New Wolfminster (5th Haven)
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| New Wolfminster (5th Haven) | |
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| ADD IMAGES LATER | |
| WolvHaven State | |
| Established | June 2018 |
| World Information | |
| Area | 144km² (12km x 12km) |
| World Type | WorldPainter |
| Boroughs | |
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New Wolfminster (also referred to as Fifth Haven or 5H) is the 5th Iteration of the official WolvHaven City, and also the Capital of the WolvHaven server. It is the largest iteration of the city with a size that is over 10 times that of its predecessor, New WolvHaven (4th Haven) and is expected to replace it in 2023.
Despite its official name, the city as a whole will be referred to as WolvHaven City after it takes over as the server's official capital city in 2023.
New Wolfminster is composed of 14 islands; of which 11 of them are planned to contain major developments.
History
With serious design flaws in the 4th Haven primarily due to its small size, proposals for the 5th iteration of the city would be floated since 2016 as the server celebrated its 5th Anniversary. It was a tough decision between expanding the 4th iteration or starting from scratch.
Despite the expansion option winning out in a Parliament sitting, it was eventually ruled out due to technical difficulties and the greater potential benefits of starting a brand new city from scratch.
A #fifth-haven discord channel was setup for all members of the community to discuss proposals and what they wanted to see in the new world.
Initial Proposal (2017)
The initial proposed map layout for Fifth Haven was released in March 2017 by SilverWolv. The proposal called for a 7km by 7km world made up of 7 main islands, and paid homage to the 4th Haven with the shape of the new proposed Wolfminster island looking very similar to that of its predecessor.
Members of the community started proposing ideas using the map, drawing out districts and areas for land use; including Metro maps which were frowned upon by SilverWolv himself and other members of the community who felt that Metro and rail transit planning should not be its top priority. It will later be the reason why the city has held off the development for its rail infrastructure for 3 years.
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The initial proposed world comprised of 7 islands in a 7km by 7km world -
Initial proposed world with dimensions drawn by Axton using tracing paper & pen -
Initial proposed world official plans
Problems with the initial proposal soon ensued, as planners soon found out that the scale at which they wished to build at would result in space in the proposed world running out very quickly, resulting in similar problems as 4th Haven. This was due to the shift of moving from 3-block wide road lanes to 5-block wide road lanes.
The island layout also came under heavy criticism by lykanatthemochi for being "too unrealistic" and also requested for a more "realistic" island layout, and as a result, he was invited by SilverWolv to propose a new map layout as the world had already been worldpainted by then.
New Proposal (2018)
Lykanatthemochi followed up with the call for his idea of "realistic looking islands" on 14 March 2018 with a drawing that contained 11 main islands for development. The proposal also called for a larger map size of 10km by 10km; which was eventually upscaled further to the current 12km by 12km. This new proposal would be taken as the official layout which New Wolfminster was to be based upon.
The new proposal also followed the layout of the original initial proposal, allowing most of the previously discussed plans to be easily transferred over into the new map.
Due to its nature, the world had to be worldpainted again from scratch. To do this, SilverWolv printed a copy of the image and slid it into a clear plastic paper holder and traced the outlines of the islands using a permanent marker. He then pasted the clear plastic holder over his laptop which had the worldpainter program open and started painting the world from there using the drawn outlines as reference.
Fifth Haven Previews
The newly proposed painted worlds were different where the hilly terrain was painted in along with trees that dotted the lands. As a result, major consultations were required to ensure that it was done right.
At least three preview versions were put up onto the server, which allowed builders to tour, visit, and test buildings within the worlds before official work would begin. This was the final chance for people to provide feedback about any potential tweaks that were required for the world itself.
Breaking Ground
Ground broke on Fifth Haven on 23 June 2018 and was celebrated by minebuilder1223, who shared a picture of the first blocks placed in the world; which formed the official WolvHaven flag on a mast on the world's Clarence Island, which would be the world's Welcome Centre.
New players would spawn on a boats; similar to how immigrants arrived in the United States at Ellis Island back in the day. A new immigration building was also constructed, together with a Hospital & Quarantine Centre; which as since been demolished by Heiopeii to make way for newer plans for the island.
By May 2018, work had started on the city's capitol island with the initial roundabout in front of City Hall constructed, and the island's initial road network would start to be constructed.
