A Serious Disorder
Hi everyone,
I need to talk to you today about a serious matter that affects many Americans, Canadians, and all of those across the world. It is a serious disorder that has spread across the world, and seems to have no signs of slowing down. It will eventually take over the world without serious intervention from the general populace.
I am, of course, talking about SNS Syndrome.
SNS Syndrome is a disorder that can affect people from all walks of life, but most commonly affects those that are heavy computer users. It has been diagnosed to many people in the Linux community, gaming circles, and yes, the Minecraft community at large.
If you are unfamiliar with SNS Syndrome, please read the information I have below on this serious condition.
SNS Syndrome Explained
SNS Syndrome is really an acronym for Shiny New Shit Syndrome, which is the disorder currently plaguing the US, Canada, and nations abroad. It was brought to my attention by the knowledgeable folk in the Debian IRC Channels, and now that I know about this condition, I see it all around me.
Here are the symptoms of SNS Syndrome:
- Uncontrollable urge to blab constantly about new updates
- The inability to stop asking about when updates are coming
- The feeling that you must have the latest version of something
- Making nonsensical decisions, such as upgrading to the latest version of something opposed the stable, older-version counterpart
If you exhibit these symptoms, you might have SNS Syndrome yourself.
What you can do about SNS Syndrome
SNS Syndrome tends to break out in an epidemic whenever a new version of something comes out, such as Minecraft Beta 1.5. If you or someone you know is exhibiting symptoms of SNS Syndrome, you can help. Here is what you can do to help yourself or help someone else:
- Try your hardest to resist the urge to upgrade to something instantly.
- If you feel urges to try out Beta 1.5, back up your Minecraft directory first.
- If you do not have the knowledge on how to back up your Minecraft directory, ask someone that does, or don't do it at all.
- Realize how great something is that works and works all the time.
- Remember all the great things about Beta 1.4_01 before immediately abandoning its status as a good game
These simple steps will help you and your Minecraft brethren and sistern fight the ever-prominent SNS Syndrome all around you in your daily life
In case you didn't get the hint
SLOW THE FUCK DOWN if you are bitching about the fact Eagleworld is not on Beta 1.5 yet. Bukkit has not yet been updated for Minecraft Beta 1.5. That means NO plugins, NO iconomy, NO security, NO nothing. The server will have about 5% of the functionality you are accustomed to if I upgrade right now.
And when Bukkit is updated, I have to wait for ALL OF THE PLUGINS WE USE to get updated. That could take days. And after THAT, I have to test it all. If you are not familiar with the amount of work this takes, take a look at this post about Beta 1.4. It takes a lot of work, usually on the scale of 10-20 hours per version. It's not going to happen overnight.
The spoiler contains the upgrade plan I used on Beta 1.4, updated for Beta 1.5:
| Spoiler Inside: Minecraft Beta 1.5 Upgrade Plan | |
|---|---|
So, please do not forget how good Beta 1.4 was to you. Don't abandon it for the latest and greatest. While Beta 1.5 is partying all night, getting drunk and high on cocaine, Beta 1.4 is sitting right here, ready and waiting for you. Don't let Beta 1.4 fall into obscurity while Beta 1.5 is still partying hard, making life difficult for everyone.
Tons ‘o’ Updates
Okay, I got a bunch of changes I did today, so allow me to fill you all in:
Craftbukkit/Plugin Updates
A bunch of plugins got updated, along with Bukkit itself. So far everything seems to be working nicely with no issues (at least no new ones...). The big changes to the server involved Essentials and LWC.
Door Redstone Protection Added
Thanks to the latest version of LWC, you can now protect your locked doors against redstone circuitry! Type /lwc flag redstone on and left-click a door to turn on redstone protection and disable an override of a locked door. If you want to enable redstone again, type /lwc flag redstone off.
Note that all locked doors DO NOT have this protection by default. So, if you have doors you want to disable redstone on, you must turn on the flag for each one. Do not assume the redstone lock is there.
