Greetings fellow EMCers! The time has come for us to make EMC history by building the largest-ever roller coaster/rail loop! The goal is of course - as big as possible - the combined effort of every player. To help coordinate such a massive project, the loop area will be broken into 100-block sections. Players or teams of players build each section. All the 100-block sections connect together to form a larger loop. A build site will be found with at least some key landmarks and interesting terrain to begin with. Sections of rail infrastructure compete for various prize categories. We should end up with a gigantic rail loop many thousands of blocks long, - lots of fun to ride, with unique twists and turns and scenery throughout. A patchwork of different rail experiences from every player! A detailed schedule is in the post below, but it's super simple to join: 1) Submit an application below. Each player/team can build as many 100 block sections as they like. The only limit is your time and creativity. 2) Grab your initial build kit, plus any other material you want, and head to your starting/ending coordinates using the provide instructions. Your free build kit/materials and coordinates will be provided July 2nd-16th. 3) Build your portion(s) of rail line to safely guide the minecart from the start coordinate to the end coordinate. You have until September 2nd to complete your build, whenever is convenient. Build whatever you like as long as it's safe for riders, doesn't break any other EMC rules, and keeps the minecart moving. 4) Collect your prize(s)! You can attend the prize ceremony in October or pick them up after. 5) Enjoy the rail ride and thanks for your contributions! Application Form Copy and paste the following text into a new conversation thread to azoundria. Please replace the placeholder text in brackets with your answer for each section. Send the completed application to azoundria via private message. Frequently Asked Questions Below are answers to some common questions. If you have any questions not listed, check the schedule thread or post them below! When does the building start? You can join anytime between now and September 2025. You should receive your build section between July 2nd and July 16th, or within 3 weeks of your application. You can build as soon as you get your build site assigned. Be sure to have builds completed by October 2nd, 2025. What's the minimum commitment to participate? You can commit to building just 100 blocks of rail line. That means, you build a stretch between XYZ starting coordinates and XYZ ending coordinates (which is 100 blocks apart). Just answer default answers in all the other questions. How many 100 block sections can I build? You can build multiple 100 block sections in a row (for example a 500 block section) or multiple separate 100 block sections separately. Or just a single 100 block section. Or whatever combination you ask for. Be sure to ask for what you can commit to building. Do I need a team to join? No. You can have a one person team as yourself. Where will the rail line be built? The location is still to be determined. It will be out in the wilderness on one of the SMPs. You will receive instructions at some point between July 2nd - 16th with coordinates for your build site and instructions for how to get there. What supplies will I need? All participants will receive an initial build kit. It should have at minimum some rail line and random supplies. Anything else you need depends on what you plan to build. What are the restrictions in what I can build? It needs to be safe for riders, day and night. It needs to not get the minecart stuck anywhere. You should build something that's more interesting than a straight rail line. There's really not much else. Obviously all the normal EMC rules apply to your build. What is the route selection role? Basically, this means that you get to help pick the site where the rail line will be built. You can head out in the wilderness and look for cool places with interesting terrain and then we'll vote on them. Or maybe you already have some ideas for good places we should consider. What is the judging role? This means you help out with evaluating which builds are the best in each category. Basically, you rank each build, and then we tally them up to help determine the winner. It should take a few hours at most. Can judges build too? Of course! You can help select the location, judge, and build as well. Judges will rate all the other builds except for their own. The rating on their build will come from the other judges. Why do I need to add azoundria5? This is a precaution in case you start building something then go inactive. This way we can make small tweaks to your build without having to get staff permission each time. You agree that modifications may be made to your section of the rail line by azoundria5. This would generally be to connect your route to others or to resolve if carts will get stuck or there's a risk of player damage. We will generally try to contact you prior to making changes to your build. What will the prizes be? This depends on the event sponsors. I will match 20% of all rupees which are donated by event sponsors. I also have a bunch of items kicking around that I can add into prize kits. We should have better information in August, and a final prize categories/list in October. What do I need to do to join? Send the application above if you wish to participate. What is I have more questions? There's a more detailed post below with the full schedule/plan below. If anything is not covered there, please feel free to ask! Thanks and good luck!
