually impressive, unique visit, whether or not you are hunting for movement  / flight / swimming assistance or other avatar accessories.

SLurl Details

• The Void (Celestis, rated Adult)

The last time I visited a region design by Claudia (claudia74a Orsini) was almost five years ago, when I explored ~Neive~, a charming Homestead design (see: Visiting ~Neive~ in Second Life). So when I received a landmark to visit her current design, it struck me as a place I should go and poke my nose into – and I’m glad I did.

Also occupying a Homestead region, Making Memories offers a setting of multiple parts that roll together to form a whole worthy of exploration.

To the south there’s a waterfront area with a paved footpath and road curling around the edge of the island, backed by promenades of brightly-coloured façades suggestive of a holiday town. West of this, and facing high off-region mountains across a water channel, sits a beach that flamingos have claimed as their own, backed in part by a small motel before cliffs rise from the grass and march northwards beyond the end of the sands.

These cliffs rise to form the island’s main peak, topped by a fortified tower / house that has a hint of medieval France about it. Rising above the surrounding trees, this house sits a little roughly on the hill’s crown and is fronted by a waterfall, all of which makes reaching it near-impossible – but visiting it is not the point; it sits as a backdrop to the setting’s east side landscaping.

It is here, on the island’s lowlands, that there is the most to be found. A pastoral setting of farmhouses, meadows, a stream with a quaint bridge spanning it to carry the local (foot) traffic, and more, it is where both the landing point can be found and the attention to detail is the greatest, offering plenty of opportunities for photography.

A short walk from the landing point sits the main farmhouse:  a large single-stories, singled room structure that has a balcony along two sides and a cosy, homely interior design ready to welcome visitors. South of this over the bridge sits a barn which has been converted into an equally cosy summer house. A games room / bar occupies its upper floor – although given one side is open to the elements, an excess of imbibing wine might be best avoided!

Between and around the house and barn is much more to be appreciated, enjoyed and photographed: animals in the meadows, seating around a fountain, a romantic wishing well, tea for two next to an old ruin or a family meal out in the garden of the farmhouse, walks out over the waters of the coast or around the local pond – and that’s just for starters.

To the north of the island, sitting on a low shoulder of the western hills, is another house. Occupying its own grounds, it lies at the end of the main track and rises as a red-roofed curiosity. Unfurnished and a little rough around the edges, it is again more for backdrop than internal exploration, and it fulfils this role with ease, the wild garden before it again offering the opportunities for photography.

Those who fancy a little activity can find it by grabbing duckie bumper boats from the rezzer and paddle around the water to the north, east and west side of the region. Those who prefer something a little quieter, there are at least a couple of hideaway hammock either hidden among the trees or out on a little island.

All told, a pleasing, easy-on-the-eye setting with plenty of photo opportunities. Those in need of props can join the local group for rezzing rights (L$49 joining fee) – but please remember to pick up your items when done!

SLurl Details

• Making Memories (Long Island Shores, rated Adult)

Justice Vought opened the next instalment of his journey through region designs over the last weekend in May 2022, and was kind enough to pass me a personal invitation to visit – my apologies to him for taking several days to get to drop in; life is being a little hectic at the moment, and my daily SL activities have been largely confined to logging-in and parking myself for IM’s etc.

This latest design, however, was guaranteed to pull me across to it sooner rather than later because not only is it Justice’s latest build – and I have never failed to appreciate and enjoy his work – it also carries visitors to the Far East, which as regulars to the pages will know is a part of the world I love.

In particular, A Samurai’s Tale presents something of a tribute to Japan’s feudal history and the time of the samurai military nobility, but perhaps not in the manner one might expect.

The samurai came to prominence during 12th century, with their power and responsibilities growing in the wake of their defence of northern Japan against the attempted invasion by the  Yuan dynasty in the 13th century. During the Edo period, (1603 to 1868) the role of the samurai  became a mix of soldier and administrator, steward and chamberlain within the daimyo estates.

However, in the latter half of the 19th century, with Japan formalising / consolidated its military and ruling structure under the emperor during the Meiji Restoration, the samurai’s feudal roles came to an abrupt end. However, they did not entirely from Japanese life as they adjusted to new, professional and entrepreneurial roles, whilst their traditions, memory, culture and weapons remain popular through until today.

