NTBI Group - Revision history

NelsonJenkins at 23:50, 31 March 2024

2024-03-31T23:50:13Z

NelsonJenkins at 23:14, 21 October 2020

2020-10-21T23:14:46Z

imported>NelsonJenkins at 13:33, 25 July 2017

2017-07-25T13:33:49Z

imported>NelsonJenkins at 13:33, 25 July 2017

2017-07-25T13:33:21Z

imported>NelsonJenkins: /* NTBI Events */

2017-05-18T05:40:11Z

‎NTBI Events

imported>NelsonJenkins: /* NTBI Events */

2017-05-18T05:39:54Z

‎NTBI Events

imported>NelsonJenkins at 05:36, 18 May 2017

2017-05-18T05:36:26Z

imported>NelsonJenkins: /* Purpose */

2017-05-18T05:35:16Z

‎Purpose

imported>NelsonJenkins: /* Purpose */

2017-05-18T05:32:51Z

‎Purpose

imported>NelsonJenkins: /* History */

2017-05-18T05:28:56Z

‎History

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png|300px|right]]The NTBI Group is the partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[Jupiter Automotive]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[RiDECO]], [[Lucetti]], [[3DL]], and [[K-ACE]]. Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], Sei Computing (absorbed into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (absorbed into [[Trifecta]]), Motor City Cars (absorbed into Crown Automotive), and Crown Automotive (absorbed into [[Jupiter Automotive]]).
+[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png|300px|right]]The NTBI Group is a partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[NTBI Automotive Brands]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[Lucetti]], [[K-Ace]], [[DISMNTLD]].
-Founded in 2008, the partnership was created to acknowledge the union of these different creators and their brands as one creative faction. The majority of the products purchasable from these stores are directed at the modern roleplay niche market of Second Life, but various brands occasionally branch out into broader fields.
+Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], [[RiDECO]], Sei Computing (consolidated into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (consolidated into [[Trifecta]]), Motor City Cars (consolidated into Crown Automotive), Crown Automotive (consolidated into [[NTBI Automotive Brands]]), and Volta/Jupiter/Marshall/3DL (consolidated into [[NTBI Automotive Brands]]).
-When it was founded in 2008, SZYM, Lusch, LMD, Astaro, and Tredpro were listed as its founding members. As the partnership grew, several creators split into different brands to classify their products. The partnership currently consists of [[Will Szymborska]], [[ac14 Hutson]], [[Nelson Jenkins]], [[Owen Lusch]], [[Lyte Rae]], [[BeckHan Ra]], [[Faye Blackheart]], [[Adel Button]], [[Rena (guraa)]], and [[Hal Berkmans]]. Support, inactive, and retired members include Wolf Lumin, DriverKid Baxter, Empty Neutron, Sierra Komarov, Georg Markstein, Ozark Mayo, Hans Ehrlich, Jeffery Worbridge, aaps59 Aeon, and Nikko Dezno. Generally, members are classed either EXC (Executive), AFF (Affiliate), IS (Internal Services), or RET (Retired).
+Founded in 2008, the partnership was created to acknowledge the union of these different creators and their brands as one creative faction. The group was originally directed at original vehicle design and "modern" roleplay equipment for Second Life, such as vans, trucks, ambulances, fire engines, and various personal cars. As the group grew throughout the 2010s, this expanded to roleplay telecommunications, furniture and home appliances, watches, prefabricated buildings, doors, elevators, street & traffic lights, and road signs.
 ==History==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 [[File:22724517995 d5e66939ba o.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Prototype Gardens Shopping Center prior to its 2017 expansion.]]
-ac14 Hutson claims that the creation of the NTBI name was based off the meme "Series of Tubes", where Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens says "the internet is not a big truck". The letters '''N'''o'''T''' a '''B'''ig Truck '''I'''ndustries formed the acronym NTBI. A much more sensible explanation for the name is National Truck Builders International (or Industries). To some members it is also known as National Tire & Battery Incorporated. In any event, the NTBI acronym has been in use since the logo was created on May 9th, 2008, when ac14 Hutson sold company land under the new name.
+ac14 Hutson claims that the creation of the NTBI name was based off the meme "Series of Tubes", where Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens says "the internet is not a big truck". The letters '''N'''o'''T''' a '''B'''ig Truck '''I'''ndustries (or '''N'''ot a '''B'''ig '''T'''ruck '''I'''ndustries with the "B" and "T" letters swapped) formed the acronym NTBI. Another rumored explanation for the name is National Truck Builders International (or Industries). To some members it is also known as National Tire & Battery Incorporated. In any event, the NTBI acronym has been in use since the logo was created on May 9th, 2008, when ac14 Hutson sold company land under the new name.
 The first NTBI-related project was the creation and sale of emergency vehicle attachment light kits produced by Tredpro for the LMD Interceptor and Enforcer in 2008. Ironically, these kits were produced to push Gentek out of the market, which had been selling similar kits for about a year. Soon after the partnership was formed, the stores of all NTBI brands (with the exception of LMD) were moved to the Bliss region to maximize store traffic by being placed alongside similar businesses. These light kits were soon discontinued due to the adoption of built in lighting over attachment lighting for emergency vehicles, even prior to mesh.
