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[livinginworldz]

Virtual Life in Enchanted Grid

Virtual Life in Enchanted Grid

I have to apologize for taking so long to write about this. Life has been chaotic and weird and in the past few days everyone in the household seems to be getting sick – currently I am beginning to feel unwell so I thought I best get this posted before I get as run over as the others in the household. (fingers crossed that I am being unduly overdramatic 😀 ) It’s been a few months now since I…

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I joined 3rd Rock Grid a few years ago, but I don’t think I ever actually logged in until this year. 3rd Rock Grid is one of the oldest OpenSim grids, right up there with OSGrid and I believe Franco Grid. 3rd Rock just celebrated their 11th Birthday this August! My friend Han Held told me they had some land there and I was interested in checking it out. Logging in brought me to the Welcome Region which looked quite different from the region I had visited before as a hypergrid traveller.

Since I had never logged in before I was a red cloud – and so headed down the path toward the Welcome building. I was really impressed – sharing pictures today as I forgot to take them a few months ago when I first logged in – everything I needed to de-noob was in one place.

This is SO important. Whether a person is from SL , or never been to a virtual world before – figuring out how to create an avatar in opensim can be a real pain – many of the avatars horribly outdated (looking at you Kitely 😉 ) , or nowhere to be found, or no instructions as to how to actually wear the items.

3rd Rock Grid starts you off with a little path – go to the left to immediately chose an avatar to wear – along with instructions a to HOW, or go to the right to learn how to walk, sit, open inventory etc. If you choose the Right path, it will take you through the tutorial and then back to the avatar area.

Impressed VERY to see this copyright statement !

Some really great avatars to choose from. Even male avatars ! And those are always hard to get a decent start with.

The avatar selection is great. There are the standard avatars as shown above and then a bit further down are a few different types and the Ruth available as well.

I was at a Kitely community meeting this weekend and most of the conversation was about some new projects being worked on not really related to opensim, and I made a comment about how the avatars are very outdated. This isnt a huge deal perhaps for Kitely since they focus on organizations and groups – and for those the people log in to be part of that specific group or whatnot and it doesnt matter much what they look like. But for people coming from a gaming environment or SL — not being able to look half way decent really is a downfall. And then even worse is that there are far too many sketchy grids and regions in opensim that offer all sorts of stolen content. Many new residents dont realize that the ‘wow that sure looks like a Catwa head’ head , and the ‘oooh its just like Freya’ body are in fact copybotted versions of just that.

3rd Rock Grid takes this seriously by offering some great options right off the bat for newcomers so that they don’t need to find themselves in those questionable grids rummaging through distributed stolen content. And not only are there great starter avatars complete with outfits but come round the corner and you will find AO’s (animation overriders) , eyes, skins and a great assortment of clothing for both women AND men. There are also accessories, hair etc.

I think it’s fair to say that the retainment of a new user is heavily dependent on how quickly they can become immersed in their environment and enjoy it. If a new user can log in and quickly figure out how to look half decent – it adds to the fun.

If you are wanting to host a Role Play community, or a club or anything else where people feel inclined to customize their avatar then having a good assortment of starter avatars along with an ‘all in one’ first stop show is important.

After the initial dress up is over, then it becomes important to find places to visit. Now sadly a few places that I know exist in 3rd Rock Grid didn’t show up in the Classifieds (some favourite shops of mine) so if you are a merchant there  be SURE to post classifieds. Purple Owl Designs has some amazing medieval clothing, and I have the landmark from a Welcome Folder I received – but for existing residents, or those who may have misplaced their starter folder classifieds are important.

BUT — that being said, there ARE many places that show up on search, but also a vast array of really amazing community run regions. I absolutely love it when a grid has places that are always up and maintained for the exploring pleasure of residents and guests alike. I found this board at the Navigation hub:

And along with those spots there are super fun places like the Bachman Zoo & Aquarium, the Lazy River Amusement Park,

Egyptian region, a walk about and more. There are also some fantastic user regions like New England Estates by Martin Bacardi – I still have a little  rental there, it was my first home in 3rd Rock Grid.

There are regular events, and it is open to the Hypergrid so you can travel about, invite friends over,  and order items from Kitely Market if you can’t find what you need from the Geode (3rd Rock Grid currency) Mall or the Gloebit Mall. Of course, being open to the hypergrid you’re free to shop at any of the awesome Gloebit enabled regions/grids in opensim.

I would definitely suggest 3rd Rock Grid as a fantastic hypergrid home for anyone. There are a great number of fun regions to visit, the prices are good, the community is friendly, the goal is “focusing on education, culture, arts, entertainment and charity” as stated on their web page. Although stolen content can be found anywhere, the grid does make it know that they respect the rights of content creators.

This is where I decided to keep Ravens Reef. It feels like a good fit.

There are community meetings in 3rd Rock Grid every other Saturday, so come on by and visit 🙂

    3rd Rock Grid – A good new user experience I joined 3rd Rock Grid a few years ago, but I don't think I ever actually logged in until this year.

[livinginworldz]

Cheap Land and OpenSim Communities or Feeling Homesick

Cheap Land and OpenSim Communities or Feeling Homesick

It’s pretty great in OpenSim, you can get a lot of land for a cheap price. Almost anyone can afford to put out less than ten dollars a month for a region to call their own.  Many of us started in Second Life, and came to OpenSim to make our virtual dreams come true.

