An Update Update
It's time to update you on the update. Update.
So, 1.2 is now released, and it's as awesome as we wanted it to be! Bukkit does not yet have a recommended build for 1.2 yet, unfortunately, but they do have a "beta build" which is one that is between their normal upstream builds and a stable recommended build. It'll have to work for now.
Only issue...a lot of our plugins do not yet support 1.2. Supposedly, a great amount of change has happened on the back end of craftbukkit to support 1.2, which breaks a lot of plugin functionality. Nevertheless, I am going to start migrating to the latest build, using the new Beta Build of craftbukkit for now. This will allow me to get a jump on the process. If all of the important plugins support the Beta Build, we'll roll out with that. I'm done waiting. How about you? 
Eagleworld is back.
Yes, yes, it's true. We're finally (finally (FINALLY)) back!
In lieu of celebration, here is a song from Guns N' Roses:
I have certainly worked my ass off to make the new Eagleworld as good as I could, so I hope everyone enjoys the server! Please read the entirety of this post, as it'll be important on how to get started on the new Eagleworld. If you don't and you start asking questions, you'll just be referred right back here:
What's the new Eagleworld look like?
You might be wondering what exactly what has changed from the old Eagleworld to the new. Well, here's all the changes in a nutshell:
| Spoiler Inside: Changes to Eagleworld | |
|---|---|
The new towns of Eagleworld
Since wilderness building is heavily discouraged at this point, it behooves all members of Eagleworld to join a town. Here is a synopsis of your options (and other potential options):
| Spoiler Inside: Eagleworld Towns | |
|---|---|
What you need to know when you first log in
Since a lot has changed on Eagleworld, there will be some things you need to know the first time you log in. Here's a quick checklist of things you should do:
- Browse the Server Info page and familiarize yourself with the new rules/policies
- Browse the list of towns above and figure out which one you wish to join (if you have not yet done so)
- You may wish to look at the more detailed town applications in this blog post.
- When you log in the first time, you need to request your rank to be restored. This is for security purposes.
- Upon first login, also ask for your back salary.
- Once you have a house and chests, start transferring your items from the old map to the new one.
- Select a structure from the old world to bring to the new one. Electing to not bring one will give you a bonus in Talons.
What's the new features I should look out for?
Now that we have all these new fancy-schmancy plugins and stuffs, what does that mean for you? I haven't had time to update the Help Page yet, but here's some info to get you started:
| Spoiler Inside: New Eagleworld features | |
|---|---|
Conclusion
I hope the new Eagleworld is more enjoyable for all! Please let me know if there are any issues with the server; I will resolve them as soon as my personal time allows. As far as building migration, please be patient. We will get to them as soon as possible. Note we will be doing a lot of work rebuilding towns and the infrastructure, as well as handling server bugs, so we have to deal with building migration after all that is fixed. Thanks for your understanding!
Now get to building!
Server Upgrade Status #5 (Almost There!)
Hellllo, everyone!
Well, I did in fact get crap done on Christmas as you might have seen on the Twitter feed...I also got a bit done today as well. We are very close to a full release. As you can see below, very little is holding us up at this point:
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 1.7.2 with GroupManager (Permissions plugin)
- Multiworld 2.4.4
- LWC 4.0.2. Yes, all your chest protection is safe!
- Hawkeye 1.0.5b (the replacement to BigBrother)
- iConomy 6.0.8b (Celty)
- Dynmap 0.27 (Base plugin, Towny addon, and map configuration)
- EndReset 0.3 (plugin to reset The End after the Ender Dragon has been defeated)
- WorldEdit 5.0 (plugin for admins to migrate users' structures from the old map to the new one)
- CreativeStick 1.11 (Yes, mods, your happy tool is back!)
- ServerLogSaver 2.0 (just to make my life easier so I don't have to configure log rotation on my own...)
- Towny 0.77.1.29 - Non-stable release, but actively updated so far...
- GiantShop 1.6.2 - Installed/configured, but items have not yet been added.
Stuff on my to-do list before we go live:
- Install a stable Towny build when available
- Input all the Global Shop list/prices
- Continue testing with Mods/Admins
- Found the following pre-approved towns: Thrice, Ironforge
- Purge all new maps and regenerate them fresh
Stuff that will NOT make it to the live server at launch:
- Increased map height. There is NO good answer at all for SMP. Period. If you know of one we can use, PLEASE let me know!
- 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.
Therefore, I think it's safe to say Eagleworld will be back before the new year! By the way, if we get everything else done and Towny is still not stable, I am comfortable with going live without the stable build. I'm done waiting, too. Honestly, Towny IS working fairly well, and I am personally willing to redo Towny if necessary in case of massive mod explosion. A little calculated risk never hurt no one (okay, it does, but regardless...).
