Im well aware that every design decision alienates a portion of the players. As for the longevity, this map was basicly done for me when I made the most expensive item, this time the ichorium pickaxe. For me skcraft was always about bringing forth the most intelligent and refined mechanisms I could come up with. I've tried more hard on here then on any other server i've ever played on. All the further goals, automating, bees, power production, Autocrafting, anything, were either removed or restricted to uselessness. I understand for many people (including you sk89q) that tech is only byproduct and you just love to build pretty things, but I feel like alot of the other players aren't quite like that. Like I said, no hard feelings here, its a design decision. It may however account for shortcomings in terms of players :3
No I love tech, but there hasn't been any new tech since MC 1.2.5. To me, the new mods are new colors of LEGO bricks. I want new LEGO bricks, not new colors, but it's seems like all the types of LEGO bricks were already invented by the end of 1.2.5. Auto-mining? Auto-crafting? Power generation? That was already all available and doable by 1.2.5. What can we do now that we couldn't do before? Every time someone mentions something, it's because they were not creative enough to figure it out how to do it with just the trinity of IC2-BC2-RP2. And to be honest, I was happy to see you go.
I think that AE did a nice job of introducing something new. Not that nobody had made storage and autocrafting before, and more that it works in a completely different way than any other mod. Similarly, BigReactors generates power using ore or steam; not new. But the setup has a nice smooth ramp from simple to complex, the presentation is excellent with the giant turbines and towering generators, and it feels different from any other power gen mod due to its use of block construction material and placement having subtle and non-linear effects on the result. ComputerCraft adds a wealth of interesting new things to do in Minecraft via direct programming rather than electrical engineering. Thaumcraft has excellent production values, with an entirely different metagame than any other mod. The end result is automatic farms and mining and armor like every other mod, but the execution is so unique (and well done) that it feels very different. Unsurprisingly, AE, BR, CC, and Thaum are four of the most popular mods on the server. On the building side, Carpentry and Chisel alone do a wonderful job of expanding the possibilities for builds before you even touch anything else. Sadly, we don't really have a showcase for the results of player builds like we did whith player towns. I think you do a disservice to the mod makers when you say 'we had automation three years ago, pfft'. We did... and it sucked. Autocrafting anything took hours of prep work, tons of resources, was buggy, often had serious server cpu consequences, and few but the most dedicated could accomplish it. With a mod like TE it's easy to accomplish and takes minimal server resources. With AE it's dead simple (built in) as well as extendable to nearly any mod with some work. Doing something new is nice... but doing it better is valuable too, and that is still happening all the time.
Just to put my few cents into this, yes there has been a slight drop in players - which I would agree the cause to be due to both final exams at this time and nearly "the end" of 1.6. However, rather than arguing whether or not the server is dying, I'd suggest taking into consideration what could be done better and changed in order to bring the server back to life. Therefore, I'd say if we want the server to "live", we can try preparing an update for 1.7 by mid-June. Doing so would allow us to not only have the usual stream of players, but will also allow other people to join because they will not be busy with final exams. Of course there will be lag and that's just the cycle of SKCraft, but it will at least let more people to have a taste of what the server has to offer and may potentially add to the "regulars" who play long after the first few days.
There is absolutely no guarantee that all or even most mods required for an update would be available/stable by mid June, in fact I would place my money on the probability that they will not be. I am almost to the point of considering 1.7 another "lost" MC version. There have been so many changes to MC that I basically do not trust the stability of mods made for it, or would not trust said mods until they have been released for at least a month or 90 days at least to smooth out the bumps and bugs. The changes made in MC 1.7 many mod makers are not used to, and are quite literally learning as they go, so bugs are going to be the norm for some time. With the change up of mods we had for a fairly stable MC 1.6 we have encountered many bugs and crashes, expecting anything else from mods made for 1.7 which had so many massive changes would be misguided. I suspect any update to 1.7 will be a long and arduous process, and will not come any time soon, if not at all. Personally I feel that waiting for 1.8 would be advised, as the mod makers by that time will be comfortable with the changes, and usually upon updates they have to re inspect the code, so will be more likely to catch bugs/bad code that they may have not been aware of when they were first writing the code for 1.7. Also they will be more comfortable with the code base so the update from 1.7 to 1.8 will be a much quicker process more along the lines of what we are used to with updates, taking a week or two, rather than months. Then again, these are personal insights and opinions, others more aware of the MC code base, or the current state of mods, may have an opposing view.
