Server Upgrade Status #3
Hey, everyone!
Why yes, I AM still alive! Thanks for asking, everyone! This post is a long one, I know, and I do apologize. But I have a lot of info to cover today, so I appreciate your patience in reading it all.
I know my blog updates are not as abundant as we would all like, but I haven't had much to report on as of late. As it were, I was performing the administrative equivalent of bashing my head against a wall over the past two days trying to get the multi-world setup going. Thankfully, I've bypassed a huge roadblock, and the new and old Eagleworld maps are now happily residing together in blissful harmony, walking hand-in-hand jauntily down the street with "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits playing in the background:
You get the idea.
Anwyay, progress HAS been made, yes. We are ever inching closer to a full-on MC-fest over here. Here's the status on all things Eagleworld:
Server Upgrade Progress
Fully installed, configured, tested, and is 100% ready to go live:
- Minecraft 1.0.1 with Bukkit 1.0.1-R1 (a.k.a. craftbukkit build 1597 for you astute readers out there)
- Essentials 1.7.1 with GroupManager (Permissions plugin)
- LWC 3.58. Yes, all your chest protection is safe!
- Hawkeye 1.0.5b (the replacement to BigBrother)
- iConomy 6.0.8b (Celty)
- CreativeStick (Yes, mods, your happy tool is back!)
- ServerLogSaver (just to make my life easier so I don't have to configure log rotation on my own...)
The following has been partially impleted, but has work to do:
- Dynmap - 90% done, but I need to install the Towny addon to display towns/nations, and remove one map from the list (harder than it looks)
- Townymod - No stable release yet. I do have it installed and mostly configured, though! I still need to perform a good amount of testing, though...
- Multiworld 2.0 - Installed, and all maps are playing nice. Still needs testing and tweaking, though.
Stuff on my to-do list before we go live:
- Lock down the default "the_end" map to avoid confusion and annoyance
- Install at least a GlobalShop plugin (there are options, so it should not be a dealbreaker)
- Install WorldEdit (For admin use. To facilitate moving your structures from the old map to the new one)
- Install Dynmap-Towny addon
- Figure out some way to reset the Ender Dragon on a regular basis (for you XP and enchanting whores out there)
Stuff that will probably NOT make it to the live server at launch:
- Increased map height. I've searched up and down, and there is NO good answer for this. Kill me now.
- Player Shops - I will need time to set up the Capitol Mall anyway, so don't worry too much. There ARE plugins out there, they are just not reliably updated yet.
Town Approval Progress
I have at this point officially approved some of the towns in the list! For those of you that don't feel like reading the huge details below, here's the short list of approvals and pledges:
Town pledges and status:
- Capitol City - Approved - EagleRock1337, Melany23, Nephylim, BigX2021, rodtheworm, waynethegoblin
- Thrice - Approved - Runninghobo, EG_SpaceNinja, SanctusTerra, PoastToasties
- Ironforge - Approved - Karaktar, ljdarten, Archer665
- Awkward Silence - Not Approved - Openminded
- Xenturz - Not Approved - XmetroidfanX
- Blaze - Not Approved - ZackBlaze164
For you town mayors to be (approved or not), make sure to read below!
To Eagleworld Members who are not in the above list:
Please please PLEASE make a pledge to a town if you have not yet done so! Remember that I am highly discouraging wilderness building on the new map, and you will be expected to do the majority of your building in towns. So, take a look at the list below and see where you want to go:
| Spoiler Inside: Capitol City - EagleRock | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Thrice - Runninghobo | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Awkward Silence - Openminded | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Ironforge - Karaktar | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Xenturz - XmetroidfanX | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Blaze - ZackBlaze164 | |
|---|---|
To all of you Town Mayors and Applicants
If your town has been approved:
First off, congratulations to you, Mayor! Since you are part of a pre-approved town, you get the right to choose your starting area before the server goes live! You will be whitelisted on the server when the time comes and will be allowed to choose your starting plot and warp point! This way, when everyone joins, you will be able to hit the ground running with your citizens! Just as a note, you WILL be expected to truck your ass far out from Capitol City and other towns before you find a plot. I expect towns to be way way away from one another. Consider the distance between Tundra and Capitol City on the old map as a bare minimum distance. We need room for future expansion, wilderness farms, mining zones, etc.
