Thunder Over Discovery 2023
Come join us to celebrate Discovery Grid's 7th anniversary party on July 1st. This is an expanded event with new routines and two Thunder Over Discovery showings, one starting at 2PM grid time to accommodate our Euro-zone residents and visitors, and another at 6PM grid time for our North/South Americas residents and visitors.
Thunder Over Discovery 2023 is patterned after the real life Thunder Over Louisville event, which showcases new aviation events ranging from vintage aircraft to modern military aircraft. Our event takes place in virtual Louisville. Each showing starts with an hour of DJ extravaganza at Club Thunder. The 2PM slot is hosted by DJ Calliope Andel, and the 6PM slot is hosted by DJ Jack Stone. They will treat you to thunderous music, dance, and light show.
Schedule
- First Showing:
- 2:00 PM - DJ Calliope - Preshow
3:00 PM - Puddle Jumpers airshow
3:08 PM - F-22 and Fokker E3 duet
3:13 PM - F-22 Demonstration Debut
3:18 PM - F-22 missile strike demo
3:21 PM - Kitty Hawk Special Debut
3:25 PM - Brief intermission
3:30 PM - Blue Angels airshow
3:50 PM - Brief intermission
4:00 PM - Pyromusical Fireworks
- Second Showing:
- 6:00 PM - DJ Jack Stone - Preshow
7:00 PM - Puddle Jumpers airshow
7:08 PM - F-22 and Fokker E3 duet
7:13 PM - F-22 Demonstration Debut
7:18 PM - F-22 missile strike demo
7:21 PM - Kitty Hawk Special Debut
7:25 PM - Brief intermission
7:30 PM - Blue Angels airshow
7:50 PM - Brief intermission
8:00 - Pyromusical Fireworks
- When:
- July 1st 2023 - 1st Event begins 2 PM (14:00) to 4:30 PM (16:30) Grid time
2nd Encore Event begins 6 PM (18:00) to 8:30 PM (20:30) Grid Time - Where:
- Region "Louisville"
Everyone, use our event WEB teleporter: Thunder Over Discovery Listing
HG visitors, hop in via your WEB browser: hop://discoverygrid.net:8002/Louisville
or via the viewer's world map: discoverygrid.net:8002/Louisville
The Airshows
PLEASE arrive early especially if you are a hypergrid visitor. The doors close during the airshows and during the pyromusical to prevent timing disruptions caused by people entering the region. For a sneak peek, click on the following images to see previews of the air show:
Following the music and dance party, you will be treated to several air shows: the Puddle Jumpers will perform acrobatics with wing-walkers followed by precision skydiving; a mirrored flight between vintage Fokker E3 propeller aircraft and modern F-22 jet; a debut of the F-22 and its awesome capabilities; and a debut of one of the earliest aircraft.
Blue Angels virtual air show. The F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets are bigger and faster this year. Be prepared to be blown away by the surround sound effect, the high precision breathtaking acrobatic flight maneuvers and thunderous flyovers with newly added maneuvers.
The Pyromusical
The pyromusical is a fabulous virtual fireworks running in exact synchronization with a music soundtrack, brought to you by PyroVR Fireworks. Neytiri, owner/operator of PyroVR, has created new custom effects that will be debuted for this event. Click on the video image to see last year's 2022 show.
Upon Arrival
Please set your viewer to shared environment as we will use EEP to bring you evening skies during the dance section, a beautiful day scene for the air shows, and a deep dark moon sky scene for the pyromusical. When you move to the viewing barges for the air shows and pyromusical, get a sound HUD from the dispenser (see photo). Touch the dispenser to receive an attachment request. The PyroVR sound HUD will give you a precise 3D audio mix, so be sure to wear headphones or connect to a surround sound system during the airshows and the pyromusical events. Remove facelights and any particle emitters as they starve out the fireworks. Set your draw distance to at least 512m, and preferrably type in chat, dd 1200, since the airshows and the fireworks take up a lot space. Enable advanced lighting for the full effect.
