Tag: Exploring SL Archives

Not long after the start of the year, I dropped in to Skrunda-2, the recreation of a Soviet-era town called “Skrunda-1” in Latvia. Designed by Titus Palmira, Sofie Janic and Megan Prumier, the region was a visit I very much enjoyed, so when Lien (Lien Lowe) dropped me the LM for the second iteration of the build – called Skrunda-3 -, I knew I’d have to drop back in and have a look around.

For those who have not visited previously, allow me to provide a little history to help frame this build: in the 1960s Russia established a radar facility some 5 kilometres from the Latvian regional centre of Skrunda as the home of two Hen House (Russian system name Destnr) first generation space surveillance / early warning radar systems. Its position within the Baltic state meant it was of major strategic importance to the Soviet military, having an uninterrupted view of airspace over the Western Hemisphere so it could “see” NATO / US space-based activities like missile launches. In fact, it was one of only two such facilities Russia constructed for this purpose in the 1960s, the other being near Murmansk, provide a view over the Arctic and north pole towards the United States.

Such was this strategic importance, that the radar station grew an entire town around it, supporting some 5,000 personnel and their families at its peak, offering them all the amenities they might expect: swimming pool, theatre, a school, and so on, and well as “Soviet typical” apartment blocks and more – including dedicated electrical power generation and water supply system, enabling it (again, in typical Soviet style) to be entirely self-contained.

As a military installation, Skrunda-1 served its purpose through to the 1980s, with the radar systems being upgraded over time, until the decision was made to use the site as the location for three state-of-the-art radar systems that would have been ready to start operations in the 1990s, however, the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that the new facilities were never completed. Instead, in the post-Soviet era, Russia reached an agreement with the Latvian authorities to continue to run the Destnr radars through until 1998, after which they had to dismantle them and withdraw from Lativa before the end of 1999 – which they did.

What was left behind became a ghost town, most of the buildings stripped bare but left standing, roads all in place – and something for the Latvian authorities to deal with. During the next 15 years, the town was left to nature’s ways, despite attempts to sell the land for redevelopment, around half of the land eventually being converted into a training ground for the Latvian national armed forces, although much of the deserted town still remains.

It is in this deserted, overgrown state that Skrunda-3 is offered – as was the case with Skrunda-2. However, whilst that version placed us fairly squarely within the residential parts of the town, this iteration offers more the the “business end” of the town and an iteration perhaps more rooted in the imagination of the builders. I say this because as far as I’m aware (and based on admittedly minimal research), Skrunda-1 was built far enough inland it does not have any form of deep water port,  however, Skrunda-3 features an significant dockland area. expanding on a waterfront area found within Skrunda-2.

This is something that gives the region a unique flavour unto itself, and presents a feature that makes up from the absence of any radar facilities the Russians took with them when they left and in all likelihood, a more interesting environment to explore than a load of military blockhouses. To further offer a sense of continuation from Skrunda-2, this build also has some of the apartment blocks tucked to one side, suggesting that were we to walk beyond them, we’d find ourselves within the previous iteration of the design.

As with Shrunda-2, there is a lot of small details to be found within this build that make it something of a work of art in itself, from the graffiti on walls to the placement of the abandoned vehicles to the suggestions that either the town was deserted in a manner that saw possessions left behind, or that it has at times been used as a home by the dispossessed.

Where the former is concerned, there is a sense of family and abandonment within buildings and rooms; with the latter, there is a sense of loneliness and a feeling that despite those hidden souls who may have been forced to live among the deserted buildings have formed a community: within an open space, a stage for live music has been put together, completed with a battered – but presumably still tuneful – upright piano. A short distance away, a warehouse building has been converted into an art gallery, displaying images captured from within Skrunda-2. And over all of this, someone has even managed to restore electrical power, adding a further twist to the idea that whilst abandoned, the town enjoys a secret life.

Payment of L$150 brings visitors rezzing rights, allowing for photographic props and poses to be used, adding to the photogenic nature for the setting, while the supplied sound scape helps to give further depth to explorations.

Standing with echoes of Skrunda-2, and sharing a common historical heritage, Skrunda-3 is nevertheless entirely unique in its presentation and design, making it a further ideal visitor for the Second Life traveller.