If your town has not been approved:
Do not panic! I am still pre-approving towns. In your town description above, I explain what your town is pending for approval. Note that everyone one of you are pending pledges. If you know of people that are in fact pledging for your town, you must get them to post on the blog as a sign that they are planning to be active and that they are pledging to join your town. The only other way to get on the official pledge list is to speak to me in person, which isn't much of a choice for most of you out there... 
But yes, if you do get enough members and have satisfied any questions/concerns I have, you can still get pre-approval and pick out your town before we go live.
If you have not yet applied for a town but wish to do so:
Please do so! The list above is not the end-all-to-be-all list. If you can get your application in to me before we go live, you can still get pre-approval status and choose your town location and warp before we go live. I encourage all members to make an application. The only requirement is that I can chat with you in some way (over Steam, AIM, Skype, etc.) to ask you questions if needed. So, if you have an idea for a town, apply away!
Server Upgrade Status #2
EDIT: I'll be microblogging updates as I work on the server from now on. I'll still make daily blog posts, but check "The Twitters" for up-to-the-minute updates. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or just check the Twitter Feed on the right side of the blog. If you're all as anxious as I am to get this done, I know you'll appreciate this!
Hey everyone!
Here's the latest updates on Eagleworld:
- Minecraft 1.0.1 and Bukkit are fully installed/configured
- Essentials plugin installed and fully configured
- GroupManager (the permission plugin) fully configured
- iConomy installed, configured, and balances imported
- LWC installed, configured, and old database imported
- CreativeStick installed and configured
- BigBrother is no longer being updated. Hawkeye, a similar plugin has been installed and configured
As you can see, plenty of progress has been made. The next steps are to install Dynmap, Townymod, HeroicDeath (maybe), a Global Shop plugin, a Player Shop plugin, and FlatEarth or a similar plugin.
Here are the following official town pledges I have so far:
- Capitol City - EagleRock, Melany23, Nephylim
- Thrice - Runninghobo, EG_SpaceNinja, SanctusTerra, PoastToasties
- Ironforge - Karaktar, ljdarten
- Awkward Silence - Openminded
- Xenturz - XmetroidfanX
- Roman City (name still unknown :-/) - ZackBlaze164
I still need to hear more official town pledges from the other members of Eagleworld. If you're not on the list above, please make a comment stating what town you are pledging to join. Thanks!
To all the moderators and admins, I need assistance testing out the server and the plugins. Please log on the test server and look around. Note that I will NOT be saving map changes presently, so feel free to screw around with any of the maps, as I will restore them all when the server goes live. Thanks!
Server Upgrade Status
Hey, everyone!
Just a quick status update on Eagleworld upgrading to 1.0:
As most of you probably know already (those of you crazy enough to check the blog every day anyway :-), the Bukkit team has released their Recommended Build of Craftbukkit for Minecraft 1.0! This is obviously a big step towards being ready to get Eagleworld back in full swing, and will mean our long wait will have paid off.
While we still have to wait for all the plugins we need to be updated, I can do a great deal of the sweat work in updating the server now. Most of the major plugins, such as Essentials, release non-stable builds which aren't good enough for production use, but good enough for me to test and configure the server. Therefore, I have already started the update process.
Here's a quick rundown of what I did so far:
- Got Minecraft 1.0.1 running on the new server instance
- Generated the new map with the chosen seed and selected the spawn point/general location of Capitol City
- Installed Bukkit successfully
- Installed Essentials and GroupManager (the permissions plugin) successfully
- Fully configured the new Essentials configs (however, not yet the permissions for the plugin)
- Installed iConomy successfully and imported the database to the new version
The next big step is going to be redoing the server permissions for Essentials and iConomy, which is the majority of the permission configs I have to do. After that, plugin installation and configuration will go relatively smooth. As far as what new things everyone can expect from Eagleworld...let's just say Essentials alone is going to bring us a lot of stuff that will make everyone's lives a lot easier and more fun!