You will be treated to both a music sound track and public address announcements directing you to the maneuvers and where the aircraft are located. Before the show start, set your viewer Music and Sounds settings as shown in this photo. In Firestorm, hover over the speaker icon (upper right) then move the two sliders as shown.
How to Camera-Follow the Jets
Most of the acrobatic maneuvers are executed in front of the viewing barges, so the default view
from the seats work well for them. Some maneuvers look great if you can lock your camera onto
one of the jets. Because the aircraft are moving quickly it is difficult to use alt-left-click to
lock your camera onto them. An easier approach is to click on the people icon in the viewer or
select menu Comm / People then
click on one of the pilots name, then click on Zoom. The pilots names are listed below.
Puddle Jumpers biplane: Modee Parlez, F-22: Neytiri Omatikaya, Fokker E3: Kayaker Magic,
Blue Angels: Balpien Hammerer, Craig Denimore, Drew Hunter, Zai Dium, Kayaker Magic, Neytiri Omatikaya, Tenbears Running.
About the DJs
Calliope Andel also known as "Muse" has been a DJ in many game environments and virtual worlds since 2002. "I love entertaining people. I love to play music and engage people so they feel they're a part of the scene not just listening to the music." Calliope's favorite genres include Epic music, International, Bhangra, Latin, Rock, Hip Hop, Swing and Disco. You can find her throughout the metaverse, look her up on Discord to see where she'll be next. Calliope will be playing at the 2PM preshow, air shows, and pyromusicals.
Jack Stone was a DJ in RL at a local country radio station for a few years before going virtual. In his own words:
"To be honest, DJing in virtual is a lot tuffer than DJing in real life.
In RL you don't have your listeners straight up in your face.
"Even though I was a country DJ in RL, I have a soft spot in my heart for pop and rock, but I have several
thousand different songs in about every genre. I love DJing. I always look forward to putting a smile on
all my listeners' faces. I try to pay very close attention to what my listeners say and try to play music to suit
the moods. I have a song for about every subject that you can imagine.
"I have been DJing in virtual for a few years now, and I have DJed in about every virtual world around, but I am
proud to say that Discovery is now my home. You cannot find any better people than the friends and acquaintances
that I have here in Discovery. No wonder everyone says that Discovery is an up and coming grid.
"Have a great day, and never let the music stop playing. Jack will be playing at the 6PM preshow."
About the Blue Angel Pilots
The Blue Angels train weekly for 10 to 12 practice sessions to hone their skills sufficently to be able to fly solo or lead a formation through the complex maneuvers of the air show. They master flying close to the water, performing acrobatic maneuvers, dealing with virtual air turbulence when an HG visitor drops into the region, and avoiding the void; a 6x6 region requires situational awareness lest collisions occur. This year's pilots are a mix of second to fourth year veterans. It is all about the love of precision flying and having fun.
About the Puddle Jumper Pilots
The Puddle Jumpers are a chaotic crew of lovable wee-folk who train weekly to hone their skills and crazy antics to perform their death defying wing walks and skydiving routines. They love dealing with virtual air turbulence as they welcome chaos as their stochastic friend. They are new to this year's expanded air show. For them, it is all about camaraderie.
About PyroVR Fireworks
PyroVR Fireworks is a professional fireworks display company providing the most realistic looking and sounding fireworks shows found on any grid, open or closed. From a humble InWorldz beginning back in 2012, and later founded in 2014, PyroVR Fireworks has now expanded into several Opensim grids after IW closed. The company currently provides service to Discovery Grid, Utopia Skye Grid, TAG, and Mobius Grid.
PyroVR Fireworks offers professional fireworks displays for a variety of functions ranging from large Grid-Sponsored Public Events such as New Year's Eve and Holiday Festivals, as well as Corporate Events for Grand Openings and Product Launches, to smaller events for Weddings and Birthdays. Neytiri, owner/operator of PyroVR says: "We have several packages to accommodate most budgets, launched from either land or from barges.
Previous Year Videos
Watch these videos from last year's events to get a sense of what will take place at the shows. The first one is specatator view and how you can watch if you lock your camera onto one of the jets (alt-left-click). The second video is the pilot's perspective, both 3rd-person camera and mouselook.
