Today, in very sad news, we learned of the disappearance of Drottningholm Palace, one of the most beautiful of the 18th century sims.
Set in 1778 in one of the most beautiful of the Swedish royal palaces (now, in real life, a UNESCO Heritage Site), it was a gloriously finished sim. It is featured, exuberantly, on the login page as one of the positive highlights of Second Life, and was our Region of the Month in Issue 5 of The Primgraph.
When we visited, we had a delightful reception, and certainly found it to be one of the most welcoming of the 18th century sims. There was a great deal of lively roleplay to be found there, and a willingness to share with newcomers that gave us great hope for the future. So too did the extension into a new sim, Drottningholm Old Town, which offered the chance of residential accommodation.
However, over the last few weeks, Drottningholm seems to have been struggling. There were several high profile departures by well-established characters, and suggestions of a rift between the owners and managers of the two different sims. This culminated in today's announcement that the Palace sim has been deleted by its owner, who has decided to leave Second Life.
The future of Drottningholm Old Town also seems in some doubt. The town was always intended to act as a residential area to support the Palace, and now that has been lost, a time for reappraisal of its aims may be needed. We have already heard talk of the sim being incorporated into a new area which will be based around the Republic of Venice in its 18th century heyday as Las Serenissima. But, obviiously, there will need to be a time for reflection and consultation first.
What is certain is that the closure of the Palace happened with great suddeness for the majority of people involved and has caused considerable disappointment and distress from people who felt that they had made a considerable investment of time and energy there. The owners, of course, had the right to remove their creation at any point, as they have done, but one thinks with respect of New Babbage which had such a civilised handover (and involved its citizens in a great roleplay of the election of the new Mayor). It seems the greatest of shames that some arrangement proved impossible for Drottningholm Palace.
1 comment:
And, further to this, Drottningholm Old Town has now been deleted.
A great loss.
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