While we wait, in the meantime, what I'd like everyone to do is to reply to this post with their official pledge to what town they wish to join when the server gets running. I am ready to start approving towns, and would like some official word from the members for me to make my decisions. All town descriptions can be found on the last post, with the exception of ZackBlaze164's town. I need to get all town specifics from him again, unfortunately. The basic gist of his town is that he will run it like a city from the Roman Empire, complete with structures from the time period, as well as city-provided services expected at the time. I'll post the full details as soon as I have them.
Anyway, I'll attempt to give regular updates on what's happening so everyone can stay abreast of the upgrade. I'm hoping I will have something to report every day, so you can expect daily posts. So let's hear those town pledges!
Okay, NOW it’s time for SNS Syndrome…
Yeah, I'll admit it...I can't wait for damn Bukkit to come out. 
I do promise you all that I'm going to work as hard as I can to get this pushed out to production as soon as Bukkit is stable. A lot of the plugins we need are current as of the latest stable Bukkit...so I'm hoping there will be a fast push for all of our new plugins.
As far as making final decisions on the towns, I will definitely approve some of them once the server goes live again, but I won't deny any town applications right away. I wish to give everyone a fair chance and let some new blood come on the server to see if they are on-board with the ideas too (for those of you having trouble finding citizens).
So, keep patient, and I promise it'll pay off. I am closely paying attention to www.bukkit.org, and will get you back to the old (and new) Eagleworld as soon as I can!
Oh yeah, one other little note: Delorean has hit a milestone! The server has finally hit an uptime of over 1 year. It's my first home server to do so, and it's still running just fine!
eaglerock@delorean:501:~$ uptime 07:56:37 up 376 days, 16:05, 4 users, load average: 0.10, 0.05, 0.01
Is it any wonder I love Linux? 
About Damn Time
Hey, everyone!
Well, looks like we might actually kinda sorta maybe might have an actual update to this damn game...and maybe the universe can move on with life!
So, let me inform you quickly at what's going to happen with Eagleworld as Minecraft is officially released:
- I have updated our test server to 1.0 in the interim
- As soon as Bukkit releases a RB to Minecraft, I will start frantically updating the server as per our previous plans
- When we migrate over, you will come back to the old server map, but we will have the new Eagleworld map at the ready
- I will ensure that towns are approved as soon as we cut over so everyone can start building right away
- I will start advertising the server on the Minecraft Forums once we are in full swing again to get new blood
I know this is long in waiting, so I will do what I can to expedite my part of this. I've been itching to play again myself, so don't worry...I feel your pain as well. Any questions, just ask away. Note that the migration plans are the same, and the prior posts pretty much outline them. I'm just a bit too tired to bother posting them here right now, but the plans aren't changing from before.
Eagleworld is now on 1.9pre5
Hey, everyone!
I have updated the minecraft test server to 1.9 prerelease 5. Please get the Minecraft jar file here:
Download Here
The instructions are here:
| Spoiler Inside: Installing Minecraft 1.9 Prerelease 5 | |
|---|---|
Updated Town Applications
Here's the latest list of town applications that I have. Remember that NO TOWNS HAVE YET BEEN APPROVED. Please take advantage of this list to determine what down you are interested in joining. If you have a town application you want to submit to me, please read the Server Info page and read up on what you need to prepare!
| Spoiler Inside: Capitol City - EagleRock | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Thrice - Runninghobo | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Awkward Silence - Openminded | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Ironforge - Karaktar | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Xenturz - XmetroidfanX | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Unknown Name - ZackBlaze164 | |
|---|---|
As I get more town applications, I will post them here.
