I've been tempted to get something productive done for some time now, so I decided after a long break, I'd do another review. Upon joining the server section of the chat rooms I was faced with an advertisement for the 1.9 server with the IP mc.davidscloud.net.

This was the advertisement:
Want a totally fun experience in minecraft? It is a 1.9 server with 3 Survival worlds and a Special World, Come see for yourself! Your voice matters in the server. Website = minecraft.davidscloud.net Join server Ip is mc.davidscloud.net Teamspeak = ts.davidscloud.net

It wasn't particularly alluring, the only thing that led me to join was my curiosity about 1.9, which I have yet to play. However I'll make sure to focus the review on the server itself, not my first experience with the update. Let's see what kind of FIrst Impressions we get today.

The first thing I see when I join: A quartz pillar with a torch on it. Not a very creative way to spawn in, but let's take a look around, shall we?

So after doing a few turns and then finally exploring outside of the spawn block, I've discovered that I spawned within a small gazeebo type building, and the quartz pillars are actually in the way of my seeing the portals that lead to the different worlds the server holds. I'd suggest perhaps re-doing the spawn area so that all the different portals are in direct sight, instead of being a tad scewed by pillars, perhaps offsetting them if necessary. As it is, the player has to walk around the pillar to get to the portal, in my own personal opinion, it should be so a clear path is made to each portal.

So, after walking around, I find that only one of the four portals are actually in working order, and the ones that are down are blocked off with cobblestone. There are more aesthetically pleasing ways to showcase a "coming soon" area rather than blocking it off with cobblestone.

As well, nothing about the placement of the portals are actually organised, going into the only working one I cross a very well done birdge, and come to a floating pavillion where there are 3-4 randomly placed downward flowing single-block waterfalls labeled with their set destinations on wooden signs. They arent side by side or symetrically placed within the area to be decorative, but rather two are off to the sides, one is in the center and another is behind the center one and slightly to the right. It took me a short moment to realize, the oddly named portals were the survival worlds, then one is a shop and another is the "special world".

In the beginning from the spawn point, I had assumed the massive portals were the 3 survival worlds, from that point i was continually confused.

Now I stand in the spawning point of the down flowing single block waterfall that is supposed to lead to Survival World #1, and it is literally, a random spot in the middle of the wilderness decorated with a gold-iron-stonebrick floor area of about 5x5. There is no lighting, no signs, no spawn "towns" or directions.

Another issue, no rules. Let's say I am a regular minecraft player, I saw the advertisement, yes it includes a website, but I'm too lazy for that, pheh, let's just play on! There are no signs indicating that I should read the rules on the website, nor any within the game telling me the rules, to me, everything is open game right now. This isn't the type of impression you should leave on a first time player.

For servers these days, a certain amount of effort is needed to allow for a survival type server to, well, survive. Making a portal in the sky and then landing a player in the wilderness isn't going to totally keep someone interested in your server when there are hundreds of others out there that spend weeks of time building massive spawning cities with intricate housing and shops or areas for players to trade in. As it stands, though my impression currently isn't 100% negative, it is most certainly not very good. I am still not feeling pulled in to this server, I might stay to play for some time and build a house, but why? This world gives me no reason other than the pure vanilla experience of the game, however this server was in no way advertised as Vanilla.

I do not mean any of what I say to come out as discouraging, harmful or in any way insulting. My reviews are based solely on the outlook of the player, and therefore I express my full and honest opinion, this is all constructive criticism that I hope the Owner will take into consideration, these issues that I have now brought to their attention may be resolved, and will most likely boost their amount of players after such repairs have been made. I do not mean for what I say to blacklist the server in any way, this is why my reviews are done strictly on the First impressions os the server, I do not do reviews on the staff attitude, nor player base, and I do not spend any long period of time playing the server. Thank you for reading,

Your Truthful Pirate,

Capn Sybbyl


Server IP: mc.davidscloud.net
Server website: minecraft.davidscloud.net/