Category: Reviews

Shawn Shakespeare suggested we drop into {PAPPADO}, a 1/4 Full region parcel offering a waterfront design suggestive of somewhere along one of Europe’s Mediterranean coastlines.

Unlike most 1/4 region parcels, which tend to make up a square within a region, this one looks to be two 1/8th parcels that have been joined end-to-end to present a ribbon-like setting that runs entirely across the north side of the host region, east to west ,that in turn makes for an ideal coastal build.

On arrival, I was somewhat put in mind of two places we’ve vitised in the last year in SL – Little Havana, which we dropped into in December 2018, and Keleland, which we last visited a year ago, in August 2018. The resemblance to either is somewhat superficial – {PAPPADO} has a personality all its own – but in the case of Kekeland, it is perhaps understandable given the parcel’s principal designer is Terry Fotherington, who designed Kekeland alongside of Bridget Genna.

The landing point sits at the eastern end of the parcel, on an aged stone terrace bookended by the sea to one side and an old chapel-like building on the other. Both terrace and chapel share their stonework with an arched gateway that backs the terrace, all three suggesting that are all that remains of a large structure that once stood here – although the walls running from either side of the gateway are of a much more recent design, and the gates themselves suggest they are perhaps not the originals.

Beyond the gates is an old slipway; what it may have been used for is unclear, but the hulk of an fishing boat lies canted over on the sands close by, and another, seaworthy trawler sits just off-shore – the first hints that this is as much a working destination s vacation spot.

Running westwards away from the landing point is the broad ruler of a road sitting between sandy beach and seafront properties that would appear to cater to those on vacation – there’s a motel, a cinema, a little ice cream parlour and a cake shop. Arches and alleyway provide access to a cobbled street paralleling the beach-front road and which offers a mix of possible residential houses and smaller commercial units.

Mid-way down the road sits a further set of arched gates that slice across it and standing in defiance of any four-wheeled motor vehicles that might happen down the street. While the road does continue beyond the wrought-iron gates, the surroundings take on a far more businesslike look. The beach is replaced by wharves, the sand by rocks and shingle. Signs indicate this is a place were fishing is the order of the day – although given the rocks in the sea, I would not like to try to bring a fishing boat alongside the wharves!

The buildings here also appear a lot more careworn than those to the east, again perhaps an indication that enticing tourists or holidaymakers is not their primary goal. Beyond them, where the road meets its end, a path and little bridge cross a busy brook to provide access to another small beach area backed by a modern-style house (apparently open to the public), offering little spots on the sand for folks to enjoy at this end of the parcel.

Quite where in the world this might be is anyone’s guess. The gay colours of the buildings at the eastern end of the setting put one in mind of places like Havana, but the preponderance of Vespa scooters suggest somewhere on the Italian coast. However, and wherever you chose to see it, {PAPPADO} offers a pleasing diversion (although one or two of the props could perhaps benefit from some adjustment – a corner café has a few floating chairs, as does the beach!).

SLurl Details

• {PAPPADO} (Duat, rated Moderate)

Clifton Forge is a half Full region offering “modern supernatural para role-playing,” featuring humans, witches, vampires, and werewolves.

Supported by its own website, the setting is distinctly urban, representing a small city nestled within a mountain environment. It is intended to offer a place where, “blissful everyday living masks a darker and more turbulent truth”, the website setting-up a place where normalcy forms a blanket over a range of strange activities which those interested in role-playing within the environment can then take-up:

All manner of depravity conceals itself behind a flawless veneer here; the Hotel’s façade is cracked by stories of staff suicides, the Church here asks for alms – but whether it intends to divert these funds to charitable causes or fill its own coffers is unknown. A harried city cop turns Sheriff in what some might see as a peaceful retirement plan, while others wonder why she has escaped to a more pastoral clime. Everyone has a secret – what is yours?

Like many RP environments in Second Life, the official landing point sits in the sky over the parcel in the sumptuous setting of a grand hall. Here visitors can contact the Clifton Forge administrators, and follow browser links to the RP back-story, rules and apply to join the group to participate in local role-play. Those arriving at the landing point will also be asked to join the local Out Of Character (OCC) group prior to making a visit down to the city proper. The group is free to join and helps mark visitors as non-playing characters during a visit, and you can always leave it following a visit if you have no interest in remaining a member.

Taking the main teleport to group level will deliver visitors to the east side of the parcel, and a further teleport board ready to take people onwards to some of the principal points of interest in the city which might conceivably be leaping-off points for role-play opportunities. These include some typical locations for any city setting: the local church, the hotel, the medical centre, the police station, places to sit and eat or find entertainment, and so on. However, the setting is far better seen by exploring on foot or by using the local bicycles available from the rezzer located close by.

