World's loneliest server

Hi, I'm sorry to say I'm very disappointed considering the potential these servers have for fun and minecraft socialising, with so many members. But sadly, I've never yet encountered a server where players within hearing range just ignore you. I was new, I had a simple question; nobody would reply. Nobody said hello or answered a question on any server I visited. I've paid for diamond membership, thinking what a great idea linked servers would be... but it's not great at all! Can't you people be friendly at least? And goodness me, regenerate your wildernesses! Okay, Utopia's fine but how about the rest?? Warzones! With plot me builds in town in themselves creating isolation, some conversation is at least required; a tiny verbal welcome to a new player should be part of your servers' culture. Such a terrible shame for such a great (potential) setup! Your beaches are decimated... why not use a free sand farm for players? Easy to replenish, saves your landscape. And where are the trees?? Lift your game, Empireminecraft, you could be so wonderful. Goodbye!

Hi there,

I'm guessing your experiences with lack of talking was bad timing. We do have times where the servers are more full than other times and generally when we're in our busy times, it's hard to miss the conversations even if you wanted to, haha. You'll even see (at least I have on SMP1) when players are coming out of the tutorial, a group will "mob" them with welcomes and firework parties in the welcome tunnel.

While we don't have fully "linked" servers in terms of chat/portals, it is being looked into...we just have to make sure it's implemented correctly so it doesn't cause problems but that's more Aikar/Justin's department than mine.

In terms of regenerating our wild, we have a solution that's currently in the works of being created. A lot of our players have created wild bases and it wouldn't be fair to regen and have them lose things, so we're creating a specific wild that's solely created for mining and harvesting and will be reset on a more regular basis.

Hope this helps/addresses some of your concerns.

I can address most of your issues.

1. Player response: Players are 100% free to talk to and ignore who they want. Some players don't like talking, sometimes they're even in the wild (if you're using town chat), sometimes they're AFK. If you do have a serious question that you need answered, Empire Help & Support is the place for you.
2. Wilderness is a mess: We do have a lot of players, which means the wild is pretty messy. To solve this problem, we have Wastelands coming out soon. You can read about them by doing a quick search. Also, going out 500+ blocks you'll find that the wild is fairly clean, you just can't be lazy about mining.
3. Welcoming new players: If you have a server with 5+ players on there's almost always someone that will welcome a new player - it is part of our culture.
4. Using sand gens: Considered duplication and against the rules.

You can do your bit too, everyone can; planting saplings, not mining so close to the wild, starting conversations, ect.

EDIT: I'd also like to add that I welcomed you when you joined yesterday (just remembered lol), I was just AFK so it was late.

On smp1 and smp3, at least, players will always welcome other players. Smp1 has better reception for that though. Rather than just say hello when the player leaves the tutorial, they camp that player out and then have a firework party.
It depends on what server you're playing on, but players will usually answer your questions.

The PRA is reset every now and then (it has a few monthly gaps before a Senior staff/Admin member resets it), but Aikar is working on a way to fix it, so it becomes automatic again. You simply can't make a new wild anymore, like what used to happen (I experienced the last one as my first). It was...stressful, and the wild communities were bigger in size (not land) than what they are now.
Think of places like the LLO. There's so many creations in there, made by an epic community of players. So think about people like them

If you are still considering staying, then please hear my words. I'm sorry to hear that you're disappointed with EMC, and I'd like to address some of your complaints. Pardon the wall of text.
Your main problem seems to be a lack of chat on the servers. From experience, I will tell you that this varies greatly depending on the time of day and the day of the week. Judging by the time you posted this thread, I'd guess that you're playing at a relatively "off" time. Additionally, a large portion of the community has final exams this time of year. My guess is that in about two weeks on the weekend, EMC will see a large increase in players. Try logging on at different times of the day, and see when the most players are on.
You also said "a tiny verbal welcome to a new player should be part of your servers' culture". I generally do give a welcome to new players if I'm in town, and I'm not the only one who does (Of course, new players don't have access to chat until they finish the tutorial). Almost every time I've seen a new player join with several people on the server, they greet him/her. Again, it depends heavily on the time of day; the people who play late are usually farming or doing some intensive task, rather than socializing, so don't be too offended if they don't want to chat.
As for the wilderness, I encourage you to venture a bit farther out. Use the North/South/East West Outposts, and then travel for a minute or two beyond the periodic reset area. That may seem like a far distance to travel compared to other servers, but considering that wood and stone can be generated in-town, it's usually not too much of a hassle. If you're looking for sand in particular, then use the LiveMap (under the servers tab) and look for beaches near spawn. Usually there are completely untouched beaches within a few minutes boat ride.
If you didn't already know, our wilderness is set for a large update, and a "wastelands" realm will be included. The wastelands will be reset periodically, so that resources like sand, clay, etc. can be harvested without permanently destroying the landscape. Granted, it will probably be months before this is released. But at least the staff (mainly Aikar) is working on the problem.
I'm sorry that you're unsatisfied with diamond membership, but honestly you didn't have to buy it; at least not so soon. Usually, players will get comfortable with the server before making a commitment like that. You always have the option to suspend your diamond membership, keep playing, and see if the servers get any better. I hope you'll give EMC another chance, because it has been a great server for me and for many other players.
Finally, please don't accuse all of EMC of being unfriendly; we do have many excellent players and staff.
All that said, I will admit that EMC has gone down in popularity. We're in an awkward "transition" phase, trying to get all the new updates released. Hopefully, out player numbers will jump up again once the dragon tomb update comes out.
Peace.

It's nice to see that you don't take advantage of what a great community we are here anyways have a good day
EDIT: The more I read this the more pointless it becomes, first of all EMC does not use PlotMe it uses custom plugins. Sand farm would ruin the economy. Also plots start out blank because they are what you want them to be, your own creations. Also the more I read this the more times I hit my head on the table, you can leave EMC if you want but please avoid making these pathetic threads.

