Something I find incredibly fascinating about Second Life is its history. There are a lot of neat gems that people generally don’t know about because they’re not mainstream or in the forefront. One perfect example is “The Man” statue, which by happenstance is the oldest original created item still able to be seen in Second Life.

oldjohn Linden, who was a content developer for Linden Labs, created this statue back in 2002 when Second Life was still in its Alpha stage (and thus called Linden World). Linden Labs wanted to see whether or not a “cityscape” style build would be feasible with the rendering engines, and created the general build on Natoma. Natoma existed well before anyone who wasn’t an employee was able to log into Second Life (and was unofficially dubbed “Linden Town” by many).

The town was basic- park-like, empty buildings, low detailed textures. But there was a stately statue behind it’s City Hall that stood out the most that was later called, “The Man”. Eventually this town had to be deleted before the Beta version to make way for a Welcome Area, but rumor has it that this statue, perched atop its tall hill, was unable to be deleted by a mere technical loophole. So, while the rest of the town was erased from existence, The Man still stood tall as it was scooted onto a tall hill.

The Man does stand as the oldest original build, but one other old original Linden build does still exist on Natoma: Arch’D Linden Grande. But, by far, this statue takes the cake for having an amazing presence to match its amazing history and endurance. Natoma does also boast the “more modern” Ivory Tower Of Primitives, which was created in Natoma in 2004 and is an amazing example of an amazing build before mesh even existed. It boasts a library and tutorials that are absolutely an amazing experience to partake in.

Visit The Man: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Natoma/63/206/50
Visit the Ivory Tower Of Primitives: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Natoma/210/163/28

Second Life, as we know it, is an amazingly expansive and wonderful place. But on the user side, sometimes we run into performance or (ahem) inventory woes. Here’s a look at some Second Life Hacks to make your experiences more enjoyable!

Getting the most out of your graphics: Oftentimes folks don’t have a graphics card powerful enough to handle the higher graphics settings, which can be a pain when you’re in the mood to take those great pictures. I’m one of those people. If I just set my graphics to “Ultra”, it’s a crash waiting to happen in seconds. However, there are a few things you can do to get the highest settings with the least amount of problems without having to cough up the money to get a new machine or graphics card.

 Set up your graphics preferences at the login screen, rather than after you’ve logged in. It was this way that I was able to figure out how I could be on Ultra without crashing by modifying some other qualities.

 Reduce what you don’t need or want. For example, are you even able to see water or terrain? Are you around Linden trees? Are those particles really that important right now? Put those values to zero/low or unclick them so they’re not using up resources needlessly. Transparent water is not needed if you’re in the middle of a waterless city sim, right?

 Flexiprim- if you’re not around it much, this is also not needed. If you are, see if reducing it slightly helps.

 Figure out what your computer can reasonably handle with those adjustments. Yes, if you’re like me with a less powerful machine, you will crash a few times. However- it will be totally worth it. Sometimes those few values being reduced or removed can impact how high you can enable your graphics to go. For some of us, it can make all the difference between medium, high and Ultra. You won’t need to leave it all those settings all of the time, but it would be good to know what your limits are so you know what options you have if you need to take quality pictures or are visiting a sim where higher graphics would do it an incredible amount of justice.

Another obstacle folks might run into time to time is having their avatar goof up totally. Sometimes things go missing or we just show up totally wacky. Never fear; there’s a trick for that too.

 One of the easiest things to do is to save outfits when all is well. I always make sure to have a few handy and make new ones anytime I make drastic changes to my avatar. What this means is that, if you go someplace and realize your avatar has gone completely wacky, you can search an outfit and select “replace all” to have yourself sorted quickly. This is especially great to have when you log back in after a crash to find out you’re quite clothing-free.

 Make sure to name them something easy to remember. In my case, I like to use “Casual 1, Casual 2 etc”….same thing for formal and what have you.

Speaking of clothing- did you know that your clothing and other attachments can sometimes impact your ability to get into high lag and high traffic sales events? Ever wonder how some folks get into The Arcade, Uber or Collabor88 on the first day?

