Day: November 11, 2019

UPDATED: Frank’s Entertainment Group Is Shutting Down Frank’s Jazz Club and the Rest of Its Locations in Second Life After 13 Years

I just learned today that one of my favourite go-to places in Second Life, Frank’s Jazz Club (a.k.a. Frank’s Place), is shutting its doors for good on November 23rd, 2019. This news comes as a bit of a surprise to me, because Frank’s was still one of more popular clubs in Second Life, with a good crowd most evenings. Frank’s was famous for insisting on a strict formal dress code (tuxedos or suits for the men and long gowns for the women); if you showed up in jeans and a T-shirt, you were quickly ushered out the door, politely but firmly, by whatever host or hostess was on duty. The name is a bit of a misnomer; Frank’s actually played much more adult contemporary and easy-listening music than actual jazz.

And not just Frank’s Jazz Club is closing, but all the enterprises operating under the umbrella of Frank’s Entertainment Group (FEG):

  • Frank’s Elite Jazz Club (a separate, members-only club)
  • Bogart’s Jazz Club (a competing club bought by FEG and operating in the Galleria shopping mall adjoining Frank’s Jazz Club)
  • Chateau d’Elite Restaurant (a roleplay high-end restaurant)
  • The Galleria shopping mall (covering two sims)

In a notecard sent out to her Frank’s Elite group members, FEG founder Nanceee Sinatra-Dante explains why she is closing up shop:

I enter into a new chapter in my life. I have found joy in real life, yes, from a relationship I made here in FEG. Eric and I are now fully together in real life and expect to marry in the coming months. We enter real life with great expectations for the future. It is a future bright in both of our minds and hearts. Because of my desire to fully experience the real life we are creating, we have decided to close FEG in the coming weeks. This has been a difficult decision for all of the reasons expressed above, but it is with a realization that there is only so much time in a day.

FEG’s last official business day will be November 23, 2019. We have en amazing 2 final days planned and hope you can join us as we go out with a “bang”.

I offer my congratulations to Nanceee on having a Second Life relationship successfully carry over into her real life! And keep your eyes peeled for announcements of wind-up events during these final two weeks of operation. A quick glance at the Second Life Map shows that all three of Frank’s Jazz Club, Bogart’s and Frank’s Elite are busy tonight!

Frank’s faithful clientele will no doubt move on to other clubs. But it does indeed mark the end of an era. (Personally, I am hoping for a few clearance sales at the stores in The Galleria shopping mall!)

UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 2019: It has been announced that Frank’s Elite Jazz club will continue operations after the rest of the venues run by Frank’s Entertainment Group shut down, running under a new proprietor. This is good news, and I look forward to future visits!

UPDATED! VRChat Maps Discord Server: A Directory for Finding Cool Worlds to Explore in VRChat

Stair Hall in VRChat: A procedurally-generated maze of staircases.
Can you reach the prize in the glass cabinet, tantalizingly out of reach?

With over 50,000 user-created worlds, there is just so much to see in VRChat. However, there is no in-world directory, and you have to rely on using keyword search to find worlds to explore, which admittedly is not ideal. What’s really needed is some sort of directory broken down by category (something I am surprised has not been added to VRChat yet).

However, VRChat user CatRazor has created a very useful Discord server called VRChat Maps, which is described as follows:

CatRazor here, I made this place to sort out the maps of VRChat into categories in case someone is looking for something specific. These maps are personally picked out by me, I believe these maps are worth a visit and you will not regret it!

#adventure-maps – Maps with an objective, such as escape rooms, boss battles and etc.

#club-and-dance-maps – Dance to your heart’s content!

#exploration-maps – Maps where you can enjoy beautiful sights and seek out secrets.

#festive-maps – Maps to celebrate the holidays!

#game-maps – PVP/Game maps.

#hang-out-maps – Usually small maps where you can enjoy conversations with friends.

#horror-maps – As the name entails, not for the faint of heart.

#sleep-maps – Good places for sleepy time, make sure you use a private world for these to not be woken up.

#unique-concept-maps – Maps designed to show off cool mechanics.

For example, here is the entry for the Stair Hall world, found in the -concept-maps channel. Basically, it’s a snapshot of the entry under the Worlds menu:

The world itself, Stair Hall, is a maddening maze of procedurally-generated staircases leading up and down as far as the eye can see, with your goal being to reach an elusive prize in a glass cabinet.

The only problem with this directory of cool places to visit is that it is in Discord, outside your VR headset! So you’ll have to go back and forth in order to use it. Either that, or use the VRChat Maps Discord first, in order to draw up a list of some interesting places to see, noting down the keywords to search under Worlds, then go in-world to explore.

Other ways to find cool worlds to explore are to check out the #world-showcase channel on the VRChat Community Discord, or the #favorite-worlds channel on the VRChat Events Discord. There’s also a Showcase forum on the VRCat user discussion forums for people to share worlds.

Happy exploring!

UPDATE Nov. 12th: A commenter on the VRChat subReddit told me about The World of VRChat, a website directory for VRChat worlds that I did not know about before. The website is in Japanese, but if you turn on Google auto-translate, it works well. Thank you, Warhorse07!

Video: I Take Vbunny on a Guided Tour of Sansar

I had mentioned earlier on this blog that I had taken a YouTuber and VR game vlogger/livestreamer named Vbunny on a guided tour of Sansar.

Well, Vbunny has posted a 15-minute video of her experience in Sansar:

It was posted just 18 hours ago and it already has 828 views, which is pretty impressive! Enjoy.

Remembrance Day: Pictures From A Return Visit to Remembrance Island in Fortnite

Photo by Laurentiu Iordache on Unsplash

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
      In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
      In Flanders fields.

—In Flanders Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD

As it turns out, when I first visited Remembrance Island in Fortnite (the custom island built for the Royal Canadian Legion to commemorate Remembrance Day, November 11th), there was a software bug which had the lighting permanently set to nighttime, which of course made it difficult to take pictures!

This bug has since been fixed, so here are some photographs I took of Remembrance Island on a return visit. There are eight environments to visit in total, following the trail of red poppies:

  • trenches from the First World War,
  • the Pool of Peace,
  • the Vimy Ridge Memorial,
  • the Battle of Ypres,
  • D-Day on the Beaches of Normandy,
  • a ruined town to show the liberation of Europe,
  • Hill 355 from the Korean conflict,
  • and a sandy landscape depicting Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

A small section of the island to the west of the towering Vimy Ridge Memorial presents information about the Canadian soldiers’ experiences in the Korean War, where 516 Canadians died serving their country:

And there is an area which recreates the recent Canadian mission in Afghanistan, where 158 soldiers lost their lives:

At the end of exploring the island and learning about Canada’s war history, you arrive at a virtual recreation of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, with row upon row upon row of soldiers’ graves.

This is a sobering and moving experience, which I do recommend you pay a visit to, in order to be reminded of the sacrifices made by so many soldiers, beginning in World War I and up to the present day. Lest we forget.