Minecraft Community: One of our Own Needs Help!

Achievement Get!

We have reached our goal!

Thanks to all of you in the Minecraft Community, we have surpassed our goal of $1375.00 by reaching $1386.00!


I've been asked to leave the donation button up for people who still want to participate. All monies collected will go directly to Mark Cooper to assist in his housing needs, but we have reached our current goal.


Reading Connecticut tenant law, he may still be forced to move, but will be able to pay the arrears, so it should give him 3 months if the rental company decides to still pursue eviction.


I would like to thank every single one of you who Tweeted, Retweeted, posted video, auctioned items, and donated. This community showed its true nature today - a community full of caring individuals.


This is the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and this community has given one of its own a reason to celebrate this year.


Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

=Update #2=

SamCube of WonderCraft is auctioning two prints, one signed by Notch and one signed by Jens, to raise money to donate to Mark's living situation. Check them out here: http://wondercraft.net/?p=2627

=Update #3=

Thanks to SamCube and the folks that we kept the donation button open for, the Minecraft community has raised a total of $2288.68 for Mark's Eviction Fund! Mark has already received the first $1800 (which is enough to pay the back amount, and perhaps the legal fees), and I'll be sending the rest later in the week (waiting to clear eChecks and handle possible reversals, of which we have had a couple).


Thank you all for opening your hearts (and wallets!) this holiday season for one of our own!


See Mark's response here: http://astragali.efx3.com/2011/11/24/mind-utterly-blown-and-then-some/

-Original Blog Post-

It's Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and most of us will be sitting down to a meal with family today. While we do this, and give thanks for what we have received in the past year, one of our community members is facing eviction.

Mark Cooper, known as Astragali, The Minecraft Scribe has provided a source of information and humor to the Minecraft community on his blog since February 2011. He is the English language translator for SamCube's Wondercraft, responsible for vetting contributions to The Shaft Podcast (where he has appeared as a guest as well), is a player in The Unholy Triumvirate's Minecraft a Trois LP/gameplay series; has appeared as a guest/done voice work on the Pretzelcast, The Half-Bakes, Chick with a Pick, and much more.


Unbeknownst to most of us (because who likes talking about the bad stuff?) Astra lost his job late in the summer, after having his hours cut to so few that it was unsustainable. After a couple weeks, he was able to obtain another job, but the damage was done - between the cut hours and weeks with no pay, he was in the hole to the rental company. Of course, he went to the landlord and arranged to pay the back rent - since he was now working again, this was no problem, right? At the time, the rental company was absolutely fine with this.


Apparently, not any more. When he came home last night, the rental company had posted an eviction notice. The only way Mark can keep his housing is to come up with $1375.00 by the court date, which, at this time, we don't know when it is (but we can speculate between 10-30 days.). Unfortunately, this amount is impossible for him.


After finding out, friends burned up the Twitter main (and DM's) last night, looking for solutions. This is what we came up with:

So this is what I'm asking: please donate to keep a roof over Mark's head.


Please help if you can. I know some of you have been to Minecon, and are strapped. I know that it's the holiday season and you have to do things for your family. I know the economy is bad.


But please, if you only have a dollar or two, please, please donate. Use the Paypal donation button below.


Donate to help someone who has provided the community with information, humor, friendship, and joy.


Everything donated will go directly to dealing with Mark Cooper's housing needs.


Thank you, Minecraft Community!

Tales of a Minecraft Server Noob, Part 3: Claiming Sanctuary

So there I was on the Pretz, working away for my first Ninja Decorators client, when I began to hear whispers across the Twitterverse about something called “Sanctuary”. Reportedly a server where you could build some awesome stuff, where you were actually asked if you wanted either vanilla or builder/creative status right at the start-amazing! I was led by Astragali to the MinecraftGeek, who linked me to his whitelist application, where all I had to do was tell him who I was, along with my favourite type of cheese, and voila! I was in.

Spawn was set on the top of a gorgeous tower from which you had to take a “leap of faith” to reach the bottom. Stepping outside, you found a beautifully manicured small city, outside of which rested the 'Geeks jail and (gasp) Execution Chamber. Traveling further outwards, you'll cross a rail line that seems to extend from horizon to horizon, and just a bit past THAT, a creepy, ruined house. If you venture inside, you will find a very interesting tomb that leads to a VERY interesting, five level dungeon. That dungeon, in turn, leads to a Nether portal, and all this dungeon-y goodness was created by the Geek himself.