Eagleworld on 1.9pre4 and Town Applications
Hey, everyone!
I have updated the minecraft test server to 1.9 prerelease 4. Please get the Minecraft jar file here:
Download Here
The instructions are here:
| Spoiler Inside: Installing Minecraft 1.9 Prerelease 4 | |
|---|---|
Town Applications
So far, I have received a few town applications, and wanted to give all members of Eagleworld the view of the potential towns so far. Please note that NO TOWNS HAVE YET BEEN APPROVED, with the exception of Capitol City (duh). These are merely the towns I have gotten applications for so far. You can use this as a guide to see what is already out there to see what people's ideas are, and figure out if you want to pledge to a particular town. Expand the spoilers below to get a preview of each town:
| Spoiler Inside: Capitol City - EagleRock | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Thrice - Runninghobo | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Awkward Silence - Openminded | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Ironforge - Karaktar | |
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| Spoiler Inside: Xenturz - XmetroidfanX | |
|---|---|
As I get more town applications, I will post them here.
Eagleworld is in 1.9 Prerelease Testing Mode!
EDIT 2: Minecraft 1.9 Prerelease 3 is now out. Please use the following link to download. This is the direct link to to the .jar as hosted on assets.minecraft.net, so it is the safest link to use: LINK
EDIT: Get the Minecraft prerelease .jar here: LINK. The Minecraft Forums posted the wrong version.
Hey, everyone!
Well, I took a poll last night to see what everyone wanted to do while we wait for 1.9 to be fully released. Unanimously, everyone wanted me to put out a 1.9 prerelease server with a temporary new map to hold us over. So, that's what I'm rolling out today.
Here's the basics of Testing Mode:
- The server's version is now 1.9pre2, so you will need to manually download the prerelease version and install it (instructions below)
- There are NO server mods since Bukkit is not available for 1.9 yet
- All Mods and Admins have OP privileges on the server
- Users can gain access to Creative Mode for now by asking a mod or an admin nicely
- The map will not be saved at all once we move fully to 1.9
- Even though this is a temporary map, the rules of the server will be enforced.
Here's how to connect to Eagleworld:
- Download the latest prerelease minecraft jar file located at this minecraft forum post. THIS site. This site lol
- Make sure Minecraft is closed completely.
- Open up your Minecraft bin directory:
- Windows XP users: Click Start -> Run, type %APPDATA%\.minecraft\bin and hit Enter.
- Windows Vista/7 users: Click Start -> type %APPDATA%\.minecraft\bin in the search field and hit Enter.
- Mac OS X: in Finder menu, click Go -> Home, and navigate to Library/Application Support/minecraft/bin.
- Linux: using your directory viewer of choice or the command-line, navigate to ~/.minecraft/bin.
- Rename the minecraft.jar file (the ".jar" may not show up if you do not have file extensions viewable) to "minecraft1.8.1.jar" (or just "minecraft1.8.1" if the .jar is not showing).
- Move the minecraft.jar file you downloaded into the directory.
- Restart Minecraft and connect to Eagleworld.
And that's it...you're ready to go. Feel free to build around, have fun, and do whatever. Just remember the map is temporary and will be deleted.
Oh, and just in case you didn't see it last post:
Formal town applications are being accepted
As another stopgap while we are waiting to fully migrate over, I will start accepting town applications. If you seriously want to start a town on the server, please head over to the Server Info page and check out the "Starting a Town" policy. Prospective mayors need to have all the information ready I outlined there, with the exception of an exact location, of course. Instead, let me know of the type of area you want (size, layout, biome, etc.) and if I approve your town, you'll be allowed to pick one out once the new permanent map is generated.
Any questions about the testing mode or town applications, please find me on the server (I'll probably be on console), skype me, tweet me, or just leave a comment here. Thanks!
Holding over until 1.9
Hey, everyone!
Okay, so Anarchy Mode was a great success, if you gauge it solely by the amount of detonation that was done.
