Survival Discussion: Rules/New Players

This thread is for the discussion of Survivals rules/New players so any changes you would like to see to either how our current guest system works or the rules of the server itself. For any suggestions please include why you believe it would work better then what is already in place or why it should be removed/added.

The rules will be changed to the following sometime tomorrow.

(Staff feel free to edit this post to how you see fit. New rules/guest ideas ect)

I was quoted! I feel loved! xD

still seems overwhelming to someone new i think, even with eriks revise

I'll take a gander at this. I could still probably cut out more, but this is my first attempt. Things I added are in green, things I removed are crossed out, extra notes are in orange, and one section that should be moved elsewhere is in blue.

On the topic of new players, I have a suggestion. Some players join but don't stay or remain guest because it's not clear for them how to apply. Also, a lot of them think that the application process isn't worth their time. As long as we make sure they understand the rules and guidelines, they should just have to do one quick thing. A big thing that turns people away is the whole process. Also, guests tend to complain about waiting too long for their application to be accepted. Maybe their should be more people to accept the apps. I don't want to make it easier for griefers and such to get on the server, but I find these are some of the things turning people away.

This is a really good start. There's probably a few other redundant things that could be cut back on though :3

I disagree (not out of spite, just my opinion). It is VERY clear, as they are constantly spammed by the server with the link to apply, and what it means. They are either too stubborn to do it, or just not smart enough to figure it out. Either way, if they are one of the two, they they aren't the kind of person we want on the server. That is the main point of the sign room. If somebody refuses to read the signs, then they simply wont fit well in a server with more rules than one can remember directly offhand.

I think the gray list system is horribly flawed. It allows players to start playing on the server without applying, but still expects them to apply. That doesn't make sense to me. If a player can join a server with some of their friends, go mining, build a house, buy and sell items, and warp freely, I don't think there is any reason for that player to ever waste their time applying. The incentive of having two new worlds is very small as you really only need one world to build in; one world is more space than you could ever need. Grief protection also means little to a player who wants to play without applying as it's almost a given that without application, there is little protection.

I think the best way to grow the survival server is to get better quality players who actually stick around for a long time and become apart of the community. If we have 50 new guests join every week that's cool, but if we lose the same 50 players in that week then it doesn't matter in the slightest. We need new members to understand how the server works, know all the basic rules, and be aware of the forums if there is any hope they will stick around. To me, the best way to increase quality of players is to remove the cliche and boring sign tutorials from the server itself, move all the rules and regulations to the forums, turn the whitelist back on, and make the server seem more prestigious again (some signs/tutorials in game could be fine, but the vast majority of stuff should be on the website). I was impressed with shadecrest before ever logging into the server based on the description, screenshots, and the very straight forward rules and application.

The biggest drawback with the whitelist is that players must wait before being allowed to play on the server. However with the graylist system, any players who want to become a part of the community, become part of a town, and build with grief protection will need to wait just as long. I feel the gray list just teases good quality players while attracting a lot of bad players who have no intention of staying on the server more than a few days.

This is the third time I've posted about bringing the whitelist back, and I've yet to see any additional points for or against the idea. The whitelist system is obviously not without flaw, but I think it's a much better system that what we currently use and is much more fitting to the type of survival server we have which is heavily centered around the community.

The rules are so long, as I can see people have shortened them but one thing in the rules that needs adjusted is the PVP rules. PVP servers are doing really well with having people stay on. Shadecrests PVP rules are to complex they need to be simple a teacher said to me "keep it simple stupid" and I feel that we should also do this with the PVP rules.

imaxorz I'm going to ask the big question everyone is wondering, what did you do before summer 2011?

I am all for whitelist, I always see apps that just say what is told on the signs, not what the actual rules/guide say. The main incentive to apply and not hobo in mining world were the frequent mining resets, but I know we will not do that again as it creates an even more influx of resources. However, if we don't do whitelist I have a few suggestions. Guests cannot warp to peaceful or PvP, towns spawns.

As for our PvP rules, the only complex one I see are the ones about towny.

I agree with this completely. As I was looking through the /seen things for all of my towns residents, I noticed that about half the people had a window from joined to last seen of about 2-3 days. Some just 1. I liked some of the people that I introduced who sadly, fit this description, but I think that they felt the server wasn't worth their time. There are some good, quality players who go on consistently, but very few. Z's good some good ideas in there, take that into consideration.

he means what did you so differently that the server was at its peak with 200+ on at a single time literally tapped out. with every player slot full.

Can someone changed the rules on wiki to either eric's or my version? I realize they still need to be cut down and revised a bit, but the rules on the wiki are still obnoxiously long and survival does have guests still joining. I'd do it myself if I could.

But Z_Millla... My name has a 'k'... Lol. We should get as many admins as possible in one place, and just go through the rules. Add stuff that is needed, remove things that aren't, and hopefully cut the whole thing down to a page or two. That still seems too large by me, but it's around 10 pages right now (by my text editor), and that insane.

Dude... I'm sorry. People call me Zack when they arn't calling me Z_Milla so I do feel your pain. I'll try and not do that again.

I agree that all the staff should discuss the current rules and see what is and isn't needed. I'll try to instigate something. As far as length goes, there has been some good progress made. The rules that are still currently on the wiki hit 7 pages and 3200 words in microsoft word. The last version I posted (after all the crossed out stuff was deleted) is a page and a half in microsoft word... and an alarming 666 words (this excludes the towny info which I felt should be moved elsewhere).

I think obsidian generators and "no automated farms whatsoever" still need to be addressed. I've shared my bit about obsidian gens, and we really need to change the rule about automation with 1.5 and hoppers coming out - The redstone update mean so much cool automation for survival and I'd hate to see it get nerfed right out of the gate.

I personally am against these type of farms, as they are auto farms, but it is going to be way to hard to regulate so I'm going to vote for as long as it doesn't cause lag.

Mhm, automated farms are part of the game, also think about mcmmo coming back..manual = time taken; points gained opposed to auto = less time; no points.
That way its up to them.

No auto exp farms though, you have to manually kill mobs

Honestly, back in december I played alot on the survival server. I Know it is a "Hardcore" one. I stopped playing it because I thought the rule that pickaxes wore down SUPER fast. I thought this took out alot of the fun of mining......... Just my opinion.