by Phoenix, HSM team writer and videographer

Home’s weather forecast: sunny with a chance of sun…

Being a person that loves the real world and nature, I tend to be attracted to places in Home that give off the same vibe I find in the real world. It makes me feel my encapsulated world here is not so dissimilar. Home had every environment you could likely think of; there are Home spaces with the essence of spring flowers, and ones for summer with plenty of sunshine. But there was no bright fall foliage — no falling, blowing leaves — until Creek Falls and the Plum Pavilion. And winter finally arrived with snow-covered mountains in the Winter Villa. But there was no rain until the Cutteridge Estate and no snowfall to mention until the Hunters and Yeti public space, unless you were in Home EU.

Still, with these few exceptions, the weather in Home was for the most part always sunny. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but it lacked something for me. I was left wondering: what would this space or that space feel like with rain or snowfall, or even falling, blowing leaves?

Sometimes you just want this.

Weather is a mood enhancer, just like music. It can make you wistful, happy, excited or even sad. Home is designed to make us come back, and yes, all the bright sun and surf, the constant great weather, is an attractive quality in Home. All the bright colors and sights are enticing and enchanting, but I had begun missed the other forms of weather, as did some others in Home. Juggernaut Games heard the cry of weather worshipers and gave us rain and snow for our personal spaces, in the Lamp of the Deluge and the Essence of Winter — weather systems packed in a simple glass globe. They were a marvel, but when placed in your private space it rained and snowed inside as well as outside. Then too they were slightly hard to place to give you the feeling of a true rain shower and snow fall. Better than nothing, though.

These large active items were best used in spaces that are basically outdoors. The Midnight Glade and a few others are best, I think, for these effects. I do enjoy a good rain shower or snow fall here in my Midnight Glade. But I found I had places where I still longed to see rainfall for that lazy afternoon feeling or that night of quiet contemplation. I longed for snowfall on the days I felt like curling up with a book and a cup of chocolate. I just couldn’t let it go — all that sun and brightness was driving me away. I started to spend more time in my night themed spaces and places with fewer windows so I couldn’t see so much sun. Odd? Yes, I know, but I needed the atmospheric changes. Sometimes we come into Home and our mood does not fit that of the bright and sunny atmosphere we find most often. So it was for me. I wasn’t sad — just needing something different.

Then we got an update from nDreams — the Weather Cubes.

I could tell you how these weather cubes made me feel, but I would rather show you. I will tell you that as soon as I saw them and read the description, I bought them. These weather cubes can be placed in any space to create the feeling of changing weather. They can be placed easily to keep the rain, snow, and blowing leaves outside of the living space, to give a very realistic feel of inclement weather to your spaces.

I will say again that I find weather as stirring as music for my moods. I can be happy in both sun and rain, but I need the change, a sort of balance. I have created three separate machinima to demonstrate these new items, since there are three separate cubes. They can be purchased as a bundle or separately, as you prefer.

So: without further explanation, I give you my weather-enhanced spaces.

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One Response to “Home’s Changing Weather Forecast”

1. dblrainbowgirl says:

   April 22, 2013 at 5:29 am

   That just unleashes a plethora of ideas for “timed-event” occurrences in spaces…in addition to weather changes. What about a space that unleashes a stampede of zombies at the same time each evening during October?

   How about a Candy-themed space that rains ‘lollipops’ instead of water? I often think about the monotony of spaces in Home and the realistic additions that could add a personal touch. Yet, I think it would be just as exciting to go out-of-this-world into non-reality.

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