Community Things are happening! (State of the Community)

SirComputer

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Well, this one’s going to be fun. Don’t shoot the messenger!

Hi all,

Before we get onto the juicy part of this, let’s handle staff first. As you will most likely know from our meetings, FreakyCupcake has resigned and has been replaced by Hex, who will do good. Freaky was a fantastic admin, so thanks for all your work there. As well, I will be resigning from Community Admin, but I will stay on as Lava Admin. It’s been an honour people, so thanks. I haven’t been great, but it’s been fun, so hey. My long-awaited replacement is already a great admin, and was the real reason you got those 25 days of events. Yep, you guessed it, you've probably been on the hypetrain for ages, it’s Arelic! Please be nice to her. I trust she’ll do a mighty fine job as part of our leadership team.

Now, this is the part that gets really fun. I think we’ve seen we’re not doing fantastic right now. Server numbers are down, everything’s not great. Not fun. Therefore, we’re going to go a bit out there. Now, I’ll give credit to Vatumok for a lot of this, as he’s been working with us to help get things done, so thanks a lot. What we’re planning is to replace RoF and AoD. I’ll just give that a moment to settle in. Are you alright? Good. Let’s continue.

Before you get going in the comment section with “wtf you are killing the community against our will you are not listening reeeee”, I must stress this is not completely finalised. There is every possibility we can scrap this if it goes wrong, or if there is enough reason discussed now to reverse this. However, it’s worth doing something. There’s a good few proposals in our News forum that have never came to fruition, and it’s about time one of them did. The date for shutting off RoF and AoD, if this does happen, will be a long way off, giving us a good bit of time to backtrack if necessary, and will only happen once the new server is completely ready. I should also note that the Prestige Update for RoF, well overdue, is almost ready for release, and will still be going ahead regardless of this.

Our plan is to replace the servers with one of two options - a deception server, or a deathrun server. We did try to decide between one of these initially, but we couldn’t decide. Therefore, right now, we are developing both, and this is happening right now. One will most likely be dropped if it becomes apparent that one is better or one is not working, and it will be most likely that only one server will make it to release. Obviously, deathrun is a bit more in our comfort zone. Lava survival has been baked into the core of our community since the start. We’ve got ground to begin. Maps are really the thing we need here though, and that’s where our struggle lies. However, whilst the “deception server” still needs an idea (basing it off Deceit or Sheriff of Nottingham is currently being discussed), and we’ve never done something like this before, we believe that there is a unique concept we could easily tap into surrounding this, and if done well, this could be a very special server. Mafia has proven to be very popular within the community, so this is already something our community may enjoy. Things should become clear as time progresses, though.

As all of this is happening, we may discuss adding other features into Minecraft (although that does not mean we will!), such as global chat, a relook at voting rewards, maybe even donor rewards if we have chance, and this is even before we begin to consider the wealth of options we have with other games such as Garry’s Mod. Minecraft is our core game though, so we have to look at that. Again, this is just saying we might discuss these, not that we’ll do them.

We’ve had a good talk about RoF and AoD, so let’s slip a bit of Create in here. Hex is currently looking at options for Create, and he is very keen on giving the server a bit of a refresh, in an aim to make Create more appealing for players and just give it a bit of a polish. There are a few ideas being chucked around here, including transferring worlds (inc. plots etc) to a “new” server to get rid of old, outstanding bugs, and adding build minigames, such as a build battle. This isn’t something concrete, but getting ideas flowing would be ideal. He would appreciate any opinions and feedback you have.

It should also be noted that SMP is also very much still being developed, and is as active as ever, with its staff team growing and progress being made quicker than ever before. It is still a long way away, but stay tuned for info. We are adamant that it is going to be a great success within the community (touch wood!).
So where do you come in? We need your opinions and feedback. We’re not just a staff team, we’re a community. What do you think? Do you want to help? Any suggestions? We want to know. What you all want to see is the most important thing we need to know to make this plan succeed.

If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to respond.

