Category: Reviews

Sci-Fi fans are liable to appreciate the latest 80 Days build by Camila Runo) supported by ZamiTio Resident, paying homage to a popular franchise – as is evident from its About Land description:

IN A GALAXY is a dangerous place where good meets evil, dark meets light. Travelers, pilots, space knights and droids can be found here as well as pirates, smugglers and assassins.

from In A Galaxy … About Land

From this, it is pretty easy to determine the setting is related to Star Wars – although I admire the way Camila overtly avoids using that term or others associated with the franchise. However, for those who don’t get the hint, the landing point – sitting within a skybox – further makes it clear, particularly via the sign above the teleport disk.

The latter takes visitors down to ground level and a certain desert planet usually overseen by two suns. However, rather than taking its main cue from the franchise’s big screen outings, this setting draws on the more recent outings for the franchise through Disney+, with a fair focus on elements seen within The Mandolorian and The Book of Boba Fett – although other touches are present as well; such as the freighter of a certain rogue of a smuggler (complete his his shaggy-haired partner) and touches from the animated series and also – in a way – the upcoming Ahsoka live-action series.

The teleport drops visitors in an walled landing / repair bay bearing a resemblance to Peli Motto’s place from The Mandolorian. There is even one of the armoured comanndoes-come-bounty hunters present – although who it is is up to you to decide; the vessel in the bay is not  Din Djarin’s Razor Crest nor his Naboo N-1 fighter. Beyond the entrance to the bay is a short expanse of desert where the aforementioned freighter has landed, together with what might be a walled section of Mos Espa, Tatooine.

The latter can be accessed via a gate set diagonally across from the entrance to the repair bay, the sand leading to it well scuffed and unsettled by the passage of many feet. The streets of the town, are host to a number of indoor and outdoor spaces awaiting visitors. One of these is the local cantina, and while it might not be the one found in another Totooine space port, when you step inside you might find the music familiar; you might also get an answer as to whether or not the armoured character at the landing / repair bay is or isn’t Din Djarin

Further down the main street is another hint of Mos Espa. This comes in the form of a cantina / club reminiscent of Garsa Fwip’s Sanctuary. And while I didn’t come across either Boba Fett or Fennic Shand in walking the streets, I did come across  Ahsoka Tano and Ezra Bridger engaging with Darth Maul in a lightsabre duel.

While Fett and Shand might not be directly present, hints to of their presence – or at least to characters from the franchise on the big screen – can be found in one corner of the city setting, providing you go indoors, notably in the form of a couple of cabonite-frozen figures hung as war décor in what may have once been the city-side residence of a member of the Hutt criminal enterprise race.

There are more characters who may be familiar with the Star Wars franchise waiting to be found scattered around, including a couple who may well raise a smile given who has the drop on who – or possibly a thought that “Han shot first!” in reference to one of them. However, I let you find them and the others for yourself.

No formalised role-play is active within the setting, but the creators welcome casual RP visitors might wish to set in motion – and there are opportunities both within the settings and in the surroundings (just watch out for the characters up on the cliff paths; they might have ideas about who’s for lunch…). Also when visiting, make sure you have local sounds enabled or you will miss a lot of the ambience, including the aforementioned music.

A delightful and engaging build, rich in character and fun sci-fi fans will likely appreciate, and one which neatly brings together touches of the old and the new within the Star Wars franchise.

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• In A Galaxy… (Infinite Sprit, rated Moderate)

It is no secret that I’ve never failed to enjoy the various iterations of Bo and Una Zano’s (BoZanoNL and UnaMayLi) Elvion – hence why I’m again writing about it once more, just a few weeks after my last piece about it, as they have recently re-opened with a new design; one which is something of a departure from the majority of previous region designs.

Where Elvion tends to lean towards rural / mystical settings, laced with a deep sense of beauty and mysticism, this design takes us somewhere else entirely, as Bo notes in the region’s About Land description:

Enjoy beautiful vistas exploring this paradise island, situated between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. From stunning ocean views and forest trails, to detailed cities and interiors.

– Bo Zano, introducing his latest Elvion chapter

Whether the location is between the French or Italian Alps and the Med is hard to say; the houses suggest a sense of Tuscany, but really whether based on an actual part of the French or Italian landscape between mountains and sea isn’t important; what is important is that – as with all of Bo’s and Una’s builds – this is a setting that has been put together with a huge amount of love and patience to offer visitors a further engaging, charming and relaxing visit.

The landing point lies towards the north-west of the region, on a high shoulder of a hill. From here one can travel north and pass through a bun-like thumb of rock via a tunnel to a secluded headland overlooking the sea on two sides and where stone steps wind their way up to the to of the rock. Or, if preferred, people can head south and down and along a rutted track to the coast and a causeway leading to an ancient fortification.

Then there is east from the landing point, and a broad bridge spanning the local river valley to where the local town sits. This is built around a series of gated paths running between the houses, including one that descends southwards to where another bridge spans the river as it broadens to reach a wide plaza with more houses and a way down to the beach. From here the road runs north along the east coast and to a little waterside location which carries a suggestion not so much of France or Italy, but – to me at least – a touch of Louisiana.

The transition from the more Alpine seating to the touch of Americana is subtle; thanks to the way the road along the east side of the region is kept naturally separate to the rest of the region, adding a further depth of mystery and magic to the setting. Those exploring might wish to keep their eyes peeled for entrances into the local caves – there are several ways into these, so they shouldn’t be hard to find, while for those looking for another elevated look-out point should – as the landing area notes – head for the local water tower.

