Bye Bye Town :(

I am sad to say that I have "shut down" the server. It was fun while it lasted, and I'm sure we all learnt a lot from it (especially me). The reasons for shutting it down are (in no particular order): Exams coming up and me not having enough time to manage it (you all know what I'm like lol), lack of donations and me wanting to spend money on other things, the "quiet-ness" on the server, the lack of successful shops and trading within the town (I wanted that to be qutie a big thing), and also me wanting to spend time on a texture pack.

Will the town ever come back? Maybe, but not in the next couple of months at least. Anyone else is welcome to "take over" and create a server with the town map if they like, you can download the map here.

I'm very sorry if you feel like you've lost a lot of work you did on the server. Hopefully whatever it is your missing, you can make 100 times bigger or find 100 times as many on another server or singleplayer.

Although I have officially closed the server, I'm sort of still running it as a very small un-maintained private server for a few particular individuals. If you would like to play you'll have to be willing to use the texture pack I linked to up there, have a mic, put up with the map changing when I feel like it, and even then it's unlikely I'll let you on (but you can still ask).

Thank you everyone for making the town fun and interesting, I'm pretty sure we accomplished something awesome.

20/03/2011 - Map Downloads

Server Updates:

• BenneyBoy444 Citizen.
• I enabled the "vegitation" plugin so that long grass (wild grass) would grow, but then because it was making the server use too much RAM, I disabled it. The grass is still there.
• You can now download the Town world save.
• If you really want, you can download the last temporary map save, or even the "underground experiment" save.
• I'm currently trying out this cool Minecraft map renderer, if anyone wants to make a "map" of the town save, that would be great! If nobody says anything about this, then I'll make one myself sometime.. maybe :)

Recommended Mods and Texture Pack

Do you want better looking textures which don't explode your computer that runs on donkeys and coal? Do you want grass which grows upwards and tickles your knees, and torches that emit light as you and other people throw them at each other? Then this pack of goodies is for you!

Please do not use other mods on the server without asking me first. I'll probably say it's fine as long as it's not something like flying ^^

This pack which includes Wild Grass and Dynamic Lighting mods, and a heavily customized texture pack which is mostly Jolicraft. These mods are equally awesome in singleplayer, giving it a more "realistic" and "wildernessey" feel. Full credits and installation instructions are in the download.

Click here for the very awesome collection of nice things.

The Town is back up!

YAY, FINALLY!

Home sweet home (:

Even our fireplaces are still warm! It seems like forever that the town has been gone, but it's back.

Your chests should still be locked, but you might want to check them, just in case.

If anyone who isn't yet a member of the server wants to join, now would be a great time :)

Sorry about the delay...

Switching back to the town map has been delayed by a few things..

Firstly, I'd been having quite a bit of fun on the temporary map:

Secondly, I "crashed" my car avoiding creepers (no pic sorry), and it's been weeing everywhere "I wasn't even going that fast" etc.. I've been looking for a new one. Might get this tomorrow :D (I'm going to be needing donations even more badly after this >.< thankfully, insurance and petrol cost will stay the same)

<Picture was here>

Thirdly, bukkit (an admin tool, basically) hasn't been having it's updates properly recorded. There have actually been a few updates, but there was no mention of them on the wiki! And on top of that, there forums have been a bit on and off recently, so a few times when I've had time to, I haven't been able to update everything.

Forthly, I've been trying out new Minecraft texture packs and mods, and have settled with Jolicraft, Wild Grass, Dynamic Lights, and 4x supersampling AA forced on by Nvidia control panel. If anyone else is enjoying the wonders of Wild Grass and wants it on the server, or if anyone needs some help installing any of these mods, then leave a comment and I might help you get it working :)

And finally, I've been pretty ill recently *sad face*.

Anyway, everything important is now fixed, updated or replaced and we should have the town map back up this weekend :D

It seems I'm making progress with my "needs more pretty pictures on the blog" aim :)

Log in problems and update

If you've been having problems logging into the server the last few days there's bad news, It's only going to get worse! But thankfully, it's not my fault at all!

The reason why logging on to Minecraft or the server has been tricky recently is because of Minecraft.net (where you log into) having some issues.

Notch has said: "Minecraft.net is suffering some difficulties at the moment, with the database getting overloaded. We’re working hard on fixing the problem."

So why is it going to get worse?
Well as you all know, every time Minecraft is updated in a big way, it breaks all the posh admin tools. The update should be coming tomorrow. But knowing Notch/Mojang it's going to be at least 2 days late.

Whats in the update? (That hasn't been mentioned here already)
Most importantly, this:

 

Also, betterlight is being made official and may be in this update, if you know what this mod is, then you know how awesome this news is.

The information about this update is rather spread out throughout the mess that is the internet, shall I put more information up when I find it or it gets published?

