Seasoned Ace

15 years ago

The Stoneshields: A City of History and Culture (Update for Island Paradise)

Important: The current version of this world requires installation of World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Fast Lane, Outdoor Living, Generations, Pets, and Showtime. I have received a lot of complaints about game crashing, and while I am not an expert on the issue, lacking these games will certainly attribute to said crashing. This world does not contain third party content or store items. All versions including beta versions are pre-populated and contain the necessary spawners for each corresponding expansion pack. You may wish to address technical issues such as crashing to somebody who is smarter than me, but please tell me about any problems with routing and the like so that I may fix them. If you do have any complaints, please be clear as to what your issues are or else I will respond in a rude and unhelpful fashion.
Thank you,
-Quailhogs

On a lighter note, if you have any pictures or stories to share, feel free to post them. This thread gets rather bleak when it is just me complaining to play-testers because I'm such a rational guy.

Astor and Lara Norbury (Fortress Rock Version)

Fortress Rock is a fictional series of islands as part of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. Such is divided into five different districts, all of them featuring an extensive history behind them. Fortress Rock shares a name with the first world that I created, so bad that it wasn't worth uploading or even showing. However, the only thing it seems to have in common with its predecessor is the general landscape, which was not really intended to look realistic, yet almost monstrous. The set of islands gained their name from the rugged facade created by the unusual rock formations that barricaded land, a natural fortress they called it (don't ask whom I mean by "they").

Twenty-five years later, Fortress Rock has been renamed as "The Stoneshields" or "Stoneshield Isles." With the addition of Seasons, the snowbanks are gone and the frost has melted from the rocks (replaced with moss). New Hades and Amberwood have changed the most over the years. There have also been major changes to Thornshire's landscape and some subtle renovations to the Downtown District and Dust Creek. Even the townspeople are a different. The young adults from Fortress Rock have aged, most of them less self-indulged, while they have children of their own to disappoint them.

In-game description:
Resting near the Isles of Shoals, Fortress Rock Isles was originally just a fishing hub, farmland, and some ramshackle houses. Later in the 1800s, a wealthy industrialist moved in and invested his fortune in the islands. Now a booming city rich in culture, Fortress Rock is renowned for its Victorian architecture, colorful foliage, and notoriously high homicide rates.

Versions:
Fortress Rock Beta Version Requires World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, and Generations. Includes items from Fast Lane Stuff and Outdoor Living Stuff.
Fortress Rock Version 1 Requires World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, and Pets. Includes items from Fast Lane Stuff and Outdoor Living Stuff.
Fortress Rock Version 2 Requires World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, and Showtime.
The Stoneshields Version 1 Requires World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, Showtime, and Supernatural.
The Stoneshields Version 2 Requires World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, Showtime, Supernatural, and Island Paradise.

Related Downloads:
Renata Diederich A mysterious woman of Fortress Rock living in her mother's old townhouse.
Rabid Mallard Complex An apartment building from the downtown area.

Locals (Fortress Rock Only):

Daniel Quailhogs
Daniel is a lonesome man who lives with his thrall/butler, Vincent, in an old house at the edge of the slums. While he is clearly an unsavory character, Daniel himself is rarely linked to any crime that takes place within Fortress Rock. Daniel pinned his first sixteen murders on his older brother, but his scapegoat eventually slipped away. Regardless, the murder rate in Fortress Rock remains remarkably high, specifically among pretty brunette women.

Renata Diederich
Renata is a mysterious lady who moved into town recently. Very little is known about her, especially considering how she doesn’t like talking to people. Despite that, Renata remains interesting due to the many stories people make up about her. She often seems annoyed by the attention she attracts by literally doing nothing.

Edward Lupton
Edward Lupton moved with his family from England back when his two sons were infants. He is the current mayor of Fortress Rock, and he is quite an ineffectual one at that. Sure, he’s a nice guy with a decent head on his shoulders, but Edward relies far too much on others to do his work for him.

