Almost everyone is aware that Linden Labs recently started
making new age (as I’d like to put it) Linden Homes that keep up with the
innovations of Second Life. It’s a slow process but little by little they
continue to build the Bellisseria continent up with hundreds of new Linden
homes to choose from. The original Linden homes are still available today and
they’re the easiest to obtain as of lately. The first homes that were introduced
right after the Summer of 2019 were the traditional houses and the announcement
of their houseboats. For those who are unaware of premium land fees that are
included with your premium account have recently risen from 512 sqm to 1,024
sqm. These new Linden homes use up the full 1,024 sqm of land fees that you
have with your premium membership instead of the original 512 sqm. With the
rise of your land per sqm that you receive that means you also obtain more
prims that you’re able to decorate within these Linden homes. How exciting! I’m
a little late to the ball game when explaining the Bellisseria continent as
other bloggers have obtained some of these new Linden homes and have already
posted about them. But what they haven’t posted is something I’m going to be
explaining.
Along with these new traditional Linden homes and the welcoming of the houseboats to the Bellisseria region the other day they’re building onto the Bellisseria region more to make more of these homes available. I logged on at around 1:30 pm EST yesterday and they had houseboats and traditional homes available. Sadly, I wasn’t quick enough for either but the fact that they’re becoming available more often than before states that they’re building onto the region, so everyone can partake in the new age of Linden homes in Bellisseria. It seems every few days between 1:30-3 pm you can find some of these available whether people abandon them and let them go or Linden Labs adding more of these homes for their consumers.
This region is highly sought after and recently I also noticed their new camper region in Bellisseria having more options available and availability for us premium users. Make sure that you keep an eye open. However, keep in mind the camper region is a little different as far as the Bellisseria homes that they have released before this region. The campers are smaller is square meters making them similar to the original Linden homes at 512 sqm’s per parcel and camper with an amount of 175 prims to decorate with. This isn’t an issue but you have to be okay with the fact that it’s not using your full land tier that comes with your premium and that you don’t have the same amount of prims to decorate with like the traditional homes and the houseboats that were released before the camper region. The camper region is brand new to the Bellisseria region and was announced on September 24th before Halloween came around. All the campers were snagged almost immediately after they were released. I was able to find a lot more of these available when looking to get something in the Bellisseria region with my premium account. I feel you have better luck obtaining one of these than the other Bellisseria Linden homes and I think it has to be with the square meters and the prim amount. I don’t know about you but if you want more just add more land tier to your account and buy some mainland if you want more land to decorate on or whatnot. That’s just my opinion or if you don’t mind using a sandbox than that is completely free and with your premium account, the Sandboxes that are available for premium members are normally empty. Take advantage of this!
To draw these conclusions since now I live in Bellisseria I
traveled around a little and I was just exploring my surroundings, However, I
came up to areas that said SP and then a number means that they’re building
more of these new Linden homes. To be honest, through my explorations they’re
either adding beach homes next or they’re going to work on making more
houseboats in one specific area. To be fair though I think the Campers part of
the region is where I currently reside… has the most privacy. For the first
time I also accidentally walked into a Linden while they were working which is
indicated by a blue dot on the map instead of a green (first time this has ever
happened to me off of Teen Grid in the past). Ahead of time, I’m sorry Kona
Linden for walking in on you while doing whatever you were doing in these
areas. When they’re building up new sections the area is unnamed and yellow
lines are indicating the separation of parcels. The green that you see in these
photos indicate the position of the Linden home and where the rezzer will rez
it when completed. I didn’t expect to walk into this building process but also
keep in mind in December they’re releasing a new Linden home option as well so
keep your eyes peeled for that. This information is found on the new blog post
that Linden Labs had made for today. There’s a lot of work being done and it’s
all super exciting!
In conclusion, those who feel like it’s virtually impossible
to obtain a new Linden home it’s not. They’re starting to pop up a whole lot
more with more opportunities every day to obtain one. Don’t lose hope if you’ve
been trying to acquire one this shows the initiative that Linden Labs is making
to create more of them for their consumers like you and me. Also, after today’s
newest blog post on the Second Life website, they’re releasing a new theme of
Linden homes for us as well which will be shown during the December holiday
expo this year. There are going to be more chances than ever to move away from
the original Linden homes. For those still trying to get one of these Linden
homes may the odds ever be in your favor and good luck.
