Xanadu Server

[DuDraig]

It would appear that the baby critter bug is now fixed. I could approach my sheep pen, right-click to replace the old sheep, feed them and make babies, and all without the server crashing.

Thanks for your work on this.

However, all of my cows are now gone. I believe the sheep may now be secretly carnivorous.

[firefox]

cows are very likely to be killed by other players for their leather.
if protection of tamed animals was not included in the last update, you better frame your cows with obsidian glass.

oh, and there are also those people who just kill everything in sight.
they even try to attack other players, even though PvP is not possible...
only Ninja Kittens or a DeathNote can help in this situation.

[DuDraig]

cows are very likely to be killed by other players for their leather.
if protection of tamed animals was not included in the last update, you better frame your cows with obsidian glass.

Yes, I am aware of ranch griefing. However, I am fairly remote from everyone and the cattle disappearence exactly coincided with the baby critter update.

oh, and there are also those people who just kill everything in sight.
they even try to attack other players, even though PvP is not possible...
only Ninja Kittens or a DeathNote can help in this situation.

Now, now... Everyone knows about the secret Xanadu genetic experiments on critters that have created the current infestation of Lava Monsters, Dungeon Masters, and Mortally Cute Bunnies that make life so challenging and dangerous.

Obviously the last update accidentally released several varieties of mutated sheep:

• Zombie sheep that have a jaundiced yellow color and stand stock still to lure in your brains.
• Carnivorous phasing sheep that can pass through solid walls and fences to eat your cattle and anything else they catch unawares.
• Flying sheep that can provide air support to these invading hordes of mutated sheep.

My preferred defense is Vorpal Bunnies (a la Monty Python) that can actually be made in Xanadu.

[Sokomine]

Obviously the last update accidentally released several varieties of mutated sheep:

Zombie sheep that have a jaundiced yellow color and stand stock still to lure in your brains.
Carnivorous phasing sheep that can pass through solid walls and fences to eat your cattle and anything else they catch unawares.
Flying sheep that can provide air support to these invading hordes of mutated sheep.

Horrible! And all these mutated sheep are allowed to roam free? We neet a quarantaine zone for them! :-)

[gmaxwell]

Is the server down for everyone, or just for me?

(While I'm commenting is there a preferred venue for noobs to ask silly questions? I feel bad spamming the in game chat and try to limit myself to one stupid question per day or two.)

[iska]

Hey gmaxwell, I think server is down again.
And dont hesitate to ask in game chat, there's so much nonsense going that questions are welcome. :)

[BlueFireIceUn]

What is the update who will add the server cause the down?

[TenPlus1]

Server was down due to maintenance and the memory leak problem getting worse in the minetest binary... We cleared objects and tidies much of the code to show errors when something goes wrong although the mods arent to fault, it really is the minetest game itself... <fingers crossed> devs figure this out before 0.4.13 release... We did however update to the latest daily build which is more verbose when an error occurs...

[Kilarin]

Minetest is crashing every single time I try to connect to Xanadu this evening. I can still connect to "just test". I updated to the latest dev release this morning.
So, is it just me or is anyone else experiencing the problem?

[4aiman]

Despite TenPlus1 has warned me about HUDs problem in Magichet client, I was able to connect to Xanadu using that.
Magichet uses dev Minetest and was updated to the latest ~a week ago.

Hope that'll help to find MT version that won't crash.

PS: any logs available?

[Kilarin]

I can connect this morning. so, all is well again!

[4aiman]

Glad to hear! :)

[TenPlus1]

Xanadu server now uses wuzzy's hudbars for player hunger and health, they are also scalable with the player's own GUI size so should adapt to any screen from phones up to 4k tv's :)

[Xanthin]

That's how the hudbars are displayed for me with the usual default scale settings (1.0) and a screen resolution of 1440x900

+ Spoiler

GUI scaling only adjusts the text size (for me).

+ Spoiler

HUD scaling let the bars matching the text again but also increases their size, as well as the size of the hotbar, so its much more prominent displayed at the screen (what I would like to avoid).

+ Spoiler

Is there any other method I can try to get the hudbars matching the text again without increasing the size of the hotbar?

