The AbbeyCraft Minecraft Server is open...now what?

[cryptopur]

Hello Goodbeasts,

After a lot of work and several false starts the AbbeyCraft Miecraft Server is now live and open to the public.  
If you played The Corsair's Last Treasure (http://www.somagames.com/redwall/redwall-abbeycraft.php) you'll recognize the same Redwall Abbey and the surrounding neighborhood.
If you haven't seen it, point your Minecraft software at: redwallserver.somagames.com:25638

What's new? a TON!

The biggest thing about the server is that it's the biggest thing - like seriously, seriously BIG. The edgers of the server world go all the way to very edges of everything shown on the big Riddler map. That's Castle Floret in the south to Marshank in the north, from the Eastern mountains to to Salamandastron. The map is HUGE and every geographical feature from the map has been sketched out...but just a sketch.

That where you come in.

People are now coming onto the server regularly. Lots and lots of people and to be honest the whole thing took off way faster than we expected it to. In just  a few days an entire village of squatters sprouted out just outside the front gates of the Abbey which is kinda cool...but also kinda out of the Redwall theme.

What we need next is to find  several people who would be willing to help us as moderators on the server to help maintain the feel of Redwall as well as flash out the rest of the world.

We were able to fully build and populate the roughly 16km surrounding the Abbey but there hundreds, if not thousands, of square kilometers that are currently just rough sketches of major geographical features.

We need help with:

• Terraforming: sorting out things like rivers, trees, and fine details
• Moderation: The biggest need here is just a group of people who we can "deputize" to be on the server periodically to help keep the thing looking and feeling like Redwall.

We will also be laying out our particular vision for the server. Minecraft isn't a great tool for communication but it is a great place for community. Role Playing, cooperative play, and meeting folks with a shared love of Redwall. Our vision is to see this be a place folks can hang out and get a taste of the world of Redwall whenever they have a few spare minutes.

We hope you come and join us, share your thoughts, and post your screenshots.

...and...as one more point to entice you. The world already has one place where a secret sneak peak to the adventure game is hidden. I won't lie - it's hard to find in a great big world, but it's out there and there will be more.

[VedCassib]

I don't mind helping out where I can. I'm not sure how often I will be on, but I'd be happy to help with terraforming or moderation, or both. I'll definitely be on the lookout for this secret area with a sneak peak of the adventure game!

[Dannflower Reguba]

I would love to help you with this.  I am currently an admin for Gears's server, so I've been working on moderating. Also, I'm starting to understand world edit (assuming that's what you meant by terraforming). So....... How do I officially apply to help out with this? And is the IP on the site?

[VedCassib]

I can't help you with most of your questions, but I can help with your last question. The server address is: redwallserver.somagames.com:25638

[cryptopur]

danflorreguba - how about you start by PMing your minecraft username to me along with anything you want me to know about what you do, what you know, etc.

I really like what you folks have been doing on Gears server and I'd be honored if any of you took the time to participate on this one.
And - to be compltely honest and move a notch toward begging  - you folks on Gears' server have all the real-world experience that we don't have.

So you folks from that server will definitely be at the top of our "yes please" list.

[cryptopur]

We're batting around an idea here that we could use feedback on - specifically if it would fit in the overall feel of the world of Redwall.

We don't want a big sprawling shanty town right outside Redwall's main gate, nor do we want endless sprawl of houses and castles and ...well...roller coasters 

So we thought of chartering villages.
A village would have to meet certain requirements to be recognized as official. Something like:

• A minimum distance from any other village, something like 1000 blocks. This would be an effort to reduce crowding and maintain a sense that the world is more wilderness than anything else.
• A proper Redwall sounding name. No "Bob's Town" or "Tatooine"
• A town hall / town square. This location would get its own Enderchest so people could realistically protect some content from griefers. It would also be WorldGuarded so it can't be destroyed.
• A "stable" or some other building that represented a transportation hub. The idea is that we would provide command block teleportation between villages on a hub system t facilitate trade. I don;t like the idea of a stable as it's out of the feel of Redwall but I dont yet have a better metephor.

What else?

[VedCassib]

Could the stable be a dormitory for travelers?

[cryptopur]

We do want each village to have an "inn" that would offer food and a bed...so making that also serve as a transport hub...that could work.

[Dannflower Reguba]

I like the chartering idea, it just needs some fine tuning.  I currently have no ideas for it right now, but I'l be sure to post if I come up with something.

[Dannflower Reguba]

Sorry for the double post, but this is important. Gears just shut down his server, so now those of us who were going there will be more available for this one.

[cryptopur]

I heard about that - may we all observe a moment of silence...
It was an awesome project. 
Good work Gears, but I suppose all things come to an end eventually.

[Kermanint]

I'd love to help, count me in!

[SaberTruth]

When trying to join the server, I am getting this error message:
internal exception io.netty.handler.timeout.readtimeoutexception

From research I did on the problem the only way for it to be fixed is by a server restart. Until then, I will have to wait to get on the server.

[Dannflower Reguba]

Gear's server had that issue not too long ago, he was having a network issue of some type.

[SaberTruth]

I made a video recently of Redwall on the Abbeycraft server. Just wanted to share it with the Redwall community.    It might take me a few tries to actually get the video to post.