1.9 Pre-release Version 5 Server

I have setup the Secondary server again, this time as a 1.9 Pre-release Version 5 Server.

Now, to connect to this server, there are special steps you will have to take. First off, download THIS file.

http://www.mediafire.com/?73xi2t2ovi23hfz

Its hosted by me, and its safe; I swear. Now, place it somewhere handy, (probably right next to wherever your Minecraft.exe shortcut is.)

Run it; when it starts up, you will see a slightly modified version of the Minecraft launcher. Scroll down, and on the left you will see a button that says "Show All" under the heading, "Download More Jars."

A list appears; do NOT click the top link, (Do NOT click "Download the latest beta as minecraft.jar,") as this will overwrite your current Minecraft version.

Scroll to the bottom of that list, and click on the link titled "Minecraft Beta 1.9 Pre-Release 5."

A downloader appears; when it finishes downloading the file, close the downloader window.

Now, in the launcher, click the little drop-down titled "Jar File" near the Username and Password boxes. This is where you select the version of Minecraft that you which to run. In order to connect to the new Beta 1.9 Pre-Release server, you will have to be running Pre-Release 5. In order to connect to our main server, you will have to be running 1.8.1, (which will be titled "minecraft.jar" in the drop down list.)

You can just run this launcher, (and after downloading the appropriate jar files,) you can merely select which version of Minecraft you wish to run.

The address for the pre-release server is over on the right hand side. As of right now, there are no mods running on it, due to CraftBukkit restrictions. This means no maps, and no locking chests. Go play!

You will also probably have to use the default texture pack for 1.9 for the time being.

Workaround Found

I've found a workaround to the connection issues, so you should be able to play on the server just fine at this time.

Authentication Issues

It looks like the central authentication servers for Minecraft are having issues. This may cause you to be unable to log into the server. It is not an issue on our end, however; it is with the central Minecraft.net servers. I'm working on a work-a-round at the moment, and will update when I can.

Worlds Collide...

Worlds have collided. Previously to this, I had three separate Minecraft servers running on my private server. Two of them, you all knew about, and the third was sort of a test environment that was largely restricted to special parties. This created a large amount of overhead processing power, in order to run all processes in triplicate. Obviously, this is not a very efficient system.

So I changed it. Now, all three of those worlds are running on the SAME Minecraft server, which is at the address of the Main server. So, now down to the important part....

You can remove the links to the Secondary/Freestyle server that you have in your Minecraft application; the only one you need for now is the Main server link. I may re-implement the other server again at some point, but for now we will stick with just the Main server.

When you sign into the Main server, you should type /warplist. This will give you a list of all the places you can warp to by typing "/warp WARPNAME"

If a warps name is preceded by an M, (such as MCentral,) it is the Central warp on the Main server.

If preceded by a T, it is a warp on the Tunnels server. (Currently, no warps are implemented on the alternative servers.)

If preceded by a P, it is a warp on the Planetoids server. (Didn't you read the parenthesis above?)

So, go ahead and "/warp MCentral," and you will see the Portals you can go through to get to each of the other worlds. Walking through them loads you into the new world; there are also return portals at the other end that will take you back to Main.

Note: your inventory does not transfer over from world to world. What you have in Main will not be in your inventory when you get to Tunnels. However, when you go back to Main, you will still have everything you had when you left it originally. The same goes for the others; you have a different inventory for each world. This is to stop people from going through to a creative world, (which will be implemented at some point I'm sure,) spawning a bunch of stuff, then traipsing back through into a Survival world. We don't want that, for obvious reasons.

Also, the map, (map.torvserv.com,) now hosts the files for ALL of the worlds, so they are not all at separate URLs. Just go to http://map.torvserv.com, and float over the right sidebar; you will see the options to view the maps of the other worlds.

Anything else? No? Well then, here is a Youtube video from Apocalyptica's Album "Worlds Collide," (to go along with my heading,) and while it plays, go get signed into Minecraft and start crafting!

