Tag: Exploring Second life 2015

I’m going slightly off my usual beaten track with this travelogue in order to try to cover two interlinked regions through a single post.

Marathon Caye and Whispering Winds are two regions operated by Shaylin Yordstorm / Mrs (Taylee) Aldrin and Cranston Yordstorm / Cuthbert Aldrin which, while physically separated on the grid, are unified into a singular whole by the magic of teleporting. So much so that it really doesn’t matter which one you opt to visit first in your explorations; you’ll likely end up moving back and forth between the two as you visit the various attractions and features.

If I were to define both regions at all, it would be as a rural entertainment / amusement park venue, located in a woodland setting. Both offer a range of rides – log flumes, roller coasters, slides, bungee jumps (a first for me in SL!),  – as well as opportunities for paddling around on the water and to meet Dwarfins.

With a total of six music venues across both regions (The Pavilion, The Rock House and The Ranch on whispering Winds, and Club CTO, the Amphitheatre and The Arboretum on Marathon Caye), keeping track of all that might be going on across the two regions is probably best achieved by checking the various Facebook pages Kaylin / Taylee and Cranston / Cuthbert have created, or through joining one of the relevant groups for the regions. Invites to the latter can be received on your arrival, while links to the former are available throughout both regions. In addition, there are Flickr groups for both regions for those who want to share the pictures they take (again, grab the links when visiting both regions).

For couples out for a quiet time together, there are various secluded spots to be found and various quieter rides to be enjoyed – such as the hot air balloon, a trip out on the water on a pedalo or rowing boat, floating soap bubbles, horse rides, and so on. Keep an eye out, as well for teleport links to the beach, the log cabin and so forth.

The landscape in both locations occupies a mixes of elevations, and if I’m honest, some of the building seem a little precariously perched in  places. However, this is SL, a place where we can change the laws of physics if we like – or at least get them to look the other way – so who says everything must always be entirely natural-looking. Certainly the higher plateaus offer plenty of opportunities for a little exercise.

The various rides offer an additional level of fun to the regions, and having tired them all, I can say they work pretty well, and the water slide, roller coaster and log flume are quite effective in Mouselook, while the bungee jump certainly adds a new perspective on Second Life when viewed that way!

Given both regions are so full of things to do and see, keeping draw distance turned down might be in order for you, should you visit and depending on your system’s capabilities; I did note my own frame rates constantly dipping into the low teens during my explorations.

If you’re looking for a venue offering a range of live music events and activities to enjoy either on your own or in the company of friends, and which offers plenty of opportunities for retreat on the ground and in the air, a visit to Marathon Caye / Whispering Winds might well be the ticket.

Related Links

• Marathon Caye main SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Whispering Wind main SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

Soyokaze (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Soyokaze (“gentle wind”) is the home and dōjō for the Soyokaze clan, a school for C:SI sword combat, and a RP environment honouring the samurai and the Edo period of ancient Japan. It is also the home of the  Bushido Challenge, which is one of the most involved challenges I’ve yet tried in SL, being both immersive and engaging.

The Soyokaze-ryu can be found on the ground level of the region. Here, set deep within a river gorge, sits a small village, the wooden buildings standing on either side of the gorge, a stone bridge spanning the waters. This place is clearly of of strategic import, as it is overlooked by two stone-built castles.

Soyokaze (Flickr) – click any image for full size

There are opportunities galore for photography here, and clan members offer a warm and friendly greeting. Period costume is not required (indeed, it should be pointed out that the clan is dedicated to preserving the best and oldest of traditions of the Edo period, rather than being set in the Edo period – hence the seemingly odd appearances of things like a soda drinks dispenser, dart board and modern-era gamer’s chairs in some parts of the region). That said, some light role-play does, I’m told, take place within the region at times.

As a centre for C:SI sword combat, the school welcomes enquiries from interested parties, which should be addressed to DomoKun Giotto or Kasumi Hashi. There are a number of combat zones placed around the village, mostly notable the impressive form of the school itself, nestling in the neighbouring valley.   If you’d like to rez props for any photography, rezzing is open, and auto-return set to 21 minutes – but do please remember to pick your bits up if you finish within that time.

Soyokaze (Flickr) – click any image for full size

For those who wish to extend their visit, there is the Bushido Challenge. This involves coming to the aid of Princess Ayuki, trapped in a labyrinth of tunnels by  malevolent spirits, and is – as mentioned at the top of this article – one of the most engaging challenges I’ve attempted in Second Life, and recommend it. But be warned, it does require a fair amount of time (or at least, one or more return visits), and a couple of parts of the challenge can only be solved through the assistance of / co-operation of others.

Assisting the princess is a case of stepping through the teleport portal, found within the village, and then solving seven challenges involving the Bushido code: Gi (justice & morality); Yu (heroic courage); Jin (compassion); Rei (polite courtesy); Makoto (sincerity); Meiyo (honour) and Chu (duty & loyalty). Each challenge is reached through its own portal, starting Gi (although it is possible to take some of the challenges in any order you choose).

