As you might have read already on Notch’s blog, there will be some important bugfixes to multiplayer within the next 12 hours. Also, there will be some interesting changes on uncovery!

As you might have seen, we had a bit of a rush of new users in the recent days that died down again. The reason was that we suddenly jumped up in the online server list form place 945 to place 5. So suddenly, instead of the normal daily 2-3 users, we had 150 in a couple of hours. I could not fast enough whitelist them, I could not assign all of them a protected area, and we got a griefer in, and everybody was annoyed. So this changes all now. I took the server off the list and will put it back up only once I know we have a working system that can handle that many people at once.

First of all, I know have an email system that notifies me on the cellphone when someone registers, and I can whitelist them from there immediately. So the longest time you have to wait will be if I am sleeping, which should not be longer than 8-10 hours.

Second, we will have a map with pre-assigned fields, like a chessboard. So you can apply for field B-9, and have a 100×100 block reserved for you, without worrying about griefers and without me having to manually walk through your area and select it for you. I can do that too from my cellphone if I need to (although it’s a bit more complicated).

Third, once you have this area, I will make a backup of this and only this space. If you mess it up and want to reset it, I can do that for you.

Fourth, we will have 3600×3600 blocks large “public area” in which you can do what you want – without griefers protection though. This area will be for new joiners or people who prefer to build in larger groups. Also this area can be reset to the backup status once in a while.

Fifth, we will have a 200×200 blocks large spawn area with all the necessary features: A hospital where you can heal, an incinerator, a market place and a trading place, and of course the much beloved Jail. This time extra spooky.

Sixth, since we will have 400 allotted areas for users to be protected, we will run out of them sooner or later. So if we need one more than we have, we will reset and hand out those areas that are deserted and where the user did not log in for a reasonable time (2 weeks probably).

Seventh, there will be a process to apply for a protected area. You will have to answer a short checklist to make sure you are mentally above 3 years old etc. to weed out the noobs from the experts and make sure dedicated people are on the server.