Chandra’s Page

I followed a poster advertising skydiving at Cubey Terra’s store in Abbotts, and I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at the lovely island of Allure. Not only did I find a fantastic skydiving platform (complete with diving boards, a bar, and a dance floor), the entire island has been covered in a recent snowfall, giving it a cheery holiday feel.

However, the holiday magic quickly gave way to amusement as I surveyed a large number of snow sculptures, both macabre and whimsical, throughout the island. In the spirit of Calvin and Hobbes, the snowmen are engaged in activities unusual, and often dangerous, for snowmen.

Lured by the prospect of seeing pixel-shaded water effects, last Friday the preview grid saw a small invasion from many EFNet #secondlife regulars. The 1.8.0(1) preview attracted a couple dozen people, who crowded onto Chip Midnight’s swimming raft in Freelon.

The atmosphere was festive, and culminated in an attempt to cram as many people as possible onto my Flying Tako sailboat.

As for the new ripple water effect, those people whose graphics cards are capable of displaying it were most pleased. Though far from perfect, it’s a far cry easier on the eyes than Second Life’s current water surface. It looks even more impressive today on version 1.8.0(3), including real-time distortion of objects on the opposite side of the surface from the viewer.