Tag: How To

How-To Decorate a Room on IMVU

How-To Decorate a Room on IMVU

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I feel like my blog has been out long enough now to go into some more advanced How-To’s. I wanted to do one specifically on room creation in IMVU since interior design is my favorite thing to do in any virtual world platform. So, as you may have guessed I drop some of my real-life money into virtual worlds to make that happen you can’t buy nice and interactive furniture without virtual currency. It’s not a super expensive hobby but it is an addiction and can get expensive if you start becoming like me and always shopping for the newest and greatest furniture you can find. Ahead of time, this is a beginner post to creating rooms in IMVU so if you’re new to IMVU this is for you. If you’re just getting into room creation in IMVU but are a user that has been around for a while this post is also for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below but I did try to make this post as simplistic and as direction oriented as I possibly could. I hope this is helpful for all of you out there trying to get into room creation.

Beginning view on the IMVU client
  • From the front of your viewer press the “My Room Icon”
  • Since I don’t have the default room anymore you will get a page like the one below.
My Room View
  • At the bottom of your screen, there are different icons the ones we’re going to be looking at specifically are the chair and house icon. The chair icon is the furniture that you currently own and your house icon are the different rooms you own.
These are the icons you will see the house is the rooms you have and the chair is the furniture you own
This is what you will see when you click either button but this is what I have when I hit my furniture button. On the side you can search furniture by category by the buttons. There is a chair for seating, a table button, misc, and poses. You can also sort it all by your most recent pieces which is nice if you buy something new from the IMVU shop and are trying to find it real quickly for placing.
  • On the side are your categories for rooms and furniture which will look like the photo below.
Categories when I press the button that looks like a house for the “My Rooms.”
  • In the upper left-hand corner, you will see an icon with a hammer and a music note press the hammer.
Press the Hammer! this brings up the bottom image.
Furniture Tools you can also bring this up by pressing (Ctrl + f)
  • From there you’ll get a whole other set of icons these are going to be your room editing icons. Each one performs a different function. These functions are; explore (Ctrl + E) , move (Ctrl +M) , rotate (Ctrl + r) , scale (Ctrl + s) , copy (Ctrl + P) , reset (Ctrl + t) , lock (Ctrl + l) , delete (Ctrl + d) , undo (Ctrl + u) , redo (Ctrl + m) , and a help button. The keyboard shortcuts are as you can see in parenthesis just in case you want to learn them it makes editing and creating rooms so much easier with the keyboard shortcuts. You can also pull up the furniture tools by pressing (Ctrl + f).
Empty room to start out with I’m going for a chic city style for this example.
  • Now that we know what all the icons are, how they work, and what to do let’s make a new room. Go ahead and click a room from you’re “My rooms” list. I picked “To Trust me Danny” by the creator “Typical” since it’s my only empty room. You’ll start with an empty room like the one above.
  • Then you will click the chair icon I told you about to go to your furniture tab where all your furniture is. To add a piece into your room just click one of the furniture icons and it will show up in your room.
This is how the icons will look whether you choose a room or a furniture item.
  • Since this is just the basics were just positioning the furniture with the readily available pose balls. Depending on the room you might only get specific places to place furniture you can click the move icon or use the keyboard shortcut and move that furniture piece to where you want it within reason. You’re limited at this point until I teach you a little trick in the next post for IMVU room creation number 2.
This icon will come up with whatever you chose from the furniture tools. From here you can click and drag to move or click and rotate your mouse when on the rotate icon to rotate the piece of furniture.
  • From this point, you can use any of the functions in your room tools to make your room yours! It takes a little practice, but I was able to learn how to create rooms after I knew you could do it yourself within an hour at most. It’s a pretty simple process with the IMVU platform client.
This is my end result example of how I decorated the space.