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 finally saw new additions to NTBI, with Rena (guraa) joining and launching RiDECO (a furniture and props company), BeckHan Ra joining with GEMC (a long-standing automotive company), and Faye Blackheart joining with FAYDED (another furniture and props company, which was launched in the original Harrison). The addition of these stores required an extensive expansion to the Prototype Gardens Shopping Center, completed in May.
@@ Line 65: / Line 69: @@
 ===Prototype Gardens Shopping Center===
-Since 2008, all NTBI affiliated brands (except LMD) have been located in the Prototype region. The region has previously featured race tracks and various other motoring themed backdrops. In late 2011, the theme was changed to feature a large mall area housing all the different brands by all content creators in one area. In June 2012, the mall was rebuilt and expanded to house additional shops and a larger showroom for Astaro. In 2013, the mall was rebuilt again to more modern building standards. In 2017, the mall was expanded to fit new NTBI members' stores.
+Since 2008, all NTBI affiliated brands (except LMD) have been located in the [[Prototype|Prototype region]]. The region has previously featured race tracks and various other motoring themed backdrops. In late 2011, the theme was changed to feature a large mall area housing all the different brands by all content creators in one area. In June 2012, the mall was rebuilt and expanded to house additional shops and a larger showroom for Astaro. In 2013, the mall was rebuilt again to more modern building standards. In 2017, the mall was expanded to fit new NTBI members' stores. In 2019, the Prototype region was closed after 11 years and the Prototype Gardens Shopping Center was moved to the [[NTBI (region)|NTBI region]].
 ===NTBI Group Headquarters===
-NTBI's Headquarters was located in Celaeno in 2008-2009, moved to Dominatium in 2010, and then to Lionheart Mufasa in 2011 alongside [[Gentek Interregional Tower]]. In 2012, it returned to and was rebuilt at the original site in Celaeno, and [[Gentek]] merged into the same building. The [[NTBI Celaeno Complex]] housed the offices for all NTBI brands and private residences of several NTBI affiliated employees. It also featured a list of other amenities, which varied throughout the different iterations of the building. The site was expanded dramatically in mid 2012, when the rest of the block was acquired. Then, in late 2012, the building was demolished and a new [[Szym Tower (building)|Szym Tower]] was built in its place, arguably the tallest building ever built by NTBI. However, in 2013, the headquarters was moved to the [[NTBI Development Campus]] in the private NTBI region. In 2015, alongside the development of the NorPhone, the NTBI region was renamed to Northbridge, and eventually connected to Prototype.
+NTBI's Headquarters was located in Celaeno in 2008-2009, moved to Dominatium in 2010, and then to Lionheart Mufasa in 2011 alongside [[Gentek Interregional Tower]]. In 2012, it returned to and was rebuilt at the original site in Celaeno, and [[Gentek]] merged into the same building. The [[NTBI Celaeno Complex]] housed the offices for all NTBI brands and private residences of several NTBI affiliated employees. It also featured a list of other amenities, which varied throughout the different iterations of the building. The site was expanded dramatically in mid 2012, when the rest of the block was acquired. Then, in late 2012, the building was demolished and [[Szym Tower (building)|Szym Tower VII]] was built in its place, arguably the tallest building ever built by NTBI. However, in 2013, the headquarters was moved to the [[NTBI Development Campus]] in the private [[NTBI (region)|NTBI region]]. In 2015, alongside the development of the NorPhone, the NTBI region was renamed to Northbridge and eventually connected to Prototype for public access, making the headquarters public again. Throughout this period, the Northbridge region hosted a few different buildings, each considered the NTBI headquarters for its time. In 2018, the existing Northbridge building was demolished to make way for [[Szym Tower (building)|Szym Tower IX]], which again became the NTBI headquarters. In 2019, the Northbridge region, along with the rest of the NTBI estate, was closed and replaced with a new [[NTBI (region)|NTBI region]], which hosts both the [[Prototype|Prototype Gardens Shopping Center]] and Szym Tower IX, among a variety of other buildings.
-NTBI also maintains an office in the Hyperion region, near the location of the original SZYM Motors store in what used to be the Teen Grid.
+NTBI also maintains an office in the Hyperion region, near the location of the original SZYM Motors store in what used to be the Teen Grid. This building serves as the secondary headquarters should the NTBI region be unavailable.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:33, 25 July 2017
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png\|300px\|right]]The NTBI Group is the partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[Jupiter Automotive]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[RiDECO]], [[Lucetti]], [[3DL]], and [[K-ACE]]. Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], Sei Computing (absorbed into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (absorbed into [[Trifecta]]), Motor City Cars (absorbed into Crown Automotive), and Crown Automotive (~~retired and replaced by~~ [[Jupiter Automotive]]).	+	[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png\|300px\|right]]The NTBI Group is the partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[Jupiter Automotive]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[RiDECO]], [[Lucetti]], [[3DL]], and [[K-ACE]]. Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], Sei Computing (absorbed into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (absorbed into [[Trifecta]]), Motor City Cars (absorbed into Crown Automotive), and Crown Automotive (absorbed into [[Jupiter Automotive]]).

