The Hidden Oak Retreat
by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
Not too long ago, it was announced that more than half of the world’s human population lives in cities.
This, to me, is a damn shame. Because I honestly can’t conceptualize living in a concrete jungle and being surrounded by that much gray. And the sheer weight of humanity pressing down from every direction…no. Just no.
To be fair, there are some very lovely cities. Cities with history and personality. And they’re not all in Western Europe, either. I recently had a chance to spend some time in Portland, Maine with my love, and there’s an undeniable charm to that place. And my own native San Francisco really is a fantastic town.
But, in general, I’m not a fan of urban sprawl. Most cities, when viewed from sufficient distance, resemble nothing so much as manmade termite hills. It is humanity at its most insectoid.
So yes, I prefer nature. And lots of it. I live in a rainforest on an island in Polynesia where nothing can be built taller than four stories. Nature = good.
And when it comes to personal estates in Home, my buying trends follow the same pattern. The Log Cabin. The Waterfall Terrace. The Treehouse Apartment. The Tropical Escape. The Winter Vacation Villa. The Amaterasu Yacht.
Thus, extrapolating that I’ve been waiting for a nature themed clubhouse is much like extrapolating that images of Bar Refaeli are downloaded off the internet in large quantities. It would be an understatement.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone in Home is sick of the basic clubhouse. It’s like that first crap clunker car you ever owned. Sure, it had its moments, but aside from limited sentimentality, it was rubbish. Then the Desert Haven clubhouse arrived on the scene, and it promptly cracked one of Sony’s top-ten sales lists, just because it was something other than the basic clubhouse.
A lot of people are really fond of the Desert Haven. I’m not one of them. Aside from the setting, which leaves me cold, there was that godawful “mafia” marketing that just added an indelible cheese factor to the whole place. But I bought it, teeth gritted, because it was something other than the basic clubhouse, and I really didn’t know when the next major clubhouse skin — the War Room — would be released.
You may have noticed that I haven’t reviewed the War Room. And that’s for one very specific reason: IT’S TERRIBLE.
Yeah, I put that in caps lock. Because it deserves it. It’s got nowhere to really set up any sort of furniture, it feels like a poor copy of the Villain’s Lair personal estate, and its central party piece — the podium — does nothing but annoy everyone in the room. I generally like nDreams and think they do an excellent job with their stuff, and I applaud any developer who’s willing to experiment with new features that might enhance the social interactivity of Home, but the War Room is one of the few instances in Home where I’m actually hoping a virtual commodity doesn’t realize much sales volume.
Which meant we were back to the Desert Haven.
Until just recently.
I didn’t even know about the Hidden Oak Retreat until I looked up AlphaZone4’s information on the latest updates for Home. And there it was — a thumbnail which, at first glance, looked an awful lot like something from the Luxury Lakeside Cabin. Now that, by itself, would be enough to get my attention — but once I saw that it was a new clubhouse skin instead of a new personal estate, my eyes dilated like I’d just taken my first morning shot of Mountain Dew.
A nature-themed clubhouse?
Oh yes. Yes. This must be properly investigated.
Terra and I quickly went into Home, examined the Hidden Oak Retreat, and declared it full of win. I’d like to say that I made a thorough examination of the space and carefully weighed out the pros and cons of it before slapping down the credit card, but the reality is that I was already leaning in favor of it and had made my purchase decision within fifteen seconds of seeing the place.
Hidden Oak is my idea of a clubhouse. It’s like being inside a lounge at a Fairmont resort in Banff or Lake Louise. It calls to mind some fantastic corporate retreat in Jackson Hole. It’s nature and elegance fused together. When you have a space as beautiful and aesthetically appealing as this, you don’t notice or mind the lack of any technological innovations; it’s just a pretty skin for a clubhouse, and that’s all it has to be.
Is it for everyone? No, I suppose not. Some will continue to prefer the aesthetics of the Desert Haven. A few people might even like the War Room. Hell, I’m sure there’s still some poor soul using the basic clubhouse. But for me? Until something better comes along, HomeStation Magazine will be based out of Hidden Oak.
And the bar for that “something better” has just been set pretty darned high, indeed.
- Just look at it, for God's sake
- Interior layout isn't as intuitive for a clubhouse as the Desert Haven; almost feels like a personal estate
February 25th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 13 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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After seeing it for the first time, I thought it would be best suited as a personal space. Now after seeing a different perspective on the lay out, I can see the possibilities as a club space.
After settling back in my own mind. I wish my Jeep club had a place like this to meet up.
oooooooooooooooooh, I love that song always have. If it came with the space and the two peeps at the beginning came as employees to cook & clean, I might well buy it.
