I don’t give out updates nearly enough – but I think it’s about time for one!

The 1.20.2 update, finally!

It took a while – but the server software was finally updated to 1.20.2 and the server is now based on that update. This means finding diamonds (Especially on the new resource worlds) should be far easier, and people with lesser connections should load in much faster, and have a better overall experience. You can read more about that update on the Mojang update post. I’m not done with software updates yet though, looking at paid software to enhance performance (Especially with combat).

New Resource Worlds & Player Warps

We’ve finally added resource worlds. This has become an absolute necessity as the main overworld is almost fully explored – and resources from strongholds will be less and less available. You can access all the necessary information (and teleport between the main overworlds) by using /worlds in-game. However, I will explain a few things in this post:

• There are 2 new resource worlds, the resource overworld – and the resource nether. Both reset every 7 days with a completely random seed. The end is also reset every 14 days.
• You can only directly teleport to the overworld or resource world via the new menu. If you want to get to the resource nether, you need to build a nether portal in the resource world. Both worlds share the end world.
• You can use the home system however you like, but if you set your home in the resource world – and it resets – you could end up teleporting into a dangerous area (Block suffocation is disabled – so the real threat is lava or other damaging blocks).
• Upon death, If you are in the Overworld, The Nether, or The End – you will respawn in the Overworld. If you are in the Resource World or the Resource Nether, you will respawn in the Resource World.
• Claims are disabled in ALL worlds that reset.
• In the /worlds menu – Your player head is displayed under the world that you are currently in. The enchanted ender pearl is a teleport function (With a 5-minute cooldown). Enchanted blocks represent the resource worlds. Hover over any world to find out if claims are enabled, if the world resets, how long until the next reset (If it resets), and what that particular world’s respawn world is.
• All worlds have a live map – hover over the right sidebar to select the appropriate world. We were having an issue where the online map wasn’t resetting when the world reset. I think I have fixed that – but won’t know until the next reset. Please let me know if you notice any issues.

We may add more worlds in the future as necessary – but for right now, I am happy with how things are set up.

I’ve also finally added the new /playerwarps menu. This menu will feature player builds (Warp at your own risk). Each item will feature the name of the marker, a motto/tagline, Who created the build (Which auto updates if you change your username, or your /nick if you are a server donor), and when the build was established (Month, Year).  You will not be able to access this menu until you’ve played for 4+ hours on the server. This is to hopefully prevent new players from warping to player warps and building way too close to them. You can apply for a marker/warp in the discord under the map markers forum – Please read the submission rules before publishing your request.

Eventually, we will have a /warps menu as well – which will be official server builds, but the player warps menu is a great community system for people to show off their builds right now.

The Great Hardware Upgrade

Many of you were likely in the maintenance channel where I was live updating the recent hardware upgrades. It was quite the rollercoaster:

I did run into several huge issues, and at one point I thought I had accidentally wiped the wrong disk. This isn’t a huge deal – because I have server backups (Including one I took before starting the upgrade process) – but I thought I had lost my entire backend infrastructure setup (Which would take days to replicate). Thankfully, I have chosen decent software that requires confirmation on everything – and so the blunder I made was easily reversed. I should probably take full backups of my entire system, and not just the server.

The hardware upgrades were a success, and I can already see that the server is running MUCH better. However, I have not been able to test how it scales (Like on weekends when the server is full). Hoping it can handle more. I will also be helping it along by purchasing some optimized server software that will hopefully help.

All that being said, upgrades like this are prone to issues – please report if you run into any bugs or performance problems. You can use /report in-game to file several report types (Lag reports will print very useful server information to me when you submit it).

Things to do

I am adding this list so that I hopefully actually come back and add these things, but here’s what’s on my radar currently:

1. Features Page on Website – A page outlining all available features. This won’t be a documentation page – just a page to let new players know what we have. Resource worlds in particular are not necessarily listed anywhere on the website or in-game (Besides the worlds menu link).
2. Spawnbuild – I despise server spawns. I feel like they create a community reliance upon the server owner/staff – however, it is also a huge part of player retention. So, I have something in the works. It may be a few weeks – but it’s on its way, eventually.
3. PvP Arena – The new server software claims a significantly better PvP experience. Would love to capitalize on it and include an arena for people to go fight in – at their leisure. Likely will be the first server’s official warp.

Well, folks, that’s all I’ve got for now. I hope you’re enjoying the server. Please consider supporting the server – and I don’t necessarily mean monetarily- telling your friends about the server, being nice to new joins, and participating with the community – those are all a huge help to the server. It does not go unnoticed. I see many of you participating, and it means a lot to me. I love seeing “regulars” and getting to maintain server relationships. If you’re a new player – please join us. We’d love to get to know you!