This is a rant. If it offends anyone, I am sorry. But I am very blunt and I don't smile and sugar words...politician I am not. Disclaimer done.
---------If easily offended, do not read below this line -------------
Caledon is SUPPOSED to be victorian / steampunk. MANY of the residents wouldn't know this if it bit them dead-square on the ass! Did a fly around the various sims. And was really disgusted.
THEME AND ERA! Two players built airfields. Now, I would expect steampunk here....zeppelins, ornithopters, weird steam or electrical flyers of various kinds. What do I find? WWI fighters (Cubey Terra in one case). For god's sake folks, be creative! A WWI fighter (or even a wright brothers replica) is out of period/theme for BOTH steampunk and victorian! If you want WWI planes, find a WWI airfield!
And over in port Caledon, right next to my store...a little apartment complex / shops for rent that looks like 'the projects' in most cities. Entire lot paved over, houses that do NOT look victorian in the least (nice boxes to maximize land use for rental. Yep, really in theme / era...NOT!.
There were many more examples, one or two in each sim. Folks, look around...if its out of place compared to the neighbors, its outta place!
LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Another wonderful thing...folks cannot even follow the SIM THEME! For example, Caledon and C2 are supposed to be rural/small villages. Someone builds a seriies of 3 and FOUR story row houses along the main road. WTF? Perfect for Caledon VictoriaCity or Penzance.....WAY TO HELL OUT OF PLACE IN CALEDON 2! *sigh* this eyesore replaced a NICE estate home and beautiful garden which were perfectly themed for Caledon 2.
Same thing in Caledon (prime) A four-story, not even vaguely victorian 'store'....people, glass was expensive back then, one whole wall of this eyesore is glass! And I won't even touch the gigantic pile of books blight nearby...other than to say this is NOT the kind of sculpture victorians would do...nor is it steampunk. Want books? Build a library that fits theme!
When I first came to caledon, I was told other than City areas (port cal, VC, etc) NOT TO FILL THE ENTIRE PLOT. make the house fit in. Think people....if all the other houses are 1-2 stories, don't put up a frigging 4-5 story building...it doesn't fit in! If everyone else has greenspace on their lot, don't build something that takes every square meter of the plot! It doesn't fit in with the rest of the sim!
I've wanted to build a small factory for quite a while. Considered taking down my Lodge in Caledon Prime and building there....but it doesn't fit the area and would be an eyesore to the Dog Trainers and the residence to either side of me, so I leave it a lodge building. Sometimes, you just HAVE to put others ahead of yourself and NOT build what you want. The mentality of 'I paid for it, its mine to do as I want' is the REASON the mainland looks as it does.
TRASH AND DEBRIS: Yesterday, I even heard Desmond having to remove signage that blocked a players's access to his lot. BLOCKED HIS LOT! What the hell were you thinking? People, for christ sakes, your pisssant ball or poetry reading is NOT THAT IMPORTANT! I'd LOVE to stick up store advertisements and such, but guess what? I value the look of CALEDON over my own profits or sense of importance! Stop trashing up the place and then getting militant when Desmond cleans up. He publically stated sign complaints (and this isn't me, I gave up after the in-crowd savaged me on the Caledon forums) are eating up HOURS each week. It is also unfar to Desmond to waste his time to clean up messes YOU should not have made in the first place!
OTHER SIMILAR SIMS: Some of you, I have heard, wonder about future growth....compared to New Babbage and Antiquity sim groupings. Guess what? THOSE sims have ENFORCED ZONING and players that put theme, era and general appearance ahead of their own little wants. My god, how hard is it to look around and go 'hrm, my building doesn't REALLY fit the area....it is [to tall /too full a plot / architecture does not fit the era or area / etc.]. How hard is it to think of CALEDON first...before 'my ball, which happens to be the 2x10^21st ball of the year, and it must be advertized EVERYWHERE' and blocking lot access with signs?
