Heterocera Travelogue #13: Phyllodesma

Continuing down the road from the direction of Lythria, I reached Phyllodesma. It’s a strange sim, but in many ways typical of mainland. There are random builds rezzed all over the place, in different styles, with very little to no attempt at landscaping.

The first place I came across on the southwestern part of the sim is a relatively large parcel named Estate. The first building I entered happened to be a slave house, with a number of rooms containing various sex machines, cages, and objects for bathroom sex. I wasn’t sure if the place was supposed to be for public use, but since there were no banlines, I went inside to have a look.

Other builds on the Estate are either empty, or half-furnished, such as this stately home.

Some trees and a little bit of landscaping would have made this area much nicer than it now is, although that wouldn’t help much with concealing neighouring walls and privacy screens.

To the right of the slave house is Fabio’s ranch, with an equally unfinished appearance. The place is surrounded by high protective walls, but is still publicly accessible. I didn’t stay there long, as it had a more private feel to it.

The next parcel, SoundChamber, consists of a simple black build with some posters inside. I wasn’t sure what it’s supposed to represent.

However, entering through the large red portal at the back wall will lead you to House of Xombe: Art & Necrophilanthropy, an interesting gallery with works of art for sale.

On the other side of the public road, there is just more place to visit: Wingsong freebie store, and right next to it, Wingsong Motor Company. Not much was rezzed there, but you can grab the link to Wingsong’s Marketplace store.

Immediately behind this, hidden by huge privacy screens, is already the Philudoria sim, while a bit further down the road is the location of the Malacosma station, where you can catch a train to other parts of the continent. The place also serves as a rezz zone.

As for me, I had to run back to the slave house: after all the walking, I badly needed to pee!

While Phyllodesma doesn’t look like much, certainly from the aesthetic point of view, peeking inside the builds and looking around didn’t turn out to be as boring as I expected. Neighbouring Lanestris, Malacosma and Philudoria have a similar mainland appearance, and it will be interesting to see what secrets the builds there contain.

Pit stop. About the most interesting thing I did during my visit to Phyllodesma. Full story here.

Visiting Crestwick

Journeying through SL has led me to the small town of Crestwick. Upon arrival, one has to join the group before venturing outside the landing point area, so make sure you have one group slot available.

The town itself is quite small, but very nicely designed. There’s a number of stores along the main street, also an art gallery and a charming cafe.

After finishing my coffee, I went to browse through used books in front of one of the stores.

Sadly, some of the buildings, such as the large town hall, are more like movie props: they are unfurnished and can’t be entered.

As explained in the notecard for visitors, the idea was “to create a photogenic environment” and at this the creators have been successful.

There are also some surprises here, such as the unusual interior of the local church, transformed into a provocative piece of modern art.

Following the path up the hill will lead you to an area with a great view over the whole place, and apparently, it’s also possible to drive up there. I opted for a nice stroll on a warm summer afternoon.

Crestwick is a lovely place to visit. Visitors are reminded not to linger in the sim for too long, as the homestead has limited avatar slots. However, while I was there, there was not a single person in sight, so you are likely to be able to spend as much time there as you like, with no one disturbing you.

P.S. More Crestwick photos can be found on my Tumblr.

Heterocera Travelogue #12: Lythria

After an uneventful visit to disappointingly empty Philereme, described in the previous travelogue, my next stop along Route 4 proved to be the very opposite. Lythria is a fun and lively place, mostly thanks to Simple Wunderlich’s Zoo of All Things.

Studying the map of Lythria

The place is quite large, spanning across most of Lythria. There are lots of trees and flowers – and animals, of course, some of which are roaming freely.

There are also curious builds everywhere around, such as this gallery of sorts, where each hall contains a panorama of a different natural setting. Interestingly, I can see this build from my home in the neighbouring Triphosa, but this has been the first time that I actually stepped inside to see what’s in it.

Close to the parking and rezz zone area, there are stalls where you can purchase Simple’s books which contain inworld photography and collections of meditations.

Also, freebie lovers will appreciate different gadgets, artwork and prefabs available here (admittedly, on the high side in terms of prim count).

There’s more to see across the road, where the Aquarium is located. Apparently the entire build is available as a freebie.

