Category: Reviews

Cece’s Secret – click on any image for full size

I was drawn to Cece’s Secret, a homestead region designed by CeCeGy, as a result of seeing it as an Editor’s Pick in the Destination Guide. For those still keen to enjoy winter themes, it currently offers a snowy environment which makes for a pleasing visit and a charming location with hints of romance.

A visit starts on the largest of five islands, and almost at the centre of the region. This island is home to a parade of shops facing a railway station terminus, a single track curving out of the station to vanish into a tunnel. A train is halted before the awning of the station – which is just as well; the smoke stack of the engine is taller than the steel frame of the awning, so any attempt to go any further might have been damaging to both. Instead, the train sits under the early morning sky, a small square alongside the track.

Cece’s Secret

A café sits on the square, a frozen pond nearby, reached via a set of gates. Further to the east, beyond the rocks rising from the ground beyond the pond, sits a whitewashed cabin with roaring fire outside and an interior setting suitable for newly weds and the romantic at heart. With the ground covered in snow, a path marked by small rocks winds its way around the shops and down to the south to where two bridges span narrow channels to the nearer two of the four southern islands.

Of the two islands reached via these bridges, one is a rocky outcrop. Stone steps curl up the snow and rock to where a large tower rises, inviting people to explore. With its walls holed and its turret broken, this tower still offers another cosy retreat. Across the water the second island is lower, flatter. Reached via a low bridge, it is home to another comfortable cabin facing a vagabond trailer across another frozen pond.

Cece’s Secret

The remaining two islands sit further out and are far more rugged in nature; one on the edge of the region and deserted; the second – which appears to be only reachable by flying – is also rugged, with a garden cottages sitting on the top of it, again making presenting another comfortable escape from the rest of the world.

There is one more accessible offshore point; not so much an island as a tiny islet on the west side of the region. Reached by a little iron bridge, and devoid of trees, it offers a bed under a canopy, while a deck with seats and burning brazier faces it from across the region on the east side.

Cece’s Secret

There are one or two little issues with the design, but nothing to spoil the overall setting. There are some gates that don’t open, for example, but can easily be walked around, while one or two plants could do with being phantom. Do note, as well, that scripts are disabled; so if you re-log whilst visiting, you many find any scripted AO you use and scripted attachments may not work as expected.

It’s important to note that these are own little issues, and they don’t spoil a visit. As such, were I to use one word to describe Cece’s Secret, it might be placid. The winter set to the region, coupled with the surrounding mountains, the region has a feeling of being a secluded place; somewhere to escape to and relax. As well as the cabins and the bed on its islet, there are numerous places to sit and relax or cuddle.

Cece’s Secret

SLurl Details

• Cece’s Secret (Serena Salina, rated: Moderate)

Les Reves Perdus – click on any image for full size

Miro Collas drew my attention to Les Reves Perdus (“Dreams Lost”). It’s a place we’ve enjoyed visiting in the past and which I’ve previously written about here and here, so we were more that happy to make a return visit. Designed by Cathy (zaziaa), she relocated to a new Homestead region in November 2017, and with the move offers a design with a distinctly oriental flavour that also encompasses a nice use of water.

Visitors arrive before a memorial gate, lit by floating lanterns. A trail of firefly-like lights float just above the water, leading the way to the largest of three islands in the region, which rise from the water on sheer cliffs to form a table-like top. Water tumbles from a series of falls on the west side of the island, alongside a set of stone steps rising from the water to provide a way to the top.

Les Reves Perdus

A small temple sits on the island, a formal walled garden beyond it, reach by a couple of bridges that span two small channels cutting into the rock. While the garden and temple have a distinct Japanese look to them, there is bamboo growing alongside the wall of the garden which has attracted an embarrassment of pandas, giving the setting a Chinese flavour. More waterfalls tumble from the north side of the island, while around the cliffs can be found rock carvings, a Buddha and floating candles, all of which add subtle touches to the setting.