Want to see a good use of theme and keeping similar appearances? Go to New Babbage. While I dislike the Victorian grunge look of the place (far too dirty and squalid for my tastes, I prefer an idealized and CLEANER steampunk/victorian)...the buildings work well with their neighbors (similar height, styles) and are either victorian themed or steampunk....no modernistic 'apartment complexes' or 'tree houses in a city', no 'medieval castles in town' type of thing. Steelhead also does a very good job of staying in the proper time period and styles. Go there, look, learn. And rebuild. :)
CONCLUSION: We have something great in Caledon....but some of the residents seem hell-bent on turning it into 'mainland lite' by totally ignoring theme and general appearance of the place. Desmond is a nice person, he gave us guidelines and (in the absence of hard rules) some of you tossed them to the wind and did what you want. C'mon people, I KNOW you can do better than what I saw tonight while out flying.....try to LIVE UP to the theme, try to follow the guidelines for Caledon, and let us all make Caledon the BEST it can be....not 'mainland lite'.
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Allow me to make a couple of addendum.
First, I have the utmost respect for Desmond and what he has done. NONE of the above is a criticism of him. Desmond is one of the few, genuinely nice persons inworld. I see a LOT of what is happening as taking advantage of that easygoing nature to not just push the covenant, but to bend it into a pretzel.
Second, there is nothing personal against the person's who's builds I cited (I cannot even remember the NAMES of any but one). I merely picked out obious examples of out of place/theme/era builds.
Third and last, I have an intense regard for Caledon. Its what I identify with...the idealized, clean and bright victorian era, with the sciences expanding the possibilities (steampunk). I just wish it would stay closer to the proper theme/era, as do other era-based sims.
Herr Deckard,
I am wondering if it would surprise you to find I agree almost in entirety with your rant. Ironically, Fraulein Cornelia Rothschild 'beat you to the punch' as the Americans say (too much time in Steelhead), as she posted a journal entry with almost identical content, although phrased appropriately for the gentler-yet-fiercer sex.
Perhaps such agreement indicates that the problem really needs to be addressed in a more formal way than suggestion and 'peer pressure', although how to do so without either adding to the Guvnah's workload or stifling creativity is another problem again. The last thing Caledon wants is what I have heard called 'Authenticity Police', ja?
What solution would you suggest?
Yrs.,
Klaus Wulfenbach, Baron
Yes, I do not want to have to have builds 'vetted' by a historical society either. Unfortunately some of the examples are so GLARINGLY obvious we don't need authenticity police to see it. Too bad the owners can't be bothered to do a few moment's research on the theme.
And while I do not want to add to Desmond's workload, at some point he is going to have to stop being the nice guy and step in...otherwise we get mainland light.
I just read the blog you posted about. And it was indeed much more civilized than mine. :) But I agree wholeheartedly.
Caledon for me, is losing a lot of its luster...between the clique' at caledonforums with something to hide, to the out of place builds...its starting to grate on me something fierce.
Hullo Mr. Deckard. I looked up your blog as I've always admired your builds, and I thought it might be filled with steampunky devices and such.
I have to admit that I am saddened that you dislike our airfield so. While I imagine that you might approve of my ornithopters, I see that scant else would meet the bar your set for pure Victorian Steampunk.
Clearly, we both have different definitions of Steampunk. Mine tends to include Edwardian through Art Deco as well, all focused through a lens of "what ought to have been" vice what really was. So, alongside the fantasy ornithopters and the Lilienthal Hang Gliders, you will also see the 1907 Santos Dumont Airship tethered to a mooring tower that borrowed from the Art Deco Chrysler building for inspiration. You will also see a fair amount of pre Great War reproductions such as the Bleirot.
Is this decade or so difference in our opinion of a Steampunk cut off so great? Who is the ultimate aesthetic judge and jury in such cases? (well, the Governor, but I'm speaking more openly).
