Monday, February 27, 2012
Biome Pictures
Just wanted to show a few of the biomes, for those who don't play Minecraft. I'll post more pictures in the future.
A Word on Admins and OPs
A lot of people on my server have been asking questions about how to become and OP and what OPs do and other things. To clear things up for people on my server and other people, I'm going to say a few things on Admins, OPs, Members, etc.
To start with, I'm going to explain the main hierarchy of a server. The list of ranks on a basic server are listed below, as well as what they are.
Members: People who play on the server but do not have any special commands. This is a "Civilian"-type rank.
OPs: OPs (stands for Operators) are people who do not own the server, but have powers and generally help out with some of the Admin's jobs. This is a "Policeman"-type rank.
Admins: Admins are the owners of the server, or people very close to the owner. Admins preside over all the other ranks, and have the final say in everything. This is a "President" or "Dictator"- type rank.
Those are the main "ranks" of a basic server. However, on some there may be more.
Many people on my server have asked me how they can become an OP, and this next part is dedicated to that question. There are some general rules you need to pass on my server, and they are very similar on other servers I have seen. Here's the list:
-How to become an OP on most servers-
1. You must have played on the server for a long time. You can't just join then ask to be an OP a week later. Around 3 months or more is recommended.
2. You must be very skilled at surviving in Minecraft. This includes knowing how to craft, being good at fighting monsters, know what the different blocks are, etc.
3. You must be good at building. Admins and other OPs may rely on you to help with a building project, and you must be good to help. It also shows off your skill at Minecraft and your knowledge of blocks.
4. You must be liked by many players on the server. It's no use being an OP when everyone on the server hates you. :D
5. You must not have griefed and you must be able to be trusted with OP powers. Admins will not OP someone when they feel that they cannot be trusted to use their powers to help.
GOLDEN RULE (Applies an almost EVERY server): NEVER ask to be an OP. It only annoys the admins, and they will OP you when they feel you are ready and they need more OPs. If they don't OP you, it may be just because they have no need for a new OP.
If you don't qualify for one of these, you might still become an OP by excelling in the other categories. Trust me- I've seen servers where a guy comes on, and 20 minutes later he asked to be an OP. Me and the admin were discussing whether to ban him or not. :D
Also, many people have asked if THEY can make their own server. I think these are the main reasons people want to create a server when they see mine:
1. They feel that I do a horrible job and they want to make their own so everyone will be better off.
2 (Most Likely): They want to have the power of being an admin and having control.
Honestly, I don't see why people even bother making a server for reason 2. It's actually EXTREMELY hard to make a server, run it, and then maintain control of it. Here's the things that happen in the daily life of an admin:
1. People keep killing each other.
2. People keep robbing each other.
3. People keep destroying each other's houses.
4. You have to keep all the OPs in line.
5. You have to clean up the messes 1-3 have caused.
6. You have to deal with people claiming your OPs are idiots and should be de-OPed.
7. You have to deal with people claiming other people should be banned.
8. You have to hunt through the console (the server "brain" basically) and get evidence to find proof for accusations people make.
9. You have to deal with people asking to be OP.
10. You have to deal with n00bs asking how to do something.
11. You have to deal with people begging for stuff.
All of the above happen 1-10 times in a week, killing, asking for stuff, destroying houses, and asking for OP being the most common. Begging and asking for OP are far ahead, with maybe 30 times asked a week (Some in-game, some from people at my school).
It's quite difficult, running a server that's as big as mine. Hold on, I'm gonna do a count of the people that ACTIVELY play on the server....
21 play about every day, and about 12 more either play every once in a while or rarely ever play.
o_0. That's a lot.
Hope this helped you understand some things!
To start with, I'm going to explain the main hierarchy of a server. The list of ranks on a basic server are listed below, as well as what they are.
Members: People who play on the server but do not have any special commands. This is a "Civilian"-type rank.
