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I'm rather new to Second Life. Actually, I started a little less than a week ago. I almost didn't stick with it because I found it a bit sluggish on my laptop. However, after researching, I discovered some optimum tweaks for the settings and it's running much smoother now.

I'm familiar with the virtual world concept after being on Playstation Home for a couple years, so I have that going for me.

Back in 2012 I had a real life crisis with my mom dying and me taking a hard look at my real life job. I ended up quitting a really good paying job that I found unethical and had a terrible work/life balance. Although it was the best thing I could've done for myself it crippled me financially.
I was living alone in the only non-government housing apartments in my town and after quitting my job a lot of places either found me overqualified or questioned why a store manager would quit and seek a less paying occupation.
Needless to say, I still had a lease to pay. So for a few months I managed to make my rent by selling almost everything I owned. My PS3 was one of the things I had to let go of.

Now, things are better. I've had a couple jobs since then and now that I have a partner that I live with, I don't feel like I have to sell myself short by settling for a job that I don't feel comfortable doing. Currently unemployed but more due to my moving to another state.

Now... I had been telling myself that one day I would get a PS3 again and return to my virtual residence. However, after the recent news of Sony shutting Home down, I've been looking for an alternative.
Second Life looks like it may fit the bill.

I'm actually looking for a bit of guidance here and some comparisons to help me make a smooth transition.
What I'm going to do is list what I liked about Home and my avatar/residence settings and ask for the best Second Life alternatives to replace them with.

I will also list the Second Life locations that I have enjoyed visiting the most so far and see if anyone has more suggestions.

In PSHome, I was known as LeeStone71 (because I goofed and didn't know your login would be your avatar name) and I generally dressed in Victorian suits, complete with top hat, monocle and cane. Sometimes I would swap the cane out for a magic wand. I fashioned my character as a mix of a classic stage magician and a Victorian gentleman.

I had several houses (estates) on Home but my favorites were the Cutteridge Estate and Hollywood Hills. If you need info on these two, there are some well made videos on youtube that show them off.
I also liked Darla's Den, which was a personal area of the Midway Carnival.
Those three are where I spent a lot of time when I wanted to relax.

Cutteridge Estate was a spooky house, perfect for mystery dinners or reading gothic novels (in real life- I just left it on for the ambiance of the background sounds when reading). I had some photos and paintings I had decorated it with. Namely, a really haunting image of Jean Harlow I found and a couple pieces from the Artmagick website. And I had put a fortune teller machine (Shandor) in, as well. He made more noises that fit with the ambiance and was interactive. The last piece I had that was important was a grandfather clock that kept real time and chimed every hour.

At Hollywood Hills I had my tv which played Crackle and RadioIO. And I had decorated it with old Hollywood glamour shots of movie stars, as well as working arcade cabinets and a pool table.

Darla's Den had a carnival look and I also put arcade cabinets and Shandor there, as well. I decorated with old B-movie posters.

Places I enjoyed going the most were the Casino (to play Blackjack, Poker or Bingo), the Carnival (to play the games and take in the sights and sounds) and XI Continuum (the actual game had flopped but the space was beautifully designed).

So far in Second Life, I've found myself drawn to Innsmouth (I even gave someone a fortune telling reading while I was there once), the Renaissance Faire, the Victorian New Orleans, one of the libraries, the Velvet Lion, the Museum of Magic & Illusion and the Steampunk event going on.

Something I really like about Second Life so far is the more mature environment (as opposed to Home) and the radio streaming (although there was one place I went that was playing music that didn't fit the scenery so I didn't stay there long).

I'm kinda curious about getting my own residence but I was wondering the cost factor. If I buy a house, do I need to rent space? Do I need to be a premium member?

How hard is it to upload pictures for picture frames?

Is there a way to set an ambiance for your house, such as rain and thunder?

Are there places like the carnival and casino where one can go to play mini-games?
Or would it be more to my benefit to go to a spot like the carnival at Innsmouth and play games on my tablet while there?

