Virtual Reality
(and other multi-user stuff)

Onlive's (now DigitalSpace) Traveler

Justen's VR links

NEW*
SecondLife

OK after years of no updates, no one reads this anyway, this needs updating. This one rocks. Multi-user world with a built in design interface. You can get in fairly cheap and go from there. Buy land or rent. Build anything you want and add scripting on top of that. It's like Active Worlds on steroids. The downside is the vehicles. While they can be anything you can imagine, they don't work as smoothly as they do in There (below). Another thing is there is a lot of customizing that can be done to your avatar. That can be daunting to someone that just wants to login and go. I love it however.

The main thing, and I think it is the best part, is that it is 18 and up. Meaning anything goes. Yup anything. Other places that are 'family oriented' tend to stifle creativity especially in designing. Not the case here. I understand there is a Teen version coming so the younguns can play too but I wouldn't let them in to the 18-up version.

Initially I got the cheap account, signed in a few times and didn't really do much. I was still fascinated with There. Now that it has worn off this is the place to be. I got an apartment with free rent that I have permission to build in. Being free I can't have all of it out at the same time but I can put it away and sell it or give it away. There is also a lot of other free stuff in world. You can pay more and get the land option too. I might sell my house in There and go this way. We'll see.

The user community is pretty good too. Plenty of help online in their forums and other community sites and you can buy and sell the money, called Lindens, on some websites.

This takes a pretty solid machine with a good video card to get all the features, however unlike There.com you can adjust a lot of the video quality settings like any good 3D game. This is not a game however. There is no prize at the end and you don't have to maintain a character or earn anything. Just have fun.

The downside? There is no voice and like I said above the vehicles kinda suck to use.
I hardly even notice.

   This is me in SecondLife

NEW*
There

There.com is way kewl. It's about the latest thing out there. Basically a game engine turned into a multi-user universe. They like to still call it a game I guess because there are some things you can compete at but it is not necessary nor do you have to build a character. You can hang out and party or cruise around on a Hoverboard (yup) or many other rides. The vehicles are the best in this place. There are races and parties and places to explore. Quests to go on, prizes to win and general fun all around which can be had cheap or free if you work at it.

If the design part is your thing you can retexture objects they already have or build many of your own to submit. All for a fee of course. Which lately is kinda steep IMHO. And the market in There is kinda flooded. You can buy play money, tBux, to use in game if you want to get stuff, clothes, vehicles, home, furnishings, etc, or you can create and sell and make your own money. They have like an EBay.

It seems to be a family oriented place also. No sex whatsoever except you can make the avs kiss so it's pretty safe for the kids. Everyone handles their kiddies differently however so don't take my word for it, go and see!
I got pretty heavy into it for a while but I came from the other worlds below where building things interested me more and could be done 'in game'. I got kinda bored after I was all raced out here. They still add new features fairly often and I still like the place so I'll keep up my subscription for the time being. I recommend it for some big fun but for me after about a year, it's kinda old.

Oh yeah, there is a subscription. There is a minimal one for like $5 a year with no extras. Then you can step up into different accounts where they include a few tBux in with the account. Other addons include Voice, which works really well if your on broadband, a music channel sort of like a Shoutcast player thing, and what they call the Explorer Pack. I recommend the Explorer pack with any membership right away. You get a compass and maps to use. Why this is not default, I don't know. Eventually get voice too. The add on price is cheap and 'one time' so once you have it you keep it.

You'll need a pretty good machine with this also and a microphone for voice. They don't let you alter settings very much to compensate for a poor machine.

  This is me in There!

Blaxxun's Contact

-OK, this was a good thing, using Contact (or in Java), you can buy a virtual house, even earn virtual cash and become part of a society. For instance, holding a job, you can be a leader of a group, or a builder of worlds. This is apparantly more serious than the other ventures. The URL is www.cybertown.com . Once you get there "immigrate", use my name "Justen" as a reference. Then read the FAQ, the News, and come by my house by changing the URL (once your logged in) to www.cybertown.com/home/Justen, and leave me a message. I'd love to hear from you.

This is the avatar I use there. I made this myself. 

****ALSO****
PointWorlds

PointWorld
Click here if you have Contact installed
Click here if you don't

This one's pretty good. It allows you to build your own as well as interact. There are many worlds you can choose from to visit with a variety of styles, depending on the builder. You can use the client as a guest forever with limited avatar choice or pay a small fee and reserve your own spaces and name. Also it enables you to set "contacts" and message between worlds. It is a stand-alone browser, but Internet Explorer is recommended.

This is the avatar I use there mostly.*

***Addon***
Avatar98

OK, this deserves mention.
You have to read the book, and meet the people, but this rocked. I mean, people from all over the planet came together for Avatars98. I was here in Active Worlds, which is where this was based from, also in Traveler(tho as of this writing I have no screen shots), and Colony City(of which I have too many to even be interested in posting) all at the same time.
Everybody was there. This is was what it is all about. I re-met people I had FORGOTTEN about a year ago. Also, lots of new people everywhere.
Bruce Damer and his crew did an awesome job. They even ran a live video feed of themselves and all the other worlds they visited, on a billboard and a video site in Active Worlds

In-flippin-credible

PICS you say? Got just(en) what the doctor ordered (use your back button 'til I get more time to do it right)
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