A survival server revamp!?!

[Juwayyid]

From our dear Pusur

The survival server's activity has dropped and I think we need to introduce some new stuff, but we have to figure out what. When the survival server 2.0 was first introduced it got a lot of actitvity both from new players, and old players, but after a few months, it began to slow down a bit. Then we sold the shops in spawn town and the pier
was buildt. This allowed for creative ways to sell things and start making money.

But now it seems the survival server is a bit boring to some players, and the trick is to always have that little extra, which is difficult at times.

So there have been some ideas going around but nothing strong enough to motivate players to return or stick around.

I believe we need a new style of gameplay other than just the typical survival.  Build a house, build farms for everything, the end.  We need to avoid that style of gameplay and create something far more dynamic and on going.



So what are some of your thoughts?

[Juwayyid]

Personally I believe the game needs to be hard, but there really isn't much we can do to make it so.

There were many ideas brought up and a few of mine were

A monthly quest server - we would play survival as usual, but each month some mystery would unfold and engage the players on a quest that would force them to travel and explore, solve puzzles, make sacrifices, yadda yadda...

A fight for the crown server - there is an all controlling crown on the server.  He who has the crown makes the rules.  If you do not like the rules in place or feel you would be a better king, overthrow him, raise yourself an army, kingdom vs kingdom. 

These ideas lead to another group idea that we set up a "MMO?" server with a backstory and quests and such, bit not much was developed fr there other than making it based off of ROTC (Reign of the Creeper)



So, thoughts on these?  Would they work?  Are they too much work?  Remember, this is to appeal to new members as well as old ones!

[Skitty]

COUGH COUGH HINT HINT YOUR FIRST IDEA COUGH COUGH HINT HINT SOMETHING I HAD IN MIND COUGH MOTHERFUCKING COUGH

[Thrash393]

I've tryed to compiled a list of plugins that i think will be fun and give our server a very unique twist to other survival servers around.  I might of gotten some of the specific information wrong I just glanced at these not extensive research. I would really like to hear peoples opinions on this idea I think it will be a lot of fun.

Gameplay
[spoiler]
Health Bar
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/health-bar/
Adds a heath bar to players and mobs

Quester
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/quester/
Quester is highly customizable plugin handling all kinds of quests. From simple "gather to get reward" quests, to complicated forked story-telling quests.

LokiDungeons
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/lokidungeons/
Gives admins the ability to create portals to randomly generated dungeons with boss mobs and boss loots with alot of customization on how big and hard the dungeons are

Dungeon8r
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/dungeon8r/
Spawns in bigger randomly generated dungeons with 2/6 spawners and loot chest
    the dungeons spawn in once on the first generation of the world just like normal MC

Treasure Hunt
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/treasurehunt/pages/plugin-tutorial/
Adds a Treasure hunt! the chest can be located with /hunt and it will tell you how close you are horizontally to the chest. the chest themselves have uncommon-rare loot like the loot chest in dungeons.
   the chest will also move if you don't get to it quick enough

Stats
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/lolmewnstats/
Records and allows players to view stats in-game and through a website if configured to see almost everything

Skill Api [Beta]
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/skillapi/
Adds a diverse range of skills to improve your player sort of like Mcmmo but more selective
    I really like this plugin because it doesn't give players the ability get overpowered it just enhances the base stats with cool effects.
[/spoiler]

Donator Fun Stuff
[spoiler]
Disco Armor
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/discoarmor/
Allows players to change the color of there leather armor every few ticks.

Death Shriek
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/deathshriek/
Is a spooky styled plugin, in which when a player dies, their death shriek will be heard!

Cookie Counter
http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/cookiecounter/
Counts the number of cookies you've eaten more of a easter egg than a useful thing
[/spoiler]

[Emperor_Quimby]

well I still have those levels to Skymore to use.

I stopped the project bescause I needed command blocks, but they are ready to play on! (as soon we get the commands done.)

[Juwayyid]

Skymore would be a great way to introduce players to the server or even just be an amazing quest to do of we went on some sort of quest based route!  We have deffinately not given up on Skymore!

To address thrash's recommended pluggins:

These are all things that add a bit of fun to a normal minecraft server, but after another month of play on a sever with all these pluggins, won't they all just become tiresome and boring as both our survival servers have before?  They don't add a new way to play the game, only add more to do in the game.

These may be fun to play, but I still don't think they are enough to hold player's interest in a server.  That's why I suggest we find a new way to set up gameplay.  A way that drives the player away from just building a house, making farms, and being done.  With these pluggins and more available rare loot, I'm afraid they will only quicken the pace at which the player reaches their "endgame" (boredom)

[Butlerbandit]

That's why I suggest we find a new way to set up gameplay.  A way that drives the player away from just building a house, making farms, and being done.

I have an idea.

Before we go any further, I should point out that it is most likely a Bad idea.

But I will still mention it because maybe it can inspire a good idea.

Vanilla minecraft supports an effect called "mining fatigue" which causes the player to break blocks slower. This effect can be adjusted to make block breaking as slow or as fast as desired. It would be possible (and somewhat easy) to make a small command block setup in spawn chunks that could apply a strong mining fatigue effect to every player on the server at all times. If set correctly, this could alter the overall gameplay to make survival harder and somewhat more "realistic" in the way resources are valued and builds are constructed. A good suit of armor would be considered a prized commodity, rather than a piece of junk that could be replaced with a few minutes of mining. A castle would actually require large sums of labor and resources to construct, instead of being something a player builds because they have too much cobblestone. Mobs would even be more of a threat when even a simple shelter is comparatively expensive.

