Avatar Review, the DSD Leopard

By Jamie

DSD, the very mention of the name will bring quality avatars, and great service, to a furry's mind. However an av that I recently have gotten, makes me rethink DSD. The avatar in question is the DSD_LeopardLE. The problems with this avatar, will be explained below.

At first glance the avatar looks awesome, but the hud looks a bit different. Usually the DSD hud will show a full body view of the av, and it will be barely half an inch tall. However this hud is roughly one inch wide, and one inch tall. meaning it takes up twice as much room as the other huds.

Upon opening the hud, the layout of it is a bit questionable, and strange to regular DSD users. The usual hud will simply open downward, and take up about 3 inches wide, and 4 to 5 inches tall. However this hud takes about 3 inches down, and 4 inches wide, meaning rather than taking up the periferal, it takes up the entire upper left hand corner, of the screen. However when clicking on each section, it completely covers the remaining space in the upper left hand corner.

However the biggest problem is the color bars and squares. Color bars, and color squares are supposed to have visible colors in them, to change the colors of different parts. However, these bars and squares are completely white, yet still work as if they have color in them, meaning your working blindly.

However, other than that, it's a good avatar, That is not saying it's a great avatar. It's still a flounder. It looks great, and amazing. But it can't really do much.

Jamie (Theonlyjohnny)

Attack on Titan at Grenadine

By Theonlyjohnny

While an Attack on Titan sim was already written about, a while back, this sim is much different, and deserves its own article. While the other sim, Edelweiss, is very well built, and is based off one of the cities of Attack on Titan, Grenadine is much more than that.


Yes, the city on this sim is much smaller than Edelweiss, I feel it is much better. Rather than having just a bunch of blocks, textured to look like buildings, without an interior, Grenadine's Wall Avarice is filled with actual buildings. There are a few houses, that people can rent, a library, an infirmary, a market, even an MP castle, and a fort.

However, it doesn't just stop there. There are other areas too, including Caravan trail, Travel route, Training grounds, and even more areas, used for roleplay.

When you first show up to the sim, you will be in a little area called the Recruitment Center. Getting started is really easy, and quick too. If you want to join the military, you can get your gear from the wall, that has the big poster of the gear, with the two machines in front of it. To sign up for either civilian, or military, simply go to the top of the steps, and click on the one you wish to join. Then fill out the app, and send it in. It's quick because they usually accept you within about 24 hours.

If you chose to be a civilian, and were accepted, go to the teleporter, by the door at the top of the steps, and go to the Wall Avarice. If you chose military, then go to the training camp.

In the training camp, you will find a few buildings, a large tower, two red circles, an area with a bunch of titan dummies, a lantern course, and a 3DMG trainer. Each of these is important, for you.

In the military, you always start as a trainee. You must finish your training in order to earn the rank of private. After your training is over, you will earn the right to choose which branch you proceed to. There are three branches, but most cadets, upon graduation, only get to choose between two of these. The two that everyone gets to choose from, are Garrison, and Scouts. If your grades are good enough, you may get the choice of joining Military Police.

Back to the training grounds now. In order to graduate, you must pass nine phases. and your final test. The first phase is very simple, and very basic. You must use the 3DMG trainer, and succeed. Once you've succeeded, you must then go to phase two, which is putting together your 3DMG (don't worry you just rp it out), and learning to use boosts, and zips. Once you've finished that, it's time for phase three, learning how to kill a titan. You must go to the titan pit, and kill as many titan dummies as you can, without dying, in three minutes. If you die in phase three, your score is reduced by five.

After you've completed phase three, phase four takes you to the lantern course. You must touch all the lanterns, before time runs out, and you can only use boosts, no zips. If you wish for a challenge, my time is 18 seconds, why not go and try to get a better time? Then, it's time for phase five, "The Tower of Death." You must use thrusters and zips to propel yourself around the tower, five times. Phase six is seriously the easiest phase there is. It's simply a physical, of sorts. Then once you've gotten that far, phase seven really pushes you. You must kill 200+ dummies, within a week. After you've done that, it's time for good old phase eight, hand-to-hand combat. You must get into a fighting ring, and perform hand to hand combat with an opponent (don't worry, you simply rp this out, using a roller).

Then it's time for the final phase. Phase nine is a class about titans, and everything people know about them. Finish this, and you get to go to your final. For your final, you must put everything you've learned, to the test. You must kill a titan (don't worry, you will be taught all about that in phase nine). Of course, you don't really need to do these in order. I mean look at me, I did phase eight before any of the other phases, and I passed with flying colors.

