The new Linden Home houseboats have proven exceptionally popular – so popular that demand has exceed supply
With most of with eyes fixed on Fantasy Faire (you can catch my own shorthand guide if the mood takes you). Daniel Voyager was looking in another direction, and tweeted an interesting find.
It seems the Lab and the Linden Department of Public Works could be busy working to address the demand for more houseboats within the new Linden Homes continent, with Daniel identifying a new 48-region SSP development being put together south of the original SSP development area.
There has been no official word on whether the new regions are being developed in response to the demand for houseboats, but certainly, that demand has been strong enough to warrant this, with repeated disappointment being voiced over the fact the houseboats initially made available were very rapidly snapped up. As such, it seem a reasonable deduction to see this latest SSP development as a move to meet at least some of this demand.
The new SSP regions under development appear geared towards providing more space for the Linden Homes houseboats
The new regions form a series of sandbars with extensive moorings of the same general type seen within the new Linden Homes continent of Bellisseria, strongly suggesting they will provide space for more of the new houseboats (see right). Some of the waterways between the sand bars look to be a little too narrow to fit houseboats and piers – perhaps these are intended for use by float planes and the like, if not to form a natural break to prevent the regions from feeling overcrowded.
There is no available date on when the new regions might be added to Bellisseria – again assuming the intent of their development is to meet demand. Nevertheless, it does bring with it a couple of questions.
The first is: where might the new development sit in relation to Bellisseria’s existing land mass? While I have nothing more to go on than instinct, my own thoughts are the area to the south and east of Bellesseria would seem the most likely. There is plenty of space for further regions to be dropped in there (south of the lower eastern tip of the continent), whilst still leaving room for the “unfinished” line down the east side of the continent’s western “finger” without causing any feeling of crowding. Or perhaps the new regions will eventually be placed to the south of that western finger, although that might put them a little too close to the channel running to Jeogeot (unless they are linked directly to it).
The second question is more intrinsic to Bellesseria as a whole. while houses along the cost are being picked up – they did so after the houseboats had gone. So, simply provisioning more houseboats possibly runs the risk of the continent’s inland areas remaining under-populated unless they are made more inviting.
Is the slow initial take-up of houses simply that the initial selection wasn’t seen as attractive enough, or was it down to something more fundamental? A lack of ability to link them to the continent’s road structure, for example or – as I noted in Making a (Linden) houseboat a home – is it the general lack of additional amenities people might appreciate having, such as a few airstrips scattered around to offer people the attraction of being able to rez and fly their light ‘planes off of the grass. Or perhaps some of the houses along the rivers could have small boat access to the water (although this could create issues of its own).
Time will tell on both of these questions, but in the meantime – and again assuming the move is to address the demand – the potential of more houseboats becoming available in the (hopefully!) not too distant future could well be as welcome as the recent moves by the Lab to deal with issues of banlines across the new region.
The landscaping within the region offers communal areas to encourage people mix – such as the beach alongside the houseboats in the group where mine is located
As I reported that the time, Linden Lab launched their new Linden Homes on Monday, April 15th (see: Lab launches new Linden Homes), and according to reports I’ve received, they are proving very popular, with the first allocation of houseboats in particular running out.
So what are these new units like as a potential home? Well, pretty bloody good, actually. While I can’t speak for the town house designs, the houseboat styles offer good variation between them in terms of looks and space, and many of the parcels offer a fair about of flexibility for boat / seaplane moorings.
My Windlass boathouse with additions – fireplace flue, two sets of exterior stairs, moorings, etc., and (inset) how the default Windlass looks
While it is pot luck on the parcel you are allocated (and remember, you can abandon and re-try), I was pretty lucky on my first attempt: a parcel on one of the outer sandbars of Bellisseria, offering a nice view over the strait to the continent on one side, and a public beach and open sea on the other. The houseboat also sits with a beam-to-land orientation, leaving me with a body of water on the parcel that has a good breadth and depth, and avoids feeling quite so hemmed-in by the houseboats on either side.
With a land capacity of 351, there is a lot that can be done with these parcels in terms of decorating and (in the case of the houseboats) plonking down a boat or two (or three) or some boat / floatplane combination. For my part, I felt the Windlass houseboat offered the most flexibility for internal space (I particularly liked the fact the little nook under the stairs to the roof suggested itself as a good place for a fireplace).
