Aria Clash Closes

Aria Clash, a combat system and game which allowed residents to take part in ranged and close combat, found itself without a home this weekend. On Friday October 4, the sim held it's last battle, and afterwards closed its doors.

Kamiko Fazuku, who developed the game, explained her reasons in a letter several paragraphs long. She described "The past few months of my life" as having gone through a number of problems, in addition to having "entered a new phase of my life."

With this in mind, I have decided to suspend Aria Clash indefinitely. Perhaps forever. Perhaps not. I do not know. Indeed I may even work on it from time to time. I will be closing the sim and perhaps locking the group down. I will keep the hud on the marketplace, perhaps I'll even add a few weapon and skill vendors, should you wish to continue to play AC, or even use AC in a sim – it'll be there for you. Coming to this decision has not been easy, but truth be told – Aria Clash could not exist forever. I could not possibly spend the rest of my life maintaining it.

  ... one of the reasons I kept AC up and running was for you. I wanted to give people something fun to do on SL. That was my long-term goal. Money was never an issue for me, I hardly made anything. Control was not an issue, I never ordered or bullied anyone around. I simply wanted a self-sustaining place of fun on SL. A place for me and my friends to relax, and others to enjoy themselves. But alas, it has come time for me to shed AC, and put on a new coat.

Thank you AC Development Team, Each and every one of you made an important difference. The reason that there are no other systems on SL like AC is because the developer teams get to infighting and backstabbing, power-grabbing and betrayal. In AC's lifetime, I've watched about 10 systems get destroyed for these reasons, usually before they were even born. But none of you did that to me, instead you remained strong and faithful, loyal and honorable.  You were the greatest development team I've ever worked with. Perhaps the greatest development team ever! Every one of you possessed the quality most important – Heart.

The final event was 5PM October 4. Residents began to gather at the main store, chat some about their favorite events, and engage in a little sparring. The final event, which the Newser was unable to witness due to technical difficulties, was a "Boss Fight" in which game developer Aasha "Inner Sight" Kohime controled a powerful NPC which the players battled until it was finally defeated.

Aria Clash was written about in SL Newser in Aug 2011. Described as a “feudal Japan/sci-fi crossover” the game offered both "player versus player" and "player versus enemy" combat. Their location allowed players to teleport to locations to battle NPCs for experience and game gold. Since then, the game moved to a new sim, but continued to offer combat, as well as additional weapons and powerups at a store.

Now, the community of players who have enjoyed the game find themselves without a home. As for Aasha, some time ago she started working at the pony-themed store "Clock Out," where she continues to develop and build new items for.



(Click Here if the video fails to load)

Bixyl Shuftan

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day

"Arrrrr! Tis be 'Talk Like a Pirate Day.' So ye landlubbers be on th' lookout fer some buccaneer happenins. Clubs 'cross th' Grid be havin' pirate parties, includin' Club Zero Gravity, where ye gents can meet a saucy lass, an' ye lassies can fine yerself a manly man o' the sea (6PM at Purrfection Estates 232, 35, 3340 ) Anotha place t' check out be Blake Diego (214, 51, 36) where ye can join th' manly pirates or th' scurvy navy as they take their fightin' ships inta th' Blake Sea an' scrap fer honor an' victory (Join the Trade Winds group for more info, and some hilarious chat). An' Luskwood be sure to have pirate fun at sputs theraught th' day (and lots of other social spots which are always occupied."

Ah, talking like that's hard on the throat. Anyway, to those asking how this crazy fun holiday came about? It seems a couple friends, better known today as "Captain Slappy" and "Ol' Chumbucket,"  sent a letter to a syndicated newspaper humor columnist about what until then had been a joke between them, and the rest as they say is history.

So no time to "Arrrrrr"gue, go have some piratey fun.

Bixyl Shuftan

Axis vs. Allies Infantry Tournament: Tonight 6PM

Old soldiers never die!
Not fade away, they live in us!

Join us, Sunday, August 5th, at 6PM SLT for the New Bastogne Axis vs. Allies Tournament!
More than 20K L$ Prize Aircraft from E.G. Aircraft and Milestone Aircraft!
More Fabulous WW2 prizes from Sera Otoro, Sunshine Juneberry, Patrick Pasplund, Chris Kaylor, and Tank Kwaszes! And the prize list is still growing!

