Second Life
<div class="IPBDescription">Hmm?</div> <a href='http://secondlife.com' target='_blank'>Second life.com</a>
I just saw an ad for this and was immediately fascinated. This game was released in 2003 apparently, yet i've never heard of it! Not only that, but all of the reviews its had so far are in the 90's..... how did I miss this?
To give you lazy people the gist (from what I gather having read the site), second life is literally that.... a second life. You can do near enough anything. And while I have my doubts, i'd really like to believe that is true. There is supposedly PvP combat, but this isn't the main focus. The main focus is that you can create anything you like, and have other users see and interact with it. Guh, it really is hard to describe I suppose.
The part that really hooked me was that there is NO MONTHLY FEE, unless you want a permanent residence in the world, in which case it is $5 for a small plot of land, $8.00 for a bigger one, or go nuts and have your own island for $195 per month.
One example of what you can do with your land that I've just read about is someone who made a survival-horror style island of doom that players can enter and play through like a game. I also know for a fact you can make your own objects, including weaponry, although whether this would allow you to take your customised nunchuck-gun into the house and beat up all the zombies remains to be seen.
Why am I even writing this? I should be downloading my free trial....
*edit* Hrrm, it seems my second life doesn't like me either, the signup link is hidden away, and can be found <a href='https://secondlife.com/join/' target='_blank'>here</a> *edit*
I just saw an ad for this and was immediately fascinated. This game was released in 2003 apparently, yet i've never heard of it! Not only that, but all of the reviews its had so far are in the 90's..... how did I miss this?
To give you lazy people the gist (from what I gather having read the site), second life is literally that.... a second life. You can do near enough anything. And while I have my doubts, i'd really like to believe that is true. There is supposedly PvP combat, but this isn't the main focus. The main focus is that you can create anything you like, and have other users see and interact with it. Guh, it really is hard to describe I suppose.
The part that really hooked me was that there is NO MONTHLY FEE, unless you want a permanent residence in the world, in which case it is $5 for a small plot of land, $8.00 for a bigger one, or go nuts and have your own island for $195 per month.
One example of what you can do with your land that I've just read about is someone who made a survival-horror style island of doom that players can enter and play through like a game. I also know for a fact you can make your own objects, including weaponry, although whether this would allow you to take your customised nunchuck-gun into the house and beat up all the zombies remains to be seen.
Why am I even writing this? I should be downloading my free trial....
*edit* Hrrm, it seems my second life doesn't like me either, the signup link is hidden away, and can be found <a href='https://secondlife.com/join/' target='_blank'>here</a> *edit*
Comments
and it looks like there IS a monthly fee =/ $9.95/mo <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
and it looks like there IS a monthly fee =/ $9.95/mo <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Exactly! It sounds too good to be true......
*edit* Upon reading some more, you <b>can</b> get free lifetime access for $9.95, the extra $9.95 per month makes you eligible to buy land, which you will not be charged for unless you want more than 512 square metres of land.
Oh crap, I hope I can play through my uni's firewall given i've just signed up for my trial....
Flint Page is coming to Second Life!
Edit - note to everyone, you need a credit / debit card to sign up.
One minute you could be in a fantastically made themepark, the next place you visit could be a badly made zombie mansion and the avatars are totally up to you too so you end up with walking giant ducks and stuff.
Course I've not played it, this is just what I kinda gathered from reading up on it over the years... might be more to it than that and I could be wrong. Might be great, might be crud I've never been too fussed to try it though =3
Cheap as chips.
One minute you could be in a fantastically made themepark, the next place you visit could be a badly made zombie mansion and the avatars are totally up to you too so you end up with walking giant ducks and stuff.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's not a bad thing.
The game is massive in scope, as you can dress like you want, craft your own items (saw a nice Akira-style motorbike and a Harrier jet) or just sit and watch life go by. As you'd expect from an MMO you have to pay for, and an online game that doesn't involve killing things, the community was only too eager to help myself and Nil_IQ. One gent gave us both a motorbike each, and if that didn't cost him anything, I'd love to see the items you have to pay for.
I'd play more but my pitiful PC just can't hack it (even though it already looks like a dog), so I'll be cancelling after seven days.
Like I said though... not played so I don't really know much.
Pick me. CHIMPY IN '04!
As my ultimate masterpiece, a cube with a pyramid on top no less, neared completion, I turned around to see <i>this</i>.
I'm so disappointed that my PC just can't handle the inner city areas (2FPS or so), as exploring these man-made structures is fascinating. Nil_IQ and myself spoke to a honest-to-goodness Second Life property tycoon last night. He was the owner of the Megatower, a colossal skyscraper that stretches far into the sky. To own such a piece of land, he has to pay a set fee every month (real currency). How does he afford it? By renting pieces of the tower to other Second Life players, who set up stalls or use it for whatever purpose they like. He then transfer the virtual money into proper dollars. Magic!
Obviously, if that story doesn't impress you, then you'll never enjoy the game.
In the few hours I was able to play last night I entered a boggle tournament by mistake.... and came second, went skydiving, and then again off of the aforementioned mega tower, and then I got all creative and decided to act out one of my lifelong dreams.
Equip parachute. Equip altimeter. Equip helmet. Arm altimeter. Equip motorcycle. Ride off edge of tower. Pwn.
So there I was, 1000 feet in the air, riding a free motorcycle made by another player, wearing free skydiving equipment made and coded by yet another player. This has infinate potential.
So there's only a one-shot fee?
Never tried MMORPGS for the fact that you pay monhly
but this turns me on.
So there's only a one-shot fee?
Never tried MMORPGS for the fact that you pay monhly
but this turns me on. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Either you pay a one-off fee of $10 and receive a small amount of in-game credit every week (an absolute pittance), or pay $10 monthly (or less if you get 3, 6 or 12 months at a time) for lots more in-game credit every week and some free land to build a house or whatever you like on.
But then, you can sell your created items to others..
Doesn't accept electron, so no game from me.
Seemed interesting thou.
You don't need to know the coding language to enjoy the experience.
The modelling is all done with the in-game tools, though I'm not sure how you use a created item that has no code behind it..
And I forgot to mention the brilliant Megatower streaming music (decided on by the tenants, the proprietor told us). That day was an 80s special. Bit of Jackson then some Babybird? Man!
Your travel guide.
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl1.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Another avatar. We were in a big kitchen at the time, and I said that cockroaches were the worst I'd expected. He didn't laugh.
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl2.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Users can post their own images on this billboard. Viva La Raza!
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
A brilliant building.
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl4.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Another one.
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl5.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
There's a surprising amount of smut in the game, such as shops selling naked skins and dirty pictures. I'm not sure what the developer's stance is on such debauch-o-vends, but you'll find one every few blocks or so. Here's a less offensive example. "Why do you look at the men, Daddy?"
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl6.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
A big anime shrine. Inside you can look at walls of kawaii while listening to Aeris's theme. Splends!
<img src='http://thelbsc.co.uk/sl7.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
The main flaws seem to be with bandwidth limitations. My 512kilobit (60KB) connection just can't handle all the streaming textures, so often you'll just have to sit and wait while the world pops up around you. I may have looked awesome on that bike, but riding the bloody thing isn't possible due to the lag.
My advice: sign up for the one-off $10 limited account and wander around every fortnight or so. You don't have to spend your funds in-game to appreciate what others have created.
Cool.
To.
Exist.
If you don't know about alpha world, it allowed you to build in general world or purchase an entire world and build in it. To most users there was a very small yearly fee.
Alucard Saito
SUCH A COOL NAME!