2016-04-09 20:55:00 +0000 UTC by IdahoSciGuy
Hey all you minecraftians and avatar people! Idaho here with a (slightly late) Weekly Soon packed full of delicious nutrition information about what's on the horizon!
New Builds!
Our builders have been hard at work building all over the avatar world, and some of their creations are about to hit the live server! The first 3 week build sprint is nearing completion, and this time the focus has been on the Southern Water Tribe! Builders have been hard at work pumping out sections of the city, including a shipping yeard, and the grounds for our favorite spirit festival! The whole city isn't complete by any means, as it will take a few sprints to really get close to accomplishing that, thought it's safe to say this sprint was definitely productive! Make sure to check out all the cool new additions!
Also making an appearance is a redesigned Kyoshi Island! If you think the island looks different, you would be right! The entire island has been reworked from the ground up! It has been completely re-terraformed, and is ready for the finer details to be put in place. Look forward to more from the home of the Kyoshi Warriors coming soon!
New Bending!
The bending testers are hard at work testing all the new moves for our April update, and the feedback has been overwhelming! Most of the moves have been designed and rolled out to testers on the bending server, and everyday more information is gathered to help the balancing act that is move generation. We are hoping to push these moves to the live server next week, so keep your eyes peeled for more information in the next weekly soon!
Bending Changes
Along with introducing new moves for testing, we have been hard at work continuing to balance what we currently have out there. This week, we have been taking a hard look at a few moves in particular.-Firejet: Firejet will now be able to be toggled! With our latest change, firejet can now be turned off at will, increasing its maneuverability. However, energy will be drained during use, as well as on a start-up cost. Make sure to use it wisely in battle, or you may end up dry of energy! Our friendly neighborhood grangyman has even given us a gif that shows the toggling in action:http://gfycat.com/FaroffOpulentAnchovy-Flameshot: We've been looking at a rebalance for FlameShot, since currently it's extremely spammy while dealing high damage. Currently we're testing a cooldown increase, allowing it to retain the damage it currently has, but reducing its spamminess. This should make it much more competitive with the other bending types at the moment!-PebbleGatlingGun: As of right now, PebbleGatlingGun is probably the least used Earth move, and we want to change that. We're looking into ways to improve functionality without making it completely overpowered, so stay tuned for further details!
Plugin Additions
We’ve added a new plugin to the server! As many of you who have sought out the tea leaves in Ba SIng Se have seen, our minecart plugin is now functional! With this, you can get around the rings of Ba SIng Se faster than news of the death of the Earth Queen (may she rest in peace)! You can try it out for yourself near the global travel node in Ba SIng Se’s Middle Ring!
Known Issues
One thing that has been brought to our attention is an issue involving saplings not growing. We are taking a hard look at the issue and will hope to have a fix out soon. Thank you for your patience! Remember, if you notice a bug on the server, dont hesitate to message us! We'll start looking at it as soon as we can!
Phew! That was one heck of an update! See you all next week, Idaho out!
2016-04-01 18:52:00 +0000 UTC by Luxsidus
Hey there, happy April Fools and welcome back to an almost Weekly Soon™!
I'm glad I was released from the re-educational facility so I could do this fancy little update for you guys out there. So let's start shall we?
The last few weeks the Build Team has had its first taste of working in a more flexible way. This is called the Scrum Model and the programmers among you might know about this. It is of course an idea as proposed by our lord and coder Killme, and with it we have made nice progress in the icy south.
We've also squashed some bugs in the meantime:
- Fixed bug where the fast travel map got cleared when another player entered the fast travel location fixed
- Included the "/ft global | local | all" commands so you can filter hte nearest fast travel nodes by type
- Some naughty rendering issues fixed
- Resolved issues with the way NPC's looked
Now this week's issue is not one with the long changelogs as usual, but there is one other thing worth mentioning. We will be rewriting the rules.
A lot of feedback has come in from the community about rules since the server started and we ourselves have seen things in need for adjustment as time went by. The difference now is that a lot more need for sudden changes to the rules have been proposed by both staff and players. We'll give more information on this as we continue reworking the rules, so stay tuned for more.
That's all for this week, or rather 2 weeks. Expect a new Weekly in a week, or two, given I won't be invited to Lake Laogai. Take care and good luck to all staff members and have fun to all players!
2016-03-25 23:27:00 +0000 UTC by IdahoSciGuy
Hey you guys! Idaho here with some awesome news for all you tea leaf hunters out there: ITS MAZE WEEKEND! Bwake_, mod and hated beloved tea leaf master has been hard at work crafting obstacle courses and brainstorming all the different ways he can make players rage quit exciting mazes for the tea leaf, and we are happy to say that time has come! Starting on friday, and following for the next three days, a new maze will pop up with a new challenge and at a new location!