Hopefully, this helped you get started on your room creation as I noted from before this is for beginners and this is just the main basics, I’ll post more advanced How-To’s once you get this down. There are many tricks and things you can do from this point, but this was just to give you an idea on how everything worked and how to get started especially if your new and only learned how to do avatar creation or have only been in the chatroom’s or the chat now area of IMVU. Some people don’t even know that you can create unique rooms from an empty room and furniture you can buy through IMVU’s shop. Which to give you an idea looks like the photo to your right you know just in case you’re like me and enjoy shopping and wasting your money on virtual items as I do. It’s almost like in-app purchases if you’re more of a mobile user. To be fair buying things virtually is cheaper than reality and gives you the same instant gratification, however, sometimes it can get out of hand. I’ll be creating a post soon on virtual world currency and my experiences relating around that so stay tuned. Any questions about this post please feel free to type them below in the comments and I’ll respond within 48 hours of you posting the comment.

Sailing 101 in Second Life

Sailing 101 in Second Life

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

For those who haven’t read it, yet I wrote a post on my experience finding out about sailing in Second Life and how I’ve been getting into it as of recently. This is a 101 beginners post on how to start and what to do and some places that might help as far as rezzing your boat out on the open water and some sailors lingo. This also works for open sim virtual worlds like Trinity and a few others. As usual, I’m going to add a disclaimer, this post is for beginners or those just starting with sailing some of this is information I’ve learned through other people, blogs, and my own experience. Please leave constructive criticism only if the comments are open if not go ahead and like the post, if this has helped you or you found it to be informative and something you’d get into. With all of that mumble jumbo being said let’s get our sea legs ready and jump right in!

Getting a Boat:

The first thing you’re going to have to do is find a boat to get started. Please don’t make the same mistake I’ve made and just go out all willy nilly and buy yourself a boat. The best Second Life boats for boating if you’re serious about it and the well-made ones are extremely expensive they cost anywhere between 2,500 Lindens onward. Save yourself the money until you know this is something you want to do and something that would be a good investment for you. Sailing is a great way to spice up your virtual world life but only if you’re serious about doing it more than once your entire time online. There are free boats that you can obtain to start with. This gives you a taster as to what sailing is like in Second Life and if you’ll enjoy it sometimes, we just buy on impulse. I know I do. I found a place in Second Life where you can get a free boat to try out sailing you can also rez your boat here so it’s a great place to start if you’re interested. 

Blake Sea – Half Hitch Rez Center and Harbor

This is a link to the Blake Sea – Half Hitch Rez center and Harbor where you can Rez you’re ship or acquire a free one to try out sailing. To grab one of the free ships once you land in the area there is a box which will be shown to the right of this post you will click it and it will Rez out for you and you can use it for free. A great option if you’re not sure if you would enjoy boating or not. 

Now let’s say you are serious about boating in Second Life and you want to buy yourself a nice boat to use on the waters. These are serious investments in Second Life as they cost a lot of virtual currency. Either you will have to save for it or put real money into the virtual world for that currency. Make sure this is something you want to do. If you do, please continue reading…

I looked around for hours for nicely made boats that will give you a very realistic boating experience in world. I also did some research on other WordPress blogs and talked to some sailors myself to find out what some of the best ship and boat makers are and with that, I’ve compiled a list of creators that you might want to look into for your first one. I specifically wound up getting a motorized sailboat as it fits my style it can be used for both cruisings on the waters with the sails or used with the engine so it’s a hybrid and works out to my advantage. I’ll probably never race my boat but that’s popular to do in Second Life is racing. Mine to give you all an idea is a boat from The Mesh Shop which in my opinion makes some of the best boats that I’ve looked at before buying mine. Also, keep in mind my specific boat was 3,000 Lindens which is about 12-13$ USD so be wary of that.

Keep in mind every boat is different there are different types of boats there are motor yachts, sailing boats, and manuals that you can choose from to use. Some ships run off of the actual wind in Second Life and yes there is wind in Second Life, who would have thought?  Some sailboats sail only with the Second Life wind system others you can pick your wind direction and speed. For the most part, when you buy a boat you will often get a manual this will show you how to operate your boat I’d highly suggest doing one out of two things. I’d read the manual and then operate the boat or if your hands-on operate the boat while you read the manual. But I can’t stress this enough if your boat comes with a manual and you’re new to sailing READ THE MANUAL. 