Jack and Lena Martinov
Meanwhile, Jack Martinov is the current governor of New Hampshire. While Edward Lupton is at least likeable, Jack is introverted and elusive, making him a terrible politician. Jack also seems to have little regard for his family, with exception to his oldest daughter, Lena. Lena is the only person who is ever willing to listen to Jack’s venomous ranting about politicians, journalists, and lax bros in the parking lot.

Cormac McGuinness
Governor Martinov’s biggest complaint is a flamboyant reporter who wears green shoes. Strangely enough, Cormac probably has a much more scandalous personal life than the people he lies about in the papers. While quite a sleazy man, Cormac continues to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, such as his lavish townhouse and expensive restaurant entrees that the servers spit in.

Arden Switt
In other news, white trash. Arden Switt is unrefined and poorly educated, having dropped out of high school at age twenty-two. Arden lives in a filthy studio apartment in New Hades and makes money by mugging tourists who venture out into the wrong area. He claims that he just does this to survive, but Arden enjoys bringing pain to others.

Trent Durant
Not everyone in New Hades is cruel and sadistic. Trent Durant is surprisingly one of the good guys, even though he often has a mean scowl on his face. All Trent has to do is stare somebody down, and the law is enforced.

Agatha Gittens
Agatha is a nice old lady who lives alone in a rather prominent Queen Anne house. It’s unknown as to what she did for a living when she was younger, but now Agatha babysits the local children while parents are at work, or when they happen to vanish off the face of the Earth, as many do.

Abigail Rowley
Meanwhile, Abigail Rowley is the local crotchety old hag. She is abusive to her son, granted he is old enough to move out of the house. She also absolutely loathes that wench, Renata Diederich, whom her son seems infatuated with. It is rumored that most of the rumors about Renata Diederich were invented by Abigail Rowley to dissuade her son from visiting said woman for whom she has numerous derogatory names for.

Amelia Graham
Of course, while there are many with little better to do than harass the governor or spread rumors about a hated neighbor, a lot of people in Fortress Rock have actual jobs to keep them occupied. Fortress Rock is a city of commerce, and people like Amelia Graham spend every last minute drowning in the stress that comes from working in the market. While Fortress Rock is a nice destination for tourists, the locals deem it a hectic and miserable place to live.

Locals (The Stoneshields Only):

Mirabelle Fontaine
Mirabelle’s arrival to Fortress Rock was considered the turning point of the city, the time where the name was changed to “The Stoneshields.” A jovial activist, Mirabelle contributed a generous amount of time and funding into the revitalization of the New Hades district, which was renamed “Dawnstead.” A once gritty slum was repainted and repaired to a bright and cheery state, as the current mayor calls “an embarrassment.” While Mirabelle is well-liked as a rising politician, a certain community of denizens considers Mirabelle to be a sinister charlatan.

Jack and Nastya Martinov
Jack has certainly changed over the years, to say the least. Previously the governor of New Hampshire, Jack decided to take a step back and govern a city rather than a state. In other news, Jack became even more neurotic since the death of his oldest daughter, Lena. His loss paired with depression has led him to doing a variety of despicable things. Meanwhile, the death of Daniel Quailhogs has favored Jack’s youngest and most-evil daughter, Nastya. Having met Daniel only once, Nastya was left with the strange and homicidal man's criminal enterprise. She hopes to take advantage of her father’s position in government in order to further her own business agenda.

Wilson Rosenthal
Daniel’s unexpected maneuver left others in the dark. Wilson Rosenthal had worked for Daniel since the late 19th Century and has been loyal to him until the very end. Unfortunately for Wilson, Daniel never respected him as an equal. He recognized Wilson as hard-working and obedient, making him an ideal minion; however, Wilson never had the wit nor ambition to be a leader of crimin_ business people. Since Nastya’s takeover, Wilson has grown more jaded and considered rebelling against Nastya. However, Wilson’s old friend, Jeremy, had already tried rebelling, and he was “dismissed” for it.

Tom Rowley
Tom Rowley was born just an hour after Daniel Quailhogs was killed. He seems like a well-behaved quiet young man, but his classmates are terrified of him for some reason. Perhaps he just suffers from his mother’s social-awkwardness, or it could be the fact that he sets other kids on fire for petty reasons.

