Category: Exploring Second Life

For those who are missing the likes of Halloween and ideas of the spirits that might lie beyond the the veil of death and / or dark magiks, then a visit to The Endless Graveyard might be just the ticket.

Occupying a Full private region making use of the LI bonus, it is a setting designed by Lady Death Valiant (Death Ravenhurst) that presents quite the adventure / opportunity for exploration., with multiple levels and locations lying within its boundaries. Visits commence close to the ground level, where sits the the landing point – and an invitation.

A forest in Sweden that exists at the edge of the land of the living. Can you find the hidden doorway to the realm of the dead?

The Endless Graveyard About Land

The first thing to note about the setting is that – as per the notices at the landing point – this is an environment which uses dedicated EEP settings throughout, and for the fullest appreciation of the region and these settings, it is best to set the viewer to Use Shared Environment (menu → World → Environment), and to make sure Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) is enabled (Preferences → Graphics). The notice at the landing point suggests Shadows should also be enabled, but I’d leave this to a matter of choice and your system.

Beyond the landing point is the Forest of the Veil, a cold, snowbound setting (which is appropriate, given we’re in the wilds of Sweden). Here and there, braziers light the way, while a cold light, seeming to descend from an aurora-like sky, pieces foliage and lights grassy trails. The latter wind around the semi-rugged landscape, leading to various points of interest – a small lake fed by waterfalls and lit by lanterns, a farm ostensibly producing milk caught within the eerie glow of light and mist, a lonely cabin, and more besides.

And, for those who find it, the ruins of a church, and the start of the journey through the realm of the dead. Triggered by the acceptance of a region experience, this will carry visitors to a land similar to that of the ground level, but which sits in darkness and free from snow. Here the church stands intact, although it is not a place given to the glory of God.

Outside, tracks again curl through the landscape, leading the way to a graveyard and a music hang out, or onward to a castle that sits atop a high plateau or over a hill to the River Styx – complete with a ferryman waiting (and who left me with the words of the Chris de Burgh song echoing in my head).

To be honest, it’s here that I admit to getting a little confused; on finding my way to the high castle, I entered it and got growled at by a security orb – although as nothing actually happened, I continued exploring unsure as to whether the castle was supposed to be public access or not. I’m hoping that it is, as it is an intriguing mix of furnished rooms and teleport doors and portals that lead to additional rooms and spaces at different levels within the region, all of which offer their own secrets and portals the lead to further locations when discovered, all of which added further depth to the setting.

Similarly, across the river lies a further building – the actual gateway to death’s realm (I think). Again I was a little confused by it, but once inside, I found a further teleport portal lead me on to a series of chambers connected by tunnels and snaked and curled from point-to-point, offering still more opportunities for exploration.

Rich in detail, and  – assuming the castle is open to exploration -with plenty to see and discover, The Endless Graveyard is a dark (literally and figuratively!) place worthy of exploration – particularly if the likes of witchcraft, the  realm of death and mystery are your thing.

SLurl Details

• The Endless Graveyard (Legio a Morte, rated Adult)

Sous le ciel de Paris (under the sky of Paris) is the name given to a sky platform designed by Tolia Crisp of Frogmore fame). It’s a little corner of Second Life occupying Full region parcel of 5120 sq metres. Little in the way of any description is supplied, other than Welcome to my home, but what is offered is bound to be a delight to those seeking a backdrop for their avatar photography.

This is a place set amongst the rooftops of Paris, a part of the city where many of the houses built in the Napoleonic period have been converted into apartment blocks such that rooftop spaces have become gardens, outdoor terraces and places to relax.

There centre point for this is one roof area in particular, a space alongside a cosy little apartment laid out with planters growing flowers and vegetables, bee hives vie with a hen coop for attention, cats and kittens play in the Sun, and saplings sit within oversized vases to provide a further sense of the countryside in this otherwise very metropolitan setting.

It’s a welcoming spot; a place the apartment owner can come home to and unwind tending to flowers, gathering fresh veggies for cooking or tending to hens and bees – or just fussing with their cats under the blue sky. But that’s not all; this is a place that is clearly put together with a view to sharing it with neighbours, a little “coffee shop” having been set up to one side.

