In late January 2013, I was tossed out of Lionheart Estate when two of the sims were unexpectedly closed down. Residents living in those ill-fated spaces –myself included– were given two choices: to relocate to any available parcel in adjacent sims, free of charge, or to ask for a refund of the remaining money in the tier meter as of February 1st, the day of the closing. In my opinion, nothing was done to preserve each neighborhood and their respective local communities together. Everybody was like –I imagine– jumping off the windows and desperately seeking a cute yellow spot on the map before it was too late. But that wasn’t fair at all. First, we didn’t receive a notice well in advance (for most of us, a week was too short a time to plan ahead) as to prepare for what might come. I guess estate owners just wished to avoid pandemonium and having all renters flying away, thinking the whole ship was suddenly sinking, but yet I would have welcomed a meeting to inform the possibly affected customers what were the short term forecasts if the situation worsened. Then, for many of us, the move also meant higher costs because the available lands –those that nobody else wanted– were usually larger than the plots we had until then. So after initially moving to a different plot in a sim at the other side of town, I packed my things and moved somewhere else.
As part of the readjustments, the Lionheart Estate managing team planned to revitalize a third stagnating sim. The new layout would be mixed use and would have a transitional look between commercial and residential zones. But for months since my departure nothing seemed to happen. Vacating parcels went unavailable and nothing new showed up… until late April, when cobblestone streets started to delineate the new suburban design. By May 3rd, the map was showing yellow lots again, and by the 4th, without too much hesitation, I moved back in.
I prefer the look and feel of small estates with contiguous sims that promote the social vibes of a virtual community, rather than a vast expanse of standalone islands for the worship of absolute privacy. If I wanted to alienate myself from the rest of the world, I’d buy a third person game and immerse myself with contemplating the evolution of AI automata.
As soon as I got the first look, I rented a small-size plot to place a house (see third picture from the top), and a second one to relocate The Vanishing Café, take three. For sure I’ll be blogging about both of them in the coming days. Right now I just wanted to show you the neighborhood as it fills again with old residents and new blood alike. The pictures are too green and blue, I know, but that will surely change as new people with diverse tastes settle in.
And you know what’s positive about these changes? Lionheart is renewing. From an old town made of prims, it is refurbishing itself with mesh. Except for a few grasses and lupine flowers (made of sculpts), everything you see in these pictures pertaining public works –the cobblestone roads and sidewalks, the street lights, even the birch trees– are mesh objects. At least I think it shows Lionheart management’s interest in revitalizing their services to the current building standards.
Here are a few pictures of more streets around town…
…and how some of the first settlers are adapting to the new environment.
I haven’t revealed their names because I don’t know if they prefer to keep their identities private; I didn’t have time to ask them either.
There are still a few plots available in Lionheart Kiara, so if you want to check them out and maybe consider moving in, take this taxi. The slurl will land you in the train station. From there walk to the east to take a peak of this side of town. Be welcome.