- Friday: United Nations Library, Ba Sing Se Catacombs
- Saturday: Training Tower, Eastern Air Temple
- Sunday: The Firesage Challenge, Fire Nation Capital
You will have to bring your “A” game to all three of these challenges! Traverse the Old Manuscripts of the United Nations Library deep in the catacombs of Ba SIng Se! Train your mind, and your puzzle-solving skills in the Multi-level Training Tower at the Eastern Air Temple! Roam the underbelly of the Firesage Temple, and parkour over Lava in the Grand Finale! All this awaits this weekend, on AvatarMC!
2016-03-18 18:50:00 +0000 UTC by IdahoSciGuy
Hey there guys and gals, and welcome to the Weekly SoonTM! I'm IdahoSciGuy and it makes me happier than a firebender in an air temple to be able to share some fresh and exciting news with you all! Let's get crack-a-lackin!
March Move Madness!
It's arguably the most anticipated addition this month, and its finally here: NEW MOVES! We’ve been hard at work crafting some sweet new additions to the bending plugin, and we are now ready to push them to the live server! We’ve crafted two new abilities for each type of bending, further expanding the available library of moves for each of you! You'll notice a little bit of everything, from high powered damage abilities to utility moves. Let’s get right down to it, here’s a list of all the exciting new additions and bug fixes we’ve done with the bending system!
New Moves
Earth
- Earth Cage
- Enclose an area in a dome made from earth. Left click to surround an area in earth for a short time.
- Earth Catapult
- Launch forward with a boost from the earth below. While standing on a bendable block, left click in the direction you wish to go.
Fire
- Fire Torch
- Illuminate your surroundings. Left click a block to place a torch for a short time.
- Fire Bomb
- Throw a long range fire bomb that explodes, dealing high damage. Left click to lob a bomb at a target. Also places fire on the ground at target location for a short time.
Air
- Air Bolt
- Deal damage with a bolt of air in a short range attack. Left click while target is in close range.
- Featherweight
- Provide a short boost to yourself. Left click to self apply a speed and jump buff for a short time.
Water
- Dolphin Dive
- Move around quickly while submerged. Left click while in water to dash forward.
- Phase Change
- Alter your surroundings by freezing or thawing the water around you. Left click to change water into ice, or ice and snow into water.
Added Descriptions for existing moves
Earth
- Earth Blast
- Blast your target with a projectile of earth. Left click a nearby block, then aim at a target without clicking.
- Earth Wall
- Raise a wall of earth out of the ground. Click in the direction you would like the wall to appear.
Fire
- Fire Blast Wave
- Blast a wave of fire around you. Left click to burn and knockback targets in close range.
Air
- Air Jump
- Rapidly propels you in the air. Left click in the direction you which to jump
- Air Kick
- Shoots a large burst of air. Left click to launch horizontally, and shift click to kick vertically.
- Air Shock
- Creates a ball of air around you that pushes enemies away.
Water
- Water Bolt
- Deal moderate damage and knockback a target with a long range attack. Left click a water source and aim at a target without clicking.
Bug Fixes
- BoulderToss now raises two further blocks so the projectile will not get caught by the ground.
- EarthWall is now functional and has five levels now.
- FlameShot now has two additional levels, which increase the range and damage.
Of course, we are still ironing out some bugs, and as with all things, this takes time (earthblast, looking at you bud). But rest assured we are dedicated to making sure any bugs and glitches are taken down and eradicated more efficiently than the air nomads, so we appreciate the patience you give us!
Freaky Fast Travel Fixes
We recently pushed a major update to our fast travel system, and although we were hoping for a smooth transition, we ultimately ran into quite a few bugs that interfered with your travel. We are happy to report that the majority of bugs have been put in their place faster than a rebellion in the Earth Kingdom (may she rest in peace). Here's a changelog of the bug fixes regarding the new fast travel plugin:
Bug Fixes
- Rendered every individual player maps properly.
- Fixed the selection of the nodes on the player map.
- Fixed various issues regarding incorrect nodes selection/edges.
- Fixed Global Nodes.
- Fixed many map duplication issues.
- Added a delay to prevent rapid fast travel.
- Deactivated the bending focus prior to entering a fast travel area, so it gets restored properly upon use.
- Fixed a bug that either teleports the user twice, or does not teleport you and takes twice the amount of money.
