Googie Land in Osgrid.. a Tour

The architecture I thought was corny looking in the seventies has now become uber cool, and I am starting to like the curving, overtly futuristic lines and cheesy colors of the Googie era.    I decided to dedicate a whole region to it called Googie Land.

Here’s a quick tour starting from the South clockwise…

Landing area… you may have come here from an opensimworld portal, or maybe just from the local map. Anyway, welcome!

To the left you will see the area run by Burnt Toast. She has several small but very well stocked shops of avatars, make up tattoos and animations.  Enjoy and pick up anything you like.

Further up is the UNDER CONSTRUCTION Googie Amusement Park.  We will have a lot of stuff here, coaster, merry go rounds, waterslides, stay tuned!   Thanks to Dizzy Marville for all this construction J

Central area : The Googie Mall. Alien has a great store of many many odd and amazing things he has collected across the metaverse, come get a flying slug or a box of buildings, all free.

Northern area :  past the mall is our Googie School, and to the left a few blocks of residential Miami-styled housing.    Parcels are free to rent for anyone in need.  In the middle is a free public beach with launch points for sailing or surfing the Brilliance Sea.

To the northeast Dizzy has some cabin rentals and a very relaxed and pretty camping area. Come and hang out and watch the sun rise.

East :  Several rental islands dot the coastline… pretty… and private.  Some more private housing and and area that Carson Wozniak is working on … project TBA.  Hoped you like the tour.

Govega

In Depth - The Romance Region - Luster

In Depth at Luster

 

I decided to do a point by point tour of Luster, the premiere romance region in Lost Paradise.

Luster- The Romance Region so named for the soft glow of good jewels, is by far my favorite region to date in my history of region creation.  Come on a tour with me.

 

Upon landing in the region you will see, to the left or the southwest, a tropical area. This the beach area, “clothing optional”. Here you will find inflatables to float on, a gazebo with a couples dance balls, and towels and patio umbrellas to sunbathe under.  You can relax and take in the view.

 

Wander up northwest and the region has a hilly area called the Enclave. Tour around this wooded section with a tour canoe.  Climb the hilly trail to the balconies that overlook the region.  Sit in one of the leaf benches and relax with your love.

 

To the east of the Enclave is a long formal English garden, punctuated by butterfly bushes and gothic arches.  At the very end of the pathway you will find a freebie store called “Sensual Movements”. Find all kinds of kinky and sexy wares here, lingerie, dance poles and naughtier things all in the name of love.

Back to the South center of the region and you will find a long pathway leading to our flagship kissing angels. Walk under them through the gothic little building and proceed til you get to the tp platform.

 

And what do you tp to? Well you will have to come to see, but there are several interesting “encounter loveboxes” and dancing domes, all which reside in the sky. The loveboxes are private and out of zoom range, so you secret encounter will remain just that.

 

If privacy is not what you are looking for, proceed to our main building which houses Rendezvous, our plush club with a large outdoor dance area. Its black tie only so wear proper attire! There is a bar inside to hang out and don’t forget to give a rose to your love.

Wander around the path to the east and admire all the beautiful waterfalls and plantings that are perfect photo opportunities.

Continue down the path to a little shopping area where you will find H54 Formals and Etc, two freebie shops for formalwear and accessories.  The shopping area is reminiscent of a Parisian boulevard.

If you are done with shopping, continue behind the stores and you will find a gorgeous sparkling area with three buildings, a Town Hall, Cathedral and Synagogue. Good for paying or weddings.

Next to this area is a magical spot for outdoor weddings, with seating for many. The bride and grown have an area on the balcony with animations for the wedding.  A lovely carriage awaits the bride and groom for pictures.

Adjacent is an outdoor dance area, with Doric columns and dance balls, with pretty plantings all around.

 

It will take some time to see everything on Luster, but its well worth it!

 



The Brilliance Array in conjunction with Lost Paradise is pleased to offer absolutely free, seaside housing in the varreregion Gleam. Parcels can be offered with full rights for media and other settings. 