Boat Creators to Check-Out:

Bandit (Analyse Dean) Marketplace link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/120514

BBX Design/ Yachts & Buildings (Aymec Millet) Marketplace link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/63972

Inworld store: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunny%20Bay/162/129/26

Trudeau (Jacqueline Trudeau) Marketplace link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/1275

Inworld store: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Trudeau%20Classic%20Yachts/194/64/23/

Dogma9 has one ship called the Moon shadow that’s 7,000 Lindens but super nice if you want to check that out Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Moon-Shadow-White/14405046

The Mesh Shop (Kain Xenobuilder) Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/94614

Inworld store: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dutch%20Harbor/142/142/25

This is where I got my ship from mine is called (TMS) Café Del Mar it’s quite the beauty I put a picture to the right for reference it is a sailboat like I’ve described above in obtaining a boat. It’s a great option and more cost-effective than some of the boats you’ll find on Second Life. However, the normal starting point is 3,000 Lindens sometimes there are more that are cheaper, but they won’t be the best quality and what you will need if you’re serious about sailing.

Berdav (Anu Daviau) Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/32972

They don’t sell boats anymore, but they have little paddle boats that you can buy you can search the creator they might have more elsewhere but with the research, I couldn’t find her store anymore. She made some nice motorized yachts at the time though they were smaller but worth every penny.

Ocean Industries (Markus Hirszberg) Marketplace link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/89115

A small assortment of motorized boats there is a luxury edition of the skyline which looks like it could be a suitable product for boating. After doing some research on it if you’re interested. It’s a low end priced boat costing 2,990 Lindens I’ll go ahead and post the link here if you want to take a look at it. https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Skyline-Luxury-Edition/6730452

E- Tech (Envy Melody) Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/35536

Not the best boats but they’re a little more affordable and somewhat nice for the price you pay well to start with to see if it’s something you’re going to keep up with. Boats are anywhere from 599 Lindens to 2,800 Lindens on the Second Life marketplace.

There are more creators than this, but this is just to get you started on you’re boating search for what you may want as well as different price ranges. I tried to get places that were all different prices so you could see what you would get in each price range and what is obtainable.

Where to Rez your boats:

When it comes to rezzing your boats there are places where you can and it is doable. Normally you can Rez them in specific corners of the Blake Sea sims that are meshed together or you can do it at a harbor, marina, or Rez area that you find along your travels. An example would be the link I posted above for the Half Hitch Rez center which I’ll also post the link here for you guys as well. It’s a very small spot where you can Rez your ship but you can Rez it and be on your way. Plus to be fair it’s a non-populated area so, for the most part, you will be alone and not have to deal with someone else trying to Rez their ships as well. 

Blake Sea – Half Hitch Rez Center and Harbor

Another place that I could suggest which I found from a WordPress blog called Sailing in Second Life which if you’re interested in more about sailing and learning how to live life on the sea you should check it out. The writer stated that a good area for him to Rez their vessel is in the Starboards Yacht Club in Hollywood.

Starboards Yacht Club in Hollywood

I haven’t checked out this area yet but “Sailing in Second Life” is not the only blog that had mentioned it when it came to finding where to Rez your boat to sail. On my journey, I’ve come across a few places to Rez ships which I will go ahead and list below I tried to limit it down to my top 10 places where it’s been not to laggy and easy experience.

Places to Rez Your Boats and Vessels:

New Port Yacht Club (Bay City):

http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Port/20/100/24/

Oyster Bay (you can Rez boats and can sail out to sea. You. Can also go down the Linden River from here and enter other sea’s as well from this Rez point.):

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oyster/95/175/85/

Bering (Rez area):

https://secondlife.com/destination/bering

This is a perfect place it is a safe Rez spot where you can test out your new boat, it’s quiet with very little people and an awesome place to get started. Highly recommend.