So whats going to happen to the server when the update is released?
To be brutally honest, I have no idea!
It's highly likely that I'll be creating a new temporary map to play on until the admin tools are updated, at which point, the town will be slapped back onto the server. It would be great fun to do a multiplayer lets-play if we start a new map, if you have a mic and you'd like to be filmed/recorded then leave a comment. Like actually leave one, not just think about leaving one you muppet.

 

19/02/2011 - New Pages

If you haven't already noticed, the blog has been going through a lot of changes. There's now a twitter feed on the right, which contains messages from the server about people logging in/out and dying. It also has notches and my messages on their too. If the server goes down I'll post updates there so everyone knows whats going on. There's lots of new pages under the new banner, you should have a look at the updated rules.

Server Updates:

• IMsoxy has become a Citizen.
• The map has been extended a lot in the last couple of weeks, most recently I expanded it by 100 blocks today. It will not be expanded again - unless we get loads of donations and/or the new save file format takes up a lot less space.
• Half of the regular members went on an awesome "adventure" a couple of days ago, we might make these explorations a regular thing because they are fun :)
• There was a redstone repeater in Seeks and Chowders basement, this caused about 10-20% less FPS for anyone near it. It had a switch, so I just turned it off. Repeaters like this are absolutely fine - but you should turn them off before you leave the server.
• Mumble has been working well. Anyone who doesn't have a microphone, should get one, I'm never going to say you have to have one, it's just nicer than typing.
• I've been switching around bukkit plugins loads in the last week, check the "Server Information" page for the updated list.

13/02/2011 - We has Bukkit

Technical (sorta) Server Updates:

• The server now has 1.5GB or RAM and 3 vCPU cores.
• There are now 10 slots on the server, a larger map, and it restarts less often
• We are now using Bukkit, rather than the outdated hmod.
• The server is using just over 1GB of RAM usually, so it's no longer being limited by the amount of RAM available.

General (more helpful) Server Updates:

• In case you missed it up up there ^ , the map is now way larger, its also round rather than square.
• You can now protect your signs with "/cprivate", just like chests.
• The server now runs on a whitelist, this means that only people I have personally added can join the server, however once they have joined the server, they can build/destroy blocks straight away. If someone new comes on, keep an eye on them! - This is mostly due to complications with Bukkit and plugins.
• Creepers have come back to terrorize the town, they shouldn't damage terrain.
• TNT explosions don't damage terrain, this will be changed back sometime.
• Death notifications are back!
• Fire and water physics are now much better. Fire spreads much quicker and blocks no longer burn forever. Water is much faster to place and get rid of. Some peoples fireplaces/chimneys may be affected by this. I need a couple of people with shops to start selling netherstone.
• I'm going to put up a new list of commands on a page on the blog soon, new ones have been added (some just for councillors), and some have been modified.
• I'm going to change the server rules slightly and put them up on a page here, don't worry there won't be any big changes.
• People are using note-blocks for doorbells and things, it's awesome, maybe you should give it a go :)

Server Updates just for Councillors:

• You can now send/receive "mail" on the server, type "/mail" and you can figure out how to do it. Remember, Citizens can read mail sent to them, but can't respond.
• If you request, you can have any name colour you like, just send mail to me on the server or comment here. Here is the list of possible colours.

*Quick edit: Fixed Whitelist.

12/02/2011 - Updates and Upgrades

Server Updates:

• I still haven't turned creepers on, I will as soon as possible!
• iced_apple has become a Citizen.
• akeller00 became a Citizen, then donated and became Councillor
• Ctrl_Alt_Llama built a large "robot" near the town and has been banned for planning on building more, and having been warned not to build near the town several times.
• I have an awesome new house :) I'll be posting pictures of it on deviantart eventually.
• Remember that if you cut down trees, you have a chance of getting apples, and a very small chance of getting a golden apple! If you've managed to find a golden apple, post a comment here =]
• Thanks to some very generous donations from akeller00 and Anina, I can upgrade the server!
• The server will be upgraded from 768MB, to 1.5GB of RAM, and from 2 to 3 vCPU cores.
• I am going to start switching over to bukkit (a new, better, admin and plugin tool).

 What do these upgrades mean for the server?

• It wouldn't have to restart every 2 hours any more, to keep performance up It may still restart every 12 hours, although the exact figure is undecided.
• The maximum amount of players that can be connected could increase from 6 to 10.
• When several people have logged in and out over a short period of time, it won't go slow anymore.
• I will increase the map slightly, at the moment it is around 800x800 blocks, I'm hoping to increase it to around 1000x1000.
• I might be able to run a VOIP server alongside the Minecraft server, allowing people to shout at each other and pretend to be sheep more hilariously. I tested out mumble on my own computer with Anina and Richy today, and it worked quite well.
• More plugins will work again or be update, most importantly CreeperNerf (so we can have creepers back), LWC (so we can lock doors, dispencers and signs as well as what we can now), death notifications (I think) and probably some others I've forgotten.

