Category: Exploring Second Life

The last time I visited Camis and Tamara Sierota’s Full region of Perpetuity, it was dressed as elven retreat caught in the snows of winter. Now, with the northern hemisphere welcoming spring, time and the region’s design have moved on, and visitors dropping in will find themselves in a summery touch of Smalltown USA.

A visit commences on the waterfront of a little harbour in the north-east of the region, a place with a couple of wooden piers, a fish market and oyster shop and places to enjoy a glass of beer or a very British custom of fish’n’chips. It’s a location that brought a smile of recognition to my face as moored at the piers lay the Shield Class 2 sailing boat by Burt Artis that helped get me started with sailing in SL and the outboard-powered Shippe and Saille Harbour Master, a dory hulled cruiser I reviewed a couple of years ago.

The harbour fronts a broad surfaced road that encompasses the setting, passing all the way around the coastline and linking the bulk of the land with a small island sitting down to the south-west. This road offers an obvious means of exploring, and those who wish can grab a bike from the rack outside the harbour master’s office and use their pedal extremities to follow it (or if preferred, pull a wearable bike from inventory and do the same).

Taking the road south offers a route past the open beach with its single pier to one side of the road, and a small industrial area with motor garage and warehousing on the other, to where a short incline runs up to the local church and school. Here the road turns to the right to cross the waters on a single-span bridge to reach the aforementioned island and the house that occupies it. However, just before the bridge there’s a junction with a second road which cuts diagonally across the land, again following the sands of a beach that faces the island across the channel.

Go north from the harbour master’s office, and the road quickly turns left to parallel the north beach westwards, passing out of the town before swinging to a more southerly route and past a farm with lands dissected by the road which cuts across the region, before reaching the second bridge crossing to the south-west island.

The farm comprises two large barns, one of which has been converted into a simple home whilst the other interestingly combines its expected role in keeping animals and farm equipment with that of a home-made bar serving pie and cider! A hitching post outside of this barn offers the means to make your way around / through the region on horseback, passing more horses penned in the corral behind the barn.

As with all of the perpetuity builds, this one is packed with a lot of detail; all of the buildings are open to the public and houses, workshops, cabins, and so on have décor and fittings that bring them to life. The school house comes complete with desks and playground, the local church has been neatly converted into a an artist’s studio, the beaches offer numerous places to sit and pass the time, and more can be found in the fields and gardens.

I admit to particularly liking Roady’s, sitting just off the road cutting through the farmlands. It’s a building by DRD I’ve frequently seen in my travels through SL, often taking the form of a generic bar (or equally as often, a record shop). Here it fulfils its stated purpose: a biker’s bar. With machines propped up on their kickstands before it, the Harley Davidson logo emblazoned on an outside wall and its run-down look, there is something oddly appealing about the bar that just further underlines the Smalltown authenticity that exists throughout the build.

There are also touches within this build that hark back to my first visit to Perpetuity in July 2021. There’s the beach pier, one of the barns and a couple of the outdoor seating spots, together with one or two of the vehicles that give a sense of connection between this iteration of the region and the July 2021 version.

As always, Perpetuity offers a lot to see and appreciate during a visit. Those wishing to use props for photography can obtain rezzing right by joining the local group; as auto-return appears to be off, do be sure to clean-up when done. Photos are welcomed in the Perpetuity Flickr group.

SLurl Details

• Perpetuity (Envylicious, rated Adult)

Whilst I was making my recent visits to Goatswood (see: Hera’s Goatswood returns to Second Life) and Whitby (see: Revisiting Hera’s Whitby in Second Life) on Hera’s home region, she informed me that she was working on another design, this one to occupy the Homestead of Island of Jahesa, which holder Kara Pendleton had once again kindly offers to Hera for her use. At the time, I was not expecting to hear more of the build – about which I promised not to say a word at the time – for another few weeks.

However, Hera contacted me on April 18th to let me know the build was finished – so I can now finally say that for her latest design, she brings use a place from George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire: the home of the Starks and former seat of The King In The North: Winterfell.

Sitting within a cold, sub-arctic climate with snowy winters and cool summers, its interior heat coming courtesy of the hot springs that run under its halls and buildings, Wintefell has been most famously visualised in the HBO series Game of Thrones. For that series, the castle was represented by a mix of visuals and places such as 16th century clock tower and ancient courtyard of Castle Ward and Saintfield Estates in Northern Ireland, Doune Castle, Scotland and studio-built interior sets – a broad mix of influences intended to represent the great castle fortress.

Hera takes all of this richness and transforms it in-world to a living embodiment of HBO’s vision for Winterfell. From its main gate through the high wooden turrets built atop stone towers to the walled godswood and its sacred red-leaved heart tree, passing by way of the warren-like alleys and courtyards clearly intended to confuse any enemy who breached the outer walls to leave them at the mercy of Winterfell’s defenders as they used the towers and raised walkways for defence.

Given this is a build located within a Homestead region, some of the castle has had to be condensed and the interiors are limited. Even so, Hera has created a build that captures the heart of Winterfell as seen in the TV series and gives a fair amount for visitors to explore.