Blake Sea – Spyglass:

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blake%20Sea%20-%20Spyglass/144/199/22

DP Public Dock:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Trelliana/60/133/28

Mermaid Inn at Pier side Yacht Club:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Salliohsis/53/193/22

This is an area that I have visited recently after the suggestion on a WordPress blog I saw that talked about where you could Rez to sail and this came up. It’s both a Yacht club with spaces to rent a hotel to rent out rooms as well as a public rez zone for those who just need to get their ships up and going. I’d suggest this option mainly because you will meet a lot of people there who have experience with sailing in Second Life who can give you tips and pointers and help you on your journey if you need. A lot of the people I’ve personally met here are very nice, drama free, and are willing to help if you’re confused with something about your ship such as wind direction, etc.

Tuliptree (rez zone):

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tuliptree/184/204/21

Barnbarossa Ferry terminal (Linden Labs Infohub) here you can even grab a free boat that you can Rez out if your short on cash to buy one. This is a great place to get started and a nice Rez zone sometimes it can get busy though so be careful with this area. The few times I’ve visited there are more than 10 people. Unless you don’t mind people it’s a large vast area to Rez and get started. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Barbarossa/184/48/23

Satori Bay (3 region location various things to do and places to rez)

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Barbarossa/184/48/23

This is a good option for a beginner because it has a little bit of everything to start you off. It’s three regions and it’s a mixture of a marina, place to chat, walk, and shop like anywhere else in Second Life, place to rez, a place to rent boats if you don’t want to go out and buy your own yet, stores for rent, there is just so much to do so if you don’t rez here at least check it out! It won’t be a waste of time I went here for the first time yesterday and it’s a new favorite place for me to chill with my little sailboat.

Second Life Sailing Center and History Museum

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Barbarossa/184/48/23

This is a wonderful place for beginners as it is a Yacht club, history museum for sailing where you can learn a lot of new things on you’re sailing adventures. It also has UPDATED listings and information for Yacht clubs, sailing blogs, and the history of sailing in Second Life. A place to go as a beginner it has helped me out so much everyone thinks I’m a seasoned boater and I’m a noob at boating in Second Life. So this is a huge suggestion from me.

What Seas Are There to Sail in?

Good question there is a variety of different places where you can go sailing, however, the most popular places are going to be as followed:

  • Sea of Fables
  • Blake Sea
  • Ahab’s Hunt
  • Gulf of Lauren
  • Greta
  • Puerto Arianti

These are the major seas and gulfs where you can sail your boat if you look any of these up you can start sailing pretty much once you get to those regions of water. I will post links later on when I can find all of them for you guys. But for right now you can just search these places inside Second Life and teleport to these major bodies of water. Hopefully for now though this helps you! One thing I wanted to add is in the Blake Sea there are places to Rez your ships there as well.

These are just a few things to get beginners started when it comes to sailing in Second Life and even in other open sim virtual worlds. Hopefully, this helps you on you’re journey and some of these links will help you get to where you want to be with your sailing experience. Some users are so into the boating community that they dock and just live on their boat. Or they explore the open seas and just relax in the middle of the Blake Sea on their boat. This is an actual living alternative which I’ll explain in another post later on. Second Life is an amazing place to try sailing and the sailing on Second Life is a great alternative to an actual boating simulator and there is so much more to do and experience. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask me or read some other blogs based around the Second Life sailing community. Don’t forget there are so many places to learn how to be a part of the sailing community on Second Life there are so many Yacht clubs and marinas and a ton of Second Life sailing blogs to look into. Use your resources you will be happy that you did.

Bon Voyage!

Alleviating Drama

Alleviating Drama

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Let’s be honest this is already a constant battle in reality but maybe this post will be able to help you not just in your virtual life but in your reality as well. I’m hoping the advice and thoughts I give here can be used wherever you are in reality, online, etc. To begin, I shouldn’t have to but I’m going to put a disclaimer on this post I’m not a psychologist and what I say shouldn’t replace a medical professional if you see one or need one. These are ways I’ve coped with drama in a virtual world setting and my thoughts and ideas that I have used that I’m sharing with you to possibly help you alleviate the drama you might be experiencing in your virtual life. With that being said let’s jump in!

