Saturday, December 21, 2013

Housing Rally 12-21-13 “Frostfeely Houses – Turning down the Heat!”

Welcome to the Homes and Tomes House Rally #8 – Frostfeely Houses!


Tonight we are looking at houses that celebrate Frostfell in a BIG way! Definitely our most colorful event of the year, decorators have a chance to use all those warm colors in the coldest days of the year! Since these are usually temporary decorations, this brings a whole set of special problems to revamping ones home to accommodate Frostfell bric-a-brac!
I’m your host Huell Kuerden, and we’ll be looking at some places should make you feel all warm inside while you are freezing your tail off! And now on to the show!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! It means more people will visit and enjoy their work! Just wait a minute before doing this – sometimes a few likes can shift a house on the leaderboards enough to make it hard to find!
And now on to this week of Norrath’s Gold!

Our First Stop is…

Amethystra’s Winter Wonderland (Massive Homes – Creativity #57) by Amethystra

Snowy Dwelling

Here we have practically EVERY BIT of Frostfell curios available scattered throughout the area! Practically everywhere you go you’ll see presents, animals, sleighs, and frozen travelers waiting for the Spring thaws!
Immediately on your left on zone-in is a Dwarven Igloo containing my favorite dragon plushy! Wander a bit and check out the ambiance of the island. Don’t forget the close Ice Flow and ship off the beach! Then meet up at the house! For those of you who want more ambiance, check out http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/%28h%29South_Georgia_Webcam2?useskin= where it REALLY gets cold!

I have to say I like the Snowy Dwelling template as well! Much closer to a pre-modern abode than most, and small enough to decorate without feeling like a football stadium! It’s also another ‘neutral’ theme area that you can easily decorate to your alignment as needed!

Anyone tried to decorate on any of the other islands other than the close flow? Are they completely rezzed?

Inside the house you’ll find many of the polished icy components, Among them, the light frozen tiles work well by reflecting the other house items! Note the Icy Pedestal Table – it’s the only table that gives off light – a nice fluorescent-like color for any new developers out there. Here it works as a table AND a light. I often use them only as light fixtures.

Head down to the basement – noting the door if you haven’t seen this one before. I’m also hoping they’ll make the ladder available via SC! Here is a nice crafting/living area. Check out the sheathing of the stone walls with glacial dividers! The charged ethernere lighting is also nice – works very well with an ice theme.

Next up is a very different spread using the Storm Tower…. Go to:

Pirates Christmas Eve (Massive Homes – Creativity #29) by Lrose

Storm Tower
For starters, you get dropped in a tree! After doing this many HaT Rallies, I can tell you that this is not as unique as you might think! I liked this house because of the mix of themes! Pirates and Frostfell are a unique approach!

Wander around and check out the pirate base (non-Frostfell) down on the beach! Don’t forget the ships either! By the zone-in you can see the Frostfell efforts! Gives the effect of a creepy – not quite –right – Frostfell! Very nice!!!

Extensive use of the Frosffell Snowdrifts, trees, presents, snowmen and tables loaded with food give a nice festive air! The Orc guards, skulls and skeletal prowler give the macabre touch! Inside the tower the pink bows make the room unique! The upstairs platform is also decorated for the holidays!!!

I liked this house because it wasn’t the same-old-same-old! The only thing I would have added would have been a huge lighted Frostfell tree on top of the tower!

We’ll now travel to another home using a different theme again! Go to:
Frostfell Shopping Plaza (Hall of Fame – Newly Published #85) by Twinklin
New Halas 5-room House

Here we have a MALL! Truly getting right to the core of Frostfell!!! Wander through the shops looking at the assorted wares.
On the left, check out the FOOD COURT! The pie display and drink dispenser are amazing! Outside nyou can follow the red carpet to SANTA GLUG on his Frostfell throne, and tell him what you want! Talk about traumatizing small children! There’s also a small skating rink!
Downstairs is your darker Frostfell for the EVIL types!
Upstairs is a room with toys for kids! Check out the toy train! What a great idea! Take a look at the cash register as well! There’s also a very nice weapon’s shop on this floor, along with several other small shops!
Wander a bit and check out the many cool scratch-built items!
Now on to our last house! We try to include new, recently published houses even if they are not particularly on theme – from guildmembers and the general AB decorating community, and this next house is quite interesting, and just posted 5 days ago…

Go to: Asian Flat for Frostfell (Large Homes – Newly Published #10) by Uthanuk


As you pop in, you are on a teleport pad. Take it immediately to the ‘Flat’ and give it a healthy 15 seconds to load.
This is an instance of something I’ve gotten addicted to as well – hunting down exotic locations OUTSIDE of a normal house. Here, Uthanuk went UP on top of Gorowyn. Darkzephyr has a very nice garden house up here as well.

Houses in these locations do suffer from slow load times – I assume because the rendering engine just isn’t well set up for displaying a house in a location the Devs never intended! But you know the realtor’s expression: location, location, location. Sometimes the locale is just to cool to pass up!

Proceed up the stairs and take a look around. Note the interesting things such as the rails – from under –deck beds. Be sure to look up in the house… it has exquisite wood roofs. The reason for the request to turn off torches is the whole house is carefully lit – it’s best seen without torches overpowering the natural light!
Take your time on this one, and look around!

That’s all for tonight folks! If people have questions about how some things have been done, feel free to stick around and ask. You can also always ask in the Homes and Tomes chat channel HAT anytime. There’s always someone who can at least give an entertaining WRONG answer (mostly answers are right though)!

So thanks for joining us for another HaT House Rally! We’ll be returning in two weeks on SUNDAY (we alternate weekend days) to look at SMALL HOUSES – YOU REALLY CAN FIT 50 OGRES IN THERE! Hope to see you then!

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