Akkara City

Template:Infobox City TemplateAkkara City, or simply Akkara, is a major settlement on the Survival 2 world and considered to be one of the largest cities on the server. The city is based on the ruins of an ancient Mayan settlement long abandoned but later rediscovered by European colonials, giving the city a unique blend of Colonial and Aztec architecture.^{^[1]}

Proposal & Planning

Following the announcement that a new Survival world would be launching in September, William278, the founder and mayor of Lackria City on Survival 1 at the time suggested to his in-game neighbor LAK3RS, who was a server pioneer and accomplished builder the idea of collaborating to create a unique city combining their skills in the new world. LAK3RS loved this idea and planning began for the city.

Original outline plan for Akkara City; the Grandpa Simpson model.

The original idea for the city was to create a large mountain structure and layer the city around the mountainside, with different sectors of the city housing different buildings. It was soon decided to build three large temples in the center to further flesh out the lore of the area and the Mayan/Aztec theme came from this initial plan.^{^[2]}

Name

It was initially proposed by William278 to call the city 'Uxtrakala', a portmanteau of ancient Mayan settlements 'Uxtrak' and 'Akala' however this name was deemed too long and was later shortened to 'Akkara'; the final name of the city.^{^[3]} It was at this time where TraktorMC, former Lackria co-mayor was invited to work with the two.

Construction

Construction on Akkara began on the 2^nd of September, 2017, on the first day of the new Survival 2 world. The original plan for the city was to terraform a large plains biome relatively close to spawn into the city, however at the last minute it was decided to build the city at 0, 0 and the three landed their boats on the area today known as Laker's Landing.

A shot from Laker's Landing prior to the commencing of terraforming work.

Construction took six months, from start to finish and the opening of the city was delayed several times. The main factor cited for the delays was the extensive terraforming work that was required to turn the hilly terrain into the final area present today. Several features of the original generated geometry were kept, however, such as the cove and island shape of the Harbor District.

On the 28^th of March, 2018, it was announced that Akkara would open in a full-day event on the 28^th of April - One month from the announcement. In the month between the announcement, the city was completed ready for the occasion.

Opening

The itinerary posted for the Akkara City opening day.

Main Article: Akkara City Opening Day Event

One week prior the opening event, the Akkara mayors worked with the Cyberdog Events Committee to make final preparations for the event. The itinerary for the day was also solidified and the final work for the events was planned (on the right).

One day before the event, it was confirmed that ReNDoG would make a guest appearance during the day. The official opening of the city was led by William278 and Akkara City was officially opened by the mayor to the public at 3PM BST on the 28^th of April, 2018 from the city's station. Twelve hours of events would follow with Ren streaming a live tour of the server on Twitch at 11PM BST later that night followed by celebratory UHC games. The ceremonies concluded with a closing speech and prizes were handed out for the various competitions.^{^[4]}

Build Style

View of the city's main street at night.

Akkara adopts a Colonial/Tudor style of construction, with an emphasis on stone and wood-based buildings to complement the historic Mayan structures.^{^[5]} As a result, many players have named Akkara as the 'Stone City'. In an effort to increase visual variety, the city encourages the use of green foliage to add color to builds.

In addition to this effort, different districts within the city have differing build codes, offering builders different challenges when constructing their homes. For example, The Ridge district in Akkara offers builders diagonal plots.

Districts and Map

Akkara City Map. Double click on the image to open it larger.

Akkara City is divided into thirteen districts. In addition, each district has a letter-code used for plot identification as each plot is assigned a plot number and district code for organization. Not every district has plots available, though, as the Station District, Laker's Landing and Ancient Akkara are reserved for special builds only.

District List

⛔ identifies a district that is closed.

|🢇 identifies a district that does not offer plots.

🢆| identifies a district that is reserved for specific players or groups.

Laker's Landing [LL] |🢇
Harbour District [HD]
Ancient Akkara [AA] |🢇
East Akkara [EA]
Embassy District [ED] 🢆|
Southern Peninsula [SP]
Northside Valley [NV]
Station District [SD] |🢇
The Ridge [R] 🢆|
Western Expansion [WE] ⛔
Akkara Heights [AH]
Woodland District [WD]
Akkara Lane [AL] ⛔

References

↑ Source: Mayan Heritage (Written Book)
↑ Source: Archived discord conversations.
↑ Source: William278 & Lakers
↑ Source: Discord announcements.
↑ Source: Akkara build guide.

[1] Source: Mayan Heritage (Written Book)

[2] Source: Archived discord conversations.

[3] Source: William278 & Lakers

[4] Source: Discord announcements.

[5] Source: Akkara build guide.

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