11/21/20011

I apologize to everyone for how late this week's update has been.  In addition to the #Occupy shenanigans, a number of other significant projects were undertaken; enough to warrant an additional update (which I am finally posting).

Minecraft 1.0:
After two years of full-time development, "Notch" has deemed the current version of Minecraft as the official 'release' version.  There are a lot of great things about this particular update: wolves, nether, ender, enchanting, brewing, snow golems, and more wolves.  While I have not had the proper amount of time to sit down and digest all of the subtle changes, I am excited nonetheless.  One con of the new release is that Bukkit (the particular server I use) has not released its new build yet, which reduces the functionality on my end (especially admin teleporting).  Hopefully the Bukkit update will release soon.

Woof woof.  Feed me or I'll bone you. . .

Wolves:
I have been fascinated by the addition of wolves.  Wolves are the first tamable 'monster' (I use the term monster loosely because they will only attack when provoked, but then they swarm).  Feed the poor little pups a bone and they'll be your friends forever!  aww, how nice!  The first thing I did when the update came out was to go searching for these guys.  I finally found one on the other end of the "New Continent".  There is no word yet on how many (if any) of these guys have been trained.





Marian's Mansion:

Marian's Maniacal Mansion of Murder and Mayhem.

The old stone building on the opposite side of the lake has started to take on another shape.  The two-story house with trees on top seems to have cramped her style, so Marian has decided to erect this behemoth.  I do not think that the picture below captures the enormity of what a 45x25x15 structure actually looks like.  To say it is impressive is an understatement.  The structure itself appears to be orientated away from the lake which it is parked in front of.  When Marian was asked in an interview, she said it was because of the "ugly buildings across the way."  Rumor has it that she is running for president of the local Home Owner's Association.  Le_girl's website lists her running platform as "The number of technicolor houses on this block is too damn high!"


A New Challenger Appears!:
FinalParagon, aka Troy, joined our server in this update.  As is evidenced below, he has decided to colonize within the realms of a desert.  My original presumption was that he colonized the desert in proximity to our initial spawn location.  However, this assumption turned out to be incorrect.  Troy picked a random direction from that desert and ran until he found the next desert biome.  In an ironic twist, he ended up colonizing the north-east desert on the "New Continent" after swimming across the ocean.

Ahoy!  You swam across the oceans to colonize... desert?

Backyard?  More like back desert.

This was well thought out.

Troy was invited to the server a number of weeks ago, but due to lack of follow-up on my end, he only obtained the correct ip address this weekend. His architecture is clearly Egyptian inspired, and set forth immediately colonizing ocean view desert property. I believe this constitutes the first desert settlement we have had on the server as a primary base of operations.Mike 's base was originally made out of sandstone, but he colonized just outside the boundaries of the desert itself. Troy hinted that he may move beyond the confines of the desert at some point, but that he wanted to settle into this spot first.

Everyone needs a gate (I think this is a building outline)

Reed my mind: very Egyptian.

Breaking the 4th wall for a second, I would have stated that Troy is the last new member for a while, but during the Thanksgiving holiday, two additional players joined our group: my brother, and Mike's brother. For those of you who may be keeping track that makes the total number of players on the server to 11. Below is the list of player-names and their associated real-life designations.

AmIAnnoyingNow (Dave)
Eugl                    (Kenny)
FinalParagon       (Troy)
Le_Girl                (Marian)
mattbcha1           (Me, Matt)
NuSlayer             (John)
"Player"               ("Player" for now, my brother Daniel)
TimDiggerm         (Tim)
Ubiquitous7         (Mike)
Zanntos               (Pierre)

Special Edition: #Occupy

They say that the internet is molded and shaped by current events¹.  These events are documented using captioned cats, disturbing demotivationals, and other memorable memes.  If you doubt this assertion, a cursory search of 4chan, reddit, or failblog should be enough to convince you otherwise.  It is also well documented that these memes trickle down from one source to another, rippling away from their epicenters.  Some waves  (or perhaps more accurately a tsunami) seem to have crashed into the server this weekend.  Without further ado, I present picture-proof of #Occupy.
^{[1] This statement is completely false.  It sounds good though, no?  Also, who is 'they'?}

The Start: #OccupyMattsTower:
Friday evening I logged kick-started the server, and made the mistake of allowing Ubiquitous7, aka Mike, to roam the server without supervision.  In hindsight, I should have known that this was a bad idea.  While I was enjoying some Dr. Who, Mike was busy 'Occupying' my humble abode. 

While I was preoccupied, my house was being occupied!

After swooning over David Tennant, I logged back onto the server to find my estate in the above state.  I promptly went about making peace with the protestors, and settled my debts for an undisclosed sum of money.

Escalation:
In settling my debts with the protestors, I may have [mis]guided them to their next target: Mordor.  It was at that precise point when the movement took traction.  While I dealt with a handful of generic signs, Mordor was plastered with dozens of finely crafted curses.

Someone needed to get something off their [treasure] chest..

