Matthieu Quander

This is only somewhat true as it pertains to Newbrooke, which is why this thread and discussions on other threads appeared. There's no point in rehashing it. We have had our say, and can only hope that our words were taken in the spirit intended, honest and open feedback from a passionate userbase to communicate that there is room for improvement.

@Mercedes Avon, I completely understand why you feel that way, and it is inexcusable that you are in a position to do so. For anyone who has been paying attention, you are an inspiring asset to Bellisseria, always showing what can be done with a limited land impact allowance, exceptional talent, and impeccable taste. For most of us, you would be an ideal neighbor. The fact that someone like you has gone through this experience is what is so concerning. There is nothing at all controversial about your builds, and if you are doing anything that is considered out of theme, then clearly there is a communication problem. It does feel that the rules have changed for Newbrooke, and that a different standard is being applied and enforced. Why we would be expected to know that going in is part of the confusion. If the rooflines are sacred, then we will adapt, but that should be clearly communicated in a manner that will be noticed. Those of us who follow the forums are well aware of this seemingly arbitrary requirement after the fact, but as has been pointed out, the vast majority of Linden Home owners do not read the forums or pay attention to group chats where this issue has been discussed. There needs to be a proactive effort to communicate this, as it does feel like a significant departure from previous theme releases. I take exception to the suggestion that common sense, consideration for neighbors, or any other "spirit of the covenant" rules are being broken in many of the mentioned incidents. I can't speak for everyone, but most of us are not looking to test the boundaries of what is allowed. While many of us do like to push the envelope of what is possible, our motivation isn't to see what we can get away with, but rather to highlight a given theme. "What can I do to ruffle some feathers because it is technically allowed" doesn't even occur to us. We build and decorate with an aesthetic eye that most would always consider in theme. Obviously there is a significant difference of opinion regarding what is in theme when it comes to Newbrooke. If the expectation is that most residents with good intentions and common sense will comply with the desired level of theme preservation, then I think there is going to be a lot of unnecessary disappointment on both sides, as we have already seen. Waiting for violations to occur and handling communication on a case-by-case basis is a horrible use of limited resources. There has to be a better way to handle this. Making the covenant clear, and adding specificity for each theme where warranted should be a priority and a perpetual task. I understand the logic behind not wanting to make it too detailed, but obviously some things do need to be spelled out. Of course, having an adequate covenant only helps if people read it. There needs to be a scripted "can't avoid it" solution when someone claims a house or revisions to the covenant are made. The completely passive approach that is in place now is not adequate. Signed, Linden Lil Black Book Grumpy Belli Door Snob Guy

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Treeowatoor/240/62/0

I really do not like being critical, but why why why why why are the interior doors for this theme so drab? The front doors are perfect. It really makes it difficult to get excited to decorate one of these? Something like this would have really pushed this theme over the top. I would much rather the interior doors be left off and added to the creation pack, as was the case with the stilts. I can only assume there were too many complaints about missing doors with those, and that this strategy has been abandoned. And speaking of doors, having them open only 90 degrees, and often in the incorrect direction kills the walkability of the space. This has been a problem since the Traditional Homes were released. Example: The door below should be hinged on the right instead of the left, allowing it to open against the wall rather than unnecessarily blocking the path and view into the room. I know it's easier from a construction perspective to just have all doors swing counterclockwise, but we spend time in these homes. We use them. We walk around in them. Design matters to us. Flow matters to us. I know we can just rent some land and build whatever we want, but these are simple things that could easily be remedied. I never like to break function for the sake of form, but I'm not sure my OCD can handle this particular flaw. I think I will have to make an exception in this instance and simply cover all the interior doors with ones that better match the theme. In most instances, they will remain closed, requiring the use of furniture to get in and out of any rooms. Or, I may just pass on this theme altogether, which is a shame, as for the most part, it is nicely done.

I agree with all of this and I do suspect that this is a matter of not allowing any roof augmentations is easier to police than having to judge them on a case-by-case basis. It's a shame, as I would definitely want to do something similar to add some personality to my home. I generally prefer a more rigid interpretation of what is in theme, but this seems to go too far.

Well thank you very much. If half of my build suddenly disappears, I guess we'll know that it does indeed go too far.

I don't have the names memorized but if you rez each model and inspect it, the name will have 512 in it. I think it may be the last 4 in the list, but my memory may be failing me.

Considering all of this, one thing you may want to do is keep an eye open for when the remaining stilts are released. There are hundreds waiting for, well, whatever is left to do before they release them. The good thing about them is that they are all connected by road to both log land and the chalets (other than the completely OW ones), so if wandering is your thing, but you favor a stilt, you can have it all.

Two of my three forever homes are a houseboat (Evening Star) and a stilt (Havana). I understand not wanting a houseboat with so many nearby neighbors. Fortunately, I have a parcel on Hardtack that doesn't have that issue. I love it, and it will be a sad day if I ever have to part with it. For the stilts, I prefer to have both some sand and water. I have had both an OL and an OW that met those requirements, but prefer the OL because the OWs have the front door on the water side, and the main deck on the sand side. I also prefer a smaller home, as it allows for maximizing the use of the LI allowance.