OPs: OPs (stands for Operators) are people who do not own the server, but have powers and generally help out with some of the Admin's jobs. This is a "Policeman"-type rank.
Admins: Admins are the owners of the server, or people very close to the owner. Admins preside over all the other ranks, and have the final say in everything. This is a "President" or "Dictator"- type rank.
Those are the main "ranks" of a basic server. However, on some there may be more.
Many people on my server have asked me how they can become an OP, and this next part is dedicated to that question. There are some general rules you need to pass on my server, and they are very similar on other servers I have seen. Here's the list:
-How to become an OP on most servers-
1. You must have played on the server for a long time. You can't just join then ask to be an OP a week later. Around 3 months or more is recommended.
2. You must be very skilled at surviving in Minecraft. This includes knowing how to craft, being good at fighting monsters, know what the different blocks are, etc.
3. You must be good at building. Admins and other OPs may rely on you to help with a building project, and you must be good to help. It also shows off your skill at Minecraft and your knowledge of blocks.
4. You must be liked by many players on the server. It's no use being an OP when everyone on the server hates you. :D
5. You must not have griefed and you must be able to be trusted with OP powers. Admins will not OP someone when they feel that they cannot be trusted to use their powers to help.
GOLDEN RULE (Applies an almost EVERY server): NEVER ask to be an OP. It only annoys the admins, and they will OP you when they feel you are ready and they need more OPs. If they don't OP you, it may be just because they have no need for a new OP.
If you don't qualify for one of these, you might still become an OP by excelling in the other categories. Trust me- I've seen servers where a guy comes on, and 20 minutes later he asked to be an OP. Me and the admin were discussing whether to ban him or not. :D
Also, many people have asked if THEY can make their own server. I think these are the main reasons people want to create a server when they see mine:
1. They feel that I do a horrible job and they want to make their own so everyone will be better off.
2 (Most Likely): They want to have the power of being an admin and having control.
Honestly, I don't see why people even bother making a server for reason 2. It's actually EXTREMELY hard to make a server, run it, and then maintain control of it. Here's the things that happen in the daily life of an admin:
1. People keep killing each other.
2. People keep robbing each other.
3. People keep destroying each other's houses.
4. You have to keep all the OPs in line.
5. You have to clean up the messes 1-3 have caused.
6. You have to deal with people claiming your OPs are idiots and should be de-OPed.
7. You have to deal with people claiming other people should be banned.
8. You have to hunt through the console (the server "brain" basically) and get evidence to find proof for accusations people make.
9. You have to deal with people asking to be OP.
10. You have to deal with n00bs asking how to do something.
11. You have to deal with people begging for stuff.
All of the above happen 1-10 times in a week, killing, asking for stuff, destroying houses, and asking for OP being the most common. Begging and asking for OP are far ahead, with maybe 30 times asked a week (Some in-game, some from people at my school).
It's quite difficult, running a server that's as big as mine. Hold on, I'm gonna do a count of the people that ACTIVELY play on the server....
21 play about every day, and about 12 more either play every once in a while or rarely ever play.
o_0. That's a lot.
Hope this helped you understand some things!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Spiral Knights
Hello!
Wow, I haven't published a new post in over a month. That's because I've been playing a new game- It's called Spiral Knights. You can play it for free on Steam, or play it on Kongregate and other flash game sites.
Wow, I haven't published a new post in over a month. That's because I've been playing a new game- It's called Spiral Knights. You can play it for free on Steam, or play it on Kongregate and other flash game sites.
In the plot of Spiral Knights, your civilzation's ship, the Skylark, crashes on a planet called Cradle. The Skylark's power system is broken, and the Spiral Knights need a almost unlimited source of power to leave the planet.
There's good news and bad news- The good news is that at the core of the planet is a GIANT power source that could easily get the Skylark off the planet. The bad news is that it's guarded by a massive mechanical complex called the Clockworks. The Clockworks is a massive series of floors and levels that are constantly changing- It's almost impossible to go the same way twice. You and the rest of the Spiral Knights have to get to the core of the planet in order to get off Cradle.
