Saturday, October 22, 2022

Cave Crave

 The first sign that this was not going to be your average hunt was when the bone fell on my head. 'Tis the season when people crave the pumpkin, the prizes, and the surprises, and Novale has it all. Plus caves.

But bones collapsing on me - wasn't expecting that! This is the new Halloween build on Creanovale grid, one of dozens of excellent seasonal builds you can find listed on Opensimworld, and around and about opensim in general.
Kelso Uxlay and Dabici Straulino
As usual, Dabici and Kelso build on their strengths, combining innovation with regular favorite features on their build, some excellent scripting, and imaginative, walkable layouts.
Broadly speaking, there are three things to do on Novale sim this season. 
Firstly, just wander round the sim, either on foot or by boat, enjoying the Fall colors and all the exquisite detail that is the hallmark of a Creanovale build.

 The Dark Forest, the Dark Castle, the Northern Range Trails and the Spell Island are all worth discovering.
Don't forget to change your graphics so you can see the EEP sky!  To do that, go into Preferences, Graphics, and make sure Advanced Lighting is checked. 
Secondly, you can visit the traditional Haunted Valley, a sort of canyon village, Thirdly, the big novelty of this year, you can go on the 9 Caves hunt. 
It's tempting to rush straight to the bit of the build with the prizes, but if you have time, do take a stroll in the Haunted Valley. 

It's a spooky village where you can play Whack-a-Witch (I couldn't beat the maximum score of 28 but you probably can) and have a bite at the Brain Shack - a Kim Starr creation - and a whole range of other shops, residences, places of dubious worship, taverns, and a population calculated to scare the pants off anyone.
A nice mix of static and animated figures brings the place to life without making it overwhelming for the newcomer. 
Look out for the super foggy dead end, and the alarmingly vibrant cemetery behind the old church. But if you miss both of these, to not on any account skip the rain tableau, possibly my favorite part of the whole sim. it's on the far side of the church, and well worth the walk.
The animated pavement has you running for cover under that handy umbrella-lamp post combination. A giffable moment framed by ecclesiastical architecture - perfect for the time of year.
But all spook things come to an end, and it was time to learn more about the gloomy promontory to the North.
Eleven caves, a hunt, some danger, and prizes... I asked Dabici how that works.
Dabici Straulino: click the little wood boat in the tent at the  landing point.  It is a tp object, it will tp you to the dock to depart to the hunt site, at that dock, click the bell to call your boat ride. 
Dabici Straulino: Stay in the boat until destination.  

Dabici Straulino: At destination, you will find two books, one in English, one in French. The book gives the origin of the hunt and describes the Mission.

Arriving at the beginning of the hunt, it's clear this is going to be a monumental. If you're a bit of a 'lazy hunter' by which I mean that you're resistant to committing yourself to the work of a hunt, and just enjoy wandering around, then you will love it here as much as if you were of the true hunter-gatherer type.
 The full range of boo-able bad guys can be found here, from skellies to vampires, a gorgeous Ghost Train, and an alarming arachnid with a heart of gold.
The 11 Cave Hunt opens Sunday 23 October and stays open till the end of the month. Frightfully good!
HG Address:   hg.creanovale.ca:8052:NOVALE

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