Bukkit 1.7.2 Dev build released

The dev build is out, however I will not be upgrading the server right away as a lot has changed in the build and there is quite a bit to test. We will continue to be on 1.6.4 for the time being. Somewhere down the line I might have a demo world for new Bukkit versions but that is not a very high priority on the list of things to do.
Happy Crafting!
- Admin Asher

Near future of demeter

Hey Crafters,
This is a post about how donations will work in the near future. In the past you were able to donate money to the server and receive in game money as a result. I am now changing the rules so that you can no longer break blocks in the world unless you donate a dollar to the world. We will also be limiting the ability to craft certain items and mine specific blocks unless you donate every other month. These blocks include but are not limited to iron, gold, and diamond ores. Claiming land will also change, for every dollar you donate you will be allowed to claim up to two plots of land. If you donate $10 you will be given an unlimited amount of whatever block you want as well as the ability to fly. for $20 you can enter creative mode and fly around. If you donate $50 you will be able to teleport around the map as you see fit and ignore the limitations of other player's plots, allowing you to build and destroy block in them. For $100 you will get all the powers that the admin has, including the ability to ban other players and user world edit to mass create and remove blocks.
I truly do hope that this make the game a better experience for all of the player who join our loving server.
- Sir Admin Moneybags esq.






Ok, but for real.

Donations are stupid and I never liked them, the game should not be pay to win. Ever. It just makes the game not fun. But I really like the idea of having a fair way to sponsor the game if you want to catch up with friends or spontaneously build a mega structure that is not part of a scheduled group build. Donations are here to stay in the same form that they were in the past: You will get 1000 chips, in game money, per dollar per dollar up to 10 dollars. Yah that sounds a bit confusing so let me explain it a little more.
$1 = 1000 Chips (1000 chips per dollar)
$2 = 4000 Chips (2000 chips per dollar)
$3 = 9000 Chips (3000 chips per dollar)
$10 = 100000 Chips (10000 chips max per dollar)
$11 = 110000 Chips (10000 chips max per dollar)

However there will be one big key difference in how the donations work. Instead of going to me to fund the server, now that I am fully capable of funding it on my own:

all the donations will go directly to the EFF

Because honestly, they will do a hell of a lot more good with the money then I would plus they are my favorite nonprofit. You will see this change appear on the website as soon as I figure out the best way to streamline the donation process.

Happy crafting!

- Admin Asher (Iggystlev)

Aaaand Were Back

After a bit longer then expected the server is back online running 1.6.4. Remember that the new server address is

server.demetermine.com

and the official web page is now at demetermine.com (which will be getting an update soon). As you know I try to have the server available for free, and I will try my best to keep it that way. However if you do feel like helping out the server some opportunities will arise for you to do that.

Happy Crafting
- Admin Asher

Minecraft Server Moving

Hey players, as I am in a long process of moving to a new state I will be taking down the minecraft server for a month or so. I am sorry that the server will be down, but it will come back online once I get settled into my new place. Once I bring it back online I will also work to update it to the newest version of minecraft, whatever that may be. Thanks everyone for playing so far and I hope to see you again online soon.

- Admin Asher

New plugins on the server

Hello crafters!
There are new plugins on the server now! Huzzah. With the introduction of the new plugins your plots are now 100% safe. Item frames and paintings can no longer be destroyed by people who do not own the plot you are in. Feel free to display your accomplishments as much as you want! Furthermore TNT will no longer damage your plots. No longer shall you be afraid of TNT damaging anything you own. It will still damage you however. With the new addition of protection against TNT we have opted to bring creepres back into the game, fret naught my good citizens for creepers can no longer damage blocks, only you. A final note about TNT is that when it explodes outside of a plot it will drop none of the blocks it destroys, this is to help deter the use of TNT while still making it available for use.

Along with the TNT update we have also added a new feature called questing. This allows a single dungeon or event to be created in order for multiple players to gain the prize at the end. The plugin functions using command blocks and thus can only be created by an admin. So if you create a quest and want it to be available to the other players then ask an admin to add a quest to it!

In addition to the afforementioned updates there are also some minor updates to the look and feel of the functions providing new colors and aliases.

