MCGamer Current Events Page
May 7, 2014. Issue #7
COMMUNITY NEWS
Iron, Gold, Diamond… PLATINUM
by MeaganRoses
Introducing the fourth tier of donorship- Platinum donor! Platinum donors get several new perks, including those of previous ranks. Here are a few perks of this new rank:
- Increased voting weight at 5 votes and a points boost at 500 each month.
- Don’t want to get targeted because you have soooo many points? Platinum donors can use the /scramble command to disguise their points in-game.
- Ever wanted to see an aerial view of the hub? /fly is enabled!
- Stand out in chat with the color codes in chat
- Walk around in style with a horse, sheep, or other PET!
Interested? The regular price for Platinum donorship is $100, but if you are already a diamond donor you can upgrade for only $25.
Ready to live the Platinum life? http://shop.mcgamer.net/category/60436
Need a Dispenser Here!
By Col. StaR
Image Credit: LadyofLove
It’s here! We have finally reached a point in development that we feel confident in releasing the first glimpses of the long-awaited gametype, Minecraft Team Fortress 2. After over a month of development decisions and rigorous coding, the first test games of MCTF2 were played last Saturday, with the staff finding a number of bugs and giving a good amount of feedback.
Due to the previous version of MCTF2 basically being broken beyond repair, Chad made the decision to rebuild the gametype from the ground up in order to deliver the best experience for players. The Developers have been hard at work for several weeks bringing it all together. 20 new MCTF2 servers are up and running, but please remember that the servers are currently early alpha: bugs and crashes are to be expected, and more features have yet to be added. But if you need your quick fix, please feel free to join the servers!
You can read more in the announcement thread here: LINK.
And some people said that MCTF2 was dead…
![[IMG]](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsp/AMfWKRD8ckzlTRmXzDYWxUVzK1jAISoPAZu7IvOjZ2tsFMKlOu5mZv0i9Yhx0zvAPZDs2-_1laYT_XoI95nt2HsgiDyZvBsocSFBXabNUjKaILW4QRZvaYYAU73njLhXZx98n0fOYL10nf7VFV0LzkqgIC2Vnd7m1EEphFccEVzdzJbtGRQ_5qOchnXnzYyTHhTL7D1mUA)
Chad’s Birthday!
By Col. StaR
For those of you who may have missed the festivities that day (and how could you miss such a massive trail of cake?), Chad’s birthday was May 8th, 2014. The DJ himself is now 24 years old, still watching over the community he founded all those years ago.
As a sign of appreciation, check out our wonderful list of nicknames and thank yous from the community in the announcement thread here: LINK.
MC Gamer Goes Down Under!
By xWriterx
Hello Tributes! Many of you will have noticed the recent successful meetups that took place in various places over in Australia and New Zealand. With the starting meet up in the city of Perth, Australia, near the crazy, green cacti, many players in the AU region had a wonderful few hours of talking to Chad himself and taking lots of photos.
The next Australian meetup was in Melbourne, which had a phenomenal turnout, receiving an even higher number of 23 people turning up beating the Perth gathering and many also took a trip to Nando’s for some dinner with Chad!
With Sydney being the final meet up spot in Australia, not as many turned up as the other two cities, but everyone still had an amazing time!
The most recent Auckland, New Zealand meet up was victorious as the tributes that showed up only had 4 hours notice, nether the less everyone had a tremendous time meeting other players and Chad.
Over all the meetups were a huge success and everyone had an excellent time meeting one another, this puts us at a great place for organising more meet ups in the future in perhaps other countries!
Also as a thank you for these people participating, they got invited to test out our “secret rank” on the servers!
Each meetup has its own individual thread with a list of names showing who showed up; feel free to click the threads below with each meet up being in order:
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/perth-australia-meet-up-a-success.98390/
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/melbourne-australia-meet-up-a-bigger-success.99294/
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/good-times-at-the-sydney-meetup.99715/
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/auckland-meetup-a-blast.100511/#post-1
At the bottom of the Auckland thread, Chad makes an announcement: “Next city that will be hosting a meetup will be in Queenstown, NZ (TBA if enough people want to connect there).” So be sure to keep an eye out on Chad’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChadTheDJ) for any new updates on the upcoming meet ups!