SCG, SMG, & SSG bullet class weapons only are eligible for the prizes.

Contest Prizes:
Most Kills 1st Place-
Axis: $1000L
Allied: $1000L

2nd Most Kills:
Axis: $500L
Allied $500L

There will also be an additional $1000L in cash prizes to be handed out at random for most deaths, best kill/death ratio etc.

Sim rules apply, admins have full right to request you use a different weapon as they see fit for this event. And have fun!!!!

See You There!!

WW II Role Play & VICE Combat - New Bastogne (111, 148, 35)
Show your mettle!

Reader Submitted: WW2 RP at Sea

Submitted by Lt. Kpt. Erich Hartmman (Hartmman Resident) of the Kriegsmarine, two German warships at the Scapa Flow sim.

SL Machinima: Caen Teaser

"A semi-professional production on the New Bastogne Island in Second Life," by Hans Beitler.

The New Ravenloft WW2 Combat sim

Combat fans in Second Life, specifically World War 2 themed combat, have a new place to fight: New Ravenloft.

New Ravenloft is owned by Joe Sparrow, but is run by Malcious Vuckovic. Talking to Malcious, he described the sim as "a WW2 combat 'slightly RP' arena based on Operation Goodwood, a combined British/Canadian assault in which they clashed with elite members of Germany's Tank divisions over open farmland and forest. … currently two main groups use the sim" the 272nd Axis Infantry Division, and the British 21st Army." Groups representing other involved countries are also welcome, "There's an American group being set up" and others expressed interest in forming Russian and Finnish teams.

Malcious acknowledged there were details less than completely accurate with history, "but the purpose of the Arena is for people to shoot each other and have fun. We use the Vice Combat System, which I love simply because you don't need some laggy hud nor do you need to create some account on a website. You can just pick up one of the freebie guns and get started, we've also provided uniforms and various tidbits to help players get immersed … We have guns, tanks, planes, some you have to pay for, some are free."

Malcious stated there was an emphasis on being friendly with newcomers, with no minimum age for accounts. Groups were prohibited from using avatars under four feet tall (or giant ones) and child avatars "I'm not a fan of child soldiers … Cony is a d%#@." But groups were free to have furred and neko avatars on their teams, or not, "at the moment only one of the Axis groups is saying no to them, but only while they are in uniform, this is purely for authenticity's sake, its not a sim rule and I'm not going to force them to change it because I'm not here to micro-manage all the groups. … there is another Axis group which allows furries."

One problem that some Second Life military groups have had is with drama. Malcious had an interesting policy with dealing with two people in a drama match, "There is this room with a log suspended over a pit. I give each person a lightsaber. One starts at one side of the log, the other starts at the opposite end, and … first to die loses." The issue is then declared over, "It's odd but it works."

Over New Ravenloft is a warehouse building which serves as a store, as well as the Teleport point to the sim. on one side are a row of tanks of various kinds and nationalities. On the other are signs of what's up for sale, those in red still available but are in the process of being updated. The vendors are in the back of the warehouse, selling a variety of guns, tanks, planes, and even a few ships, "Tanks range from about 600L to 1,500L … pretty cheap … more we sell, easier it is to keep the sim open, also tank combat is fun."

To the left of the vendor boards are the teleports to the Allied and Axis respawn areas, "I only have the two respawns up at the moment, each flag will take you to that teams base, the allies in the Village and the Axis in their own occupied Mansion HQ. I'm going to install a neutral flag for visitors or civilians later. Each team has three respawns, to try and limit spawncamping. … If you get killed, you're taken to a room away from the battlefield where you can heal and choose a respawn location."

The heads of each faction are KlausKlempt Resident for the Axis and Sephiroth Reiner for the Allies. Sephiroth was busy when contacted, but KlausKempt had a few words. He felt things at the sim were going, "Stupendous. Magnificent. Our traffic is the highest of all WWII-themed combat and RP sims in SL … It is a testament to the quality of our sim, and the dedication of our players." KlausKept stated that there was an effort to keep the style of combat historical by emphasizing rifles, "If I may gloat, one of my best German Grenadiers defeated a team of four British riflemen 28 to 7. He was armed only with our trusty Mauser. We strive to provide historical accuracy, even going so far as to ensure that automatic weapons are used in the historically accurate roles, and that the rifle, which was by far the most common infantry weapon of the Second World War, is not forgotten."