Also... is there a way to display the HUD or chat box in 1st person view?
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Welcome to Second Life, Leonardo.

 


LeonardoMyst wrote:


I'm kinda curious about getting my own residence but I was wondering the cost factor. If I buy a house, do I need to rent space? Do I need to be a premium member?


Yes, you will need to acquire land in order to establish a residence.  You can either buy a parcel on mainland and pay tier to Linden Lab directly or rent land from another user.  The following links should give you an overview of each process:

Buying Land

Renting Land

It can be confusing, so feel free to ask if you've got further questions.

 


LeonardoMyst wrote:

How hard is it to upload pictures for picture frames?


It isn't hard at all, but it does cost 10L to do so. Here is an overview of the process... Uploading Assets

 


LeonardoMyst wrote:

Are there places like the carnival and casino where one can go to play mini-games?

Or would it be more to my benefit to go to a spot like the carnival at Innsmouth and play games on my tablet while there?

Firstly, gambling is forbidden in Second Life, but there is what they call "Skilled Gaming" here.  In order to participate in Skilled Gaming, you'll need to meet a certain set of criteria.  This should explain what they are... link.  If there's no money involved, this restriction doesn't apply.

I'm sure there are plenty of unrestricted places where you can play games for free, but, since I don't really get into that, I can't give you any pointers on where to find them.  Perhaps someone else who can will come along and be able to help in that regard.

 


LeonardoMyst wrote:

Also... is there a way to display the HUD or chat box in 1st person view?

For the life of me, I've no idea what you're asking how to do here.

...Dres

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Welcome to Second Life. Just a couple of quick comments. You might like a visit to Caledon Oxbridge University. You will find plenty of Victorian era inspiration, and will find a great education resource for Second Life. You might also really enjoy some of the art exhibits at LEA, Linden Endowment for the Arts. They often have a theme that is supernatural, or at least very story driven. Good places to explore.

On land, I always tell people you do not need any money to play Second Life...unless you want to have land. It is the one thing that always costs (someone) money. You might find a friend that lets you use their land, but someone is paying. You do not need a premium account to own land, but if you get a premium account you can use a house for free. It is often a straightforward way to get started, but it is not required. If you have land questions please feel free to ask here or IM me I can try to help.

There are no built in tools to add ambiance, but nearly anything you can think of can be purchased. As was mentioned, pictures cost 10L to upload as do most assest. 

I am not the right person to comment on gaming, but I can say there are a number of free games to play around (board game and such), and you often find various rgions doing scavenger hunts and such. Some of these are very story, almost mini game driven.

Lastly, some viewers offer the choice to show the UI and/or HUDs when in 1st person/mouselook view. I believe Firestorm offers the most choices in that regard.

Best of luck, feel free to ask if you have follow ups.

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Thanks for the help, Dresden.

I'll be sure to check out those links.

 

However, I'm curious... about how much per month would I be looking at spending of real money per month just to have a personal house?

 

I don't suppose they have casino-like games that don't have cash-outs?

 

Oh, and the HUD question...

If you scroll your mousewheel forward it goes into first person view. I sometimes like to do that to feel more immersed in the environment. However, I'm afraid someone may want to talk and I would not see the messages. I wouldn't want them to think I was ignoring them.

 

 

 

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LeonardoMyst wrote:

Thanks for the help, Dresden.

I'll be sure to check out those links.

 

However, I'm curious... about how much per month would I be looking at spending of real money per month just to have a personal house?

 

I don't suppose they have casino-like games that don't have cash-outs?

 

Oh, and the HUD question...

If you scroll your mousewheel forward it goes into first person view. I sometimes like to do that to feel more immersed in the environment. However, I'm afraid someone may want to talk and I would not see the messages. I wouldn't want them to think I was ignoring them.

 

 


How much you spend depends on multiple things:

1. Size

Any parcel, no matter if you are a premium member and able to rent directly from LL or just renting from another person, will be primarly priced after its size. The bigger the higher the price. There is something for every pocket, as the smaller landsizes will cost you as much as a fancy big coffee at Starbucks.

