Tag: Exploring Second Life (2018)

Mesmeric Cove is a full region designed by Yosh Shi Juan (Macximuss Zsun) and Duckie Pops Juan (CandyHarlequin). It is described as:

An idyllic seasonal RP community sim with picturesque views, vacation and rental homes, honeymoon, restaurant, hangout, scholars hall, ballet theatre and more.

Currently decorated for winter, the region presents a pleasant small-town feel; a coastal location backed by high, snowy mountains., and with plenty to see and enjoy while exploring – but visitors should keep in mind a number of the houses are private rentals, and so care should be taken to avoid intruding into private properties.

Visits start in the town, located ton the north side of the region. On arrival, visitors are greeted with text that has the making of a mystery story:

As you step off the train, a rush off warm steam brushes your face. You make out the faint shadows and glows of light of what looks like a quiet town, or is it? Your curiosity impels you too travel deeper. Can you unlock the history of Mesmeric Cove.

I assume this is intended to invite a spirit of casual role-play, although quite what form the role-play might take is unclear to me.  But even without that knowledge, the greeting adds atmosphere to the start of a visit.

The train in question is the DRD Polar Express locomotive, shrouded in snow and emerging from a snowy tunnel. Th track it sit on splits the little town in two, forcing visitors to walk around a little coffee-house to reach the second street.

Close by, at the nearer end of the town, a footpath rolls gently eastwards down to a clock tower and the impressive bulk of the Mesmeric Scholars Hall and the Bonne Nuit Theatre.  A broad road separates the hall and theatre and from a little rows of houses which appears to be some of the rentals, as it curls to the waterfront and a cold-looking ocean.

On the far side of the hall and theatre to the houses, the land is split by a narrow stream. Beyond this, the region has a wilder, unsullied look, the houses more remote as they face out to the sea to the east and south. To the south and west, the land climbs is rocky steps, a mix of paved footpath and wooden steps offering a way up. At least one of the houses here appears to be a rental, as might be the case with the house on the highest peak, even though the cable car rising from the north-west side of the town below arrives  alongside of the house.

Whether visiting for photography looking for a home, Mesmeric Cove could well be worth a visit. For photographers, paying the group fee of L$100 will provide rezzing rights, and there are a number of place to enjoy for avatar photography while the region offers many vantage points for landscape images. There are a fair few places to simply sit and relax to be found scattered around – including a static hot air balloon, and when it comes to photography, there is also a Flickr group for those who wish to share their pictures.

All told, a pleasant spot to visit and appreciate.

SLurl Details

• Mesmeric Cove (Silver Lining, rated: Moderate)

With thanks to Shakespeare and Max for the landmark!

The Forest – Winter Wonderland is a seasonal location sitting high in the sky over a full region. Designed by Alexis Rose Wilson-Versailles (LexxiHudson) and Mark Wilson-Versailles (exde) under their brand Delicate Designs, it presents a charming Alpine-like setting that offers plenty to see and enjoy.

Surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks, it’s a place rich in detail, offering a predominantly low-lying, valley-like location that rises to meeting the mountains to the south, the land climbing in rocky steps, although a slope to the east offers the opportunity for sledging.

From the landing point – which includes a handy map of the setting (one of several to be found at the stations along the tram route) – visitors can with explore on foot, or away the arrival of the local tram and take a ride. This clatters its way along tracks built and sedately circling the landscape, passing under trees and climbing board walk slopes up to the higher locations before swooping down into the “valley” once more.  Along the way, it passes all the points of interest, allowing passengers to hop on and off as they wish.

For those who prefer exercising their pedal extremities, paths through the woodlands are marked either by wooden or wrought iron fences, leading visitors to the various locations they might appreciate. These include a coffee-house, ice skating, a little Christmas village (although the shops are mostly for show), a Christmas tree farm, Santa’s farm (share your soup with Donner or Blitzen or Comet or Cupid or Dancer… I’m actually not quite sure which one it is 🙂 ), and a wintry carousel.

Travel far enough to the north-east and you’ll find the cable car ride that runs up to the southern highlands, passing over the tram tracks in the process, while for those feeling the need for further exercise, stone steps set into the snowy slope offer a the opportunity for a brisk climb.

These uplands are crowned by the North Pole Toy Co. (which seems to have relocated, given the southern setting!), wherein warmth can once again be found. This appears to have perhaps once been the main landing point for the setting – inside a sign board offers information on the setting, including how to rent the cabins that are available, as well as presenting visitors with seasonal gifts (a similar board is also to be found near the current landing point).

