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Will we see a a new LH theme the 13th February?


Marianne Little
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2 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

LL said last year in some interview (can't remember which or where now) that they were shifting away from making income from land to other stuff (I think more along the 'goods' line, marketplace, content etc.).

I would love to own more land, but the cost of tier prevents me (what with the price of Premium going up). Had to give up some land last year, and may have to later this year too:(  If LL could make tier cheaper I'd certainly get more/keep what I currently have going forward.  I love making spaces like parks and galleries. It's a shame to see all the abandoned land that's around. I really think some thinking outside the box probably needs to be done to address it.

I'm really hoping that the 'Super Premium' account will have land owning incentives.

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22 hours ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

LL can now choose: lets the estates bite it... or give them time to adjust their business model and be relevant again, then letting the ones that don't play catch up bite it. I'm no fan of land barons and estates - but I think it might be better for SL as a whole if they get maybe another month to change their tier, covenants, and region layouts to be competitive. There ARE models that can compete with Linden Homes... and the estates not using those deserve to get shut down. But the ones that are willing and able to adjust also need a little lead time to do so.

Given the limitations inherent in Bellisseria, advanced residents might be attracted to similarly-themed estate regions full of like-minded, consciencious neighbors. However, how can they compete with having the convenience and stability of LL as a landlord? With LHs it's very easy - you get a home and, especially if you have an annual subscription, it's done for a year. No fuss, no mess. And LL is going to be around - unless the day comes when it's not, a topic for a different thread as all residents would have bigger issues than a particular landowner's situation changing. Creating something Bellisseria-like via group land would not be a walk in the park either, as peoples' tier contributions could not be locked in or renewed. The lack of any enforcable contract and dispute resolution makes things less secure for both landlords and renters.

There is no perfect solution here, and while Belli upgrade to LHs is certainly a step in the right direction, it's in LL hands to step up and to take it to the next level through a solution that pairs ease of use with a more advanced homeowner model, as well as more convenient mechanisms for landlords and more secure contracts with renters. Based on 16 resident-years worth of observation, I won't be holding my breath. Though I would love if they would prove me wrong here.

So what will LL choose? We'll see.

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1 hour ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

Well, thank you for saying I deserve to get shut down.  That really makes my day.  I already run at a loss and it's all about to break me.  Take the letters after E and T.

Where did I say that? I pretty much said the exact opposite.

Unless you are one of those land barons not willing or able to adapt and make changes to bring in new people...

 

Edited by Pussycat Catnap
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Land owners have BEEN adapting for close to a year now.  Many mainland "barons" have sold property off and downsized -- hence, in part the very empty mainland (again and even more  than a couple of years ago before the 1024 free tier went into being).  

 

As someone mentioned there is a lot of yellow on the big estates now.   LL "HAD" to know this was going to happen when they made Belli.  A wonderful thing and likely helpful in the pocketbook when it was needed. But now we are beginning to see the aftermath of all that goodness. This has been discussed as a future possibility over the last year here on the forums.  And now we are there. 10,000 plus new plots and homes. 

 

True some people have MANY avatars with many homes -- and avatars that are newly made premium (part of the point for LL undoubtedly) but still many of the people now in Belli WERE on mainland or on private land. The new house and plot and all the prettiness was difficult to resist. 

 

How this all has been balancing out in the books, we of course don't know.  The mainland is obvious - no tier from there any longer. The estate land is more difficult to see and plots when vacated can be given back without much fanfare.   The people that keep track of private lands likely have a good idea though. 

 

"I" think it all pretty much hinges on the Super Duper Premium. How good it is, how many people move into that level etc.   IF it does go over well it could be likely that estate barons will be hurt even more.  In the long range picture, they had some of the best deals in SL for over a decade, so maybe it IS time to switch the revenue stream in a different direction.  We will know over time. Until then we are all just guessing -- likely even The Lab.  

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15 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

Yah.  I see that Eden is trying a new rental model of pre-configured homes, and The Grove is adjusting tier and customer relations.  Last year Grove put together a strategic partnership with Calas Caladon to leverage each other's entertainment contacts and budget.  I suppose an estate could compete with Linden Homes, but I don't think it's a matter of a month's time to adjust: I think you'd have to be a genius marketer.  It's LL's game, and if LL wants to continue letting Estates slowly dwindle, then that's what will happen.

I've spoken directly in the past to a couple of estate owners about Linden Homes.  They basically said the same thing: two things keep their estates afloat, excellent retention and new residents.  When LL created Linden Homes and then garrotted the Community Gateway program, the flow of new residents through estates dried up, and a long downhill slide commenced.  I don't know whether LL values the income they get from private estates; maybe they've decided that land sales channel can just disappear.  Of course, when it does, many estate residents will simply leave SL. 

Let me share a pipedream.

@Patch Linden  owns the 6-region tip of Sansara closest to North Bellisseria.  He has it for rent at a very high rate, presumably would only consider leasing it to someone whose project would be seen as enhancing mainland, Belli, or both.  I would LOVE to someone create a transition center there, a way for residents who outgrow Linden Homes (or who are looking for housing for any reason) to more smoothly transition to owning mainland or renting from an estate.  (Owning mainland is a pretty odd process, really.  I don't know if LL appreciates how much time Oxbridge instructors, other schools, and huge numbers of forum & other volunteers have spent over SL's history teaching noobs how to get land.)  Such a transition center could also provide space for estates to explain how renting in them works and pitch their various visions.  It could educate people interested in putting together and playing in RP regions.   It could basically present all SL housing options, succinctly and hopefully interactively.

This is not a well-thought-out idea, because I have a habit of spending time fleshing out doomed ideas, and I don't have time for that in my life anymore.

