Post Cards from Second Life
by Alphaville Herald on 02/05/04 at 5:08 pm
A lot of AVH contributors have moved on to other MMORPGs in the last six months. We’ve had squirrel go to FFXI, Lady Juliana, Mikal, and a number of SWG-ers and Mafiosi go to SWG, a slew of people have gone to There (including Stella Dives *sigh*), some to soliolotron and some to Second Life. I think it would be nice if our friends could send in reports from abroad. In this report, our friend Toy checks in from Second Life where she is busy building waterfalls
Toy recently attended a “TownHall” meeting in SL this past week that was held by Philip Rosedale Founder and CEO, Linden Lab.They had to set up several remotes inworld to handle all the people. He talked of the future of SL and inwork plans. There was also a Q&A session. Many diverse questions were asked and they were all answered. It does show the interest that upper level management of SL has in the game. Also Toy got the good news this past week that SL was voted at Gaming Industry News Game of the Year Runner-up
Second Life
The interesting thing about Second Life, from Linden Labs, is that the game is continuously being built by the players. Second Life is like an online role-playing game, except if you want something interesting like a motorcycle, then you build it using programming language. Thankfully, a special experimental area greets new players, complete with volunteer player guides who explain how the game works, and even give new people rides in their self-created balloons and rocket ships. Second Life has one of most tight knit communities we have ever seen in an online game and if you get used to the programming interface, you even can build your own kingdom.
Toy has also been busy with her ingame snapshot feature hehehehehe……… girl is including a few snapshots of herself and some of her projects 
Ian
May 2nd, 2004
It sounds good, I have tried There, I liked it, but even though how horrible TSO is, something just keeps bringing me back. I guess its that I am so used to it, and even though the lack of new features, something is still fun about it.
Mistress Maria LaVeaux
May 2nd, 2004
I am joining my toy there soon.
TSO has much potential that EA/Maxis seems to intend to leave untapped.
SL Is how TSO SHOULD have been.
Maria.
Mr Hugs'
May 2nd, 2004
I stopped playin TSO and I just tried Second Life..Its jsut like the game “There” but a few things are different. You can get guns, build houses (wich is very hard..u gotta take classes to learn how to build them) and they have cars..
Its not that great trust me lol
toy
May 2nd, 2004
toy has never said its a easy game to learn but one gets out of SL what one is willing to put into it….. one must use ther brain to be happy in SL
RB
May 2nd, 2004
So is Toy a sex slave in SL too? Or has she gone free. LOL.
- RB
Stella Dives
May 3rd, 2004
Uri I dont come online very much anymore Ive been spending alot of time just walking on the beach and thinking existential thoughts. But I always read the Alphaville Herald You are in my thoughts and my heart. I was a popular avatar and djed for Pulse Radio when I played There. But, I recently quit both TSO and There and changed my yahoo ID. I site neverending man issues with a certain online entity who will remain nameless as 1# on my list of reasons why I had to bail. I have been exploring Sociolotron recently ( on my own and quietly ) and have an avi in that game. If you ever decide to try Socio, send me an email and I’ll give you my avatar’s name so you can find me. I enjoyed TSO for about 6 months. Then I realized Id already met all the cool people and quickly got bored of the game itself, not the cool people. But then, thats what yahoo is for. So, I moved onto There. Loved the game. Its not really a game tho, more like an elaborate chatroom with games in it. Hated my popularity. Found it embarrassing. Tried SL. HATED IT. Didnt see many people in the game. And the ones that were around lived in their own private worlds. It bored me, basically. Tried SWG. HATED IT. Was killed in the desert by a huge monster and became so traumatized I never logged back in. Lineage 2. HATED IT. I only spent one day in that game but it reminded me of D&D + SWG combined so I mean whatever ACK. I would have to say that I think the only game worth logging into ( aside from There, which is hella pricey )is Sociolotron. Its in beta and basically free. You can kill stuff. You get cool clothes. You can meet interesting people. And, ofcourse, there is SEX. w00t. My avi is alone and a virgin in this game . . for now LMAO But, honestly, what’s not to love about sex? Anyway, that’s my two cents worth *blows kisses*
Mr-President
May 3rd, 2004
I was going to sign up for beta testing of Sociolotron a while ago.. but they don’t accept VISA or American Express, lol.
Mr-President
May 3rd, 2004
I think I can send in a copy of my passport.. but how safe is that?
