Tag: Exploring Second Life 2016

Let It Snow!, Timamoon Arts – click any image for full size

For the last two years, a regular seasonal destination for the Pey household has been Milly Sharple’s Let It Snow!, and I’m happy to say that it is once again back, and Caitlyn and I donned our woollies and our boots to explore the delights that artist Milly Sharple has again cooked up to help people into the Christmas mood.

The venue this year is slightly different to those of the past: rather than occupying its own region, Let It Snow! has been relocated to the sky over Milly’s arts community of Timamoon Arts – but this doesn’t make it any less enchanting a place to visit; there’s just as much to explore, see and discover as ever.

Let It Snow!, Timamoon Arts

Journeys begin, appropriately enough, on the north side of the setting, where sits a little paved square with Christmas shop and coffee-house waiting to wrap visitors in their warm embrace after a wander through the waiting landscape. A gentle snow is falling, softening the outline of distant forested crags and peaks.

A rocky hill also raises it head and shoulders from the middle of the landscape, encouraging visitors to go either east or west around it, a path marked by rounded rocks and stone perhaps encouraging most to try that way first. Whichever way you opt to go – along stone-marked path or over virgin snow, rest assured the two routes will reunite on the far side of the hill.

Let It Snow!, Timamoon Arts

Eastward, over the snow, lies a romantic little gazebo across a frozen stream, and open countryside sweeping around to a small park with carousels and merry-go-rounds. Milly’s collection of Snowboys are one again at play here, and a pair of little figure up on the slope a duet sing carols.

Westward, the path swings past a snow-laden house looking out over frosted trees to where a converted greenhouse welcomes couples and groups into its warmth. Follow the path beyond these, and it’ll take you by way of Santa’s grotto to where it branches, one arm leading its way up the rocky slope of the central peak, the other pointing the way to a crystal palace glittering in the snow, waiting to welcome visitors to the events which will be held within.

> Let It Snow!, Timamoon Arts

Should you feel in the mood, a frozen pond offers the chance for ice skating, whiles signs and givers can be found through offering wearing sleds and skis for the venturesome. For those fancying something a little less exerting, the carousels and merry-go-round mentioned above might be just the ticket!

With swings and snugs and seats scattered throughout, Let It Snow! is a place which encourages folk to tarry; Caitlyn and I watched the world walk and run by from the cosy blankets of a sleigh.

SLurl Details

• Let it Snow! (Timamoon Arts, rated: Moderate)

The Mill, Pale Moonlight – click any image for full size

Friends Maxie Daviau and Shakespeare (SkinnyNilla) recently gave their Homestead region of The Mill a makeover and invited Caitlyn and I over to take a look as it opened to the public once more.

The last time we visited, spring was very much in the air; now with the northern hemisphere settling into the winter months, The Mill has taken on a snowy look to match. Several of the familiar elements which have marked the region are still there: the sailing boat off the coast; the windmill; the shed, cars and motorbikes; the little tram track and tram. But there is also much to see that is new.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

With snow lying heavy on the ground, and in places drizzling down from the sky, the time of year is immediately apparent. The trees stand frosted, some with boughs naked under the sky, others with leaves frozen and golden under the pale sunlight. Here and there the passage of vehicles and feet have churned the snow and brought forth the ground beneath, giving rise to sandy tracks across parts of the landscape.

The lighthouse still stands up on a hill, but the keen-eyed may note it now sports a new stripped paint finish, and the keeper’s house has gone from its base. Perhaps the keeper now lives in the little stone cottage further down the slope from the lighthouse. If he does, the zip line down from the side of the hill might offer a quick route to the tram-car!

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

A farm with a chalet-style house sits towards the middle of the region. It’s a place where Christmas preparations are clearly in hand, although the cats are more content to spend time outdoors despite the snow, keeping watch on the horses. Nestled in the hills to the east of the lighthouse sits a villa which, despite looking like it might prefer the sun-kissed summers of the Mediterranean, offers visitors another seasonal greeting. Down the eastern slope from it, a frozen bay offers the chance for ice skating – don’t worry about the polar bears; they seem more curious than threatening!

For those who prefer a memory of summer, the beach to the north-east of the region remains sandy and free from snow. Gulls wheel, kites fly – but I think the wind keeping them aloft may well carry the same chill from the surrounding mountains as is felt by the rest of the land, so a beach walk may still require sweaters and coats!

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

Just over the dunes from the beach, the local pier is open for business, offering hot drinks to warm hands and insides, a selection of nibbles for the hungry, and places to sit down and watch the world go by. While overhead nearby, a hot air balloon offers a perch where watchers can observe the comings and goings below them.

