Open Bulk Server Critique and Suggestions

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by Dusios, Sep 4, 2021.

  1. Dusios

    Dusios New Member

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    Okay, after playing the server for about two years, now, I think I have a good idea of what works on the server, and what doesn't. Let's list them below.

    The Good:
    • PF has a vibrant server environment, with a high level of player interaction. You can always count on a helping hand.
    • Creation is robust, constant, and often high quality. Players will create beautiful, grand, structures that make the server look good more often than not.
    • Strong Griefer protection.
    • Staff are rapidly responsive to issues, and most are addressed favorably.
    • Little to no bugs, with the ones that do exist both exponentially diminished in scope as to be considered either nonexistant or a "feature", and often adressed rapidly and favorably by staff.
    • Low-key, chill environment.
    The Bad:
    • Unless precautions are taken, griefers will take the opportunity to rob and/or vandalise creations. This can be easily reversed, but is still unfavorable. Recommend further quality control on who makes it into the servers proper.
    • Precious, personally important builds have been lost to resets. Recommend ways to preserve builds past resets.
    • Server resets result in only one of two servers being active at any time, which is a waste. Recommend ways to balance activity on both servers.
    • Abandoned, forgotten, and half-complete builds clutter the server, and block new development. Recommend modifications of server rules to allow for build demolition if abandoned for 6-8 months, after mod approval, especially with half-done builds and "dirt towers".
    • Server economy is virtually worthless, bordering on post-scarcity - between Auction House item caps, and multiple mass farms, most items have no value. Recommend action be take to modify AH, as well as counter farm production.
    • Staff decisions can be erratic and odd at times - rules may be variably applied, as well as punshiments. Occassionally, feedback is not offered on reasons. Recommend further clarity, regimentation, and equal enforcement of server rules.
    • Groomers are a very real problem, both on the server as well as the Discord. Several players are either on hiatus or permanently lost due to percieved lack of staff support and protection - for instance, player grooming and harassment beyond the server is not addressed in-server, and harrassing/grooming dms on Discord are not accepted as reason to remove said harassers/groomers from both server Discord, and server proper. HIGHLY recommend staff training and cracking down on the area, with statements reiterating support for players both on the website, as well as the Discord, and reponse alteration so that grooming and harassment is dealt with swiftly, broadly, and effectively.

    As you can see, they roughly balance each other out. Some good, some bad. I've made an attempt to offer potential solutions, which I hope work! Additionally, other ideas have drifted through my mind in the past, which I've listed en masse below - hope you like them,.

    General Server Suggestions:
    • The ability to lock and unlock chests and doors with dedicated “key” items, similar to the event keys, but reusable.
    • Unless affected by updates, Nether and End areas should not be reset.
    • Players should be able to continue to choose between saving items and land plots between resets. In addition, an option to purchase extra saving ability should be offered, or at least to download the build files for player builds (I recommend using MCEdit).
    • A creative world dedicated entirely to build displays should be offered. It can either be a naturally generated one, or a superflat with partitioned plot sizes, possibly varying in size (8x8, 32x32, 64x64, etc). Successfully completing a smaller plot could unlock larger ones.
    • A Sky Survival world. While some simply give the players a small square of land to build up on, it strikes me as more fun to use the world generation to make something more expansive and naturally generated for players to explore – similar to that Aether mod, or the sky setting on seed generation. This would make getting certain resources more of a challenge, and force players to be mindful of build space (especially when they have to destroy valuable land area to make builds. It would be a fun challenge for veteran players!
    • Opening trader access to Nether and End Realms – also allow bees to spawn there if brought.
    • Incentives and boundaries to encourage player activity around spawn – this helps to keep the generated world size small, and lessen the load on the servers. I know some servers also find ways to penalize excessive distance from spawn in-game, so that could also be integrated.
    • Minecraft sports events – introduce year-round hot snowball (or some equivalent), spleef, horse/pig/strider racing, and others to the server, maybe expand the parkour area too. Maybe a server olympics event?
    • Remove treasure maps from the server – by the time you pick up a blank one, the treasure's almost always been looted before you find it. Annoying!
    • Add a Halloween version of the G/J/Terry hunts, maybe replace the model with a zombie or something. Possibly make it attack you, instead of running away? A Thanksgiving version involving chickens might also be fun.
    • Dedicated warp areas on all servers for map art creation – possibly tiered in unlocking (making map art on a smaller plot unlocks bigger plots, after mod approval). Possibly place on roof of Nether?
    • “Mob Zoning” - the ability to allow hostile mobs to spawn in a claimed area by the owner. Make this a rank/paid ability, maybe?
    • Player “check” money notes – money notes that can be written so only a intended recipient can cash them.
    • The ability to teleport mobs when riding them.
    • Have villagers follow you when you're carrying a certain item, so you can shepard them towards job blocks and the like. Also make it so items bought in /shop can't be traded to villagers (it drops the emerald market) – possibly modifying them, the same way organic produce is modified from regular?
    • Building rules for portals – if a portal is created on claimed land, then no other portals may be built, either in the nether or in the overworld, after that point that might confuse the system and “hijack” the original person's nether portals. Example: Say someone builds a nether portal on their plot, and later someone builds a portal nearby that goes to the same portal in the nether, and subsequently, that portal in the nether no longer goes to the original person's plot. This would be considered a violation of the rule, and they would be required to take down the portal on request.
    • Divide the “Auction House” into a Bazaar, where it serves it's current function, and an actual Auction house, where players bid on items. Possibly remove the value cap, and allow PF to take a percentage cut out of the result, if need be?

    What do you guys think? Open to feedback.
     
    #1 Dusios, Sep 4, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2021
    K0#3985 and Ky like this.
  2. BamboMango

    BamboMango New Member

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    Nice post,

    Completely agree with the economy thing you mentioned. All you need is a little over 1b to get p4 and past that point money does not have to exist anymore.

    Maybe a copy of the server world in adventure mode would be cool to preserve builds is cool, but that requires server power to run. A better way would just to have a world download of it. No matter the size of the file.

    Also: Horse races yessss!
     
    Oladipo_4 likes this.
  3. K0#3985

    K0#3985 New Member

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    I enjoy the key locking idea, it would be nice , and reduce the need to barter for claim blocks if we are in need and short of them. Villagers following item, sounds good, would no longer need to use tedious task like water boating on the land. The auction house is nice, would induce some fun and it will allow people to actually make profit of things they either worked hard for, and need money in exchange for.
     
    Dusios likes this.