As You have Probably heard by Now.......

Savage Lands Sold
Many of you have heard by now that Rex and I sold "The Savage Lands" sim yesterday, and we know everyone is angry and want to know why.

First of All....let me say that we had no idea the deal would go through in 5 hours. In fact....I specifically asked Linden Labs how long this would take. We wanted to tell the occupants what was going to happen. Delailah was told that the sim sold and that she had 5-10 days to break the news. While she was saddened, she (a former sim owner) understands our position....and decided to gather her thoughts before breaking the news to Bermusa. We sent Dejantu an offline once the sale ticket was entered (since he is traveling RL) to let him know we sold the sim, and would refund him the pro-rated tier fee. Linden Labs finished the ticket in Record breaking time...and it took us all by surprise.

Chat with a Linden
"[12:42 PM] Bernard Linden: Hello Kathy Amsterdam! I may be chatting with multiple residents at the moment, so please state your issue, and I'll be with you shortly. If you have a ticket number, please have that ready also.

[12:42 PM] Kathy Amsterdam: I just submitted a ticket for a sim sale.... #4051-700####. Can you give me an idea of how long it usually takes for these tickets to be processed

[12:42 PM] Kathy Amsterdam: I need to have some tenants move out

[12:43 PM] Bernard Linden: Transfer tickets take 5-10 business days generally.

[12:45 PM] Bernard Linden: Do you have any other questions?

[12:46 PM] Kathy Amsterdam: will they let me know...or do I need to watch the ticket

[12:49 PM] Bernard Linden: We will update the ticket whenever anything changes with the transfer. If everything goes smoothly you will get a notice that it was completed. We may also ask your for more information if necessary.

[12:50 PM] Kathy Amsterdam: thank you...just need to have people plan to move out

More Changes Coming:
Many of you that play in Persia...believe that Rex and I are the awful uncaring people....based on what you hear others saying. For the ones that have actually spoken to us, and taken the time to reach out, you know that we are fair, just and honest people. When it comes to resolving issues on the sim...we don't blindly choose sides....even if that means telling a GM they were wrong (more about this later).

I am going to give you all some perspective on what its like for us.

There are a handfull of people (four to be precise) in the Persian sims were told of our plan yesterday. These were the people we trusted and that have shown us such great loyalty, and have earned our respect.

Why sell off the sims and Not keep Persia going?
Our Decision to Sell these sims (yes...more than one is going) was NOT an easy one. For the last four months we have hated even logging into SL.....because of the complaints we here from the players in Persia, EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY.

In the last 2-3 months we had Four GM's quit because of BAD RP. RP that Rex and I were not even involved in. BUT....Rex and I mediated these incidents and the GM's were wrong in the actions that they took. And because Rex and I don't take sides...we told them they were wrong. You can tell a lot about the character of a person when they cannot accept or admit that what they did was wrong and just storm off the sim in Anger. Pick up their toys and leave. Rex and I are not perfect, we get mad...but we also admit our mistakes. I suppose not everyone is capable of admitting fault. Such is life....we only have to live ours.

Rex and I have literally spent thousands of USD building a city for people who show us NO appreciation for it. Instead.....we are slapped in the faces daily. Not just by the players, but by the GM's who are supposed to support us.

We have had four GM's quit in the last month alone, other GM's who do nothing but wear the tag, and honestly we don't have the energy to keep building up leaders. So we decided if the GM's quit or wish to be 'inactive'...let them go. We will not beg people to play in Persia, if there is no desire for Persia anymore...then it will disappear into history, just like the real Persian Empire.

Leaders are not MADE.....you are either Born a leader....or you are not.

We have promoted many people to GM status with the hopes that they will rise to the occasion...we are still waiting for them to rise.

A financial history lesson:

When the persian empire was expanding and growing all those sims you saw on the grid....its because the players on the sim came to us and asked to attach homestead sims to us. These sims were in OUR names.