 

We offer both prebuilt move in ready homes or, parcels to build your own house on. Some of our availabilities are pictured below. 

 

This starter region allows you to set home, landscape and decorate to your hearts content, all at your own pace.  And by being a member of Lost Paradise, you are able to easily teleport to hundreds of other beautiful sims or hyper grid to dozens of other opensim grids. Being a true open grid, this is easy to do.

 

Gleam evokes a seaside village with quaint bridges, rivers and cobblestoned drivable roads, a central shopping area of freebies and sailable water all around. Come join our neighborhood. Its free forever.

 

An enhanced mesh cottage with ocean access. Could be yours.

Sunset from the bay. How peaceful is this place?





Another oceanfront property. Very modern home with roof deck and rooftop pool.

Victorian style cottage with porches and enhanced rooms.

I am  a resident here. Here is my boathouse home on the bay.

Love Live and Play in The Brilliance Array

From Adversity comes Brilliance!

Recently we encountered a human glitch in Heritage Estates, and sadly, the 65 regions of our beloved estate had to go away.  But we weren't going to be held down for long. 

Soon an idea, a concept and a plan hatched. We were to bring all the good concepts of Heritage Estates and migrate them into lovely, themed varreregions surrounded by thousands of meters of navigable waters.

Like spokes from a center wheel, The Brilliance Array (TBA) will offer a centralized region and landing space. surrounded by everything you need to do in Virtual.  We plan to have educational areas, a romance region, housing, shopping, recreation and building areas.  They will fan out gracefully from our future beautiful welcome center and marina.

Either boat, fly or teleport from one area to the other.

Each region will encompass all you need... no need to go anywhere else if you wish.  Our housing area Gleam features a small but functional freebie area for furniture to furnish your new home.(which are free by the way).  Luster, our romance region, features our outstanding black tie venue, Rendezvous, and many opportunities for quick cuddles or more in our encounter skyboxes.

We are so excited to open this region up to you.

Come visit soon

Sunset over Gleam, our housing region

New Fun Residential Area! Shabby Estates!

With the airport near completion, it was time to start thinking about the rest of our first varregion in Heritage.  As reported earlier, the north-east portion is being made into a cozy ski resort with cabins, a main street and some nature trails.

 

 

I decided to take a bit of a break from that project. What to do with the rest of the region?  As Burke and I had discussed, we thought that the region may be good with mixed commercial/housing.

 

 

And suddenly, it seemed so right to fit a fabulous fifties street adjacent to the airport. It fits well next to the somewhat grimy industrial airport area, but yet is fun and lighthearted.

So introducing the upstart community, Shabby Shack Estates.  A block of identical, ticky-tacky one bedroom cottages with a fun little mall and park.

 

I also have procured a new free rental script and portioned off the lots so renters can have media rights.

 

The mall has a retro diner, hair salon, market, burger drive in, and ice cream stand. I am thinking of stocking another store with furniture, so renters can easily decorate their homes.

A playground is in the works across from the mall. What’s next? Maybe a little school and gas station.

This is a construction zone, but anyone is free to come visit the work in progress.

 

A snazzy diner, large ice cream cone stand sock hop and salon are just some of the hightlights of this mid centry googie mall.

An upstanding school like I attended,  including a large lunchroom.  Under construction.

Get your flamingo on!  I am hanging in a chair near the beer!  I don't drink in RL but you can make mine an ice cold Shlitz!
 

Need bridge!  LOL!

 

Today I started an even more exciting project at Regional Airport.  I am building a twisty, turny road that winds through the Heritage Forest.  I stopped as I got to place needing a bridge. So far, its coming out amazing. I cannot wait to try my car on this road, but first... need to make signs, build guardrails and oh yes!   A bridge.

 

More later!

 

 

Snow on the Mountain!

It seems there is a nip in the air. or, rather, its beginning to feel a bit like winter.
I was thinking about what would we fun to do in Heritage, and quickly I thought of a rather pretty, little alpine town we had tucked into the Commonwealth estates from last year.   Not only was it charming, but it offered amazing views overlooking the surrounding regions, along with some great opportunities to participate in winter sports.
 
