third Rock Grid, one of many oldest grids in OpenSim, is coming again.
The grid shut down in 2024, and lots of of its former residents discovered new properties on ZetaWorlds.
However now its unique proprietor and founder, Terry Ford, is bringing it again to life.
Ford started engaged on the grid again in 2007, and opened it to the general public in 2008. By that August, he had rented out 178 areas, and the grid had the primary working permissions system and was the additionally first OpenSim grid with a working economic system.
third Rock Grid was additionally the primary dwelling of Linda Kelly, a content material creator who modified the look-and-feel of OpenSim by freely giving a large quantity of free, unique, absolutely licensed content material, serving to new grid house owners outfit their customers with out violating copyright legal guidelines.
“She received her begin in OpenSim at third Rock Grid and was an enormous a part of our early success,” Ford stated.
However then his spouse handed away and he was pressured to step again.
“I simply didn’t have the time to dedicate to the grid again then,” he informed Hypergrid Enterprise. He nonetheless continued engaged on the grid within the background, nonetheless.
In 2015, he opened a brand new grid and OpenSim internet hosting firm, DigiWorldz, however nonetheless helped out on third Rock. “I continued caring for the servers, code, etcetera till 2021,” he stated. That’s when the brand new house owners of third Rock Grid determined to create a non-profit and transfer the tech assist to a staff based mostly in Europe.
When third Rock Grid shut down in 2024, he supplied to assist out once more or to purchase the area again. “However they declined,” he stated.
Then the area got here again up on the market final month.
“third Rock Grid has meant so much to me and lots of others through the years, and with the historical past and the various firsts, I simply needed to deliver it again,” he stated.
To date, Ford has put up three areas — Welcome, Hunter, and Our City — the identical three areas that the grid initially launched with again in 2008.
The Welcome area is open to the general public, and might be accessed through hypergrid at grid.3rdrockgrid.com:8002.
“However there’s nothing there but,” Ford stated. “I think in per week or two we’ll be prepared for brand new customers.”
Ford doesn’t have entry to the grid’s content material as of the time it closed, however does have 196 previous area backups from the 2021 transition.
“I can’t use these backups because the grid wasn’t mine then, but when the previous house owners agree, and anybody desires to place them again on-line, I’ll do it,” he says. “However, once more, solely with permission from the previous house owners.”
To seek out out if backups can be found, former area house owners can contact him straight, he stated, at [email protected].
So what’s going to occur to DigiWorldz, Ford’s present grid mission? That grid — which presently is the equal of two,535 commonplace areas in dimension, with over 13,000 registered customers and practically 2,000 energetic month-to-month customers — will proceed on because it at all times has.
“Will probably be enterprise as common at DigiWorldz,” he stated. “third Rock Grid isn’t going to be DigiWorldz and DigiWorldz isn’t going to be third Rock. Whereas they may share the inner techniques and our new management panel, each grids will likely be separate authorized entities, and every may have its personal id made up of its customers. My hope is that a few of the previous customers will return and assist to construct the longer term third Rock Grid neighborhood. Everybody will likely be welcome.”
Area pricing data for third Rock Grid isn’t but obtainable on its web site, however on DigiWorldz, areas begin at $11 a month for a 25,000-prim standard-size starter area.
