It was already announced last year that the first generation Linden homes which are offered to each premium membership holder will be replaced with new themes and styles starting this year. The roll out began in April after much anticipation, although the project is not completed yet (you can see the official blog post here: https://bit.ly/2GpTKxQ and the update forum post here https://bit.ly/2Rf1ab3 ). This has caused some disappointment and upset amongst residents...
The number of old Linden homes is estimated to be over 38,000, which of course means this number need to be replaced with the new version. Linden Lab have stated that although they could have waited another year or two until all the new homes were ready before releasing them, they felt that the delay would be too long and wanted to get what they could into residents hands as soon as possible. So the initial release consisted of a few hundred homes (Traditional Homes and Houseboats) on the new continent of Bellisseria.
The demand was huge - the homes were snapped up within 48 hours leaving many chomping at the bit. Linden Lab released another 709 of the houseboats in May, which were all gone within half an hour. Of course, this meant that there were many Premium members who were not able to get one causing a bit of uproar on the forums, with some feeling cheated that they were 'homeless', although the first gen houses are still available (those won't be removed till all the new homes have been introduced). So there has been much discussion on the forums about this, how perhaps the roll-out could better have been implemented, and tips and tricks to grab a new home as soon as possible.
The folks at Linden Lab are currently busy beavering (or 'moleing') away installing the next batch of homes, which we are expecting to be released just before or after the SL16 birthday event (20 June) at which LL have said they will be previewing the next theme to be introduced (we expect other themes to follow in the future). It's been very interesting to watch the progress of how this is done - you can see the Moles (the ones who are building the plots and putting up the homes) on location at Bellisseria most days and see the progress as it happens. It's not something you get to see everyday!
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| Setting up the land plots for the houses |
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| Setting up the water plots for the houseboats |
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| Houses and houseboats in place |
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| Landscaping guides for houses |
LL have also stated that they didn't want to just copy and paste regions, in the way they did with the first gen homes, but wanted to give more character by making areas more unique. From what I've seen so far I think they've achieved that. There are some really lovely touches they've added such as making more picturesque and individually styled hangout areas. There are little park like places, a maze, swimming pool hangouts and more. Take this place for example at Valleyside:
There's only one like it, right next to a river. It's a beautiful spot to hangout and chat with friends. Another example are these little beach type areas inland, which add a coastal feeling for those who are not in the beach side homes:
Each one is slightly different, which makes one appreciate the time it takes to set these up (and watching the Moles at work highlights that too).
I've spent some time walking around different regions that have been opened so far, and I really do think LL have done a great job. The avenues of houses, little park style spots and areas to sit tucked away, are really beautifully done. There is no other virtual world available that I know of that is like this. There's so much to explore and take in.
If your computer can handle it it's well worth upping your graphics settings in the SL preferences to enable things like shadows and good draw distance. This really brings out the beauty of the region.
I would certainly say these new regions are a step up from the first generation ones, which of course is what LL are aiming to do. I've still got lots more exploring to do, and am looking forward to see what future themes LL will introduce. For a closer look at the new theme that has been introduced so far see my blog post. If you'd like to see more images of the homes and regions I've come across take a look at my Flickr photostream. And if you are in Second Life I highly recommend taking some time to explore this latest SL project!
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