I figured a good place to tuck this area in would be Regional Airport, which has tons of space north of the actual airport.
There are certain differences in terraforming large varraregions, I have found that areas come out rather square.... it all has be fixed.

This is a learning process for me... I am doing most of the work myself and keeping distance from the already halfway completed regional airport. I am hoping it will be a nice view to fly near the ski area...
 
I was able to take a few pics of the work in progress... check it out...
 
 
 
 See what I mean about the square terraforms? Will be fixed after all buildings are in...

Notice the somewhat subtle terrain change from snow to grass...


The mountaintop.  Crowned by a ski lodge and dotted around it with sweet cabins for rent.

Wait til you see the inside of this... Doc Falworth's contribution to our ski area... A frame quadplex... there will be several, so plenty of places to stay on your virtual skication...

 

 

 

 

 

I will be studying how ski towns are laid out but until then I have started a tiny village... so far, we have a chapel, a holiday store and a café... and yes, we will have a ski shop of course!  Trying to keep it old lodge western in theme... we will see...  Please stay tuned for more as time allows!

 

 

 

Heritage 54 Grand Opening ... Sat 9/6/14

Our Premiere Jazz Club is having a small grand opening dance/party !

 

Many months in development... a mini opening before the big gala.

 

 

GET YOUR GLITZ ON...!

 

 

 

Come join us and get your glitz on!

 

 

When: Sat 9/6/14 11:00 VLT (11 PDT 2 EDT 8 EUR)

 

Come join us with smooth Jazz Music by DJ Peter Nagy

 

Formalwear is preferred but not required.

The surrounding stores will outfit you will formalwear if you are in need.

 

Hypergrid address :  http:lpgrid.com:8002:Heritage 54

Heritage Estates Now with More Room (Varregions) !

I am very pleased to let you all know that we are expanding our horizons... in the form of varregions!
For months I have been dreaming of having more than a single region for sailing and flying sports. Now, I am pleased to announce we have them both!

We are developing a region called Heritage Ocean which will be specifically for sailing so here is a few photos of the 1024x 1024 region....

Small area of the Heritage Ocean Marina... many slips for all to dock their boats, ships, whatever.

Windlight settings "An Incuregent Truth" and "Placida Bright" view of the orginal Yacht Club

A sailboat bobs placidly in the water
 



Slate patio, wrought iron fencing, large swimmable pool and a well appointed seating area.  This home also overlooks the ocean sim edge.

Also up, a friend of mine, Burke, is developing the Heritage Regional Airport ... a semi industrial sim which will have plenty of room to fly. What to be done with the rest of the region? Maybe residential, maybe farmland... I love the idea of flying over geometric farms.... yea I am liking that idea...

.
Lastly, the Heritage54 Yacht club will be a mirror to the Heritage Ocean Yacht club, and I will have a convenient teleport to take you from H54 to the new sailing region. Here I am sitting on the deck, wondering just what kind of teleport system will be appropriate for the yacht club?  How about life raft...?  I am thinking... :)

As Doc is currently master building in another Lost Paradise project, I am flying almost solo with these idea.. so I hope it comes out okay...

How to Join our Free Affiliate Program

Hypergrid link: http://lpgrid.com 54


Hey all.  We are ready to launch our affiliate vendor program. It's FREE to anyone who becomes a Lost Paradise member.  It's also simple.

Here's how it works.  I am using my own "Heritage Formals" shop in Heritage 54.

In this example, I am offering my formal gown "Midnite Dreams" for free in Lost Paradise and for a very discounted rate of 15.00 lindens in SL.

Click to buy for free in Lost Paradise. Touch prim to buy for Second Life

Click to "buy" the freebie for LP.   There is a hovertext that says "Touch to Buy for SL".  Touch the prim and the link for your marketplace store comes up. The player then has the option to buy the same for use in Second Life.

Sign in and  buy for Second Life...