Soyokaze (Flickr) – the entrance to the Bushido Challenge

The challenges are all varied in nature, mixing logic, elements of a hunt, learning a skill, solving riddles, exercising good timing, and so on, offering a complex quest in which – for a part at least – you’ll need local sounds audible in addition to having a friend on-hand to assist you. As you solve each challenge, don’t forget to claim your reward from the treasure chests located within each challenge area.

Instructions in places may not be all that straightforward, so if you get stuck and any point, find your way to Princess Ayuki (who stands in one of the tunnels behind a portal), and she’ll offer you some tips / advice.

I confess to not yet having completed the challenge, largely down to running out of time during my initial visit, and not having anyone on-hand to assist in the challenges requiring co-operation, so I cannot say how things finish (and wouldn’t spoil it for you, even if I did!). One thing I will say is that, while I enjoyed those elements of the quest I have completed (and look forward to solving the rest), the one part I’ve had a lot of fun with is the archery challenge. Scripted by Yamil Dagger, this is quiet simply a lot of fun, whether or not you’re playing for prizes – indeed, I’ve since been back for another couple of rounds, simply because it is so much fun.

Soyokaze offers an enticing mixture of a photogenic environment,  the chance to join an established C:SI combat clan, and the opportunity to engage in a quest that has just the right mix of fun, frustration and a growing desire to overcome the mischief of the spirits and reach the conclusion.

Add to that the village tavern, which offers a cosy place to meet and talk with friends and clan members, and Soyokaze presents itself as a very engaging place to visit. Very thoroughly recommended!

My special thanks go to どうも (DomoKun Giotto, who has designed the region and is clan Sōke along with Kasumi Hashi) and to Akiko Yuki for their time in making me feel welcome and facing a barrage of questions, to ジョイ (Kimicko), for her assistance with part of the Bushido Challenge quest, and to Yamil, for his encouragement as I took the archery challenge.

Related Links

• Soyokaze SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

Cantrip De Savor (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Occupying a quarter of a region, Dez Akemi Melomane’s Cantrip De Savor lives up to both of the elements found within its name: it is magical in looks, and a place to be savoured when visiting.

Currently caught in the depths of of winter, it offers an eye-catching retreat from the cares of the wider worlds, edged with a hint of mystery in places. There is plenty for all to enjoy, and the SL photographer is liable to find much to keep him or her occupied, be it in picturing the landscape as a whole, or focusing down on the individual little touches, of which there are plenty awaiting discovery.

Cantrip De Savor (Flickr)

Built around a watery inlet complete with a small island, the land invites visitors to wander the paved road around the edge of the water, away from the run-down gas station and on past the cabin on the hill, the little tea house and store, and the gazebo with its snuggly sofa and cushions, until they come to a hollowed-through tree trunk bridging the water to reach the little island, overlooked by a ramshackle old skiing lodge. On the island sits a charming coffee house, warmly lit and with an outdoor brazier and chairs for the hardy, while beyond it, another bridge leads back to the mainland, where more awaits  discovery.

It’s on the east side of the land that the mystery of the place is perhaps most clearly seen, because it is there one will find sections of an old railway track, improperly laid out, incomplete and seemingly forgotten. Alongside them sits the hulking form of an armoured (and armed) stream train, converted to run on tracks of a different kind, a biohazard sign close by giving a stark warning to all who approach.  Quite what they mean when taken together is up to the visitor to decide, giving the land an additional narrative to be enjoyed.

Cantrip De Savor (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The beauty of this build is hard to resist – were one even to want to offer resistance. The rural look and feel to the landscape, shielded from the rest of the region by tall rocky cliffs and peaks, offers something of a contradiction to the run-down look and feels to many of the structures occupying it, yet both bind into a visually pleasing whole, which comfortably enfolds the more cosy stopping points, such as the little coffee house and Dez’s little Branch store, which sits tucked unobtrusively into a corner.

This is definitely one to be savoured; there’s far too much magic in the air to pass up on a visit – so why not go see for yourself?

Cantrip De Savor (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Related Links

• Cantrip De Savor (Rated: Moderate)

When I was a lot younger than I am now, my family took a holiday in Florida, ostensibly to see a space shuttle launch. While there, we did all the touristy things as well , including the inevitable Walt Disney “thing”. As a teenager, I found it all wonderfully kitsch, bar one small episode. That lay with getting stuck on a malfunctioning ride for something like 20 minutes, denied the ability to get off as staff strove to get it going, all the time being subjected to It’s A Small World (After All) over and over and over again. Even today, the opening bars of that song still get me twitching and reaching for sharp-pointed instruments with which I might conceivably harm someone.

I bring this up, because an idle paging through the Destination Guide brought me to an advert for Discovery Mark II, which is billed as “the world of tomorrow. Featuring rides, shows and more”, and my thoughts immediately turned to those far-off days, with the result that curiosity got the better of me, and I hopped over for a look.

