Zoo Tycoon Volcano
From Zoo Tycoon Wiki
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| Zoo Tycoon Volcano | |
| Address: | http://z14.invisionfree.com/Zoo_Tycoon_Volcano/index.php?act=idx/ |
| Focused on: | Zoo Tycoon 2 and expansions Dinosaurs and other extinct animals |
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Current status: | Closed |
Zoo Tycoon Volcano (known colloquially as ZTV) is one of the most sucessful Zoo Tycoon fansites. It was started on July 16, 2006 by Zooasaurus Rex. It is known mainly for it's downloads and members. ZTV is mainly dedicated to extinct animals and dinosaurs. After the Zoo Tycoon Official Forums ended, many "evacuees" were forced to move to other forums and so Zoo Tycoon Volcano,along with other forums,received a host of members.
As of January 17, 2009, the site had 4,256 members.
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History
The site was started in July 16, 2006. It was suggested to it's creator, Zooasaurus Rex, by fellow member catc. At first the site was not very successful, and at times came close to shutting down. Eventually, the growing download database and addition of role-playing games attracted members. The site has become one of the most devoted Zoo Tycoon communities over the years, especially due to it's focus on extinct animals and dinosaurs.
Arcade
On May 28, 2008, an arcade was added to ZTV. This additon made it one of the only Zoo Tycoon fansites with an arcade. It was added by admins Mint and Zooasaurus, as well as member JVM. The arcade has legends, like Pacman, Galaga, and Space Invaders. There are also current online favorites like Seconds of Madness, Dino Run, and Copter Crash. All of the games that can keep track of highscores, so competition is commonly enjoyed. The arcade has over forty-five games availbale to play, however, you must be a member in order to play them. So far, there is no controversy surrounding the arcade.
Recent Controversy
g00ns Hacking
On 23 March 2008 a hacking group called the g00ns hacked the main Invisionfree site and ZTV's .NET account - this unfortunately affected ZTV as it has a domain hosted by InvisionFree, so the site was forced to delete it's .NET site. The original invisionfree subpage is still accessible and is generally used by most members now.
C-Box
At one point on ZTV, the staff had added a chat-box due to popular request. The chat-box was a great sucess and allowed members to talk to each other at the same time. The only problem was that banned members kept coming back,(and certain people kept flaming) leading to the deletion and removal of the chat-box. Then in late February, Mint, an admin on ZTV, created a secret underground chat-box, named Cbox de ZTV that members could only access through a PM or personal message from Mint himself. This chat-box started the Non-human vs. human controversey and many staff fights. Then Zooapleurodon declared for the chat-box to be broken away from ZTV, and thus Mint changed the name to Cbox de Pals. Recently, an "Elite" Chatbox was made. Also multiple other ztv related boxes such as DG's box, bloodline uchiha(zooa's). Cbox di Elite, at one time the most active cbox, has since become inactive due to other boxes stealing its members.
Staff Arguements
In recent months, ZTV has come under fire and there have been sitewide arguments between the members and staff throughout the site, due to the large amount of demotions and promotions. These fights have each been resolved in around a week or so, and have lessened recently due to the demotions of ZooMaster and others.
NHUs
Some members of the forum claim that they are not human, often claiming to be typing animals or even extraterrestrial beings. These members are called Non-Human Users, colloquially known as NHUs. They were tolerated at first, but small arguments began in early 2008. The offenders were banned, but serious arguments began in early June 2008. As a result, a new rule was made, stating that any member that bullies or harasses a NHU will face suspension, or even banishment.
The NHU rule was later taken down in September, however, for unstated reasons. This has led to recent arguments, some of them becoming so extreme that the topics had to become closed. Recently, a topic was started in General Discussion that involved several members, including staff, bullying long time moderator Fennec Nichov due to his claim that he is a Fennec Fox in the light of evidence that suggested otherwise. The topic was closed by Moderator wildcat due to the fact that little more could be accomplished through the topic. A unification forum was created by the root admin Mint and the first topic started was one about ending the NHU war. Later, a new rule was made by King Hoopla that no member should declare to be any species in particular on ZTV. A few of the NHUs have recently admitted that they were actually human beings all along.