 This might sound crazy, but you should make an outfit for this too. And I mean- completely script and mesh free. It will probably be the saddest avatar in your inventory, but removing scripts and mesh does make it easier to squeeze yourself into the events where you usually get the “region full” messages. Also, once you get in, you’ll have a slightly easier time navigating than those who are script-laden.

One thing that people often complain about is when they run out of prim when decorating their homes and lands. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? But, there’s a trick for that too!

 If you decorate mainly with mesh, this makes a huge difference in your prim count when used wisely.

 The additional benefit with mesh is that if you link all of your copyable items together (I would avoid no-copy and beds/chairs/anything you sit on) this will make a huge impact in your prim count. Just the other day, my daughter was working on setting up a new house and was at a 500 something prim count. She linked all of the copyable items together once she was 100% sure of placement and ended up with only 70 prims of usage. If you have a very low prim budget, this is absolutely the trick for you, not to mention that if you ever need to pick everything up, you can delete it in one click!

 Not sure how to link things together? Check this article out!

I hope these little tips help you get even more out of your Second Life! Give them a try and have an awesome week ahead!

Bria Oceanside
ZoHa Blogger/Social Media

So, with the looming launch of Project Sansar’s alpha version, there’s been quite a buzz around the technology that is allowing us to start shifting into a more Virtual Reality-friendly era. While Project Sansar will be an incredibly unique experience, it will not be taking the place of Second Life by any means (see this great article outlining why Second Life is not going anywhere in the words of our own Linden Labs CEO Ebbe Altberg). Project Sansar does, however, offer a peek into the next level of VR gaming. Of course, when these discussions are had about the VR tech boom, most people start off with mentioning the frontrunner, Oculus Rift.

The Oculus Rift is the biggest VR headset out there- and the official consumer version hasn’t even become available yet! With development kits being available since July of 2014, it holds a lot of promise with regards to an amazing VR experience. But, folk who are even in tune enough to know about the Oculus Rift often don’t realize that the world of VR headsets is far more in depth. Today, we’ll be highlighting a few of these pieces of VR heaven.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWE91IB9QMI

1. Samsung Gear VR: I was quite fascinated when I learned about this device. It basically takes your smart phone and turns it into a VR device. Ideally, you’d want something newer and high-end (if you can swing it), but you insert the phone into the headset and presto! You have the ability to create your own with the strong capabilities of the hardware in your smart phone. The advantage here is that you don’t need to draw on the graphics of your PC, although the field of view is a bit more limited than the Rift. All in all, this is a solid piece of equipment with a “final” version coming out this upcoming week on November 20th, 2015. While it’s currently only supporting the Samsung Note 4, S6, and S6 Edge, there are plans to incorporate other phone models in the relatively near future.

2. HTC Vive: This headset is all about the PC gamers with the Steam community very much in mind. With laser-based positional tracking that is very similar to the Rift, it also comes with “ski pole” style controllers that help track your hand movements. The units will also include two tracking camera, and dynamic controls that can even detect squeezing. With a higher FOV than the Samsung Gear VR, the HTC Vive is expected to provide an incredibly immersive experience. The HTC Vive has a limited release due during the holiday season in 2015, with the full launch in the first quarter of 2016.

3. Sony Playstation VR: Playstation fans should absolutely be excited about this one, especially since (the formally known as) Project Morpheus is heavily favored to be one of the leading VR headsets due to hit the market. The refresh rate on the units will leave you with one of the most fluid experience on the market- once it’s released. Currently scheduled for the first half of 2016 without a more specific date, the Playstation VR is expected to change the way we look at console gaming. There’s already an extensive list of VR compatible Playstation games, including:

• Adrift (Three One Zero)
• The Assembly (nDreams)
• Cult County (Renegade Kid)
• The Deep (SCE London Studio)
• Eve Valkyrie (CCP Games)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (Scottgames)
• Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital)
• Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate)
• London Heist (SCE London Studios)
• Magic Controller (SCE)
• Project CARS (Slightly Mad Studios)
• Q.U.B.E² (Toxic Games)
• Robinson: The Journey (Crytek)
• Shadow of the Beast (Heavy Spectrum)
• Street Luge (SCE London Studios)
• Surgeon Simulator (Bossa Studios)
• Summer Lesson (Katsuhiro Harada)
• Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco)
• Thief (Eidos Montréal)
• The Toybox (SCE)
• War Thunder (Gaijin Entertainment)

Also, the frame rate on the Sony Playstation VR beats both the HTC and the Oculus Rift- making it a serious piece of VR indeed. Unfortunately it will be console-specific, but is rumored that the limitation will cause it to be a very affordable accessory.

