Even though I own a fair few cats in RL I can’t say that I’ve ever been inclined towards gazing in wonderment at their ears. In Second Life though I am totally transfixed by the texturing on the ears of the Wildwood Cats, of which regular readers will know I am currently Beta testing. Both Amanda and I were aurally fixated the other night, gazing in wonderment at the tabs on on my wee feline charges. I said it in my previous post, and I will say it again, the textures on these cats are literally mouthwatering in their details; from the individual hairs in the ears to the sparks of light dancing across the pupils and the pink pads upon their paws. Each detail is just totally spot on. Heck, these cats even have dew claws!

(Click to enlarge, dew claw on right inside paw you can *just* make it out.  Check out the crossed back legs!)

I’ve had a few people ask me how well the Beta is going and I can say, hand on heart, it’s been a real joy. One of the things that I like about Wildwood as a company is that they’re taking their time and ensuring that as many problems are rooted out in the Beta phase as possible. In fact, they’re being so diligent in their approach that we’ve just embarked upon a phase 2 of the Beta programme. But I must tell you that phase one sure ended on a high for me, because something really rather fabulous happened. Not only did I birth my first basket (without a single hitch too ) it turned out that the kit inside was rather special. Here she is:

(She’s a real sweetie. Click for large version)

Yes- she’s a fold. Sadly I only got to enjoy her for 24 hours (Birthed on the 17th, Beta 1 ended 18th) before she ascended to Beta-Kitty heaven but it’s nice to know that there are treats such as folded ears in store. These are apparently going to be super-rare so it was even a surprise to the creators that I was gifted with one! Beta 2 has seen fully matured cats arrive this time around, with many changes including animations and poses. You can indeed hold your cats to great effect, as illustrated below:

(As always, click to enlarge…)

Like the bunnies before them the postures require adjustment to suit your avatar; not every avvie is the same shape after all so holding your cats will take a smidgen of tweaking, BUT it’s totally worth the effort. There are  a couple of holds and a number of different postures for the cats, so experimenting with options, as well as trying various attachment points is highly recommended to get the best results. You can stick your cats to all sorts of spots on your avatar..’nuff said. This time around I’ve birthed many more cats than in my first Beta session and as a result have found tons more coat and eye colours in the starter packs. I’ve seen a number of eye colours with whimsical names such as ‘Canary’ and ‘Forest’ (Yellow and green obviously) but there’s also a stumning cobalt blue that I believe will be highly prized amongst breeders.

( You really MUST click this one!)

After my previous post I wondered if I had been a little too harsh on the Brightpets, but no; I reserve the right to state a preference and for me the Wildwood Cats are beyond compare. I know people with Brightpets and I hear that they are going to be undergoing some changes in the near future. It will be interesting to see how they plan to raise their game, and if these changes have come about as a direct result of the perceived competition from Wildwood, something that I think is beyond reasonable doubt. The stakes are high for sure; but I don’t judge anyone by what car they drive or what breedable pet they prefer, taste is an individual thing. If Brightpets are making changes I hope that they are making them for the right reasons, and not as a knee jerk reaction. The Wildwood and Brightpets cats are two very different breedables, and better for the differences between them, rather than the similarities.

A final point; in all my dealings with Wildwood I’ve been totally impressed by their willingness to take ideas on board, by the swiftness of their actions and by their mission to create the very best product that they can. I would go so far as to say that I think Wildwood will change the way that breedable pets operate on the grid and hopefully for the better, due to their vision and strong ethics. I can only wish them great success in their ventures, and whilst I don’t have a timeframe for release to impart to you all, let’s just say I’d make sure that you have your letters in to Santa nice and early this year.

(Oh, and I’m expecting a new batch of kittens shortly, so will share with you my findings when they emerge!)