Vermilion
Vermilion | |
---|---|
Officials | |
Mayor | chiefbozx |
Deputy Mayor | _MajorMagpie_ |
Sheriff | ryan_friel |
Town recognition | |
Rank | Governor |
Date founded | October 4, 2014 |
Date recognized as Mayor | October 21, 2014 |
Date recognized as Senator | December 20, 2014 |
Date recognized as Governor | February 7, 2015 |
Geography | |
World | New World |
Ward(s) | Ward 7 |
Transit | |
MRT | XW15 Vermilion XW16 West Vermilion |
Road connections | A7 |
Bus facilities | Vermilion Victory Square |
Rail facilities | Vermilion Victory Square |
Local transit | iliRail |
Lore | |
Population | 20+ |
Vermilion is a Governor city in Ward 7 of the New World, on the Indigo Peninsula on the western shore of Lake Capricorn. It is spread between XW15 and XW16 Stations on the MRT Expo West Line. It is best known for its shopping mall, cable car, and postcode assignment standards.
Founded by chiefbozx on October 4, 2014, Vermilion serves as a commercial hub with lots of corporate offices and retail stores in its downtown core. Vermilion is also an important city for transport, with multiple major rail providers providing service within the city, and Gateway Airport serving destinations across the server.
Vermilion has hosted challenges on seasons 2 and 8 of The Amazing Race.
History
The Indigo Peninsula, on which Vermilion is built, was a highly sought after location for building immediately once the Gamma world opened on October 4, 2014. Chief claimed XW15 station immediately after the world opened, built the foundation of Indigo Plateau and the city hall, and incorporated Vermilion on that same date.
Another town was founded shortly after Gamma opened, at nearby XW16 Station. Chief negotiated with its mayor, ryan_friel, for expansion rights to the town and its MRT station. A deal was reached and West Vermilion became a district within the city, allowing Vermilion to expand west.
Vermilion rose quickly through the next three ranks. Mayor status was achieved on October 21, Senator on December 20, and Governor on February 7, 2015.
Experiments in alternative transport were common in the city’s youth. The Topaz Cable Car between Cinnabar Island and Saffron Island was opened on October 28, 2015. Furthermore, the metro system is one of the densest on the server, with several stations less than 100 blocks apart. The bus terminal was constructed beneath Victory Square without direct access to surface streets, this was done to alleviate traffic downtown.
Victory Square opened to the public on November 30, 2014. Its 70 shops now feature restaurants, grocery stores, movie rental shops, and technology vendors.
QueenSmae was planning on building a city called Yarrow Park at XW14 Station. Following his ban in December 2015, Chief annexed the area for expansion once the city ran out of room on the mainland. This area will feature trams on the surface instead of metro stations underground.
In December 2015 it was announced that all buildings in the city would be re-addressed to a new, simpler system, in an event known as the Post Office Banana Fight. This new system removed directional prefixes from streets, and simplified the way addresses were defined. Around the same time, the Vermilion Postcode System (VPS) was introduced and postcodes assigned to other cities.
Gateway Airport received a large renovation in 2016, increasing the number of gates available and radically changing the design. Though parts of the airport are still unfinished, the renovated Gateway Airport features a streamlined arrivals area, dedicated platforms for VMTA and IMTArail services, and the capability to handle international arrivals. Additionally, in 2016, the A7 was constructed through Vermilion, and Victory Tunnel was expanded out to meet the new freeway. This provided road access to express buses that were built to serve Victory Square.
Following a long period of inactivity, Vermilion's metro system was upgraded in November 2017 to replace aging stations that had been malfunctioning for quite some time, this process also saw the addition of new stations and completion of multiple lines. The metro's Ruby and Amethyst lines were extended to their shared terminus at Gateway Airport, with an infill station along the Amethyst Line; extensions to the Azurite and Sapphire lines were also built out.
Districts
Vermilion is organized into several districts, each with a specific purpose or theme. The districts are color coded. To identify the districts, a piece of colored stained glass is attached to each streetlight pole at the top, next to the glowstone block. Indigo Plateau and some streets in West Vermilion do not have full streetlights in the same capacity, but stained glass blocks are still used throughout the district.