[TenPlus1]

Tonights update will still use hudbars but revert back to the old hearts/bread style we were use to that can still be scaled without text :) also a few lagg issues fixed also...

[4aiman]

The thing is, HUD-scaling is *different* for different OSes.
For me those are:
1.0 = Android
0.7 - Linux (Debian)
0.9 - Windows
But that would depend on DPI, I guess.

Xanadu's HUDS work just fine for *any* of my Linux-driven devices/PCs, though. (Linux & Windows)

[TenPlus1]

On most desktop or laptop systems the hud scaling works fine but the text displays funny on certain android devices and apple products that run the Oooooooold minetest... This is why I'm switching to the goodl old bread and hearts meters we used before as those can be scaled without any trouble...

[4aiman]

Actually, there are troubles with those too.
Even old hearts and breads can be treated wrongly depending on MT build and the HW/OS features.

I've a good testing field thanks to my job (~200 PC+notebooks) and can say that HUD scaling depends on OpenGL version and VCard capabilities. It is also important to check the drivers version if we are to speak about Windows XP and Windows 7 (Win8 x64 works just fine in terms of HUD scaling).



I like how you did the HUDs, Ten.

So, instead of reverting to the old way of displaying those,
I'd suggest a slight raise of the minimal protocol version.

IIRC it is set to 13 while current protocol is of version 26.
I think that the version 20 is a reasonable value for min proto.

Just disconnect people and tell them to update their Minetest (Maybe even give them a link? Although it's not possible to click it...).

[TenPlus1]

4aiman, thing is a few users have minetest 0.4.12 on android and it has text issues already, but for now I'm reverting to the good old classic until 0.4.13 is out and THEN I can force updates...

[4aiman]

That was only a suggestion :)

Didn't know about Android users on Xanadu.

BTW, I've found rather difficult to fight using Android client.
Does your server have some android-specific ways to negate the absence of HW controls?

[TenPlus1]

Server is running latest daily build for linux, controls are default...

[4aiman]

What I meant was "are there any mods on your server which detect Android-powered clients and make their life a bit easier?" ^_^

[TenPlus1]

Sadly no, many of the formspecs on server are tailored to work on pc and android devices though, but nothing specific for each...

[BlueFireIceUn]

How post screenshots?

[TenPlus1]

Use an image host site like tinypic.com or imgur.com to upload your screenshot and they will supply the web link or [img] link to post below your text...

[mystik]

I recently discovered that PvP was turned on on Xanadu, with protection from PvP only available on spawn and on areas that you yourself have placed protection blocks, and wanted to offer my humble opinion on the matter.

I've heard some some players claiming the server is "too easy" without PvP. -- I wholly dispute this. PvP tips the balance of power way to far towards established players, and throwaway troll accounts to harass other players. New players, not only new to xanadu, but new to Minetest in general, have a hard enough time getting established, as they deal with hunger & hostile mobs. Now they have to more quickly figure out how to get protection blocks, or get armored, or get bags, and chests on top of everything else they have to discover and learn.

Additionally it's bad enough that mods have to intervene in the petty fights that plague the less mature players. I believe that handing those same players the power to kill another player and loot them will make those fights more intense, and require more mod intervention.

I think one of the most compelling features of Xanadu is the balance of the game, which Ten has carefully managed. It's not a fast paced server, where you always have to be on your guard, there's lots of beautiful terrain and builds to discover and explore, and try your hand at building yourself. There's also just enough to keep track of in terms of character maintenance, such as health, hunger, armaments, mobs etc. I think that PvP makes it far too difficult for players in the early game.

I would like to propose a return to the previous PvP state, and as a compromise, introduce a new block that activates PvP in the same size area as existing protection blocks. I think the Minigames that are occasionally hosted make for a great model, and with a 'PvP' block, we can have bounded off areas where player kills are welcome and supported. I think that this will add a new build aspect -- players can build terrains and fields where folks can host skirmishes, perhaps in groups, and PvP with each other.

When I was an early player, I appreciated that I had the power to control my own risk. I avoided subterranean and other dark areas till I had learned the ropes and was ready to take and engage in those risks. With PvP -- early players need to be in high-risk mode all the time, and I don't think that's what a server like Xanadu is about.

As always, I appreciate the work the server admins + devs put in to keep the server going.