No one wants to deal with the everyday drama we already get it enough think about it… if you’re like me you probably have friends who I’d like to call sometimey friends. Sometimes they’re your best friend on but other days they can be your worst nightmare and you can’t help but wonder if they’re using you for their gain even if you don’t know what that gain might be. This isn’t healthy to be around it’s a form of drama believe it or not you may not think it is but if it is impairing your way of thinking and your emotions then it is toxic. A true friend you won’t feel this around you will feel calm, happy like you can talk about anything, or do almost anything and everything together. It won’t feel like a chore however, people always have disagreements you might fight but in the end, you will pick up where you both left off if you can’t do that with someone then they aren’t a friend they’re either an acquaintance or just someone you know. The fact of life is you can’t friend everyone! I’ve learned this the hard way. Some people are emotionally detached from themselves and reality they see those living a life they want and get jealous. Jealousy is a toxic situation and a killer of friendships and relationships. If you suspect toxic jealousy! You shouldn’t have to deal with that. If you feel unhappy around someone then you probably shouldn’t be around them, to begin with. These are the hardest truths you will ever have to read and hear circling your brain but the quicker you learn them the happier you will find yourself. One thing I want to state is you need to put yourself first this is truly an important concept. I’m not sure reader if you’re into horoscopes but I am and honestly, I’m a Taurus it states that as a Taurus we try to fix people and with me, it couldn’t be truer. I friend broken people without knowing and then try to fix what can’t be fixed. It leaves me in shambles, and this is part of the drama as well. you can’t fix or change a person they can only do that themselves so please for the love of G-d and all that is holy do not friend someone and think you can change their outlook on life or fix them from being a toxic person into someone that’s not. Sometimes it’s just their personality and in that case, it is time for you to move on. You can be a good friend and listen but don’t involve yourself in other people’s problems in life. That is something they need to fix on their own and come to terms with their reality whether it be real life or virtually.

Let’s say you’re in an in-world system using Second Life A&D and Bloodlines as an example. You’re in a clan, horde, family, chorus, etc. Let’s say they all call for a group chat in Discord, Skype, or the world and when you go in the person who brought everyone together start talking bad about another group, or talking bad about someone they kicked out of the group, or even discussing how they dumped someone for whatever reason. This is drama! Don’t stay in that call you have no obligation to stay. If you stay in it, you’re putting yourself in the drama and now you’re just a part of it like the person sharing the drama and everyone else that’s in the call listening. You’re now the drama itself. Don’t do this just leave! Your only obligation is to your real live emotional and physical health don’t let in world crap impact how you feel in reality. This is the most important thing I could say to you! This is all explained from experience and things I’ve dealt with and I’m hoping this can help you with whatever situations you find yourself in. Drama in the virtual world is just as real as the drama you will find in everyday reality it’s dangerous, toxic, and hurtful. Don’t be a part of this there are so many things you could be doing than putting up with drama you could deal with in your reality. A virtual world shouldn’t impact you in a negative way you should be happy, relaxed, and entertained while in one. You should feel like it’s. a true escape from reality not leaving reality to go into the same thing or something worse. With that being said let me share a scenario with you that could be drama-related that you might have experienced at one point or another;

You log in for the night onto whatever virtual world you’re logging into and you find out that your boyfriend is cheating on you with a friend, family member, etc. in world. What do you do?

In this scenario there are a few things you could do you could confront the situation calmly and if he truly is cheating break up with him. Or just break up with him quickly remove him on everything and block him and anyone else that could be a part of the situation even if they were, your best friend it’s not worth your emotions.

You log in for the night and everyone turns on you because someone set you up or made you look like the bad guy what do you do?

