Tag: Grauland

In the year 2097 an unmanned deep space probe sends startling new photos back to NASA. In them a giant inscribed monolith amidst an asteroid cluster is recorded. Years later a base is established to study this discovery. And learn what it means.

– The Grauland Cluster About Land description

For anyone with a love of good science fiction, the above description is likely going to spark thoughts of Stanley Kubrick’s “perennial good science fiction movie”, 2001: A Space Odyssey, simply because of the reference to a mysterious monolith found in space. Certainly, it was enough to pique my interest on arriving to see JimGarand’s latest Grauland build, The Grauland Cluster.

A further 2001 bell might be rung when looking outside the Landing Point: the setting is that of a large crater, one which might bring to mind thoughts of the Moon’s Tycho crater and Dr. Heywood Floyd’s visit. However, this crater appears to be on an asteroid, and the monolith in question is anything but black and featureless (or buried on the Moon / in orbit around Jupiter (or Saturn, if you prefer Arthur C. Clarke’s equally excellent novel of the story)).

Nor should anyone consider from the above that Jim’s latest build is purely a riff on Kubrick’s film (or Clarke’s novel) – it’s not. What we do have is an engaging future setting into which much has been woven, with a focus on a massive facility within the asteroid base – as per the description above.

Reached via the teleport disk within the crater facility, this asteroid station is impressive. Built using elements from the excellent sci-fi range of kits and build elements by Beth Delaunay (Isilmeriel) – and which are doubtless familiar to many with an interest in science fiction in SL – together with elements from ‘frit (Ifrit Skytower) and scratch-built / kitbashed sections.

Attached to a number of small asteroids (which themselves have been hollowed out, making them interesting points for exploration), the base is extensive with multiple docking facilities, including one for large freighters.

The base is obviously intended for long-term occupancy by a potentially large crew (at least going on the cafeteria / canteen / mess hall), with a large gym and multiple recreation facilities available. The layout suggests that it incorporates artificial gravity and is equipped for self-defence – although from what is up to the imagination.

The monolith is free-floating outside of the station, a roadway / walkway running out to it from two of the station’s airlocks. Glowing symbols and geometric forms hover just above its hewn surface, although what they mean is again up to the imagination. Again, as a totally random thought, I looked at it as perhaps some form of Voyager-style interstellar message – or perhaps a Rosetta Stone in waiting, if you will.

Other little touches I liked within the setting include the current time frame NASA-esque EVA and the novel (given the distance between the Sun and the asteroid belt) use of solar panels. Both of these give the setting a little bit of an anachronistic twist when compared to things like the futuristic space vehicles, the apparent presence of artificial gravity of some form and the advanced hydroponics facilities.

These juxtapositions cleverly avoid pinning the setting down to any particular time frame outside of the About Land description, but the presence of current technology (including in the gym and recreation areas) helps cement the station in the imagination as a human construct. I particularly liked the images being cycled on the large screens of the command centre, one of which appears to be a take on a vessel using the (in)famous Alcubierre drive. I don’t know if this was intentionally selected – but for me, it added another little cause to smile.

Because so much is left open within the setting, it naturally lends itself to casual RP for those so-minded; perhaps even something on the sinister side, given the aforementioned external gun mounts and the “big Brother” array of screens within the command centre which appears to be keeping an eye on everything within the station…

But even without any notions of RP, The Grauland Cluster is – as with all of Jim’s builds – visually impressive and very photogenic. In all a delightfully crafted and presented build.

SLurl Details

• The Grauland Cluster (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)

As is probably apparent from past articles in this blog, I enjoy science fiction in most of its various forms, be it literary, television, film or radio; and whether it takes the form of epic space opera or near / far-future explorations or action / adventure or comedic in nature. However, whilst I’ve read everyone from Adams to Zelazny, I have, in all honesty, never been overly enamoured with Frank Herbert’s Dune (neither the original novel nor the franchise as a whole).

I say this because Dune – in the form of Arrakis and its hardy inhabitants, the Fremen – forms the inspiration of JimGarand’s latest build (as of May 2025): Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home. Fortunately for those who, like myself, are not soaked in the lore of Dune as it might be found on paper or on film, one does not have to have an in-depth knowledge of either the planet or the the tale in order to appreciate the setting.

Rather, all that is required is the knowledge that the Fremen arrived on Arrakis as a religious sect, thousands of years prior to the events within the franchise, becoming a numerous and hardy race, fully adapted to life on the desert world, living as tribal communities within cave warrens they call “sietch”, meaning “place of assembly in time of danger” (and borrowed from sich – a term meaning military / administrative centre – of the  Zaporozhian Cossacks, not that this is of any relevance at all in the scheme of things 😀 ).

