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

Arcadia Asylum

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

In the article, "Saving Prims," we said, "... Arcadia Asylum, on the Mieville Pond sim.  Be prepared for an adventure there". A conscious effort was made, to keep that sim from taking over the article, because it was worthy of an article of it's own. Returning there, to take notes and pictures, we realized just how understated the line was. It's more than just "an adventure". This sim is a must see, Great Adventure and should be on everybody's to-do list. Aside from the 1,328 free items, there are several fun adventures, to be discovered there.

The landing point, for the sim, is a courtyard, in front of the Cog & Grog Freebie Center. On the other side of the courtyard, we find a teleporter that goes to the various areas on the sim. The areas include; Tropics, Steam Fair, Graveyard, Hobo Town, The Deeps, Space and The Library. Most of the areas can also be reached by walking, flying or just jumping into the water.

The Deep covers as much area as the surface sim and can be reached in three ways. Within the Cog & Grog, there is a stairway that leads under water. On the dock, next to the Chinese Junk, there is an entrance to Cap'n Nemo's Underwater Observatory, which uses tubes to connect to chambers beneath the surface. You can also just jump off any of the docks, to reach the sea floor. In the deep, you will find underwater habitats, plants, sea creatures. You can even get your own whale or even a kracken. One of the most interesting nautical items, the whirlpool, proved to be be a fun ride. I got one to take home, but, unless I terraform, won't get put out from my inventory any time soon. It has a lot of prims, but can be reduced by removing some of the items that circle the top.

 Taking the teleport to the Space area, we find spacesuits, spaceships, planets and asteroids. The most interesting "space" item is found at the courtyard of the sim landing. There, we find a giant cannon, which shoots a bullet shaped capsule to the moon. I had actually been back to this sim several times, before deciding to click on it and see what it does. Next thing you know, the camera switches to an exterior view of the projectile, with your av inside and stars zipping past. We end up on a lunar surface, staring at our crashed ship, with the earth in the distant background. Fortunately, there is a teleport, near by, to take us back down, but, as long as I'm on the moon, I look around for any other interesting things to explore. Sure enough, among the lifeless rocks there is one that has some color to it and there's a large hole at the base, with a churning mist within. Looking in, it seems to go down to a cavern with large gems on the walls. Naturally, Miss been there, done that, had to go into the cavern. All I will say is that, yes, there is an adventure and I went several times, to learn the way out of the conflict with the lunar inhabitants.

Now, safely back home, on my keyboard, I find myself wondering what other hidden adventures are yet to be had at Arcadia Asylum. You can be sure that this writer will return there many times, in the future. 

 

Hope we see you there,

 

"Sha"

 

From "Sha's SL Stories"

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

The Waterfalls Club

By Wesley Regenbogen

The Waterfalls Club was opened about a month ago by cяıƨтıαпσ (djcristianoo) and his Second Life girlfriend Fiuona (spiritofluv). Both of them also decorated the club.

What makes this club unique is the waterfalls that you can find at the four ends of the club. Like many clubs, the interior is nicely decorated and modern. The DJ booth is located a bit in the back of the club, aside the two large logos with the waterfalls pillars below them. The falls are quite cool and nicely made. This makes this club unique of it’s kind. Behind the club there are waterfalls as well. To truly view the waterfalls,  you must actually fly around the club and see it for yourself. It’s amazing how they made it!

 Facing the DJ booth, there’s a bar in the club at your right. It’s a wave form thing and it’s cool. There are two rotating platforms made for dancers to dance on, located in the air. Let’s hope those dancers don’t have fear of heights!

The Waterfalls Club is a friendly club with a good atmosphere. They have awesome music and the best DJs. They play all kinds of trance music and also electro house in the club. What’s more, this club is only the beginning of a bigger project that they will launch soon.They will build shops and a business network and everything around it. This is an ongoing project that just started a month ago. Let’s hope this big project will succeed ! I wish them the best of luck with it !

Since this club is relatively new in Second Life, their ways of getting the word out are limited, such as events groups. They do have a group called “Waterfalls Club V.I.P.” When there is a party there and you're in the group, you will get notified. Because this is a new club, there are no major events planned yet.

Personally, this is the most unique club I encountered so far. Another club to add to my club list ( I don’t have a list, though ). The nice scenery in the background and the waterfall pillars are quite unique. Let us hope that this club expands it’s boundaries and will have bright future ahead of them. For being a new club, they have done a nice job creating it all.

You can find this club at the following location :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Waterfall%20Club/75/112/37 

Wesley Regenbogen

The Sea of Aley

What an amazing build I have been visiting in LEA. That is The Linden Endowment of the Arts and is an official Linden Community Partnership program whose purpose is to help new artists, cultivate art in SL, and foster creativity, innovation, and collaboration within the art community. I took that from the wiki.

This is not the first LEA exhibits I have visited but it is certainly one of the most enjoyable. Aley has put all her wonderful underwater foliage, ancient ruin buildings, sunken ships and boats, a volcano, and more down there for you to explore. She has also placed ancient treasure chests that you can plunder for many of her wonderful creations. You will also find Nemo-themed vehicles through out the display.

I am not big on hunts because I get discouraged too quickly, but this one is such fun. You walk among the ruins, the lovely sea plants, and search for the treasure chests. Every time I go there I find something new. There are mermaids, divers, amazing fish and other sea life. I was lucky enough to run into a flying fish, and that fish turned out to be the artist creator of this amazing exhibit.

Aley told me about herself. This is not her first life in Second Life. She has had about five avatars and has left SL several times, but is always drawn back. You may recall Arcadia Asylum, well, that is Aley. Arcadia was her first account and at that time she worked in hobo and grunge. I first saw that work near in the Hobo Railway Infohub, a railway stop in Caletta. I had been there before I realized it was her work. You can still find her early and present works all free at the Library and Museum at http://slurl.com/secondlife/cheonma/191/152/74 .

That is one more thing I learned. Everything Aley makes is free and transferable and she considers it open source. She loves to see others use her creations and even improve on them if that is possible. ”I love the most when people make better stuff from all the junk,” she said. Aley was great fun to talk to. She took me to see the new mer house that she has put in the sea recently. It is cute an delightful.

Regarding her works, she says, “everything in SL is very transitory, but the web saves it all. This account I started a sort of clockwork punk theme then totally sidetracked into aquatics.” She would love to see her aquatic work all over the Second Life seas. It is too bad it cannot be placed in the Blake seas to be admired by all, she told me, “Well I have been trapped in SL for some 7 years now so my only goal is just to litter the grid with my prims. I tried to escape SL 3 times.“

I love it! You really need to visit the spectacular Sea of Aley. When you arrive you will be on land. just jump in and have a great time. She is sharing the sim with her friend Mcarp. I will tell you about that part next (before you jump, in there is one treasure chest on land in the lighthouse). http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA11/112/106/21

Gemma Cleanslate