Don't get scared though, I mean my character is a 4 ft 6 in tall, 13 year old cadet. You have nothing to be scared about. Well, unless your instructor loses his mind (trust me, it happens).

All in all, this sim really is an awesome sim, as it uses somewhat of the same training methods as the show/manga. If you love Attack on Titan, you want to know what it is, then come to this sim, and have an awesome time.

TheonlyJohnny

Arcadia Asylum

Arcadia Asylum, the mere mention of it, gets a lot of people excited. Not only is it a store with a huge selection, of awesome products, it also has the best prices in all of SL. Freebies as far as the eye can see, and even further.

To most people, a freebie means some half finished sloppy mess of an object. However, these freebies are completely different from other freebies. These could be sold for a very high price, yet their creators choose to sell them as freebies.

When asked why, Aley, one of the creators, told me that they are freebies, due to the fact that she doesn't want to deal with sales clients again, and she is a supporter of open source development.

I asked her if there was a set team that made the items, in which everyone had a specific part to play. It turns out, there is no set part to play. One of them may make it, and have someone else script it and texture it, or they may do it themselves.

When asked why they started making freebies, they easily answered this by telling me a bit of their history. They did not start in Second Life. Before they joined Second Life, some of them were already making models, and they simply continued, when they joined SL.

Though the items may not look as sleek, and be as expensive as most of the items in SL, they still have something not many other products have. They have customers who are always checking back, every so often, for something new. They have a team of builders at their back, and they have a bright future ahead of them.


TheonlyJohnny Resident

Avatar Review: Orange Nova Sergals

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

Sergal, the very mention of the name confuses a lot of non furries. However, when mentioned to furs, the first thing that used to pop in their minds, was KZK. The original makers of the Sergal Avatar.

However, recently, a new set of Sergal avatars have been created, and placed on the marketplace. Now, I know that they have every right to make an avatar and sell it, however, it's not the same when you make an avatar, that is already in SL, and call it the greatest.

Comparing the two Sergals, it's clear which one is best. Some people will tell you that the newer Orange Nova Sergals are best, while others will tell you that the older KZK Sergals are best. To find which one is better, I looked at both of them, and this is my conclusion of which is better.

First, look at the price. At Orange Nova, the avatars cost a whopping L$1,900 per avatar. A bit of a steep price considering what you really get. KZK wins this round, since their Sergals are actually affordable, at L$800, a whole L$1,100 less than the price of the Orange Novas.

Next, we will look at body shape. While the Orange Nova Sergals are taller than the KZK sergals, this was achieved by distorting parts of it. The neck is stretched a bit too much, and the mesh legs are stretched to the point of more comical than what most people look for. The point for this, also goes to KZK, due to their sergals having a more realistic shape.

The overall look of the avatars is what we will look at next. While they advertise it as being gorgeous, and high quality, the Orange Nova Sergals are more cartoony than furry. By this, I mean it looks as if they were meant more to be in a squash and stretch cartoon, than in SL. KZK wins this round as well, since their Sergal actually looks like a furry, and is not too detailed, but not too little detailed either.

Overall, KZK is the store to go with, not the Orange Nova, dare I say it, knock offs. If you don't believe me, then get both avatars, and have a look for yourself. If you really want a sergal, then like I said, go with KZK. They are cheaper, yet they are better looking.

Theonlyjohnny

Avatar Review: Seawolf Dragon

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

When most people hear Seawolf, they think of an awesome, apparently affordable dragon avatar. Well, that's not entirely true. While it is a dragon avatar, and some aspects of it are awesome, overall, it's not as great as most people think it to be.

Firstly, the avatar is above most people's price range. While there are 3 of these dragon avatars, giving people the choice of a cheaper smaller version, over a large, and expensive version, the cheapest of these is still L$ 1200. While some people would gladly pay that much for an avatar, that looks this cool, it's still asking for so much, to give the buyer, so little, compared to the amount the buyer pays.

While you do receive two dragon avatars, in the juvenile, they are not really that different, in fact I will be talking about that soon. Also, you don't really receive very many attachments, and variations. You really only get a small bit, after paying a large amount.

