Safari Glows

 It's all a question of perspective. Prims have been somewhat overlooked of late so it was a treat to revisit the medium, a sort of historical trip. But with plenty of fantasy thrown in. You learn something every time on Safari, about what works and what doesn't and sometimes something literary. Case in point: Beth Ghostraven found some chandeliers all green and glowy, like cavorite. I didn't even know what that was, but our host Cyberglo Cyberstar was immediately on her wavelength. It's that kind of a place.

The place?   We were visiting LoveGlo castle, a sort of poetic throwback to the beauty of building with prims. Cyberglo constructed the whole place in a day and filled it with legal freebies, hidden passages, caves, and all kinds of surprises. The proper address of the region is at the end of the post, as always.

Dream Trip

Virtual Discovery organizer, Vladimir Djannovic

 Every Tuesday, there is a hypergrid adventure with the Virtual Discovery group run by Vladimir Djannovic out of his grid, Virtual Dream. (Yes, there is a VD theme going on, you're not mistaken.) Show up on the Welcome region of VD, and join in the fun. For details about upcoming trips, the best thing is to look on opensimworld, or follow Vlad on Facebook, where he gives the heads up a couple of days before each trip.  This week, for the first time, I was lucky enough to join them for a little while. It's the best fun!  

This week the excursion was to the Zoo on Serenity Grid, the address at the end of the post.

Best Practices in Jumping

 Anyone can leap about in opensim, exploring regions by themselves or maybe with a friend. We've all done it, often finding pleasure in the big empty spaces of the hypergrid. But it is also fun to grid jump  with a crowd, to meet the grid owner, or sim builder, and spend some time laughing and dancing and learning more about the infinite variety of opensim. 

But traveling in a pack can create its own unique problems. So what makes for a successful hypergrid trip en masse? Our group is called Safari, because there's a good chance you won't survive to the end, and there are dangers lurking! I asked a bunch of Safari regulars who have joined our trips many times to give their advice for a successful and enjoyable trip around the metaverse.

Still Standing

The dance floor at HG safari clubhouse

Kelso Uxlay: Good idea to warm up safari goers before going.

          Dancing really does do it. This week, two animated destinations, a big crowd of avatars, and a roaring success for our hosts, Dorena Verne and Anachron Young on Dorena's World, and Karima Hoisan and the scriptastic Dale Innes on Kitely. 

Addresses of the destinations, as always, at the end of the post. 

It really helps if you come to the clubhouse on HG Safari, OSGrid and get the LMs before we depart at the top of the hour, and thanks to everyone who showed up, including Lux, Dabici and Kelso who entertained us by dancing so well. A good omen...

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.

Counter Tops

 Havoc Rau is an unmissable figure. Tall, with dark good looks and impeccable manners. He has his own city, and knows about mesh, heck, he makes the stuff (free for us opensimmers, for money to those unenlightennd types in SL who don't know about the Free Worlds). He is, to me, a hypergrid hero, a man who spans the gap between complicated role playing and HG Tourism. 

A couple of weeks back he came to save me from the Zombies on OSGrid, as you may have read in an earlier post. This week, he offered to show me his etchings, I mean his tarns, on CounterEarth. What could a girl say, except for 'yes please'?

CounterEarth, if you didn't know, is an amazingly beautiful grid that takes its theme from the novels by John Norman, who began writing them in the 1960s. (The grid address is at the end of this post.)Here is a pretty unbiased review of the first novel to give you an idea of what it is all about. The grid, on the other hand, has to be seen to be believed, and believe me, it's the tops.

Post Pre Safari Safari

 Just as a test, and to make sure we are all on the same page, we had a meet up on the new HG Safari region on Wednesday. The event was advertised in Facebook and Mewe and in the OGgrid and Craft HG Safari inworld groups. Thanks to all who attended, and those who IM'd saying they saw the event even if they couldn't make it this time.

It was a chance to catch up with old friends and to meet new Safari fans. Also, a learning opportunity for those unfamiliar with what '12 noon Grid time' (which is Pacific time, just like back in Second Life) calculates to where they live. Anyway, about 25 of us managed to navigate the time zones, and  cope with the fact that the Safari's main base is on OSGrid now. Oh, and there is a space between HG and Safari in the name of the new sim. Which is quite a lot to take in, if you think about it.