	Founded in 2008, the partnership was created to acknowledge the union of these different creators and their brands as one creative faction. The majority of the products purchasable from these stores are directed at the modern roleplay niche market of Second Life, but various brands occasionally branch out into broader fields.		Founded in 2008, the partnership was created to acknowledge the union of these different creators and their brands as one creative faction. The majority of the products purchasable from these stores are directed at the modern roleplay niche market of Second Life, but various brands occasionally branch out into broader fields.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png|300px|right]]The NTBI Group is the partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[Crown Automotive]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[RiDECO]], [[Lucetti]], [[3DL]], and [[K-ACE]]. Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], Sei Computing (absorbed into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (absorbed into [[Trifecta]]), and Motor City Cars (absorbed into [[Crown Automotive]]).
+[[File:NTBI Logo With Shadow.png|300px|right]]The NTBI Group is the partnership of [[SZYM Motors]], [[Lusch Motors]], [[Astaro]], [[Tredpro]], [[Gentek]], [[NBS]], [[Gentek Telecom]], [[Jupiter Automotive]], [[GEMC]], [[FAYDED]], [[Trifecta]], [[GTMD]], [[RiDECO]], [[Lucetti]], [[3DL]], and [[K-ACE]]. Retired brands include [[LMD]], [[KYOTO]], Sei Computing (absorbed into [[NBS]]), TAHDA Prefabricated (absorbed into [[Trifecta]]), Motor City Cars (absorbed into Crown Automotive), and Crown Automotive (retired and replaced by [[Jupiter Automotive]]).
 Founded in 2008, the partnership was created to acknowledge the union of these different creators and their brands as one creative faction. The majority of the products purchasable from these stores are directed at the modern roleplay niche market of Second Life, but various brands occasionally branch out into broader fields.
@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 ==Product Variation==
-LMD, SZYM, Astaro, Lusch, Crown, and GEMC are all well-established automotive manufacturers throughout the roleplay world and beyond. All members pride themselves on all-original in-house work, something very rare in Second Life vehicles.
+LMD, SZYM, Astaro, Lusch, Jupiter, and GEMC are all well-established automotive manufacturers throughout the roleplay world and beyond. All members pride themselves on all-original in-house work, something very rare in Second Life vehicles.
 Other brands produce a wide variety of products, such as building equipment, furniture, electronics, telecommunications, prefabricated buildings, and various roleplay equipment.

@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 NTBI also hosted the Update War event in the City of [[Concord]] in 2011 for the release of the 2012 SZYM Intruder and 2012 Astaro Imperial updates. After customers bought or received the product update, they were later asked to vote for their favorite product by use of a voting booth in Prototype.
-NTBI has also hosted several launch parties for its major products, usually in the Prototype store. NTBI members also occasionally convene in Hyperion for special events.
+NTBI has also hosted several launch parties for its major products, usually in Prototype. NTBI members also occasionally convene in Hyperion for special events.
 ==NTBISS==
 The NTBI Security Service was NTBI's paid in-house protective staff for its properties and was also responsible for carrying out close protection services to important company employees. It was founded in 2008 and was in service on and off until early 2011. Members were regularly trained to handle dangerous roleplay scenarios and avoid them while visiting sensitive roleplay sims. The staff was also responsible for driving NTBI owned vehicles and managing land ban lists, handling griefing incidents, and other duties. While there are still security service employees, the full-time nature of the NTBISS program is no longer in effect as of 2012.