Below is a more detailed schedule/information. Note that some adjustments have been made. Stage 1: Initial Evaluation Period (Until June 2025) The purpose of this stage is to gauge interest, contemplate prize categories, and finalize a suitable location. Any location in any of the frontiers on any of the SMPs are possibilities at this point. We are also estimating how large the loop will be, depending on how much interest we get. If you're interested in participating, you should submit an application (see first post for application). Interest received so far: • There are 4 confirmed builders. We need at least 7 applications. • Builders have committed to 900 blocks of rail so far. Can we get over 9000? • There is 1 confirmed route selector. We should have at least 3. • There is 1 idea for route/track build location. We should have at least 3. • There are 2 confirmed judges. We need at least 3 judges. Build materials donated so far: • 5 DC rail lines. • 0.5 DC powered rail. • 4.5 DC sandstone. • 2 DC cobblestone. • 0.5 DC glass. • 7.5 DC sand. • 3.5 DC dirt. • Miscellaneous. Prize pool donations so far: • 12,500r. • 10 beacons. Anyone can join the event by sending the application above. Donations to prize pools and build material can be anything. All donations of rupees are matched 25%. Stage 2: Site Selection Period (June 21st-July 16th) Anyone who expressed interest can help to evaluate the different options for sites and put together a route, based on the level of interest. Preference will be given for sites which already have interesting landmarks, lots of spare building space, beautiful natural landscapes across many biomes, and an effective connection to/from town so builders can get there reasonably easily. Each location/route proposal will be prepared with a graphic/description. Each site selector will rate it from +5 (best) to -5 (worst). Any sites which are on a SMP that doesn't work for an applicant will get an automatic -3 per applicant. The route with the most points will be chosen. Site selectors need to submit their evaluations by July 2nd. Finalizing the route is expected to take additional time. All players will be assigned route sections and can start planning their builds. Participants will receive instructions for how to get to the remote build area. Keep an eye on your PMs between July 2nd and 16th to receive section allocation(s) and further instructions. If you are unhappy with your section(s) and wish to make changes, please reach out within 7 days. Stage 3: Initial Build Period (July-August 2025) Supplies which were donated for build kits will be made available. The plan at the moment is that each player has an access chest serving as a sort of mailbox. You are free to use any additional supplies you like in your builds, and you also don't have to use the build kit supplies if they don't suit what you're building. You can feel free to donate back anything you don't plan to use. Generally, your route starts and ends at the specified coordinates, however there is a possibility of moving the starting/ending positions if you and your neighbour come to an agreement, or you don't yet have an assigned neighbour. Players can continue to sign up during the initial build period. There will be some route sections that weren't assigned, and some participants may cancel. Prize categories will be fully finalized during this period. Stage 4: Late Build Period (September 2025) We will be reassigning sections from any players who haven't built anything. Any remaining sections will continue to be assigned. Our goal is to finalize all builds. Participants need to make sure their build is properly connected to any adjacent builds and there is no way for the minecart to get stuck. You should also be testing your build at night to make sure there is adequate lighting so mobs won't spawn nearby and kill riders. Any incomplete/unsafe sections will be re-assigned within a 14 day deadline. This would happen if the rail line itself is not fully placed, the route section is assessed to be hazardous or malicious, and/or there is no significant decorative/creative component for that section. Determining incomplete sections is up to event judges, and it's up to the discretion of the new assignee whether or not to keep any parts of any original build. If you choose to participate, and don't complete your build fully, or leave it in a dangerous state, you accept that it might be modified. You give advanced permission for that modification. Players are still encouraged to sign up, especially if you plan to build quickly and don't mind the left-over sections. If there are loads of extra sign-ups, it may be possible to add a small detour section in the route. Prize categories and pools will also be decided and announced. (ie What prizes are available for each category...) The plan is to make preview chests for each prize pool. Some categories might have a pool for first place, second, etc... Stage 5: Final Build Period (October 2025) At this point, every section of route should be largely complete and we are fixing any sort of issues to ensure smooth passage. Judge roles are finalized and each should be actively testing the track. Participants will be given a deadline to resolve any issues in their build. Any impassable sections or minor issues will be given a deadline to resolve issues. For example, if a cart may get stuck, players may take damage, there is a lack of lighting in a route section and mobs may spawn, etc... Generally, the deadline will be 48 hours to respond. If no plan is made to resolve within 48 hours, changes may be made to the section to resolve the issue. Any new sign-ups will only be possible for