By Klaus Bereznyak
In an exciting announcement last week, Yavanna Llanfair announced to the Pod Rider's Group that a new pod route was being trialed between the Corfeld pod station on Corsica and the DeMorgan pod station on Gaeta V.
Yavanna said, "At the moment, the pod is running in the Route Maintenance livery, as this route is a long way from completion! It will remain on-demand only unless we can get LL to change parcel flags in the channel between continents."
Any extension to the network of yavascript pod tours, created and maintained by Yavanna, is great news for mainland explorers in Second Life. That this one rides across and between two continents is particular cause for celebration. The route passes through some fascinating areas with much to see and, of course, includes a tranquil boat ride through open waters.
The tour currently runs only in one direction, starting at Corfeld, and taking in part of the Circuit de Corse, Corsica's famous, island-wide racetrack.
Speed can be adjusted by pressing the [Page Up] or [Page Down] keys. My preference is to go at about 40% speed, which gives time for the scenery to rez and be enjoyed. At this pace the whole trip took about an hour and a half.
Shortly after departing Corfeld, the tour passes through Laika's Village and wild animals can be seen in enclosures on both sides of the road. A long slope then leads to a shopping complex in Brendon, where the skyline is dominated by an enormous GRAM robot.
On the bridge at Fisher's Rest, the pod turns into a boat and this was the only point on the route where a little jump was experienced, presumably to get round a local obstacle. Apart from that there was really no sense that the tour was in beta.
With environment set to local default, however, throughout the route it was obvious that the introduction of EEP (the Environmental Enhancement Project, which gives region and parcel owners more control over windlight settings) has given rise to inconsistencies in the time of day from sim to sim, and this messes with the natural immersiveness of mainland travel.
The next leg of the journey is a lovely ride out into the bay and between the headlands at Jemmica. There are views of the seaboard communities that are rarely glimpsed except by sailors.
The lighthouse at Debelox is virtually the last glimpse of Corsican mainland before open waters are reached.
The western coast of Gaeta V comes into sight after a short crossing, but the pod skirts north and follows it for a bit, eventually coming in to a narrow channel at Zeord. This is actually an open water canal segment of Route 7, served by various docks maintained by LDPW. Waterside residences crowd the shores of the channel up to Sunspiral Rez Zone, where the pod turns into a road vehicle again and continues on Route 7.
There's not a lot of abandoned land on this side of Gaeta, but plenty of evidence of ongoing development in the characteristically chaotic style of Second Life Mainland.
Traffic cones narrowing the road around Putnam suggest that LDPW is also active in the area as well as signaling the approach of the end of the tour in DeMorgan.
On alighting at the Yavascript Pod Station in Demorgan you are right alongside an intriguing, brand new citadel that announces itself as the New Home of the leSabre Press Blogs. Built on land acquired on the 15th of February this year, this looks like an extensive work in progress worth exploring.
This pod route will be a marvellous addition to the variety of scripted vehicle experiences in Second Life and will hopefully open up some unsung corners of the mainland to more exploration and development. Many thanks to Yavanna!
Corfeld Pod Station: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Corfeld/248/62/71
For more on the Yava Script Pods: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Yava_Script_Pods
Klaus Bereznyak
