Tag: Exploring SL Archives

Two of the most fascinating sci-fi / fantasy builds in Second life for several years were those of Alpha Point and Omega Point, two adjoining regions created and looked after by Masoon Ringo and Sweetlemon Jewell. They were incredible builds, occupying the entire ground level areas of both regions, with multiple additional elements up in the sky.

Such was the beauty of the builds, I wrote about them in 2011 and again 2012, although I don’t feel my images ever really caught their true magnificence, and was disappointed to discover in 2013 that both had gone from SL. I also wasn’t alone in being enthralled with them – Honour McMillan always had been as well. So when she blogged that Sweetlemon was once again building in SL, Maya and I were immediately off to investigate.

The new Omega Point is smaller than the original, covering a little over 11,500 sq metres of the region of Nippon Koku – but that doesn’t mean it’s any the less fascinating or engaging as the original; quite the reverse. Not only does the new build carry strong echoes of the original whilst also remaining entirely unique to itself, it also appears to offer the outline of a narrative.

Sweetlemon apparently describes the build as a dark fantasy model; Honour refers to it as sci-fi meets medieval. Both are accurate descriptions, but there’s also more here as well; giving it a kind of sci-fi meets middle Earth with a sprinkling of medieval and ancient Egyptian influences (the latter two may not be directly obviously without some exploration.

A work in progress at the time of writing, the build offers cathedral-like structures, both hewn from the living rock. The larger and most obvious of the two (you’ll have to search for the other 🙂 ), offers high, vaulted ceiling supported by great pillars carved with hieroglyphs. Stone fire bowls vie with electric blue lighting throughout this great chamber, where stone stairs climb slowly towards a statue of a warrior maiden. This route to her feet, though straightforward, is nevertheless fraught with danger, as great lighting bolts periodically arc down from above, scorch marks and burnt remains testament to the unfortunate souls caught unaware by these powerful bursts of energy.

Outside of this great structure lies more to see, centred on the entwined forms of an elven-like couple, carved in stone, but seemingly set within a stasis field. The plaza around this has been the scene of a bloody fight – possibly with the two horned beasts standing and snorting to one side, while overhead three strange craft float.

Quite what this all means is up the the visitor to decide – but the narrative is there, ready to be woven into a story of your choice, and more is being added – at least for the present. A great row of towers guarding a walkway sprang up between my first and second visits.

There are many elements in the build which resonate with the original Alpha and Omega Points, including several secrets within the build waiting to be found; one of which in particular will lead to more interesting discoveries, such as the second of the cathedral-like structures, this one with more of a medieval feel. As Honour mentions in her article, look for the stairs to find it.

If you are one of the many of us who were constantly fascinated by, and drawn to, the original Alpha Point and Omega Point, this is a build you’re likely want to visit. And if you’re someone who never had such an opportunity to see the original, here is a chance for you to delve into the imagination of Sweetlemon Jewell.

Walking through The Shire

Posted on March 12, 2015April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

I first heard those words when lying in bed one evening whilst very little. They were read to me by the comforting voice of my father, and they opened the door to a world I’ve loved ever since, a place as rich and diverse as our own, filled with adventure, exotic peoples, terrible creatures, tales of heroics, love, devotion and darkness. A world called Middle Earth.

It’s a place familiar to many of us, not only thanks to the printed page, but also because it has been vividly brought to the silver screen by Peter Jackson’s six films. It’s a place often recreated in one form or another in Second Life, allowing us to share in Tolkien’s mythos and tales; And now we can even visit The Shire itself.

A full region landscaped and designed by Circinae (Chocolate Aftermath), The Shire is not intended to be a replica of Hobbiton or any other locale within the Shire’s borders featured in the books. Rather it takes its inspiration from a range of elements from Tolkien’s world: hobbit holes, houses for Big Folk and builds decorated with a slant towards the elvish.

