Still really depressed from what happened a couple days ago, I decided to play around a bit, and explore somewhere beautiful. I couldn't find anywhere really fantastic that really caught my eye, so I decided to do something really different. Install the awesome Shadow Viewer and explore somewhere that would create incredible shadows!

A couple notes about the shadow viewer first: I would suggest running it on a semi-decent computer. My Nvidia GeForce 8600GT graphics card was not very happy, and grumping along as I snapped these pictures, but it wasn't entirely impossible to do. I can't see myself using this viewer often, probably only to snap scenery pictures. But, just to capture these fantastic shots, makes it totally worth it all.

So, the sim I decided to play around on is called Error. It was filled with lots of rocks, trees and random other things, so I thought this would be perfect to see how the shadow viewer looks.


I think this was some kind of store. There were a couple little furniture (I think that's what they were), and little ladder things for sale in a small-ish building. Also if you poke around the sim, you can find little signs with free stuff in them, that you get just for exploring around. So, its kinda like a... *gasp* hunt!


This probably isn't one of the best shadow viewer pictures I took here, but I still think it turned out pretty nice. It shows a little bit of the shadows :D


When windlight first came out eons ago, it was so amazing to me - it was kind of living in the dark, then suddenly having a light switched on. That's what this new Shadow Viewer did for me again. Its a completely new Second Life experience, and makes you see things in ways you never did before. Really.


As for the sim itself, it kind of reminded me a bit of Miriel's sim, but only with sand textures, and dead trees. It was still really pretty to explore, take pictures in, and experiment with shadow viewer settings.


The really sad thing about this viewer, was that my settings in other viewers weren't saved in this one. I had none of my windlight presets, and took all my pictures, without even realizing I had "High Rez Snapshots" turned off. So, I had to go back and retake all my pictures, and install windlight settings. It was total epic fail. xD


I actually had more fun snapping photos of the rocks and beachy area more than any of the trees and structures. I think they showed the shadows I was going for so much better than the trees did.


The sim had kind of a... lonely feel to it. Or maybe it was just my mood at the time, I don't know. But, it was the kind of feeling where you would just want to sit on the little dock thing here and wait for a boat to come in to the island. xD


This is probably my favorite picture out of this exploration trip. I love the rocks, the shadows, the trees in the background, everything. Its really great. The Error sim is really fantastic, it seems to be all over everyone's Flickr stream right now, so its definitely the place to be. I would totally suggest visiting it, and if you can, try out the shadow viewer there, its pure awesomeness.


However. What happened to my prim lashes in this picture? It said I was wearing them, but the viewer decided it wasn't going to show them to me. :( But, I was pretty impressed shadows worked on avatar attachments as well :O

Download the Shadow Viewer here: Shadow Viewer 1.23.
Explore Error here: Error (118, 176, 38)

Its been a while since I posted about my store build, hasn't it? Well, Its been kinda dormant for a while, while the builder had RL obligations, and I was struggling with textures. As I think I've stated before, I am really picky with textures. I know textures I like when I see them, its just... finding them thats the problem. So, I picked out a texture the other day that I really liked, and when he put them on the walls, omg. It was so perfect :D

It was exactly what I wanted, and every time I look at it - I love it even more. :D I think Kamian was happy too, so I wasn't poking him all the time and saying: "Try this.... no, how about doing this?" So, I haz a happeh. ^^ It seems now that I am pleased with the inside textures, he is aligning them up, making them seamless throughout the store... which is good, because I am unbelievably OCD about them being perfect.


I am also experimenting with decorating a bit. I have this huge, gigantic space behind this glass wall, and I don't really know what to do with it yet. So, I am trying a tree and sculpted ground for today. See how much I like it. I'm not sure I like having the couch area in the freebie section, and the tree area.... But, maybe it will grow on me. I'm also playing with the idea of moving the tree area, and replacing the couch thing with it. We'll see. :D


A little preview of the new stuff! I'll have a new fashion pose set, the moon poses as a freebie, and a picks reward gift! The picks reward will be switched out every month, and I think they will start in November. The vendor currently says "October Picks Reward Gift", but that was made like, 3 weeks ago. XD By the time it drops down, I'll have it changed to the correct month. ^^ Oh. And I'll have a new lucky board item called the Mina pose, and a group gift. :D OMG, so many freebies :O The freebie haters lately will skin me alive! O.O

So, a little bit of Tiny Empires talk for a minute. A while ago, some new "features" were added to the Tiny Empires Federation HUD, which you gained or lost citizens based on what decisions you made. The disasters are: Famine, Crime Wave, and Disease. I stuck with Famine, constantly paying for researchers to go to inspect the area and whatever, and after a while, I finally got this:

\o/ I am really excited, now I don't have to pay craploads of gold to pay for famine anymore :D

Also, I've been trying to save up some $L for the builder that I want to hire. But, I can't seem to stop shopping! So, I've been engrossing myself in as many hunts as I possibly can. I've completed the Metamorphoses hunt, the Discord hunt, TekuTeku hunt, and even the MiaSnow hunt. I've been doing bunches of freebie hunting and lucky chair waiting. The lucky chairs I've cleaned out lately: Muism, Zaara, Aoharu Walk, Cyber Rapunzel, and even Silent Sparrow.... And I am currently working on TekuTeku's chairs.

The freebies coming out lately are just amazing as well. Such as the Rosemar/Cupcakes group gift skins, Alienbear's beautiful scepters, Di Chaintilly's free skin, to Chai's stunning powder skins - I'm really beginning to feel spoiled. Our SL creators are so generous, and I really love that they give us a reason to shop without spending money, or something to do while we have no $L to spend.