There are also cozy spots where you can relax after all the walking and sightseeing, some of which are secluded behind lush vegetation.

Personally, I was happy to come across this barbecue, as the whole visit made me quite peckish.

Given the size of the Simple’s Zoo, you can spend quite a lot of time here exploring, hunting for freebies, checking out gallery spaces or looking at the animals. I remember this place from before I even moved to the continent and it’s always interesting to visit.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the place is truly one of the Heterocera’s landmarks. It’s certainly a wonderful refreshment after a series of underdeveloped sims along Route 4.

Heterocera Travelogue #11: Philereme

After a shorter break from exploring the SL continent of Heterocera, I’m back on the road. Not quite where I’d left off last time, at the Pavonia-Serpentata border, but not that far either: I’ve decided to go down Route 4 to Philereme – an area closer to home.

The sim borders with several I had previously covered: Wainscot and Drinker to the north, and November to the west. My home sim of Triphosa lies to the east, and there are Lythria and Dimidiata to the south.

To say there isn’t much to see in Philereme would be an understatement. Travelling towards south via Route 4, there’s practically nothing around. Abandoned parcels stretch along both sides of the road. Even the rare parcels which do have active owners look completely undeveloped, with the property presumably located in skyboxes above. Only the Linden trees make the area less dreary.

It is only very close to the sim’s southern border that one can see signs of life – a huge zoo spanning across several neighbouring sims, excluding Philereme: “Simple’s Zoo of All Things,” which I’ll be writing about in the next instalment.

It was from there that I spotted the single only inhabited parcel in the entire sim, creatively called “Mature 512m.” All it has are vendors and money changing machines, though, with the view on traces of landscaping done by owners since gone.

Simply put, Philereme is a disaster. It’s the first sim I’ve visited on Heterocera where there’s absolutely nothing to see. While I was there looking around and taking notes, a random avatar TPed to one of the abandoned parcels to quickly change clothes and that was it.

A telling sign of the dying mainland? Perhaps, but in the next two instalments I will write about several neighbouring sims that tell a very different story.

Heterocera Travelogue #10: Serpentata

For my visit to the next sim along Route 3.5, I needed to put on some warm clothes. Unlike all of the sims covered in the previous nine instalments of my Heterocera travelogues, this one is mostly a winter sim – at least for now.

As I crossed the November-Serpentata border, I soon realized that most of the sim is owned by one person – Betony Greggan.

I don’t know if she changes the sim with the seasons, but right now her place – spreading along both sides of the Route 3.5 – is a true winter wonderland.

I remember how quickly I had given up on changing my own parcels into winter, as mainland doesn’t lend itself easily to such changes. With that in mind, I had to admire Betony’s attempt and all the little winter details she added there. It can’t have been easy to set it all up.

One caution, though. In quite a few places, snow tends to be very deep (I bet you failed to notice the tip of my head protruding from the snow in front of the cabin in the third snapshot of this post), or worse: you actually fall through the snow and end up on the green ground underneath it all.

At one point I found myself in a spacious, furnished cave which looked like a hidden underground spot.

Unable to get out, I had to TP from there. So, if you’re going to visit the place, I suggest you fly around – unless you want to look around from underneath the snow.

Further up the road, you quickly reach the next sim, Pavonia, and the end of Route 3.5. This is actually a convenient spot to start your journey, as there’s a rezz zone along Route 3 here.

And if you follow this route towards north-west, you will see Serpentata’s remaining few, snowless parcels. First, there’s the Script Alchemy store, selling gadgets and scripts. In the background you can see the already quite high mountains of Nolidae.

Not far from there is Soul’s Passion. I wasn’t quite sure about this place. With images of scantily clad women avatars with exaggerated female attributes up on the walls, it looked like a gallery. Judging by the calendar, time stopped here in April of 2013.

Somewhere over Route 3 I spotted a sign rezzed by a resident, warning people of AnnMarie Otoole’s famously annoying vehicles. I’m happy to report that I didn’t see a single one while I was there.

Without Betony’s sprawling winter land, there would have been nothing special about Serpentata. The sim’s location is quite favourable, though. With access to two routes, 3 and 3.5, it’s easily accessible by car and as such it’s a good starting point for the exploration of eastern Heterocera’s inland sims.