- Asher

Our New Website

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Demeter is getting a new website. On the top of the website I would like to put a banner representing Demeter. As a result I will be accepting submissions for the banner. Any player who uploads a reasonably looking banner will get 7000 chips, and any player that submits a banner that is used on the site will get 50000 chips. If you want to check out the beta version of the site (nothing more then a skeleton of a site currently) go to web.demetermine.com.

Happy Crafting

- Admin Asher

New Shop Prices

Hello Demeter,
After much work writing a program to calculate all of these prices for me it is finally done. Took the better part of a day it did but as a result we have relatively accurate prices for things! These new prices will hit the market when the server gets updated next. Every value of -1 that you see is an item that the shop will neither buy or sell at the moment. When multiple values are present they represent each of the damage values for the item. If you see a missing damage value or a price you think is incorrect and should be changed then let me know. Check out the source for the economy generator program here!
- Admin Asher

TORCH                        1 

CHAINMAIL_CHESTPLATE       733 

COOKED_CHICKEN              55 

ENDER_PEARL                 50 

PUMPKIN_PIE                 22 

STONE_PICKAXE                5 

BOW                          9 

MOB_SPAWNER               9001 

CHEST                       16 

STONE_AXE                    5 

BRICK_STAIRS               312 

BED_BLOCK                   -1 

EGG                         10 

CAULDRON_ITEM              641 

SMOOTH_BRICK               204 

GOLD_SWORD                1101 

CARROT_STICK                 8 

SLIME_BALL                  10 

COAL                        25 

IRON_DOOR_BLOCK             -1 

LEATHER_BOOTS               16 

TRAP_DOOR                    6 

FIREBALL                   125 

BREWING_STAND              203 

WOOD_AXE                     8 

EMERALD_BLOCK            27000 

FLINT                       10 

IRON_PICKAXE               277 

DRAGON_EGG                9999 

POTATO                      -1 

LADDER                       2 

DIAMOND_AXE               3002 

LONG_GRASS                  -1 

CAKE_BLOCK                  -1 

WEB                          4 

PUMPKIN_SEEDS                2 

PISTON_STICKY_BASE         139 

DOUBLE_STEP                 -1 

LAPIS_ORE                 1000 

INK_SACK                     3 

SIGN                         4 

FLINT_AND_STEEL            101 

GOLD_SPADE                 552 

SOUL_SAND                    5 

ARROW                       21 

GREEN_RECORD               200 

LEVER                        2 

PISTON_EXTENSION            -1 

WOOD_STAIRS                  3 

DIAMOND_HOE               2002 

FERMENTED_SPIDER_EYE         6 

JACK_O_LANTERN              11 

RAW_CHICKEN                  5 

SAPLING                      1 1 1 1 

SADDLE                    6000 

WOOD_DOOR                   12 

DIAMOND_BLOCK             9000 

THIN_GLASS                   0 

WATER                       -1 

HUGE_MUSHROOM_1             -1 

WATER_LILY                   2 

FLOWER_POT                 156 

BLAZE_POWDER               150 

STICK                        1 

BAKED_POTATO                60 

DETECTOR_RAIL              679 

SANDSTONE_STAIRS             6 

PORK                        10 

STONE_HOE                    4 

IRON_LEGGINGS              641 

STATIONARY_WATER            -1 

DIODE_BLOCK_OFF            238 

GHAST_TEAR                 200 

RED_MUSHROOM                10 

SANDSTONE                    4 

SNOW_BALL                    1 

IRON_FENCE                  34 

YELLOW_FLOWER                3 

RECORD_6                   200 

RECORD_7                   200 

RECORD_4                   200 

RECORD_5                   200 

COOKIE                      26 

RECORD_3                   200 

NETHER_BRICK_STAIRS         10 

DISPENSER                   43 

PISTON_MOVING_PIECE         -1 

EXP_BOTTLE                1000 

RAW_FISH                    20 

COBBLE_WALL                  1 

CARROT_ITEM                  1 

RECORD_9                   200 

IRON_HELMET                458 

WORKBENCH                    8 

ENDER_CHEST               1000 

MELON_SEEDS                  5 

