Road Trip

 

I got a new car this week.  It is totally unnecessary in SL, but I got it anyway.  It all started when Dorie announced that she was hired to teach a SL class on customizing the Toyota Scion.  Prior to the time she gave the actual class, she did a lot of changing and customizing the look of the car. 

 

I attended one of the first classes and got my car.  I have one other car in my inventory, but it is too big for rat.  After sitting in this car the first time, I determined that it fit the rat perfectly.  The HUD made it easy to change colors.  I could hardly wait for class to be over.  I don’t care about customizing, I wanted to drive.  I knew who was behind the development of this car and I figured it would be fun to drive.

 

After class I teleported to the Hobo place which is situated along the old brick road.  The trip went from bad to worse.  I had a hard time staying on the road.  I sunk in the road.  I crashed into a building.  I disappeared. My computer crashed.  After logging back in, the car was in lost and found.

 

The next morning I took the car for a spin at a place that sold houses.  The land was flat.  I crashed a few times but nothing serious.  But, since it was Wednesday, and the
Linden monkeys needed time to bang around, I returned to the real world.  I drove the mini van and, in spite of the snow and ice, didn’t crash.

 

That brings me to today.  I have so many projects going, that I decided to go for a road trip instead of working.  That is a basic ratatude, you know, part of rat ADD.  Dorie wanted me to let her know how things went so she could give her students hints on driving.  That gave me a cover up for my laziness.

 

So here are some of my tips for taking a Road Trip in Second Life.  Before I continue, those who know me in real life know that I worked for AAA in domestic travel.  I plotted out trips on maps, made hotel reservations and made suggestions for sight seeing.  My favorite vacation is packing up the mini van and heading south west.  Travel is different in SL.  You don’t have many roads.  Gas stations aren’t needed.  But, using a form of transportation in SL that is common in RL is a fun but different experience.

 

The first problem is getting onto the road.  Governor Linden, who owns the public roads, does not permit you to rez prims on them.  I flew above the properties next to the road until I found a place that did not ban building.  I rezzed the Scion, sat in it, edited it and placed it on the road with me in it.  Sometimes when I did this the car wouldn’t run.  I found that if I stood up and then sat back in it, it worked.  It seems strange that once a car is on the road, it will stay there, even if you aren’t attached.  Once I crashed, and before relogging, cleared my cache.  The car was still there when I returned. 

 

Crossing sim lines can be exciting.   I would move slowly across the borders but would often find myself and the car beneath ground level.  I learned if I didn’t move and just waited I would soon be back on the top of the road and ready to move on.  I kept my mini map showing.  I had to move the HUD so I could read both.

 

I learned it is easier to drive the car while in mouse look.  Relogging will help with car performance.  You can’t talk and drive at the same time.  And, watch out for hitchhikers, they don’t wait for an invitation to ride, they just jump in. 

 

I enjoyed today’s road trip.  But now I would like to modify my car just a bit.  It needs to look more like Rat’s car.  I hadn’t listened during Dorie’s class, so I started to ask her about things and she told me to join the class again.  I have until February 8^th.  I guess I’ll just have to go back.  I’ll try sneaking in the back door; maybe she won’t see me.