Brief Outages

The servers may be bouncing around a bit tonight. Big changes coming...watch here for details when I wrap everything up.

Changes Again...

Alright, I've made some more changes to the Secondary Server map. You should REALLY go check it out....its quite astonishing. A very unique map...I think you'll all like it. Check out the map: http://map2.torvserv.com

I think you'll see how interesting it is. Enjoy.

Donation Time

So, its the middle of the month...time to check those pockets for loose change and see if you can't scrounge up five bucks to help keep the servers up and running. I appreciate the help with all of this, and I'll continue to do my best to make it worth your while, as well. When the adventure mode comes out, your donations will also help fund the time necessary to create cool "adventure maps" with scenarios and dungeons and whatnot for you to fight your way through. In the meantime, however, I'll try to keep putting up interesting challenges and maps on the Secondary server.

New Map for the Secondary Server

The map on the secondary server has been replaced. Now there is a custom scenario; you will spawn into a bedrock room full of equipment. You gather your wits and your supplies, and then travel through into the nether. The only way back from the nether is to die...how long can you survive?

Now Implemented: Warp System for the Masses

I have implemented a Warp system so that the users of our main server can get around more rapidly without having to ask the Mods for teleportation commands. It is very simple to use. The commands are:

/warp WARP_NAME - Warps you to the selected warp point
/warplist - Lists all available warp points

Users are not currently allowed to set warps; this is on purpose. The point of the Warps is not to drive the rail lines into obsolescence, but rather to help cut down on travel times from place to place. I don't want to have a world where EVERYTHING has a Warp, because I feel that would negatively impact the game experience. You would never walk anywhere, you would just Warp from place to place all the time.

Currently, there are 4 available Warp points. I will be monitoring their use and expanding as I see fit. The warps currently available are:

Hogwarts - Takes you to the rail station at Hogwarts castle
Lair - Takes you to the main floor of the Lair on top of the mountain
Central - Takes you to the top of the Central rail station near the original spawn point
Port - Takes you to the Port

So, for example, if I want to Warp to the Lair, I would type:

/warp Lair

So, the way I see things working, you can Warp to the point that is closest to your destination, and then use rail lines to get the rest of the way. It's as easy as that. Enjoy!

Systems Test

I just want to see how many people actually come to this page and read the information here. I'm curious...so I'll be conducting a rather informal poll.

If you read this, send me an email with the subject line "I read it," and I will give you 3 diamonds in-game next time I catch you online.

Rules: you are NOT allowed to tell anybody else who plays on the server about this deal. They are only allowed to discover it for themselves. Also, there is a deadline; any emails received after noon on Monday will be disregarded.

Cheers. ;)

Possible Network Issues

Separate from the issue I mentioned earlier today; we are experiencing some odd errors where one or more players may be mysteriously disconnected from the Minecraft server. Other players may remain connected to the server, but the players who were disconnected cannot reconnect for up to a minute. During this time, their internet connection appears to work just fine otherwise; just the server is unavailable. Its an interesting issue, and I just now managed to get a packet-capture of the network stream as the issue occurs. I am in the process of breaking down the packets to figure out where the issue is.

Brief Minecraft Authentication Server Outage?

Looks like we just got out of a brief Minecraft authentication server outage. At least, that is the nearest I could figure out the problem to be. Everything was working just fine on our back-end, and my client was properly configured, but I could not connect to anything via the Minecraft client. It appears to have cleared up now, but I don't know how long the issue persisted; so if you had trouble getting in today, this was probably why.

New Info/Donations Page Now In Use!

I have replaced the old Info/Donations site with this page. It is much simpler to manage, and will allow you to set up an automated monthly donation, so that you do not have to remember to donate every month. I have programmed in several different options for donations, (including a manual, one-time $5 donation in case you don't want to do it automatically,) but if you do not like any of the options available, let me know and I can implement a different one.