Further out from this was Astra's house, where I took a little breather to get oriented before moving on to find a home of my own. On our way out the door, we were jumped by spiders, and learned by Astra's swift demise at my hands that PVP was enabled (I would make much use of this later-Astra got used to being arrowed in the butt.). I trekked on, ever outwards, and found a cozy little cave to call home, where I started to build a huge crow in the sky...but I ended up struggling with the location in terms of building my home. It just didn't seem to fit, no matter how I worked at it. Seeing my frustration, Astra suggested wolf hunting as a bit of a break, so off we went.

You brought them home, YOU clean up after them!

We found very few wolves, but we found HAVEN.

You know those places in Minecraft that are simply gorgeous, that are breathtakingly beautiful, that make you stop and gape at the landscape for minutes? Haven was all this AND a bag of chips: pools of water, stunning outcrops, thick trees, secret grottoes, an amazing aerial archway, and potholed with caverns as far as the eye could see. THIS was a site that dreams were made of.

Haven, Pre-Construction

So I turned to Astra and said, “Wanna build a house?”

That “house” ended up being the complex that is Haven. The main house of sandstone and glass, capturing the sunrise, complete with a balcony covering most of the first floor, embedded into the rock wall of one side of the enormous archway. It connects to the main entrance by a suspended walkway, which hovers over the twin pools at the heart of the site (pools which are perfect for plunging into, if you have fly mod...which never gets old, btw!). Flanking the main house to the left is the Administration building, which sports a staircase leading to The Minecraft Scribe's office as well as leading to the meandering path down to the tiny town made entirely of tree-houses. The Ninja Decorators office is located in an outcrop at the back of the site, and my crow, moved from his previous home (yes, I built it TWICE) spreads his wings in flight above the site.

The Main Complex at Haven, Sunset

Main Floor, Dining Area-Cake for everyone!

The Crow spreads its wings over Haven.

Haven is home, and I love it dearly.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. By the time you read this, Sanctuary will be gone forever, existing only as a single-player map. The server will go down on October 20^th, never to return. Once again, I am bereft of a home, and though I can visit any time I wish in single-player, it just isn't the same.

Thank you, my dear MinecraftGeek, for allowing me the pleasure of unleashing my creativity in your playground. It was a glorious experience while it lasted.

The MinecraftGeek unleashes the Endermen to dismantle Sanctuary. *sniffle*

Sanctuary is dead. Long Live Sanctuary!

Requiem by The Eagles: The Last Resort

Being Broken

I'm a broken girl. Most of you know that. Pain is life, and life is pain. I've basically got a broken back. I'm pretty much bedridden. Those who didn't know, well, there it is. Every once in a great while, I get to remember what I was, and it's a great dichotomy: what I was, and what I am.

I got some shots today.

These shots always make me feel invincible, they make me remember how I was, and forget how I am. How I'm broken, how much I've lost-that's reality.

I get to escape, if only for a few hours. I get to remember, if only for awhile, how I used to be.

If only for a few hours, I get to return to myself:

Intelligent, attractive, in control, logical, alluring, ready and able for anything. Able to follow any whim, no matter how outrageous; able to sing, discourse, create, react, play. Able to be NORMAL.

Able to actually leave my house, to get up out of bed, to DO.

Just to be ABLE.

After those few hours, coming down is a huge crash. The pain comes back, always. The limitations come back, always.

I realize how much I miss myself. And I realize how much I've had to change, to accept, to adjust over these last few years.

How much I HATE it.

Such is life.

And it sucks.

I wouldn't give up those hours of ability for anything. No matter how many mental gymnastics I have to do afterward.

Not. For. Anything.

/endPityParty

Thanks for bearing with me-this shit doesn't last for long, thank goodness. Mental equilibrium will be restored with liberal application of common sense and meditation.

That Evil Genius Laughter

Early this morning, I woke up from a vivid dream of being chased by a man in a dress, sporting a snappy pair of red high heels. And he hadn't been alone. Coffee first, then explanation.

