Granzella Brings Back the Beach!
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
Well, here we are, at the end of another glorious summer. It’s almost Labor Day; everyone is gearing up for a long weekend — the last until Thanksgiving. The kids are going back to school — to their parents’ relief — and everything will settle down.
But in Home, the summer is just beginning, because Granzella has finally brought back the beach that Irem took away when they left — and then some! Glittering Sand Beach and Secluded Retreat are here at last. It is being released in SCEE this week and hopefully in the good old USA next.
People in Home have been bemoaning the loss of what they considered the only good beach in Home, Seaside of Memories, last year after the earthquake basically ruined Irem’s capability of sustaining it here in Home. There were a lot of unhappy people when Irem pulled up stakes and left, through no fault of their own, but now those same people will have cause to celebrate. I can see the servers in Home giving us a hard time once this hits.
I wrote about this a few weeks back when I went to Japan and checked both of these areas out. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before we got this in Home; with Granzella you never know, but here it is — much sooner than I expected, at least for Europe. I hope they don’t make us wait to long for ours. This area has a lot going for it; it is a much enhanced version of the original Irem beach. It may look familiar because the head designer from Irem heads up Granzella now, but it has its own feel and a lot of very cool adaptations the other beach lacked.
Lay down loungers
You can lay down on the beach, for one. And there are some nice loungers there. You can use several different positions to do it, not just on your back. You can also lie down on the beds in the cabanas in the same manner, or sit up and look in either direction. I loved this feature, as it looks quite natural compared to the normal sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat that takes place in Home.
You can also swim. Though you can’t dive under the water, you can do a breaststroke across it and talk to your friends while treading water. There are climbable rocks that have ropes dangling into the water, and the scenery here is quite nice — even better than Irem’s was.
The cabanas are very nice, detailed and open with comfortable seating and that bed I spoke of earlier. They have a store included in one, just like the other beach had of course, but I loved the little details they had in them; it feels real, like a fancy resort on a tropical isle somewhere in the Pacific. From the flowers and plants everywhere to the thatched roofs and hewn wood interiors. they really took their time with this one, and it shows.
Another very cool feature is the ability to take detailed photos with a built-in camera that is provided within the beach itself. I think the photos are better than the regular camera, and it works very fast in comparison as well. It is a nice social touch to this great new public space. If you go off to the side you will find a fence with what looks like a gate; it is a direct link to the personal estate, Glittering Sands Retreat. This is similar to the other one they have at Granzella beach and adds to the feeling of reality here.
The personal estate is much the same as the public one when it comes to looks. It has a few cabanas attached by wooden bridges and
Nothing better than a relaxing evening!
some very nice surprises attached. There is a time-changing ability that has five settings, and I love the way it changes the atmosphere when you do this. The purple-skied dawn is my favorite, but you might prefer the brighter noon or midday settings or the sunset and night with a big full moon hanging above you.
The space also has a built in mini-game of sorts. Though it isn’t a true game, as you have no objective to fulfill, you just pick a towel off the rack in your favorite color and it dresses you for the built in hot tub nearby. But you can stay in that towel no matter where you go in the personal space as long as you stay in the game.
There is a view of the beach off in the distance, so it gives a great feeling of continuity to the space. You can swim here as well, so you can have your own private beach party if you choose. which makes it a very desirable new acquisition as it has a completely unique innovation that has been asked for in Home since the first beach was created. We have been asking for more functionality in personal estates, and now we have been getting it in spades lately, with the additions of not only the MiniBots training arena with its environmental controls, but also the Blueprint and Avalon Keep estates which are stretching Home to hitherto unknown limits. Granzella is no exception.
Granzella has released a wonderful promotional video to show what this place is all about. You will be delightfully surprised at the similarities to Seaside of Memories; it will bring back many memories of good times if it was your favorite hangout spot. Seaside is gone forever, but Glittering Sands is a new beginning, and I for one am glad to see them back here in Home.
August 29th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 5 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
Awesome article Burbie. I felt the same way & Bemoaned Irem’s Seaside Of Memories space when they had to pull up, But this is a whole new beginning & The future looks bright for Granzella & the content they keep putting out. I know I’ll have my Board shorts waiting once this space is published. It can’t come onto Home soon enough.
Good read Burbie, and I too miss the Irem beach, and knowing that this is from Granzella, who has people from Irem makes me hopeful. I know we had a beach related to Diesel, but that seemed to trend too much with the gangs, fams, and trolls. I love the beaches and esp. the idea that we can buy a personal space. This way if it gets to full of bad people we can go somewhere quietr. This place looks full of fun and I can’t wait. Granzella does a good job, and I hope we see more.
Great aricle burbie, I can’t wait for this to be available in NA. We are so beach starved!
You could lay down on the Irem beach, too -- in Japan. They removed that feature when they brought in to North America, I assume because a lot of people on Home here aren’t very mature. This makes me wonder if Granzella will remove the feature for NA also.
There’s immature people everywhere, Japan, U.S. and Europe.