So yeah…
EDIT: I realize I was ambiguous in my post, but Tekkit Lite is an evolutionary progression from Tekkit Classic, so all of the stuff we got used to and our current map should work. I can't guarantee 100%, but I can say about 95% certain that we can keep the map, and that maybe only a small portion of the items (if any) might not work. Just give me time to work it all out though 
Hey, everyone!
So yeah...
If you are anything like me, you have been getting SNS Syndrome* over the new stuff in Minecraft that's come out since the build used in Tekkit. Well, I hate to say it, but I was getting ridiculously impatient! I've even been checking week-by-week for updates, but nothing that gets us new crap (just bug updates).
Then I come across something called "Voltz" that they're putting out. It's basically the "next version" of Tekkit that has a whole different set of plugins that work off of a common electricity standard. However, that would mean we have to start from scratch completely with a new map and everything...not an enticing option.
Just as I was abandoning hope and was ready to back to vanilla + Bukkit, I found out about Tekkit Lite today. I initially thought it was a pared down version with less plugins, etc, but it turns out it is the next version of Tekkit! The "lite" part is that it does not rely on Bukkit in order to work. Good news is I think it will work with all the stuff we are used to.
So, it will take me some effort to port this over, but I believe we can have all of the Tekkit plugins we were used to, combined with our Bukkit plugins (such as grief protection, etc.), AND have the latest Minecraft build! So, I didn't forget you people...I want to get on the latest-and-greatest, and will get it out as soon as I can. In the meantime, the "Tekkit Classic" server is working, and should be available for your use. If you're having problems, let me know and I'll help you out! Have fun!
*SNS Syndrome: A serious disorder. Read about it here.
More EE Restrictions and Backup Changes
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!
New Server Ranks, EE Finalization, Mods and Admins
Hey, everyone!
So, I was up late last night figuring all of this out, and I think I came to something that everyone can hopefully be happy with. I almost banned EE completely, so I think this is a good alternative. It also gives everyone incentive to rank up! So, without further ado, here are the new server ranks and their benefits:
The New Eagleworld Server Ranks
NOTE: the player salaries are the ones you will receive when the economy is set up.
Apprentice
- The replacement for Builder
- A limited rank for people first joining the server
- Has access to the same basic Essentials commands
- Can set a home
- No access to the Nether
- No access to griefing tools (flint and steel, TNT, etc.)
- Full access to all Tekkit plugins, except for EE, Quarries, and banned items (e.g. Nukes)
- Monthly Salary: 25,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 3 diamonds)
Journeyman
- The replacement for Architect
- A rank for players that have passed the trial membership status as Apprentice
- Has all abilities of the Apprentice, including the following:
- Has the ability to use teleportation to players (/tpa and /tpahere)
- Can set two homes
- Allowed to go to the Nether
- Ability to use Covalence Dust, Divining Rods, Talismans of Repair, and Alchemical Chests
- Monthly Salary: 50,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 6 diamonds)
Technician
- The replacement for Artisan
- A rank for players who have proven themselves trustworthy players
- Has all abilities of the Journeyman, including the following:
- Allowed to go to The End
- Can set three homes
- Will keep experience upon death
- Allowed to use vanilla destructive items (TNT, flint and steel, etc.)
- Ability to use Transmutation Tablets, Philosopher's Stones, Alchemy Bags, and Klein Stars Ein, Zwei, and Drei
- Now has access to EE fuels, materials, and armors (except for Gem Armor)
- Monthly Salary: 75,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 9 diamonds)
Engineer
- The replacement for VIP
- A rank for long-standing members who have shown to be extremely trustworthy
- Has all abilities of the Technician, including the following:
- Can join the server even if it is full
- Can use /hat, /ext, /heal, and full teleportation powers (/tp and /tphere)
- Can set five homes, and can teleport to other players' homes
- Allowed to use Quarries, Turtles, and Tesla Coils
- Ability to use Handheld Transmutation Tablets, Gems of Eternal Density, Black Hole Bands, Swiftwolf's Rending Gale, and Klein Stars Vier and Sphere
- Monthly Salary: 100,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 12 diamonds)
Alchemist
- A new rank above Engineer/Former VIP
- A rank only for players I can trust not to wreck the economy with EE
- Has all abilities of the Engineer, including the following:
- Can set eight homes
- Ability to use Energy Collectors (MKI), Klein Star Omegas, Void Rings, and Dark Matter Tools
- Monthly Salary: 100,000 Talons (no need for a raise with those collectors!)
