- Serene Show Spoiler
To remember Andy Legate, who recently passed away, the 4th expedition of the Fan Ages Touring Club went to some of Andy’s Ages. See Minasunda’s video.
First, we visited daytime Camp Bravo: apparently some sort of playground, it is actually meant as a training camp for aspirant Maintainers. All around the Age there are eight bugs of different type, intentionally put there to test your eye for detail. In a hut, there also are three volumes of a Maintainer’s Guide, with tips about how to report bugs.
Boot camp can take a full day, and the exhausted trainee may still be in the camp after dusk, and see Camp Bravo at nighttime. But it’s time to relax and enjoy the sight of the twin moons.
Fairly uncommon for the times, both Ages have good-looking (and in one case, swimmable!) bodies of water, and a catchy background music.
Next, we moved to Zephyr Cove – night version, the only one available on DI. A relaxing, beautiful Age with one of the most realistic shorelines, the only downside is the rather simple model for the beach chairs and unbrellas. Like Camp Bravo, this Age also has a Maintainer Marker.
Unfortunately, most of the visitors crashed while attempting to link there, so we couldn’t stay for long.
We then moved to Eder Bahvahnin (“Hidden Garden”), where the tall statue incited the skydiving spirit of one of us. A lovely garden, with a creek and a mountainous horizon. A discussion about sources for textures and models allowed me to mention the recent release of public domain cultural heritage 3D models.
From Eder to Eder, our next stop was Eder Tomahn (“Way Station”), a well-stocked bar (and lodging, apparently) somewhere along the Great Shaft. On the bar, a cellphone holds four recordings from Andy himself, mentioning people and places from the Devokan Trust storyline.
With few touch-ups, this station could be easily mistaken for a Cyan Age by all but the most keen-sighted visitors.
Before reaching our last stop, we passed by a small but useful library Age, Andy’s Nexus, a circular room with many linking books to Uru and Myst V Ages. A simple way of adding the Direbo book to your shelf, if you don’t have one.
Our last location was Serene, an Age with a fitting name... but a bit cold In December, the Age takes a Christmassy theme, with a snowman, a tree and gifts. Serene is also an integral part of the Devokan Trust storyline, and there’s a journal hidden in a secret compartment.
A notable absence is of course Neolbah: I left this Age out as it is better seen in the context of the storyline it is part of, which we’ll get to fairly soon.
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Next time (for real): Somahoglahn, by Jhon J. Jaguar!
(Previous tour: Ahra Pahts)