What the?? Incest??

Greed and Death: A Natural Monopoly.

The pictures above demonstrate the agitation felt amongst the 99%. One of the reoccurring themes within was outsourcing jobs. Rather than hiring fair labor, or even child labor, Mordor "contracts" orc slaves. The orc labor force lives in squalid conditions, slaving for their evil master. Fair wages (or any wages) for all!

This sign is orccish. Yeaaah, I know that was pretty bad.  

For heaven's sake!

Oops.  Wrong movement.

While forcing orc slaves to construct your base is bad enough, the offenses do not stop there. The 99% [rightly] picketed Mordor's ode to egotism: the sun. Wikipedia states, "Megalomania is a psycho-pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, and/or omnipotence..." To paraphrase, Megalomania is the belief that the earth revolves around that person. I cannot construct a situation in which building a personal sun does not fit that definition. 99%, you are spot on!

Sun of a. . .

Children starve while "the man" lives in the lap of luxury.

Retribution:
One does not simply walk into Mordor [and protest]. Repercussions resounded from the 99%'s efforts. In a "compromise" Mordor decided to fund the "Lava Redistribution Project" as a reaction to the signs stating "1% of the populations should not have 99% of the lava." In a display of utmost power, geysers of lava sprang forth from hidden wells beneath a number of spots. In an even more powerful display of power, a fountain of lava has descended from the sky to ring the skygardens.

Mordor "caving in" to demands? I sense passive aggressive.

Lava.  Lava from the sky!

This. Seems. Ominous.

When I tried to reach the 99% for a comment, none of them answered my calls - perhaps because they do not own phones.

This has been a Special Edition post. Please stay tuned for further information regarding non #Occupy shenanigans.

11/14/2011

A Quick Note:
The official release version of Minecraft comes out tomorrow.  Because there are bound to be numerous people who are excited about the new features (myself included), I will be turning on the server on Friday this week in addition to the usual Sat/Sun/Mon. 

Maps:
I have been asked by a number of people Tim recently to provide an overview map which highlights the 'true' extent of our world domination. To create the picture above, I took a series of two pictures: 1. A normal snapshot of our map, 2. A picture of each torch/netherrack on the map. I included Netherrack because I used it to merge the two images together using Mount Doom. ONce I had merged the two together, I used photoshop to create a halo-effect around each of the torches so they would stand out. As you can see, there are definitely 'hot spots' where we have colonized. When I showed the map to Mike, he noted that the sporadic torches are likely due to Pre-Gen mine shafts.

Shiny Lights from the sky!

One Map to Rules Them All

Yup, those really ARE pumpkins in the ceiling.

Narcissism First:
This past weekend was the first time in a few weeks that I had a substantial time to log onto the server.  I subsequently started a number of projects, including expansion of John's Slime Farm.

The farm was expanded to include two additional floors above the one that John cleared.  Work has begun on expanding the farm[s] even further by adding a third floor above his, and creating a basement (5 floors in total). Excavation of the basement has become stalled due to the excessive amount of lava that has been located.  Anybody interested in farming obsidian may want to consider this spot for excavation. 

Two other micro-projects I worked on this weekend included building a true 'dock' for my stadium, and expanding the number of furnaces that I had. As you can see from the picture below, there is no such thing as too many furnaces. I know what you are thinking, "How could you possibly use that many furnaces?" I am glad you asked.

Two months in and I just built a proper dock?.

Yes,I have actually used all of these at once.

The continental tunnel was looking rather sad and lonely, so I put much of my time in this weekend into expanding it. After many much sand extraction and glass smelting, I was able to extend the entire top (and one of the sides) of the tunnel all the way to the new continent! I still need another approximately 5,0000 glass to finish the rest of the production. Also, there is the whole secondary phase which involves draining the water out of the tunnel. Oh goodness, such a project.

Tim's Church:
It is a well established fact that Tim is the only direct neighbor to Mordor.  I have noticed that his occupancy and construction can be modeled using the Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief Model.  At first, Tim was in denial; he set up his own base, and kept to himself as much as possible.  While he dwelled in that phase for an unhealthy amount of time, he eventually moved to the Anger Stage; he planted trees to obstruct the view, and removed any signs of his presence above ground.  At this point, I believe that he has moved to the Bargaining Stage; the picture below is evidence that he has turned to God in order to pray the evil dictator away.  At this point it really does look like he's going to need a miracle.

Only God can save you now!

Excavation Station:

Dog? Dragon?  Nyan Cat?

In a scene that is eerily similar to one from The Two Towers, Pierre has started to dig his Orc Pits.  In doing so, he has exposed a layer of his base that was previously hidden from view. I can't decide if his base looks like an oil rig, or a handicapped dog/dragon (you have to admit that pumpkin farm looks like an ear).  Somehow, his excavation actually makes his base look less imposing. 

While exploring his territory, I came across Pierre's true sign of genius. In the making of Mount Doom, it appears that he has kept track of the number of times he has died in a horrible fashion. The number is surprisingly smaller than I would have anticipated.