So popular, in fact, that when considering the era of the samurai, we tend to often just think of the warrior, his armour, and the palaces and great daimyo estates of the shoguns, together with Edo period walls palaces, towns and so on. And this is why, for me, A Samurai’s Tale is refreshing. Rather than offering a single scene from feudal Japan, it instead presents vignettes that can be said to reflect the core virtues expected of the samurai: justice, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honour, and loyalty.

For example, from the landing point, visitors can walk through a small graveyard with shrines to remember the dead, thus witnessing honour.  Over a bridge sits a house representative of loyalty to family and master. Within the house are have period images on the walls, together with a stand holding a pair of katana blades (courage). Travel down the hill from the landing point, and a small fishing village awaits, the kind of little settlement a local samurai would consider as being under his protection (justice / benevolence), and so on.

By not confining itself to a particular period, the setting it allows the music and dance spaces located both close to the house and towards the middle of the region to blend with the rest of the design without looking out-of-place. Meanwhile, there are other numerous elements to be found within the region that fits with the theme – and one which even offers an subtle link to another chivalrous legend, even if it is the purely fictional Arthurian legend.

One of these touches I particularly like comes in the form of stone-carved versions of Kikazaru, Mizaru and Iwazaru, the three Sambiki-Saru (“mystic apes”), whom we better know in the west as Hear No Evil, See No Evil and Speak No Evil. Perhaps most famously represented by a 17th century carving over the entrance to the Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, they represent the maxim of seeing or hearing no evil in others and speaking no evil of them; a maxim said to be the triple dogma of Tendai-Buddhist philosophy which should symbolise a person’s life. As such, their presence within the region underscores the elements of honour and respect within the samurai virtues.

This is also a place where you’ll want to have local sounds enabled whilst exploring, as Justice has created a local soundscape that blends with the various vignettes, giving them added depth.

SLurl Details

• A Samurai’s Tale (Oxygen, rated Moderate)

Hera (Zee9) recently opened her latest region design to visitors, this one taking up the ground level at Island of Jahesa, held by Valéria Celestino (Kara Pendleton), and where Hera’s designs sometimes guest.

Entitled India, the setting is easiest described by using Hera’s own words:

I have been wanting to do something evocative of India for a long while. Recently I was looking at pictures of the red fort in Delhi and thought that the unique colour of the pinkish red stone might make for a very unique looking place.

All the textures are derived from photos of the red fort and there are a load of new meshes. I have used the basic layout of the jungle island I have done a few times before because the layout has some nice varying levels. It has turned out far better than I thought it was going to. I keep painting.

Hera (Zee9)

The “jungle island” in question is the one Hera has used in the likes of her Shangri-La build (see: Losing myself in Hera’s Shangri-La in Second Life), and in truth, there are other elements within this build that offer echoes of that 2021 build. These include the beachside seating places and the bar / club area to one side of the build. However, rather than detracting from India, these elements – to me, at least, offer a sense of, if not continuance, then perhaps sisterhood between the two designs.

The Red Fort Hera refers to is Lal Qila, Delhi, the former residence of the Mughal Emperors, as established by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1638, when he decided to make Delhi his new capital.

The important thing to note here is that Hera is not seeking to represent Lal Qila, but rather utilises architecture seen within it as parts of her India design – and she has done so in an effective, subtle manner, such as the capstones along the walls. In addition, Hera has included new meshes of murals along the walls that are mindful of Hindu designs, as well as including reliefs of Ganesh courtesy of RiderX Spitteler.

The bar area – which appeared with Shangri-La (as noted) and also, with a redress, in Giger City (see: Hera’s Drune Giger City in Second Life) – offers a particular attraction for those looking for a place to hide away, but looking up at the towers of the builds and among the tress around it, and you’ll likely find more.

To the front of the build, elephants (admittedly African, but as I’ve noted in the past, the Asian variety is in short supply in SL) and tigers wait to greet visitors as they pass from the landing zone and climb the stairs into the build, while Shiva keeps an eye on all that goes on. Further inside are open-air passages and walks winding around the main structures, offering a route out to where the bar sits on its own island, and to where a temple-like building points an individual tower into the sky on the opposite side of the main building group to the landing zone.

Compact, easy to explore and with plenty of places to relax, India is again a photogenic build from Hera.

SLurl Detail

• India (Island of Jahesa, rated Adult)