I'm considering some changes, some minor, some major. I want to get feedback on some of the more drastic ones.
Already the spawn range is being expanded, it seems to deter griefers more than non griefers and reduce alot of the immediate griefing that has gone on lately.
I am planning to also reduce the global chat range.
Pros:
* griefers cant spam us
* adds an incentive for creating closer communities/cities
* if someone is spamming you, you know he is close enough for you to possibly find and kill if you choose
Cons:
* new players might think the server is inactive and/or boring and not realize they can contact others with /tell
* you wont be able to hear others if you choose to settle in a distant location (unless you use tell, this parallels real life though so i prefer it)
I think we should get rid of the stargates:
Stargate Pros:
* makes it extremely convenient to travel all over the map instantly..
* can still interact but with less risk
* can create remote points of production/interest and travel to them quickly
Cons:
* Not very realistic, dont fit with the survival theme
* doesn't allow for the dynamic social interactions and conflict resolution that i wanted the server to provide (so that mutually voluntary interaction can come into play more often)
* cities are obsolete
* no real life parallel (yet)
Increased world size (and square):
Pros:
* Newly generated chunks can have new content like witches, and hopefully better ore distribution (which seems to have a flaw in some chunks now), possibility of a mushroom island
* Will be harder for griefers (or anyone else) to randomly happen across your town by random chance
Cons:
* longer travel times if cities are spread way out
* hrm.. maybe others i havent considered
and the most drastic proposal of all, which we should not take lightly, Reset the map (and all players):
Pros:
* wouldn't have to worry about issues related to range limits (travel times, and chat range) with things we've already built
* New map seed could be enjoyable, our current one is kind of bleh, and the landscape has been riddled with ugliness in some areas
* chunks would have new things like witch huts
* i THINK the chunk generator seems to have had a problem with ore distribution when all the chunks were generated (there were changes made related to this since)
* Everyone would start fresh at the exact same level
Cons:
* Everyone would start fresh at the exact same level
* All the pearled griefers would be free
* We would lose all of our creations (well they will be available for single player download)
* we would lose all of our items (diamonds, armors, etc)
* unnecessary with larger map size, plus we can just as easily abandon our current things for new lands if the logistics of travel time/chat are problematic for us
Feel free to add any pros or cons that i havent listed, share your thoughts and feelings on any of the changes your concerned or excited about.
the earliest we would make any of the drastic alterations is late next week, and nothing is set in stone.
Thanks everyone