FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

I have been bullied out of Xanadu from false complaints, random "rules" changing, ie, you can build here, providing you have a block, oh no, even if you don't have a block someone seems to own it - Then an admin decides you're an enemy because you are playing a SANDBOX game!

I build too far away from spawn, no-one visits, I build too near spawn, I get banned.
I build near a site that isn't even aquired, someone takes a screenshot, creates a paranoid delusion about land theft in their heads, posts it to an admin, and you get banned from a game randomly.

Is the game engine ever going to make a clear rule-system for building rights? Xanadu has a tendancy to randomly change what it means by everything from "spawn points" to the meaning of usage of "protection blocks" and where they actually are (a case of grudges from admins is a constant on the server), as admins tend to choose at random whether to like/dislike according to how much feeling of control they want at times. And I don't really want to come back here time and time again to warn people not to play simply because someone is, frankly, being childish in a sandbox game. (the whole point of sandbox games being, well, sandbox).

If you want to choose between Minetest and Minecraft, go to Minecraft. You WILL be able to sandbox play there.

Nomis wrote:If you want to choose between Minetest and Minecraft, go to Minecraft. You WILL be able to sandbox play there.

You can choose servers that do not use any protection mod instead.

Give the Just Test Server a try sometime, though Clip's Public Server works too.

Inocudom wrote:Give the Just Test Server a try sometime, though Clip's Public Server works too.

Will it be full of admins who are more concerned with controlling your game and bullying you randomly? Please say it isn't, this game is meant to be fun!

Calinou wrote:

Nomis wrote:If you want to choose between Minetest and Minecraft, go to Minecraft. You WILL be able to sandbox play there.

You can choose servers that do not use any protection mod instead.

I like the mod, it makes sense, it's just if you change the rules, ban someone (even when they have blocks down first) and then ban someone again (because an admin didn't like the fact you had shown them up by complaining), so on and so forth.... well, you can't play.... Xanadu has a major problem forming in this regard, despite having the best setup experienced so far.

I still need someone to test whether they can connect to my server,so if you are bored,feel free to try and connect
76.94.108.200:30000

Nomis wrote:

Inocudom wrote:Give the Just Test Server a try sometime, though Clip's Public Server works too.

Will it be full of admins who are more concerned with controlling your game and bullying you randomly? Please say it isn't, this game is meant to be fun!

As far as I can tell, the admins on those servers shouldn't be bullies. Anybody in these forums care to add to those words if possible?

TheSuperTimelord wrote:I still need someone to test whether they can connect to my server,so if you are bored,feel free to try and connect
76.94.108.200:30000

works!

Inocudom wrote:

Nomis wrote:

Inocudom wrote:Give the Just Test Server a try sometime, though Clip's Public Server works too.

Will it be full of admins who are more concerned with controlling your game and bullying you randomly? Please say it isn't, this game is meant to be fun!

As far as I can tell, the admins on those servers shouldn't be bullies. Anybody in these forums care to add to those words if possible?

Hey guys,
Welcome back Inocudom,

I can attest the Just Test server is a good place to build, however it is far harder to get protection as you will need to mine 9 mese crystals to make a mese block surrounded by stone for one zone. It is worth it as this is a great way to show off your hard work, plus there isn't much eye candy, your choices are simpler. Of course, closer to spawn there is killing and griefing, you just plan accordingly.

I love the challenge it is to build there, plus the monsters are something to talk about, you WILL die if out in the barren landscape. ;-)

I feel badly that you are losing all your hard work on the other server, you should get your privs back in my opinion.

Feel free to join Ethic Rush:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10671

The only rules around building near spawn sites are no cobble boxes and don't build over paths, We also have a policy of trying avoid banning where possible and as such banning is only used in extreme cases.

Regards
crazyR

Nomis, did you actually talk to an admin on Xanadu? TenPlus1 or Titanius? I'm not certain what went on there, but if you haven't already tried communicating directly with them, I think you should. TenPlus1 can be reached on this forum. Might just be a mixup that could be straightened out.