The interior space (shown empty in the inset) offers plenty of flexibility: room for a raised bedroom and lower lounge (or vice-versa)
Another aspect of this design I like is the split level nature of the living space, which naturally lends itself to various options. With a little custom work, it’s easy to produce a railing system that nicely separates the two halves of the living space, or even add full internal walls, depending on your preference.
Décor-wise, the interior and exterior walls, floors, etc., can be “repainted” via the house control panel. For this Windlass, this can lead to an interesting half-and-half look which breaks up the colour scheme. Additional textures can be obtained from the house / houseboat selector, so any elements you add can easily be blended in.
Another view of the interior, showing the fireplace tucked under the stairway
For me, the only issue with my Windlass is that the door is on the landward side of the house, and the shape of the parcel meant a trek around the houseboat and along the public piers the set between the parcels. However, the design is such that it was pretty easy for me to add more direct access by dropping in my own piers for mooring, and adding a couple of stairways: one up to the houseboat’s “balcony”and thence inside, and the other to the roof.
Given there is a total 351 LI to play with, adding details like this doesn’t mean you’re “eating prims”; but if you are worried about counts, remember that if you build yourself, a considered use of prim and mesh and Convex Hull accounting can help reduce LI cost. The stairs, railings, room divider and moorings (and lighting) I added, for example, weigh-in at just 30 LI combined (I used Kriss Lehmann’s Botanical Brick Path kit with a little bit of re-texturing for the moorings, simply because I had it to hand and linking works will with Convex Hull physics. The stairs came from Jed888, and are full perm).
The windless offers options for adding steep to reach moorings, if required, while the other houseboat designs offer water access from their decks, albeit with smaller interior spaces
As noted, the land capacity is more than sufficient to allow a boat or two (or more) to be rezzed. However, me being me, “one or two” is never enough given I change out ‘plane and or boat more times than I change my outfits :). So, I had to install a rezzer so I can pick and chose which boats / planes are rezzed with ease and without the need to drag, drop and position from inventory. It also means I can easily clear space friends to be able to moor when visiting. (For more on this see: Adding a little vehicle space with a rezzing system.)
Adding to my original post on the new Linden Homes, everything has been pretty well-considered. The houseboats and houses offer plenty of scope, the region offers a lot of general interest to see when exploring (with more to be added inland, as it is expanded in the future) and it’s good to see the public areas include interactive elements to make them more interesting.
Potentially, my only critiques are in two areas: there should be more rez points for vehicles. There’s plenty to see when exploring by road / water, but the limited number of rez points tends to put people off taking a break and having a look around. There are certainly places where one might expect rez points – such as the little boathouses around the coast.
I’m actually surprised the little boathouses scattered around the coastline done offer rezzing points
Rez points are also helpful when region crossings go wrong, so having more (even just the road sign style on mainland highways for road vehicles) would be useful. My other critique is that a region of this size really should have a small airstrip or two, again with rez zones. A couple of grass strips suitable for small aircraft to get in and out of would add further depth to Bellisseria, both for people living there and for curious visitors who would like to fly in and take a look.
But the key question is, does my new Linden Home make me want to abandon my existing private island home? Well, truthfully: not yet; but that is only because things are still new, and I want to see how neighbourhood develop and communities grow. In the future, it may well be that a swap back to living in a Linden Home might well be on the cards.
I’ll let you know!
Footnote: When drafting this article on Tuesday, April 16th, I did actually gripe about the allowance of parcel banning / banlines within Bellisseria. This had already started impacting activities on and over the continent (try landing a ‘plane on water when your only option is to approach a channel over the tops of houseboats and then run slap into banlines …), and there were complaints at things like the LL Governance User GRoup on the matter. With my gripe, I mused on why LL hadn’t supplied a simple / regulated security system for the new homes, and disabled the use of parcel banning at estate level. However, as per a forum post by Constantine Linden, it turns out this is precisely what the Lab is doing in response to the general level of disappointment raised over the issue. So, kudos to the Lab for responding so positively and quickly! (And my thanks to Duckie Dickins for pointing out the forum post as we were discussing things!)
On Monday, April 15th, Linden Lab launched their new Linden Homes for Premium subscribers. These new Homes, each located on a 1024 sq metre parcel, are located in a dedicated new continent – which, as I revealed in my March preview, is called Bellisseria – situated between Sansara and Jeogeot.