So, let the comment wars begin, and for my last time as CA, thanks.
-SirC
 
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Ltin

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What we’re planning is to replace RoF
\o/
/o\


Of course I don't really play MC anymore so I don't get to complain.

But that there are plans seems good. Not that I have any idea what a "deception" is.

Wasnt death run removed from RoF (and classic lava) a couple of times previously because it was unpopular or something though?
Or is this a different death run?
 

Psycho

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RoF/AoD
Instead of removing RoF and AoD, would it be possible to create "Lite" versions of those two servers and still add the Deception and Deathrun servers to the mix? I think that outright removing the servers without a sold, flagship, minecraft server in the Community would be a daft idea. Then again, you're probably going to stagger the Deception and Deathrun releases to beta test them whilst RoF and AoD are still active, right?

With the "Lite" versions of RoF and AoD, I figure that their respective gamemodes would be fast paced and easy for player's to understand. Think along the lines of shorter rounds, easy maps, 20 map rotation, and buy/sell shop GUIs instead of the mega shops in RoF.

Deathrun
For the Deathrun server, are we to expect changes in how the gamemode is handled or will it be similar to the RoF version? Will there be automatic checkpoints that's coded into the server or do the mapmakers need to figure out a way to do that with cmd blocks still? When do you plan to release map requirements or something similar so the mapmakers know what you're looking for? How long will this take to release? So many questions...

Create
Wouldn't it be best to go through the plugins in Create and remove/update the ones that aren't functioning correctly first before you consider creating a "new" server. I assume that the new server idea that's mentioned is related to new plots and wiping out player ranks too? I could be wrong, but it wasn't a fun experience when that happened awhile back. Personally, I'd probably keep some of the worlds, especially SimCity, Flatland, Plots, and Maps. Then look at the competition worlds and save and archive the plot schematics before unloading the worlds from the server. Then purge the CoreProtect logs cause it might be bloated.

The Build Battle minigame is nice, but that's probably best for weekend events when there are enough players around to play with. I would say, try joining different creative-mode communities with a large playerbase and see how they do their ranks and plot sizes, see how players interact - you'll probably run into roleplayers in larger creative servers. Just try to get an idea on what makes their servers appealing to those players.
Maybe find ways to increase incentives for ranking up? Redo the voting rewards system? Fix /help.

Paintball
You guys should add this server gamemode.
 

Hex

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I assume that the new server idea that's mentioned is related to new plots and wiping out player ranks too?
Absolutely not. Like I said in the post everything is being transferred over. Also, help is being worked on right now.

I only want to start completely fresh because Create is admittedly a huge mess, the backend is pretty much piles of old addons, hotfixes from previous admins, and its just all confusing. I don't want to go poking around and absolutely ruin everything, so I'd much rather start fresh.
 

SirComputer

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RoF/AoD
Instead of removing RoF and AoD, would it be possible to create "Lite" versions of those two servers and still add the Deception and Deathrun servers to the mix? I think that outright removing the servers without a sold, flagship, minecraft server in the Community would be a daft idea. Then again, you're probably going to stagger the Deception and Deathrun releases to beta test them whilst RoF and AoD are still active, right?

With the "Lite" versions of RoF and AoD, I figure that their respective gamemodes would be fast paced and easy for player's to understand. Think along the lines of shorter rounds, easy maps, 20 map rotation, and buy/sell shop GUIs instead of the mega shops in RoF.

Deathrun
For the Deathrun server, are we to expect changes in how the gamemode is handled or will it be similar to the RoF version? Will there be automatic checkpoints that's coded into the server or do the mapmakers need to figure out a way to do that with cmd blocks still? When do you plan to release map requirements or something similar so the mapmakers know what you're looking for? How long will this take to release? So many questions...
For AoD, lite could work, but I don't think RoF would. It's just not really, designed, for fast-paced, and in my opinion we'd struggle to shoe-horn in a way to force it to work. When we discussed cleaning up AoD in the way you described, no one seemed keen I seem to remember, oddly. If I could remember the reasons, I'd tell you. We've decided we needed to change things up entirely, though, and break from a formula that didn't seem to be going well. If things aren't working in a couple months' time, we can come back to ideas like these. If your idea manages to gain traction, we can consider it sooner. A pure Deathrun server has been suggested in the past though, and is most likely the easiest way to have a server that guarantees fast-paced action but keeps the lava survival aspect we've had for ages.

