Uncovery Addiction Spread!
Hello fellow Uncovery-goers,
On Uncovery, we share a great community of players on an extremely stable and well-run server! (Thanks Unc!) We have had quite a lot of epic structures, and projects where people helped each other, and other mega-builds and plenty of clever designs. We have the city, blossoming (reference to the current tree contest) along quite well with ships and carts and jails, Oh My! We have the Nether, Skylands, and the Kingdom all serving their unique purposes.
As of late, Notch and his crew have been implementing a ton of new features and working out a lot of bugs. I know we have all been waiting for dragons and some of us are eager to brew some drafts in the new alchemy system, as well as those who can't wait to enchant their armor at the new enchanting tables! Very exciting!
Now, despite our friendly atmosphere, safe environment (from griefers) and tremendous history as a great server... we have been going through a slow phase lately. This concerns me. I like to see a lot of people playing and working together and donating what they can to our community and the server. We vote, we donate, we build, we share...! We have even built a happy, and somewhat stable economy.
My question to all of you is this:
What is it that you, personally, feel is missing or might help, if changed, bring more people to our great server? In talking to other people, I have heard mention of certain mods, variation on rules, introduction of a moderator class that can assist new players getting familiar with the server, or even removal of the webpage whitelist. What I want to know is what in YOUR opinion is the best way to bring in more players, or what the biggest hurdle was for you to join this server, or what might be your least liked aspect.
Please be honest, but polite. I intend this msg as a discussion only, and perhaps CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Uncovery does an excellent job at running this server for us. I do not wish to incite an uproar or have everyone expect some sort of change because of my questioning. Thanks and stay creeper-free!
Before I start (long response to a long post), I'd like to say thanks lva for stepping up and saying something about this. I've felt the same way, but I'm new and I don't want to seem like I'm rocking the boat.
Firstly, let me highlight something that I think is just fine. The main thing that brought me here was the whitelist and the no-nonsense style of administration. If the players who were here were down to the level I've seen on other servers, I would simply leave.
Next, here are my thoughts on current problems. I think Uncovery is not alone in having issues with the player base. Since all bukkit admins are stuck with Bukkit based on 1.8.1 until full release, there's going to be a shift of players from SMP to SSP (or vanilla SMP) so that they can play with the new features.
Furthermore, there are issues that are persisting since the last update. Some are bugs and some are lost features due to plugin updates, etc. Nothing individually is a huge deal, but in aggregate I think it's clear that things are not running as smoothly now as they were under 1.7.3. There's not much Unc can do about this, and I know he's working as hard as he can. These affect not only gameplay but the economy, which it is also safe to say is nowhere near as healthy as it could be (when was the last time you actually _purchased_ something, lva? XD). Some of these issues which continue to persist include:
* Chunks which bug out so that breaking items does not drop
* Inability of some players to regenerate health
* Lack of mob spawning (especially hostile mobs)
* Inability to generate cash (uncs) either via the gold exchange or by voting
* Hunger not depleting (which eliminates the need for food, good for playing but bad for the economy)
Further, some players had already started to cool their building progress pending a new map. Now that that has been pushed further out by Mojang, the lull deepens. I know that I am waiting for the treehouse contest to finish so that I can tear down my trees and have my lot reset to 1.8 before I build anything else in world.
So, that brings us to your main point ( :-D ) which was asking for things we could do to keep people fun and interested, especially for new folks. I think for that, you need interactivity. You need goal-directed, competitive or cooperative, activities. The contests are good for this, and so is the economy. But we need more short-term activities. Hunger, Spleef, small-scale building competitions overseen by elders or masters, these things would help. I can't remember the last time I saw a hunger game (is the plugin broken?).
In short, people feel bleh right now waiting for full release. Give us something to do in the mean time. Something that involves other players, and something shorter-term than the big month-long contests. Try to keep things interesting. I think that'd go a long way.
Sorry I don't have any more specific suggestions, but I will definitely give it more thought. :^) I'll shut up now.
Excellent response. It was well worded and made some good points. I know even some of the larger servers that keep 80-100 people on-line 24/7 are suffering for the lack of stable and recommended builds being released by Mojang and Bukkit (as well as other mods).
As I mentioned to you earlier, I believe that the removal of the whitelist quiz would attract alot more users to the server. When people are searching for a server to join, it can be very discouraging and intimidating when the first thing you have to do is take a test. People who are looking for servers generally want to take a quick look and see what the server has to offer. Not many people take want to take the time to go through a whitelist process, ESPECIALLY after endlessly searching for a good quality server.
I know that some of you might believe that the whitelist quiz brings in more friendly, and mature users. This is probably the case, which is why the questions in the whitelist quiz could possibly be incorporated into the settler quiz.
The idea behind this is, so people are able to have instant access to the server. This allows us to hook guest users and get them to join. The reality is, people are lazy. They will take the most convenient path possible. Hence, servers with no whitelist quiz, generally end up being the most popular.
Good points. You mentioned the remove of the whitelist to me, which is why I added it to my earlier post. I understand your thoughts on the matter, and can't disagree with the points you made. I think some players are turned off by a quiz, and those who do remain are probably more patient, and therefore more mature.