2. Location

Like RL the "eye candy" costs extra. If a parcel has unblocked ocean view, its usually more expensive (not montly on mainland, but often the previous owner sells the land instead of just abonding it/giving it to LL back). Some private estates also rent their parcels at higher prices, when they have put a lot of love in designing the land around the parcel with a lot of care.

 

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LeonardoMyst wrote:

Thanks for the help, Dresden.

I'll be sure to check out those links.

 

However, I'm curious... about how much per month would I be looking at spending of real money per month just to have a personal house?

 

I don't suppose they have casino-like games that don't have cash-outs?

 

Oh, and the HUD question...

If you scroll your mousewheel forward it goes into first person view. I sometimes like to do that to feel more immersed in the environment. However, I'm afraid someone may want to talk and I would not see the messages. I wouldn't want them to think I was ignoring them.

 

 


Here's a guide to land fees...

https://secondlife.com/land/pricing.php

Premium membership (US$10/mo to $72/yr) includes an allowance of 512m2 of land (which you must find and "purchase") or a Linden Home on 512m2 of land. Should you wish more land, the first 512m2 is included in the premium membership. I don't think any of the Linden Home themes is what you seek, but the advantage of a Linden Home is that the house doesn't count against the prim allowance for the plot. It will be challenging to fit a house and furnishings in the 117 prim limit for 512m2 of mainland. Premium membership also includes a signing bonus (paid after 45 days) of L$1000 (about US$4) and a weekly stipend of L$300 (about US$1.20). So, the effective annual fee is $72 - $4 - $1.20*52 ≈ $6. But of course you're still pouring $72/yr into SL.

Mainland appears to be readily available, though perhaps not in a well curated Victorian area, if there is one.

There are plenty of nicely curated private estates that rent space. You get the perks of the surroundings and perhaps a house that already fits in and neighbors who share similar interests. As an example, I live in a quiet steampunk community called Forgotten City, where I rent a lighthouse for about $10/mo, including a 230 prim allowance. There are other renters there, but we seldom interact. This is probably true for many places, unless you rent on a sim with an active RP group.

The first person view you seek is called "mouselook" here in SL. You get there by zooming the camera in all the way. Only the camera view changes in mouselook, tool and chat windows are unaffected.

As for people thinking you are ignoring them, some will think that no matter what you do. ;-).

Welcome aboard, Leonardo!

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seanabrady wrote:

Welcome to Second Life. Just a couple of quick comments. You might like a visit to Caledon Oxbridge University. You will find plenty of Victorian era inspiration, and will find a great education resource for Second Life. You might also really enjoy some of the art exhibits at LEA, Linden Endowment for the Arts. They often have a theme that is supernatural, or at least very story driven. Good places to explore.

Best of luck, feel free to ask if you have follow ups.

Thanks for the great suggestions! LEA is on my to-do list.

I'll also check out Firestorm.

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Syo Emerald wrote:

How much you spend depends on multiple things:

1. Size

Any parcel, no matter if you are a premium member and able to rent directly from LL or just renting from another person, will be primarly priced after its size. The bigger the higher the price. There is something for every pocket, as the smaller landsizes will cost you as much as a fancy big coffee at Starbucks.

2. Location

Like RL the "eye candy" costs extra. If a parcel has unblocked ocean view, its usually more expensive (not montly on mainland, but often the previous owner sells the land instead of just abonding it/giving it to LL back). Some private estates also rent their parcels at higher prices, when they have put a lot of love in designing the land around the parcel with a lot of care.

 

Thanks.

Since I only use my personal checking account for two bills that autodraft each month, I'll have to determine how much extra to keep on there for SL, if I decide to go that route.

So, I'm really attempting to budget before making my decisions.

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Madelaine McMasters wrote:

 


Here's a guide to land fees...

