Hi gang, It's been a while... First of all: I honestly don't recall if I have written a guide like this before, I tried looking it up but in the end decided I wasn't going to bother because who cares if there are more guides about this? Anyway, I couldn't help but notice a small increase in the amount of denied establishment requests and figured that I'd try to help out with that a bit. Also because there has been some confusion in the past about what we can and cannot do here. I'm well aware that most players probably already know most of this, but we also have seen many new players join up so something tells me this will be useful for at least some of you. If you think you already know everything there is to be said about the Frontier then you can easily skip to the end (the cyan header). So, without further ado... EMC's Frontier world What is this Frontier thing anyway? The Frontier is basically EMC's non-resetting survival world. Here all the Minecraft mobs will spawn (from Creepers to Llama's) and you can basically do whatever you want there (as long as you respect EMC's rules of course!). The thing which makes this world unique (especially in comparison to some other servers ("those places we do not speak off!")) is that this world does not reset. Ever. We've had players coming back onto the Empire after taking a break for several years, only to find their buildings exactly in the way they left them. That is what the Frontier is all about! It is important to note that although the Frontier is mostly meant for building there are no rules which forbid you from mining here. Of course, you should ask yourself why you'd want to bother in the first place. This world is years old, it never reset, so there's a good chance that most loot has already been dug out a long time ago. If it's spoils you want then you should consider heading over to the /waste instead. Still... If you're planning on building a house and you need some materials then that should be no reason for you to cancel your plans. Just try to get the stuff you need and start building already! But since you'll be living there it might help to try and get those materials ("mats") from a place where you don't necessarily destroy the country side. Maybe you could consider building a mine too? The different Frontier worlds and areas Before I continue it is important to note that EMC strives to be a "vanila'ish" server. I always refer to EMC as a "vanilla+ server" myself. So basically they try to stay as close as possible to the vanilla gameplay. Why I'm telling you this all of a sudden? You'll see Overworld The Overworld, or wilderness I suppose, is where you'll probably spent most of your time. It's a generic Minecraft world in which mobs can spawn, trees can grow, you'll have to deal with a day/night cycle and weather is also a thing here (unlike in the town worlds). There are several outposts which you can teleport to using the /frontier or /wild commands. For example: /wild w (get's you to the Wild West, which might be a little disappointing ) or /frontier n. Just remember: teleporting only works because you're either in town or within the protected area. Step out and you're on your own. The area around the outposts is protected. So obviously you can't build there. But step outside of the protected zone and you're home free. Nether The nether, or underworld, is probably not the safest place to visit. There are lava lakes everywhere, ghasts fly around which are always very eager to use you for target practice and even if they do miss you they may still set you on fire. Or worse: destroy the ground you're walking on which could drop you into a ravine (or one of those lava lakes). And then I haven't even mentioned the nether hounds! It has 1 single center outpost and once you leave that protected area you're on your own. One of the reasons why you might want to go here is because of the difference in travel distances. One block in the nether equals 8 blocks in the overworld. So if you need to go out 16,000 blocks then you will only need to travel 2,000 blocks if you use the nether for that. To go here you'd use the /nether command. The End The End is a special world in itself because you can't directly teleport here. So you're going to have to find yourself an End portal. But be warned: End portals can only be found in strongholds, and there aren't many of those. Basically there are 3 guaranteed strongholds and these are relatively close to the center of the map. This is simply the way Minecraft mechanics work. So if your outpost is tens of thousands of blocks away then don't expect to find any strongholds nearby. This is also why I mentioned the "vanilla+" aspect. You can't directly teleport here and I think it makes sense. After all: you can build a nether portal from anywhere you'd like and teleport to the Nether yourself. If we can do it, then why shouldn't we be able to do this right from the start? But the End is different. Establishment If you have found a nice spot in the overworld where you'd like to live then you can try to establish your outpost there. But what exactly is this all about? Well, if you're familiar with "other places" then the first important thing to know is that as far as grief prevention goes you don't necessarily claim land but you claim blocks. In other words: if you build something using 'special blocks' then these will be automatically protected and no one other than yourself can remove them. ... and your friends. See the /friends command. What is a special block you ask? Basically: a block which you need to craft and which doesn't already appear on its own. For everything else you'd use the /buildmode command to make sure that it is protected. Some examples: Although you need to craft glowstone and netherbrick both blocks can be found in the Nether. Although you may need to cook cobblestone to get regular stone it's still a block which can be found everywhere. So all of those won't be automatically protected. But: you won't find polished diorite or granite anywhere, so those will be automatically protected. Slabs are also something only players can craft, so the same applies there. For a full overview on this system