MindStar9 has posted the third part of her Picture Review of Next Island.
Once you are done reading and looking at the pictures, leave a short comment with your thoughts about the progression of Next Island as a Planet Partner in the Entropia Universe.
Here is the re-post of her Review.
MindStar9 Explores Next Island - Part 3
"Neverdie's Playground"
(Club NEVERDIE 2 Theme Park)
My exploration of Next Island so far has covered the new player arrival area, as well as the mainland area, and as reported, I really enjoyed the experience. Next Island is nothing short of beautiful for sure, with a uniqueness that was quite refreshing. Part 3 takes me to the Neverdie playground area in the far southeast portion of the planet, and quite frankly, I wasn't sure what to expect based on shared experiences from others since Next Island was released in Dec 2010.
As with any project that I take on and write about, it's always been a no exception practice to be objective not only in my approach, but with my reporting as well - regardless of personal opinion. I went into this experience with an open mind, and actually had great anticipation as to what I would find based on what I had already experienced. I wasn't disappointed.
As a special note - Part 3 will be presented in two posts prior to the additional photo posts due to the extensive amount of content as only 20 photos are allowed in each post. I found myself exploring certain areas more and the report is more complete with the complementary photos that help tell the story.
* * * * * * * * *
When I finished my exploration of the Next Island mainland, I went to a quaint little beach location to log out because it seemed the closest place to launch from on the next leg of my adventure to Neverdie's playground. This little beach area was nicely secluded and surrounded by a lush landscape, along with the sand and shore of course, where only a wandering Papoo or maybe Boar might cruise the area, but nothing of major consequence. They're always good for a chat until they get mouthy, and then of course it's necessary to take care of business, but I didn't have time for idle chit chat, because I was off to explore once again. After launching the StarShip9, I was on my way.
ERUPTION TIME TRAVELERS CLUB
I headed for the NNW section of the island area having no idea whatsoever what I would run into. I had my list of teleporters to acquire with names of course, so I kind of followed a pattern as to what route I wanted to take. However, we all know how that can turn out at times - best laid plans, etc.
As I got close, I entered an area called Mt. Pele, and the first thing I thought of was the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii (Kona) and the volcano Goddess Pele, Goddess of Fire. I used to live in Hawaii for a while in the 90's on
Oahu in the capital city of Honolulu. Island hopping is a must, and one of the most exciting adventures you can take is a helicopter ride to explore the volcano - it's absolutely breathtaking.
Pele is described in ancient Hawaiian chants as "She Who Shapes The Sacred Land" - and known as passionate, volatile and capricious. It is said she dwells in the crater of the volcano and has been sending ribbons of fiery lava down the mountainside and adding new land to the southeastern shore almost continuously since 1983.
Snapping out of my nostalgic side trip, I was approaching the Mt. Pele area and definitely had it in my mind that this was going to be a volcano environment for sure, so I got a bit excited.
As I got lost in thought again, I saw what seemed to be glowing orange, and immediately envisioned the unveiling of a volcano, but as I got closer, I could see that it was a lot more than that. High above a large mountaintop loomed an enormous sign that simply said -
ERUPTION - in the brightest glowing orange letters you could imagine.
Despite the area, or pit should I say, being quite dark in theme given the environment, there was certainly a sprinkling of the glowing orange just about everywhere. From the decorated TP, to the skeleton accessories and flowing lava, it gave an almost festive feel to it - I said almost, because there was certainly something ominous about this location.
I took a bit of time exploring because I wanted to see just what was available, and in the main area near the teleporter I found the Time Travelers Bar - there's a time travel portal nearby that looks like it might be for Ancient Greece, but I'm not sure if the portal is active or not.
The interior has two floors and didn't seem extensively decorated except for the chairs and tables upstairs, but there was what looked like a well-stocked bar on the ground floor with what I assume is an oversized dance floor.
In further exploring the main area, I also found what looked like perhaps an estate or a marketplace, but the interior was completely empty. What I am finding most common in buildings on Next Island however, is that the doors do not open, and there's no indication that the buildings are interactive, other than walking through the doors and testing it out. The downside is, if you happen to make an attempt to walk through a door at an estate whose fee hasn't been paid, then there's a chance that you might get stuck in the door with no way out but to "T" - which is what happened to me at Crystal Bay.
At any rate, I wanted to see what the rest of the area was like, so I wandered down the path with what looked like a spider skeleton. The more I moved down the path near the volcano pit, the more lava flow I encountered, which actually looked pretty realistic with the flames coming out of certain parts of the lava.