SPRUCE_WOOD_STAIRS           6 

LEAVES                      30 

DIAMOND_PICKAXE           3002 

HUGE_MUSHROOM_2             -1 

BED                         12 

FIRE                        -1 

BOOK                        10 

GOLD_LEGGINGS             3850 

BREWING_STAND_ITEM         203 

BOOKSHELF                   42 

PAINTING                    10 

BOOK_AND_QUILL              23 

DIAMOND_ORE               1000 

MONSTER_EGGS                -1 

RAW_BEEF                     2 

FURNACE                      8 

WOODEN_DOOR                 -1 

IRON_ORE                    41 

EMERALD                   3000 

SUGAR_CANE_BLOCK            -1 

IRON_SPADE                  93 

FLOWER_POT_ITEM            156 

SUGAR                        2 

GLOWING_REDSTONE_ORE        -1 

SEEDS                        1 

COMMAND                     -1 

GOLD_BLOCK                4950 

CLAY_BALL                    2 

BRICK                      208 

REDSTONE                    27 

WOOD_PICKAXE                 8 

SOIL                        -1 

GOLDEN_CARROT              498 

DIAMOND                   1000 

WHEAT                        3 

GOLD_RECORD                200 

WATER_BUCKET               295 

POWERED_RAIL               554 

REDSTONE_ORE               125 

IRON_CHESTPLATE            733 

PUMPKIN_STEM                -1 

RED_ROSE                     4 

COAL_ORE                    25 

GLASS                        1 

PISTON_BASE                129 

WOOD                         2 2 2 2 

JUNGLE_WOOD_STAIRS           3 

REDSTONE_WIRE               -1 

EMPTY_MAP                  384 

LEATHER_CHESTPLATE          32 

BLAZE_ROD                  200 

DIAMOND_HELMET            5000 

BROWN_MUSHROOM               3 

DIAMOND_SWORD             2001 

SKULL                       -1 

REDSTONE_TORCH_OFF          -1 

NETHER_WARTS                 5 

DIODE                      238 

STONE                       51 

RAILS                       34 

SPONGE                      40 

DIODE_BLOCK_ON              -1 

POWERED_MINECART           466 

DIAMOND_CHESTPLATE        8000 

GRILLED_PORK                60 

WALL_SIGN                   -1 

GRASS                        1 

NETHER_BRICK                 5 

PUMPKIN                     10 

REDSTONE_LAMP_ON            -1 

APPLE                       10 

IRON_BLOCK                 824 

GOLD_INGOT                 550 

STONE_PLATE                102 

WOOD_SPADE                   4 

BUCKET                     275 

MILK_BUCKET                295 

EYE_OF_ENDER               200 

IRON_HOE                   185 

MELON_BLOCK                 18 

GOLDEN_APPLE               498 

ENDER_STONE                100 

ENDER_PORTAL_FRAME          -1 

SPECKLED_MELON              63 

LAPIS_BLOCK               1500 

OBSIDIAN                   100 

CAKE                        83 

DIAMOND_LEGGINGS          7000 

WOOD_HOE                     6 

BONE                         1 

POISONOUS_POTATO             1 

ITEM_FRAME                  12 

MINECART                   458 

CLAY                         8 

VINE                         2 

MOSSY_COBBLESTONE           20 

CAULDRON                    -1 

IRON_AXE                   277 

NETHERRACK                  10 

IRON_BOOTS                 366 

BIRCH_WOOD_STAIRS            3 

MELON                        2 

PORTAL                      -1 

CACTUS                      10 

LOCKED_CHEST                -1 

SIGN_POST                   -1 

GOLD_HOE                  1102 

NETHER_STAR               1000 

STONE_SWORD                  3 

GLOWSTONE                   20 

STATIONARY_LAVA             -1 

FENCE                        3 

ROTTEN_FLESH                 1 

LAVA_BUCKET                295 

STONE_BUTTON                51 

CLAY_BRICK                  52 

BOWL                         1 

STEP                        25 2 -1 0 104 102 2 

ANVIL                     2841 

FIREWORK_CHARGE             -1 

DEAD_BUSH                   -1 

CARROT                      10 

CHAINMAIL_BOOTS            366 

WOOD_PLATE                   4 

GOLD_CHESTPLATE           4400 

ENDER_PORTAL                -1 

MONSTER_EGG                 -1 

GOLD_BOOTS                2200 

BREAD                        9 

WOOD_BUTTON                  2 

WOOD_DOUBLE_STEP             1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

