Playing with Infinity

On sim Sirocco, one of the VAR regions belonging to the 3rd Wind community, on Zetaworlds, Han BoShi, Dolfke Barbosa, Jed Dagger, Ellemir Maven,  Nila Mari and Alia Soulstar awaited the arrival of the Safari crew. What better time to confirm or deny a popular myth about Star Trek 

Dolfke Barbosa: am I the only one wearing a uniform?

Thirza Ember: my other avatar has a red uniform on... does that mean I'll get eliminated in the first scenes ?
Nila Mari: /me chuckles

Alia Soulstar: yes, our priority is to thin out security every mission

Ellemir Maven: There was an analysis done that said red shirts are not actually more prone to death and dismemberment.

Left to right, Jedburgh, Alia, Nila and in red, Security Officer Dolfke Barbosa

Dolfke Barbosa: they tend to seed death and dismemberment

Ellemir Maven: lol it does seem to be true of the original series.  I have not checked these numbers... Being a "Red Shirt" on the USS Enterprise is one of the most dangerous jobs in any (imaginary) military. Don't believe me? SiteLogic founder Matt Bailey crunched the numbers: 13.7% of Kirk's crew died during their three-year televised mission. 73% of the deaths were Red Shirts.

Jedburgh Dagger: but as a whole there were more redshirts on the crew

Ellemir Maven: /me gets dol a second red shirt to wear

Dolfke Barbosa: thx for that, Elle, I will wear it with care at my funeral

Alia Soulstar: the dangers of space are best represented by the violent deaths of security

Dolfke Barbosa: Tasha Yar her dead was not necessary for the plot, and she wore yellow

Ellemir Maven: It was necessary for her contract though

Dolfke Barbosa: are you offering me a contract, Elle

Alia Soulstar: with a Christmas bonus... if you reach Christmas

3rd Wind, 3 Months In

 The 3rd Wind steering committee had just finished their meeting in the Infinity Classroom,  and were getting ready for the weekend community meet-up.  How lovely to be back at the Lyonesse Colony, now located on Zetaworlds grid.

It has been just about three months to the day since 3rd Rock, one of Opensim's oldest grids, closed its doors due to a series of events that had nothing to do with the solidarity and friendship of the residents.

As a group, they decided to find a new home (you may have read a bit about that process in this post). It's a story worth telling because, out of what could have been a huge tragedy, has come a great success story.It was so nice to meet up with old friends and new, the elected members of the 3rd Wind community steering committee. 

The committee includes Jedburgh Dagger, Ellemir Maven, Kestral Roffo, plus Dolfke Barbosa, who is Chief Security Officer in the Star trek Infinity group, and also there to help solve any issues 3rd Wind members may experience on the new grid. Then too there's Nila Mari who's the 3rd Wind Treasurer,  and produces the Starfleet Infinity Newsletter. And finally Alia Soulstar -  she is tireless in her work for the Starfleet rp group and the wider 3rd Wind community, doing a lots of building, organizing, researching and planning.

Kestrel Roffo, Nila Mari, and Dolfke Barbosa

Alia Soulstar: Nila is a community asset who just happens to be a lovely person on the side

Dolfke Barbosa: Nila does a few excellent jobs here for us all - we have a newsletter too, right Nila?

Nila Mari: for Starfleet Infinity we do

Dolfke Barbosa: Due to Alia's and others great work, I am able to call this here home again, Thirza, and much from 3RG is imported here, Land as well as Avatars

Touring the Starfleet Infinity build, you'd be forgiven for feeling nothing had changed for this RP group. In reality, after it became abundantly clear that the old grid couldn't be saved, a huge amount of work had to be done retrieving .oars, rethinking the way the new regions would be laid out, and transferring personal and group inventory. That was after the group did plenty of research and some serious thinking before choosing their new home, an enclave on ZetaWorlds grid. 

Into the 3rd Wind

 It's almost here!!
The 3rd Rock Grid community  - they're retiring that name and going with "3rd Wind", wind being the next element after rock - are moving to an enclave on Zetaworlds grid.
This decision was taken after a lot of thought not only about finances but also grid security, size, and atmosphere. Considering how many different solutions were proposed to them, it's fair to say it wasn't an easy decision, which speaks well to the amazing solidarity and opportunities that opensim offers these days.

3rdRock Grid will become the
3rd Wind Community located on
Zetaworlds Grid

What was the best and the worst part of this experience? I asked two well-known members of the community, David and Alia, to give me some background.

David7 Bravin: The worst is on course the fact that 3rd Rock Grid is having to close after so many years. The best thing that has happened is that Alia Soulstar took up the challenge and has managed to find the 3RG Community a new home on ZetaWorlds

Alia Soulstar: Yes,  it was an extremely hard decision. 

David7 Bravin

Thirza Ember: how did the transition process work ?

Rock On

It's not the news that anyone wanted to hear, that 3rd Rock Grid will be closing its doors in May.  The longevity of the grid, and the circumstances that have led to its likely demise, make the news even more upsetting. But, I say, let's be positive. 

Write Plaza, da Vinci

Why be positive? First of all, because of all the wonderful places, events, and people of the grid who have given residents and visitors alike a dozen or more years of great memories. 