sections that are unassigned or incomplete. Incomplete sections (if any remain or haven't been resolved) will be subject to a 72 hour deadline for reassignment. If for some reason a section can't be assigned to anyone, a basic generic track will be built there to at least close the loop. The date/time of the prize ceremony will be announced based on the application timezones. Stage 6: Judging/Assessment Period (November 2025) We should have a working final loop. The only changes to be made are if something was missed previously. Judges will be determining winners in each prize category. Judges have the responsibility to assess every section (other than their own) against every category. Each section/category pair is assessed from +5 (best) to -5 (worst). The winner in a category is the section with the most points from adding up the scores of every judge. Judges should leave any sections they themselves built with a score of 0. All judges should submit their spreadsheets by Friday, October 17th. That leaves a couple weeks for the final calculation. Stage 7: Prize Unlocking Ceremony Based on the final decisions of judges, prize pools will be unlocked. We will also be releasing instructions for the general public to access and ride the rail. If you can't attend the prize ceremony, your chest will remain unlocked for your team captain to pick up at their convenience. If there are any questions, please definitely ask them below!
Hello. Let's say you get a few little groups, and you get 1/2k of a rail system This would mean you will go through someone's base in the frontier/assigned blocks. How are you going to combat this? Also what's the prizes? This is a long (time wise) project.
There's are lots of unclaimed regions, especially across all the SMPs. The rail line could easily be planned in a route that doesn't contain anyone else's base/claim. There's no need to go through a base/claim. If somehow there was a mistake and the base/claim was missed in the initial planning, we'd just have to change the route to go around it. Alternatively, a base/claim may have suggested their base as the location and thus granted permission. For example, they want to bring more people to their existing base/claim. We wouldn't pick their location until the permissions were set up. Either way there shouldn't be an issue (unless I'm missing something else). The prizes are open for anyone to contribute to. I was planning to contribute some as well. Perhaps let's say I will match somewhere between 1/5 and 1/3 of what others contribute to the prize pool. I was also planning to provide lots of supplies for the build kits. There's a long timeline but it doesn't mean you have to take all of that time to build. You could do a quick 1-week build if that's what you like. I don't expect every section to be fancy, just safe and have something interesting there. Also I am pleased to announce we now have our first applicant. 1/3.
I’ve moved the project back by a month — because I know it can be something much bigger. The goal was never a small build with a few people. It was to create something that showcases the creativity and spirit of the entire EMC community—a collaborative rail line where every rider experiences what we build together. Individual personal projects are great, but let’s be real—how many people actually visit them? With the rail line, your build becomes part of a shared journey. Everyone who rides the rail fully experiences it. Every section matters. Your section matters. But this only works if we build it together. A rail line with three people? Fun, but limited. A rail line with dozens or more? It’s unforgettable. It’s historic. We also need a great location. That choice is permanent, and everyone can help. Maybe you’ve explored a perfect scenic area, or know of a great spot—your input can shape the whole project. This is crucial. Worried it’s a big time commitment? You shouldn't be. Prepare your materials, head out once, and build what you can. Even a simple section adds real value—and you can expand it over time, as you have time. If you’re unsure what to build, there’s no shortage of inspiration. Start small. Get creative. There’s (almost) no wrong way to contribute. This isn’t just a rail line. It’s a chance to make something that will outlast all of us—something future players will ride and remember. I believe in this project. I believe in the community. And I hope you’ll be part of it. Let’s build something amazing together!
We have one day left tomorrow. At this point, I am fairly positive that there is not enough interest to build the size of build/project I was originally hoping for. It sucks because I believe this could have been a really cool project, but (other than potentially my lack of ability to create excitement) the level of community interest is unfortunately in the realm of things beyond my control. It might be possible to get enough interest with messaging individual people or lots of new players coming online in the future. Someone else may come on board who's more enthusiastic about the idea and able to help recruit others and find a great location. There might be some outpost or player build that wants to work together on this. Maybe someone has some magical idea for revising the pitch or post so loads of people are suddenly interested. Rather than keep pushing the date out month by month, I'll reflect and plan to make another attempt early next year. Anyone can still apply or message if interested in helping out or you have any feedback, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up about it for sure moving forward. Thanks again to everyone who applied or expressed interest/support so far.
