Category: Reviews

Mother Road – click any image for full size

“Mother Road is a lovingly crafted Nevada-esque back country, inspired by the original Mother Road sim,” Paul Cutter (Xtreme Paule) says when introducing Mother Road – Mirage Motel 66. “Mine is 1/2 sim size but the work is an experimental showcase which could lead to being full sim size in the future. So far feedback has been positive.”

A half region in size it may be but this build, sitting 450 metres above sea level, offers a genuine feeling of being on a desert road – Route 66 or otherwise – and plenty of opportunities for photography. Visitors initially arrive at the west end of the parcel, the road stretching away to the eastern horizon. An advantage in building in the sky means there is no water on that horizon to break the illusion of a road stretching into the distance, nor does the use of a mountainous or hilly region surround  to disrupt the feeling of being on a broad flat desert plain.

Mother Road

The titular motel sits half-way along the road on the left relative to the landing point. It offers air-conditioned rooms, free wi-fi and cable TV. It faces a gas station and garage on the far side of the road, with an iconic Harvey Davidson-type  motorbike parked at the pumps. The keen-eyed visitors might notice there are bike rezzers at either end of the parcel, allowing them to experience a trip along Route 66 – but those taking a ride should keep in mind the signs also mark the region edges, even though the road appears to continue eastwards and westwards beyond them

Beyond the motel and garage, on either side of the road are cabins and smallholdings, some of which are available for rent, while rugged, sandy hills rise to the north and south. As is often the case, a railroad line runs parallel to the road, but some distance from it, telegraph poles marching alongside it from east to west.

Mother Road

It’s a simple, yet elegant setting, with nuanced detailing and little scenes awaiting discovery. The sun-dried wood of a billboard stands alongside the motel, throwing a shadow for part of the day over an outdoor fire pit, surrounded by makeshift seating of old sofas, a mattress on top of creates, a beanbag and two car seats. A TV and VCR sit on a little bench, the former offering an old little taste of Britain as it displays the old BBC test card. More signs of Anglophilia can be found in the garage across the highway, where the Union Flag faces the Stars and Stripes and Ziggy Stardust floats on the side of a space invaders arcade game.

The garage sits on land which may be part of a farm or ranch, a 4×4 parked alongside an aluminium sided trailer close by, while over the fence someone has chosen to camp out near to some of the rental cabins. One of these is being careful investigated by a small group of young children – or is perhaps being used as their play camp in lieu of adult occupation. They, in turn, are being observed by a scrap metal robot, perhaps built to entertain them among the roadside rocks.

Mother Road

This is perhaps not the most affluent of locations; rusting hulks of cars are scattered around, together with the detritus of civilisation. It does, however offer an ideal setting for photographers, and rezzing rights for props can be obtained by paying L$100 to join the parcel’s group.

Whether or not this current iteration of Mother Road leads to Paul realising a new full region version remains to be seen. In the meantime, this build stands an easy-to-explore design, and going on the numbers present during my visit, a popular hang-out.

With thanks to Shakespeare and Max (once again!) for pointing me to this parcel.

Mother Road

SLurl Details

• Mother Road – Mirage Motel 66 (Mishiland, rated: Moderate)

Brand New Colony – click any image for full size

Update, January 1st 2018: Brand New Colony has relocated. The SLurls given here have been updated to reflect the new location, and a tour of the new build is available here.

Brand New Colony is an Adult-rated homestead region designed by Bunny Blessed (Svelte Blessed) and Mimara Blessed (Mimara) which is open to visitors to explore and enjoy – and it is a wonderfully picturesque setting in which to spend time.

Divided into three islands linked by bridges and surrounded by surf, the region sits in a broad channel of water sitting between two rugged mountain ranges rich with fir trees on their flanks. A visit begins on the plateau of the northernmost island, which extends a slender finger westwards, stone steps offering the way down from the gazebo in which visitors arrive. This sits above a large pool of water feed by an arc of waterfalls. Bridges span the water to the gazebo, which is also carried away by falls which drop down the side of the plateau to feed a large pool and a stream below.

Brand New Colony

Footpaths run either side of the stream, bridges connecting them one to the other, both offering ways to explore the island, and  to reach the summer-house sitting on wooden legs above the stream. Rich with flowers and the shade of trees, with benches and swings to be found along the paths overlooking the water feature, the island on its own offers a picturesque setting in which to spend time. However, there is more to be found in the region.

