Special Edition: Vintage Village Ventures

[10:39, 01/01/2012]:
Mysterious tracks have been spotted on the server this past weekend.  Eye witnesses describe the tracks as being "Terrifyingly long and jagged"  There are conflicting reports on where these tracks originate.  Officials appear baffled as to what could cause these tracks.  Our first order of business is to sort through the many witnesses to these events.

[23:07, 01/01/2012]:
Even the best attempts to harmonize peoples' stories has failed; Ubiquitous stated "Oh god, it's horriff-is that mic made of gold?"  mattbcha's responded "I can't be held legally responsible for any creepers that may or may not escape from the pumpkin house."  When asked whether Mordor had anything to do with this, Zanntos replied "No comment."  So far, neither the place nor the appearance remains consistent.

[05:16, 01/02/2012]:
Just in, Dasnar appears to be readying himself to combat whatever made the disturbance.  He was just spotted running in the direction of the transcontinental tunnel yelling "Waaaaagh! I've slain the Dragon, I'll slay you!"

[08:42, 01/02/2012]:
Following my lead (Dasnar), I finally confirmed the location of the disturbance.   The tracks appear to originate near the transcontinental tunnel.  The tracks appear to have a reddish tin, and are confirmed to be quite jagged.  Contact with Dasnar was broken when he decided to chase down the trail left.

[19:15, 01/02/2012]:
I mustered the courage to follow the same path as Dasnar.  This has led me to an underground cave system.    I can hear creepers exploding in the distance, I pray this means Dasnar is still alive.  I am running out of steam, and may have to camp here for the night.

[02:16, 01/03/2012]:
Down here, even the faintest whisper seems to echo for miles.  The acrid smells and incessant dripping have started to unnerve me. The explosions have grown fainter, and it has been a full half hour since I heard the last one.

[03:45, 01/03/2012]:
Can't sleep. Am I going to die down here?

[04:01, 01/03/2012]:
I grabbed my torch and packed up camp; I need to get out of here.

[06:53, 01/03/2012]:
A pack of spiders ambushed me as a rounded a blind corner.  One of them bit me; I fear it's poisoned me.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[07:30, 01/03/2012]:
I followed the light.  Whatever ill effects the spider bite might have had seem to have worn off.  The tracks ended right outside the tunnel.  I appear to be in some sort of building made out of this same red brick I found before.  I am going to brave a look outside.


[10:04, 01/03/2012]:
Outside the building I found a path leading to yet another building.  It was within that building that I found Dasnar sound asleep.  It seems he made it through the tunnel as well.  No other structures appear in the general vicinity, but there are roads leading everywhere here.  I am baffled as to who could have built these train tracks, and why they would lead to an empty town.  One thing is for sure, I am never traveling here again without a minecart.

Map to new area + the plots

Ohhhh, those kinds of tracks. . .

How's Housing?
Many people have previously expressed interest in having server-wide events.  This weekend, I thought we could try our hands at one and see how it goes.  While I was visiting with Daniel for solstice, we came up with the idea to build a communal village.  This past weekend I put into place the basic infrastructure that would be needed for such a village (a town square, a forge, a boat dock, a train station, fenced plots of land, roads, tree farms, etc.).  The general landscape has been preserved as best as I could manage.


Since we have a dozen people with a dozen different styles, I thought it would be useful to provide a theme for the village, that way our building can be semi-uniform.  The theme to aim for is "Rustic"  Interpret that as you wish.  However, I have come up with a few basic ground rules before we all run off and build:

1. No pumpkin/melon houses (this hurts me as much as anyone).
2. Building code dictates that all structures must lay within 50 <= y <= 90.  This gives us nice 40-elevation range to work within, while capping the size of our building to a reasonable level.  Home owners may petition the HOA for special exceptions to these limits.
3. Lava and Fire: The fire Department strictly regulates the amount of lava, netherrack and fire home owners are allowed.  Each house is restricted to only 4 exterior-exposed displays of fire.  For example, a single lava source point going 1x4x1 is within regulations, but a 2x3x1 stream is strictly forbidden.  This ordinance applies only to the exterior of houses.
4. Pane in the Glass: glass is considered a 'modern' feel rather than rustic, so please refrain from using glass sidings.
5. Lawn Care: In a stunning move, the HOA has decided to allow 10 animals per home.  However, a leash law applies to all animals: any unpenned animals may be subject to summary execution.  Home owners may petition the HOA for special exceptions to these limits.
6. What's mine is mine: No unauthorized mines are permitted.  Owners must submit an application and building plans to the HOA for any digging below y=50.
7. Keeping Connected: all buildings must be anchored to the ground at all times.  For simplicity's sake, the HOA has determined that every building corner should connect to the earth.
8. Nether Mind: personal nether portals are strictly forbidden.  All visitors from the nether must submit themselves to customs for inspection. (if someone (probably named Pierre and/or Dave) wants to build a portal, please create an addition to the train station and put it there)
9. When working within the Tree Farm (near the bay) please replant trees.

While this may seem like a lot of ground rules, the HOA feels that these rules are fair and allow for individual creativity to flourish within the community.  The HOA will consist of the following representatives:

• Ubiquitous7
• Mattbcha1
• Le_girl
• Timdiggerm
• Eugl
• NuSlayer

For matters of dispute, a consensus of four or more members constitutes a vote.  In fairness to the home owners, the burden of proof lays on the HOA to show violations

Treasured Chest:
The local government (HOA) ran a surplus in 2011, so they have decided to pass along the wealth to new home owners.  Each plot of land has been given a chest of supplies to help facilitate work on their homes.  These chests contain the following supplies to do as they see fit:

1. Stone Bricks: 2 stacks
2. Brick Stones: 2 stacks
3. Wood Logs: 2 Stacks
4. Charcoal: 1 Stack
5. Wool: 1 Stack
6. Glass: 1 Stack

Other supplies may be freely brought into the town from personal warehouses; no tariffs or taxes will be incurred as a result.  Each plot of land has been assigned to a player.  Look for the signs on the lawns to check which one is yours.  If there is any doubt, ask me and I can look it up.  I used a random number generator to assign everyone but Marian and me (Admin abuse! Admin abuse!).  I was generally pleased with the way things parsed out.

In Summary:
I would love to see this town really take off.  I am going to try not to be a dick about the rules; the basic premise to just build a house that looks like an actual house.  You are more than welcome to build houses the meet a function of the village as well; if you want to build a shop in your bottom floor then go for it!  Also, if you have an idea for a community building (adventurers guild?) I'll see what I can do to find a space for it and a team of builders.