Pretty harsh words about EMC, considering your first sign in has been 23h ago. I would guess the one needs much more time than that to make any conclusions or decisions about anything, as I doubt 23h are enough to understand what the server is about or how things works. Do you know that regular members beeing out in wild/nether/end can't hear you on town chat (supporters can if you are on supporter chat)? As well also people tend to think every supporter is more experienced in gameplay on EMC, because its not too common to buy supportership stright after joining, might be also reason for not getting an answer if your question sounded like a newbie here, just because it confuses people. Well, its up to you of course, but all I wanted to say is: dont make conclusions too fast, you yet know nothing much of everything here. Good luck and have fun!

I'm sorry to hear that your first log in wasn't the best. But since apparently you have been on for only 23h, you have no idea how great EMC is and how much fun everyone has on here! I know I have had a ton of fun on here with my friends building and doing other stuff and even people I don't know are (usually) very nice. If you ever want to do something fun, I'm always up for an adventure with someone new.

It's 9:00 AM in the morn

I'm thinking you were playing on Utopia and using the Town and Local chat channels, which means players in the Wild (or who weren't very close to you in the local channel) couldn't hear you at all, and most Utopians are out in the wilderness using farms and such.

Players are generally in the Global Supporter channel (type /ch s to join) on Utopia, plus Utopia has a reputation for being the quietest of all the servers in general.

We are a friendly bunch, I promise, but you will usually find more players on the numbered SMP servers. There aren't usually a lot of players on Utopia and shops are pretty scarce (nonexistant). Please give us another try, though. I think you'll have a much better experience on Utopia if you're in the Supporter chat channel, or on any other server in Town chat

I have a possible solution to the wild reset without ruining player bases:
Reset the Periodic Reset Zone (The yellow square in the live map), but give all players at least a week of warning.

Oh yeah, we don't use PlotMe. We use a custom version of Residence.

Sorry, but I skipped that little detail... It was half past seven in the morning and I was sitting down, eating Jam Toast and drinking tea and about to leave for school within 30 minutes...

i am very sorry that you had a horrible first experience with this amazing server, i agree about the wild, and i agree something with people not talking. but some days i don't feel like talking either, or something isn't close enough to hear you.. =\ but don't give up on us.. this place is great!

quick question for you, Alex. i am not sure if you will know the answer or not, but, when the new lands come out... are all the servers actual wild going to be regenerated so they look perfect/not touched or are they just going to be left that way?
- to me, the way the wilds look is a GIANT turn off when wanting to play on a server... its disgusting how ugly they are, i would think they'd be generated at least once a month, and they aren't.. they are completely ignored
so i agree with how poorly the wild looks, regardless of the new lands coming out, they need attention NOW, not however long it takes for these wastelands to come out.. seeing as they are already really late.

When I first joined on this server over a year ago, I didnt get a nice welcome either infact I got killed ...

Anyways sometimes you can't just expect that people will say hello or be friendly. You have to step up in those moments, I did that back when I joined and now I have alot of friends

And if you are looking for farms, just ask ingame there used to be public farms on SMP5 or atleast there was some when I was playing on there

PS. If you are looking for friendly people, stop by SMP1 there is ALWAYS people there wants to have a good convo

I agree.....
Wastelands or not, we need to reset the PRA.......
I don't ever really go out much because i will fall down a hole to bedrock..........
If we could regenerate some of the stuff....that'd be cool.....

I am very sorry as well, normally we try to welcome our new players. I am in fact quite suprised by what happened to you. When ever I am on and someone joins the empire, I give them a starters kit, which consists of a stack of wood, crafting table, stack of stone, chest, door, 2 cakes, iron armor, and 500r. If you ever have this experience again please pm me and I will make sure something is done. Have a nice day!

Hm, I'm not sure about the PRA and/or whether or not it will be reset as often as it is now or on a regular basis as proposed but the actual wild won't be reset. If the PRA is reset though it would probably remain cleaner as less people would be needing to mine there.

Want to talk to someone?

RainbowChin and Pandaseatramen.

Every time i have met with Pandas, we have ended up having some sort of party.....
And RainbowChin always parties with Sheep.

But really, there are points on the server where people just don't wanna talk.
But just because no one is talking, doesn't mean we don't have an amazing community!
Also you have to remember, you made this post during U.S. School hours, and we have a lot of U.S. Based players. Things like Time Zone, school hours and work hours, All contribute to amount of people on the server.

I am sorry you didn't give us a chance to help improve your experience. You are the first person i have ever seen leave just because of this.....EMC, in my opinion, is at a bit of a grey area, We are about to unveil the wastelands, i am sure our Mod's are working their rumps off getting ready for 1.6, we have the whole wallpaper contest going on, And i have seen more shops, auctions, forum games, In-Game Events, Etc.. Being set up in the past few weeks than i can ever remember in the history of EMC. It's almost like the industrial revolution of EMC, especially now that the redstone update was introduced recently. Everyone is building new things and creating factories and automated systems for pretty much everything they can. I for one, turn my chat off when i am working on something, as i suspect a lot of other people do. It helps people get things done quicker.

People just happened to be busy at the time you joined, it doesn't mean it is always like that. Especially at the time of day you made this post.

EMC is by far, the most wonderful, friendly, helpful community in an game i have EVER played. I am sorry you didn't see it that way.

Hopefully you will read all our posts and decide to give us a second chance!

the PRA hasn't been reset in a very very very long time... so saying 'as often as it is now' is a horrible thing. lol.
i'm just meaning the area around the spawn zones for the wild, all of them, all the outposts, every section.
because it really looks bad, and has for at least 6 months now..