World Cup Postponement
by DracoHD
As the title says, the MCSG World Cup has been scheduled for another date in the future.
Due to many members of the the committee being on leave, having many school and college related issues, the staff team involved in this event will be absent for a temporary leave.
The dates are not confirmed yet, but the best possible guess is that our Staff will be back on this, around the end of May.
Whilst we are on leave, I recommend for the Clans and Teams involved with this to remain up to date with any news involving this Cup, and for them to be patient!
We are trying our best to make this Event the best as possible, and we will hopefully be around this soon.
We also feel that with new updates in the Community incoming, and with the end of school around the corner, many more players will be with us, and make this event have even more attraction than previously.
We are sorry for any inconveniences, and hope to see y’all around when this event is back on the server!
Say Cheese!
By DracoHD
As you might be familiar with these quote, we are indeed introducing a new MC Gamer Event. As stated by Col, a new Photography Contest has begun here at MC Gamer, and it will be a contest open to anyone in the Public.
As he stated, there is more to minecraft that pixels. Minecraft has its own side of beauty; there is a texture-based side to it, that allows blocks to become more than just 3-dimensional cubes.
As this Contest says, there are 3 different phases to it;
- Vanilla - This consists of:
- Only Vanilla Minecraft assets can be used.
- No texture packs.
- No shaders.
- No image alteration, such as touching up images in Photoshop, is allowed.
- No terrain editing programs, such as Hexxit. All terrain must be modified by hand.
- Having player skins is okay, however, since that is an aspect that exists in Vanilla.
- Modded Phase - This level is about:
- Texture allowed, but restricted to 64x64.
- Any shaders allowed.
- Terrain editing programs, such as Hexxit are allowed.
- No image alteration, such as touching up images in Photoshop, is allowed.
- Total Conversion - The final stage includes:
- Texture allowed, any size.
- Any shaders allowed.
- Terrain editing programs, such as Hexxit are allowed.
- Image alteration and Photoshop is allowed.
- 3D animation programs, such as 3DSMax, Maya, and Cinema4D are allowed.
- At least one major asset of your image which draws a significant amount of the audience's focus on the image must be from a vanilla Minecraft photograph (the asset alone must adhere to all of the Vanilla phase rules, as stated above) ; providing the source image along with the edited image will be a requirement.
Be sure to check the link out to in order to participate in this new event!
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/mcgamer-photography-contest.98339/
DEVELOPER NEWS
Section by Leon/TheBluemeerkat
G’day tributes, Leon|TheBluemeerkat here. Is the lag making you feel down?
Well cry no more as i recently did a interview with the developer Kpwn243 about the recent Ghosting and Lag issues.
Question:
Is the ghosting issue client side or a server issue. -Mooclan
Answer:
We have been trying to traceroute. We have found out that Europe internet is a lot faster then the US, but it is being throttled. There is nothing we can do about that.
Question:
Is there anyway to eliminate ghosting completely? -Chobski
Answer:
The internet is a man made thing, and sometimes it breaks. Ghosting is a internet problem from the datacenter, there is simply no time in where there is no problems. In this point of time, ghosting is the problem.
Question:
The lag truly can’t be stopped because MCSG gets DDoSed all the time. -Chris_Bro
Answer:
This is not true. Our data center responds quickly and sorts the problems.
Question:
Will the ghosting be fixed in the near future? -TomohawkGoesChop
Answer:
There is no set time, It will happen when it happens. We are working our hardest to fix the problems.
Thanks for the questions!
ZedChase
MCGamer’s official ZedChase gamemode has risen back from the dead.
Are you ready for some fast-paced running action?
ZedChase was an old gamemode loved by many and our hard working dev Devin brought it back.