Veteran
- A special rank ONLY for former Mods/Admins
- Has all abilities of the Alchemist, including the following:
- Can use twelve homes
- Can use /jump, /top, /god, /nick, /tppos. /tpo, and /tpohere
- Ability to use Energy Condensers
- Monthly Salary: 150,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 18 diamonds)
Moderator
- Member who has been asked to assist in running the server
- Has the responsibility of helping new members and dealing with server issues
- Screens new members for eligibility to join
- Full powers to kick, ban, mute, jail, and otherwise manage players
- Ability to fully manage players' chests and inventories
- Full teleportaion powers
- God mode ability (invincibility)
- Abilities to see what other players are doing via alerts and CoreProtect
- Gets to choose the color of their username in chat
- Allowed to use the entire EE plugin
- Monthly Salary: 200,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 24 diamonds)
Administrator
- Full administrator of the server
- Operator Status for the Minecraft Server itself
- Full administration ability over all mods (EssentialEco, etc.)
- Permission to approve new members to the server
- Gets a custom title in front of their username in chat
- Can set unlimited home locations
- Monthly Salary: 500,000 Talons (roughly equivalent to 60 diamonds)
My rank stays the same, basically. I do everything, and don't give myself a salary.
A bit about Mods and Admins
You might have noticed the Veteran Rank for former mods and admins, that's because I am going to prune out the moderators and administrators that don't play on the server anymore, to make way for new members to have a chance to do so. After all, after about 2 years of gameplay, most people don't have time to play anymore. So, I've given them a special rank just for them, but now have room for more Mods and Admins that can assist on the server when I am not around. I will be going over this soon, so stay posted!
Promotions Soon
A lot of you have been asking what EE items you are allowed to use. You can refer to this above based on your current rank, but I am planning on doing promotions this weekend, so you may not need to dump as much as you think you need to . In the meantime, feel free to use what you can, but don't incinerate the rest just yet!
I appreciate everyone's understanding and patience with all of these changes, but I feel it's important to nip all of the issues in the bud, especially before the server economy rolls out. Otherwise, you know some people will have ridiculous wealth, while others have basically nothing. I'm trying to prevent that and not let someone who managed to use exploits (basically, all of EE) to turn the economy to the haves and have nots.
I'll keep posting and give you all more updates soon!
New Policies, Restrictions and Additions
EDIT 2: I am done reconfiguring the groups and the EE access. I will provide a detailed update tomorrow morning about all of the changes, but I'm too tired to do it tonight, considering it's almost 5AM here. Expect a nice detailed post tomorrow morning detailing everything. Good night!
EDIT: I am performing major changes to what blocks are allowed and restricted right now. Please not do complain about missing items. I will provide updates later on what is going on and why.
Okay, folks...things are getting out of hand.
It's quite obvious that Equivalent Exchange is way too overpowered. It is basically Creative Mode on a 2-day delay. It completely kills any aspect of item generation from the game. The powers that the items can give are also way too overpowered. Even in good hands it causes great amounts of damage to the server. So, a massive restriction is being done.
Items Being Banned from Equivalent Exchange
I'm now banning all of the following items in EE effective immediately:
- Any and all destruction items (this includes Novas, Catalysts, and everything remotely similar)
- Disruptive items like Mercurial Eyes, Lenses, Watch of Time, etc.
- Gem Armor
- ALL rings (with the exception of Swiftwolf's Rending Gale)
- Antimatter Relays
- Energy Condensers
The last two items are being banned, because you can generate way too much energy in a ridiculously short amount of time. I am going to continue to allow Energy Collectors, so that you have some methods of generating free EMC. However, you must use Klein Stars to transmit power to your Transmutation Table. No free mass-generation of items anymore. You CAN, however, with manual labor, still create plenty of EMC for use.
Depending on how much ramp that still allows, Energy Collectors might be banned as well. It produces way too much power in very short time, and basically lets you play creative mode whenever you want. This completely takes away from the gameplay.