The current official districts are, in order of creation:
- Indigo Plateau (cyan, VR7 1IP): Low density residential area north of XW15 Station. No cars are permitted in this district.
- Eterna Avenue (orange, VR7 2ET): Corporate and multi-city government offices, including IVY and League Campus
- South Beach (yellow, VR7 2SO): Hourglass Tower, Victory Square, Victory Plaza, South Beach Promenade, and other retail
- University (purple, VR7 1UN): Vermilion University
- Harborfront (green, VR7 3HA): Ventura Waterport, Waterfront Hotel
- West Vermilion (red, VR7 4WE): Small town center, recreational facilities (the city itself has reached Mayor rank and also uses postcodes starting with WV7)
- Polaris (light blue, VR7 4PL): Shops near Vermilion University and Gateway Airport. Named for Polaris Station, a hub for CitiRail and IMTArail services. This is because “Polaris” was a working title for CitiRail while it was in development.
- Veilstone Heights (brown, VR7 3VH): Residential area south of XW16 Station. Unlike Indigo Plateau, cars are permitted here. Townhouses are common in this suburb.
- Cerulean Cape (blue, VR7 3CE): Leisure area along the beach, with entertainment venues and restaurants.
Gateway Airport and the islands are explicitly not part of any districts, and they have their own post codes (VR7 5GA for the airport, VR7 6SA for Saffron Island, VR7 6CN for Cinnabar Island, and VR7 6AM for Amber Island).
Indigo Plateau
The first district to be created, Indigo Plateau is a residential area north of the main MRT station. It contains City Hall, the courthouse, and mostly low-density housing. Players may build their own houses in plots marked off with hedges, or may build in an apartment in the apartment complex near City Hall.
Indigo Plateau is the only district that has absolutely no uCar access. The streets are all for pedestrians and emergency vehicles only.
Eterna Avenue
Eterna represents the main core of downtown, with the most skyscrapers in the city. It is also the longest street in the city, going from the Grand Hotel to the waterport. Eterna is home to virtually all corporate offices within the city, including the One Eterna Avenue office block, Meta-Corp.’s Vermilion office, and the Round Records headquarters.
League Campus
The League of Cities houses two office buildings along Eterna Avenue, "The Warehouse" and "Dumbbell Towers". These buildings house offices for League member cities, as a home base and alternate meeting location. They are collectively referred to as League Campus, and they are linked with a pedestrian tunnel underground.
The Warehouse, at 13 Eterna Avenue, is a (mostly) square building filled with offices. Because of the high presence of diplomats, extra security features are in place, and all visitors are required to have a badge to even enter the lobby. (Badges for visitors are issued in the lobby of South Dumbbell.) There are 7 offices per floor with one sticking out over the front of the building. Each floor of The Warehouse has a vending machine known as the Drank-o-matic 9999, as well as a lounge area and TV. Offices feature desks, chairs and bookshelves as standard furniture.
Dumbbell Towers is located nearby at 3 and 4 Coronet Street, at the intersection of Eterna and Coronet. The building features two round towers linked together on the upper floors. The top floor of each tower is a domed meeting room with 360-degree views of the city. The south tower has a conference center in its basement, which features a board room for large-scale meetings, and an auditorium for large-scale presentations and voting. The auditorium is intended as a backup location should the Formosa headquarters become unavailable.
VMTA considered providing rail service between the buildings, and to Coronet Street Station, on what would become the League Link. However, a study of the underground space suggested that there was no need for a rail connection, as the two buildings are fairly close to each other and to existing rail service at Coronet Street station on the Emerald line.
League Campus has its own post code zone, VR7 7xx, for intra-office mail.
Offices were assigned on December 16, 2015 based on League member cities' desk numbers. Office letters A through G are in The Warehouse, with A being in the northwest corner and continuing counterclockwise around the edge of the building. Letters N and S refer to North and South Dumbbell.
Though the League of Cities was disbanded, the buildings are still sometimes used by diplomatic staff when carrying out work for the United Cities, however they remain largely as a historical site.
