Damage Enabled Combat in a Moderated, Mature-Content, Self-Contained Parcel?

Not too long ago, I sat down underneath the floating letters of my DCS2 and asked myself what I was not getting from RP sims. You know, those bastions of roleplay and occasional combat in which the rules sometimes seem so complex that you need to contact an in-world lawyer before you pull the trigger on your mortal enemy of the day, those places where the 100-damage-point super weapon you just bought do three points of collision damage because the parcel is set to damage-off and you're wearing a roleplay HUD of some kind.

I asked myself, what would the ideal shooting area be? It would not be the chaos of Jesse or Rausch, where orbiting and script-griefing are the orders of the day... It would, however, not be one of the many RP sims, either (though I enjoy those and spend plenty of time in them).

No, what I wanted was a damage-enabled parcel set up for personal combat with enough rules to keep things sane (no orbiting, no caging, no nukes, no non-physical attacks, no shields) and no rules beyond that -- a free fire zone where anyone can shoot anyone at any time, if they want, but in which you could also kick back and dance the night away, or treat that special someone to a night in an upstairs tavern room.

That is why, therefore, I created Philstown -- my Damage-Enabled combat area. Set up like a walled Renaissance Faire with a mostly gothic flavor, it's a walled village floating 525 meters up. I've created plenty of hiding spots, choke points, and areas of interest to keep residents busy, be they engaged in combat or just hanging out. The castle at the rear of the sim boasts a dance floor with dance ball and DJ booth, a hot tub deep in the bowels of the castle, a meditation room, and a few other hidden surprises. A crude network of "secret" tunnels beneath Philstown adds an air of mystery. Exploding barrels that reset themselves make shooting at random an adventure.

Most popularly, we have several "zombie spawning pools," which my visitors have been using to distraction. Stand in the pool, and automated zombies appear and lumber toward you. They'll kill you if you let them touch you often enough. I've added, recently, an area of the parcel devoted just to one of these pools, giving visitors a full field of fire and plenty of room to spawn a horde of zombies.

At ground level, high black stone walls protect the enclave of the Kinetic Knights, a Sith splinter group born of my travels among various SWRP areas in SL. I'm in the process of adding a few more things down there, too, as I'm never happy unless I'm building at *something*.

To find Philstown and get your shoot on, soak in the hot tub, grab a drink from the automated bartender, or flee from zombie hordes, just hit control-F and do a search for the term

Philstown

Stop on by! There is no cost to visit, no cost to join the Philstown admin announcements group, and no cost to spend time in the parcel. I make a commission on some of the weapons vendors in the foyer and I'm trying to script my own weapons, but this isn't a money-making venture at *all* -- it's simply what *I* wanted from shooting and combat in SL, and I figured that might mean others would want it, too.

IM Elmore Philbin in-world if you want more information or are just curious, or you'd like me to walk you through the town for the fifty-cent tour.