MASONLines

MASONLines Funnel Livery

MASONLines

MASONLines is a passenger shipping company operating scheduled and charter services in the Second Life continent of New Pride Land. It is a subsidiary of MASONVerk, a privately held Icelandic corporation. MASONLines currently have four passenger ships in operation, two more in layup, and a sixth under construction.

Operations

Scheduled Services

Current Service

MASONLines currently operate a scheduled, scripted ferry service with the vessels M/S Eiríkur Rauði, M/S Ísafjörður and M/S Nyr Drambland (New Pride Land) on behalf of the Port Authority of New Pride Land. It is one of the largest such installations in Second Life. The system employs the Astrolabe navigation system designed and marketed by Gadgetport. Currently there are two departures per hour on transcontinental express service (the "Blue Line") between Yalta and the Company terminal in Siphonios, an additional two departures on southeastern local service (the "Red Line") between the terminal and Mission Beach, and two departures hourly on northeastern local service (the "Green Line" between Mission Beach and Selene.

See New Pride Land Ferry Schedule for current schedules.

Future Plans

Construction began in mid October on the Northeastern Local (Green Line) service, operating between Mission Beach and Thrace via Sparta and Troy, with plans to expand to Selene. The M/S Ísafjörður is operating twice-hourly test runs on this route from 10th November, 2008.

Plans were also afoot to reroute the transcontinental Blue Line north of Mission Beach and Sparta and call at Badpuppy and the Mark Kendall Bingham International Airport before arriving at the terminal. However, with the uncertainty around the future cost of open sims, the future of the airport and terminal is in doubt.

A fourth service, the Silver Line, to connect IX Exotica sim in the far East with the terminal via Badpuppy and the airport, was also in the discussion stages at the time of the cost-increase announcement.

Charter Services

The company also undertakes ad hoc, charter and excursion voyages. New or prospective residents are often given a tour of the Continent.

History

The history of Icelandic passenger transport in New Pride Land had humble beginnings. The first two vessels, the Goðafoss and the Leviathan, were laid down in the Building Fields at Mission Beach on 13th August, 2007. The vessels were 27.5 meters long and structurally identical, but the Goðafoss employed a traditional physical vehicle script, while the Leviathan used a non-physical "ultimate vehicle" script. The purpose of the "Ultimate Vehicle" testing was to determine if the 30-prim maximum for a moving object could be safely exceeded. Tests continued with the two vessels for some time. On 1st October the Leviathan was renamed Cyclops as construction on a much larger vessel neared completion.

The second Leviathan, launched on 22nd October, 2007, was -- for a fledgling builder -- a serious test of non-physical vehicle construction. 34 meters long and four decks high, it had four passenger cabins, two lounges, stairs, working doors, etc. Employing the "ultimate vehicle" script, it was capable of traveling vertically as well as in the water, and at first it seemed to be a success, albeit an ungainly one.

However, after just a few days, the vessel encountered an unauthorised security orb in public waters on the Sparta SIM and subsequently delinked, scattering debris over a four-sim area and touching off a political firestorm that led to the orb owner being ejected from the continent. The catastrophe spelled the end of non-physical script use by the company. Unfortunately, an elaborate Polish-built non-physical vessel, renamed the Sagafjord, had been purchased just the day before! She was never placed into service, and the Cyclops was also withdrawn.

It was during this time that the Company became involved with plans by the Port Authority of New Pride Land to create a scripted ferry service around the 30-SIM continent. It was an extremely ambitious project, possibly the largest of its kind in Second Life. After an extensive search, the Astrolabe navigation system created by Gadgetport was selected. The system uses a network of buoy-shaped prims, called waypoints, to direct vehicles on a fixed route. Waypoint systems are fairly common but typically operate within just a few SIMs. SIM crossings always pose a challenge for vehicles. It was determined that -- on the transcontinental service -- the ferries would cross 18 SIM frontiers in a single round trip, meaning hundreds per day. In addition, the SIMs in question were owned by and assigned to nearly a dozen individuals and groups, meaning myriad permissions problems to be overcome.

Initial conversations with SIM owners indicated that the Goðafoss was too large a vessel for such a service, which would require tight turns and passage through narrow canals. In response, on 29th January 2008 the Ísafjörður was launched, the first vehicle to be constructed at the Company's new home at Siphonios. She was 18.5 meters long and sat much lower to the water, and received the approval of the landowners and the Port Authority. Although she was built to conduct navigation tests of the planned routes, the Ísafjörður was outfitted with traditional vehicle propulsion while tests of the Astrolabe waypoint script system were underway using small sailboats.

On 22nd February, a sister ship, the Eiríkur Rauði was launched. She was the first Company vessel to include the Astrolabe scripting, and was soon operating in tests between the company's terminal at Siphonios and a point on the neighbouring SIM.

Then, tragedy stuck again. On 30th March, the little Ísafjörður broke up right at the doorstep of the Port Authority headquarters. At around the same time, the construction project hit a snag due to permissions on the Mission Beach SIM, numerous issues with the script, and RL time constraints on the part of the builders. No progress was made for several months, and although an identical unnamed vessel under construction was given the Ísafjörður name, she remained laid up.

In the meantime, a mammoth building project was underway at Siphonios. A static build in the shape of a contemporary cruise liner began rising on the southern portion of the SIM. 180 meters long, the five-deck vessel will host a number of lounges, guest rooms, pools, a gym, and a winter garden. She is named Jötunn, after a class of giant people from the sagas.