If I might be blunt sir, I would beg you to save your wrath for those of us who are not endeavoring to follow the thematic aesthetic. In a nation of creative people, we can expect there to be differences of opinion. The important thing is that we continue to create, with a level of tolerance for each other's vision.
Hoping fervently that I have not given offense,
Yrs etc,
Miss Virrginia Tombola
You may be blunt, no offense taken. :) However in return I will be equally blunt...We are going to have to agree to disagree. Edwardian and art deco <> victorian...it wouldn't be classified as a separate ear (edwardian) if it were victorian. And IMO, based on what I have seen of steampunk online <> steampunk. Some of these things can be quite pretty...but in-theme, no.
Again, if I wanted real-world tech from the great war era, I'd have settled in a sim(s) based on real history of that period. If I had wanted Art Deco or Edwardian, I'd have settled in a sim based on that. The theme was advertised as victorian / steampunk...so I kind of expect what was advertised, not people stretching Des's tolerant rules into pretzels.
As far as tolerance, I have little use for seeing Caledon turned into mainland light and the theme ignored/stretched to such a point as it becomes meaningless. There are things I like from the pre-victorian era...but should I 'stretch' steampunk/victorian and call it 'my interpretation' to justify out of period things I happen to like, as you are doing? At what point does it stop if EVERYONE interprets the eras as fits their own agenda? For my own part, I wonder WHEN we have to stop interpreting things and have a community standard...if we don't, eventually it will be interpreted into the same dreadful mish-mash that is the mainland.
And while the airfield is not the worst offender (there are far, far worse), it is still out of theme / era with the Real World planes. its a juxtaposition of times, and quite frankly, unoriginal and uncreative. I guess I am just a bit more disciplined...there are things I wish to build or have that do not fit caledon, thus I do not build or use them IN caledon.
I do love the ornithopter you did! Now THAT is original and creative! I made a slightly more industrial ornithopter based off the shape/look of a dragonfly rather than a plane or a bird. That's the kind of things I want to see in steampunk -- the weird, the semi- (or in-) probable....not a juxtaposition of something from the wrong era that actually existed. I want to see people's creativity...not just their ability to ape pictures from a history book turned to the wrong era.
I'm glad you aren't offended, sir :)
I think there are two arguments you are presenting, summed up in your closing line-
"I want to see people's creativity...not just their ability to ape pictures from a history book turned to the wrong era"
In essence, there are two points here. One is that "aping pictures" is uncreative, the other that 1902 is part of the "wrong era" in a way that 1901 is not.
Should we really be so dismissive of virtual historic recreation? Pray do not tell me that you dislike the reproduction steam plants many have made, the (necessarily scaled down) Crystal Palace we had some time ago, or for that matter more mundane reproductions such as billboards, or dare I say, dresses? I have a line of reproduction uniforms from the 19th century--would it have been preferable to have made fantasy versions of same? I if we were, we'd be splitting semantic hairs over what IS "Steampunk". I think it's a large enough world to encompass "The Difference Engine" and "Girl Genius".
The other, the wrong era notion, is one I can more easily sympathize with. I dislike seeing modern things in Caledon--being less blunt than you, I won't name specifics, but we know there are some egregious examples. But when we dance on the edge of our time frame, I believe things blur somewhat.
Caledon has spread to encompass the Regency period as well. We even have a sim set aside for it. Yet, the year 1815 is as far, if not farther removed from (for example) 1880, than 1915 is (the year of your dread Nieuport). You might argue that Desmond gave his permission for Regency, but he also gave his permission for the airfield and has been consulted during the creation of it.
