Second Life Tutorial – Land

Published: 01/25/11

This tutorial was written for use with SL Viewer 2.

In Second Life (SL), there's a never ending abundance of land up for grabs, you just have to know how, and where, to get it.

All land in SL is measured in square meters. Listed below are the most common sizes of land (also called “parcels”):

• 512 sq meters

• 1024 sq meters

• 1536 sq meters

• 2048 sq meters

• 4096 sq meters

• 32,768 sq meters - ½ Sim

• 65,536 sq meters – Full Sim

Each parcel of land holds up to a certain number of “prims”.

What are prims? Each object in SL has a “prim count”. For instance, if I build a chair that is made up of 6 pieces, then it contains 6 prims.

Here are the different sizes of land and their prim counts:

• 512 sq meters – 117 prims

• 1024 sq meters – 234 prims

• 1536 sq meters - 351 prims
  

• 2048 sq meters – 468 prims

• 4096 sq meters – 937 prims

• 32,768 sq meters - ½ Sim – 7500 prims

• 65,536 sq meters – Full Sim – 15,000 prims

There are three different land types: Mainland, Estate, and Linden Homes.

-Mainland is land that you can buy directly from Linden Lab (the creators of SL), if you have a Premium account. You can do whatever you want with your Mainland as long as it is within the SL Community Standards (http://secondlife.com/corporate/cs.php).

-Estate land is land that is owned by other residents and “rented” out. You can rent Estate land without having a Premium account. If you'd like to rent some Estate land, you'll need to read the Estate's “Covenant” for instructions, rules, and guidelines before you rent.

-Linden Homes is land that is only available to those that have Premium accounts. This land is only available in 512 sq meter size parcels and comes with a house already on it which you cannot modify or change. Linden Homes are also setup by themes, so; if you choose a Japanese style house, the house will be located in a Japanese themed community landscaped with coy ponds, bonsai trees, and rock gardens. You can read more about Linden Homes here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Linden_Home

If you are just starting out and you have no idea what to do about land, but know that you do want to own some, the best thing to do is sign up for a Linden Home. (Remember, you must have a Premium account!)

Just follow the instructions here to get your Linden Home: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Linden_Home

An Alternative: Mainland

If you ever get tired of living in a Linden Home, you can purchase land on the “Mainland”.

The best way to search for Mainland for sale is to go to http://land.landmachine.com/ and browse the listings for a 512 sq meter size parcel. (Make sure the listings that you are interested in list "Mainland" as the "Type". See picture below.)

There are three things that you'll want to take notice of: location, maturity rating, and price.

First, teleport to each location and checkout the surroundings. Is it junky? Is the land by a noisy club or store? You'll probably want to find a 512 parcel that's around some other houses and try not to buy near a business. (Unless, you're looking to start a business, then you'll want to buy land close to other businesses!)

Next, take note of the Maturity Rating of the land. If you're an adult, you'll want to buy in a “Moderate” or “Adult” rated area. If you're under 18 yrs old, you'll need to buy in a “G” rated area.

Lastly, land prices vary, so you'll want to pay attention to the price as well!

Once you find a parcel of land that you like, you'll have to “buy” the land. Once you buy the land, it's yours to do what you want with it - this is the benefit of owning Mainland vs a Linden Home.

To buy the land, right click on the land and select “Buy This Land”.