The continent itself – like the homes on offer – is a significant step up from the original Linden Homes and lands first introduced in 2010. Landscaped, and offering a degree of infrastructure: roads, rivers, paths, coastal regions with beaches, offshore-lighthouses, and so on. All of which offers an environment that is pleasing to the eye and make for a pleasant environment in which to live.
Bellisseria – New Linden Homes
For the initial release, two types of house are available: traditional suburban houses and houseboats, each of which comes in a total of four styles apiece. These four styles offer a varied set of looks that is enough to ensure neighbourhoods have a mix for looks. All come with a land impact of 351 LI, offering a lot of opportunity for furnishing.
It’s important to note that the houses / houseboats are not 1024 sq m in size; this is the size of the parcel on which they sit: and all have been designed to provide a degree of garden / yard space or waterside moorings for boats. The roads within the continent are driveable (although houses are not supplied with a driveway to link to the roads), while the waters are navigable in many places and a channels links the continent with Joegeot and Sansara.
Bellisseria – New Linden Homes: coastal community space
Unlike the older Linden Homes, these have controls built-in via a panel on the interior walls close to the front door. So, no going to a website to change the decorative style, set the window shutters, etc., everything can be done directly from the control panel – including getting a pack of extra fixtures, should you want to use them, and a box of textures that can be used so that any additional elements – room dividers, walls, etc., – you might want to add can match with the overall décor.
Individual style of house and houseboat are selected from the outside mailbox / life buoy. An interior control panel can be use for the window blinds, door control, etc.
To say these new Linden Homes are a major step up from the originals isn’t really saying a lot; the old Linden Homes – as noted – are around 9 years old, and a lot has moved on in Second Life since then. However, the attempt to create a sense of community within the new continent is impressive and potentially goes some way towards reversing the “build and forget” approach to Linden Homes seen in the past – although how well it succeeds in terms of getting people not just to take the houses and engage within the develop to create local neighbourhoods / communities remains to be seen; and the matter really is up to those of us who take up the houses.
For my part, I like the approach, and several of the designs. Yes, the use of rooms in some can make them feel a little cramped, and some of the houseboat designs might not strike the right of aesthetic note, but there is no escaping the fact these are properties with potential, and if you are a Premium subscriber, they may well be worth taking a look at, even if you already hold land.
Applying for a Home
Note: for full details on the new Linden Homes – prerequisites for obtaining one, the application process, and so on, please refer to the Linden Homes wiki page.
If you have not used your default allocation of free tier – (1024 sq m), then a new Linden Home is yours without any additional payment. Otherwise, the standard Premium tier rates apply.
As with the original Linden Homes, the new homes are obtained through the Linden Homes registration page – which, at the time of writing still includes options for the existing Linden Homes, although these are to be gradually phased out. However, unlike the “old” homes, you only select with you want a house or a houseboat, not the actual style of the house / houseboat you prefer; these are selected in-world, via a mailbox for the houses or a life buoy for the houseboats. These controllers also let you change the style of your house / houseboat at any time, presenting another flexible option not available with the old Linden Homes.
The new Linden Homes are available through the existing Linden Homes registration page – just make sure Bellisseria is selected in the Theme drop-down (arrowed) and select your choice of house or houseboat by clicking on the buttons shown in the red square
The selection process is straightforward, and you’ll be required to accept the Linden Lab Terms and Conditions prior to being able to receive the details of your new home. These are presented on the web page – just click the Go To Your Home button.
(Unsurprisingly) I’ve already claimed my new Linden Home. Being an aviator and sailor, I went for a houseboat, selecting what I personally think is the roomiest of the options, the Windlass. Split-level it offers a good feeling of space, with a rooftop deck, and good opportunities for customisation. Sitting on one of the numerous sandbars surrounding the coast of the new continent, it opens out onto a nice community beach on one side, and presents plenty of mooring space on the other.
My new Linden Home houseboat with one of my motorboats moored alongside. Note that the water in front of the houseboat is also part of the parcel, offering more mooring space, but the wooden piers are not part of the individual properties.
Using a houseboat means I also have room for boats and planes on the water – particularly through the use of a rezzing system that allows me to select which vehicle I have rezzed (up to the land capacity, obviously). For those interested, I’ve previously covered this approach to having vehicles available without using up all your land capacity in Adding a little vehicle space with a rezzing system.