The Mill has always been beautifully photogenic, and this winter makeover is no exception. With trams, zip lines and sleds to ride, places to sit and cuddle or contemplate, spots indoors and out, it offers something for everyone looking for a little wintertime wandering.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

SLurl Details

• The Mill (Pale Moonlight, rated: Moderate)

> WeeVille, Oyster Bay – click any image for full size

A regular stopping off point for me as I make my way through Second Life is Sera Bellic’s Homestead region of Oyster Bay. Every few months Sera gives the region a make-over presenting something new for people to explore, and I’d been looking forward to making a return trip to see what was new since recently noting the region was closed to visitors –  a sure sign Sera was reinventing it.

Over the years, the region has seen a lot – scenes of destruction, tempest, beauty and mystery; there have been country houses and gardens; fun fairs and glimpses of the future; country walks – and even a look into both heaven and hell. I’ve covered much of the changing face of Oyster Bay in these pages, and was delighted to find that for its newest look, Sera has turned to the realms of whimsy and fantasy in order to present WeeVille to the world.

WeeVille, Oyster Bay

On arrival, visitors might initially be fooled into thinking this is an art environment: sitting alongside the landing point is one of Mistero Hifeng’s sculptures, Bella 16. However, beyond it, over flagstones and flower-strewn waters shaded pink under a timeless sky rich in the colours of spring, sits a great stone wall into which, beckoning silently, is set a pair of wooden gates.

Step through these gates, and your Adventure begins with a visit to a part of The Shire – or is it? Certainly, across a meadow of lush grass Hobbit holes can be seen, with little camp fires burning outside as if the occupants might be taking advantage of a springtime evening. But the folk standing before those little fires are smaller and stouter than Hobbits, and prefer to have boots on their feet, with some keeping the hair strictly to their faces in the form of thick beards and flowing moustaches. Dwarfins they may be, but they do appear to share in a love of fireworks.

WeeVille, Oyster Bay

Climb the wooden steps between the hillocks of the Hobbit … the Dwarfin … holes, and pass through a second gate, and you’ll enter a birch wood carpeted with tall poppies, through which a path of  stars leads. Beyond it is another realm  where flowerpot people play, giant budgies hop and rabbits offer an interesting line in word processing from a … mobile office…?

“Welcome to WeeVille,” Sera says of her design. “My first fantasy sim and hopefully not my last. I hope you enjoy visiting as much as I enjoyed creating it. Remain young at heart and have some fun!”

With a quaint little stilt town built over the water in one direction, a garden of unicorns and mer-horses in another and lots of little touches to be explored – be sure to open doors and look inside places – together with places to sit and watch and cuddle and take photos, WeeVille is certainly a place where the heart can feel young, and the young at heart can smile.

WeeVille, Oyster Bay

And, at a time when winter regions and snowy landscapes are starting to appear across the grid, WeeVille could be just the ticket for those who need to escape dark and cold nights and gain a little reminder than spring will soon be coming around once more.

SLurl Details

• WeeVille (Oyster Bay, rated: Moderate)

As is being widely reported, Mont Saint Michel has returned to Second Life.

Its return was first noted by Tyche Shepherd during her weekly grid surveys on Sunday, November 21st, and the news quickly spread – my thanks to all who contacted me on the matter.

An announcement about the region’s pending departure was originally made by the region holder, Moeka Kohime, in September 2015, saying the region would be closing at the end of that month. However it was still open to the public in November 2015,  and didn’t vanish from the grid until October 2016.

Following this, there were numerous pleas from users on Twitter and other social media for the Lab to “step in” and “save” the landmark region. While such requests are understandable, they are perhaps not so easily fulfilled for a wide range of reasons.

However, as several people who contacted me about Mont Saint Michel noted, the region now appears to be held by Mogura Linden. It’s not clear whether this means the Lab is intending to preserve it – but I do know that they do take a genuine interest in these kind of matters. That said, I’d venture to suggest that as a personal business is connected with the region, any such act would require the original region holder’s OK; and as I’ve once again discovered for myself, getting a response from Moeka is far from easy. As such, it’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

In the meantime, if you’ve not visited Mont Saint Michel before, now is your chance to do so. It’s a stunning reproduction of the original, and well worth the effort.

SLurl Details

• Mont Saint Michel (Mont Saint Michel, rated; Moderate)

Winter Trace – click any image for full size

With winter now folding its arms around us in the northern hemisphere, regions with a winter’s theme are once again starting to appear across Second Life. This being so, it seemed appropriate – thanks (again) to a nudge from friend and fellow grid traveller Shakespeare (Skinnynilla) – to pay a visit to Winter Trace.