Like I said before, the two avatars aren't really that different. Actually, looking closer, you can see that almost all of the biped parts, are simply parts from the quadruped avatar, just moved around. The few parts that aren't from the quad avatar, include the hands, the tail, the head, jaw, and the neck. The rest of the parts, were just moved around, stretched, and rotated to fit. You basically pay 1200 L to get the same avatar, twice.

When in flight, the wings always flap, however, they aren't that great of wings for flapping. There is really only 2 parts, on each wing, that actually rotates with the flapping. The part that connects the wing to the body, is the first part. This part ends before it passes the first claw on the wing. The second part is the rest of the wing, which starts where the first part ended. This makes the wings flap as if they were hitting a box, on their way down.

Flying doesn't look so good on the juvenile avatar either. I understand that they are supposed to be young, and learning to fly, however, that does not mean they bounce around as they fly. It gets a bit confusing to a lot of people, while flying in mouselook, since they're bouncing around too much.

However, there are good things about the avatar too. They do look like dragons, which is something, considering most dragon avatars don't even resemble dragons. They have mouselook breaths, which makes them good for use in roleplay sims. They also have a color change hud, which makes it possible to get more colors, than other avatars have.

Despite the fact that these avatars have many cons, they are still some of the best avatars in Second life. All in all, these avatars are on a class all their own, when it comes to greatness.

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Siden Survival/Horror Sim

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

    Siden is an amazing sim, filled with creatures to kill, as well as a vampire castle, a pirate ship, an abandoned town, an elf cave, a place to relax with your partner, and even a hell world. Adding all of this, along with the hud, the weapons, the staff, and the visitors, this is a place a lot of people should check out.

    Siden is mainly a creature killing sim, using a hud, along with a lot of weapons. Like most places, that allow guns, Siden has its own set of weapons, and also allows other weapons. The Siden weapons, unlike most weapons, in SL, are scripted to a minimum. This means they use as little scripts as possible. In fact, they don't even have a draw and sling script. They do, however, have a safe mode. When the weapon is attached, it is automatically put into safe mode, meaning you cannot fire it accidentally. To remove the weapon from safe mode, simply click it. Clicking it again will put it back into safe mode, of course. These weapons don't even have the many mouselook fire scripts that guns usually have. While you can still fire in mouselook, it is not needed to fire/swing these weapons.

    The Siden creatures are affected by nearly all weapons, in SL, but are damaged more by the Siden weapons. This causes more people to want to use the Siden weapons, which reduces lag, a lot. The weapons have a safeguard against griefers. You cannot buy the major weapons, from a vendor. The major weapons are all scattered around the sim, but require a certain level, on your hud, in order to get them. These weapons require ammo, which can be found around the sim, and you must have your weapon, in your hand, in order to pick up ammo. The minor weapons, however, do not require ammo, and can be bought, either around the sim (for free), or at the landing point (using credits). The minor weapons bought, around the sim, are only bats, bloody bats, and crowbars.

    The creatures found here are, rats, minor apparitions, apparitions, strong apparitions, angry ghosts, elder ghosts, hell apparitions, guardians, and then there are the bosses, the Blade Lady, Death Tree, Ghost Lizzy, Flesh Lizzy, and the Siden Van (Siden Mini Event). Of course, the bosses are difficult to defeat. It wouldn't be fun if it was easy. There are also zombies, but killing them does not help you increase your EXP on your hud.

    The Hud is what makes it so you can collect resources, buy things with credits, and level up. The hud is a circle, surrounded by 4 meters. The top meter is purple and it keeps track of your body condition. Each time you die, your body condition will decrease, however there are ways to raise it again, but that is something you need to find for yourself. The right hand meter is cyan, and it keeps track of your Nourishment. There are ways to keep your nourishment high, but what is the fun in me giving you all the answers? The yellow meter, under the hud, keeps track of your Life Style points. And the left hand meter is your health.

    Inside the circle, of your hud, are three rows of words, followed by the menu button, and then there are three circle buttons. The rows of words, in order from top to bottom, are your level, then your cash amount (I like to call them credits), and then there are your experience points (showing how much you have, and the number needed for the next level). The menu shows you, well, the menu, and it is how you can switch between different pages in the hud, of course you will have to figure out them for yourself. The three buttons, on the bottom of the hud, are another thing you will need to figure out for yourself.

    The look of the place is amazing, as so much detail was put into it, and so much work. It is hard to not be impressed by it all. Even the placement of the creatures is amazing, as if they have a plan for everything. This is truly one of a kind, and is a place really worth paying a visit to.


