Making Spooky Eyes

 

Spooky eyes peer out from a crypt. Series 600: Autumn by Radishme@Greybriar.

There’s nothing spookier than a pair of eyes watching every step you take so, when making my autumn inspired dim, I just had to whip up my own spooky eyes.   I wasn’t expecting the sets of spooky eyes Trion created for Autumn Harvest but was pleased to discover that Spooky Eyes 04 complemented my own version.

Trion’s spooky eyes blink and can be placed anywhere, even mid air but are kinda small.  My spooky eyes can be made in any size allowed by the tiles but need a way to hide the poles that make pupils.   For my dimension, Series 600: Autumn, I hid the poles in the rectangular mausoleum, in other dims the eyes would work well against a wall or other flat surface.

Voxels Suck, Props Rule!

Landmark’s prop interface is clumsy, tedious and slow.

Building with voxels is all the rage in Landmark.  Voxels are great for building rectangular structures but anything other than a box is more tricksy.  People (innovative, curious, experimenting people) find a way to do extraordinary things with voxels and the rest of us learn from them.

When I look at some of the tricks voxel builders are pulling off, I suspect a degree in advanced geometry is required to fully master voxels.  For those not wanting to invest in advanced geometry, props will add the decorative complexity we need to create our dreams.  As their numbers increase, props will become the other half of the building game in Landmark.

Return Of The Prodigal Banner

The Tempest Bay Banner returns, at a much increased price.

It snuck in unannounced, like a teenager returning home after curfew, without noise or fanfare.  Welcome back, Tempest Bay Banner, I missed you.  But, what’s this?   How much?  Nine platinum, 5 credits?

I remember when the Tempest Bay Banner was a mere 80 gold.  What happened?  Did Trion upgrade the pixels from cotton to a more expensive material?  If I rub it with my digital fingers will I feel the cool, satiny texture of silk?  No, seems to be the same boring cotton as always.  Perhaps the Telarian dollar has nose-dived and imports are now more expensive.  Except, it’s a local product.

Maybe those grifters from Droughtlands have moseyed in on the local merchants and now we’re feeling the bite of protection money.  That must be it.  It couldn’t be sheer profiteering on behalf of the greedy merchants running this town, could it?

New Rift Expansion Is When?

I’m all settled with a new monitor.  It’s big and fancy, 24″ and 1980 x 1200 resolution.  Rift looks so different on this monitor, the colours are brighter, the detail greater.  I keep stopping and going “Wow, I never saw that before.”  Now I have to figure out how to lower the resolution of the screenshots I take so you all have a hope of downloading the pretty pictures.

Did we all like our underwater experiences in patch 2.5, ‘Song of Dreams’?  I had a few difficulties with it.  For starters, everywhere I swam, my pet would swim behind, nicely subservient but blocking my view of my character.  That’s a bad pet habit,  made it quite a challenge to see which mobs I was about to run over.

Radish’s Project Open For Viewing

Every great town needs a manor house. This one comes complete with tower. Hammerknell Haven by Consortium@Zaviel, EU.

Halloween is over but the spooky tricks are still happening at my house.  My monitor turned off for the last time on Wednesday, may it rest in peace.  Thankfully I’m a two monitor girl.

I’ve spent today researching new monitors and new computers.   (I’m preparing for something terrible to happen to the computer.)  All the power failures and flickerings from the dying house fuse are taking their toll.  If you suddenly don’t see me in game for a while, you’ll know what happened.

This is my favourite scene in the dimension, peering through the roots at the statue.

Well, it’s been a long project and it isn’t over yet. I’ve had the best fun designing and building my second Halls of Shaping for Consortium on Zaviel, EU. I’m sure you all know what I mean, that zen zone when the creativity just seems to flow. Almost like the dimension is building itself.

Finally, the dimension is open for viewing.  I’ve built a little town and it’s environs in the hall.    It’s still decorated for Halloween but I’ll be taking those down soon in preparation for Christmas.  Come take a peek, if you like, see what’s been keeping me from my blog.  All are welcome.

Booooooo!

Pumpkin men armed with swords and teeth haunt Le manoir de la Peur ! by Nayntoh@Brisesol, EU.

October was the month of hauntings, at least at my place.  Strangely flickering lights, power failures, blurry vision, exploding ovens.  I’m haunted by a poltergeist!  I’ve replaced my oven, my glasses, several light bulbs, internet cables and, after a series of odd power blackouts, the house fuse.  Of all of these, the oven was the hardest to fix.  I spent many days and take-away meals researching the new-fangled technology that comprises the modern stove.  Both the stove and the house fuse were over 50 years old.  I suppose, after that long, they deserve an early retirement.

For other people, October means spooky, creepy, spidery and orange.  I wondered what scary themes people are building in the newly released Deepwood Cottage, so I toured the shards, looking for the best representations of Halloween.

Of Keeps And Crenelations

Built using Landmark tools, this keep features crenelations, flying buttresses and an elevated walkway.

I understand enthusiasm, excitement, the desire to share my new toys with the world and so does Dave Georgeson.  Let loose with the building tools for Landmark, Dave built and decorated a keep in 4 hours then broadcast the pictures to the world.

Dave Georgeson is Director of Development for the EverQuest Franchise at SOE, so this is our first glimpse at the work of a non-artist/developer.  It’s also our first glimpse at the furnishings we might expect in Landmark.

We Love Mr Squeakles!

Dear Mr Squeakles can be found next to Atrophinious in the Realm of the Autumn Harvest.

The fall season has arrived, Atrophinious still loves his mead and the Realm of the Autumn Harvest is open to all.  This year we’ll be hunting for autumn harvest ambersap and autumn harvest signets.

First the bad news,  The Halloween goodies boxes mentioned earlier no longer cost 90 credits; in translation from the PTS, the  Pumpkin Patch kit increased to 229 credits and the Spider’s Den Kit to 297 credits each.  The token price remains the same.

Around The Internet: Dimensions Of The Rich And Famous

It’s the trending thing, the new black; everyone’s posting a youtube of their dimension.  This time on Around the Internet, we’re taking a discerning look at dimension videos.

Dimensions of the Rich and Famous

Dimensions of the Rich and Famous is a continuing series interviewing dimensioneers about their dimensions.  This first episode talks to Spyderpigz@Deepwood about his creation process.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen no other publicity regarding this series, so this may be it’s first and only episode.

Around the Internet: Resources for the Dimensioneer

Out there in the blog’o’sphere, dimensioneers have been busy working to bring us the information we need to support our hobby.  Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Jegethy’s Rift Blog, by Jegethy’s own words,  is a RIFT blog dedicated to posting useful guides and information.  Jegethy has posted guides to acquiring the free starter dimensions, Sanguine Shore for guardians and Warden’s Point for defiants.  While you’re there check out his other Rift guides.