Open Season

 The first real Safari after a pause of over three years, and about thirty people showed up! Would we survive to the end? And not just because the first destination promised death by dinosaur - would lag or confusion defeat us? 

The answer was a resounding No! Thanks to all those who showed up for this Hunting and Fishing Safari, where we played, stepped in dino dodo, fished, got squashed, fished, crashed boats... and, most of all, thanks to Ange Menges and Royale Mobian, the hosts of the two hours of the Safari. As always, the addresses of the two destinations are at the end of the post.

Two games, with nice prizes for the players, but very different experiences! First up, we went to Mandjelia, a Hunt sim built by Ange Menges and Nani Ferguson. As you know they make three or four builds each year, they are only open for a few weeks and then gone for good. This region was open specially for us, and will be there for a few days before disappearing once again, so you have a few days to go there, if you want to try you hand!

Once you have found the egg-teleports, up you go. Even though there were about thirty of us on the region, we did not suffer from any appreciable lag. 

Harthelie Deux, dressed to kill.

This is a game that can take many hours, if you do it properly, teleporting down to the ground and looking for the next hidden egg to reach the next skybox. 

Frank and Prodyck, Lux and Truelie seek their fortune.

The different environments feature different kinds of dinosaurs, who each favor a distinct type of terrain, but they all are man eaters!

Cherry, Archanquest, Lifted and Mal keep a wary eye open.

This build is very absolutely stuffed with detail. The planting and the animals, the merchandize in the marketplace and the NPCs are all exquisite. 

Lucy makes a friend

Sounds fill the air in a most realistic manner. This is an unmissable treat, if you didn't make it for the Safari, you'd be crazy not to go and take a look.

Our second stop was as different in time and style and season as it's possible to be. Mobius Grid is fashioned in the gaming style of Sonic the Hedgehog, and it is still winter there.  The destination sim was Green Hill Zone, the welcome sim of the grid, so that was easy. At least seventeen of us made it over there, which is not bad at all. 

George and I decide a sit down is the safest policy

George has been over on a long visit the other day to try out the fishing, and he commented about the fresh clean look of the region. It cleverly captures that point where video game meets liver-in environment. The snowy palm trees make you shiver with delight.

The ever patient Royale Mobian

Royale Mobian was there to meet and greet and explain the fishing game to everyone. The fishing game is a tradition on the grid, and you can play it each year from December 12 to January 12. They held it open a bit longer, just for us. The game is the same, but each year the gifts are different. 

Serra has a lot of patience because maybe one in four of us actually reads the notecard and I freely admit to not being the one of four who does... how about you? The game was hard for some, but easier for others.

Lyr Lobo taking the fishing thing seriously as Serra and Unadecal look on

 Ard Rhys caught six fish, which of course are not fish but presents. Pretty good... but we have only his word for it, come to think. Might just be a big fish story. I failed to get a photo of him, so perheps we'll never know.

Not following the rules included not seeing the grid as it ought to be. This is the true environment as it ought to be seen if you accept the Experience settings. Very atmospheric!  Mobius grid has a great reputation for being reliable, and the team work hard on opensimulator code, offering suggestions and improvements that anyone can take a look at if they go to https://mobiusgrid.us/. Things like Experiences and Display Names, that have become everyday features of Second Life, are also to be found here, proving they are quite doable even on an opensim grid.

Cherry, Joyce and Mal show me the high life

Even if you're not one for fishing, then you can be fishing-adjacent, on these great boats that sail the canals and basins around the sim. The bliss of sitting back and letting someone else drive was only slightly marred by Cherry crashing us into the dock.

Joyce puts the pedal to the metal

All in all a fun time, crazy and probably maddening for our kind hosts. But a great chance to see old friends and new, test our hypergridding muscles, see some extraordinarily good building, and enjoy a wonderful beginning to the season.  Thank you all for coming!

 

Mandjelia, the Dinosaur Egg Hunt          hg.osgrid.org:80:mandjelia  (the region will remain online until 15 January 2022)

Big's Fishing Game, Green Hill Zone      main.mobiusgrid.us  (The game will return at the end of the year)