There are several more VR headsets either available or due to be available in 2016. While some might not be PC based, one truth is this: this is the start of a VR revolution that will certainly result in an explosion on the market. We all know that technology improves over time, so if this is our starting point- imagine where we’ll be a few years from now. Welcome to the next level of gaming, folks.

Bria Oceanside
ZoHa Blogger/Social Media

Second Life is an amazing place to be able to take advantage of educational opportunities. While I do feel that there is a lot of growth needed to realize its full potential, the Builders Brewery certainly sets a shining example of how Second Life is a perfect platform for learning. Established (officially) in 2008, it’s the leading source of learning all aspects of building inside (and sometimes outside) of Second Life. With several classes available at an assortment of times daily, there’s ample opportunity for people to learn skills from building to mesh creating in 3D modeling programs- which opens the door to being able to pursue a hobby or start a business- even put your modeling skills to the test in a real world scenario.

I had the honor of catching up with the owner, Sensuous Maximus, who generously lent me a lot of perspective on the history of the Brewery. Passionate and full of personality, she explained her love of the Brewery quite candidly. She had joined Second Life several years ago almost on a whim in an attempt to find a great way to spend time with her real life partner. She knew nothing about what Second Life was about, but has been drawn to it ever since. Eventually, this whetted her appetite to learn about building within Second Life.

She had belonged to a building group, eventually, that was the “cream of the crop” of Second Life builders. There was an intensive qualification process to be able to join this group and it was very “closed”. She explained that there was an incredible amount of talent, and people were able to “show off” their creations in a show-and-tell format once a week. However, they were unable to sell their items because they weren’t able to open stores of their own- so they were one-of-a-kind. During this time, Sensuous and her partner decided to start creating textures and opened a store of their own. As graphic artists, that was their forte. In the meantime, they also learned how to build, which eventually led them to learning how to create “clean” megaprims while there was a bit of a “loophole” opportunity to do so.

They wanted to make the show-and-tell into something where the winners could be “shown off”, which would allow them to get additional exposure. The owners of the sim rejected the idea, because they wanted to keep the sim accessible only to the elite talent they had gathered. So, Sensuous and her partner decided to open a separate shop on another sim.

The shop was small, but also served as a meeting place for other builders to teach and to learn without limitations. What Sensuous realized was that builders tended to lead more isolated lives because it often took sitting in a space away from everything to create, and they didn’t often have like-minded people to converse with while they did so. At what ended up being dubbed the Builders Brewery (“Brewery” stemming from the idea that it’s meant to be a laid back and approachable space), they were able to interact with like-minded builders, exchange knowledge and learn new things.

The megaprims that Sensuous learned how to create were also offered for free at Builders Brewery, which made the establishment incredibly popular with the building community. With that popularity came a rapid growth, which eventually caused it to grow to two full sims. As Builders Brewery is a not-for-profit, Sensuous was using her own earnings from building to fund the entire project, as she wanted to keep Builders Brewery as accessible as possible. All classes and earnings were tip and donation based. Even joining the group wasn’t required, although the group in itself is an amazing resource for those who have those oddball questions that can be answered by the community. It led to a very relaxed give-and-take environment.