From the landing point, the walls and towers of the castle can be seen rising above trees denuded of leaves as winter descends. Lights shine from the windows of the watchtowers either side of the main gates and great torches fixed to the wall illuminate the road as it reached the fortress, allowing those inside to see who approaches.

Inside the gates, visitors can step into the tavern where wall and gate guards warm and fortify themselves after a stint out in the cold before. Then, walking the outer alleyways and passages between the central keep within its connected towers and inner yards, it is possible to find the way to the courtyard and smithy where Rob Stark and Jon Snow practiced their skills with the sword, watched from above by their proud father. Outside of the main keep sits the tower of the castle’s warden within passing within it arched gate bring own to the great hall and the rooms of the Stark family and the library of the Maester and the tower where he kept his carrier crows.

Off to the north of the castle, across the sword training courtyard mentioned above, a square tower rises, guarding the route to the godswood, a path leading from the tower to where the heart tree rises. Lacking the carved face of a Weirwood tree, it is nevertheless impressive and fully captures the nature of Winterfell’s godswood as seen in the series.. Back within the castle proper it is possible to find another place of reverence: the catacombs below the castle, where Starks of the past are remembered.

At the time the HBO series first appeared, purists of the Game of Thrones book were critical as to how Winterfell was being represented compared to its descriptions in the books. Be that as it may, the exterior shots of the castle used in the show gave it a unique and striking appearance – and Hera has captured this perfectly in her work here.

More than that, she has superbly brought together what is a completely disparate group of locations in Northern Ireland and Scotland plus stage sets never intended to be seen as a whole in such a way as to present a genuine sense of wholeness and purpose for Winterfell as both a home to a proud warrior-family and as a fortress.

Designed to be seen under the region’s EEP settings created by Hera – I’ve intentionally used my own EEP settings in the photos here so as not to spoil the impact – this is another engaging and evocative build that should not be missed by anyone who appreciates Hera’s builds, fantasy or the HBO series Game of Thrones.

SLurl Details

• Winterfell (Island of Jahesa, rated Adult)

Kess Smith (Kess Crystal) recently invited me to previews that spring 2022 design for her Homestead region of Deer River ahead of its official public opening. Unfortunately, time was against me and I was unable to make a visit ahead of the opening, so I hopped over to take a look as soon as I had a couple of days to explore properly and photograph.

As its name suggests, Deer River Spring sees the region take on a spring / summer look to offer a theme Kess describes as “boho festival”. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what that means – while there are touches of the bohemian to be found within the yurts within the region, on the whole, I found the look and feel to be more North American rural rather than carrying a noticeable bohemian feel.

Which should not be taken to mean Deer River Spring in any way fails to deliver; quite the reverse in fact. It’s is a richly engaging design presenting a richly detailed, natural retreat within which there is much to see and do, surrounded by of-region hills and islands.

The most obvious route for exploration is the dirt track that loops its way around the setting. This starts and finishes at the two covered bridges that cross from the circular landing point islet located in the north-east of the region. Exactly which bridge you take to join the track is simply a matter of personal choice, as either direction will bring you to the region’s major points of interest.

For example, to the south, the track parallels the narrow ribbon of rocky sand that marks the shoreline to lasso a trio of weathered buildings within a loose loop. Between them, the buildings form a fish market (the produce presumably delivered by the fishing boat lying just offshore), a garage / filling station and a café with a trellised outdoor seating area.

To the west, meanwhile, the track will take people past a rugged festival field occupying the northern sweep of the island and which is clearly intended as a festival / music space. It is home to two of the yurts to be found within the region, one offered as an “art station” and the other a “zen station” and both open to visitors. Continuing beyond the field, the track turns more southwards to reach a long wooden bridge that runs along a deep pool of water. This is fed from multiple falls dropping from an arc of blocky cliffs at the edge of the region, the bridge passing over the water to region the track as it turns to meet with its southern arm below the steps of a craggy hill that rises to the south-west.

Stone steps have been set against the rocky side of this hill to provide a way up to where a cobbled path has been set out over the grass and which lead to a little wooden cabin. Perhaps it is owned by whoever runs the fish store / café / garage; perhaps it is a place set aside as a little retreat. It’s certainly cosy and has a welcoming meal set out on the front veranda, while the horses grazing close by are clearly unconcerned by any visitors the cabin brings to itself.

Beyond it, more steps have been laid to give access to both a secluded meadow set out with a small deck and open fire and a high platform extending out from the western cliffs to offer a look-out point covering a channel between the surrounding hills.

The southern end of the region lays screened behind a curtain of trees, the path through them marked by a fence and a sign that warns it leads to the island’s two rentals, so informing visitors that privacy should be respected when passing through the trees. The rentals (intended for short-term stays at L$250 a day) sit within their own grounds, each with its own view. However, it is not their location that makes them interesting, it is the fact that they are also yurts, and within each of their comfortable cylinders that the bohemian aspect of the region is fully in evidence.