Some of the neighbours also seem to have entered into the spirit of things – one has created a slight precarious walkway to link a home-made studio with the “garden”, and other has lain an iron ladder to bridge the gap from their rooftop, and a route via a fire escape that leads to another little hidden “terrace in the sky, nestled under high roofs and smoking chimneys; a place where yet more coffee and fresh baked goodies can be enjoyed and people might share a dance or two.

With places to sit indoors and out, this is a location that could be idea for avatar photography, and joining the Frogmore group (the parcel is under the Frogmore banner) will provide rezzing rights for props  – but please be sure to ick them up afterwards.

I would point out that there are a lot of textures packed into the space and these can take a little time to fully render, and I did have one or two issues on my system with getting all the mesh to rez (solving with right-clicks here and there) – but none of this prevented me from appreciating this little corner of SL.

Addendum: If you do take the opportunity to take photographs using Sous le ceil de Paris as a backdrop (e.g. for fashion  / style posts, etc.) – or indeed any other location in Second Life, please do make sure the location is credited.

SLurl Details

• Sous le ciel de Paris (Peaches, rated Moderate)

I was drawn to the setting of Aurora Falls after coming across it within the Destination Guide. The work of Suite Belle Stark (Suitelady DeCuir) and Zaccai J. Stark (Robesz), it utilises the western half of a Full region furnished with the private island LI bonus to present a mix of public and private spaces available for exploration and / or rent.

With a north-south orientation, the setting offers a rugged coastal setting, a place that would look perfectly at home along the northern coastlines of the United States or Canada, or perhaps along the Scandinavia or more rugged parts of the Baltic. To the south and north are upland regions, the former somewhat higher that the latter, the lowlands between largely given over to an inlet that cuts into the landscape to form a curling bay, a single channel, crossed by a bridge, facing the open sea to the east, and high peaks rising to the west that give the sense that this is a small island hugging the coast.

The landing point sits on the southern highlands, where a broad road emerging from a tunnel; quite where the tunnel, topped by a crown of trees, might lead is left to the imagination. From it, the broad road rolls down from the uplands to double back on itself as it reaches the lowlands and what might have once been a little fishing hamlet. Here it eventually comes to an end facing the furthest reach of the inlet.

What appear to have been the original buildings around the bay have a distinctly working appearance: a warehouse here, a boathouse, shacks built out over the waters as if ready to receive fishing boats as they come alongside. However, if this had once been a little commercial fishing haven, those days are long gone. The buildings built out over the water and the old warehouse have all been repurposed; the former has been converted into an over-the-water restaurant, the piers close by now home to an old houseboat that has been converted into a little bar. The warehouse, meanwhile, as become a den for music and, shall we say, other recreational activities!

In its current design, the island now appears to be given over to a vacation retreat. A little grocery has been built close to the local gas station, and a pair of small holiday cabins have been built along the curve of the bay cutting into the land. Part of the old fishing village even seems to have been knocked down and turned into a Zen garden; a place to release the mind and spirit (if the items available at the warehouse haven’t already done so!), in meditations and / or yoga. Only the old boathouse appears to have retained its original purpose – although perhaps this is just to support recreational fishing trips off the coast, rather than any commercial enterprise.

The vacation cabins form the core of the rental properties in the region. Two sit on the inner meanderings of the setting’s inlet, the third facing the open waters on the east side, where the land points towards the northern highlands across the single wooden bridge. Whilst within their own parcels, these cabins are located directly adjacent to public spaces such that it is possible to visit all of the latter, such as the local camp site, without passing them and possibly invading privacy. However, they offer comfortably furnished spaces for those looking for, say a short-term vacation home.

Atop the northern uplands sits the largest of the rentals: a sprawling single-storey house. Reached via a single footpath, it sits behind high waterfalls that face the rest of the setting and is given additional privacy by a surrounding screen of trees.

Whilst this northern headland is largely presented as a private residence, the highlands here do hide a secret. Tucked into their eastern corner (and outside of the parcel given over to the large house above), a watery tunnel winds its way into the hill to where a large cavern sits. Lit by torches, it is the home of an over-the-water bar and little snuggle spaces extending from its circular wall.

