Our second stop on this week's trip was on Arkham Grid. We lost a few at the first stop, so it was quite a small group - but very enthusiastic about visiting another art region by Felix Mafia. Felix, his partner Sharon, and Grid were on hand to welcome us. HG Address as always, at the end of the post.
Not too many of us and for once, we didn't break anything - although it remains to be seen if James poisoned the fish.
Most people think of Arkham as a place to grab freebies, and while there is that side to the grid, there are also dozens of installations by Felix that merit a visit. This one, Banham, is a s Cyberpunk Futuristic Egypt.
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| Grid, Felix and Sharon were there to meet us |
Felix is Italian, and while his English is good, our visit at 10pm at night, Rome time, is a little late in the day to be fielding questions in your second language. Luckily Grid Admin, a native |English speaker as well as grid guru, was on hand to help us with lots of info that contextualizes the build, and really brings it to life. He told us that the title of this very cinematic build could be Banham Region “Your heart may be much older.” A vision of the future where past and destiny collide - that's at the back of this extraordinary place.
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| James, Forest and Dings admire the build |
James Atlloud: it certainly is dark!
Felix Mafia: here is an art installation, my imagination
Grid Admin: In this distant era, the inhabitants are hybrid beings — half human, half animal — with elegant Egyptian features and an ancient aura flowing through their blood. They live in a highly advanced cyberpunk society, surrounded by neon lights, metallic structures, and cutting-edge technology.
James Atlloud: Love the Egyptian motifs!
Eva Nowicka: oh, heaven.. the stargate universe :D
Grid Admin: Beneath the endless desert sands, hidden under a massive naval base, something extraordinary is discovered. We can move in to explore the ancient Egyptian ruins. Fragments of colossal statues. Buried temple walls. Symbols glowing faintly as if still alive.
Grid Admin: As excavation begins, mysteries deepen. These structures are far older than recorded history — yet they resonate with the same architectural spirit seen in what we call ancient Egypt. But who truly built them? And why do they feel more advanced than the future itself?
Grid Admin: Banham Region becomes a place where timelines overlap. Ultra-modern skyscrapers rise beside monumental statues reminiscent of Great Sphinx of Giza. Futuristic steel corridors connect to walls inspired by the temples of Karnak. Holographic hieroglyphs flicker across titanium surfaces.
Grid Admin: Despite its cybernetic and highly technological appearance, ancient Egyptian symbolism emerges everywhere — carved into walls, reborn in light projections, standing silently between advanced structures as if guarding forgotten knowledge.
James Atlloud: My firestorm AO just crashed - never seen that before! lol - always sumthin' new in opensim.
Grid Admin: Banham Region is not just futuristic. It is ancestral. It is mysterious. It is a question carved into time.A land where advanced civilizations rediscover that their origins may be far older than they ever imagined.
Thirza Ember: it's a little overwhelming at first but so many details
steamy steamison: this is awesome
Dings Digital: looking great
Thirza Ember: makes me think of so many movies, 5th element, blade runner, stargate... but all with its own very original flavor
Felix Mafia: movement is life
James Atlloud: such energy
Felix Mafia: yes the frequencies are part of the project, some holograms
It's the kind of build that really gets the imagination working, It could be a dance venue, or the location of a freebie Hunt game, or a first person shooter game, or for roleplaying, or filming a machinima. The options are endless.
Thirza Ember: I wore my Matrix dress - hoping to fit in to the decor LOL
Felix Mafia: it fits in well here lol
James Atlloud: That dress is great Thirza perfect
Forest Azure: is felix directing the patterns on your dress, thirza?
Thirza Ember: he might be, who can say? Grid, have you and Felix known each other a long time? How did you arrive on Arkham?
Grid Admin: I agreed to host and manage the grid for Felix, he needs a stable environment to build in... we've been over 5 years now
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| Lots of interesting corners to explore on this build |
Felix Mafia: 6 years
James Atlloud: I believe in needed a stable env!
Forest Azure: 6 years is over 5 years :)
Grid Admin: heh it is, but yes, the whole point was to make a secure, safe, stable grid and I love what Felix is doing so it's fun to take care of the place
Dings Digital: so many impressive effects
James Atlloud: including sound effects
Grid Admin: Not having things crashing helps. I also help with maintenance on the server
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| Steamy Steamison |
steamy steamison: i envy Felix's building skills. everywhere I've seen from him is amazing
Felix Mafia: yes true, sometimes I take some long breaks, I finished the last region last week, I think I reached 30 I think
Grid Admin [en→it]: 26... heading for 30 though.
Forest.Azure: over 25 :)
Grid Admin: tee hee Forest
Felix Mafia: hard rock 26 ?
Thirza Ember: do you prefer standard size regions, or VAR regions? not super large but big enough to really make an impressive installation?
Grid Admin: most regions tend to be 2x2 here. Yes hard rock is number 26. When we started there were only 9 regions. 2x2 is actually good for performance too, your viewer doesn't get too overwhelmed
Felix Mafia: yes so I can finish them sooner eheheh... and then I'm getting older, I need a week, before I finished in three days
steamy steamison: all that heavy lifing gets to ya the older ya get, Felix
Grid Admin: but yes and we space the regions apart so there's no neighbour bleed... Felix is allowed about 20 or 30 more regions though, then we need a bigger server.
Forest Azure: /me is pondering on the OS fascination with numbers
Felix Mafia: we continue to see there is the main statue, which protects this place. This was also fun to do, I never dreamed of these scenes, I don't know
Grid Admin: I hope you all have good graphics
Thirza Ember: are there any fish in this water?
James Atlloud: poor fishies
Felix Mafia: electric eels maybe, better not to go into the water
Thirza Ember: this would make a great set for a music video
Thirza Ember: James fell in!
Grid Admin: adventuresome eh?
Thirza Ember: it's a good way to cool off
James Atlloud: but the water... hmmm. what's in it? ha ha
Lavia Lavine: Give it a shot James
James Atlloud: The ruins around the statues in the seas are very effective - look great.
Grid Admin: there are events on arkham, but not on this region
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| Felix accompanies us to the spaceship area |
We walked out into the open air to admire the further parts of the sim. you can tour by air, there are several ships by the great Symphony Vive available here, although for the most part we kept our feet on the ground (just as well, no accidents this week!)
James Atlloud: One could be hide and seek! Lots of nooks and niches. this is amazing - vision and implementation. Thank you for the visit!
Thirza Ember: this has been fun - what a great place, Grid thank you so much for once again being our guide
Forest Azure: yes, ty Admin and Felix!
HG Address: grid.arkhamgrid.org:8002:Banham
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