The result is a beautifully landscaped realm, offering plenty of photo opportunities as one explores. Note that role-play appears to be encouraged, focusing on Tolkien, while encompassing medieval and rural Celtic fantasy as well. However, do please also keep in mind that many of the houses, hobbit holes and elven towers are available for rent, and so may well be private residences; signs are generally posted outside those that are rented, requesting people respect the tenants’ privacy. Those who might be interesting in renting any of the available parcels can do so via the little rental centre towards the middle of the region, nestled between the Crumbling Crow tavern and the windmill.

Paths from the central village will help lead you around the region and down to the coastal areas and to the elven towers to the south-west. Facing this, in the south eat is a further wooded island in which sits The Gathering Stones, a place to meet and dance. Currently, these doesn’t appear to be a means by which this can be reached sans flying or teleporting, but as The Shire still appeared to be under construction when I visited, it might be that a boat rezzer has yet to be added – or I simply missed a more obvious route!

This is place where Big Folk and hobbits can mix easily, making it a sort of Bree-on-a-hill. The elven towers are slightly separate from the main village, but one would expect that anyway in Middle Earth; but that said the towers can be reached easily enough, and hobbit holes lay close by. I didn’t see any active role-play taking place while there, but rather suspect that any which might occur is likely to be casual, and more about keeping in character with any tenants who may be about, rather than adhering to any set storyline.

All told, The Shire is more than a pleasant visit – it is a joy to explore. I’m not sure what else is to be done prior to it being classified as “finished” (is any region ever truly “finished”, given how we can so easily tweak and change things to suit needs and wants?); but that shouldn’t stop you from hopping over there and seeing it today.

After all, if you have, like me, found J.R.R. Tolkien to be hobbit forming, you’ll probably feel quite at home in The Shire!

Touring Tillicum Island

Posted on March 10, 2015April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

Tillicum Island (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Tillicum Island has been designed specifically for photographers, and it shows. A full region, it is the work of Tinker Drew and her partner, Scott Yedmore, most of which is open to the public; a place where people can come and explore, take photographs and simply enjoy.

The landscape is a rich mix of sandy beach, wooded grasslands, rugged highlands and split by a deep gorge. Scattered across this landscape are a number of buildings, from a tall lighthouse standing atop a small headland in the north-west corner of the island, through to Scott’s and Tinker’s private home, located in the south-east corner. Central to these is a walled terrace, which forms the landing point for the region, gateways on two sides inviting visitors to start their explorations as birds chirp and sing from trees and benches, head cocked occasionally to watch human comings and goings.

Tillicum Island (Flickr)

A path from one of the gateways offers passage out towards the tall finger of the lighthouse, branching before it reaches the natural stone bridge out to the headland, to offer a path onto the west-facing beach. An old brick and wood building sits back and slightly above the beach, offering visitors a place to sit either indoor our on the front terrace, while a sandy path lit by paper lanterns presents a walk out onto the low causeway that forms one arm of the channel which splits the land in two.

Leave the landing point terrace via the other gate, and there are a choice of possible exploratory routes, one of which will quickly take you up a set of steps to the back door of the building overlooking the beach, while another will take you up to the stone bridge spanning the rocky gorge splitting the land in two. Here, on the south side of the island sits Scott and Tinker’s private residence, as mentioned above; the one place on the island where there is a sign asking people to respect their privacy and not to trespass. This overlooks the rest of the headland, which open to the public as it falls away to the sea to the west, more steps leading down to a sandy bar, at the end of which sits a little wood-built bath house.

Tillicum Island (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The southern highlands of the region offer a further terraced area, complete with an Edwardian folly and, for those who spot it, a way down into a small network of tunnels and caverns under the rocks. These can also be reached / left via a door overlooking further building on the north-east side of the island.

Opportunities for photographs exist right across the island, indoors and out, above ground and in the caverns. The landscaping is such that a wide variety of windlight settings can be used to great effect. With plenty of places to sit with friends or to spend time with someone close to you, Tillicum Island has a lot to offer visitors.