 (US$10/mo to $72/yr) includes an allowance of 512m2 of land (which you must find and "purchase") or a Linden Home on 512m2 of land. Should you wish more land, the first 512m2 is included in the premium membership. I don't think any of the Linden Home themes is what you seek, but the advantage of a Linden Home is that the house doesn't count against the prim allowance for the plot. It will be challenging to fit a house and furnishings in the 117 prim limit for 512m2 of mainland. Premium membership also includes a signing bonus (paid after 45 days) of L$1000 (about US$4) and a weekly stipend of L$300 (about US$1.20). So, the effective annual fee is $72 - $4 - $1.20*52 ≈ $6. But of course you're still pouring $72/yr into SL.

Mainland appears to be readily available, though perhaps not in a well curated Victorian area, if there is one.

There are plenty of nicely curated private estates that rent space. You get the perks of the surroundings and perhaps a house that already fits in and neighbors who share similar interests. As an example, I live in a quiet steampunk community called Forgotten City, where I rent a lighthouse for about $10/mo, including a 230 prim allowance. There are other renters there, but we seldom interact. This is probably true for many places, unless you rent on a sim with an active RP group.

The first person view you seek is called "
" here in SL. You get there by zooming the camera in all the way. Only the camera view changes in mouselook, tool and chat windows are unaffected.

As for people thinking you are ignoring them, some will think that no matter what you do. ;-).

Welcome aboard, Leonardo!

Thanks. I may have to look into Forgotten City. Sounds nice.

I'm pretty clueless about prim size. However.. Playstation Home used a similar concept. Each house had a space alotment of 100 blocks and while most furniture only took up 1 block, the "active items" such as radios, tvs, and arcade cabinets could take up 5-20 blocks.

I was looking at a house for sale from Kismet (I also grabbed some free ones at the free dungeon, just so I can say I have one) and was curious about using it.. I don't think I noticed its prim size.

Are there limitatipns to where I could put it down at?

Sounds to me that renting would be considerably cheaper but I'm concerned about size and decor.

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I'd recommend renting for a couple of weeks before going Premium. It's a good chance to test the water and a small place wouldn't need a big input of real currency.

If you choose to go Premium, you can stick with the minimum 512m parcel and almost run your account for free. *IF* you can be disciplined enough to save your stipend up, by the end of the year it'll almost be enough to convert to dollars and buy next year's. If you don't actually need to take the money out of SL, you barely lose anything converting it to dollars.

If, as your post suggests, you're the kind of person to enjoy SL, you'll probably want more and more land and will spend every L$ that comes your way :)

 

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Greetings Leonardo :) 

 

I too am a PS3 Home user, and have been doing that for over the past four years. In Home, I am a General of the Homeling Collective. I've come here, as you have, in search of another possibility for a 3D VR adventure. I've also been here just about a week now.

 

Prims are the same as our furniture slots. With each parcel of land you get or rent, you are allowed a certain amount of Prims on it. I rented an apartment for a week that will expire tomorrow. On Home, I have over 100 apartments!!:smileysurprised: Since I didn't want to get immersed in paying a monthly fee to Linden for Premium or to a Landlord for owning a house or apartment, I decided to buy a yacht. This is large enough for me to use as my apartment and it comes with some really neat perks that we didn't have available in Home, such as being able to browse your own web browser that looks like a TV screen in your own place. The furniture  here also has some umm..quirky talents to them! I will mention that I am currently renting a boat slip for my yacht, and when I wish to take it out, I simply rezz a new one and leave the other one in it's slip because otherwise it will go flying out of the water and land somewhere up in the air where planes fly, leaving debris all over the place and littering my email the next morning with lost and found parts. But I digress....it's a learning experience for sure and just make sure to have FUN while learning! I've met some kind and helpful people here.

 

I was really impressed when one night at the Chelsea Hotel NYC space, I was able to hear a RL guitarist/singer playing. He was excellent and even though my Firestorm froze, I left it so I could still hear the singing. Something that in Home we always wanted but were unable to get without going the 'hold R2 button on mic' crap deal.

 

You're not the first person I've ran into this week of Home users coming to check out PS3. Thankfully, no FAMS here thus far, YAY! 

