Narcissism, Ho!

I have been playing a lot of minecraft on the server recently.  However, I've found that weeknights work better for me than the weekends.  As a result, I've been leaving the server up at all hours.  It was probably only a matter of time, but I think Maptimus Optimus (our server seed) is officially a 24/7 server now.  I am in the process of determining whether my backup desktop can handle our demands.  Unfortunately, this required ordering an adapter I did not have - delivery estimated on May 5th.

Rather than running around cataloging everyone's projects, I decided to focus on the projects I have been working on for the past few weeks.  Since my last update I've been working on no fewer than 6 distinct projects.  So, without further ado, narcissism, ho!

Renovation Proclamation!

I've been inspired by the buildings in The Village.  Whether it be their 'uniqueness' (AmIAnnoyingNow), their decor (Dasnar), or their historic significance (Tim's ruins), the buildings far outshine any of my previous attempts.  While I was on a trip to my pumpkin farm, I realized how outdated my stadium had become.  As a result, it has been under renovation.  Please note that it is still a work in progress:

Renovations are a work in progress.  The exterior is particularly ugly.

My renovations started by realizing that the second floor in my building has never been properly utilized.  When the stadium was first erected I had expected that it would become my warehouse.  However, it has sat empty the entire time.  The most prominent feature I have added is a balcony.  After a long day's work, I can take in the stars and watch pumpkins grow. Once had retooled the second floor, I realized that a solid cobblestone stadium is an extreme eyesore.  Since stone bricks are not nearly as uncommon now as they once were, I started replacing the structure with them.  However, I soon realized that it was ugly too!  I finally settled on an alternating pattern of stone and stone bricks.  This modern design breaks the structure up into a pleasing pattern rather than a garish glob.  

A view from the new entryway.

The bedroom: now with double-bed, couches, and a view!

Brand new couch and window.

It is a well known fact that I have never experimented with the adventure elements of minecraft. I have never built or used an enchanting table, and I have never brewed a potion. I thought that I should probably rectify this one day, so I installed an enchanting room on the second floor of my stadium. Well... I got as far as designing the 'optimal' room for enchanting, and then I realized it needed more pumpkin. Oh well, Ifind it enchanting. I have also included 400% moar windows in my renovated stadium. Windows are useless without a way to enjoy them, so I have included couches and end tables accordingly.

Enchanting room? Well, that's a matter of opinion.

View from the balcony - a proper shot of Mike's House.

An alcove I built on the second floor.

While I was browsing the blog I realized that I have never included a proper picture of my [in]famous pumpkin farm! The only project that has ever been more time consuming for me to implement is the transcontinental tunnel. Each pumpkin lies on top of a piston that is used to 'pop' the pumpkin, so I need only flip 1 switch and collect the goods. Sadly, my redstone circuit is far from optimal so I may implement a 100% better one at a later point.

The crown jewel of my Old Continent house.  The pumpkin farm!  200 fully automated pistons.

Stadium Standards:
One down, 5 more projects to go. I hope that you all have either alcohol or coffee. I will try no to expound upon the virtues of pumpkins too much.

As if working on one stadium wasn't enough, I decided to test out a new spiral design on the New Continent.  This was partially because my New Continent structure ("Matt's Ego Trip") was removed to make way for the Enderman.  The structure is not complete yet (I am contemplating how I want to implement the next phase), but enjoy the sneak-peak.

It wouldn't be a proper project it if didn't use pumpkins for lighting.

A view of the contextual terrain.

Treasonous Tree... Son?
Ubiquitous has been gradually expanding his territory on the New Continent. His latest project involves redstone clocks and rocket-fuel. I have yet to build on mountainous terrain, so I took up the challenge of this new area. This location is still in its infancy - it currently consists of two gigantic jungle-trees on top of the mountain. Further development is needed before I divulge my schemes, but they may involve TnT cannons.

View of my trees from a neighboring mountaintop.

The base of one of the trees.

Donkey Kong?
This is the working name that I have given to this project. The terrain generated changed significantly when Minecraft Beta 1.9 was released. As a result, we were left with a number of 'chunk errors' - sheared cliffs or sudden biome shifts. One of these boundaries lies along the railway into The Village. I decided to have a bit of fun with this. I have not decided whether or not I want to decorate it with pictures/beds/houseware. Maybe an actual Jump Man?

You gotta' lava this design.  Okay, that one was pretty bad even for me.

Kept in Suspension:
One of the things not [able to be] pictured within this post is that I took down the wooden bridge with pumpkin houses in the Old Continent. While it was a great idea at the time, the project never really took off, and the bridge turned out to be mostly useless. As a result, I took it down. While it saddens me to take down any project, its time had come.

Because I took down the only proper bridge I had built, that got me thinking about building a new bridge somewhere. While I scoured our map for a proper place, I noticed these two cliffs near The Village. I noticed that a small house would fit perfectly between them. Before I knew it, I'd put up a proper house and decorated it. Rumor has it that even Le_Girl approves of the decorations. I am most proud of the washer/dryer cauldrons.

You can't have a bridge-house without a couch and view.

Ovens, washer, dryer, and even counters!

A view of the outside with landmarks.

Village Jail Cell Hell:
While wandering around the village, I noticed that there are a few buildings that have never been implemented. While we have a restaurant, an apartment complex, a library, and a pub, we have no general store or jail.  Also, the village can hardly qualify as a village without a few testificates.  What happened to these poor sods?  About this time I decided to do some excavation near Tim's ruins.  What I found underneath Tim's ruins should shock everyone.  Tim, you're a disturbed individual.

I'll just dig over here.  Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

What the hell?  Tim.. is this why there are ruins?

Well, I may as well put in some pumpkins.

Oh God, the Pumpkins...
The village was noticably pumpkin free. I found this both eerie and disturbing. However, since the HOA forbids these features I decided to move outside of the village before I started decorating. The picture below is the result of my previously pictured pumpkin farm. While I intended to only guild the valley sides, Ubiquitous requested some additions. Yeah, blame him, not me! Now if only we had some sort of giant melon construct in the area too...

If you're wondering about the white-space, it's because I had to stitch a few pictures together for this shot.  Also, it's worth noting the wall surrounding parts of our village now.