Throughout all of this is a wealth of detail awaiting discovery – including clues to the more North American setting for the island (just look for the racoons!). There are also numerous places to sit and appreciate the setting and – needless to say – many opportunities for photography. Those requiring props can join the local land group for rezzing rights.

Those on medium-to-low end systems may find they need to make adjustments to their viewer in order to enjoy a smooth experience in the region when moving / camming – but this should not deter people from visiting; Aurora Falls is an engaging visit to make.

SLurl Details

• Aurora Falls (Aurora, rated Moderate)

Go down the rabbit hole and find yourself in Alice’s abandoned park.

– The invitation to visit Wonderland 2.0

A region design apparently focused on Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories is nothing new within Second Life; I’ve visited a number through my time in Second Life and written about several in this blog, and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. In addition, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have both been the subject of art installation and special events within SL.

However, Wonderland 2.0 is decidedly special. Designed and built by Lucifer (Samael Morningstar) and Violette (Violette Rembrandt), and occupying a Full private region, it has grown from a 1/3 region parcel through a half a region to this new iteration, which Lucifer and Violette are still nipping and tucking. It offers an immersive trip into not “the” Wonderland of the books, but “a” Wonderland – a marvellous place of imagination and adventure put together by Lucifer Violette in which the stories of Alice are the jumping-off point for a journey into the fantastical and the captivating within an incredibly eye-catching landscape; a unique adventure in which Alice’s experiences sit as touchstones throughout, and with a richness of interaction.

These touchstones commence at the skybox landing point, where jut outside of a small cabin, the Cheshire Cat grins through a giant keyhole at those stepping out of the cabin’s single room. A short walk past a not-too-friendly rabbit (Bryn Oh’s Mr Zippers) delivers arrivals to where light swirls within the open maw of a rabbit hole visitors are invited to jump down.

Doing so delivers people to a further room where on a table sits a little bottle with the familiar invitation: Drink Me. Those who do so (by touching the bottle), will find themselves instantly reduced in size, the room grown large round them (through the neat use of a quick teleport), and the way forward marked by a previously tiny door of what might have once been a little moue hole but has now become a full-size door. Touching the RED arrow pointing at the door then delivers visitors to the region proper.

To describe this landscape would be to defat the purpose of a visit: that of taking a journey of discovery and adventure through a literal wonderland of colour, space, art and more. Throughout this landscape of paths and fields, flowers and hills, over which whales swim, boats float and island drift, lay rich vignettes, visible and hidden. Some embrace Alice’s adventures, other provide their own ride into immersive fantasy.

Nor is what awaits restricted to the ground level; there is a lot more over it (and under it!) than the route down from the Landing Point. So much so, in fact, that I genuinely  doubt a single visit will suffice for someone to catch it all. These elements in the sky can be reached through one of the major means of exploring the region: the network of Anywhere teleports. Some of these take the form of the usual Door form, sitting on or floating serenely just above the ground. A click on them will open them, and a second will walk you through them – and on to another vignette, one generally – but not always on roughly the same level.

Some of these teleports, however take the form of rabbit holes, wells, and more (like a dip in the water of a stream, for example). These are indicated by 3D arrows which, when clicked, will carry you through them (again with animations) to another location, this time usually involving a vertical move to a location in the sky, or back to the ground. In places the two types of teleport combine to lead visitors from setting to setting – such as with the caves, pirate ship and winter vignettes that all await discovery. Thus, exploration is gently teased out of visitors, and given the manner in which these doors and jumps might be found, no single route through the region’s settings and vignettes might match another.

Nor are these the only teleports: also to be found within the region are a number of Experience-based portals. If you accept the associated Experience, they will teleport you to other locations within Second Life. Meanwhile, for those who prefer to wander rather than just teleport around, there are paths to be found, undulating across the fields of flowers and also up some of the highlands of the regions – and I do urge visitors to follow them as well.

