01-08-2004 00:57
I tried looking at land on site and also reading the Magenta current auction list and have a few suggestions for Lindens to make this a little easier than it is now:

1. Make some ' View Land Auction Parcel Lines' or similar command. Right now if u right click any parcel whether ur flying or using cam, the very second u move or adjust your view the yellow boundary lines vanish, and u need to re click. This makes it VERY hard to walk or fly round a plot and to see each plot in relation to the area. We need some persistent boundary lines for auction plots, which stay visible from all angles until u choose to deselect them. Also it should be possible to click several plots and leave them all boundary-visible to get an idea of a potential landholding group.

2. There needs to be a map on the website of ALL offered plot lines laid out so that the size relative, potion and shape of ALL plots can ve considered. Right now its VERY hard to work out potential group of plots to choose to make up what might be your land.. Its hard to have any idea of what shapes you will have or whats next to it, or where it is in relation to the Sim land in general.

3. The auction list ISNT in plot order but only in time order. This makes looking for the right numbered plots very difficult. We should be better with a selected 'Order by..' feature, using either Plot number, size or time remainig. Also when u bid, IF there isnt such already I suggest there should be a total ' My Current Bids' list available with plots, sizes and costs and time remaining to any bidder ( I havent yet bid so don't know if this exist.)

4. Shapes. There seems to be little ryhme or reason in the shapes of plots, and I found the Magenta layouts very confusing, too many zig xag cut outs, odd corner useless squares and tiny strips jutting inside other plots. Also why was it necessary to plot the river land retained by Lindens so that it contains zig zag intrusion points into almost every riverside plot? This makes it almost impossible to get a Magenta riverside plot with enough room to even stash a boat let alone a jetty or any structure. Why could the river linden land not be plotted exactly along each bank or at least a small distance uniformly into the water.? I notice also that the coastal shapes again are all over the place, some are 80% water.

All in all as a beginner, although a land owner and builder already, I found the whole presentation of the auction land hard to manage and hard to plan any consistent idea of a potential site, especially as to get the equivalent of a single good set of linked plots for a holding of around 5000 m I have to bid on up to 8-9 parcels, some denominated in Us$ and some denominated in L$.

This latter aspeact is highly confusing. How was it decided which plots wuld be in each currency. It would be much easier to establish a dual bidding process so that All plots could be bid for in either currency and an AGREED exchange ( at least for auction purposes) set up for the two monies. If one bid on several plots how easy is it to then upgrade one or more bids quickly to keep All your bids intact for the land u seek.

Right now, as someone needing a series of plots to get my ideal space, I am put off going thru this auction because its very hard to work out how I can control several bids to get them all in the winning lead. If i miss one plot, the rest of the plots will be of little use , especially if someone gets one right in the middle of the rest of mine. I've already experienced one awkward new neighbour 'grabbing and ransoming' a parcel i need for a ludicrous fee on my existing land and this system seems likely to bring out the worst in people. I;ve elready read bitterness and such nature of behaviour over the Island bid, and feel sure there will be more over what will end up after these auctions.

I have to say, I prefer the simpler sytem of marking ur own shape and size spaces out and buying them just as I did with my existing then public land. I don't like how the auctions are arranged now and think some work is needed on this system. SL is a visual based world and yet buying land (a vital decision now that release gets no repayment) without co ordinated visual assistence is now really clumsy and cumbersome and list based.