Quabbin
| Quabbin | |
|---|---|
| Place | |
| |
| Name: Quabbin | |
| Status: Abandoned | |
| Formed: September 2nd, 2020 | |
| Abandoned: February 2021 | |
| Members: ostrich1414, AntHand, egnaroky, MoWobbler, JESUS_warrior69, cmlove, ElectricChugg, willowienal, AntiFreezeFluid | |
Quabbin is a city founded by ostrich1414 and AntHand on September 2nd, 2020. Located on a river between a mega taiga, plains, and mountains biome, Quabbin shares many similarities with past megacities like Yittrium and Wilburia in its city planning, architectural styles, and membership. Quabbin is primarily aesthetic in nature, featuring several distinct neighborhoods within the city limits that range from a sprawling downtown center to a massive futuristic station, with each member contributing their own unique styles to the city.
By February 2021, Quabbin was largely abandoned by all its members due to a series of incidents that prompted a high security risk to the base. Worried that it would be targeted and griefed or raided, the once-flourishing city was left behind to lay dormant.
History
Quabbin's Conception
After AntHand and egnaroky of the Caudices annexed the City of the Divine Lord, Wilbur and Takyon in May 2020, their relationship with ostrich1414 (and, to a lesser extent, MoWobbler) became severely strained and tense. This was problematic as all four of these players were once solid allies, having based together at both Florestria and Yittrium in 2019. However, the aftermath of Wilburia's annexation led ostrich1414 to largely sever ties with the Caudices for much of the summer of 2020.
By late August, ostrich1414 and AntHand began to discuss the possibility of warming relations and forming up together again; they felt that the best way to bring things back to normal was by establishing a new city that they could mutually work on together. This city would come to be known as "Quabbin" (named after the real life Quabbin Reservoir in Central Massachusetts) and would serve as a project for the estranged former allies to come together once more and build in harmony. Egnaroky and MoWobbler were added to the project, as was the Goldforge Citadel member JESUS_warrior69, who had never based with any of the other Quabbinites before.
On September 2nd, 2020, the team would settle on a final location. Sitting at the crossroads of a mega taiga, plains, and mountains biome, Quabbin was marked by a long river that cut across much of the landmass. Ostrich1414 had expressed a personal interest in establishing a riverside city, which the rest of the members agreed with.
Establishing the City
As the five members descended on the location, every player had a specific idea in mind for their projects. AntHand would construct the first building at Quabbin: a small temporary storage hut located on the banks of the Quabbin River. This would eventually be torn down and replaced with the city's first permanent structure, created by JESUS_warrior69: the IGEAR store, serving as the city's central storage facility.
Meanwhile, ostrich1414 began work on his ambitious project of flattening out an entire peninsula to y=63, then covering the entire flattened landmass in stonebrick slabs. The peninsula was then cut off at the end and transformed into an island, with a man-made canal connecting two sides of the Quabbin River. Atop this island, ostrich1414 would begin constructing a modern city, influenced primarily by his work at Yittrium and Wilburia. This city, known as Quabbin Center, would soon house numerous skyscrapers, cultural buildings and farms.
AntHand's district would grow the quickest of the group: located on top of a mountain, he would establish the secret military base Area 69. Area 69 became Quabbin's center for military experimentation and planning, industrial production, and other secretive activities. Some highlights of Area 69 include its massive fox den, its "flying llama" program, and its state-of-the-art elevator system.
Nearby, MoWobbler would begin work on Sphere City, a massive futuristic district composed of several buildings conglomerated into one megastructure. Atop of this structure is the titular sphere, massive in size and made entirely of stonebrick. Sphere City would quickly become Quabbin's largest district in terms of size, with rings being built around the sphere and enhancing its futuristic, space-like feel.
By the end of September, Quabbin had been growing rapidly, and was already becoming a major city.
Sudden Growth
After a short hiatus in early October, the self-proclaimed "Quabbin Qrew" returned their attention to the base and, by mid-October, progress skyrocketed. Cmlove was taken in as the newest member of Quabbin, and contributed her own unique district to the city. Cmlove established a large animal reserve / zoo called "Zoo Wee Mama", housing dozens of different mobs. Some exhibits include an aviary, an aquarium, a monster zoo, and a petting zoo. Nearby, cmlove also created a botanical garden, featurning a plethora of different flora and plant species. In between these projects, cmlove created a map art called "Rocko", featuring the titular character from Rocko's Modern Life.
Ostrich1414's Quabbin Center also expanded heavily during October, with several major skyscrapers and buildings being produced. Some notable additions included the Quabbin World Trade Center, the Quabbin Municipal Courthouse, and Dolphin's Grace Luxury Suites. Ostrich1414 also created the Quabbin Museum of History and Culture, a museum housing several in-game artifacts ranging from Map Art, Banners, war memorabilia and historic icons. Quabbin Center would also house several of the city's agricultural farms, including sugar cane, bamboo, and cacti.
Sphere City grew in size significantly as well, with MoWobbler emphasizing and expanding the rings around his district's central sphere. Much of the interior of the structure was also improved and added onto, with several key features being incorporated. Perhaps Sphere City's most unique features are its boat ride, the Beirut Fireworks Factory, and the auto-sorter.