The sietch of Arrakis, I believe, come in a range of sizes. Within Grauland, Jim and his partner, PaleLily, offer a fairly modest vision of such a centre of Fremen life, located somewhere within the greater desert of Arrakis. And while I cannot offer insight into the sietch found within the novels or associated films, etc., I can say that whilst minimal, Grauland: Arrakis / Fremen Home offers an interesting setting ripe for those seeking something a little different in which to take photographs.

Surrounded by a desert expanse, this rocky sietch has been hewn within a low mesa, the entrance to which can be found a short walk from the Landing Point. Within it, as one might expect given the general description of such places, is a warren of tunnels, halls and rooms hewn from the living rock.

Some of the tunnels within this warren are roughly cut, walls and floors unfinished; others have squared-off walls, paved floored and properly supported doorways. Similarly, the rooms come in various forms, from simple cubes of space through to a grand pillared hall suggestive of a council chamber of or meeting place – or place of worship. Lights sit above doors, in ceilings and along walls provide pools of illumination which are particularly effective when running with shadows enabled.

Perhaps the greatest delight within the sietch is its massive pool of water. When discovered, it can be the most unexpected find; it is also the one location within the sietch utilising a reflection probe, potentially as a result of it using a section of Alex Bader’s excellent PBR mesh water. Taken as a whole, it forms a relaxing focal point, with places to sit and meditate to one side.

As noted, this is something of a minimalist build, although I believe it might be one that evolves; whilst there are rooms either empty or only partially furnished, I’ve been given to understand Jim and Poly are interested in being pointed towards items that might sit within the overall setting without looking out-of-place.

Those who find their way through the tunnels, halls and circular doors might find their way to a landing bay complete with a shuttle vehicle parked within it. Whilst the latter isn’t an Ornithopter, it also does not look out-of-place here as a piece of technology that might exist on Arrakis. The same might be said of the ship passing overhead.

Simple but attractive and well-suited to avatar photography – particularly for Dune fans – Arrakis / Fremen Home makes for an interesting visit.

SLurl Details

• Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home (Grauland, rated Adult)

In July 2023, JimGarand presented a version of his Grauland Homestead region re-titled as Grauvik, a distinctly Scandinavian setting representing a fictional island off the coast of Iceland (see: A touch of Iceland in Second Life).

For early 2025, he now presents a further take on Grauvik in the form of Grauvik 2. It’s a design which retains the rocky, somewhat volcanic look and feel of 2023’s edition, suggesting it still be fictionally located close to Iceland, but which has touches suggestive that it could just as easily be off somewhere like the Norwegian coast. I’ll also note here that Jim has utilised PBR materials in the design and no BP fallbacks, so you’ll need a PBR-capable viewer to appreciate it.

This iteration brings an entirely new design to the island, with the 3D art pieces seen in 2023’s Grauvik entirely absent – which is not to say a 3D artistic presence is entire absent the island, a point I’ll come back to. Instead the island now carrying with it the suggestion of a private retreat; one served by a small dockside area to the north-east. It forms the setting’s Landing Point, and is capable of servicing floatplanes as well as small boats – a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver of the Grauland Flying Service sits above the slipway.

These docks have been built into the one natural cove on the island, the rocks and slopes around and behind it suggestive that it might sit sheltered from the worst of any bad weather that might sweep over the island. Which is not to say it is the only low-laying point on the island; while the core of the setting sits upon rugged plateau of what might be granite or basaltic rock, there are flatlands around the coast – particularly to the north-west – and cinder beaches suggestive of volcanic sand cling to the coastline sufficiently well enough to allow visitors to completely circumnavigate the island on foot, almost never leaving the sands.

Beside the docks with their large hanger for maintaining visiting aircraft (and perhaps small boats hauled up the slipway on trailers), the island s home to three other significant structures, all designed by Jim.

The first and largest of these is the New Pramma House, and it literally dominates Gruavik 2, sitting as it does on the highest point of the island’s spine capable of comfortably supporting a building. As one might expect from such a position, it presents commanding views to the east and west, and is most easily reached by walking up the volcanic sands of the slope at the southern end of the boat moorings.

This route actually passes below a trail cut along the spine of the island to connect the New Pramma House with the remnant of an old lookout building on a shoulder of rock looking to the east, the black coastal sands below it speared by plugs of rock which have stood firm against the passage of time and tide as sea has clearly conquered the softer rock and earth around them so only they remain.