New Essentials Commands
There are bunch of new commands thanks to the Essentials plugin! Here's the list of them and who has access to them:
- /whois - Builder - Now you can see player info at a glance! Displays their username, any nicknames they are currently using, their account balance, their location, whether they are AFK or available, and their current health. Very handy if you are trying to figure out who is using what nickname!
- /clearinventory - Architects - Architects or higher can now clear their own inventories. Clearing other people's inventories are still restricted to mods or above.
- /ext - VIP - VIPs, Mods, and Admins can now extinguish a player on command!
- /burn - Mods - Mods can do the opposite, too!
- /jails - Mods - Since we can set multiple jails, use /jails to see the list of them when you want to jail a player.
Global Shop Additions
I am adding gunpowder to the Global Shop, as it is a highly requested item. It's not cheap, but not too expensive, either. TNT works out to be about 10tl each. Note that buying gunpowder without access to use TNT doesn't let you place it. You can also sell gunpowder to the store as well, if you have extra and are looking to make a few extra Talons.
If you can think of anything else that should be added to the store, let me know. Note that I have no way of adding cocoa, so don't bother asking. The plugin still does not support damage values (which is how dyes are differentiated), so there is no way for me to sell it. I either have to wait for the plugin to support it or change plugins. The latter option I could do, but it would take me time.
And that's about it. Have fun with all the updates!
Plugins and Promotions
Plugin Updates
Well, I fixed a few plugins and restored most of the server functionality. The dynamic map is working again. Before you start whining at me that it's not fixed, it only supports newer browsers, such as Google Chrome and Firefox 4. If your browser is not supported, bother the plugin maintainer, not me. I am not in the mood.
Shops are working again at this point. LocalShops was conflicting briefly with SimpleShop, as they were using the same command (/shop). That was fixed early on, so shops are working 100%. There are still the back-end bugs the server spits out, but it is not causing any gameplay issues.
EDIT: Page 6 of the Global Shop does not appear on the server for some reason. Again, this is the plugin developer, not me. Glowstone, Sponge, and Soul Sand do not appear in the list, but they are for sale. For prices in-game, use /shop check <item>. For example, "/shop check glowstone" will show the sale price of Glowstone (10tl). Also, the Global Shop page shows the list of everything. If it's on the blog, it is for sale.
Promotions
It's that time of the week, again. I promoted a bunch of players last night. This batch of promotions was all for the Architects. Six Architects were promoted to Artisan. These are the first batch of the "mcserverlist" people I've promoted past Architect. I have already adjusted everyone's rank and awarded them their raises. If you have not gotten your monthly salary yet, I gave your full new monthly salary. Here's the list:
- MirageSci - Architect
- ZeronFX - Architect
- Melany23 - Artisan
- Nephylim - Artisan
- _Nod_ - Artisan
- tim3bandit57 - Artisan
- MrKindLife - Artisan
- openminded - Artisan
- PoastToasties - VIP
- Jon_Lupen - VIP
Congrats to everyone that got promoted! Like I said, you should already have your new salaries and rankings. If you do not, please let me know so I can make adjustments accordingly.
Eagleworld updated to Minecraft 1.4
Hey everyone.
Well, it took me staying up until 4AM and about 15 hours of scouring code repositories for plugins, testing, migration, updating, and other crap, but Eagleworld is now stable on Minecraft SMP verion 1.4. I'll just quickly bulletpoint the changes made:
Latest Server Build
- Craftbukkit is now on the latest recommended build, 617.
- Essentials 2.1.11 is successfully installed and all configurations are updated.
- iConomy is now on 4.6.5 and works fine on 1.4.
- Townymod is on an unofficial build at version 0.61, updated for 1.4.
- LWC is up to version 2.11, updated for 1.4.
- BigBrother is on a snapshot build of 1.7.2, but is working fine.
- SimpleShop was not updated as of 1.3, but works on 1.4.
- LocalShops was updated to 2.2.0 and works fine.
- CreativeStick is updated to 0.6.0, which despite being a 1.3 plugin, works fine.
- FlatEarth is on version 0.6, and works great with 1.4.
