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What makes a server good? Observations as a returning player

SuperNerd256's Avatar SuperNerd2567/27/15 10:23 pm
1 emeralds 411 3
9/16/2015 10:44 am
NASH0XX's Avatar NASH0XX
Some background info: I've been playing MC since late alpha. I took a hiatus somewhere around beta 1.8 and am just now getting back into it. I tried getting back into multiplayer but have found the same results with every server I go to:
-Seems mostly like playing your own single player game next to other people
-Little to no incentive to come back day in and day out
-No simple progression of play for new players

I tried faction, pvp, towny, prison, and a few others - all with the same results: It's repetitive and boring after a while. There's no real point to it all.

Now this is going to make me sound like an old grouchy man (I'm 18), but some of the servers back a few years ago never had these problems (some did, but that's not the point). However I know for a fact that it can't just be "things were better back then", because that's a terrible excuse, so I decided to look into the fundamentals of what made a server back then and what made a server now. Looking at each objectively, I found two main differences between the older servers and the newer ones:
-The human element
-The progression of play

The first one - the human element - is about player interaction. What differentiates multiplayer from single player is the fact that you're playing with other people. Now that's kinda obvious, but if you look at a lot of servers these days, you'll understand why I'm bringing it up. A lot of servers have players taking part in their own ventures with others on the same map doing the same, but more often than not solely doing things by themselves. People are playing modded single player together, not multiplayer. I can tell you it didn't used to be this way. What happened? Technology. Mainly plugins. Being an engineer, I can tell you how technology takes away from the human experience (and how it adds to it), but the point being is that what used to require interacting with another player is now covered by a plugin command. If you wanted to buy something, you would find the player in their shop, give them an item that was denoted as money on the server, and they would give you the item in question. Nowadays you can use /pay and /give or /send and the other person could be a million blocks away and still receive it. Small things like this are what changed the human aspect of minecraft multiplayer. Now from a simplicity point of view, these plugins are great. It makes the game easier, and takes away the hassle of having to stop what you're doing to interact with another individual. However what most people don't realize is that by removing the human element, you're only making multiplayer more like single player. Even worse is human-interaction being removed altogether by commands and right-click signs that allow players to play entirely single player games on multiplayer servers. Having to not only work with other people, but also rely on them is a challenge, but that challenge is what makes a multiplayer server different than single player mode, and most importantly, more enjoyable than it.

The second aspect I'd like to touch on is the progression of play. Now this is just from my experience, but every recent server I've been on has started out the same way: The player spawns, they have a small set of basic items, they're led through a short area with rules, and then are dumped into an open and happening world. The problem with this is that the rest of the world around them is already moving and players often have to hit the ground running in order to keep up. If you've ever been driving and tried to merge onto a highway from a residential street, you'll know that there's a small strip between the residential street and the highway that lets cars get up to speed before entering the highway - this is what many servers used to be like. We call them tutorial levels in videogames, but there aren't really any necessary things to learn just by reading a tutorial for a minecraft server. The old servers would have a list of things for every new player to do so that when they finally complete the list, they'll be familiar with the server, have a few basic items to their name, know a few people, and have an idea of what they want to do. In my experience, this was a much better way of not only getting new members involved with a server, but also retaining new members to stay on the server for months on end.

These are just my observations, but I'm posting them here because I want to see what everyone else thinks makes a server good. If I'm entirely wrong, let me know. If you have things to add, I'd love to hear them. Minecraft is an amazing game with unlimited potential, and it's a shame the experience for players isn't what it used to be.
Posted by SuperNerd256's Avatar
SuperNerd256
Level 6 : Apprentice Miner
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09/16/2015 10:44 am
Level 25 : Expert Architect
NASH0XX
NASH0XX's Avatar
Innovation, creativity and being original. Maybe you could read my article, we share the same thoughts: http://www.planetminecraft.com/blog/next-gen-servers/
1
08/04/2015 1:20 am
Level 34 : Artisan Wolf
SpacePuppeh
SpacePuppeh's Avatar
Oh I completely agree! As you see from my account creation date I've been playing for a while as well. I've been running servers since Alpha and I keep them interesting but don't like to bloat features.

There's a common misconception that more is better. I'd rather put effort into keeping the game how it was intended by it's creators, preserving that free and open feel I've always loved. And, making troublemakers bored since there is nothing to hack or grief.

I also took a leave for a bit after closing my largest server. When I came back everything that made this game successful no longer is what makes it successful. It's now about novelty and versatility; what else can you create using Minecraft? It's now more so a platform as is the highway for cars.

Are we just being old fashioned, or is it really morphing to it's detriment? I have no idea, it might turn around or just keep changing. Only time will tell. :|
1
07/27/2015 10:32 pm
Level 19 : Journeyman Network
forgot about you
forgot about you's Avatar
A server with a good community, where everyone is equal, donations/staff don't make someone better than another.
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