Six years ago, two aircraft enthusiasts by the names of Cubey Terra and Apotheus Silverman set the foundations for a futuristic airport known as Abbotts Aerodrome. Over subsequent years, the aerodrome grew and so did the group of volunteers, builders, designers and sellers. The goal: to have fun in the sky and promote flight and aerosports in SL.
Now it's 2010, and we're six years old. To celebrate, we're hosting a design contest -- the third design contest in Abbotts history. The first contest challenged aircraft makers to build an original design aircraft from the Terra plane kit. The second contest asked designers to create a lunar lander. This, the third contest, is in a similar vein...
CAN YOU DESIGN AN ORBITER VEHICLE?
Objective: Design and build an earth orbit vehicle as well as its launch and re-entry method.
This means designing potentially two vehicles: a launch vehicle as well as the orbiter itself. Alternatively, maybe your orbiter is capable of achieving orbit on its own without assistance. Or perhaps it's launched into orbit by a ground launch device, like a cannon or track, for example.
PRIZES
All entries will be judged by a panel of hand-picked SL aeronautics and aerospace enthusiasts.
FIRST PRIZE: L$6000 and six months of free display/sales space at Abbotts Aerodrome.
SECOND PRIZE: L$3000 and five Terra brand products of the winner's choice.
THIRD PRIZE: L$1000 and a JSA Airfield Kit by Jim Perhaps.
Winners will be announced in a presentation at 12:00 noon (SL time) on Sunday.
CRITERIA
Your orbiter vehicle or vehicles do not necessarily have to be scripted. Unscripted entries are welcome.
Your design must effectively represent: How the vehicle is launched and achieves earth orbit. How the vehicle survives atmospheric re-entry. How the vehicle lands or splashes down.
Set up a display model of your orbiter vehicle (and launch method or launch vehicle) for the weekend of February 27/28 in Abbotts.
Each vehicle (orbiter and optional launch vehicle) must be NO MORE THAN 31 PRIMS. Sculpted prims are allowed.
Scale models are permitted where there isn't room to display your full-size design.
Provide a notecard describing how your orbiter works, how it reaches orbit, as well as how it might re-enter and land. We're not necessarily looking for realism: science-fiction solutions to achieving orbit are perfectly acceptible (anti-grav units, anyone?), though if you propose technology that doesn't exist, you will need to go into more detail in describing how, for example, your orbiter generates an anti-gravity field. Please use a notecard dispenser.
Each entry must be created by the person who built it. So no buying an orbiter on Xstreet, for example, and submitting that.
Team entries are allowed, but must be entered under one person's name. If the entry wins, any prizes go to that individual.
ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON OR TEAM.
HOW TO ENTER
Starting on Friday, February 26, bring your display model to Abbotts Aerodrome. We will provide display pads for each submission. Simply pay the pad a nominal L$5 non-refundable entry fee to claim it. (The entry fee is to discourage non-serious entries.)
Deadline: 12:00 noon (SL time) on Saturday, Feb. 27. Empty pads will be deleted even if claimed.
Remember: We have limited space and prim allocation in Abbotts, so be sure to arrive early to claim your pad and set up your display.
My ears are burning. No wait! That's my face! AAAAAaaaaaa!!
As some readers know, I've been in contact with SL only minimally in the last couple of weeks, during which time a couple of people reported a little bit of a problem with my new Starburst colour-changing goggles. That problem, apparently, is that wearing them causes smoke to billow from your avatar's face. As strange as that issue might be, what's even stranger to me is that only two people mentioned it.
It turns out that I prepared two colour-changing scripts: one for the helmet and goggles, and the other for the smoke cannister. Guess which one I put into the goggles by mistake.
The faulty goggles aren't for sale for now. I plan to locate owners of the Starburst goggles and replace them with ones that don't catch fire. Until that happens, you can try removing the smoke script from the goggles. They won't change colour after that, but they'll be a lot safer. Sorry for the inconvenience and the singed noses.
Today I'm releasing an update to the Terra Starburst. Version 1.1 has a few improvements that you might like:
Vastly improved use of script resources to reduce effect on region lag. It should be easier to use in slow sims. Sim border crossings will be much better too.
Better steering: it's much easier to control, especially in mouselook.
Fix to flaring: vertical speed no longer reaches zero.
Removed the pilot 'chute.
Anyone buying Starburst today will receive version 1.1. Owners of version 1.0 can upgrade for free by using their parachute's Update menu.
As the Terra Starburst parachute enters the beta testing stage, I'd like to put the call out for experienced SL skydivers and BASE jumpers to put the Starburst through its paces.
All you have to do is use the rig in every scenario you can think of -- especially the strange ones -- and send me your observations in a notecard. In return, you get a free Terra Starburst 1.0 on release day (November 21).
If you're interested, contact me (Cubey Terra) in-world.
(UPDATE: I now have my five volunteers. Thanks, everyone who responded!)
After hearing sounds coming from an empty room upstairs for a couple of nights running, I decided to set up my night-vision cam in hopes of catching it. Maybe an animal was getting in through the fireplace, I thought. Instead I captured something inexplicable. Keep your eye on the shadows just behind the arm chair. I don't have any explanation for this.
Find your calendar and mark this date: Saturday, November 21. That's the day you'll get the most stylish skydiving gear SL has ever seen.
I've teamed up with designer, Dean Quihoxil, to bring you not only the new Terra Starburst sport parachute, but also a line of designer freefall fashion and skydiving accessories. (Can you tell I'm totally stoked about this?) Terra Starburst has improved flight characteristics, expanded customization (painter HUD and easier paint menu), improved target accuracy, additional stunts, and (as they say in infomercials) much, much more.
At the same time that I'm working on the new parachute scripts and HUDs, Dean is sculpting scripted helmets, goggles, and even a wingsuit. To get an idea of what wingsuits are good for, check out this video of real-life wingsuits (these guys are seriously insane).
Much work is ahead for both of us, so keep an eye on this space. We hope to see you at the release party on November 21!
Today I released an upgrade to the popular Terra Stingray amphibious jet. Version 1.1 now includes Turbo Boost. Kick in the afterburners for that extra blast of speed. But be careful... that speed comes at a cost: using afterburners eats up four times as much fuel as in regular flight.
Terra Stingray is available at the runway at Abbotts Aerodrome, on Xstreet SL, and at from any Terra Aeronautics aircraft vendor. Owners of Terra Stingray 1.0 can upgrade for free by clicking the Upgrade button in the Stingray menu.
Sometimes strange memories surface randomly of my days studying theatre at the University of BC. Such as climbing onto the roof during a cast party and not noticing that I'd planted my foot firmly in the centre of a ham and pineapple pizza because I was startled by the party-goers relieving themselves over the edge of the roof. I learned that when a party reaches the point of three-storey public urination, nobody minds a boot-print on their food. Or weirder: getting fitted with a skirt and pumps to play a guy named Daisy. It's not what you think -- I was paid for it. Oh, that makes it sound worse, doesn't it?
Anyway, that was the education that launched my career in software.
Cubey Terra