Xanadu seems to have a reputation for irritable moderators. I used to player Redcrab's, and then Silvercrab's, but I don't play Minetest very much now.

Nomis: The rules of the server haven't changed and have always been listed at spawn or near the end of spawn teleport paths... admin will listen to any and all complaints made although arguing with admin could result in privelages being revoked for a time... You were however caught building near spawn area even though rules are clearly posted so this is why your privs were removed...

TenPlus1 wrote:Nomis: The rules of the server haven't changed and have always been listed at spawn or near the end of spawn teleport paths... admin will listen to any and all complaints made although arguing with admin could result in privelages being revoked for a time... You were however caught building near spawn area even though rules are clearly posted so this is why your privs were removed...

Yes they have changed. Spawn is at the centre, my building never occurred there. The green lane and yellow lanes, at last login had buildings far closer to spawn points. This did not, either, make it clear.

Your wording has not been precise, your methodology is idiotic, the admin "I.T. department" ego is unacceptable and I have no intention of coming back on your childish server. I clearly caught someone out and they clearly wanted to pick fault the next moment they could.

Grow the hell up please.

??? Their is no point arguing, your building was right next to spawn and removed so playing the victim will not work, and starting a forum thread after being caught is in itself childish...

TenPlus1 wrote:??? Their is no point arguing, your building was right next to spawn and removed so playing the victim will not work, and starting a forum thread after being caught is in itself childish...

Is it disallowed to build next to spawns?

There has always been the rule of no buildings around spawn. Which includes the big ocean around it and water area behind teleport pads. Nothing confusing here really. The rules are up right in middle of the spawn.

It's quite sad how you can't see your own mistake and start bashing the server and its admins.
My personal experience with Xanadu is nothing but good,
admins are very helpful too :).

IceAgeComing wrote:There has always been the rule of no buildings around spawn. Which includes the big ocean around it and water area behind teleport pads. Nothing confusing here really.

If it's nothing new, then you surely had this problem earlier. It would be better to claim that area, so none could do this mistake again.

Also, I'm not sure if that "dead zone" is clearly defined.

Each server has it own rules, this includes minecraft servers as well. the fact that minetest is a sandbox affects nothing. even non-sandbox games have rules set by the server admins.

Server owners are within their rights to add, change, remove rules as they please. the server machine is their property to do as they wish if you don't like how the server is run feel free to find another to play on or just stick to single player mode.

FWIW I was threatened with being banned for being "zeno2". "zeno" was taken and so was some other similar nick (that has nothing to do with me and will not ever have anything to do with me). I was told "only one account per person". Umm, yes, I only have one account. It's not my fault someone else used my nick.:/

TenPlus1 wrote:??? Their (sic) is no point arguing,"

Of course there is a point. If a person has been unjustly treated (in their opinion) then "argument" is the last recourse.

Zeno wrote:FWIW I was threatened with being banned for being "zeno2".

The problem here is that the admins have a very difficult task. There ARE people who create multiple accounts and use them to misbehave. The admins want to stop this, of course. Sometimes they misidentify duplicate accounts. Because there are jerks who try to abuse the system, the Admins are stuck with the unenviable task of trying to shift the wheat from the chaff. Mistakes are inevitable.

When they happen, I think the best bet is to try and explain, not to get angry. We don't want admins who ignore problems on the servers, so we need to be understanding when they hit a false positive looking for griefers.

Krock wrote:It would be better to claim that area, so none could do this mistake again.

It might be helpful.



I suppose the sign could be clearer, but it does seem to make clear that the water around spawn is forbidden: "Build far away from Spawn Paths and Water"

Kilarin wrote:

Zeno wrote:When they happen, I think the best bet is to try and explain, not to get angry.

I didn't say I got angry ;) I repeatedly said "this is my only account", answered questions and tried to explain. Nobody believed me. I had to send someone a PM here before they did (LOL). I just think that, sometimes, "moderators" jump to a conclusion way too quickly. E.g. A player named "Craig" is the same player named "Cr4ig". Or, in my case, "zeno2" must be a duplicate account because "zeno" is already registered (I wonder why).