I wouldn't doubt you're right about the popularity of non-whitelist servers, as well, and guests, with little-to-no access may not be turned away as quickly.
What sort of experience would you want guests, who may not have seen our website at all before logging in, to have prior to testing for settler? I know when I joined, before I became settler, there was a public region where I could mine and build prior to taking the website tests. How would you suggest we change things for newcomers?
I was thinking to myself the other day, when I was first looking for servers, what was I looking FOR. I wanted a protected server, where I could store my own items with no worries, and a fast and easy process to whitelist. I was peeking around on a few other servers, and they sort of have a maze/walk through that you must travel through before you can whitelist. It was not only fun, but it was a way in-game to learn the rules of the server.
Call me crazy, but here's an idea. I don't know the planning and work this would require on Unc's side, but it would definitely benefit our server in the long run. First thing is to hold a contest. Start a contest where we have to build a spawn introduction area, where you must walk through it and read all of the rules on signs (and maybe even redstone buttons, etc to pass through an area if you get a question right?). Host a contest for that, and have the winner be the new spawn area for guests. If Uncovery doesn't like any of them, then we'd be more than happy (at least I would be), to help work together and make one that is of high enough standard.
Then implement that, and make it the initial spawn for guests. Have them walk through it, then whitelist them at the end. It doesn't have to be in-game, but something like, "Thank you, please complete your registration at minecraft.uncovery.net" or something like that. But make the actual information and rules ON the server.
This is just a rough idea, I'm open to critique.
Basically, we have to find the right balance of whitelist and server freedom for newbies.
Henmeister, interesting idea. But I am confused: how can we have an in-game process for whitelisting if they can't connect to the game to begin with unless they are already whitelisted?
azkedar if i am interpreting Henmister's post correctly he means that there would be a sort of "quiz" on the server that guests would have to go through. This "quiz" would be made with fancy redstone wiring so when they choose the right answer it will allow them to move on to the next question. once they complete all of the questions there will be a sign that says "Thank you for taking the qualifying quiz. Please go to minecraft.uncovery.net and fill out the whitelist to complete your registration." (i need to stop making run-on sentences. -.- )
The confusion is with the term "whitelist". If they aren't on the whitelist, they cannot connect, period. That is what whitelist means.
Currently on uncovery, you can't connect to the server, even as a guest, until you fill out the whitelist quiz. Once you do that, you are on the whitelist and you can connect. So how can you possibly have an in-game whitelist quiz?
I completely with everything that has been said above. Let me explain about the issues a bit since I know the history of it all:
BUGS: There are currently some smaller and major bugs which are partly left-over issues from the previous upgrade (Hunger Game for example) and partly stuff introduced last week through an update of plugins (mob spawning). All of these I have to find the time to work through and fix them. Unfortunately recently my free time for those is getting less and less. I have a somewhat seasonal work and the time October/November is the most busy in the year. On top of that, I started studying Chinese which is quite hard and takes more of my energy and time. The fact that MC is updating so frequently does not really help there. I am however aware of the bugs and am working on them.
NEW FEATURES: To introduce new features is VERY VERY difficult. Example a: I had a spleef arena. I set up a plugin for it. I announced tournaments. People did not play. Example b: I am running contests. People also want to build their cities. People with cities complained that the contests would steal their users who would build contest entries.
It's not that easy to find the right balance if you do not have 5 organizers and 500 users to share activities. It's a chicken & egg problem between having events and participants.
WHITELIST: This is a very tricky issue. We finally have a quite elaborate rule & application system here. You cannot just go out and build. You need to read stuff to be able to do stuff. If there is no whitelist, people log in and start asking 1'000 questions that all have the same answer: "Go and read the website". The whitelist makes sure that they read that before, so there is less frustration with new AND existing players. We finally did not start with a whitelist but rather introduced more and more hurdles over time to keep the idiots out. And given that there are now several million minecrafters, there are also a lot of idiots around. And not to forget, hackers and professional griefers. Whitelists are not hackable and protect us from people quickly popping their head in and destroying stuff with a hacked client. For those reasons, I really like the whitelist. More experienced players also ask for servers with whitelists.
Improving the server: My take on improving the server is hovering around several options that mostly turn around creating new worlds. My proposal would be to create 1 if not 2-3 new worlds that hold up for the issues named. The first world we could create is a "guest-world". It would be limited in size, restricted to guests, anarchy and frequent resets/regeneration. It would also replace the whitelist. Guests can login, fool around, have a spawn area that explains stuff and if they want protection, they have to move to the protected world or the kingdom. Another world we could have would be one with lots, flat, and creative mode, with split inventories to attract creative gamers. As a new user you can choose to build either in creative or survival, but not in both unless you reach a certain level or donate.
Awesome post, Unc. Thanks! I'm glad you put in your thoughts, though I've known many of them from previous conversations and situations, I know that many of our users have not seen or heard them before.
I'm happy for the involvement you have in the server and very much appreciate the time and effort (and money) you put into the server every month! I'm sure everyone here is, as well. Hopefully, we can get more people to donate what they have to offer to the server.
