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World Review: AlphaWorld
Main
Review
Compatible with Operating Systems:
World Status: Lingering Demise
AlphaWorld is the oldest of the ActiveWorlds based worlds. Around ten years old at the time of writing this review, its residents often boast of it as the oldest and first ever virtual reality experience. Aside from this claim being grandiose hogwash, it was the original ActiveWorlds experience and so does have claim to fame in that, lesser, title. AlphaWorld is an artist?s 3D environment with a square landmass, sixty-five kilometres to a side. This gives it four thousand, two hundred and twenty five square kilometres of land ? more than some countries. All of this land is open for ActiveWorlds? paying members to build upon, almost anything they desire. AlphaWorld then preserves those creations for all to see, for all time (in theory). Even at ten years old, with a quarter million visitors to date, and no limit on the size of area you may build upon, AlphaWorld has still not run out of room, or come close to running out. Sadly, whilst AlphaWorld has had a quarter million visitors, these days you are lucky to see forty online at once. In such a massive world, this means you are prone to long journeys for hours without ever meeting anyone. Worse, you take these journeys past builds which in many cases, have been deserted by their owners, often abandoned for years. Most of the older ones are starting to decay as some of the objects they were made up of, are no-longer around and so gaping holes appear in their construction. Others link to long-expired websites for image files and so you see nothing but static where a picture should really be. Because the world is so huge, and lacking any central government, a great many styles of landscape are evident across the world, including massive seas and oceans that have been laid, tile by tile for miles in all directions by some dedicated member. Some notable galleries do exist, scattered throughout the world, and offering the constructional and modelling talents of some very dedicated artists, and coders. However, that is all they are, galleries. The level of interaction, and genuine feeling of community is absent in most areas.
In fact, the vast majority of AlphaWorld feels like being backstage with the props. Mile after mile of nothing but stage props and beautiful, but empty fascia boards.
Sub Reviews
For some, its the thrill of discovery, the freedom to strike out, to pioneer. Whether its mapping new lands, or exploring unknown fields of endeavour, to be first, to boldly go, this is what explorers live for. Four thousand, two hundred and twenty five square kilometres of explorable land, with three hundred million discrete 3D models, used Lego-style to build a bewildering array of different constructs. Towns, cities, seas, grandiose transport networks, farms, museums, medieval castles, Saxon villages, Roman villas, underground labyrinths, temples, churches, flying saucers, floating metropolis, you name it, its here. You could literally spend a year or more just wandering, and probably not see it all.
The social life is the life for you. To chat, to roam, to gossip all day, and chatter all night. You are the heart of the party, and you are the soul. The drive to chatter, the need to gossip, stretching out, making connections, mind against mind, heart against heart. It keeps you going, it keeps you sane. Not a highly populated environment, AlphaWorld has the capacity for lots and lots of people, but in actuality you tend to find groups of between two and ten at any given location. Unless you know these locations ? with the exception of the place you first arrive ? you may find yourself wandering for a long time.
Client OS:Win 2K, Win 98, Win 2K, Win 2K
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