Oh, and to answer your question, Linden Labs is the winner of the GoH.

I currently have three "keepers" on alts: a log home on Brichester, houseboat on Hardtack, and a stilt on Visser. I have let some equally nice parcels go in the past, some of which were very difficult due to the emotional attachment I had from decorating them. I have been spending less time in SL lately, so have not been looking for the greener grass. I recently moved Matthieu back up to premium, and have been rolling a few here and there, but am mostly waiting for the Newbrooke release. If I do find something that tempts me in the meantime, I'm not sure what I will do. I'm not always in the mood to build/decorate, and forcing the issue usually takes away much of the joy. Everyone has a different situation. For many, deciding how much time and money they are willing to spend in a virtual world is an ongoing struggle. For those who can't justify paying for another premium account, the decision to keep or toss is all the more difficult. The way I see it, whether you have one premium account or thirty, there will always be homes to claim. If you claim enough of them, you will find something that you like as much or more than anything you have had. I'm also a big believer that what you do with a parcel is more important than the parcel itself, but I readily admit that some locations are better than others.

Not much of a choice at this moment.

Clearly they are playing Tiny Empires.

Since ban lists don't reset when parcel ownership changes, I have begun checking them whenever I go Linden Home (s)hopping. I haven't found any that actually had a ban list yet, but will clear them if I do.

There's definitely much to be done to finish the Chalet and Fantasy regions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the work has to be completed before new themes are released. The northern coast of log land hasn't even seen any work begun, and it's probably the area most people would like to see completed due to the new sailable water it would bring with it. People tend to forget about it because it has been that way for so long.

There are built Stilts, Chalets, Fantasy Homes, Houseboats, Logs, and Vics that have yet to be released. There may be a few Campers among the Logs as well, but I haven't checked lately, and I think they have probably all been released. Of the existing 1024sq themes, only the Trads don't have any inventory waiting to be released.

You really can't guess how COVID might impact the release of Linden Homes?

Also, some parcels may feel like they lack privacy, giving you that surrounded feeling, but once you decorate and add landscaping, they may no longer feel that way. I was on the fence with two of my homes, but once I decorated them, they became definite keepers.

Fair enough. I know they had to rush in order to even do the reveal at the winter event, and judging by the feedback that they got, it showed. They have stated multiple times that they were a work in progress. Speaking for myself, I'm happy to wait if it means getting a better final product.

For this comparison to make sense, people asking for a release date on the new homes would need one urgently. I suppose some may feel that way, so there's no point quibbling over it. "Soon" is simply Linden speak for "we can't really give you a realistic estimate right now because there are 2347864 variables involved, any of which could delay release." They aren't being intentionally evasive to be mean. They just aren't far enough along to give a realistic estimate, and don't want to make promises unless they are confident that can keep them. Any business that works with deadlines operates this way. Would you be happier with "they'll be ready when they are ready?"

Me too. That way I don't spend LI on something that is only going to block my view.

Here's an example of what can be done with a log home with the limited LI. It's not the Mountaineer, but it does technically have a 3rd floor. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Brichester/15/231/55

Yes, it is all 1s and 0s, which as you noted aren't free. "Starter homes" is a term that has been used by LL, but I'm pretty sure that they realize that most Premium Homes are owned by people who have been in SL for years. Is your gripe that Bellisseria isn't noob-friendly? I don't see how mainland or private regions are any less daunting to someone just starting out, but I'm happy to take your word for it and continue enjoying Bellisseria, in spite of the fact that it doesn't meet all of anyone's wish list.

I should have added the qualifier that assumes no changes are made to the server specifications. I did mention that they can likely add more LI by throwing money at the issue, but that would still require a lot of work to be completed on the backend. Also, comparing private estates to Bellisseria regions isn't really fair. They were built for different purposes and don't have to meet the same criteria. I don't have any inside knowledge of such things, and am merely offering an educated guess, so you could be correct that LL could easily add more LI with zero added costs, work hours, or performance tradeoffs, and they they are simply choosing to not do so because they don't want to give us what we want.

Also, be careful when linking items. As has been mentioned, it can save you a considerable amount of LI, but as we have all learned, it can often result in unintended consequences. A few common issues are noted below. Linking may actually increase LI - you may have to play around with which item is the root prim or leave some items unlinked to get optimal results Linking items with scripts can change how they function ceiling fan blades may suddenly begin rotating vertically instead of horizontally changing the texture of your kitchen cabinets paints your area rug instead sitting on the sofa may unexpectedly put you in midair in a default override pose Linking items that extend beyond your parcel boundaries can result in not being able to unlink them later, should you need to do so Linking items will cause all items in the set to inherit the root's properties - if you are no longer able to walk through open doorways or you start falling through your custom deck add-on, you have linked phantom with non-phantom items