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 By joining together, NTBI leverages its enormous brand awareness to the success of all members. Collectively, NTBI earns around L$10-20 million in reported revenue annually. This success has allowed it to successfully branch out into brand-new markets with little to no marketing effort. However, as NTBI members have lost much of their free time to real-life careers and demands, this growth is limited. Several members estimate that with enough free time or new additions, NTBI would easily go on to dominate several other key markets - as it stands, NTBI is generally focused on the shrinking roleplay market.
-Despite this, NTBI maintains its strict adherence to self-perpetuated quality standards. While the overall goal of the partnership is to recognize all members as a group, the individual talents that make up the framework are critical, and being able to use them to their fullest brought NTBI to where it is today. The unrelenting attention to detail and perfectionism NTBI products show in the face of thousands of creators willing to cut corners is exemplified in its most well-known products. Many NTBI members agree that the partnership's self-policing nature helped keep those strengths alive.
+Despite this, NTBI maintains its strict adherence to self-perpetuated quality standards. While the overall goal of the partnership is to recognize all members as a group, the individual talents that make up the framework are critical, and being able to use them to their fullest for the benefit of all members brought NTBI to where it is today. The unrelenting attention to detail and perfectionism NTBI products show in the face of thousands of creators willing to cut corners is exemplified by the success of its most well-known products. Many NTBI members agree that the partnership's self-policing nature helped keep those strengths alive.
-Most NTBI members are close friends outside of Second Life and have met in-person at several "NTBI conferences", typically held in the New York metro area.
+Most NTBI members are close friends outside of Second Life and have met in-person at several "NTBI conferences", typically conducted privately in the New York metro area.
 ==Product Variation==

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:32, 18 May 2017
Line 52:		Line 52:
	Despite this, NTBI maintains its strict adherence to self-perpetuated quality standards. While the overall goal of the partnership is to recognize all members as a group, the individual talents that make up the framework are critical, and being able to use them to their fullest brought NTBI to where it is today. The unrelenting attention to detail and perfectionism NTBI products show in the face of thousands of creators willing to cut corners is exemplified in its most well-known products. Many NTBI members agree that the partnership's self-policing nature helped keep those strengths alive.		Despite this, NTBI maintains its strict adherence to self-perpetuated quality standards. While the overall goal of the partnership is to recognize all members as a group, the individual talents that make up the framework are critical, and being able to use them to their fullest brought NTBI to where it is today. The unrelenting attention to detail and perfectionism NTBI products show in the face of thousands of creators willing to cut corners is exemplified in its most well-known products. Many NTBI members agree that the partnership's self-policing nature helped keep those strengths alive.

		+	Most NTBI members are close friends outside of Second Life and have met in-person at several "NTBI conferences", typically held in the New York metro area.

	==Product Variation==		==Product Variation==

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:28, 18 May 2017
Line 34:		Line 34:
	In 2016, NBS launched the [[NorPhone]] with Gentek Telecom, a subsidiary of Gentek and the creator of the original [[genPhone]] prior to NTBI, to provide operator and payphone service. 2016 also saw the relaunch of Harrison with an ambitious plan to include two more regions. However, while Harrison was opened to the public, there were few roleplayers left, so the project failed again before the two new regions could be completed. The remainder of 2016 was spent mostly on NBS and Gentek Telecom facilities, development, and service. By this time, several NTBI brands had slowed to few, if any, product releases, but maintained their stores in Prototype.		In 2016, NBS launched the [[NorPhone]] with Gentek Telecom, a subsidiary of Gentek and the creator of the original [[genPhone]] prior to NTBI, to provide operator and payphone service. 2016 also saw the relaunch of Harrison with an ambitious plan to include two more regions. However, while Harrison was opened to the public, there were few roleplayers left, so the project failed again before the two new regions could be completed. The remainder of 2016 was spent mostly on NBS and Gentek Telecom facilities, development, and service. By this time, several NTBI brands had slowed to few, if any, product releases, but maintained their stores in Prototype.

−	2017 finally saw new additions to NTBI, with Rena (guraa) joining and launching RiDECO (a furniture and props company), BeckHan Ra joining with GEMC (a long-standing automotive company), and Faye Blackheart joining with FAYDED (another furniture and props company, which was launched in the original Harrison). The addition of these stores required an extensive expansion to the Prototype Gardens Shopping Center.	+	2017 finally saw new additions to NTBI, with Rena (guraa) joining and launching RiDECO (a furniture and props company), BeckHan Ra joining with GEMC (a long-standing automotive company), and Faye Blackheart joining with FAYDED (another furniture and props company, which was launched in the original Harrison). The addition of these stores required an extensive expansion to the Prototype Gardens Shopping Center, completed in May.