To the south-east of this large island is a second. Again flat-topped and with sheer cliffs, it is home a large Japanese-style house, sitting over a body of water which doesn’t quite feed the falls tumbling from the rocks – at least, not on the surface. The steps leading up to the house also link it with an avenue of trees running to the beach at the base of the region’s third island. Follow this and you’ll find an ancient pier pointing out to sea, facing a path winding up the side of the island’s cliffs, with the entrance to a cavern at its base.

Les Reves Perdus

All of this just scratches the surface of the region’s beauty. Near to the arrival gate is pavilion where Chinese drums and Zheng can be played, all under the watchful eyes of a dragon. Candles float over the water alongside the pavilion, while plants hug the waters at the base of the islands. as well as the drums and Zheng, the pavilion offers the opportunity to enjoy Tai Chi, while the house on the “middle” of the three islands offers a place to relax and simply enjoy the setting. There are a couple of adult elements in the caverns under one of the islands – but there are not anything that should give offence.

One of the delights in visiting Les Reves Perdus is that each iteration is entirely difference to the previous, making every visit after a redesign both a pleasure and an opportunity for discovery. This latest build is no exception; it is wonderfully tranquil, with a subtle sound scape and, for those so minds, a reflective audio stream courtesy of  Chouchou.

Les Reves Perdus

As someone who delights in oriental themes and a considered use of water in a region build, I  admit to thoroughly enjoying reacquainting myself with Les Reves Perdux in its new home, as did Caitlyn. We both look forward to future visits.

SLurl Details

• Les Reves Perdux (Miss C, rated: Adult)

Flying Coyote River – click on any image for full size

Miro Collas passed on a suggestion we pay a visit to Flying Coyote River, a Full region designed by Lila Rose (Masha Eilde) and open to people with Payment Information On File (PIOF). It’s a strangely eclectic wilderness region with plenty to see, and which can be very photogenic under a wide variety of windlight settings.

The landing point sits in the middle of the region on a small island, the rest of the land divided into four, each part ruggedly terraformed using a mix of the natural terrain and mesh elements. Precisely where you go from the landing point is entirely a matter of personal choice. Before doing so, and if you want to get a feel for the immediate surroundings, there’s a small watchtower offering a vantage point for a look around (you might also want to see what is under the little hillock of the island).

Flying Coyote River

However, whichever route you choose, you’ll be setting off on a voyage of discovery, because there is an awful lot to be found right across the region. So much so, in fact, that attempting to describe everything here would lead to a long article and spoil the fun. However, were I to be asked to define a possible single-word theme for the region, then it might be in “community”.

Not that there is an actual community of users here per se, but rather that the region has been designed to give a feeling that it has been established by a group of people; although quite why they’ve done so here in the wilds surrounded by mountains, is a story perhaps best left to individual imaginations. It’s also the kind of place that looks ripe for casual role-play for like minds paying in a visit – and that’s something that visitors are invited to try, as noted in the About Land description.

Flying Coyote River

Buildings here come in all forms: houses, tree houses, converted rail cars, cottages, lighthouses, towers – even caves and hollows. All are scattered across the landscape, atop hills, improbably perched on cliffs, nestled along the coast or sitting in the branches of trees. Linking them one to the next is a series of trails, paths, bridges, ladders, tunnels and stairways, some of which are quite imaginatively placed, with others offering more than one way to reach a destination.

The best way of exploring the region is not to flycam / cam ahead – at least not to start with. It is far more fun to follow the paths and climb the hills to see what lies beyond the next ridge or hilltop then it is to constantly cam ahead. This way, you really get the feeling of being out in the wilds; and such is the design of the region, it can quickly start to feel as if is it far larger than its 256 metres on a side. Just as you feel you must have seen everything, there is something the pops into view or is at least hinted at just over the next rise – and so you’re drawn onwards.

Flying Coyote River

In this way, places like the garden with its wrecks of cars and bursts of flowery colour amidst the greenery of hills and trees raises a smile far more than when simply camming to it, while it hint of what might be a cavern or tunnel entices you further around the base of a hill or over a bridge and up a gravel path.  Gentle exploration also brings out the very mixed aspects of the region’s design, which brings together something of a post-apocalyptic flavour with twists of fantasy, all stirred into the feeling of being in the great outdoors – including a rope slide for the adventurous.

