Regarding the main objective of this post, which is to find out the ETA of 1.8, I can safely say this: Soon
The cap is not at all to get people to donate. It is because the 60 slots would cause unnecessary lag. And yes upgraded the server would cause them to lower the cap. I will let builder reply to the rest.
Though I'm sure it does have that affect(seeing that I got iron access on both of my accounts 'cause I couldn't get on when I wanted to), I doubt that really played into aikar's thoughts, he wanted this to be enjoyable for the people online.... lag is never enjoyable... I may have misunderstood your point in regards to 1.8... but if I didn't: Game server is much more important than 1.8. imo
Well, most of the changes seem cosmetic but even that can be a game changer. For example; I'm quite positive about the new stone types (diorite, endesite & granite) because they provide a welcome variety for starting builds. Much better to have stone variants than having to rely on cobble, stone and dirt. Still, I also think that in other cases it does change gameplay, and not for the better. A good example are enchants. The game doesn't only show you what you can expect to get; it also fixates that enchant. Which I consider a major con. Right now you can put an item on an enchant table, look at the numbers, and then repeat the process (take it off and put it back on) which will change your enchants. The levels at the very least. With the new system one enchant is fixed the very moment you place the item on the table. After that it doesn't matter anymore where you'll enchant it; this will always remain the same. I think the removal of that randomness wasn't for the best. What is nice is that enchanting doesn't take too many XP levels anymore (lapis works as a substitute so to say). The downside is that getting those XP levels back again has been made considerably harder. I can understand that where enchanting comes into play, but XP is used for more than that. Like repairing items. Which now uses multipliers instead of fixed values. The repair costs in XP are lower, but as mentioned earlier; obtaining XP has also been limited. While I can see understand that they changed some aspects, like the effect renaming has, I also can't help wonder if they didn't change some things solely for the change and nothing else. Take mobs running away from creepers. A change which they quickly reversed again. So although most of the changes are cosmetic there are also some changes which will have their effect on gameplay as well. I'm really mixed to be honest. I think some changes are pretty cool; like the banners and armor stands. Whereas I'm not too thrilled about other changes (enchanting / repairing).
What does it matter if you can take the item out and put it back in to change the enchant if you have no idea what the enchant is. You are putting it in and taking it out to maybe get another random enchant that you have no clue what it is. You might as well not be able to change it. You have no control at all over what the enchant is in the end. The new system allows you to be a much more informed enchanter. I know people are afraid of it on the pure basis of it being different, however it is a much better system in the end. As someone who has played 1.8 a lot, you can barely notice the slower xp gains. It was a very very small decrease in xp. Repairing is easier than ever. You will gain xp at a minutely slower rate, but your xp goes a whole lot farther.
1. Well I guess you do have a point because if more people donate they can get better hardware to therefor raise the cap again. 2. Aikar said that updating EMC to 1.8 will make the player cap even lower 3. If EMC updates to 1.8 chances are they will have to break basic game mechanics like dark rooms etc. By the way, thats not Aikar's alt...
Neither of these things are going to happen. I strongly with he hadn't said them out loud. These are things that Aikar worries about, because they are things that cause strain on the server. He also knows that taking drastic steps against either of these things is going to cause irreparable damage to the server in the form of player loss. What is the point of all of the work he had done in the last year to increase player base and revenue. If he takes action that a large amount of the player base would find distasteful, he would be working against his own interests. While Aikar and I are not close, and I do not know him all that well; My impression is that he is a fantastically brilliant guy, who is very much in need of someone who can be a public spokesman for him. He shares one of my own personal flaws, he says things without thinking much through their consequences. It is why we have never gotten along very well. He never should have spoken openly about his fears about server load. These are internal problems that, when spoken to the general public, only cause fear for many people like yourself. (Particularly in a business that tends to cater to a very young player base. Kids who are very much going to take you at face value, without much thought behind it.) Yet he knows that, for the well being of the server, he is going to have to update, and he is going to have to do it in a way that causes the least disruption for the players. This is part of running a business. There are always going to be obstacles and challenges. We will update, at some point, to 1.8. The player cap will not change considerably. Mob farms will not be effected considerably. ( Far to many people would be completely up in arms.)
To put it simply, if there's two things that Aikar knows how to do, it's making sure the servers run efficiently as possible, and fixing what Mojan break. I wouldn't worry about it.
I would also think that piloted ones that are meant as a form of transportation should not be allowed while a player is afk.
I think it would depend on the situation. I often jump on long rail trips and walk away from the computer while I am traveling. Otherwise, what are you going to do, stare at your computer for 5 or more minutes while you get somewhere. They should be treated a lot like mine-carts I think. Obviously using one as a way to circumvent afk is a bad idea. Personally Mine carts are a much safer way to get places. I don't think many people are going to get on one of these machines and just randomly let them go. With mine cart tracks you can control the destination and you can create a safe environment around the mine-cart. If you were to jump on one of these machines without a clear path and destination and just go afk, you have no clue what you would run into or where you would end up. You would most likely end up dead. But if you use it as transportation, where you have set up a clear path and clear destination... Ya know.. Its really not different than a mine-cart.
Let's say that someone builds this at Y: 225, and their goal is just to get as far as possible from spawn in order to make an outpost/base. I am not sure how fast chunks get unloaded, and I am not an expert at all on Minecraft code, but I see potential for server issues if the player is kicked for afk, but their machine continues to request updates. Hopefully the game code makes my thinking completely unrealistic, but you never know lol.
I just don't think anyone is going to do that. It isn't a safe way to travel if you aren't paying attention. You could lag and fall off, run into something. Who knows. Then it was all for nothing. If you are traveling a long distance to set up a base, you have supplies on you. Most people aren't going to risk dying where they can't get their things back. Isn't it true that redstone stops working in unloaded chunks? Wouldn't pistons do the same? I'm sure the code could be set up to disallow any redstone component to stop working if the chunk is not loaded, or within a certain number of blocks from a player.
It is true that redstone stops working in unloaded chunks, but there have been times when things go wrong so badly that the whole system falls.
If there is lag and that happened to me frequently , even on single player, the m/c just keeps on going - unless it runs into something - so if you set it at, say, 100+ blocks up, that is unlikely to happen!
I don't think so. Any time blocks are moving on a server there is a chance the game will think there is a block in a place there isn't, or vise versa. Think of digging with an eff pick or shovel. How often do you get stuck inside a block that isn't there. If you are going to use one of these contraptions you need to be wary of running into problems. I don't believe it would be safe to put yourself on one and hope to come back later and still be alive. Being AFK on one is not going to be a safe idea. It is not a position I would put myself in.