As you can see, I had to update almost every plugin. There were tons of config changes, and some added functionality. I have not had time to update the help page yet, though, so you'll have to find the extra stuff on your own for now.
Current Server Bugs
And now, let's go over the bugs that the server has right now. They are not severe, but could cause minor issues:
- Townymod's latest version has a problem with usernames preceding with an underscore (like "_Nod_"). I don't know if this is going to prevent Nod from being part of Towny or not yet.
- iConomy is throwing database errors upon startup, which in my opinion aren't a problem, but I'll probably want to eventually fix.
- BigBrother attempts to update the database every time I start the server, despite the database being fully updated. I'm not sure what impact this will have, but the bug is there.
- SimpleShop, since it's not updated, is throwing warnings due to it using deprecated craftbukkit function calls. While this won't affect anything now, this could mean the plugin will no longer be supported if it is not updated soon.
- The dynmap plugin does not work yet. I have to wait for an update. Period.
- I am not 100% sure wolves will follow you throughout warping. If you lose a wolf because you were warp-happy, I'm not going to do anything about it. You were duly warned.
Time for a rant
I got the server up faster than I expected, thankfully, but you people didn't make it easy. Nothing but nagging left and right, and people actually explicitly logging on to tell me that they are updating and "won't wait around for this server." Frankly, it royally pissed me off.
When Minecraft got updated to Beta 1.2, it broke hMod completely. The server was down for three days. I got nothing but bitching and moaning that the server was down for three days. Never mind the fact that I was working my ass off during that. The server was down. You people couldn't play.
Come Beta 1.3, I got smarter. I thought it would be smart to allow you people to play on the server in "anarchy mode" with no mods and no rules until I could get the server up with mods and revert. People did nothing but bitch and complain about it, still complaining that the server was not right and they didn't have iConomy.
Come this last update, I said it would make more sense to keep the server in a stable environment and keep it on Beta 1.3 until I could get the server stable on 1.4. This way, you lose NOTHING and everything stays as it was. I got nothing but bitching from people that they couldn't play with wolves and that I wasn't "just updating it already."
Minecraft is a BETA PRODUCT. INCOMPLETE. Survival Multiplayer is NOT STABLE SOFTWARE. IT BREAKS. I am doing as best of a job as possible as a system administrator by delivering you a stable experience with unstable software and unofficial mods that bring the server into a playable state. It takes a good deal of effort to turn the mess of plugins into something that actually works, and works all the time.
If you think it's just a matter of "updating a file," go try it yourself. Sure, you might get it working, but try getting it working so your server stays up and doesn't lose data. My server only goes down for two reasons: the nightly reboot (which gives you roughly 10 seconds of downtime the most), and for server upgrades. Since Beta 1.2, the longest my server has been down for upgrades has been about 5 minutes.
If you calculate my uptime percentage, I'm hitting about 99.9%, folks. Also, as far as data loss goes, I haven't lost any. Ever. There is not much more I can do to make the server better. Especially considering the fact that I DO THIS FOR FREE. This is not something you pay for. If you had to, I can guarantee that you could not afford my rates.
So, enjoy your damn update. It may be the last one I do for this server. Go have fun with the stupid wolves. I won't. I need a break from Minecraft.
Minecraft 1.4 Updates (April Fools)
Hey everyone!
I've started some preliminary work on the migration, and I have some updates:
1) Minecraft 1.4 Vanilla appears to work 100%.
Thankfully, I have tested the vanilla 1.4 on Eagleworld.net with no bugs. So far, so good!
2) Craftbukkit appears to let the server start, but it is very buggy.
It looks as though craftbukkit has been updated, so Minecraft does in fact load on 1.4. However, we are probably going to have to wait for the next recommended build for it to be stable enough for use. There are a few bugs, which might affect plugins from working properly.
3) Essentials plugin is riddled with bugs.
Unfortunately, Essentials currently is a mess. It runs, but with some bugs:
- Server will occasionally crash unexpectedly
- Wolves will not work.
- Your iConomy data might get deleted unexpectedly and you will lose your Talons.