We could create our own space, the sort of space perhaps we always wanted to make in the Big Grid but couldn’t afford. It’s…

[livinginworldz]

So, that happened. InWorldz closed. There never really was a new incarnation. Beth/Elenia started a new grid, but it had barely opened it’s doors when she cited poverty as a reason for closing again. Not quite sure exactly how much was raised by the fundraising, nor where that money went  but Islandz – as the new grid was called – shut down quickly. It was far too sad and stupid to even waste breath saying ‘I told you so’ to all those who kept their faith in her.

Anyhow, that’s all old news now and there are people round and about that are more than happy to share what their opinions regarding what happened — huge kudos to the very awesome Jim Tarber for working tirelessly to do his best for the IW residents. He is still getting out the last OARs for people and put up a discord channel where he has been able to keep people updated on all that’s been going on.

So InWorldz dispersed here and there.

I have 3 equal time presences on 3 grids and frequently visit a fourth.

Second Life – is still fun – though these higher membership fees are really dinging the small person while giving a break to large landowners. I guess Linden Labs needed to up their cash flow or something. Not going to bother showing pics of my time there because we all know what it looks like. Meshy bouncy beautiful bodies and thousands of regions to explore…. so we’ll move on to…

 DigiWorldz I’m still in there with a re-creation of BirchGlen

  I don’t have any residents actually renting any land yet – one thing about cheap regions is that it’s hard to entice people to rent a parcel elsewhere unless there is a good bustling community. But it’s still nice to make the space. My region is open to the hypergrid and  uses gloebits so anyone can rent a space, regardless of the grid they are in. So if you’re looking for a nice home in a region with a pub, parks, immersive spaces and navigatable waters and sky for boating and flying – come visit Birchglen.

Taggrid – new for me! I really like this grid, it has such a nice community feel with some very talented artists . There’s even the old Jackson Square OAR from IW if you’re looking to reminisce a bit. It reminds me of InWorldz, because of the closed world/tight knit community and I have a lot of friends there from IW. Being closed is something I discovered I actually like because I’ve not come across botted items like in hypergrid enabled grids . There are more and more creators coming in all the time – so if you’re looking to find a nice, secure, friendly and very affordable place in the metaverse, I highly recommend it. Also if you are a creator, there are many residents here that would LOVE to have you and there’s a great market available also.

My Mainland Parcel

Boating on Oceania

Ariel View of Raven’s Reef

From the Raven’s Reef Landing

Little Rainy – yes there’s room for kids and family here!

Just me, wearing LoveBirds mesh body and clothing by *Phaze*

  I still enjoy visiting Kitely too, many creative people doing lots of fantastic things – Coopersville is an amazing Edwardian era region, done by Koshari Mahana of Four Winds fame. I strongly suggest visiting it. Another long time favourite of mine is Intersections by Dot Matrix.

Cool spot that i can’t remember the name of in Kitely

Another cool educational Kitely space

Beltaine Circle at The Sidhevairs

Intersections

Intersections

Intersections

Coopersville

Coopersville

Coopersville

Hanging out with Chav in Chavtopia in Kitely

  So really, there are so many places to explore and enjoy – these are just a bit of sharings to show what i’ve been up to. I plan on spending a bit more time detailing my fav places more in the future.

Peace!

Almost a Year So, that happened. InWorldz closed. There never really was a new incarnation. Beth/Elenia started a new grid, but it had barely opened it's doors when she cited poverty as a reason for closing again.

[livinginworldz]

Farewell

So it’s gone. It won’t be back – not the name anyhow -it will simply fade away.  InWorldz as we knew it is gone. There might be a new grid created – and it might have our profile data and all that. But it won’t be InWorldz, and it will be a very barren start over. And I don’t know that I could bring myself to be there.

The sudden news of the shut down was a shock. Five days notice? For a grid…

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Some Changes

If you are following us, please update the site address to http://livinginworlds.wordpress.com We are letting our domain name go soon and will no longer be focused on InWorldz, but will  write about whatever worlds we feel inspired to write about as we travel around. Whether it be Second Life or opensim grids , some shared pictures, thoughts or events – we want to broaden our scope of sharing to…

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Incorrect information, or simple smear campaign?

On January  third a story was written by Maria at Hypergrid Business. I emphasize that it was a story because it was mainly fiction. It would seem as though she had a lull in interesting things to write about so, she went to her fav ‘go to’ – InWorldz. There was so much wrong with that article that I couldn’t just ignore it, nor do I have the patience to respond on a point by point to everything…

[livinginworldz]