As well as connecting the main house to the out look-out building, the rough path also branches to provide access to the second largest house on the island as it sits to the south. Crouching on a sturdy foundation of cut and mortared stones, this rectangular cottage is hunched behind a rocky wall cut through be steps running down from the trail, and firmly states that the flat headland on which it sits is its own to command, a large deck extending out from it to the edge of the rock.

Those walking around the coat of the island will actually pass under this cottage by means of a tunnel cutting through the rock below it, passing by way of one of several places to sit scattered across the island. The tunnel will bring explorers to a further stretch of dark beach down to which the path from the top of the island descends by way of wooden board walks hugging the rock, platformed stairs and broad wooden decks.  One of these decks extends out over the sea, in part sheltered by more fingers of rock which rise from the waves and perhaps help break the worse of the sea’s ebb and flow to leave the waters here calm enough for safe bathing and swimming.

It is to the north of these boardwalks and reached via a path of loosely laid planks on the sand, that the third of the houses can be found. Like the others, it is of an ultra-modern, clean look, and it sits within it own gravel surround to offer split-level accommodation as it looks westward. However, it is on the rock-straddled beach extending to the front of this house – and home to numerous seagulls resting their wings – that a curiosity lies.

Ranged over the sand is a scattering of Czech hedgehogs. Are they a remnant of the war time era, originally placed there to prevent tanks and other vehicles from crawling up the beach between the rocks at low tide, or ready to lurk under the waves at high tide awaiting the opportunity to rip out the hulls of unwary landing craft? Perhaps they have been gathered by a dedicated artist and painted against the harm of rust before being deliberately set out in a modern artistic statement? Either option pokes at the imagination.

From here, circling the island on foot is completed around the base of the northern cliffs along a gravel path as it returns visitor to the Landing Point. Or, if you prefer, the path can serve as the start of your explorations! 😀 .

I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated Jim’s builds, but have to confess there is something about Grauvik 2 that really appealed to me; I’m not sure if (again) this is due to the hint of the rugged beauty of Iceland within it (Iceland being one of the two major island countries in the world I absolutely adore visiting), or simply an admiration for the design as a whole (I admit to being particularly drawn to the New Pramma House!).

Not one to miss – the PBR caveat notwithstanding.

SLurl Details

• Grauvik 2 (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)

With November upon us, it was time for me to make a return to Jim Garand’s Grauland; after Primary Colours, I was keen to see what new delectations his fertile imagination had cooked up for us, and was delighted to find that once again, he’s turn his attention to a sci-fi like setting.

My first question on arriving at Grauland / The Deity Machine, was whether I was somewhere on this planet or standing on another world. Certainly the rock beneath my feet and the scrub grass ground upon it looked Earth-like, as did the sea; but overhead the sky offered an otherworldly feel, as did the structure beyond the rock berm undulating across the land before me like some gigantic snake, standing stones raised along its back in imitation of  broadly-spaces spines.

This berm would have been easy enough to climb, but I turned south instead, walking over the scrub grass to where a cube-like  arch linked an arrow-straight walkway to the gentle slope of a stone-flagged causeway as it slips down into the waters, as if waiting for some form of aquatic vehicle to roll up out of the tide and park itself upon it.

The steel plating of the walkway points directly towards the main, but by no means only, structure within the isle: a gigantic pyramid-like structure raised up on the back of  an elevated terrace itself sitting upon a great square of precisely laid and cut stone flagstones. With broad stairways climbing up to huge openings cut within its cardinal sides, the pyramid is home  to an alien-looking device standing on its own plinth above darkened water.

It is fair to say that water plays an much a part in the design here as rock, metal and other materials. Channels of it parallel the walkway toward the pyramid, with more channels and pools sit on two sides of the the pyramid’s outer court of stone, whilst other strange artefacts sit over ponds of dark water of their own, as if drawing power from them.

One of these artefacts is to found among a set of accommodation units built below the mean ground level and reached via a stairway descending from the walkway. Containing human-style furnishings, these four identical units nevertheless carry that sense of the alien within them.  At that far end stand four pillars, information scrolling up and down each of their faces as if they might be digital Rosetta Stones, keys to unlocking a mystery .Perhaps they are – or perhaps not; there is information to be read upon them – but I will leave it to you to try to discern what might be meant and keep my thoughts to myself.

Beyond the pool in which these pillars stand, the path leads on between rock walls, passing the foot of a tall monolith of dark materials and gleaming teal light standing close to the shore, to come to what is the second largest surface structure in terms of area. Once again featuring water as a part of its central feature, it sits as the home of an artefact perhaps intended to focus the light of whatever sun illuminates this world and transfer it to where vibrant orbs of light appear to be rising into the sky.

