Welcome Center: Optimum size?

[Sheera Khan]

the point is, sl, and no other commercial grid, has megas..it is not simply 9 regions, it is MEGAS...

and there is no reason whatsoever to conclude that it will get filled up at all...

anywho, I just want to see Kitely show off it's major assets...if not, that's ok also-))

As much as I understand that sentence I doubt most people coming from SL will. They haven't even heard of that term. Try to put yourself into the position of an experienced visitor from SL. He/she is used to explore whole continents by train or any other means of transportation*. Will he/she be impressed with a 3x3 megaregion? Will he/she even understand why that is so awesome? I doubt so. Users coming from Inworldz won't be impressed that much either as region crossings with vehicles are working there too. Both user groups will be much more impressed by the affordability of those clusters. Only users coming from other OpenSim based grids will understand the full potential and meaning of "megaregions". But most new visitors will be arriving from SL.

* have you visited New Caledon via airship? Did you ride a train along the coast of Linden Mainland? Did you use the Pods during the SL10B?

[Sarge Misfit]

What Sheera and Minethere say is true. I used to drive all over SL, so having a large landmass was nothing to me when I started using OpenSim. What DID impress me about megaregions was the elimination of sim boundary crap. However, that will mean nothing to SL'ers until they actually cross a sim boundary. THEN they'll notice.

Whether a 2x2 or a 3x3,, to me its about the opportunity to really show of what does make Kitely a good place. Community, welcoming spirit and fantastic builds. All the rest is impressive on an intellectual level. Its the seeing and doing that will impress.

[Constance Peregrine]

on that logic, then Kitely should not teach sl folx about OARs....and forget HG and IARs

I havent been to inwz since feb but from what i read you still cant simply walk from one region to the next as you can with a mega...without rubberbanding...vehicles are not fully operational yet either, but they are here and in opensim....i see no comparisons to be drawn with inwz at all other than kitely is much more innovative...i have no clue why anyone would even compare the two, they dont, and even think kitely is just another opensim world that is nearly not as perfect as they are...you read their forums?

As Ilan pointed out someplace, and I agree the folx coming here will be both sl AND opensim folx...and opensim folx expect much more...heck, your in Metro also Sheera.

in any case, I think this should not even be an issue and that it would be obvious, and I am beating a dead horse in a matter that really does not even much concern me...others are going to do this, whatever it is, and i will be as fine with the results as I am with the Plaza-)))

[Rikku Cosplay]

the point is, sl, and no other commercial grid, has megas..it is not simply 9 regions, it is MEGAS...

and there is no reason whatsoever to conclude that it will get filled up at all...

anywho, I just want to see Kitely show off it's major assets...if not, that's ok also-))

As much as I understand that sentence I doubt most people coming from SL will. They haven't even heard of that term. Try to put yourself into the position of an experienced visitor from SL. He/she is used to explore whole continents by train or any other means of transportation*. Will he/she be impressed with a 3x3 megaregion? Will he/she even understand why that is so awesome? I doubt so. Users coming from Inworldz won't be impressed that much either as region crossings with vehicles are working there too. Both user groups will be much more impressed by the affordability of those clusters. Only users coming from other OpenSim based grids will understand the full potential and meaning of "megaregions". But most new visitors will be arriving from SL.

* have you visited New Caledon via airship? Did you ride a train along the coast of Linden Mainland? Did you use the Pods during the SL10B?

I was impressed coming here

[Dot Macchi]

Thanks, all, for the good and lively discussion.

There does seem to be consensus that, yes, a megaregion is the way to go.

Ada originally was for a single region. Here's her post repeated, which also explains the zen garden concept.

As I'm absorbing the opinions on this:
The arguments for one sim are that it's easier to negotiate and navigate. The default view distances don't allow most people to see beyond 256m anyway. We got to keep viewer side lag down, as many new people are using much smaller devices and expecting to be able to do everything with them. yada.
OTOH
Miney's point carries, I think. The megaregions rock. My 4 year old granddaughter "got it" before I did. More space to fly around and look at stuff is better than less space.

