More Linden Home theme ideas

[Frigga Freidman]

5 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

 

Now with more PBR

I would like to see Bellisseria get out of the suburbs, and move into downtown.  The suburbs are nice, to get away from the action, to have a family with two and a half kids, a dog, a cat, perhaps a fish, and a picket fence, but it has been done to death in different themes.

It's been explained several times over the last few years why dense builds like this urban scene or 'Brooklyn brownstones' wouldn't work in Bellisseria. I don't recall if it was @Abnor Mole or @Quartz Mole who gave the explanation, but perhaps it's worth reposting it in this thread...?

[Istelathis]

27 minutes ago, Frigga Freidman said:

It's been explained several times over the last few years why dense builds like this urban scene or 'Brooklyn brownstones' wouldn't work in Bellisseria. I don't recall if it was @Abnor Mole or @Quartz Mole who gave the explanation, but perhaps it's worth reposting it in this thread...?

I recall something regarding apartments, due to stacking people's houses above or below one another.  It wouldn't have to be done this way though, if that were the only issue.  Faux buildings, with all but one or two floors being used to reside in by each resident per parcel is what I am thinking of.  

[Leora Greenwood]

3 hours ago, Eddy Vortex said:

Who doesn't want to live in a cat-shaped house?

O.M.F.G.  I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!!!!!!!

[Persephone Emerald]

4 hours ago, Eddy Vortex said:

Who doesn't want to live in a cat-shaped house?

This does give a new meaning to the term a "Cat House".

[Eirynne Sieyes]

 

 

 

[Chloe Bunny]

15 hours ago, Frigga Freidman said:

It’s time to leave behind wood cladding and stucco, and add some stone-built houses to the inventory!

I got tired of waiting for them to build Cotswolds so I made them instead - have a whole collection building nicely now and there IS a demand for them

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

14 hours ago, Istelathis said:

I recall something regarding apartments, due to stacking people's houses above or below one another.  It wouldn't have to be done this way though, if that were the only issue.  Faux buildings, with all but one or two floors being used to reside in by each resident per parcel is what I am thinking of.  

There's an alternative way to do it, which is feasible. But it's unusual.

How?

Build the entire apartment block (and contents) 90 degrees over on its side.  Then wear a camera HUD and some very grippy shoes. Bingo!

😎

Edited December 16, 2023 by SarahKB7 Koskinen

[UnilWay SpiritWeaver]

20 hours ago, Frigga Freidman said:

It's been explained several times over the last few years why dense builds like this urban scene or 'Brooklyn brownstones' wouldn't work in Bellisseria. I don't recall if it was @Abnor Mole or @Quartz Mole who gave the explanation, but perhaps it's worth reposting it in this thread...?

In theory you could do it in the next 512m plot. Ste them all side by side in small blocks.

A given region would have 2-4 "city blocks" with 20 houses (current 20 seems the norm in other themes).

Around the block are lots of streets.

No front yard (or ultra tiny paved lot). A small backyard. Behind that a narrow alley.

Done like houses in San Francisco or what I have seen of pictures of English Council homes.

First image is San Francisco, second is somewhere in England that turned up in search of this (purposefully going for less attractive looking examples here):

What you lose:

no space on the sides, no front yard. It's intentionally visually unappealing for the 'grungy' look.

What you gain:

alley ways, sidewalks, likely driveways, a sense of being urban.

 

Being a niche theme, I'd start with maybe only 5-20 regions. Perhaps do it side by side with a 20 region set of those 'cat houses'. Don't do some massive huge block of them like recent themes have been.

The trick is placing it somewhere that make it feel urban. Perhaps part of each region could be dedicated to some other 'urban buildings' that don't require occupants (so not shops).

Maybe place it north west of Bay City - due west of Shermerville, with connecting roads.

Edited December 16, 2023 by UnilWay SpiritWeaver

[Dune Ravenwood]

I can't think of anyone who would want that type of Linden Home. 

[Persephone Emerald]

13 hours ago, UnilWay SpiritWeaver said:

Being a niche theme, I'd start with maybe only 5-20 regions. Perhaps do it side by side with a 20 region set of those 'cat houses'. Don't do some massive huge block of them like recent themes have been.

I don't think it's cost-effective for LL to create Linden Home themes that are only desired by a few people. Maybe someday it might be, but right now they can easily scale up and add more regions by copying and pasting those they've already created. Then they bring in the landscaping Moles to add details that keep the regions from looking too repetitive.

Automating some of the process saves on Mole-hours and frees up Moles to do detail work, QA checking, and resident interactions such as schmoozing at the Welcome Hub or responding to us here on the forums.

[Frigga Freidman]

18 hours ago, UnilWay SpiritWeaver said:

In theory you could do it in the next 512m plot. Ste them all side by side in small blocks.

A given region would have 2-4 "city blocks" with 20 houses (current 20 seems the norm in other themes).

Around the block are lots of streets.

No front yard (or ultra tiny paved lot). A small backyard. Behind that a narrow alley.

Done like houses in San Francisco or what I have seen of pictures of English Council homes.

First image is San Francisco, second is somewhere in England that turned up in search of this (purposefully going for less attractive looking examples here):

What you lose:

no space on the sides, no front yard. It's intentionally visually unappealing for the 'grungy' look.

What you gain:

alley ways, sidewalks, likely driveways, a sense of being urban.

