War and Peace

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: War and Peace

 

But first...

 

 

 

So here's how it works.  Just log on to GoToMeeting.com and start meetings with a click!  From there, everyone sees your computer desktop on their computer screen.  Second Life based businesses will find this especially helpful, since you can show your clients what you're up to, instead of just describing it for them in text.  It's like meeting in person - but less expensive and less time-consuming. Plus, you don’t have to sit next to the guy wearing a gallon of cologne.   

 

 

Second Life is a world of contrasts.  On one side of the world you can find recreations of famous museums, fantasy islands where anthropomorphic wildlife frolic and pristine waterfalls where you can Musashi out with Zen-like calm.  On another side of the world you can find places where vampires stalk the shadows checking your health level, teched out lunatics trade hot lead, and avatars walk through recreations of feudal Japan drawing their katana and... well... Musashi out with Zen-like rage.  Musashi was a duplicitous cat, to say the least. 

 

Anyhow, today on the show we're going to highlight two places that show Second Life's ability to embrace both war and peace. 

 

On the war side, I'd be remiss without introducing you to a place called Armory Island .  On the shopping side of the island you'll find nearly fifty stores specializing in weaponry, uniforms, gadgets, and vehicles.  On the other side of the sim is Armory Xtreme, spelled with an X, so you know it was named under the influence of Red Bull. 

 

Armory Xtreme is a combat sim, but it's violence is not without order.  Unlike the chaos or vigilante government that rules most combat sims I've visited, Armory Xtreme has nearly a full page of play rules and they’ve hired paid referees on to enforce those rules.  When I visited the island, Ady Juran, one of the refs on the island spent a good twenty minutes helping me understand the rules and assisted me in checking my gear for compliance. 

 

And the system works.  When there appeared to be a problem with me absorbing player’s bullets like the T-1000, instead of it devolving into a shouting match, or worse, a griefer war, a ref was dispatched.  We checked every ones gear, did some testing, and figured out that the other player was using practice ammo.  All while the shooting continued around us.  That kind of order in the midst of chaos doesn't happen by accident.  One of the co-owners, Max Demar, has been in law enforcement and professional security for 19 years and it shows both in the build and in the way the sim is run. 

 

Armory Island's motto of "Come for the Guns, Stay for the Fun" is well put.  When Ted Nugent eats too much endangered panda cub jerky before bedtime, Armory Island is what he dreams about.  (X3 speed) Disclaimer: Ted Nugent is a responsible gun enthusiast who has never shot and skinned an adorable panda cub and dehydrated it's tiny panda muscles for jerky.  Nuge, please don't shoot me and mount my head in your living room.  To find Armory Island and Armory Xtreme, just search for Armory Island, or check out our website for the SLURL.

 

When you've finished slaughtering your fellow Second Life citizens in a John-Woo-style dual wielding symphony of violence, consider seeking some peaceful absolution for your sins in a virtual recreation of the Sistine Chapel.  Located in the Virtual Vatican area of the Second Life Outpost of Vassar College, this is a near perfect representation of the real Sistine Chapel, with all of the real artworks represented in their actual locations.  The attention to detail is incredible, down to the tapestries of Raphael being covered by protective curtains until they're clicked. 

 

If you want to really experience the beauty of this build, I recommend stopping directly outside the chapel and taking a full minute to let the textures fully load to their full resolution, and it’s worth it to up your graphical settings temporarily. Don’t worry, you won’t be moving fast, and it’s a low traffic sim. Then, force your sun to midnight by clicking world, and choosing force sun, and then clicking midnight. Then, put yourself into mouselook mode by choosing "Mouselook" in the view menu before you enter. 

 

So if you don't have the scratch to see the famous works of Michelangelo in real life, now you can at least do it in game while dressed as a Ninja Turtle. Go as Leonardo though, just to avoid any potential irony. To find the Virtual Vatican and the Second Life Sistine Chapel, search for Vassar island, or check out the website for the SLURL. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vassar/200/85/27

 

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.com, so be sure to visit GoToMeeting.com/podcast and try it free for 45 days.  Do more and travel less, with GoToMeeting.com/podcast ! 

 

 

So until next time remember, friends don't let friends buy griefer guns.