Ball Park

We all have our foibles, even you. Well, OK, especially you, don't imagine for a moment the rest of us haven't noticed. Anyway, mine include not being able to resist clicking on a free raccoon, and being the world's worst Hunt player. You can guarantee that in any Hunt game, not only will I not find any of the prizes, but I may actually break the mechanism.  Imagine, then, with what trepidation I went to the Tangle Grid Christmas Ball Hunt, which ends on January 15. Would there be raccoons? I had to know.

Total Annihilation

          Today, Ubit killed me. He has probably been wanting to do that for years.  Unfortunately for him, it didn't take, and here are the photos to prove it.

Ubit's Revenge

          You probably remember sim Outbreak on OSgrid. The zombie game was set in a lovely European town, with trees and squares and alleys and a big old church in the middle. The textures were, if I remember correctly, by Michelle Theiss, but the heart of the matter, the scripting, was by that Queen of Code, Total 'call me Louise' Sorbet. I had the great pleasure of catching up with her the other day and hearing her news. 

Metrodämmerung

 It started with Maria Korolov, during one of her OSCC presentations, when she was talking about grid statistics.

Anyone who knows me knows that I spend most of the OpenSim Community Conference gossiping and flirting with whoever will put up with me, especially during the more arty or bookish parts. But I sat still and attended during Maria's bit (and also that brilliant Graham Mills lecture, with the ship. That was awesome.) 

Graham Mills' Liverpool history project is on Kitely

Anyway, Maria was talking grid stats and there was a slide showing traffic on the hg and so on, and somehow Metropolis got mentioned, and a voice from the audience, in what I can only describe as a contemptuous font, said something along the lines of 'Oh you can't hg to Metropolis.' 

Present Joy

          A landmark is a bit like parmesan. It looks so solid that you think it will last forever, and it kind of does, until one day you open it and find it's gone off - or offline. Usually when you need it the most.

 Since returning to opensim, I have been checking out Freebie places old and new for this page Facebook, and for the updated Freebie LM  collection you will soon find inside this poster at the HG Safari clubhouse. 

          Someone mentioned that  Rayvn's Roost Concourse on My Virtual Beach was worth a look. I headed over there, and was lucky enough to find online Trizaria 'Trizzy' Hunter. She is co-owner of the grid, with her partner Rocky One. Trizzy kindly took a few minutes to tell a little of her story.

Frost Burn

I was with Lucy Afarensis when the call came in. 

Dabici Straulino: do you have 15 minutes? I would like to show you our winter build.

"Want to go skiing?" I said to Lucy. 

 "Sure, why not."

We were not dressed for it, because as you all know OSGrid has ongoing asset problems to the point that even if the item you click on is present in your Inventory (and that happens only once in about 100)  you still do not dare change clothes, because your current outfit is quite likely to disappear. Never mind, we shower twice a day, so  it's all perfectly hygienic. And I have been barefoot skiing before, so decided to risk it.

A New Safari Season

         After more than three years absence, the Safari hypergrid tours are coming back.

        The ten week season begins on January 12.  Currently Francogrid is experiencing maintenance issues, so although the old base is still there, we have a new home (courtesy Ange Menges) on OSGrid. the name of the sim is... you guessed it, HG Safari (note the space between hg and safari when you type in the address. In satellite view you'll see this on the map.

        As many of your know, OSGrid is itself in the middle of an asset crisis (*insert here your witty remarks on the subject*) so it has not been all plain sailing to get the new sim up and running. So if you notice some content or textures not working, please be patient. It's a work in progress.

          The Safari Market has a few of the old favorites, and you will find the Meshanthropy store on the island too. I am most proud of being able to import the lovely sailing ship built by long time friend of the Safari, Aime Socrate.

          The new HG Safari trips will depart from OSGrid on Wednesdays at 12 noon SLT (Pacific time, that is) which, for Europeans, is 9pm Paris time. We have invites to 17 different grids, and will be doing a range of activities, from talks to dances to hunts to art installations. 

          The slots in this first season of the Safari filled up in less than a week, so if you are interested in being a destination during the second season, which will begin around May/June, please contact Thirza Ember on OSGrid.

The Last Safari...

 It is a hard thing to write about, the last Safari. We stayed home, uncharacteristically for us. And lovely Wizardoz Chrom made a wonderful machinima of the event. 