Overall, a nicely done new environment. It will be interesting to see how things grow here – and how it might affect rentals among private estates for Premium members, given the overall attractiveness of this new continent. It’ll also be interesting to see how LL handle the retirement of the “old” Linden Homes, including any possible relocation among Premium subscribers who opt not to move voluntarily.
The launch was accompanied by a new video from the Lab, which I’ve embedded below.
New Linden Homes preview – available until Sunday, April 7th, 2019
Friday, March 15th marked the opening of the 2019 Home and Garden Expo in support of Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.
I’ll have a report on this year’s event coming up soon, but for this article I’m focusing on a special element within the event: the preview region for the new Linden Homes continent that will be débuting very soon for Premium members (Patch linden indicated it is just “weeks” away now) as a long awaiting “upgrade” to (and eventual replacement of) the old 512 sq metre parcel Linden Homes.
I hopped over to the preview region – which is presented just as one of the regions in the new continent will look – as Patch Linden and members of the Linden Department of Public Works were available and taking questions. Rather than go on at great length, I’ve attempted to summarise the key points below.
Note that the preview region will remain open until the end of the Home and Garden Expo on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.
New Linden Homes preview
Launch and Availability
No precise launch date has been announced, but Patch indicated it is now “weeks” away for the initial deployment.
When launched, the new Linden Homes will be available to all Premium members, and will not be tied to any new Premium tier option.
Obtaining a new Linden Home will follow similar lines to the current Linden homes – using a web page to make an initial choice of home type, before selecting the style of house when in-world.
Premium users will be able to swap between house types, just as they can with current Linden Homes.
When launched, the new Linden homes will be made available on a new continent – apparently to be called Bellisseria (according to the covenant).
This continent will form a “bridge” between two of the existing Mainland continents (which continents has yet to be announced) to form “a larger contiguous continent”.
In time, as take-up of the new Linden Homes increases, the existing Linden Homes mini-continents will be retired and removed from the grid, with those remaining on them rather than obtaining a new linden Home being encouraged to move.
The new Linden homes include houseboat options, couple with moorings for boats
Parcels and Houses
Linden Homes (and houseboats) will be provided on 1024 sq m parcels.
Premium members must have 1024 sq m of available tier to obtain a home.
Premium members are limited to one Linden Home per Premium account.
Parcels will have a total of 351 LI for use by those using them (houses and houseboats do not count towards the total).
Parcels will be made available in themed areas, and house types will be in keeping with the theme.
Parcel terraforming is not permitted.
Each parcel will be managed by a mailbox, which will offer four house styles in keeping with the overall theme / type.
Houses may not be removed, modified, exchanged, set or deeded to group, or transferred.
All of the house styles are deigned to provide garden / yard space.
Houseboats include moorings for boats.
Additional buildings or structures are allowed as long as they are in theme and meet the height restrictions.
Privacy walls or fences should match the theme and extend no more than 4m above ground level.
All other structures should not extend higher than 15m above ground level or sea level, whichever is higher.
Note that house styles are presented with boundary walls / hedgerows / both for privacy
The interiors of Linden Homes can be decorated to residents’ likings. The exteriors should always remain in theme.
Types and styles of houses / houseboats include interior / exterior décor options, working curtains / blinds and house control system.
Skyboxes are permitted, providing they are above 2000m altitude.
Individual house styles (4) for a given type can be selected from the mailbox associated with a parcel
There is also a new covenant for these linden home, that can be viewed via About Land when visiting the preview region.
General Impressions
The new houses are well presented and offer a good choice of style – unsurprisingly a good step up from the very long-in-the-tooth current batch of Linden Homes (first introduced in 2010), and I’m personally quite enamoured of the houseboats with their moorings.
Providing infrastructure to the new regions – roads, parks, coastline, beaches, rivers, etc., will hopefully help build more of a community feel to the new Linden Homes than the approach taken with the first series, and in this, providing houses that sit within their parcels and with privacy boundaries (walls / hedgerows) to me both increases the sense of ownership and also the look and feel of these developments being a residential development. True, the privacy is only visual (you’ll need parcel privacy) and the shape of the houseboat parcels tended to make these feel a little crowded, but on the whole, the layout appears to work.
Patch’s indication that the new homes will be part of a “bridge” between two existing continents came as a surprise, and seems to suggest the SSP regions where Linden home development work is being done may be relocated prior to the new Homes starting to be offered.