Wonderland 2.0 is a genuine treat for those who love exploring – and one of those places where, at the risk of repeating myself, I don’t want to delve into a huge amount of detail about for fear of spoiling the pleasure of direct exploration. It is a place that fully deserves special attention and time when exploring. In fact, such is the the design, it will take more than one visit in order to capture everything. In this, as well, I’d like to thank Lucifer for taking the time to show me elements within Wonderland 2.0, and I’d also like to pass my congrats to him and Violette on this latest, and largest iteration of their vision. I look forward to returning and seeing even more!

SLurl Details

• Wonderland 2.0 (Realm of Wonder, rated Adult)

Grace Loudon is perhaps best known in Second Life as a liver singer / musician who often writes her own songs. What may not be less well known about her (and which was certainly unknown to me until recently!) is that she also has a flair for region design, as demonstrated by Amainiris, her Full private island (with private island LI bonus) that is currently open to the public, and to which Shawn Shakespeare led me.

This is a setting that draws on the New England coastline of the United States to present a place of the imagination that may in part be drawn on memory and/or places visited, offering an environment that is both familiar to those who have visited New England or who have seen photographs taken along it and way from the more popular places such as Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket islands or the busy-ness around Massachusetts Bay. For me, it brought to mind places towards the north-west of New England such as Kennebunkport, Maine, and similar small, coastal towns or perhaps along the outer curl of Cape Cod.

The region sits with a north / south orientation, denoted by a central channel.; to the east sits a teardrop island and to the west a pair of ribbon islands that form a Y shape. Between them the latter sit as the home of a small coastal town, the waters between their arms forming a little harbour space. Depending on one’s perspective, the layout of the region might be seen as a small group of islands lying off the coast of one of the New England states, or the western isles might be imagined as a stretch of the New England coast, with the teardrop island sitting “offshore” from this “mainland”.

Whichever you choose, the islands are an attractive visit. The landing point sits on the west side of the teardrop island and is located on a deck reaching out in the channel between the island and its neighbours. With a low, rocky spine topped by a single paved road leading up to the tall lighthouse that crowns it, the majority of this large island is given over to sand that is welcoming to bathers and surfers.

At the southern and broadest end of this island, work appears to have been put into preventing coastal erosion and to establish a broad, sandy table: large blocks of rock have been carefully arranged to form a 3-sided breakwater behind which the sands have been levelled to form the home of Righteous Noise, a live music venue sitting within its own parcel (thus preventing music and sound flooding the entire region during an event) with the promise of performances coming soon.

A long, broad wooden bridge connects the large island with its smaller neighbours, Potentially broad enough to take a car or small van (vehicles crossing in one direction at a time only), it crosses the shallow intervening channel to arrive at the edge of the little hamlet. And I do mean little here: two rows of sun-bleached buildings facing each other across the water separating the two ribbon isles.

Perhaps the hamlet was once a little fishing town, but it now appears as if the vacation business and holiday fishing trips might be the main source of income here. Small rowing boats are moored at the wooden piers reaching out into the waters and the majority of the buildings are now given over to food and drink establishments. A lone fishing boat does sit on the sands behind one half of the village, supported by a makeshift cradle of poles as it is being painted and a second fishing boat is moored at the northern end of the other half of the village, so some fishing is carried out here, but perhaps not as much as might have once been the case.

A second bridge links the two halves of the little village, landing on sands that trail south to form the tail of their Y-shape. A long, low sandbar, this tail offers views east towards the teardrop island, complete with sun loungers set to catch the morning Sun and ready for people emerging from a swim in the bay. To the west, the sand shelves sharply, a small barge offering both a lookout point and offshore party space.

Caught under a westering Sun and wrapped within a gently, effective soundscape, the region offers one or two things to do as well – such as taking a canoe for a paddle around the islands – just be careful around the northern breakwaters  and keep well into the coast around the southern end of the teardrop island! Those who prefer can go camping or join the folk partying on the beach to the east of the teardrop.

“Amainiris” is an ideal name for the region. It means “the second day after tomorrow”, and as such has something of a magical connotation to it: the day after the day after tomorrow suggest a time just out of reach, always hovering on the horizon. Similarly, this is a region, sitting within its forever evening of a horizon-hugging Sun, that has its own timeless nature making for an engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Amainiris (ated Moderate)

Hi there, I finally decided to do the sim I have been almost doing for the past 20 years, the original Blade Runner set. Hope you can get along to see it some time just opened it.