/opinion *Minor rant here* Not to be "that guy" but this entire post was just a giant AI slop post. The images are clearly AI generated and the writing just lacks that human touch. I'm all for events being hosted by the community, but I'd rather have nothing than a bot-written/compiled "proposal". I can understand the usage for rewording or compiling your already written thoughts together, but this is way past that point and I'd personally rather not have this kind of content on the EMC Forums. Now as for the idea itself. I am unsure if this was actually genuine or what the purpose of such a grand proposal would be for such a small community as EMC. If it was genuine, try to keep it small and reasonable. This community is small but loyal. Not many can / have the ability to work on such a grand build (and if they can, they should apply to the Build Team ). No one wants to fill out paperwork or go through elaborate and complex rules and reading for a silly Minecraft build. This isn't the place for that kind of thing, at least not anymore. TLDR; keep it cheap, small, and accessible.
I definitely appreciate someone being "that guy". Yes - all of the images are AI generated. I am curious what (practical option) you feel I should have done instead? However, the text I wrote myself. I am curious what parts of that text feel like they were written by an AI to you, and why. How can I create a more human touch? Some specific examples would be awesome. For example, you didn't think my saying X was useful, and I could phrase it like Y instead. How can I communicate genuineness? EMC has shrunk a lot, but it shouldn't be the limiting factor. I want to try to get almost everyone to participate and make it easy for them. Each individual player just does one small piece of rail line, a section stretching 100 blocks. Sure, players can build multiple sections if they want, but the main goal is getting close to everyone to participate. While there could be some exceptions, I don't think building a 100 block rail line section at a specified location is unreasonable for 99% of players. I'd like to understand if you disagree. Almost all players have cool builds and ideas, because building things is pretty fundamental to Minecraft. By building as part of a rail loop instead of alone by yourself, it means that your creation will be visited many times by others who ride the rail. And instead of exploring other player's builds slowly and walking around them, you can just ride a rail loop and experience all the diverse, cool, and fun ideas of the EMC community in one ride. I'm not sure the rules are that complex. I'd like for players who ride the rail to not get stuck or die while doing so. And I'd like to make sure there aren't any blank/empty sections which would be boring. Which rules are complex in your opinion? How long can the application be and how can I deal with the other sections that I have to remove?
Not everything needs pictures in my opinion, sometimes it cheapens the overall look and makes it all feel as I said before, ingenuine and pandering. (maybe I'm just misremembering, and sorry if I'm wrong) When going back, I can't help but notice this reads entirely different. I went back to quote the main thing that irked me and now it's no longer there... Not sure if that is part of the "some adjustments" but alas, this reads more like what I'd expect. The overall idea in concept is fine, but the language used (refer to the above answer) seems just very... corporate. It seemed soulless upon reading and [again this is my own opinion] I assumed it was just a long-winded way to promote your various shops to fund all these said constructions. Which is a fine strategy, but I just assumed the worst. Sorry if that was not the intention, and I do apologize if it came across as mean or ill spirited. [I cannot preface this enough that is my own opinion and not shared by anyone else] Over the now many years of being on the Build Team and working on events directed at the EMC community as a whole, I have found that what I believed to be "simple" or "basic" is way too complex and the average player by my own standards are... I'll be honest, down-right awful at this game. What I believe to be simple parkour jumps prove to be challenging for way more players than I would imagine, not understanding where to go even when given the most blatant and plain of instructions (mostly due to lack of reading, or reading comprehension), etc. When dealing with the larger community, you have to minimize all possible steps and make it as plain and dumbed down as humanly possible. While I greatly understand the need for organization and standards, trying to have such a task be delegated to Google Forms and such is fine for us who are actually capable- but there's not many of those players left nor are there enough to be interested (as you saw by the lack of engagement). I think the whole idea would need a solid rework to work in this very unique environment, far less regulated, more free flow. Perhaps like a Miner Mania type of event, where each week (or whenever its hosted) you all gather and work together on expanding the railway section by section together with a theme each time.
