Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Port of Kasra

The Port of Kasra is a new Steampunk-themed RP sim, set in Florida in the 1880s.


Like New Barataria, Kasra is steamy (in the sense of high humidity) and swampy. One can almost see the rust form on the iron.

As an aide to orienting the newcomer, information about buildings or areas pops up as one passes near.

Below, Builders' Hall:

The sim is a work in progress: many of the shops in the teleport area are still for rent, as are a number of the buildings in the RP area. There must be a back story to the place, as there are vague references to the "original inhabitants" of the area - who seem to have technology far advanced from that of the 1880s. Note the Difference Engine below:

(Okay, it's not exactly cutting edge. The Mac Pro says "G5" on it.) The setup seems to control the power plant:

Below, the town square:

To the far northeast lies a mysterious island:

On the edge of the mainland, a lighthouse keeps guard:
The strange thing about the sim is that there are teleporters to take one to different parts of the town. This takes one out of any immersive RP. Still odder is that one of the destinations - far above sea level - is a "Gorean residential area." Steampunk always struck me as an empowering genre - imagining the 19th century not as it was, but as it could have been. (Often dystopian, true, but with scientists - both male and female - working to create their visions of the future.) Gor, on the other hand... well, "empowering" is not the word I'd use. Finding Gorean themes in a Steampunk RP area was a little disconcerting.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Kasra develops.

8 comments:

Aunt Foggy said...

It does fit the Marketplace keyword search pretty well - someone without good knowledge of Steampunk could be led to believe there that it is a subgenre of Gorean RP. Or vice versa :)
I assume we will see a lot more "Steampunk" as it moves from oddballs in funny clothes to trendy. Which is good and bad. More stuff out there to pique our aesthetic, but more to wade through to find quality stuff.
Which will doubtless include new sims in SL :)

Rhianon Jameson said...

Steampunk is a big tent. :)

There will be a culture clash, however, if Gorean practitioners attempt to enslave more, ah, traditional Steampunk ladies, I'm willing to bet there will be discharge of a variety of weapons from Ordinal Industries.

That seems to be fair warning, right?

Lois 'Lola' Schwartz said...

In regards the Gorean issue : Kasra was, once upon a time, a Gorean sim. Most of the people got burnt out on the "Gor Scene", including the sim owners. There were some people who were long time sim supporters who didn't want to give up their homes, and were willing to give Steampunk a chance provided they could do what they wanted to do in their own home. So long as you don't go to the Gorean Residences, you'll never see anything Gorean in Kasra. Well, other than some of the more well-to-do residents have very obedient servants... but then, go read Fanny Hill or some of the racier litureature of the 1880s,and you'll find some pretty pervy folks.

Kathy Jameson said...

Thanks for that history; I didn't know the background of the sim.

There's nothing wrong with obedient servants. :) (And you're so right about pervy Victorians!)

As my sister suggested above, the connection between Steampunk and Gor seems tenuous, but I have seen a large number of denizens of the Steamlands who sport quite a few BDSM groups.

Kontessa Frostbright said...

"As an aide to orienting the newcomer, information about buildings or areas pops up as one passes near."

One of the things people do not seem to be aware of in spite of the information given at the Landing Point in this sim, is that if one is wearing the HTCS Meter available in the Sim, those Pop Ups are more than just descriptions.

Wearing the Meter makes them become part of a very interactive sim, even when other rpers are not there.They Lead off on Quests,Treasure Hunts and Adventures one can do alone or in Groups.

Interacting with many of the NPC's Located there will do the same, If your wearing the meter.

Like True Victorian & Steampunk Societies one needs to actually look below the surface.
"listen" "touch" "see" "experience"

A Casual pass threw this Sim does not do it Justice!

Kathy Jameson said...

Thank you for the comment, Kontessa. I'll be sure to point my airship back in the direction of the Port of Kasra and see how things have changed.

Joelle Tardis said...

Hello, Kontessa shared this link with me, so I Thought I would share Port Jaun de' Kasra's Blogspot with you!
Have a Great Weekend!

http://portkasrasteampunk.blogspot.com/2012/01/port-juan-dekasra-glimpse-thrugh.html

Rhianon Jameson said...

Thank you for the link - quite a first entry! It will be interesting to see what comes next.