I grew up in the Netherlands. For those of you who have no clue what that country is like, it’s small and flat as a pancake. Not much mountain climbing adventures to be had over there. But what the Netherlands lacks in spectacular elevations is compensated in a way that has been woven into the fabric of my existence: Water, water and more water. I almost literally grew up on it.
Water keeps me spellbound to this day. I need it and not only for drinking. Water calms me down. Whenever I am near the sea or a lake, vivid memories flash through my mind. Of the lush green meadows of the Dutch countryside, of the warm, bright summer sun and me and my brothers traversing the countless lakes, rivers and canals (I conveniently ignore the excessive amounts of rain, but that’s water too, albeit less calming).
Excuse me for painting such a wholesome picture, but it’s the perfect prologue to how far immersion in VR in Somnium Space has come.
Water plays an important role in Somnium Space. Not only as a nice, distinct geographical feature in this VR world, but also as an element that is important from the perspective of immersion. Immersion, the immersive quality of an environment, influences to what extent your brain is tricked into thinking you are really present in that virtual space. Somnium Space has always understood the importance of this, which is why immersion is one of the cornerstones of their efforts. Their philosophy is VR and second to none immersive quality first. It’s the very reason why I was so attracted to their world in the first place.
And they have just added something that got me truly excited. Deep Oasis Lake, the giant body of water that stretches its tentacles into all directions, has gotten an upgrade. The result is mind blowing. Or should I say mind tricking. It has reached an immersive quality that made me respond in the same way as a real lake would. It automatically transported me back to the days when all I cared about was sailing, swimming and fishing. It’s that good. Now, of course I did not feel the rays of the bright summer sun warming my face or a light breeze in my hair, but those I imagined (for now, I wouldn’t bet on that modern technology isn’t going to find solutions for that). It all starts with vision and hearing and Somnium Space has written yet another chapter in the story of their amazing adventure land.
Waterfront parcels
Deep Oasis Lake isn’t just lying there to look pretty. Somnium Space has had a plan all along to extent waterfront parcels so that owners of such parcels could build structures all the way to and even a bit into the lake.
This amplifies the utility of all those parcels. Build a beach or kayak club, create the most awesome structures right on the water. How much additional space you have depends on the size of your parcel and how far it is situated from the shore. You can always check out the Somnium Space map to get an idea.
Weather Update
Somnium Space wouldn’t be Somnium Space if it didn’t relentlessly release new updates. Some fantastic new additions include volumetric lightning, dynamic synced & persistent weather including rain showers, morning fog, thunderstorms and even drops on water.
These updates will for sure bring back childhood memories of summer in The Netherlands: Water, sunny days, rain, storms, lightning, foggy mornings. It sounds like the Netherlands. And it certainly feels like it.
That’s the quality of Somnium Space.
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