- Fixed a bug that causes players maps to not render after being logged in for a while.
We humbly ask you guys to stay vigilante. If there is a bug and you notice it, make sure to let us know! We'll make sure it gets taken care of!
Future (Industries) Endeavors
The teams are hard at work perfecting their new build projects, and its only a matter of time before we are able to start into real detail about whats coming, but I can tell you this: Their builds are going to be super chill. Along with new builds, the teams are also working on new features to add both excitement and depth to our already awesome community. We can't wait to share this new information with you when the time is right. Until then, stay frosty AvatarMC, and see you next week!
PS: the absense of a Weekly Soon last week was entirely Luxsidus's fault. He has been sent to a re-education facility and may or may not be back next week.
2016-03-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC by Communications-Team
Hi everyone. We have a special announcement to make regarding two AvatarMC teams and the server rules. Starting right now, players can apply to become a Chat Moderator or member of the Communications Team. We'll be looking for some hardened, trustworthy and friendly faces to help us moderate the server's chat and help us out managing communications. But before you enthousiastically punch your name into the application page, allow me to go into detail what this function is and why we need chat mods first. After that I will inform you about the Communications Team, and I will wrap it up with the news on the new rules.
All of you know that we put moderators in place to keep the peace and allow for a fair and fun time playing on the server. They toss out the bad guys while also lending a helping hand to new players. And yes, these are also the guys responsible for those pesky Tea Leaf locations (beware of Bwake_) and most of them have a lot of other tasks as well, such as being in charge of leading various teams. So it seems pretty straightforward what mods do and who they are, but obviously there is something amiss since we are looking for fresh chat mods to help us out. The main problem is that moderators can't be everywhere all the time, and are ironically often people who have not nearly enough time to patrol the server. That's why it would be a great help to them if there were several people who are familiar with the server keeping an eye out for the chat. The chat is of course every server's main hub for friendly chats, dank memes and other interaction. But some of the things said in there are said by disruptive players to hurt people, to spam the chat or to advertise. Next to this, we want to help players with any questions they might have. That's where chat moderators come in. With a job that is less intensive than actual moderating and more flexible in "working hours" we think they can help us fill the gap when moderators are either too busy online or with their personal lives.
Now onto the core questions: how do you become one? First of all, you will need to be active on the server for at least 2 months in order to even have a chance at becoming a chat moderator. This is so that potential chat mods get a chance to know the server, so they can help others through their own experience as well. Besides just being active, you have to be in a good standing with the staff and have no record of breaking the server rules. You must be a friendly and helpful person who can take appropriate decisions and work with the rest of the AvatarMC team. If you fit these criteria and the Moderation Team votes to accept you, you will receive a message to become a chat moderator and proudly wear the [ChatMod] tag! So if you dare to apply, you can find the application page here.
Besides opening up applications for chat moderators, we also welcome the skilled and interested to apply for a position in the Communications Team. The Communications, or "Comms" Team in short is responsible for announcements, the website, proofreading and of course the always amazing Weekly SoonTM blogposts. While many of you might not know this subteam of AvatarMC, this team has been involved with everyone of you in trying to inform you to the best of their ability. Little hint: they even worked on this very post! The Comms Team is a busy one, and for that very reason we are opening up applications for anybody who is good with people, teamwork, writing and giving feedback. If you were to be accepted, you'd be working on many kinds of text and be closely involved with all the dynamic things going on within the team, ensuring information flows as free as seven opened chakras. Bring your own onion-banana juice, however. So if you're a born writer, indie teamplayer, or just as much of a people-person as Azula, sign up right here!
Now that was a lot of info, but we're not there yet. Bare with us, because the following will be of importance to everyone: we reworked the rules. The server rules have seen several edits on mainly warfare over the course of its history, but this is a huge update to the rules as we know them. We have encountered a lot of specific situations and problems with the rules and have adapted them accordingly. We also wanted to go more in-depth to show how these rules help keep the server fun, and how they attempt to not limit anyone's experience if they are just out to have a good time. The updated rules will be effective immediately and can be read in detail by going to the rules section of our website. If you have any questions or feedback about these changes or any rules specifically, please contact FireLordZuko ingame or send him an email at zuko
avatarmc.com
So, you all there yet? Don't pass out, because the server awaits you! With fresh, clear and new rules and fun job opportunities we hope we have taken another step (or maybe even two) towards making the server a great one. We hope you'll be around with us to make this happen, whether you are a player or a team member, you are making the community one of the best ones to be playing in and to be working for. So for now, goodbye, and see you ingame!
Communications Team
avatarmc.com