[ShellVent] 10 reasons / features why I like the Empire

Discussion in 'Community Discussion' started by ShelLuser, Apr 5, 2015.

  1. Last post of the evening...

    Hi gang!

    As you might know (or at least realize) Empire Minecraft is my favorite server; the one which I spend most of my Minecraft time on. And well, I feel like venting a little right now so I figured that I'd share my top 10 features which really make Empire Minecraft for me. Ascending ;)

    I know a lot of you guys like top x videos on youtube, this is old school :p (someone hand me my cane pls? ;))

    Please note: this is just my personal order of preference. But sharing this doesn't make any option better or worse than the other, in the end I love all of it. Just consider it an order of preference or such.

    Number 10

    Fully protected 60x60 residence.

    I put emphasis on 'fully' because that's what it is. It may be number 10 but that doesn't make this any less impressive than the other options. First of all the size; its pretty big and allows for lots of good stuff. Then comes the dirt fill. It may sound weird but I think dirt is the best block they could pick. Even if all your starting items wear down you can still build on your residence.

    But the protection scheme is awesome I think. Players can't even touch your animals without your permission. Better yet: your animals can't even leave your residence "just like that" (if your untamed ocelot ran off then trust me: its probably sitting on your residence somewhere, waiting to be eggified).

    Number 9

    Vanilla survival gameplay (think Wastelands & Frontier).

    When you use /waste and venture out in the wilderness you're pretty much on your own. You can't teleport away, falling down will cause damage (that was a major adjustment for my friends and me when we started), and apart from /dispose there's not much non-vanilla to do. When I was confronted with this for the first time it was a major attitude adjustment, but only one I came to love.

    Here's the thing: if you've been playing on Empire for a long time and try out a single player for a change then things won't feel completely different or seem "weird" to you. Unless of course you've been mining on Utopia all this time ;)

    Number 8

    The tutorial.

    I got impressed with the tutorial almost the very second I stepped foot in it. And I've re-visited the tutorial many times and probably will continue doing so. If there's one "weird" goal I might have set for myself its somehow being able to help expand on this (which I somewhat did already with a suggestion I made earlier).

    Seriously; this one is good. Its large, its extensive but it really shows the spirit of EMC IMO. I've been there mind you: I started looking around the Frontier imitation and found stuff which I didn't even realize where there first time I joined. The attention for details is astonishing, as is the care taken between information and amusement.

    Sounds weird?

    Try to give the players too much info and they'll get bored and focus on finding an exit. Give them too little and they won't learn a thing about the server. And for some places a required tutorial ended in problems, just saying, but for EMC it just works. The only reason this sits at #8 for me is because the tutorial isn't a big part of my day to day gameplay. But still; this is one heck of a feature!

    Fun fact: Did you know you can re-take the tutorial by using /tutorial?

    Number 7

    Custom items.

    Even though I don't actively collect promotional items and / or custom items I still think they're awesome. Also because they come in many shapes and (this is important): there was some thought put into each of them. Pot of gold & gold nuggets, Pi pie, but also deeper. I saw the promo rosebush for example, and that is also pretty deep. Love potion #9? I love it!

    And lets not get started on the upcoming overlap: my voters armor for example.

    Custom items take the gameplay to whole new heights. Heck; having only been on the server for a few weeks and getting the emergency snow cleaning device was an Aikar send because.. it was just what I needed to dig out my residence :)

    Number 6

    Player shops.

    Get your residence, collect items, place chests and start your shop. Need money? Then you got all the options you need to make some because you can set up a shop right from the moment you started out on the server. And I love that. This "no nonsense" approach (as I tend to call it) gives us shops in all kinds of shapes and forms. And I think its brilliant. Don't forget to use /iteminfo you guys!

    Seriously: maintaining my shop has always been a lot of fun for me, it really adds up. And is honest! Whether you aim for a giant mall or (my style): an attic sale, all forms have a place on the Empire.

    Number 5

    Now we're coming into the realms of the awesomeness, at least where I'm concerned.

    Supporter options (vouchers).

    Vouchers are plain out awesome in my opinion. You can pay on the site and get them, but you can also try to obtain them in-game for reasonable prices (number #1 'excuse' for the EULA: 'sure, I'll add 'm in game, request impossible price and I'll still be EULA compliant'). EMC doesn't stoop this low. The common price for a supporter voucher is hard to get, sure, but not impossible. I'd even say: far from impossible.

    And.. don't want to brag but.. I think its so cool to be able and store 'm in-game. I literally have something to look forward to (going diamond in May, voucher sits in my storage). This isn't merely being EULA compliant, its also adding coolness to the Empire, or at least I think so.

