Category: Subscription Plans

Update, December 19th, 2023: the Mediterranean Theme homes for Premium Plus are now available via the Linden Homes Store.

The newest Linden Homes theme – this one again for Premium Plus subscribers – was open for preview during the RFL Xmas Expo (December 1st-10th, 2023). Once again offering a range of homes occupying 2048 sq metre parcels, the overall theme for this upcoming release is “Mediterranean”, bringing with it a Tuscan theme – perhaps one of the most popular styles of house used within SL, which may be reflected in how popular the theme might prove, once available through the Linden Homes store.

As with more recent releases of Linden Homes, the theme comprises a total of four designs, each available in “normal” (with a fixed set of rooms) and “open” (with a more open-plan design allowing holders to define the spaces within with additional walls, etc., as they prefer), for a total of eight styles. Not all variants of the new theme were displayed at the Expo reveal, but those which were are described below.

Bella Vista: the open-plan version of a single-storey house, with a central terrace to one aspect, flanked on two sides by the house wings, and the third by the rest of the house, which also opens onto a second terrace. This version of the house presents a large L-shaped room to one side of the entrance hall, two smaller rooms on the other.

Bella Rosa: “normal” version of the Bella Vista, no preview available at the Expo reveal.

Favola: a two-storey house with central stone turret enclosing the entranceway, in which a curved staircase rises to a galleried landing overlooking the entrance. An archway provides access to two lower-floor rooms, also linked by an archway. The largest of the latter further accesses a terrace which is shared with one of the side rooms, which are accessed from the main room via a doorway. The galleried landing provides access to three upper-floor rooms.

Felicita: the open-plan version of the Favola, presenting two large ground floor rooms linked by a doorway and two linked upper floor rooms, the staircase rising directly into the larger of the two.

Grande Vista: a large, two-storey house with turreted front entrance complete with external stairs circling around it to reach the upper floor and provide access to both balcony there and the upper floor hallway, also reached via the internal stairs from the front entrance. A small room opens off of the entrance, and a central hall parallels that of the upper floor, providing access to (respectively) four rooms on the ground floor, the largest of which has a small terrace area opening off of it to one side of the house, and (upstairs) three rooms, two of which have their own balconies.

Gran Palma: the open-plan version of Grande Vista, with the entirely lower floor opened-out into a large single room space, archways linking it to the entrance hall, with the upper floor rooms as described above.

Primavera: a central 2-storey area with entranceway to front and large main room, flanked on either side with two single-level wings, one with two individual rooms, the other with two linked rooms (ideal for a kitchen space and dining room), both of which are linked to the main room via archways. Doors from the rearmost room on either side provide access to a roomy terrace overlooked from the main room by large windows. Reached via a dog-leg staircase to the front of the house, the upper floor provides large landing area which might be used as an open room / study, and two rooms suitable for use as a bedroom / bathroom combination or perhaps two bedrooms.

Precioso: an open plan version of the Primavera, not displayed as a part of the Expo reveal.

Some of the versions of the houses at the reveal were furnished, offering some idea of how they might look in use – a good twist on these reveals by the Lab, and perhaps a little overdue. As is usual for the modern range of Linden Homes, all of the styles / versions can be accessed by an off-parcel rezzing system, allowing the full capacity of the parcel on which a house sits to be used for furnishings, garden landscaping, etc.

When the first selection of Premium Plus Linden Homes – the Ranch theme – was released, I noted that I felt it lacking character, and not something sufficiently appealing to give me pause to consider upgrading from Premium to Premium Plus. I still do not feel the need to make the jump, but in terms of character I do find this theme to have far more in the way of character. Set within a sub-tropical environment, they would clearly have their own unique attractiveness; hence another reason to feel they could well prove popular on release.

Availability

According to Patch Linden, at the time of the reveal there is no release date for the Mediterranean theme, and the advice to Premium Plus subscribers with Ranch Theme homes was not to abandon them to await a pre-end of the 2023 release of this theme, as it may not come until 2024. At the time of writing, a new area of Bellisseria, north and east of the current Ranch Theme homes, appears to be in preparation – possibly for this new theme.

