So you might have heard that CoLA is on its way back from the grave, and it's true, it's damn true.
Back in 2018, CoLA kind of started to spin down to almost nothing as far as total activity went. It had been 13 years since the doors opened and everyone that grew up there finally grew up and real-life came for them.
It was a sad day for me on January 1st of 2019 when I decided to close the doors for good on an old place that had given so many memories to so many people, but at the time, it felt necessary, like it was finally time to take some time for myself in all this time I had poured into SecondLife and the community.
For a few years, I mostly took care of the Community Combat System network and looked after myself, I got my avatar together (after 13 years of barely ever changing), I started getting out into SL in general, finding places that I had never been and largely went out and tried to enjoy all of the SecondLife I'd mostly denied myself during the 13 year period of working for CoLA.
And for a while that was fine, SecondLife was fun, I loved creating stuff in it and always have, and with CoLA on the side, I started focusing on other things, working on CCS, working on mesh design, working on animations, and animation systems. Basically all the stuff I was already idiot level familiar with but wanted to become better at. And with COVID in 2019/2020/2021 I had a lot of time on my hands to mess around with various things, I opened a little romantic chill spot called The Clique to share with the grid, and mostly went about my way just trying to see what kind of fun I could have while doing what I do.
But as 2021 ground on it became more and more apparent that there were orphans out there, people that missed CoLA and wished it was still here. I felt guilty every time I talked to them, that I'd decided to step away from it, but at the time there was nothing really else to do other than watch the sim be mostly empty. And more and more as I went around SecondLife, with the exception of fewer places than I could count on the fingers of one hand, there was really nowhere in SecondLife that was a place for someone like me.
And that's why CoLA was built in the first place.
So here we are now, it's 2022, and my good friend Tempest Ella returned to SL, and she reminded me often how it would be good if CoLA came back, but I always told her "Soon©" as is my way with things that make me anxious. But eventually, she said she'd like to attach a sim to CoLA, if we opened it again, which I agreed to, and then like a week later she was like "Suz I got a sim, it's time to build CoLA again." and here we are.
The build now has been in progress since January 18th, literally a week after Phillip Rosedale returned to Linden Lab, and we are now about 3 weeks in and the progress is massive, this build is literally the magnum opus of the community in any year we've ever done a build. And while I have done a lot and invested a lot of time into this, I don't think I'd have made it this far without the encouragement and assistance of those that have chosen to help me with this project.
So we're kicking the lid off this coffin, the party starts March 21st, with a soft open around March 15th for the original community group. So get in, 'cause it's gonna be a fucking banger of a time.
Much love to everyone who has supported us over these many years, I hope to continue to make you proud and give you a beautiful world to exist in for many years to come.
Comments