What's still allowed in EE:
- Energy Collectors (as above...you can still charge your klein stars and have some free items)
- Divining Rods
- Item Repairing
- Alchemical Chests/Bags
- Furnaces (Dark and Red Matter)
- All Stones
- Swiftwolf's Rending Gale
- Pedestals (to work with the stones)
- All Dark and Red Matter Tools
- All Dark and Red Matter Armor (Except Gem Armor)
- Klein Stars
Cleaning Up Banned Items
All of the items that are banned will need to be incinerated. Also, to regain the balance of the game, I am going to be killing items that people have made using the incredible ramp of EE. You know who you are. If you have a warehouse of MKIII's going into chests full of diamonds, expect to lose some of your items. This is the ONLY way I am going to stop short of a complete server reset. Otherwise, any form of a server economy is completely broken.
You can elect to purge your own banned items and excessively spawned items if you wish. If you do so, I'll probably be more lenient on what you get to keep. Also, I am NOT removing people's structures (except for the banned items). I'll handle everyone's items on a case-by-case basis.
Quarries
I know that as soon as this gets taken into effect, quarries will be popping up everyone. This is another item that must be addressed. Quarries are very destructive to a server map. Using a quarry on the surface is ridiculously irresponsible and destroys the server. So, if you want to use a quarry, it is best to do so below the surface. Also, it is best to fill in your quarry when you're done by using a Filler. Simple dirt or stone is perfectly fine. Quarries in active use are okay to be on the map, but when you are done, fill in the area. Better yet, use the IndustrialCraft Miner, which does not destroy the landscape. Instead, it simply pulls the ore out of the ground without getting all the dirt.
So, it is easy to be responsible with quarries. Please ensure you do so from now on. Using quarries irresponsibly will now be considered map griefing, and is subject to the griefing policy.
Economy
Since items will be more restricted from now on, the economy will probably be in much higher demand. As such, I will work to push out the economy in shorter time. I will allow Talons per month as I did before, and I will also allow accounts to generate interest to act as a boost to your items. I will create a central bank that trades the core items (ores, redstone, etc). in exchange for talons. The exchange rate back and forth between the bank will only make you incur small charges for depositing/withdrawing.
LWC Additions
Now for some good news...I've finally added additional protections for the new chests in LWC! That includes all of the special chest mods (e.g. Iron Chests, Diamond Chests, Crystal Chests, etc.), and your Alchemical Chests. You can also now protect all of your advanced appliances from IndustrialCraft and BuildCraft! I'm going to want feedback on this, folks. All of your stuff will default to private. If you think it should not be, please let me know. Also, if you want to protect your stuff that you already placed, you can pick it up and place it down again, or use /cprivate (to make a private chest/machine) or /cpublic (for a public machine).
Conclusion
I'll be working with everyone over the next couple of days to ensure everyone gets to a reasonable level and we can move forward. Note that ALL other plugins are still 100% allowed (except for IC2 Nukes). I still want everyone to have fun, but I also want the game to be somewhat fair and not just creative mode...thanks to everyone for their understanding!
Completed Spawn, New Reactor, More Plans!
Hey, everyone!
It's been just over two weeks since we went live with Tekkit, and I'm very happy to say that everything has been going well so far. We have had a few small hiccups, but no dealbreakers. I just wanted to give some updates on my plans for Eagleworld going forward, just to answer some of the questions/concerns that you might have.
Before I get into it, though, I'd like to just take a second to note that today is September 11th. I'm typing this from Jersey City, just across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center, and yes, it's rather somber over here. We had a minute of silence here at 9:25AM, so I'd suggest to take a moment to remember the lives lost that day.
Tekkit Plugin Plans
So far, I'm rather glad with how everything is going. I had major concerns about the viability of running a multiplayer server with some of the plugins (most notably, Equivalent Exchange and Dimensional Anchors), but so far, I see no need to disable any of the plugins as yet. The only item I've banned so far are Nukes (there's no need for for it), and I don't believe I will ban any other items for now. As long as people play nice like they have been already, we can keep as much of Tekkit open to the players as possible.
Only one thing I request from everyone: please be careful with Equivalent Exchange. EE gives players OP-like abilities with some of the items. While I'd like to let people be able to earn these powers and have fun, use them wisely. I've had the server crash once or twice and even had to do a rollback related to EE. I will have to disable EE if it becomes a constant problem with the server, and I'd rather not do that. So, if everyone is a bit responsible, we can all have more fun!
