Preface
Hello, you may have seen me on the server as "ChesterCheetah." Ive played this server a lot since its release, probably more than anyone else in Mizunami. I have tried to make suggestions and tried to help the server and people on it, and i have also made my mistakes as well. So a little preface before you start reading my massive wall of text...
This is not a thread to bash the server for what it has done wrong. No server is perfect, and making a good server takes a lot of work from many people for it to be successful. With minecraft starting to fall from its peak and most community members are becoming bored of it, minecraft servers are becoming harder, and harder to maintain. I'm not calling this server bad, I just want to mention a few problems that this server has, and propose solutions to them. And to end this segment, i want to thank the staff for all the work they have done up until now to keep this server running well for as long as it has, surpassing a lot of other people's expectations.
If you think that my ideas and suggestions should be ignored because of any past mistakes i made, please read this next part first. Otherwise on to the actual thread
Ok so first of all I think I can focus on 4 specific area's of the server for the issues with it.
1. Thee amount of grey area in the rules and the difficulty with staffing that comes with it
2. The way raids work and how it discourages PvP or any creativity in raiding or base defense
3. Zero endgame in the aspect of PvP by being gated with low tier-enchants and tough to find resources
4. The way the faction system is set up where one is forced into one of 5 groups and cant change(?)
Ok so first let me tackle the first issue regard rules and staffing
On to the second point
Now for point number 3 (or point 2.5)
And finally point 4
Aside from the 4 (or 3) major points i just mentioned the server has many other things which need improvement including...
- Mob and mythic mob spawning
- Dungeons
- Spawn town
- Land claims
- Map size
- Lack of quick transportation
Now many of the fixes to the issues i presented can be pushed one of two ways
Either towards a semi-vanilla SMP server which there are hundreds of
Or towards a raid/faction server, which there are also hundreds of...
However there is a way to make this server unique in either regard, however i do not want to push a PVP server if the majority of the player base would prefer a SMP experience, perhaps its better to have one of each?
Now I will continue in the next post my suggestions, and ideas for this to be a more unique, faction-like, pvp-encouraging server...
I typed this up a while ago so im not sure if anything changed since then. Also for those about to yell at me for multi-posting i just didnt want to have so much stuff in one post. Thank you
Hello, you may have seen me on the server as "ChesterCheetah." Ive played this server a lot since its release, probably more than anyone else in Mizunami. I have tried to make suggestions and tried to help the server and people on it, and i have also made my mistakes as well. So a little preface before you start reading my massive wall of text...
This is not a thread to bash the server for what it has done wrong. No server is perfect, and making a good server takes a lot of work from many people for it to be successful. With minecraft starting to fall from its peak and most community members are becoming bored of it, minecraft servers are becoming harder, and harder to maintain. I'm not calling this server bad, I just want to mention a few problems that this server has, and propose solutions to them. And to end this segment, i want to thank the staff for all the work they have done up until now to keep this server running well for as long as it has, surpassing a lot of other people's expectations.
If you think that my ideas and suggestions should be ignored because of any past mistakes i made, please read this next part first. Otherwise on to the actual thread
Now first thing i want to tackles is to make sure this thread is taken seriously. I dont want to type up all my opinions and ideas of this server for it to be laughed at for a mistake i made in the past. I dont expect players to forgive me, nor for some staff to not hold a grudge against me. But please, put my history and mistakes to the side while reading this and please take the things i say seriously.
Ok so first of all I think I can focus on 4 specific area's of the server for the issues with it.
1. Thee amount of grey area in the rules and the difficulty with staffing that comes with it
2. The way raids work and how it discourages PvP or any creativity in raiding or base defense
3. Zero endgame in the aspect of PvP by being gated with low tier-enchants and tough to find resources
4. The way the faction system is set up where one is forced into one of 5 groups and cant change(?)
Ok so first let me tackle the first issue regard rules and staffing
First problem is you have 3 seperate threads for rules, and some rules that are not clearly set in stone.
The rules are extremely unorganized and highly confusing or misleading to someone who is new and starting. Now most pvp rules are auto-set with enchantment configurations, and PvP-logging is sort of common sense. But when it comes to the amount of grey are when it comes to scenarios in vault and chest defending it becomes ridiculous.
One example of this could be the amount of variable entrenches a clan base, or vault can have. different locks, mechanisms, hallways, traps, so many possibilities to defend a base. And almost every single one has to be individually checked for legality. And with different staff, with different opinions, conflicting ideas can come easy.