The Linden Homes preview offers some hints as to the landscaping found within the new continent regions
At the end last week, Linden Lab started putting out a survey aimed at Premium Members on the subject of Linden Homes. This is in all likelihood the follow-up to a comment made by Vogt Linden at SLCC 2011 that the Lab would be looking at Linden Homes, wherein he noted that – and without going into specifics – the scheme had been good for user retention, but had grown somewhat stale, and that as such LL would be looking at how to refresh the offering.
my Linden Home
The survey is a good first step, and in keeping with recent moves by Linden Lab to seek feedback from the community (such as with overhauling inventory). The survey itself is a multi-page affair, largely with multiple choice responses in the form of radio button (either / or) and check boxes (multiple responses). It takes a couple of minutes to complete, and it by-and-large asks pertinent questions on Linden Homes and the wider matter of Premium benefits (which you are asked to individually rank in terms of personal importance to you, the options for each benefit running from Very Important to Not Important, with Neutral as the middle ground).
There is also an opportunity to provide more specific feedback to the Lab at the end of the survey in the form of two free format text boxes in which Linden Home owners are encouraged to give detailed feedback and thoughts / suggestions.
In some respects, Linden Homes straddle a difficult divide. On the one hand they offer a quantifiable benefit for new users that encourages them to take out Premium membership and helps guarantee they remain engaged with SL as a result of the “investment”. On the other, there is a risk that they impact on the overall land rental / housing market, particularly for those who gear their business model specifically at smaller land holdings and what might be termed “starter homes” in SL. How big an impact this actually is itself hard to quantify – at least for those of us not engaged in that specific market segment.
Certainly, it is probably fair to say that Linden Homes, as currently implemented, haven’t worked entirely as originally intended – when launched, LL did see them as a means of getting people “onto” the property ladder, with the aim of people then moving on to “bigger” things land-wise as their needs grew. I’m not entirely convinced this has been the case – and the desire to revamp the offering would suggest that LL feel the same way.
The problem is, of course, how do they improve the offering, without running the risk of being seen as “further” eating-in to the rental market as a whole (if this is indeed an issue)? Making Linden Homes more attractive through larger prim allocations, larger land footfalls, etc., does run the risk of drawing people away from renting elsewhere – and I suspect that LL are fully aware of this risk, as the survey suggests some possible enhancements in other areas:
The ability to build more complex objects
Decorate a home more elaborately
Have more control over the Linden Home land parcel
Replacing the Linden Home with a personal build
More community events and social opportunities
Tutorials such as building & scripting
Land market expansion opportunities.
Of these, the last three strike me as the most flexible of options if harder to practically implement, although the first three are liable to be potentially the more popular among respondents. Land market expansion I would see as a useful element to add, simply to try to help stimulate the “upward” movement of those coming into Linden Homes that LL originally hoped would be the case – although I admit, I’m somewhat stumped as to how this could be practically achieved.
Community and social events might also work – the Linden Homes are billed as “communities”, but the truth of the matter is, “community” plays a very minor role. Most Linden Home regions have the same issue as everywhere else – large tracks of land, few people. Were LL to be more pro-active in stimulating regional events it might encourage a greater feeling of “community” – although that is admittedly a big might, and one very hard to measure in terms of overall benefit / success compared with the amount of effort required to get things organised (or in even encouraging residents to take up the challenge).
As it stands, the Linden Homes regions do have “community centres” that largely seem to be devoid of traffic and simply going to waste – so attempting to put these to better use might be worthwhile. As might opening them to advertising by in-world businesses and estates, which itself has two potential benefits: money raised from the use of vendor boards could be put towards the cost of monthly (or whatever) entertainments, it demonstrates practically that LL are working more “with” rental estates rather than in “competition” with them.
A further idea might be for LL to simply reduce the volume of Linden Homes per region (or offer more in the way of regions devoted to parkland and / or water), and offer Linden Home residents greater opportunities of using such “rural” sims – such as allowing them to rez their own boats to go sailing or explore the waterways, or vehicles / horses to explore parkland and country tracks – perhaps even supply rez-on-demand facilities for home owners to use.
These are entirely off-the-top-of-my-head ideas which may or may not be practical. I’ve tried to give full and detailed feedback to LL on Linden Homes via the survey, complete with a range of thoughts and ideas. I’d encourage any of you yet to receive the survey / yet to respond to it to do the same. That LL are seeking feedback is to be applauded, even if (like me) you don’t use your Linden Home that routinely or as your primary place of residence in SL and / or see little reason to change things.