    And then when writing this I only keep supporter in mind; what about vault & stable vouchers?

    Number 4

    Voting rewards.

    Many servers place paying players above others. I can see where its coming from but contributing players often weight much heavier than those who only got big pockets (no offense obviously!). In the end they both sit very closely together, which is why I deem them numbers 5 and 4. Both are important, both have impact. But...

    You don't have to be a (paying) supporter to support the Empire. Just vote! And if you're reliable, if you keep it up, if you build a streak... Then you're looking at some serious compensation for your time. From diamonds, emeralds and rupees right down to stable and vault vouchers.

    And don't get me started on the bonus items, ok?

    <whine> Meh, can I be excused from the message size limits please? :) </whine>
    f_Builder_s and PenguinDJ like this.
  2. Number 3

    Warning: we're playing with the big topics now, I think I might even surprise some of you ;)

    Here is my top 3

    The forums (Xenforo)

    Xenforo is commercial software which, according to them, 'builds communities'. Trust me: they're right. There is much good stuff out there, but once you get a good hang for Xenforo then.. yah... It gets to you. Now, obviously its not just Xenforo alone, but it does have a big part into all this.

    But the forums in general work. I think we have something for everyone. And also important: even offtopic stuff. Look; for me EMC means a lot, but lets be honest: I'm pretty sure that there are several players who might think "sure, Minecraft.. I wanna talk about something else now". And you can, even with your EMC friends.

    Topics from Skyrim to (slight) politics on Europe right down to other games. And don't forget about them chickens. There is more than EMC alone, and EMC allows us to vent, share and talk about it. Right here with your EMC friends.

    Wait... there's more. We even get to challenge, question and ask the (senior) staff members about made decisions. Now, I know this is delicate subject so I will be brief (and try to remain non-biased, only EMC bias shall enter my post). But I do think I'm non-biased when I say that staff also listens to the players and will even try to suit and/or appease to those players welfare if they can help it.

    All on the forums.

    You do realize that staff could also lock a thread and say "sorry, but we have no other choice" and leave it at that, right? (I'm playing devils advocate here, sorry): Players leaving? Have you seen how many new also come in?

    Just think about this for a moment please... We got so much freedom here...

    Number 2

    No mini-modding.

    "mini modding" is the act of correcting / informing another player who is breaking the rules of the server while you're not a moderator yourself. Some servers consider this an offense because it could make the work of the moderators harder. Because they now need to concentrate on more players than just the offenders, and some of them might get themselves involved with an off-topic issue which makes it hard to separate the 'good' from the 'bad'.

    Lets just say that there was a time where I defended this reasoning and stood behind it. Even acted against it. Until the Empire happened to me; then I learned how this could actually work. And it does!

    I dare say that 80% of moderation on the Empire is done by the player base itself. And I think its something to be proud of because in most cases it works. Yes, there will be a time where all you can do is /report because you're dealing with a rotten apple who is unwilling to listen to any reason. It happens. But even so; in general, it's the community which keeps itself in control most of the times and I think that speaks highly for itself. THAT is how a community should work if you ask me.

    "If something bothers you why shouldn't we be allowed to speak up about it?", comment I got from a player when we discussed mini-modding (in my first 14 days on the Empire).

    Which is why my #2 "melts" into #1, because my #1 is....

    Darn you post size limit! I lost my #1 during my save in notepad, I got distracted :(

    Number one

    The EMC community

    No, no, no... You're wrong. You're probably now thinking "player base" when I say 'community'. And some of you (might or should) be thinking by now: "where is the staff in all this?!".

    Wake up call (also for me): The staff is just as much part of the community as us players are. Server rules, moderators, senior staff, players and nutjobs (errr... :rolleyes:).. We're all part of this whole grand scheme called the EMC community. THAT is what a lot of servers out there (my personal opinion only) fail to realize. Server rules guide the community, sure, but what if no one follows them? What if the staff doesn't follow their own rules? What if the players cannot respect the rules?

    And this is only focusing on heavy negative stuff here. Remember point #2? The community keeping itself in check? Remember point #3? Staff listening to players, thus coming up with more suitable solutions or trying to meet the players in between?

    Events; held by senior staff and moderators alike, and even the mods can take turns.

    And that's not even talking about events happening completely outside of the staff.

    In the end this whole thing is one big community effort. Which, for me, makes the community the #1 feature of Empire Minecraft, including players just as much as the staff.

    So, being part of this community myself, dare I now say: we rock! :D
    PenguinDJ and f_Builder_s like this.