Tillicum Island (Flickr)

Armenelos: the returning

Posted on March 9, 2015April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

Armenelos, Calas Galadhon (Flickr) – click any image for full size

In December 2014, Ty Tenk contacted me to let me know that Calas Galadhon would be closing its gates for the month of January 2015, while he and Truck Meredith took their annual hiatus from things following the busy October through December period. He also informed me that during the hiatus, there would, again as usual, be some remodelling within the parks, and as a result, the long-running recreation of the famous Santorini, located in the Armenelos region, would be packed away, and the region itself re-purposed.

While Santorini may well have gone from Calas Galadhon, Armenelos itself formally re-opened on Sunday, March 8th, and true to their word, Ty and Truck have created something truly fabulous. Relocated to occupy the north-west corner of the estate, and sitting alongside a new addition to the park, Long Lake, which Ty and Tuck have added to Calas in order to bring the total number of regions in the park back up to 12, the new Armenelos is a visual and aural delight.

On arrival, the visitor is presented with a rugged, wooded landscape, with high cliffs facing the sea to the west, west, and which drop slowly to lower-lying land to the east, and the bridge connecting Armenelos with the mostly low-lying islands of Long Lake, and which in turn offer passage to the Misty Mountains. Across Armenelos, tall spires of rock and flat-topped plateaus push their way between the trees, offering high vantage points from which to survey the world, while paths an trail wind through the tall grass and under the shade of high boughs, encouraging visitors to wander and explore.

And there really is a lot to see; so much so, that unless you are keen-eyed, you’re liable to miss many of the finer touches tucked away across the region which bring it to life. For a start, make sure to have local sound enabled; Armenelos has a wonderful sound scape that enhances the feel of immersion: waves crashing against the cliffs; the singing of birds inland, the bark and cry of gulls wheeling over offshore island where they and pelicans are nesting; the honk of male deer, the plaintive cry of a high-soaring eagle or two; the slightly worrisome howl of wolves through the trees…

Signposts close to the landing point will point you in the general direction of many of the region’s attractions, such as the oriental pavilion, where you can enjoy a refreshing cup of tea under the benevolent gaze of Buddha. From here you can follow a wooden board walk around the rocky escarpment that rises to one side of the pavilion and hop onto a boat with a friend or two and enjoy a trip around and through the waters of Armenelos and Long Lake, passing the Dolphin Cafe, which remains in a re-modelled form on the west side of the land, and which resume its live entertainments from Monday, March 9th at 18:00 SLT (Oz’s club also remains overhead as well).

For the daring, there’s the opportunity to scale the high plateaus and then traverse between the various high-points via rope glides supplied by Cube Republic, which have excellent camera positioning for giving you a real feel for shimmying your way over deep gorges on a single length of rope! There are also, of course, all the touches one would expect from Ty and Truck – places to sit and chat, to cuddle or dance, and hidden walks which might not be discovered on a first visit.

For me the magic of Armenelos doesn’t just come from all of this; it also comes from the little details that have been added throughout the region, and which really do require a keen eye in order to spot. Such as spotting one of Morgan Garrett’s marvellous and beautifully detailed little brids sitting on a bough or watching you from the side of a board walk, song occasionally bursting forth from it; or looking up into the branches of a tree and spying a little lizard, frozen in place, looking back and you and pretending it really isn’t there…

Given all of this, you’ve probably gathered that Armenelos isn’t so much a place to be visited, but rather to be experienced. It its new form, it addes further depth to the already remarkable Calas Galadhon parklands – which, if you haven’t visited before, I strongly urge you to do so, as there is much to see, including new attractions. Should you do so, remember you can take a horse from near the park’s main entrance and ride up from Calas Galadhon, through Mirrormere and over the Misty Mountains to Long Lake (which, btw, offers activities of its own), and then on to Armenelos, making for a wonderful trail ride.