Community Feedback Pt. 1: the future of mc.frodle.net

It's fair to say we've had some feedback since our last post, so in the second part of our ongoing series of updates regarding the Frodlenet Minecraft server, we'll be addressing that feedback and setting out some further ideas for the future.

Before we begin, I'd like to formally welcome Katie to the admin team, as I'm sure you've seen how dire the Discord announcement was. She has prior experience, which technically makes her more qualified than myself and Frankie, but we'll try not to feel too threatened. She was offered the role last week by the both of us calling her and blasting "Hail to the Chief" down the line. She didn't immediately accept.

Additionally, we've brought on local polluter and business tycoon Indra, or Papa Castro as he is better known, as our lead Moderator. He should be able to balance out any chaos that Katie causes.

Anyway! On to the actual subject of this post. We'll list each distinct point raised and then our response and thoughts below:

Interacting with randoms on the server

We understand that many see the server as a safe space for the existing group only and have no interest in interacting with randoms. Assuming any randoms join the server, nobody will be under any obligation to interact with them, and they may well feel the same about interacting with everyone else. There are already examples of those you could arguably call randoms (no presence on the Discord server) simply going into far flung parts of the world and building nice villages, e.g Nu Norway, one of the nicest places in all Majoria.

Setting out proper server rules

If the server did go public in any way, we would have a list of rules in place beforehand. These would be fairly obvious, and we won't tolerate any rule-breaking at all. We're also working on an Admin Handbook so that people have an understanding of the guidelines that the admin team follow. This is already live and can be accessed here: http://confluence.frodle.net:8090/display/MINECRAFT/Admin+Handbook

The handbook is still a work in progress so expect changes and additions to come. The main server rules and and a separate Moderator Handbook will also go on our wiki, but the rules will be accessible in-game too.

In-game images with people's faces on

This was also of concern to some if the server goes public, and of course we can always remove material upon request, regardless of whether or not the server goes public. For some areas that have a high concentration of such material that would be nice to keep, ie Gluck Towers, we may wall the area off for gluckers only.

Tone of the previous post

For some the initial announcement sounded rather one-sided, as if our request for feedback wasn't sincere, or that any feedback we wanted wasn't intended to actually change anything. We promise this is not the case at all, and we're going to continue asking for and responding to feedback, while using it to help us make decisions.

Previous incidents involving randoms

Well okay, maybe just the one random. I'm sure we could all gather that this piece of feedback was referring to the accursed you-know-who. We couldn't have reasonably known his true character, but he was present for less than 24 hours before being banned for good. To avoid this in future, we're launching a new Discord server solely for Minecraft, to which we'll be moving the in-game chat channel later today. This new server will ensure that the main Frodlenet Discord further remains a private space, and you can join it using the below link:

https://discord.gg/5Z3cG9vyTN

As previously mentioned, we've already appointed our first full moderator, but going one step further, we'd like to empower all existing players on the server (over a certain playtime) with additional powers, for now specifically kick and mute. This is a massive change to the way the server operates in terms of moderation, but it is also a recognition of the support that existing players have shown the server over the past few years. We're yet to decide on where the playtime bar for these settings will be set, but we'll have more on that soon.

As always, please pass on any feedback in the appropriate Discord channel.

Lots of love and kisses and cuddles and festive cheer,

Fred and the other unimportant admins

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Preparing for Public: the future of mc.frodle.net

As 2021 draws to a close, big changes are coming to the Frodlenet Minecraft server.

In 2022, we'll be making the server a truly public one, but a lot of preparation will be required before we can go ahead with that. In this blog post, and in future ones to come, we'll be setting out the changes we're making. Let's begin!

Transport: You Got Places To Be

Obviously this is a big one to me personally, but it's also important to the server as a whole. We've been busy improving transport within New Duck City and further afoot, with nicer looking rails, more informative signage and making the rail network generally more pleasant to use.

Frankie has been hard at work too setting up our new warp hub, the definitely not copyright protected TARDIS. This links cities together, and it's absolutely free to use! You'll still be able to use the regular /warp commands, though they will continue to have a cost.

In additional to rail and warp, we also hope to start selling vehicles soon! At first, we'll just be selling cars, but expect additional vehicles in future, with some perhaps even being special event rewards.

Events: Keep On Coming Back

The main measurement of success in making the server public will be maintaining a healthy and active playerbase, and we'll be putting new systems in place to keep people coming back. These plans haven't been finalised yet, but could include the following:

• Daily/Weekly Events

• More regular/better organised special events (i.e Tryumf Tournament)

• Daily login bonus

• Rewards for upvoting the server on server listing sites

Player Experience: It Probably Matters

We know the new player experience needs a lot of attention, and we'll be working on this in several ways, with our Confluence site being central to this. We'll be posting guides on various subjects there, as well as links to helpful resources for the various gameplay changing plugins (Slimefun, Runecraft, Craftbook etc).

In addition to guides, we'll be adding a starter kit to the server that contains some essentials items to assist in getting started in Majoria, as well as a settler kit, which you'll have to purchase for a reasonable price, but will contain some special items and building resources ideal for setting up a new town.

Server Administration: Strong And Stable

Perhaps most important when running a public server will be all the behind the scenes administration. Many shall still remember The Cataclysm almost two years past, and we've learned a lot since then. Our backup practices are already strong, but we'll be moving backups to additional off-site locations in case the worst happens. We're also looking to move to a new and more powerful host fit for the future.

In more human terms, you can't administrate without administrators, and we'll be looking to add an extra admin to our humble team of two, though we've no deadline for when this will be done, and applications will be considered whenever presented to us.

We may also look to promote a few players to moderator status, though this will require some work on the technical side before we consider it further.

In Summary: Big Things Coming Soon?

Most people will likely not care about any of this, and that's just fine with us. Some will though, and those that do will also hopefully appreciate the details laid out here. Please do let us know if you have any concerns though, as we're always listening (honest). Contact us on Discord, or if you wish for something more formal, email us at staff@frodle.net

Until next time,

Fred

Major Index now live

The dedicated site for the mc.frodle.net Minecraft server, the Major Index, has launched. You can navigate to it via the top bar, or by using this link: https://www.frodle.net/mc

More content will be coming soon, so please stay tuned.