Occupying a  little over 1/4 of a full region, Discovery Mark II (I’ve no idea what happened to the original, other than I obviously missed it), is what I can only describe as a lovingly put together homage to Walt Disney’s parks and rides. Five attractions are on offer: PeopleMover, an elevated monorail system that carries you on a tour of the park, together with reproductions of Disney’s Astro Orbiter, Space Mountain, The Timekeeper, and the Electric Umbrella Café.

It has to be said that there is a wonderful attention to detail here; the broad boulevards, manicured gardens and bright colours are mindful of their Disney counterparts, while the look and feel of the foyer / queuing areas of Timekeeper and Space Mountain are carefully reproduced. The whole place has been very well done, and even the use of poseballs for seating in the Space Mountain ride add a certain level of whimsical retro kitsch to the park.

However, I also have to admit to having a slight niggle with the build which rather spoiled my visit. The Timekeeper attraction includes video camera footage filmed inside the physical world ride, and I’m pretty sure that attractions like it have warnings prohibiting such recording (although I admit to never having seen this particular attraction). Thus, walking into it in-world immediately raised very direct questions on matters of IP infringement and copyright.

Which is a shame, because otherwise I did enjoy my visit; it brought back memories of a family holiday twenty plus years in the past, and did so without me having to listen to It’s A Small World (After All) or deal with the resultant twitching!

Related Links

• Discovery Mark II SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

Timeless Memories (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Elvira Kytori’s Timeless Memories is without doubt one of the most beautifully ethereal and captivating regions I’ve visited of late.

With parts wrapped in softly-falling snow, the composition of this Homestead regions has to be witnessed in order to be truly appreciated. From the arrival point, inside one of two quaint houses in the region, board walks wind forth across a watery, semi-frozen landscape, while a late afternoon sun tints trees and grass in muted tones of gold, lavender, green and blue, all softened by a slowly-rising grey-white mist.

Timeless Memories (Flickr) – click any image for full size

To call this region photogenic would be an understatement; there is not a single element that does not lend itself to being photographed. Indeed, Elvira encourages people to take pictures and asks that if they do, they share them through her Flickr group.

Throughout the landscape lie little scenes and vignettes, each of them offering a narrative of its own while collectively they add to the rich tapestry of the entire region. Penguins skate across a stretch of frozen water; a polar bear and her cubs roam a snowy embankment. cuddly toys play backgammon and wave to passing visitors. Scattered throughout the region, as well, are places to sit and enjoy, or watch, or converse with friends.

Timeless Memories (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Despite the winter’s feel, timeless is the most apt description here; there is a real sense of time having been suspended, and a small part of the world set aside where one can simply be.

A note in the About Land description suggests that, as hard as it might be to let go, Timeless Memories could itself vanish into memory. It would be a shame for this to happen, given the love and care that has been poured into creation such a beautiful place to be enjoyed by everyone. So when you pay a visit, please show your appreciation by offering a donation to help ensure people might continue to enjoy timeless memories of their own when they visit; just touch the bunny at the landing point.

Timeless Memories (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Related Links

• Timeless Memories SLurl (Rated:Moderate)
• Timeless Memories Flickr group

My apologies to Makeahla and Mz Marville. I was supposed to have posted this on Saturday, January 10th, but i managed to sidetrack myself into fiddling with other things.

Makealha Jungle is a new series of regions (three open to the public, the fourth – Another Hangout –  forms Makeahla’s own home, and may be closed in whole or in part to visitors as result) which officially opened its doors to visitors on Saturday, January 10th.

As I noted in my preview tour, kindly arranged by Mz Marville, who is responsible for the overall design of the regions, Makeahla Jungle is intended to be a place where people can visit and relax, take photos, etc., while also considering the natural world around us – including the l=plight of some of the species represented within the regions. In this, a particular reference is made to the northern white rhino, ceratotherium simum cottoni, of which only five now remain in the entire world, and the species will soon pass into extinction; the easternmost of the three public regions  – Makeahla East – is therefore dedicated to the memory of the northern white rhino.

The opening for the regions was marked by a special ceremony and party afterwards, and people are now free to explore the regions and meet the animals within their borders. Rezzing is open for those who wish to place props while taking photos – but do please clean-up afterwards. There is no special group to join for rezzing rights, or fees to be paid.

Also, to mark the opening of the regions, there is now a photography competition running through until January 31st, 2015, with a L$5,000 prize pool on offer. The rules are straightforward, as quoted below:

3 entries are allowed, we are looking for artistic expression, and the feeling of fun in nature when judging. The contest is open to landscape or avatar photography. Contestants must keep in mind that any photography taken / entered, if chosen grants Makeahla Jungle authorization to use the work as they see fit.

Entries should be made via the Conserve Landscaping Flickr group. Judging will take place on or around February, 1st, 2015.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a delightful rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and The Mint Julips.

Related Links

• Makeahla Jungle SLurl (Rated: Moderate)