First instance is where i experimented with going on top of the nether a while ago. Im not going to name staff names since i dont want to start a witch hunt, but 2 staff members told me its legal, 1 told me its illegal, and one said he wasnt sure. It wasnt until almost 2 weeks later did i get a definite answer from an admin on the issue. Sure the way i got up there "minecraft hopping" can be considered using a glitch, however at the same time it also has to be considered of being a game mechanic of letting you hop through a block when taking damage while using a "damage boost" to get over. But each instance of glitching vs game mechanics is another argument in itself.
Now another example of the grey area, that should be shown as a bit more obvious light, can be with the recent change of vault protection rules. Many rules were added, changed, and re-clarified because they werent clear enough. Almost every faction has serveral locks and vaults that took hours to build need to now be demolished and/or redesigned from a late rule change clarification? Im not saying rules souldnt be changed or added, but rules that force players to get rid of hours of work just because of an unclear or unset standard is a little absurd.
The same arguement can go with several other rules other than chest rules such as whats legally defined as using a glitch or how mob grinders can be built legally, or auto-item sorters, etc.
The bottom line here is the rules are not clearly set-in stone or clearly defined and WAY too much grey area exists between the black and white in the rule compendium.
The rules are extremely unorganized and highly confusing or misleading to someone who is new and starting. Now most pvp rules are auto-set with enchantment configurations, and PvP-logging is sort of common sense. But when it comes to the amount of grey are when it comes to scenarios in vault and chest defending it becomes ridiculous.
One example of this could be the amount of variable entrenches a clan base, or vault can have. different locks, mechanisms, hallways, traps, so many possibilities to defend a base. And almost every single one has to be individually checked for legality. And with different staff, with different opinions, conflicting ideas can come easy.
First instance is where i experimented with going on top of the nether a while ago. Im not going to name staff names since i dont want to start a witch hunt, but 2 staff members told me its legal, 1 told me its illegal, and one said he wasnt sure. It wasnt until almost 2 weeks later did i get a definite answer from an admin on the issue. Sure the way i got up there "minecraft hopping" can be considered using a glitch, however at the same time it also has to be considered of being a game mechanic of letting you hop through a block when taking damage while using a "damage boost" to get over. But each instance of glitching vs game mechanics is another argument in itself.
Now another example of the grey area, that should be shown as a bit more obvious light, can be with the recent change of vault protection rules. Many rules were added, changed, and re-clarified because they werent clear enough. Almost every faction has serveral locks and vaults that took hours to build need to now be demolished and/or redesigned from a late rule change clarification? Im not saying rules souldnt be changed or added, but rules that force players to get rid of hours of work just because of an unclear or unset standard is a little absurd.
The same arguement can go with several other rules other than chest rules such as whats legally defined as using a glitch or how mob grinders can be built legally, or auto-item sorters, etc.
The bottom line here is the rules are not clearly set-in stone or clearly defined and WAY too much grey area exists between the black and white in the rule compendium.
On to the second point
Raiding and PvP
Ok lets take a look at how many ways this server discourages PvP and raiding.
Lock based defense and having to crack locks,
hard to find basic gear making dying very rough,
ability to respawn instantly after your killed regear up and attack a raider,
having to search for hours for an entrance to a base
How annoying it is to get from one place to the other on this massive map
No /home
No pluggins to prevent pvp-logging
Nothing to gain from raiding other than the fun of it
Much more
Face it, the server seems to support players just build a defensive base and making it look good. Honestly this is just a glorified SMP server, and perhaps thats what more players want, but if the majority just want to play SMP, then the PVP aspect hurts those players. As i stated in my first impression thread, It is incredibly hard to make a server that pleases both parties.
And they way base raids work and base defenses work is just so static and boring. All you need for a secure base is to make it have some crazy redstone lock that makes raiders take HOURS to crack, I would rather watch paint dry then to spend hours trying every combination in the book to crack one of 3 locks to get to a vault. Oh and say you finally do get into a base after getting insider information, or getting lucky with a lock crack, well everyone just hides in houses with an entrence so you cant even kill them and they just watch as you spend hours trying to crack the next puzzle. Then your time limit (which is another grey area since every raid is different) is up and you need to leave for 12 hours.
Now you finally get into their vault and you get .... a couple stacks of coal and redstone. Almost no reward for all that hard work.
Ok lets take a look at how many ways this server discourages PvP and raiding.