The rental cabins referred to in the information note cards are scattered over the southern highlands, so do be aware that they may be occupied when exploring and resist the temptation to step into any of them, particularly as the tram ride will take you past them. Those wishing to rent a cabin can do so for (at the time of writing) L$1200 per week, which also awards them 400 LI to play with. See the note cards for more on this.

The slope over which the cable cars climb is also where sledging can be enjoyed – there’s a sign close to the North Pole Toy Co that will rez sledges for you. Rezzers are also available from sign boards at the ice skating pond – although visitors can use their own skates if they prefer.

Wandering on foot will also reveal all the little touches that have been added to the setting, from the little critter’s village through to the Eskimo igloos  with their huskies, to the chance to photograph yourself on a husky sled or snuggle on a horse-drawn sleigh. Those taking photos are invited to submit them to the region’s Flickr group if they so wish.

Given all that is going on in the region, those who normally have shadows enabled might find things a little heavy going and might want to disable them, other than when taking pictures. However, the default eventide windlight actually helps with this, as it can mean not too much is lost visually want exploring with shadows turned off.

With its festive setting and with the surrounding off-sim mountains nicely integrated into the scene, The Forest – Winter Wonderland makes for a delight and photogenic visit, one that definitely invites playing with your local windlight settings when taking photos (as can be seen in this article, I opted to run with a more daytime setting, simply because I love the look of a snowy scene when viewed in sunlight). Should you enjoy your visit, please consider showing your appreciation via the available tip jars.

SLurl Details

• The Forest – Winter Wonderland (Misty, rated: General)

On Thursday, November 30th, the 2018 Calas Christmas regions opened to members ,and over the weekend of the it will open to the public at large. This year the theme is A Midnight Clear, and the two regions are once again beautifully presented for lovers of winters scenes and Christmas time to enjoy and share.

A Midnight Clear features all that we’ve come to love about the Calas Christmas regions: the Christmas Pavilion, entertainment, sleigh rides, skating, balloon and reindeer tours. In addition, this year offers visitors the chance to ride Bento horses (or reindeer!) around the regions, adding a wonderful depth to exploration and enjoyment, or take their rest aboard the marvellous Calas Christmas Special train.

The arrival point for the general public is on the Homestead region of Eriador (also initially the landing point for Calas Group members, although a special group only SLurl and landmark on the Full region of Erebor will be provided to group members once the regions are fully open to the public, to help split the load). However, to avoid traffic overload, Eriador has been capped at 25 avatars at a time – so visitors are asked not to loiter / park while AFK in that region, as they could block others from gaining access.

As with previous years, the main landing point sets people down close to the automated sleigh rides. These offer a choice of ride for couples or for up to four people to share, and wethoroughly recommend them, as they provide a tour of both regions, above ground and through caves, revealing all the major points of interest that can then be re-visited on foot or horseback. Simply sit in a waiting sleigh, and when ready, touch the back of the sleigh to start the ride.

Just above the sleigh rides is the balloon tour pavilion, and a further enjoyable way to appreciate both regions, particularly with a friend our a loved one the couples poses make a ride very much as shared experience), while one of the horse rezzing signs can be found just beyond the hill mounting the balloon pavilion: simply click the sign and accept the horse and tail when they are offered to you.

These Water Horse Bento horses have been a part of Calas Galadhon for around 18 months (they were also a part of last year’s Calas Christmas setting), and Caitlyn and I cannot rate them highly enough – if you’ve not tried them before, be sure to available yourself of them during a visit to A Might Clear, and you can read more about their presence in the Calas park lands here of the Calas park lands using them.

Both the sleigh rides and the balloon tour deposit visitors up at the Calas train station, perched on the cliffs lying between both regions. Decked out for Christmas and offer warmth away from all the snow, the train offers a place to rest and enjoy refreshments before travelling onwards. Don’t expect the train to offer a ride home, however. According to the timetable, the next service out of the Calas Pavilion Station has been “cancelled until after Christmas” – and rightly so!

The path down from the station is denoted by red lanterns, and offers a choice of routes down to the familiar frozen lake, where ice skating can be enjoyed, and along a snowy path to the ever-marvellous Calas Christmas Pavilion. Along the way there are plenty of opportunities to sit and simply watch all the comings and goings, and little wintertime scenes to be enjoyed. For those who missed the horses close to the main landing point, there is a further sign for them just under the railway bridge, on the path leading to (or away from, depending on your direction of travel) the main Pavilion.

The Pavilion will be home to this year’s entertainment within the regions, as indicated by the schedule below.

The Calas team always bring us visual treats to enjoy in October for Halloween and through December to the New Year, and for 2018  – the tenth year for Calas Christmas – is no exception. A Midnight Clear is visually engaging and offers a lot to enjoy when visiting. Group members should keep an eye out for the group gifts!