- You will occasionally get spawned into the Nether.
- Chat sometimes doesn't work
- Attempting to purchase from a store will occasionally delete your player inventory.
- Ore blocks when placed (such as iron or diamond ore) will occasionally disappear.
These are bugs that are not going to get fixed for at least 6-8 weeks. Essentials requires a complete rewrite for this to work. I will however roll out the server before then so that we can play on 1.4. I know everyone is excited for that.
That's all I've got so far. I hope have more updates soon. With luck, the server might be running version 1.4 in another 3 weeks or so.
Other Updates
I have some other news: I'm suspending the Monthly Salary program. I've decided that monthly salaries just do not make sense on the server, as it does not work fairly towards those that work hard on the server. Instead, it promotes sloth and unfairly assists the poor on the server. I'm sure everyone will agree with me on this assessment.
Server Upgrade Progress
As per the post yesterday, I've updated the server upgrade schedule and showed what has been done so far and what is left to do. Feel free to check it out if you like.
| Spoiler Inside | |
|---|---|
Preparing for Beta 1.4
Hey, everyone!
Since Beta 1.4 is expected to come any day now (possibly today), I thought it would be smart to post a few reminders for everyone about what they need to do and what they should expect over the next few days:
1. Get the latest Minecraft launcher if you have not yet done so.
This is important to do especially for the recent newcomers to Eagleworld. While the new installer has been out for a while, it is possible some of you might not have it yet. If you are using the launcher with news updates right in line, there's nothing you need to do. If you are using the older launcher (with just the login prompt), please make sure to get the new version on www.minecraft.net. Not doing so will leave you in a lurch come Beta 1.4, because...
2. Eagleworld.net will not automatically update to Beta 1.4.
I know this may disappoint a bunch of you, but this is the way it's going to need to be. After the last two beta updates, everyone gave me way too much stress and hassle over things I have little to no control over. I'm not going to go through that again. Instead, the server will stay running on Beta 1.3 until it is good and ready. This means...
3. Do not upgrade to Beta 1.4 if you wish to play on Eagleworld.
Simple as that. If this disappoints you, I am not going to fret over it. Like I said before, my previous attempts at accommodating everyone were met with harsh criticism and very impatient nagging. Remember that this is beta software, and every plugin we use/depend-on breaks every time Minecraft is updated. If you simply cannot wait for Beta 1.4, either back-up your install or forget playing on Eagleworld until 1.4 is rolled out on it. I simply can't please everyone, and I'm not attempting to do so anymore.
4. I do not want constant nagging about the updates.
Every time the server's been updated or something broke, people just don't leave me alone about it. If something isn't working or updated on the server, it's either out of my control, or I simply haven't had enough time to do it yet. I do not offer time-frames or ETA's in any way, because I am not committing myself to any form of deadline. I can promise you that asking me a million times about it will NOT make me go any faster. In fact, the opposite might happen.
To make a long story short, if you want to nag me about the update or criticize how long it takes, don't expect an answer you will like. Let me work at my own pace and I promise you it will get done as fast as my spare time and mental health will allow.
5. Check the blog regularly to stay informed.
In exchange for your not-nagging me about Beta 1.4, I'll make sure you're not kept in the dark about what's going on. As long as I have any information to pass along to the players, I will make sure I give an update about it. While I can't give ETA's on how long it'll take, I can at least make sure you know what has been done and what there is left to do.
6. Here's the basic upgrade plan I'm going to follow.
If you're really interested in what I actually have to do to get this going, take a look at my basic upgrade plan below. Otherwise, just skip it. Note that these steps are linear and require the previous steps to be done before I can work on them:
| Spoiler Inside: Minecraft Beta 1.4 Upgrade Plan | |
|---|---|
If you bothered to read the list, you can see it's a lot of work to upgrade the server. Eight of these steps are necessary just to bring the server up on Beta 1.4. After that, there's still a lot of pushing and pulling needed to bring the server back to full functionality. Hopefully this upgrade won't as bad as upgrading to 1.3 was (almost 50 hours of labor), but I'm not holding my breath.