Hero
On September 2nd, 2008, a strange member by the name "Hero" somehow demoted Zooasaurus Rex, as well as all the other administrators, and took over Zoo Tycoon Volcano. He said he would "remake" Zoo Tycoon Volcano "to a more peaceful site" by "starting all over again". Soon, he started to ban a massive percentage of the members, some of which include Mozart, Apep, Lekgolo02, and Guinea Dilong. Later, however, Hero was defeated. Zooasaurus Rex guessed Hero's password (which was Hero, big surprise) and restored the site to its former self. As a result, Zoo Tycoon Volcano was not ruled by a rampaging dictator again.
This incident gave rise to a wave of suspicion and worry that spread throughout the site like a poisonous cloud. Most of this was concerning who Hero actually was. Some people believe that it was one of the current admins. Others say it was one of the g00ns that had enough hacking experience to demote a root admin. There is a large suspicion that Hero is just a new account of Rostov's. Rostov, also known as FP, was banned nearly two months ago. He was previously a helpful and contributing member, and was even a moderator for several months, and it seems likely that he would one day try to get revenge, as he has nothing to lose now. He also knows the password of Mint, one of the admins, as he was a good friend of Mint. However, Mint's password was changed before this incident, and Rostov had previously gone insane on the chat-box. Most agree that he would not be able to pull it off. Some even think that it could have been Mint himself, with the help of Rostov. However, Rostov had recently returned and he swore that he didn't hack the site. But this has shown to be all false, because in reality it was a scam plotted by Mint and Zooa to clear Zooa's name as a forum destroyer.
Teenage Forum
In mid August, the administrators created a new forum called the Teenage Forum, for members to discuss inappropriate topics that could not normally be discussed on the board. This soon stirred outrage when a few young members found their way into the forum, and one member, Dragonz, got in trouble with her parents over it. As a result, the forum was made password-protected and no member under 13 can access it. The forum was briefly taken down a few days later by Shaz, but Zooa replaced it. Later, however, the "Teen Role Plays" became so explicit that two admins deleted the RPs and even considered deleting the teen forum, although this was done without the consent of the main admin, who was very fond of the Role Plays. The teen forum is, miraculously, of continued existence to this day, but it is closely watched by staff. But, with the lack of the Role Plays, the forum has lost a large proportion of its activity.
King Hoopla and Shaz hacking
Not long after Caldera Unlimited went down, ZTV was hacked. Those wanting to access the site were met with the phrase "They giveth, they taketh away", as well as an oddly disturbing banner, presumably courtesy of Foxie/Shaz and King Hoopla. It has been reported that Foxie gave KH r00t admin status, allowing him to hack the site, but this is not certain. One user in particular, Therinzinosaur, went to the self-demoted DG/Incinerox, asking what had happened. It was already too late. Visitors are now greeted with a sad reminder of the old ZTV's former glory.
"Welcome to an empty fortress A mighty wreck that once was proud Ate alive by oxidation Abandoned by a crew of cowards Navigation systems failed Computers crashed and they all fall down Possibly I've seen too much Z-T-V I know too much"
Downloads
The site is most famous for the downloads. It has a reasonably sized download database, not including those dedicated solely to the task. The majority are prehistory related. Originally, some could be downloaded by guests, but now that has changed, as an account is needed, while the exclusives, which used to require 25 posts,then 35, now require 50 posts of non spam.
Zoo Tycoon Volcano is also the birthplace of many user expansion teams Mysterious Map Marvels, Marine Designers United, Cryptid Creators,designers to tha max and Earths Creatures Reinvisioned are some examples. The website has an official "ZTV" expansion team, named Xplosive Design Studios, which have made such creatures as the Humpback Whale and Frilled Shark.
