Don't know what to do. . .

A few months into my second life, I started to realize the limitations of the old home sim, and began to look for land that I really wanted. One day, while browsing the map ISO waterfront I felt I could afford, I found a 3k plot on a lake that was almost, but not quite perfect. I stood on it for a few minutes thinking about making the purchase that would have pushed me into a new tier bracket, when the sun started going down. When I saw the sun set over the lake, I clicked "buy" without a second thought.

Since then, I've bought out neighbors moving on, nuisance plots, malls, shops, and clubs. I've sweated over auctions and sniped snipers. I've petitioned the Lindens for clean ups and waited patiently for their attention.

On my mainland sim, there are no nuisance plots, eyesores, or lag, (other than what I might be in the process of creating myself--some of my experiments have gotten unwieldy.)

At various times since I've owned property there, It's been a home, a hangout, and an urban wasteland. But mostly I share it with friends who hang there, and a few who have operated commercial ventures there. Sharing with friends keeps them around.

I still don't own the whole region, but I get along well with my remaining handful of neighbors, and I can see a time when, I probably will.

Here's my problem.

Currently, except for a few builds belonging to friends, the land is primarily a personal sandbox. I'm not exactly unimaginitive, but I AM a bit fickle, lazy and, um. . .something just seems to happen between idea and execution.

Basically, I can't think of something I WANT to do strongly enough to be sure I'll actually see it through.

I have do have some thoughts. I've been impressed by some places in SL. Caledon, Suffugium, and Privateer Space, to name a few. I know that I want to encourage the sense of community that's existed in the past, and to a lesser extent, today. I want to give back a little, (With a roadside rezzing area, for example.) I want it to be different, and noteworthy.

Tall order, I know.

SO. . .for the obligatory question. What would you do with two thirds of a sim?

Enjoy the space and prims the unlagginess and find a way to have highest fps I could have
in my sim for prim doodling.
Nothing like have open green space with no ugly black boxes hanging over your land and build and high fps, low traffic, low prim in use sim and tons more sims to create more. I really miss having a place like that myself.
If you can afford the space, there is nothing wrong with just using it to share with friends and private sand box you pay for it, it is your right to do whatever you want with it.
If really had the prims or space I would build unique doodle garden and doodle houses or whatever else I really felt inspired at the moment.
I would make special challenges between my friends and I to see what we could build with lowest prim use possible within certain theme and time period that we would do as team.
Most of all I'd just enjoy the space, being creative by myself or with friends and enjoy my time with friends.

What to do with two-thirds of a sim? How about events? Not DJ'd shows (I'm a DJ saying this, wait a second ), concerts, those are way overdone. Something different. Shakespeare in the park perhaps. Sets? We don't need no steenkin' sets! Find some ballet enthusiasts and put together an SL version of the Nutcracker, it is a very popular ballet this time of year. Host a live improv comedy festival. Those are just a few possible ideas.

Hmm. Widely contrasting views in the first two posts.

I like the idea of performances. But not sure I'd want to host a crowd every night either.

FD, I'm glad you understand the attraction. When I had an urban cityscape on my property, it became a monster and in spit of having 8k prims (at the time) I couldn't rezz anything because I'd run out.

Not to mention there WAS serious lag at the time.

When I look out over the lake, it's beautiful. I want people looking in to think the same thing.

Field of horses in a meadow with woods you could walk through on paths viewing all the little hidden treasures, (animals, fairies peeking out, cave, etc).

Hmmm... I always wanted to do a southern bayou type thing.....with old wooden walk ways meandering thru the mangroves.....little dilapidated shacks on stilts hidden among the swampy forest......maybe a big central platform in the middle, set up for events with lights strung from the trees and cajun music streaming. Something like that.

A steamboat, Nawlins style, on the water. That'd be cool. And have your events there.

Being done

A library to house a collection of prim books collected from all corners of SL.

A homage to something local to you or close to your heart that tends to attract a lot of touristy types. (Mine would be Eureka Springs, Arkansas...i.e. Little Switzerland).

A rapid rafting sim. Cut out a rolling river with physical rocks and rezzable canoes and inflatable rafts...boooyahhhyeeehaw!

Hmmm, I had this choice a while back though it is on a private estate. I turned it into a Zen meditation garden. I did this as a place for myself and my love to just relax in, a quiet and serene place to talk and enjoy the view.

I love the way it turned out, and I have a few hundred prims left over to have a platform at 500 meters to use to build on. It has worked out very well, while I don't get a lot of visitors because I don't advertise it, those that do find it send me the loveliest IM's about how beautiful it is.

So I would say turn it into a place you really enjoy spending time in, and do your sandbox things high above it. There is very little lag once you cross 500 meters.

Lizz

Shweet.

