Diomita Maurer’s Blog

I came across The Wastelands once again looking up scoop.it SL Destinations. I admit, that I’m surprised what corners of Second Life I haven’t seen yet or even more never heard about. The Wastelands is huge, a full moderate region with several homesteads connected to it. I first wanted to create an overview map but then it was simple to large.

The landing is in an underground bunker where you can get some information and more. The Wastelands is an apocalyptic residential area. It exists for over 12 (!) years (and I never heard about it before!). Once you leave the bunker and enter the daylight you’ll see that The Wastelands consists of ruined shops, makeshift homes, broken buildings, sand-strewn streets, and rusting, twisted tracks of a long-abandoned railroad. I thought I could grab an information notecard but you get even more, if you’re interested. The Wastelands have an own wiki.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (1)

The Wastelands is owned by NeoBokrug Elytis who says about himself: “I’m the estate owner of The Wastelands, but I’d rather think of myself as it’s curator instead. After all, it’s the residents who create the place, I just manage it and it’s community.“

Being a bit lazy and overwhelmed by the information available about The Wastelands, I’ll just quote some essential paragraphs from the main page of the Wastelands wiki.

“In our parched deserts, rocky expanses, and rank swamps, you’ll find beautifully ruined buildings, precarious shacks, and mysterious assemblages of abandoned material, most of it created by the people who live here. From hidden underground bunkers to teetering swamp huts on stilts, from burnt-out vehicles to nomad’s tents, from helicopter concert stages to trap-ridden combat pits to ball courts to trade posts to working drive-in movie theaters, The Wastelands is filled with creative, detailed constructions.”

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (2)

“Perhaps the most famous and popular feature of The Wastelands, however, is the combat and salvage game. After “purchasing” and wearing your 100% free Wastelands HUD (remark: you can get it in the bunker where you arrive), you can scavenge the land for crates containing useful scrap. This scrap can be taken to the Salvage Machines, where — if you lay down a valid combination of items — it combines them into one new item. These new items can be combined as well, meaning Wastelanders can craft complex recipes for weapons, armor, belts, and more.”

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (3)

Although roleplay might be the heart of The Wastelands, it is not obligatory. In fact upon arriving I was welcomed by a greeting bot who explicitly invited me also jsut to visit for taking pictures or for getting an inpression about the The Wastelands. If you join the roleplay though, remember that using weapons or similar items that aren’t made within The Wastelands isn’t allowed.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (4)

I wandered about an hour over The Wastelands and I was lost soon. There’s way too much to see and discover, hence what I got was just a tiny first impression. The buildings, the tents, the camps, everthing is build with love for the (apocalyptic) detail. Some places did make me smile, like the fish store, that really stood out or the apocalyptic McDonalds. There’re several stages for events. And the sound and the music channel changes constantly as you cross the different plots. It was really fun to see this all.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (5)

Combat roleplays are not my cup of tea and I don’t find enough time to really get into roleplays with a specific background and rules. But The Wastelands is worth seeing it and offeres unlimited backgrounds and views for intriguing pictures. I really enjoyed my short visit and am happy that I now know about The Wastelands. Thank you, NeoBokrug Elytis, for being the estate owner and for curating The Wastelands. It must be a lot of work!

Landmark to The Wastelands
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Wastelands/135/151/66
The Wastelands wiki
http://wiki.the-wastelands.org/index.php?title=Main_Page