Anyway, 1.9 is creeping closer, and we are already at prerelease 2. So, while the prerelease is not good enough for stable server data, it IS good enough for a testing server. That being said, I'd like to know what everyone wants to do from this point forward.
Please vote below on what you want me to do next with the server. Here are your options:
- Continue the server on Anarchy Mode as-is
- Release the old map on the 1.8 stable build until 1.9 comes out
- Create a 1.9 Prerelease Testing server and play around with the new stuff while we wait
I'm thinking option 3 might be the best, as it'll give everyone a taste of what we're expecting in 1.9, and it will let us play around since most people are waiting for the new map anyway. Note the server will not be as stable as it usually is, and there will still be no Bukkit Mod to work on. However, like I said before, I do not expect the Bukkit team to take nearly as long as they did to upgrade to 1.9, and the plugins will be relatively caught up already. I AM upgrading the test server to the latest Bukkit mod/plugins, so the upgrade time will be minimal.
Also, to give us something to do while we are waiting, I will now be accepting formal applications for towns on the new map. If you want to apply, best thing to do is to talk with me on Skype, in-game, or something like that. I expect you to have all of the town information prepared (as outlined in the Server Info page), but obviously you will not yet have an exact location. Instead, you can let me know the type of area you ideally want. If I do accept your application, when the map is created, you can find a location either on Dynmap or in-game for me to approve.
So, let's hear your votes, and I'd like to start hearing applications for towns!
Two Points of Business
Okay, I have two points of business for you people...
1. Strive for 1.8, or 1.9?
Unfortunately, we're already encroaching on 1.9, but Bukkit JUST got updated. A lot of our plugins are 1.8 ready, but some are still not. The big one, for example, are shops. If I move to 1.8 right now, we will have no global shop, and no player shops, basically rendering iConomy useless. Other plugins, however, like Essentials and Towny, ARE working. So we are not far off. I have already generated a map using my chosen seed, and we can take it from there.
Here is the big problem with all of this. If you read the latest Bukkit Team blog post, they state that if you are refreshing your map for 1.8, the changes in 1.9 will require you to do the same. So, considering we've waited all this time for 1.8, is it really worth it to upgrade before 1.9 is out? I believe the Bukkit release will take a LOT less time due to the big changes from 1.8 already being ironed out. The majority of the changes are really just a few new items and some biome adjustments. It was Creative Mode and all of the other issues that caused the delay in Bukkit.
So, here is my question to all of you: Should we push out 1.8 as soon as I can, or should we wait for 1.9? I estimate that it will take roughly a week for them to push out 1.9, and Bukkit a day or so to push their release. It might be worth it, but I leave that up to you whether you want to wait for not.
And that takes me to my second point of business...
2. Anarchy Mode comes back to Eagleworld!
Since we will have to wait as I tweak our 1.8 prod server and get all of the plugins reconfigured ANYWAY, that'll leave our 1.7 prod server basically sitting idle. Nobody is saving Talons anymore or logging on 1.7, basically making it useless. So, why not have a little fun with our old map? Instead of basically keeping it tidy on 1.7, blow it up on 1.8!
Here are the rules of Anarchy Mode:
- Anarchy Mode runs Vanilla. No mods, no nothing.
- All Admins and Mods have OP privileges.
- Nothing that happens in Anarchy Mode will be saved. The production data is not touched at all.
- No whining. Since it won't persist, don't complain about it.
- EVERYTHING ELSE GOES. Kill, steal, detonate, maim, destroy, whatever. It's anarchy mode!
As one other note, don't bother to bug admins and mods to spawn you items. They won't. However, since they can spawn anything they want for themselves, they are good targets to kill!
The server will stay in Anarchy Mode until I get the server stable on 1.8, or, if everyone elects to wait, 1.9. Also, if we DO wait for 1.9, Anarchy Mode can upgrade right away, since it's Vanilla.
Enjoy, and make sure to weigh in! I will be working on the server tonight, and I will see your comments!