Innsmouth in Second Life is a dark place, abandoned in the 1930’s and with a mysterious sea creature off the coast, it’s a town with a secret. However the dark forces that have plagued the town have not put everyone off, there are still a few hardy souls around. However now Innsmouth faces it’s greatest peril yet, a peril that many have fought within Second Life. Innsmouth may very well disappear from the Second Life grid.
A blog post on the HP Lovecraft Festival site has issued a call for help : SAVE INNSMOUTH SIM in SL. The post explains the very real peril Innsmouth finds itself in :
On September 15th, Darmin Darkes, the owner of the Innsmouth-themed Sim announced the following: “Innsmouth sim is for sale. I’m giving first dibs to you folks in the hopes that someone will want to keep some of the build. Worst case is having to flatten it and sell it. I just can’t afford it any longer. I’m not leaving SL, but I have to cut back my sims. Thank you for your years of support and friendship and the passion you’ve given to Innsmouth. It’s only pixels and I’m sure there are better versions waiting to be built.” — Darmin Darkes
As a result of this notice, a number of Second Lifer have been working together, through a group called, “The Innsmouth Preservation Society,” to help with the upkeep and potentially to purchase this sim, then maintain it.
If you would like to be a part of this important group, please contact Arik Metzer or any member of the group who can invite you. More updates on our progress will be posted here.
**IMPORTANT FIRST MEETING TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE**: Thursday 18 September 2014 — 2 times: 11 AM SLT and 7:30 PM SLT, both at the Innsmouth SIM .
The first meeting was taking place as I blogged this piece. A second meeting will take place at 7:30 PM SLT today. Whether Innsmouth can be saved only time will tell but it’s a fascinating sim with a theme that is better viewed inworld than in snapshots.
Innsmouth featured on the Eureka Destination Blog back in February 2010 when Limey Linden spoke to the owner Darmin Darkes. Those Eureka posts were good. Anyway, Limey visited back in 2010 and was impressed. At the time, Darmin, who had been a driving force in creating the sim had purchased the sim for herself. At the time Darmin said :
I’ve just purchased Innsmouth, so it will stay as it is until I think of something to tweak and improve. I hope it lasts forever! I like that it’s so low key… no club or shopping to detract from the atmosphere… but that may have to change. I get so many positive comments from visitors and it pleases me to be able to make something they appreciate so deeply. When you see something you love about SL, you should always try and thank someone.
Alas it seems that that will not be the case and I can completely sympathise with Darmin over her decision.
The sim itself is wonderfully atmospheric, especially if you stick with the suggested windlight settings. I tweaked mine to try and bring some extra light to my snapshots but the sim is definitely better explored with the darker rainy theme that it has been designed around.
The sim is of course heavily influenced by HP Lovecraft and that’s why HP Lovecraft fans are leading the call for Innsmouth to be saved.
Whilst I was visiting there were people going around calling people to the Opera House for the first of those meetings mentioned earlier. There’s a definite passion from those who want to save the sim but changing that passion into something solid that can help save the sim is certainly going to be challenging. However where there’s a will there’s a way.
Innsmouth
Why was this New England coastal town abandoned in the 1930s? Perhaps the giant sea-monster emerging from the south ocean might be the answer. Nevertheless, Innsmouth remains a dark, damp place with perpetual rain and ruined buildings well worth exploring.
Visit in Second Life
We are back to the virtual age old issue of the tier being too damn high in Second Life. Especially for ventures that are designed for roleplay and community engagement. This is an issue that is not going to go away. The only real hope for Innsmouth is that those organising the meetings create a plan to keep the place alive. In the meantime as we await the outcome, a visit to see the sim before any final announcement is made would be advisable.
SLURL : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Innsmouth/13/245/13
They (Linden Lab) really should actively look into addressing that age old issue of the tier being too damn high in Second Life. I’ve often said I’d gladly sign up for a homestead sim if they lower the tier amount to something reasonable, and eliminate the requirement that you own a full sim before you can have a homestead sim.
Announcing the formation of the Innsmouth Preservation Society. The group, formed the same day as Darmy’s announcement, has been avidly campaigning with a pledge program and plans for securing Innsmouth and maintaining, revitalizing and upgrading the sim to its glory in more active days. For more information, contact Arik Metzger (arikthered). Town Meetings are in the works, and Darmy is working with us to see this project come through in order to preserve this distinct Second Life landmark and monument to HP Lovecraft!
With kitely marketplace, hyper grid travels and var regions there is no excuse for small role playing communities to say in Second Life.
In fact, the only reason that makes one stay in second Life now, mainland continents and activities that use physics engine as flying, sailing and so on are alsready in danger as var regions start to show on open sim grids.
Virtual Highway just opened their 1st mainland continent, a var region of the size of 100 reg sl sims, meaning no sim crossing when flying, sailing or driving, for over 100 regions!
Other commercial open grid sims will follow for sure, now that not only var regions are a reality but also physics engine scripts start to show more and more.
Only the fact that one can not import/export oars from second life, makes one stays for so long in it if its main purpose is to have a role playing sim.
zzpearl is right.
You basically have to be a total moron to build any elaborate sim on Second Lame.
Creatives need to be able to build and save their creations on their own computers and then upload to their private sim or “lease it out” to a VW. VWs need content and are trying to steal as much as they can. Keep the content in your control then put the screws to predatory “service” providers like SL.
nuff said