It is true that elements of the design are a little rough here and there – platform legs not quite reaching the ground, footings of bridges and buildings perhaps not as firmly placed into ledges and cliffs as they might be. But really, this doesn’t matter: Flying Coyote River offers so much to see, the attractions more than outweigh the niggles. There are also plenty of places to sit and rest, or look out over the landscape, from both indoors and from outside, again making a visit more than worthwhile.

Flying Coyote River

Again, when visiting the region, please remember access is restricted to those with PIOF, and note also that scripts are disabled if you re-log directly to the region. Our thanks again to Milo for suggesting we take a look.

SLurl Details

• Flying Coyote River (Flying Coyote, rated: Adult)

Neverfar – click on any image for full size

“A little piece of my heart and soul I created for this world to enjoy some quiet time and create moments,” inertia (Caridee Sparta) says of her Homestead region of Neverfar, which I came across recently while poking my nose into the Destination Guide. It is an atmospheric and eclectic place to visit, offering  a good amount to see and discover.

A good part of the region is formed by a rugged island rising from calm waters, its top stony and hard, a place where shrubs and old trees with deep roots claw for purchase. A small village sits on its hard back, a place with a strong oriental theme among its buildings – something which is always bound to attract me. While mixed in nature, with something of a lean towards Japanese influences, I found this little village put me in mind of secluded places along the south coast of China, huddling away from that country’s rapid urbanisation, or perhaps located on the Indochinese peninsula – although it might just as easily be somewhere on one of the islands of Japan.

Neverfar

Surrounded by tall, evergreen mountains, and gathered around a little bay where two long fishing boats rest in the mist hugging the shoreline, the village is a mix of tall, cement-sided buildings and wooden huts and shacks, most of them with corrugated tin roofs. It has the feel of being a place of work, rather than being for vacation, so the tall face of the optimistically named Regent Hotel seems a little odd, while the neon lights illuminating a side street attempting to entice people to come and sample the local food, have an air of pathos about them, particularly considering a couple sit above shuttered entrances.

Wooden walkways offer routes around the buildings, wood being more practical given both the unforgiving rock from which the village rises and the way it extends out over the water. For example, to the north-east a small café sits on a wooden platform above the waves and reached via a narrow walkway. A second platform close by offering a place to sit warmed by an electric fire and with incense burning in a bowl in greeting while a cat enjoys the fire’s warmth.

Neverfar

Behind the clustered buildings of this village are more board walks, raised over the rocks on wooden piles and reached by short stairways. They offer a view across the waters to the south, to where a smaller island sits, marked by a somewhat decrepit wooden tower at one end, and a Japanese-style house at the other. A rickety pier – or the remnants of an old bridge? – point towards this smaller island, but the only way to reach it appears to be to take to the air and join the gulls circling back and forth over the intervening water.

To the north-west is a further rocky islet, this one the location of a private residence, which is in use – so please respect privacy and avoid the temptation of trying to hop over. Facing this, on the main island, is a small music stage with a pier below it. Stage and pier are reached by crossing the rugged land to the west of the village, beyond the bicycle stands, and passing by way of an old, broken railway car now converted into something of an unusual piano lounge. Be sure to keep an eye out  for some of Cica Ghost’s animated stick figures along the path!

Neverfar

Rugged and with a touch of haunting beauty under an evening’s sky, Neverfar is a welcoming place to visit. There is much to see and plenty of places scattered throughout where visitors can sit and rest.. Those wishing to have rezzing rights for photography can join the region’s group (L$499) – please do remember to pick up your bits if you do. There’s also a Flickr group for those wishing to submit their photos. Note that I do offer an alternate SLurl to that provided in the DG, as the latter (at the times of our visits at least) lands visitors atop a non-phantom tree alongside one of the broad walks.

SLurl Details

• Neverfar (Neverfar, rated: Moderate)