A Gentleman in Caledon

I've been fascinated by the Caledon sims and steampunk/Victorian lifestyle. But to explore the region further, I decided that one must dress like the natives. I found a nice suit at Phantasgorium (I believe that's the name), donned a bowler hat (a top hat seemed too dressy for everyday use), and readied myself for further explorations.

Gamba's Castle Update

My friend and business partner, Mare, is a part-time mermaid, so I thought it would be nice to have a pool, and move her lodgings from the separate skybox they were in down next to it. The pool and house are on the left side in the pictures.

SteamSkyCity

Made a visit to the new SteamSkyCity in Caledon. An impressive build, and pure steampunk. You can get an idea as to the scale from the two figures in the landing bay (I'm the one on the left).

New Neighbors

I decided to check on my ground-level terrace, and found that the Japanese-style building that had been next door was gone, and in its place was a rather large skyscraper. These things happen suddenly and unexpectedly in SL.


It rather blocks the view that I had; fortunately I have already moved everything to my platform just above the cloud layer.

Castle In the Air 2

I wasn't happy with the particle effect I had underneath the Castle grounds, so I decided to borrow some tech from the steampunk crowd. This makes the construction feel more dynamic, in my opinion.


The accompanying low sound effect of the engines adds ambiance to the Castle and grounds as well.

Castle in the Air

I've put my place in Sipiwesk through some changes in the past. Why settle for one design when it costs nothing (well, my time) to do something different?

I lately decided to get above the clutter of neighbors. At first, I built a 200-meter tower, which worked, but lacked a certain ambience, being done in a rather austere Faux Medieval style.

But if you're trying to get above the crowd, there are better ways. After all, SL doesn't limit you to mundane things like physical laws. The Law of Gravity is more like ... a guideline.

So I tore down the tower and rebuilt just above the cloud layer, at 230 meters. It's a work in progress (and probably always be), but I'm much more satisfied with the effect.

I added particles coming out of the base to maintain altitude and position. A local teleport system gets me around without having to waste prims on things like stairs and the like.

Unfortunately, it isn't as isolated up here as I would like. It seems everybody is building skyboxes these days, and there are floating constructions all the way up to 700 meters in the neighborhood. But they are reasonably distant enough that I feel like I have some privacy.

Speaking Out

I guess I should weigh in on the proposal to add voice to Second Life. When I first entered the virtual world, I had expected something like that, and was a bit surprised to find that it wasn't implemented.

That being said, I don't plan on using voice when/if it does get put in. My Otherworldly voice (as Ordinal Malaprop so quaintly puts it) doesn't sound right for my appearance in SL, and I like the opportunity to correct mistakes before I send the text. And wouldn't it spoil a beautiful female avatar's aesthetics if she spoke in a booming male voice (there are lots of those in SL: you know who you are!).

But voice will be ideal, as has been said, for lectures and presentations, and those who prefer speech over typing. It should prove interesting to see how this develops.