Promotions and Player Shops
Hey, everyone!
Well, I've got some fun updates for all...I'll do this in order.
Promotions
I promoted a good amount of people tonight...just to recognize those that have shown that they can be trusted to have a good time and not screw around with others... 
Here's the list:
- ZackBlaze164 - Architect
- Thel337Spy - Architect
- XmetroidfanX - Architect
- MrKindLife - Architect
- _Nod_ - Architect
- Peturd - Architect
- SittingTurtl3 - Architect
- Jon_Lupen - Artisan
- Darkseeker - Artisan
- SanctusTerra - VIP
- EG_SpaceNinJA - Moderator
- Runninghobo - Administrator
Yes, we finally have a second Admin! He can approve new members, rollback griefing problems, and do all the big stuff like me. Now we have two admins and three mods, here to help you on Eagleworld!
Player Shops
Player Shops are finally back! Thankfully, the commands are simpler than they were before, so it should be nice and easy for all! Please check the Help Page for the basic list of commands. There ARE more commands, though, so visit the LocalShops plugin page ( here for more info.
Note that the Capitol City Marketplace is designed specifically to work nicely with the LocalShops plugin. All citizens of Eagleworld are allowed to have a shop in Capitol City. You will find 12x12 plots outlined in red torches all throughout the marketplace. Find an empty plot and build your store. Just stay inside the torches!
Once your store is built, see an admin to create your store. Once your shop is opened, you can start adding stock and selling your goods!
I hope everyone is pleased with the new player shops and promotions. I'm always trying to make Eagleworld a better place! Enjoy!
Plugin Updates
Well, I managed to buckle down for a few hours (once everyone logged off the server) and get some plugin work done. Most of the work revolved around updating all the plugins and bringing them to the latest version. Here's a synopsis of what was done on the server last night:
- Craftbukkit is still at the same version. While a new recommended version came out, no plugins are ready to support it, yet.
- LWC upgraded to the latest version. Minor bugfixes.
- iConomy was upgraded to 4.4.7. Doesn't really change anything on this server, except prepare us for future iConomy plugins.
- CreativeStick (formerly iStick) upgraded. Now, when you toggle it on, it'll spawn you a stick if you don't have one. Also, if you have sticks in your inventory somewhere, it'll swap them with your current hotbar slot so you have instant access. This one will help you mods out greatly.
- FlatEarth plugin installed. This gives us back the flat bedrock at the bottom layer that BedrockGapInsurance provided. It automatically works when players roam around the bottom of the Earth, so no user intervention is necessary.
I also managed to work on the SimpleShop bug where item ID's did not work. It turned out the items.db file I had used the wrong format, so after switching to a newer format, I'm happy to announce that item names work again in the Global Shop. If you are unsure about what name to type, don't worry. The Global Shop Page has the exact name that works with the plugin. Just type in whatever is on the page, omitting any spaces in the name. Also, if you're a glutton for pain, the item ID's still work.
Anyway, that's all I have for now, and all I might have for a while. Honestly, I can't really take running this server much more like this. It gives me too much stress and between the hard work, the unrelenting questions/complaints I get, and just the plain ungrateful behavior I get from some of you. Even after I spend over $100 of my own money to upgrade the server to make it run faster for everyone, and I still get problems from people every day. It seems like some of you really go out of your way to show that you just don't give a shit.
It has gotten to the point where I can't even sign on just to do some mining without scrutiny. I can't even play the game anymore, and I have to deal with abrasiveness all around. It really takes a toll on me, and I can't take it much longer.
So, I don't know how much more work I'm going to do on the server for a while. I'll keep it up and running and up to date, but don't expect me to kick my own ass to roll out new plugins and changes for a while. Expect me to take longer to do things and to be promptly ignored when you bitch at me for the 200th time in a row about player shops. I'm seriously at the point where I am ready to stop caring about it altogether.