[gmaxwell]

I would like to propose a return to the previous PvP state, and as a compromise, introduce a new block that activates PvP in the same size area as existing protection blocks.

How do you propose handling trolls that just drop one of these blocks the moment they want to trouble someone?

I wonder if your concerns couldn't be addressed by simply expanding the spawn like protection to a wider area that incubates new users, without opening the problem I suggested above.

I have no interest in PVP generally, but there have been some people that entered the area I was building in seemingly just to antagonize me, being able to boot them by causing them damage sounds helpful (but it hasn't come up yet).


While I'm posting-- is there any possibility for there to be a regular dump of barter box data-- trade conditions, supply, and location? Perhaps just of barter boxes just in certain regions or ones with a "public" setting on the box (in order to avoid disclosing cleverly hidden ones)? Right now barter boxes are often sold out and it can take an awful lot of work to just find ones with a supply. Prices are also sometimes crazy inconsistent, and people sometimes unintentionally set up wild arbitration games (which probably contributes to boxes frequently being sold out), having some more market transparency would help. A public supply list would also make it possible to construct email alerts that go out when your boxes run low.

I'm sad to lose the new HUD, having numbers was super useful since I knew exactly what to eat to get from x to y from the numbers.

[mystik]

I would like to propose a return to the previous PvP state, and as a compromise, introduce a new block that activates PvP in the same size area as existing protection blocks.

How do you propose handling trolls that just drop one of these blocks the moment they want to trouble someone?

It could be mitigated by making the PvP block hard to craft (ie, needs advanced items)

I wonder if your concerns couldn't be addressed by simply expanding the spawn like protection to a wider area that incubates new users, without opening the problem I suggested above.

I have no interest in PVP generally, but there have been some people that entered the area I was building in seemingly just to antagonize me, being able to boot them by causing them damage sounds helpful (but it hasn't come up yet).

Perhaps, but it'd have to be a large + deep enough area that new players could establish a base, and acquire resources to build themselves up.

While I'm posting-- is there any possibility for there to be a regular dump of barter box data-- trade conditions, supply, and location? Perhaps just of barter boxes just in certain regions or ones with a "public" setting on the box (in order to avoid disclosing cleverly hidden ones)? Right now barter boxes are often sold out and it can take an awful lot of work to just find ones with a supply. Prices are also sometimes crazy inconsistent, and people sometimes unintentionally set up wild arbitration games (which probably contributes to boxes frequently being sold out), having some more market transparency would help. A public supply list would also make it possible to construct email alerts that go out when your boxes run low.

This has been an annoyance for me too -- I've tried to address as best as I personally can by keeping my shops well stocked. me2 also has an excellent shop (through the iron stargate on the green path), with a lot of raw materials. I understand he uses a spreadsheet he maintains offline to value things as well. My shop is slightly closer to spawn than his shop, but I try to use his prices as guidelines for mine. (I don't want folks just carting my stuff to his shop :))

Having a public price list would equal out the market, but there some variation based on convenience (how far from spawn is the shop, etc). The current variability makes it possible to take advantage of arbitrage -- you can just buy from the shop exchanging low, and sell to the shop exchanging high, and pocket the difference.

I've considered a 'commodities market' mod, that functions similar to an actual public exchange, where folks can issue buy/sell orders, or even take positions if they need to acquire a lot of certain blocks for their builds. (With the effects of supply/demand on the price). With all the shops controlled by this market database, such a list would be easy to produce.

If nothing else, it'd make for a fun 'playground' market, especially if the mechanics of a real market could be made to fit inside of Minetest.

Regarding shops on xanadu, If you find an abandoned shop area, and the player hasn't signed on in 6+ months, the admins may entertain a takeover, especially if you ask nicely.

[TenPlus1]

Ya know, having a PVP on block sounds like a good idea and I'll definitely look into that...

The HUD was changed to the old-style again as fonts wouldn't scale properly on all setups, mostly android devices...

If you find a protected area owned by a player who was banned or hasn't been online for 6 months or more let me know, we host Wrecking Crews where players get to remove the builds after I take out protection :)

[Kelena]

What about an admin pvp block? That way only admins can add arenas or something like that and trolls won't be able to attack everybody everywhere?