Building Challenge

There are 7 days left to get your entries built and still quite a few building areas available, see here for details of how to enter and the prizes available...

http://diggyminecraft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/building-challenge-details.html

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Ranks For New Server

Just a quick post to clarify the ranks planned for the new server!

Standard player ranks:

Explorer > Resident > Citizen > Veteran   (all promotions automatic)

Donation based ranks:

Donator  (equivalent to Veteran + extras)

VIP  (equivalent to Veteran + extras)

A special rank which is not a part of the normal promotion ladder:

Architect  (equivalent to Veteran + specific extra permissions) 

Staff ranks:

DemiMod > Mod > Admin

And finally the owner rank:

 Owner

Hopefully with it broken down like that you can see it's not actually as complicated as it looks at first, the colours may change between now and when the server launches though!

Player Made YouTube Videos

Here are some videos made by one of our regular players, Joeygerace!

This video series is based on our minigames...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYoN5IDGXnk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol-iz1fs5bE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQM7gtkiL-o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euNWZVYNKxk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH_JZ3VS5GU

And here is a co-op build he built with some other players...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqDij16i5JY

If anyone else has made videos then please do let me know so I can share them with everyone else on here and Technic Forums!

As with screenshots Joey has been given $500 in game for each video posted here, was cool watching you guys have fun with the Minigames :)

ModPack FAQ

I decided to put together a little info regarding the upcoming modpack to answer a few question we've been asked a few times, bear in mind that some details might change:

What is the pack going to be called? How many slots will it have?

This is still a bit tentative, but most likely it will just simply be 'DiggyMinecraft'.

Update: We've decided to go with the name DiggyVerse'.

The server will initially have 30 slots, the same as the current server.

How will I run the pack?

It will simply involving adding the pack to your Technic Launcher by pasting a link into the 'Add New Pack' dialog box. 

What version of Minecraft is it going to be based on?

1.6.4, although we were tempted to go for 1.7+ the mods and plugins just aren't mature enough and a few we really wanted to include wont be stable on newer versions for quite some time (some developers haven't even started work on 1.7 compatible versions yet due to upcoming changes in 1.8).

What mods will it include? Will it have Tinkers Construct?

Well unless something changes the client will include a total of 62 mods, two of which I have written myself, we already have permission for 53 of the others and the rest shouldn't be an issue.

Update: A couple of mods have had to be removed for stability reasons, for an up to date figure on the number of mods see the Modpack section of the website.

Yes, it will include Tinkers Construct! 

I don't want to give too much away but I can also confirm these popular mods are to be included;

Natura, Biomes O' Plenty, Not Enough Items, Iron Chests, Treecapitator, BiblioCraft, BiblioWoods, Metallurgy, ExtraTiC, Chisel, Statues & Vending Blocks.

As previously stated the modpack will not include advanced machine mods such as IndustrialCraft and BuildCraft, this is to reduce lag and glitches/dupes and allow for a more creative build/fun orientated pack, think more 'Minecraft enhanced' than 'Minecraft with machines' as almost every aspect of vanilla Minecraft from enchanting to fishing has been enhanced in some way.

I will be posting a full list crediting all the developers and including links for more information when the pack is ready for launch!

Are you releasing your own mods separately and allowing reuse?

One of them yes, it is a bridge between a few other mods that makes certain items more compatible (cross mod crafting recipes etc), this will be my first public mod and I hope it will also help promote a lesser known but awesome developer by tying his mods into big well known ones!

Update: Although a stand-alone version of some aspects of my mod will hopefully be released at some point I've had to merge them for use in the modpack for a couple of reasons.

My other mod is very much tailored to our server and adds functionality specific to not just mods but also plugins, it would therefore make little sense to make it public, I also feel that this mod will keep the modpack server unique and make it 'stand out in the crowd' so this will be kept exclusive to the server.

Will you have the same plugins? How will land protection work?

Some but not all, some stopped development before 1.6.4 and for others there are just better options, the casino slots and minigames (+ 3 new game types!) will feature as well as;

Essentials, Multiverse, Lockette, WorldBorder & WorldGuard.

As for land protection we will still use a Protection Stone type system but with some major enhancements, including tying in with my main mod to make it more user friendly. The new plugin allows for city & town type setups with different sized plots that can be rented to other players as well as the ability to buy, sell and rent single regions outside of towns and cities, you will even be able to let multiple players rent the same region at the same time. 

There are also lots of other exciting features but you will have to wait and see!

When will it be released? Who gets access when?

For now we are being cautious, but we expect the server to be fully open with any initial kinks ironed out by sometime in August, with my study schedule etc progress will be fairly slow for now but my kids and Tatankore are doing a great job of testing things out and finding odd behaviour for me to fix!

Staff will get access for testing as soon as we have permission for all the mods and my second mod is finished (still ironing a couple of things out). VIP players will get access soon after, followed by Donator and Member+ players, players of Member & New Builder rank will only get access once the server officially launches. 

Does this mean the Tekkit Classic server is shutting down soon?

No, the intention is to see how popular Tekkit Classic is towards the end of the year and go from there, with this years funding already covered it will be at least early 2015 before we retire the Tekkit Classic server. Players will be able to transfer some in game money to the new server though if they wish.

Will I keep my rank?

This one is a little more complicated, the ranks are being overhauled and there will be some big changes but you will be promoted to an equivalent rank on request.

Here are current details of the new servers ranks:

http://diggyminecraft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/blog-post.html

Well that's it for now, a lot to take in but hopefully it gives you all an idea of what is coming and why it is taking so long, hope to see some of you in game soon!

Scheduled Maintenance

The server is down to perform the following maintenance:

1. Full backup / clone - Done.
2. Remove old log/backup data - Done.
3. Test small maintenance change - Done.
4. Reset Nether & End - Done.

Scheduled Downtime:

Date: 3rd April 2014

Started: 08:30 (UK)

Finished: 10:15 (UK)

Update: added 30 minutes to end time, my internet connection is quite a bit slower than usual!
Update: added 15 minutes to end time, decided to reset Nether & End whilst testing the maintenance change as it's a little overdue and will only take a few extra minutes.
Update: Almost done, whitelist will only be on for another 5-10 minutes!
Update: The whitelist is now off and you can connect to the server!

'Bad Login'

Just a quick post to make sure everyone is aware, the 'Bad Login' message a lot of players are getting when trying to connect after switching between Minecraft accounts is in fact a Technic Launcher bug that has been around a little while now. 

If you get this problem then try completely closing your Technic Launcher and relaunching, if that doesn't work for you then try restarting your computer and if that doesn't work either you will have to 'reset the pack' by using the reset option in the launcher or manually removing your '.technic' folder.

Hope that helps!