And, yes, I know about multiple accounts (I run a server myself)

Zeno wrote:FWIW I was threatened with being banned for being "zeno2". "zeno" was taken and so was some other similar nick (that has nothing to do with me and will not ever have anything to do with me). I was told "only one account per person". Umm, yes, I only have one account. It's not my fault someone else used my nick.:/

TenPlus1 wrote:??? Their (sic) is no point arguing,"

Of course there is a point. If a person has been unjustly treated (in their opinion) then "argument" is the last recourse.

Zeno, I was specifically talking to Nomis about HIS argument... If anyone has a problem on server I'm more than willing to listen and help out if I can...

As for multiple accounts, the server records IP addresses for each player and anyone using multiple nicks on that particular IP...

Servers vary a lot. I've had problems with Xanandu in the past as well - though not as far as beeing banned or anything like that. The server just couldn't offer the amount of protection I desired. My house was partly griefed due to a mis-counting of nodes on my account (the protector mod is not ideal for my buildings), and the moderators and admins where unable and/or unwilling to do anything about it. In the end, we agreed upon removing the house. Expectations just didn't match, and going seperate paths was a better solution. I'm going to re-visit the server eventually for some sightseeing, but I won't build anything anymore.

Quite a lot of players seem to enjoy the server as it's almost always full. Having so many players doesn't make it easy for a moderator - there will always be children who surprisingly sometimes behave as children do - and who's to blame them for that! Still, it does cost nerves and may increase the amount of wrong decisions made.

If you're after a server where your buildings will last, where the goal is to build well and enjoy the buildings of others, go to another server. There are plenty out there! VanessaEs servers (survival, creative, RealTest ), Landrush hosted by OldCoder, Linuxgaming.us, even Redcrabs server come to mind. They all have existed for a long time, are maintained (apart from Redcrabs server - which still runs pretty well with the server owner beeing seen about once in a year...), have capable moderators and some excellent buildings.

There are some excellent builders on Xanandu as well (i.e. IceAgeComing). It sometimes seems to me as if *they* are abusing the Xanandu server - by building excellent on a server whose main purpose is to provide an adventure world :-) Good builders attract other good builders. It might help if a sign could be added at spawn explaining that players who focus on building slightly more complex things might be better off joining another server.

Of course problems and misunderstandings will always happen, everywhere people met. So don't take it too seriously. Just look around, visit diffrent servers, and decide for yourshelf what you like most. And turn map saving on in your client by adding

to your minetest.conf. That way, you may still have a local copy if your favorite server disappeared or something got griefed (well, at least until the moment you join the server, notice the problem, and the new data with the griefed house overwrite your copy...so do not forget to make backups).

Sokomine wrote:and the moderators and admins where unable and/or unwilling to do anything about it.

Titanius has set up this free server using one of his own computers. It's an older computer, and so compromises had to be made in order to make it operate at an efficient speed. It's really quite amazing that Titanius and TenPlus1 have managed to get such good speed out of this old machine. I rarely have any problems with lag there.

One of the compromises was to turn off database backups. This speeds up the server, but means that the admins can not "undo" damage. Its the players responsibility to protect their constructions. And I can live with that just fine.

Sokomine wrote:My house was partly griefed due to a mis-counting of nodes on my account (the protector mod is not ideal for my buildings)

I don't disagree with you that the protector mod requires more work and care, it does. Quite frankly, I would prefer something closer to the areas mod myself. BUT, "requires more work and care" doesn't mean unusable.

There are a LOT of very nice constructions on Xanadu, and they almost never get griefed. The only times I hear anyone on the server complaining about being griefed, it almost always turns out that they didn't put up any protection blocks at all. Once someone explains to them how to use protection blocks, they don't have any problems any more. Occasionally someone miscounts and leaves some small portion of their construction exposed. But the admins are good enough about removing griefers that usually the site never gets attacked anyway. And if it does, the damage is usually small, easily repaired, and an important lesson learned about careful counting and double checking protection. :)

I think Xanadu is a very good server for people who enjoy building large, complex, and beautiful structures. And there are enough large, complex, and beautiful structures on there to convince me that other people feel the same. Scan through the Xanadu thread for some nice examples.