STAFF NEWS
The May 3rd Sweep
By Col. StaR
Everyone likes stories, right? I know I do. Okay, how about this:
On May 3rd, 2014, a joint team of 20 moderators from EU, US, and CA showed some serious initiative during the brief downtime before their Saturday staff meeting. Without any intervention on the side of the Sr. Staff, this group organized themselves into a unit, hunkered down into a custom Teamspeak channel, and all connected to the EU region. Their objective was simple: moderate the EU region in what little time they had. With the nature and title of the operation, they called their moderation session a, "sweep", and they wasted no time getting to work.
Long story short, in the span of 24 hours on May 3rd, 2014, that relatively small group of moderators managed to dispense 129 successful bans, a majority of them for hacking-related purposes. 1/5th of the moderator staff successfully conducted 1/3 of the total bans in the community on that day alone.
That sweep, organized and conducted on behalf of a dedicated group of moderators, was considered so successful that two more sweeps were conducted, with another one scheduled for tomorrow. While I don't have the number of bans nor the roster of participating moderators for those sweeps, I have no doubt that they were just as successful as the first.
The staff is already doing their part cleaning up EU, but they could always use some help.
Part of the reason for the successful sweeps is the coordination between players and staff members. Staff may have the ability to kick and ban, but we depend on players to find them first. Reporting hackers and other rule breakers is the first step towards banning unwanted players, and that's the first step to improving conditions for players everywhere. So if you're reading this, do your part: report any rulebreakers you see. You show us where they are, and we'll bring the ban hammer down on them.
And if you see a group of moderators conducting a sweep in a channel or ingame, be sure to thank them for what they're doing.
More more information regarding what the staff is focusing on cleaning up EU, and what you can do to help, please refer to this thread here: LINK.
UPDATE: 5/13/2014
Over 250 hackers and rulebreakers removed as part of Operation Clean Sweep, and we’re only half-way through the duration of the campaign. Excellent job to everyone involved, and keep up the good work!
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
FAREWELL TO:
There were 3 demotions.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW SENIOR MODERATORS:
Chandelle
When I got trial, I was very surprised. I really wasn't expecting it, but I was excited of course. I was just really happy that I would be able to help out the community even more as a part of the Sr Staff. I plan on being as active as I can be, and helping out moderators and other staff members in any way that I can. My favorite experience while I was a moderator was probably just getting to know all of the staff members, and making really good friends in the staff team. It was nice to make good bonds in the community, which I continue to love doing.
Jimmer
When I got the position of Trial Sr. Moderator, I was very excited and ready to begin my time here as a member of Sr. Staff. I’m very happy to be able to help out in the community more, and generally be a bigger help to others then when I was a moderator. My favourite part of being a moderator was helping out the community when someone had a question, or hanging out with my pals in a Teamspeak channel. I’m very happy to continue my contributions to the staff team as a Trial Sr. Moderator.
Lively
I really wasn’t expecting to get Sr. Mod this round of promotions. When I was pulled up to the waiting room, I figured out what was going on. I was shaking and could barely type and talk to the other new trials. I was absolutely freaking out! My first major goal that I wish to focus on is to improve the relations between the community and the staff team. The next thing is to make the staff team efficient and effective - to make the server environment a safe haven for players of all ages and nationalities. And lastly, remember that you can talk to the staff, especially if you have problems with us. Always be respectful, and remember that this is just a game.
MAP NEWS
Lobby games by Team Elite
A Review by LadyOfLove
Oh Lobby Games, where do I start with you? Lobby Games is one of those maps on MCGamer that is absolutely ripe with nostalgia - but for different reasons than most. When you see maps like survival games 1 and 2, they really bring back memories of the V1 days right? But Lobby Games stands out as nostalgic in another way - it’s a playable map of one of the old (albeit now current) lobbies! I don’t know about you, but when I first joined MCGamer I fondly recall joining into the beautiful lobby and being asked to team at the cake room and I was sad when it had been replaced - but the appearance of this map filled that hole.
The map contains stunning visuals and a bright, cheery atmosphere unseen in survival games maps. Although it lacks open spaces people usually prefer for PvP, it’s a map that’ll always bring something different in gameplay to the plate with its interesting terrain and parkour like jumps.
