Metaplace

[BobRichmond]

Has anyone else tried Metaplace (www.metaplace.com)? It is in closed beta, but if you try the code of "iweek" you might be able to get one of their 200 invitations.

From the look of the rooms that have already been built there it looks like a builders dream. A lot of the building materials are free from Metaplace, Yahoo, or Google and the interface for building is pretty good.

If you like the social aspect (sitting and chatting) of VMK best, this may be for you. However be aware that there is no dictionary or many other restrictions, so kids might not be safe.

 

[Goofy05]

Has anyone else tried Metaplace (www.metaplace.com)? It is in closed beta, but if you try the code of "iweek" you might be able to get one of their 200 invitations.

From the look of the rooms that have already been built there it looks like a builders dream. A lot of the building materials are free from Metaplace, Yahoo, or Google and the interface for building is pretty good.

If you like the social aspect (sitting and chatting) of VMK best, this may be for you. However be aware that there is no dictionary or many other restrictions, so kids might not be safe.

Thanks, Bob! Just cleaned up your link a little. I'm on my way to checking things out now!
https://www.metaplace.com/
Okay, I did sign up to try the Beta and the very first requirement is that you are 18 or older. From the TOS:
By using the Service and participating in this Beta Program, you agree as follows:

You (a) are eighteen years of age or older, (b) are not participating in the Beta Program on behalf of any other person or entity, or as an employee, agent or principal of any other entity, and (c) are entering into this Agreement on a completely voluntary basis with no expectation of consideration, remuneration or any form of compensation whatsoever other than what is expressly provided for in this Agreement;

 

[Diva of Dragons]

I signed up and it put me into the game right away! I'll probably really check it out tomorrow. I have stuff to get done tonight.

 

[BobRichmond]

I signed up and it put me into the game right away! I'll probably really check it out tomorrow...

If you stopped the game during character creation or anyones bombs at that point and your character is not what you would like, go to the Metaplace Hub and the moderators can get you back to that point.

Also really spend some time in the building tutorials. Once you go to your "place" there will be a tab on the top that will take you to them. They are pretty easy to follow and any "damage" you do to your "place" can be pretty easily undone.

 

[bevgray]

Signed up and got in. Played just a bit with the tutorial for building. It seems very intuitive. However, I can't change the appearance of my avatar. Is there a place for that?

 

[BobRichmond]

...I can't change the appearance of my avatar. Is there a place for that?

This is answered (and in the next paragraph will be a discussion of the age range) in the below edit of a discussion we had in game today:
"Amethyst" is an in game moderator that can usually be found in the metaplace hub and "chooseareality" is a developer.
"...
BobRichmond: have a question - can and how do we change our avatars
...
Amethyst: Bob - Easy! Click on The New You.
Amethyst: Any world that has a New You shop in it can change your appearance
..."
There is a New You shop in the Metaplace hub.

"...
BobRichmond: oh a nothing question (sic)
...
BobRichmond: l game be 18+ when it goes live or just for beta
Amethyst: It's actually 13+ and will remain that way.
Amethyst: We already allow folks 13-18, so there won't be a change.
Amethyst: We will expect people to rate worlds that shouldn't be viewed by minors as Mature, that's all.
Amethyst:
BobRichmond: tos says 18+ so it will be changed
Amethyst: Correct.
...
chooseareality: I am pretty sure that is all tied to the NDA and how you can't really enforce one for a minor most likely
...
chooseareality: just me guessing though
Amethyst: the 13+ limit is due to COPPA.
chooseareality: yep
MsVikki: COPPA?
Amethyst: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
Amethyst: http://www.coppa.org/coppa.htm
...
Amethyst: Basically, it says we can't store info about people under the age of 13 - which includes membership info.
Amethyst: So we can't legally allow kids under 13 to sign up.
Amethyst: It's for their protection.
chooseareality: so how does wizard 101 get around it
...
Amethyst: They probably take the precautions needed to ensure they'll be totally safe and not exposed to people they oughtn't be.
BobRichmond: wizard101 stores the info under their parent account
Amethyst: That as well.
Amethyst: You can as a parent make an account for your child.
chooseareality: ok that makes sense a loophole
Amethyst: The child just can't register themselves.
AnjelusX: Webkinz is like that, chat interaction is for the most part limited by select phrases only
...
chooseareality: oh I love the chat restriction system in wizard 101
chooseareality: I don't fear letting my 11 year old play it
Amethyst:
chooseareality: she doesn't know that yet though, since I am showing it to her when she is over this weekend
Amethyst: Metaplace isn't really designed for young kids though, so that's why we're not providing an official way to have kids sign up yet. The main reason is that we don't want them to be exposed to people they should not be, but can't really police the kids account the way a kids only site could.
..."