WARNING ... DO NOT WALK TO THE VOLCANO PIT WITH YOUR HUD OFF!
Anytime I'm working on a project that requires a photo shoot of some sort, I'm generally operating with my hud and icons off so that I have a clear screen. However, I have discovered that there are times when more caution needs to be taken, such as walking down the path at Mt. Pele toward the volcano pit.
I had the hud on earlier and didn't see any green or red dots, so I didn't think there was anything to be concerned with. I couldn't have been more wrong. The path to the lava pit was a nice little walk, and the closer to the lava pit I got, the more excited I got about the kind of photo I might be able to capture.
I was almost at the edge of the lava pit when out of freakin' nowhere, this Death Drake Prowler swoops in on me and wacks me with a 185.2 critical. My HP is only 142 (close to 143) because I haven't been skilling for years, so needless to say, there was no survival rate in play here whatsoever - lesson learned, and no photo.
ISLAND GIRL REVIVAL
When I came out of my dizzy stupor I was standing in front of Island Girl, who is quite animated in her avatar movement - unlike any other NPC that I have encountered. She is said to be the "Healer" and while looking quite islandy, there didn't seem to be any way of interacting with her. I guess I was under the impression that when revived there we could get a quick heal from her, but it doesn't look like it, unless I was doing something wrong.
I actually think it would be a cool thing to make her interactive in that way and have those who revive there get a quick (and full) heal. I've seen this in other games where they have NPC's who give you this option, so I think it would add a nice touch. Again, that's if I wasn't doing something wrong and this is already implemented.
I seemed to now be in the Club NEVERDIE area where Island Girl is, along with other points of interest. Mainly, the new Club NEVERDIE, the NEVERDIE Bank, a Treehouse Supper Club, and a Club NEVERDIE cave, although the cave looked guarded by a Boar at the time. I explored the area, except for the cave, which I may do during a future trip, and the only thing that I found rather odd let's say, is when you climb up to the top of the Treehouse Supper Club, the only thing on the circular platform is a Trade NPC.
While the circular platform isn't that large, I suppose I was expecting perhaps some nice tables and chairs with outdoor lighting, and maybe a bottle of wine or pineapple drinks on the tables. It certainly would have completed the supper club theme, and would have been rather sweet to be able to sit under the stars and the moon enjoying a Tequila Sunrise, but perhaps that might be something to think about for future development - certainly not a priority, but something cool to complement the environment.
Treehouse Supper Club
Club NEVERDIE Cave
ISLAND GIRL SPA
As I wandered down a path in the Club NEVERDIE area, I ran into the Island Girl Spa environment that gave a very secluded feel, but also a sense perhaps of being a bit exclusive as well. However, I found the usual Papoo and Boar following me around and getting mouthy, but I'm sure they get that from Softy - she must hold class or something for these creatures to be so fluent in it. I had to take care of business now and then, but nothing that was overly annoying.
There was a peaceful and tranquil feel to the area (except for the Papoos who couldn't keep their traps shut), and found the Island Girl Spa TP rather colorful to say the least. The one thing that I
did find a bit unusual though, was that the actual spa building was completely empty. There were two floors, but nothing inside. Perhaps in future development it would be cool to make it look like the interior of a real spa, with massage tables and special shelving for towels and oils, and even a pit where stones are warmed (or whatever they call it) for specialized massages.
NEVERDIE CHAMPIONS PARK
The next leg of my exploration took me to a place where I had a bit of fun, the ND 500 Raceway located within the Neverdie Champions Park area. I love getting out on the open road and driving my vehicles for a long distance, which is why I really liked the roads on ROCKtropia, but this was a whole different setup. This was actually a speedway where races could take place, and I can only imagine what it would look like with a lot of vehicles jockying for position on this roller coaster-type race track.
I just
had to take the dune buggy out for a spin to check it out. It ended up being a moonlight ride since it was night, but it was still enjoyable. The track is elevated above a large land mass with other locations to explore, but for now, I wanted to play
Mario Andretti who is someone I had the pleasure of meeting in real life.
The race track itself has a nice width to it, and I can envision many vehicles racing to the finish line, but I had it all to myself, so I was going to take full advantage of no one crowding me out. It took a couple of minutes to complete the entire track, but it was a nice ride with curves and dips like a roller coaster, only not so severe.