Safari Calendar 2024

 Another splendid year of opensim fun has drawn to an end and another is just gearing up - grid hopping in virtual worlds has never been more rewarding or reliable!  To celebrate the new year, here's a calendar that celebrates just a few of the loveliest people and places. 

This calendar is an inworld object, available at the HG Safari clubhouse, and if you hit the Calendar Info button, you will receive a Notecard that gives you the HG addresses and LMs to each of the places featured in the pictures. A big thank you to all the artists and builders who agreed to pose for the calendar, and to snowbody Cortes for invaluable help on the script. 

So who and where does this year's calendar feature?

Our cover artist is Luna Lunaria, seen here on her region Luxor, on Wolf Territories Grid. An absolute genius when it comes to texturing Luna is well known for her

Xmas Mission on 3rd Rock

This Sunday, December 17 at 10am Pacific time is a huge milestone for a very special group, and you're invited to the adventure, and the party!

Starfleet Infinity celebrates one year on 3rd Rock Grid. It's a scifi roleplay group that is based on the format, structure, and values of the TV show and film franchise Star Trek. 

But wait a minute, first anniversary? Hasn't there been a Star Trek inspired roleplay place on 3rd Rock for years? Astraios... Lyonesse Colony... all that? 

Yes. For a long time, this group was an opensim colony of SL's United Federation Starfleet. Last year, the decision was made to break away, and form something new, dynamic, and vaster than before, right here on 3rd Rock, taking advantage of the talent and energy of the locals - in particular Alia Soulstar, builder, art curator, not to mention Captain of the USS Feynman, who has stepped up to create a fabulous website as well as inworld goodies. 

The move was a good one, they doubled their numbers overnight, and the past year has been an ongoing success story. Safari celebrated 'First Contact Day' with many of the crew and creative contributors of Starfleet Infinity last April and it was a delight to see how committed and organized and fun-loving they are.

On Einstein

 The Star Trek RP group Infinity welcomed a brand new ship this weekend, the ISS Einstein, captained by David7 Bravin. 

A brief ceremony took place at ground level, where Admiral Keely Scrumptious gave a brief and inspirational speech - two of the best qualities of any speech, I'm sure you'll agree - confirming the nomination of David as the new captain of the Einstein, which will be active in Roleplay on Mondays. For the full schedule of roleplaying, check out the calendar. This is useful both for would-be roleplayers (you can see which ship is active in a time frame that would suit you) and also for casual visitors, so you can avoid crashing one of their missions.

Currently listed under the legacy region name 'Astraios Colony' and soon to be renamed Infinity, this outpost of Starfleet is built on a Var region - and that means space, serious space for multiple ships not to mention ground based buildings below. This newest ship the Einstein is located at about 8000m in the sky...   HG Address is at the end of the post as per tradition.

Star Turn on 3rd Rock

Thirza Ember: happy first contact day everyone

James Atlloud: and a first contact day to you too Thirza

Our first stop on this new season of Safari is the absolutely spectacular Star Trek colony on 3rd Rock Grid. a great crowd of 3rd Rockers were there to meet us, and the peerless Alia Souldstar gave us a wonderful tour. The HG Address for this wonderful build is, of course, at the end of the post.

Nila Shvaress: greetings everyone arriving

Georgina Mills: Hello everyone :)

Ellemir Maven: Hello Lucy, Lavia and Kitty

Dolfke Barbosa: pls take your time to let everything rez properly

James Atlloud: Hello!

Pauline NOVA419: ooo, visitors :)

Alia Soulstar

Alia Soulstar: Hiya Thirza and Safari people :)

Beth Ghostraven: Hi Alia!

Prodyck Theas: Helloo

Alia Soulstar: Is that everyone or are there a few still coming ?

Thirza Ember: ok we are good to go, APPLAUSE! for Astraios colony

Setting the Tone

 While community is at the heart of the Safari experience, we also aim for quality, and our kick-off event for the first season of 2023 really set the tone. Lorin Tone, and Alia Soulstar, two names that convey a sense of excellence. The build? An immersive experience based on the film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

This is opensim artistry at its best.  Not a rip-off replica, but a multi sensory, walkable meditation on a much loved and discussed classic, spread over a VAR that in SL would cost you in tier something like the rent of a small house. 

Lorin Tone

There were about 20 of us on 3rd Rock Grid to meet our host and learn the story behind the build. The fun starts in a dome at ground level, where there is a warning that if you don't do well around flashing optical effects, this build might not be for you. The address, is of course, at the end of this post.

New and Nu on Safari

This week a trip two regions with something 'nu' about them - first, New Hope, on Asgard, also known by its hg address grid.our-dawn, and to NUNA the spectacular sim on 3rd Rock grid. Complete addresses, as usual, at the end of the post.

the spectacular NUNA art museum on 3rd Rock Grid

First up Asgard, aka Grid Our Dawn, in some places called 'Starfleet', but Asgard is a shorter name so I'm going to stick with it. The story of the Asgard grid is a story full of Ragnaroks - although, not really, because that Viking term means the final destruction of the world, and this grid/group has survived not one massive upheaval but many, and with surprising resilience. We met on a community sim with two members of the grid, Thundergod Thor and Star Ravenhurst.