Fans II
May 3rd, 2004
Hardly safe I would think. Who knows what hands it can end up in?
Celestie
May 3rd, 2004
I for one am tierd of EA’s managment of TSO. I will always remember my anticipation for TSO when I leave. TSO had potential unlike any other game. When playing the offline sims, I get bored within the hours that I play it. It seems that TSO should be a never ceasing game of live fun. 2L is to laggy, no one is ever on, and even when you bump into an avatar on accident you can be banned from the game. There is nice, if you like minimal customization.
toy
May 3rd, 2004
toy has never seen someone banned for ‘accidently’ running into someone but yes if some continuely pushes against another player they can be reported… it is a way some like to try to grief so it should be controled
and if anyone just wishes to have a graphical chat room then please stay at ‘there’ or ‘Tso’ this girl simply needs more. needs to be able to use her mind, not just sit and chat 
Online Gamer
May 4th, 2004
SL and There both suck in my opinion. Why go from TSO where you do nothing to another game where you do nothing? And in There they want you to pay for your hard time spent doing… nothing!
Star Wars Galaxies has great content and a great economic system worked out. Sony Online Entertainment is a hard working group of individuals, it seems, that actually like… care about customer service **IF YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT** They also don’t put up with griefing and exploiting very much and reseach each report that’s filed. They even have online support to address the situation immediately, in game, if necessary. Its pretty dope.
A new game that just came out, called City of Heros is also pretty chill. You create your own Super Hero and hang around Paragon City killing all sorts of Baddies… drug addicts, purse snatchers, the living dead, the usual.
Their are a few neato things about CoH that none of the above mentioned games have in common is that you can have 8 (thats right, thats EIGHT) different characters on any one of their 10 servers and if you really need the space, you can go over to another server and create 8 (you heard it, EIGHT) more.
And no one looks alike. There’s a vast amount of powers to choose from and depending on how your super hero was created (ie mutation or some scientific accident gone terribly wrong) and what sort of hero they are (ie Storm from XMen vs Batman) your powers change. Game play is fairly similar to Final Fantasy in that there is no Player vs Player game play (as of yet but a City of Villians is due out in October) and, from what I’ve heard, the characters work pretty much the same… I never played any of the Final Fantasy games though.
Mistress Maria LaVeaux
May 4th, 2004
In answer to RB, I am still proud to say that toy is mine. Our relationship is a little stronger than just being in one game platform. I guess that makes us a little more devoted than many of the “Love” matches and “Marriages” in TSO.
To Online Gamer:
I find it interseting that you translate all the tools for creativity, and creation into “Why go from TSO where you do nothing to another game where you do nothing?” and instead favour “You create your own Super Hero and hang around Paragon City killing all sorts of Baddies… ” as a more culturally uplifting model.
As my toy has pointed out, SL is a game that requires some learning, but once these simple tools are Mastered, your only limitation is your Imagination (You might want to look that word up). Toy has only shown me what the game is capable of, and without being in it yet, i have several ideas that i Cannot wait to put into execution. That game will have the same sense of community building that i love in TSO but also the mental challenge of creating my game environment around me.
Add to that, REAL tech support, Classes on line in how to use the creative tools effectively, REAL cash rewards for creating clever and beautiful objects, The ability to Customize your Avatar to any form you choose (My toy has one of herself as a Dragon).
Online gamer seems to want another first person shooter with other people to shoot instead of computer simulations. I and my toy are looking for something creative, NOT destructive.
Maria.
Banshee
May 4th, 2004
I too have left TSO a while ago. I didn’t care much for Second Life (seemed too much like work to me), but it’s good to see that others like it
. I also didn’t care much for There, which was too focused on social for me. So…. after hunting around a bit I eventually landed in Eve Online which I have found to be a thoroughly engaging, addictive experience, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it for tha past 6 weeks or so. It’s a very varied game, you can do pretty much what you want to do, whether it involves violence, trade, crafting, either being a freelancer or gerouping together with other players for a greater goal, etc … and it is a social game as well. With the influx of players after “Earth & Beyond” was cancelled by EA, CCP, the company that owns Eve, has started to upgrade the hardware (hard to imagine from the TSO perspective!), there are many new players around, and it is quite a diverse group, with probably around half of the players coming from Europe. It’s far more fun than TSO ever was really in terms of a game … I do miss some of the people I got to know on TSO, but Ive also gotten to know some good people in Eve, and it’s simply a much more enjoyable *game* than TSO was.