Nor is this all; a further large structure sits alone on a small isle of rock to the north-east, both reached and surrounded by an elevated walkway, whilst sitting on the other side of the steel walkway crossing to the pyramid’s base sits a large hall with its own courtyard area. Within it, tables and seating with counters and a bar suggest it is a refectory for use by humans. But it is along the softly illuminated corridor leads away from one corner of this hall that visitors might find the setting’s most curious – and Roswell- like – secret, hidden alongside a military-style bunker with a washroom and dormitory.

No hints are offered as to what Grauland / The Deity Machine might be about; backstory and interpretation are left entirely to the imagination. The intriguing mix of age-worn stone steps and uneven paved footpaths and clean flagstones and futuristic / alien-like architecture suggest a place of both great age and yet technological use. Perhaps, as the name suggests, it is a location that has been revered down the aeons as a place imbued with the memories of gods or spirits, but which is now the home of digital memories of times and events.

Whether it is upon Earth or a world elsewhere in our galaxy is again a matter of personal choice; no clue lies within it as to which might be the case, although the presence of a very Earthly rowing boat might suggest the former over the latter; if humanity is capable of reaching other worlds, than most likely it has easier means of crossing bodies of water. But again, that’s for you to decide, if stories and narrative are your thing.

And if they are not – will, Jim has once again created a place ideal for photography, whether you opt to use the region’s supplied environment settings (as I have here) or opt for one of your own. So – enjoy!

SLurl Details

• Grauland (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)

Cube Republic gave me a poke in the ribs recently to suggest I hop back over to Jim Garand’s Grauland to see what Jim has done since my last visit. As I’ve frequently noted, I enjoy visiting Jim’s work and writing about it, but the first time I popped over to visit this iteration, I was interrupted by a bout of “real life” and didn’t have time to see much. Fortunately, the past few days have enabled me to hop back, so here we are.

With Grauland / Primary Colors, Jim takes us into the American heartlands (at least going by one of the billboards) and an industrial setting of a chemical plant of some description. It appears to be producing vivid primary colours for who-know-what purpose (perhaps they are for painting prims shipped from the Prim Rig in the ANWR Channel 😀 ).

Sitting alongside a busy road, the complex is impressive and speaks to a slick operation.  The bulk raw materials arrive by rail to be dropped from their hopper cars as they sit on elevated track. From here, they’re bulldozed into piles so that articulated yellow loaders can scoop them up for transfer into more hoppers where they can be conveyed to huge tanks. Once in these, they appear to be dissolved into a a liquid mix, and so pass onwards through associated processing (including the burning-off of waste product) to eventually end up in tanker wagons as finished goods, ready to be hauled of along the very same rails they arrived on.

Part of the processing also seems to involve deliveries by road through the plant’s main gates, the materials stored in a small warehouse on that side of the grounds. Everything appears to be watched over from the vantage point of a control room sitting to one side of the main plant on four stout concrete legs. Although, looking at the screen savers on a couple of the PCs in the room, staff there would appear to at times have their minds on things other than monitoring systems!

Throughout the tanks, risers, piping, silos and whatnot are ground-level and elevated walkways and catwalks offering visitors the opportunity to explore the complex in detail, whilst the surrounding hills make it clear the place is well inland and away from the sea. Exactly where it might be is left to the imagination; one of the billboards hints it might be along Route 66 and maybe in Missouri – why else the advert on the board? – But this is pure supposition on my part, although said ad did allow me to learn that “The Best Fudge Comes from Uranus” really is an advertising slogan for a tourist attraction on US Route 66 in Missouri.

This is a setting with a lot of subtle detail built-in; the screen savers on the computers suggests the desire to break with the cycle of  mundane duty when at work; the condition of some of the towers and storage tanks give the impression of age while the colour-coding on some of the pipes gives a further sense of authenticity, as do thinks like the first aid equipment at the gate house. Some of the controls in the main building have some curious labelling – but such is the way of things when building a scene in Second Life, and certainly nothing to complain about.

With the landing point (which includes the teleport up to Jim’s M1 Poses store) located in the north-west corner of the region, this is a setting that spreads itself out before you to the east and south as you arrive, begging to be explored (and I liked the way the north edge of the region has been raised to suggest spoil tips from the plant that have been in place so long, the local grass has claimed them even as they denote the edge of the walkable region and the start or the encompassing region surround).

Opportunities for photography abound through the setting, particularly for those who appreciate a more industrial background to their avatar studies. So with that said, I’ll leave you to hop along and see for yourselves.

SLurl Details

• Grauland (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)

Update, July 20th: Jim dropped me a line of the lack of soundscape noted below – apparently it was an easily-done oversight, and has now been rectified, so be sure to have local sounds enabled when visiting!