This is one of three regions jointly designed by Kylie Jaxxon and Elvira Kytori, the other two being Summer Trace (see here) and Fall Trace (which is on my list of regions to visit, but time hasn’t as yet allowed me to get to it).  Each of them presents a vision of the season after which it is named, with Summer Trace also incorporating a touch of spring, and are presented as such all year round for people to visit and enjoy.

Winter Trace

Almost completely surrounded by snow-covered, craggy hills, Winter Trace offers a rural landscape rising from frozen waters which wind their way into the land, slicing it into a series of islands. Most of these are relatively low-lying, although the largest and most central has a humpbacked hill near its centre, crowned by an old ruin.

Across the islands, snow has covered the ground, in places offering something of a salt-and-pepper mix where it has been pressed into the underlying sand by the passage of feet and wheels along tracks and paths. Wooden ties and sleepers are set out on the ground in places, forming footpaths of their own, further suggesting that in summer, this is a warm place, with sand underfoot.

Winter Trace

Windmills occupy two of the islands, a narrow strait of water between them. One contains the region’s landing point, the other offers the potential to be a cosy little home for the budding conversion enthusiast. Across another channel from both sits the dark hulk of the ruins, a great stone bridge close by adding to the suggestion that perhaps long ago, this was a place of strategic importance to someone. Now, however, the ruin offer nothing more menacing than the chance of go sledding down the open slope of the hill pointing eastwards from it.

Further east and across a modest wooden bridge, stands a converted barn, its interior now a comfortable home, the horses it may once have housed now relegated to the field outside where the grass pokes up through the blanket of snow. To the south side of the barn there’s a narrow neck of frozen water, offering quick route back to the largest island, the trails that wind between larch and beech trees denuded of their leaves, branches raised to the grey sky, while between them fir trees carry a powering of snow on their shoulders.

Winter Trace

There are other signs of habitation to be found scattered across the land besides the windmills and barn, such as the little farmer’s market – currently the home of a woodcutter going by the piles of trimmed logs – and a little cottage sitting alone on an equally little island. Also to be found and places to sit and admire the view and / or have the odd cuddle with someone close. There are outdoor fires to help you stay warm, and fires in the hearths indoors should it prove too cold outside.

With snow gently falling from clouds moving lazily across the sky, a soft, subtle sound scape and opportunities for photographs in every direction and at every turn, all of which is set under a perfect windlight suggestive of a fresh, cold winter’s morning, Winter Trace is not a place to be missed – at any time of the year.

SLurl Details

• Winter Trace (Springfield Wood, rated: Moderate)

Knightfall is a relatively new destination in Second Life, having opened in October. I actually became aware of it as a result of Shakespeare (Skinnynilla) passing me the landmark recently – my thanks (again!) to him for doing so.

Knightfall has been designed by Cyrus Knight (josman2088) and Jestyr Knight (Zeke Jestyr), the partnership behind the popular Ironwood Hills (see here and here). Jestyr describes the region as, “an immersive sensory medieval adventure park. It’s kinda like Jurassic Park and Westworld meets Game of Thrones, but without so much dying or dinosaurs!”

There’s much to see here, and the idea of it being a kind of theme park is immediately evident on arriving: the landing point is a car park, with turnstiles at one marking the entrance proper. Beyond these lies a dramatic landscape of deep gorges and high cliffs topped by grass-covered or snow-swept plateaus; a place where bridges of every kind  – covered, stone, wood and rope, fallen log – span rivers and chasms alike.

It is also a place of curious mystery: who occupies the camp reached by flimsy bridge and flimsier looking wooden walkway clinging to a sheer rock face as it is beaten down upon by a blizzard? What witchcraft or necromancy is at work down in the valleys, where a witch’s retreat sits across a burial ground from a ring of standing stones complete with mystical book at their centre? What do we make of the mighty castle, within whose walls are many more mysteries, including access to a hidden catacomb, and a strange laboratory which might have been lifted from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?

Around these conundrums, the region is spectacularly folded and cut, offering much to see, from the riverside hamlet right up to the aforementioned castle and camp. Rocky paths wind, climb and twist between rocky wall and pointed up-thrust, watched over by the tall, silent sentinels of great fir trees.

I freely confess to not understanding where either Jurassic Park or Westworld fit into the scheme of things. But this, and the niggles Caitlyn and I encountered in trying to ride the offered horses through the land, did not detract from the rugged beauty of Knightfall. Anyone who has enjoyed Ironwood Hills through its various iterations will likely feel the same way here as well. Photographers, too, will find much that is on offer here as they follow path and ancient stone stairs, and visit stone rooms and climb rounded towers.

SLurl Details

• Knightfall (Temperance, rated: Moderate)