To bring heartfelt
honest opinions and content to everyone I tend to never post what I won’t go
out and do for myself. This time around the goal was to find out if Second Life
is a virtual world that is user-friendly and accessible and easy to understand
for all users who decide to choose this platform to start their virtual world
journey. I decided to hit the reset button and create a whole new account and
start over to bring all of you a detailed post on my experiences being a noob
in Second Life today.
Disclaimer, this post
is filled with ideas and opinions that are mine from my experiences if you have
constructive criticism please feel free to comment or message me but there
shouldn’t be any hate. This is what I went through as an individual in this
virtual world experience and I’m bringing back what I’ve experienced with me to
show and help you as the reader who is interested in joining a virtual world or
just wanted to know more about them. Another thing to add is this post will be
a lot longer than a lot of the others as I must fit in a large amount of
content into a smallish type post (I tried this won’t be a small post). If
there is a section, you want to know more about than another I went ahead and
titled each area for all of you if there is a section you might not want to
read.
Let’s get started!
Signing up:
As for most virtual
worlds, you start with the whole signing up. Whether or not it is a viewer or
platform-based or a browser-based virtual world the sign up is always in
your internet browser. One thing I found super cool is when signing up
for a Second Life account now it gives you an option to be male, female, or
gender variant/non-binary (how they labeled other). Because my first avatar is
named Ellie, I went with the username EllieThePracticalWitch cute huh? Anyway,
it also gives you the option right then and there if you want to be basic or
premium which is nice. I honestly didn’t know premium was available until a
friend told me about it which is when I began paying for it about two years
ago. I’ll be posting a post about that in the future. It only gives you the
option to download the Second Life default viewer with no third-party software.
Even though I use a third-party open sim viewer I downloaded the default viewer
just to see differences and specifics since I’ll also be doing a post on
firestorm versus the default Second Life viewer so stay tuned for that. Then
you realize technology is a little creepier than you expect because it came up
knowing that I was brand new without me putting my information in such as my
username and password. How fun! But it does tell you what you’re about to
experience with pictures of what each place looks like.
To the right, it says:
“Your first step is learning island. Find the exit portal!”
To the left, it says:
“Then explore the social island and meet other new residents!”
Well, let’s see what
happens since we’re “new” currently.
It seems like when you
pop in as I stood at the landing point for a little bit people get randomly put
into a default avatar. You can’t choose which default avatar you want to be to
start anymore. In the past you could they also had furry options which were
nice if you’re into the furry community. But now most of their avatars are
either human, angels & demons, vampires, or just fantasy-themed I’m
assuming from the medieval era. At the beginning you also receive this message:
Freebie store at the end of the corner before it sends you on your way into the world of Second Life after the tutorial.
════[ YOUR APPEARANCE ]═════════════════
Don’t worry about how
you look right now. Enjoy this tutorial,
and at the end of it, you will be led to the Freebie Megastore where you can
customize your appearance.
═════════════════════════════════
Meli Imako Freebie items for male avatars in Second Life these are mesh items and super nice quality.
This is a game-changer because in the past I had no one I had to make my own money or online currency and buy things myself to not look super noobish or find my freebie store. So, I give major props to Linden Labs for moving forward giving newer players everything they need so far to get started. They also give you signs to teach you how to interact with the environment around you which is super helpful if you have no idea what you’re doing. Another huge step up in the game is for male avatars their giving away nicely made mesh clothes with full permissions created by a popular full permissions creator in Second Life whose name is Meli Imako. That just blew my mind because I normally buy a lot of her stuff and then re texture it. I’m super blown away currently. To be fair it’s only 4 items in a small shop that says “freebie” down the street, but something is way better than nothing. For those wondering you can grab a landmark to the actual freebie store that you can go to after the tutorial process.
Free to play games that you will find on gambling sims otherwise known as skill gaming sims.
Something cool they also had was some of the gambling games
out to show newer players that they’re available, however, you have to be in a
state that allows online gambling but you can play these free play machines if
you wish to. Sorry Floridians I know for a fact that we can’t go into skill
gaming regions these are gambling sims. Online gambling is now illegal in the
state of Florida as well as a few other states as well.