Server Map Progress
As most players know already, I've created a nice spawn tower known as the Petros Tower. New players will spawn on top of it and get a good view of Capitol City. As they spiral down the stairs, they will get acquainted with the rules and policies, and will be given good tour spots and the like. New players like to judge a server by its spawn, so I tried to make it a damn good one.
I have also completed the Eagle Point nuclear reactor located in the industrial district of Capitol City. Eagle Point will provide free power to all citizens of Capitol City in their structures. Everyone will get a LV Transformer to themselves, meaning every player will get a 32EU/tick feed (640EU/second). You are free to do with it as you like, as long as you only use your allocated 32EU/tick.
Eagle Point can output as much as 2048EU/tick across the power infrastructure, meaning it can support 64 users at a time running power non-stop. So, there's plenty of power to go around. Note this isn't meant to fulfill all of your power needs...just get you started or augment your primary power sources.
On another note, I'm still laying out a lot of the city's structure so far. I haven't really started with highways yet (there's nothing to go to out there....let's get working on some other towns, folks!). The residential district is starting to flesh out nicely, and there is plenty more room left. If you want to build in the city, just let me know what you want to build (residence, factory, office building, etc.), and I'll show you where it goes. I can either point out an available plot to you, or make new ones if needed.
Economy Updates
Especially with Equivalent Exchange enabled, a server economy seems largely irrelevant on the server, but I would like one...eventually. For now, I'm not actively preparing an economy plugin. However, my plans are simple, and augment EE very well.
Item prices should now correlate to the EMC value of the item. If an item does not have an EMC value, players can barter for the price. If you want to upcharge or downcharge on the EMC value, that's all up to the trade per player. I like the look of BOSEconomy, and will probably implement that. I'll let player save their talons in a national bank, which will gain interest. Trading with the bank will be done via ChestShops in a bank in Capitol City. Trading will be done via core commodities (diamond, iron, gold, redstone, etc.). Everything else can be made via Equivalent Exchange.
Simple enough, right?
Player Rank Updates
Due to Tekkit providing so much power to the players, a lot of the old perks from pre-Tekkit Eagleworld don't really apply much anymore. So, I'm giving considerations to change around the perks for higher-ranked players. One thing I would like to do, for example, is let higher-ranked players use more dimensional anchors. However, getting that to work with the GroupManager plugin might be tricky. I'll be considering these over the upcoming days and try to make things a bit more interesting for everybody. As always, I'm glad to listen to suggestions you might have.
New Blood
I've heard players clamoring that the server needs new blood. While I would be inclined to agree, ensuring that we get nothing but good players on Eagleworld becomes even more essential due to the powers of Tekkit. The griefing potential is very high, so a great amount of trust is required from prospective members. As such, I highly recommend referrals. I'll consider advertising on certain sites in the near future (such as Minecraft Forums of the Tekkit site), but only after things are a bit more settled down, and once I have the change to explore more ways to lock down plugins to newer members. I'll figure something out, though.
Bugs/Problems
One last thing: if something goes wrong on the server, it's important to let me know. We're still ironing out kinks, so if the server crashes or something, I'm not on it 24/7. A blog comment, tweet, e-mail, whatever will do. Just let me know and I can look into it. And in the meantime, have fun!
Eagleworld is now on Tekkit.
It's about time, right? The whitelist is off, the server is updated, time to par-tay!
I'm going to keep this post as short as possible, so we can all get to playing:
Here's the mods I went with:
- Tekkit (ALL mods enabled!)
- Essentials (for all the warps and stuff we're used to)
- LWC (protect your chests)
- CoreProtect (rollbacks and anti-griefing)
- Dynmap (yes, we still have Dynmap! and this time, no chat spamming!)
- EssentialsEco (not yet configured, but it's installed)
- ChestShops (coming soon!)
Updates to the Rules/Policies
- The rules are chopped down and simplified
- The policies of the server are DRASTICALLY reduced and relaxed in the interest of fun
- Server ranks still offer prestige and status, but now most features are available, even to Builders
- There are no longer restriction on only building in towns, and TownyMod is no longer around. We can do towns on our own without the plugin!
Changes to the Server Economy
- iConomy is substituted for the more stable and updated EssentialsEco
- Annoying commands are gone, in favor of ChestShops
- The Global Shop no longer trades everything in favor of Equivalent Exchange
- There will be a National Bank in Capitol City that trades metals, gems, etc.
