...cybertown.com has a lot more to offer you, though it is not without some quirks.
Cybertown is a virtual community online. Here you can build and furnish your own home, talk to other residents, visit their homes, have them visit your home, get a job or simply bum around talking to everyone ... Read review
Advantages: 3D homes and chat, avatars, lots of people Disadvantages: quirky, can be slow, not for slow computers
UPDATE: I am now on a new block called Witchcraft and my daughter BigRigChick is the senior block deputy at Native Lore. Join either of us if this is an interest of yours. Otherwise there are a huge number of blocks for every sort of interest. So, if you are a music lover, a film buff or a new ager, there will be a place here for you. Remember, I am here to help you, irrespective of whether you want to move to my neighbourhood or not. Just e-mail ... ...
~~~~~~~~~~
Right, so you do like 3D chat and you want a little more. Well Cybertown – www.cybertown.com has a lot more to offer you, though it is not without some quirks.
Cybertown is a virtual community online. Here you can build and furnish your own home, talk to other residents, visit their homes, have them visit your home, get a job or simply bum around talking to everyone you meet. The avatars can ... more
UPDATE: I am now on a new block called Witchcraft and my daughter BigRigChick is the senior block deputy at Native Lore. Join either of us if this is an interest of yours. Otherwise there are a huge number of blocks for every sort of interest. So, if you are a music lover, a film buff or a new ager, there will be a place here for you. Remember, I am here to help you, irrespective of whether you want to move to my neighbourhood or not. Just e-mail me at Linda.Little@thelittle.freeserve.com if you need any help at all.
~~~~~~~~~~
Right, so you do like 3D chat and you want a little more. Well Cybertown – www.cybertown.com has a lot more to offer you, though it is not without some quirks.
Cybertown is a virtual community online. Here you can build and furnish your own home, talk to other residents, visit their homes, have them visit your home, get a job or simply bum around talking to everyone you meet. The avatars can move and talk. You simply type up what you want to say and the avatar will speak your words to your companion. You can even have pets (bots) whom you can programme to welcome visitors. Let me run you through what you will get here.
3D MEMBERSHIP
If you have a relatively fast computer, a lot of memory and like seeing things in 3D then this is the membership for you.
BENEFITS
You can: 1. Own your own 3D home online, which can be decorated according to your own taste. 2. Decide who is to visit this home. 3. Make friends and visit these friends in their own homes online. 4. Have your own avatar - a moving, talking person/animal/alien/robot which represents. 5. See other people online as avatars and chat to them face-to-face. 6. Have access to over 100 other Cybertown members online at virtually any time of the day or night. 7. Leave messages at other people’s homes and receive messages at your home 8. Programme cyber pets to welcome people into your home. 9. Visit public areas in Cybertown and chat to the people there. 10. Join special interest Cybertown clubs. 11. Create your own clubs at Cybertown. 12. Do virtual jobs which give you virtual cash so that you can get better houses and furnishings etc.
How do you get started? 1. Go to www.cybertown.com and click on the “immigrate” icon. 2. Register as a member. (Remember to say that Ecolinda recommended you.) 3. Wait for your email confirmation. 3. Log in. 4. Click on the 3D icon on the right hand side of your screen. 5. Follow the prompts to download the latest version of blaxxun Contact - which is entirely FREE.
2D MEMBERSHIP
If you are not that crazy about 3D, you have an old and rather slow computer or you simply haven’t got the space to download another thing, then become a 2D member here. The benefits are more limited but you can still do virtually everything a 3D member can do.
BENEFITS
You can: 1. Set up a 2D home online and use it as a personal chat centre. 2. Decide who is to visit this home. 3. Receive messages from other Cybertown residents and visit them at their homes. 3. Visit the public areas and speak to the people you meet there. 4. Join various clubs at Cybertown. 5. Set up your own clubs. 6. Do virtual jobs at Cybertown.
How do you get started? 1. Go to www.cybertown.com and click on the “immigrate” icon. 2. Register as a member. (Remember to say that Ecolinda recommended you.) 3. Wait for your confirmation email. 4. Log in.
SO WHAT IS IT LIKE?
So what is it like?
Well Cybertown is very much like an ordinary rather large town. It has a lot of public areas where people wander about and chat to each other and lots of residential blocks where people have their houses.