There's an ND Raceway TP, and an ND Raceway Market TP, and at the marketplace, there seemed to be someone's vehicle against a sign or post in a neverending loop of explosion, so I hope the person survived that crash.
OMENS RIDGE
There were other places to explore in the ND Champions Park, such as Omens Ridge, where there are actually 3 teleporters to choose from - Omens Ridge, Omens Ridge West, and Omens Ridge East. I have a feeling this section of land was named after ND's book -
The Book of Omens - which he sent to me back in 2006 that also included a DVD of his movie -
Lucinda's Spell.
I found Omens Ridge a bit spooky due to the colors of the water, as well as being overrun with higher maturity Drakes. I certainly wasn't going to leave the comfort of my StarShip9 for sure, but it was fun getting up close to have a look knowing that they wouldn't attack.
The whole place was a bit eerie for me, and perhaps because it was at night, but there was one Entropian who didn't mind the environment one bit, and was actually having a successful go of it with these higher maturity Drakes - Wang Xiang. There was a fap now and then, but he was certainly holding his own for sure. We exchanged greetings, and then I was on my merry way to my next stop.
JUNGLE OF DREAMS
There were other locations tucked away in the ND Champions Park area beneath the looming ND 500 Raceway, like Jungle of Dreams, and Jungle of Dreams Ruins.
At this point in time, a couple of things came to mind. First, these additional areas were rather unique, but I feel as if part of the charm of them may have been lost with the ND 500 Raceway weaving in and out above the environment.
I think it would have been a much cooler and exciting idea to build a whole ND 500 Raceway Park in an area of its own. I would have made the raceway more elaborate, and definitely added a pit stop or two that had to be taken during a real race event. Each racer could have their own pit crew supporting their efforts, and maybe Softy could stand there waving the checkered flag - she might have to skill up for that one though. She's been so busy teaching Papoos how to be smart asses that she hasn't had time for anything else.
The other thing I noticed at the Jungle of Dreams Ruins, is that the same type of building was used as I saw at other ruin sites around Next Island. Maybe the Elysians were one-dimensional in this respect before the Next Islanders took over, because I also noticed this going on with certain other types of buildings. It will be interesting to see if this changes any with future development.
HIDDEN BEACH
There was one place in particular that I found quite charming and inviting, until I found out the waters were infested with Great White Sharks, and we're talking the big-ass kind. After acquiring the teleporter at Hidden Beach, I noticed that there was also a TP for the Hidden Beach Cave, but little did I know that (I think) the TP is underwater. I hovered right above the water where the TP would be, but no go.
However, after looking at my radar, there was no way in hell I was going to
swim with the sharks in order to acquire the Hidden Beach Cave TP. I'll have to give that one a try in the future when I go back to Next Island for a more leisurely experience, but in the meantime, the scenery was exquisite.
VS NIGHTCLUB
It was time to fly away from the hungry fish in search of a new adventure. Day was breaking and I thought I might visit the PvP zone known as
VS Nightclub. I would say a rather exclusive nightclub in a PK zone, and not sure what type of activities might go on there, but when I arrived, I had the place all to myself, so I landed the StarShip9 and had me a look around.
The place was rather colorful, but once again, I noticed that the same design ruins building was used, as well as the surrounding bamboo stick decorations that I've seen many places before. We should encourage the developers to get creative in these areas so that they are unique and stand out from each other. I like the concept of each special location, but I'm getting the feel (almost) of a copy and paste feature with only the colors and placements different.
Don't get me wrong, I love the colors and designs that I've run into all across Next Island, but at the end of my exploration for this trip, I noticed quite a bit of duplication in one respect or another, so I hope this changes to make it more unique. I say this, because all of Next Island is a very special place to visit, and I would like for us to be able to see more uniqueness incorporated throughout - especially in expanded areas other than TP's where there are buildings and other textural designs.
In all fairness, perhaps Next Island being a true tropical paradise, and now a pioneering extension of Elysium, there is apt to be similarity in architectural design and texture. Overall, there's definitely a tropical feel, and it inspired nostalgic moments for me quite often.
There were many other places that I enjoyed during the process of acquiring teleporters, but didn't have the time to do much exploring. Perhaps if space wasn't soon upon us, I could have spent a much longer vacation and taken my time getting to know Next Island a bit better, but it was time to move on to Part 4 of my Next Island adventure - Ancient Greece. However, I added more photos to the extra posts of different areas that I didn't cover in the actual report, and places that I will definitely go back to explore in the future.