You may use your shop in any configuration...  1)either all freebies in Lost Paradise and links to your Marketplace shop, or 2)nothing to offer for the SL Marketplace items except a link to buy for Second Life, or 3)Link to buy the item for Lost Paradise via Virwox or Paypal and link to buy the item for Second Life.

You choose.

The only thing that is required is that you offer several freebies in your Heritage Store and that you retain a presence in Lost Paradise while rent the store.

We have free housing for all vendors so they have a hang out space in Lost Paradise.  All free.

We are excited in this opportunity for increased traffic in Lost Paradise and more Marketplace sales for you.

Come join us! 

Join the Heritage Merchants Group and TP to Heritage 54 to claim your shop.

Pictures below!

This is a really spacious shop adjacent to the Jazz club.

Midsize shop with tiled floor near the Yacht Club.

Overview of the beautiful Heritage 54 Emporium area



Opulent Option small store adjacent to the Yacht Club

The Lure of Virtual...

The Lure of Virtual

Why we keep coming back, again and again and again….

When someone asks what I am doing during the weekend, I usually say I am busy, and no one really can imagine. Busy doing what? Well, shopping, decorating, landscaping. Dancing and hanging out with friends.

Sounds like a typical weekend right? Yes… except…

I do all of these things behind a computer screen, immersed in a 3D environment that mimics real life. Although not all of the five senses are represented, most of them are.

When I first came onto Second Life, I found it clunky and frustrating, with no real instructions. Plus the avatars looked much too much cartoonish. That was back in 2005.

When I tried again to go back on Second Life, in 2008, things were different. Cltohing had developed with the use of multiple attachments and flexi primitives, allowing lifelike movement and flow of hair and fabric. Scripting had also developed, and there were many beautiful modes of transport. Regions were plentiful, with many people from many countries to meet and chat with.

By 2010, all sorts of things were happening. There were plenty of beautiful RP regions. Necessity being the mother of invention, and people were using MLP animations to do all sorts of things, but of course mostly for sequenced sex. The Second Place Marketplace gave vendors an inexpensive online storefront to sell their wares with an easy delivery system that delivered goods directly to the recipient, directly inworld. The first SL real estate mogul made over a million USD by selling virtual land. Hundreds of regions were developed by real life companies, corporations and education facilities.

As you know, SL has made a steady decline in recent years, losing players and contributors with a sharp decline in private region rentals.

So, why, you may ask, are people still inclined to go there?

I admit it. I love virtual. In virtual I can own a beachfront home, complete with a crashing surf and the sound of laughing gulls. I can live in the city, on the top of a high rise. I can hang out at midnight in some dark and lonely underground tunnel, being pursued by bad men. I can be bitten by a vampire, but not die. I can dance all night, get a partner, get married even, become a clothing designer, and sail a cruise ship.

Really. I can can do so much that I cannot do in real life.

And.. I can learn. I can learn how to script, how to texture, how to build.

I can market my ideas, and I can make friends.

I can turn into a mermaid and explore the bottom of the Blake Sea, I can buy and sell land at will. There is so much to be done, and so little time.

I can create things. With blender, there is so many ways to create and I am still learning.

I love virtual. It’s everything I cannot do in real life, and more.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

What’s been happening Heritage Estates August 2014

I admit it, the last few weeks have been relatively quiet in Heritage. What with a few immediate things I needed to take care of and the inevitable summer holidays, the traffic in our areas have been light.


But that does not mean vacant at all.
I have been working on rigging some mesh clothing for our members and hopefully will soon be offering them.   I am not an expert on it but I have to admit that I am happy to be walking around in clothes that is not melded to my body.... lol.


A new store, Meshedup Hair, in Heritage Plaza is already offering some Mesh hair for both men and women. I hope to accompany that store with another for clothing.Several styles of mesh hair available now for the price of free.

 
I am pretty sure you will like the region RIverwalk… a nature preserve/botanical park, and we have added a little sailboat ride that swings you around the region.  http://lpgrid.com:8002:Heritage50  




A sunset sailboat ride around the Botanical Park, "Riverwalk"

 

The light commercial, sort of residential,  sort of post-  Apocalyptic region Westhorpe in Heritage Estates Lost Paradise

 I am in the process with a new member of developing a regional airport for Heritage Estates… more to come soon…   He is doing the creative work and in just a few short days it has been developed to this already!