South Beach
South Beach is arguably the most famous district within the city, as it contains most of the city’s famous buildings. Victory Road, and all buildings along it – including Victory Square and Victory Plaza - as well as the South Beach Promenade, can be found here. South Beach is great for both tourists visiting the city, and citizens wanting some leisure activities on the weekends or days off from work.
University
The university campus was an inactive part of city development for a long time, while the rest of the city grew and became more dense. Development in December 15th demolished the old, clearly incomplete building at Mossdeep and Ever Grande, and replaced it with Division Hall (which is now mostly complete).
Street Names and Addresses
Vermilion prides itself in having a complete street address system. All streets have unique names, which are (mostly) references to cities and towns within main series Pokémon games. Streets run north-south, and avenues run east-west.
Before the Post Office Banana Fight, streets were often split into east/west and north/south segments, such as East Eterna Avenue or North Lilycove Street. Coronet Street was the east/west split, and the MRT Expo West Line was the north/south split. In December 2015, these directional designations were abolished in favor of a more “sensible” addressing system. The city is still split into four sectors for most post codes, but this is based on the districts, and the east/west split was moved to Ever Grande Street.
Post codes
In December 2015, the Vermilion Post Office released a specification known as the Vermilion Postcode System. Other cities around the server quickly caught on and adopted the standard. Vermilion’s post code zone is VR7, and the postal sectors within the city are numbered 1 to 7.
- North of MRT, east of Ever Grande (Indigo Plateau and University districts)
- South of MRT, east of Ever Grande (Eterna Avenue and South Beach districts)
- South of MRT, west of Ever Grande (Harborfront, Veilstone Heights, and Cerulean Cape districts)
- North of MRT, west of Ever Grande (West Vermilion and Polaris districts)
- Gateway Airport
- Islands
- League Campus offices
Some buildings have their own post codes within their district and postal sector. These buildings can receive mail using their district's post code, however these codes are assigned to allow much shorter addressing. Buildings with unique post codes are:
- City Hall (VR7 1AA)
- Courthouse (VR7 1CC)
- Oldale Apartments (VR7 1OL)
- Vermilion Metropolitan Transportation Authority Headquarters at Hourglass Tower (VR7 2VM)
- Victory Square (VR7 2VV)
- West Vermilion City Hall (VR7 4AA)
- Vermilion Post Office (VR7 4PO)
- Chief's House (VR7 6AA)
The buildings at League Campus are officially in the post code VR7 2EA, as they are both within the Eterna Avenue district. However, each member office has its own post code, which is written VR7 7xx
, with the last two letters being the recipient city's VPS city designation. Therefore, the Vermilion office at League Campus has the post code VR7 7VR
. Intra-office mail can therefore be sent with just the last two letters, or the full post code.
Landmarks
Hourglass Tower
The Hourglass Tower is the headquarters of the Vermilion Metropolitan Transportation Authority (VMTA). It is a 20-story building shaped like an hourglass, with the 2nd and 20th floors being square and the middle (11th) floor being at 45 degrees. The top floor serves as an observation deck over the city; lower floors manage the various divisions within VMTA.
Saffron Island
The island just north of the main city is home to the Mayor’s House, Saffron Beach, and the northern station of the Topaz Cable Car. The island is connected to the rest of the city by a footbridge, as well as the metro and cable car.
The island originally had two beach areas, both of which were collectively referred to as “Saffron Beach”. However, with the upcoming RaiLinQ service to Saffron Island, the north beach was officially designated as the true Saffron Beach in November 2015. (The west beach will be developed with a new apartment complex when RaiLinQ service is introduced.) Saffron Beach is notable for its swimming areas, as well as its rule board, which contains, among other things, “Don’t murderize anything”. The west beach was featured in Season 2 of The Amazing Race.
Topaz Cable Car
Vermilion is home to the server’s first cable car route, which opened in October 2014. The system uses warp signs and stationary cable cars to transport players between Saffron Island and Cinnabar Island. Other cities implemented their own cable car systems after seeing how Vermilion’s was built.
The cable car is integrated into the metro network and is managed by the VMTA, through its Metro Alternatives division.