In this scenario as hard as it is and will be you remove everyone and start fresh… You remove all the toxicity and move forward it wasn’t anything you did wrong. You have to understand with drama you can’t blame yourself unless you’re the one who started it so you remove everyone and block them that’s the magic of the internet you can actually do that so take advantage and if you’re like me and that’s hard to do then do it log off and go do something else. If you need to cry, then cry were only human! We have emotions as much as they suck, they make us human… This is probably some of the best advice I can give for now, but it is important to follow it otherwise you will constantly blame yourself. You will think everything is your fault, you will feel vulnerable, you will feel lost, you will let your emotions get the best of you and you will become and be the drama or part of it. Don’t do that! Do yourself a favor and help yourself emotionally and physically.

At the end of the day even though everyone online is a human being behind a computer screen it isn’t your reality do not let it get the best of you and don’t let it pull you into a rut or a ton of emotions it’s not worth it. I do hope this helped and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to send me a message on my e-mail and introduce yourself. I’m always happy to chat and listen even if you’re a stranger it’s part of my personality to help others.

Till the next post Chao!

e-mail: ember435@outlook.com

Introduction to What The Virtual World in Game Systems A&D And Bloodlines Are And How to Choose One to Get Started

Introduction to What The Virtual World in Game Systems A&D And Bloodlines Are And How to Choose One to Get Started

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The first question that I’d like to address is what are A&D (Angels and Demons) and Bloodlines?

A&D and Bloodlines are considered to be HUD based systems on Second Life which helps you to enhance RP (roleplay) experiences. As you might know, there are some games categorized as MMORPG’s (Massively multiplayer online roleplaying games) which are open-world games that you explore with quests that you can play with other players from around the world. A&D and Bloodlines are focused on providing that same idea and environment in a virtual world atmosphere. However, in a way, this has become a virtual world lifestyle for some players. For some virtual world users this is why they come into Second Life every day to play these systems and in A&D’s terms skill to raise HUD skills. Or these users come on to play these systems to immerse themselves in a roleplay that sometimes people may seem is all too real. It is fun to do and is somewhat of a time-waster, I’ll be honest I’ve played both and they get your mind off of things and both are super interactive you have all of Second Life to explore and play with these system HUDs in. A&D is an Angels versus Demons system where you can choose what side you want to play on (being an Angel or a Demon) you can play with others or solo. However, a lot of players are part of what is called hordes and chorus’s (hordes for demons chorus’s for angels) experienced players tend to search for newer players to bring into their little families. Each horde or chorus operates differently and has specific things they focus on in the system. Some focus on family and are extremely active. Some other active hordes and choruses focus on the roleplay aspect where you have to dress as the character you want to be and act like the character you create of yourself. Then there are also ones that skill and don’t fight which is the one I’ve learned to appreciate and enjoy the most. Then there are inactive hordes and chorus’s which if you’re worried about drama with large groups of people is going to be the best for your play style this goes for Bloodlines as well. These hordes, chorus’s, and families aren’t always around at the same time and you may only meet like 5 people from the entire group this is more for if you want to play these systems solo. They will be there to help you if needed but otherwise, you’re on your own you can pretty much do what you want to do and experience through the HUD and A&D and Bloodlines systems. I prefer this way more than the active hordes, clans, families, and choruses. There is less room to be brought into bull shit that you don’t want to be a part of (pardon my French). A&D is a lot more interactive than some other systems on Second Life for the fact that you can skill such as herbalism, mining, and crafting just like you would in an MMORPG such as Final Fantasy 14 Online (FFXIV) or World of Warcraft (WOW).

Even though I pretty much explained it through my A&D description there is also Bloodlines. Bloodlines have families or clans that you are a part of. For the most part, this system is multiplayer whether you want to play with others or not. So, you would be forced to join a clan or family. But if you want more of the solo experience than you would pick more of an inactive clan instead of an active one. Bloodlines revolve around Vampires, Lycans, and recently through the past few years, you can now just be part of the system as a human which is nice if you don’t want to roleplay as a fantasy creature. The idea of this system is to go out through the world of Second Life and hunt or battle other players to gain achievements and reach new “levels”. It’s a very similar idea to A&D so if you read the description above it’s straightforward as to what Bloodlines is as well just with Vampires and Lycans. Each system is based on personal preference. The systems are for everyone and they can be quite fun to play.