Jack Linden has gleefully announced the preview of the new Linden home scheme. For those not in the know, here’s the detail – but essentially, Linden Home is a kind-of revitalising of the old “First Land” scheme that formed a part of Premium Account “benefits”. Currently Jack’s latest “beta” programme, the idea is that people taking up a Premium Account (or who have a Premium Account) have the option of using their 512 sq m “free” land to grab a “cosy” home in one of (currently) four themes and “break into” land ownership.
The scheme is broadly questionable for a number of reasons – some of which I’ve touched upon elsewhere. However, given that one cannot fairly judge without at least having seen, I thought I’d hop over to Nascera (the “continent” on which these new homes are all gathered) and have a gander.
My initial reaction? If you’re an existing Premium Account holder and have been in SL for more than a couple of weeks – use your “free” 512 tier elsewhere (assuming there WILL be an “elsewhere” in the future, given the state of Mainland).
The four “themes” are broadly: “fantasy” (aka “Lord of the Rings knock-off”); “Tahoe” (A-frame-themed houses), “California” (aka “modern” apartment-style homes), and “Japanese” (pretty self-explanatory).
LL’s take on LoTR “inspired” homes
The “fantasy” theme products a range of houses averaging at the 80-90 prim mark, together with sculpted and other trees and weirdo vegetation (giant mushrooms / toadstools). The houses themselves are of – frankly – so-so build quality, and have names that could well have JRR Tolkien making around 6,000rpm in his grave (“Shire Hearth”; “Wizards Retreat” and “Elven Treehouse”).
The houses are uniformly ordered into rank and file on their assigned sims in a manner that Saruman most likely would copy if he were ever to get his hands on The Shire again, and given that these homes are supposed to promote a feeling of “neighbourhood” and “community”, there is little overt sign that they will: no charming paths winding between properties, no focal points for community….a total lack of any real landscaping…in short: soul-less.
Welcome to the “hotel California”?
The “California” theme is equally insipid. The “apartment style” houses are essentially boxes again laid out in a grid-like form with little in the way (aka “nothing”) to pull them together into any suggestion of being a “community”. No paths, no gardens, nothing to even break-up the monotony of the land. If California really inspired this style of build, then I can only assume those responsible for it have either gathered their knowledge of California from seedy cop shows…or don’t get out much. I’ve been fortunate to travel California extensively, north-to-south, coast to east, many times. I have friends in Sacramento, LA, Frisco, Carmel, San Diego…and while there are bland and depressing areas in the state, on the whole, it is vibrant and alive.
On the plus side, the houses do slam the “fantasy” themes in that the texturing is somewhat better, and the heavy prim-counts (around 100-118) mean the builds provide much more in the way of space and light.
You’ve been A-framed
The “Tahoe” theme presents the A-framed house. Here is something of a broad improvement in build quality and the houses give the illusion of being roomy.
I say “illusion” as, despite their height, the houses only have ground floor living space, despite the fact that one upper level COULD have been included, and thus allowed for a differentiation between living / sleep areas, should they be preferred by users.
As with the first two themes, the “Tahoe” regions suffer from a uniform blandness and lack of landscaping that leave one feeling, well, bored.
Indeed, if there is one thing that links these three initial “themes” it is an overall lack of imagination. Walking around them, I couldn’t help but feel that all three were indicative of how some in Linden Lab would prefer to have their residents: bland, uniform and ready to be shepherded in whatever direction “the powers that be” choose. Even the “fantasy” themed sims offer little in the way of a break from this: one again feels that someone is saying, “play out your fantasies – but do so on our terms.”
So, is the final theme – the Japanese theme – any different?
Feudal for the fire
Well, actually, if only to a point, yes.
Here, at least, some effort has been made: the houses are still regimented, but at least there are cobbled footpaths leading around and between them. These alone give the impression of little interlinked neighbourhoods.
The houses, too, are relatively pleasing on the eye and feature nice textures that fully compliment the builds. While there is (again) a lack of imagination terraforming-wise, the trees at least add welcome (and complimentary) colour, giving the sims an autumnal feel.