CROPS                       -1 

LOG                          8 8 8 8 

TRIPWIRE_HOOK               47 

CHAINMAIL_HELMET           458 

WATCH                     2227 

SHEARS                     183 

MAGMA_CREAM                160 

GLASS_BOTTLE                 1 

SNOW                        -1 

BEACON                    1305 

POTION                     100 

BURNING_FURNACE             -1 

BEDROCK                     -1 

SMOOTH_STAIRS              306 

IRON_INGOT                  91 

NOTE_BLOCK                  43 

WRITTEN_BOOK                -1 

WOOD_STEP                    1 1 1 1 

GOLD_AXE                  1652 

COCOA                       20 

GOLD_PICKAXE              1652 

RECORD_10                  200 

RECORD_11                  200 

RECORD_12                  200 

WOOL            2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 

LEATHER_LEGGINGS            28 

DIRT                         1 

GOLD_NUGGET                 61 

BOAT                        10 

JUKEBOX                   1016 

TRIPWIRE                    -1 

COBBLESTONE                  1 

SAND                         1 

PAPER                        2 

FIREWORK                    -1 

RECORD_8                   200 

GLOWSTONE_DUST               5 

COMPASS                    368 

DIAMOND_SPADE             1002 

COBBLESTONE_STAIRS           1 

SULPHUR                    200 

GRAVEL                       1 

SNOW_BLOCK                   4 

TNT                       1004 

POTATO_ITEM                 10 

MYCEL                        1 

STRING                       2 

LEATHER                      4 

MELON_STEM                  -1 

COOKED_BEEF                 52 

ICE                         50 

REDSTONE_LAMP_OFF          131 

GOLD_HELMET               2750 

EMERALD_ORE               3000 

WOOD_SWORD                   5 

REDSTONE_TORCH_ON           28 

GOLD_ORE                   500 

FEATHER                     10 

CHAINMAIL_LEGGINGS         641 

DIAMOND_BOOTS             4000 

FISHING_ROD                  7 

MUSHROOM_SOUP               14 

SKULL_ITEM                  -1 

STORAGE_MINECART           474 

NETHER_STALK                10 

SPIDER_EYE                   1 

ENCHANTED_BOOK             100 

SUGAR_CANE                   2 

LEATHER_HELMET              20 

MAP                        384 

IRON_SWORD                 184 

LAVA                        -1 

IRON_DOOR                  550 

ENCHANTMENT_TABLE         2410 

STONE_SPADE                  3 

NETHER_FENCE                 5 

COOKED_FISH                 70 

FENCE_GATE                   8 

New Server URL

In order to make room for the future website we will be moving the server URL from demetermine.com to

server.demetermine.com

As this is getting set up we will try to have both addresses working, with the server message stating to switch to the new URL. The reason for this is that there will be a website for Demeter soon and I do not want to host it on the same machine as the Minecraft server, if we do that then the Minecraft server will be slower because it also has to run a web server. But what are the benefits to this new website? No longer will you have to remember the map URL, just go to the map tab on the website. A complete up to date list of all the commands that can be run by the users will also be available. As well as a list of every item in the game and its current price in the shop.

While the website is being built and the new configuration is taking place I would recomend that you

Add both addresses as servers

That way you will always be able to connect to the server regardless of which address is active. After the website is complete it there will be three weeks before the new URL becomes the only URL and the website take over at demetermine.com.