SLurl Details

• Skrunda-3 (Reynolds Hollow, rated General)

As I’ve mentioned recently, the end of 2021 is approaching, bringing with it (for the northern hemisphere at last) the cold of winter. For Second Life it means we’re in the time of year that sees outburst of snowy realms across Second Life. Over the last few days I’ve been hopping around a number either as a direct result of my own poking around or on the recommendation of friends. One of the latter is The Way of Life, a Homestead region held and designed by Dum (dumeric Asp), and which came to my attention by way of Shawn Shakespeare.

If sledding and snowboarding happen to be you thing, then this is a good place to visit – although these are far from the only reasons, as we’ll get to shortly. I mention both here and now because the landing point sits on the top of a towering table of almost sheer-side rock, running east-to west across the southern side of the region, dropping from its squared top by means of a snow-covered slope as it does so.

Bounded on three sides by Tuscan-style buildings, the fourth side of this mesa is formed by the aforementioned slope, which has at its lip both sled and snowboard rezzers. These allow the adventuresome to descend the slope via the piste, either directly or using the slalom markers and ski jump, to reach the region’s lowlands. For those not so enamoured of such pursuits, a path does descend the slope close to one of the sheer sides of the snowy mesa, marked by fir trees that stand to attention on either side of it, guarding the way.

At the foot of the slope, the region spreads itself northwards from a snow-dusted Zen garden, the land almost entirely flat in nature, cut through in part by a meandering stream that flows southwards from the large lake that sits to the north, its frozen surface yet offering a glimpse of water moving below, flowing towards the throat of the stream. Around the lake lay a trio of cabins, all of them apparently open to the public to enjoy as they explore, whilst a second stream winds inland from a larger, mountain-bound (and off-region) body of water to feed the lake, explaining the movement of water under its covering of ice.

Whilst somewhat transparent, the ice is nevertheless dense enough to allow for ice skating, and skate givers are dotted around the rough shoreline for this purpose, offering more opportunities for exercise and fun.

The lake, cabins and landscape are caught under a midnight sky (other EEP setting are available, consult your viewer for details 🙂 ), with bright pools of grass rising above the snow to vie with the lake for attention. One of these is fenced-off, the retreat for horses, straw bales stacked alongside the cabin nearest them in readiness to become a source of food. Elsewhere, the grass is home to lantern-bearing snow deer and white-furred wolves.

Under the lee of the region’s mesa lie the ruins of some ancient structure tucked tightly into the lee of the mesa, the wreck of a helicopter alongside. Quite how the latter got here is open to conjecture, but it offers one of many interesting backdrops for photography.

The three cabins within the setting are all lightly but comfortably furnished, Dum here being assisted by a number of friends in supplying décor elements and furnishings. Thus they make for welcome breaks from the cold outside – although there are a number of sit points to be found out under the stars and on porches for those who prefer. At the time of my visit (given it was only pre-US Thanksgiving November), Christmas / holiday decorations were at a minimum (some lights strung around a couple of the outdoor trees, and a tree and holly around the mantelpiece within one of the cabins), so the region sit as a nice wintertime setting rather than a holiday time setting, which frankly makes it all the more (to me) attractive place.

For those who wish to use the setting a s backdrop for avatar photography, rezzing is open to all, with auto-return set to 2 hours – but if you do put props out, please do remember to take them back to inventory rather than leaving to to auto-return to vacuum them up and drop them on you; that way the environment is left cluttered for other visitors.

Aside from the glowy grass (the wonder / irritant of Full Bright) that to me didn’t feel quite right, even allowing for the lanterns placed out (or carried by the snow deer presumably in an attempt to explain its glow, The Way of Life is an easy-to-explore, tranquil setting that offers a charming and cosy location that should not be overly stressful for most systems (the default environment gave me between a 30-45 FPS average with shadows enabled), while the snowboarding, sledding and skating give visitors the option to have a little fun whilst visiting.

My thanks, as always, to Shawn for the pointer and LM.

SLurl Details

• The Way of Life (Kingston, rated Adult)

When Shawn Shakespeare first sent me the landmark to Coven of Crows, I initially thought that perhaps it would led me to a region offering something of a Games of Thrones theme. Well, I was entirely wrong – and all the better for being so. Not that I have anything against the books or the TV series; just that having recently waded back through the first three volumes A Song of Ice and Fire, I am a little full with the likes of Jon Snow,  Daenerys Targaryen, Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, Cersei and Tyrion Lannister et al.