Lock based defense and having to crack locks,
hard to find basic gear making dying very rough,
ability to respawn instantly after your killed regear up and attack a raider,
having to search for hours for an entrance to a base
How annoying it is to get from one place to the other on this massive map
No /home
No pluggins to prevent pvp-logging
Nothing to gain from raiding other than the fun of it
Much more
Face it, the server seems to support players just build a defensive base and making it look good. Honestly this is just a glorified SMP server, and perhaps thats what more players want, but if the majority just want to play SMP, then the PVP aspect hurts those players. As i stated in my first impression thread, It is incredibly hard to make a server that pleases both parties.
And they way base raids work and base defenses work is just so static and boring. All you need for a secure base is to make it have some crazy redstone lock that makes raiders take HOURS to crack, I would rather watch paint dry then to spend hours trying every combination in the book to crack one of 3 locks to get to a vault. Oh and say you finally do get into a base after getting insider information, or getting lucky with a lock crack, well everyone just hides in houses with an entrence so you cant even kill them and they just watch as you spend hours trying to crack the next puzzle. Then your time limit (which is another grey area since every raid is different) is up and you need to leave for 12 hours.
Now you finally get into their vault and you get .... a couple stacks of coal and redstone. Almost no reward for all that hard work.
Now for point number 3 (or point 2.5)
Once again back to the PvP aspect, there is nothing to strive for in the sense of PvP. Spend 1 hour mining for diamonds, make a table get a sharpness 1 and prot 1 armor for around 10 levels of exp, and your done. A few hours of grinding for diamonds, and they upgrades it takes to enchant them can be gotten in 5 minutes.
Now in order to change most of this a lot of balancing needs to be done, which i plan to go over later, but for a core rundown I feel that most of this stuff should be re-enabled. Though this section is more opinion based than the other sections, otherwise it ties hand-in-hand with point 2 So ill come back to this one later
Now in order to change most of this a lot of balancing needs to be done, which i plan to go over later, but for a core rundown I feel that most of this stuff should be re-enabled. Though this section is more opinion based than the other sections, otherwise it ties hand-in-hand with point 2 So ill come back to this one later
And finally point 4
The faction system, also this is my person biggest gripe right now. When i first heard about there only being 5 factions i though the idea sounded cool and original, and now i completely hate it. By forcing people together like this you cause lots of conflict. Lots of it. Let me go over a few instances first
1. Paceboys with Ignatius
2. Sir computer and Terra
3. The whole drama thing with Terra
4. The hoarding thing with Murato(?)
5. The disagreements with mizunami
6. The player balance of the clans
So much inter-clan drama happened of disagreement of politics, policy, vault contents, Outposts, transportation, shops, etc. It caused so much trouble between staff and players, as well as several bans because of arguments of territory claims, policies, exile, etc. If clans were player made and controlled instead it adds a new level a depth to the server. Players can easily leave if they disagree with a policy forcing a leader of a faction to be a good one. It opens up room for claiming different land instead of a static monument. It opens up room for new levels of playing such as alliances, betrayal, and faction wars.
I think it would be a lot better to allow players to make their own factions like in previous servers, but set limits to certain aspects of factions. Which i will go over later in my re-form section
1. Paceboys with Ignatius
2. Sir computer and Terra
3. The whole drama thing with Terra
4. The hoarding thing with Murato(?)
5. The disagreements with mizunami
6. The player balance of the clans
So much inter-clan drama happened of disagreement of politics, policy, vault contents, Outposts, transportation, shops, etc. It caused so much trouble between staff and players, as well as several bans because of arguments of territory claims, policies, exile, etc. If clans were player made and controlled instead it adds a new level a depth to the server. Players can easily leave if they disagree with a policy forcing a leader of a faction to be a good one. It opens up room for claiming different land instead of a static monument. It opens up room for new levels of playing such as alliances, betrayal, and faction wars.
I think it would be a lot better to allow players to make their own factions like in previous servers, but set limits to certain aspects of factions. Which i will go over later in my re-form section
Aside from the 4 (or 3) major points i just mentioned the server has many other things which need improvement including...
- Mob and mythic mob spawning
- Dungeons
- Spawn town
- Land claims
- Map size
- Lack of quick transportation
Now many of the fixes to the issues i presented can be pushed one of two ways
Either towards a semi-vanilla SMP server which there are hundreds of
Or towards a raid/faction server, which there are also hundreds of...
However there is a way to make this server unique in either regard, however i do not want to push a PVP server if the majority of the player base would prefer a SMP experience, perhaps its better to have one of each?
Now I will continue in the next post my suggestions, and ideas for this to be a more unique, faction-like, pvp-encouraging server...