Thank Grog It’s Firday!
It funny how fast trends and fads come and go in this age of “instant gratification.” The whole “3-D Virtual Reality” thing had a HUGE buzz right around Christmas (go figure)…and we’ve hardly heard a word about it since.
From the first patter of excitement about Oculus Rift and a huge variety of competing headsets (starting in 2012) , if you believed the hype, we were all supposed to be walking around experiencing virtual reality, overlayed with our own real-reality, by now. So, what’s the hold up? Reality.
The units are huge…uncomfortable…and in many, many cases, make the wearer nauseous. Add to this the recent “diversion of attention” by the Oculus parent company, Facebook, and you see why delays may be understandable. Go figure.
But, that doesn’t stop people from doing cheap knockoffs. I got some of the AEOSTYLE 3-d goggles this Christmas…where you put your phone into the slot, and then watch virtual reality tours of places you have never been…nor likely would go. It is fun. I get it. But, it doesn’t really represent a reality in which I would like to participate!
But, the same fad was hot in the early days of TSTO! Building 3-D out of 2-D was huge! People would spend hours “faking out the landscape” to create depth, dimension, and unique designs, with tiny bits and pieces that were re-purposed.
There are still some pretty cool artifacts around my Neighbor’s Towns…I found some to share...No 3-D Goggles required!
I have done a fair share of 3-D in my town. Mostly subtle ways to add elevation or sunken gardens. There are some amazingly complex 3-D things my neighbors do. I used to have a guy who did HUGE elaborate 3-D renderings…but, he gave up the game a while ago, most likely because of the HORRIBLE ITEM LIMITS SET BY EA!!!! It takes a lot of items to do 3-D.
Here are a handful of ways I have used placement of walls and shrubs to give the illusion of depth…as well as an obvious way to show elevation, using the waterfalls in my wilderness area.
I have a lot of “sunken gardens” in my town…
Nothing says, “Dry” like a “high desert garden” next to the Southern Cracker Factory. Dry humor?
And by stacking my waterfalls, and bringing them from my Mt. St, Helens and Spirit Lake homage, it looks like they flow downhill to the valley.
But, that is child’s play compared to some of the neighbor’s I have found, who LOVE 3-D to the Max!
Again…Freeze Frame to get a really good look. There are some fun designs here!
3D designs are the perfect way to add fun to your town, without grinding, farming, or any other form of “conforming” to what EA and TSTO hand you. It is a way to be creative, and build whatever you choose, while adding an extra dimension to 2D graphics. Creativity…it’s what keeps me coming back to TSTO...even when we are stuck in a grind-fest.
3D design, is just ONE MORE REASON TO GET RID OF ITEM LIMITS!! (But I am guessing you have heard me say that before…right EA?).
If you have a particularly amazing 3D design…please send it along to tstopatric@gmail.com and I may feature it in a future filler!
On a personal note…I have to say that this week has been a roller coaster of emotion. One of my best friends lost her son in a car accident, just a couple of days before my grandson’s birth. There is no way to rectify a “reason” behind this series of events. None. There is no “plan” that makes sense, or way to rectify it with some anecdotal rhetoric or spiritual belief.
What I will say…is that life is precious. If you spend too much of your time missing out on sharing your love with others, you have missed the point of our existence. Every life is special…fragile…and important. Embrace the notion of our “sameness” and find ways to rejoice in the miracle of our existence. Give love freely…mend rifts…celebrate every minute as a precious gift. We know when that gift begins…but have no way of knowing when or how it ends.
In short…tap less…live more.