The Best Places No One Visits

Apparently Real Life is a game ("You'll Win Christmas with this gift!" or "I'm now the Mayor of Farduck's Coffee!" or the like) so it is no wonder there is almost constant talk about Second Life being a game or that it needs to be a game or there needs to be more game-like elements. What many of these people miss as they lag the Welcome Areas, however, is seeing the whole forest while complaining about the lack of trees.

The Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW) provides a near limitless variety of entertainments for us Residents ... it's called Landscaping! If people would leave the Free Sex areas and the (not so) Safe Hubs and stop simply teleporting from party to party, they might notice that places like the Coastal Waterway exist. This series of sea-themed regions connect to form a whole-cloth of knit-together stories yet are just some of "The Best Places No One Visits" in Second Life.

A delightful sculpture garden can be found in Leximus (SLurl). Explore as a scuba diver and be amused at the inside jokes or visit with friends and create a story of adventure! It is OUR world, folks. Use some imagination. This is just one of many undersea attractions you won't see if you spend your time simply bumping high-speed boats against sim crossings.

Just under the Imona Rezz Zone (SLurl) is a plethora of sea life, some of which has been domesticated, like Giganticus Mare Equis, commonly known as That Seahorse You Can Ride. The LDPW moles are a clever lot with wicked senses of humor – They saddled a seahorse. You can also try riding some of the other animals (and taking copies for your own waterscapes), but be careful as some will eat you alive. Done "horsing around"? Then rez your boat topside and visit another site.

Maybe the Perugia Rezz Zone (SLurl), home to one of many, many sea power generation projects in Second Life and a great example of how the LDPW is weaving a life story in Our World. If you coordinate such places on the world map you'll see that they supply power to various facilities such as the Prim Drilling Rig in ANWR (SLurl). It is there that all the prims you rezz in-world are found (there's an abandoned prim mine that Zyx reported about on this blog here). The Lab is providing everything Residents need to get out and PLAY but so few folks do it. I especially love the explorers that do and I give special hat tips to Kennylex Luckless and Hexapoda Resident for joyfully sharing their adventures on the MySL feeds.

I was exploring a few areas I saw on Hexa's feed when I investigated a strange green glow in the waters of Gaigano (SLurl). The cove seemed to have been very unnaturally formed (work with me here ... I know all these places are totally fictional, but this is how I have fun in SL) so I dove in and found –

What appears to be a crashed alien space ship worthy of Area 51 and mutated jellyfish!!

The craft is huge. If you risk going into the interior you'll see that nothing on this planet could have made it. I suspect alien moles. Big alien moles.

The propulsion source is totally baffling but still seems to have an active power source. I worry about radiation and excessive particle exposure (particles, BTW, don't lag a sim, rather they lag your viewer and make it seem like the whole sim is slowing).

LIke any crash, though, I can't look away. The long skid path from where it slid along the sea floor shows tremendous energies were let loose as the sands were fused into glass and rock. I bet if I followed the path's apparent trajectory I'd find more damage on the seabed. This must be one of the most Best Places No One Visits or the LDPW is amazing at keeping secrets (well, they are ... since it was confirmed they know where Magellan Linden is but aren''t talking).

See what I mean? I spent a good hour exploring around and seeing things I'd never come across before despite the extensive amount of time I've previously spent in the Coastal Waterway. And I know there is more. I've popped from place to place with only enough time to make landmarks so I could have more relaxed visits later. I can't wait to get to a "tiny" island and try the adventure the moles have set up.

Just another example of how Mainland rocks, really. Each continent and themed community (such as Nautilus, the sailing sims, Bay City, and more) all have an infrastructure and a back story that makes exploring them a ton of fun. Taken as a whole they have a history worthy of a whole planet. Yet people sit in Welcome Areas and complain that SL needs to be more like a game. Maybe I should be glad they don't explore. Then I can keep this little mermaid house all to myself.

No, I'm not telling you where this is, but I will say "start at the alien spaceship wreck and look about for it and a snazzy sea lab structure that is also near by ... watch the wildlife, though and always look for Magellan Linden.