I know I put this a little lower than when I explained this portion but this is to give you an idea of how they lead you through the tutorial. They have boards up that teach you how to do everything in Second Life which is nice. I feel you can learn at your own pace this way which is super nice some of it is confusing like this board but in other words its how to change your view point such as third person, first person, front view, etc. You don’t have to do this ever but it’s there if you want to.
Their welcome hubs are now London themed and it’s called
London City. I can only imagine the main reason for this is because Linden Labs
is in the United Kingdom which makes perfect sense. But the beginning tutorial
is very user-friendly it teaches you exactly how to do everything in an
environment you’re comfortable in with other players who are new so you don’t
feel anxiety stricken that you’re around “seasoned” players who might
not give you the time of day. It’s a more positive environment and everyone is
on the same new level.
When you first start with the sign-up process it seems
rather straight forward and simplistic. The viewer itself is somewhat
complicated but you learn how to use it with time. You can stay in the beginner
areas if you want or need you can also revisit back to it by taking the
landmark which will be a gigantic red pin and then click it to gain the
landmark. Then if you need more practice or don’t feel comfortable going out to
other places yet while you’re still learning you know you’ll be accepted in
London City.
Avatar Editing:
This is going to be a little tough you can edit pretty much
everything with an avatar every piece of the face, every aspect of the body,
and everything else such as clothes to make-up, etc. The avatar creation
process is extensive and there is so much you can do. The avatar body
appearance creator is slider based with different measurements it changes the
appearance of your overall body and face of your avatar. However, as far as
freebies nowadays most cost about 1l each sad fact but I found it extremely
hard to customize my avatar without adding a little bit of money onto the
virtual world to get some virtual world currency to get started. But luckily
the 1l freebies are relatively worth the buy they’re not the unwanted stuff
that you’d probably find years ago. So I’d put the minimum amount that Second
Life allows you to spend to get some currency to spend on creating your avatar
here is what you might need to spice it up if you don’t want to grab a mesh
body, etc yet.
A nice hair = 150-300 lindens
Clothes = 1 linden on up
Skin = can be expensive I’ll say 200 on up
Shoes = 1 linden on up
A nice AO = 250-3,000 lindens
This is an example of linden pricing on clothing for relatively nice items that don’t make you look too bad. Otherwise you won’t be able to find mesh products you would have to go with early 2000s prim products which users somewhat frown upon nowadays in Second Life.
You can find many things in many different price ranges but
for a relatively nice avatar while not being up to date with a new body and
mesh head I’d expect spending $5-$10 USD to get started. If you want things in
the future, by all means, get a job on Second Life or just add more on but
otherwise, you will be stuck with the default avatar and honestly, you don’t
want that after the one-month point. I’ll be honest I tried to put a relatively
nice avatar together with 0 lindens and it’s impossible. It was the biggest
challenge, I had to settle with prim/Flexi hair which is hair made from the
early 2000s when Second Life first released. Creating an avatar is not
beginner-friendly it took me a good hour starting over to just finish the shape
I wanted. I’m telling you I didn’t know how tough Second Life could be for a
beginner just starting with the platform. For me, it would be easier because
I’m an experienced user but I feel if someone in their 70s just needed
something to do and pass the time while being social they would have trouble
with creating an avatar unless they wanted to keep the default and just
explore. It almost makes me super happy that I create How-To posts related
around both IMVU and Second Life I feel without them people would be super lost
on what to do. This avatar creation system could be a lot more
beginner-friendly for the time being though I’ll be creating more posts now
that I know how difficult this could be for a newer player. I’m sorry that
Second Life can be a little complicated I never thought anything of it because
I’m used to the platform and how to do everything but now, I know how difficult
it can be. It’s almost awful. Keep an eye out for more posts in my How To’s.
Exploring:
To be fair you can start exploring right away! However, you
might be frowned upon for doing so but screw it you’re here to experience new
things and have fun. Don’t let anyone stop you from doing so whether you’re new
or not. When I went to certain clubs in my default avatar, I was pushed to the
side from a lot of players but in the sea of seasoned players, you find that
one person who is nice to everyone. I found this individual and were friends
now she took me out exploring even though I have the experience, but she
doesn’t know that. I thank her for being the one person in the whole game that
I’ve talked to that wanted to help and be friends with me in this vast world. I
wrote a post on Noobs and what they fear the most. The answer was acceptance
and it is the truth I can see how newer players could get discouraged.
