Story Behind the New Continent?

I have read part of the story behind the new continent, the ghost town of stilts and the temple. One friend proposed maybe the temple is a time machine of some sorts. It was also mentioned that it is amazing, the ropes holding the balloon are particle effect. It is really exciting.

And destroy the oil platform! Save the wildlife!

Yes, that is a good proposal and one I'd be open to. I have ahk's De Lorean almost ready to roll and fetch the monochrome Torley and rainbow Torley (the orange-and-blue one isn't welcome because she's malevolent) and go meet our father, but additional gateways through time and space would be welcome.

Maybe if you watch that temple long enough, something will come out of it on our return trip.

Heh. Well it seems to have something to do with moths, because of the giant lantern on the very top. And all the sims names on the new continents are named after moth species I hear. Moths were hovering around the smaller lanterns on the docks. Very strange all of it.

And you know moths are legend'ed to bring back the spirits of the dead, right?

Ahh, ooh, I had heard that before though I had not realized it with this. Interesting, very interesting. And the oriental feel of the place.

Yeah... I was looking at the Snapzilla photostream... keep on snappin'!

The story behind the new continent? Build it up with intrigue, get people interested, make it something slightly different and get higher prices for it at auction because suddenly it's the place to be. That's all you need to know.

And yes, I am a little jaded

Hey Moopf, at least you're honest about your opinion.

Torley, why did you remove your last reply? Those email notifications are killers aren't they

Pardon! Because I was coming back to edit it into something bigger and better, Moopf! I wanted to elaborate on my thoughts + feelings, but I was interrupted by crashing into one of the new sims (untimely moment) and then got distracted by David ramming Rick and I while boating LOL (and having to relog)... but here goes:



Hey Moopf, at least you're honest about your opinion and you state it in a way I find welcomely tactful. I respect that because you "say it as it is" as you see it. Although, I do believe it to be more than "slightly different", since there is already a calling out for "old world" land textures to be revamped, in addition to new vegetation being available in 1.6. The prim rig and moth temple, while Linden builds, are great builds, and certainly marketing applies here... but as gradual progress as it may be, I can see it pushing forward in all sorts of ways. I *did* expect OUTER SPACE, however. I'm still shooting for the stars. AND WHY ARE THERE NO SIMS NAMED AFTER WU-TANG??! *grins*

So leading off of that, while I'm Jaded in a different way , I have to say myself that while the intrigue was built up, I'm bluntly surprised more Residents aren't aware yet that the new sims were opened the other day. I'm also hoping to catch a sighting "in the flesh" of Magellan and crew. I've mentioned this before but I'm disappointed I haven't seen them yet -- and what great explorers they are! So, I must follow the example set by them.

Developing . . .

Not had a chance to get in world to see the new lands yet, but I was hoping to see Adrian. It's been such a long time since I watched him leave. He must have grown so much...



(small prize to the first who knows what I'm talking about...)

I'm not sure this new land really is anything other than slightly different. The textures are different, whilst still looking pretty similar, and yes there are a couple of Linden builds but then they've included new Linden builds when most big bits of land have been released before. The dam in Ganymede is one that springs instantly to mind. As for new vegetation, is it one or two extra pieces? Yeah, it's great that there's more vegetation but, it's nothing really "new" now is it.

What makes me laugh the most about all this is that people had completely lost interest in Magellan's blog - wow did that drag on and on and on and on. So I guess they felt that they couldn't afford to let the interest wane any further (which would defeat the point of the viral marketing they were building it up with) so they'd better release some of the land now. It's all marketing, nothing more, nothing less. They create some false history and some false characters who go "exploring" and yes it's fun for about 30 seconds but then it just gets tiresome - which is what I think they found the longer this went on. They do it for no other reason that to create an artificially high value in order to re-coup more from the auctions - and people fall for it!

I guess I really don't see how this is going to push our experience forward much - it's some new land that you can fly to from the existing land (not really what I expected from a continent, as an aside) that has slightly different textures, a couple of linden builds and lots of vegetation. Yes, more land is always good, but that's about as excited as this makes me I'm afraid.

As for meeting Magellan and the rest of the crew, well they're just the same Lindens we know in different avatars. They did no exploring, they aren't great, they're just figments of the Linden imagination. It would work if this was a game, where you're inside the same frame of reference, but it's not and I'm not. It's just land that will be sold for people to do what they want with it that they build up before release to make it worth more. The End.

Moopf you're too synical, (sp). What's wrong with a little fun here and there?

Yes it is "just more land", no it doesn't grant you special powers, but why should that mean it should be deliberately made to be boring? In the ultimate end of your argument, and others I've read from different threads, why bother teraforming the land at all? WHy bother to put trees and grass down?

The Lindens could throw a few dozen black boxes into their server racks each day, switch them on and more land appears, flat, boring land. Very little effort required. Where would be the fun in that?

Because my mind works on a very simple level in some ways... I just can't be hardened against the wonders the new sims have brought up, so it's hard for me to relate to some of the more "realistic" points. Heck, this is like the 2nd coming of my childhood! And definitely evocative to my evolving mindscape. For me, this is like "Dear Torley, there IS a Magellan Linden!"... I'm with Ice Brodie at Zephyr right now hanging out at the base of the waterfall, and she just said the most amazing thing:

"This whole area's got a aura of imagination that warms me..."