There are 3 "Tiers" to the Clockworks. Each one requires a special quality of gear to enter. You can make gear by either crafting it, trading it, or buying it from NPCs, or bidding at the Auction House.
The picture shown here is the Auction House. Here, you can start bids, bid in hopes of getting an item, or just buy the stuff (although it costs more to buy than bid). Almost everything is sold here- Swords, armor, helmets, shields, handguns, bombs, you name it.
The "elevator" shown here is called a Gate. These are the main way to enter the Clockworks. If you look at the monitor on the gate, the symbol tells you what level to expect next. Also, if you see the blue 10 above the gate, that's the symbol for Energy. Energy is one of the most important things in Spiral Knights. Energy is used to craft items, go into gates, join parties, etc. There are two kinds of Energy in Spiral Knights. Mist Energy is energy that slowly refills- You get about 1 Energy every 13.5 minutes, and it stores up to 100. It takes 22 hours to fill. The other kind is Crystal Energy, which can be brought with real money, in-game money, or traded for stuff.
This gate is a different kind of gate. See the house symbol? That means that this is as far as you can go in this part of the Clockworks- When everyone steps inside it brings you back up to Haven, the main Spiral Knights town. It costs no energy to go in these gates, which makes sense- After all, if it DID cost energy, if u had no energy left you would just be stuck there.
This is the list of players playing in your party. The maximum amount of players in a party is 4. On the list, it shows their name, their current health, if they are waiting at the exit lift, if they have their microphone on, and a portrait. If you are the party leader, you can also use this panel to kick players from the level.
This is a picture of me shielding. The shield mechanics in the game are quite good. This is how it works- If you bring out your shield, you will temporarily take no damage until the energy field breaks. The energy field is damaged when hit, and the better the shield the more hits it can take. If it's a really good shield, it can allow you to walk over spike pits and take no damage.
Just like in other games, there are many kinds of status effects. Players can be affected if a special kind of monster or trap hits them, and monsters can be affected when a status effect potion is thrown at them or they are hit with special weapons. The current status effects are shown below.
Shock, Stun, Fire, Poison, Freeze, Sleep, and Curse
Each one has a special ability it inflicts on players and monsters. You can combat these by using Remedy Potions or having armor resistant to a kind of status effect. You can change your armor when going on different kinds of levels for maximum defense.
This is a Stranger, one of the many native inhabitants of Cradle. Strangers are very helpful, and will either give advice or sell you items. Strangers sell Equipment, Potions, Recipes, and other things. Most of the Strangers can be found selling things in the Haven Bazaar or elsewhere in Haven, but a few can be found selling items to explorers inside the Clockworks, at either Clockwork Terminals or one of the towns inside the Clockworks.
This is an Alchemy Machine. Alchemy Machines are used to craft items and make tons of different stuff. Crafting requires 3-4 things:
- Specific Materials
- Crowns (The better the item the more Crowns)
- Energy (The better the item the more Energy
- (Not always): A specific weapon or armor of lower rank than the new item
The picture shown here is one of the many kinds of Crystals throughout the Clockworks. The crystals can be chopped down into smaller bits with weapons, the picked up and carried to the surface. Once collected, Crystals can be deposited into special kinds of Gates that need Crystals to be powered. The kind of crystals you put into a gate actually decide what theme the gate will be- Special kinds of crystals put in will make a certain theme. 
This box here is a Treasure Box. There are three kinds of Treasure Boxes- Green Treasure Boxes, Red Treasure Boxes, and Heart Boxes. Green gives random heat and crowns, Red Treasure Boxes have even better rewards, and Heart Boxes drop a ton of hearts when broken open. Be sure to look around for these in levels! This isn't the end of my showcase- I'll be doing a second part soon. See you later!
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