The MC developers have stated that 1.8 won't be out for several months. I agree that 1.7.2 is a lost version. It has a lot of bad bugs, especially in rendering. However, the Forge devs are finishing up Forge for the much more stable 1.7.9 as we speak. A lot of modders are waiting for that. Also, TE and MFR, both important mods, are actively being ported to 1.7.2 right now. They probably won't be released for that version (rather 1.7.9), but at least it means they're working on it.
It seems emptier earlier than it was in 1.5 Also, it is (or was) on a list, that's how I found it. It's just nowhere near the top.
I had to leave alice for a year or less because my computer was so bad that I couldn't even try to run alice anymore. Know what I did? Bought a new 1200$ computer JUST to play Alice. Then the connection was so bad I got my internet upgraded to 30$ a month. <--- Addiction.
I really don't want Alice to die out. I try to get my friends to play it, and have succeeded in getting 2 of them to play, but all the rest of my friends think their computer will lag out and blow up if they try to play it :/
Currently I only have my laptop to play on and it's to weak to run Alice. I have not reached propper endgame, and probably never will on this current version of Alice since my desktop PC is about 1.5 months away of use. I need to redo my base, redesign etc etc, need to do thaumcraft, rotarycraft... I will probably wait until 1.7 so I can do everything better from the start. Perhaps even get basemates if people want me
This conversation woke up the memories of the alice at 2012 when I first started but then I got banned because some server log somewhere in the deeps of alice said I had hit someone while I havent and kept almost 1 year break and came back at 2013 and was too bored to play alone and stopped and once again I have came back to alice and well, well it world reset's just when I got my interest back so now im hoping a lot from the alice 1.7
I myself am one of the "leavers". Unfortunately my computer that used to run Alice at 30fps can only handle 2fps because of the updates. I am not blaming the modders because it is the normal path of technology. I'm planning to buy a new computer but am still saving up. Meanwhile though, I reside on Vincent, with much better fps. I apologise for leaving but it is impossible for me to play.
Try messing with ur settings with the next update optifine will be installed it looks so ull have more to play with
Well sorry but I can't remember anyone saying so. Please do not tell people things that are not said.
Even as everyone here makes such great points, the largest factor that effects the Alice server and the world of video game entertainment has still been all but forgotten. No matter how great the changes and how often they happen time here in reality still passes, people grow older and mature and eventually life takes hold. I know allot of the older players of the SK servers know me from back when the servers supported by SK first started coming online and the community was but a hand full of people. I used to play almost every day for hours on end and I would get bored after a few weeks and get on less and less until the next update as most of the long time SK vets do. As you might notice I'm never on anymore and rarely get onto the forum from time to time due to life moving on and new found interests. 4 years (almost 5) after the servers started booting up and I started playing MC, I have changed jobs 3 times, stopped per-sewing a women who made me the happiest I had ever been, found another women who is doing her best to find happiness with me and her son, and lets not forget I'm almost 30. Long story short, the condition of the SK servers in general after this many years has a quickly degrading effect on the number of players on them updates and resets or not. Minecraft in general will eventually become outdated and under powered next to other more modern Sandbox/open world games and some people will find more productive things they enjoy doing in real life. As SK also stated, the mods only progress for so long and so far before they start to replace, overpower or endanger the game itself, add more to the middle of the game can only go so far and no one makes things for past the endgame, a can of Cola can only hold so much liquid before you just need a bigger can. Something that would be more productive instead of just complaining about how something you love so much is dying, do everything you can to improve it and bring people back together.
