The last year seriously flew by.

We've officially had a full first year on the new sim and things are looking good. We reached a couple major milestones throughout 2010, and we have many more slated for this new one 🙂 Let's take a look at our recent timeline ...

Nov/Dec 2009 - Move to new sim and official launch of our current build
Feb 2010 - Dead Drop sim expansion
March 2010 - Launch of Player Registration System (2935 submissions to date!)
May 2010 - Launch of Dead Lock Prison
June 2010 - Instant Invite System launched for sim-run IC businesses
Aug 2010 - Policy reform: groups and titles
October 2010 - LL publishes DE to SL Destination Guide

I think moving forward into the new year, we're going to be working on revising and enhancing some of the new things we launched in 2010, on top of some brand new stuff! Some of the items we have on the agenda to be done asap are:

1) Update the city build -- as sexy as it is, there are still elements that both Kait and I feel could be done better.

2) Residential Rentals Redux -- Less is more, in my opinion ... and the few that we'll have, will be awesome. I plan on redoing the rentals and likely dropping the rezzer system (too many bugs to deal with). The addition of Dead Drop and possibly future expansion sims will lessen the need for rentals right in the RP area. I'd rather reserve those prims for IC business ideas people had. Islandside will likely be axed in the near future in favor of swamp homes! Also, the lofts will be redone so if people did rent within the city, they'll have nice oceanside view, fairly spacious, and more prims to play with. We will also be adding a set of row homes along the edge of the sim (behind Lulu's).

3) Sim-Run IC Business Fronts -- We have a few of these coming up. Our greatest challenge right now is finding good dedicated leaders to run some of them. When we have our group registration system up, we may write up some guidelines and allow people to rent them out and run as a front for their group. I would rather neutral parties ran them though. So far, we have Busted Knuckles Garage, Pizza Slut, Easy Eight Pool Hall, and the upcoming tattoo parlor available.

4) Group Registration -- Similar to the player registration system, I think in order to run a group in DE, people need to formally propose it to management who will then approve/disapprove. If approved, the benefits of it would be direct access to staff to deal w/ issues, commitment from the group leader to contribute positively to the DE community, and group visibility on official directories we'll have placed around the sim. Could go as far as discounted land / rentals too if necessary. The registration will also be setup to help focus ideas on what DE needs ... ie. criminal organizations, cults, IC businesses, etc. The idea, above all, is to make sure we have quality people running quality groups to create quality stories for all.

5) Medical / Arrest Reports System -- Filing notes can be a bitch in SL. So, I've devised a simple system that will allow registered members of the hospital and the PD access to file reports on people that come in. Furthermore, criminals and patients will have access to see their own history. Also, I have to kudos to Cordite who's been doing an amazing job with the hospital lately; he's taken a lot of initiative in growing the place. We may soon add a fire dept and roll it under emergency services too.

6) Improving RP Etiquette -- Fae has been running an ambassador's program to get experienced RP'ers to help out newcomers. We need to establish this more and grow it. We will also need help in coming up with subjects to write on as mini-guides for different parts of the city and RP etiquette. I am a firm believer that none of us are "experts" or can ever be at RP .. it's always a learning process and we should constantly strive for improvements. The second we think otherwise, our experience will become stale and boring. This is the kind of culture that will be expected in DE; both existing community and the many new faces that join us a week.

Overall, I suspect we'll keep very busy for DE. Please do drop your feedback and maybe let us know what you'd like for us to focus on 🙂