A Full region carrying the private island land capacity bonus, and designed by Sena Heartsong, Coven of Crows is, to quote the About Land description “a place between worlds, ruled by crows and magical souls”, to which I would add, “and a place with secrets awaiting discovery”, for such is the case on all counts.

Set in a south-north orientation, the region comprises two main rugged islands linked via the single span of an elegant stone bridge, a handful of smaller isles scattered to either side of them. The more southerly and smaller of this main islands rises on near-vertical cliffs to form the landing point. This sits within a large conservatory offering comfortable seating, information, and wide open doors standing in invitation, from which an arrow-straight path runs due north, passing over a stream that issues forth from the island’s peak and thence over that graceful bridge to reach the larger island.

Here, atop cliffs every inch as sheer as those of the southern island, the great flags of the path rise by way of broad flights of steps to where a great palace of steel and and glass rises, beckoning visitors towards it as its domed roof rises above the tree tops.

Intended as a place of music and dance, this circular house of glass of not the only destination upon this larger isle, however, for the path to it branches severally. One arm runs to the west to join with the island’s edge where water falls to the sea below and views might be taken of the islands that sit on the calm waters below. From here, the path joins with a second, as as it passes on around the island’s edge – and of which, more anon.

A further arm of the path points east, joining with an unpaved way that switch backs down to the waters edge and a small dock, one of many scattered among the islands. These docks form places where a boat might be rezzed (touch the dock and allow time for said boat to be delivered if one is not already available), such that travellers might make their way by water between the various isles.

To the west, two of the islands are linked one to the other by way of a floating bridge, to the east, the two islands can each only be reached the use of the boats. All have points of interest to be found, be they ruins, or round pavilion with cosy bed, or long-dead tree. To the north lies the last of the islands, a high-topped nub of rock, a balloon-supported bridge linking it to the largest island in the group. A long finger of steps crooks its way down one side of this isle, the ruins to top and bottom offering points of photographic interest.

But to return to the large island and the path that runs to the west and north around its high-placed lip. This is the same path as gives access to the high, balloon-held bridge, beyond which it ends in steps that present the way down to a broad shoulder of rock, where another switch back of rocky path winds to the waters below – and the candle-lit entrance to mine-like tunnel entrance might be found.  Enter this, and you will find a long passage, a throat hewn of rock that might swallow you into its depths by way of path and stair.

To enter it is to step into the region’s secret; for as the tunnel descends, so does it arrive at a huge cavern. High-ceilinged from which multiple chandeliers hang, and the broad entrance to a building hewn into the rock draws the eyes. Its columned façade forms the backdrop to what is at first glance a stage, and the great cavern a further place for dance. But a door in the façade gives access to a room beyond, wherein just a hint of the tales from Game of Thrones and thoughts of Aria Stark’s journey might reside.

Facing the entrance to this great chamber is a second tunnel, sitting on the far side of wood and door. Here the path runs beside water over which candles float, and the carved statue of a goddess rises. Thus with this small cavern and the chamber it faces, the mysteries of the island become clearer. But they are not the last of the secrets awaiting discovery, for the path leads onward to where another chamber sits, one perhaps with the largest surprise of all; a place that might be accessed through a second tunnel, one within its entrance somewhat hidden from the the view of the world at large.

Watched over by the crows of its name, their caws and cries filling the air, this is a region rich in detail without being overly burdensome on the viewer; a place where many photographic opportunities await, as do places to sit and cuddle or simply pass the time. Recommended.

SLurl Details

• Coven of Crows (Luminal Worlds, rated Moderate)

Okay, okay. I’ll just come out and say it (as if it wasn’t already obvious) I’m a Hera (Zee9) fangirl. There is simply not a build Hera creates that does not have me grabbing camera, pen, notebook and clicking my heels together in expectation of a teleport pretty much the moment I get to hear about it.

And so it is with her latest design, which has just opened to the public. Whitechapel is a build that takes over from (and kind-of overlaps with) October’s Whitby (which, if you missed it, you can read about here).

