Shore leave at Breaker’s Folly
I’m almost beginning to see Second Life’s tendency to blow up while operating vehicles as a blessing rather than a curse. After buying some lovely aircraft at Boyoma Field, I planned to fly one of my purchases home to Drawbridge. I only got two sims from Fundama when I was violently hurled from the plane, face-first into the dirt of Georgiana.
I looked up and my jaw dropped. Rezzing in front of me was an insanely detailed starship, docked and hooked up to fueling tanks in front of an entire spaceport complex. I had just discovered the R.S.S. Impulsive and the port of Breaker’s Folly, a labor of love assembled by a team of roleplayers and artists.
The Impulsive is a life-size model of a starship for a tabletop RPG. Handy notecard dispensers fore and aft of the Impulsive have this to say about the build:
This build has been in the works since March, 2005. Primary Design is by Kamber Queso. Scripting is by Aislin Wallaby. Land ownership, design and scripting suggestions, and snide comments are by Buster Broom (we luv ya!). This build has over 40 working doors, some creative ramps, and over 1000 lovingly arranged, textured and tortured prims. The ship is also soundscaped, although more sounds emerge as more equipment is added.
The ship is designed to realistic proportions, which means its interior spaces are as cramped as you’d expect to see in a real spacefaring vessel. Mouselook is highly recommended for poking about the tight confines of the ship. Such exploration is well-rewarded by heaps of detail, from the knicknacks of the crew in their quarters, to a bridge full of irresistible buttons, to working ramps, doors, and airlocks.
After emerging from the cargo bay on the aft end of the craft, I received an IM from Talila Liu, who claimed to be in the throes of boredom. Knowing how dangerous a bored catgirl can be, I thought it best to teleport her over so she could explore the rest of the area with me. She fit right in with the surroundings in the high-tech prim outfit she’s been working on.
Finished poking about in the nooks and crannies of the ship, we moved into the ramshackle port of Breaker’s Folly. It’s obviously a place that gets more traffic than funding. Most of the port facilities themselves are in working order, but they show signs of wear and neglect by a staff who have been stretching scarce supplies for decades.
In some places, there are run-down craft left to rust. It’s probably a good thing for environmental reasons that the Port Authority hasn’t shoved the hulk of one crashed craft into the nearby river, but it almost certainly limits the amount of cargo the port can offload at once. I suspect they don’t get nearly enough traffic to worry about it, and it’s pretty obvious they’re not too concerned with appearances.
Past the hangar near the Impulsive is a little café called Esalla’s, which rests against the side of the Breaker’s Folly Port Authority building. The top of the building’s control tower affords a great view of the area.
Just up the hill from the Port Authority are a power plant and the entrance to a small commercial district. The area is home to a few small merchants, a temple, an eatery, and an ominous establishment called “The Vat.” The purpose of the last place is a mystery, but given the tanks of unidentifiable green goo and the blood-covered medical lab, Talila and I didn’t stick around to ask any questions.
I look forward to visiting again now that I’ve discovered this delightful slice of Second Life. Breaker’s Folly is utterly drenched in atmosphere, and it’s a great place to really get away from it all. It’s not hard to imagine this place being located on a distant and half-forgotten world, and while it isn’t exactly the most vacation-friendly location imaginable, it’s a nice change of pace from the clubs, casinos, malls, and residences that make up much of the grid.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Post overload! I thought you’d poofed from the face of SL! Do you still have the space fountain up in Drawbridge? I was passing through a while back and didn’t see it, but I may have been extremely tired and lagged.