Category: Reviews

*80 Days* The Bayou is the latest region design by Camila (Camila Runo). As the name suggests, it’s a region design that takes us down into Louisiana, where a mix of open water, mangroves and a small town that feels like it might have been cut from a corner of New Orleans just across the state line, and dropped neatly into the grasslands here.

The landing point is located on a large waterside pier, against which is docked a paddle steamer of the kind perhaps also more readily associated with the Mississippi – although that was not the only river along which these majestic boats once regularly plied, their great stern wheels thrashing the water.

The unmistakable work of Analyse Dean, the steamer sits with her saloon and card table set as if awaiting fare-paying customers, the perfect backdrop from which to start a visit to the region. And, from the paraphernalia on the wharf, the perfect backdrop for a film crew – a sign even inviting you to sit in the spotlight and take your own picture (or have a friend take it for you).

The wharf joins with a trestle bridge that spans the river on which the steamer sits, suggesting that if she does still make way under her own power, this is one end of any journey she might make. Across the bridge on the south side of the river, lies a muggy, tree-shaded expanse of bayou, cut here and their by water channels. A raised board walk offers a route over the waterlogged land to keep feet dry as it winds its way to a grungy bar sitting among the mangroves.

On the river’s north side, the bridge gives way to a road leading to the little town, passing the obligatory cemetery along the way. This is the place where the main street basks in the late afternoon heat and humidity, overlooked by the balconies of the places of business that line it on either side. Up on one wall, Satchmo plays his horn, while the sounds of his playing echoes along the street from open windows, washing over visitors as they explore places like Maison Devil, with its voodoo overtures, or drop into the quirky Goofy Gator lounge (which has a nice minimalist ambience, but I wasn’t entirely convinced by the green beer!).

To one end of the town sits a small restaurant with streetside dining and dancing, the road beyond it giving way to a dirt track which curves down to a beach looking out over (presumably) the Gulf of Mexico. A second track parallels the route to the beach, just across the car park from the restaurant. However, rather than also leading to the beach, it instead offers a path to the local alligator farm.

Between the town and the river, the land is flat and given over largely to grass and wild flowers, although a third track does point the way to a little pier that juts out into the river. Watched over by a plump pelican, this pier is home to a little motor boat rezzer people can use to putter around on the water – just be wary of the region boundaries when doing so.

The rezzer is one of a number of little interactive elements included in the setting that help bring it to life. Others include opportunities to dance or scrub a car, enjoy a drink or pose for a photo. There are also number places where visitors can sit and pass the time, some of which sit out in the bayou to offers places of solitude for those who want to be on their own, while others are well suited to couples or small groups.

Populated by the static figures that appear to be having their 15 minutes of fame among region designers at the moment – and which do help bring a sense of life to region designs – and rounded-out by a nicely balanced sound scape, *80 Days* The Bayou makes for a photogenic and engaging visit.

With thanks (again!) to Shawn Shakespeare for the pointer.

SLurl Details

• *80 Day* The Bayou (White Widow, rated Moderate)

Kaelyn Alecto (TheNewKae) opened her latest Homestead region design in April 2021. Called Soul Deep, it is once again a richly detailed setting that is both fun to explore and also forms a restful retreat for those so minded to take advantage of its offerings.

Set within a ring of mountains that sit off the region and lie separated from it by a ring of blue water, Soul Deep comprises a main low-lying island around which are a number of small islets and raised promontory. These huddle around it like hatchlings making their first swim upon the calm waters under the watchful eye of their mother.

The landing point sits to the west of the main island, set upon one of Cory Edo’s converted shipping crate. Raised on shout wood and steel legs, this commands a view out over the island’s impressive lake, a body that looks as if it might once have been largely open to the surrounding waters, but time – or the hands and machines of humans – has surrounded  it with slim arms of earth, grass and reeds that gently embrace it so that waterfowl now treat it as a quiet sanctuary.

Running around the inner shore of the banks of this lake is a wooden board walk that offers a gentle walk around the water and leads visitors past various landward points of interest – places to sit out in the Sun or under the shade of trees, decks facing the waters surrounding the island, a little music venue – and the one centre of commerce to be found within the setting.