Sensuous went on to note that Zoha of ZoHa Islands was incredibly supportive of Builders Brewery and expressed her gratitude many times over. With an incredible amount of respect in her voice, she explained that Zoha had been such a monumental asset during the growth of Builders Brewery, often offering sims to help with buildouts such as the amazing former Frank Lloyd Wright museum and even offering full sims to enable the Builders Brewery to hold terraforming classes for students. Sensuous warmly stated that this was “major” and “very sweet of him”. Even when there was an appreciation party thrown for Sensuous, it was held on a Zoha sim that was shaped as a heart. She said she couldn’t say enough how grateful she was for the support that he lent, as it meant everything to her.

Builders Brewery is now the most established Second Life-based learning environment, offering several classes weekly and a well-organized schedule. There are currently over 30,000 active members of the group and around 10 active teachers offering their expertise to the benefit of the students. Each teacher goes through a strenuous probation period to show they are able to offer the level of education that meets the standards of Builders Brewery so the students have an optimal learning experience. The environment is laid back and approachable. And, of course, there’s still the amazing show-and-tell element and the gift exchanges that Sensuous very much enjoys. Sensuous took time to credit her sister and “other half”, Sentinel, for her role in keeping things moderated and ensuring that the Builders Brewery remained a safe place to be. In her eyes, she “owes a lot” to Sentinel for being around.

Builders Brewery also offers a sandbox building space for those who need the space to build and practice, as well as a healthy selection of stores on site offering an incredible variety of full-permissions goods within the Creators Village. There’s also a large space onsite near the main school grounds where people are able to purchase scripts and other building components made by other members of Builders Brewery, some even totally free.

If you have ever wanted learn anything from scripting to Maya, this is absolutely the place to go. With ample, organized classes and an incredibly warm community, the Builders Brewery is a haven for our creative souls. Thank you, Sensuous, for your generosity and time. It was a great pleasure to be able to learn more about the driving force behind this amazing establishment.

For our amazing ZoHa Island family, remember that you have access to our own personal sandbox environment as a perk for being one of our awesome customers! You’re more than welcome to further your exploration of all the great tricks and tips you’ve learned. You can find the ZoHa Islands sandbox here. Those who are interested in carrying on the teaching spirit at ZoHa should get in touch! We’d love to hear from you!

Check out the class schedules here

Check out Builders Brewery in-world here

I thought long and hard about what was going to be my intro into sharing some of the excellent facets within Second Life. It didn’t take me long to realize the perfect starting point: the Espresso Yourself open mic night in the heart of Bay City- a serious personal favorite of mine. Held the first Tuesday of each month (hint hint: that means you can join in the fun this coming Tuesday) you will find an amazing mix of voices and visions as they take to the stage to perform, read, or even rant. There’s never two nights that are even remotely the same. Everyone who attends is welcome to take to the stage or participate as an engaging audience member.

Second Life is, without a doubt, an awesome place to get seriously creative. But, as I caught up with the wonderful person who runs Espresso Yourself, Marianne McCann, she explained that she saw the need to fill a very obvious gap in-world:

“It started back in mid-2013, not too long after opening The Pen coffee shop with Ever Dreamscape. In my first life, I used to go to an espresso bar that existed on the alley of an alley in Southern California. I wanted to recreate some of that ambiance, and introduce some of the “beat culture” to Bay City. One of the things that was done on Tuesdays at that old espresso bar was an open mic called… Espresso Yourself. I nicked the name and decided to try and revive that old event virtually.”

And she’s done a fantastic job of it. Every time I’ve attended there’s been a buzz of excitement and an assortment of wonderfully eclectic and vibrant personalities as people would go on stage to perform. Sometimes someone would take the stage and simply present some ideas and engages the audience in giving feedback or information is shared as “pro tips” for the ambitious people that are trying to learn new skills within Second Life. It’s hardly predictable and incredibly rewarding to both perform and attend. It absolutely captures the very feel that Marianne was after in both the environment and the caliber of people it drew.

Marianne went on to add:

“One of the fun things with it is seeing the diversity of people who attend. New folks and old, Residents and Lindens, etc. Folks bring stories, poems, jokes — even some have sung or played instruments. It’s always something different.”