Surprisingly, he can run in those heels!

<cue veritable inhalation of copious amounts of coffee due to being awake all night playing Minecraft>

Last night was the fourth incarnation of Capture The Record. The guy in the dress? Astragali, due to a tweeted quip from a friend about how “Astra's (theoretical) dress” would hamper his gameplay. Of course, that meant I had to design him a Minecraft dress, complete with those sexy high heels. That he hadn't been alone? Those other folks would be the complement of Team Gold...except the ones with the swords. THEY were the Green Team, hell-bent on our destruction.

We Haz Highbrow Covered: Evil Genius Artwork, Titled "Green Sucks"

Funny how something you've been planning for a few weeks can become part of your dreams so readily, and my dreams had a lot of fodder after last night's event. We were a team full of Evil Geniuses, complete with Patented Evil Genius Laughter (demonstrated willing and enthusiastically several times over the course of the game) and with the typical Evil Genius Laboratory (aka The Pretzelcast server) to perform our Evil Genius Experiments (testing devious gameplay strategy). We had Evil Genius brainstorming sessions, complete with spreadsheets, flow charts and Google docs. There were Evil Genius hashtags and taunts flying across the Twitterverse for two straight weeks. And did I mention that Astra was wearing a dress? Low cut down the back and with flowers in his hair? Oh, yeah-I did. Right-must need more coffee.

We. Were. READY.

We built Evil Genius contraptions, designed fiendish Evil Genius traps, had an Evil Genius secret hideout...and an Evil Genius hot tub. After five hours of preparation, we armed for battle appropriately, in white, lab-coat-like iron armor. Lightning crackled in the Minecraft sky. We flew at the opposing team, and like Evil Geniuses, we DOMINATED. We got so much loot from the opposing team that we ran out of storage chests. TWICE.

The Evil Geniuses relax in the hot tub as Mirosta explains the facts of life...

But we didn't win.

We didn't lose, either.

The game ended at a draw, the first Spawn CTR game to ever have done so. At the end of the two-hour PVP time, neither team had discovered the other team's record. Both teams had missed by miles. We Evil Geniuses of Team Gold had hidden ours in a layer cake of falling blocks, burning lava and running water, where the chests themselves went totally undiscovered by the opposition. We found later that Team Green had hidden theirs in a suspended lava cube, which we had duly ignored. When the search began, SeriousCreeper said, “No-one ever hides anything up there” to which Green Team Captain stahscream later responded “One had our record, the others were full of lava”. At that point, I chimed in with “We were going to do that, but decided not to because I thought it was too mean!” (I'd better watch it, I'll lose my Evil Genius Union card!)

The Evil (floor)Plan

My personal high point was, after getting killed well over 50 times while playing CTR 3, I only died ONCE in CTR 4. This was at the hands of RPGamer99, who said, “I was putting you out, you were on fire!” Indeed I was, but he didn't have to help THAT hard!

Relaxing for pictures before killing the monument with fire.

And Astra looked REALLY good in a dress. Those high heels didn't hurt his running ability one bit.

<Evil Genius Laughter to Fadeout>

Capture The Record 4 Tomorrow: BE THERE!

Come watch two teams of Spawncampers and friends battle it out in the 4^th incarnation of Minecraft Capture the Record!

Date:        Saturday, October 1^st, 2011

Time:        9PM GMT/5PM EST

Version:    1.7.3

Livestreaming provided by:

Gold Team, SeriousCreeper: http://www.twitch.tv/SeriousCreeper

Green Team, RPGamer99: http://www.twitch.tv/rpgamer99

Teams are as follows:

Team Gold

• Captain: thecrystalcrow
• ashrossy 
• Uruz
• SeriousCreeper
• MinecraftTeachr 
• xwcg
• makefile
• Astragali
• heronmarkedblade
• xelatyper 
• Gleeson9
• Nak3d

Team Green

• Captain: stahscream 
• alefnull
• jessartisan
• Bethness
• kalennighteyes
• RPGamer99
• ZeImperialistic
• Gingernator666
• Mirosta
• Teddanator
• Bar_Barian 
• ethancherry

There are many, many people who applied for the waiting list. I'm sorry we could not accommodate everyone, since server spots are limited. I would have loved to play with all of you!

