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!
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.
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!
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?