In the next Heterocera travelogue, I’ll continue along Route 3, to Pavonia.

Heterocera Travelogue #9: November

It was an unseasonably warm winter day in SL, so I hopped on my bicycle and took a ride several sims from my home in Triphosa to a place where I ended my previous travelogue – November.

To begin with, it’s a place of great contrasts. I started by checking out the parcels on the right side of Route 3.5, soon to realize there aren’t all that many. As I crossed the Drinker-November border, at first I couldn’t see a single sign of life there, only an imposing structure in the distance, already in the next sim, Epirrita.

However, riding towards it, I stumbled upon some hovering drone-like objects. Not everything is abandoned here!

Or so I thought… On this small parcel, “SimSider Customs,” there were also some domestic animals, not in such a good shape. Similar to the horses in Mandalay Stables in Wainscot (see Travelogue #1), these too had tags indicating malnourishment and poor health. Who knows when was the last time somebody took care of them. Having a chicken farm back at my place (free-range!), I felt for the poor animals.

Exploring further and riding towards southwest, I reached the Situs Manuum parcel – already quite close to the border with Serpentata – with its large blimp.

The place looked messy, with different things rezzed there, including a “cloud egg” (whatever that may be)…

…and an ominous sign.

Had I actually seen an imp, I probably wouldn’t have resisted doing the opposite of what the sign suggested. Maybe the creature was hiding under a giant black mushroom that I forgot to take a snapshot of.

There’s another parcel on this side of the road, just along the November-Serpentata border: the Transgender Lounge. Now, if the two previous parcels didn’t look all that representative, what can one say about this venue?

Yes, that’s all there is! And similarly curious is a hovering “library console” building on Kara’s Clan’s Land next to the Lounge. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

I had a quick cigarette break nearby, before I went to check out what the eastern part of November had to offer. And there was certainly much more to see.

First, there’s the large “SoutH of HeaveN Farm rentals& breedables” parcel, currently in the process of building. As it happened, the owners were there while I was snooping around. I didn’t want to intrude, but I said hi anyway and asked Christine Perl Sorbet and Perfect Storm a little bit about the place.

Christine Perl Sorbet

Chatting with Perfect Storm

They explained there used to be a club there, but now they are transforming the parcel into a space for breedable rentals and fishing.

I asked them about the forlorn appearance of much of November – they didn’t mind that so much of it is left abandoned: it only gives them the freedom to do whatever they want on their own land. I could relate to that, wishing for fewer neighbours myself!

Saying good-bye to Christine and Perfect, I left for the next parcel along the road, called “Raine Designs Dance Floors and more”. It’s a store selling all kinds of items, from fireplaces and trees to pose balls and large dance floors. Also moving animals, which look rather like cardboard cutouts.

The parcel next to it is another commercial venue, by the name of “Neuro//:“. The two buildings rezzed there look very modern and nicely made, both the exteriors and the interiors. One of the them is still entirely empty, while the other one stores only a few items, namely goth and alternative outfits for men and women. This place seems to be a work in progress, but it’s promising, and in stark contrast with the dilapidated buildings on the messy parcels across the road.

I was tempted to continue along Route 3.5 towards Serpentata’s snowy parcels, but it was already getting dark and I had a long way to cycle back home…

Aerial shot of November

Visiting November, the next stop on my journey across the Second Life continent of Heterocera. For the full story, follow this link: http://abinoamsjournal.blogspot.com/2015/02/heterocera-travelogue-9-november.html

Heterocera Travelogue #7: Spectacle

Leaving Snout and Plusia behind, my next destination is Spectacle, a place along Satelite Way. Spectacle borders with Ear to the north, Plusia to the east, Drinker to the south and Mullein to the west.

At the beginning, a word of caution. This is the first place on my journey across Heterocera with banlines in it, on at least one parcel, so beware if you travel by plane or helicopter (or even by car, if you’re a driver like me!). I will take this opportunity to reiterate that banlines are one of the worst ideas to have been implemented in SL. I wish the gods of SL would just put an end to them. And now back to the subject…

As can be seen from the aerial below, most of Spectacle is quite green, with lots of trees, while roads and railway tracks add to the small town atmosphere.