I have included a picture of what happens when an admin teleports incorrectly. Yup, that floating block was supposed to be Pierre's base. It never actually materialized, and my character plummeted through an unloaded chunk in the world to a horrible unrecoverable death. Ouch.

Mike's Cabinet of Curiosities:
For those of who do not know, before museums existed, estates and/or persons ran their own museums. Before the term museum was adopted, these personal collections were referred to as Cabinets of Curiosity. Marian and I read a fascinating Thriller/Chiller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child on this exact matter. Although I doubt that Mike has any eternal life serum hiding in his cave, I did manage to find his 'blinged out base.' Due to a binding confidentiality agreement with the Endermen, the specific location will remain a mystery to the general populous.

Kenny's Killer Creations:
It was only a matter of time before at least one death machine made its way into the world. As Marian can attest, the trap is quite effective to those not expecting it. While the exact method of soul extraction has been revised a number of times, the general assembly has remained the same. I must admit that I am disappoint at the lack of promised cake for worthy seekers. C'est la vie.

Seems legit. . . (at least there is fair warning)

This looks ominous. . .

Well, I guess I am drowning in my own stupidity. . .

R.I.P. Player:
Player (aka Marian) has finally decided to call it quits. After thinking long and hard, Player decided that our server was just not for them. Wait a second, who's that?? Player was reincarnated?? Since the official release of Minecraft is just around the corner (okay, tomorrow), Player decided to get official and upgrade their account. While the Player tag was quaint, they have decided to go by a new name. I could spoil the surprise, but you'll just have to log in to see. There lies a plaque within their base to commemorate the good times Player had.

Alas poor Player (no, really.. you were poor)

That's all for this (okay, last) week! It was a relatively busy week compared to the previous one. As I mentioned before, with the release of M.C. 1.9, I will try to kick the server on (assuming I can download the new 1.9 server) tomorrow night for you all to check out!

11/07/11

MORDOR:
For various reasons, few people were online this past weekend.  When I made my rounds this week for pictures, there was only one base which had noticably changed.  As you could guess from the title above, it was Pierre's.  While having the Eye of Sauron was neat, it has not appeared to satisfy Pierre's thirst for power.  This past week he set out to make what one can only assume to be Mount Doom.  His Eye now resides on top of said mountain, and its lava flows freely into the bay nearby.

Definitely NOT in compliance with the HOA regulations. . .

The Cracks of Doom?  No Sign  yet.

Ominous is the only appropriate word for this during a T-storm.

In case you are trying ti figure out how this is different from the one I posted last week, I believe that he filled in the base around the lava, and added more source points?  It does seem to have spread out a bit more than before.

Oh Look, A Fence:
I would not swear to it, but the only other change I saw was Tim's treeline appeared slightly bigger than it was previously.  I do not find this a coincidence.  My guess is that Tim has not learned from The Two Towers, and plans to protect his land with a forest.  Because trees are boring, I thought I'd include a picture of Tim's new (as of last week) entrance to his lair.

I'm still on the fence about this new entrance...

Happy 11/11/11!

10/31/2011

This past weekend was very low-key for everyone on the server.  I kicked on the server Saturday morning, and when I got home on Sunday night, less than 20 lines of chat had crossed on my logs when I checked them.  That being said, there were a number of new construction projects, and the desert  near Mike/Kenny's island was explore/new terrain was generated.










Dance Dance Treevolution: John was by far the most active player over the weekend (at least to my naive eye).  It appears that he celebrated his solitude by building a dance floor.  Perhaps he thought "if I build it, they will come"?  As far as I am aware, it has not worked yet, but I give him an A for effort.  I particularly appreciate the pumpkins and melons.



The Apple of My Eye:
A dance floor was not the only thing that John built this weekend.  His much larger project (which his disco floor is inside) was a Tree of Life.  I can only imagine how much time it must have taken, and how many trees must have been sacrificed to build this monument.  More impressive than the structure is that it has been hollowed out and decorated.  Kudos to you, John.

Zoomed out view of the Life Tree

Pumpkins, fantastic for lighting.

Mike Miike Miiiiiiiike:
The only visible sign of Mike's efforts this weekend is Mike's Mike Sign.

On The Fence:
Tim's breakthrough for the weekend was that he took down his dirt facade, and he put a fence between himself and Mordor. Frankly, I am surprised that it took him so long to block such a beautiful[?] view of Pierre's territory. There is no word yet as to whether or not Tim has plans to build an above-ground house.

Mordor?  No, I saw less door.

More Moor Mordor:
Sauron continues his trek toward global domination by continued construction on his tower.  His personal sun has grown by a slight amount (ever so slight).  I am somewhat surprised that he has not enclosed his land so that the natural light does not filter into his land.  Also, he appears to have taken his Nether fascination out into the main land.  Yes, he's lining his Eye with liquid death.  No status update this week on the impending orc invasion.

Lava?  Oh holy... lava!

The sun has grown very slightly.