As is my usual approach, I’ll leave you with a short video showing some highlights of the regions.

SLurl Details

• Calas Galadhon A Midnight Clear (Eriador, rated: Moderate)

At the start of 2018, we visited R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S, a 1/2 region setting, designed by the Rahmenlos-Chaos-Team (R.C.T.). They themselves and the parcel thus:

We are a mixed troupe from different German-speaking areas. And as different we are, R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S. is too. Everyone of us got involved with his own ideas and personality. And the result is really good. Whether you like beach, nice landscape, [a] City or Club … hidden places or just much small things to explore: everyone will find his favourite place!

Back at the start of the year, R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S offered a mixed semi-urban / semi-rural setting, providing a pleasant mix of places to explore. This was still somewhat the case during our November visit, but with enough changes to make a return an interesting exploration.

The landing point sits on the east side of the region, on the uplands and just outside a Tuscan villa. However, as the landing point isn’t enforced, those using the “old” landmark for the parcel may find themselves on the west coast, marked by a small harbour and two large warehouse buildings. One of these is home to the group’s art gallery, the other is home to the R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S club – actually one of two, the other being overhead.

This second club is reached via the parcel’s teleport system, which includes a number of other destinations dotted around and over the land, some of which are only available to R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S group members. This system is cleverly disguised – a sign here, a tree stump there, a disused subway station entrance, etc. However, each is denoted by a sign board or sign post. Unfortunately, during our visits, I admit to finding the teleport system unreliable: at times a button failed to deliver me to the expected destination.

However, clicking the signs alongside each teleport point will provide a note card of the various points of interest (in English and in German), and it’s worthwhile obtaining the card, even when exploring on foot, as it offers clues to the various points of interest at ground level.

These locations include the story area that includes one or two secrets, an outdoor ground-level events area, a café and a beach.

What is particularly attractive about this parcel is the smooth blending of the environment from the waterfront, through the little square, through to the country lanes, pass the fields with their animals – including saddled horses with poses for photographs. Throughout all of this are places to sit and enjoy the views and the ambience of the setting.

As far as I’m aware, none of the houses are private residences – several have welcome signs hanging on the doors – so there doesn’t appear to be a risk of trespass when exploring, while the games area, one of which – a chess game enclosed by hedges – I found particularly attractive.

Wonderful photogenic, rich in detail and with plenty to see and enjoy, R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S remains a delight to visit and – for the time being at least – remains winter-free for those who may want to avoid the snow for a while longer.

SLurl Details

• R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S (Sacred Heart, rated: Moderate)

Recently opened to the public is Tranquil Bear Winter Resort, a homestead region designed by Alex Luciano (AlexandraSadie). Given the time of year, it’s another snow-themed region, in which Alex invites visitors to enjoy horseback riding and ice skating along with walks along the trail that winds its way around the region.

Visitors arrive at a gazebo on the west side of the region, the main track commencing at its foot to offer a route around the island, running east to turn south and then back west, concluding at an open-air stone fireplace and seating area. Along the way, it passes under a step of rock on which sits a large wood-built lodge, and encloses a large frozen pond occupying the region’s centre.

The ice skating referred to in the About Land description can be enjoyed on the pond. There’s a couple of skate givers on the south side of the pond, one alongside the coffee wagon beside the track, and the second on the ice itself. The skating animations are a little basic, so if you have your own skates with animations, these might be a preferable choice.

Horse riding is available to those who have wearable horses, the trails offering one possible path to follow, although the region has plenty of space out under the trees to make further wanderings possible.

Up on its vantage point, reached by stone steps cut into the rock, the lodge offers warmth and places to sit for those who might find the outdoor setting a little too cold. It also includes the café also referred to in the About Land description.

A walk from here leads up to ruins on a hilltop, offering a view across the woodland of the region. The route up to ruin passes over a high rocky arch, beneath which a spur of the track points the way to where some of the region’s outdoor seating. More seating can be found alongside the frozen pond, offering the chance to watch any skaters on the ice. Those wanting something a little more romantic can enjoy a cuddle on a horse-drawn sleigh.

The track running around the landscape could perhaps benefit from a little experimental re-texturing to see if it could be better blended with the snow on the ground, as it does tend to stand out a little, but other than this, Tranquil Bear Winter Resort makes for a photogenic visit.

Those taking photos might like to share them via the region’s Flickr group. Those needing rezzing rights for props can join the region’s group (via the joiner close to the landing point gazebo). But  do please clear away anything you put out once done.

Surrounded by mountains, this is a simple region design that offers a natural setting that can easily be enjoyed without putting a heavy load on a computer even with the constant snow falling across the region.

SLurl Details

• Tranquil Bear Winter Resort (Serenity Skies, rated: Moderate)