Scuba Diving in Second Life

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

Scuba diving is something many of us think about doing, but not many of us actually do. There's finding the time to get the gear, the training, and driving to locations. The training itself is done for a reason: being deep underwater puts you in deep doo-doo if something goes wrong with your air supply. And there's the expense of getting all that equipment.

Fortunately, there's a place in Second Life where you can go through a virtual scuba-diving experience: The Dive Shop.

Home to professional scuba diving in SL.

Realistic underwater simulation wrapped in beautiful nature,shorelines and stunning underwater scenes.
Relax,fun and romance on the beach & free snorkeling gear to explore nearly 50M depths. PADI EANx RL training.

 

Heading over to the Ukupanipo sim, there was a board with various locations on the sim one can teleport to, such as the Harbor and Diver's Shack. There was also a kiosk for scuba gear with the word "Rent" on it. To get it, right-click and pay the rental fee. You then get a folder with the parts of the diving outfit. The instructions say to stay next to the terminal, and add the parts starting with the SubOceana Timer, then you can just right click on the folder and "add to outfit" (or just put on one piece at a time). Some avatars such as furries, the mask may require a little adjusting. And there's no smaller set of scuba gear for tinies, at least not yet. Once the suit is all on, you're now ready to dive, which you do by walking into the water. The instructions did say you're limited to the sim in which you pay for the rental time, and if you end up removing the gear, you'll loose your time. 

The HUD to your lower left marked "A" will help you rise and fall. To rise, press the round button. To dive some, press the rectangular button. On the upper left is the counter for how much time you have. You start with two hours, which should be enough to explore the place.

Going underneath was quite a sight that very seldom have I seen anything like in Second Life. The underwater scene in itself is worth a trip even without the scuba gear. With it, it's an experience unique in the virtual world.  There was a reef with colorful coral and water plants. And then there were the shipwrecks. Of the ships, the SS Thistlegorm was the most interesting as it was sunk in World War 2 and was discovered by noted oceanographer and co-inventor of the scuba tank Jacques Cousteau.

There were numerous other locations. There were underwater ruins. There was an underwater base. There were sea creatures, including dolphins and sharks. In the middle of the sim were some underwater caverns and tunnels one can explore. In real-life, one shouldn't explore underwater caves alone, though you can here.

I should note that in 2008, there was another scuba sim in Second Life, PADI, named after the real-life divers group. The group says they're also approved by PADI. I found that not only does this area match the quality of my experience by then, but exceeds it.

A great underwater experience.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ukupanipo/133/102/63

Correction and Addition:  I had thought the place was named "The Blake Sea Scuba Center." Since then, I was contacted by it's co-owner, who gave me the correct name. She would also tell me, "the old PADI region was created and owned by Cilian Mccullough," who is also a co-owner of the Dive Shop.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

Three More SL17B Exhibits

By Bixyl Shuftan

The events may have been over for a week, but the exhibits are still up. And there are a lot of them. One that got my attention was the "Epic Surf Center" at SL17B Stunning (217/33/23).

Epic Surf Center promotes all information related to surfing in Second Life; from surfing regions, surfboards, and swimsuits/wet-suits. There is a wealth of information on surfing, instruction on surfboards, and up-to-date surf-related events in Second Life.

Unlike some exhibits, this one is interactive. The area has a huge pool in the middle, simulating a wave. To surf around, just touch the rezzable surfboard, and one will rezz. Get on it, and ride around for a while. You can also read information about the main location of the center inworld.

Another exhibit that got my attention was from the "Instituto Espanol SL" group's Aztec pyramid build. On the inside, one gets a lesson about Aztech mythology and it's beliefs on life after death.

Mictlan was the Aztec Underworld, ruled by it's Lord and Lady. It was a gloomy place reached by the dead only after wandering for four years beneath the earth, accompanied by a "soul companion", a dog which was customarily cremated with the corpse. 

The journey from the first level to the ninth was difficult, and took four years. But the dead were aided by the psychopomp Xolatol. The dead had to pass many challenges, such as crossing a mountain range where the mountains crashed into each other, a field of wind that blew flesh-scraping knives, and a river of flood with fearsome jaguars.

Getting through one level of this underworld required going through one jungle in which the chests of the souls were typically slashed open by wild animals, and the hearts torn out and eaten by a jaguar. Talk about "eat your heart out."