About a couple of weeks ago, if memory serves, I bounced into Jim Garand’s Grauland on one of my periodic visits to see what might have changed since my last visit. At the time, Jim appeared to be smack in the middle of redressing his Homsetead region – also home to his M1 Poses store – and so I pretty rapidly bounced my way back out again to allow him to finish things off, but with my curiosity well and truly piqued. I had intended to return just a few days later, but life had other plans, and so have only just made it back.

Jim has a habit of pulling together settings that are a mix of landscape, art, architecture and narrative. Sometimes they are themed, as with the last edition of the region I blogged about – see: Grauland’s Last Trees in Second Life, or they may be inspired by an actual location; at other times they might be more nuanced in ideas and themes, and at others still, others they are simply offered as opportunities for photography and art. Grauland / Corsair Island appears to fall within the latter two groups, offering hints of a theme here and there whilst in general offered a highly photographic setting with a lean towards artistic expression.

The setting’s little  – Corsair Island – might perhaps suggest the idea of pirates, sailing ships, treasure and all that; however, this is not the case. Rather, the name appears to be taken from the World War 2 vintage Vought F4F Corsair single-seat fighter displayed almost as a museum piece towards the south-west corner of the region. Sitting with wheels on its own of concrete apron, a separate square of the same close by hosting a mighty sea anchor which might have hailed from a WW2 battleship of aircraft carrier, the Corsair looks out to sea from flat-topped table of rock with a broad throw of sand curving around its base to form a golden beach.

The local vegetation suggests this is a tropical island, one amidst a small group, with the Corsair itself immediately raising thoughts of the Pacific conflict of WW2. This is perhaps further enhanced by the general layout of the island, which suggest it may have once been an airbase for a land-based contingent of US Navy aviators and their aircraft. The road running north-to-south might have at one time been a runway, and whilst the sound side of the island is now in part excavated and home to free-standing art installations, there is a chance that it may have once been flat and home to a second runway.

Of course, the huge concrete bulk of a road tunnel rising from the sea and with its  darkened maw open to either disgorge or swallow road vehicles at the north end of the road tends to suggest that perhaps this is a place much closer to the US mainland, but it does not entirely eliminate the dance of the imagination in thoughts of airbases from past conflicts.

In fact, the placement of some of the buildings alongside the road might also add to the idea, their position suggesting they’ve replaced what may have been an aircraft dispersal area and / or hangers and workshops. But again, in opposition to that, the presence of the gas station and motel with its slab-sided beachfront cabins again give the impression this is a place much closer to the US mainland, and one which sees a degree of vacation traffic passing back and forth through the tunnel; so I’ll leave it to you to form your own backstory for the setting.

The southern side of the island is given over to art installations. Three of these are bound the draw attention, possibly at the expense of the fourth. The latter take the form of a series of disks, rings and cylinder elements arranged in a manner that presents a series of spaces that can be walked around and through. The three main installations, meanwhile, are a mix of the familiar and the new.

Many of Jim’s past installation have included the motif of standing blocks, generally in geometric arrangements. These have frequently been in the form of cubes resembling block of cement, but here Jim includes a pyramid to the eastern end of the island with its flanks being climbed by ranks of stone uprights in a design by Alex Bader. Next to this is the excavated area, walled by heavy blocks and its floor tiled. Within it stands a series of walls forming something of a maze-like area, squares of blue tiles mounted on the wall sections like windows. The maze isn’t hard – it’s not intended to be – and has a roofed platform at its centre, served by two stairways.

Alongside of this maze, sitting between it and the southern beach is an area suggestive of ancient ruins fronted by a large bust of a female torso. Steps down to a lower area passing under the “ruins” provides access to the beach. To the north of the island, hidden among rock formations, is a formal garden area watched over by Buddha, Psyche and a reproduction of Horatio Greenough’s (1805-1852) Arno the Greyhound as found at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

East of the garden and most directly reached via a winding paved driveway that links it to the main road, is a large warehouse style of building sitting walled-off from the rest of the island, giving the impression it is separate to the rest. It is dressed as a private home and not for public access, but the gates guarding it open on approach and there is no security system in evidence – so I have no idea if it is meant to be public or private, so I remained circumspect.

As always, this iteration of Grauland is photogenic and attractive, holding a lot to see (not all of which is mentioned here). It is strangely devoid of any soundscape (either that, or my viewer simply was not registering local sounds during my visit!), but to make up for this (if it is the case), a gift from Jim is available for visitors at the landing point.

SLurl Details

• Grauland (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)