I just woke up, and it looks like I finally did it. I had my first non-micro LD (through DILD). The lucidity and the dream itself didn't last, but I was lucid for maybe 30 seconds to a minute, which is far better than my previous insta-lucids. Having to face off with a velociraptor beforehand (killed through a willed-head-explosion ) was a fairly small price to pay.

I was going to summon my dream/spirit/ego/whatever guide, but I lost lucidity beforehand due to distraction, unfortunately. Better luck next time.

It was as everyone says; intensely vivid and almost but not quite real, just like waking life. For those of you who have yet to have their first LD, the effort is definitely worth it. Keep trying and you'll eventually get there. I had this one by thinking before going to sleep "I will wake up after my dream, remember my dream, and remember to write it down", and doing RCs in waking life on about an hourly basis.

One more rather curious thing: I did my two standard reality checks once I became lucid (the palm poke and the nose pinch), but both failed in the dream. What's up with that?