That encapsulates how I'm feeling. That in this world, despite all the pain and suffering, despite all the jagged bloody edges and the broken dreams, and even after all that goes wrong -- there are still some hopes that can break through and be a shared experience by many in this world known as Second Life. Mmmmmm.

I'm just in such a good mood right now.

I'm kinda speachless, but then again, Torley quoted me on the place, so I don't really have to say much more. ^.^

There's nothing wrong with a little fun and Magellan's blog was fun for a little while, as I said before, but man did it drag on. I'd expect such a grandiose build up to be accompanied by something that was actually different - space like Torley said, or something with a very different landscape, you know out of this world textures, that sort of thing. They built this up to be something really new but, when you look at it, it's just really more of the same isn't it.

I'm not sure where you're getting the "ultimate end to my argument" from as I haven't suggested that they don't terraform or put trees and grass down at all. I'm just saying that this isn't anything so different from the rest of the land we already have to warrant such a build up. People got bored with the build up, and the reason for the build up was to create interest and thus create higher demand at auction for this land, so they had to release something to get the interest back. For me, this isn't anything really new, it's just more of the same with slightly different colors

Wow, I obviously missed a meeting. If you're getting so much from this "new continent" I'm obviously not taking the same psychedelics you are. 2nd coming of your childhood? Wonders of the new sims? Aura of imagination that warms you? Hopes breaking through? Woah, that's some deep, meaningful stuff right there over some land that basically looks the same as the land we already have.

Sorry, I just don't get it. I'll try to make the meeting next time, I promise.

Your childhood probobly didn't include running through fields on a warm summer day.
Well, if it did or not, mine has, and this place reminds me so much of my childhood home.

That's alright, Moopf. You shared your experiences, and I shared mine. I'd like to explain a little more, please: this comes from my youth, where I didn't have the easiest time relating to my peers (because I am autistic -- Asperger's Syndrome socially isolated me) but I know I did have a vivid imagination, wandering through orchards and spending time rocking and rolling in the grass as a form of stimming.

There were no psychadelics, although I have synaesthesia. and sometimes the deepest insights just came from the simplest beauties of the human experience for me. Like looking up close at a ladybug on a blade of grass, or hiding in the cool shade and drinking lemonade.

This brings back those memories.

It's my Second Childhood, in Second Life!

The opening of the new world practically has a lot of implications.

I loved the experience,I had a very exciting experience the first time I ventured into the new continent. I, and several friends took a balloon and flew through the water sims, past the oil rig, and into the new continent. A small plane came up beside us and swooped around before going off We cruised over the rolling plains, over the forests, the roads, and came upon the village. Everyone was like "oooh, ahhh". Then the temple, and we landed to explore it. It was an exhilirating feeling of adventure, something new, something fresh.

More people are using air vehicles, and such because of the new land. We could use boats as well. It opens up a number of possibilities. It is great.

What about those of us whose childhood consisted of skulking around between tower blocks? For us, SL is a place to experience what we missed all those years ago

I'm just glad it has some great water for boating.

Really not enough of that here...

Actually it did, and although at times I may get reminded of certain RL things in what I see or experience in Second Life, and maybe bring a smile to my face or take me back to that time or place, that's as far as it goes as in the end this is not that experience again, it is simply a pixelated reminder of that. It's just a cue in much the same way that I find smells very strong cues personally.

I can't pretend for a minute that I have anything other than a limited understanding or even really appreciate the experiences of those with Autism or Asperger's, just so you're aware. I do know that it will shape your experiences differently to mine, as will many other aspects of other people's lives. In the end, that's what makes it so interesting meeting new people - it would be a very boring world if everybody thought the same way or experiences the same circumstances in the same way, even.

My comment about psychadelics was purely a joke, but I didn't know you have synaesthesia as well. That's actually something I know a lot more about, not because I am myself, but because I had a close friend with it, and we spoke at length about it many many times.

As for your RL experiences, I know that for me sometimes the simplest past experience was the most memorable but, as I said in a previous reply, if something in SL brings back that memory it's because it's a cue - the thing I'm actually happy about is the RL experience that was simply triggered by something else, sometimes totally unrelated as well. I certainly don't go around having SL bring back memories to me all the time, and so I have to appreciate this new land, for instance, on quite a simple experience level - one that makes me say it's nothing special. It doesn't make me want to spring forth with superlatives and although the Magellan thing was interesting for a while, it was simply a means to an end - that of marketing and creating a mystique about this new land to help keep auction prices high.

Don't expect the Magellan thing to continue past it's worthiness to LL - as quickly as it started one day the blog just won't get updated anymore, whether the story has finished or not. From my point of view there's no use in getting too attached to it, or in trying to work out hidden meanings, or where it's going, what things could be used for etc. as the story will probably just end without conclusion anyway. I'd much prefer to use my time being creative or imaginative in other ways.

Maybe I would think differently if I had any amazing SL experiences burned into me but I don't. I have had some good times, I have enjoyed some things, I have met some good people but I cannot say that I have experienced it any deeper than that. So who knows, maybe I'm just too jaded, cynical and bored to get anything more from it. *shrugs*

Thanks for sharing, Moopf.

I really appreciate hearing about your perspective.