New Member Burke Millar is hard at work creating the Heritage Regional Airport. It is great!

possible new stores in Heritage 54, our Dance Club venue.  Please check out our Affiliate Vendor program here...  

We have welcomed some new tenants to Bramford, our residential region….   All in all the last week has been really jam packed with enthusiasm … 

Can you send me a Landmark for Opensim please?

On my SL profile, big and bold, is references to Lost Paradise and Heritage Estates.

I often get random people im about the references.

 

*“Free land?  Sounds interesting... Can you send me the landmark?”*

I virtually sigh, and then take a deep breath and go on to explain….

“Did you ever hear of Open sim?”

*What’s open sim?*

It’s a virtual world’s grid.  It’s not on Second Life, it is its own grid. You need to slightly configure a viewer and create an account on lpgrid.com in order to login into the world.

* Can you send me the landmark?*

SIGH……………………

Every now and then I get a person who actually knows what an Open sim grid, and can actually use a viewer other than the SL viewer.   It’s a pleasure to chat with them and give them the specifics on how to create an account and log in to the Lost Paradise Grid.

But I have a nagging question in the back of my beautiful virtual head.

How to get the masses involved in Open sim?  What will it take? Two clicks is more than the one click sound bite society we live in.  People don’t have patience and do not want to take the time to learn something new. They want quick gratification, they don’t want to think.

There has to be a better way.

I thought that Cloud Party, a fun, viewer-less experiment in virtual earlier this year, may have been the answer.

Now Arribasim, similar to Sim on a Stick but a bit more configurable has come along.

Where is the one click virtual login though?  Singularity, I think, allows a person to enter the grid URI in the location space, but even that is a stretch for some people.

If you can think of a quicker easier solution now, please let me know.

I will be right here, explaining why you cannot get a landmark to Heritage from Second Life to some opensim noob.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opensim Grids - Creating Technology NOW

 

I was pleased to learn yesterday that it appears that Opensim grids;   in square virtual kilometers; has surpassed Second Life.  It gives us hope that free virtual living is not lost.

Opensim grids come and go, some more quickly than others.  Hypergrid business reports these figures monthly on their website.

 A few very exciting things are happening in the Opensim world right now, including the rapid expansion of Variable sized regions.   In addition, recently the Arribasim platform appeared, offering better performance and faster response time, and even a prepackaged version of the software.

 

This is very exciting to all people who play in virtual… in the last year, the developers have been working on many kinks. All to appeal to Secondlifers who want the same smooth easy experience without the payment tiers.

 

With vast and rapid advancements of technology,  ideas in development will immerse you even more into virtual worlds than you already are… enter Oculus Rift – where you wear ocular apparatus to enter your virtual world.

 

No doubt that all these new advancements will be showcased in  the Opensim Community Conference in November, and I cannot wait to go check them out.

Now, if only you could eat in virtual, our experience would be complete!

JJJ

 

Govega

LOSE THE LINDENS...The 10 Reasons to Divorce Second Life

I know, I know, you have heard this over the years. 

You have tried to leave...
You signed onto a "outside grid"
You've looked around... ::: sigh::
You've missed your friends
You've went back to Second Life without a backwards glance

Like a unhealthy relationship you return... to the mess, to fees, to the nasty people.

My question is WHY? What attraction does it hold for you, the average virtual wanderer?

Perhaps you have not clearly seen your choices laid out ... perhaps you just cannot get the umph to make the move...

Well, here are some reasons to Lose the Lindens:

1. You will never ever EVER bicker about encroachment of 2 meters ever again.  Most opensim grids offer free to own, or free to rent parcels, housing, or regions.  You can roll your own and run your own Sims easily from your home computer, if you wish.  It gets easier and easier with each Open Sim update.

