Due to a griefing attempt in Central town, I've had to rollback parts of the map. This only affects the general area around the spawn point, so you might have to redo some of the construction work you spent time on in the past two days. I'm sorry about that.

Of course, the offending players have been found and banned from the server.

The server will be down for a few hours this Friday as I'll work to prepare the upgrade to 1.2. As several plugins will break with this update, I need to be careful by reviewing them one by one and potentially replacing some. I'll also prepare the map for the transition to the new format.

My main goal is to get as much done as possible, yet stick to 1.1 until all files are ready. Depending on how things go, I might update the server to 1.2 at the same moment, but that's sti ...

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First of all, a big Thank You to everyone who rised up to the opportunity. While I can't pick everyone all at once, I'm very happy to know that many of you want to take a bigger role in helping this place get even better over time!

I'm happy to announce that the following 4 people have been nominated to help with the server!
Server operators (ops): ADeadlyFish and WindRider739!
YouTube reporters: Krodane and SuperMonkeyBoy!
Everyone, please check your board private messa ...

A voice server is now available for all players! I know that many of you are using Skype to chat while playing, and I'm providing this as a more convenient alternative. The voice server is always available and doesn't need you to build a contact list and reach out to people separately, making it easier to get larger discussion groups going.

If you already know your way around Mumble, connect to 184.173.217.82:64963 and ask for the password in-game. For the details, view the voic ...

The Minecraft authentication servers have been slow since yesterday, giving several people troubles to log in. You might see errors like "Took too long to log in", despite the server being up and running and some people already playing.

This issue lies on Mojang's side, not on the server, so it's out of my control. Just keep on trying, and you'll make it eventually!

The Minecraft server will soon be moved to attempt to fix most of the downtime and lag issues we've been experiencing lately. The IP address and port for the server will change, but the map will stay. Please keep an eye on this space for the new connection information once available!

We're back online!

Be sure to join us on our new server IP address and port:

96.8.119.124:25565

If you're new and want to join us, please follow the steps to get in the whitelist. It's easy!

If you had a bookmark for the map, that address also changed. Be sure to check on the new address! It's got a new, improved look, and the Nether display has been fixed.

If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to visit our YouTube channel!

Videos get added by Krodane on a regular basis and showcase our construction work, the world itself along with special events. An ongoing series, the Distant Journey project, showcases how 4 people decided to travel far away in the Nether only to surface back to the real world and start the Minecraft experience from scratch, with no supplies. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been posted, with a conclusion coming up!

I ...

I sometimes want to share quick notices or updates about the server, such as unexpected downtime of an hour or two or authentication issues from Mojang's staff. However, those events tend to be relatively short and not worth of a full-blown news post here. I also know that many players here are active on social networks, especially on Tumblr. As such, how many of you would be interested in seeing those quick updates posted in social networks?

I'm especially interested in your op ...

The server is unfortunately down due to an unknown issue out of my control. I'm hoping to see this situation settled soon, hopefully within a few hours. I'll update this space once more information is available.

UPDATE: If all goes as planned, the server will be back online tonight, Tuesday, September 25th. There will unfortunately be some data loss, although it should be kept to a minimum. We're not looking at anything close to a full 10 days reset as it happened last time ...

The server is now back online!

There are a few important things to note:
- The most recent backup I had is from July 14th. Whatever work was done after that was lost, and I'm sorry about that. A case of bad timing caused the server to crash a mere two hours before I had another backup run scheduled.
- The protections are about a month old. This means that any chests, doors and furnaces you've placed within the last month are now unlocked. Please double-check these as soon as p ...

The dynamic map render is complete, so those of you who rely on this tool can now view it as before.

Please note that it's address changed. If you have a direct bookmark to it, you'll have to change it to the new address. The link in the menu bar has been updated as well.

There's something I've been alluding to and is now time to introduce: the PvP Arena!

While PvP (Player vs Player) is disabled throughout the server, a special location has been built for those wishing to get their hands dirty!

To visit it, from the Central Nether portal, head toward Silver Cane Island and stop at the first train station. Before you head to the main location, though, you might want to step through the Nether portal found there and visit the Bloodworks.



...

I attempted to update the server to 1.3 tonight, but unfortunately things didn't go as planned. No data was lost, and the map is intact.. However, this makes the server completely unplayable for most players. Until an update is published or I can find a workaround, I've got no choice but to keep it offline. I'm not expecting this to last more than a day or two, but I can't make promises on this! I'm sorry about this unexpected turn of events.