 

Although there is some abandoned land in Spectacle, as pretty much everywhere on mainland, the sim looks quite decent. In its eastern part is Juna’s Railroad Park, a private train station connected to SLRR (the green area at the top right of the aerial). The place is newbie friendly, with freebies on offer, as well as teleports to several locations.

One of them is a private changing room up in a skybox, that only one avatar can use at a time, to ensure privacy – perfect for homeless newcomers to SL. When I come to think of the sort of places I used to use as a changing room as a newbie, I wish I had known about places like these.

Just a little bit further to the north-west is the actual Spectacle Train Station, more modern and run by the SLRR. If you take the train further in that direction, it will take you all the way to Yucca at the very north of the continent.

 

Conveniently, there’s also a taxi stand there, owned by Enid Oompa, one of legendary AnneMarie Otoole’s alts. One of these days I will sit in one of her vehicles and go for a ride, but today I just wasn’t feeling adventurous enough.

Apart from SLRR, Spectacle has also access to three Linden roads – technically two, since it’s two different routes, 3.5 and 4. Both connect this area with the rest of the continent, thanks to the elaborate system of Linden roads on Heterocera, making this sim the best connected one yet.

Thus far we’ve covered the lower part of Spectacle, at the average altitude of about 60m. The rest of the sim is up in the hills to the west, at about 80m above sea level.

First there’s the building housing Dark Passions and Tempus Heart stores. If you climb up the stairs, you will reach a terrace with a nice view of the neighbouring Plusia and Wainscot (and further, depending on your viewer’s settings). 

  

The stores are located in a charming fortress which is at the same time the single largest building in the sim. There are all kinds of low-cost items in there, from picture frames to corsets to toe nails.

The place has a somewhat spooky feel to it, though, and after a few minutes’ rest in the creepy chair with spindly legs, I moved on.

On the neighbouring parcel there’s the Templenet Sanctuary. Walk up a very steep path towards a relaxing, spa-like spot with nice forest views. Apart from that one parcel with banlines, everything else in Spectacle is either public or very welcoming to visitors.

Unlike most of the places I’ve visited so far during my journey, Spectacle feels like a real small town, rather than a group of randomly lumped together parcels, as is often the case. It was a nice place to visit and take a closer look.

Heterocera Travelogue #6: Snout, Haworth and Blush

Taking off from the rezz zone in Satellite, I drive eastwards along the final stretch of Route 2 to Snout.

The sim borders with Satellite on the west, Haworth on the south and only narrow waterways on the north and east.

It’s a short but pleasant drive, thanks to the trees on both sides of the road. If you need to rezz a vehicle, there’s a small rezz zone very close to the border with Satellite.

The peninsula is possibly the most developed of the sims I’ve covered so far in my travelogues, with small private homes along its southern shores…

…and small businesses on the right side of the Linden road. There’s the Orange Forest Lab selling interesting sea vehicles and other builds (rather high-prim, I should add).

Also a repair garage, with quality cars and bikes on display.

Parcels on the left side of the road, i.e. along Snout’s northern shore, consist mainly of beaches and large, modern homes. Not to forget that this is mainland, there’s also the beach with a large nondescript black object rezzed in the middle of it.

The end of the parcel with nice pine trees is at the same time the end of Route 2. Here you can rest, enjoying the ocean view.

In immediate vicinity is what appears to be a small Japanese shrine.

The most prominent feature of Snout, though, is its lighthouse overlooking a small marina with a large tree house – a quiet, picturesque place.

At the moment of writing, two parcels in the sim are up for sale, for the average price of 25L$/sqm. The reason for a comparatively high price is obvious: great geographical location, direct access to ocean on one side and the Linden road on the other, and the fact that this is a rather nice neighbourhood, quite developed compared to some of the sims in the area.

South of Snout are Haworth and Blush, which are not populated (not at sea level, in any case), consisting only of ocean expanses, as seen on the aerial below.

And here are the real world moths that gave names to these three sims:

Snout

Snout moth (Pyrilida)

Haworth 

Haworth moth (Pseudaletia unipuncta)

Blush

Blush moth (Cyclophora punctaria)

For the next instalment, I’ll drive along Route 2 back to Satellite and then go westward along Satellite Way – to Spectacle.