From Hera (Zee9)

These are the words that sent me skittering over to Hera’s Full region at the weekend, both as a confirmed fan of her work and because I am also a not only a sci-fi fan, but a great aficionado of Ridley Scott’s outstanding 1982 masterpiece, which has oft cropped up in my chats with Hera.

Surprisingly, I don’t actually have an awful lot to say about Blade Runner, located on the ground level of the region, where it replaces the Drune builds that have previously occupied the space; at least, not it terms of my usual style of travelogue piece. This is not because there is more that much to see – rather the reverse in fact; there is so much on offer here that I actually don’t want to spoil things too much for those who, like me, love Hera’s work and greatly enjoy the film. Because this is a setting where things – like the poster advertising the “75th Anniversary Version” are so superbly put together and the region so rich in detail, it absolutely deserves to have its secrets discovered, not merely written about.

That said, I will offer some pointers to things I feel you should keep an eye out for. It’s intentionally not everything, but it is hopefully enough to whet appetites and get people a-visiting. For example, within the familiar, canyon-like streets we have LCD advertising hoardings and bright neon glow over places of work and business along the busy streets in a manner that directly recalls the movie.  However, within them, there are subtle touches. Not only do the brighter ads for the Tyrell Corporation carry Eldon Tyrell’s words More Human than Human as a tagline, while the logo with them incorporates an owl’s head.

More particularly, spot the adverts for Tyrell’s Nexus 6 Pleasure Models and you might notice a distinctly Pris-like character, complete with eyes masked by black pigment as one of the images displayed by the ads.

Nor is Pris alone in being mentioned. Find your way to The Snake Pit, and you might discover a curtained door that provides access to Zhora Salome’s dressing room, complete with her snake awaiting her return. Elsewhere, Roy Batty gets a more direct reference – and quite rightly, given his richer and deeper interactions with Deckard – as his face is displayed on a police Wanted alert – but I’ll leave you to find that.

As with the movie, this is a cityscape that is dominated by the great angular form of the Tyrell Building, before which great flame stacks periodically belch frame into the smoggy sky, whilst LAPD spinners periodically zip overhead, and cars and automated vehicles trundle along the wider streets, whilst the narrower throughways are home to a market stalls and corner shops that bring a city to life – and offer further reflections on the 1982 film – and other popular genres. Do be sure, for example, to allow the Globe News stand to fully rendered – there are some nice references to the genuine coverage the film gained on sci-fi and film magazines on its release.

Other touches worth looking out for is the advert for PKD Electric Animals, which includes their new line of sheep – it’s a clever reference to Philip K. Dick’s novel that served as an inspiration for the 1982 film. It’s also an advert that contains a further subtle reference that sits well here. It is to the 1979 song written by Gary Numan for his band, Tubeway Army (and a frequent staple of his concerts as solo artist) Are “Friends” Electric? Released in 1979, three years ahead of Blade Runner, it’s a song about androids – replicants – that are so human-like, they are indistinguishable from flesh and blood – and like the replicants of Dick’s novel (and the film), perform all sorts of menial and other tasks. Actually inspired by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the song offers something of the same underlying question: are androids real enough to be friends / companions?

There is so much more to be found within this setting – but as I noted above, I don’t want to give everything away, as this is a setting that you should immerse yourself within, although I will note that Deckard’s car, sitting in the rain but sans nosey police spinner loitering overhead, also awaits those who can find it; and do be sure not to miss the other interiors – a couple are hinted at in images here, and there’s another I’ll just introduce by saying, “Good evening Sebastian!”.

So with that in mind, I’m going to bring this piece to a close and strongly urge anyone who likes Blade Runner, sci-fi and / or Hera’s builds not to miss this. Twenty years in the making it may have been, but it is utterly mesmerising – and make sure you have local sounds enabled with visiting!

SLurl Details

• Blade Runner  – landing point (Cloud Lake, rated Adult)