With its dizzying layout and heights, you’ll always feel like you’re teetering on the edge when reaching out for that distant, precarious chest.
Sometimes you’ll be thrown off the edge and land halfway down the map in a waterfall, sometimes you’ll jump for an island and miss.. or maybe land. Sometimes you’ll plummet off of a bridge and land atop an unsuspecting player. This map makes for interesting battles with sometimes hilarious results.
The Lobby Games is also jam packed with references to MCGamers past, with the heads and signs of former staff scattered with loving memory throughout the map. Take a stop by the rules signboard, the cake room, the tip room, Daves office or the parkours - you might discover some sweet loot!
MINECRAFT NEWS
1.7.9 Prepares for Name Changing and Realms Support for Minigames
By Wertea
Over the last week a few updates were pushed out up to 1.7.9. This was so as Minecraft could prepare for when they are to release name changing functions. The official release of the actual function will be in 1.8, but for now with these new updates every user has a unique ID (rather than just their name). An example of where this new player profile system is used is in the banning system e.g. if Bob were to hack then get banned, but then change his name he would remain banned as he has a unique number which identifies him as a banned player. More information on the topic can be found here - https://mojang.com/2014/04/minecraft-1-7-6/
In other news minecraft realms has added mini game support! Such games included in this patch were ‘The Walls’, ‘Autospleef’, ‘Cake Defense 2’, ‘Blocks vs. Zombies’ and ‘Dash of Doom’. A full list of where Minecraft Realms is available can be found here - https://mojang.com/2014/04/minecraft-realms-is-now-live-in-north-america/
ENTERTAINMENT
Section by MeaganRoses
Youtube Spotlight
This issue’s youtube spotlight belongs to HeyImNatalia, a 20 year-old vlogger from Australia. You may have heard of Natalia from her main channel, which now stands strong with upwards of 13,000 subscribers. She has recently made a gaming channel with a plan to create lots of Minecraft ‘Lets Play’ videos. With two MCSG videos already uploaded within a week of the channel’s creation, her devotion to a regular uploading schedule is very promising. Can we help her get to 500 subscribers ASAP? Check out her channel here! https://www.youtube.com/user/HeyImNataliaGames.
submission by: royroyboy
submission by: Kennyrulez
Have some amazing artwork you’d like to share with us? Submit it on the forums!
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/submit-to-the-current-events-publication.98880/
Say Cheese!
By DracoHD
As you might be familiar with these quote, we are indeed introducing a new MC Gamer Event. As stated by Col, a new Photography Contest has begun here at MC Gamer, and it will be a contest open to anyone in the Public.
Be sure to check the link out to in order to participate in this new event!
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/mcgamer-photography-contest.98339/
Publication Information
Have a Story to Share?
The MCGamer community is very dynamic and highly active, yet our reporters can only see so much. That’s why we depend on community members to help us find new stories to write about. Do you know about a topic that would make a great story for us? You can always leave us a tip, or write your own story; you will be credited if the story you suggested gets published.
Follow the template displayed and private message all staff members below if you want to contribute or want a topic covered.
Template for stories:
Name (IGN, Forum name etc):
Title of story:
Why should this story be featured?:
Story details/Summary (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How):
Are you interested in writing the story?:
Thread link(If applicable):
Notify all the staff members listed with the correct template. We will then review it and decide if it could be featured and assign an editor help you along with your work. Make sure to PM or message (not poke) ALL staff members. If you don’t, it may be overlooked until the requirements are fulfilled.
Do note that the submission of a story does not guarantee its publication. The CEP Staff and the MCGamer Administration reserves the right to deny any suggested story for any reason. The author of any articles written by a non-member of the CEP staff will be marked as a Guest Writer, and they will not be recognized as an official member of the CEP staff; the Guest Writers’ thoughts and opinions do not reflect on the thoughts and opinions of the CEP, the CEP staff, nor the MCGamer community.
Staff You Should message your template to:
@MetagrossVSwablu
@Krackan
@JimmerHD
@Lively
@DracoHD
@MeaganRoses
@JeremyTyler
@Wertea
@xWriterx
Do you have an event you’d like to have published?