2. People are smarter -- really this is a NO Brainer.  Anyone who can figure out how to get a onto an open sim grid is already two steps ahead of most SL casual players.

3. All uploads are free -  Yes, really.  No fees to import textures, mesh, or xml files.

4. There is no sky building - why build in the sky when you have regions and regions of open land?

5. No Fees - what does it cost?   Nothing. There is no premium.  At most, a few dollars if you chose to rent a region (65,000 meters) from a sim rental company.

6. The same experience as SL - Most scripts, all textures, most physics work exactly like Second Life if not better.  The OS open source software is developed by volunteers and gets better every update.

7. Terrains and full rights - Unlike limits in terraforming, most parcels and all regions give you rights to change height and limits as well as terrain textures. Basically unheard of in SL.

8. No crowds. Really. The community is smaller, but much friendlier.

9 Freebies.  Almost everything, from castles to landscaping to mesh to skins to hair to shoes to homes is entirely free. 

10. Prim limits what is that?  The usual 117 prims per 512 meters is a way for Linden Labs to get you to buy more land. In fact, a 65,000 region has been proven to hold up to a million prims OR MORE as Ener Hax proved in 2012.  Sorry my pretties, prim limits is just an illusion

Sneak Peak at Riverwalk and Launch of Affiliate Program

While Heritage 54 Development is wrapping up  our brain gears are spinning for our next project. Our palms are itchy to create.

We came to the conclusion that a natural progression to that opulent H54 region would be a cool, calming, and peaceful place.

And Riverwalk, a Botanical Park was born.  A circular island with spiraling walkways carved in circles around the island, it will be a island to reflect (several temples) smooch (many hidden caves and romantic seating)  photograph - gorgeous fauna, windswept trees, watercolored sunset views all around.

We are having fun producing this peaceful district for all to enjoy. There will be a teleport straight from H54 and when you arrive you will be able to tour around the island in a sailboat.

For now, just a picture or two....

Which brings me to the the Affiliate Program....

Any creator interested in joining the LP/Heritage Team of talented creators?  We have great offers for you then... a symbiotic relationship....   Please feel free to contact myself or Doc Falworth if you are interested or if you know someone who is, please pass this along: and have a wonderful, creative week 
--Gove

What's Been Happening, Continuing Development of Westhorpe

A few weeks and yes we are still at it.  Continuing what we love to do.. develop regions and make them liveable for all.

What is our vision?  Simple.  We are a community who loves to build, create, and then offer for free, to our friends and fellow residents.

Westhorpe is a region that we have worked on for a few months.  Peter Nagy had the idea to surround his club with a "District".  With that in mind, we created the region with a mix of living spaces, light retail, some protected parkland, and of course, a marina!

Now we are naming the streets and offering some of the homes for rent in the region, I have been busy describing the homes so a potential tenant can simply click on the "For Rent" sign to be offered an information notecard about the property.

A lot of them are water view.  Many are expandable.  Either yourself or we  can expand your home if you would like it large.  Many have private, fenced yards which you are free to decorate or landscape as you wish.  Free items to furnish are found all over, but Heritage Plaza has three large furniture stores for that purpose. There is another furniture store of mostly mesh items called Diamond Designs in Heritage 54.

We the addition of varreregions to Lost Paradise, we have many new exciting ideas in the works. For now, a few new pics of Westhorpe!

Almost a quarter of this region is protected parkland.

 Westhorpe Landing point is a series of three pavilions with a tp board for some of the highlights of the region. Where will you go?

17 Cygnus Way.  Beautiful A frame two story home with matching boathouse out back.  Spacious and beautifully landscaped with waterviews on a corner of the sim.

I am on a corner of the main street, with houses, shops and the club beyond.

Doc created a sculpted rock causeway from Westhorpe to Dickens Plaza.  There are a few bridges invovled in the crossing. An interesting place.

19 Cygnus Way is a sweet modern styled home with a stunning backyard. Landscaped with your own inground pool

13 Cygnus Way is a modern loft that I have expanded.  It is perfect for a single person who wants a modern industrial space.