Best Practices in Jumping

 Anyone can leap about in opensim, exploring regions by themselves or maybe with a friend. We've all done it, often finding pleasure in the big empty spaces of the hypergrid. But it is also fun to grid jump  with a crowd, to meet the grid owner, or sim builder, and spend some time laughing and dancing and learning more about the infinite variety of opensim. 

But traveling in a pack can create its own unique problems. So what makes for a successful hypergrid trip en masse? Our group is called Safari, because there's a good chance you won't survive to the end, and there are dangers lurking! I asked a bunch of Safari regulars who have joined our trips many times to give their advice for a successful and enjoyable trip around the metaverse.

Wizardoz Chrome  is a machinimist and artist, back in 2014 she joined the Safari trips on week two so, she has seen it all, the ups the downs, the missing hair and the failed teleports.

Wizardoz Chrome:  Are you going on the HG Safari? Enjoy the journey into Fantasy and Creativity that you will take in these Virtual Worlds. Do not ask for information about the many friends you will find (for example are you a man or a woman, how old are you ? etc. ) but enjoy the presence of so many people and interact with them regardless of who they are in Real .. the "confidences" will come in time if people want 🙂 .  Dress clothes that do not create too much lag, to travel better.  Write a note of the Lm of the place you visit so you can find it later if you want to come back.  But above all remember to dance with the NPC are fabulous dancers!!! (PS. ok... remember also to dance with the Safaristas in the traditional group dance!)

Lucy Afarensis is an artist in both real and virtual, and is the creator of beautiful landscape regions, with particularly realistic and photogenic terrains, like Afar on OSGrid. Lucy has extensive experience of the metaverse and has had residency on a wide number of grids. Lucy has been part of the Safari group since our first days on Teravus Plaza, and through all kinds of adventures and changes. 

Lucy Afarensis: I have found it convenient to have Lucys on multiple grids as sometimes only the local Lucy can get rezzed while hypergridding in a group, so it can be problematic.

George Equus  is an OSgrid  veteran, builder, and explorer, who has been with the Safari from the earliest days. It's not a Safari without him.

George Equus: Keep draw distance short to rez both avatar and environment faster.   Create a special outfit for use on Safari trips. Travel light and avoid mesh in particular.  Patience. Expect to crash! Regions sometimes run from small home computers with limited resources and don't always cope that well with lots of avatars running around all at once.

When the group head out, wait a short while so not everybody teleport at the same time.  Chances of a successful teleport will increase a lot if you wait a bit.  On arrival immediately move away from the landing spot and sit down or use a dance animation as soon as possible if that is appropriate as this takes a lot of strain off of the server.

Dabici Straulino has her own grid, Creanovale, with Kelso Uxlay, where they regularly reinvent the environment with interactive sports and leisure activities mirroring their beloved Canadian wilderness. 

 Dabici Straulino: My advice is this:  1. arriving ca 10 min before scheduled departure to get the LMs and read the notecards.   2. avoiding wearing too much bling bling to reduce lag.   3. remembering that local chat can be read locally, not visible beyond 20 m.     4. avoiding using voice in small groups specially when it is not in a language that is understood by the majority.    5 becoming friends with regular travellers to assist on site  and 6. considering always behaving like you would in a general public region.

Chip, Max and Harthelie

Les Compagnons Ignis Max Hill, Harthelie Deux, Chip Angelvi, and scriptmeister Jeff Kelly are francophones who build as a team on grid Ignis Fatuus. Beautiful and complex builds with historical and fantasy themes are their specialty. When not building, they enjoy grid hopping not only with the Safari, but with the French language hypergrid tour group organized on grid Virtual Dreams. Harthelie spoke for them all.

Harthelie Deux: Le safari rend réaliste - vivante - la sim que l'on visite, c'est enrichissant de voir la façon dont les autres construisent ou arangent leurs décors. Le fait de marcher dans les décors nous met dans l'ambiance.

I would add the following. Flashy mesh avatars rarely rez in places with lag, and you end up looking your worst not your best, with your eyes or boobs are floating outside your body. Athena mesh is bad news on the hypergrid. While everyone has come to accept that a certain amount of content in opensim is illegal, the blatant theft of Athena mesh from Second Life is very offensive to many grid owners, so maybe consider ditching it in favor of something that makes you look good. Finally, practice makes perfect. Group gridjumping can be very frustrating at times, but bear with it, and don't hesitate to ask for help. If you come on Safari, there's always a TP waiting for you!