You can get to the pyramid at SL17B Captivate (101/88/23). There's also a video one can watch (link).

There was another water-themed exhibit that I thought was noteworthy, "Underwater Wonders" at SL17B Astonish (56/225/21)

As the waves gently rise and fall giving the air of calm, what could possibly like beneath? First, take a moment to learn about a few creatures from the sea and then stroll on down to the climate-controlled observation pod. Be sure to grab your free gift while there. Please watch your step on the way out! Actually, take a deep breath! Brought to you by creators Cynimon Catnap & Diamonique Viper on behalf of Vipera!

As mentioned, at one spot are displays to read up about some of the numerous living things in the ocean. There's also a pipe you can go down and port into a couple picturesque undersea area. One has a dance animation for mermaid avatars. Another has a free gift, a face and snorkel, that depending on your avatar may require some tweaking.

By all means, don't just stop at these exhibits. There are many more fun ones to explore. You have until Sunday July 12 to do so before they fade away into memory.

Bixyl Shuftan

Avatar Review: The Anthroxtacy Shark

By Bixyl Shuftan

Longtime fans of furred avatars in Second Life will probably remember Anthroxtacy, often called "AX" for short. This maker of avatars produced a line that was quite popular, as well as having a popular club next to their main store at their sim Elliquiy. But in October 2013, they shut down, their maker Tinintri Mistral getting out of the avatar business and eventually leaving the virtual world. Despite being gone from Second Life for over a year, the avatar line remains well known.

For those still interested in getting one of the Anthroxtacy avatars, some are still available on sale on SL Marketplace. But that is not all. As Grease wrote in his review of the AX Fox, many of the avatars are still available in a spot at the Northstar Polaris sim (40, 188, 3001). There are a number of avatar vendors in the room, but to my surprise when I looked under the vendor of the Feral Phoenix (the orange one to the left in this picture of Grease's), there was a surprise. There were two boxes of Anthroxtacy avatars, available for free!

The one on the right contained some older AX avatars, but the one on the left contained several, in "fatpacks" with several of the same kind of avatar in different colors. Some already have reviews about them done on "Second Life Avatar Review Files," such as the Anthroxtacy Mouse. Of those that haven't, one that stands out is the Anthroxtacy Shark. For those whom want to be a part of Second Life's aquatic community, or frequently visit friends there, and wearing a mermaid avatar doesn't seen quite right for you, the Anthroxtacy Shark just might be.

Unlike the other AX avatars, their shark av can either go about on land like the others, or swim about in and under the water.  The "mershark" swims about like a mermaid through use of an AO that keeps the legs together and a tail attachment that makes the legs look like a tail. It's not quite as flexible as some mermaid tails, and it may look a little odd if doing certain mermaid dances.

To go to "landwalker," one detatches the AO and mertail, and attaches the smaller tail, or the "butt" as it's less than elegantly called. It can then go about like any other avatar.

The HUD that comes with the avatar is simple to use. One can turn the AO on or off, the talking animation on or off. One can also keep the mouth open by varying degrees, stick out the tongue or not, make the eyes partially or completely shut, and change the eye color. To minimize, just press the blue triangle on it's edge, and only the triangle will remain on the viewer's edge. Press it again to bring the HUD back.

Of the avatar's finer features, the shark's skin has a marbled tone to it rather than a solid pattern. The throat sports some gill slits, static ones as these are strictly textures. The shape of the head certainly looks sharklike, with the contour of it's nose. Besides on the back and tail, there are also fins on the legs and arms.

The avatar comes in both genders male and female. Some guys might be more inclined to go shark rather than go mermaid's tail when wanting to fit in with a crowd of aquatics. But for some reason, most shark's I've seen out on the Grid are females. Perhaps some ladies are using the avatar to discourage lechers.

All in all, I was fairly pleased with the Anthroxtacy Shark. While having some small flaws such as not being able to use some mermaid dances, it's still a good choice even if one still had to pay the old price. That now one can get it for free, that just makes it all the more better. The downside, is that there's no guarantee of updates. So as Second Life continues to develop, the avatar *might* develop problems should the old scripts fail to work. But for now, the AX Shark is an avatar one can sink their teeth into. Nothing fishy about it ... well, not the bad kind of fishy.

Bixyl Shuftan