Eagleworld.net Minecraft Blog More Minecraft than ever before!

18Jun/130

Partial Server Outage

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

So we had a storm here in Northern New Jersey, and it has managed to damage my Internet connection.  The circuit, while stable and still with very low latency, is now showing 20% packet loss both upstream and downstream.  In other words, 1 out of every 5 packets sent to or from the server doesn't arrive.  As you can imagine, that's bad for gaming.

The good news is you can connect and play, but it might take a couple of tries to connect, and you might experience lag, and might get disconnected.  However, the circuit should be repaired tomorrow between 12PM-8PM EDT.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post at this thread on the forums devoted to the outage.

Sorry for the inconvenience, folks.  I did all I could do tonight!

5Jun/130

OS Upgrade Downtime and Promotions!

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

Just two quick notes:

First off, I had to take down Delorean today to upgraded to the latest version of Debian Linux.  Debian updated about 1 month ago from version 6.0 ("Squeeze") to 7.0 ("Wheezy").  As such, it is high time that Delorean followed suit and got an upgrade to the latest and greatest.

The downtime was about two hours, from 4PM-6PM EDT.  While the upgrade took place while the system was live, the reboot took a very long time due to the fact that Delorean hasn't been rebooted for about 220 days.  As such, it took some time to scan all the disks to ensure there were no errors or other issues.

The upgrade is now complete, though, which should help the system run smoother, especially as most of its web services (phpBB, WordPress, Apache Web Server, etc.) have gotten a long overdue upgrade.

Promotions

And now, time for promotions and new user announcements!

  • EG_SpaceNinJA has decided to step down as Moderator, and has such been given the venerable Veteran rank
  • pfleegore has been promoted as our first new VIP, for his extended help during the server setup
  • WayneTheGoblin, my friend in-real-life, has joined and been given the rank of Master
  • ZackBlaze164 has earned the rank of Master
  • Revith has recently joined and been granted the rank of Apprentice so far

Congratulations to everyone!

3Jun/130

The new Minecraft Server is live!

Posted by EagleRock

Well, after enough testing and hard work, the server is finally ready to go!  As is custom, here is some random rock song to kick off the event:

I figure "TNT" couldn't be a more appropriate song for Minecraft, actually...

Anyway, Please feel free to join and play on the new Survival Server!  The hostname is the same as always, delorean.eagleworld.net with the default port (25565).  Note that the Tekkit Server is still down for now as I am currently doing a lot of stuff and need the extra horsepower on Delorean.

If you are looking for what to do, here's a cheat-sheet for different types of members:

If you have played on the Tekkit Server

Your membership is considered current.  You can instantly start to play, no initiation required.  Here is how the ranks convert from the Tekkit Ranks to the new ranks:

Veterans will stay as Veterans on the new server.

Alchemist and Engineer will become Master Rank on the new server.

All other ranks will become Artisan Rank on the new server.  If you played at all on the Tekkit Server, you are considered fully trusted and will enjoy the benefits of it!

If you have played on the older Survival Server

Your membership is considered inactive.  You will be able to play and will retain your old rank, but must first go through the new initiation process, which is detailed here.

Once you complete your initiation, though, you will immediately retain your old rank.  Ranks convert from the old server to the new as follows:

VIP will become Master Rank on the new server (they are equivalents in abilities).

Artisan, Architect, and Builder will stay the same rank.

If you were banned from Eagleworld

You now have a chance to appeal your ban!  Head to the Ban Appeals section of the Eagleworld Minecraft Forums, sign up for an account, and follow the sticky there to complete your application.  We would like to give people a chance to make amends and have another chance to play on Eagleworld, so please feel free to submit an appeal, which the staff will carefully consider.  Please take your time with your appeal, though, as you only get one shot!

Stuff that isn't ready

While the Survival Server (Aquilia) is ready-to-go, I am not quite ready with some other aspects of the server.  Here are a few things I didn't finish yet, so keep patient with those and we'll get those going ASAP:

  • The Global Shop (The plugin works, but I am still building the stores themselves)
  • The Donation Page (I will get this going soon for those of you that want donation perks)
  • All of the Blog pages (I will update everything with hints, staff members, and all that fun stuff)
  • The Tekkit Server is offline for now until I am done with the server heavy-lifting
Give me a bit of time and we'll get everything going quickly.  Thanks!

