Trouble With ABC Breedables

Breedable virtual pets have been a part of Second Life for most of it's history. And over time there have been a number of companies who have made them. But sometimes they run into trouble. One of the first to make it big was Ozimals. But in 2017, the company folded due to an internal dispute. Thankfully it's last act was to save the pet bunnies it's customers had. But those of another company may not be so fortunate. 

For some years, Awesome Breed Creations has been in the business of selling breedable horses and the feed for them, as well as medicine and accessories. People would breed them for desired traits, as well as auction them and hold races. But a few days ago came some trouble that may spell the end of the business. The person in charge of the scripts that brought the horses to life, Sentire Bravin, had resigned. 

I am writing to formally announce my resignation from my role as a software and content developer, effective immediately. This decision was not made lightly, and I deeply regret having to take this step.

I have the utmost respect and admiration for the staff and developers I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. Their dedication, talent, and passion for creating one of the finest breedable experiences in Second Life have been both inspiring and enriching. It has been an honor to collaborate with such a talented and exceptional team.

But, he stated he hadn't been paid in over a year. As a result, he was quitting, and had turned the scripts off.

As a result of the prolonged lack of payment, I have removed all of my code and data from ABC servers. Additionally, I have formally notified the owner of ABC to cease and desist from any unauthorized use of my code. I understand this will impact the functionality of ABC products, but this is a matter that Stephanie (the owner of ABC) must address. ...

Unfortunately, the results of the code and data removal was that the horses became frozen, the stats display above them showing red. They were now little more than props, static, not able to walk around, breed, be ridden, or anything else. Kitacelia, an ABC breeder for a number of years told me the "Pasture" where horses can be stored was inoperable and nothing could be taken back from there. The ABC website was also down. 

"I lost 1000's of dollars worth of pets," Kitacelia told me, "... not be able to turn on accessories/horns/wings on them or movement/sound ... I can't even get my remaining pets out of pasture ...  can't turn movement on or off or add accessories to the ones in inventory or inworld." Checking Penny Shuftan's horses in the Sunweaver community where the Newser office is, they were glitched as well.

Besides Sentire, there was also an announcement of two others on the team resigning, Saphear Saunders and Krystal Silverweb

After an incredible 10+ years as the artists behind Awesome Breed Creations, it’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of our departure from the development team. This decision has not been made lightly, but unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where it’s no longer financially sustainable for us to continue under the current circumstances.

Since August of this year, our development team has not been paid, and despite numerous attempts to contact Stephanie Merrienboer (the owner and CEO of ABC), we’ve been met with silence. We’ve received no explanation or reasoning as to why this has happened. We are aware that Stephanie has internet access and has been in touch with others, so there’s no reason why she couldn’t have spoken to us or even laid us off respectfully if the company was experiencing financial hardships (which, to our knowledge, it wasn’t). We’ve poured countless hours, effort, and love into ABC over the years, and we feel deeply disrespected to be treated in this manner. It isn’t right.

As a result, we’ve had to find other work and make the difficult decision to halt the development of any new horses or content for ABC.

Nikki Detritus, the Racing Commissioner, would also comment. 

I need you all to know that the RA and myself are all saddened by what has happened. I am still trying to hold out with some hope but that is hard to hold on to when you have no clue what has happened. None of us.. Not the RA, the VSRs, the auctioneers, the managers knew about this. The only ones who knew are obviously the ones not getting paid. BUT even THEY held on for so long because the loved ABC.  I know people are angry and emotions are high and rightly so.. But please lets stick together as family and treat each other nice as it is none of our faults and we are all sick over this. Jockeys and Owners.. I need you to know ONE thing..  I NEVER wanted to be the Commissioner.. I have worked as an RA member for close to 10 years now and I never wanted that position BUT I am so glad that I did take it. I learned a lot and I got to know all of you.  It was some of the BEST times of my SL life!  I care about each and everyone of you and will always cherish the memories of the great times!

While at the ABC store, I ran into a couple people, one who was quite upset, "I spent 30000 Linden ...  I had 150 horses cost me in food almost $ 150 a month. ... There are breeders who have 500 horses ... we have all been scammed!" He mentioned the Auction House had been closed for a month.

As of the writing of this article, there has been no comment from ABC's owner. What we do know is the horses are broken, and there are many upset and sad owners. 

Bixyl Shuftan