Moonrise Azalee: Well, to start off with, Miss Munk and Ecko Riven, it’s a pleasure to sit here with the both of you and thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me! Ecko Riven: Thanks for interviewing us. Moonrise Azalee grins absolutely! Now, first things first.. I’d like to ask both of you, how long you have each been in InWorldz for Miss Munk: 4 lovely years Ecko Riven: almost 4 and a half years for me Moonrise Azalee: And if I may ask, how did you hear about InWorldz, or what made you decide to check it out? Ecko Riven: I heard about it through word of mouth, someone mentioned it when I was exploring SL. I had a bad experience in SL and took a break for a while then when I decided to come back I wanted to try someplace different and I remembered what that person had said. Miss Munk: i personally was trying to learn how to build in SL and found it too expensive, and i still do. So i came here to give it a shot and kinda explored all building options. I knew nothing about building – and still dont 8)                                                      Moonrise Azalee: hah ! Ecko Riven: I came here to build too and free uploads was an added benefit. Miss Munk: Ecko and I have kinda learned together Moonrise Azalee: What did you each think of InWorldz when you got here? Miss Munk: hard to find things, but people were politer. Ecko Riven: I thought it was great – I remember I was working on building a house and I got help from a mentor – Waco Baxton – and he and Missy helped me out a lot. Moonrise Azalee: And what are you doing with your time here now? I know Fusion is a big thing, and everyone is talking about it ~ and I will ask about that shortly also, but outside of that, what are you keeping busy with? Miss Munk, may we start with you? Miss Munk: well, you know I DJ on the side. I am partners with Ecko in Simple-Reflections which is a combination of our 2 first stores. I usually do structures and simple things. while Ecko makes more intricate items and helps me make mine pretty. We support each other fully in our creations and plan and test most builds together. basically I prefer to stay in the background of our business.

Miss Munk ~ DJ, and Creator in InWorldz

Moonrise Azalee: Is there something you enjoy working on specifically? Any favourite things that you like to work on? Miss Munk: Ecko is much smarter than me anyway so she doesnt mess up as much as Ido Ecko Riven: oh boy Miss Munk: I do like to make buildings. My favorite is our WeShed, and our Gazebos. But I did just make the DJ set which I also enjoy doing. Ecko Riven: Missy is just humble – I tend toward smaller builds and she does larger ones usually. Moonrise Azalee: I do actually LOVE the DJ set, all of them really! They are very well done! Miss Munk: I would like to redo them all. we decided about a year ago that we would only do original mesh from then on out. A year? time flies! Ecko Riven: Well we don’t always do original mesh sometimes we do combine full perm stuff with our original mesh but the bulk of what we do is original now. Miss Munk: We started really learning blender and pushing ourselves with mapping etc. Ecko Riven: Yes that was about a year and a half maybe more now Miss Munk: see , smarter Ecko Riven: And I have two businesses, Simple Reflections with Missy and Ecko’s Reflections which is a full perm store. Ecko Riven: I spend a lot of time on those usually. That’s the bulk of what I do here normally. Moonrise Azalee: Then that sort of sums up what I was going to ask you Ecko – namely, what is it you enjoy doing here. Now that you’ve been here for a while however, how do you find InWorldz to be? Has it changed? Ecko Riven: I think it is at essence very similar to what it was four years ago – a lot of great, friendly people helping one another. Doing this event I’ve gotten to know more people and I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed establishing those relationshps recently.

Moonrise Azalee: I would have to agree, and that brings me to a big focus of my chat here with you both, is the work you are doing to create the creator’s expo coming up. Fusion. What was the spark that fueled that fire? Miss Munk: in Second Life they have expos where people can show what they do in one spot. Problem is it’s too expensive and I don’t really like them because they show a bit of favoritism . So I think we agreed to do something similar but not bias or show favoritism. ANYone could show as long as they created it. We also wanted it to be free so people who don’t have money to throw away could participate equally. It wasn’t about making money for us but to get a group together and easily show some things that INWORLDZ has to offer. We did it on our sim. worried that people would think it was just to get traffic. But the real reason was so that we could offer a higher prim allotment for each guest. Really though we are trying to be completely selfless. and have really considered all our options on the Expo area. Have you seen it ? Moonrise Azalee: I haven’t no. I’m going to pop round right before opening and view it when it is closer to completion (pictures will  follow of that, as I DID get to sneak in to see it before it opened) Ecko Riven: Yes I was thinking we should wait until shops have had a chance to set up. Miss Munk: but you will notice that all shops can be seen from the landing point.. for example. No favoritism.

Ecko Riven, Creator in InWorldz and co-creator of Fusion along with Miss Munk

Moonrise Azalee: I think that sounds really amazing and is a fantastic way to approach this. Ecko Riven: We wanted to give everyone more prims so it’s not quite as compact as some SL shopping events like the recent uber for example Miss Munk: Oh,and Ecko added the EXCLUSIVES Ecko Riven: Well I wanted to give consumers a reason to come Miss Munk: I am already seeing places I did not know existed, so its already worked for me. Ecko Riven: We decided to request that every participating merchant have an exclusive never before seen in InWorldz so that it would be more attractive to shoppers. Moonrise Azalee: That is a great way to not only showcase what InWorldz has to offer, but is also a great way to encourage creators to do something collaborative, everyone working on an exclusive Fusion item. I really like that. Miss Munk: yes, what she said