Victory Square
Victory Square is a major landmark of Vermilion. It is a four-story mall with 70 shops, built in a similar layout as the Orwyn Mall on the old world. Shops are arranged in a ring around a central open area on the first floor. It is centrally located with easy access to the South Beach and Eterna Avenue districts, and is right next door to Victory Plaza. Tenants include Skyline Bar & Grille, OpenShop's MovieBank, Catronics, Taco-Craft, Round Records, Prubourne Steak, and Lakeview Steak. The last two are neighbors of each other on the first floor (Level A), and have signs pointing at each other advising customers “don’t trust the guys next door”. Prubourne Steak also has a location on South Beach Promenade.
The basement features the city’s main transit center, with rail and bus connections throughout Wards 7 and 8 (and some service going as far as Wards 0, 1, and 3). Except for the CitiRail platforms between Victory Road and Eterna Avenue, the transit center is managed by the VMTA. The facility is signed VSQ.
Victory Square was featured in the second season of The Amazing Race, with participants arriving here and diverting to either Vermilion University's Watson Hall or the beach on Saffron Island.
South Beach Promenade ("The Prom")
The beach on the southeast shore of the Indigo Peninsula is home to a promenade with 14 non-rectangular shops. These shops cater to the leisure crowd of the nearby beach, with outdoor seating, beach-friendly clothing, and Vermilion-themed souvenirs as common features. A boardwalk connects the shops to the rest of the city. The Prom has a large parking lot and is the terminus of the Emerald line on the metro.
Accommodation
Vermilion is proud to accommodate residents, businesses, and corporations to the city. No one is charged property taxes, fees, or rent (finished houses do carry a $10 furnishing fee).
Residents
Residents have three options for calling Vermilion home:
- They may build their own houses in marked plots in Indigo Plateau.
- They may furnish an apartment within the apartment complex at the intersection of Dewford and Oldale in Indigo Plateau.
- They may purchase a townhouse in Veilstone Heights. These townhouses are fully finished and cost $10.
Currently available residences
- Apartment 1A at 4 Mossdeep Avenue, Indigo Plateau: Free
- Apartment 2B at 4 Mossdeep Avenue, Indigo Plateau: Free
- Apartment 3A at 4 Mossdeep Avenue, Indigo Plateau: Free
- Apartment 3B at 4 Mossdeep Avenue, Indigo Plateau: Free
- 20 apartments (1A through 10B) at 2 Cerulean Avenue, Veilstone Heights: $7 each (fully furnished)
- Penthouse apartment (11 Cerulean Apartments, 2 Cerulean Avenue, Veilstone Heights): Free unfurnished / $20 furnished
More residences, including townhouses in the new Veilstone Heights district, will be coming soon!
Business
Businesses may set up standalone shops in marked plots in any district, including Indigo Plateau. Alternatively, businesses can build in Victory Square.
Currently available business locations
- Plot at 1 Rustboro Street: Free
- Plot at 2 Rustboro Street: Free
- Victory Square: About 20 spaces available, mostly on upper levels.
Corporate
Eterna Avenue was originally called the Corporate District. This central area in downtown Vermilion is home to a wide array of corporation offices - both regional offices, and global headquarters. Corporations can choose to build in an entire building, or just use a subset of floors.
Buildings with available office space
- One Eterna Avenue (aka Inverted Offices) - 3/11 floors available
Transport
Vermilion’s transport is managed by the Vermilion Metropolitan Transportation Authority (VMTA). Vermilion is accessible via air, water, and rail. Road and bus transport projects are currently in the works.
Main transport facilities
There are four major transport facilities that are owned and operated by VMTA, through its Facilities division. Most access to Vermilion is through one of these facilities.
VER Gateway Airport
Gateway Airport is the only airport within Vermilion and is a hub for Vermilion Airways. It is served by the Vermilion Metro, and RaiLinQ. It is located north of XW16 Station. Ilirea Midcity Airport (IXM) is close by, near XW18 Station.
VSQ Victory Square
Located under the Victory Square mall in the center of Vermilion, VSQ is a bus, metro, and long-distance rail hub. It is served by regional buses, the Vermilion Metro, CitiRail, and RegionalConnect. Local bus service is available at street level. Because of its multimodal connections and central location within the city, Victory Square is the busiest transit hub in Vermilion.
