This page is a brief catalog of historical information about the SciWorld and FallFest history. We hope to add links to each event and a detailed history of the cons themselves as time passes, so this page will be a living document as part of our mission to be a beacon for the Simming and play-by-post role-playing community. Should you have things you want to be added to this page, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our web team, and a staff member will get the information added for you; thanks for your help in archiving the history of our hobby and the events that have made it what it is today. The current version of this document was compiled from community records, contributions from Chas Hammer through content on the Role Play Wiki, and consultations with Charles Star, as well as internal records from SimmingHub compiled by Josh Hina and verified by the TNU Project Editorial Team.
A brief history of the events:
SciWorld Convention History
The SciWorld Online Convention was founded in 1999 by Ender Maki of the Online Simulations Association (OSA). Initially conceived as an intra-club event, it quickly evolved into a cross-community gathering after Chas Hammer encouraged Maki to open it up to the broader simming world under the Simming League. The inaugural event took place in March 1999 in private AOL chat rooms and was co-chaired by Maki, Tashak, and Chas Hammer, with participation from nine different clubs over a five-day period. The success of this first convention earned all three organizers the Simming Prize for their efforts in unifying the community.
From 2000 to 2002, SciWorld continued under Hammer’s leadership, maintaining its original model. After a brief hiatus from 2003 to 2005, Hammer revived the event in 2006 using IRC chatrooms, with support from Diaspora Games and Federation Sim Fleet, continuing through 2009. There was no event held in 2010.
In 2011, Charles Star reinstated the event, once again with Hammer’s support. To promote sustainability, a club-host model was introduced, wherein the Simming League designated a different club and chairperson each year. That year, Independence Fleet hosted the convention with Star as chair. The model continued under Ongoing Worlds from 2012, starting with Dark Myst hosting and Hammer chairing.
The event’s sponsorship changed hands multiple times in the following years: to SimEnc in 2013, then Roleplay Wiki in 2014. During this time, the club-host model was temporarily retired. Yatalu Ytela coordinated SciWorld in 2015 and 2016, followed by Hammer’s return in 2017 for a final single-day event.
After Hammer’s retirement, Star resumed oversight and reestablished the club-host model under Ongoing Worlds in 2018. Following a successful three-year term, Charles Star passed stewardship of SciWorld to The New Universes Project (TNU Project) and Joshua Hina in 2021, where coordination remains today.
FallFest History
The Simming Fall Festival (FallFest) was created in 2011 by Charles Star of Independence Fleet as a more time-zone-accessible counterpart to SciWorld for European participants. The first FallFest was held in October 2011 under the Simming League. Distinctive for being a single-day event when SciWorld was still multi-day, FallFest was also notable for introducing a live audio component led by DJ Landon Lakeland, paving the way for hybrid voice/text conventions.
In 2012, Ongoing Worlds absorbed the Simming League’s responsibilities and took over sponsorship of FallFest, with Charles Star continuing as general coordinator through 2020. In 2021, leadership of FallFest transitioned to The New Universes Project and Joshua Hina, who currently continue to run the event.
Throughout its history, FallFest has consistently used the club-host model, with the sole exception of the 2023 festival.
Listing of hosts/dates and chairs:
FallFest
| # | Dates | Sponsor | Host | Chair | Coordinator |
| I | 28-Oct-11 | Simming League | Independence Fleet | Charles Star | Charles Star |
| II | 21-Sep-12 | Ongoing Worlds | USS Asimov | Jonathan Swift | Charles Star |
| III | 11-Oct-13 | Ongoing Worlds | UFOP: StarBase 118 | Diego Herrera | Charles Star |
| IV | 22-Nov-14 | Ongoing Worlds | Phoenix Roleplaying | Misty Taylor | Charles Star |
| V | 5-Dec-15 | Ongoing Worlds | UFOP: StarBase 118 | James Drysdale | Charles Star |
| VI | 12-Nov-16 | Ongoing Worlds | Obsidian Fleet | Myrkul Sharr | Charles Star |
| VII | 9-Dec-17 | Ongoing Worlds | Bravo Fleet | Zachary O’Connell | Charles Star |
| VIII | 15-Dec-18 | Ongoing Worlds | TNU Project | Josh Hina | Charles Star |
| IX | 9-Nov-19 | Ongoing Worlds | 22nd Fleet | Andrew Greenfelt | Charles Star |
| X | 14-Nov-20 | Ongoing Worlds | Pegasus Fleet & Independence Fleet | AlexM & Ken Gillis | Charles Star |
| XI | 13-Nov-21 | SimmingHub | 5th Fleet | Nixon | Josh Hina |
| XII | 22-Oct-22 | SimmingHub | Theta Fleet | Kathryn Burke | Josh Hina |
| XIII | 11-Nov-23 | SimmingHub | N/A | N/A | Josh Hina |
| XIV | 12-Oct-24 | SimmingHub | Star Army | Wes Davis | Josh Hina |
SciWorld Online Convention
| # | Date(s) | Sponsor | Host | Chair | Coordinator |
| I | Mar 18-22, 1999 | Simming League | Simming League | Ender Maki, Tashak & Chas Hammer | N/A |
| II | Mar 23-27, 2000 | Simming League | Simming League | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| III | Mar 15-18, 2001 | Simming League | Simming League | Robin Knight | Chas Hammer |
| IV | unknown (2002) | Simming League | Simming League | unknown | Chas Hammer |
| V | Mar 29-31, 2006 | Simming League | Diaspora Games & Federation Sim Fleet | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| VI | Apr 3-5, 2007 | Simming League | Diaspora Games & Federation Sim Fleet | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| VII | Apr 29-May 1, 2008 | Simming League | Diaspora Games & Federation Sim Fleet | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| VIII | May 19-21, 2009 | Simming League | Diaspora Games & Federation Sim Fleet | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| IX | Apr 14-16, 2011 | Simming League | Independence Fleet | Charles Star | Chas Hammer |
| X | May 10-12, 2012 | Ongoing Worlds | Dark Myst | Chas Hammer | Chas Hammer |
| XI | May 1-3, 2013 | SimEnc | Independence Fleet | Landon Wakeland | Chas Hammer |
| XII | May 1-3, 2014 | Roleplay Wiki | N/A | Yatalu Ytela | Chas Hammer |
| XIII | Apr 23-25, 2015 | Roleplay Wiki | N/A | Yatalu Ytela | Yatalu Ytela |
| XIV | Jun 23-24, 2016 | Roleplay Wiki | N/A | Zania Ja’arda | Yatalu Ytela |
| XV | 30-Jun-17 | Roleplay Wiki | N/A | Chas Hammer & Lindsay Bayes | Chas Hammer |
| XVI | 28-Jul-18 | Ongoing Worlds | Bravo Fleet & Star Army | Alexander & Wes Davis | Charles Star |
| XVII | 18-May-19 | Ongoing Worlds | Roleplay Wiki, Theta Fleet & TNU Project | Akoomi, Kathryn Burke & Joshua Hina | Charles Star |
| XVIII | 18-Apr-20 | Ongoing Worlds | TNU Project | Joshua Hina | Charles Star |
| XIX | 12-Jun-21 | TNU Project | Independence Fleet | Aurther Winters | Josh Hina |
| XX | 11-Jun-22 | SimmingHub | Theta Fleet | Kathryn Burke | Josh Hina |
| XXI | 24-Jun-23 | SimmingHub | RPGWriting & Star Army | Amanda Rose & Wes Davis | Josh Hina |
| XXII | 31-May-25 | SimmingHub | TBD 2025 | TBD 2025 | Josh Hina |