Digiex Fresh Start Plan v1 - Planned changes come this November

[Nimrod]

The following in the planned changes to the Digiex Minecraft Server which will take affect over the coming months. Please note, the major change detailed Phase 2 - Fresh Start will not take place until Minecraft Final (or 1.9 depending) are released, which is currently planned for end of November. No sudden changes are taking place now, but in the future the changes detailed below will be made.

Digiex Minecraft Server: Fresh Start Plan v1

Due to a number of reasons detailed further in this thread and by a public poll on the same thread, a large number of players (over 90%) have decided they would rather inact a fresh start plan when the Final Minecraft Version is out, instead of the previous planned Migration Plan which was due to take place, which kept some worlds and replaced others. Therefore, please find below the new Planned changes, and how they will be completed.

Phase 1: The 1.8 Adventure Update is Applied to the server.

This phase will start when the Bukkit Team finally release a stable 1.8 update, and we can update the server to the new features found in the 1.8 Update.

The map setup will stay the same, except for an Additional Demo World, which will be freshly generated with the new 1.8 Terrain Code which includes NPC Villages, Rivers, new Mountains and more. The existing Maps like CityWorld and MainWorld will stay the same, and while you can collect XP Orbs, New Mobs and all the other in-game features, you will not see the new terrain.

To enter the 1.8 Demo World, a Warp Pad will be created at spawn, in this world it will be classic survival, in a freebuild setting. As this world is only temporarily (see Phase 2), you can do as much as you please, however the Grief rules still apply (Do not destroy on purpose, or by accident, anything anyone has built).

The server will stay like this, until the Final Minecraft (Or 1.9 if its got the final Terrain updates built in) in which case you will be notified we are about to enter Phase 2.


Phase 2: A new beginning...

This phase will happen at once, but may result in downtime of around 24-hours of the Main Server while the change over takes place. (Pre-release access will be granted to those who earned it by giving decent feedback in the Feedback Threads, and they can join during this 24-hour period.)

From the diagram, its a clear start on all the new Worlds. Each one will be freshly generated and set to a Border of 3000 Radius from Spawn, unless specified otherwise.

In the Creative World, Item Spawning and Fly Mode will be on, though TNT still disabled. Survival World will be classic Survival, where you have to mine and collect items, in total fear of Monsters and the day/night cycle. Unlike our previous server, you will not have Time Vote, nor God Mode or other 'cheats' to help you through this, It will be Minecraft the way it was designed to be played.

Bonus worlds will include a small Nether attached to the Survival world which you can get to by using Nether Portals, as well as Minetopia which will be freshly generated every month to ensure there is always a fresh supply of resources (we encourage players farming for materials, to do so here and not in the Survival World), as an added bonus TNT will be allowed in Minetopia.

Further details for the Phase 2 Fresh Start will come over the coming weeks, and there will be a Test Server available which you may be invited to over the course, to test Setups and Plugins. You will be notified in the Main Server ONLY if we are looking for testers.

Overall, I hope this plan satisifies the need of our players for a new start, while provides a usable setup for the time being, while we wait for the Minecraft Final to be released.

A detailed diagram detailing all the stages of the change:

Also one small note for people who are currently in the 'Test / Demo Server' hosted by Snookieboy - This server will be turned off once the Main Server is updated to 1.8, and the Demo Map will live on the Main Server, this way all the players can play on one server, and not split over two.

If you have any questions, issues, or you wish to debate any changes, please do so in the relevent discussion thread which can be found here.

 

[Nimrod]

Based on information gained from Notch's and Jebs Twitter Feeds its become known this is Notch's Plan for the final versions, therefore please find further information below:

The original 1.9 update will be split between the current 1.9 which is due for release in early October, followed by a feature 'lock' later on in October which will then cause the game to be finished up in time for its release on the 18th of November when the final version (1.10 most likely) will be released. To ensure our new start server has as many features as possible from the updates, including the Spells and XP related features which are due, we are going to begin the Phase Two shortly after the Final Release on November 18th (based on when a new Bukkit build is available).

In the build up to the new fresh start in late November, we will begin posting up the Whitelist application service in November, which will allow you to pre-register for the new server. Please note the current whitelist will NOT be transfered over (as its full of so many users who don't play anymore, so it needs a fresh start). The whitelist will be different to the current one in that you will NOT be able to even join the server, without first being whitelisted.

To become whitelisted you can either: Pre-register your interest in November, based on playing on the old 'current' server. Be referred in by another player, or apply through the application process on the website. This is part of the plan of sizing down our current Minecraft Server, into a much smaller (and cheaper, because no one is willing to pay for the dedicated) server. And also in an attempt to keep the players more friendly with one another (bring back the whole family feel) and to stop grief / newbie landscape destruction. This way, you won't have tons of people joining who don't know the current standards to build, or demanding whitelist as its all handled on the site. Applications are mostly expected to be our current player base, and everyone else joining via being referred by another player (and the occasional person who applies via the site who shows good building potential).

Please note further changes include much more trust in the players, there will not be any chest locks, or other protection plugins to hide behind. There will however still be full logging, including chat, block placement / destruction and chest items in/out. This way, any grief is instantly logged and the user either banned, or having there whitelist revoked with no appeals process. The idea being that we don't even want questionable people on the server, and if you cannot be trusted your just gone.

Any further questions, don't hesitate to post on one of the threads, or create a new one. In the mean time, please enjoy the current server as it has over a month and a half of life yet to go and stay tuned to Pre-registration coming this earlier November. [Note, by taking part in the Beta/Demo Testing process and giving feedback on GitHub, automatically places you in the whitelist on the new server with early access (to pick map locations).