 

[aliceblue]

This looks interesting, but it's very laggy on my computer so far. I've ended up frozen twice and have yet to get through the basic tutorial.

Lots of customizing options! Hope I get a chance to figure it all out.

 

[rickyratsmom]

I joined today and have been exploring and built my home, well sort of lol. A person who works for Metaplace gave me a tour, his name was Jason. What I saw was really nice!! I think the game has a lot of potential, the only thing I missed was music in the public places and my home. I have an entertainment center, just don't know how to use it lol.. I really like that there is tons of free stuff for building and you get gold and exp by just exploring different places!! I wandered around kind of lost and am level 5 now lol!

 

[aengus]

I have been in there for a while. It is an interesting concept.

 

[Iris]

I went on it yesterday. This reminds me a great deal of the SIMS which my daughter used to play quite a bit except that there is a chat feature. The changing of the ground height, the use of blocks for modifying, all reminds me of any of the SIMS games.

I haven't had much time, but is there any location where players can do things together? I guess this is the thing I really miss most of VMK - all those pirate games and haunted mansion games that you could play with friends. Sigh...I miss those fun times in pirates where we would "yell" at each other and have such a great time.

 

[goldengourd]

Thanks for the heads up, went and signed up. Just had a few minutes to explore, but did see a couple titles I recognized (Hi SneekyTiki, and saw aengus name come up on chat log in a room i wonder through but had no idea how to find him, lol). I think it has great potential for building and socializing. However, it is a pretty elaboriate set-up and doubt very seriously I'll be able to afford it once beta is over. It is going to take a bit of a learning curve, too. And I'm sure there will be a lot of user-created worlds that will be, uhmm, not the type of thing I'm interested in.

 

[aengus]

Yes the building capabilities look great, but for now seem complex. They have a wiki I have not poured through yet.

 

[Iris]

I was on yesterday and Amethyst came to my world and showed me some shortcuts on building, especially walls. She grabbed some stuff from the marketplace for my inventory and helped me do some basic building. Once she showed me some things, it didn't seem so complicated.

It was nice to be able to ask a question globally, yet still within my world and have someone in another location see my question. That is how Amethyst ended up coming to me. I like this feature.

 

[aengus]

I have to agree that the in game staff are extremely helpful. I just need to spend more time in there to get more familiar

 

[Peri]

I signed up but no invitation to enter - the tweek thing did not work (I did this several days ago).

sniff

 

[aliceblue]

I signed up but no invitation to enter - the tweek thing did not work (I did this several days ago).

sniff

The code is not "tweek"; it's "iweek". That's what I used and was able to get right in.

 

[vmkfan13]

New key:
https://beta.metaplace.com/betatest/key/register/MPINSIDER

 

[Peri]

Oh thanks to all!! Just got in!

Woot!

 

[threeboysmom]

Sigh...I miss those fun times in pirates where we would "yell" at each other and have such a great time.

Aww, Cruise.he. I can come on anytime and yell at you all you want!

Just signed up for this game now... Loading as I speak...

 

[FlyingPegasus]

Joined as FlyingPegasus, game is loading now!