please see this EMC wiki page or maybe you'd also like to read my guide about it. Just don't expect to suddenly get extra or more protection by establishing your outpost. There are some solid benefits, but this isn't one of them. The reason I mention this is because I've become aware that many newer players get confused about this. Especially after hearing the stories about Empires. Yes: there are plans to give us more features on an established outpost, but that is in the future. So let's focus ourselves on the present for now. Establishment advantages Just because you don't get physically protected land doesn't mean that you don't get any advantages at all. Definitely not so, it's just in a vanilla+ style (as I like to call it): You will get a guaranteed 1500 x 1500 survival area in which you can do anything you like (as always: within the EMC rulesof course). Your decision goes. So if you allow other players to join you then they have to respect your wishes. If for some reason the others don't want to follow your ideas then they will have no choice but to leave. Your will is law. However, it is strongly advised not to take this too far. Please remember that we're playing a game and it should be fun for all of us. Instead of standing your ground it might be much better to try and work out an idea which you both can live with. Try to keep it fun, please? Staff will keep track of your establishment. Meaning that if other players would find their way into your area and tried to claim it then staff can see that the area is yours and will deny the other players claim. You get to say: See that? That's my land! Ok, that last point might be a little silly but it is still true nonetheless! Establishment requirements Before you can try to establish yourselves there are a few rules you need to keep in mind: You need to be at least 5,000 blocks away from any EMC outpost (you know: the buildings you pass through when you use commands like /wild n, /wild e, etc.). You need to be at least 3,000 blocks away from any other visually established base. Where do you think the 1500 block size comes from? Its from keeping a distance between your area and other players builds. Note that this doesn't necessarily have to be an officially established base, visually established also matters. So how to do this? Yups, I'm saving the real stuff for last. I know it's a long read but it will seriously help if you know what you're up against here. #1 Use the livemap SMP8's PWU is shown here, which is already a public area so there should be no problem with sharing this. The livemap will show you everything which has been build in the world. And areas which haven't been actively used (read: build on) are shown as black areas. So if you start to focus yourself on those black areas then you'll have a much better chance to find a new area for your own. #2 Use the nether for traveling It's going to be a drag but one way or the other you will need to travel out. The nether might be easier on you because, as I mentioned earlier, traveling 1 block in the nether means you traveled 8 in the overworld. This makes it relatively easy to put some serious distance between the EMC outpost(s) and yourself. Just make sure to bring some fire resistance potions! And you may also want to check your /ps settings and temporarily disable enraged and mini boss spawns. Those nether hounds can be nasty! #3 Consider getting an elytra (and fireworks!) An Elytra can be a really speedy way to travel to another location. And it will be even better if you survive the landing Seriously though: an elytra and one stack of fireworks easily get you thousands of blocks away from your starting point. Making this a very quick way to travel. ... just make sure that your Eltra doesn't suddenly break while you're in mid-air, because that might not be so enjoyable #4 If you found a suitable place, start by looking around Not every building will be easily visible on the map. So if you found a spot it will definitely help to scout the area first. Go a few hundred blocks out and circle around for any signs of building. Remember: even a visually established base can be enough for staff to deny your establishing request. #5 Build a nether portal and check the nether Last but not least this is probably the best way to check if there is something nearby. A nether portal has a tendency to link to other already existing portals (up to a range of approx. 128 blocks). So if there is a hidden base somewhere which you haven't spotted then this might help you to locate it. The other reason to check the nether is to see if you can find any signs of travel. Some players may have left torches behind or other things. Most likely you won't find anything even if other players have been there before, but there's only one way to find out. And if you've done all this... Place a locked chest Once you made sure that you're all alone it's time to test your luck. Place a locked chest somewhere. Warning: this chest will be the center of your outpost, and once your outpost is established you should not move this anymore without telling staff about it. So it might be useful to place this somewhere out of sight or where it will definitely not hinder you later on. Post your establishment request Go to the establishment request forum and start a new thread. Be sure to mention the name of your outpost and also mention the server you're on. That should be enough for staff to check if everything is in order. Warning: do not post coordinates on your thread, staff doesn't need those. Wait for staff to respond Patience is the name of the game. Generally speaking it shouldn't take longer than a week (more or less) for staff to respond to your thread. After that they will investigate to see if all the requirements are met. When all went well you'll be able to enjoy your own permanent place on the Empire. Congratulations! And if your request got denied? Well, if at first you don't succeed... Usually staff will explain why your request got denied so that you can work around that and try again. And there you have it... Some tips and tricks about the Frontier and establishing your outpost. I hope this can be useful for some of you.
