Apocalypse Through Incompotence

Well, I feel like a jerk. Turns out I'd forgotten to reactivate saves after taking backups on 2/20, and as a result, the world wasn't being persisted for the last two days. I might never have found out I missed the /save-on command two days in a row if not for v1.3 launching today. When I stopped the server to upgrade, I unwittingly wiped out two days of work on the server. Oops.

I apologize to everybody I screwed over with this particular bit of stupidity. Also, the nightly and hourly pictures are suspended until I can get a new version of mapping software that works with the new file format.

That is all.

North by Northwest

I missed a post yesterday due to travel, but it appears little is changing very quickly. Ultimatepsi's art continues to grow, and a new facility is going up below the Causeway to Arcopolis. Could this be the new North Station? Much iron and track has been collected of late, and new waves of expeditions have been heading out to find and map new caverns full of easily-accessible minerals, especially given the great surplus of arrows at Hyde's Tower. Perhaps we'll see a new wave of construction starting as outlying buildings spring up in the largely unexplored sections of the map.

Sixteen Tons

Today was marked by a drive toward iron. Several elements of our playerbase dedicated a significant amount of time to digging up iron supplies to fuel the burgeoning railroads, and as a result almost all of today's map changes are underground. Surveys are being taken for a new station north of Hyde's Tower, and with luck, the supply rates will match the construction's needs.

An Underground Railroad

South Station is now an operational rail hub located on a small island just west of Spiral. It is connected to the main rail network as well as a new purpose-built subway system connecting it to Spiral itself. MikeXIV is pushing a new Y70 rail system, standardizing rail height for future rail lines. We'll see if the proposed standard takes -- right now only the connection between the Southern Wilds and South Station is set to the new height.

The next major rail push is rumored to be connecting Arcopolis to the rail network, requiring at least 700 meters of new rail to be laid. A drive is on to collect the over 250 iron required to create that much track. An easy connection to Arcopolis could help that facility become an even more major player in the world economy, as the push-button travel is proving very popular between the destinations it now services.

Twisty Turning Passages, All Alike

Today I finished the first revision of the Pyramaze, my first go at a player-created challenge dungeon. It is fairly simple and close to the spawn -- throw everything but a sword, a bow, and some arrows (the maze isn't monster proof) and go in the front door and come out the top. So far its taken about five minutes to solve for most people. I'll be added to it in the future, but I expect there to be an intervening project.

Techiemikey has constructed a portal just outside Arcopolis. It doesn't send you through a hole in time and space just yet, but it does make spooky noises as you walk past its stoned-over site on your way into the tower. MikeXIV tells me that the rail line south of the Spawn Point (read: everything that isn't Spawn-to-Hyde's Tower) is offline until further notice. I'm interested to see what comes of that.

Finally, the available slots at Arcopolis are filling fast. With Hyde's Tower Townhouses now filled, its the only place to get a home you don't need to build at the moment. Being as far as it is from the spawn, and without a rail line (yet), it is unclear how much traffic Arcopolis will see, but it may be used as a jumping-off point for players heading east for richer mineral deposits or to build on any of the many small and mid-sized islands that lay in the Deep Range to the east.

The Causeway Goes Ever On And On...

Today awells drove the Causeway nearly four kilometers from the spawn point and found the secret project Baronweasle has been working on in the Deep Range. A tremendous wall, 350 meters long and 64 meters tall! Its purpose is still unclear, but it is believed to be holding back The Others.

In addition, construction continued on the interior of the Pyramid Maze. Also, Ensis_Draconis lit off the forest in front of his Doom Fortress, to give the venue the proper feel to welcome visiting dignitaries. I'm told YouTube video of the event is available.

Build Like an Egyptian

Today in Minecraft, I erected a pyramid on the site I'd been excavating. I don't recommend entering it yet, though. It is still under heavy construction inside. I estimate it should be completed within two weeks. Ensis_Draconis reports that the Doom Fortress's proper construction is just starting, and that some horrible fate will befall many trees to herald this new phase of development. awells continues to push the Causeway north, now kilometers from the spawn and expanding fast. MikeXIV keeps developing and installing new and more effective minecart systems to help us get around even faster. Finally, I'm told, the last of the townhouses in Hyde's Tower have been claimed. I expect the units at Acropolis to be snatched up very soon.

Mr. Sandman

Today in the Minecraft world, we've picked up a few new arrivals to the server. I have personally also started excavating a site in the desert near the original Lighthouse. I hope to be installing our first player-built challenge dungeon there over the next few days. Otherwise, the nightly image shows little on the map. What have I missed?

Hurling Minecarts for Fun and Profit

Today in Minecraft, the Highwind was refitted with two experimental new tracks designed to throw minecarts long distances. Alas, neither was very successful. Running a minecart at high speed off a track on the prow only saw a few meters of progress before it impacted on the desert below, and loading a minecart, on the track or off, into the main cannon succeeded only in returning the minecart to its resource block. Alas, there will be no flying minecarts providing high-speed air service in the near future.

Meanwhile, Arco continues development, removing some of its temporary structures and connecting properly to the Causeway. The MikeXIV Railway Company continues its program of advancement, building a new proving ground for testing station and launcher designs. Finally the last few bits of the map of Civilization have been filled in, yielding a more complete picture of our world.

Also, Baronweasle walks among us again, having returned from his sojourn to the Deep Range North. Little is known of his time spent away, but apparently whatever lurks up there now grows on its own, beyond the control of its creator.

Bind Up the Earth in Iron and Steel

The rail line connecting Southern Wilds and Hyde's Tower is complete, and I had a lot of fun riding it today. I explored out the margins of Civilization (the area within about a kilometer of the spawn point, and what appears on the daily image) so that we'll have a circular view from now on. Ensis_Draconis finished his dirt removal project on the Doom Fortress, and can now begin construction proper. He's looking for donations of buckets of lava and logs. Caffeinix is expanding the tower to the Northeast, now called Arco, to gain additional rooms, and also become home to nearly 75% of the game's passive mobs.

Also, Ensis_Draconis and Caffeinix executed a massive sand removal project on an undeserving spit of an island in the far north. The site is within sight of the Causeway, but Ensis_Draconis submitted this picture of the site at night:

The Continuing Voyages...

For the purposes of making this feed more easily accessed (and not accessed) from my Buzz feed, I am moving the Minecraft posts to this blog. I will continue posting the nightly shot of the 1024m around the spawn, and provide key updates for the activities that happen on the server.

Much of the chatter on the Minecraft server the last few days have been related to the new rail system going in between the increasingly misnamed Southern Wilds and Hyde's Tower, especially attempts to sent unmanned freight trained between the two. Also, construction seems to have resumed at the Doom Fortress, and reports from the depths indicate an enormous lake of lava has been found somewhere deep below. Trees now grow freely in the sunlight on the Northeastern Tower, and new lavafalls have been added to accent the watershield over the Causeway between Hyde's Tower and the spawn.