Moonrise Azalee grins ~ Now this is a pretty huge thing you have decided to undertake. Is this something you would consider to do again? Annually perhaps or, more often even? Miss Munk: I think we are waiting to see the results to be honest Moonrise Azalee: That sounds like a sensible approach. Are there any other things you have planned for the future? Projects you’d like to work on? Miss Munk: well we are getting a new animation engine soon – Avsitter has become opensource – so i will be working on more furniture. I think we are going to focus on some indoor furniture Ecko Riven: Zara and Christine Nyn have been working on making it work for InWorldz the last few months. I have been helping them with testing it out. Miss Munk: I usually have a builders block around now. if you look on our building area near us I have few things to finish lol Moonrise Azalee cams out Ecko Riven: Our most recent furniture uses nPose which is also a very good no poseball system and I’ve gotten a lot of help from Howard Baxton, one of its developers. Moonrise Azalee: why yes, you do! Miss Munk: would be fun to make some new tree houses too, don’t know what I’ll do next. Above us are some skyboxes we did, have you seen those? Moonrise Azalee: Yes, and those are the ones I believe are available at your store ~ I admit I am a fan of the creations you have both worked on. Miss Munk: oh thanks Ecko Riven: That’s nice to hear Moonrise Azalee: I was very excited to hear that you were doing this Fusion event. I think that having people like yourselves and the many other residents involved in the continual creation of new things and really, anyone who is taking initiative to be an active member of the community is so very valuable. and so overlooked Ecko Riven: Yes what’s awesome about this event is you get to see a big sampling of many of the very active creators here. Miss Munk: Hopefully it is a great event, re-invigorating. Moonrise Azalee: I really have no doubt that it will be Ecko Riven: I have a lot of things on my list I want to buy at FUSION – some really neat products other creators have come up with. Moonrise Azalee grins ~ I can’t WAIT to go. And I know many others feel the same way! Miss Munk: Ecko is a peeker , I wont peek until its open Moonrise Azalee laughs Ecko Riven: Ha Miss Munk: Ecko is doing all the executive stuff though Ecko Riven: Yeah I have to see what the shops look like Miss Munk: but she still doesn”t have to peek Ecko Riven: I’m doing all the admin stuff Miss Munk: whatev Miss Munk: peeker Moonrise Azalee grins ~ but you know. peeking is like.. part of the job bonus? Miss Munk: it will be like Christmas for me Moonrise Azalee: awww, yes! Ecko Riven: What I have been very pleased with is many of the new relationships I’ve made as a result of helping to organize this event. Some really amazing creators, all great people, are participating. I’ve had nothing but positive interactions with everyone so far. Moonrise Azalee: Well, I tell you, i think this is a great opportunity for creators and non creators alike . I for one can’t wait! I am sure it will be a blast! And I do want to thank you both for meeting with me tonight! It has been a pleasure to get to know you both better. I am really looking forward to the event and looking forward to continued conversations about fantastic things! Miss Munk: thank you for your time Moonrise Azalee: ❤ your time spent on fusion is awesome Miss Munk: i took a lot of naps Ecko Riven: You’re welcome, I’m happy to talk with you – we really want it to be a success for all the creators who are participating in it and getting the word out can only help them.

And now….. some shots taken at my sneak preview of Fusion this morning! Click on each to view full size. I opted to NOT zoom in on individual merchant shops, as there are 42 creators, and it wouldn’t be possible to include each one here, nor would I want to exclude anyone as they are all fantastic. Fusion is located here: http://places.inworldz.com/Fisher%20Island/115/123/2609 and runs from today, October 6th at 11am til November 5th, so come on down!

  Fusion Arrival Point

Yours Truly ~ there are some benches about for sitting and relaxing in between purchases 😀

Arial view of Fusion

The whole area is done very nicely

Nice quality builds that beautifully display the creations of InWorldz residents

Ecko Riven , minutes before Fusion opens to the public.

  Fusion ~ Interview with Ecko Riven and Miss Munk Moonrise Azalee: Well, to start off with, Miss Munk and Ecko Riven, it's a pleasure to sit here with the both of you and thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me!

[livinginworldz]

Seeing it again for the first time

Seeing it again for the first time

Many people that know me, know that I have homes on other grids as well. Most predominantly Kitely and Second Life. There are different things about the various grids that make them appealing in a variety of ways to the individual. Second Life of course has an amazing array of content and it is possible to live out almost any desired lifestyle there. Land is expensive though and some people have…

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  So, today I have the pleasure of interviewing Contessa Lacombe. I have known OF her for quite some time, most prominently through her region Brigantia as well as through her Elemental Jewelry line, but had not ever really had a one on one chat with her. I was glad to finally have a chance to sit down and get to know Contessa a bit better. Amazing how I’ve been here for almost five years and still have so many people yet to meet!

Inside Halcyon Keep with Contessa Lacombe

Moonrise Azalee: Well, Contessa, I would like to thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me this evening!

Contessa Lacombe: I just feel honored!

Moonrise Azalee grins – It’s funny because I have known you for quite some time, but never really had a chance to sit and get to know you better, so I’m very glad to have the chance to do so now.

Contessa Lacombe: You know, we need to sit down and talk to more people, don’t we? There are lots of people I know, but I never really spend time with them. I need to change that!

Moonrise Azalee smiles – I agree! Which is one reason I really like doing these interviews. I love to find out more about the people who call InWorldz home. How long have you been in InWorldz for now?

Contessa Lacombe: I think that I first traveled here in about 2010, but I didn’t spend much time here at first. Then, a few years ago, maybe in about 2014 or 2015?, I decided to give it another go.

Moonrise Azalee: What made you decide to come visit again, and give it a second chance?

Contessa Lacombe smiles. I’m sure it’s a story you’ve heard before. I was in another big grid, it was just getting much too expensive, and so forth. I LOVE to build things, and I really wanted to have an entire sim again. Plus, I wanted to have more fun, not spend so much time working. I had been hearing good things about InWorldz, so I popped in, and I’ve been here since. I love it here.

Moonrise Azalee: That IS in fact a story that seems to be a bit of a common denominator for many. The stability of an established alternative grid as well as lower prices. And a bit more laid back than the ‘Big Grid’. Was there anything you found particularly challenging here?

