Our second stop was a complete change from the first. We jumped to Alternate Metaverse Grid, to explore another side of an Opensim favorite, Tierra de Volcanes, often abbreviated to TdV. The sim is in the top 40 most visited, in the opensimworld classification based on the beacon system, so pretty much all of us had been here before, but the real treat was of course to get the full background story from the person behind the build, Marpil Grafenwalder.
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| Marpil Grafenwalder |
Marpil Grafenwalder: Hi, welcome, hola a todos
Cherry Manga: Hey Marpilll
Lavia Lavine: Hi Marpil!
eva Nowicka: oh oh.. tierra de volcanes :)
Marpil Grafenwalder: please accept the translator
Thirza Ember: from East Coast USA, to the Canary Islands in one short jump!!!
Marpil Grafenwalder: hahhaha yea
eva Nowicka: son unas islas muy bonitas, recomiendo visitarlas en RL :)
Marpil Grafenwalder: Hola a todos y bienvenidos de nuevo a Tierra de Volcanes. El año pasado, durante el Safari, hablamos sobre los orígenes de esta región: las islas, los paisajes y la inspiración de las Islas Canarias.
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| Arrival point on Tierra de Volcanes |
The translator kicked in, such a useful addition to Opensim. It took many hours of hard work scripting and debugging this addition to our inworld experience, and was generously given to the community for free
AMV-T:[es→en]: Hello everyone and welcome back to Tierra de Volcanoes. Last year, during the Safari, we talked about the origins of this region: the islands, the landscapes and the inspiration of the Canary Islands. Today I would like to show you a different facet of this project: how Tierra de Volcanes became a creative store and a playful community space.
Forest.Azure: ah, i have often enjoyed this board here!
James Atlloud: ($_$)
Marpil Grafenwalder: The truth is that TDV was not planned at the beginning, it was born in 2023 by chance, almost by accident. At that time, Tierra de Volcanes already had its island landscapes. I was also part of another virtual community that, unfortunately, closed. Before it disappeared, I managed to save many beautiful decoration sets and decided to share them here with the OpenSim community. Visitors started coming to the sim and I started receiving kind messages from people who were happy to find items they could use in their own spaces. It was at that moment when I understood that Tierra de Volcanes could become more than just a landscape: it could also be a place to share creativity. What started as decoration slowly grew into something bigger.
Step by step, the store expanded into clothing for women and men, accessories, and different themed creations.
Forest Azure: and complete avis :)
Cherry Manga: and cigarettes :P
Marpil Grafenwalder: hahahhah cherry
Lavia Lavine: I, for one, love shopping here and also just walking around enjoying all the lovely scenes.
Nara Nook: Me too
Marpil Grafenwalder: It is a themed environment inspired by Alice in Wonderland, designed for fantasy events, roleplay, and pure imagination. When you arrive, you suddenly feel tiny — standing under a giant table and huge chairs. In front of you, there is a very small door, surrounded by confusing signs pointing in impossible directions: “this way”, “that way”, even “wrong way”. Do you know Wonderland?
mabel mercury: siii ...lo adoro
Marpil Grafenwalder: After passing through the door, you find yourself falling through a spiraling tunnel, and you finally arrive in a surreal world guarded by the Queen of Hearts’ soldiers. This area is one of the most visited places in Tierra de Volcanes and continues to grow with new themed elements over time. After passing through the door, you find yourself falling through a spiraling tunnel, and you finally arrive in a surreal world guarded by the Queen of Hearts' soldiers.
Cherry Manga: let's go to wonderland
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| Falling from the sky |
eva Nowicka: yo lo disfruté mucho la última vez.. a ver las novedades :)
Thirza Ember: Falling from the sky... I knew we needed travel insurance!
Marpil Grafenwalder: yupiiiii
eva Nowicka: they're going to cut off our heads!
Marpil Grafenwalder: hahhahaha
Forest Azure: again?
Marpil Grafenwalder: bienvenidos al wonderland
Forest Azure: so glad i have it back!
Cherry Manga: /me wants to meet the caterpillar for obvious smoking reasons
Thirza Ember: lol Cherry I don't know if he will share
Cherry Manga: I'll speak butterfly with him
eva Nowicka: my first avatar many, many years ago (in World3D) was Alice :)
Forest Azure: that is back to the future language for caterpillars
Marpil Grafenwalder: This area was initially created as a themed birthday area. Due to the beauty of the place we decided to use it as an area for costumes. You can find here outfits for different themes. And this is why this area is so famous and visited.
Forest Azure: aah! yes, i wondered where it went
Thirza Ember: Marpil, how big is your inventory???????
