Tag: Exploring Second life 2015

Update, September 27th: Nevermoor, one os the five Steehead City regions, has a new lease of life. Willow Leafstorm (zoelass) has taken over ownership of the region, which has been renamed and relocated to Ravenwood Forest. There have been some very minor changes made, but the aim is for the region to “live on in the spirit of Steehead”.

Steelhead City, the “American Victorian Steampunk Community in the Second Life Nestled in the Coastal Pacific Northwest” and set around the 1850s,  is to close at the end of September.

The news initially came via an announcement to the Steelhead community from founder TotalLunar Eclipse at the start of the month, followed by further information given in a town hall meeting held a few days later. There are multiple factors involved in the decision, the majority of which are personal in nature, relating to health, career and family situations.

I first wrote about Steelhead far back in 2012, and while I’ve had a number of visits since (although admittedly not since around mid-2014), I’ve never managed to get an updated blog post written. Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed since then, although much of the estate remains as I’ve always remembered and enjoyed it.

For example, over the years, the city and port have undergone a series of changes, although the more rural areas of Steelhead Boomtoown and St Helens have remained their natural look and feel with few obvious changes. Similarly, Steelhead Nevermoor has always retained its eclectic mix of rental properties, dark and mysterious churches and hints of fantasy I found instantly attractive during my first visit in early 2012; however, I admit I miss Steelhead Sanghai, the “sino-Steampunk” region, which went off-line a while back, one of two regions that decreased the estate’s size over the years from 7 at the time of my very first visit to the current five.

While the estate itself is due to go off-line, Steelhead as a community is determined to continue. The Steelhead group will not be closed, and it is hoped that the school and classes will continue. The Steelhead Salmons RFL team, founded by Fuzzball Ortega, have already indicated they’ll be continuing and have secured land on the d’Aillez Estates to which they are relocating.

In the meantime, the five regions of Steelhead City remain open to visitors (although the welcome centre is a tad denuded of information – don’t let that put you off), and I gather that when the time comes, things may be going out with a bang.

SLurl Details

• Steelhead City Welcome Centre (Rated: Moderate)

Sommergewitter September 2015 (Flickr)

For those who – like me – enjoy thunderstorms and seeing the sky lit by forks and shafts of lightning arcing down from the sky, Sommergewitter (“summer thunder”) designed by Nida (Nidatine) and Seraph Nirvana, is a must see.

On arrival, you’ll find yourself in what feels like a low-lying coastal region of gently undulating sand and grass capped rolling dunes. Scattered across the three islands into which the region has been split are a number of buildings – a large house and lighthouse close by the landing point on the largest island, and a houseboat and a large, modern pier-style house sitting on or alongside the other islands, which can be reached by wading, rowing boat or a solar-powered catamaran (handy if you are travelling in a group).

Sommergewitter September 2015 (Flickr)

All of this sits under a yellow/grey sky (which I’ve taken the liberty of darkening in some of these shots),  from which rain falls over much – but not all – of the land, and from which lightning periodically forks to strike the ground or, when seen from a distance, forms a flickering sheet of light through the mist of rain.

The result is a captivating scene, rich in atmosphere and look – a photographer’s delight.  Nor does it end there, wander the island, and you’ll come across strange curios and scenes, including pianos standing out on the dunes, a drum kit near the water’s edge, a lone table set for afternoon tea, and an easel and painting kit, apparently hastily abandoned when a downpour started directly overhead.

Sommergewitter September 2015 (Flickr)

Not all of the region is caught under a blanket of rain; travel west and north and you’ll find the beach pleasantly free of vertically arranged water, offering plenty of spots to sit and enjoy the sun while looking out over water of the more horizontal variety. Or if you prefer, you can head indoors and find sitting and snuggling spots where you can feel cosy.

For my part, I simply wandered through the rain, enjoying the storm while avoiding the lightning strikes (which oddly didn’t appear to bother the local sheep too much, despite a series of strikes occurring quite close to them!). This is a lovely setting, quite beautiful in its looks and deceptively simple in its approach; a place that allows something of nature’s own beauty to speak for itself through a coastal summer storm.

Sommergewitter September 2015 (Flickr)

SLurl Details

• Sommergewitter (Rated: Moderate)

Tranquility Dreams September 2015 (Flickr)

Tranquility Dreams is a new region recently opened by Elvira Kytori, the creator of the always stunning  Timeless Memories, which I last wrote about in July. I leaned about this new addition to Elvira’s White Dunes Estate region through Kylie Jaxxon, owner of The Trace Too and a mutual friend to both Elvira and myself, who invited me over to take a look.

Offering a tropical island look and feel, Tranquility Dreams is split between a residential environment – the houses scattered across the island are available for rent – and public  beaches open to all for wandering and relaxing; the overall design having been put together with photographers in mind.

Tranquility Dreams September 2015 (Flickr)

The region’s appearance suggests – to me at least – a feeling of it perhaps being a remote part of the US Gulf Coast; a place facing the sea, off the beaten track, and maybe even once a small private estate, presided over by the large, colonial-looking beach house towards the middle of the region. With ivy clinging to its timber-framed walls, broad balconies and verandahs shaded from the heat of the sun, this seems to hint at money having once run through the area.

Around the house sit a number of smaller dwellings, all wood built and somewhat bleached by sun and salt air, their presence giving the impression that as the money faded, so the land was sold, and people hurried in to take advantage of the prime, ocean-facing real estate. Or perhaps those who once owned the big house built the other properties with the intent to rent them out and help offset the running costs of their little corner of the world.

