Of Linux, Resets, and Rollbacks

Many things have happened over the last six months since our last blogpost. I'll try to cover everything, but I might forget something.

Linux

Perhaps most important is the switch to the Ubuntu operating system. Over the last few weeks, we have completely transitioned to Ubuntu for our server OS's. This allows for better remote configuration and support of the servers, allowing both Greenfox and Ataranlen to access, update, restart, and fix any server issues from anywhere.

Domain Trouble

About a month ago, we has some issues with our web host, FatCow. They completely disabled our hosting account, and seized our domain. Lucky for us, we were already in the process of transferring to a new host, DixieSys. With this host change, players are now able to connect to our servers using simply the TLD of minecrafttx.com, removing the need for the pvp prefix. Listed below are the updated server addresses:

• Faction PVP: minecrafttx.com
• Creative: minecrafttx.com:25555
• Anarchy: minecrafttx.com:25566

World Reset

As most our players are aware, we did a world reset back in January. With this reset, we have gone back to a structured spawn store system. This is a permanent change from the "Space" store system. We made this change because not many factions adopted the idea of "Space" and still wanted to build their shops at spawn. Factions can once again claim up to four chunks of land inside the wall at spawn and construct their own faction shops.

Rollback

This week I've updated a total of fourteen plugins. Two of those updates, Vault and MoneyDrop, were to fix an exploit with hoppers allowing users to gain infinite funds. At the same time, that Vault update created a conflict between iConomy and Votifier which caused iConomy to drop all player accounts. I was able to restore a backup of the account database, and then spent two hours converting that database into MySQL. This should prevent any conflicts in the future.

Raffle for VIP+

Last month's Winner: SpeedRacist69

Last month was the first month in a promotion where we tallied up all the votes made for the server, and awared one month of VIP+ to a randomly selected user, raffle style. Each vote counted as one entry into the drawing. The entry period for this month's drawing is from April 1st-April 30th. At the end of that period, I will be randomly selecting next month's winner. As of this writing, there are only 180 votes so far. The more you vote, the better your chance of winning. Each vote also grants your account 20RB, so there's nothing to lose!

vote.minecrafttx.com

VIP Discounts

And the last major change is for all our premium players. (Donor, Backer, VIP, and VIP+). We're now offering players who support the server a little something extra. All ranks Backer and up now get some level of discount in the Server store.

• Backer and Donor get 10% off
• VIP's get 20% off
• VIP+'s get 30% off.

That's all for today, hopefully I'll have more to share soon.

~Ataranlen

New Servers, New Worlds, New Rank!

Ataranlen has been hard at work getting two new servers up and running. We now have a Public Vanilla Anarchy Server, and a Creative Server.

Anarchy:
We were wanting a world where anything goes, a more mature player base, and a world more tailored for our admins to let loose and destroy everything. We're on a level playing field, No creative and no Plugins to give us an advantage. It's a game of Survival, and we're letting you play it with us.

"If you're looking for a server where you are free to raid every little shack on the horizon, kill it's inhabitants, and run off with their stuff, this is the one for you! MCTX Anarchy is a new persistent world, Vanilla Server."

Address: pvp.minecrafttx.com:25560

Creative:
For a while now, we've had a creative world attached to the main server. We've decided to move this off onto it's own. This world is protected by the WorldGaurd and BlockLog plugins, so no funny business! A ban here results in a ban on all the other MCTX servers as well.

"If you're looking to build without fear of being griefed, you enjoy building things with your friends, or just want to show off, this is the server for you!"

Address: Server.minecrafttx.com:25555

Space:
Then, there’s space. This one has been in the planning stages for a long time. We wanted to allow the Factions on the main server to build their shops again in designated areas like before, but there was always a constant issue of players trying to grief other shops, pvp in shops, etc. To solve this, We’ve created a new world for all faction shops. Factions will have the option of purchasing a Bio-Sphere to build in, or acquire a plot of space to dock a trade vessel, cruiser, warship, Starwhale, etc. Factions will be encouraged to show off here. Junk ships will not be permitted to dock near the central hub, and squatters will be evicted from biospheres. Any attempt to sabotoge another Faction’s store will result in a Ban.

To get to Space, log on to the main server and "/warp Space"
Backer:
Several of our players have been asking for the option to buy the “Donor” rank. Donor is a rank that includes some basic bonuses, but it was only given to legacy VIP members when we made the transition to a Subscription system. I don’t think it would be fair to let just anyone become a “Donor” as it is the mark of our original supporters. To make both groups happy, I will be rolling out a new rank called “Backer” the benefits are the same, both are still permanent upgrades, but you can buy a “Backer” account on our website.

