Spring Homestead Sale!

May 7, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

Have you been considering ZoHa Islands as your home? Looking for a full homestead in the best estate company on the grid? Now is the time to make your move!

Zoha Islands is having a spring cleaning sale on FULL Homesteads!

Your price: $7250L per week!

PLEASE READ ALL RULES AND LIMITATIONS BELOW!!

• Regular price: $7696L per week. That’s a savings of $446L per week!

• A full homestead is 65536 sqm and has 3750 Prims – it comes with full Estate Rights to change sim rating, terrain textures Etc.

• It can accommodate up to 20 avatars at a time. This is perfect for residential homes or lower Traffic stores and businesses.

Rules & Limitations:

To be eligible for this pricing you must meet the following criteria:

• New or Returning Residents of Zoha Islands only. (Friends & Family referrals) Even if you just want to come back!

• Upgrades – i.e. you own a half homestead and want to move to a full homestead rental for more prims/land

* Be in good standing with your rental payments, i.e. not be late on a weekly basis

Restrictions:

• If you currently own a homestead, you cannot claim the lower price or ask for it, unless you are buying an ADDITIONAL homestead in addition to your current rental.

• If you own a homestead and purchase an additional one at the sale price, and you give up the original one down the road, the $7250L price will no longer be valid and your tier will revert to the same as your original one.

Contact one of our Sales Agents or Estate Managers today and grab your homestead at this amazing price before they’re all gone!

Come to our Sales Office by clicking here: ZoHa Islands Sales Office.

If you’re a current resident looking to upgrade to take advantage of this amazing price, simply ask for help in group chat.

I remain respectfully yours,
Suzanne Piers, ZI Blogger/Social Media

Machinima In Second Life

April 30, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

One of the things in Second Life that fascinates me the most is machinima.

Machinima is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often video games are used to generate the computer animation, such as Second Life. Machinimists use external software and 3-D mouse to capture gameplay in Second Life, and then edit it, add music and effects much like regular videographers do.

Second Life’s Facebook page posted a machinima that is extremely well done. I love the effects. I thought I would post it here for you to enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Phe3Lk97jM&feature=youtu.be

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media

Around The Grid April 2015

April 23, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

There are lots of things happening around the grid in Second Life. Here’s a brief overview:

SL12B Is Coming!

It’s coming up on that time again, folks. It’s Second Life’s birthday in June! Applications are open to be part of the SL12B 12th Birthday Bash. Being held June 21st-28th, 2015, the theme this year is “What Dreams May Come.” Participants can attend performances at the 4 stage venues, and stop by the auditorium for talks, interviews, fashion shows and performance art. Additionally, exhibits and stages across 15 sims will be available for viewing from June 29 to July 4.

Linden Lab states: “Unlike our physical world, everything we see in Second Life© was born out of the stuff of dreams. For some, these dreams are what they aspire to, while others seek to recreate that which is unattainable in their lives.

“Some may craft elaborate worlds of gleaming gold, while others may descend into the netherworld, portraying realms of flame and darkness.

“Still others may have dreams of a simpler variety: a nice house, a picket fence, and a perfectly green lawn. All dreams, big and small, are valid and welcome.

“We want to see your dreams. what do you imagine for the future, what are your aspirations, or what is your own personal flight of fancy?”

Applications to participate in the celebration as an exhibitor are now open. Please check out the website here: SL12B Community Celebration

~~~~ • ~~~~

Viewer Managed Marketplace Beta

The Viewer-Managed Marketplace (VMM) officially started an open beta test on the main grid, which is scheduled to last for about a month.

VMM allows merchants to easily manage their inventory on the Second Life Marketplace using the Second Life Viewer. Items no longer need to be loaded into the Merchant Outbox or a Magic Box, and are instead sold directly from inventory.

VMM will allow all merchants to stop using Magic Boxes while also enabling them to modify listing inventories directly from the viewer. Merchants will still need to go to the Marketplace web site in order to edit listings, but with VMM, they will be able to create new listings, publish them to the Marketplace, and/or unlist them, all from within the Viewer.

Firestorm has not yet come out with a viewer that features VMM, but Firestorm folks have asked for beta testers for their upcoming project viewer. Perhaps this functionality will be in the next FS release.

LL’s official blog states that they expect the Beta period to last abouit a month, with the next steps after Beta being a full release of VMM to all merchants.

“A month after the release, automated migration of Direct Delivery listings will begin. Magic Box listings will need to be manually migrated. After migration has completed, Xstreet and Magic Boxes will be shut down. Merchants may choose to manually migrate Direct Delivery listings before the automated migration occurs. The automated migration will take place during lower traffic times on the Marketplace, and more details will be provided closer to the migration period.” states Linden Lab.

Here’s a video narrated by Torley Linden:

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MadPea’s Unia Opens April 27th

As you know, I am a huge MadPea fan, and I am excited if not a bit trepidacious about this newest event coming April 27h. MadPea released a preview video and it is very scary!

Naturally, I will have to check it out, but meanwhile here’s the trailer:

/me shivers. Looks scary! Join me… if you dare!!

