Server Full?

While attempting to sign on today, I received a unique message ....Kicked whilst connecting to SMP3 ...Server is full. As a player of over 1000 days membership, this is the first time I've ever seen this.

Then I came here, to the website, and after looking at the Servers tab, I noticed a few things. Firstly, MOST of the servers are full. Suddenly Empire is back in the form it was when I first signed on? Is the Server climbing on the Server Lists? Or is it rather the vacation week that has the servers littered with "one and done" time players?

Secondly, why did the servers Max drop from 60 to 40? Is this a provider/cost thing, or is it by design? I find it rather contradictory that Empire is gaining new members daily, ones who I've personally seen praise the Empire for what it has to offer, and yet the maximum # of players per server has been diminished?

For those who would offer the "Donator ranks ....reserved slots...." I say ...."Save it". I find it hard to believe that after all this time, that I suddenly can not enjoy a Server (that I have for some 1000+ days now) because its full of players, who most likely will not remain after this week, AND has/had at most 10-15 regular players at any given time ...back when the max. was 60. Again, perhaps this is by design - the restriction of entry causes even more desire to ....the Adults know where this is going.

In any case, based on my lack of entry, I figured this may bide my time long enough for the Euro's to head to bed, or the East Coasters to get some Dinner

To answer it simply, Aikar made the cap at 40 today to reduce lag. The amount of players on recently has meant that more entities were loaded and these entities were causing some big lag problems. It's annoying because SMP9 is now full, but something needed to be done about the lag and Aikar chose to reduce the cap for the time being. But trust me, you aren't the only one that can't get on...

that is happens to me today, i was like whoa, what going on?!

I get more load because of the holidays, which means more people near more mobs, causing lag... what i don't understand is why it is such a problem? we've been really busy before in the past, without an issue...and to add, on the server-select screen, it says there is a total of 1,000 slots on empire.... yet... can't access?

Seriously? When I started playing, every night for me (UK - middayish time for America) the servers were all full...

Wow Five .... that is quite the PC response.

No one is questioning the efforts nor the capabilities of the Empire. I would be the first one to champion the cause the Empire has done to continue to survive ... and my remarks did not suggest anything to the contrary. I was simply making an observation based on my experience since my first day on Empire.

I understand the time of the Year certainly has it's effect, but, if you are going to run a successful Server, then it's a fishing expedition on a daily basis. At any given time, you must expect to be maxed out- based on daily conditions- and the number of players on, at a given time, really can't (in my opinion) affect the Server performance. As many MP servers as I have in my stable, the Empire is the ONLY one that does not choose to employ the Clear Lag (or equal) plug-in for a reduction in "lag". Why? Because (in my opinion) it is NOT necessary. Period. I believe those types of plug-ins only create more lag ....not reduce it in any way. Again, based on experience only. The Empire is one of few Servers I have played where Lag has never been an issue. I used to think it was my computer, but Empire has denied that hypothesis time and time again.

Of course, your response would include the donation clause. I have no financial restrictions that would prevent me from doing so. There is, however, one limitation I can't get past. That would be ....a single benefit that I would consider worthy of doing so. Based on my perusal of the Donator ranks, I can't think of a single "perk" that would motivate, or cause me, to say "I have to have that". When you truly want to examine the business model, then this certainly would be a priority when designing the "ranks" where players who make it past the initial "shock and awe" phase of the Empire and wish to not only show their appreciation for the Empire, but want to ensure its success.

I have said time and time again, my personal experience here has been nothing but purity of MC in a MP setting, and I continue to return because I find the day-to-day of the Empire superior to pretty much any other top-ranking Server out there. Why the Empire is not ranked higher is a question that is truly at the heart of survival as a MP server. And yet, the Empire has shown that PvP and Hunger games are not where it's at ....at least for those who prefer otherwise, and I certainly fall in the category. But, none the less, I NEVER questioned or challenged the efforts made by the Empire crew. It is always about what a given player finds attractive ... which keep them coming back. The real challenge is that it's different for everyone ...so the Servers that have 27 different sub-servers are a dime a dozen currently, and the shear numbers of voters far outweighs the "quality" of votes made. This, too, is at the heart of maintaining a successful Server- having quality players over quantity - and the Empire has made tremendous strides in doing exactly that.

Having experienced every top 10 Server as of today, the Empire model has certainly set itself apart from all those "gimmicky" others. It continues to be one that offers something that has sustenance and nuances that the mainstream gloss over - and I believe it is that that sustains the Empire for years to come - and my initial remarks did nothing to disparage the efforts of those who cause the continued success of the Empire. In fact, their efforts are (in my opinion) not recognized enough. For something as trivial as a MP MC server, the Empire has truly found its niche and, through the efforts of these unsung heroes, will continue to evolve on a daily basis so players like myself will remain in awe of the realm of MP servers and what they truly could be.

you just had to make me read all that =/

Is there any long term plans to make the player caps higher again as at least half the servers are full and EMC is probably and hopefully going to grow bigger

What if you were to lower the amount a dropped entity can live for from the normal 5 minutes to 1 minute? I believe it would reduce lag by quite a bit given that most players just kill mobs and run away or throw away their trash without using lava or cacti. All of that dropped experience and mob loot can really add up

Oh boy, I see what you mean now. Yeah I'd hate to be the one to make that decision, although I'll still think of something to try and help
-Despawning mobs after a few minutes, even if the chunks are loaded by a player?