Just down from the arrival gazebo is a wooden bridge spanning the channel between this island and the larger of the two to the south.

Brand New Colony

A villa with whitewashed walls and a red-tiled roof sits on the plateau forming the central peak of this second island, steps near the bridge offering a way up to it. Sitting beneath the villa and visible from the arrival point is a sandy beach, complete with a tiled pool set back against the rocks of the plateau,  reached by a grassy path sloping down from the villa’s hilltop location.

Two further sets of stone stairs curl their way down the west face of the plateau, allowing explorers reach a stone bridge offering a way to the smallest of the three islands. This is home to the adult aspect of the region: an old (but functioning) lighthouse has been converted into an adult club – so, for those not fond of such things, proceed with care.

Brand New Colony

There are many points of beauty within this region. The three island have been designed with care, and their rocky nature is entirely natural in look and feel, as are the many water features. Trees and plants are used with equal care and finesse to present a setting which is not just picturesque, but also serene. This is a place to be explored and enjoyed at leisure, with plenty of places to sit and relax – or cuddle. It’s also a place which demands photography.

As noted, Brand New Colony is adult rated, and a part of it does have an adult theme; but this doesn’t in any way detract from the sheer allure of the region.  All-in-all, a delightful visit.

Brand New Colony

SLurl Details

• Brand New Colony (Sol, rated: Adult)

Savor Serenity – click any image for full size

Update, July 2018: Savor Serenity has relocated. SLurls in this article have been updated.

“What seemed to be a forsaken land. Ruins of a former kind, left behind in the over grown forest. The morning dawn illuminated the waterfall. In that moment, she knew this would become the new home for her elven people. She savoured the serenity.”

So Tári Zephira (Gidgette Adagio) describes Savor Serenity, the homestead region she and her partner Tár TuT (Valleyofkings) opened to the public at the end of August 2017. Caitlyn and I were graciously allowed to visit the region ahead of its public opening, having thoroughly enjoyed a visit to Tári’s Hobbiton in February 2017.

Savor Serenity

As Tári’s introduction suggests, Savor Serenity is modelled after an Elven enclave – one which, much like Hobbiton, has been inspired by Tolkien’s Middle Earth without actually directly lifting from it. Sitting within a ring of tall mountains misted by a twilight Sun, the region presents a wooded sanctuary in which sits ancient ruins linking by partially overgrown paths and from which great Mallorn-like trees rise, adorned by high telain offering spaces for meeting and dancing, and where elven buildings and domes reside.

A visit begins in the south-east corner of the region, atop a portion of the ancient ruins. Steps descend from the platform at the for points of the compass, with the west side steps leading the way to a path passing through a tunnel made from the bent trunks of trees. The path passes westwards to more ruins among the trees, and places where couples might choose to tarry. Follow the path far enough and it will lead you to a point where you can access the centre of the region. This forms a walled pool of water, with a pavilion pointing westward, behind which a flight of steps rise to a throne sitting beneath a great dome.

Savor Serenity

This central area appears to be the remnants of a great fortification, possibly of elven origin, but now long fallen into disrepair. Steps lead up onto the tops of the walls in place, in others the walkways are broken,  offering an alternative mean of accessing the darkness passages down between the walls – or a route onwards around the region. The first of the Mallorn trees rises from the banks of the waters within the walls, an ornate stair providing access to a platform where ladders provide a route up to the telain built in the branches of the tree. These are connected one to another by further ladders and stairways, with bridges arching over the gaps to telain sitting within the branches of the Mallorn growing to the north and beyond the high walls guarding the central waters.

These additional tree platforms can also be reached by a mix of ladders and stairways which rise from the open lands to the north, where the ground is dusted by flowers and the smaller trees are festooned with lights. A wooden pavilion can be found here, offering a further place to dance, while on the north side of the great wall stands what might have once been the grand entrance to the elven fortification.

Savor Serenity

To say Savor Serenity matches its name would be an understatement – it more than does so. It also enfolds everything that is quintessential about Tolkien’s elves: ornate stonework, geometry, harmony with nature, love of water, and longing for the West. There are touches to refined beauty to be found everywhere – more so than I’ve described here, so it is as well to take your time when exploring. Also, if you haven’t explored Hobbiton recently (or at all), you might find a visit to both it and Savor Serenity present and ideal double visit with which to immerse yourself in  a personal look at Tolkien’s world.

SLurl Details

Savor Serenity (River Hill, rated: Moderate)