The Siden Survival horror - Elven/Pirate RPG , is at Emata Almarae (115, 8, 656)

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Greed in Second Life: Part 1- The Viking RP

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

    There has been a huge spike in the amount of greed in Second Life. When I first started Second Life, I saw how most people, in Second Life, didn't care about lindens, they just wanted to have fun. However, now, most people only care about earning lindens, even at the expense of losing their own sims.

    It's not just gaming sims, either, it's also club sims, shopping sims, even roleplay sims. I have personally witnessed the downfall of quite a few sims, due to the owners' greed. In this article, I will tell you about an RP sim that went under.

    I used to roleplay at a Viking sim that is gone now, because no one would join. However, the reason no one would join, was due to the greed of the owners. It was a rule that anyone rping there, must wear the Spell fire (SF) meter. Of course, the SF meter will keep pestering the wearer, if their warmth is too low, which is determined not just by the sim, but also by the clothing worn by the wearer. At this sim you could only wear certain Viking clothes, and the only Viking clothes allowed were those purchased on the sim. This meant you had to pay to RP at the place.

    The greed of the sim owners went even further, when I learned that after I had bought the clothes, for L$ 120, even though the box said it would give warmth, the clothes did not provide even the slightest bit of warmth. Nor would the warmth they were supposed to give be sufficient enough to raise your warmth level. I then bought the next set of clothes for twice as much as the first, and learned that, again, they did not provide warmth. Not only that, I had paid twice as much, for the exact same set of clothes, I had bought previously.

    Of course, this sim didn't last long. The design of it may have been amazing, but the respect that the owners asked for, exceeded the amount of respect they gave to anyone. They asked for, no they demanded, my respect. Yet, how could I show respect towards anyone who has shown no respect towards anyone else?

     Their greed was fueled by a lie, which I found out when I had actually asked them why everything they sold, on the sim, was never below L$ 120. The owner was quoted saying "We have to pay a tier for this land, to Linden Labs. Our scripts, alone, cost us L$ 3000 weekly." At that time, I was fairly new to Second Life, and had to do a bit of research. While they did pay a tier to Linden Labs, they wrote most of their own scripts, and the SF meter scripts are free to use, I know this because I have been to the SF main store. You get the SF sim and region kit, for free, and you only pay for scripts, once, and that's to buy them.

    It is a sad thing to see, when an amazing place is shut down, due to the owners' greed. Let this be a testament to all RP Sim owners, out there, while its customary to have items, on your sim, that people can buy, you shouldn't get too carried away, with high prices. Nor should you lie, like these people did, just to get more lindens.

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Reader Submitted: Tiki Paradise

By TheonlyJohnny Resident

Tiki paradise was the very first sim that I ever really enjoyed. It also was one of the very first I went to. While there have been some rough times between me and the staff, I know that they are still great people, and even greater friends. The staff at Tiki Paradise are the best you can ever hope to find. If you're looking for a place to go where the staff treat you as if you're part of their family, then this is the place to be.

While it's a relatively small club, Tiki is still amazingly placed, on a beach. The decorations and the design of the entire club will really make you feel welcome there. Despite it being of simple design, upon first glance, don't count this club out. The detail put into everything here, makes this place a worthwhile place to be.

Of course, I can't forget to mention the owners of this amazing place, Ahoffman Philly and Apolo. These two are unlike a lot of sim owners I have come across. A good number of other sim owners will either not go to their sims, or will stay a very short amount of time. These two, however, are at this sim for most of the time they're online. They show great devotion to this sim, and should be praised for doing so much for it.

The music, despite the name being TIKI Paradise, is of all kinds. Each DJ at the club will play amazing music of their favorite genre, and the favorite genres of the visitors. It's fun to be at the club when the next dj takes over the stream, since the music they will play is a mystery. I have been at a lot of clubs, and most of them have DJs that will tell you their schedule of songs. While here, you can come and listen to music, and not know what's next. Not to mention, all the Dj's leave room in their schedules to take requests, and will make sure they play all the requests that are given to them.

I have visited Tiki enough times to get to know the reality of the club, and I can happily say, that I give this club the following,

Originality: 5 of 5
Design and Look: 5 of 5
Music: 5 of 5
Staff: 4 of 5
Owner involvement: 5 of 5

In total 24 of 25

TheonlyJohnny