Lockwood’s New Jewel
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
The Jewel of the Skies is Lockwood’s latest contribution to the saturated estate market in Home. With over one-hundred spaces to choose from now, people are becoming much more selective in their choices, I know I am, and so developers have been coming up with new ideas to make their virtual estates a “must have” in order to drive sales of these increasingly incredible spaces.
Lockwood is no stranger to these marketing techniques; in fact, they are masters at it, and this new estate is another prime example.
I am not one of the people in Home who seem to strive to obtain every reward or virtual item that appears. I am very cautious as a buyer, usually looking at the product before I decide to invest money into it. Many people will say that Jewel of the Skies is similar to the Palace of the Seven Winds, and they would be correct in the fact that they are both of an Arabian theme. They might also say that it is similar to the Avalon Keep, because you collect floating gems while flying about, albeit in a different manner than Avalon, and they would be right in that as well. But there are quite a few differences between all of these estates.
Lamp and greenery rewards
So: why buy this still when it has so many similarities to two other prominent estates? Because it has a great deal of uniqueness built in as well, and it is strikingly beautiful. First and foremost is the ability to unlock things that become burned into the space, yet add to its design and aesthetics. I have unlocked several parts already: lamps, greenery, green geckos and a stash chest for my jewels. My latest one is a tiger that stands in the outer garden looking around like he is guarding my palace. These are all unlocks that add to the space and there are a few mysteries to be unlocked as well, like the door that leads to a closed room at the bottom of some stairs.
The genie who grants you three wishes a day if you collect gems for him is worth the purchase all by himself; he is the largest NPC in Home by far, as he towers over the palace you live in. He is chained, and all the time you are in your space you will hear him grunting and rattling his chains as though he wants to be freed. This is a wonderful touch and it gives the space a great deal of atmosphere along with the constant wind you can hear and almost feel as you watch it rustle the trees and greenery.
There are built-in pillows on the floors that allow you to recline against them on the ground and if you sit on the edge of the fountain your avatar will do an animation as well. It is these kinds of small additions that give this space a very comfortable feeling to me. I feel at home here for some reason, and I like that.
A Princess and her Genie
Another thing that set this space apart from any other I have encountered is that when you complete a quest for the genie he allows you to choose your reward. He gives you three choices each time, so it basically allows you to add a permanent upgrade to your space or pick a piece of furniture to add to your space. I love this way of doing things as I was able to decide what I wanted the most, though there were a couple of times I wished I could choose more than one reward. I hope they will update these as time goes on to keep the space fresh.
The community chest is a similar idea to Avalon Keep’s NPC storekeeper, as you add to the stash to unlock a reward that everyone who comes to your space will receive. This happened very quickly, as within a day the white tiger reward was awarded to my friends, I was amazed at how fast it was accomplished and now I wonder if they will change this periodically as well as people seem to love flying about the skies on a magic carpet to collect the gems there. Both you and your guests can also add gems and unlock a series of rings for your avatars to wear as well.
Community reward #1
The prices for this space come in two choices: the bundled pack at $17.99 and the space alone for $9.99. Both are well worth the price, but I bought the bundle as it contained a lot of nice perks. Four costumes that include head pieces, one of the nicest new hairdos I have seen in Home for the females, jewelry, and separate top, bottom and shoes that can be mixed at will. It is always nice when they give us outfits we can mix and match rather than full body costumes. The clothing is beautifully done; I love both the thief and princess costumes. The bundle also has some furniture pieces, four different flying carpet locomotion items you can use anywhere in Home or in the gem gathering game, and a full sized tiger companion who is fun to watch as he lays on his back and seems to want you to rub his tummy. The white tiger you get does the same motions as well.
I have to say that Lockwood has done their usual excellent job with this space as they always do. It is like a page out of Scheherazade’s Arabian Nights, and a great addition to Home.
- Wonderful aesthetics.
- Great rewarding system.
- Fun game.
- Nice bundle pack.
- Community rewards.
- Nada.
December 27th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 2 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.
I had a giggle at your “cons” Burbie, hehe.
I love the feel of this place too, but a friend of mine got to the checkout before me on this one so I think for now I’ll just annoy her whenever I fancy doing an impression of Aladdin. Love the tiger, love the GoW inspired Genie, love the broken, ancient look of it all, the extra animations are a lovely touch too.
Juggernaut and Heavywater are both catching up but LKWD’s spaces still have a quality about them that’s hard to match. The subtle lighting, closer attention to texture details; all these kinda things come together to make LKWD spaces have a nice, tangible feel. Functionality is the icing on the cake, but still one they could refine, and if they do that, they’ll be unmatched for space creation quality… IMO.
Very nice pros and cons Burbie, lol.
This space has the weighted substance needed to withstand centuries as desert dwelling. You get the feel of Lockwood’s description, ancient spender you can see and still feel from the ruins.
The Genie is a tremendous addition, to the jewel game. I don’t think it would be as much fun were it not for him. Great built-in game Lockwood.
Great write Burbie and great space Lockwood!