At Area 69, the last major addition AntHand would implement was Quabbin's villager breeder, with a villager established underground. Nearby, JESUS_warrior69 began work on a small suburban neighborhood directly behind IGEAR. However, the largest project taken on by the Quabbinites was the creation of a 256x256 perimeter going down to bedrock: using TNT bombers set up by AntHand, this major hole would be completely hollowed out in preparation for future farms. Nevertheless, as the city progressed in size and style, Quabbin was soon fast approaching the relevance and status of cities before it.
Suburban Expansion
Throughout much of November and early December, Quabbin continued to grow at a slower rate, but expanded nonetheless. The slight decline in building would occur for various reasons: ostrich1414 became involved with Void City, AntHand descended into inactivity, and JESUS_warrior69 left on a self-imposed hiatus. Still, one Quabbinite would take city expansion and progress to heart during this period of time: cmlove.
With JESUS_warrior69's suburban section now empty and unused due to his departure from the server, cmlove quickly seized it and began her own suburban expansion. Organizing her own road systems, cmlove created a unique neighborhood of the city characterized by strip malls, residences, and a boardwalk with an amusement park. This would become the fastest-growing section of Quabbin during this time, with notable landmarks including Joe Mama's Strip Club and Bar, the River Restaurant, Frank Reynolds Chicken Shack, and, of course, Quabbin Boardwalk. Atop Quabbin Boardwalk, cmlove and MoWobbler built several unique amusement park attractions, from a Ferris wheel to a dunk tank to a roller coaster.
By late November, other areas of the city would continue to grow as well. Aside from the suburban / commercial neighborhood, cmlove also created a visitor's center and a city gift shop, promoting tourism within Quabbin. MoWobbler continued to expand and polish Sphere City, easily making it one of the most important and imposing landmarks within Quabbin. Ostrich1414 worked on the city's wool farm, as well as the creation of a few small shops nearby it. Meanwhile, AntHand returned from his inactivity to create Dakka_SHRINE by early December. Quabbin was back in business.
Quabbin and Tempest: Sister Cities
On December 9th, 2020, Quabbin and its close ally Tempest decided to officially become Sister Cities, making them close allies linked by trade, culture, and diplomacy. Tempest's co-founder Nebuelaz invited the Quabbinites to a meeting at his former base Hurricane, where representatives from both cities could meet, discuss, and sign a treaty of alliance. Ostrich1414, MoWobbler, AntHand, and cmlove attended on behalf of Quabbin, while Nebuelaz, Ragdety, and seventwoworlds represented Tempest.
After meeting at Hurricane, the seven players all signed a book and declared Quabbin and Tempest as official sister cities, finally linking them through a treaty and formally allying them.
Quabbin During War and its Consequences
Between December 10th, 2020 and January 28th, 2021, many Quabbin members took part in The Imperial War, a devastating war fought between the People's Coalition (a wartime loose collective of several teams) and the Church of Francis. While the city of Quabbin itself never officially declared war as it contained some neutral players, the other participants all joined in favor of the People's Coalition, most notably ostrich1414 and AntHand, who were two of the PC's top strategists. Thus, this made Quabbin a massive target, and the Church of Francis would regularly threaten the city, causing many players to be anxious about building there.
Despite the vast number of bases griefed during the Imperial War, Quabbin would somehow make it through without a scratch. Although growth in the city declined as a result of the war, progress was still being made. Perhaps the most significant achievement for the city during this time was the complete renovation and reorganization of its storage facility, IGEAR, originally built by JESUS_warrior69. Ostrich1414 and cmlove headed destruction, completely redesigning IGEAR in early January 2021. The building was transformed from a jumbled one-floor hall to a larger, four-floor building with more space and storage.
On January 4th, 2021, three final members were added to Quabbin's player list: willowienal, ElectricChugg, and AntiFreezeFluid, with the former two being friends of JESUS_warrior69 and the latter being a friend of ostrich1414. Willowienal began construction on a brand-new district of Quabbin, located in a mega taiga forest on the outskirts of the city. Known as "Backwoods Quabbin", this project was a small woodland village inspired by medieval European architecture, specifically from the Netherlands--a drastic change from the modern style in Quabbin proper. ElectricChugg also aided willowienal in his effort, although he also began work on his own underground project nearby. Meanwhile, cmlove continued her expansion of the suburbs around Quabbin Center, establishing new creations from Quabbin Stables to the Krusty Krab. AntHand also returned to building at the city, renovating his "Hole" project significantly.
Unfortunately, these would be the final days of Quabbin's prosperity. With the end of the war on January 28th, controversy became rampant when the SimPvP community began to accuse AntHand of using an exploit to discover Three Words (a base raided/annexed by the PC during the war). This controversy only worsened after DakkaDok leaked aspects of the exploit and its use by AntHand. With AntHand being a major member of Quabbin, the SimPvP community in a fit of rage, and many players demanding justice for Three Words, Quabbin was once again put in a precarious position, receiving countless threats of raiding and griefing. This prompted many Quabbinites to officially depart from the city, too anxious to continue building there due to the impending possibility that it could be destroyed out of revenge. Before abandoning it, several neutral players were invited to explore the city, including Nebuelaz, SkullerG, Sellout9, and Burger_Malone. Although a few members remained out of hope, Quabbin was largely abandoned--a consequence of war.