For the moment, New Ravenloft is the only sim in it's combat RP. It is next to several others, "the adjoining sims are part of the D.O.R. (Dogs On the Run) Project. … no one aviation company is in charge or has a direct say in how the place is run, and there are no product bans. Anyone is allowed to fly whatever the hell they want. I'm joined with them as the terms of my sponsorship, also I'm a great believer in the project and friends with the owner. … I'm hoping as Ravenloft increases in popularity, so will DOR."

Talking with a few of the DOR staff, designer Creative Lisa built the place with her goal as "a good mix between airfield, place to relax and combat." Noting the dirt runways, the leader, Da Admiral, commented, "We didn't want a concrete airport." "I found my home here, and we have the best boss ever." Malcious has no problem with modern aircraft flying over the WW2 sim as long as they don't attack the units.

Not everyone comes to the sim to fight, or shop. Malcious observed that some were going to the French village just to relax, "people seem to like to hang out there, I'm told its peaceful."

For the future, Malcious eventually plans to have more sims for the combat RP, "more tanks and other goodies are due for release in the coming months and I hope to get some more events started too." Among the planned events are scenarios in which both the Axis and Allies team up against a common enemy, such as zombies or alien invaders, "Changes and updates to the sims design are always ongoing. I'm a builder, nothing is ever finished, never. I have the Lego block imprints on my feet to prove it."

New Ravenloft's owner, Joe Sparrow is a builder of a number of planes and vehicles popular among combateers in Second Life.

The TP to New Ravenloft goes to (181, 133, 3908)

Bixyl Shuftan

"Free-For-All" Battle Event in New Bastogne WW2 Combat RP

This weekend starting at one minute after Midnight SL time (3 AM EST) on March 10th will be a "free-for-all" special battle event at the New Bastogne WW2 combat RP that will last until Sunday March 11th. All players from all groups in the combat RP are invited, plus the fight is open to all. New players are welcome and freebie weapons are available, though they will be asked to read and be required to follow the rules. For more information, contact Joe Sparrow or Vickster Khun.

Special Event at the WW2 Combat RP in New Fallout

This weekend will have a special event at the WW2 New Bastogne RP. This battle will be going on all weekend, starting in Saint-Quentin. Both sides are more than happy to take in new players, but it is asked they take a few minutes to check the rules before storming in. Certain equipment provided for free is required to take part. For details on the real-life battle, Click Here.

Special Event at the WW2 Combat RP in New Fallout

JessicaBelle Dayafter told Second Life newspaper about a special event at the WW2 RP. This battle will be going on all weekend at the New Fallout sim. Both sides are more than happy to take in new players, but it is asked they take a few minutes to check the rules before storming in. Certain equipment provided for free is required to take part. For details on the battle, check Wikipedia. For decades, Russian historical records would not include it, so it became known as one of the "forgotten battles."

SL Youtube: Aria Clash Combat

Lately it seems Aria Clash has taken off with a number of my virtual neighbors in Sunweaver Air. So here's a little video of the combat game sim.

Aria Clash

A team of builders, scripters, and combateers has been working on a new combat sim - Aria Clash. Called a “feudal Japan/sci-fi crossover,” warriors with their blades and rangers with their guns spar against one another in the arena, or against monsters in the "Forest of Death." There are also tournaments and fights against "boss" enemies.

Read more in Design.

The Aria Clash Combat Sim

For those wanting to check out a combat sim on the Grid that offers both player vs player combat and players against computer-controlled enemies, that offers a choice of fighting melee or with ranged weapons, check out the Aria Clash combat sim. Built and run by a team lead by the feisty Aasha Kohime, it's worth a look.

For more on Aria Clash, check later. Or if you can't wait, head to Aerynth (44, 216, 2157).

The Oct. 12 Battle for Bastogne

Usually in the New Bastogne and Fallout sims in the WW2 RP area, pitched battles last an hour or two at most. But on October 12, it went on for hour after hour. One of SL Newser's reporters dropped in to see some of the match, and an unexpected ending.

Read about the account in People.