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.
Haven’t been getting new posts so I’m updating my information
Words cannot take away the sadness, and words can never encapsulate the happiness. For those of you having a happy time, a sad time, or a just being time, I send HUGS.
☯🎍Thx very much for inclusion in the groovy Friday Feature!
…& as usual, solid respects & intellectual appreciation on appropriate perspectives of life🎍☯👌🏽
Losing my granddaughter 4 weeks ago has been the hardest grief my family has had, life won’t ever be the same, or living, my thoughts go out to your friend, looking at life and living in a new way, 1 day at a time.
So very sorry for your loss. It just isn’t meant to be that way.
Thanks Patric, appreciated
I am sorry to hear about your friend’s loss. It always more tragic when a parent has to deal with the loss of one of their children. My thoughts are with your friend even though I don’t know her.
I give my congratulations to you and your family on the birth of your grandson and hope you have a brilliant time on your visit when you get to meet him for the first time. I wouldn’t bet on him having worked out on his sleep routine just yet, but at least he’s not been calle
Should have finished – at least he’s not been called Louis.
Lol! True!
And thank you for the kind words.
Keep up the great work, cant wait to see what’s next! I have hopes though….. maybe my neighbor?
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend’s son
Congrats on your grandson, and condolences to you and your friend as well.
Can’t agree more on the life being precious thing….been more thoughtful of that myself since walking out of my own wreck on April 2nd. Car was totalled. Radiator pushed back a foot…and I walked away with bruises and a bruised hand and some sprained/strained ligaments in the same hand…no breaks, no legal injuries….really eye opening.
Nothing like a glimpse of what could be to make you appreciate what is!
Yuppers
Patric, I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend’s son. I can’t imagine her agony but know her family and friends will be her comfort. To the other end of the spectrum, congratulations on the birth of your grandson! There is nothing like that “new baby smell”!
Gonna be gettin’ me some baby smell in few days! My hope is that he gets his sleep routine down a bit before I get there!
Congratulations on your grandson,but I am sorry for your friends loss.life is precious.
Wow, some serious 3D designs, they certainly take up a lot of items but they looks really creative, I would like to try to use one of these concepts but I think I’d need to item limit to increase before I can! I love the use of hedges to create steps!
So sorry to hear about your friend’s son. Just awful.
Congratulations on the birth of your grandson. Enjoy every second with him!
I will do so…and thanks!
On a separate and far less important note, I had to eliminate much of my 3-D art because of item limits. I do have some left, especially in Krustyland, but miss the ones I demolished when I was out of land or having issues with the items limit. My neighbor njscorpio16 has some really cool, unique 3D stuff. If you’re reading this post, njscorpio, send some pics!
Thanks for the kind words, pickles! I’ll do my best to get some shots to Patric and let him take a gander. I appreciate all of my neighbors and this great site!