~~~~ • ~~~~

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media

Landscape Designer Extraordinaire: Antinéa Torok

April 12, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

One of the most frequent questions that ZoHa Islands staff receive from residents, is “How do I get my parcel (or sim) landscaped? Will you do it for me?”

Unfortunately, ZoHa Islands staffers don’t usually have time to help residents with making their property look amazing. However, Second Life has many talented landscape designers, and one of the outstanding ones is Antinéa Torok.

Antinéa Torok

Antinéa has been in Second Life for well over seven years. She is partnered in Second Life to Callum McAuley. She has a wonderful, self-depracating sense of humor. Antinéa speaks French and English. Her talent for building and design is evident in her breathtaking Flickr page.

I highly recommend that you check it out. You can find it by clicking on this link: Antinéa’s Flickr Page.

If you are in need of an amazing sim designer, please contact her inworld and she will discuss your landscaping and designing needs.

In addition, she is a ZoHa Island resident and all around good egg. 🙂

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media

Meet Your ZoHa Islands Staff 2015!

April 12, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

About a year ago, I did several posts on getting to know your ZoHa Islands staff. We have had people come and go since then, although fortunately we have a great core group of people that have stuck with us through thick and thin. We have also been fortunate enough to have some new people on staff and I thought it would be good to get to know them, too!

LoveeDi Resident

Q: How long have you been in SL?
A: 10 months

Q: What drew you to SL in the first place?
A: I have friends that are here.

Q: How long have you been with ZoHa Islands, and what is your job?
A: I’ve been with Zoha about a month or so and I am an Estate Manager

Q: Have you held other positions with ZoHa Islands?
A: Sales Agent

Q: Have you worked other places in SL? If so, what are they?
A: I owned a club where I also acted as DJ and Host. I was a Host for Brimstome and Kountry Korner. I currently own and auction house and act as Auctioneer called Midwest Breedables.

Q: What do you like to do in SL? Do you have any favorite places?
A: I love breedables of all kinds, and can usually be found at an auction house or shopping with friends.

Q: Tell me a little about your RL, if you’re comfortable doing so. Are you married, kids, hobbies, etc?
A: I am married to my best friend and have been for going on 4 years in September. We have grown kids and grandkids which are my pride and joy, the grandbabies are my world in RL. I enjoy playing on the pc, movies and reading reading reading. Im a city girl turned country from Texas and love to fish and boat.

–•~~❤~~•–

Christara Hallstrom

Q: How long have you been in SL?
A: I originally came to SL in August of 2005. Since then I have created several different avatars in order to do different things within SL, such as clothing creation, building, roleplaying, and more.

Q: What drew you to SL in the first place?
A: I actually heard about SL because of the boyfriend I was with at the time. His parents were having troubles because of this game so we checked it out. I immediately was drawn to it. SL is my escape as well as my means of social interaction. I am a functioning agoraphobic. SL allows for me to get out in the world with less anxiety and panic attacks. Many of the people that I have met have become a huge factor in my RL and I have met several people from here that have become like family to me.

Q: How long have you been with ZoHa Islands and what is your job?
A: I started ZoHa Islands back in November of 2014. I started as a sales agent and then in January of 2015 I became an Estate Manager.

Q: Have you held other positions with ZI?
A: Sales agent

Q: Have you worked other places in SL? If so, what are they?
A: Well, I have been in SL for almost 10 years. I have worked in clubs as a host, dancer, and DJ. I have managed clubs as well as owned them. I have my own clothing store as well as a building store. I have worked in sales, management, and advertising for a variety of businesses. I have been an estate manager at another company as well as had my own successful wedding business. I can honestly say that I have done a lot of things and I am sure there will be a lot more to come.

Q: What do you like to do in SL? Do you have any favorite places?
A: I love to build and making clothing. If I am not working, I am usually on my sim trying to build something new or work on making new clothing for #themeshproject avatars or mesh clothing for everyone. I do tend to visit friends, but like in RL, I am a homebody. I love to just hang out with those I am close to and just chill and listen to music. Occasionally we fish, play greedy, swim, dance, and more.

Q: Tell me a little about your RL, if you’re comfortable doing so. Are you married, kids, hobbies, etc?
A: I am not legally married and dont plan on it anytime soon. I do not believe in marriage after my first one failed miserably. I currently have a polyamorous relationship and love it. I have some wonderful kids, both biological and not that I would not give up for the world. If I am not in SL, which is rare, I am usually gardening, walking, or spending time with my friends and family. I am very down to earth and laid back. I am the same in SL and am true to myself.

–•~~❤~~•–

Wendy Kinsella (misswendy.divine)

Q: How long have you been in SL?
A: Over 10 years.. Dec 22, 2004

Q: What drew you to SL in the first place?
A: My friends and I came here from The Sims Online game. Don’t remember who it was that actually found SL but we came in a group of about 15.