Special Thanks To:

SeriousCreeper and RPGamer99, for taking on the Livestream.

Mirosta, the creator of the CTR Bukkit plugin, for going above and beyond helping us with setup and bugfixes-you totally RAWK.

Our playtesters, RPGamer99 and Astragali, the Minecraft Scribe for their patience, humor and mastery of WorldEdit.

ZeImperialistc and alefnull, for Mumble setup and moderation.


The Shaft Podcast, for the timely plug.

Special thanks to ashrossy for hosting the server, and stahscream for asking, “Is anyone interested in doing another CTR?” Without you two, this wouldn't be happening!

See you all Saturday!

Bring it ON, Baby! CTR 4 Update

Minecraft Capture the Record 4 UPDATE!

We've gotten everything finalized, so here it is. Players will get an email with further details.

Bring your “A” Game!

Date:         Saturday, October 1^st, 2011

Time:        Assembly 4-4:30 PM EST, 9-9:30 PM GMT

                 Gameplay Begins 5 PM EST, 10 PM GMT

Version:    Minecraft 1.7.3

As usual, build time is 5 hours, after which PVP will begin! The winning team is the first to uncover the opposing team's record and play it in the jukebox.

Time Converter is here: http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc Please check your own time zone to determine your personal start time.

CTR Rules are here: http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/ctr/#w-capture-the-record-rules

Additional Rules:

• No Deliberate Spawn Camping
• No Use of Lava at Opposing Team's Spawn

Download a fresh Minecraft 1.7.3 .jar file here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/z6yedjcd69b13xn/minecraft.jar

Or use Minecraft Version Switcher here: http://digiex.net/minecraft/mcvtool/

Mumble server will be provided by The Spawn: http://www.thespawn.net/ and alefnull and ZeImperialistic_ have kindly offered to moderate. Only players will be able to access their respective rooms.

Players have been divided into teams of Green and Gold. If you like, you may change your skin to match your team, but it is not mandatory. We will be testing a plugin that will change helmet color to match the teams, and will let you know if/when it works.

stahscream's Green Team Shirt

RPGamer99 has thoughtfully offered to Livestream here at TwitchTV: http://www.twitch.tv/rpgamer99 , so tune in and you can watch us battle there! (No watching the opposing team's stream, folks!) He's on the Green Team (my opposition!) so if any of you Gold team folks would like to stream our side, please let me know.

Players will receive an email with team designations, IP address and stress testing invite closer to the date of the event, so look to your inboxes and stay tuned to this spot. Gold Team members, put on your Evil Genius hats and email me back with ideas! (Sneaky crow is sneaky!)

Ah, well, in the interest of fairness I suppose Green Team members can DM @stahscream on Twitter with your own evil plots. XD

Bring It, 'Cause Minecraft Capture the Record 4 is ON, Baby!

These things start so simply-a tweet from stahscream asking who wanted to play another Capture the Record (or CTR), with SudoRossy and I chiming in. As much as Minecraft is self-directed, I could use a little purposeful, goal-oriented play once in awhile. A few hours later, our meeting of the minds became:

Capture The Record 4

..and we were off. Here are the details we have so far:

Date:        Saturday, October 1^st, 2011

Time:       TBA

Version:   1.7.3

Voice chat capability is MANDATORY! At this point we will probably be using Mumble. Details will be provided via email.

As noted above, we will be playing Minecraft version 1.7.3. If players need a fresh .jar file, a Mediafire link will be provided in a follow-up email. (Thanks to Deaboy for the .jar!)

The server is whitelisted, and the IP will be given out the day of the event via email.

CTR rules are here: http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/ctr/pages/rules/

We have discussed some additional things, and all additional information will be sent out via email at a later date. We are planning on Livestreaming, and are looking for someone interested/capable of doing so.

There are a few slots still open on the waiting list, so if you wish to play, please leave a comment here with your Twitter name, Minecraft IGN and email address. If you've already heard from me, I've already got you on the list.

Note: Excessive pestering (unless highly creative) will not get you a place on the teams, nor will bribery (I like champagne, cheesecake, and long walks on the beach, btw), so forget about trying. :D