Contessa Lacombe: Mostly the fact that there weren’t as many designers here to offer items like hair, skins and clothing. I kind of have an addiction to hair and shoes…it’s true. The search engine was a bit wonky at the time, so it was difficult to find things sometimes. But, you know what? You can do without a huge amount of hair and just have a few really good ones! And, you can learn how to make more things for yourself. It’s great fun! And, InWorldz has given me something more valuable than all of that! Community and friends.

Moonrise Azalee: I am a bit of a hair addict myself – and in fact found a new hair store I quite love – I’ll share the landmark of it. I think that is a challenge for many people who come from the big grid to here. Especially in the beginning, it was like being a pioneer! You mention community and friends, you have a lovely region here in Brigantia – do you want to talk a bit about it?

Contessa Lacombe: Oh yes, I do love my little home. Brigantia is medieval/fantasy in theme, and we like to do roleplay here, although it is very laid back. You might catch us in or out of character, especially when we dance! Brigantia is like a big layer cake. You can pop into the ground floor and think…where is that big castle I saw a photo of? Well, keep looking. There are portals and secret doors that lead to all sorts of places. Brigantia is very loosely based on Avalon, so it is a haven. We have a small group of permanent residents, as well as a close neighbor, Oldwyck. But we are joined to several sims via portals.

Moonrise Azalee: That’s wonderful – one thing that I always think of with Brigantia is your Fireside Chats. Can you share with our readers what that is about?

Firelight Circle http://places.inworldz.com/Brigantia/77/162/2120

Contessa Lacombe: The Fireside Chat is on Tuesdays at 4pm IWT. It is our version of the bardic circle. We began by always telling stories and such, but now we may do that or we may just chat OOC. It’s great fun. We have a group of regulars, but everyone is invited. Now, on Fridays, we have P.I.E. *grins*

Moonrise Azalee: Now.. what is P.I.E ? Because its nearly dinner… and im hungry.. and im thinking ‘warm apple’

Contessa Lacombe: Oh, now, that’s a very secretive society. *grins* Princesses In Exile.

Moonrise Azalee: So DEFINITELY nothing to do with desserts. Well then! *grins* I know another thing you are well known for is your Elemental Jewelry. So you definitely are a busy woman! Are there other things you are working on that we might not know about?

Contessa Lacombe: As a matter of fact, yes. My friend, Pak, and I are have been building like crazy. We are going to open a new shop, Guild. It will be a hodge podge of all sorts of things people might need or want. Buildings, furniture, household goods, just all sorts of things. We plan to offer them at very reasonable prices. Our goal is not to make a big profit, but to just help people get established and find what they might need.

Moonrise Azalee: That sounds really wonderful Contessa. Will they be medieval themed?

Contessa Lacombe: Not entirely, although that is our first love. I know that there are many very talented people with fantastic shops – and  yes, I still shop and purchase from other folks. I like to support fellow artisans.- but we are trying to have lots of different types of things

Moonrise Azalee: I think that’s a wonderful idea. Most certainly, with there being almost as many grids around as there are people who use them, it has caused a saturation which has resulted in more people in more grids – and that of course means some folks have left InWorldz to explore other grids , or even returned to the Big Grid. So I am always glad to be reminded that there are still so many projects going on. I love to see these new start ups, driven by the innovation of our really fantastic residents.

Contessa Lacombe: Yes. I want to promote IW as much as I can. I do visit the big grid occasionally. There are many wonderful things there to explore. But, there are also many wonderful things here, and I would like to see more exploration. There is a great opportunity coming up in July…the InWorldz Home & Garden Tour. This spot, The Halcyon Keep, will be part of the tour. I want to encourage people to participate, I know I will. It’s an opportunity to see places you never knew were here. I can’t wait! I am hoping that many people will continue to explore Brigantia after a small glance, and also our kindred sims of Oldwyck, Mysthaven, and Aerion.

Moonrise Azalee: I love wandering them myself, and have done so often. I still have a little home in Aerion as well 🙂 Speaking of places to discover – are there places on your region you would like to share in particular?

Contessa Lacombe: You need to see it all! *smiles* If you go to our Welcome Center, you can pick up a notecard with a self-guided tour. There is much to see, so you may need to make several visits. Also, there is a quest you can do! And prizes! The tour card will lead you all about the sim and through most of the portals. And if you don’t see what you are looking for, just give a yell. We love visitors. I especially love this spot we are in. But, there is a very warm, welcoming tavern on the ground floor, with the beginnings of the village. Then, the “forest”, with more village and cottage industries. There is a “dark tower realm” where a dark wizard is imprisoned……muahaha. Oh, an ice skating rink. And…there are ruins under the sea!

Moonrise Azalee: I do need to come visit more. You reminded me of so many of my favourite places here ❤ thank you SO much for letting me come visit today, I can’t wait to go explore and take some pictures to share with our readers.

Contessa Lacombe: Thank you so much for coming to visit. I do look forward to your blog posts and hope to see many more places mentioned that we can explore.

Moonrise Azalee: Absolutely. I love that even after so much time there is always more to share and discover!

Contessa Lacombe: It’s always going to be a work in progress.

Moonrise Azalee grins. Well feel free to hit me up if you ever want to share some more pics with me! in the meantime, I shall let you and the lovely Celeste (whom has arrived while we were wrapping up our chat) visit, while I go wander and take pictures! Take care!

