Will Ross here, welcome to The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life. On this show we discuss tips and tricks for the game Second Life, created by Linden Labs.
Today’s Episode: HUD Games, Fun HUD-Based Games in Second Life
But first -
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Correction
But before we consider new business-- old business. Sam Martin wrote in regarding our last episode, back to basics two. He noted that in a recent post I forgot to mention that ctrl-alt-r will also rebake your textures without going to a menu. He also pointed out that I've been saying backslash when I mean slash.
As we at the QD network believe nothing is more important than the accuracy of the information given to you, my valued audience, I will now defenestrate myself for your amusement. [Running feet, glass breaking, thump, door open door close sit down.] Ahh, that's the stuff right there. So if you want to shatter my psyche by correcting one of my many, many errors, you can always send me an e-mail at secondlife@qdnow.com, or you can yell at me directly by calling me at 206-888-MYSL. You'll be heard by a thousand listeners being funnier, cleverer, and more handsome than me!
Now on to new business.
Heads-Up Display Games
On todays show we're going to talk about games. Second Life is a game with a LOT of downtime, and sometimes that can get a little annoying. Lately I've been using HUD games to break up the monotony of sitting around and waiting for something to happen, and I'm going to share a couple with you today. HUD is short for heads-up display, and a HUD is any tool that sticks to your computer screen.
Tiny Empires
The first game, and the one I've been most obsessed with lately, is the multiplayer HUD game called Tiny Empires. The purpose of Tiny Empires is to group with other Second Lifers in a Machiavellian struggle to have the largest amount of land and power. To do this you buy acres of land, earn gold, upgrade your manor and equipment, and build up a war chest you can use to bribe, steal, sabotage, and back-stab other players. It's kind of like being in a presidential primary, except you don't have to spend all that time in Iowa.
My experience with the game has been very entertaining and social, with IM's coming in from complete strangers looking to bribe me away from my liege. And if you really get into it and absolutely have to know, I'm a marquis in Princess Pannie Paperdoll line of subjects. (Trumpets) All hail Princess Pannie! (at least until someone bribes me with a better offer!)
The game is well written, easy to use, and has an awesome, snarky sense of humor. And it's well designed for Second Life play, because you can turn off the sounds and minimize the HUD if you just want it running in the background while you shop.
If you search for "Tiny Empires" and you'll find two places to buy the game, along with a great meeting area to work on stealing your friends loyal subjects. We will, as always, have the SLURLs on the website (slurl.com/secondlife/Kitster/144/41/53). The full game is 500 lindens, but you can get the trial game for free and play until you get your first ten acres of land. And if you're signed up with On-Rez it's item number 335630 (shop.onrez.com/item/335630).
Caligari HUD Games
If you're looking for a more personal game experience, check out the Caligari HUD Games pack. This pack sells for 1000 lindens and comes with eight attachable solitaire games, including sudoku, hangman, mine sweeper, and solitaire games inspired by favorites like Yahtzee and Mastermind *.
Unfortunately the version I received didn't come with any instructions, but most of the games are user-friendly enough to figure out within a few minutes. Although Tiny Empires might be considered an active game experience, these are much more passive. They're the sort of games that you can pick up and fiddle with while you're waiting for a concert to start or pretending to be interested in shopping for prim furniture with your partner. I keep one of these up at all times now, especially when I'm involved in an extended IM session. Check the website for the SLURL for the store (slurl.com/secondlife/Sami/9/83/36).
Controlling HUD-Game Position
Finally, for those of us who are drowning in HUDs already, remember that you can move any HUD's location by either right clicking it and opening the edit menus, and moving it by using the position tool. You can also assign your HUDs to new locations by taking them off and then right-clicking the item in your inventory. In the menu this brings up choose "Attach to HUD" which will bring up a menu that shows you all of the locations where you can place a HUD. Using this function you can easily organize your HUDS to maximize your view. Now if you'll excuse me, I have enemies to sabotage and vassals to steal!
That’s it for this episode! Stop by the website and check out my Twitter page, if you want to see what I’m up to on any given day! Send your feedback or questions to secondlife@qdnow.com, and the comment line is 206-888-6975; that’s 206-888-MYSL. The Traveling Avatar’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network, so be sure to check us out on the web at www.quickanddirtytips.com. And our show is sponsored by GoToMeeting, so be sure to visit GoToMeeting.com/podcast and try it free for 45 days. Do more and travel less, with GoToMeeting!
So until next time remember, there are no PVE Servers in Second Life, so watch your step!
* Yahtzee is a trademark of Parker Brothers, and Mastermind is a trademark of Pressman Toy Corporation.