The Badlands sim was the first sim to sell. The original people that were on this sim left because of a disagreement with the Lead GM in Persia, Leaving Rex and I with the $125 USD a month tier fees. We had other people interested in playing on the sim...but the did not have the ability or perhaps the desire to PAY for the sim. So...We discussed our options and decided.....if the RP is successful, it will bring more people into Persia who will likely rent and buy goods....and the money will not be an issue.
We waited four months for the RP to take off in the sim, and it never did...it sat empty except for the random person. It's unreasonable to expect us to pay $125 USD a month with only the promise that "I will get the RP going....I will do that tomorrow....."........"insert random excuse here."

We provided a place to RP, we paid the tier and our only simple request was....Make this sim a fun place to play, hold little events, something to spark interest. Make this light RP and host OOC parties in the Salty Wench...this should be the place we can decompress and have fun.

--------nothing happened -------

As I said before...commitment only goes as deep as people pay, and when you give them a free place to play, they show you how much they appreciate that very expensive gift.
But you see....Rex and I are inconsiderate, because we are doing what is best for us financially.....we apologize for not asking permission from the people who aren't paying the bills.

The Savage Lands
A Little history lesson here...a few little known facts. This sim was requested by one of the players in Persia....who promised to repay the cost to purchase the sim in the first place. So....we bought the sim for HER. and She paid us 12,500L a week ($45. USD). Once the purchase price ($375 USD) was paid off...the tier was to be reduced to Cost ($125 USD a month).
Ten payments later......She decided that the expense was too much and that her RL needed more attention.

If you are following the math....

Initial Cost - $375
Month 1 Tier $125
Month 2 tier $125
Month 3 tier $125
total cost $750 USD (paid by us)

Paid by renter $451 USD (or 12,500 lindens x 10 weeks = 125,000 total lindens paid)

If your still following the math.......... $750 - $451 = $299 that we didn't get back.

We have seen a lot of chat logs....where we are blamed for the failure of the original Bermusa tribe. Its funny when you look back now. You see....the current Bermusa Queen is doing exactly what was envisioned for Bermusa from day one. A strong Amazon RP...where women were in power. Where they were strong and not dominated by men.
We would like to Personally thank Ocean Garside for picking Bermusa up from nothing and rebuilding the RP. And Delailah Bai for carrying on with the vision, for being the strong woman and role model for what an Amazon is. Proud and strong. You two ladies have class...and we thank you. Thank you for being our friends most of all.

I would like to say to the Original renter. Make all the excuses you like. Blame us for your failure. It doesn't matter. Remember you said....You were going to stop spending so much time in SL because of real life issues.....but the deal was...you just didn't want to pay for something you asked for...and the responsibility of leading that RP was too much for you to handle.
THESE ARE THE FACTS

YES....Dejantu stepped up and was paying the rental on Savage after Rex and I announced two months ago that we planned to sell it. So, we agreed to keep it.

So why sell it now!!! (you may be asking)

Its a very simple answer. Rex and I will NO LONGER Role Play, and that means...no longer own any Role Play sims. (at least for now). We need to get away from all things ancient.

What Now:

When you hate to set foot in a place you are supposed to love...its time to walk away. We expect a few to grandstand and say that you would have bought Persia...blah blah blah...but the simple fact is that we didn't want to watch it decline. We would rather flatten and sell it in pieces than to see it become like other sims on the grid.....an empty wasteland....a shadow of its former self.

Rest assured that is was NOT an easy decision for us. It's taken us four months to agree with each other that this is what we should do. Before now....one or the other would find something positive, some reason to keep going.

Yesterday....I woke up at 6am....angry. I suppose I finally realized that no matter how hard Rex and I work....there isn't one other person inside Persia that was willing to do what it takes to keep it going. And two people cannot Build a Sim, An ARMY, the roleplay, play GM to all the issues....the list goes On and On and On. We have provided training grounds, roleplay opportunities, brought entire groups onto the sim for free with the promise that they will get RP going.....when all they wanted was a free place to put their stuff (don't worry guys...we will let the other sim owners know your coming).

