Things continue to develop, even when I'm not part of them. It's almost as if I wasn't completely indispensable.
Anyway. Among other things, a seismic shift has taken place in Caledon Steam SkyCity, my home in Caledon for much of my career.
The economy has been no kinder to that sim than to any other, and with parcels falling long-term vacant, our esteemed Guvnah was forced to downgrade it to a homestead. This meant, of course, a substantial reduction in the complexity and number of holdings there... Some people bailed out; others, myself included, announced a willingness to stay on after the redevelopment. So, one weekend, I packed up all my prims, threw my tentacle monsters into the proverbial red spotted hanky on a stick, and withdrew to await developments.
The developments concluded... sadly, not entirely to my taste.
The new Steam SkyCity is a visually impressive build, from the outside; a huge floating metal spheroid, supported by the requisite rotors (I for one argued, apparently persuasively, against replacing the rotors with a simple airship gasbag), hovering on high over the waters beneath.
Unfortunately - from my point of view - this is achieved by what's essentially a set of massive enclosing prims (the bottom bowl, the deck, and the dome and girders overhead) which severely restrict the physical space available for building on the city. Furthermore, in response to commercial pressure (people like leafy suburbs, apparently), the Guv has made that deck a single big lawn, and planted trees all the way around. In short, rather than the urban-industrial setting of the Steam SkyCity I knew and loved, this is something much more like an enclosed, suburban, gated community. (There's no conventional way in or out except by the CAT lift.... and the structure of the build means there isn't even a view from the main deck, it's all shut away behind a wall.)
It's all just virtual anyway, yes? Just pixels in a video game? ... yeah, right. This honestly, really, upset me. So I messaged the Guvnah to that effect.
Well, never let it be said that the Guv refuses to listen to people's concerns. Some people would have been annoyed by receiving a message to the effect that "your brilliant new build sux and I'm not going to live in it"... but the Guv took it on the chin, and we thrashed out a compromise, which involved him carving out a separate parcel, away from the city itself, where I can build, unencumbered, and in the sort of idiom I feel appropriate to Caledon STEAM SkyCITY, dammit.
Of course, now, I am honour bound to actually build something. Which means, I suppose (since life and other realities keep on intruding on my not-so-copious free time) that this blog may get even more neglected as I bolt prims together inworld. But I will be back, and building. Watch this space. Something may happen here yet.
Thank you, Glorf. I knew something didn't seem "right" about the new Steam Sky City build, but I could not put my finger on it. You did so perfectly...the new build is a flying park, not a clanking, steaming, mechanical city.
ReplyDeleteYou sound very busy! TC of yourself!
ReplyDeleteweb
I'm sorry you didn't like the new city structure. I for one would have loved to have made it more detailed and more open. Steam engines, upper levels, more truss, etc. However, I was on a prim budget and spec limitation. The more prims I used, the fewer you all would have to build with. I presented several designs to Guvnah Shang. The current model is the one that met the specs with the fewest prim used. As far as it being enclosed, that was also part of the specification. The canopy leaves are retractable however, allowing one to build taller than the canopy roof. The engines are also offset for this reason, so that the props do not impede tall structures. There is a lower floor as well, but will need to be accessed by teleporters or 'anywhere doors' since making openings to the lower deck again would have significantly reduced the remaining prim available to all of you. I'm well aware we have differences in build style, and that's fine. It's the variety of SL. But you were not the one tasked with the rebuild, nor were you made previously aware of the limitations I had to work with. Specifically the size, the primcount, the presence of grass and foilage. All these things were desired for the purpose of keeping SSC viable and welcoming rather than being an empty hole in the middle of the nation.
ReplyDeleteConsidered purely as a build, it's fine - well up to your usual high standards. And I do appreciate the constraints you had to work with!
DeleteBut, well, I consider it not just as a build, but also as somewhere I'm going to live... and, on that score, I really wasn't happy. (Obviously, I'd have preferred spending prims from the limited allocation on infrastructure, instead of trees! But it seems that was just not an option... which is, in my view, a pity. Caledon has plenty enough wooded areas already, in my opinion. Just my opinion, of course.)