As ever with Bo and Una’s Elvion’s designs, this iteration is incredibly photogenic – be sure to look inside some of the houses as well, as a number are furnished – and there are numerous places to be found for sitting, cuddling and passing the time. I also recommend using the region’s own EEP settings, as they offer the region almost as a painting. All told, another setting not to be missed.

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• Elvion (Mirage, rated Moderate)

A recent visit took me to a Homestead region called Kaleidoscope, the home of the Monarch Education Project, itself branded as a MORPH / SPARK Project undertaking, with Raven Banrion (RavenStarr) as the core designer. Raven is the name behind a range of projects in Second Life, including Ravenport Reclaimed (which I wrote about in February 2022) and The Pond (I covered in May 2022), and having covered them both, I was keen to take a look at Raven’s latest work.

This is a very different setting compared to the likes of Ravenport and The Pond, offering as it does a literal walk into the world of nymphalidae – butterflies, notably danaus plexippus, the monarch butterfly, and particularly the sub-family of D. p. plexippus, the migratory monarch butterfly found in North America.

This subspecies is amongst the most familiar of North American butterflies, its annual southward late-summer / autumn migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico, and their reverse spring migration back up into the central and northern United States. The Monarch  was the first butterfly to have its genome sequenced, and the first butterflies to be reared in space, after being carried up to the International Space Station (ISS) as pupae.

Offers as a walk through a natural setting, starting high on a tree-crowned plateau on the south-east of the region. From here a trail runs north along a ridge before turning west before it switch backs its way down from the high ridge by way of others topped by wooden walkways to reach the ground. Along the way are information boards offering those following the trail the opportunity to find out more about the monarch – including the migratory habits of D. p. plexippus, their lifecycle and the growing threat to their continued existence in the United States.

The latter us believed to be in part due to the increasing destruction of milkweed, the monarch’s natural breeding ground in North America and in changes to their overwintering habitats in Mexico. As a result – and given the butterfly’s role in pollination (which is admittedly as great as the role played by bees) – President Barack Obama issued a presidential memorandum entitled Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, which led to a national strategy in the United States to promote the health of pollinators in North America – and specifically identified the monarch by name. Even so, in 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly its red list of endangered species.

As well as the information boards, the walk leads visitor past flutters (or kaleidoscopes, if you prefer) of monarch butterflies. These flutter around the trail and board walks, circle trees and flitter in and out of sunbeams. The also hide within the region’s secret location (which can be easily missed – all I’ll say here is waterfalls 🙂 ). Also awaiting discovery are various places where visitors can sit and cuddle / relax and simply enjoy the ambience of the region, or for those who prefer, a walk along the canon floor around which the ridge path runs and descends as it departs the landing point.

Altogether an engaging and informative visit – and don’t miss the opportunities for you to get involved in helping monarch butterflies through the Monarch Joint Venture.

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• Kaleidoscope (Pebble Isle, rated Moderate)

Shawn Shakespeare recently dropped me the LM to LunarVille / Sur-Mer. As the name suggests, this is setting of two parts. joined by a common theme which might be said to just touch on global warming:

Earth circa 2052.

All continents have been submerged by water, most life is extinct. The 1% have expatriated to Mars and the lunar surface. Some survivors have managed to survive and harvest the seas, they have scrapped all vintage and advanced technology.

From Sur-Mer and LunarVille

The Landing Point offers advice on viewing the settings (in short: make sure you have Used Shared Environment active in your viewer) and a choice of teleport destinations The Hangar, Sur-Mer and LunarVille, all of which can be accessed via the teleport disk.

Which you visit first is entirely up to you; I opted to hop to Sur-Mer to start my visit; a place where the last remnants of human civilisation on Earth might be found, huddled along the span of an ancient bridge, surrounded by cold-looking water and a shroud of mist. Visitors arrive on a small deck below and to one side of the bridge, photographs on a panel showing what might have happened to Earth in our future history.

It is a strange place where the bridge runs from a cut-open diesel loco has been converted into a stage show setting watched by a small audience and the bridge runs to a most unusual home. Given that technology both vintage and advanced have been scrapped, there are robots to be found, powered islands hovering over the waters and home to garden or wind turbines – and even a WW2 era Mustang fighter apparently coming into land (complete with its undercarriage arranged to resemble that of a Spitfire), while at the house a line of flying vehicles are swooping in for a landing.

Strange it might be, but the location is genuinely photogenic for avatar and artistic shots, whilst the scattered seating present plenty of opportunities to set and relax.

LunarVille presents an equally intriguing setting. Central to it is the Moonbase where – presumably – some of the top 1% are living. It is certainly a cosy place and comes complete with its own nightclub – The Apollo Lounge. A second dance area is available within a hanger space – although the DJ will need a spacesuit.

Scattered around the rest of this setting are multiple points of interest for explorers – the module containing the teleport, the lunar equivalent of Area 51, a small meadow sitting under a dome where a cow and sheep graze and more, all of which offer further opportunities for photography.

Unusual and curled into fun with a hint of a message, LunarVille / Sur-Mer makes for a light and quirky visit.

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• Sur-Mer and LunarVille (Alpha Atoll, rated Adult)