 

30May/131

Aquilia and Technia Temporarily Down

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

Just a quick update on the progress.  We are almost ready to go live!  I am presently generating the production map (which takes lots of time), which will minimize lag when people join and start playing.  Once I get a basic map ready, after a few simple checks from the staff, we will be ready to start playing!

As result, I've had to take down the Tekkit server (Technia) and lock down Aquilia (Survival Server) to allow Delorean to chug out the map.  I expect this to take the rest of the day and evening, so I do not know if we can finish up tonight, but I assure you we're going to be playing very soon!

14May/131

Survival Server is Almost Done!

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

Well, thanks to the hard-working staff and other members who have donated their time and effort to getting the Survival Server working, we are just about done with the server build!  At this point, I am prepping the website and the forums to handle an influx of new members, and all of the testing is pretty much done!

What's left to do at this point is really playtest the server, and I plan on doing that when the server is live.  However, I am going to be leaving on Wednesday for a wedding and won't be back until Monday, so I am going to have to minimize my work on the server during that time.  Thankfully, I should still get all the stupid documentation done in the meantime.

I am planning for a rollout next week, hopefully as soon as possible.  In the meantime, I invite all members to screw around on the test map for now.  Everything will get wiped before we go live, and I will make sure everyone knows when we are on the production map.

So, while we aren't quite ready for rollout, your hard work is done!  Just enjoy getting used to mcMMO and the new plugins, and let me know if you find any other issue as you go along.

Thanks again to everyone, and I hope everyone is looking forward to the rollout next week!  I sure am!

2May/134

The Survival Server is happening!

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

The more astute members of Eagleworld have already noticed that I've done a ton of work in getting the new Survival server up and running.  I have a test server running on a beta build of Craftbukkit, and a ton of the configs are done.  However, there is a ridiculous amount of work left to do.

New Forums

First off, if you have not signed up for the forums yet at minecraft.eagleworld.net/forums, please do so! There is a TON of information about what will happen on the server once it is redone.  In particular, the Suggestion Box currently has a ton of threads showing just what will change in Eagleworld once we are ready.  When you sign up, I will need to approve you, but I am checking a few times a day to approve any members that want to get involved.

Survival Server Testing

Right now, the test Survival Server is running, and I need members to test it out.  Any former member of Eagleworld (that wasn't banned...) can help out, as there is plenty of stuff that doesn't require mod or admin rights to do!  Here are the links you need:

Make a post here to get whitelisted: Test Survival Server Whitelisting

Check the TODO for what needs to be done: Master 1.5 Survival Server TODO List

Thanks!  The more people that get involved, the faster the server will be ready!

5Feb/135

New forums are live, and a new server soon!

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone!

So, I've been working my butt off the past few days, and I think there's plenty to show for it so far.  I've overhauled the web server on Delorean, getting rid of the messy port 8000 stuff, preparing for the forums, and preparing for more things in the future, such as multiple Dynmaps, and other possible features in the future.

New Forums are Live!

I'm happy to say the forums are just about complete!  While there are tweaks to be made here and there, I think we are ready to go:

http://minecraft.eagleworld.net/forums

Please head over there and sign up.  I'll active your accounts and give you full access right away.

New Server On Its Way...Need Ideas!

The other great news is that since the forums are pretty much complete, I can start work on the new server!  I have some ideas that I've compiled already from all of the suggestions I've received thus far, but it's too much to put in a blog post.  So, I've compiled them all in the Suggestion Box Forum on the new forums.  I encourage everyone to register on the forums, vote on my ideas, comment on them, and submit your own threads for discussion as well!

Like I've said before, this is your server too, and I want everyone to enjoy it.  So, I'm open for ideas.  The ideas I've compiled so far are an amalgamation from your feedback so far, but they are by no means concrete.  So, I want your ideas on how to make Eagleworld better!

Anyway, I'm going to keep tweaking the forums as they need it (e.g. I didn't put up a logo picture yet), but I'm also going to be working on the new server.  Please please please post your feedback on the forums, and let's work on this together!

1Feb/130

Good news…

Posted by EagleRock

I'm happy to say that the website has been completely cleaned up and I have laid all the groundwork for the minecraft site to have its own forums!  I am working really hard on the server so I hope I have stuff for you soon!  I still want your ideas for the server, so please please please make comments and tell me what it is YOU want from Eagleworld! If you need info on what I need, please check the last post for all the details.