I know people are really into fancy, beautiful and complex built up sims
the truth is there is price for this unless you've got highest end computer on market
but not all your guest will be also using or can afford a high end computer.
The price is one three letter word, Lag.
The thing is if you're on mainland, what you do in your own sim also effects your neighbors.
If you got every single possible script that could be running, sixty percent or more of your prims and maxed out hundreds of textures, maxed out guest list it effects neighboring sims.
And personally just sort of disrespectful in my humble opinion this is part of why mainland sucks so bad.
Sometimes really less is more. Not every prim or inch of sim needs to be used to
be comfortable place to live or visit.
Sometimes simple but few beautiful details, small ongoing nooks of ever changing creativity and few friends is all that is really needed to make special place.
Or at least it is for me.
Beautiful view and lot of space from the neighbors is bonus and major luxury if you can afford it.

Wow. some really great ideas here, and some of them coincide with my own thoughts. I like the meandering paths, for example. But I thought about red eyes peeking out of the caves, and dark things hunting the fairies. (With the fairies later dancing around a fire of roasted "dark thing."

I'm also toying with the concept of "somewhere else." For example, Nautilus City, and the Lost Gardens are both places that are both familiar, AND uncanny. You look around and wonder who built it and lived there.

The land has a linden road on one side, and protected water. It's not flat, and not particularly green, tho it's not all granite either. Also, right in the middle of the shoreline is a structure that has been around years longer than me, and is something of a landmark. So, I'd feel obligated to blend in with it if I could.

Thanks for the great ideas folks.

build an elven magic mushroom forest?


sorry, just reminiscing when i bought my little plot in secret smile, where 3/4 of the sim was taken up with a forest. beautiful, low lag, low script time.... alas, they're gone and.... the landscape is hugely ugly.

hmm, if you like meandering paths, you might consider making horse trails. or a race course. steeplechase courses are a lot of fun, and in very short supply. of course... helps if you like horses ;)


i like forests and natures and stuff and all too... but if its just nice to look at, and theres nothing to DO.... ah, well, im usually looking for things to DO, ya know?

oh i know! make it gorgeous to sit and look at, then hold inventory cleaning events! lol! id sit down for those.

I personally love caves, with interesting prim and texturing. I haven't done one in a while but I did one a while back when one of my friends first had a sim it had interesting look out points and even face built into the rock that which was sort of very cool accident.
Inside it had little water fountain like puddle and small jail cell for naughty elves.
If I had space I probably do low prim maze cave type build again at least for temporary build just for the fun of it.

For something completely different--well, you mentioned Suffugium, so--I'd suggest taking a tour of Hotel Dare.

Regardless of what you do on the ground. How about burning a few prims on a privateer type space bar/dinner at about 3000 meters. It would give all of us with spaceships rotting in our inventories somewhere to go. Might even start a renaissance of space flight, if others follow suit.

You know. . .You struck a nerve here.

That's exactly what I'd planned to do at one point, and, one of the reasons I bought a sim that has a big open lake to fly out on.

But, Alley did SO much better than I could have. I didn't want to be thought of as just another Privateer Space knock off.

I would like to see a sim that is mandated to change every month. Maybe split into two areas where one is under construction and the other is open. But the builds are always being replaced. Knowing a place is temporary makes it more memorable and you can always look to the future. I'm sure it would get a lot of repeat traffic.

I think you have missunderstood why Aley built privateer in the first place. It wasnt so much to showcase her skills, under other names she has high quality stuff all over the grid. She insisted several times that privateer was built to encourage others, to show just what could be done. I'm sure that if she thought she was intimidating folks from building with her style, privateer would be poofed in days. She loved her builds, and bent over backwards to help others learn the tricks of using megas and texture.

Imitation is the sincerist form of flattery

I need to get you and Jasper together. That's basically the theme I had in mind for the Coonspiracy but neither I nor Jasper have the time to actually do more than the bit of bayou I've put in the southwest corner.

well, i've seen many of your builds, know your "attitude", so can say with confidence that should you decide to build a space station type area you won't be imitating anyone... i'm also quite aware that at least two of your friends have some really nice and innovative ideas that can add to it greatly.
i suppose i should add suggestions, though, as that IS what you'd asked for... as far as steampunk, and space, for that matter, an "organic" type look can add for great variety (meaning, like many a community, as they grow larger, they grow in variety. while sameness seems natural for a spaceport, that's only how they begin. due to limitations of resources in space, scavenging items to build with as the population grows is only natural and provides myriad possibilities...)

How about a Lyfstrom Loop orbital launch system as seen from a trailer park on the far side of the landing lagoon?

A doggie park! With lots of fire hydrants and trees and bushes to pee on and cats and squirrels to chase! And of course lots of treats and bones hidden to find, and soft sunny spots to snooze in!

yeah man!