"Vanilla" World of Warcraft Private Fanserver Nostalrius Shut Down

Yours truly hasn't played the MMO World of Warcraft in a while. But while I was on, I'd heard people have mixed feelings over some changes, such as certain progression systems removed, the end of the three leveling trees, the simplifying of the pet care system, etc. Many felt World of Warcraft had lost something from it's older days. I'd heard of private servers in which players could go back and play the game as it was, but never checked them out. The big problem: they were technically illegal. Blizzard never authorized any, and each was subject to being shut down.

Nostalrius was one such server. A relatively new one, it quickly became one of the most popular. According to Kotaku, it had close to 800,000 registered users and about 150,000 active users, up from 5000 in May 2015. Unfortunately, it caught the attention of Blizzard, whom handed it's Internet hosting service a "cease and desist" order. The server's managers then reluctantly made the decision to shut it down, telling it's players the last day would be on Sunday April 10. In the final minutes, hundreds of players gathered in spots to say goodbye to one another and to wait out the end.



(click here if the link doesn't work)

The server team also sent Blizzard a petition, for the company to bring back the World of Warcraft of old in "Legacy" servers, saying the sheer numbers of people whom were in Nostalrius was evidence of how many players were seeking it. "Do you think that a policy change can be made regarding legacy servers based on volunteers work, for very old no longer supported game expansion? Or do you think that legacy servers are doomed by definition since, in the end, it's hurting Blizzard trademark and communication more than anything else?"

It's been just several months since World of Warcraft's numbers had dropped to the point Blizzard would no longer publicly give out it's active user numbers. It could easily be argued that's a good reason for Blizzard to consider legacy servers.

Sources, Kotaku, Nerdist 

Bixyl Shuftan

Two Second Life Games: "Star Trek Battle Game" and "Attack on Titan"

Two neat looking games have appeared in Second Life recently. One is a Star Trek game created by Loki Eliot. Loki had been "experimenting" with creating "Star Trek" style ships, and decided to make a battleship game out of it. The game pits a Federation ship against a Klingon one. The Federation ship has stronger shields and longer range weaponry, but the Klingon ship has more guns.

Second Life Newser may do a more in-depth article on the game. But for now,  readers can check for more information on the game on Eliot's blog (Click here). One fan, Natascha Rantt, made a video based on the game (Click here).

The other game is based on the Japanese anime "Attack on Titan." It was created by a fan, Moeka Kohime, and quickly gained a following. Shamera Kohime (no relation) did a good article on the gameplay (click here). To get into the action, one needed to get uniforms in addition to power swords and "3D maneuver gear" that allows you to run and jump around like a movie ninja.

"The detail on the gear is amazing, and there are quite a few animations included for flying through the air, falling, landing, running, attacking, etc. I've certainly spent hours at this place just honing my Titan killing skills ..."

 There was just one problem. Although the uniforms were free, the gear was not. So technically that was a violation of the anime's copyright, owned by Kodansha Ltd. And it seems they ordered to Moeka to stop selling the equipment. The vendor where it was available is gone, with the words "this product is discontinued" in it's place. The arena itself is still up for those who already bought the gear at MontSaint Michel (226/144/3901). But it seems for now no more can get into the action.

Last year there were worries about Star Trek items being taken down from Second Life due to copyright concerns. But a deal was worked out, and Trek on the Grid continued. Similar case with "Battlestar Galactica." Not all science-fiction producers have been willing to cut deals. In 2009, "Dune" roleplays were ordered to rename themselves and certain items after Trident Media group, which owned the rights to "Dune," complained to Linden Lab.

With Second Life residents finding out about the anime through the game, one would think the company involved, Kodansha, might be willing to cut some kind of deal. Ciaran Laval in her blog suggested that Linden Lab could establish a process where deals could be worked out between copyright owners and content creators, noting that Amozon Kindel had procedures for fan fiction.

In the meantime, the future is looking iffy for the "Attack on Titan" game, much to the irritation of the anime's fans in Second Life. Star Trek fans, secure in the deal made earlier, can boldly go and play Loki's game to their heart's content.

Bixyl Shuftan

"Cease and Desist," Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life Ordered to Close by RL Foundation

What a shock it was to hear the magnificent Frank Lloyd Wright Museum was gone! I loved that museum of his homes, business buildings, glass and so much. I wrote about it several months ago after spending some times there roaming the builds. I received an invite and attended a panel discussion of the problems that caused it to be taken down.

From what I can understand, there was a licensing agreement that was set up with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in real-life some time ago after visits to the foundation by a representative of the Virtual Museum Board of Second Life. I arrived late at the Treet tv where it was held and do not want to misquote anyone so I will direct you to the website where you can view the Designing Worlds show of Monday, 6 December to hear what the panel had to say. It was very interesting.

On the show, they talked with three people involved in the Museum: – Ethan Westland, Chair of the Virtual Museums, Inc Board; Rowan Derryth, Member of the Board of Directors, Virtual Museums; and Rosalie Oldrich, Co-Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum. In the second half they explored wider issues about bringing real world architecture and artifacts into virtual environments with Monday Beam, Attorney at Law, Roy Philbin, Founder/CEO, Second Interest, and one of the people behind the very popular Dresden Art Museum in Second Life, and Dirk Talamasca, Virtual Worlds Developer and long-time observer of Second Life.

The question that always comes up about intellectual property from the real world into Second Life is a focus of many discussions and was part of the discussion here. Saffia Widdershins and Erik Merlin co-hosted the event. I know Second Life has lost a wonderful site.There was a cease and desist order issued and it was followed. Gone!

If you have interest check here for the discussion. http://archive.treet.tv/programs/meta-makeover.

Gemma Cleanslate

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I had first heard of the closing of the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life in Facebook, the person saying it would be closed by the tenth, and confirned it with an Internet search. I also heard of the Treet.tv show in which some of the people involved were being interviewed, but could not get there. I tried teleporting to the sim, but found it blocked. I ported next to it and tried walking in. Sill closed. And I noticed that although much of the scenery around me had rezzed, not much inside the museum sim had. I saw someone inside taking down the buildings, the FLWM Chairman Ethan Westland.

Talking to Ethan, he explained the museum had actually closed on the 5th. Of the cease and dessist order, "... The Cease and Desist order is a normal procedure for them anytime they end a licensing agreement. They couldn't reconcile the amount of staff time that this project would take for them providing archive research with the low potential for revenue that the museum could provide."

Ethan explained they had decided to comply with the court order and remove the buildings, but would rebuild, "on the site of the previous Wright Museum and we will use the name of our RL nonprofit, Virtual Museums, Inc." He expected the opening to be in a couple weeks. It was not planned to be just about Frank Lloyd Wright, "It could be or just styles of architecture by period. The decision has not been made yet but the focus on education about architectural styles will still be the primary objective."

"We appreciate the support we have always gotten from the virtual community all over SL and the outpouring from so many have really energized us to continue on and find new ways to provide architectural and educational opportunities for our members and visitors alike."

Bixyl Shuftan