With the next Espresso Yourself happening on November 3rd (6-8pm) I would highly suggest joining in! It does fill up quickly, so you’ll want to get there a bit early. Whether you opt to take to the stage or get cozy in one of the plush café chairs and enjoy it as an audience member, it is an absolutely unique and creative experience for all. I know I will be there!

-Bria
ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media

Your Taxi To Espresso Yourself

Additional Information:

The key here is to participate.
How can you participate?
Just choose an item off our menu!

1. ESPRESSO
Our main stock in trade: Read a poem. Poetry is always encouraged at the pen. Share one of your own, or one by someone else. Read it on voice or type it out. You can even pre-record some sound files if you want to get really inventive.

2. CAPPUCCINO
Share a favorite story. Could be something you’ve experienced that you want to share. Could be a story out of a book that makes you think or that you just enjoy. Maybe it’s a story of your own, too, that you wish to share. All is encouraged.

3. CAFFÉ AU LAIT
Share a picture of something you’ve built recently – or something you’ve built in the past – tell us about it, what were the challenges? What was fun? Share the experience.

4. CAFFÉ AMERICANO
Free Advice. Tell Linden Lab how to fix Second Life, or tell us how to use it! This is soapbox time! Rant, rave, share.

5, CAFFÉ MOCHA
I read the news today: tell us something you read in the newspaper/saw on the telly/spotted online that caught your eye. Tell us what’s going on!

5. CAFFÉ MACCHIATO
Random beauty! Show us a photo of something that caught your eye. Share something of beauty and tell us about it. Maybe it’s a pretty thing from your first life, or maybe it’s a gorgeous place in here.

6. CAFFÉ CORRETTO
Surprise us: hand puppets,. juggling, wacky gags, etc.! Do something different, weird, and wild. Delight the audience by going outside the box.

Just want to hang out? We’ll let you can do that too: but you can still talk, still interact, and still be a part of the show. Everyone is a participant, even if you might not realize it.

Also, why not toss a few bones in the ol tip jar, too, or buy a fresh cuppa? It helps keep the lights on.

Espresso Yourself night, every first Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. SLT at The Pen, located in the heart of Bay City – Mashpee, just off Route 66!

So, it’s only logical that I should introduce myself as the newest blogger for ZoHa Islands. I’m sure it would be expected that I explain the predictable about my joy for Second Life, but I’ll spare the mundane.

But, first let me thank the person I’ve been able to attempt to fill the shoes of, Suzanne. I’m honored to be able to carry the torch she’s already lit and (hopefully) do her work justice. While her departure is a loss, I’m humbled by the opportunity to follow such a class act.

What you won’t find is a self-absorbed intro full of cliché’s but a vision. I absolutely love so much about Second Life that I feel needs to be done so much more justice. Sure, there are a lot of amazing places to go hang out and things to do- but I have a love for the lesser-known and the more progressive sides of SL. I enjoy learning about the amazing talents, the trailblazers and the very developments outside of SL that can impact us all. I’m a bit of a history nerd with a thirst for knowledge, and I’m excited to be able to share this all with you.

I do feel that Second Life needs more attention on the lesser-known facets because, let’s face it, it has a huge amount of capability for us all. There are so many opportunities to learn, grown and expand our social circles in a way that’s far more tangible than we realize. There’s so much untapped potential that would be amazing to also see. Second Life is far more than “just a game”. It’s a community, a movement and a platform for some amazing experiences to be had.

So, of course, I guess it would be polite to mention a few things about myself. I originally joined SL in 2009 and have been in love with it since. I am a mother, a creator, an auctioneer and a visionary. I am a freelance professional outside of SL, although that also crosses over to SL as I mentor people on the vast universe of freelance.

I have a deep love for the creative and the oddball. I do love to explore places to see how people fit their puzzle pieces together and appreciate the sheer artistry of it all. I love attending classes, live concerts and challenging myself to grow as a person.
I appreciate this opportunity to share my Second Life (and all that impacts it) with you. I certainly hope to be able to do this role justice, as I think it’s incredibly important to shed an immense amount of positive light on the insanely dynamic world that we all call our second home.

Thank you, and I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Bria Oceanside
ZoHa Blogger/Social Media