It was a Saturday night; the club was packed with bodies spending time together on the dancefloor moving to the loud live music from the front stage. Another group taking in the scene along with drinks in the back at the bar. Everyone was having a good time. One can say it was just another Saturday night.
However last Saturday night at the Jefferson Club in Whiskey City was literally the last Saturday night for Whiskey City. The overall and usual cheerful mood inside this time contained notes of gratitude and mourning as residents reminisce and thank each other for the moments they have shared. All knowing the end is near because outside the Jefferson Club; high above the sky was a visible asteroid on route to wipe out Whiskey City.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows Carly Brucato; who founded Whiskey City 2 years ago and who was behind over the top roleplay events usually involving natural disasters, comic book storylines and skyscraper size monsters will end her latest endeavor with a big bang.
The deep impact of the asteroid has wiped Whiskey City off the Second Life grid. Closing another era; another chapter written into the book of Urban Combat Roleplay. This chapter the residents of Whiskey City have written together; currently each of them are brainstorming individually where their next chapter shall take place. Carly has offered her recommendations:
If you want my recommendations after WC closes.
Santa Ramona Valley is a good sim. The owners are good people.
I’ve heard good things about Santa Clara.
Morningwood too.CD has been around forever.
For DCS, Paradise City and Toxia is there still.
just my thoughts…
There was one sim that wasn’t recommended; the 800 pound gorilla in the room known as Syn City. Carly may have more personal reasons not to recommend Syn City but the truth is the former leader in the genre hasn’t been on anyone’s radar in years.
Although Whiskey City has joined Edge City, Badwater and Dark Creed in Urban Combat Roleplay sims that have closed, it’s reasons for closing isn’t because Syn City was superior. Syn was never good enough to be considered a rival and hasn’t found any success; including running basic weekly club events since the great exodus of 2016. To be fair; Syn isn’t alone as a good portion of the issues are ones that other Urban Combat Roleplay sims share too.
If Syn City isn’t the leader; then who is? The answer is the biggest issue facing the Urban Combat Roleplay genre; there is no leader. In our previous article we hoped for a sim that can create the magic of old Syn and become the place we wanted to spend most of our time in Second Life. Such a place doesn’t exist in the Urban Combat Roleplay genre.
Maybe some Whiskey City residents will check out Syn City or one of Carly’s recommendations; majority will be like my former colleagues who went back to what they did before Urban Combat Roleplay. They are in Gor; I would like to pull them out. Can I blame them? We all are creatures of habit and feel at home when in a place we are familiar with.
The previous successful formula that was created when 8th Steet became Syn City is failing today. The modified formula that better balanced and lessen drama that Whiskey City used has also failed. Is there any hope for the Urban Combat Roleplay genre? Maybe it needs an injection of an entirely new formula. Share your thoughts below.
Underground Syn Report 