SL is supposed to be fun. A Place were you go to escape your troubles. It became our troubles. There are a few players in Persia that let us know you appreciated the place we built for you....and we thank you for those encouraging words.

Rental Refunds (rental boxes are locked):
I realized this morning, that peoples commitment to any sim....only goes as deep as their financial investment in the sim. We offered some of the cheapest rent on the grid for homes at 3.5 L per prim. Mostly because we wanted people to BE in Persia. Your money was used to fund a few tournaments or to buy little things on the sim that Rex and I did not make. The $600 USD a month in Tier fees.....was covered solely by our House of Style clothing sales.

For those paying rent let me put your lindens into perspective:
350L a week = $1.25 dollars....or....$5.00 dollars a month
150L a week = $0.55 cents......or.... $2.10 dollars a month
50L a week = $0.18 cents......or.... $0.72 cents a month

Some are asking if you will have your lindens refunded. The answer is YES. My rental system is web based...and depending on when the Sands of Persia sim Sells...I will refund your remaining rental. Despite some of the nasty rumors floating around about us....we are honest people who do the right things.

So what is next?

The "Sands of Persia" sim will be sold ASAP. All rental Boxes have been locked.

We will Keep the Taurus Mountains sim...it will be taken apart and rebuilt....and it won't be ancient. After 1.5 years playing in ancient RP sims....we have had our fill..its time to move on.
All rental boxes in Babylon have been Locked. We will let you know when you need to get your things.

For those of you who believed in Persia, who played in the sim and supported what we did. We thank you. You are rare indeed. The vast majority hardly gave a second thought to the gift they were given.

My Last Remarks: We would like to Thank Ever Halostar, the blog master for creating this amazing blog. You have been an amazing friend to us. Thank you for your support.

We would like to encourage everyone to visit and play in the other sims on the grid. We have had long discussions with Carthage and they welcome all of you.

We wish you all well...safe paths and no hard feelings.

Sincerely, Rex and Kathy

Engineering an Empire: The Persians

Stories from the Sands

I just posted a new entry from Cass in the Stories from the Sands blog... I highly recommend checking it out!

If you'd like to submit a story contact me in-world

-Ever

Wanted: Hot Lips and Big Splash!

11:00 am SL time and onward

Wednesday, November 18th

Get ready to pucker up all you irristable kissers of Persia!

Volunteers for kissing booth needed.

Also don your swim trunks or your wet suits or BD suits

( if so inclined)

and come be dunked by the best shots of Persia!

Contact Alondra Luna and make a big splash or a lasting lip imprint on someone special!

Wanted: Merchants and Hagglers!

Free Stalls and loads of fun being an imaginative and high spirited vendor!!

Apply to our festival marketer (Hana Hoobinoo) to set up a time.

We hope to make this into a weekly affair!

There will be fruit and veggies, etc plus animals to trade for darics or to barter for exchanges in goods.

You can also sell anything within period context that you have made for Lindens as well

(ie: weapons and such.)

XP System and Abilities

I am going to try to keep this as short and simple as possible. Persia will NOT be a leveling sim. We will be XP based, which is completely different. I realize that there are horror stories about levels throughout the ancient world. Rome and Sparta both tried it and it was a disaster. I know – I was there through it all.

This is an XP system. What this means is people will gain XP over time and through kills that will enable them to use those points in exchange for improved abilities and powers. Classes will have their own advantages. Warriors will have the health and con stat raised by 1 point, DPS (ranged) will have agility raised by 2, healers will have will raised by 2. What this does is create a balance of power through the classes.

For example, a warrior has no need for will because tanks, as a rule, only need to smash what is directly in front of them. Str is the power, con is the defense. DPS has the agility increased because an archer needs to be mobile on his feet and to move quickly from point to point for better shots, not to mention it is nice to be hard to hit. Healers have the will increased because they need the ability to regenerate stamina in order to cast healing spells and health because they will most likely be the prime target of the enemy. Kill the medic, you kill the tank. Tanks need healers to keep them healthy so they can live longer.