Are you hosting an event for the MCGamer community? Want to get some advertising, but don’t know how? The MCGamer Current Events Publication is always looking for community events to write about. Whether they’re up and coming or already finished, we want to know about them all.
Follow the template displayed and private message all staff members below if you want to contribute or want a topic covered.
Template for events:
Name (IGN, Forum name etc):
Event you want to be announced (Concert, a battle in game, giveaways etc):
Why your event should be announced:
(Optional) Can you write a draft for how you want your event to be announced?:
Thread link:
Notify all the staff members listed with the correct template. We will then review it and decide if it could be featured and assign an editor help you along with your work. Make sure to PM or message (not poke) ALL staff members. If you don’t, it may be overlooked until the requirements are fulfilled..
Staff You Should message your template to:
@MetagrossVSwablu
@Krackan
@Lively
@DracoHD
@MeaganRoses
@JeremyTyler
@JimmerHD
@Wertea
@xWriterx
Want to help out in another way?:
Do you think you have some skills that can help us out, such as editing, illustrating, interviewing, or video production? If so, then we want you! Follow the template displayed and private message the staff members below if you want to contribute.
Miscellaneous Application:
Name (IGN, Forum name etc):
What your skill is:
How experienced are you in that:
How you think it can help the publication:
In order to contribute to the CEP, please send a Private Message/Conversation via the Forums to @Col_StaR and @DracoHD. We will then review it and decide if it could be featured and assign an editor help you along with your work. Make sure to PM or message (not poke) the stated staff members. If you don’t, it may be overlooked until the requirements are fulfilled.
The Current Events Publication Team:
Col_StaR- I just realized that I never got an announcement of my birthday (April 27th) because I was too busy working. Again...
DracoHD- Hello. My name is Marco, and I will be working on the Minecraft section. In this section you will see new updates, new ideas brought in by Mojang and further information about any area including it. I will be helping out in any area I can, and after Col's offer, I'm ready to help and offer my skills anywhere I can!
Krackan- -Insert Joker “Hai…”- My current tasks in this project is providing updated information on maps being added, removed or changed. In addition, I am also in charge of writing reviews for maps in order to bring attention to a map that may not be as popular as others. Although that is the intent, it is not limited to only unknown maps.
~your favorite cracker-lacking mythical sea entity
JimmerHD - Hey there, I’m Jimmer! I’m mostly going to be working on miscellaneous stories, and helping out with the publication in general. You can mostly find me writing, or editing material, or just generally moderating. Feel free to PM me, or poke me on Teamspeak, if you have any questions.
MeaganRoses- Hi MCGamer! I’m Meagan and I’m incredibly excited to be working on a project such as this. Currently I am a senior in high school and I am the Editor for the Yearbook, so I have quite the amount of experience in publication! I love photography, writing, and graphic design… and I love Minecraft of course :) I can’t wait to see where this is headed!
JeremyTyler- Hey everyone! My name’s Jeremy and I’m going to do my best to help all of you readers out there catch up on some fun MCGamer news. You can look forward to some interesting updates and articles coming your way. This is a great team and I’m absolutely ecstatic to be working with them to produce some fun output for you!
Lively- Hello! I’m sure you’ve seen me around on the forums. My role in this project is to write the articles on various topics, and to edit what I come across. I’m a jack-of-all-trades, if you will. My experience in the area of writing comes from my two short stories that I have published via an online medium. Here’s to a long and interesting future with this project.
Wertea- Hey, its wertea and I will hopefully be working mainly in the Minecraft News section. I have many ideas for new topics for the publication, which once I get my head around them will be revealed.
xWriterx- Aloha, I’m Katy! I am a new and fabulous member of the CEP team, and I am looking forward to writing various articles and topics about all the new and exciting news MC Gamer will be bringing to you! At the staff castle, many of you will have seen that I’m the ‘Artist of the Mods’ as I love art and drawing! And there’s no obvious doubt that I also love writing, when my username is xWriterx!
TheBlueMeerkat - HI :)