 

 

What you lose is the ability to have a reasonable separation between parcels. Just think of all your neighbor's poorly placed furniture intruding on your bijou living space while they're in the process of decorating or, worse yet, deliberately placed to cross the boundary between parcels, just to annoy you. There'd be technical issues as well, I expect, regarding limiting sound to a parcel. And I think security hubs would be a nightmare. (I've also lived in one of those terraced houses - I can't see how that would appeal to anyone who had another choice open to them, in RL or SL. Though I would like to see all-brick and all-stone exteriors within Belli.)

[Istelathis]

With faux buildings or other urban themed objects wedged between parcels, instead of the usual rocks, trees, fences, shrubbery and fauna, there would still be padding between properties.  

When looking at your minimap, it would not look as though everyone's property is touching one another, from the inworld view though it would look like a bustling city, full of buildings.  You could have a mishmash of 2048, 1024, and 512 properties placed in the region.  

Residents would be able to choose a variety of homes, just as they can now (bonus if they included restaurants, stores, and so on as choices for "homes" even if there were no actual selling involved)  Even a high rise, which would only have a floor or two of actual living space as though they were living in an apartment. Above is an example randomly taken from GTA, just a an urban theme in general.  I personally like the cyberpunk theme more myself, but would be okay with almost any urban style theme.

Here is one from in SL, "Tokyo City" which I just visited, an urban Tokyo inspired theme which is pretty nice imo.   I would love to see city life in Bellisseria.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Istelathis

[Persephone Emerald]

New Orleans French Quarter theme.

Shotgun houses for 512m parcels:

2-story houses with balconies for 1024 m parcels:

Possible larger, Garden District houses for 2048 m parcels in adjacent regions.

[Nika Talaj]

I haven't seen the Mediterranean theme in person yet,  but New Orleans looks like it might be very close to Mediterranean.  Ĥow about Bayou instead?   Love me some swampy shack goodness.   Maybe a run-down Garden District home ás one home style. 

As for urban ... blech. I've seen some really good renditions, but the best ones I've come across have been roleplay regions, which LHs aren't suited for. 

[Persephone Emerald]

25 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

I haven't seen the Mediterranean theme in person yet,  but New Orleans looks like it might be very close to Mediterranean.  Ĥow about Bayou instead?   Love me some swampy shack goodness.   Maybe a run-down Garden District home ás one home style. 

As for urban ... blech. I've seen some really good renditions, but the best ones I've come across have been roleplay regions, which LHs aren't suited for. 

I think Bayou could be part of the landscaping for a New Orleans/ Louisiana theme. Imagine Spanish moss hanging down from trees, bottle trees, and haight blue ceilings on the porches. I think it would be cool to have 512 m, 1024 m, and 2048 m neighborhoods next to each other too.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Persephone Emerald

[Sparkle Bunny]

Stop trying to make urban happen, it's not going to happen. If you want to live in a city apartment, grab a chalet and chuck one of the many, many low-prim skyboxes on MP up there, then make a list of deserted RP sims to teleport to when you want to go outside. Done.

I too thought cottages would have made a cute 512, but there's not much call for 512s and I don't know whether the Americans ever mastered the art of thatching, so they seem unlikely.

That New Orleans townhouse is not a million miles from the ersatz chateaux I was posting in the other thread. I can see them doing something like that and calling it 'French'.

[Istelathis]

On 12/14/2023 at 12:50 PM, Persephone Emerald said:

This thread is for fun, not to badger Linden Lab for more, more, more. 

👆

10 minutes ago, Sparkle Bunny said:

Stop trying to make urban happen, it's not going to happen. If you want to live in a city apartment, grab a chalet and chuck one of the many, many low-prim skyboxes on MP up there, then make a list of deserted RP sims to teleport to when you want to go outside. Done.

I don't know if it will ever happen, but it is fun to think about.  Don't worry, I'm not a threat and am not trying to force an urban environment in Bellisseria.  

[Raspberry Crystal]

I want an eighties brick-built retirement block with blanked out apartments for other residents, kind of sims-style.
For authenticity lifts to the correct floor would be a good thing, but some sort of instant transporter would do.
Raised beds with low maintenance shrubs might make for a realistic backdrop, probably berberis, with some sort of healt disbenefit from falling in them.
I know Patch has a brick allergy so some other wall covering would be fine, as long as it wasn't wood.

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

😜

Edited December 18, 2023 by SarahKB7 Koskinen

[Marigold Devin]

Underground homes all nicely hidden by the undulating grasslands above. In Second Life they could have all the modern conveniences of course.

 

 

 

 

[Marigold Devin]

1 hour ago, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

😜

I think this is what holiday camps were modelled on - complete with barbed wire and moats around the perimeter. 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Marigold Devin

[Matthieu Quander]

7 hours ago, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

😜

Too soon.

[Matthieu Quander]

I would love love love a Santa Fe / Pueblo Revival theme with desert landscaping.

[Love Zhaoying]

8 hours ago, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

😜

So, Bellisseria, basically.

[Ellen Cordeaux]

I love so many of these ideas, especially the Gothic and Santa Fe'!  I still vote for a Sci Fi theme, with a central space station and space homes, etc.

What concerns me is that every cool new neighborhood going forward will be for Premium Plus.  I support the economy by being Premium already and shopping like a dervish.  Why's all the cool new stuff require me to have a higher level of membership?  Probably an unpopular opinion but I can't be the only one who feels this way. 

I know, first world problems.  Still tho.

😒

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Ellen Cordeaux