  Cherry Manga made all kinds of amazing big art for us to be dazzled by, all around the simple clubhouse and the great sailing ship, handmade by Aime Socrate so long ago. 

Hunting and Racing: the Penultimate Safari

               Our last trip out and about took the intrepid Safari goers to two activity sims, one golden oldie, and one so brand new that it was still being tweaked a couple hours before our arrival.   

 

              Kodinpump is a twist on the word 'pumpkin', for this is a Halloween Hunt build from 2015, one of a long series of fantastic ephemeral builds in SL and opensim by nani Ferguson and Ange Menges, who put it back online especially for our visit.

Safari goes from Alexandria to Arizona

           Two horse riding opportunities this week, and two beautiful places to visit any time. The Safari group was honored to be the first visitors to the latest grand attraction on Outworldz, where 16 regions of ancient history, NPCs, architecture and drama awaited us (the good kind of drama, Shakespearean, naturally) and then an opportunity to meditate in the vast open spaces of the Rift Valley on Afar, OSGrid. HG Addresses at the end of the post as always.

Pharos of Alexandria

              Egypt is a collaborative build, bringing together the creative talents of Debbie Edwards aka Nyira Machabelli, Joe Builder and of course the legendary Ferd Frederix. Avia Bonne also did some of the artwork, she's a talented lady. Outworldz is a great grid with many themed activities - Dragons, Fairy Tales, and the African bush to mention just a few. The Outworldz website is undisputably Opensim's greatest treasure.

Zen and the art of Gridhopping

         For the final few Safari trips, I decided to indulge myself and just organize visits to some of my favorite places. This week, we went to TGrid, also known as ViewTwo, and to Kalasiddhi Grid. HG Addresses at the end of the post. These are two of the smaller grids on the hyperverse, and both have a distinctive look and purpose, that goes to the very heart of the owner operated HG friendly virtual homestead.

TG Lucan

     First up TGrid. It's small and built for testing the very heart of opensim. The Welcome region has a musical theme with clean lines and unscratched vinyl. For a long time, hg visitors would arrive on top of the satellite which was a sort of bug but a fun one. TG Lucan was there to meet the group, where we did some dancing before moving on to the massive 256 Var, so see (let's be honest) if we could break it.

Safari Regulars

The Safari trips have come to an end after four years. Thanks for all the kind comments and compliments - they are much appreciated. Organizing the weekly trips has been fun and fascinating and frenetic, but the purpose, and the success, isn't down to a single person, but a special group of strangers who have become friends, the Safari Regulars.
There are hundreds of posts on this blog about the builds and content creators we have visited, this is the only post dedicated to the Safari Regulars, who are also builders, scripters, coders, grid owners...

The calm before the storm - meeting at the clubhouse before the Safari starts

      

An Illuminated Safari

           This week we went to see the TanGLe grid Expo of Fashion with emphasis on the new Ruth mesh avatar, then over to Sanctuary Grid to tour the Ivory City complex,created by Tosha Tyran to celebrate the life of Lumiere Noir, of Ivory Tower of Learning fame. 
            HG Addresses, as always, at the end of the post.

Rusty and the TanGLe gang keep us entertained as we cam the Expo

           First up, a chance to see TanGLe grid's latest Expo, this time, fashion for the new Ruth Mesh avie, made by Shin Ingen to provide a totally home grown mesh avie for OSGrid, with, you know, moving hands and all those interesting attachment points. A good place to learn more about this interesting opensource piece of goodness is on G+ at the Ruth and Roth 2.0 Mesh Project.

An Open Space Safari

           This week, we met two grid owners, and some happy residents, on Discovery Grid and on Kitely, and were treated to some very beautiful and interesting places to visit... addresses at the end of the post, as always. Kitely is one of the most long-established of all opensim's many grids, while Discovery is just about a year old. We were particularly grateful to our hosts for taking the time - for Angel Discovery, who's in Australia, it meant a very early morning meeting, for Kitely's Ilan Tochner, who's in Israel, it was a fairly late evening meet-up, and we were very glad he took the time, especially considering it was a big National Holiday in his country... rl comes first, as we all know.

          First up, Discovery Grid, and three very interesting regions reflecting the spirit and interests of the grid. This is a sporty, out-doorsy place, just packed with interesting scenery. We arrived on Spirit Rock Ranch.