Do not be put off by the quality of this chat in some of the public areas. It may sound rather inane to you, but remember a lot of people here will be beginners and practicing – including you perhaps. All your speech is typed in on the little chat box at the bottom of your screen. Try saying something to one of the people here. (As I said, don’t worry if it sound a bit inane. This is just practice.)
JUST PUSH THE BUTTON
Now look at the Control Panel on your right hand side. Here you will find the most important button in the whole game. It is called “How do I?” If you want to build your own home, see your avatar, change your avatar, etc you will find instructions here. It is all simply written and will walk you through all these processes step by step.
SETTING UP HOME
The first thing to do, whether you are in 2D and 3D, is to set up your own home. This will give you a base for all your explorations in Cybertown and a way for people to contact you and visit you. (Check out the appropriate section under “How do I?”) Choose your colony, neighbourhood and block, then give your house a name.
If you want to move to my block - Witchcraft -e-mail me and I will arrange to make sure I am around to introduce you to the block leader and help you set up home with us. If you would like to join Native Lore, my daughter's block, then email me and I will arrange for her to do likewise.
If, however, you prefer to join another block, but still need a little help, there is no reason why you should still not contact me.
VISITING
Now try visiting.
You are lucky because you can come and visit my home. I might not be there or I might be busy, but it will give you good practice. Simply type: http://www.cybertown.com/home/Ecolinda into your browser and go there. If the place you arrive at is called Magick Forest, you are in the right place.
If you have any trouble doing it this way, simply type the following into your browser and hit return: http://www/cybertown/com/cgi-bin/cybertown/property?ID=0105050505040408 as this is the ID of my home. Don't forget to leave a message in my Inbox when you get there.
WORKING AT CYBERTOWN
I have been in and out of various jobs in Cybertown, having been a block deputy twice and a block leader once and now only being a resident. For a great personal account from someone who has made it to nieghbourhood deputy, though, you should read Tye_Sabdford's opinion called "Everything was very new and exciting" which can be found at:
or simply pick up his name and go straight to his profile page.
That is about all for you 2D members, so go immediately to CYBERTOWN NIGHTMARE and if this does not put you off, have a go.
NOW FOR 3D
Hands up who is in 3D. If you have not already looked at your avatar, do so now. How? Remember the button?
That blue thing is you. It looks a bit like a blue ghost and it is how every newbie arrives at Cybertown. Not nice is it? Want a better avatar? Then using click “How do I?” again and follow the instructions to change your avatar.
There is a good choice of avatars here, though if you are female you may have to choose between librarian look-alikes and spandex horrors. (Give me the ‘horrors’ anytime. At least they are interesting.) If you are more adventurous go for aliens, robots or animals
FURNISHING
Now for personalisation. You have a home, much like anyone elses. As a beginner it will be fairly small. You can, however, make it truly your own by furnishing it in your own unique way. How do you do this? (Do I really need to tell you again? Just push the button….) Not got enough money for that particular item. Well you have two choices. Live simply and bum around enjoying yourself or get a job and acquire lots of cyber-dosh to do up your pad. How do you get a job? (Just push the button….)
CYBERTOWN NIGHTMARE
And now for the not-so-good bits. During the time I was writing out this opinion I was also messing around in Cybertown trying to remind myself of all the information I would need for this article. I have been around Cybertown on and off for over 2 years now, so I needed to check out how a newcomer would experience the site.
PROBLEM ONE -a small one.
If you do not visit Cybertown regularly, then your house will be removed. Don’t panick, it usually takes quite a while, but watch out for special rules on some blocks. (If your block operates such rules, you should be informed.) Generally, you can go on a long holiday without much happening. Also, your account is not removed, so any entitlement you have in terms of cybercash is still there when you return. You will simply have to set up another house, and the space you used to inhabit might be occupied.
PROBLEM 2 - this one is WEIRD!
During the time I was writing this I logged on as a visitor. You can log on as a visitor and see if you like Cybertown before registering if you like. Later on, I reloaded my own avatar and somehow managed to get the blue man (visitor/beginner avatar) and my own spandex horror permanently welded together like rather unfortunate siamese twins. This was a little embarrassing. I also could not move. By logging on and off a couple of times things sorted out, but it was a tad embarrassing.
PROBLEM 3 - this is irritating.