EXCITED ABOUT ANCIENT GREECE - BUT
As I headed to Orpheus Cave and the Ancient Greece portal, I felt an elevated level of excitement again in anticipation of visiting yet another new area, as well as having my first time travel experience. I was well stocked with time travel crystals as I had bought a few more at the market right next to the Island Girl Healer just to be on the safe side.
Meg had already instructed me to collect the 3 time travel crystals from the Gate Keeper as the first thing to do once I crossed over. I planned on doing that too, so I was thinking that I should have no issues getting back to the Next Island mainland from Ancient Greece. However, remember what I said earlier in my report about the best laid plans?
Once I reached Orpheus Cave, I hovered in the waterfall with the StarShip9 to get rid of all the dust that had collected in my travels. The water beating on the outside of the ship was musical, and I almost got lost in it, forgetting why I was there. I eventually put the ship down and walked behind the waterfall to the entrance of the cave. What's interesting is that the TP will show up on your map, but if you click on any teleporter, it doesn't show up as a TP location. When you hover over the waterfall, the TP is clearly on your radar.
As I walked inside the cave, I saw the Ancient Greece portal and walked to it. In the meantime, I had a Papoo visitor who walked across the portal perhaps in hopes of hitching a ride, but I just gave him a dirty look and chased him out of the cave. I find it hilarious that at times, these Papoo look at you with a blank stare, circle around you a bit, and then sort of do a moonwalk backwards away from you - sometimes not coming back. Perhaps these are the monkey-tards who didn't pass Softy's class, eh? This test was an epic fail then.
Alone once again with the portal and my thoughts, I stepped up onto the platform ready to click when I was interrupted again. This time, it was Skippie teleporting off to Ancient Greece. No hi, no arm wave, just zoom and he was off. Oh well, now it was my turn and I finally clicked on the portal to get things started.
As I was going through the process I got a pop-up that told me all of the things that would be removed prior to, or after entering Ancient Greece. I knew about this with regard to the armor, my clothing, etc., but one thing stood out for me that stopped me cold in the process. My NeoPsion implant was going to be removed as well, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why, because that would mean that when I left Ancient Greece, I would have to pay to have it implanted again.
I really thought long and hard as to whether I wanted to go through with this or not, especially since I had read from other people the challenges that they were experiencing. Specifically, no armor, only a few weapons could be used, but nothing of great significance, and the TT Herb Box only healed very little. And unless I wanted to run around in my EU issue underwear, I would have to buy clothing from the TT as well.
My final decision was to wait and make another trip in the future after perhaps more updates to see if anything changes, and then take a nice vacation to do more exploring. As long as the trip is going to not only be one to experience time travel, but also one that I would like to report on extensively, then I'm going to put this on the back burner for now. I'll keep it on my virtual bucket list for sure, and will definitely look forward to this time travel trip, as well as any other future time travel destinations.
In the meantime, I left the cave and flew over to a nearby beach TP in order to travel back to my home on Arkadia. This would be the last time being able to use the teleporter for planet travel, and with only a few hours left before space is upon us, I didn't want to take any changes.
I have enjoyed my exploration of Next Island and would highly recommend that everyone put it on their to-do list for sure. Don't miss out on the experience and the specialness that is Next Island. I love the beauty and the total tropical feel, and in the end - I don't much mind being harassed by the Papoo, especially since I know eventually Softy will get hers for alerting them that I was on the planet.
As a reminder, I have added additional photo posts, and I still have the videos to do for Part 2 of this series, so I will add a post to that report to alert everyone when they are done.
SEE YOU NEXT TIME IN PARADISE
JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED PART 1 AND 2 HERE ARE LINKS
Additional Photos From Part 3 Of The
Next Island Exploration
CLUB NEVERDIE
DJ Platform
BANK NEVERDIE
Not sure I would leave that open, even though it looks empty!
ND SUITES
These suites are all in one location,
and there is a TP for each suite section.
SAMOAN SPA SUITES
This was my favorite suites area.
ERUPTION TIME TRAVELERS BAR
ISLAND GIRL SPA
MT PELE
MISCELLANEOUS
I believe this is where all of the ND Suites are located.
TP at Taliesin Ridge
No TP at this location.
No TP at this location.
Club NEVERDIE Treehouse Supper Club Trade NPC
I COULD HAVE POSTED AN ENTIRE PHOTO ALBUM,
BUT I THINK THIS IS ENOUGH FOR NOW
