Sunday, May 18, 2008

Five Tips: How to visit the Garden of NPIRL Delights

The most frequent comment I hear from visitors to the Garden of NPIRL Delights is that they are "overwhelmed." I understand this. Four sims filled with the works of over 110 content creators - many of them quite complex - can have that effect. I worked alongside the artists for weeks, and I am still discovering new things. The good news is that there are several fantastic tools to make this easier for you.

If I were to take you by the hand and show you the Garden myself, here is how I would do it:

1) Arrival and Preparation: Take the HUD and Info
Teleport to the Garden from here. Beatrix Newt created a tranquil path at the entrance to the Garden with signage that invites you to "take" the HUD and info offered there. Please do!



2) Take the Tour
Just to your right as you exit the pathway, you will see the Tour area. Hop on the gorgeous Fleur de Lys-shaped vehicle, especially created for the Garden by famed vehicle maker (and founder/owner of the Ivory Tower of Prims), Lumiere Noir. The Fleur de Lys was scripted by Darek Deluca, the creator of XIDD Particles and Gadgets and the fabulous Particle Theatre, as well as a four layer installation at 3000m above the Garden that spans all four sims.



And off you go!



The ride is surprisingly smooth and pleasant, especially considering that you are crossing four sims.



You'll fly over many installations you might not have known about, otherwise.



There are many wonders in the sky. Having seen them, you will be able to plan your visits with a better idea of what is in store for you.



3) Wear the HUD
They said it couldn't be done. Really! Many expert coders warned me that we were going down the path of disaster, but Master Scripter Miki Gymnast pulled it off.

Look in your inventory for a folder called "Garden of NPIRL Delights Info" and inside it for the NPIRL Garden Tour HUD. "Wear" it. It will look like this but only fill a tiny spot on the lower left-hand corner of your screen.



"Touch" it with your mouse, and it will pull up a Second Life® teleport map. Choose "teleport," and you will find yourself at one of the installations at the Garden. And get this... the HUD will remember where you have been and take you to new places each time. Once you are wearing the HUD, you will be able to teleport to all these places directly from any spot on the grid, too.



4) Nifty Landmark-Ready Notecards
Loved the work of a particular artist and want to go back? Easy! Thanks to my SL brother, Corporate Jay, and in the same folder where you Garden HUD resides, you have four notecards, one for each sim. Open them... and voila!


Click to see large

Obviously, the notecards don't have to be stretched so large on your screen, but thought you might like to see their content.

5) Walk down the green glowy paths
That King of Glow, Spiral Walcher, spent many hours arranging his official Garden path throughout the four sims to ensure that you had ready access to every single installation on the ground.


Here we are, in the wee hours of the morning, welcoming our first guests to the Garden. That green glowy path will lead you to many adventures and surprises.

Along the paths, you will find local teleporters to the sky builds, too.

As you can see, many people contributed countless hours of their time, and industrial quantities of their knowledge and good ideas to make your visit to the Garden a happy one. I can't even begin to thank each one of them enough.

6 comments:

Skye Donardson said...

One quick question...is this a permanent installation, or is this just for a limited time? My time in SL is a bit hinky lately, but I'd like to be sure to get to see this.

Bettina Tizzy said...

Hello Skye! Not sure what "hinky" means but it sounds slightly painful, like a hickey? I hope not! The Garden of NPIRL Delights will be dismantled on June 23, and it is truly too large to visit in one day.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful builds! I'm really in awe of the creativity involved.

I have one small request - I would love to leave comments on the exhibits, but am very reluctant to say my email address on the public chat channel (a requirement for setting up the Rezzable connection). Any chance this could be changed to a private channel?

Bettina Tizzy said...

Hello Anonymous, and on behalf of all the participants of the Garden, thank you. The guest books were set up by Rezzable, so I don't have a ready answer for you, but I'll point them to your question and let's see what they respond. :)

Anonymous said...

Another important tip: read the Artist's signs and info if it's there, some have tips on what to see and do.. and take your time :-) Click, sit, ride, 'buy', wear, walk, listen, fly.. if you don't try you won't know! Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Anonymous: all you need to do is get a Gmail account for your avatar ... you should have had one by now!