Banshee
Urizenus
May 4th, 2004
Wow, sounds very promissing. Keep us updated banshee. Feel free to file reports from EVE if you want. As the TSO diaspora continues I’d like to keep track of where the community members end up and what their new online homes are like.
Van
May 4th, 2004
SWG was so dead. no one played. everyone was NPC it was so boring. Nice graphics but it was deserted.
There was nice. it had nice customizing but very strict. you would get int rouble for running over someone but it had many nice features like voice chat.
second life was horrible. the customization level is great but no one is there and its so laggy and boring.
Ryzome was another stupid game
datrk ages of camelot was a waste
Disneys toon town online was very fun but didnt let you chat with people. its games were fun though.
Ive played many online games.
Urizenus
May 4th, 2004
maybe we all need to build our own game.
Cory Ondrejka
May 5th, 2004
Urizenus> maybe we all need to build our own game.
Perhaps not such a bad idea
! A group of former URU Live players who bought an island in SL together. Their goal, now that URU Live is shut down, is to keep it and their friendships alive in SL. It’s been amazing to watch how quickly Telador is coming alive.
Cory
Stella Dives
May 5th, 2004
Gah its amazing and I guess its cool how many people are really into SL I have to be honest I seriously hate that game not just a little I mean I cant stand it LOL but Its cool so many people dig it I guess I personally couldnt tolerate even one more hour in that shitty game Lets review: 1# No People 2# Too much work 3# Major lag
Stella Dives
May 5th, 2004
Oh and one more thing I dont appreciate being talked down to just because I dont want to struggle to apply myself and find a place for myself in SL I just prefer to spend my energy on things that help me meet my own personal goals in a game For me SL is too much effort for very little pay off That doesnt make me lazy or dense The fact that I saw the problem so quickly and bailed makes me a smartie Seems to me that the appropriate thing to do would be to find a game that better reflects my needs Im interested in making connections with people and having fun and the game play itself is just wallpaper and truthfully Im not that interested in building waterfalls online unless it makes me look really cool and impresses certain people I can just as easily sit in my studio and draw a painting of a waterfall at least then I can sell it In SL I could probably build a waterfall no one else would ever see
Stella Dives
May 5th, 2004
ok ok I lied one more thing . . free sex for any good looking professor who can stop acting like a wuss and find his way into Sociolotron
Urizenus
May 5th, 2004
erm, Stella, ahem, are we talking sex sex or one handed typing?
Cory raises a good point (although he’s biased — being a VP or something at SL). The problem of “no one around” could be resolved by setting up our own island on SL, and the problem of nothing to do could be resolved by building our own game objects into the location. One group has built a kind of EQ game into SL already, I believe.
I think the real plus about SL is not what is there already, but the openness of the platform first, and second that it has a friendly TOS that, among other things, extends property rights to the content contributors.
toy
May 5th, 2004
hmmmmm……… to each his own toy just gives her own opinion of what she thinks of SL… but toy would wonder how SL has recieved such accolades by those in the industry and won awards for it… SL does take patience… one cant slide into SL overnight and sit there and wait for it to entertain them. I admit I almost left SL my first week but I stuck it out and it has become apparent for this girl that she likes it, toy would also mention that she knows of no game that doesnt lag
toy doesnt have much lag problems in any venue online so doesnt know much about it 
SL has grown over the last 2 months many more events, lots more people 
many more events each day and so many people willing to answer any questions and oh yes… online mentors and people to report problems to and know they will be acted on 
toy
Mistress Maria LaVeaux
May 5th, 2004
Stella:
“Seems to me that the appropriate thing to do would be to find a game that better reflects my needs Im interested in making connections with people and having fun and the game play itself is just wallpaper”
I think your assessment is in th main correct. TSO attracted a wide spectrum of people based on it’s Promises for future developement (Need i add “Unfulfilled promises”?) Once those people begin spreading out again, the various other games on line attract differing people based on interests or desires. Stella does not wish to be creative in game, she wishes a graphical chat platform (With a little sex, as she points out), Online Gamer seems to wish something more Action oriented.
Nothing wrong with any of these choices. We are different people, we all have different ideas of On Line Fun. Ours simply leans towards the creative and SL has that environment. My toy and i researched various other On Line Venues to look into (Sociolotron was the first), found shortcomings in each, and decided, for OUR needs,SL had what we were looking for. I think we all agree, TSO Could have met all our needs if they chose to, but Maxis/EA has pretty much proved they don’t really belong in the On Line game market because they just don’t understand it.
