Amalos Minecraft Server Beta Test 7/7/2012

As the title may self-explain, we will be having the second Beta test of the official server on Saturday, July 7th, 2012 at 8am PST (11 EST) to 8pm PST (11 EST).

We would like to invite any, and all, Minecraft players (with official accounts!) to take part again; largely because we didn’t receive enough stress to accurately test the server during the last test session.

The IP connection is  71.231.72.141.

Q1. Do I must have a licensed copy of Minecraft to play?

Yes! We will not allow any players who do not connect via Minecraft.net‘s servers to participate.

Q2. Will any of the data be saved from this test?

Yes! This test is almost an “early-access” kind of test. You can play in our world, use our shops, set up your own, build, explore, mine, whatever you want. Any data you create will be saved on the server until official release.

Q3. What will be available to see in-game in terms of server content?

Everything on the server file is open to view. There’s now a protection on our content, so you’ll have to do some trial / error to find out what’s protected and what isn’t in the wild. All of our cities have full protection a little outside their building area, and fully down to bedrock, all the way to the sky build limit. Since all plug-ins only build in squares, some wild parts are also protected as they’re clipped as part of what we’re actually protecting.

We also have felt that Minecraft is more of a multiplayer than single-player experience, and the base games is sorely lacking in this content. Mojang is working on an Adventure Mode, but we feel it’s not enough. We’re working on our own class system, leveling system, and quest system for our server to bring in creative cooperation and adventure.

Q4. With everything of yours being protected, are you still not worried about griefing and loss of content?

Absolutely! All of the server files are backed up in redundant files, and we will be doing rolling restarts throughout the day as griefing occurs if we think necessary.

Q5. What is the purpose of this test?

Considering that Sephalon & I are getting closer to finishing, this is mostly just so players can have fun and see in first person (especially since creating the videos take so long to get out) all the content we’ve created, and to allow players to get a head-start on playing their character. The server is still missing its crucial plug-in however, so that content is going to be unavailable until release

Q6. Minecraft servers generally are run for players to collectively create things. Why do you have official server content?

Sephalon and I started out creating cities separately, and later, wanted to combine it into one file to play together. As we discussed the possibility of releasing it to the public, we started to write and create a story for the entire server. If you ask us in-game, we could give you the entire history of the server. In short, we both created two factions, The People of Amalos and Valgar, and after The Great War, they became one giant nation – one part modern/industrial and the other medieval/Middle Age. There are two major cities, which are practically 100% done, that were the capitals of the nations. One of the two “major” cities, Morgin, is done, while Val’garn is still in the works. Villages are considered server content, as every nation needs a food supply from their villages to support their cities!

Q7. Is there a texture pack that goes with this server?

Absolutely! Sephalon slaved away to create an HD texture pack for our server. We highly recommend you use it while playing, as everything created was created with the texture pack in mind, and as such, things won’t look  the same as if you were to play on your own, or default. You can download the texture pack via the Official Server Texture Pack post.

Q8. What plug-ins do you have on the server?

We have:

• AntiEnderman – This is used to only stop Enderman from taking blocks. It is a dangerous thing to have them take blocks as our protection plug-in doesn’t always protect against Enderman
• Anvil – This plug-in is used to allow players to repair items in their inventory if they have at least one of the basic materials required to craft them by right clicking on a block of iron. Even enchanted items are repaired without losing the enchants.
• ChestShop – This is our in-game shop system by which players can right-click on a sign to buy items from NPC shops with our in-game dollar system, and left-clicking on it to sell the same item back for half price. All prices can be found here.
• CreativeGates – This is the plug-in that allows us to create portals players can walk through to travel around the map. Note: Creating portals is a ban-worthy offense. See our rules page.
• Essentials – This is a huge, complex plug-in that allows us to assign nicknames to players, has our in-game economy system, gives new players a starting kit, and more. Only Admins or Moderators have access to most of the commands.
• LWC – This plug-in allows players to lock doors and chests so that other players, or only select players, cannot access your things, or your place. We have certain things locked for us as a way to stop players fro getting to certain things that is either decoration, or is our stuff.
• Regios – This plug-in is to protect our server content. It allows us to modify if TNT or fire is enabled, player caps, PVP enabled, if health is used or not, run speed, and protecting against placing or removing blocks.

We’re working on our last plug-in, but it’s not going to be ready for release to use until the server is. It’s the meat of Amalos. It’s the questing plug-in. I am coding it myself, and as such it’s going to take some time. With it, players will be able to select a class at start, using the Trinity system, and will have certain bonuses with each class. We’re trying to find a way that we can produce some PvE content, but will have to see how development goes. The questing plug-in will award EXP, items, and even in-game cash.

Q9. Is there anything special I have to do during the test?

All we’re asking for is for you to have fun, and to promote us. If you notice anything wrong, such as things are not protected and should be, you’re being griefed, signs are misspelled, etc. is that you send us an email at mordil AT lorehound.com with the info describing it, and perhaps coordinates (hit F3) to help us. Any feedback would also be enjoyed so we can offer a better experience when it goes live.

Q10. Are the houses and mansions in-game available to purchase this test?

Amalos Real Estate is currently battling some legal issues, and will not be able to have them resolved with the crown by this weekend. In result, city real estate is unavailable this test. Donations and payments for it are accepted right now, and will be on file for when they are available for purchase.