On Monday June 26th, Linden Lab launched the first Linden Homes theme expressly for Premium Plus subscribers. As had been promised, the theme is “Ranch”, and comprises a total of seven styles. Also as promised, these houses are on 2048 sq metre parcels with a land capacity of 703 LI. For the initial release, a total of 28 regions have been established by LL, located in their own group alongside Bellisseria’s major Stilt Home regions.

The houses themselves are of various footprint, the smallest looking suitable for a 512 s m parcel, and the largest looking like they might feel a little squeezed were they to sit on a 1024 sq m of a Premium home. Here, however, they fit the plots well, although the little cabin-style units do – to my eyes – look very out-of-place.

The landscaping around the houses is well designed, undulating nicely to offer different heights throughout, dirt tracks offering through routes and drives which almost reach onto the parcels. The latter are marked by fences which exist just outside of their boundaries, given a nice sense of property without encroaching on the parcel LI. Lanterns hang from posts which have an unfortunate resemblance to a simple gallows whilst grain silos, water towers, tractors, windmills and other items perhaps common to ranchlands helping to give a sense of place.

As well as presenting different footprints, the houses are a mix of single and two storey units, all framed and clad in wood and incorporating the expected porches. All of those set out for viewing in the region are referenced as “open plan”, even though they have individual rooms. However, whether this means the versions rezzed by default are “open plan”, with their more open spaces to be sub-divided at the owner’s discretion, whilst there are other versions available through the rezzers with their larger interior spaces already sub-divided, or whether these seven styles with their mix of open-plan spaces and individual rooms marks the entire theme, I’ve no idea. However, given I am unsure, the following descriptions may not fully reflect all of the the styles available via the rezzers:

• Buffalo Pastures: a large house with 1.5 floors. A full-length front porch with double doors provides access to to a large front-to-back room with rear door accessing a smaller porch. A second front-to-rear room features a staircase at the front rising to a galleried landing and single upper floor room.
  • Grizzly Point: essentially the same as the above, but with larger footprint to allow a larger main room on the lower floor.
• Creek Stone: a small cabin-style house, with front and rear porches. This appears to either only have a single room, or is presented only in its open-plan format.
• Knotty Pine: a large, single-storey building with full-length porch to the front and half-length porch to the rear. A single front door provides access to a large front-to-back main room with a door to rear porch. A central hallway parallels the main room, providing access to three further rooms, all with doors and with front, side and rear aspect views respectively, as well as connecting to the main room via both an arched entry and a door towards the rear of the room. A hatchway within this hall provides access to a loft area (with fold-down steps).

• Sliver Spurs: a single-storey L-shaped house with full-length front porch and centre-placed rear porch to half length. A single front door provides access to the main room with views to the rear aspect and door to the porch. An inner hall provides access to two additional rooms.
• Stable View: a large two-storey house featuring full-length front and rear porches and double front doors opening into an entrance hall with dogleg stairs to upper floor. Two large connecting rooms (both connecting to the entrance hall on the lower floor. Galleried upper floor landing leading to two side-by-side bedrooms on one side and a further bedroom on the other.
  • Spring View: similar to the Stable view, but with slightly smaller footprint and only featuring the two upper side-by-side bedrooms.

I’m not entirely sure what it is with this theme – or whether I’m just increasingly jaded – but I admit to finding them lacking appeal and character. Out of the seven styles, Grizzly Point and Stable View are little more than Buffalo Pastures and Spring View on a light dose of steroids, whilst several of the builds seem to have deliberately oddly-shaped permanent (i.e. those with fixed doors) rooms, some of which seemed cramped even sans furnishing. And while the Knotty Pine does have a novelty of an attic (with window), it’s not enough to lift it into the realm of “like” for me. There is also the weird novelty of stone chimneys rising from several of the designs but without any connection to an actual fireplace. Whist this obviously leaves a freedom of choice as to any actual fireplace actually installed on the part of the owner, it still potentially limits where any fireplace might go if sensibilities of look are to be maintained, which seems to defeat the object – so why not just include one to start with?

Which is not to say the Theme isn’t proving popular. Whilst writing this piece, the houses around me were being snapped up with horses and stables appearing even before furnishings! For those who are Premium Plus and who like horse riding, will likely find much to enjoy with this theme. For me, however, it’s not enough to tip me anywhere close to considering pumping my subscription up to PP.

SLurl Details

• Generic Ranch Themes SLurl (Clemente, rated Moderate)