Contessa Lacombe: I will! You may be sorry you said that! *grins*

(click on the thumbnails below to see full sized)

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The Lady’s Tower

The Lands

Ceridwen’s Cauldron Tavern

In the Mines

Underground tunnel to the Shrine

The Shrine

Elemental Jewelry and Welcome area

The Dark Tower Realm

The Crystal Cavern

Halcyon Keep

Meieval Market

Ice Skating in Brigantia

Faces of InWorldz – Contessa Lacombe So, today I have the pleasure of interviewing Contessa Lacombe. I have known OF her for quite some time, most prominently through her region Brigantia as well as through her Elemental Jewelry line, but had not ever really had a one on one chat with her.

[livinginworldz]

Wee Woodstock

I made it to the Wee Woodstock festival in InWorldz! I attended a couple of live shows on the opening day and meant to come back for more but real life has a habit of getting in the way. What I did get to see and experience was absolutely awesome. One of the organisers, aminata Potez, said she had wanted to do something like that for a while. I’m glad she did and I hope there will be more events…

[livinginworldz]

If you haven’t already you should check out the festivities for InWorldz’ 8th birthday. That means daily live events, exhibitions, and a whole lot of fun. To get started on your IW8 tour, go here http://places.inworldz.com/InWorldz%20Events%20Scenic%2021/130/129/21 to find out about current events and places of interest. If you’re a bit of a hippie you’re in for a real treat: from April 6 through…

[livinginworldz]

Settling in, in InWorldz

Settling in, in InWorldz

Yes, it’s been a number of years since I ‘settled in’ here. However there are still new people coming in every day and I wanted to give a ‘how to’ of some inexpensive and simple ways of de-noobing oneself and quickly getting settled into your new virtual world. Admittedly it has been some time since I’ve done a huge shopping spree here, because I have so many things that I’ve acquired over the…

[livinginworldz]

Faces of InWorldz - Astoria Luminos

Faces of InWorldz – Astoria Luminos

Today I met with the lovely Astoria Luminos. I wanted to interview her because I knew she did lots of different things in InWorldz . We’ve been friends for a few years so I knew she did dj’ing, but wasn’t quite sure what else she did. :) I figured that doing an interview with her would not only be of interest to those wanting to know more about InWorldz and it’s residents but would be of interest…

[livinginworldz]

When Your Virtual World Disappears

When Your Virtual World Disappears

Some years ago I joined a nifty virtual world called Kaneva. I spent a fair amount of time there, learned how to make some basic things, went to some parties, met some friends and had a pretty nice time. I had been in the Second Life grid for about a year or so at that point and I quite liked the simple and intuitive design Kaneva offered, and especially the price – free apartment loft and land…

[livinginworldz]

InWorldz Fall Fest 2016

InWorldz Fall Fest 2016

This blog is still alive – apologies for the long absence. I haven’t been able to update the blog due to RL getting in the way and issues with my laptop but it seems to have been sorted, for now at least. It’s a little slow but it works well enough to spend some time InWorldz again. So with a little delay I made it over to the annual Fall Fest which started two weeks ago. Luckily, the main week…

[livinginworldz]

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with Wolf Hartnell. I have known OF him for as many years as I’ve been in InWorldz, but had never had a chance to chat with him, so this really was very nice. Today he appeared as a wolf, which of course seems entirely appropriate. ~

Moonrise Azalee: Well, first of all, I would really like to thank you for taking the time to chat with me this morning!Or more rightfully, evening for you!

Wolf Hartnell: Indeed! And very much my pleasure. I’m honored that you asked :)

Moonrise Azalee: So to start, how long have you been in InWorldz for?

Wolf Hartnell: Coming up on five years I think. Sometime in December. The 11th according to my profile :)

Moonrise Azalee: grins – What brought you to InWorldz originally? How did you find out about it?

Wolf Hartnell: Well I started in Second Life back in 2004 or 2005. Really loved it there in the early days but got very jaded about it as time went on and the money became everything to Linden Lab. I’ve known Teal over there almost as long, and she told me about InWorldz so I came to take a look. I loved it immediately. Great prices for someone who loves to build and script. Fantastic community. And it felt like “home” more than SL ever did. Teal being here helped :) We were partnered a few months later :) Moonrise Azalee: Really? I had no idea you had been partnered for so long! Congratulations! What were your first impressions of InWorldz once you got here and started diving in a bit?

Wolf Hartnell: Thank you :) . The community most of all at first. I was lucky enough to initially rent land from Alex and Prax, on the same region as their library at the time. They were so friendly and helpful, and introduced me to a lot of wonderful artists and creators here. Teal introduced me to many more too. Then I realised I could afford a region here and that was it – I was hooked! Building and coding like a crazy man and loving it! LOL

Moonrise Azalee: Were there any problems or challenges that you faced when you first got here and adjusted from the larger grid to the smaller one?

Wolf Hartnell: Not really. I think the only struggles for me were not being able to find a lot of mens’ clothes and a adjusting to a different (but so much faster) scripting engine. Mostly it combined the adventure of early Second Life, the great community and a world of opportunity. I could live with only a few changes of clothes :)

Moonrise Azalee: Oh, the lack of men’s clothes! Yes, I do think that has slightly improved! But definitely a challenge for other male avis I have encountered also!