 

If you need friends, feel free to add me. I'm Queen_Eli on PS3 and QueenEli on SL.

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LeonardoMyst wrote:

Thanks for the help, Dresden.

I'll be sure to check out those links.

 

However, I'm curious... about how much per month would I be looking at spending of real money per month just to have a personal house?

 

I don't suppose they have casino-like games that don't have cash-outs?

 

Oh, and the HUD question...

If you scroll your mousewheel forward it goes into first person view. I sometimes like to do that to feel more immersed in the environment. However, I'm afraid someone may want to talk and I would not see the messages. I wouldn't want them to think I was ignoring them.

 

 


You might be interested in the Insert Coin Arcade, which has arcade games you can play for free for in-world prizes:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Flotsam%20Beach/113/143/22

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QueenEli wrote:

Greetings Leonardo
:)
 

 

I too am a PS3 Home user, and have been doing that for over the past four years. In Home, I am a General of the Homeling Collective. I've come here, as you have, in search of another possibility for a 3D VR adventure. I've also been here just about a week now.

 

Prims are the same as our furniture slots. With each parcel of land you get or rent, you are allowed a certain amount of Prims on it. I rented an apartment for a week that will expire tomorrow. On Home, I have over 100 apartments!!:smileysurprised: Since I didn't want to get immersed in paying a monthly fee to Linden for Premium or to a Landlord for owning a house or apartment, I decided to buy a yacht. This is large enough for me to use as my apartment and it comes with some really neat perks that we didn't have available in Home, such as being able to browse your own web browser that looks like a TV screen in your own place. The furniture  here also has some umm..quirky talents to them! I will mention that I am currently renting a boat slip for my yacht, and when I wish to take it out, I simply rezz a new one and leave the other one in it's slip because otherwise it will go flying out of the water and land somewhere up in the air where planes fly, leaving debris all over the place and littering my email the next morning with lost and found parts. But I digress....it's a learning experience for sure and just make sure to have FUN while learning! I've met some kind and helpful people here.

 

I was really impressed when one night at the Chelsea Hotel NYC space, I was able to hear a RL guitarist/singer playing. He was excellent and even though my Firestorm froze, I left it so I could still hear the singing. Something that in Home we always wanted but were unable to get without going the 'hold R2 button on mic' crap deal.

 

You're not the first person I've ran into this week of Home users coming to check out PS3. Thankfully, no FAMS here thus far, YAY! 

 

If you need friends, feel free to add me. I'm Queen_Eli on PS3 and QueenEli on SL.

It's great to hear from one of the Homelings on here.

I remember getting a chance to watch a new member get inducted out on the "rock" one day. It was shortly after XI: Continuum started.

There's a lot of things I've seen on Second Life that PSHome could've done but never bothered to try.

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Madelaine McMasters wrote


Here's a guide to land fees...

 (US$10/mo to $72/yr) includes an allowance of 512m2 of land (which you must find and "purchase") or a Linden Home on 512m2 of land. Should you wish more land, the first 512m2 is included in the premium membership. I don't think any of the Linden Home themes is what you seek, but the advantage of a Linden Home is that the house doesn't count against the prim allowance for the plot. It will be challenging to fit a house and furnishings in the 117 prim limit for 512m2 of mainland. Premium membership also includes a signing bonus (paid after 45 days) of L$1000 (about US$4) and a weekly stipend of L$300 (about US$1.20). So, the effective annual fee is $72 - $4 - $1.20*52 ≈ $6. But of course you're still pouring $72/yr into SL.

Mainland appears to be readily available, though perhaps not in a well curated Victorian area, if there is one.

There are plenty of nicely curated private estates that rent space. You get the perks of the surroundings and perhaps a house that already fits in and neighbors who share similar interests. As an example, I live in a quiet steampunk community called Forgotten City, where I rent a lighthouse for about $10/mo, including a 230 prim allowance. There are other renters there, but we seldom interact. This is probably true for many places, unless you rent on a sim with an active RP group.

