Now Running 1.12

After a record number of delays, Mojang has finally finished and released Minecraft 1.12! Unlike 1.11, this is a really exciting update packed with great new things (also hideous Glazed Terracotta blocks) and is a huge change for the game that we are really excited to have on Superstes Noctis!

Because of the nature of some of the changes made for this update, there are some additional tasks to complete now for Superstes Noctis that 1.12 is out. These include:

• Updating the Superstes Noctis Resource Pack (SNRP) for the new blocks and changes to coloring with some existing ones
• Custom JSON Advancements files to customize the Superstes Noctis experience
• Custom unlocking of Recipes so everyone doesn't have to craft everything in the game all over again from scratch (there's no single command for that... seriously?)

With life being busier and more complicated lately, these changes may not happen as quickly as desired... but they will be done, and should hopefully greatly enhance gameplay! Of course, once the new SNRP version is ready it will be available to download from the blog's Resource Pack page for everyone to enjoy... even those who don't play on the Superstes Noctis server.

With how stale vanilla Minecraft had gotten lately due to lack of updates, it is refreshing to finally have some new content and for this major update to actually be one worth getting excited over. Hopefully there will be some new videos from the server to enjoy soon too, focusing on the new content added in this update. In the meantime, we once again wish you the best of luck in your continuing battle to survive the night.

Now Running 1.11

I found myself really excited when I heard Mojang was releasing Minecraft 1.11... until I played it and realized that there is only one new feature I'm ever actually going to use, being the new Shulker Boxes. The Observer Blocks are useful too, but I won't use them as much... and I certainly have no use for a poorly-built Woodland Mansion or Llamas that are inferior to Donkeys in pretty much every way. (Especially compared to well-bred high-stat Mules)

Nevertheless, Superstes Noctis is now running Minecraft 1.11, which is sure to [barely] change the way we survive the night.

Now Running 1.10.2

Seemingly out of nowhere, Mojang has released bug fix update 1.10.2 for Minecraft. (They seem to like skipping .1 updates, don't they?) I honestly haven't looked at the changelog, as I know these minor updates are just fixes to the game.

So that's all that needs to be said here… Superstes Noctis is now running 1.10.2, for fewer bugs hindering our efforts to continue surviving the night.

Now Running 1.10

After the release of Minecraft 1.9, the game's community was very vocal about how they want more frequent updates rather than occasional, feature-packed updates. For better or for worse, Mojang listened: Minecraft 1.10 is here already, with few snapshots needed as there aren't many changes.

Honestly, 1.10 lacks that "wow" factor we've gotten from recent updates to the game. But since Superstes Noctis is a vanilla server, we're updating anyway; the server is now running the official release of Minecraft 1.10, even though we still haven't found Beetroot in new 1.9 chunks from that update yet! (The search for that continues)

Not only has 1.10 been finished so quickly, but supposedly 1.11 snapshots are right around the corner. If 1.10's lackluster changelog is any indication, we may not see any huge updates to the game anytime soon... and while personally I find that a shame, more frequent updates may turn out to be a nice thing after all. Whatever your personal opinion may be on this new strategy for Mojang's update releases, we continue to wish you the best of luck surviving the night.

Now Running 1.9.4

After a server backup, Superstes Noctis has been updated to Minecraft 1.9.4 on Friday, May 20, 2016! While this update is mainly bug fixes for the game, it also includes minor changes to the game as well. I was out of town when the update dropped, so I wasn't able to back up the server for the update until today... better late than never though, right?

Mojang has also released the first snapshot for Minecraft 1.10, but keeping to our current policies regarding development versions of the game we will not be updating to the snapshot versions of the game. We plan to update to 1.10 once it is finished and released, as long as it has proven stable for use on the server. But until then, we'll be sticking with 1.9 as we continue surviving the night.

Now Running 1.9.2

Our update to Minecraft 1.9 was a huge success and breathed new life into the server that we've been waiting for quite awhile to find! If you've followed this blog or any of my other works for awhile now, it won't surprise you that I forgot to update the blog when that update took place... but I assure you it was awesome for the Superstes Noctis crew.

The 1.9.2 update is a bug fix update to 1.9, and as such there's not much to report about regarding it. But since I missed the upgrade post for 1.9 itself, I wanted to make sure you all know the move went well and has done so much for the server and its members. We've been playing a lot more since the update, and having a lot more fun while doing so.