For example: There are four Tuaregs being pinned down in an area of the city by 13 Immortal soldiers. Without classing, those 4 Tags are all dead men walking. There is no chance of victory at all. If two of those Tags were archers, however, 1 a tank, and 1 a healer – there is a small chance that this team can survive IF they work together. If the archers take up a defensive posture next to the healer, the healer concentrates on healing the tank, and the tank smashes Immortal after Immortal, there is a chance – a small chance – but still a chance.

What we are attempting to create is a richer role play environment. The classing system creates a need for healers. All you typically non-combatant folks can now be a part of the action by not only cheering your favorite warrior on, but actually healing them as well. We are also trying to provide better teamwork. You are not one-man armies. You have brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers that depend on you for RP survival.

Now you are asking, “So can we heal and use powers now?” Yes. In internal combat only. Tournaments will be no powers, no heals. Same as always. My advice to those of you who regularly participate in tournaments is to pick the warrior class, because, in melee combat, DPS isn't going to beat a tank. It is just common sense. In raid situations, it is important that the leaders of our squad let the raiders know before the raid starts that they need to class up. If they don’t they will be at a disadvantage. We want to play fair – there is no honor in a stacked victory. It will still be NO HEAL in a raid. You are to use your bandage (minor heal) AFTER the round is over.

There will be additional information later to explain what the powers are when I have completed building them. For now, log in to the DCS website and choose your class. If you have 300 XP available now, you can buy your minor heal.

THIS IS A BETA TEST PHASE. THIS IS NOT A PERMANENT CHANGE. KEEP THIS IN MIND AND BE OPEN-MINDED WHILE WE RUN THE TESTS.

Try to enjoy yourselves,

Rex and Kathy

If You're Interested...

The History International Channel is re-airing Engineering an Empire: the Persians this coming Wednesday night. Check local listings for times.

A description of the show on the History Channel's website reads:

The Persian Empire was one of the most mysterious civilizations in the ancient world. Persia became an empire under the Cyrus the Great, who created a policy of religious and cultural tolerance that became the hallmark of Persian rule. Engineering feats include an innovative system of water management; a cross-continent paved roadway stretching 1500 miles; a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea; and the creation of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Mausoleum of Maussollos. The rivalry between Persia and Athens led to a 30-year war known as the Persian Wars, the outcome of which helped create the world we live in today. Peter Weller hosts.

Updated Chain of Command

The updated chain of command has been added under the Sands of Persia Info section on the left.

Important - Read It!!!

New Rules of Engagement between Tuaregs and Persians

1. Desert lands are all open for fighting with no rp needed except any residences are safe.

2. If a Tuareg chases Persian into the City, the engagement stops unless 3 lines of role play are conducted before starting up again. Or Tuareg encounters Persian in City and performs 3 lines of rp with person...person must play along.

3. If a Persian chases Tuareg into their island, the engagement stops unless 3 lines of role play are conducted before starting up again. Or, Persian encounters Tuareg on island and perfroms 3 lines of rp with person...person must play along.

4. Persian is chasing Tuareg on sand and Tuareg runs into city, the chase continues with no rp needed OR Tuareg chases Persian onto their island then fight continues with no rp needed. Because the city or the island are not safe for opposing person.

These new rules now create a "Balance" of home for each person.

These rules are in effect NOW !! Read them, UNDERSTAND THEM, and have fun with them !!!

*** Remember***

Your faction's home is its safe zone:

Persians= Babylon

Tuaregs = Nador

Bedu = Camp near the south pier

Nomads = Tents on Savage Lands

Bremusa = Tree houses

All visitors are safe in the drop zone

(the sultan's tent where u land)

Join the Royal Guard

The Royal Guard is now accepting members!

Contact Lt. General Belle Wasp for information