As far as griefers and idiots go, we still get a few that slip through the cracks, but the system you've setup definitely seems to keep those to a minimum.
Personally, I've been really busy lately and haven't had time for much gaming. I'm not dying to try out the new stuff in the pre-releases yet, but look forward to when they're ready to be hammered upon.
I'm curious to see what other opinions people have on the subject!
Uncovery was one of the first servers I checked out when exploring SMP, and the whitelist didn't put me off - it was definitely a plus point.
I appreciate anything that keeps the idiots out - I'm one of the older players here and although I don't have anything against younger players (the server would be dull without them!) it's true that most serious troublemakers are kids. Most kids can't be bothered to read a bunch of rules and answer a quiz, so they tend to move onto a different server instead.
Of course, there are some grown-up idiots too, but the whitelist is still a good deterrent and I'd vote to keep it rather than open up any area of the server to the public - it only takes one good hack to ruin a lot of people's work and make more work for Unc.
If we're wanting to attract new members, I think maybe the website needs a slightly different homepage - at the moment it's a blog and you have to click through to the different areas to find out about the server. That's fine for us regulars but new visitors need something to attract them in and encourage them to take the whitelist test - we're probably losing potential new members because the first thing they see when they visit the site is a new blog post about problems on the server or who's been kicked off.
We probably need a gallery, video and list of feature straight up there on the homepage so that people's immediate reaction is "Wow! I must take a look..." rather than "How do I find out about this server? Where do I connect? Oh, I need to be whitelisted?". The 'Get Whitelisted' feature needs to be the main call to action and people should want to click it. I'm a web app developer myself and we go through all kinds of testing to fine-tune home pages in order that our loss rates are as low as possible and that visitors stay around... Blog-style sites work well for many purposes but if you're asking people to invest time and effort into something, you've got to persuade them that it's worth it first. Videos on YouTube and entries on the various server lists are great, but once they've got to the website, I think we have to work harder to keep them here.
Of course, that's extra work for Unc so maybe it's something a few of us could help with (unless the general consensus is that it's a bad idea). Speaking of helping, there are some people who have been on the server for a long time and can clearly be trusted with things (I think everybody knows who they are, although not all of them have been around much recently). I'm all for them getting increased powers to help people out, fix problems and take some of the workload from Unc, particularly when it comes to moving things around after server updates or building new features.
I'd like to see the server become more of a team effort so that Unc doesn't have to spend all his time fighting fires and can be more of a guiding hand and overseer. I'd hate to think that Unc has such a big job with the server that it becomes a major burden and he starts to become discouraged - it's supposed to be fun, even for the server admin! Of course, that needs a big heap of trust and probably some considerable work settings things up, but even seeing some new voices posting Blog entries would help generate a more community-oriented feel to the server, which I think would be attractive to visitors.
I think that's enough for now. Maybe I'm talking nonsense anyway...
Oh, and as you might have guessed from the above post, I don't think there's actually anything wrong with the server. I don't think it needs constant re-thinking, it just needs more people... The balance between buildings and competitions is probably about right and there are enough worlds (current or planned) to keep people interested. I prefer crowded lots in limited worlds rather than wide open spaces in multiple worlds.
The only thing that I think needs tweaking right now is the economy - without the gold exchange or income from voting, I'm extremely cautious about spending money - and that's probably true for most people, so people have stopped buying and nobody's earning much from selling. Money needs to start moving again to avoid the economy sliding into disuse and becoming irrelevant - a vibrant economy keeps people coming back.
After reading through all of the posts, I could not agree more. The whitelist system is pretty flawless as-is, but Unc's proposal of an additional world for guests sounds pretty perfect. The whitelist seems to keep out the little kid griefers, awhile attracting long term players (like many of us!).
As for now, I don't think there is much we can do as a community together other than wait for Mojang's final release of Minecraft. The feature freeze should be out in a matter of days, so hopefully some bukkit developers will get their hands on it and start working their magic. As for now, SMP is going to be a little slow. But none the less, whenever the game is out here in full-release, I think we can expect a great increase in users!
I want to take a quick moment to voice my opinion on the application/whitelist process. I've encouraged several of my friends to join this server, but all of them have said "they got bored" or "it's too complicated" regarding the application process. Personally I think it's because they're all lazy, but it does seem to me that the current system kind of deters new players, as it seems a bit complimicated. I know it's not one of your priorities, unc, and I know it'll be hard to change, but I thought it would be productive to share this =)
I have got a wee idea for the rules, and that would be to make a short video that lets new people watch a video on the rules, as an alternative to reading them (the rules would still be in text on the website). I think having a video or something similar would encourage new people to actually pay attention to the rules properly. If any of you like this idea, i volunteer to help make one =D
Apart from that, everything's lookin' good!
If anyone makes a video they need to make it 1950s help video style.
@ OSF I can do a pretty good 50's English accent. If that helps, at all...
I think unc nailed it with split worlds with a creative server on certain worlds and multi invs.
Serious appeal in that in my opinion.
I will be active again soon!