One cool thing about a traditional zen garden, is that you can't see the whole thing at once from any one viewpoint, and that, in odd ways, is relaxing without being boring. I built a tiny one in SL in yikes 2007 I think, for a friend, and was fascinated by the visual philosophy. Once the overall layout is figured out - in a traditional one the empty space has a branch or treelike shape - then it does not take long to put it together, and limit textures. It is, however, not easy at first to focus on the empty space. Getting it right is a process, not something that can ever be done. Nice idea, Ilan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden

Then Sierra chimed in, with her 2x2 two-cents sense...

I think a 2x2 world is the maximum that should be considered. Here is why:
1) Folks from SL aren't going to be impressed with something big--they are used to huge regions, it's no biggy.
2) A 3x3 region is inevitably just going to get junked up. The temptation for people to say, "But Iiiiiiilaaaaaaan, there is so much space here! Can't we use that bit over there for this little project." I don't doubt that Ilan can stay strong, but frankly, why should he have to go through that hassle?--and eventually, most people would get worn down. If the place gets junked up again, the whole purpose of the rebuild is defeated.

It's important to keep the zen garden in mind, since that is part of the vision direction from Kitely.

[Marstol Nitely]

If you go with a 3x3 (nine region advanced megaregion), the zen garden and landing area could go into the center region. Then the surrounding areas could be used as scenic areas with water, interesting terrain and landscaping. Maybe a hidden prize or two on the other regions for those who take the time to search them out.

[Dot Macchi]

That's a good thought, Marstol. So it would be sort of like a single region concentrated build in the middle, but the surrounding regions given to landscaping/wilderness/sea?

Oh, and I had previously missed this lovely quote from Sarge Misfit:

Whether a 2x2 or a 3x3, to me its about the opportunity to really show of what does make Kitely a good place. Community, welcoming spirit and fantastic builds. All the rest is impressive on an intellectual level. It's the seeing and doing that will impress.

[Paul Wilson]

If you are doing a 3 x 3 region for the welcome area, then it would be better to put the landing area in one of the centre edge locations. This is because it will help to orient people in the virtual space as they would perceive it more as coming from an edge into the larger region.

With a central region as the landing area, then the users will have to orient themselves to the grid layout (north, south,...) before they can construct or use their mental map of the place. Using an centre edge as the landing area, they will orient their mental map to the direction they have to initially travel from the landing area.

Even as an experienced VW user, when I enter a new world, it can take a few seconds to orient myself and start building and using the mental map. A new user will take longer to orient themselves, and that period of confusion can have a big impact on how the user sees all virtual worlds. It only takes a few seconds for someone to form an opinion (regardless of the opinion being right or wrong), if those critical few seconds are spent in confusion (that can last for minutes or longer), they will come away from that experience thinking that virtual worlds are confusion and will likely not return.

There has been some study on how people navigate (in real worlds and virtual), and the mental mapping is a critical aspect of navigation. Orientation, Distant Landmarks, Local Landmarks and Differing styles (even just different colours) just to name a few aspects that need to be considered to allow people to create and use a mental map to navigate through an environment.

[Dot Macchi]

If you are doing a 3 x 3 region for the welcome area, then it would be better to put the landing area in one of the centre edge locations. This is because it will help to orient people in the virtual space as they would perceive it more as coming from an edge into the larger region.

Thank you for that insight, Paul.

That suggests that it might be helpful to go for a 2x2 megaregion, to help people orient themselves (all regions are at the edge). Yes?

[Constance Peregrine]

If you are doing a 3 x 3 region for the welcome area, then it would be better to put the landing area in one of the centre edge locations. This is because it will help to orient people in the virtual space as they would perceive it more as coming from an edge into the larger region.

Thank you for that insight, Paul.

That suggests that it might be helpful to go for a 2x2 megaregion, to help people orient themselves (all regions are at the edge). Yes?

Maybe I am getting to much tunnel vision here...lol...but I read his comment to suggest a 3x3 is a good idea, and one in which I agree, as do others.

Do I need new glasses? why yes, I do....

Is there any problem with having a 3x3 mega that I am missing here???