On VIP Changes, Store Prices, and Arena Teaser

VIP Changes
I've been noticing a lot of question on why we've made the changes to VIP. To put it simply, having a "buy once and have it forever" payment model just wasn't sustainable. We were down to about one to two purchases a month. Our running costs aren't going down. The current server configuration still uses about $30 worth of electricity monthly, and our 50/25mbit/s connection runs us $90 a month after taxes and fees. This is why we're moving to a subscription model for VIP and VIP+

I didn't want to make our prior VIPs feel like they had wasted their money. I'm in the process of moving the old VIP's into a new group called Donor. The benefits of this group will be very similar to the old VIP rank. And then to encourage users to purchase VIP, additional benefits have been added to this rank. Users will still get RedBacks with their initial VIP subscription as well. Users can see the current rank benefits on this page of our website: Benefits.

Store Prices
We've decided to keep the same store prices as the ones we've had in the past. This is for simplicity. The prices on items are based on rarity of items. Greenfox has taken a lot of time to evaluate all the different items in the Minecraft Universe to give a fair and reasonable price to all our items for sale. As new items are requested to be sold, we'll continue to consider the value and fairness of adding those items before we make them available for sale.

Our users seemed to be comfortable with the previous prices, and they still left room for competition within the user stores. We saw many factions creating their own user stores and still being able to make lots of sales. Even after adding the ability for users to sell diamonds to the main store, this didn't stop all user sales of these items. (If an imbalance is discovered, prices will be adjusted as needed.)

Arena Teaser
We're still waiting on Multiverse to update before the arena will be playable, but we want to plan ahead. With new worlds, and an outdated arena, I've decided to build a new arena. We're considering some plugins that would allow weather manipulation within the arena. The arena will run like clockwork!


That's all for today.
Happy Mining!
~Ataranlen

Dear Mincrafter,

This message is an official notification of the changes coming to the way VIP purchases work on the Minecraft Texas (hereafter referred to as MCTX) PVP server.

What is changing:
As of August 1st, 2012, all current VIP memberships on MCTX purchased before July 1st, 2012 will expire. All user data (Including, but not limited to: Ranks, Redbacks, Factions, Inventories, Permissions, and Homes) will be erased. Previously, if a user purchased a VIP package on MCTX, that user would be granted the rank for a non-limited time frame. Any future VIP purchases will now be a subscription service. 

Along with this change, we are introducing a new rank known as a "Donor." Any current VIP ranking member will be downgraded to this new rank when their subscription expires. This rank will have similar benefits to what you already enjoy as a VIP on MCTX. Any user wishing to upgrade their Donor rank to a new VIP rank will simply need to go to our website, http://www.minecrafttx.com/products.php, and purchase one of our new Donor, VIP, or VIP+ subscription packages after August 1st, 2012. 

Sincerly,
Nathan Stoltenberg (ataranlen)
Admin of Minecraft Texas
ataranlen@minecrafttx.com

New World!

MCTX hasn't seen a new world since... 2011! If you go to spawn, you might notice some clouds at your feet. Don't panic, this is all part of the plan- Welcome to MCTX2, the new world! Players have till the end of next week, 5/25/2012 to move whatever belongings they want over to the new world. Soon everything else will be gone, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it!

~ataranlen

Mumble Update

Our Mumble server's IP address changed. If you connected to Mumble via direct IP address before, change the IP on your connection to "mumble.minecrafttx.com"

New PVP Arena

With the help of SlyReborn, I have finally created our first PVP Arena! This small scale arena has nine different biomes to fight your friends. Grab a kit on your way in and proceed to one of the arena spawn points: Desert, Mushroom, Ocean, Ice Mountains, Swamp, Forest, Nether, Jungle, and Plains.

Check it out in game using the warp sign at spawn!

Keep in mind this is an early version, and is subject to change. (In fact, numerous changes have been made over the weekend) We've got a whole new Team Based Arena coming in the near future! Be Ready!

On a just as awesome note, We now have a public Mumble Server:
mumble://mumble.minecrafttx.com/MCTX_Public?version=1.2.0
Green Fox admins the Mumble, if you'd like a faction channel, contact him!
Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muW0kbLe9TY
~ataranlen