Anyway.  What's happening now seems like a slow estate strangulation, and it's sad to see.

 

 

Good estate owners and land barons are valuable, because they provide residents with safe places to live and not everybody wants to live in Bellisseria. I think it would be fair to give them a space to advertise their communities. I envision something like a permanent virtual ComiCon - bottom floor full of booths offering information, and lecture halls where folks like Oxbridge instructor Lindal Kidd could talk about how to actually buy land. Perhaps there could be panel discussions like "Rent or Own?" or "Can You Still Build With Prims?".  In the past "Housing festivals" seem to have focused on the buildings to put on the land, not so much how to get a place to call home.

To save wear and tear on the instructors and presenters, perhaps some of the lectures could be canned (like Great Courses). Many times I miss scheduled classes in SL because their times conflict with RL priorities. How about individual viewing booths where we could sit down and choose a lecture from a menu? For those classes that require an actual virtual avatar instructor be present an integrated Calendar board could show place and time. 

Perhaps LL could sponsor a contest for "Best Instructional Video" for such a venue. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/27/2020 at 4:03 PM, VenKellie said:

was at the home & garden meeting this past weekend and kaerri said that LL does have plans for a surprise region so just gotta wait till the expo.

Was this a different thing to the user decorated Trad, Vic, Camper and Houseboat which has just been announced by RFL?

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Back to the original question on this --- last night Nikki posted a message about decorating four Linden homes (one of each type) at the RFL Home Expo and there was a link to a sign up sheet.   That may or may NOT be the extent of the display at the mid month event.

 

It COULD also be that there were plans to do more and that won't really happen.  According the the timeline -- which hasn't been changed that I know of -- first last names get revealed, THEN Super Duper Premium so if the SDP has anything to do with Belli (I am thinking not but it certainly could) then that won't be happening really soon as names are still weeks out (from a current Linden comment on the names contest thread). 

 

Oh and HERE'S an interesting musing --- what if the new themes are FANTASY.  If so, they could be revealed at Fantasy Faire which isn't too far off. 

 

So it is a mystery at this point but there may not be anything new to see this month. The Victorians haven't been out THAT long after all :D. 

Edited by Chic Aeon
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Holy Moly, that's less than a week away! 

I think it's wise on LL's part, might stop some people who upped to premium for last April's release from letting those memberships lapse.  I'm sure people started going premium quite a bit before April, the SSP thread started in Aug 2018.

/me runs around in a dither, wondering if she should abandon something.  Really got caught by surprise by the Vic release, had a wild morning.

I wonder how long after the reveal until they're available?

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3 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

Holy Moly, that's less than a week away! 

I think it's wise on LL's part, might stop some people who upped to premium for last April's release from letting those memberships lapse.  I'm sure people started going premium quite a bit before April, the SSP thread started in Aug 2018.

/me runs around in a dither, wondering if she should abandon something.  Really got caught by surprise by the Vic release, had a wild morning.

I wonder how long after the reveal until they're available?

Hahahaha! I was just looking at all my holdings last night debating which of them I could let go. I have two I think I won't mind parting with - Victorians and I have an open alt as it is.  Maybe I'll release them tonight when I get home. Will def give a heads up here for those who are hoping to get one - both of them are in lovely areas. I've held onto them for quite a while because of it but really no need to have so many of the same thing at this point.

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So I know Chic was just speculating about the next ones being Fantasy. However, I really do think now would be a good time for LL to make a 'non standard' home type available. You've got four 'real' type home themes out already. Showcase Second Life's ability to be whatever the heck we want it to be, meaning we're not locked in to whatever normal 'reality' is out in the real world. Many of those home types- fantasy, futurisic, mermaid - were very popular in the "suggest 4 wishes type" thread 

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1 hour ago, Nikki Mathieson said:

There WILL be a new theme revealed during Home Expo!

I still say.... too soon... The 'crazy neighbors' thread somewhat shows that Bellisseria needs time to absorb in new folks.

I get that demand is still very high... but you can have a demand crash if the perception of quality crashes - and that gets put at risk everytime a vast number of people join and bring in people not following the covenant. A little time is needed to get them on track, bring perception of quality up, and then address demand again.

  

1 hour ago, LillyElizaRain said:

I hope for something modern.. with big windows... A girl can hope, right? 😛 

We already have 4 modern styles... I'd prefer to not have a 5th.

 

Edited by Pussycat Catnap
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16 minutes ago, Jadziyah said:

So I know Chic was just speculating about the next ones being Fantasy. However, I really do think now would be a good time for LL to make a 'non standard' home type available. You've got four 'real' type home themes out already. Showcase Second Life's ability to be whatever the heck we want it to be, meaning we're not locked in to whatever normal 'reality' is out in the real world. Many of those home types- fantasy, futurisic, mermaid - were very popular in the "suggest 4 wishes type" thread 

I totally agree! However, it's been suggested here and there over time that the non-standard types, like mermaid for example, are not as popular inworld (forum wishes only represent a small user base). I don't know how true that is, just saying. So I'm not sure what LL will come up with. I'm hoping that they will offer something non 'real', as like you say SL is a place where one can make anything, so why not do something different (TBH I'm sometimes surprised at how much people seem to want to replicate the real world inworld rather than taking the opportunity to have and do something they can't in RL). I think if the home layout is good, with decorating options like we've seen, and the landscaping continues to be great, they'll be popular whatever.

 

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1 minute ago, Raspberry Crystal said:

Victorians aren't modern? The campers are mostly vintage designs, and the Trads are last century. Not sure about the houseboats. All within a couple of hundred years I'll grant you.

I walk down the streets of San Francisco and see stacks of Victorians. All 4 styles are building types I see here and now in the modern world.

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