Landmark – In Which I Claim

My seven days of Landmark wind up today, so I thought I would use a little bit of the remaining time to take one more look.

My main goal was just to stake a claim, just because I could.  I was prompted by Liore’s guide to doing just that, because I realized I had all the materials.  So why not?  So I got on last night, after the update and the downtime and look for a place to call my own.  First, I made my claim flag.

Claim Flag

Then I started looking around for a likely spot.

I wasn’t all that picky, but I also did not want to wander too far from the spires and the crafting stations… and apparently neither did anybody else.  So finding a claim turned out to be a little tricky.  I did end up being able to wedge myself into a spot between all the buffer zones.

Red means no!

You can see the amount of buffer SOE gives claims… that is the red zone… relative to the size of an actual claim… the little orange cubes.  But they didn’t quite squeeze me out.

Then it was time to figure out how to do something with my little patch of Landmark.  Initially I was not too impressed.

Little Blocks

How long would it take to construct something using tiny little blocks?  Then I figured out that I could make the blocks bigger with the scroll wheel.  I discovered this by accident, trying to zoom the camera out.  The camera controls are pretty primitive, and I keep trying to move the camera to get a better shot of something, only to run into a wall.  Ah well.

Still, with bigger blocks, I decided to build upwards, so as to maximize the eyesore nature of my attempt.

Ascending into the sky

I ended up creating a spiral set of blocks around a central spire in order to keep building higher and higher.  Eventually I had to start making the spiral bit wider, as I started falling off now and again, and the higher you go the more annoying it is to get back up when you fall.

Speaking of falling, I did manage to fall through the earth.

Oh, that shouldn’t be there

It isn’t really an MMO beta if you haven’t fallen through the earth yet.  So I am set on that achievement.

Eventually I ran out of green earth material and had to switch over to a worked stone pattern that looked like wood.  Then I started to tire of the whole thing, so I built a platform, jammed a huge sphere onto it.  Seeing that I still had materials left, I jammed a big cube on top of that.  Then I went looking for a way to take a screen shot of my monstrosity.

Again, camera controls are primitive.

I ran up a nearby hill and tried to capture its ungainly nature.  You can sort of see it.  Physics need not apply.

My platform things

Then I went back down to the base to sign it in yet another material I hadn’t used up.

Guess who?

I learned how to write in blocks back on the Atari 2600.  The “Video Graffiti” mode in the Surround game cartridge taught me much.

And that was about it for Landmark.

I did pay up my claim for as long as I was allowed.  But in 5 days and 22 hours it will be gone.

Claim Upkeep

We’ll see if I end up getting an extension on my seven days in Landmark.  I suspect that if you don’t opt-in and buy a Founder’s Pack at that point, SOE is done with you, but you never know.  And, of course, even if I do get an extension, there is no guarantee that I would have any more to do in any case.

You can find my temporary awkward carbuncle on the face of the Lowland zone on the Courage server.

Addendum: Bhagpuss found me.  Do we have a new game here?  Claim hide and seek?