FINALLY! They’ve released a Reliable build for 1.8.1. I’ll be updating the server one more time to apply this new release, as I’m still nervous about using a Dev Build on the server. Keep me posted if you notice anything strange. The server should be updated by tomorrow morning.

Ok, so Version 1.8 has been released. What’s this mean for us? DO NOT UPDATE YOUR MINECRAFT if you intend to continue playing on the server. I’m not going to update the server software until bukkit is updated as well as our plugins. I’m going to start working on this this weekend and I’ll keep you guys posted. Until then, check out
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Version_history
This shows everything that’s been released in 1.8
I’ll keep you guys posted.

In the meantime, if you want to check out the new stuff but still play on our server, here’s how to back up Minecraft:
Click START
In the RUN box (Search Programs and Files on Windows 7) Type %appdata% and hit Enter.
Double click on .minecraft (Go into Roaming then .minecraft on Windows 7)
Highlight EVERYTHING in the .minecraft folder. Right click and choose COPY.
Go to your desktop and create a new folder. Call it whatever. (Mines called Minecraft 1.7)
Open that folder, and right click. Choose PASTE. This should put all the files in your .minecraft folder into this new one as well.
Go back to your .minecraft folder. Delete everything that’s in there.
Run the minecraft.exe file you usually run. Minecraft will download the 1.8 patch. Whenever you want to go back to 1.7, simply either move the files in the .minecraft folder out or delete them, then copy the 1.7 files back in.

Ok, I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints from you guys about the server being laggy. So I’ve tried something different. I’ve (hopefully) increased the amount of RAM allowed by the server. Hopefully this helps a little until I can get better hard ware.

Keep me posted on how this does.

As most of you know, we’re coming up on the 1.8 “Adventure” release. This release will include biome changes and how biomes are generated. This will also include the way chunks are generated as well.

Instead of listing a whole bunch of what’s going to be in 1.8 here, check out this post: CLICKY

Now, to answer a few questions that will put some minds at ease.

Q: Should I update my Minecraft right away?
A: That depends. If you plan on diving right into new content, then yes. However if you update and I haven’t updated the server yet, you won’t be able to play on the server until I do. So it’s really up to you. If you plan on playing on the server after the release, DO NOT UPDATE minecraft.

Q: Will we lose everything we’ve built?
A: No. Here’s what we’re going to have to do. First, I’ll back up our current world. Then I’ll generate a new world (See next question for the reasoning behind this) Once I’ve generated that new world, we’ll spend a couple of days wandering around to explore a decent portion of the world. Then, I’ll go into our current world and export everyone’s stuff as Schematic Files. I’ll then import them into the newly generated world in locations we choose.

Q: Why do we need to generate a new map? Won’t our current map work?
A: Yes and No. Our world WILL work post-patch, however all the chunks that have been generated will NOT have new content in them. (New mobs, new blocks, new landscapes, etc) By generating a new map, we get fresh chunks with new stuff in them where we can plop down our existing structures. Best of both worlds

Q: How long will it take to upgrade the server?
A: I’m not sure. Multiplayer server software is not updated as fast as single player is. It also depends on when they release the next version of bukkit (Our server admin program) so that we have our plugins and such.

If anyone has any questions, of course shoot me an Email or facebook me.