 Upcoming Minecraft updates:

• Notch has said: "I’m also half-way through finishing my Advanced Diver course. Expect more underwater content in Minecraft." - This sounds good!
• Wooden and cobble half blocks. - This might complicate things if to make the pavements around town we need to use smoothstone rather than cobble. More info on the wooden variety here.
• New save file format. With the new format, loading is now seven times faster. - This should make server restarts quicker and let me make maps more easily.
• New Minecraft launcher. This is a great communication tool for us (Mojang) as we will be able to give you guys important information directly in the launcher.
• Various bug fixes!- Probably not boats traveling vertically!
• New redstone-related block! More info here. - We might make a music hall with these in :)
• Secret update! Oh, yes. There will be that as well. - No idea what this will be.

Minecraft.net down

After hearing we might need a roll back because *someone* burnt something down (I don't know how bad the damage is yet), I tried to connect to the server but It won't let me. I think it's due to the minecraft.net servers being screwy, I'll try again later this evening.

In other news, Notch has said: "I’m also half-way through finishing my Advanced Diver course. Expect more underwater content in Minecraft." - I'm very excited about this and you should be too :D we might have to have an aquarium or something in the town =]

*Edit*: Minecraft.net seems to be back up now, but I still can't connect to the server, I'll be on as soon as I can.

*Edit again*: There is not going to be a roll-back. Llama your going to have to re-build the cafe the best you can, and then give some resources to Anina if he wants to change anything. If you do this then everything will be fine, however if you don't and something similar happens again you will be banned. You shouldn't have been carrying lava around without a good reason anyway.

*Edit again again* I did a roll-back, sorry to anyone who lost anything. I won't be giving people back stuff that they have lost, and Llama if you do something like this again you'll be banned, it really isn't that hard to not accidentally burn down a building. Oh and minecraft.net is being dodgy again which is why anyone who is trying to connect to the server right at the moment can't

04/02/11 - Major lag fixed

Server Updates:

The server has been lagging a lot in the last day or so, this was mostly caused by chowder7116 and seek129's crazy flashing dance floor and lights. This has now been removed and the lag has gone. If you build stuff with redstone on the server, please make sure it can be turned off easily (nothing switching between on and off).

If any "un-citizenised" people are reading this, they sorry I haven't been on the server much in the last couple of days, I've bee very busy with college work, my job, and I got a shiny new graphics card that I had to play a few games on in the little time that I had spare. I should be on the server quite a lot over the weekend.
(Mirrors edge, FarCry2 and Crysis look awesome on full :D)

Server Map

You can view a map of the server here.

It takes forever to download the map, render it, then upload it again, so I won't be doing this often. Maybe I'll find a better way of doing it actually on the server someday, I'll let you know (obviously) if I do :)

31/01/2011

Server Updates:

• Reserve list is now working properly... and is turned on. If it doesn't work still then something very strange is going on.
• Monsters and animals are now enabled and are spawning everywhere rather than just behind the cafe, be careful at night!
• Creepers have been removed (probably) because CreeperNerf isn't working all the time, I'm trying to figure out whats going on with this.
• Death notifications stopped working and have been disabled, hoping to get this working again soon.
• Dyes are now working.
• The town has been expanded again, over the bridge.
• The currency is now redstone and gold, rather than iron and gold. 64 redstone = 1 gold ingot. This should make things a bit more simple, will (hopefully) make gold a bit less valuable, and will let people sell iron things and actually make "money" off them.

30/01/2011

Server Updates:

• Reserve list is now working properly.
• Monsters are still disabled :(
• Minecraft_Gary and Basjuh1997 have become Citizens.
• Apples being dropped have been fixed so you don't get too many of them.
• There have been a couple of big rollbacks due to people building big things next to the town. Sorry if this affects you, I'll try and spot things sooner next time (hopefully there won't be a next time).
• The public mine has been expanded yet again, and is now 110% more awesome.

Click for fullscreen

27/01/2011

Server Updates:

• Server has been full a lot recently. Councillors are now on a reserve list and can join any time.
• Monsters temporarily disabled due to only spawning behind the cafe. Animals were disabled but have been re-enabled. They only spawn behind cafe. I'm working on these issues.
• The first "non-standard height" bits of the town have been constructed.
• Fenris97, CARL_MARKS, chowder7116, seek129 and thomo1888 have become Citizens.
• Ctrl_Alt_Llama was unbanned, donated, and has become a Councillor (probably only for 1 month).
• When you chop down all the logs from a tree, and the leaves pop off, there is now a 0.2% chance you will receive an apple from a destroyed leaf block. There is also a 0.01% that it will drop a mother ******* golden apple.

