I have a gripe and feel the need to share

I understand not everyone is an uber-talented builder. I understand that not everyone has a good grasp on landscape design. But, come on, must you raise/lower/flatten your parcel everytime?!

How about trying to work with the land instead? Just a thought.

Working with the landscape can lead to something uniquely you and yours. Location and terrain can provide the opportunity to do something really special. Well, if not special, at least unique. A structure built into and for the land it is on is far more interesting visually. It does take a little work, or maybe a lot of work, but it will pay off. Anyone can have a flat plot and a prefab.

Agreed. I sell a little land and usually the first things that people do after buying is:
(1) Send back ALL trees and plants to me.
(2) Flatten the land to get a tabletop for their building
Of course the owner of the new land is entitled to do as he or she pleases. But the resulting landscape is somewhat barren and looks very much settled. I would so much like my customers to "work with the land". The result might be much more pleasing for themselves and the neighbours.

Even more fun are some competitors of mine that in the first minutes after claiming the sim flatten it completely into large plateaus, in an attempt to get a maximum of flat land that is easy to build on. This is especially "nice" at the borders of that sim, where this process leads to steep "steps" in the landscape that are nearly impossible to smooth out.

working with the terrain when building just seems right to me. It adds so much more beauty to the builds.

Down with them damn bulldozers

I find it can be absolutely wonderful when someone restrains themselves in some areas and cuts loose in others. It's like mixed media art. If your land is to be your canvas, you can Revert the land and make a few nips and tucks here and there, and then manipulate the prims all to heck but leave the landscape as it is.

yay! Nice to hear one for landscaping.

We have a site in Zoe that's more about landscaping/terraforming than an actual build: Drak Yerpa, a natural amplitheatre, power place and hermiage located just outside of Lhasa in Tibet. No yaks grazing in our SL version yet, but slowly making progress.

Anyone know of other (mostly) landscape projects?

I've always thought that the need to build on perfectly flat land the sign of a building amateur. Sure, we all started there, but why settle for boring? I agree with you, Juro.

I know, big suprise

Funny, on first read, I thought this was god talking about RL housing builders.

Art imitates life.

Flattened land is for chumps.

Gerstle is a sim that is 90% terraformed to enhance both its 'natural' contours, and to provide a much more garden-type atmosphere. Check out the waterfalls, the valley ridge, campgrounds, beach and ravine.


- Newfie

I've got mixed feelings about terraforming.

On the one hand, lots of flat land produces a boring build.

On the other hand, what do people do when building on a steep parcel? Half the time they seem to just plop down a big ugly platform and put a flat build on top of it.

On the gripping hand, there's the horror of people building walls out of ground when they can terraform at will...

OMFG Y DO U HAVE 2 JUDGE EVERY1 U DUN EVEN NOW ME SO WUTEVA JUST CUS U R MARRIED 2 SUM HOTSHOT DOESNT MEEN U CAN TELL US ALL WUT 2 DO IF I WANNA MAKE ME A MEGA MALL THEN I WILL DO IT AND U CANT STOP ME CUZ MY LAND WILL BE FLAT LIKE MY RL WIVES BOOBS CUZ THAT IZ THE WAY I LIKE IT EVEN IF MY FAKE SL GIRLFRIEND WHO IZ REALLY A GUYS HEAD IS SMALLER THAN 1 OF HIS BOOBS AND NO HIPS CUZ HES PROB LIKE 12 AND DOESNT KNOW WHAT A WOMAN LOOKZ LIKE ANYWAYZ O MANS IM GUNNA GET MY GUN AND SHOOT U CUZ I DUN NOW WUT 2 DO

First thing I do when I buy land is slam that "Revert" setting a few times to see what I have to work with. I usually smooth it just a tad, but I like building with the landscape, unless it's roadside. When we are able to cut INTO the land, then I won't flatten it roadside.

But, yeah, don't flatten! Be creative!

I actually have trouble buildling on flat land. My brain gets way more engaged when I have an interesting landscape to work around.

what barnes said

On the plus side, the sheer stuborness most of the SL residents have against building on uneven ground, means the interesting parcels are generally cheaper .

sadly most these builds are no longer there

Most land I buy turns out to not be totally completely flattenable anyway.

I recently built myself a new house... the fourth one I've done. Previously, I have built at a sandbox and then placed the house on the land. This time, I built directly on the land, and with the land... keeping in mind my landscaping plans as I worked. The result was by far the best build I have done, it completely liberated my design, and now I have rooms that have views of water streaming down the hillside...
So I agree with Juro.

i raised my land into a plateau on a hillside becase some jerk beuild a huge store in front of my parcel and completely blotted out my view. my parcel got boxed in on 3 sides by big builds and there's a steep hillside behind it. so i made a deal with a first-lander and got him to buy the plot directly behind mine, on the hillside, then swapped him for it with another parcel i had in the same sim.

i'd rather work with the land, but jerks with big stores bullied other residents in a sim that was supposed residential for first-landers. i just wanted a view other than someone's back wall, using the default yellow wood texture.

flatten up terrain makes SL boring. I flew over a part today. It was a whole Island, which was flatten out, it makes the sight boring. Use what you get.

*and about those trees? You think we protect ozon in SL I would defenatly mind if I had a tree in my house

Dragon Moon is mostly landcaped with few buildings.

Am I the only one who likes the giant stairstep terraces formed by the flattening of many parcels on sloping ground? I find it esthetically pleasing.