Server Notice
Later this afternoon, between 4PM and 5PM GMT+2 I will be putting the server in test mode to deploy the latest stable version of Craftbukkit. This is a plugin framework that by itself already adds a lot of new features to the server and with plugins gets even more stuff added. The Bukkit crew has been working for a long time since the release of 1.8 to make it compatible and as bug free as possible and today the recommended build finally became available.
However to be on the save side I'm backing up the server beforehand and putting the server in a self created 'test mode' which basically means the server is going to be backed up hourly instead of daily. It also means that, in case of server corruption, anything done inside that hour will be lost. Hence the test mode.
I'm getting good reports from people running Craftbukkit with several plugins though, so everything should work as planned and not destroy the world.
Some of the features I'll be installing are:
Mob Spawning - Ops (and to some degree regulars) will be able to spawn any mob they wish, including powered Creepers and Ghasts. Obviously this feature will be severely limited, probably by use of signs and an experimental economy (see below). In short this means we'll have animals to slaughter again for meat and wool.
Endermen Nerf - Endermen will be limited to only be able to pick up dirt, sand and gravel.
Stargates - Those paying attention will probably have seen a round gate at Genesis and a placeholder at Exoddus. These will be functioning as a direct portal between those two points. When you step trough you'll be teleported to the other location automatically.
Aside from being convenient, there's also an underlying performance reason why I'm installing this. Traveling between Genesis and Exoddus requires the entire Nether route to be loaded by the server and since it's a minecart track this has to be done very quickly. After that it also has to load Genesis in most cases since no-one is usually there anymore. Thus when someone travels on that track the server gets loaded pretty badly. With these gates you'll be able to teleport yourself directly to Genesis and back without having to load the Nether.
Economy - We had a vote a while ago and it showed clearly there was no real interest in running an economy on the server. While I respect that outcome, I do want to give influential commands (such as the mob spawning in this case) some sort of restriction so non-ops can use it as well without spawning 50 sheep and filling our wool supply for the next 10 years. By charging currency for the spawning of mobs it doesn't become a game breaking meganism. I have yet to think of a way for players to gain currency without it having an impact on our current playing style, however. So suggestions are welcome. I was thinking of paying players small amounts for selling certain items that are in high demand. Or maybe a weekly allowance of sort. As I said, still working that out.
Trade Signs - With the economy also comes the ability for players to make trade signs near a chest. You could for example be needing a lot of obsidian because you're building a large tower to overcompensate for something
. Using a trade sign you can offer incentive to other players to mine that obsidian for you and trade it with you for something valuable or rare. This doesn't directly create an economy, but does make trading and rewards for labor a little more easy to manage for players.
Spleef Arena - For Splat's Spleef Arena I'll be looking for a decent Spleef plugin that auto resets the playing field after each match.
I will be testing Craftbukkit and some plugins today between 4 and 5PM GMT+2. I recommend not building anything significant during that time as you may lose it if the server becomes unstable and I have to revert to a backup.
....
. They are restricted to moving dirt, sand and gravel.