The downside is the Ender Ender. We're not sure exactly what happened, but Endermen are no longer spawning in the Ender Ender and therefore it is effectively useless at this point aside from the surviving storage of Ender Pearls there. It's likely the issue involves the spawning mechanics for certain "non-solid" blocks, namely the Stone Pressure Plates that line the floors where the Endermen spawn in the Ender Ender; adapting the system to detect mobs with string and tripwire hooks may make it work again, but in the meantime it can no longer be used for XP grinding or Ender Pearl farming.

The crew of the server enjoyed fighting the Enderdragon again, since you can now craft End Crystals and summon in the Dragon whenever you want. The fight is different now, and it was fun to experience the new mechanics as a team. We collected some of the new "Dragon's Breath" for crafting Lingering Potions, ventured to the new End City, started growing Chorus Fruit back in the overworld behind Noctis Manor, and even found our server's first pair of Elytra!

Overall, the 1.9 update is an extremely positive change for Superstes Noctis. We've done alright adapting to the new combat system for the most part, and are enjoying the new blocks added. We've adapted as necessary to continue surviving the night.

Now Running 1.8.9

Hello again everybody. Not much to report today... the server is now running 1.8.9, but there's really nothing exciting about that; just more bug fixes and preparations for 1.9 coming soon.

We've mentioned in the past that we are not using development snapshots due to the instability and problems we had with the 1.8 snapshots last year, and we've held true to that. Once 1.9 is officially released, however, we will update as soon as possible to enjoy all those new features! (After a backup, of course)

That's all for this update; as I said, there's not much to report as it is mostly bug fixes. In case another post doesn't come until 2016, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... and, as always, the best of luck surviving the night.

Now Running 1.8.1

We've decided after all the issues with the 1.8 snapshots that we were going to stick with release versions from now on. 1.8.1 is mostly just a bugfix update anyway, so we just stuck with 1.8 until the new version was officially released.

There's not really much to report; as usual, the new version was tested and then set live on Superstes Noctis. Things seem smoother at spawn now (knock on wood) and that should make it easier and more fun to continue Surviving the Night.

Now running 1.8-pre1

The first prerelease build of Minecraft 1.8, dubbed 1.8-pre1, is available now! After so much time waiting, the "Bountiful Update" is right around the corner!

This is a short update, just informing everyone that the server is running 1.8-pre1 and that the final release of 1.8 is coming very soon. We're super excited for 1.8, and we hope you are too! Get pumped and good luck surviving the night!

Manually Managing Versions

The service used to host Superstes Noctis (MCPro Hosting) has changed the way their services work recently, supporting the old way things were managed but prompting server administrators to switch to the new method. As of Sunday, August 10, 2014 @ 3:29 AM PDT, the server is now running using one of these new features: manual version selection, which allows the server's administrator (that's me!) to manually choose what version of Minecraft is run for the server. This includes old versions of the game, (even Alpha and Beta versions) development snapshots, Bukkit, FTB, Technic, and more.

As of the time of this posting, we are running 14w32d; thanks to this new system, the server will be able to be updated manually and we can avoid issues with new snapshots! When a new snapshot comes out, I will be able to test it in a single-player world, or even load up the server world in single-player, to make sure things work before deciding to update the live server. Additionally, if there are any issues with it once it is live, I can restore from a backup (yes, I finally got it figured out so I can do server backups on my local machine and not rely on the hosting service's method of backing up the server) and go back to the previous snapshot that was working before. This should mean less overall downtime for the server when there are issues with snapshots of the game, and more time available to enjoy gameplay on the server!

If you have any questions, of course feel free to contact me for clarification! Until next time, good luck surviving the night!

Snapshot Woes

New features are cool! It can be really tempting to upgrade to Minecraft Snapshots, especially recently with all the changes announced. Minecraft 1.8 is going to be an absolutely massive update, and it was so tempting we gave in and decided awhile back to update to the snapshots. They were stable at the time... but newer snapshots have proved to be otherwise, and it has caused a lot of trouble (and downtime) for the Superstes Noctis server. For now we are running 14w27b, which works... kinda. Exiting the Nether has proved troublesome, and Anika_Strizuki even got teleported to the edge of the map, right by the world border. In Survival mode, that isn't really something you want to happen.

We've learned our lesson: once 1.8 is publicly released, we will no longer be using snapshots! Learn from our mistake and do the same for your worlds (and especially servers) by only venturing into snapshots with your worlds if you make a backup beforehand and use a separate minecraft.jar.

This has been a Public Service Announcement from the Superstes Noctis team. Play smart, play safe, and good luck surviving the night!