Tranquility Dreams September 2015 (Flickr)

Whichever way you chose to let your own stories about the region form and grow, one thing is clear:  this is a tranquil place, just as the name suggests. The houses are all set far enough apart from one another to invite a feeling of cosy privacy when indoors, while all of them have a their own sea view to be enjoyed by whoever rents them. At the same time, the paths and tracks running between them and down to the beach encourage exploration and wandering.

The houses have all clearly been carefully chosen to complement one another and give a feeling of community and togetherness, with the result that each adds its own character and charm to the region. I confess to finding myself drawn to the delightfully named Dust Bunny Daisy Houseboat by Noel Melody (lxlNoel), which sits on a pair of pontoons just off the beach.

Tranquility Dreams September 2015 (Flickr)

With ambient sounds, broad beaches to roam with chairs and picnic spots a-plenty, and a landing point located on a small offshore sandbar connected to the island by a wooden walkway, there is an easy charm to Tranquility Dreams which SL explorers will doubtless enjoy. And if you are looking for a new place to call home, you might just find yourself seduced into staying.

SLurl Details

• Tranquility Dreams (Rated: Moderate)

Forgotten City August 2015 (Flickr)

Ciaran Laval was perhaps the first blogger to bring word that Forgotten City, the marvellous mechanoid town, largely the brainchild of Jenne Dibou and Mandy Marseille, would be closing in September 2015.

His article, which also contains a link to Mandy’s SL Universe forum post announcing the news and which includes some of the fascinating history behind the region’s development, was followed by numerous other posts about the region and its closure. As such, I decided to hold off a while and pay a further visit in farewell once I had a little time available to put together a video on the region as (hopefully) a reminder to all of this utterly enchanting build, which I last wrote about in June 2013 (a further visit in 2014 sadly didn’t make it into these pages).

Forgotten City August 2015 (Flickr)

If you’ve not visited before, then I strongly, strongly urge you to do so before the gates of Forgotten City close, possibly forever. There is so much to see and charm and delight. Not only is the multi-tiered, steampunkish city beautifully scaled and executed (so much so that it was selected by the Lab as a location for some of the early in-world testing using the Oculus Rift), there really is so much to delight and discover.

Forgotten City August 2015 (Flickr)

You can, for example watch its mechanical populace go about their daily tasks, possibly in the hope that the human inhabitants responsible for the city – and them – might one day return. Or, if you prefer, you can board a steamship and journey elsewhere, or, witness the arrival of the cat-a-maran (emphasis on the “cat” – complete with mechanoid kittens!), or you can teleport high into the sky and to the City’s Winter Parkland or visit Jenne’s store, the islands it occupies held aloft over the city by three airships. You’ll also find games to be played and – for the careful explorers – hidden secrets to be found.

Forgotten City August 2015 (Flickr)

It’s not entirely clear when the gates will close – although it appears this will be later in September, rather than early on. Even so, if you do want to make a visit or a return visit, I’d recommend not leaving it too long, just in case.

SLurl Details

• Forgotten City (Rated: General)

Santaurio, Cala del Barronal August 2015 (Flickr)

It was only supposed to be a summer 2014 setting, but Santaurio, Jac and Romy Mornington’s idyllic and mysterious island (originally sub-titled “The Lost Island”, in a nod to a certain television series), has endured for well over a year.

However, Jac and Romy have now announced that the region will finally be closing in a week or so, as they feel it is time move on to a new project. So, if you haven’t visited Santaurio so far, or haven’t been back in a while, now is the time to don your hiking boots, grab a hip flask of water and set out to do so, as the region is gain open to all for a land visit – no group membership required.

Santaurio, Cala del Barronal August 2015 (Flickr)

There have been a few changes since my first visit, back in April 2014; some subtle, and a nod to the passing of time, others a little more obvious and which present new little scenes that add more to any back story one cares to create for the island.

So it is, for example, that while the island’s signature crashed jet remains offshore, so the bodies within it have now gone (as has the scattered luggage on the beach), and over the passing of time seaweed has gathered around the wreck, no doubt sheltered by the ebb and flow of the tide by the ‘plane’s bulk. So to, interestingly, have some rocks grown up alongside the wreckage, providing a nice little sandy area on which the ever-patent stewardess now stands, ready to offer her greetings to visitors – well, it has to be better than a wet, slippery wing! 🙂 .

Santaurio, Cala del Barronal August 2015 (Flickr)

Just back from the beach facing the ‘plane, there had once been some strange ruins. These have since gone, replaced by a small encampment which indicates the downed jet isn’t the only aircraft to have wound up here: the wing of a light aircraft serves as a table, a propeller, presumably from the same ‘plane, propped alongside it. A radio set on another makeshift table suggests attempts to call for assistance…

Elsewhere, much that was familiar in the summer of 2014 remains: the beach club further along the coast from the crashed jet; the river winding inland to the secret little pools and hidden places, the numerous camps and places to sit and enjoy the scenery. Watch out or the entrances to what seems to be an old pirates’ hideaway; I don’t actually remember that from earlier visits – but it is entirely possible I missed it.

Santaurio, Cala del Barronal August 2015 (Flickr)

Santuario is another example of why I’ve always loved Jac and Romy’s builds; there is a wonderful attention to detail, with everything always finely tuned to flow together perfectly. Hence why they’ve tended to be covered a lot in these pages over the years – although admittedly, I’m so far behind in my travelogue visits at the moment that I have yet to make it to Bella Place – so expect to see that in these pages soon!

In the meantime, Santaurio still calls should you wish to visit – just don’t leave it much beyond the next week or so. And while it may well be going, I’m already anticipating whatever Jac and Romy have planned to replace it.

SLurl Details

• Sanataurio, Cala del Barronal (Rated: Moderate)