The town is split into two, with the portion that contains the landing point also offering the main square, the city hall, the emergency facilities, various businesses and paths to some of the local residencies (note that some or all of the latter are available for rent, so do be aware of the potential to trespass into someone’s home when exploring). The second of the city’s districts – reached via a single tunnel – is home to the church and the hotel, together with further local businesses, before giving way to a more rural setting, of rocky bluffs and woodlands in which sit shacks and cabins.

Given the city only occupies a half region, attempts have been made to make use of elevation in places – notably the woodland area mentioned above, and with some of the rental properties and the church. This, together with at least one underground parking area both adds literal depth to the setting as well as making role-play more interesting by providing a sense of greater space than had things been kept more-or-less on the one level across the parcel.

When exploring, notes that there are NPCs dotted around. some of these – such as the bouncer outside of the Castle House – will provide note cards when touched, and these cards contain game play information and local rules (e.g. such as player being frisked and fully disarmed before entering an establishment).

One or two aspects of the setting look like they might still be under development – I noted a couple of floating pieces of vegetation in the sky above the town, and the ground around Castle House looks like it might be awaiting further landscaping. However, the setting is, overall, as it is presented in the description: an urban environment representative of a small city; one that is awaiting a cast of role-players.  If you’re into the supernatural and are looking for a role-play environment that offers in in a modern setting, might be interested in taking a look – just note that for the purposes of this article, I did adjust my windlight settings away from the local default.

SLurl Details

• Clifton Forge (Shadow Mountain, rated Adult)

Highland Hills is the name given to a quarter Full region designed by EloiseBlake, and it is a place that packs a lot into it. Open to the sea on two sides, the parcel is described as the “Highlands of Scotland. A forgotten era. Ruined, rural and rustic. Where nature has claimed its home.”

As a representation of the Scottish highlands, I’d perhaps suggest the parcel is intended to offer some the many aspects of the highlands – the rugged hills, the rough, weather coastline, hints of glen-like slopes (al be they narrow), rushing streams, and so on – rather than any single place within them. In doing so, it presents a rough-hewn landscape that is entirely its own, one that invites exploration.

The ruins referenced in the description come in multiple forms, from the great round bulk of a coastal tower, sitting atop a shoulder of rock and protected on two sides by open sea – or perhaps intended to command an offensive view over the waters – to the squat rectangle of a castle keep brooding against the western cliffs of the land.

Between and around these two are multiple signs of what might have once been an extensive fortification – the ruins of curtain walls, ached entrances that might once have been guarded by stout gates, the remnants of a chapel, and so on. Are these all symbolic of a once might castle that dominated the landscape at some point in the past? Or are they indicative of multiple attempts to fortify and hold the land during different times in its violent history? That’s one of many questions the visitor might be tempted to ask, although the lay of the land perhaps points to the various ruins being somewhat separate in nature.

More recently, the land has become home to a small farm, the house of which sits in the lee of the great round tower, with a cattle barn sitting across the parcel from it, overlooking the eastern coast. The latter is intended to be the home for shaggy highland cattle, but the cows appear to have had other ideas, an open gate affording them the opportunity to wander down to the rocks sitting above the coastal waters.

Also down among the rocks can be found the detritus of human life: abandoned crates, broken rowing boats and so on – some of which offer places to sit. More places to sit and relax can be found scattered across the parcel, most of them easily reached from the landing point by following the dirt tracks that roll away from it. One of the latter will take visitors past the great tower, then the little farmhouse, and onwards to where beehives have been carefully set among the heather. Just to one side of these a great tree has, at some point in the past collapsed, its aged trunk now a convenient bridge by which to reach the rectangular castle keep.

In truth, getting around parts of the region can require a bit of scrambling and / or searching. Take the main steps up to the castle keep, for example. They link keep with an entry arch and one of the tracks running through the land – but the entrance itself is blocked by the stones that have fallen from the top of the arch, the keystone presumably having given way at some point in the past. On the one hand, this leaves visitors struggling to get over the fallen stones in order to climb the steps beyond, but on the other it cleverly encourages people to look for an alternate route – and those who do can be rewarded by further discoveries of hidden spots on their way up to the keep.

Similarly, finding the way up to the round tower is – without cheating – a little bit of a game of exploration. While it is possible to get up to it from inland, the easier route perhaps lies elsewhere. All I’ll say by way of a clue is that to go up, you first need to go down.

Finished with a sound scape fully in keeping with the setting, Highland Hills makes for a diverting visit with plenty to see without taking up a huge amount of time, and opportunities for photography, and pictures can also be submitted to the parcel’s Flickr pool.

SLurl Details

• Highland Hills (The Crossroads Event, rated Moderate)