Construction on the waypoint system resumed in June and reached the doorstep of the Yumbo Park Hotel in late June 2008. However, boats continued to de-rez themselves and tip over without explanation. The scripter, who had never intended his system be used in such a large installation, was convinced the problems were due to object "fatigue" after being active through so many operations and sim crossings, so he endeavoured to modify the script to release a boat at a fixed time, which would complete one round-trip and then de-rez itself, to be replaced shortly thereafter by a new boat. This has the added advantage of allowing the boats to arrive at each stop at a predictable time, a highly desirable feature.

Although the "fatigue" problems were later attributed to a SIM permissions issue, the decision was made to proceed with the more reliable timed-rez script anyway. This was implemented successfully on 28th July 2008 with the Nyr Drambland (New Pride Land) operating in tandem with the Ísafjörður to provide three round-trips hourly. Each round trip took 33 minutes, made 12 stops, and crossed 18 SIM boundaries.

Sadly, the sudden departure of the Yumbo estate from the Continent shortly thereafter rendered the northwestern segment of the route redundant. On 18th October, The route was truncated to terminate at Yalta and the Ísafjörður was laid up, leaving the Nyr Drambland to complete two 24-minute circuits per hour.

However, on the same day the Company launched the Red Line, a local service through the southeastern quadrant of the Continent, between Mission Beach and Siphonios. The Eiríkur Rauði operates this route twice hourly. In the future, the Blue Line will be rerouted north of Mission Beach to call at the Mark Kendall Bingham International Airport via the Badpuppy sim before terminating at Siphonios.

Construction began on 21st October for the third service. Known as the Northeast Local or Green Line, it departs Mission Beach and calls at Sparta, Troy and Thrace before terminating at Selene. The Ísafjörður was placed in service on this route on 12th November, although it currently terminates at Thrace.

See related article New Pride Land Ferry Schedule

Fleet

Current Fleet

The MASONlines passenger fleet is made up of small coastal vessels of two types, and one large passenger liner purpose-built as a static attraction.

• M/V Eiríkur Rauði (Eric the Red)
  • Built: 22nd February, 2008 by MASONVerk, Siphonios
  • Specifications:
    • Length: 18.5 meters (60.7 feet)
    • Breadth: 5 meters (16.4 feet)
    • Capacity: 2 (on poseballs, to be increased to 7)
    • Powered: Astrolabe Navigation by Gadgetport
  • Deployment: Red Line (southeastern local) scripted service.
• M/V Ísafjörður III
  • Built: 8th February, 2008 by MASONVerk, Siphonios
  • Sistership to Eiríkur Rauði
  • Deployment: Green Line (northeastern local) scripted service
• M/V Nyr Drambland (New Pride Land)
  • Built: 21st August, 2008 by MASONVerk, Siphonios
  • Sistership to Eiríkur Rauði
  • Deployment: Blue Line (transcontinental express) service
• M/V Goðafoss I
  • Built: 13th August, 2007 by MASONVerk, Mission Beach
  • Specifications:
    • Length: 27.5 meters (90.2 feet)
    • Breadth: 8 meters (26.25 feet)
    • Capacity: 4 (on poseballs)
    • Powered: Traditional physical vehicle
  • Deployment: Charter services
• M/V Cyclops
  • Built: 1st October 2007 by MasonVerk, Mission Beach
  • Sistership to Goðafoss
  • Powered: "Ultimate Vehicle"
  • Deployment: Laid up
• M/V Sagafjord
  • Built: 22nd October 2007 by Lorando Runo as Agnes
  • Passenger Yacht
  • Powered: non-physical script
  • Deployment: Laid up

Future Fleet

• M/S Jötunn (Giant)
  • Built: Under construction by MASONVerk, Siphonios
  • Specifications
    • Length: 180 meters (590.6 feet)
    • Breadth: 20 meters (65.6 feet)
    • Passenger Decks: 5
    • Powered: None (static "building")
  • Deployment: Static attraction/residence
• M/V Vinland (Greenland)
  • Built: Under construction by MASONVerk, Siphonios
  • Sistership to Eiríkur Rauði
  • Deployment: To operate Green Line (northern territories)

Former Fleet

• M/V Ísafjörður II
  • Built: 29 January, 2008
  • Specifications:
    • Length: 18.5 meters (60.7 feet)
    • Breadth: 5 meters (16.4 feet)
    • Capacity: 2 (on poseballs)
    • Powered: Astrolabe Navigation by Gadgetport
  • Demise: Broke Up 30th March, 2008, Siphonios
• M/V Leviathan II
  • Built: 22nd October, 2007
  • Specifications:
    • Length: 35 meters (114.82 feet)
    • Breadth: 10 meters (32.8 feet)
    • Passenger Decks: 4
    • Powered: "Ultimate Vehicle"
  • Demise: Broke Up, 2007, Alex Ander
• M/V Leviathan
  • Built: 13th August, 2007 by MASONVerk, Mission Beach
  • Specifications:
    • Length: 27.5 meters (90.2 feet)
    • Breadth: 8 meters (26.25 feet)
    • Capacity: 4 (on poseballs)
    • Powered: "Ultimate Vehicle"
  • Demise: renamed Cyclops, laid up.