Active versus inactive hordes, clans, chorus’s, and families:

I want to bring to the forefront the main differences between active and inactive groups in the system. I’m going to refer to them as groups so I’m not typing each one out individually throughout the rest of the post. When a group is active there are going to be for the most part a lot of people in that group or you’re going to become the outsider of such a close-knit family until newer players continue to flood into the active group, you’re in. Sometimes this creates drama which I’ll explain in a later post regarding my experience with A&D if you want some real piping hot tea spilled. But for the most part these groups you will be with a lot of the time these groups become more of a lifestyle in the virtual world atmosphere where you spend most of your time with your group and even sometimes live on the land, they’re on. However, if you’re more private like I am and want a more solo unrushed experience playing on these systems I would suggest an inactive group. These groups are sometimes online but they don’t base their life or virtual world lifestyle around the system. They normally do it when they’re bored or just want something to do while being a part of the system. This is the type of group I prefer because you also are less likely to run into any type of drama or issue with anyone and still get the same experience as playing with an active group. This is something to consider if you want to join one of these systems just be mindful of who you play with and what you want out of the game as a whole. These are things to think about before joining. Also, another thing you should consider is if you can dedicate time to keep yourself fed in either system that means logging on, I’d say once a day or once every other day. There is a sense of dedication to these systems but like I said it gives you something to do if you’re looking for that sort of experience in your virtual life.

You said there is drama? But I don’t want to deal with drama! I get that enough in my reality:

Don’t we all! But with anything that brings together a large group of individuals together with different personality types and interests, there will be some sort of conflict at some point. This is why I suggest inactive groups if you do join one of these systems. This is because even though there are different people with personality types and interests there not always around at the same time or just keep to themselves which brings less drama into, your atmosphere. Through the years while being a part of these systems I’ve seen people come and go while taking part of the active group experience. I’ve also seen full-on active groups die and become non-existent altogether because of drama. The system itself is a game however the impact that human individuals make on one another is not. Just be mindful of people and if you do join an active group just lay low, be mindful of others, and be careful. You can be in an active group and avoid drama there are always ways around things for example, when you see it starting just distance yourself. Stop going around as often etc. and communicate with those you trust in the group to see if it is okay to come back when the drama dies down. They will wonder where you went but then you can just say real life has been taking its toll. For the most part, if you stay out of the drama it won’t find you, however, if the drama includes you…good luck and Lord have mercy on your soul young padawan.

Achievements:

Both systems have an achievement system in the HUDs this has got to be my favorite thing with both A&D and Bloodlines. It’s the only thing that made me want to continuously play because if you’re getting rewarded for something, you’re doing it’s like validation. It’s like you’re doing something right an instant gratification. Which to be honest, I’m the type that needs instant gratification to feel like what I’m doing is right or okay, etc. I love the achievement system on both the websites are clean, easy to follow, and it just makes me want to beat everyone in the high score and achievements table because then you are well known. Other than that, you don’t get much out of it. Skilling and items: Well, this is a fun one to explain so the best way to describe this is on a smartphone you have an app store whether it be the Apple App Store or the Android Google Play store. Let’s say there is a game you want, and you find there are in-app purchases. That’s kind of how these systems run their game on Second Life. You can buy blood, tanks, caskets, etc. for Bloodlines to help your chances in the game with the virtual world currency Linden which you buy with real money or earn doing a Second Life job. With A&D there are add on’s, skilling items, etc. that you can buy to put on your land to craft in the comfort of your land, etc. So welcome to the land of in-game purchases though both claim that they’re all free. But to be fair they are free, but they have to make their money from, somewhere right?

