1.8 Spigot/Bukkit is out since some hours now, and I have been testing our plugnis since then. It seems that most of them work (on the surface at least). I will make a test-upgrade tomorrow when I have time and see if it works. Otherwise I will have to roll back and wait until the non-working plugin is updated properly. But unless some really important plugin fails, we should be good to go. The most work to do is to upgrade Worldguard to the new version using UUIDs instead of usernames since I will have to touch a lot of code to get that done. But that should not prevent us from upgrading, just lot actions would be on hold until that work is done.

So since the time of the year is around the corner again, I would like to make some statements for the uninitiated during the festive season of looming server upgrades!

• When will we upgrade? As soon as we can. First 1.8 has to be released. Then, all the vital systems that other people have to upgrade (spigot, plugins) have to be enabled so we can run the server with the vital functions at least. Whatever does not work then that is not 100% needed, will be disabled and enabled once it works. Then, I have to make sure that all the stuff we customized for the server works fine. Since there is this massive upgrade from usernames to UUIDs, it might take a bit longer.
• How long will that take until it’s done? No idea. It depends on other people most of all (see bove), and on the time that I have. So don’t ask me. It’ll be done when it’s done.
• Will you reset any worlds? Only the Darklands. Everything else will stay as it is.
• Will there be a temp server to check out the 1. features? No. There will be no temporary server for 1.8.

The only thing not working are userlevels for parts of the users that have not logged in yet and the upgrade voting system. I am having the system step-by-step retrieving the UUIDs for all the users in the system (there are 12 thousand…) and then I will fix the voting system.

If you find any other issues, please submit a support ticket so I can fix it.

I have now reset all empty lots in empire to have the new world seed. I also setup a world empire_new where you can see how a mint empire looks like. So you know what the lots next to you look like. The next thing you should do is to understand what your lot will look like in case you want to reset it. To find that out go to the city and type /warp empire_new. That will teleport you to a creative mode mint version empire. Fly to your lot (use the 2D map and the F3 key to see where you are) and check if you like what you see. If not, find a now empty lot on the empire 2D map to move your lot to.

We will be sending out emails in the coming days where you can register if you want to reset or change lot or not. Until then, please get a clear picture what you want.

I would encourage all of you to reset, specially if your lot is a strong break from the surrounding lots. Otherwise it would be great if you can terraform a bit so that the breaks are not that huge.

Please stand by while we try to upgrade. You can join us on IRC or teamspeak during the upgrade!

The makers of Bukkit, the main ingredient of most minecraft servers, including this one, released a statement regarding the progress for the 1.7.2 upgrade. Until this is done, we cannot upgrade too. So if you are wondering when it will happen, read this.

As usual, before upgrades, here is an announcement about what will happen:

• The server will continue to run as-is until we can upgrade to 1.7
• We will upgrade to 1.7 as soon as Bukkit and the minimum required plugins (websend, worldguard, permissionsEX, worldborder, multiverse, essentials etc, etc) are stable enough to actually let us upgrade. This might take a long while this time, maybe 2-3 months, who knows – I don’t.
• We will not start a temporary 1.7 server this time.
• The Darklands will be reset on upgrade. Items left there will be deleted on upgrade. Feel free to disassemble it and store it somewhere safe so that it can be used to rebuild things in the new darklands.
• We will create a new Empire map that will be used to reset expired and empty lots during upgrade. Occupied lots will be untouched. Users will have a 1-off option to reset some or all lots they own to the new map. I will post an image of the new empire map so that users will have a better idea how their lot will look like in case they get a reset.
• I will do my best to upgrade deposits, shop contents and so on to the new data structure in 1.7. This might result to a closure of those functions for a certain time after upgrade, depending on how complicated it will be and how much time I have during the days the upgrade is possible.

I have updated the server to 1.6.4, unfortunately MinecartMania and DisguiseCraft did not make it over the hill. I know there is a release for DisguiseCraft is around the corner, let’s hope MinecartMania is also going that way.

I have now upgraded the server to 1.6.2! I hope everything works fine, all plugins should be just as they were before, all functions should be there.

If there is anything missing or not working properly, please let me know!

I also put horse eggs for 1000 Uncs into the shop, ID 19.

I have now enabled the /withdraw all command. Please use with care for the coming days until we are sure that there is no bug in the system.

I also fixed the withdrawal of several items from a user or the lottery in case you do not have enough space for it. You should not get an error instead of items disappearing.

In the coming days, Mojang will release the 1.6 “Horse Update” with tons of very exciting new features and a new launcher. Finally, with the new launcher, you will be able to run several versions of minecraft from the same computer without extra tools.

What does the update mean for Uncovery Minecraft?

As usual, we will not be able to upgrade the same day the new version comes out. We will have to wait until the server software (Bukkit) and the most important plugins get fixed. Once this is done, we will upgrade as soon as possible. Please be patient until then!

Since this update does not include any new ores or features how the landscape is generated, there is no need to reset of the Darklands, Nether or other worlds.