Anyway, as I work my ass off on getting the forums ready, I welcome your input, and I hope to have a forum update for you soon!

EDIT: We have a forum ready to go...I just need to configure it.  It's going to be at minecraft.eagleworld.net/forums.  While I won't allow registrations until it's ready, you can at least see the progress!

31Jan/1313

Migrating to Tekkit Lite…Suggestions Wanted!

Posted by EagleRock

Okay, folks, I kinda opened up a Pandora's Box when I made my last post.  Going from "Tekkit Classic" (as the old Tekkit is now known) to "Tekkit Lite" (the latest version) was basically going to be an evolutionary change, with nothing really crazy going on.  In other words, it'd be as simple as updating the old server from one version of Minecraft to the other.  Most of the stuff would work as expected, with some slight changes here and there.

However, a lot of people seem to indicate they want change.  So, I want to know what you as the members of Eagleworld want.  Please give me all the input you want.  I'm gonna throw out some ideas in this post, and I'd like  you to comment on it.  Note that my original plan for Eagleworld was going to be the following:

  1. Move from Tekkit Classic to Tekkit Lite
  2. Update the Bukkit plugins we use now or substitute any outdated ones
  3. Keep pretty much everything as it is, except allow all the new stuff
  4. Everything would be as it was before, just shinier and newer

However, here are some ideas I heard (and I thought of), and I want to know what you people want to do:

A Fresh Start

Some people want a new server completely...again.  Maybe it's to refresh ore and introduce the new stuff, but maybe it's for other reasons.  I know some of you have put some time into the new structures we have on the server (like the towers in Capitol City or ljdarten's settlement), but it seems like we'd lose a lot by killing off all the new stuff and starting totally fresh again.   Anyway, I want to hear why you are for or against this.

A (Sorta) Fresh Start

One thing I think people are complaining about was the whole Equivalent Exchange exploitation that was going on.  Some people don't like that some people are so far ahead from using EE while others have comparatively nothing.  I can understand this.  The same people hate the idea of losing their structures, too.  I can understand this as well.  Maybe we kill off all the chests and player items, so that people only have the equipment they have build and structures they made?  Give me some ideas, folks.  I'd appreciate them.

New, New Rules

Obviously I cleaned up the rules we were using in the past, which got very crazy and relatively stupid.  I have streamlined the rules to make them simple and common-sense.  Melany mentioned a fresh start with "new new rules."  So I ask you, the members of Eagleworld: what new rules does Eagleworld need, and why?  There are no wrong answers, folks.  I really want to know what you think.

To Tekkit, or not to Tekkit?

Maybe some of you are just bored of Tekkit?  I know some of you love the complex machines and factories you can make (I'm looking at you, Chris).  Others seem to be apprehensive.  Maybe we should go back to an "enhanced Vanilla Minecraft" like we had before.  Let me know what you people think.

TownyMod, do we need it?

Another thing that has been missing since Eagleworld went to Tekkit are towns.  Granted, I was getting a bit crazy with the town idea, but maybe it should be reintroduced in some way?  Not a required thing like on the second map we had, but as an optional thing, to give people who band together to make a town extra benefits (like monster protection and all that crap).  Many people thought Towny was more trouble than it was worth, but I want your opinions.

Some Form of Advertising

This is obviously something we need to do to keep Eagleworld alive.  We need new blood.  MCServerList served its purpose pretty well, but it introduced a lot of chaff with the wheat, so to speak.  Anyway, let me know what forms of advertising we should take.  Obviously I want to do it once Eagleworld is situated again, but I'd appreciate ideas.  My idea was a Minecraft Forums post for advertisement, but maybe there are other, better ways for this?

New Recruitment Procedures, and a Whitelist?

Maybe I should change how people are recruited, too...should I make Eagleworld a whitelisted server where people have to request to join?  At first I disliked this idea because I figured more people actually joining the server would encourage membership, but does it attract the right people?  Whitelisted servers seem to give off the air of a more mature group of players, which is obviously what we want.  Ideas?

More Features, and maybe a Forum

Maybe there are other in-game features we need.  Let me know what they are.  I'm thinking maybe an Eagleworld Minecraft Forum is in place here to encourage players to chat about together and to handle membership applications.  I'm really trying to figure out the best way to do this folks, so please give me your ideas.

Please Comment!

