Yamato - But Not That Yamato

Back in November I posted an entry about a Japanese sim that featured a brilliant reproduction of the battleship, Yamato. However, I have been aware for some time that this was not the only Yamato sim in Second Life, and tonight I made a second foray to one I first visited a few months ago, but decided not to write about: Yamato Isle.

Why didn't I write about it then? Well, to be honest, I thought it didn't warrant it. It was a confused melee and didn't strike me as terribly interesting.

So why have I opted to write about it now? Two reasons really: first, it is one of the lesser known IBM sims, so that gives it some kind of cachet; and second, it was open and I was bored of looking for something more interesting. The island, as the name implies, belongs to IBM Japan - and seems to be their "innovations and creations" lab. Around half the island is open to visitors, while you can also get a reasonable view of the half that is closed.

Given that its role is to offer a haven for developing 3D ideas, it is surprising that it is open to the public. In truth, there is not that much to see here, as it is all rather fractured, though it seems to have more coherence now than when I first visited, towards the tail end of last year. It has a few usable spaces, such as an auditorium - but I don't know if this is in use. The island seems to be managed for IBM by Bananamanh777 Swot (aka Bananamanh777 Spook).

I'm not sure that it's worth making a special trip to see, unless you are some kind of nerdy IBM sim completist - in which case, it is essential to tick this off your list. But then again... you've probably been here already. Anyway, here's a few snaps for you to peruse:




See what I mean? All sorts of bits in development. Of course, if you want the proper, public sim you can always toddle along to IBM Japan. I went there a while back, too - and for this post made a return visit. It still looks very unfinished to me - but you can take a ride-a-cow (or Mooving Cow) tour of the sim!