- Admin Asher

P.S. We are currently testing the 1.5 bukkit dev builds to and hope to upgrade the server soon

The Rise of Feygrove

A long time ago in a place far far away
there was a land, and it was called The_Fey

The mayor, old Feygrove, had a great many jobs
But the most important was the vanquishing of mobs

A great many mobs indeed Feygrove had slain
The villagers lived happily under his reign

Until one day, the most frightful of nights
Did The_Fey find itself with no lights

The great server was down
and a bad feeling swept through the town

It was the the feeling of terror
for when the server came back, there was a chunk error

not one, not two, not three, but four
nothing this bad had ever happened before

The good god Iggy issued that day
That no more fear should be found in the land of The_Fey

Then with the stroke of some keys plus a wave of his hands
Feygrove found himself able to issue commands

He had a new power, but he was not a cheater 
Feygrove was happy, as the new god of Demeter

                                                                                                              
Feygrove has officially joined the ranks of the admins! He will be taking care of all of the server management and listening to what people have to say about the server. To give a few example on who to complain to for different problems.

Feygrove:
My claimed plots are messed up
The price for <some item> is wrong or non-existent in the shop
The amount of money I have is incorrect
The world map is not rendering or having rendering problems
The server is out of date

Iggystlev:
I want a new feature added to the game
This feature that was added to the game is broken
The server is down
One of the in game commands does not work
The code for the plugins is bad / needs comments

We will also be releasing updates for the server plugins this weekend, including a fix for item frames not being protected in regions, and explosions being able to destroy blocks that are in regions.

Happy crafting everyone!
- Admin Iggy

Why is the map Low Quality

I have decided to not make the map high def for the time being. The reason behind it is that the old high def map was upwards of ten gigabytes of data (the world file itself was only 1.3Gb) and took three or more days to render. This new lower quality map is half the size of the world and can be generated in only a few hours. We are still working on a method to get high quality renders of individual plots if the user requests it. This is either going to cost in-game money or a small amount of real money to pay for the processing time. Most likely it will just cost in-game money.
Happy Crafting
- Asher

Messed up regions

After looking at the game map i realized that many of the regions have disappeared, I do not know what caused this and the only thing I can say is that those who lost regions during the update should reclaim them. Unfortunately these are side effects of the hard drive crash. If any other bugs or problems are found leave a comment or post an issue on github.
- Asher

Online!

We are back everybody! New server hardware, updated plugins, new admins, the works. Remember though, with new stuff comes less stability. With that in mind, if you see any bugs or problems be sure to report them so we can fix them as quickly as possible!
Happy Crafting!
- Asher

(also for those few of you who had corrupted chunks in your regions we will give you enough in game money to rebuild, sorry about that)

New Updated Server

The server has been updated and streamlined, however there were a significant number of errors that appeared when the old world and plugins were transferred over. So it may be a little while until the server is 100% online. After it is, all maintenance of the server will be transferred over to Lincoln and I will mainly focus on updating the plugins code to add new features and fix bugs. Ill keep you all posted on what is happening with the server as I figure it out.
Thanks
- Asher

The world is too big

Our world file is about 1.3Gb, which is quite huge. Along with that there is the world map, which is significantly larger. Hopefully soon the server will have a new drive to use and will be given a new operating system (debian) with no other junk on it. While we figure out if the world being to large was  indeed the problem we will be disabling the dynamic map, as that is huge as well. However you should all rest easy knowing that all of your builds are safe and secure, backed up in multiple locations.

- Asher

As a side note, the player who is helping repair the server has requested that gunpowder be re added to the game, so if we can figure out a way to disable the destruction of all blocks in a claimed area we will be bringing back gunpowder, tnt, and creepers.

New Admin and Broken Drives

Due to the amount of work I have I have decided to step aside from the management of the server and focus only on the writing of the plugins. Lincoln Noggle will be taking over the management of the server, this is updating the bukkit version, fixing shop prices, and settings or plugin configurations, like dynmap. On a side note the server will be down for maintenance as we now have a new admin the server must actually be maintained correctly instead of horribly by myself. While taking it down to fix the configuration I noticed that the harddrive was having some difficulty and ultimately looks like it will fail soon, however it may just be software. The server should be back up by this weekend with new configuration settings and up to date minecraft versions. Thanks all of you who have been playing over the years. Hopefully the server will last a little longer.
- Admin Asher