Perhaps, if you come by for a visit some time like you plan, you might be convinced to stay and build stuff with us again. :)

Kilarin wrote:It's an older computer, and so compromises had to be made in order to make it operate at an efficient speed. It's really quite amazing that Titanius and TenPlus1 have managed to get such good speed out of this old machine. I rarely have any problems with lag there.

The Minetest server has surprisingly low hardware requirements :-) It's good to hear that there's no lag. Lag may even occour on high-end machines depending on installed mods and what those mods do. Just screw up a bit in the code, and down it goes regarding performance :-/ I noticed that often enough while writing mg_villages, though bugs there only affected mapgen speed.

Kilarin wrote:One of the compromises was to turn off database backups. This speeds up the server, but means that the admins can not "undo" damage.
Its the players responsibility to protect their constructions. And I can live with that just fine.

It seemed a bit more of a don't-care-attitude to me than just a limitation of the hardware used. Or perhaps desperation due to insufficient means to identify and eliminate these griefers. I can't live with that situation; especially not with a protection mod like the protector mod.

Kilarin wrote:Occasionally someone miscounts and leaves some small portion of their construction exposed. But the admins are good enough about removing griefers that usually the site never gets attacked anyway. And if it does, the damage is usually small, easily repaired, and an important lesson learned about careful counting and double checking protection. :)

It was a bit complicated due to the street along which I built my house beeing protected. Finding places where the protection blocks could be placed without utterly destroying the look of the building was very tricky and led to the mis-count.

It's fine if you can live with that and are happy with building on Xanandu. Just don't expect the same of me. I want to either develop mods, build something nice, or do some sightseeing. Of course there's sometimes need for some pointless digging while watching a movie or listening to something, but that can be done on any server :-) Players just expect diffrent things from servers, and it's very good that there are so many diffrent ones out there.

Kilarin wrote:Perhaps, if you come by for a visit some time like you plan, you might be convinced to stay and build stuff with us again. :)

Hm, no, I don't think I'll start building there again. That'd ultimately just annoy me a lot. But I certainly will enjoy taking a look at all those nice new buildings :-) When I come visiting, I'll be very glad for any guide who'll be willing to point me to these places.

And of course TenPlus1' work on the ethereal mod and other mods is very welcomed and appreciated :-)

Sokomine wrote:Servers ..snip..
Just look around, visit diffrent servers, and decide for yourshelf what you like most. And turn map saving on in your client by adding

Your phone or window isn't wide enough to display the code box. If it's a phone, try rotating it to landscape mode.

Code: Select all

enable_local_map_saving = true


to your minetest.conf. That way, you may still have a local copy if your favorite server disappeared or something got griefed (well, at least until the moment you join the server, notice the problem, and the new data with the griefed house overwrite your copy...so do not forget to make backups).

How does this actually work? I edited the .conf file and added it, but do not see a new map in my worlds folder?

maikerumine wrote:How does this actually work? I edited the .conf file and added it, but do not see a new map in my worlds folder?

You need a recent enough build. Try version 0.4.11 (the current new one). It contains the map-saving feature.

Sokomine wrote:

maikerumine wrote:How does this actually work? I edited the .conf file and added it, but do not see a new map in my worlds folder?

You need a recent enough build. Try version 0.4.11 (the current new one). It contains the map-saving feature.

Thanks, Soko, I was using 4.10. It works now.

TenPlus1 wrote:??? Their is no point arguing, your building was right next to spawn and removed so playing the victim will not work, and starting a forum thread after being caught is in itself childish...

TenPlus1, I've heard WAY too many reports from your server coming from, befe11, dakotalongears, skittle's and my own brother, so that fact worries me, this isn't minecraft, don't turn it into minecraft. I have played on your server, I enjoy the mods and the way they work, I also have chosen not to build anything there so I don't get banned. my username there is Selah_Shadow because my shadowzone account was taken already, but still, I don't want to get banned and ruin it for my WHOLE family.

yours truly shadowzone.