- Trading with the National Bank will only give you a slight penalty in value as opposed to before
- Your Talons (basically your bank account) will now generate interest!
- The economy plugins are NOT SET UP YET, but will be soon once the server is in full swing!
What you need to do to join:
- Download and run the Technic Launcher at www.technicpack.net
- Select "Tekkit" from the drop down, log in, and connect to the server at delorean.eagleworld.net
- Get re-added by an admin (I will be on as much as I can, at least on the console)
- Find a place to build (preferably away from spawn, as Capitol City will go there)
- Use "/dynmap webregister" if you wish to be able to use the dynamic map
- Have FUN! There is a lot to do with Tekkit, so enjoy!
Latest Tekkit trial updates
Hey, everyone!
Just another quick update to keep everyone in the loop. I've been working on the server the last few days, trying out the various mods and plugins that are part of the Tekkit mod. So far, I really like what I see. I think this adds so much to the game that it really can't be ignored at this point. So far, reception has been extremely positive. However, I still need people to help test! The map we're using right now is not going to be saved, so there is no harm in playing around with the mods and seeing what's good and what is not. If you want to join and have not been whitelisted yet, all you have to do is ask me! You can do it however you like (AIM, Twitter, Facebook, a blog comment, etc.).
Latest Decisions
So I've decided what plugins we were used to have been staying/going so far:
Installed Plugins
- Tekkit Mod Bundle (includes IndustrialCraft, BuildCraft, ComputerCraft, RedPower, and more)
- Esssentials (for warps, kits, protections, and all that fun stuff)
- GroupManager (for permissions)
- CoreProtect (for anti-griefing protection ala BigBrother or HawkEye)
- LWC (for chest protection)
Plugins that will NOT be installed
- TownyMod (no need for it anymore, really...if mobs become a huge issue I can use WorldGuard or just disable them entirely)
- CreativeStick (new plugins and Creative Mode supercede its abilities)
- MultiWorld (I'm sticking to one world for simplicity and lack of worry about updating)
- WorldEdit (hell, with all this Tekkit crap, who needs it?)
- iConomy (I am trying to avoid an economy this time, but Essentials has its own economy if needed)
- BetterShop (Essentials provides chest shops if needed)
- LocalShops (Essentials provides chest shops if needed)
Plugins I have not made judgement calls on yet:
- Dynmap (I'd like to do this, but only if it's not too much of a pain in the ass...a Dynmap-free server is better than no server at all)
- EssentialsEco (Essentials' Economy program - includes all we need for the economy, but I feel like the Tekkit mods provide what's needed for this...IndustrialCraft even has a recipe for coins!)
Things we need to test
The big thing I'm concerned about is the ability for the big four Tekkit plugins to work, now that I have GroupManager installed and locking down the server. I do not know if I have configured it correctly to bypass the no-guest-build security. Please test the following:
- IndustrialCraft automining
- ComputerCraft automining (especially the turtles)
- BuildCraft's ability to move stuff around (especially with pipes)
- RedPower
If there are problems, please let me know. I may have to make these plugins have OP privileges to the server, which I would really like to avoid. But, if necessary, I'll do it.
Anyway, keep up with the suggestion and comments...looking forward to what you have to offer to Eagleworld!
Eagleworld Redo Updates/Ideas
Hey, everyone!
LONG POST WARNING: Sorry, folks. Got a lot to say, and want to keep everyone in the loop. If you just want to get started testing to get ideas going, you can skip the "New Server Ideas" section, really. It's just my rough ideas for the future.
So I listened to the ideas I got so far, and I'm glad I did so...I was directed to look at Tekkit by Runninghobo and EG_SpaceNinja, and so far I'm completely blown away. I had no idea about this mod conglomeration, and I think it's a great direction to go. Is it any wonder why I love my mods and admins? (If you're the idiot looking for a "no homo" after that, grow up...lol)
Testing out Tekkit
So, I've set up a temporary Tekkit server so I try out mods and test out configurations. The server is located at delorean.eagleworld.net:25566. It runs on an older version of minecraft (1.2.3 I think), but it uses its own launcher chock-full of goodies (mini maps, the successor to Too Many Items, etc.). If you wanted to run the latest version of vanilla Minecraft, it can run side-by-side with Tekkit with absolutely NO conflict. This will allow people to test out their new stuff and not screw around with their server experience!