Indeed, of the four themes, this is the only one that has a feeling of purpose about it; flying over the houses and walking between them, one gets the impression of a 17th century Japanese village, or perhaps the “suburbs” of ancient Tokyo. Indeed, with a tad more imagination in the landscaping and contained within a single sim, or perhaps 4 joined sims, the theme would work admirably as an overall oriental environment that would encourage those so-minded to adopt the lifestyle while in SL.
The overall lack of any attempt to landscape these sims is a shame. While prims are at a premium being allocated on a double prim basis to each lot, thus leaving few prims available for sundries, one cannot help but feel that if those responsible for the scheme had dropped just 3 or 4 houses from the very intensive builds, so much more could have been done to build a sense of the “community” Jack harps on about in his initial post. Indeed, why insist on orderly rows of houses at all? Do people entering SL have to be confronted by the regimental blandness that blights so many housing estates the world over? Cut just a few houses from the equation, stagger the builds into small groups (say 6-8 houses per group) and you have the ability to establish something that does have a sense of community – and you have the prims to add to this feel simply by laying down uncomplicated footpaths, a bench or two. Simply by giving each grouping of houses a focal-point of some kind (a natural water feature here, a little lawned area there, a fountain somewhere else), and you help draw people into identifying with the places in which they live, something to encourage mingling and meeting.
At the very least, everything didn’t really have to be so damned flat. And why the god-awful ground textures? But c’est la deuxième vie, so to speak.
Beyond this, there are many other issues around the concept that, frankly, few seem to be considering. double-prim land hardly reflects the reality of land ownership across the grid as a whole, and so could be setting up new users for something of a disappointment *should* they move on. Many of the houses are so closely packed (some in California actually have adjoining walls!) that privacy outside of IM is going to be impossible. The sheer volume of homes could make these regions a prime target for griefers. these are just some of the more obvious issues.
However, I don’t have an issue with any of them perse. As the saying goes, you gets what you pays for. No, my issue with this idea runs deeper.
When I first read Jack’s whimsical notions that this is a way to stimulate people’s interest in land and home “ownership” in SL, I – like many others – dismissed his comments as wallpaper designed to cover the fact that LL are simply looking at a means to bolster Premium Account numbers.
However, the hole in this theory is that Mark Kingdon is already on record as dismissing Premium Accounts as being “immaterial to [LL’s] business” – in other words they are irrelevant to LL’s turnover or profits. Now, granted, he said that 12 months ago and things may now have changed – or it could have simply been an off-hand comment made at the time to cover the fact that Premium Accounts were (and are) in decline.
BUT….if Kingdon’s comment is true – and lets face it, it has been more than a year since Tom Hale asked what could LL do to make Premium Accounts more attractive and bugger all has been done to “improve” them despite the plethora of constructive comments his posting generated – then the idea that Linden Homes is a sweetner for those considering Premium Accounts doesn’t actually add up.
So I’ve come to believe Jack when he says Linden Homes are (quote) “”to create an on-ramp so new Resident can learn how valuable and simple owning land can be, but then move naturally on to larger parcels elsewhere”. I really think he is telling the truth. My problem with all this is where Jack’s “on ramp” is going to lead people.
In pushing these homes, in driving people into them, LL are (again) funneling new users in a specific direction. Where might this actually be? Where, precisely, do Linden Lab see these user moving on to?
We already know that none other than … Jack Linden … is beavering away on various deals “beta programs” with various major-league land barons both over the discounting (grandfathering) of tier and on bulk sim purchases, and it has been alleged elsewhere that LL are looking into deals that could see some land barons directly involved in Mainland.
Thus, could it be that the real aim in this is to create a market of new users, all nicely tamed and eager through their use of Linden Homes, who can then be funnelled into the waiting hands – err, sorry, lands – of these favoured land barons? Will we see certain organisations given preferential treatment in reaching out to these “new home owners” to encourage them to move onwards to dream(land)y pastures with azure blue skies – much as certain land barons were given “beta program” access to the log-in MOTD several months ago to drum-up trade (in a move that doesn’t appear to have been extended to lesser mortals among the landed, despite assurances from, ummm, Jack Linden that such would be the case).
After all, what better way is there to entice the big players into buying more server space than by showing them a nicely corralled market chomping at the bit for their products…..? It certainly stands to dwarf the penny-ante amounts that will trickle into LL’s coffers as a result of any Premium Account upswing (not that such a trickle wouldn’t be welcomed anyway).
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 