IMPORTANT UPDATES
UPDATE: Just for clarification, when I say the "latest Minecraft launcher," I mean the one that has the news updates in it. It was released about a month ago but I noticed a lot of players still play on the old one.
Hey, everyone! I've got two updates for you people here. The first one is a minor change, but the second one is a big deal. Please please please make sure you read this post fully.
First, the small update...
Updates to the Essentials Plugin
I updated Essentials this morning to a more current version. This fixes a bunch of issues we were having. Most issues were on the back and and were causing memory leaks and performance issues. The noticable differences for players is that you will no longer lose your rank and color when you teleport and move to the Nether. Mods should now see all item alerts as they are supposed to. Also, I believe /antioch should work correctly now. Feel free to test.
There is one big drawback to this update, though: EssentialsChat, which gives us our nice pretty ranks, changed its behavior recently, which breaks the Mayor/King title that shows up in front of names. Please do not whine. I'll fix it when I can. I tried updating Towny as well to no avail. The stability we get on the server is a welcomed gain over losing the stupid titles.
And now, the big one...
New Minecraft Installer - a MUST for Eagleworld players
I'm announcing today that all players must download the new Minecraft installer available on www.minecraft.net. This is not just because it looks so pretty and has the stupid news updates. The new installer has a big advantage over the old: it does not force you to install Minecraft updates. So, why is this important?
Next Minecraft update, Eagleworld will not automatically update. Period. Yes, this means you have to wait to update Minecraft until Eagleworld is safely on the latest version. However, this will make the difference between having a server and not having a server to play on once the update breaks Bukkit and all of the plugins.
It is hard enough keeping the server running at close to 100% uptime on a beta product supported by volunteer, third-party plugins, but when I have to deal with constant nagging and complaints that the server is not up, it makes it all the harder. At least this way, the server will be 100% functional (albeit on the old version) while I have a chance to work.
I normally don't to "TL:DR's, but this one requires it. Here's your TL:DR:
Download the latest Minecraft installer if you have not yet done so.
Do not automatically update Minecraft next update. Wait for Eagleworld to catch up.
Trust me, folks...everyone (especially my sanity) will benefit from this. Thanks!
EagleWorld gets back iConomy!
Hello, everyone!
Well, I'm proud to announce that we now have iConomy available for use in Eagleworld! It required some server tweaking, but I got it done easily enough. We're now on the latest updates of both iConomy and SimpleShop, and the economy is ready to go!
Please note, however, there is one hitch: ITEM NAMES DO NOT WORK IN THE STORE. You will need to use the item's data value to purchase the item. For convenience, I have placed the item's data value next to its name in the Global Shop page. Use that as a handy reference for the data value you need. Please no complaining. There is nothing I can do about it until Niji patches it. I and others have made her aware and she will take care of it in due time.
Basic Commands
For all of the command information that you need, please refer to the Help Page. Check out the iConomy section and you will get all of the info you need. Also note there are no player shops yet. So, the Proprieter Commands do not work.
New Player Salaries
As I stated earlier, I will be giving players monthly salaries for playing on the server. The new montly salaries for players are as follows:
- Builder - 500 Talons
- Architect - 600 Talons
- Artisan - 750 Talons
- VIP - 1000 Talons
- Mod - 1500 Talons
- Admin - 2500 Talons
As I said before, I don't give myself a salary. I have the Admin salary listed in case I appoint Admins in the future.
To obtain your salary, you simply ask me for it while you are logged on the server. This way you need to play at least once per month to get your Talons. Also note that if you have just joined the server as of March, you will not get Talons this month. Your starting balance reflects your monthly salary.
February Salaries
If you were unable to get your February salary because of the server downtime, I am giving a 1 week extension to those that had not yet received it. Just ask me for it and you shall receive. Note that February salaries will be based on the old salaries (500Tl for Member, 750 for VIP).
Lastly, player Talons
I might not have time to import all player net worths before you have a chance to log in. If you log in and your Talons are the default (500), just chill. I'll fix it soon. I'd prefer you not buy or sell stuff beforehand just to make my life easier.
Otherwise, enjoy iConomy's long-awaited return!