I am a bit divided if we need a temp server again. While I understand that everyone will want to see the horses etc, we also have to keep in mind that version switching is now so much easier, that a temp server should not be needed anymore. Also, if we create a temp server with a new world again, what to do with it after the upgrade? If you guys remember, when we last time deleted a temp server map, people were VERY VERY upset about it. That’s why we started to delete the Darklands each time, and use the temp server map as the new darklands. We just had a new darklands map a few weeks ago however, and it feels almost too soon to get a new one already now.

So there are only two choices:

1. Do not make a temp server for 1.6. If you want to ride a horse, please do so in single player
2. Create a temp server for 1.6, delete the darklands of the main server once we upgrade and use the temp server map for that instead.

My preference is with option 1, since it’s less work, it keeps the community better together since people do not split over two servers, has less chances of crashes etc. Option 2 might cause some players to wander off to vanilla servers that offer 1.6 earlier than we can do. You input is appreciated in that matter.

I have finally had the time to upgrade the server to 1.5.2! If you cannot connect, please update your client :)

I tried today to upgrade to 1.5.2, but it mainly failed due to a non-compatible multiverse plugin which runs all our inventories, portals and worlds.

For those who are new to the upgrade process, here is a recent email that I have sent out to someone who asked me to upgrade the server. I know this sounds like a rant, but I want people to understand that upgrading a client is nothing like upgrading a server.

I am aware that people like you who do not know how to downgrade then cannot play. And believe me, the last thing I want is to have an outdated server.

However it’s normally a several hour process. I have to wait for up to 25 plugin authors to update their software, download it, reconfigure several hundred lines of config files and then make several test runs to make sure everything works. However, if you go research plugins like Multiverse, which we need to run all portals, inventories and worlds, you will see that they did not release an official update since November last year. Not to mention the main server software, bukkit, which still failed to release a finished version since 1.4.7.

To make a long story short: I will upgrade as soon as I can. Right now, I cannot. People asking me to do so or even telling me that I should does not help.

You will have to learn how to downgrade, just like everyone else.

If you take even a fraction of the time it would take me to upgrade (which is not even possible right now), to learn how to use google and then to downgrade, you would be able play.

I have upgraded the server to 1.5.1, and so far everything seems to be fine. I want to make sure everything works and would like each of you to report any missing/broken things so we can accumulate them here and fix them one by one. There are some things I still have to do, so I will list them right away

• configure Minecart Mania – since the plugin has been re-written, I have to re-write the quite complex config file so that all the command blocks work as expected.
  There is still a bug with detector rails.
  
• enabling trading with new blocks. Please keep the new blocks out of the shop for now
• change the IRC bot name
• when going through a nether portal from the nether to the darklands, you will get an error message, but it still works
• install the heads plugin so you get heads after hunger games
• remove the “city-nether” world
• fix the skyblock world portal. Currently the warp points to an empty space
• If your nether home was set in a place that is now filled with blocks, you might be pushed up above the nether roof. Do not build up there.

Darklands issue

The first darklands we created for the temp server were corrupted. I am unable to find out where and thus unfortunately will have to remove them. The new darklands etc was not long on the server either. Since there was some griefing and other issues, I am of the opinion to simply start fresh is the best thing to do.

I have collected a batch of promotion proposals and finally sat down to consider and process them. So here they are:

• cr4igg3rs
• Sleepystrangekid
• Comeelio
• Psychodrea
• LukeCreative
• Crstl
• Scarovese
• [Update] Arielia [/Update]

Congratz to all the promotees & happy building!

IMPORTANT INFO!

In the coming days, there will be a pre-release of 1.5 coming out, and then, quite soon a release of 1.5. This will cause your Minecraft client to ask you to update. Please note that once you update, you will not anymore be able to connect to the server. In order to be still able to connect to the server, you will either have to cancel the update or then downgrade. It is highly recommended to use one of the free tools that allow you to run several versions of minecraft at the same time and switch between the current and the new version.

In order to allow players to use 1.5 features already, we will start a temporary server once the final version of 1.5 is out. This temp server will have no plugins at first, no protection, no lots and none of the money, goods or inventory that are on the main server. Whatever you do there will have to be hidden since we know that people will grief it. Connecting to this server will not affect in any way what is on the main server, everything there will stay as it is. Voting will add items to your deposit on the old server, and you will be able to retrieve those when you connect to the main server.

Once we upgrade, we will remove the current darklands and replace it with the world that was created on the temp server. So if you have anything on the current darklands, it will be deleted. Also, whatever inventory you had on the temp server will be deleted, too. Items in chests (but not ender chests) will remain on the world and become the new darklands. Same goes for the nether. The nether of the temp server will become the new nether on the upgraded server. Everything in the current nether will be deleted during the update.

I cannot say how long it will take to upgrade the current server to the 1.5 once it is released. We will have to wait for several plugins to be upgraded to deal with 1.5 features and that sometimes takes weeks. So please be patient.

I just made the following fixes:

• Bottles of Enchanting now work in all survival worlds
• the /mod mute command now allows also for a selected list of shorter times. If no time is given, it defaults to 1h. The list is: 1h 30m 15m 10m 5m 1m
• I removed the timeline from the website since the plugin was buggy
• The twitter updates work again

After grueling 30 minutes of work I managed finally to upgrade the server to 1.4.6.

If you see anything strange, please let me know.

Congratz!

I finally managed to get updated plugin versions for all plugins and was able to upgrade to 1.4.4!