JVV Ventura Waterport
The waterport is located west of Victory Square and south of Gateway Airport. It will feature four terminals once completed, each named after a famous Minnesotan.
VSE Vermilion Space Elevator
As a scientific experiment, VMTA is constructing a space station, with a space elevator to ferry passengers to and from the overworld. This facility is managed by VMTA Facilities, VMTA Space Division, and VMTA Metro Alternatives.
VPO Polaris Station
Though not managed by VMTA, Polaris Station is a common ground for transport near Gateway Airport. It is served by CitiRail, IMTArail, and Vermilion Metro Rail. Passengers arriving on CitiRail or IMTArail can make a free transfer to Vermilion Metro Rail if continuing to the airport.
VLC League Campus
League Campus has direct access to the nearby Vermilion Metro station. A RegionalConnect line directly linking it to the General Assembly building in Formosa was planned, but never built.
Bus
VMTA is currently planning and constructing local bus service throughout the city. Planned routes will serve all major areas of the city, including West Vermilion.
VMTA operates the Victory Square Bus Terminal for all regional bus traffic. The 14 gates are split into two terminals, Terminal East (gates E1-E5) and Terminal West (gates W1-W9). The terminal’s roads exit directly to the A-7 freeway and do not access the city center, therefore buses generally do not have to deal with city traffic while in transit. Buses that wish to serve surface streets may not use the terminal.
VMTA will also operate regional bus service from Victory Square Terminal West, to major locations like Central City.
Metro
VMTA operates 10 metro lines within Vermilion, of which 8 are in operation between at least two stations. Most lines are named after gemstones, except express lines (named after metals) and shuttle services (named after the area they serve).
Lines operating within Vermilion
- R Ruby Line: Cinnabar Island to Gateway Airport ( Open)
- S Sapphire Line: Amber Island to Banana Point ( Partially open: Open between Veilstone Heights and Saffron Island)
- E Emerald Line: Promenade to Sunyshore Avenue ( Open)
- Z Azurite Line: Courthouse to Convention Center ( Partially open: Open between Polaris and West Vermilion)
- M Amethyst Line: Cerulean Cape to Gateway Airport ( Open)
- C Ruby Line: Victory Plaza to Yarrow Lagoon ( Planned)
Express rail services
Metro Link shuttle services
- A Airport Link: Connects Concourses A and B at Gateway Airport ( Open)
- V Victory Link: Connects Victory Plaza to Victory Square ( Open)
- W Waterport Link: Connects Lindbergh, Humphrey, Fitzgerald, and Schulz Terminals at Ventura Waterport ( Partially open: Open between Lindbergh and Humphrey)
Regional rail
Vermilion is served by six major rail providers at seven stations within the city. The operations are directly managed by the respective companies, except for stations at Victory Square and Gateway Airport, which are overseen by VMTA.
Regional rail operations | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Previous station | Next station | |||
XW17 Ilirea Suburbs towards Cypress |
XW15 Vermilion XW16 West Vermilion |
XW14 Foobar towards East Mesa via Central City | ||
Whitechapel—Waterfront Station towards Whitechapel—Waterfront Station |
CitiRail Forestgate Line Polaris Station |
Ilirea-Vermilion Convention Center towards Daneburg | ||
Whitechapel—Waterfront Station towards Whitechapel Sky Harbor |
CitiRail Westminster Line Victory Square Station |
Terminus | ||
Ilirea Suburbs towards Armada or St Anna |
RegionalConnect Victory Square Station |
Kenthurst Junction towards Sealane Central or Marblegate Centraal | ||
Terminus | League Express (proposed) League Campus Station |
Kenthurst—Xenonite towards Formosa—League Campus | ||
Vekta—Xandar towards Seaview |
RaiLinQ West Vermilion Station Gateway Airport Station Saffron Island Station |
Terminus | ||
Ilirea Cascadia Union Station towards Ilirea |
IntraRail Mountain Lion Victory Square Station |
Ezzo City towards Espil—Sanders Station |