General Server Information:

• CARL_MARKS has made a really awesome house, well done you =]
• chowder7116 and seek129 have made a crappy not brilliant looking house (guys could you at least throw some logs or stone or windows in the walls please).
• Anina and richyboyl have been very helpful =] 
• We need loads more obsidian for the TNT testing/arena place.
• I want to extend the mine in the other direction, hopefully I'll do it this weekend and would like some help doing it at the time. Don't start it without me.

General Minecraft stuff: 

• Zero Punctuation review of Minecraft, very funny.
• Luistherich has made a nice video of the server!

25/01/2011

Server Updates:

• We built a new town patch and some nice walls.
• The "sewer" has been "finished".
• We extended the mine lots, see the picture below.
• Half the new mine branches have been used already! Will need to extend more.
• Collection of obsidian for the obsidian area has begun.
• Ctrl_Alt_Llama stole some of my stuff and has been temporarily banned.

Click for fullscreen.

Little Updates

Server Updates:

• LeafDropper plugin has been put back on, it works now.
• What's left of Lanzuis' house = free resources.
• GracefulReboot is actually working now, and restarts the server every 2 hours.
• Anina became councillor.
• Ctrl_Alt_Llama has become a citizen.
• howmanyrupees has become a citizen.

First day up in a long time.

The server had a good day today, having been down for a week or so, it was nice to see the town again!

We had a couple of new people join, and Lanzuis is now permanently banned.

Server Updates:

• The LeafDropper plugin has been removed as it's not working, and normal leaf decay works anyway.
• Updated CreeperNerf so your items don't get blown up anymore.
• Added GracefulReboot, the server now restarts super quickly every 4 hours with a nice message.
• Added some funny new death notifications.

Server Information

General info:

This is a small UK based server looking for a few people to join and help build up a "town" next to the spawn. Instead of helping with the town, you could build your own house(or even castle) on the edge of the map.

Health is enabled. Monsters are enabled. Day/night is enabled even though everyone dislikes it. Animals are enabled. PVP is currently disabled, but may be turned on if people request it. The server has 10 slots and the map has a reasonably large border. The actual server is based in France but many players throughout Europe and USA have been on with little to no lag.

To join the server, you need to send me a PM on the Minecraft forums or send an email to burntcustard@gmail.com which includes your: age, location, and what you want to do on the server.

When you join the server, please do not build until given somewhere to call your own by a Councillor or burntcustard(myself). This is to try and stop people building random castles etc. next to the town (sorry Moo and aedyn).

Plugins:
- BombBeGone - To stop creeper explosions.
- Essentials - For commands, MOTD etc.
- HeroicDeath - For funny death messages.
- rBorder - To limit the size of the map.
- LWC - So people can't steal stuff out of your chests.
- Permissions - for groups.
- TreeHugger - so leaves pop off and have a chance of dropping apples.

Things that are encouraged:
- Being social.
- Trading items with people. "Official" currency is iron/gold, but if it's a one off it doesn't matter what you trade.
- Giving people free stuff to help them.
- Making "shops" - preferably next to other shops, ask me if you want to run one.
- Using the community mine (pictured above).
- Helping with community projects, like expanding the town.
- Trying to keep the scenery looking un-touched.
- Putting up with me being incredibly bossy.
- Filling peoples houses with chickens (not blocks or lava, you'd get banned for that).
- Going "OMGWTFLOL!" when you see a group of creepers on top of the pub.

Rules:
- You can only build somewhere "approved" by me or an admin. I know this is annoying but I want to keep things organized/pretty!
- Replant trees if you cut a lot down.
- Only take sand from "deserts", not "beaches" that are connected to the sea. If your not sure if it's a beach or desert then find somewhere more obviously a desert. There are a couple of huge deserts far away from the town.
- You [b]cannot[/b] make a mine in your house. Use the community mine or make one near the edge of the map.
- No 1x1 towers, or anything else that looks unrealistic. You may be asked to take something down if it's awful.
- Swearing, racism, and general "nasty" things are allowed unless someone asks you to stop. You will be kicked first time, banned second.
- If you die and someone picks up your stuff, it is their choice if they keep it or give it back to you.
- If you go cave exploring, try to only take ores your really need. If you get really deep, leave a chest with as many goodies as possible in down there, this will make cave exploring more fun for other people - and help make up for the fact you took all the diamonds/gold.
- You can build in caves, but that does not make the whole cave "yours". Please do not block off caves so other people can't find them.
- Don't get lost! If your going away from the town, maybe you should make a compass first (I'll even give you a free piece of redstone!)
- No using TNT without asking if its okay first!
- You must read and follow the rules of the public mine