Virtual Vikki and Disky's Clothing

Amazing was the first word that came to mind when I first logged on to the new online community called There. http://www.there.com This virtual world (or metaverse) is still under construction and is currently in a beta testing phase. The second word which came to mind was addiction. I was hooked almost immediately. It should carry a warning about it's addictive nature. Just like in the cartoon Futurama whose favorite soft drink is called Slurm, this 'game' for the lack of a better word needs an advertising slogan like "There! It's highly addictive!"

It is not really a game, though it has elements similar to many online roleplaying games. Probably the most similar one would be The Sims Online, but that is the only reference point I have to describe this evolving online community. Perhaps a better reference point would be Adventureland in the popular Disney theme park. Many elements of the environment seem similar. Perhaps a Club Med? All of these have things in similar with There. The main setting seems to be a trpopical island where the weather is always ideal and it is always daytime! This makes a nice change from The Sims Online where night comes all too often.

Here are some things which There seems to be.

• A virtual chat environment which allows you to customize avatars with clothing and accessories.
• A skill based game where you advance skill through levels and receive rewards.
• A nice friendly social environment where you can hold various events.
• A place where you can race vehicles like dune buggies and hoverbaords or have fights with paintball guns.
• A place where users can create and market their own clothings and object designs.
• A heck of a lot of fun!

I am amazed by the kindness and openness of this online community. It reminds me of the early days of Yiffnet IRC chat network when most of the inhabitants were friendly. On my first day there a nice... what are they called anyhow? THEREians? THERErs?.. gave me a nice custom set of clothes so that I did not look so much like a newbie. I forgot to note down her name, but they are very nice and I still wear them often! The title picture to the left shows me wearing that purple shirt and the slightly torn jeans. While we are on that subject all the people start out with a white t-shirt and a pair of brown pants. It tends to make all the new arrivals look a bit like early Australian prison outfits. The program still has lots of issues to be resolved but it is very stable and works quite well! Heck this beta version is better than a lot of 'finished' software I have bought in the past!

This new section dealis with Public Beta 3 and represents my second page in this journal. I will start a new version sometime in late August as well. Links to older pages will be added to the top of this page.

PB3 started up with huge expectations follwing a period of withdrawal symptoms. One of the nicest additions whas that of bars. These allow a large corwd to communicate at the same time. Anouther cool beature was that dogs and people could actually wanl on the bar top. However the function of bartending has been been finished yet. A way cool addition to a great program.

Disky's custom racing bike outfit was approved. It was really sharp and looked great. I got the stinger hoverbike ont eh first day of PB3. It was nice not to fall off a hovering vehicle all the time. However the speed was a lot slower than I thought it would be.

A lawsuit waiting to happen!
A lot of the buggies suddenly had a problem. Thier windows turned black. Wubbly came over to see what the fuss was all about. Personal having windows you want see out of sounds like a Microsoft product to me!

Hoveboats!
These giant toads of the air were added in PB3 as well. They look like a fish., they move like a fish, they steer like a cow! A great way to take people on tours of There though!

Disky has been having fun in There as well. She has completed her Student Driver buggy. Her last step was to get persmission for several people to use thier name and image on the vehicle.

PB3 has some wierd flaws. Dead Sid discovered some problems with being really fat and the male jackets. Ponder noticed that this chair in the explore's longue was invisible from some angles

Doh!

Hoverpacking skills were rewarded with some cool prizes. At the Neophite level you get a nice ear ring. And at the Novice level you get a pari of shiny sunglasses!

I entered a fun race around Caraniego island. I think I came in fourth or third. It was interesting as it was a puzzle based race.

PB3 suffered a first form several server outages form one problem or another. This was to be expected in a beta. However every time Krystal tried to schedule the Meet the Members Choice Winners chat show the server would go down! This happened several times. By the time the event finally happened few people were on There and almost no one came to the event. This was in sharp contrast to the awards assembly which had 15+ people waiting outside.

AquaLoco showed me this cool bug which lets you stick your drink in someone else's face!

The incoming class of Papua was way cool! A super nice gorup of people. Whatie took to There right away forming a club the first night! By the following week she had hosted more than even events!

Meanwhile.. back at Karuna...

Disky discovers that they have really rased the 'no fly' zone's upper limits way up into the stratosphere! So dropping buggues in Karuna plaza became a bit more difficult.

I held my first event in There. A follwup party to one of the Papua events. It went well, but even though many people came and went during th event There sent me an e-mail saying zero people attened. I have no idea why. Several people signed up and even waled in through the door too! Oh well

I wash honored to be selected as a Featured Person on the people page for my Stylemaker outfits. Disky and latinPrice wwere also featured!

I held my first not party event in There. A whirlwhind tour of interesting sites to see in There.

There Monitor

Beware her mighty wrath as it is grape flavored!