I really need your help on this one, folks.  I can tell people want more out of this server, but I don't know what to do.  I need your voices to let me know the direction to take.  I feel like maybe going to Tekkit was doing good, but missed the mark somewhat.  So be completely critical of Eagleworld...tell me what sucks about it, and what you'd do to fix it.  Together we can make it a better place!

25Sep/1214

More EE Restrictions and Backup Changes

Posted by EagleRock

Hey, everyone.. I have two new topics to talk about today:

More Equivalent Exchange Restrictions

Well, we're not out of the woods yet, folks.  Apparently, even my own moderators can't resist the urge to kill the server economy with Energy Condensers.  I figured I could trust them to exercise judgment in using them, and being reasonable with how much EMC they generate.  Unfortunately, I was very wrong. Therefore, Energy Collectors are now banned to everyone except Admins. Even then, Admins are not allowed to use them except for specific server-wise purposes. Any admin I catch giving out shit-tons of items with collectors will be de-opped immediately.  I am seriously attempting to create a server economy again, and everyone is making it exceedingly difficult, because of the massive greed on the server.  I am seriously considering resetting the server, just because the damage seems completely irreparable at this point.

I'm going to attempt to do some kind of cleanup on all of the items and EMC people generated with collectors, but something tells me it's going to be exceedingly difficult.  I really don't want to force everyone to start over, so if you want to keep going with the map as-is, I'm going to need everyone to clean up their acts immediately.

It is vehemently disheartening to me that even the people I trust the most must find exploits on this server and use them to the fullest extent.  It is actions like this that destroy the fun of the server for everyone.  Doing this is delaying me from rolling out the economy even more, because now I have even more items to clean up.  I'm unwilling to give people the ability to generate Talons and sell items until I know that massive item generation is no longer rampant and that the stockpiles of EMC/items are gone.  Again, I assumed people could exercise some restraint, but obviously I can't just trust people...I have to strongarm these exploits, police the server, and evaluate literally thousands of items to figure out what people are going to exploit and what people are not.

I was hoping the latest rollout of the server would be less of a time hog to maintain...unfortunately was I ever wrong.  I had to spend literally hours scouring through the thousands of Tekkit items and restricting access item-by-item again.  If you're sitting there wondering why I haven't pushed out the economy yet, or why I haven't updated any of the plugins...that's the reason.  I spend most of my administration time closing loopholes that people just cannot resist exploiting to the fullest.  If you're waiting impatiently for the server economy to come around, do me a favor and thank everyone exploiting Equivalent Exchange for making the new economy a target forever moving farther away.

So now, here is the new EE item access from Alchemist up:

Alchemists: access to Anti-Matter Relays and Energy Condensers for automation.  You can charge up your klein stars using legitimate items and power your machinery with the stars.

Veterans: access to Red Matter Tools.

Moderators: access to the more powerful gems and rings, but not the Harvest Goddess Band.

Administrators: access is the same as before.

I really hate doing this, folks.  You know my policy is to keep things as open as possible.  Unfortunately, I am finding the concept of an open server to be utopian, never to be reached, no matter who I'm dealing with.  I'm just bracing myself to find the next exploit I have to restrict and clean up after.

Backup Changes

Despite working my ass off on the server permissions, I had some time to rewrite and refresh the backup scripts I use on the server.  I had to fix the script due to a bug that came up from updating Debian.  Turns out the server wasn't saving everything properly until I logged on the console screen after the restart.  As result, the Nether wasn't getting backed up at all, and several hours of backups were corrupt.  In the process of fixing the script, I took the time to perform a few optimizations as well.

My biggest concern with the script (besides it always working) is eliminating the lag that happens due to the massive file copy.  Eagleworld's map is about half a gig large (and growing), so it's not quick to copy, even on solid-state.  As the server veterans will remember, back in the day, the lag would last anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes long every hour. I managed to do a few optimizations back then to get the lag time down to under 15 seconds per backup.

With my latest optimizations, however, I managed to get the time the server actually lags down to under one second. This basically makes the user impact of the backups negligible.  Also, I am now backing up the nether again daily, so anything going on in there will be protected.  Just remember, though, I don't guarantee any stuff you build in the nether will stick around.

Oh yeah, I also changed how it alerts the users of the backup, so it's a bit more streamlined.  I use broadcast now, so you can tell when it's me talking or the backup script.  Hopefully this makes the hourly backup a bit easier to stomach!