In the meanwhile, if ...

The server upgrade gave me a bit more trouble than expected, but it's now online and fully operational! I know several of you have been waiting for this, so update your client and join us to discover the new features!

For anyone wondering, you're free to update your game client to 1.3.2. It's compatible with the current version of the server!

The server has been updated to the latest version of Bukkit tonight. This fixes the chunk loss problem that a few select users have run into again and again. You're now free to enjoy playing without losing your hard work!

A new gameplay element has been added to our server today: achievements!

Achievements are awarded for reaching some goals, such as travelling a certain distance, finding diamonds, killing mobs, and so on. They are earned in-game, of course, and can be viewed from your message board profile. The full list of achievements is available over there. You can also track your own progress on this dedicated page in your member profile. As players earn them, public notifications will be displayed i ...

By request, I've added a leaderboard to display the rank of all players who have been on the hunt for achievements. If you're logged in to the message board, going to view your list of achievements will directly display your rank, too!

Remember, there are currently 50 achievements available. At the time of writing, MaximumRose is in the lead with 29 scored!

I'm happy to report that, after several months of work, the Transoceanic Line has been completed! This railway, over 22 kilometers long, links Central to Port Townshend through the overworld. I personally timed the travel duration to 57 minutes, making this by far the longest rideable rail on the server!

With a total of 6 stops between the two cities, this is obviously not the fastest way to travel, but it's definitely the most original one! For those looking to move quickly, on ...

As the question of the server update to Minecraft 1.4 has come up often lately, I think now is a good time for me to explain my motives for holding off.


MY GOAL

The server is powered by CraftBukkit, product of the Bukkit project, which is ran by volunteers. We're dependant on their work to have a stable server software that provides us several key features, including the whitelist and anti-griefing protection. As those people aren't paid for their efforts, it can take sever ...

To keep on growing over time and to assist the player base, I'm looking for one or two server ops to join the current staff.

The tasks of each op involve helping new players find their way around, answer questions from everyone, enforce the rules and settle conflicts.

It should go without saying that only people currently registered on the server will be considered. If you're interested, please send a private message to me, Dr. Cossack, through the forums. You have a bit over ...

Here we go again!

Unless a major bug is found soon, Minecraft will be updated to 1.4 this Thursday. However, wait before upgrading if you want to keep playing with us! The server software will probably take hours, days or even a few weeks to be updated, and 1.4 clients won't be able to connect until that happens. Keep an eye on this space for future updates!

If you see a creeper while walking outside today, don't worry:it's Halloween! It won't blow up! Or at least, it shouldn't...

For those in the festive mood, you can now visit the Haunted House! From Central, take the overworld train line to Victoria, then follow the indications. The house will be expanded with more horrific content once we've moved over to 1.4!

At long last, the server is now running 1.4.5! Update your clients as soon as possible, and join us for more fun!

Some interesting announcements will be done in the coming days, so stay tuned!

As published a bit everywhere, we're having an open day - everyone can join the server without having to get whitelisted first!

To all new players, welcome! Please go this way: 96.8.117.4:25565

Keep in mind that, once this trial period is over, you'll need to register to be able to keep on playing. It's quick, easy and of course FREE! Follow the four quick steps, and you'll be able to hang around with us and hopefully become a valuable member of the community!

Ca ...

The open day is now over, thanks to everyone who decided to join us today!

As a reminder, you need to register to be able to continue playing with us. It's quick and easy, so do it today! Additionally, registering will give you access to the forums and the in-game achievements system.

You didn't get the chance to play today? Join us, we're yours to discover!

I've gone to Minecon, and I came back with goodies! That means it's time for a GIVEAWAY!

How does this work? You enter your name, you wait, then you win (hopefully)! Three winners will be determined by a random draw and contacted by e-mail, each person earning one prize. If I don't get a reply within a week, another person will be selected.

Get the chance to win (click to view!):
- 1 new Minecraft account (for you or a friend!)
- 1 Minecraft Xbox 360 t-shirt, 2XL (it&# ...

First of all, thanks to everyone who took the time to answer the quick survey.

By popular vote, the events nights will take place on Saturday evenings (Eastern time). The specific time of each event, which might vary a bit depending of the availability of the staff, will be posted each week about a day beforehand.

I'm looking forward to see you there to play and compete with others!