Town Updates
Not much to say about town approvals other than what was said before. No new town applications, no new pledges, everything is as it was before.
I am now letting mayors choose their starting location for their towns at this point, as promised. Here's the status on these towns:
Capitol City is already founded and plots claimed. I don't expect the Capitol to get much larger than it is, but I am of course reserving the option to expand it if needed (I have a feeling it will be, eventually...).
Thrice is almost ready to be founded and some plots claimed. Runninghobo, SpaceNinja, and SanctusTerra (Mayor and assistants of Thrice) have found a suitable location roughly 5km south and 1.3km west of spawn (coords -1300,64,5000). You'll know you found the place if you see the big "LOL" structure hovering above the ocean ;-). Once they're ready to choose their home plot, I'll let them start claiming land (or, in their case, ocean :-)).
Ironforge still needs to find their location. I just whitelisted Karaktar today and will allow him to explore the landscape at his leisure. I will be out at points in time today, but please log in and I will attempt to monitor the server on my phone. Also feel free to comment on the blog when you are available, as I get updates on my phone for those as well. Thanks!
Server Upgrade Status #4
Hey, everyone!
I'd like to take a minute to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and Happy whatever-the-hell-else-you-people-do-or-don't-celebrate-around-this-generic-time-of-the-year. I hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season so far, hasn't gotten run over by crazed last-minute shoppers, and all that other fun stuff.
On that note, I'd like to get everyone up to date on what I've done since the last update. We are very close to finishing Eagleworld's migration. I believe that by December 26th (I'm not working on Christmas you ingrates ;-)) I will be ready for mayors to log in, help me generate the new map, and start choosing where towns will start their settlements. After that, assuming all the plugins we need are fully updated, we will be ready to rock!
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)
- Multiworld 2.0
- LWC 3.58. Yes, all your chest protection is safe!
- Hawkeye 1.0.5b (the replacement to BigBrother)
- iConomy 6.0.8b (Celty)
- Dynmap (Base plugin, Towny addon, and map configuration)
- EndReset (plugin to reset The End after the Ender Dragon has been defeated)
- WorldEdit (plugin for admins to migrate users' structures from the old map to the new one)
- 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:
- Townymod - No stable release yet. A test version has been installed and configured.
Stuff on my to-do list before we go live:
- Install a GlobalShop plugin (there are options, so it should not be a dealbreaker)
- Test Townymod throughly
- Decide whether or not I want to install HeroicDeath (so we can have extra hilarious death notifications :-P)
- Check all plugin versions and update any that need it (I know Essentials has updated since I installed it, for example)
- Get a decent amount of testing done with my mods and admins (HINT HINT GUYS :-))
Stuff that will probably NOT make it to the live server at launch:
- Increased map height. There is NO good answer at all for SMP. Period. If you know of one we can use, PLEASE let me know!
- 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
As I mentioned before, I have officially approved some towns as of the last blog post. For quick reference, here is the list of towns and their approval status:
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 more details on the status of towns on the server, please refer to the last post I made. I am still accepting town applications and will pre-approve more towns before we go live, but your time is running out!
Prepping for Eagleworld's Return
Here's just a few quick pointers for everyone to note as we are getting ready to live once again:
- Please please PLEASE re-read the Server Info page. Many of the rules and regulations have changed, and it's important to know them when you return.
- Note that you will have NOT have building rights upon first login. This is being done to minimize the amount of people with building rights to the server to enhance protection. Regaining your rank is as simple as asking an admin.
- Please remember to ask for your salary as well once you return.
- If you have not yet decided which town you wish to join, please look at the town list in the previous post. If there is a town you have decided to join, pledge to it by making a comment on the blog.
- Figure out what structure from the old map you wish to transfer. Please note we will handle this as time allows. Note that electing to not transfer a structure entitles you to a bonus.
- If you are confused by any of this, PLEASE ask questions! I am fully willing to clarify anything and explain anything you don't understand!
I'll continue to keep everyone abreast of the latest updates. Cheers, everyone!
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 | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Thrice - Runninghobo | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Awkward Silence - Openminded | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Ironforge - Karaktar | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Xenturz - XmetroidfanX | |
|---|---|
| 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!
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 | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Thrice - Runninghobo | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Awkward Silence - Openminded | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Ironforge - Karaktar | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Xenturz - XmetroidfanX | |
|---|---|
| Spoiler Inside: Unknown Name - ZackBlaze164 | |
|---|---|
As I get more town applications, I will post them here.
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!