Two "Shop and Hop" Gifts

 
by Bixyl Shuftan

The SL19B "Shop and Hop" has a LOT of stores this year (full list here). And many offer free gifts to entice people to buy up more of their goods as long as they're at the shop. But if you're like many, you'd rather just grab a few gifts that are enjoyable instead of searching the whole place. Obviously what people like varies. But there were a couple gifts that got my attention.

A friend invited me to the "Quills and Curiosities" store to get the gifts there. One was a set of animated daggers. The other was something cuter: the "Birthday Evaki," a pet pink bat. Just go to the sign in the back of the store, and click on the picture on the right. Just go in your inventory and "add" the item. It will appear on your screen. Just click on it and you'll get a folder with the pet, ready to use.

The Birthday Evaki is a pet pink bat made to look a bit like a birthday cake, "complete with a candle, frosting swirl, and sprinkle markings," along with what looks like frosting covering the tips of it's ears. It normally flies next to it's owner. But it comes with a HUD with six animations. You can have the bat fly in a circle, chirp, do a loop, fly in a spiral pattern, stick out it's tongue ("Blep"), or fly in a dance pattern.

A cute pet that will likely come in handy for someone's birthday party, not just the Second Life Anniversary.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/92/89/53

So what else was around? Checking some car places, at [sau]motorcycles in the Gilded sim, they had a free hoverboard. This time it was on a sign in the front of the store, over a couple guards. Clicking on the sign will get you a box. You can't just add and click on it, but fortunately next to the hoverboard sign, another sign will take you to the store "demo zone/test ride" area. Or rather, it will take you to a spot on the sim several hundred meters under the area that you'll need to look around for the doorway to the place. Once there, you can rezz the box, open it, and get the board.

The board is somewhat small, hovering just inches off the ground. It's dark-colored, but has "SL19B" brightly painted on. To ride the board, just click and get on it. The board's speed is adjustable, there's a "turbo" option, and there's a "flight" one. So you can have fun zipping around on your own, or perhaps race with some friends.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/163/156/52

On a final note, the people who made "The Mouse" last year are back, this time they have a racecar as a gift. A nearby store had a train as a gift. Both places are also at the Gilded sim not too far from where I got the hoverboard.

The "Shop and Hop" ends Sunday Night, so get "hopping" if you want these gifts.

Happy gift-grabbing.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

"The Mouse," The SL18B Gift Car

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

There's a number of freebies being offered at the SL18B, between the gift shop at the SLB sims and the free items at the Shop and Hop. One item I've heard in SL group chatter a few times is a little yellow car that's been described as cute, "The Mouse." In a Flicker page shown to me, there was a picture, a description, and a SURL.

777 Motors' Gift for Second Life's 18th Birthday!
🐭 MOUSE Car - Fully scripted and super cute! ❤
You can get them here for completely free:

The vehicle is available at the "Shop and Hop" area in the Poppy sim at (152/30/53). Heading there, the 777 Motors shop,  there's an example of the car, and a picture. This little two-door car would be considered a "subcompact" in real-life, and would be a poor fit for taller and larger avatars. Besides it's size, it has a couple round ears on top, and a tail on the back bumper, making it look even more mouselike.

Clicking on the picture gets you the car in your inventory, listed as "[777] Mouse-lite [SL18B Gift]". It comes already unboxed and can be rezzed on your land or places that will allow it, such as rezz zones on Bellisseria. The two doors are openable, as is the trunk. It has a detailed dashboard, with steering wheel, gas and break pedals, a speedometer, a radio (nonfuctional), etc. To ride it, right-click on it and select "ride." Clicking on the back will bring up options, such as shifting the gear up or down, honking the horn, pulling the parking break, and others.

Taking it for a drive in my home area, the main road of the Sunweaver community, I didn't find it too difficult in first gear, though I had to slow down when making 90 turns. I then decided to give it another test: the streets of Bellisseria. I found a car rezz area at Red Hook (112/178/32), and took it for a spin. It handled fairly well, though on the arch bridges that rose up in the air some, I had to put the car into third gear to make the climb. It handled the sim crossings mostly well. I probably could have gone to the northeast end of Bellisserisa if I had enough time (and my lag wasn't getting worse the longer I was online, car or no car).

I recommend getting the Mouse. It handles well, a smaller avatar won't look undersized behind the wheel, it has a certain charm, and of course one can't argue with the price: completely free. It is unknown if the car will still be available, free or otherwise, after the Shop and Hop ends on July 1.

Hat tip: Prudence (PrudenceAnton Resident)

Bixyl Shuftan