Q: How long have you been with ZoHa Islands, and what is your job?
A: I’ve been with ZoHa Islands since Nov, 28, 2014, and I am an Estate Manager

Q: Have you held other positions with ZoHa Islands?
A: I started out as a Sales Agent

Q: Have you worked other places in SL? If so, what are they?
A: Years ago, I had my own Internet radio station that was popular in SL, as well as other online games. We had many DJs and Producers, all bringing music to the best places in SL, before DJs were all free agents. Over the many years I have been with SL, I have had a lot of different jobs. I have worked at a lot of clubs in SL as a DJ, a Host. or a Manager, of some kind.

Q: What do you like to do in SL? Do you have any favorite places?
A: My big love in SL is my MC. I belong to a Motorcycle Club and it is a great bunch of people. No matter where you go in SL, if you are dealing with people, sooner or later you will have some kind drama, sooner or later. What I like about the bikers is that usually, if a biker has a problem with you, they come to you. I like people who are up front. You can visit our club by clicking this link: Motorcycle Club. Also, I am into Pet Peddlers Breedable Fish. They are a lot of fun and the people that breed fish are the friendliest group I have met in SL. I have done a lot of different breedables and I love the way the fish breeders really team together. Click this link: Breedable Fish

Q: Tell me a little about your RL, if you’re comfortable doing so. Are you married, kids, hobbies, etc?
A: I live in Texas, USA.

–•~~❤~~•–

If you see any of these three lovely ladies around ZoHa Islands, give them a shout out and say hello.

Stay tuned; I will be profiling other new staff in the coming days and weeks.

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media

Skarvald — Where Vikings Are Alive and Well in Second Life

March 3, 2015 by ZoHa Islands

One of the fascinating things in Second Life are the roleplay sims. In SL, you can find just about any kind of roleplay (RP) your little heart desires — Fetish, Rape, Combat, Capture, Gor (BTB or otherwise), Vampire/Lycan, Steampunk, Fantasy, Historical, Pirates, Sci-Fi, Urban/Noir, etc. Some are strict on rules and behavior within the RP sim; some are fairly loose with the rules. Some are obviously geared towards sexual activity, and some are for serious RPers. These serious RPers bring their RP into Second Life as a way to bring their favorite MMORPG (which itself stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) into a world where you can completely control the way the world moves around the characters and settings, rather than having the game play limit what choices are available to the players. These are serious gamers that are serious about their RP, but also come here to have fun, immerse themselves in their game and meet fellow gamers.

One of these gamers is Balder Foehammer. Balder has been in Second Life since 2009, and started out by being frustrated with his inability to find Viking-themed items in Second Life. Being a creative and industrious soul, Balder learned how to build, and began creating his own things for others doing Viking RP. His business grew, and finally he decided it was time to create his own Viking RP sim, and the final result is Skarvald.

Balder purchased from Linden Labs his own full prim sim, commercial grade and went to work. His sim underwent many transformations as he experimented with exactly what he wanted to accomplish. In January of 2014, Balder began creating Skarvald from the ground up, using a 90 percent mesh build in order to save on land impact. He opened for business on July 11th 2014. Skarvald is a brainchild of Balder’s and springs completely from his vivid imagination, with significant input from his SL wife and RL girlfriend Ellie Foehammer. Loosely translated, Skarvald means “scarred land.” Balder tells me that he has always been fascinated by the history of the Norse people and their folklore. The term “Viking” actually means “seafaring traveler” or “raider by sea.”

Each RPer must fill out an application in order to participate in the sim. Each RPer creates their own character, their own backstory and incorporate it into their sim history or sim lore. Online and console gamers that want to be more creative can create their story from Skyram, Elderscrolls, Dragonage, Tolkein, Lord of the Rings, 13th warrior (Michael Crighton) Historical viking lore norse culture, Camelot King Arthur, etc.

Balder and Ellie have created a Viking kingdom accurate down to the last building. It’s a fascinating place that is kept as accurate to the time as possible. Cabins and homes are rented out and the sim rules require that any items put down remain true to the Viking theme.

Balder tells me that there are 212 members in the Skarvald group. The number of active RPers right now is about 70. The sim can support 40 to 50 RPers at a time.

There are different factions and guilds within the RP. There are guilds that are in allegiance with the kingdom, and there are those who seek to overthrow the Kingdom. There are thieves and shadows and assassins. The tension between “good” and “evil” creates the RP and creates the battles.

RP is scheduled if there’s a major event. Otherwise it’s just random and spontaneous. Important roles are handed over to people who earn it. Skarvald members are dedicated RPers who truly involve themselves in the RP. They are not exclusive and they will RP even with noobs. Balder and Ellie try to ensure that the RP does not become “cliqueish.”

When asked what his favorite thing about Skarvald, Balder said, “The people.”

What really makes this place special is Balder and Ellie’s love and dedication to it. Their pride in this place shines through every pixel and prim. I highly recommend you check out this amazing place.

Click on this link to get the SLurl: Skarvald Viking RPG

Click on this link to find the Skarvald website: Skarvald

Click on this link for more information on RP in Second Life. Role-Playing Communities

Here are some photographs: