Similar studies could be done on long running Minecraft servers. Back when I was playing a lot of MC one of the things I enjoyed was exploring abandoned bases. It's really interesting to see what happens to abandoned bases / settlements in open world games.
I once had a large base on a modded Minecraft server, with multiple buildings, lots of machinery, nuclear reactors, power lines running everywhere, etc. Eventually I stopped playing and announced to everyone else my stuff was free for the taking.
A few months later I decided to hop on and see what was left. It was almost like you'd expect to happen in real life.
The buildings were mostly intact but had missing doors and broken windows. All of the most valuable stuff was stripped out. There was some worthless stuff left, like food in vanilla chests. My nuclear reactors had been partially disassembled, the most valuable parts scavenged.
It felt like visiting an abandoned factory in Detroit. It was once glorious and now stood in ruin.
I once had a large base on a modded Minecraft server, with multiple buildings, lots of machinery, nuclear reactors, power lines running everywhere, etc. Eventually I stopped playing and announced to everyone else my stuff was free for the taking.
A few months later I decided to hop on and see what was left. It was almost like you'd expect to happen in real life.
The buildings were mostly intact but had missing doors and broken windows. All of the most valuable stuff was stripped out. There was some worthless stuff left, like food in vanilla chests. My nuclear reactors had been partially disassembled, the most valuable parts scavenged.
It felt like visiting an abandoned factory in Detroit. It was once glorious and now stood in ruin.