Guest Games blogger: Aeon Voom
Entry posted by Linden Lab
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1. What inspired Olds Airforce Base?
At the time we planned Olds, there was no specific sim for modern jet combat. That was our first aim. As we started all places for dogfighting been World War II-themed.The ground combat part came a bit later into consideration as more and more residents asked for such a feature. The general storyline of Olds AFB is that of a remote US/NATO airbase in the mediterran to counter USSR/Soviet threats in the Cold War.
Our scenario is a late 1980s-early 1990s Cold War gone hot one. The Warsaw Pact and NATO countries engage in conventional non-nuclear hostilities and Olds is one hot spot in this war because of the strategic value of the base. This all got mainly inspired by things like: The novel "In the Eye of the Storm" by Tom Clancy, the movie "Red Dawn" and actual games like "Homefront" and "World in Conflict." The idea is appealing because in Cold War times, lines drawn in the sand been alot clearer. I grew up in West germany near the border and we lived allways under the impression that "the Ivan" might come around for a stroll. There been us and there been them. Likeweise on their side. These times are over, thank god. But nontheless this makes for a very clean and clear setup for a team-based gameplay.
Another question not directly mentioned here but which i got asked A LOT is: What does the name Olds mean? Short answer: The base is named after the famous air force fighter pilot from Vietnam, Robin Olds. The gentleman maverick with the mustache!
2. What can Residents do there?
Another question not directly mentioned here but which i got asked A LOT is: What does the name Olds mean? Short answer: The base is named after the famous air force fighter pilot from Vietnam, Robin Olds. The gentleman maverick with the mustache!
2. What can Residents do there?
Simply put: Engage other players with modern vehicles or as infantry within the VICE combat system
In our sims we got alot of manufacturers of VICE combat vehicles and infantry arms. A whole lot freebees are aviable as well and we got demo rezzers for all sort of things. This all takes place in 9 sims which get overseen by 9 admins and mods to make the gameplay as fluent and as enjoyable as possible.
The gameplay is team based with 4 base teams:
Team 1 is the NATO forces located in the mainsim Undine States.
Team 2 is the Warsaw Pact and Arab League troops in the Sim Undine Shore and North
Team 3 is the so-called Undine Liberation Front (for short ULF) which are a little ragtag rebel force located in Aeronautica Straight.
Finally there is Team 0, or Team 4, which is open game – just want to blow off some steam and blow things up. Just lock that team and go in – but be advised you, are on your own.
These teams come into importance with our interactive flag system. The capture-the-flag system has 16 sectors with 48 flags all over the estate. An interactive map shows progress of each team on how much ground they hold.
In our sims there is a multitude of vehicles aviable and to be seen in engagements. Foremost, naturally, all kinds of jets and attack helicopters, but also tanks, artillery and natually infantry. Unlike many places our gameplay is not very infantry-centric. In our sims infantry is quite vulnerable and you really need to get some teamwork going to succeed.
3. Have you remodelled the sim since it first debuted a few years ago?
In our sims we got alot of manufacturers of VICE combat vehicles and infantry arms. A whole lot freebees are aviable as well and we got demo rezzers for all sort of things. This all takes place in 9 sims which get overseen by 9 admins and mods to make the gameplay as fluent and as enjoyable as possible.
The gameplay is team based with 4 base teams:
Team 1 is the NATO forces located in the mainsim Undine States.
Team 2 is the Warsaw Pact and Arab League troops in the Sim Undine Shore and North
Team 3 is the so-called Undine Liberation Front (for short ULF) which are a little ragtag rebel force located in Aeronautica Straight.
Finally there is Team 0, or Team 4, which is open game – just want to blow off some steam and blow things up. Just lock that team and go in – but be advised you, are on your own.
These teams come into importance with our interactive flag system. The capture-the-flag system has 16 sectors with 48 flags all over the estate. An interactive map shows progress of each team on how much ground they hold.
In our sims there is a multitude of vehicles aviable and to be seen in engagements. Foremost, naturally, all kinds of jets and attack helicopters, but also tanks, artillery and natually infantry. Unlike many places our gameplay is not very infantry-centric. In our sims infantry is quite vulnerable and you really need to get some teamwork going to succeed.
3. Have you remodelled the sim since it first debuted a few years ago?
As we opened Olds we did had a desert set up. It was very low-lag for jets and helicopters but it lacked the cover for ground forces. As this part grew larger and stronger in the community we decided to "green up" Olds and now feature a rich and flush green, Mediterranean setup with plants made by the extremly talented Uni Ninetails and her brand Forrest Floor. We allready plan a new outfit which most likely be the Estate covered all in snow. But when and how this will happen remains to be seen.
4. How large would you say the modern military combat community in SL is?
I am not shy to say that Olds kicked off some dust. After Olds opened and succeeded it showed the community another way to do combat games. Subsequently other sims came up: Gungnir/Prypyat, Oceana and the large Outcast community. Times where not allways easy but as a whole the modern combat community profited from the development. There are alot of small and large groups with different topics inside Modern combat, from more role-play oriented groups to pure combat teams and simple user groups. The community is live and prosperous, and usually open-minded to newcomers and help out with freebees, advising and training.
Visit Olds Air Force Base inworld here.
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