Rounding Out

With over forty major sets at MOSP now, I'll be winding down the building process. There are still a couple of thousand LI units available, but I think you have plenty to keep yourselves busy.  Upgrades will continue and most likely new additions will happen --- I just am not PLANNING for them *wink*.

What started out as a quarter sim road became a half sim road (hence the road spans a whole sim) of farmland. My original idea had more props, but once I got out on the Country Road with the vast landscape I was seduced by the emptiness. There is a tractor over to the left, way far away. The water tower is the only other prop. Fields and road are the stars here.

I am very fond of grayscale. And I of course am attached to cityscapes. So it was only natural to build the White City. Another minimalist build, it can be what you need it to be.

Both of these locations are brought to you in part by donations from some exceptional builders. There have also been many upgrades and additions over the last few days. I'll let you discover those on your own.

City, Rocks and Raspberries

I am happy to announce that Lost Souls City (well I couldn't keep calling it "grungy city", it needed a name) is open for visitors. It was both a pleasure and a challenging build. Less choices of quality items in the genre had me back in Blenderville making what I needed. Happily some stellar additions came my way toward the end. For the three of you that read my fashion blog, you know the story *wink*.

It is a moody place filled with darkness, despair and a few surprises.

I did a little shopping at the Fantasy Faire and Peaceful Valley now has a raspberry farm complete with tractor.

Digging in the dirt is one of my favorite pastimes. Find the field not far from the pond and little white greenhouse with raised bed garden.

Bring your hoe and shovel; there's always work to be done on a farm.

 

Need a serene and beautiful backdrop? This new outside sim rocky crescent might fit the bill. Find it across from the oriental house at Beach Walk.

As a technical side note, the new Firestorm viewer now has a CHOICE of derendering powers. Use derender to make objects disappear until your next visit or derender + blacklist to have them gone for good. This is very handy to get rid of some of the large builds over in the LEA5 sandbox. I used it today and had beautiful clear skies.

There are two more builds in the works plus lots of small additions that I'll let you find on your own. So keep tuned for the latest news.

Getting Arty

It's been a busy week with lots of additions at MOSP. Here's a rundown -- in brief.

Grayscale is at least part of the theme with the first non-hud area up. Find the poster in the NEW building (click that NEW button on your hud) or simply tp HERE to walk in a mysterious monochromatic world. This is actually my entry into the UWA art contest but it is also a wonderful place to film and take photos. I have been doing both for some time now and can vouch for the dramatic contrasts. If you have shadows, the possibilities are endless.

Walk NORTH  through the walls to find other "white room" sets; I'll be adding to these but you can take a sneak peak now.

Lots of decor pieces have joined the MOSP environs -- all outdoors. It is Spring for many of us after all.

They are mostly sprinkled around Beach Walk and Peaceful Valley but one of my favorite detail item is this bird headed croquette set. Discover it next to the new pergola in SAGE.

The new set also includes lawn darts and horseshoes as well as seating with a huge variety of animations  -- many with props.

I have also added a variety of pose props which can be used for both still photos and filming. Find them in one of the empty rooms up by the Gallery.

There is plenty of newness in progress, but some projects take time.

Coming soon a city replacement for the one the database fairy consumed (hungry little devil). This new model is completely different than previous versions. It includes dark and grungy streets and alleys with lots of props.

It's been fun putting it together and I am hoping to have it complete for next week's report.

Meanwhile take some photos for the Flickr stream *wink*; there are gallery rooms waiting for your goodness.

Mid April at MOSP

Lots of goodness arrived at MOSP this last week. The machinima theater is now fully open with three screens; LEA, MoMac and UWA. You can pick up personal versions of the HUD from a sign at the theater. Attach to your screen or rez in world and make your own viewing system.

The huds are impressive with an easy to use interface as well as information about each film. Both new and archived films are in the listings so you can keep up to date or journey back to when machinima was in its SL infancy.

We have LaPiscean Liberty to thank for these great additions to SL machinima.

You'll find a new and very impressive Cape Cod style lighthouse down at Beach Walk.

Imagine the possibilities.

Now the lighthouse is off sim, mostly because I am stingy with MOSP land mass. I like the feel of real dirt underfoot when at all possible.

You can ALMOST reach the lighthouse, and from there -- if you so choose -- just hop on the bench and film.  Happily there is no intrusive bright light to interfere with your Windlight setting, only a subtle periodic glow. The water area around this new addition is animated and DOES come into the sim proper.

With plenty of new decor touches worked in -- seamlessly I hope -- to the buildings and outdoor areas, the star of this week is the new massage table with an extensive list of PG animations and automatic rezzing modesty towel. There are plenty of props not visible in this shot, so stop by the tree house at Peaceful Valley and think of how you can add this addition into your script.

The Orangery Completes the Core

This magnificent building, The Orangery, completes the SAGE quadrant. I am now calling the core build complete. Yeah!  This conservatory type building was popular in the 17th through 19th centuries, decorating the grounds of fashionable estates. I so fell in love with this. A matching garden appeared with a little bit of mod and modern magic. Colorful bushes will be added soon and who knows what else may appear over time?

Other news includes a dragon fire statue added near the ruins in SOIL -- a dramatic backdrop for sure.

Upgrades worked in seamlessly in many areas with new versions replacing older props and new plants added hither and yon. You can never have too many plants -- well perhaps, but these look great.

There will be other additions reported soon, so check the blog now and then or get your updates in group. 

April Newness

A new barn appeared in SOIL this week along with fencing and other outdoor additions.

A set of porch furniture was added to the Newport Beach House (gray) at Beach Walk. It includes some really fun animations with props to let you play.

Also in the news is an updated and expanded video for MOSP. If you wonder what areas you might have missed, this will give you a clue.
  
SEE IT HERE at YouTube.

While general framerates are getting much better with the new server codes, shadows have taken a major hit it seems. Since I love shadows -- and for those of you who film with shadows, I went out on a killing spree. Complex scripts in some of the plantlife are no more and I found some laggy koi that had somehow found a home UNDER the ground (oh my). SAGE is now in the 19fps with shadows -- for me anyway -- so much, much better.

The ruins in SOIL can still be laggy with shadows. It is the lovely grass peaking around and about the lava. It is so beautiful I can't bare to take it up, but if you are filming there and having issues, give me a shout and I'll scoop it up temporarily for you.

The last quadrant in SAND is now full --  be it in a minimalistic manner. Slightly disturbing, the empty landscape is open to your interpretations.The bunny has on off music when clicked. The pram has an excellent grieving animation.

Other additions are updates and newness in Sound Stage 1 including a stereo with click to move the turntable and arm and to open and close the cover. Some possibilities there.

There are other surprises underway so stay tuned or just stop by and poke around!