It's time for a new communal build! We've recently mostly-finished work on the Nether Hub, and there are a few things still in the pipeline but it works and it's a good mostly-safe place to meet in the middle. The next thing on the list is an in-game voting system, and in order to distribute voting books we need a decent post office.
The last build was a sort of chaotically managed group effort, with people chipping in as much work and materials as they could or wanted to. It's time to try something more structured and with clear boundaries and rules, for those who work that way.
The Post Office is very vague, but here's what we know so far:
The contest starts now, and will be judged by vote. The build period will end two weeks from today, at noon UTC/GMT on Saturday 13th February 2016. (Time zone converter.)
Here are the criteria:
Here's how it's going to go down:
The last build was a sort of chaotically managed group effort, with people chipping in as much work and materials as they could or wanted to. It's time to try something more structured and with clear boundaries and rules, for those who work that way.
The Post Office is very vague, but here's what we know so far:
- It may be far from the centre of the map, but it'll be linked via two-way teleport to the hub in Subzero, which is right at the centre of the map and very close to spawn.
- It will be used for secure distribution of voting cards for votes.
- It will not be a place to express yourself - that's what the allotments are for. The Post Office is for functionality, dropping off messages (in written books) and goods quickly and easily.
The contest starts now, and will be judged by vote. The build period will end two weeks from today, at noon UTC/GMT on Saturday 13th February 2016. (Time zone converter.)
Here are the criteria:
- The Post Office must be demonstrably mob-proof and sufficiently lit.
- Bear in mind that some decorations and materials may be over-stimulating for some players.
- The Post Office must be easily securable using GriefPrevention; post/mail should not be accessible by players other than the person whose postbox it is.
- No player should be required to make subclaims.
- Reminder that top level claims can be as small as 2x2.
- The Post Office should be easily extendable, and at a reasonably low cost in terms of materials and time spent obtaining them, should the player base increase such that this is required.
- There must be a single place inside the Post Office, in a central or accessible location, for players to teleport in and out.
- There must be a way to label or mark postboxes with each player's name.
- The project should be self-sufficient after being built, with minimal involvement required from a project manager or admin.
- There should be an information wall with signs informing people of at least the following information (feel free to paraphrase and rearrange):
- It's a communal post office for giving stuff to other players.
- You can claim any available postbox by adding a sign with at least your playername on it; secure it with GriefPrevention. [Make sure that players can do this without having to ask for help from another player; instructions may be required.]
- GriefPrevention claims expire after 180 days.
- If you don't log in for over a year, your postbox may be emptied and claimed by someone else unless you indicate that you may be away for a while with signs on your postbox.
- If you lose access to Minecraft in such a way that you can't place that sign, contact Cassolotl (lotte dot lodge at gmail dot com); they will make sure your postbox is protected.
- If you find a postbox with a sign on it that is not claimed by GriefPrevention and you would like to move in, first type "/seen playername" to find out when that person last logged in. You can only claim a postbox if the owner hasn't logged in for over a year and has not indicated that they will be back. Then contact Cassolotl (lotte dot lodge at gmail dot com) to let them know that you're claiming an abandoned postbox.
Here's how it's going to go down:
- Designs may be submitted by individuals or by teams.
- One submission per player or team; no updates allowed. Your submission is final.
- A player may submit as an individual, and also as a member of a team.
- Participants are encouraged to share co-ordinates before they submit if they want to get feedback on their builds and make sure that their designs are accessible, etc. However, secret builds are also fine!
- Before the deadline, submit your design to the Telegram group or to Cassolotl by email. Your submission should include:
- Screenshots of your build in the default resource pack.
- Co-ordinates so that people can visit and test it out a bit.
- A few details on how it will be built. Will the winner build it alone, or with assistance from volunteers? How will the materials be obtained? Will the winner use the prototype they made for the contest, or start from scratch in a better location?
- Players will have three days following the deadline to discuss the merits of the various submissions, ending at noon 16th February.
- During these three days, anyone who wants to vote should ask Cassolotl for a vote card (or vote cards).
- Participants are allowed to vote, and can vote for their own submissions.
- Players will have 24 hours starting noon 16th February to vote for their favourite post office designs. Voting will be in a specially made voting booth. It will be anonymous to all, including the vote counter.
- If there are two entries, players will be given one voting book each. If there are more than two entries, players will be given two voting books each, allowing them to vote for their two favourite designs or to vote for one design twice.
- Shortly after noon on 17th February UTC/GMT, the vote counter will count the votes and announce the winner. The winner will be announced both in the Telegram group and in a blog post here.
- The winner will have one week to produce a working post office. This deadline can be extended by request.
- Should the winner not be able to ensure production of their post office, the person who came second place will be asked to produce their post office instead.