Marpil Grafenwalder: eeemmm 65 k more
Lavia Lavine: That's quite a stash
Marpil Grafenwalder: As Tierra de Volcanes became more popular, the region also became larger and more detailed. This is a 5x5 var sim ... biiig big Sometimes it was difficult for visitors to load everything at once. So I redesigned the sim to make exploration easier. Now we have a central Welcome area, where visitors can arrive calmly and then choose where they want to go. From there, teleport panels take you to different platforms dedicated to specific themes or departments of the store. Many of these areas share similar structures, which helps the environment load more smoothly for visitors as they move around. A big turning point for Tierra de Volcanes happened in 2025, when I started learning to create my own scripts with the help of AI tools.Until that moment, most of my work focused on textures, visual detail, and systems to change colors and materials. The environments looked rich and detailed, but many objects were still static. Learning how to script opened a completely new world for me. Suddenly, objects could move, react, and feel alive.... animeshhhhhhhhh
Lavia Lavine: That makes a world of difference. I began creating small companions, playful creatures, and fantasy items that interact with avatars.
Marpil Grafenwalder: yes This is when animated accessories and interactive objects started to appear in Tierra de Volcanes. Some are sweet and magical, gently floating around you. Others are mischievous and surprising, adding humor and unexpected moments to the experience.The way I work is very creative and experimental. I imagine a situation — something funny, magical, or unusual — and then I build it step by step. I use AI as a helper to turn those ideas into working scripts. I describe what I want the object to do, I test it in the world, and then I adjust it again and again until it feels just right. This process allowed me to create animated props, interactive gadgets, and visual effects that bring more life and movement into the world of Tierra de Volcanes.
Marpil suddenly pulled out a sheet of newspaper to cover her head.
Marpil Grafenwalder: for example, I love this newspaper
James Atlloud: Nice!
Lavia Lavine: That kind of skill is useful in role playing as well.
Marpil Grafenwalder: is there a fly?? no problem
Petlove Petshop: ew!
James Atlloud: oh no! poor buggy!
Thirza Ember: watch out cherry!!
Cherry Manga: that's my smell, I magnet flies
Lavia Lavine: LOL
Marpil Grafenwalder: : I love these crazy creations
Petlove Petshop: for me it's fleas, they love me
James Atlloud: eek
Forest Azure: lol
Thirza Ember: we are a bug friendly group
James.Atlloud: great interaction of ao and objects.
Marpil Grafenwalder: And this is how Tierra de Volcanes grew: step by step, idea by idea, always guided by the imagination and by the people who visit and enjoy this world. What started as landscapes inspired by volcanic islands slowly became a store, a creative lab, and a playful space where art, fantasy, and technology meet.
Lavia Lavine: Well you have done an absolutely fantastic job. I love visiting here.
eva Nowicka: me too
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| The Valentine's area is set on a cloud platform |
Marpil Grafenwalder: I invite you to the accessories area
eva Nowicka: ahí detrás veo muchos corazones :D
Marpil Grafenwalder: It is the one that has the most activity at the moment... San Valentine is here and Mardi Gras... February is full of events
eva Nowicka: carnaval
Thirza Ember: and Cornflakes Week!
Cherry Manga: can't wait ...smoking day!
James Atlloud: uh, isn't today smoking day
Cherry Manga: maybe yes James
Marpil Grafenwalder: Do you know the Cuban cigar?
Forest Azure: i really like the lights and effects one
Marpil Grafenwalder: this was created with everything, its smoke not just the cigarette itself but from the mouth.... coordinating the timing of the smoke and the puff was quite a challenge... trial and error, until it's to my liking
James Atlloud: oh, that's nice, and the bento hand holding it. perfect
Thirza Ember: risk free smoking
Marpil Grafenwalder: Oh I forgot the gift! it was for the safari
Cherry Manga: lol ty Marpil, I imported exactly the same for a safari outfit ;)
James Atlloud: ty for the hat!
Marpil Grafenwalder: For my part, I thank everyone for the visit.
Marpil Grafenwalder: My final invitation is to visit the islands by boat and see the place, for those who wish to
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| Marpil took us to a final stop on our tour, the Islands at ground level - definitely worth a visit! |
mabel mercury: the boat ride was really nice
Petlove Petshop: Thank you for both the had & the lovely tour yes!!
James Atlloud: Yes, thank you Marpil - this is a cool place!
Thirza Ember: thanks for letting us visit Marpil, and thank you for explaining the evolution of this amazing shop
Lavia Lavine: Thank you for having us Marpil.
Cherry Manga: ty Marpil and see you soon !
It was close to the end of the time, but this was an extra special experience as the boat capsized! Don't worry this doesn't always happen, but it certainly put another spin on the expression 'going for a spin in a boat'...
mabel mercury: grazie marpil <3
Nara Nook: I love these regions. Thanks so much for the tour.
Dings Digital: thank you very much for this tour to all the interesting places
James.Atlloud: Great tour - thank you Marpil! Safari can be a lot of moving pieces! and people!
Cherry Manga: good night everyone
HG Address: alternatemetaverse.com:8002:Tierra de Volcanes
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