In the end, it just comes to personal preference on pretty much everything discussed above do you want an active or inactive group? Do you want angels versus demons or vampires versus Lycans? The sky is the limit and just like everything else you can do in a virtual world you can be who you want and do what you want. These are just roleplay experiences to either get you into roleplay or put you on a set quest path like in a video game. Ready to add some spice to your virtual life? This may just be what you’re looking for.

How to Obtain a Pet in Second Life? & What are Breedables?

How to Obtain a Pet in Second Life? & What are Breedables?

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The first question you might be asking yourself just by examining the title is, what are breedables? The definition of breedables in the world of Second Life is a pet that is taken care of just like you would take care of a pet in reality. However, this pet can be bred to make exclusive versions of the pets you have that you can either sell for online currency or keep and show off. Breedables are popular because it gives the full experience of owning a pet such as buying food, collars, water, etc. to take care of the pet and keep it’s stats or happiness, health, and sleep levels up just like you would take care of yourself or a real-life pet. However, some people only use breedables for breeding them and making popular breeds or unique traits and coats for their pets. Some sell for over USD 100 in the virtual world platform of Second Life. Amazing! Isn’t it? This is just one form of pet that you can own in Second Life. However, if you’re like me and have too much responsibility with a real-life pet and don’t want to put too much real-life money into Second Life to get virtual currency to spend on taking care of a pet, then you might be interested in virtual pets that aren’t breedables and guess what? They do exist, and they’re just a one-time price.

JIAN is a famous pet maker in Second Life they specialize in creating mesh and Animesh pets that you don’t have to take care of, but you can interact with them. By interact you won’t be able to feed them or whatnot, but you can hold them, pet them, give them toys, watch them wander around, take pictures with them and Instagram it all over the internet or whatever millennials do nowadays, etc. This is my chosen option for having pets or any animal in Second Life as these are carefree, so if I’m offline, they won’t get sick, pass away, or die. Which let’s be honest I think most of us would prefer something like the JIAN pets, especially if you have a busy lifestyle or use Second Life to escape real-life responsibilities.

An example of breedable pets that are popular and constantly found throughout Second Life are:

  • Amaretto and ABC horses
  • KittyCats
  • Zooby Babies (yes breedables can be baby avatars as well crazy huh?)

These are just a few, but these from what I’ve seen are the most popular breedables that can be found and that are enjoyable to most individuals. I, for one, will be honest with all of you I have had and acquired all three and have been roped into them for years. However, now I only have KittyCats which keep getting sick because I’m not around a whole lot (at least they’re not dead) and Zooby babies (recently they went from prim to mesh so to take care of them is a lot cheaper than in the past and worth it). I will type up a whole post about Zooby babies and my experience with them in the near future. If you’re interested in that, please keep an eye on future posts. But from experience breedables can get pricey, especially if you don’t control yourself with how many you have. If you have one or two, it isn’t so bad but any more then that and to keep them happy and healthy takes a toll. To be fair though a lot of Second Life users see breeables as almost a game. If this is something you’re interested in, then go for it! It can be fun but realize money does go into them and to keep your breedable habits under control if you try it.

As far as JIAN pets I own quite a few of their pets and animals but my all time favorites that I own are:

  • Guinea Pig’s
  • Cats
  • Wolves
  • Ferrets

These are so great, especially if you like watching animations they scamper around, do little tricks, make noises, everything a breedable can do. They are fantastic and a great addition if you own a parcel or piece of land to call home on Second Life. They have their perks, and in the long run, they’re a lot cheaper than taking care of a breedable.

Overall, there are two ways to have pets in Second Life above I have provided two examples one primary example of breedables and one example of just having a pet or companion to have with you throughout your virtual journey. These are just some ideas if you’re looking to get started with a pet on Second Life. I will be creating posts both on JIAN animals and my breedable experiences. I’m going to have a post on Zooby babies and hope you will keep an eye out for all of them. If you have questions about breedables or finding a pet for you’re avatar and self to enjoy in Second Life, please leave a comment below, and I will answer as soon as I possibly can.