Shelter. That’s all a body could want, this deep into the season. Somewhere to hole up against the cold, when not clawing needful things from the unforgiving sand. Some scrap of ground to claim for oneself, to make safe. A refuge. But refuge is never easy to come by in The Wastelands — and, lately, foul rumors swirl along with the sands. Tales of kidnapping and blood for coal. Tales of madness and betrayal. Any truth – if there is any truth – is half-concealed, if not completely buried. Like our scrap in the sand. And, like the scrap, even if we knew we had the true story — would we know what to do with it, or what to make of it? Is it all so much junk? When we make something of it, how much do we actually change about what it was, and what it meant? And do we while away our time trying to unearth these scraps, even as huge undiscovered things in previously ignored places loom large and waiting beneath the hungry ground?
This Week in the Wastes
Saturday
Fight Night @ The Arena at the Old Potato Farm, Hambone Slash 3:oo – 4:00 pm SLT
One-on-one combat in a brutal, trap-filled combat arena. Occasional guest DJs!
Fight Night Afterparty @ Harvey’s Bar, Cape of Ruin 4:00 – ??? pm SLT
Texas Hold-‘Em poker for Rare scrap, along with unique drinks, dances, and DJs.
Apo’s Audio Atrocities @ The Sledgepile, The Wastelands 5:oo – ??? pm SLT
Mashups, bizarre covers, retro, silliness, and whatever sounds like fun at the time.
Sunday
Pathfinder: Curse of the Crimson Throne @ Hambone Slash 10:00 am – 2:00 pm SLT
A high-fantasy tabletop role-playing game related to Dungeons & Dragons. Spectators welcome!
Monday
DJ Giuseppe Spicoli @ The Boat House, Burnt Oak 6:00-7ish SLT
Audio collage, bastard pop, obscurities, oddities, and old-school vinyl.
Movie Night @ Burnt Oak Drive-In, Burnt Oak 7:30 SLT
Absurd comedies, so-bad-it’s-good relics of the 80s, occasional documentaries, and things un-categorizable.
Wednesday
Guerilla Learning @ TBA 4:00-5:00 SLT
Thematic documentaries and post-apocalyptic television, at a different spontaneous location every week.
EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS:
Movie Night Haiku:
1/23 – Stoner (1974)
Oz cop in Hong Kong
Fights kinky-sex-pill drug lord
To save his sister
2/1 – Withnail & I (1987)
Broke, drunk actor friends
Slum it in country cottage.
What a piece of work…
2/7 – Where The Buffalo Roam (1980)
Hunter S. Thompson
And gonzo lawyer Lazlo
Cover – and make – news
2/14 – Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
Group conscripts “dead” cop,
Makes him ninja assassin
Racism allwheres
2/20 – Amelie (2001)
Parisian waitress,
A manic pixie dreamgirl,
Finds strangeness – and love
The Wastelands Table-Top Gaming Horde Sessions:
The Pathfinder: Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign is drawing near its end. After months of fighting, the party has defeated the chained spirit of Castle Scarwall, reclaimed the sentient sword Seritheal, and bested the hideous monster that guarded it. Now they’ve returned to Korvosa, their home city, where anarchy is rampant and a literally-underground rebellion is grouping in the city sewers. A list of questions and mysteries as long as one’s arm has been presented to each of the players — a last set of problems to be solved before the usurper queen can be dispatched with the powerful sword. Will the truth come to light, or will the party falter?
ESTATE NEWS:
Here are the updates from the most recent Community Meetings:
Estate
- General congratulations all around to everyone involved in WL5B – sez Neo, “Everyone who helped organize it or participated, you all rule.”
- Neo has made an optional Tier Auto-Pay system! When rezzed on your parcel, it will automatically pay your tier each week. Check this documentation page for full details.
- Occupancy is a little low, meaning most sims have land available – including the new Cape of Ruin! Check the Land Store for the current availability there and elsewhere in the Estate.
- The monthly reminder: Applications are still welcome for the Wastelands Public Works Department — a group of Wastelanders who are helping to create a pool of post-apocalyptic assets for the community. Or, if you’re less buildy and more chatty, apply to be a Resident Volunteer!
Game
- Neo has retooled the salvage spawn mechanics to make it more efficient. Crates can be found floating in bodies of water, and are often found half-buried in the sand. It’s also confirmed that scrap does drop in The Wastelands sim itself.
- His ultimate goal for this year: “To finish up contracts and be 100% Wastelands again.”
- Neo is also learning how to optimize database design so that new updates will be far easier to implement in the future.
- The Devs are working on new mesh assets.
- V2 will indeed be a reset to the game – “v1 stuff can be exchanged for items of value, but not a replacement.”
- Havok AI pathfinding code is now in Alpha — this will allow for much more intelligent and efficient Critters and Mobs, if the code makes it to the Grid without being significantly nerfed.
- The llCastRay function has been implemented in SL — but is still watered-down enough to be of very little use for weapons. Please Vote on and Watch this JIRA to make your voice heard, in hopes that this problem will be resolved.
Roleplay
- Various resident-run story arcs are underway or in the works.
- Aposiopesis Fullstop has written a Total Beginner’s Guide to Wastelands RP notecard to help new RPers learn the fundamentals.
- The Barrelhead Bazaar has returned to its regular schedule of the first Saturday and middle Wednesday of each month.
- The monthly reminder: If you’re roleplaying, wear a Ruin’t group tag. Vice versa, if you’re wearing a Ruin’t group tag, you should be roleplaying – or at least using ((double parentheses)) or IMs to speak OOCly. If you’re not roleplaying, wear any other tag (by activating any other group,) or wear no tag. It’s a simple system, and it makes communication and interactions a lot easier on everyone involved.
RP NAME-DROPS: There’s strange things afoot, for good and ill. Another massive sandstorm has leveled Kronbelt — again — but as its old squatter has vanished, the old Kronbelt Crew has stepped in to sort out the wreckage. The ruins of the old Trade Post were, alas, nowhere to be found. But somewhere in the giant sand dune near the center, there seem to be signs of a vast buried building…
The mysteries of the Key and the Courier only seem to deepen. Every answered question sparks even more – enough that it needs its own full entry, if not two. For those who want to get up to speed, the major players so far are the Digger, the Mutant Witch, the Pipsqueeks, Frank Hilltop, and Apo. But be warned: Frank has sworn that he’ll stop at nothing to secure that key for himself, and doesn’t care who he has to off. Even if it did fall into Frank’s hands, however, this may be nothing compared to the incredibly-vague Bad that might befall if others got hold of it…. Keep an eye out for strangers calling themselves Lajka or Ozgram, or for anyone with a big numbered pack who calls him/herself a Courier.
Meanwhile, Frank’s slightly cracked compatriot, Madeye, has gone missing for a few days. If he’s out there reading this, or if anyone has word on his whereabouts, get in touch with Frank. Probably no reward, but probably no getting your skull bashed in either.