A small sidetrack but...

I've been in a few discussions about this before, and although its definitely something to keep in mind I also think its fair to say that Mojang's legal stance is "shakey" to say the least. And the recent events within the Bukkit project have, in my opinion, only undermined their legal stance even further.

Now, I'm not going to dig up all the comments and arguments I made "elsewhere", but a simple example: the Bukkit project itself (I know its more or less closed down). It is/was part of Mojang, it provided the server software and you could basically download and use it while not even coming near the EULA document. While the Minecraft website (minecraft.net) always shows a link towards the "Terms of use", the Bukkit website does no such thing.

Another issue is the EULA itself. I once showed it to a friend of mine who works in human resources and has advised me a few times in the past regarding some legal matters. Although he isn't a lawyer he does know quite the process and the legal stance of documents and the likes. Well, his opinion is that the EULA is also a bit flakey due to the fact that it sometimes contradicts itself. Which isn't useful from a legal perspective.

Although there is a big difference between being right about something and having it recognized by others I do think its fair to say that the EULA in its current state isn't the easiest document to enforce.

What about mob/entity cap?

This system does NOT work. I keep getting locked out of pretty much ever server.Even my home server of SMP1. They are pretty much almost completley full around this time (18:00-22:00 GMT) and I have loads of trouble getting on. And supporters getting on while people who don't have a way to pay for it just get stuck out is plain injustice.

Plain injustice? Then the whole word is plain injustice, and EMC has no reason not to be

I'm not exactly mad with EMC that the cap was dropped to 40, I didn't know until I looked to see who was on SMP8 and it said 40/40. (I didn't even see it announced that this happened until just now where I hunted it down in the updates thread where it was buried)

What irks me is the people who feel the need to log 3+ accounts into one server and take up other spaces for players who want to get on. Could there be some sort of suggestion/rule/something made to stop this?

Well .....certainly much discussion goin on here.

Following yet another encounter with the Server Full msg just now, I noticed the limits on the Server as 1000. Check me if I'm wrong, but 10 servers * 40 per = 400 ....doesn't it? Allow another maybe 50-100 slots for the "reserved"/Staff players, and it still isn't 50% of the max listed. Something does not add up here.

The reduction of Lag seems to be a constant challenge for any MP server. Perhaps we're experimenting with the # of players here, but I can personally attest to dropped items remaining for weeks at times. As I understand it, if there is no player in the chunk, the MC "clock" does not run - therefore the items remain. I have been to my furthest Base, sometimes months after being there last, and find/collect drops that I either discarded or caused from Mob destruction. I believe this to be true in regards to the "Farms" that are out there. Iron. Sugar Cane, EXP ....whatever, are not really active unless they are "triggered" by the presence of a player. Even then, the "lag" that is caused seems to be localized and not Server-wide.

It is truly unfortunate that Mojang and the EULA crowd are now facing challenges from other who are getting their sticky fingers in the mix, and are doing nothing but mucking up the works. I'm sure the creators of MC could not have even imagined the popularity of such a venture, and, unfortunately for all of us, are now bogged down in legal mumbo-jumbo and the greedy are screaming to get their piece of the Pie. It truly is a shame, but it is the World we live in today.

As I said before, it is your Bar-B-Que ... and it tastes good. As for the other items discussed, it really is a matter of opinion, and the only people's opinions that really matter are the ones who are invested in this tremendous undertaking, and their countless hours of effort in providing such a product, and who continue to make good choices moving forward. The ole saying "You can't please all the people all the time" certainly applies and for those who truly don't understand what is at stake here, or the strategies that are developed by the Empire think-tank, certainly have a couple of thousand other choices out there for a MP server. Those of us who get it, certainly could endure a week's worth of inconvenience as a small price of popularity, because we know it's worth it. And on Empire's end, if we could pick-up one or two (or 10) long -term players, who would support the continued success of the Empire, then that has to be the #1 priority.

Would there be any advantage to allowing more people to play outside of Town? I'm not sure how the servers are organized exactly, but if most of the lag is coming from Town, then maybe we could allow more people if they are playing outside of Town. Like limit Town to 40 players and some number allowed in the Frontier or Waste.

Maybe the maximum number of players could be periodically adjusted automatically, based on the number of entities that are active?

I don't mind the limit and understand why it is in place. I am currently using three servers mostly, but also have things I can do on almost all the servers. One thing I have missed since the limit was lowered was an accurate player count on login. Currently my client shows 363/1000 slots for all servers. This suggests that there should be plenty of room for me.

I preferred the way it used to be where it would show the actual number of people and limit for each server. That allowed me to know where I could play without any guessing. Could we go back to displaying number of player and limits for each separate server?