While the track looping through the setting has been rutted by the passage of wheels and the odd car and light goods vehicle can be found here and there, the preferred ways for getting around the region is on foot, horseback or bicycle. For the latter two, a Teagle horse rezzer can be found at the landing point and a bicycle rezzer close by the café. Those who have wearable horses / bikes can opt use those. Nor are the tracks the only marked routes across the island; cobbled paths offer alternate routes, whilst the spine of the island forms a sinuous grassy hill that makes for a gentle walk with views across the land.

Throughout all of this are multiple places for people to sit and pass the time, from the cabin on the hill and the deck and look-out point nearby, to the little ice cream truck sitting in the lee of the hill through to swings hanging from trees and desks built over the waters of the river, and more. Finished with an ambient soundscape and with its own wildlife and waterfowl waiting to be spotted, Deer River Spring has much to commend itself to the Second Life explorer and to the photographers among us (joining the local group confers rezzing rights for those needing photo props – but please remember to clean up after yourself!).

SLurl Details

Deer River Spring (NewMoon, rated Moderate)

April saw some excitement / concern over the future of one of the longest-running public spaces in Second Life, when news surfaced that Japanese Tempura Island looked set to close its doors. Calls were made for Something To Be Done – and fortunately, the Lab was able to step in and add the region to its growing list of spaces preserved under its Second Life Region Preservation Society (SLRPS) banner.

I confess that while I’ve visited Japanese Tempura Island on numerous occasions in the past, I’ve never actually blogged about it. The main reason for this is because during those visits (back in around 2010-2013), the system I had just couldn’t handle the load, and while my present system has the “umph”, I have to admit that it fell off of my “destination radar”. However, while the recent news has brought the region sharply back into focus, I’m actually not going to blog about it now; I’ll reserve that for a future article.

Instead I’m going to focus on another Tempura region – the Tempura Project. Initiated at the time when Japanese Tempura Island’s future was in doubt, the aim of the project was initially to offer a setting that emulated the original’s look and feel (whilst using mesh to replace some of the original’s older prim elements) and preserve all that made the original so popular among Second Life residents.

The project has been led by Tribish Tammas, whom I first got to know through The Muse region (see: Finding The Muse in Second Life and A new Muse in Second Life for more), and while the original is now being preserved, by the time this was confirmed by Linden Lab, more than 70% of the region had been completed.  As a result, the team decided to push ahead and complete the first stage of their work.

From day one it was never meant to be a duplicate of tempura but take the elements that made it such a peaceful place to relax. So people will have the classic version and something a bit more up to date to choose from 🙂 . Our focus is on places to relax with people you care with. Also great for taking photos. Certain elements are fixed in place – the bridge, tai chi , meditation, and the ball room; others will evolve over time. Hence the project name.

– Tribish Tammas

Given the original goals of the project as stated above, and the fact so much of the work had been completed prior to the original coming under the protection of Linden Lab, it should come as no surprise that Tempura Project does reflect the original in general look and feel. However, this does not mean the Project should be in any way dismissed. If there is one thing that has been noticeable with SLRPS is the fact that, as good as the project is in preserving regions, it actually does little to retain their original broader functions and the activities that were once organised within them (an example of this can be see with the SS Galaxy, once a healthy venue for events from weddings to mini-golf to skydiving and clay pigeon shooting contests and so on).

As such, Tempura Project is designed to be a living space, evolving in reflection of the uses to which it is put by visitors and the suggestions they pass on for possible additions and activities that are in keeping with the overall aims for the setting.

Those familiar with the original will recognise the inspiration for the landing point, bridge and dance hall, together with the two small islands bracketing the bridge. The latter continue to offer tai chi to one side, while the other round island sits as a Zen garden set out for yoga. The great hall might not be as big and impressive as the original, but it holds its own secrets beneath its dance floor that offer opportunities for swimming, message, the luxury of a steam room and more.

This is not the only underground element to the setting – but finding the other will take a little ingenuity. All I’ll say is: look for the wall with the Tempura mural. Elsewhere, much of the landscape retains the look of the original but is also smoother and a lot “cleaner” in form; much of the glow that permeates the original is absent from Tempura Project, and I feel that this is to the better. The landscape also offers more in the way of seating and cuddle spots waiting to be found by explorers. Elsewhere – and also awaiting discovery by the keen-eyed – is an underwater walk, whilst the wizard’s house offers both an excellent view over the lake to the grand bridge and forms a further cosy retreat.

With enough of its own touches combined with those aspects reflecting Japanese Tempura Island, the Tempura Project offers an engaging alternative to the original, the features unique to it clearly adding to its appeal. Given the popularity of the original, and the fact it has always tended to remain constant, rather than gently evolving, Tempura Project may well offer those looking for a quieter sense of relaxation with the tonic they are seeking.

My thanks to Eliza Cabassoun for first informing me about Tempura Project. Note that the images here are not using the region’s sunset EEP setting.

SLurl Details

• Tempura Project (Sweety Bay, rated Moderate)