However, having taken an open tour Hidden Oaks, it’s not really for me.
For those who might consider buying it, I think there’s a limit on clubs that can be bought… or maybe not. What if tons of others that are better come out and one can’t buy them cus one has reached their limit?
That’s as good as video preview I’ve seen of a space or club and no I’m not from Canada. Which makes me wonder, do I like the space or the song better. But I’ve already said that.
SONY might want to hire whoever did the video, or think about it.
The video came out great Norse and Terra as always. I like this space as a clubhouse, but I think owning the Desert one is enough for me for now. Most of our meetings in the Grey Gamers are public as the club is now much too large to do it otherwise. Hopefully some day soon that limit of 32 will change, then having a different clubhouse other than the two I have and rarely use might become something I would think about.
As for the clubhouse itself it is very pretty, but they should have made the outdoor scene one that actually moves with clouds and not so much like a picture they pasted in a stuck position. Other than that O like it well enough.
I too totally dig the country more than the city. I personally never had a use for a club, especially after seeing the basic club house.. egads, my first studio apt had more appeal and it was a room the YWCA.
Anyhoo, I bought one after seeing Desert Springs, but I totally flipped out when I saw Hidden Oak.. OMG, it looks like home.. and I mean my real one in Oregon.
I set out to decorate as usual, and ended up with what looks like a personal space with a twist.. I put a “caretakers” apt up in the loft, and left the main floor with plenty of seating, a kitchen/dining area, and of course bbq party area outside.
It looks great and my club members feel at Home when they visit. Yay Sony! You hit a home run with this one!
One word. Swanky!
I love the video. The space seems a little plain to me. It doesn’t really move at all. I like it as a clubhouse because the people will be moving in it. I would have liked some ceiling fans, some birds outside, basically all the things in the Luxury Lakehouse that make it interesting.
The question is whether a club will remain majorly for meetings or will people want to start getting together for activities? Will the spaces facilitate those activities? And what activities do people want to do as a club?
I went to a Homeling Bingo game about a year ago and that was fun. The question is whether having a space dedicated for that is too much or just right? Or should a Bingo space be public? I don’t know.
Great article. It has my wheels turning. Thanks!
That would be my criticism of Hidden Oak as well: it’s static. The water effects in the reflection pond are nice, but the torch flames are all synchronized. There’s no movement or life to the clouds, and while there’s the sound effects of birds, there’s none to be seen.
Hidden Oak honestly feels like a personal estate that at the last moment got reformatted as a clubhouse. I’m biased in favor of it because I’m a sucker for nature-themed estates and I’ve been yearning for a nature-themed clubhouse, but I’ll admit that it has its shortcomings.
Should there be a bingo space? Absolutely. Whether it’s a clubhouse or a public space, it would definitely win. And I love HearItWow’s idea of a private estate that had its own bowling alley. It’d make for a killer clubhouse, that’s for sure.
Now a private bowling alley clubhouse would be a definite win I think, it would be nice in a personal space as well but having a couple lanes in a clubhouse would be awesome. In fact any clubhouse with built in gaming would probably sell very well. If we could have a gamers clubhouse with some built in furniture and a few games like checkers and maybe a bowling lane or two, I think people would buy a lot of them, we could then use our allotted 4 actives as well to make it a real gaming spot for members.
Note to Dlyrius, oldcatsrock, deuce_for2, and Kid Fleetfoot: You fellows always have interesting comments in HSM. Why don’t each of you do 900 words (or more) on your own favorite topic and enter it in the new writing contest? 12 prizes? $20 cards? great odds!
{{blinks}}
.oO( how DID he get those tracking shots…? )
The tracking shots were achieved by using a Lockwood Mechjet with the camera zoomed in (R3 button). It takes a little getting used to, but it can provide some nifty camera shots that would otherwise be virtually impossible to achieve.
The Lockwood mechjet is also good for filming due to its “power orb” feature. When used correctly, you can get some awesome shot angles without your avatar present onscreen. These two features alone, for a Home machinimist, justify the ten-dollar price tag.
As a note, I learned these tricks from HearItWow, who’s *infinitely* better at this stuff than I am. But I’m slowly learning.
The tracking shots are okay in this video, but the one that really shines is the French Chateau virtual tour. That space really lends itself to such a technique, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Thank you — nice to know. Time to invest in a Mechjet!
I purchased my Hidden Oak Retreat clubhouse skin last night, and MotherShip 16 is now surrounded by woods. I’m enjoying the increased floor space, which allowed me to install a lakeside hot tub, a dance floor, a video arcade and a poker table as well as the fireside seating area. It’s not sci-fi, but I don’t care!