Clustered to the east, this takes the form of a group of wharves and decks on which sit assorted building that look to be related to the fishing trade – although whether fishing boats still put in alongside is perhaps questionable; the wharves appear to be devoted to rowing boats, and the boatyard seems to now be more the home for a very large shark, rather than a place for building boats…

South of this is one of the regions two uplands, a rocky table with a rather eclectic top – Doors that stand sans any surrounding building or ruins. Falls drop to the water below to one side of this strange monument to bookend one side of the arc of sand that forms a little beach  – one of two gracing the island’s shores. The second beach lies just to the south, facing a curving bay that links the rocky table with the west side of the island, where another upland sits amidst oak and fir.

This looks to have once been a part of the main island, so close are the two, but whether by accident or design, a narrow channel of water now separates them, necessitating the use of bridges to cross from one to the other.

Heavy in foliage thanks to the oak and fir covering it, this is home to an old ruin, whilst the crown of the hill features a place where visitors can literally hang out: a platform extends outward from the crown of the hill. Down below, a kayak is drawn up on the shore close to a little camp site in the lee of the hill. Thanks to the screening of the trees, this entire area feels as if it is deep in the wilderness, despite the proximity of the landing point just across the little channel.

And that’s the charm of Soul Deep: the feeling of openness and the mix of locations and open water that gives it a sense of being much larger than the region in which it sits.

Whether you want to explore the main island or hop over to the outriggers – one with a cosy house upon it, another with the remnants of an old church, a third with a simple deck of which to sit – there really is much to discover and appreciate here, while the boats liberally scattered over the waters (some of which can be driven), offer still more opportunities for discover and / or relaxation.

SLurl Details

• Soul Deep (rated Adult)

Occupying just under a quarter of a Full region that leverages the private region LI bonus, La Garde-Aris is a charming setting created by Aristide Atlass. It offers a little slice of France for people to enjoy and photograph, and which has little twists of humour about it – including in the About Land description.

Drawing inspiration from the coast of Provence, the historical province of south-eastern France and home to the famous city port of Marseille, La Garde-Aris presents a richly detailed setting that presents a small coastal town nestled under high cliffs that has perhaps seen the traditional income brought to it by fishing the local waters to the more lucrative – if possibly as seasonal – tourist trade.

From the smart little beach and waterfront shops through to the market square and the cobbled roads that wind around the buildings and climb the hills to one side of the setting, this is a place brought to life by the local “inhabitants”, static and animated NPCs that can be found throughout, lazing on the beach, exploring the marketplace, shopping, taking a run, and so on.

Some of these characters would appear to be local, but I’d say that most are likely casual visitors, people who have arrived along the road that emerges from a tunnel to one side of the parcel.  This ends at a little car park sitting a short way back from the beach and overlooking a little fisherman’s cove into which a fishing boat is chugging, whilst nest hang to dry on the shore.

The car park itself is witness to the arrival of a young couple clearly here to enjoy some surfing, and a family who have arrived by camper van.  Further down the road, a tour bus has pulled up alongside the bridge leading up to what might be the older part of town, allowing its passengers to explore up there, or head across the road into the bustling square with its open market, shops and little café-restaurant.

The older part of town is dominated by the round tower of an aged fort, a place that offers a good vantage point for looking across the town. Directly below it, on what looks to be a terrace of more recent origin – or perhaps a part of the fort that has been newly dressed with stone, a jazz band plays and visitors can enjoy a dance.

It is here, as well, that some of the humour evident in the setting is apparent – the studio gallery alongside the old fort is called L’art te Chaut, which appears to be a little play on a popular edible variety of thistle which sometimes has the word “French” put in front of it. Close by, the converted chapel offers a rather interesting compendium of book titles –  although I confess it’s the first time I’ve visited a reading room that includes a dance pole…!

Across the length of the town, and facing the fort and the raised buildings alongside it, is a large villa, a stand of cypress trees separating it from the town. Of Tuscan design (well, Provence is bordered by Italy to the east), the villa may look to be private, but is in fact open to the public as well, and is furnished throughout and is named for the local “historical figure”, Chevalier de la Frite, who features in Aristide’s Picks write-up for the town.

Colourful and with a lot going on when it comes to the NPCs, La Garde-Aris is a charming, easy-going visit – although the region as a whole can be occasionally heavy going for those running with things like Shadows enabled in their viewer and a high Draw Distance as a couple of the other parcels on it have a lot going on, textures-wise), so it might be advisable to tone the latter down if you find things a little bumpy.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare for the pointer.

 SLurl Details

• La Garde-Aris (Stingray, rated Moderate)