De facto Capital (2019)
Throughout 2019, infrastructure development was primarily focused on Capitol Island. The Lower West Side neighborhood; located at the South-Western side of Capitol Island was the first neighborhood to be constructed.
Other key public institutions and server infrastructure was moved to Fifth Haven as well. Notably the Parliament House, and City Hall. Parliament sessions started to be held in the world instead of 4th Haven; making the world the de-facto capital of WolvHaven.
Expansion into Merchant's Island (2020)
As the world descended into lockdowns due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, WolvHaven saw a surge in player activity. Efforts were targeted at the expansion of the city into Merchant's Island, which was the island next to Capitol Island.
Developments such as the entire Docklands District south of the Exchange Place Market itself were undertaken during this period of time.
Initial Expansion into Wolfminster (2021)
Development into Wolfminster was particularly slow as there was no agreement on the general road layout of the island. WolvHaveners did not want to see another mundane and boring grid layout like 4th Haven.
Quarxilon held a poll earlier in 2020 asking WolvHaveners their preferred layout and a superblock ward layout was chosen. However, development of the grid itself was also delayed due to real-life commitments.
Construction on the WolvHaven Metro (5th Haven) also began, with GukkyGukz leading the development of the tunnels for the city loop.
Building Blasts (2022)
Main article: Building Blasts
In a bid to encourage faster development of the city and bond the community, building blasts were introduced to be held every 2 weeks on Saturday. WolvHaveners would bond together over assisting in the construction of the city. However, this would be short-lived as participation dwindled and the program was cancelled. There were a total of 4 building blasts before the cancellation, targeting the construction of roads and other infrastructure to support the development of Wolfminster.
Other areas within the server were constructed, such as the initial development of and Brookedge 99 in Brookedge, and the final rail development to Buena Vista in Westford. The road network in Brookedge was also expanded by MatthieuTofu and Heiopeii.
Westford and Brookedge (2023)
In 2023, the city was further expanded to Brookedge and Westford. More developments within Brookedge such as Metrotown City, a office building complex, as well as the Port of WolvHaven were initiated. Meanwhile in Westford, the road network for Buena Vista was laid out.
Geography
The Archipelogo consists of 15 islands and is comprised of 6 boroughs.
Wolfminster
The borough of Wolfminster comprises of 4 islands; Clarence Island, Capitol Island, and Merchant's Island, and acts as the core of the city. The name pays homage to the original "Wolvminster" which was an unofficial working name for an area in Wolv City (2nd Haven), and the official name of the main island in New WolvHaven (4th Haven).
- Clarence Island acts as the immigration and quarantine facility, where new arrivals are processed. It acts as the hub of the server, housing the spawn point, Immigration Test, and portals to other worlds of the server.
- Capitol Island houses all important buildings of the state. That includes Governor's House, City Hall, and the Parliament House. Key ministries and statutory boards also have their headquarters located on the island, such as the Defence & Intelligence Unit.
- Merchant's Island was originally planned to be the main trading hub of the server; where all survival goods were to be traded prior to the server's shift towards a creative server in Vision 2023. Key destinations on the island include Exchange Place and the docklands.
- Wolfminster Island acts as the main island of the city, housing the central business district of La Resistance.
Brookedge
Westford
Victoria
Kings
Mechanicsburg
Culture & Contemporary Life
Arts
TODO: WolvHaven Art Museum
WolvHaven Pride
Main Article: WolvHaven Pride
Transport
Metropolitan Trains
Main Article: WolvHaven Metro (5th Haven)
Buses
Main Article: Public Bus System (5th Haven)
Capitol Monorail
Main Article: Capitol Monorail (5th Haven)
Criticism
Slow Development
FifthHaven has been often criticised for its slow development. The world which was originally slated to be opened in 2019 has been consistently pushed back to 2020 and then again to 2023. Several key factors caused the slow development; namely the higher building standards and larger scale. Capitol Island of the world itself is equivalent to the size of 4th Haven's Wolfminster island; which took over a year to construct itself.
SilverWolv's risk-adverse attitude towards construction of the world also slowed down development
Furthermore, since 2021, a large section of the community had entered university or had additional real-life commitments; further limiting their time to be spent in the server.