Cybertown is such a huge database that logging on is inevitably slow. A slow computer will find it virtually impossible, but then it depends what you mean my slow. My own comp is 450 and the download speed is a bit irritating but not critical. If something does not appear to be happening here, give it plenty of time and DO NOT try and give a different order. Giving multiple conflicting orders will be very likely to crash the programme. You have been warned.
PROBLEM 4 - unexpected quirkiness.
This is new-tech and as such it is quirkey. Some things will not work well, some will not work at all. This may be that the coding has not been completely worked out, or that your computer cannot handle what Cybertown is doing. When I had a pet, I was continually trying to get it to work the way I wanted it to. Sometimes it would speak, sometimes remain obstinately silent. Sometimes it would even appear as a blue avatar - like those newbie ghosts. There are other small quirks too, after all, this is breaking technology. If you have any real difficulties, get in touch with the tech help that you will find under feedback.
OVERALL
Overall, I have found that the benefits of Cybertown membership, especially in 3D, vastly outweigh the occassional problems, so do give it a go.
Advantages: great place to chat in 3D Disadvantages: none
Cybertown is the 4th dimension. An online virtual world complete with shops, cafés, bars, clubs, swimming pools, theme parks and cinemas.
If you want to get away from reality or just like chatting online in 3D, Cybertown is for you. Creating your username is easy, just like logging in. Once you have logged in using your username and secure password, you are transported to the Central Plaza where hundreds of people gather to talk. If you wish, you ... ...has their own avatar or 3D person. Unfortunately, to go into 3D you need Blaxxun Contact, a 4mb download available in Cybertown and a 266mhz computer with a respectable graphics card. Unlike what you would think of an online world, the graphics once in 3D are good, and support OpenGL and Direct3D. My ancient Voodoo 3500AGP card runs fine. Lag is virtually non existent, especially when you go to chat in your own or someone else’s home.
The ...
LimpBizkitUK 23.09.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of cybertown.com
Advantages: Unique, addictive, that little bit different, safe for kids Disadvantages: Having to pay
To call Cybertown a chat site barely scratches the surface. Its so much more than that.
Cybertown is a virtual world, where you can have a home, a job, an avatar and a lot of fun.
When you join youre given a gift of 1000cc (city cash) with which to buy your home. Before you can buy it though you have to decide where to settle. There are 10 colonies to chose from among them, Inner Realms (my personal favourite), Entertainment, HiTek, SciFi, Games. ... ...eg within Inner Realms there are Enchanted (again a personal fave lol), Angels, Legends & Lore, Astrology, Meditation. When you select a neighbourhood, youre almost there, you just need a block again for example in Enchanted you have Medeival Realms, Wood Elves, Enchanted Forest to name but a few. Its worth checking out several colonies before you settle you can guarantee there will be something to suit you somewhere.
So now youve decided where ...
starlight_xx 16.02.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of cybertown.com
Advantages: Get away from real life and relax in a chair at a computer Disadvantages: Can forget about real people
It was April 2001 and whilst looking through a computer magazine I came across this www.cybertown.com – virtual civilisation. A Small caption along with the screen shot of the main page. I stepped to my computer and typed in the Url. As I sat waiting for the page to load my imagination started to visualise what it would be like. As I entered the site into the main plaza everything was very new and exciting. After having a good look at the site ... ...part of this virtual world. I filled out all the details that was required and awaited my special number being sent to me via e-mail, seemed like ages, being the sad person that I am, to get to me. At last I was in I was a virtual citizen and there it began. I made my way using the ‘Jumpgate’ to go to the employment office to find a job. All of a sudden people were greeting me from all over the world asking if I required any help and ...
Tye_Sanford 09.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of cybertown.com
Cybertown.com is a 3d virtual world, which is to say that it can, at the most basic, be described as a chat program, but it is so much more than that. It is a virtual community, with many sub-communities within it. There are several colonies within which one can have a 3d home (and there are many '3d objects' available to furnish one's home). Within each colony there are neighborhoods, which are sub-divided into blocks. Cybertown is run on a voluntary ... ...does, the more 'cyber cash' one can earn, which can then be spent on items for the home. One has a 3d avatar to represent oneself, and these are many and varied, and the software is available to build one's own. This is the only thing, however, that can cost real money. The real advantage with Cybertown over similar 3d chat environments is that it is completely free of charge.
I can fully recommend visiting this site. I have made many friends from ...
Tulipp 15.03.2001 (19.02.2001)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of cybertown.com