Friday, 29 November 2013

Novatech 40% Sale!

G'day all!

Although I haven't ventured in world today, I did just get notice that Novatech are holding a 40% sale on all their products from now until Monday. Thats 40% off everything, the Tardis line, Horizons, EmDash, Portals, Elevators, vehicles.... everything.

I cannot state enough that Novatech offer some great scenes, and very innovative grid wide travel.

Get down to Cheshyr's landing this weekend and grab yourselves a deal!

This is inworld only.

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Ageira Black Friday Sale

Morning All.

While meandering around Cheshyr's Landing today i noticed that Ageira are having a Black Friday sale this weekend.

Ageira Corporation are creators and suppliers of fantastic Trek themed rooms and vehicles, and for the duration of Friday 29th November to Sunday 1st December they will be offering their entire catalogue at 50% off.




This offer is available at their Inworld store and also on Primbay, which is a new Online retailer for sellers that take advantage of Caspervend systems.

I think the images speak for themselves at the quality of the room builds that Ageira offer, but they have a demo rezzer system at their main store which allows you to explore what you will be buying fully.



If you are a Sci-Fi RP'er, of Trek aficionado, I'd strongly recommend checking them out in world over the holiday weekend.


For all my US located friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Second Life TARDIS Systems 1 - Hands of Omega

Okay. So I am likely going to be covering a lot of TARDIS related items throughout this blog, as that is where my main interests veer towards, and they are generally very well done in Second Life. So I suppose one of the first things to do is to explain the different options a prospective TARDIS owner has within Second Life.

I am going to start with the Hands of Omega TTC system by Sen Pixie, as that is what I am currently using at the moment and already have it set up. Hands of Omega is one of the oldest, and largest manufacturer of TTC's (Time Travel Capsules) in Second Life, their main focus is on roleplay immersion and as such the strength of their systems lays in the Consoles, which, when you buy a HoO, is what your primarily looking at.


Featured Images in this post are of my current console which is an Archaic Paradox Console, mid Modification... its fair to point out that the Hands of Omega console rooms are very modder friendly.

HoO systems are intended for permanent rezzing, rather than on the fly, and many use their TARDIS as their Second Life home. Available consoles range from L$1750 to L$3500, and vary in Primcount from roughly 100 - 600 prims.


Your Hands of Omega's flight system works in either of two ways. Firstly, and primarily, is the public rezzer network. With your Console you get a single prim item, to set up as a rezzer for your exterior. You would load it with your exteriors, place it at a destination you plan to travel to often, and name it. Once it is linked to the system you can travel to that destination and your TARDIS will materialize before you even exit your console room. All HoO consoles can find destinations on the public network. This is a database of rezzers that have been made available for public use, with over 200 locations, You should never be short of somewhere to explore.

Alternatively you can choose a manual flight, and land anywhere on SL that you have the co-ordinates of. This comes with the issue that your exterior will not rezz until you leave the console and land at the destination, where the exterior shell will rezz around you.


Flights in both methods can be tailored in travel length, and if you have RPMode enabled on the console, you will use some of the TARDIS' energy in the journey. Generally, when you activate RPMode, you will have 50 flights available, and as you travel you must top up the rift energy by landing and recharging at certain locations, such as the Panopticon on New Gallifrey, or Cheshyr's Landing on the Gallifrey Sim.




RP Mode enables other things aswell, such as camera shake during explosions, and the effects of temporal prisons, which disable your TARDIS, by external methods (Daleks). The console also has a security system, Interior security is in the form of Temporal Grace, which, in essence, creates a temporary shield around aggressors within 10m of the console itself, blocking any projectile fire. Externally there is the HADs system, which momentarily de-materializes the shell in the event of it being shot at.


The exterior of a Hands of Omega console is not as feature full as some other systems, it cannot be flown as a vehicle, for example. However it does have a few interesting features. When the doors are open, communication between the Interior, and Exterior locations is possible, even if they are in different sims. The doors when closed will also not open to anyone who does not have a registered key, instead it will play a knocking sound on the door, which also plays within the console and announces who is knocking on your door. The exterior can be phase-shifted, making it invisible, and phantom (able to walk through it).


There are many other features to the Hands of Omega system... from a universal power control to add on room rezzers. The company has also released a plethora of accessories and add-ons for the system. Advanced flight controls, roleplay break down and repair, K-9 mk II, Sonic Screwdrivers which react to the HoO HUD, rooms, exterior forms and rezzer particle effects list just a few, but this post is long enough as it is.



The Hands of Omega system is a wonderful representation of a Time Lord's famous form of travel, and has its strength in the quality of its RP immersion. If you are shopping around for a TARDIS in Second Life, I strongly advise checking them out In World, and looking at their demo rooms (In the blue tardis)

The Smith II Console - Novatech

This week saw the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, and to celebrate Cheshyr released a new console room for the Novatech Type 40 and Type 70 TTC's.

This is a complete recreation of the console room used in Doctor Who since Christmas 2012's episode "The Snowmen". The texture and building work is well done, lending to an authentic recreation of the room. The console layout is full of plenty of buttons and switches, alot of which are unscripted and are purely for added Roleplay interactions.


 Those that are however, activate all of the features we have come to know and love in the Novatech TARDIS range. I will be writing up a general guide on all of the main TARDIS systems available in Second Life soon, but I wanted to dive right in with a new release. The surrounding lights around the outershell cycle around as they should, and with this console you are treated to the new Series 7 Red Vortex during flights.



When the console initiates flight, the Rotor raises and falls, and the carousel rotates about the ceiling as seen in the show (If anything, that is my favorite feature of this console design). The storage cupboards under the Console act as seating, and one cupboard conceals a hidden hatch, which, admittedly for now, doesn't really go anywhere




The Console comes with Four expansion doors, allowing you to rezz a veritable maze of corridors and rooms to explore if you have the prim allowance. My one complaint with this console, which Cheshyr says he will likely fix in an update, is that the entry point for the console is in a side corridor, and not at the platform bridge as in the show. Other than that, this was a great treat from Novatech for the 50th Anniversary.

Its available now for L$2400 at Novatech's Inworld Store, or on the Marketplace.

Introductions...

Hi there readers.

I'm fairly new to this... well, Okay, I am very new to this. I am The Muse, at least, that is what I am choosing to call myself. I inhabit Second Life and have done so for 8 years now. I have had many face, and many names, so I think choosing a title would be better than changing my name every month or two. While in Second Life, I have dabbled, and sometimes nosedived, into many of the lifestyles and communities present in The Grid, everything from Furry, to Tiny, Fantasy to Sci-fi. I have also found I have less sense than money, and as such, constantly aquire new things. And thats where this place comes in. I've decided to blog about it, The focus will be on the Sci-fi and Steampunk communities, however you may sometimes find other interests blurring in if something catches my particular attention.


Feel free to poke me In-world, my username there is demonkitten, and I am usually friendly enough for a chat.