Wolf Hartnell: Yes! We tend to be a way behind the women’s designers for stuff – but I suspect we are less bothered, being fashion lazy as we are :) Don’t tell Teal but one of the advantages of being a quad wolf every so often is not having to wear anything – LOL

Moonrise Azalee: LOL, I won’t tell *quickly scribbles it down*

Moonrise Azalee: Now that you have been here for awhile, what are your thoughts, or most specifically what improvements have you noticed over the years?

Wolf Hartnell: Hmmm, goood question. The technology has matured a great deal and that matters to me a lot. I know that we still have some niggling issues (like texture downloads) but it’s easy to forget just how much has come along, like vehicles and new scripting functions, border crossings etc. They make a huge difference and going back to Second Life feels like going back in time. As a scripter things run so much faster here. There are things I do here that would never work in Second Life. So I really appreciate all the work that goes in behind the scenes.

Moonrise Azalee: I was sailing back in that ‘other’ grid not long ago, and although there are a million of lovely boats to choose from, those sim crossings can still plummet you to the depths of the ocean!

Wolf Hartnell: Yes absolutely! It’s amazing what a small dev team have managed to achieve. As a programmer in real-life I have a sense of the scale of this thing and it’s incredibly complex. I also love the extra options they have added for land, like the 2x2s. We are sitting on one of those right now and I could never have afforded to do this stuff on a full region, even at InWorldz prices. Besides, here I get to script boats and trees and gadgets and ligts and magic and anything I like. Beats the heck out of soulless bank systems in real life :)

Moonrise Azalee: yes! It does, and it brings me to my next topic. When I came to InWorldz about 4 years ago, yours was the first weather system I had ever used, and then not long after my first working boat I had ever purchased was from your store. Can you tell me a bit about your projects and what you work on here?

Wolf Hartnell: That’s gratifying to hear :) Projects, hmmm. Where to start – LOL. Most of what I create comes from either something I need, or something other people need. The forest planters came out of not wanting to manually plant a forest on our home region – LOL. Then Teal told me to sell it and make some money :) The boats because I didn’t like the ones I tried and wanted to see if I could make “better” ones – better for me anyway. The weather, again for us first. At the moment, for example, I am working on new stuff for the marketplace, because we need one, a rentals website and a places to visit website, because we need those. Builds and devices for Fall Fest and Winter Fest …Some more landscaping tools, animated cats, lots of bits and pieces, and a huge spaceship for the Golden Touch show. I think that’s about other than many back burner projects :) All things that people have asked for or community stuff really

Moonrise Azalee: I made my first Market purchase the other day. The kiosk I signed up at was on your region and you have many shops and such. Also I will add that the Marketplace experience was quick and very easy. I was quite pleased.

Wolf Hartnell: Thank you, I’m glad :) It still needs a lot of work but I wanted it to open so people could start using it. I’m kind of a perfectionist so it won’t ever be finished, I’ll keep tweaking and improving it. I see these things as journeys rather than destinations

Moonrise Azalee: I think that that sort of project is definitely a lot more work than some people realize, and I for one am very thankful to you for taking the time to create this for the community.

Wolf Hartnell: It’s usually a lot more work than I realise too – LOL. I have a problem with underestimating the work required to do something, even after 35 years of coding. I think it’s because I would run away screaming if I let myself realise how long it would really take ;)

Moonrise Azalee laughs – Well Im glad you underestimated it, otherwise you would have done the ‘run away screaming’ thing and we wouldn’t have a marketplace! :D

Wolf Hartnell: LOL – indeed! It’s a great project to work on though and people have been wonderful in supporting it (and me). The group is incredibly supportive and I get great feedback about the helpful people in there too. They give me the time to keep coding while they support each other. It’s wonderful :)

Moonrise Azalee: What do you like most about InWorldz, now that you have been here a little while? What do you think sets it apart from other grids? or ‘THE’ other grid?

Wolf Hartnell: Hmm, another good question. {ponders} I think it still has to be the people more than anything else. Not only do we have a fantastic community, but we have huge talent here. Amazing builder, scripters and visionaries. Golden Touch is a good example. Calliope Andel has amazing vision, and has pulled together a brilliant team to realise those visions, but she wants to have everyone explore their ideas and skills more than her own role. I have seen people grow immensely in that group. The shows are unmatched, but it’s the people behind it and how they nourish and nurture each other that is so very rare. I have never seen that anywhere else in any life, and it’s incredibly precious. Moonrise Azalee: Do you have any favourite events or memories that really stand out for you?

Wolf Hartnell: My first month here. Teal and I kind of had a pre-partnership honeymoon. We spent pretty much every day exploring some of the amazing builds and places in InWorldz. Went to some amazing places and met amazing people. It wasn’t planned that way but we just did it and partnered at the end. That stays with me as the defining “bonding” experience for me and InWorldz I think, as well as Teal obviously :) I still haven’t lost that wonder at this world. Sadly many of the places and people have gone now, but they have been replaced by others, and that experience awoke so many ideas in me that I will never run out of things to do here, only time to do them all :) And every Golden Touch show :) *Wolf passes me a photo*

Moonrise Azalee: Ooh! Beautiful photo!

Wolf Hartnell: I know it’s a bit sappy – but that picture is my greatest memory – as were exploring the now sadly lost Pasithea

Moonrise Azalee: Not sappy at all, very touching. One of the goals of this blog that Leanna and I write is to definitely try to find the places and experiences that people enjoy, and to share them so that those unfamiliar with InWorldz, or new here can get some ideas on what is possible here.