I have said this in other threads, I will be in TSO until they shut the servers down. I am Most comfortable there and i like the people. But i Need More. I Like to be able to tailor my game environment, I like to Make things, and share them with others (Something i did with the Offline sims game).
“truthfully Im not that interested in building waterfalls online unless it makes me look really cool and impresses certain people”
Chere,, have you never had something you made be admired by others? toy created something beautiful, and believe it or not, it Doesn’t have her name plastered all over it. when people see the Waterfalls, they say “How Beautiful”, they don’t say “Look, another product by toy” Creativity is a gift, and it is one that is meant to be shared. Impress other people? No, That is the selfish view, Share some beauty, Make people smile, That is the REAL intent.
Maria.
Cory Ondrejka
May 5th, 2004
To echo Mistress’ comments about sharing beauty, some of our users started 2nd Look for sharing SL screen shots. Not as good at the Sims’ storytelling (yet) but still a good place to get a feel for what people are doing for folks who haven’t checked out SL in a while.
Stella Dives
May 5th, 2004
bah beauty who needs it *giggles* Uri you need me to clarify myself? mmmmm Does this mean you are contemplating my offer?
Eve
May 5th, 2004
van thinks toy is so silly.
Toy thinks she is furby . Toy do you always speak in third person? “furby no like” “toy no like”
toy
May 6th, 2004
a simple reply Eve for the uninformed
Do not ask the stones or the trees how to live , they can not tell you ; they do not have tongues, do not ask the wise man how to live for, if he knows, he will know he cannot tell you; if you would learn how to live, do not ask the question, its answer is not in the question but in the answer, which is not in words; do not ask how to live, but, instead, proceed to do so.
Marauders of Gor – Page 9
falara kajira toy
Eve
May 6th, 2004
toy, do you think your master Yoda? Jedi you are not.
toy
May 6th, 2004
of course not, you just continue trying to be cute
Failing at it toy may add 
once againj you speak of something you know nothing about
Gorean, not Jedi silly fool
“You may judge and scorn the goreans if you wish. Know as well, however, that they judge and scorn you.
They fulfill themselves as you do not. Hate them for their pride and power.
They will pity you for your shame and weakness.”
falara kajira toy
EVe
May 6th, 2004
any belief system you have that condones slavery and abbuse is something i dont even want to know about. Oh and I pity you for not having any self love. You think your cartooned statements and so-called knowledge is so high and mighty..you need to get off your soap box and realize in spite of these “quotes” and your “beliefs” The desperate hype and spins, we actually are all one.
toy
May 6th, 2004
pleaes try to make a bit of sense when you post EVe
Urizens
May 6th, 2004
I like van, but I have to say that the idea of him lecturing people on their sim lifestyles… well it fills me with mirth.
Eve
May 7th, 2004
shes talking to me as in r/l. i never mentioned sims.
toy
May 7th, 2004
problem #1 Eve, toy is talking to you about Sims…… you have no idea who toy is in RL
The reality being… toy can seperate the two.
perhaps your trying to reach reality thru Sims… its a poor example of reality but even so go ahead and grasp at any straws you wish, to try to get a grasp on reality
falara kajira toy
Eve
May 7th, 2004
you obviously cant seperate the two. your replies are directed to me. So your telling my “sim” they dont understand and are trying to be “cute”. You IMED me out of game AS YOURSELF “Toy is a 18 yr old lesbian in r/l blah blah”and still reffered to yourself in third person. Your just getting yourself deeper and deeper in this convo making yourself look more stupid.
All i did was discuss you reffering to yourself in third person. I didnt ask for your “Wannabe” spiritual bullshit. Dont even bother responding to this to try and justify yourself.
I think its funny how you of all the people ive seen in an online game are sooooooo far gone.
toy
May 7th, 2004
spiritual??? ummmm this girl does wonder where you ever came up with that one hehehe….
toy never has to justify what she does… she simply points out that some with absolutely no concept of what others think seem to somehow appoint, or is it annoint themselves to be judges of what others believe
now you may return to your narrow-minded, bigoted world Eve…… your dismissed
falara kajira toy
Eve
May 7th, 2004
you gotta bad you gotta be bold you gotta be wiser you gotta be hard you gotta be tough you gotta be stronger youyou gotta be cool you gotta be calm you gotta stay together all i know all i know is LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY. lala