The test server is currently whitelisted, but if you wish to join and test, just ask! You can ask me pretty much anywhere: a comment on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, text message, any way you can get ahold of me. If you were a former member of the server, and you're still reading this blog, that's pretty much all I need. I will whitelist requests as I get them and let people play around. To do so, however, you need the Technic Launcher, which you can get at http://www.technicpack.net/. Just like Minecraft, it works on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and lets you play Minecraft in a whole new bunch of ways. Just make sure to select "Tekkit" on the dropdown on the left before you put in your Minecraft credentials.
New Server Ideas
So, continuing on with all of the changes I'm making to Eagleworld, let's talk about the things I want to keep the same:
- Hourly map backups for total rollback capabilities (my scripts still work fine).
- Essentials Plugin for basic protections from creepers, and griefing
- Some Big Brother/HawkEye - like plugin for admins/mods to use to protect against griefing
- Some map plugin - maps are cool.
- Some method to get all the items you want, whether it is by the economy or some other plugin
The good news is that Tekkit actually has built in ways to get all the stuff you want, but doesn't use an economy for it. I'm debating putting the economy back in, but if I do, I might just end up using the built-in economy that Essentials provides (BOSEconomy), and using a chest-based shop, rather than a command-based one.
So what will be different?
- Towny is most likely going away - I don't believe it's necessary anymore, save for in-town creature protections. I'll try to find some other way to handle that that doesn't require such bloat.
- Besides Tekkit, Essentials, and server protections, mods will be kept to a minimum to make upgrades easier. That doesn't mean I don't want suggestions, though! If I feel a plugin really will add to the server, I will most definitely add it. But I am definitely going for server longevity here and ease of upgrade.
So what will the rules be like?
- Server will still be admin-approval only. I believe quality of users as opposed to quantity will help. We will advertise, but requirements for joining will be high as always.
- No-tolerance griefing will still be in effect. Rather than have all these regulations and shit, one time fuck-up and you go. Keeps everyone in line and nobody has to worry about their stuff.
- Rules will be a lot simpler - I created a rule pretty much every time something bad happened, and it added up. We'll make it simpler.
- Ranks will still be around to give everyone a sense of accomplishment as they move forward on the server, but I will try to make it so everyone pretty much can do what they want, regardless of rank. Thankfully, a lot of the stuff everyone want to do (like flying) can be done in Tekkit; it just requires some effort to do. For example, you can fly now with Jet Packs...which is way more fun to me than using Creative Mode, anyway!
- Other than that, the server will be pretty much free to do whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt someone else or isn't using common sense. For example, building your shit next to someone else (unless they are okay with it) is being a dick, and not using common sense. But rather than memorizing rules and all that, we'll take things case-by-case.
So what happens to towns?
- Still build 'em if you want...or build by yourself. Whatever. No more rules and crap on that. It made things very un-fun.
- If you want to build a town, just space it away a little bit from other towns. Leave room for expansion. Common sense.
- Just make sure you move away from Capitol a bit before you start. I'm planning on building a lot there (for everyone on the server), so I'd like to have some space to grow.
Speaking of Capitol, I'm planning on letting everyone build something there...just let me have a say in what or where. I want to plan on having districts again (so all the power plants and industry is in one place, all the high-rise towers in another, and the small homes in yet another, all with the spawn and government buildings in the center). I want to have the first place everyone sees on the server to be large, organized, and impressive.
If I do it right this time, we will have a great spawn point, as less time will be spent screwing around with the server. But, I want to make it fun and enjoyable for all...without excessive rules and all that. I'm setting my goals lower in terms of player count. I'd rather have 10 dedicated players that all fun to be around and enjoy themselves than try to get 50 players, half of whom rarely play and some of which can't be trusted.
More Ideas
I still want more ideas from you guys. If you need to join the server and play around with Tekkit to get some, just ask! Just remember the test server is in fact a test server...it will definitely go away. Do with it what you want...but again, just be nice to others. I'll keep everyone posted on how far I get with the build and all that. Cheers!
It finally happened…Delorean went down.
So, it happened. Eagleworld went down. It was running for almost 700 days, but it fell victim to a power outage on July 31st.