The first person view you seek is called "
" here in SL. You get there by zooming the camera in all the way. Only the camera view changes in mouselook, tool and chat windows are unaffected.

As for people thinking you are ignoring them, some will think that no matter what you do. ;-).

Welcome aboard, Leonardo!

Thanks, again, Madelaine.

 

I went ahead and rented a house at Forgotten City. I'm hoping I put the money on the right one.

 

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LeonardoMyst wrote:


Madelaine McMasters wrote


Here's a guide to land fees...

 (US$10/mo to $72/yr) includes an allowance of 512m2 of land (which you must find and "purchase") or a Linden Home on 512m2 of land. Should you wish more land, the first 512m2 is included in the premium membership. I don't think any of the Linden Home themes is what you seek, but the advantage of a Linden Home is that the house doesn't count against the prim allowance for the plot. It will be challenging to fit a house and furnishings in the 117 prim limit for 512m2 of mainland. Premium membership also includes a signing bonus (paid after 45 days) of L$1000 (about US$4) and a weekly stipend of L$300 (about US$1.20). So, the effective annual fee is $72 - $4 - $1.20*52 ≈ $6. But of course you're still pouring $72/yr into SL.

Mainland appears to be readily available, though perhaps not in a well curated Victorian area, if there is one.

There are plenty of nicely curated private estates that rent space. You get the perks of the surroundings and perhaps a house that already fits in and neighbors who share similar interests. As an example, I live in a quiet steampunk community called Forgotten City, where I rent a lighthouse for about $10/mo, including a 230 prim allowance. There are other renters there, but we seldom interact. This is probably true for many places, unless you rent on a sim with an active RP group.

The first person view you seek is called "
" here in SL. You get there by zooming the camera in all the way. Only the camera view changes in mouselook, tool and chat windows are unaffected.

As for people thinking you are ignoring them, some will think that no matter what you do. ;-).

Welcome aboard, Leonardo!

Thanks, again, Madelaine.

 

I went ahead and rented a house at Forgotten City. I'm hoping I put the money on the right one.

 

There is no "right one". SL is full of interesting places. As you wander around, something or someone else will catch your eye and you'll move. I was a nomad for months before I rented my first space in SL. It's nice to have a home base, but it's also nice to start each day anew.

While you're at Forgotten City, wander around. There are subtle delights to enjoy, like the automaton that lights and snuffs the gaslamps along the streets in the city's northwest. That happens every dusk/dawn. The SL day is four hours long, so you've got a chance to catch the ephemeral fellow every even SLT hour, on the hour. Take a ride on one of the mystery watercraft, too. And see if you can find the mysterious generator that powers the city. Winter Park, above the city, is a pretty place to cool your heels.

Oh, and feel free to wander the lighthouse, where you'll find the graffiti left by Robert Frost (burned into the light's rotating wooden shaft), Richard Feynman (in charcoal on the tower wall to the right), Mark Twain (in chalk next to the bench on the left as you enter through the front door) and Hedy Lamarr (in lipstick dammit, in the tower, on the left), who had a drunken soirée there, knowing full well how seldom I log in.

;-).

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What I did was survey the available buildings then try to locate them to see which one I liked best.

 

The ones in the market district almost got picked because of the balconies.

 

However, the one I liked best was the one with the cobblestone floor and underground room.

 

I was very careful not to accidentally walk into anyone's house. If I saw furniture in the windows I knew I was at the wrong location but I did get lost once. I didn't realize one of the elevators went to three levels. Lol.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Something interesting...

 

I posted on the Playstation Home forum to see if anyone else would be coming to Second Life.

 

I was met with about three different types of people.

 

The ones that either were coming to SL or have been here the whole time.

The ones who were interested and wanted more info.

And the ones who either never tried SL or hadn't been on in years, who were very critical and focused on SL's rep for virtual sex.

 

That last group would not listen to how that was in reality just a part of SL and not a real representation of all there was.

 

But at least some people are interested.

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