Whitechapel, in the East End of London, is perhaps most (infamously) well-known for the 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), five of which were said to have been the work of the mysterious serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. As such, it is a place beloved of drama and mystery, and in the last decade has been featured in two television series: BBC’s, Ripper Street (later financed by Amazon), and the UK Sky TV / American Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful.

It is from both of these, mixed with some additional inspirations that has given birth to this build, as Hera explains:

Many years back I did a game level in Unreal Tournament called From Hell, based on the movie. When I got to SL I wanted to re do it, but unfortunately someone had already taken all my Unreal Textures and used them here to build a Victorian RP sim which looked suspiciously like My Level [from the tournament]. In fact I only came to SL originally because a friend said many sims were using my textures, and of course they were 🙂 Such is SL. 

Anyway, this is the Victorian sim I always wanted to build. It is based on three sources, which is why I call it “Penny Dreadful meets From Hell on Ripper Street” . Most of my favourite characters are here: Jack and all his murders, Sweeny Todd, Scrooge, Dorian grey, Alan Quartermain, Dr Jekyll, Victor Frankenstein, and all their associated locations from the aforementioned TV series. Hope you enjoy what you find, It was fun to do it at last!

– Hera (Zee9)

The setting is reached via Hera’s main landing point, which also gives access to Drune Gotham (which has reopened alongside of Whitechapel, the region having been closed to allow Hera to build the latter). From here, a further teleport will carry visitors to the sooty enclosure of Whitechapel underground station, a train hissing and chugging on the tracks (this is the era before the use of electricity as the means of locomotion for such transport under the city). No dress code is enforced, but Hera requests visitors consider being somewhat appropriately dressed for the period.

The station emerges on Commercial Road, which for those who are not familiar with the East End was, and remains, one of the main thoroughfares of the district, some 3 km (1.9 miles) in length, commencing a junction with Whitechapel High Street to run east to the (now old and redeveloped) London Docklands.

In particular, this part of Commercial Road connects to Hanabury Street (which I take to be a slight mis-spelling of “Hanbury Street”), where in 1884 Florence Eleanor Soper, the daughter-in-law of General William Booth of The Salvation Army, established The Women’s Social Work, a house intended to be a place where young woman might be persuaded not to turn to prostitution, and a retreat for those already suffering from the trade.

It was also in the back yard of No. 29 Hanbury St, that the body of Annie Chapman, believed to have been Jack the Ripper’s second victim, was found on September 8th, 1888. And indeed, the shop-come-house can be found here, complete with interior and its grisly backyard, although the real No. 29 Hanbury Street has long since gone from Whitechapel, with the number today applied to a building on the opposite side of the road.

Also within the setting are Berner Street, a further road exiting off of Commercial Road, and the place where the body of the Ripper’s third victim,  Elizabeth Stride was found (Sunday 30th September 1888); Mitre Square (Catherine Eddowes, also 30th September 1888, within an hour of Stride’s murder); the house at Miller’s Court (wherein the body of Mary Jane Kelly, the Ripper’s final canonical victim, was found on the morning of November, 9th, 1888, the only victim found indoors; and finally, the narrow passage of Bucks Row, where on the morning of August 31st, 1888, covered by a tarpaulin, the body of the Ripper’s first canonical victim, Mary Ann Nichols was found.

Nor is it just the Ripper murders awaiting discovery.

Whilst I have not seen all of Penny Dreadful, there is much from that series awaiting discovery – be it Malcolm Murray study, the chamber in which Dorian Gray hides his portrait, Frankenstein’s attic laboratory; while from Ripper Street one might find other elements – such as what might be the station house for H Division of the London Police, and base of operations for Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake. The latter, like many of the buildings along the streets, has an interior, making it – and them – suitable for photography and / or light role-play for the period; elsewhere, a reference to at least one game might also be found. All of this lies under an environment setting that is mindful of Whitby, but unique to Whitechapel.

As us usual with Hera’s builds, the work: structures, roads, signage,  and more are all her own work, with only the various street décor – cars, lamps, carts, etc., and various items used into interiors or additional dressing coming from other creators. This is one of the reasons – alongside of her vision and attention to detail – that makes Hera’s design so visually engaging and worthy of praise.