Thankfully, not for long, though. I was on vacation in South Carolina at the time, so I wasn't around to power the server back up. The server shut down gracefully thanks to my UPS, and Delorean's data is 100% safe.
If you want more details on the server outage, check my main blog post here.
I don't want to start up the Minecraft server as yet, as I am still doing things with the OS to get everything copasetic (rebuilding disk arrays, performing stress tests, etc). However, I really want to invest my time in working towards rebuilding my Minecraft server fresh.
Starting Over
So why did I stop working on the server so long? Simple: it got too damn hard to do. I had a lot of things going on in my life. Between a divorce, medical issues, problems with my family, and a new girlfriend, time devoted to Minecraft was a minimum as it was. And with Minecraft changing so much so quickly, and with the plugins Eagleworld uses falling into such disarray, it was damn near impossible to keep her running without investing way more time than I had, and honestly, way more time than I wanted to devote.
However, I do love Minecraft, and thanks to a lack of Internet connection when I was on vacation in South Carolina, I spent a good amount of time playing single-player Minecraft during my downtime. Loved it, too. It really reminded me of why I played Minecraft in the first place and motivated me to rebuild Eagleworld.
So, now what?
Well, if I'm going to start over, doing it completely seems the way to do it, and I really do mean completely. The reason I stopped working on it in the first place was because my server's design was based on plugins back when Minecraft was still in Alpha Hey0's Mod was the server wrapper of choice. If I'm going to rebuild it and be able to keep it going this time, I really have to change my plan up.
So, I'm going to restructure and rebuild a new Eagleworld based on the current release of Minecraft, with the current release of Minecraft in mind. Change of rules, change of plugins, change of server focus...everything. But if I'm going to do that, I need your help.
Suggestions
I want 'em, folks! I want to know what it is that kept you coming to Eagleworld, and what it is you don't like. I can tell you right now that I'm going to keep the goal of security and safety of all of your work. I know that was what made Eagleworld work in the past, and I'm sure it will keep it going in the future. I know the rules were extremely strict and they need to be changed and simplified, so I will want your help with that too. I can tell you that getting divorced and starting my life over has sure has hell made me more laid back (and a hell of a lot happier, too), and I'm sure that'll be heavily reflected in how I run my server. But I can't build a server community by myself. That's where you come in.
So, I'd love to hear from you all! I'll probably start up a basic vanilla server soon just to have a place to meet up and goof around, but I want to rebuild this thing properly, with all of your help. And don't worry about all of your work...all the maps are safe and I'd like to do with them what everyone considers best, whether that is keeping it in-server, having another server completely, or just posting the map files, or whatever. So let me know! Thanks, everyone!
An Update Update Update (Update) Update
UPDATE 1: Just a quick heads-up on the current status to keep everyone in the loop. The test server is coming along nicely, with most major plugins updated fully. I had a major bug with Towny which I believe is now resolved, but am still bugtesting. I have finished configuring most of the plugins, but I am now going through permissions configuration (this is easily over 1,000 lines of permissions, so it'll take time). I AM working on the server actively, and it WILL be updated. I will be updating the Twitter feed constantly with the to-the-minute info, so check out @eagleworldnet for the latest!
Yes, yes, I'm still alive, folks (your comments crack me up, people...lol).
My sincere apologies for the massive delay in the update of the server. I have been working on it since 1.2.5 came out, and thankfully, a LOT of issues I was having has been repaired. For one, TownyMod, which was prior a serious thorn in my side due to not supporting MySQL (hence our billions of town plots were written out in a billion files on my server), I am NOW able to migrate all of our Towny data to a real genuine database. Thank GOD.
Additionally, other issues are not recurring (e.g. the issues I was having with LazyRoad), so my life is going to be a lot easier. The majority of the major plugins are updated for 1.2.5, so things are definitely looking optimistic for me to get this done soon. I don't want to make promises I can't keep, but I'm going to see how far I can get today on the test server. Assuming the Towny migration to MySQL goes easily, everything else should just fall into place.
So far, the only troublemaker I can see right now is HawkEye, as that has not been updated for a while. If anything, I might have to choose another plugin for monitoring server edits. Something tells me this won't be the biggest deal in the universe if I have to pick another.
That's really all I can think of to say right now. However, please feel free to ask questions with your comments, and I'll answer accordingly.