Again, from an aviation point of view, 1885-1915 was the time of experimentation, still very much fixed in the pre-Great War culture. Come now, who doesn't love Zeppelins? And what looks more Steampunkish than Mrs Nellie Dixon, seen here in 1910:
http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/2665026.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=6E41E83E90A345BD53127A90E37CBBA1A55A1E4F32AD3138
Steampunk is NOT a carved in stone aesthetic. Glancing at the wikipedia alone reveals a fair amount of contention about what it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
Again, I think denigrating others builds as "uncreative" simply because they don't meet one's personal definition out of many possible definitions is the road to the hot place, paved as always with good intentions.
P.S. You did show me your ornithopter, if you recall. I love it! I wish you liked the airfield more, as having things like that flying about it is precisely the sort of thing I would wish for.
"Should we really be so dismissive of virtual historic recreation?"
Yes, as long as they do not fall into the PROPER TIME PERIOD FOR CALEDON. The nieuport I saw is WELL past blurring on the edge and right into 'stretching into a pretzel' It is NOT victorian, nor is it steampunk (since it is a reproduction of a REAL WORLD gasoline plane. it does not beling in caledon under any definition...beyond 'hodgepodge'.
"Pray do not tell me that you dislike the reproduction steam plants many have made, the (necessarily scaled down) Crystal Palace we had some time ago, or for that matter more mundane reproductions such as billboards, or dare I say, dresses? I have a line of reproduction uniforms from the 19th century--would it have been preferable to have made fantasy versions of same?"
No, I do not object to those,as they fit the proper timeframe for the victorian era, even if real world. I STRENUOUSLY object to the juxtaposition of timeframes, ala WWI planes in Caledon.
"I if we were, we'd be splitting semantic hairs over what IS "Steampunk". I think it's a large enough world to encompass "The Difference Engine" and "Girl Genius"."
And I do not. What you are suggesting is a hodgepodge of eras and no real theme. We cannot all 'do our own thing' and expect less than a mainland lite in the end.
"Caledon has spread to encompass the Regency period as well. We even have a sim set aside for it. Yet, the year 1815 is as far, if not farther removed from (for example) 1880, than 1915 is (the year of your dread Nieuport). You might argue that Desmond gave his permission for Regency, but he also gave his permission for the airfield and has been consulted during the creation of it."
I don't particulary care for Regency...I don't believe it truly belongs in Caledon either....however, other than anacronistic styles, it is not as glaringly out of place as WWI brought into the victorian era.
"Steampunk is NOT a carved in stone aesthetic. Glancing at the wikipedia alone reveals a fair amount of contention about what it is:"
Actually, when *I* got into it, long, long ago...there was little or no dissention...it was fantastical and inprobable tech in the victorian era. The contention is illigitimate in my opinion, and was brought in by late arrivals that felt their personal interpretation outweighs early group consensus. Plus I take ANYTHING on Wikipedia as bogus until proved otherwise....
"P.S. You did show me your ornithopter, if you recall. I love it! I wish you liked the airfield more, as having things like that flying about it is precisely the sort of thing I would wish for."
I have nothing against the airfield per-se, and would even use it if it were purged of thematically and era incorrect objects. As it stands, I just avoid the place as it REALLY grates on me to see out of theme / era builds. They are not why I came to Caledon ages ago.
Sir, I think you are correct in that we will have to remain in disagreement on many of our opposing points. I do see the current Caledon as being able to encompass more than a original narrow band of the Victorian period. I do not dislike Regency, Tanglewood or the (quite obviously) the airfield section of Penzance, and I remain a great fan of Girl Genius style Steampunk (or whatever you regard it as, if not Steampunk).
But it would be improper of me to keep repeating myself with regard to my design reasoning for these particular aesthetics. However blunt you may be, you have been more than courteous in allowing me to prate on so much about my opinions on your blog! Perhaps I will elaborate on my thoughts on theme and such, but I promise to use the yellow journal mass of blather I call my blog as the forum for such nonsense.
I honestly appreciate your openness about your thoughts. I hope someday they may change. But then again, perhaps I shall change my mind! Time will tell, I suppose.
yrs etc,
Miss Virrginia Tombola
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