But for now I have said enough: Whitechapel awaiting explorers and those who wish to delve into some of the mysteries bound with it; and I urge those with a love of exploring Second Life to visit sooner rather than later, lest Hera’s muse whispers to her and calls for a new location to be built. And, if you do visit and enjoy, please consider a donation to the Batbear at the landing point in a show of appreciation for Hera’s continuing work.

SLurl Details

• Whitechapel / Drune Gotham landing point (Cloud Lake, rated Adult)

It’s hard to believe that Spielberg’s Jurassic Park is nigh-on 30 years old. Whatever you may think of the sequels, the original was a seminal piece of cinematic adventure, a lightning-in-a-bottle moment of film-making (even if the science is as wonky as ride on a bus with hexagonal wheels); even now, the scene where Grant and Sattler first see the dinosaurs on Isla Nubar, complete with John Williams’ soaring theme, can bring a lump to the throat and cause the eyes to water.

I cannot promise the same reaction when visiting Justice Vought’s Jurassic Park! in Second Life – but I can say you’ll get to have quite the adventure when visiting (complete with a extract of Williams’ theme). In places drawing on the entire film franchise but with a strong emphasis on Isla Nubar, Justice presents a personal interpretation of the film and novel that captures several of the former’s iconic moments, and which includes some rather unique chuckle moments that set outside of the film’s story, but very much feel well-suited to the moment here.

A visit starts down within caves where dinosaur skeletons are being uncovered together with insects trapped within fossilised amber. From here, visitors are invited to find their way to where they can board a helicopter (rezzed on touching the box at the helipad) to fly, a-la Alan Grant, (Sam Neill), Eliie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm  (the always brilliant Jeff Goldblum) to John Hammond’s fabled park.

From there, and progressing through the visitor centre, the park is laid out as several distinct sky-based areas linked by teleports and various means of travel (including the caverns of the arrival point). The visitor centre itself gives a nice feel of the one seen in the film, complete with the T-Rex skeleton (check for a sit-point!) and the huge banner that is intended to greet guests. A little ride (best taken in Mouselook) reveals the secrets of creating dinos, whilst touching the door at the back of the centre will carry you to the park gates, where you can start your tour via jeep.

I really do not want to give too much away here, for fear of spoiling a visit; however, some elements are hard to avoid mentioning. The jeep ride will take you so far – passing by way of the T-Rex enclosure and its hapless goat – before you’ll have to continue on foot, coming across a Triceratops and a pair of Diplodocus, passing on the other side of the T-Rex enclosure (now looking somewhat the worse for wear and with a fun pose), whilst close by, a Baryonnyx appears to be stalking a Parasaurolophus.

Other dinosaurs waiting to be encountered include Carnotaurus, Pteranodon (one of which you can rez and ride), Stygimoloch (which may actually be juvenile Pachycephalosaurus), Iguanodon, Allosaurus – and, of course, velociraptors and ol’ T-Rex himself, complete with a novel recreation of a scene from the film (with pedal extremities replacing the jeep!).

Along the way there are numerous things to click on, from rezzers to givers and assorted interactive elements – look for the red and blue arrows and click where directed – but also be sure to Mouse over in places. There’s also a trap featuring monsters of its own, and one particularly novel way of … blasting … yourself between points in the park!

At the end of the adventure, you can rez and grab a helicopter to escape what might otherwise be a grizzly fate, and this will carry you to a waypoint you can use to either journey back to the start of the adventure, or hop back to the visitor centre or the disaster area. With tiny meteor periodically falling the the ground, this also offers a reminder of the eventual fate of the dinosaurs. Donations for the maintenance of Juctice’s Oxygen locations (of which this is a part) can be made here as well.

Justice always puts a lot of effort into his builds, and Jurassic Park is no exception. The range of dinos means that most of the film franchise is represented, although the focus is clearly on the original film / book, as noted. Yes, not all the reptiles are animated – but this does help reduce script load and things like animation loading / running on the viewer, and it doesn’t stop a visit from being fun; I think I can safely say it’s the first time I’ve ever been digested by a closet when travelling!

Fun to visit and explore individually or with friends. My thanks to Justice for the personal invite, and to Shawn for also sending me the LM!

SLurl Details

• Jurassic Park! (River, rated Moderate)