Sunset Lounge – Lockwood’s New Loyalty Space
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
There is only one other example of a public area in Home that is accessible through a loyalty program — the x7 nightclub. I, like many others in Home, have spent a good-sized portion of money creating my own little virtual world within the confines of Home. I did this over the past three years, methodically and slowly, buying those things that suited me and using them to entertain myself and others along the way. I am by no means a rich person in real life, but I can live the lifestyle I am not accustomed to here in Home, and the Dream universe that Lockwood has created is a big part of that.
The Sunset Lounge is Lockwood’s new addition to their Dream universe. But this is a public venue with a twist — you have to own at least one of the Dream personal spaces, be they gifted or purchased, to gain entry. Although Lockwood has flirted with loyalty access with the “Horses of the Prairie” space, which requires the ownership of a horse locomotion for full access, this marks the first time that Lockwood has stepped into the arena of customer loyalty in such a big way. We have gotten free items and the like for quite a while based on our loyalty to a particular developer or to Sony themselves, as in x7. Heavy Water has reserved a portion of their Hexalon Village for customers that own Avalon Keep or certain other items. But its downfall is that there is nothing to do there except look at it. Lockwood has upped the ante with this one.
Casino area
Upon entering the space, the first thing you will see is a validation point at the end of a red velvet roped-off area that looks like a lock floating in mid air. As in x7, if you own the necessary item, you will be granted access to the rest of the space.
Once through the gateway you will find a nice open bar area. All you can hear is the lapping of the waves against the shore — a very nice difference from the raucous noise of x7. There is a long bar with the stools you get as a reward on the Arctic Yacht, and a few tables and couches that are also available as reward items as well. This is a great way to showcase what owning these spaces can do for you, though I wish the behind-the-bar areas was accessible, as it is in Sodium Hub, so we could pretend to bar-tend.
There are a few fire-pits and sun loungers along the open deck area here that face toward the ocean where the Dream Yacht is moored, but you can’t sit on them. There is also a round observation deck where you can watch the fish swimming under the glass flooring. There is a working telescope here like the one built into the Dream Island space, that zooms in and out. There are incredible reefs and fish swimming around them, also much like the Dream Island ocean, and if you look through the telescope you might see dolphins at play too.
As you go further into the Lounge, you will find the casino area with Blackjack tables. They give you 5,000 free chips to play with on your first day, then will add a thousand each day you visit. I played a game and was rewarded with a Lockwood poker chip wall hanging. I understand that there will be other rewards as I progress in the game. There is nice quiet piano music playing in the background in this area, and the game itself is easy to play and can have up to five players per table. There are single deck and regular games available here.
To the right of the casino, you will find your beach area. It is very long and well laid out, with rocks along the shore. Our friendly neighborhood iguana (familiar from Dream Island) is perched on one of them. Waterfalls are present, as on all of the other beaches Lockwood has created, their pleasant sounds adding to the calming atmosphere. At the end of the beach is a nice fire and a couple of the beach umbrella rewards to sit under. I am glad they choose a sunset, as the name implies, instead of the bright starkness of mid-day.
You can swim with the colorful fish that are darting about in the water, and starfish and other aquatic creatures abound. You can swim out quite far here, and the usual sailboats and junks float by among the huge stone mini- islands scattered about the surrounding ocean. You can even see the Dream Island off to one side, complete with your luxurious house. Lockwood has maintained the feel of the Dream Island and Dream Yacht spaces here quite well — you have no doubt they are in the same universe. They have thought of every detail here. It is a very serene space, quite different than Granzella’s beach with all of its frenetic activities.
To the left of the casino is a long docking area with many moored boats of various sizes. I think this is where we might be able to feed fish someday, though that feature didn’t seem to be there this time.
I am glad that Lockwood has thrown their hat into the ring with this incredible beach resort. It is a welcome change from the bawdiness of x7, and it is a beach I might actually come to with friends to relax and enjoy the gorgeous views after a long day in real life.
- Great scenery
- Game to play and rewards to get.
- Nice ambiance and sounds
- Great idea as loyalty program
- Nada
April 25th, 2013 by Burbie52 | 3 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.
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The fish feeding thing is directly at the end of the first pier segment, unless it was glitched for you Burbie. About the bar area, I’m glad they’ve cut it off to the public. It drives me nuts when I sit in a bar area of Home and get accosted by kids playing grownups at the bar, constantly asking me what I want to drink, but, that’s just a pet peeve of mine. However, since LKWD made Sodium I see no reason for them to not include the mini game they have in S1 in some fashion. With a little tweaking and some clever rewarding it could become a focal point of this space and maybe compel others to buy a Dream space to gain access to the game.
The telescope is a nice touch, you can *just* make out the Dream Island to the right of the Yacht’s Bow. And the lizard made me smile.
LKWD have a nack for making quality looking stuff, and their artists and designers have done a great job here, even if it is more of the same, the truism here sticks; if it ain’t broke, dont try n’ fix it!
Nice review, this space looks really well done. I have mixed feelings however about the “members only” concept. It has some good points like a diminished troll factor, but it also opens up the “haves and the have nots” factor in Home. I guess I’m not a fan of the velvet rope, but at least Lockwood isn’t making us own a awful gold suit!
Feeding the fish only works when the fish are there.
Btw, nice review!