Honestly, it hurt that players either ignored what you said, talked behind your
back in IM’s, or talked right in front of your face because you didn’t look as
good as some of the other avatars in the area, you’re in. It put a lot of
things into perspective for me but with this one individual, she showed me
around some of her favorite places. She brought me to virtual theme parks,
stores, online museums, you name it we were there. Exploring is as easy as
going to the destinations guide in your browser or hitting the icon that looks
like something, you’d find on Google Maps and picking where you want to explore
in the popular destinations. To the right, you can see what this icon looks
like and to the left, you can see the browser version and how everything is
separated into categories. Exploring and learning the controls is the easiest
part of Second Life anything to do with creation is more advanced. People might
say no but there is a lot to putting a good avatar together at the start as I
explained above. For newer players, I’m posting a small How-To below on how to
explore using the destination guide with photos hopefully this helps some of
you who are reading.
How to use the Destinations Guide & How to Pull it up:
In your Second Life viewer, you will see icons at the bottom of your screen one says destinations click that to pull up a popular or editors pick version of the destination guide.
Or you can open up your browser go to www.secondlife.com and at the top tabs, you’ll find world map click that.
Once you have clicked the world map in your browser on the side you will find the destination guide which is the same thing you’ll find in your viewer to the right of the destination guide in your browser you will find the map and where that spot is located that you’re looking for. Almost like Google World or Google Maps.
If you want the full destination guide at the top there are more clickable words one says destinations click that and it will bring you to the destinations page. The destinations page is labeled by category of what you’re looking for as seen in the photo below.
Click DestinationsWhat the destinations guide page looks like in the browserDestinations guide labeled by category off to the side that you can pick what you’re looking for easily. The page has a recently added places so new places that you can visit in Second Life.They also have an editors pick of some of the places that Second Life individuals and editors enjoyed the most during whatever month it is. For example, these are Septembers editor’s picks.
Once you click a place in the destination guide it will give you two buttons you can view it on that map, I told you about in your browser or teleport straight to it. It will open up in your viewer for easy teleporting and you’re good to go just hit teleport in your Second Life browser when it pops up.
When you click a destination in the web browser this comes up. It has a description of the place and two buttons. One says teleport the other says view on the map. Viewing it on the map will bring you back to the page with the destination guide and the world view map. Teleport will open up a window which you can see in the next photo.When you hit teleport this will pop up or something similar to this if you’re not using Firefox. You will click Second Life and then open link if you want you can click the remember my choice. Then you don’t have to continue doing it every single time. You will then get this in your viewer and you’ll use this to either view it on the map or teleport to the location in your viewer.How it looks like when you press view on map in a browser setting you will get something similar on your map in the viewer as well. I wanted to show this so you knew what would come up if you did it.
Overall, Second Life is a lot of fun but for newer users, it
can be somewhat frustrating to a fault, but it is possible to overcome this.
Now that I know the truth and how hard it can be for newer individuals I’m
going to be releasing more and more How-To’s as you have seen in this post, I
added a few How-To do certain things like finding the destination guide to
explore, etc. If I had to compare IMVU is a lot more user-friendly to start
with virtual worlds but on the other hand, there is more to do and experience
in the world of Second Life you’ll never be bored and there is always something
new you can learn. My experience was interesting, but it had its moments where
I was trying to create an avatar with 0 lindens (Second Life’s currency) which
as I stated is almost impossible to do. Or shape creation which could be more
for the advanced users. The only non-beginner thing I could experience during
this test was avatar creation everything else seemed rather simple and straight
forward when you get used to the Second Life default viewer. This was my
experience some may find it harder than others and that is okay we all learn at
our own pace. If you’re struggling, I encourage you to ask questions even if
you might get ignored and always remember there are blogs like mine aimed
towards newer members getting started in virtual worlds and of course YouTube
videos. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them I’m always
willing to help if I can.
Charming Ellie 