Like I said, not a very good idea, but it's food for thought.

[Juwayyid]

That honestly would just annoy players.  It's bad enough ever having to mine obsidian.


Again, this is only one element that still does nothing to change gameplay.  It will only annoy people to quit or take longer for people to quit.  Either way, they will still reach an "end game" and be bored.

In fact, I think increasing mine speed would be far more interesting as we would all have lots more to build and do.  It wouldn't be such a drag to have to go out and collect blocks to build something other than a primary home.  Most people build a home and stop as they don't want to go resource hunting to build anything further.


But even that is only am element that doesn't change the gameplay.


We need to think outside if the box here folks.  Refer to an idea like Quimby's Skymore.  It's a short yet dynamic adventure that is fun to play and explore.  Imagine maybe starting the server, as in spawning in for the first time, having to choose some sort of "class" and then proceeding to a mini adventure map that takes you to your designated area to start your game and await the next adventure that calls!

Something like this, that changes the point of the game, and gives reason for people to return.

[Thrash393]

spawning in for the first time, having to choose some sort of "class" and then proceeding to a mini adventure map that takes you to your designated area to start your game and await the next adventure that calls!

I don't understand how that relates to survival at all that sounds more like a RP server, could you elaborate how you would add survival aspects other than having a health and hunger bar.

[thealex447]

We could just start over every couple of months, allowing players to keep an enderchest or something. We could host fun maps like this, or this, instead of just regular worlds that get boring quickly.

We could even try those mods that use previous version world generation with current version blocks and features.

[Juwayyid]

The idea of an interesting new map every two months is pretty good actually.  Though restarting again and again may get repetitive, a new world to explore is pretty engaging I'd say.

Thrash, I was just suggesting an idea.  I haven't broken things down yet.

I guess as a class you could choose like fisherman which would spawn you in the oceans/watery section of the map.  Or the class scorpion which would start you off in a vast desert.  These would really only be used to spread players out.  If we wanted, we could use the class as a title to be cool like that.  Overall the class wouldn't change anything other than where you spawn, though the idea of having a class could attract players.

Just an idea.

[Emperor_Quimby]

So you saying like, start kits?
If you want to fisherman you get a kit with a fisher rod, and miner get's a iron pickaxe?

Well could be easy to make, I mean, if we not going to create ranks for it.

Also yeah, vote for a map every secound month! But should you get teleported there? or should it be a special place near the spawn or far away?

[bren4q]

Just to steer the conversation a little, the title of the topic says survival server revamp, but it doesn't have to be a survival server. It really means "a replacement for what is currently the survival server". Think clean slate - a new Minecraft server: what should it be? Do you want to stick with a survival server or go with something completely different?

[Jaysers]

Please note that what I am going to post will most likely be very difficult and/or time-consuming to do. Without further ado, let's dive in.

[spoiler]
You are... a knight on an adventure to search for the best quality of milk there is. While making camp one night, you were ambushed by a local group of notorious bandits. You somehow ended up on a small bed, covered in stitches and bandages. You suddenly wake and realize you're still alive and look around. You notice a chest in the far right corner of the room, most likely containing your items. You hear a knock on your door, and a moderately old man enters. He explains to you what had transpired and before you know it, he tells you of the village you're nearby, about how the locals are and how they are a small but cordial community. He briefly mentions the bandits you encountered before and how they're on a murderous rampage about the village, but details aren't important. Nodding, you head for the chest containing the remains of your equipment. Unfortunately, your special suit of armor that was made in the fiery pits of (insert mountain name) by the very hands of (insert character/player name) had been stolen, along with the majority of your items. All that's left is your spare sword, your journal, leather hat, and some old samples of cheese. Donning your leather cap, you set out into the unfamiliar world in hopes to regain what was lost, determine the fate of the nearby village and the surrounding population, and by jove, find the best darn milk that exists.
Your adventure begins here, player. Good luck, and may you not regret the path that you set.
[/spoiler]


So if you read through what I posted, hopefully you get the idea that what I was thinking of was some form of adventure that is somewhat set beforehand for players. However, that's merely the introduction, and the players may choose whatever they want to do next in their own free will. More choices will most likely be needed to have a broad sense of selection. Again, this is just merely to catch the interest of the player who just might want to see how this story goes.

TL;DR (long story short), make new players have a slice of adventure to surviving. There's nothing that forces the player to go along with the story, since the server IS a survival server.

EDIT: er... seems I posted this before reading what Juwayyid said earlier, so I might've just added some spice to his idea. Nonetheless, the post is still a suggestion.

[Juwayyid]

Thanks for helping to clarify Bren, and I like what you've got their Jay.  That is pretty much the idea I had.  Give them some adventure to grasp at the start and keep them interested for the next adventure.



Is this quest/story type if server something everyone would be interested in or do you guys have other ideas?  I do like Thealex's idea of a more dynamic map and that could easily be incorporated into a quest server.  Designated areas or regions.