Folkebåd, Folkboat

Sadly, I don't have much time for virtual sailing these days. However, there's no regrets as first life sailing takes precedence. Still... there are things in SL worth noticing. One of these things is Anas latest... the Folkboat. It seems to be called Folkboat out there in the english speaking parts of the world. The danish name really is the same as VolksWagon where wagon replaced with boat, so I tend to call it the Volksboat... not that it is a german boat in any way...

Anas Folkboat

Here it is. She is very pretty and very true to the original RL version. This is here is me and Ana having a boat talk a few days before the launch. It's Anas feet sticking up.

Details

There are loads of details. At a certain point we may have been concerned about the mesh-graphics, but now... There's no way we'd do without it. It has enabled Ana, Dutch, Rene, Craig, Qyv, Trudeau, Nomad, Burt, Victor and all the other boatbuilders to take their boats to another level of realism. At least on the visual side.

Instruments too

See! I can't remember ever seeing such a vast array of screens in a Folkboat cockpit. Ever. But never mind. The sailing is so interesting and challenging you won't have time to read those numbers anyway. A glance from time to time? Maybe... 

Ana explaining bits and pieces

What does that mean? I thought the Folkboat was easy to sail. Well, it is... sort of. It is just that Ana wanted something new, extraordinary and quite lifelike - as in RL like, so she kinda changed the way things work a bit. It is more RL and less SL like... you see, the two sails will need to be trimmed separately, whereas most SL boats do trim all sails as one. This is far more involving than you'd think, and I'll get back to that when I find a rainy day to go virtual sailing.

test

test
updated

Cinderella IV

I saw an amazing yacht in Copenhagen - just opposite of the Operahouse. Didn't have time to go over there and check it out, but... social medias confirmed it was the Cinderella IV.

Here's a few details. Ahh. Just what we need this summer. Retrofitted with a fireplace. Obviously. That category of boat is rarely seen in Copenhagen waters. That goes for the virtual waters of SL too. So, boat builders of SL, - here's a bit of inspiration.

Too much leisure boat? Not hard core enough for ya? Never mind the VO65s. They may "rock", but try this: LaSolitaire. That's for hard core sailing geeks!

Turn up the heat please

After the coldest may I have ever experienced... Please, dear powers that may be: Turn up the heat. I really need some genuine sunny sailing weather. Kinda like this:

Of course the virtual sun is always shining, - provided I click the right buttons. I can almost - almost - find a spot in SL that looks and sounds kinda like this utube thing. But I cannot feel the waves and the wind, and the sound just never get as diverse. It just isn't enough in the long run.

Provence

Nah. Nothing beats real wind, real salt stains and real waves... Sometimes I am thinking, why am I not living in Provence? Lavendar, Moules mariniéres, Pastis, la mer et la soleil. Oh and that very special rose wine they make there... accompanied by a salad chevre chaud... Add to that skiing withing a two hour drive. I am not meant to be in this cold viking land.

The thrill is gone

The thrill is gone. All that's left is Lucille and a load of wonderful blues songs...

RIP B.B.

The Minecraft Difference II

Ok, one more post about Minecraft. From a SL point of view. It is still a fun world to explore, but as Orca said in the comments... it is fugly. Here's my attempt at building a beach house. The view over the ocean is beatiful - especially at sunset, but that's not the point. The point is that it took me like 5 minutes to build it and kids aged 7 can do it too.

Beach house in five minutes

Now, if you can disregard the lego feeling, then it is a beautiful day at the beach house. If not then I guess the bubble breaks. The water looks pretty waterish though not half as waterish as in SL. There are no waves, but downstream water will transport things. However, the water also comes in cubes.

State of the art interior

Inside the beach house you'll find state of the art furniture. Here's a shot with a view out the backside windows. It's raining outside in case you wonder what the blue things are. Table, chairs, stove in cube-design. There are two beds too. So it's a great hideout. Kinda like building a treehut. Except there's noone there to hide from. Well, there's always a few monsters around, and you can invite ppl to join your local game. That's why kids love it. It is their own world entirely. You can also join a public server, but the ppl there don't seem to be there for the conversation.

Wild life and sandy beaches

Where Minecraft is short on ppl it seems full of wildlife. Rabbits, cows, horses, pigs, donkeys, wolves, sheep, squids and loads of other known and unknow creatures will meet you if you ho exploring. The black things in the water are Spongebobs cousins... square-squids. Mountains, flatlands or oceans... doesn't matter... they are crawling with animals and spooky creepers. Here's a shot of a sandy bay with a pretty lil island. I've set up a few lighthouses to help me find my way around. The world is huge even though it only takes up very little space in my harddrive.

Lighthouse

Here's a simple lighthouse. Complete with three levels, a door, inside stairs, windows, a tiny marina, light on top plus beds and bookshelves for a lonely night. It took me like 10 minutes to build. Amazing but very cubistic. Just like a Picasso, though I expect he spent more than a measly 10 minutes on his masterpieces.

Marina

Here's a closer look. Not too bad, huh? The cubistic thing in the foreground is a small marina, and the brown box there is... is... well, it's a boat. That's what boats look like in Minecraft. The mere fact that you can sail in a boat is fantastic, but then the fun stops. There are no oars, no engine and no sails. It just sails where ever you point it provided you tap on forward. Yes, I know there are other moving things in Minecraft... it's super easy to build an underground trainstation or a rollercoaster. It's fun but it's kinda like the sailing. Easy to build, fun to ride... for like five minutes.

Sailing in Minecraft

The inhabitants are cubistic too. That's a girl right there... sitting in the boat. I won't say it's me because it isn't. It doesn't look like me and it doesn't feel like me. Still, it is me sailing. Kind off. So what's the deal here? Why is Minecraft such a huge success? Hmm... it is fun to explore. It is supereasy to build. There is a built in gameplay, and there are other quests to be found on public servers. Deathmatch. For those too afraid to try Open Arena. Parkour is big too. Hunger games are also quite big it seems. The games are great, I am sure... but if sailing is your game, then consider the next photo...

Sailing in Second Life

The difference is inexplicable. To me it's the creativity that makes Minecraft interesting. The super easy building is the key. It gives you the feeling that MC is your world because you can make stuff so easily. Houses, railroads, marinas whatever... Sadly, I suspect sailing will never be big. The boats cannot be changed or improved on. I could build a huge pirateship, but I cannot bring it to life. I'll head back to SL for sailing. And for the ppl. A big part of SL is meeting ppl from all over the world. I conclude that MC and SL do not compare or compete... They are simply too different. Sometimes you feel like having an apple. Sometimes it's a pear. Both are good. I suspect the two games (if SL is a game) have very different users with different age and objectives. However, SL could learn something from MC... make it easy to build. Release the creativity. I bet that would make SL grow.

Blogging and stuff

To blog or not to blog... I dunno which is more fun: Blogging or playing SL. They are different things yet closely coupled. At least to me. These past few months I haven't had much time to play. Life! First Life that is... I am sure you all know what it is like. Sometimes it is just work, work, work. Luckily it can also be such an immersive experience that there is no time for other immersive experiences. Such as Second Life.

Blogging from Second Life

To be honest there are also times when I need a vacation. That goes for my Second Life too. I know there are other SLers that take time off the grid. Good thing that the real sailing season has started. That always restores balance in my universe. So here's me blogging again and I even went sailing. Tried out Anas International Folksboat. Nice lil thing... Different but nice. More on that soon. Oh, and happy International Workers Day. I will celebrate by sitting on my boat sipping red wine while eating nachos with cheese.
Cheers ;-)