The Off World Story (& Anniversary)

Courtesy of Redoubt // Off World

October 29, 2004 – October 29, 2005

Any honest telling of the Off World Story must be one that is a combined effort because that is the truth of Off World itself. Minus any one of those who have written the story in builds and textures and code, it would be a different place, a different story. But for the purpose of the First Anniversary, presented here are the recollections of its founders, each as unique as Off World is itself….


Off Worlds and Me
By tunablues

It has been one year since we started this build on a whim or moreover a challenge. Dreamer2, Redoubt and I were searching for a theme or a circumstance that would relieve some of the tasks we had brought on ourselves. All three of us teach and have taught 100’s and 100’s of lessons on various dealings. Dreamer2 is CT of AWSchool, Redoubt is a teacher, and I am a retired teacher but still help out.

October 29th, 2004 the three of us were exploring and decided to lay down a tile and manufacture a world far from earth with a Blade Runner theme as a basis. It was also thought a build of this nature would be a valuable tool for people to learn what can be done in active worlds with standard objects. Once the initial piece was placed we all took off in different directions covering area for our individual work that would meet at the ground zero.

We covered what is the original portion off Off World that night. And so Off World began. The first signs of builds were those that symbolized the need for a settlement to operate. Power and transportation were first followed by industry which included hotels and food services. The first month the builds were fast and furious with commands and textures coming from each of us. Each build was more complex than the one before, but we stayed with the theme (A world raked with radiation) no plants no life forms except those that came from earth. Along the way we made a blogger to tell our story and to explain the new builds. It was then that Off Worlds took on a life of itself.

There is some sort of movement in every vista and movies in many places to accent the build. We leave the old as is and the new comes in the outer edges to preserve what came first and what came last. I am very fortunate to have worked with this group. The knowledge and the creativity are second to none.


Off World Memories
By Redoubt

My memories of the first days of Off World are fond ones. We began the project to see what was, and was not possible in the Alpha World environment. Although full manipulation and movement was now possible there, it remained to be seen what could be done with these gifts.

My partners were TunaBlues and Dreamer2. They are two of the most experienced and talented individuals in the Active Worlds Universe. It was perfect for me because I was still, relatively speaking (and otherwise), a newbie here. Additionally, I felt I could do more because of my relationship with the Alpha World Birthday Builders. I learned quite a lot with them over a short period. It all sort of just came together that late October 29, 2004.

Now, I don’t want to bore anyone with fanciful speeches about how good this build or that build is. We have a ton of video that spans the entire lifetime of Off World. Most of it is shameless self-promotion but also, most of it is well worth the ride from a historical standpoint. We’ve done a lot of good stuff this first year. Off World is a very special and unique place. No matter what you are told, Off World is probably where movement and life really began, in earnest and on a large scale, in Alpha World. But don’t take my word for it… come and look for yourself.

I sat out most of the summer of 2005 but when I returned, I found that Off World had grown. There are a lot of good builders, both old and new now building here. One of those I was impressed with is Dark Owl. His New Star build just blew me away. But I shouldn’t limit my mention to just one here because there are present the extremely talented likes of Bob Hetherington, Lensman, Pharadon, Dusti, Pippin, Daystar1 and Siliconmana. (Anyone I may have overlooked is free to raise hell with me.) But the bottom line is that Off World is an ongoing experiment worth visiting, if not finding a way to become a part of.

Anyway, because we began by covering an extremely large area, we do have plenty of room for builders. Our building restrictions are based on the sci-fi, futuristic themes and there is just an entire library of code, texture and object resources around every corner for those who have a vision… but not yet the know-how. I would invite anyone who wants to… or likes to build and has that vision to contact any of us.

In closing, I’d like to offer a genuine, heartfelt thanks to Tunablues, Dreamer2 as well as the MIA ‘Commguy’ and the late ‘Energiser’. Without your help and friendship, my part of Off World may have never happened.


All I needed to know about life - I learned from Off World
By Dreamer2

1/Seek out new life and new civilizations
2/When your logic fails, trust a hunch
3/Insufficient data does not compute
4/If it can't be fixed, just ask tunablues
5/Keep your phaser set on stun
6/Even in our own world, sometimes we are aliens
7/Humans are highly illogical
8/ When going out into the universe, remember: "Boldly go where no man has gone before"


In Retrospect

Anyone could do what we have done in Off World. We’ve accomplished this in a public building world along side some of the most respected communities in Alpha World. But it is precisely BECAUSE we did this in the somewhat limited, if not retentive Alpha World, that makes it special. In a private world, objects and their path are not an issue and neither are textures.

But if we can do this HERE… we can do it anywhere…

Imagine the possibilities!

Off World’s 1st Anniversary Throw Down

Will be at Club Trance on November 5th, 2005 at 10 PM VRT.
Coords for a good landing are: AW 31454N 31570E