Wolf Hartnell: That’s my aim with the “places” website too. There are so many amazing places to visit here and most people never find them. It’s coming soon and I hope it will promote those places to existing residents and new ones. Moonrise Azalee: That’s really a wonderful aim. Are there any other future projects you are going to undertake, or other goals in mind? Wolf Hartnell: There are a few other web projects I am working on. One of the reasons for the time taken with the marketplace is the system it all runs on. That is much bigger and more sophisticated than it needs to be for just the marketplace but it will run a lot of other integrated services too. My aim is to combine the technologies so that InWorldz becomes far more powerful in user and business services and tools than any other grid. Lofty aims I know, but it’s something I am very eager to do. …On a personal note though, I am working on making dragons :) Ones that you can either be, or have as bots. Lots of backstory and magic. Possibly a few regions as a community. It’s a passion but it’s going to take a lot of work to realise :)

Moonrise Azalee: Oh wow! That sounds really great, all of it! – the dragons included! As far as the community regions, what sort of theme or joint venture would that be geared toward?

Wolf Hartnell: I am working on a backstory, based on combined dragon myths and a lot of my own ideas. The community would be fantasy themed, with rituals and training actually coded into the dragon behaviour, but with lots of flexibility, So tinies can stop their dragons growing when they are babies and still ride them for example. Breeding of a kind but more complex. And the community built around that. Special homes to rent with dragon space, very fantasy, meeting places, events and so forth. I was so inspired by Pasithea (from that picture) that I wanted to do dragons here – that was such a beautiful build, and had a whole region that was actually a dragon made of lava terrain. Amazing!

Moonrise Azalee: I wonder if that was before I was here, I have not heard of that place. It sounds like it was lovely! Before we wrap up here, are there any final comments or thoughts you’d like to share?

Wolf Hartnell: I think I would just like to say that what I see most of all in InWorldz is potential. A lot of the community projects I work on, like the events, often get negative responses and there can be a lot of negativity on the forums at times. We do have our problems but we have incredible potential here. We already have amazing people and wonderful builds, but what I see more than anything is that potential. I truly think we have barely scratched the surface of what we can do here and it excites me tremendously to be here right now to see all of that grow. I really am thrilled to be part of it.

Moonrise Azalee: I think that forums, and places like Facebook and really any place that is soley online – hidden by random textual comments is prone to a lot of hostility. It can be amazing, or horrible. All in one.

Wolf Hartnell: Exactly. Sadly it can be someone’s first and only impression of our world. I am working hard to change that, as are you :)

Moonrise Azalee: Yes! I found that once I left the forums alone, not just for InWorldz, but for many places, it was a lot more peaceful. Funny how even for virtual world forums, where I myself have admittedly got into some rows with people, once we met avi to avi, it was quite different. The hostility somewhat defuses once we are forced to meet ‘one on one’ most times.

Wolf Hartnell: I’m lucky in a way. I have Asperger’s Syndrome which makes real life communications with people quite challenging for me. InWorldz is wonderful in that regard too, becuase nobody gets body language or facial expressions, or voice tone most of the time. It’s a level playing fireld for me. What is does do is give me some insights into ho much of a problem that is for other people though, to suddenly miss those things. And people’s brains try to fill the gap. We don;t just drop those things, we try to guess them. I have actually seen someone get very annoyed in a conversation because they thought the other person was bored when actually it was just a fidgety AO! Forums are worse, we assume context as well as mood and we often get it horribly wrong, but we don’t realise that it isn’t real. It’s just our brain filling the gaps.

Moonrise Azalee: Yes, textually things are taken very out of context easily. And you make a good point, about how because we aren’t using body language, but say like here, in conversation we are having to directly express — with emotes like ‘smilies’ or winks etc. On forums this happens also, but often people are there not to necessarily ‘communicate’ like you and I are doing right now, but instead are trying to be ‘right’.

Wolf Hartnell: Absolutely. Not a discussion, but a battle :)

Moonrise Azalee: Right! Well Wolf, I have really enjoyed our chat hear today. I would like to thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me today. It has been a pleasure to get to know you better. Again, thank you for all your contributions and for being such an active part of the InWorldz community!

Wolf Hartnell: Very much my pleasure and honour, and thank you for your time, and all you are doing to get the word out to people about what we do here :)

~

Here is a landmark that will take you to a good starting point, from there you can teleport to other places, or simply zoom out and hop about! This particular landmark has Wolf’s ‘ self planting forests on display. There are a variety of seasons as well as fences as more. A wonderful way to more efficiently landscape your area!

http://inworldz.com:8002/region/Dreamchaser/140/132/23

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Arriving at Wolf’s planting display

Not only greenery but fencing systems also

The area for the autumn forest

Winter just beyond

I didn’t venture too far – I wasn’t dressed for winter!

A view from above, a lovely place to visit with shops and more just beyond this area.

And of course, if you have not checked it out, please visit the new Marketplace that Wolf has created.  To read more about this, take a look at the article Leanna wrote about it here. 

Faces of InWorldz – Wolf Hartnell Today I had the pleasure of meeting with Wolf Hartnell. I have known OF him for as many years as I've been in InWorldz, but had never had a chance to chat with him, so this really was very nice.