Welcome to what I expect will be a monthly update to the server so that I can keep you updated on new features and my progress on them as I work. The things I post in these updates my not be things that end up coming to fruition and will basically be a combination of patch notes for the last month. To begin, I want to address the last few months of inactivity and give you a bit of hope for the future.

Where We Were

During the holidays, it is difficult for me to pull myself away from my normally busy schedule to do the perfectly normal things I do all the time, like play Minecraft and push updates to the server. Unfortunately, during that time away, the server experienced what I can only explain as a prolonged downtime. I’m not sure how long it was down or why, but I can tell you that it will not happen again. Moving forward, I’ve put some bells and whistles that will go off if there are issues with the server and have implemented remote access protocols to be able to fix it from wherever I am.

There was also a lack of communication in general from me and I apologize for that. I felt the server was constantly needing updating and spending hours and hours trying to do it. I worked so hard on new features that I didn’t polish and perfect old ones, or even make sure they were playable. I rushed it and pushed to release something that wasn’t worth releasing. As of this point, I am classifying the entire server as a beta and considering all existing mechanics thrown back to the drawing board. I am going to put in the time and the effort to do things the right way.

I also put a lot of effort into making a tiered system of ranks for which to earn money to pay for the server. That looked like a pay-to-win scheme and I’m sure turned away a lot of potential players. As it stands, I’ve removed all of the ranks from the webstore for the time-being and will look at other ways I can give out the permissions that came with them. I also do want to make it clear that the ranks are offered as a way to support the server and its costs. Right now the server costs $50 a month to maintain, not including costs of domain and hosting. Eventually, I hope to find a better solution for this.

Where We Are Now

Once I brought the server back out of its downtime, I made some changes to the resource pack of the server: I removed it completely and started over again, putting in only the essential resources. I expect this will solve any lingering connection problems that anyone has but some of the resources are unfortunately still broken. I’ve also removed the MMOCore and MMOItems plugins temporarily. I want to see what exists within the current Minecraft mechanics to be able to create a diverse and engaging questing experience and then fill in any gaps that come up as they come. I’ve also removed the ShopGUI plugin and some other stragglers that you might not even notice.

I’ve also started a new development process. Previously, I would spend hours and hours working on a build to the point of exhaustion and honestly that burned me out more than anything. I am just one guy working on this giant project. I know this, you know this, and my progress moving forward will show it. I will set out on each development day to complete a specific project, whether thats building internals or creating new quests, that project will be my focus for the day. Once it’s done, I’ll either play on the server myself to test things or simply go do something else. This should allow me to make consistent updates to the server, even if they come a bit more slowly, and prevent me burning out in the long run.

Where We’re Headed Next

Given the failure that was Hallowveil for Halloween 2024, I’m working on some less time-sensitive content to release to the server soon. The Dragon Isles will be a jumping off point for the new world of Valora with custom-generated terrain, loads of custom mobs, and more. Once you get to the Dragon Isles, you’ll be able to earn and train your own dragons, complete dozens of quests that progress through the story line of the area and build on conquer on brand new lands.

I’ve already built the isles themselves and the buildings that go on them. I’m currently working on the internals and the mechanics for training your dragon and setting up flight points for people without one. Some of this stuff is quite a bit more complex than it sounds and will take a while to complete but, like I said before, the plan is steady progress. I’ve got a new way to label questgivers and useful NPCs, like Hundo the Dragon Trainer and Benji his companion.

Overall, I’m super excited to finish and release the Dragon Isles to you. I am going to put in the work to do it the right way so that when it is released, it will work without issue, unlike some previously released features to the server.

Plugin and Website Overhaul

For the next few days, I’m going to be taking a look at any and all of the plugins that are on the server currently and assess them for their usefulness and their contribution to the overall playability on the server. I’m looking for a specific feel and anything that doesn’t match that feel is going to get the axe. I will also be looking to configure each of them to be balanced based on the overall goal I have for the server. I will announce these updates in the patch notes channel on the Discord.

I will also be updating the website and webstore with the new ranks and permissions as well as a general FAQ for each of the plugins you can use. This should help make it a little bit easier to know what you have access to and how it works so you can actually, you know, play on the server the way it was meant to be played.

In closing, I appreciate that you’re still here after all this time and I hope that you do come and play on the server once these new features are ready and that you enjoy them. See you for the next update!

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