Brooksie10

Hello there.
With Minecraft 1.3.1 out right now (and a Bukkit snapshot to come very soon), we'll be needing to do a bit of re-designing. The AhoyCoin system we currently use is based on using signs to buy and sell items, while 1.3.1 will introduce NPC trading. I'm looking for ideas on how we should best use the new features of 1.3.1 to improve AhoyCoin as well as people who want to be involved in the development.
Samuel and Drake pop into my mind immediately. There may be others, but if you want to help out please say so and I'll involve you from the get-go. We'll concentrate on AhoyForts first (the Fort vs Fort game-type that'll involve two teams gathering resources, surviving and ultimately destroying the opposing fort by sieging it using weak TNT).
As I said, if you are interested say so here and make sure you have an account over at GitHub - that's where all the code will be available. Also if you're interested in learning I'll go through the basics with you, but it'd be a good idea to familiarise yourself with a good Bukkit plugin tutorial so you're not completely alienated!

The server is now up to a stable level. Permissions are working fine, everyone's (from what I can tell) pretty happy with what they can do and we'll be trickling in mods such as WorldEdit and the like in the near future. But there's a game plan - a sustainable end result that's not only enjoyable for creators and survivors alike but should serve to provide exponentially growing entertainment. Here's what we're going to be working towards.
Stage 1



The Idea


Our little world is already full of incredible constructions, from the winter villages in the south to Hogwarts in the north and the sprawling underground metro stretching across the map, there's already a lot of places to go. WorldGuard will soon be introduced, allowing players to control their own segments of the map and assigning build permissions to only those they feel are worthy. You preserve your creations so that others may use them.
The principal is to introduce survival into the mix, using the already-built constructions as safe havens and places to rest and stock up on resources. If you have a castle, think about putting beds there so travellers can sleep, and providing them with farmland and crops to survive. Make your buildings accessible. They may be difficult to find (or maybe even monster-ridden, dead cities with great treasures hidden away), but finding ways rewards them. Maybe a hard-to-find mountain path or an underground tunnel. Be creative and make an experience for the survivors.

Stage 2



Who does what?


Creators will create and survivors will survive. All regulars will have the choice of switching between creative and survival; it is only ordinary players that will be locked to survival. Server settings will mean that there will be more monsters than usual and said monsters will be a lot more vicious. If you, the current regular players, think this is a good idea, there will be a few ethical ground rules. No giving survival players hundreds of pieces of steak, for example. The idea is for them to survive and for their survival to be hard, not for you to impress them with your flying abilities.
Ordinary players can, of course, become creators if seen fit. If they like creating more than they like surviving, that's fine. We'll make them a builder and they can create all they like, making the world even better for the survivors.

Stage 3



What needs doing?


We're already very close to being able to implement this system. All that's needed in a well-managed WorldGuard system and the permissions tweaking and it's done. It's then the extras we can start to worry about.
If it's supposed to be hard to survive, we have to make it harder than Minecraft is by default. As mentioned above, the number and ferocity of the monsters will be increased, but there are other variables to consider. Money, for example.
The recently-implemented metro system provides fast travel to the most significant structures in the world. Let's think of these as cities. Cities could be exciting places where a traveller could purchase weapons, armour and materials. Maybe they could buy seeds to grow on their own farmland, or better materials for defence. Minerals such as diamonds will be hard for the travellers to attain due to the increased amount of monsters, so we will apply significant value to those materials.
Outside of the city, a traveller could strive to make more money to further their homestead. Materials from monsters are highly valuable but dangerous to attain. If everything had a value, we could start implementing a full-scale trading system. A survivor may hear that a village a long travel out of a safe haven may be selling Iron Ingots for a stupidly low price. They've struck a huge vein and can afford to sell it cheap. If the survivor dares to traverse the landscape and find the village, he can buy low and head back to a city to sell high, or simply use the materials for himself.

Stage 4



Your Ideas


Thinking about a project like this gets me really excited about the possibilites. We have a great team of highly skilled builders in this community and could easily create an immersive, interesting world. You can control eco-systems, trading, create dungeons and abandoned towns and villages as well as grand castles that are safe from the outside world.
Chime in with all the ideas you have and whether you think we should go ahead with this plan. If it's a yes, I can't wait to get started.