Right now, for Deathrun, we're basing everything on RoF, but the current plan is to be more geared towards races (well, time trial, if you're on your own). This would mean cutting a lot of the puzzle/redstone stuff we have going on and focus more on parkours and setting high scores. I'm thinking things like setting everyone off at the start at the same time. We've currently got what is basically a Deathrun-only RoF implemented right now (with added water mode!), so we've got a start. Checkpoints are coming in the Prestige Update, nevermind here. We do plan to release map requirements fairly soonish, as we've got plans that should be unveiled either next week or the week after. We'll release when we're ready, basically. There's no harm leaving up our current servers a couple weeks longer if it means the new server is going to be better. There will most likely be overlap between the release of the new server and the closing of the old ones.

A lot of this is open-ended because there's a lot we can do here, and we're not narrowing down our ideas yet. We'll keep pinging around thoughts and implement the best ones.

And that's all without even mentioning Deception!
 

Butamou

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What we’re planning is to replace RoF and AoD.
Well there goes all the unfinished maps and lobby I was never going to do anything with. (Being serious)


Deathrun
For the Deathrun server, are we to expect changes in how the gamemode is handled or will it be similar to the RoF version? Will there be automatic checkpoints that's coded into the server or do the mapmakers need to figure out a way to do that with cmd blocks still?
Command block & redstone stuff wasn't hard. I could give a break down of what I did if needed.

Right now, for Deathrun, we're basing everything on RoF, but the current plan is to be more geared towards races (well, time trial, if you're on your own). This would mean cutting a lot of the puzzle/redstone stuff we have going on and focus more on parkours and setting high scores. I'm thinking things like setting everyone off at the start at the same time. We've currently got what is basically a Deathrun-only RoF implemented right now (with added water mode!), so we've got a start. Checkpoints are coming in the Prestige Update, nevermind here. We do plan to release map requirements fairly soonish, as we've got plans that should be unveiled either next week or the week after. We'll release when we're ready, basically. There's no harm leaving up our current servers a couple weeks longer if it means the new server is going to be better. There will most likely be overlap between the release of the new server and the closing of the old ones.
Rewards based on per game? All time records? Season bests? Or the reward is just a sense of accomplishment? (what can we do with said rewards if any?)

Why cant we have puzzles along with the timed races? Have multiple paths for "each" player first one solves it all wins. I for one suck at parkour and this wouldn't appeal to me much if it was all parkour that I couldn't complete anything. (Although I almost finished Psycho's DR once...) There are honestly times I couldn't even complete my own maps and their parkour is only easy-medium difficulty imo.

Same
 
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SirComputer

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Rewards based on per game? All time records? Season bests? Or the reward is just a sense of accomplishment? (what can we do with said rewards if any?)

Why cant we have puzzles along with the timed races? Have multiple paths for "each" player first one solves it all wins. I for one suck at parkour and this wouldn't appeal to me much if it was all parkour that I couldn't complete anything. (Although I almost finished Psycho's DR once...) There are honestly times I couldn't even complete my own maps and their parkour is only easy-medium difficulty imo.
None of this is solid, and a lot of this isn't decided. Rewards right now would be looking like things such as cosmetics, but things such as boosters, revives etc can be considered. The current idea is based around the fact that puzzles are a lot slower than pure parkour, and if you're looking for fast-paced action this isn't going to do much. If you can work them so they're fast and fun, that's good. Right now, nothing's out the picture, and I'm not saying you can't do puzzles for good. Things can change, things are barely in place to change anyway. I'm not 'disallowing' them, just stating a focus. These are just the parameters we're working with right now.
 
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