On Monday June 26, Patch Linden was interviewed in the first of the SL20B's Lab Gab shows. Patch almost always reveals something about what Linden Lab is planning or is about to release, and yesterday was no exception. But the big details involve users with the most cash to invest in their inworld experience.
The all new Ranch theme features country style Ranch homes in multiple
sizes and open floor plans on 2048m2 parcels. It is a beautiful rural
area with gravel roads, split rail fences, windmills, silos, and
stunning fields of wildflowers.
More land means more land impact. Previous themes have 351 or 175 LI
per parcel. These have a whopping 703! Plus a new theme means a new
content pack, with wildflowers, hay bales, and such.
They would also be mentioned
in the SL wiki in the page about Linden Homes.
The ranch theme is your invitation to step into life on the
grasslands of central North America. This is farm country, a land of
rolling prairie and big sky. It’s a place where you can imagine raising
wheat or corn or soybeans and having a few cattle, a horse or two, and a
flock of chickens. You might have a barn stocked with hay bales and a
tractor and harvest machinery. Or, perhaps, you could have the large
garden for vegetables and flowers that you always wanted.
The houses are in a new area in Bellisseria, north of the central part of the continent (and the new WelcomeHub area, which is now also connected to Bellisseria by a road). The sims themselves often had appropriate names such as Silo, or whimsical ones such as After You and Knott Mine. There were several different styles of Ranch houses, Spring View, Stable View, Knotty Pine, Creek Stone, Silver Spurs, Buffalo Pastures, and Grizzly Point. With the larger amount of land per home, plus the gravel roads and the country look of the houses, the place certainly looked more backwoods than much of the Linden Home continent. There were silos, windmills, and other farm buildings and structures in places. And some residents and brought in cows, horses, and other animals.
Despite that "selection of specific Ranch homes will not be available until July 10," demand for these houses was high. In Bellisseria chat, it was stated that a day after they were made available, there were no more left to claim. When the next batch will be available is unknown.
The other feature aimed at Premium Plus, and Premium, accounts was "
Second Lifetime." This was an option to have a Premium, or Premium Plus account for life.
Be among the lucky few to claim one of the limited edition
SecondLifeTime Premium or Premium Plus plans – available in extremely
limited quantities at SL20B. Each SecondLifeTime plan offers the same
benefits as Premium or Premium Plus – but for a one-time fee for the
rest of your life! Only available while supplies last!
Patch Linden would explain some details at the Lab Gab, and there was also a "
Frequently Asked Questions" page. The one-time payment for a lifetime Premium account is $749 USD, and for a lifetime Premium Plus, it is more expensive at $1749 USD. Compared to Premium at $99 USD a year, and Premium Plus at $249 USD a year, it's comparable to a resident paying for several years in advance.
Patch would say that only so many residents can get a lifetime account. Only two hundred residents will be able to get Premium for life, and for Premium Plus for life the limit is much smaller, just twenty. The openings are available on a first-come first-served basis. On the FAQ page, it stated a Premium for life account holder "might not" be able to upgrade to Premium Plus, and anyone wishing to do so would have to talk with a Lab agent to see what could be done.
While it wasn't mentioned by Patch, or the FAQ, it should be reminded that even a lifetime account holder would still be subject to the Lab's Terms of Service, and people have been banned for what some would see as small offenses such as using a parent's credit card.
Patch would discuss other things in the video, such as the upcoming newcomer NUX avatars, the new WelcomeHub area, an SL radio station, the *possibility* of one of the more recent last names being brought back temporarily, and Linden Lab talking to the producers of a TV show about a deal which would have Second Life being a big part of the plot of one episode. This would be the first time since an episode of CSI in 2007.
Bixyl Shuftan
Interesting idea, but it will take 7 to 7.5 years (depending on which type you of Premium you are) to even break even. While that might be appropriate for some relative newcomers in their first few years of SL who clearly understand they are likely to be here for years (especially if they have a business), for someone brand new who doesn't know if they will want to stay in SL that long or conversely someone like myself who is already 15+ years into SL who doesn't know if they will still be here for various reasons that far in the future, it's not necessarily so helpful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to anyone applying though!