Lloyd Boyle
When Lena Martinov died, she was engaged to Lloyd Boyle, who was far less creepy than he is now. Lena's father fell into despair, but Lloyd was optimistic that he could bring Lena back to life. Jack was not too pleased with the resolve that Lloyd had in mind, so he had Lena’s body cremated before Lloyd could start experimenting on his dead fiancée. Though, the funeral home apparently sank into the ocean around the time Lena's corpse was supposed to be incinerated, but Jack doesn't know that.

Christine Helman
Christine was once considered a normal girl with normal dreams; however, that all changed when she joined the werewolf community. Considered unstable by werewolf standards, Christine’s loss of care has caused her to run amok and terrorize the townspeople during late hours.

Splinter Switt
Splinter closely resembles his father, Arden, and even steals for a living. Yet, unlike the amoral Arden, Splinter does not steal for enjoyment, but he steals because it’s the only thing he knows how to do. He is a generally nice guy, nonetheless, but he does tend to make stupid decisions… like turning Christine Helman into a werewolf.

Mara Norris
Far away from the Switt family lives the mysterious "Old Lady Norris." She seemingly showed up out of nowhere, but it is possible that she lived in town all her life. It must get lonely in her deteriorating shack on the beach.

Donna McGuinness
Grouchy by temperament, Donna has not had the greatest past several years, with the death of her best friend and disappearance of her father, Cormac. She is almost certain that Cormac’s stupid trophy wife smothered him in his sleep before buying off a corrupt judge. Then again, she doesn't think that Cormac's bimbo wife knows how to dispose of a dead body properly. This is all just speculation.

Wanda Genesse
Wanda reluctantly lives in “Freak Land” with her family, as she has nothing but disdain for the people here. She especially cannot stand her shameless niece, Christine, or her neighbor, Renata. After Abigail Rowley left, Renata almost thought she was rid of these miserable gossips, but then Wanda instantly replaced her. Is it possible to even like somebody like this?

Pictures are taken from Version 1 of Fortress Rock and Stoneshield Isles.

Downtown Fortress Rock rests on the center island of the development. It is an elegant metropolis with a vibrant nightlife and a diverse crowd of inhabitants. On opposite ends of the island are several townhouses for those who dislike apartment buildings. The mayor and his family live here. They are kind of weird.

Thornshire has a more gothic look to it and attracts a more sophisticated crowd with its art gallery and vampire bar. It has a rather straight-forward layout with a series of parks in the center bordered by shops and some older dwellings.

New Hades (Fortress Rock Only) is by far the most unpleasant part of Fortress Rock with several dilapidated row houses, an appalling cemetery, and the local dump. Calling the residents “unfriendly” would be a huge understatement considering the area’s high crime rate. At one point New Hades was connected to Thornshire through a bridge, but it collapsed due to poor engineering. Right outside of town lives the source to much of the neighborhood's chaos, a quiet gentleman with refined tastes... also he is a serial killer.

Dawnstead (Stoneshield Isles Only) is more colorful and inviting neighborhood than the slum it once was. Mirabelle Fontaine is a new influential figure in these parts, investing a large part of her fortune into the town's renovation. Of course, the scum of the town have just been pushed elsewhere in reality.

Amberwood (Fortress Rock Only) is the least developed part of Fortress Rock; however, there are some very high-end Tudors scattered about. Surely there are some secrets to uncover in this seemingly simple district.

Crimsonwood (Stoneshield Isles Only) is the slightly more developed state of Amberwood. The town's dreary folk decided to settle in this more remote location, building houses in the middle of the woods, reminiscent of what may have once stood there. The criminal base has also been relocated here, seeing as how New Hades has been transformed into a place much less ideal for thugging.

Dust Creek is the original settlement of Fortress Rock. On the outer shore rests the docks where goods were originally shipped to and from the islands. It hasn’t grown significantly until the Victorian period, when an industrialist moved here with his family.