Noobstown has been running in its current main version for well over a year now (with small changes every so often!), the time for real change calls! Version 5 was built upon experience of our dedicated administration team, working to give you the best possible survival game-play a server can offer. Since the release in November 2011 I believe we have achieved this goal, with over 30,000+ new members and a great community that is actively involved with the server each and every day.

As the New Year approached development began on the next generation of Noobstown, that's right, it's what you have all speculated and talked about for quite some time. Version 6.0

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Version 6.0 - Eco-Friendly!
The new version of Noobstown has been developed to fix the flaws of our current version, we strive each day to make the server better and we feel at this stage in development we can publicly release information about the release to you; our community.

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Noobstown - Your Adventure

Upon entering Noobstown you were always given two options - Wilderness or Town, most people joined Towns for one reason: Protection. We feel you shouldn't join towns simply for protection, but for community and friendship, to learn and grow on the server as one. The Wilderness and Towns have always felt very far apart, you build in the wilderness and a town comes along and is all "Hey, that's our land back off" then generally speaking they would claim over you - Which isn't the right way about it. That's where we feel the need to introduce a two world system - Two worlds include the following: Town Wilderness Small break down of each world: Town This world will technically be the main world that will include the spawn, this will be a complete no build zone - Meaning if you aren't on town land, you cannot build as simple as that. We feel that towns need the freedom to expand, to become the empire they wish to be without people getting in their way. Towns have a strong community impact and we are strongly promoting the use of towns, to allow them to grow and flourish. Wilderness The wilderness is a world in which you can live alone or with a couple of friends, with the anti-grief system you'll be able to enjoy a grief-free experience in the wilderness to live and enjoy your time out in the wild. This goes for anyone whom wishes to have a small keeping outside of Town life.

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Griefing - Minecrafts worst enemy

So, we understand that your creations in the current wilderness are often griefed and we are aware this is becoming a growing issue as it's slowly destroying all of our natural landscape and is turning away new members. Even with our dedicated staff members that work their hearts and souls out each and every day to provide the best grief-free experience on the server, they cannot tackle the growing problem alone. We have a solution for the problem and we are going to eradicate all griefing on the server, completely - Full stop.

Anti-Grief System

This system will protect your builds in the new "Wilderness world". The entire world will act like the current towny setup but with the freedom of not being restricted by town rules and taxes; if you want to build you need to own/have permission to build! The system will allow you to purchase a few chunks (a 16x16 block area) within the game, only you can then edit these areas and build/mine as you normally would. Once you have set up a good location to build in you can purchase surrounding chunks allowing you to expand your projects and keep building! You can obviously also give building rights on your chunks to your in-game friends! To ensure that you have enough space to expand in and to ensure that it doesn't get too busy around your builds there will be limits on who can purchase those chunks directly connected to the areas you already own. The beauty of this system is that if you want to move on from your area or, a player leaves the server or gets banned then the areas that you/they owned will be reset completely! Back to the wilderness just as perfect as if you/they had never even been there! This system means also that there is absolutely no chance of a grief occurring in the Wilderness; only those you invite to your areas will be able to edit your builds!

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Economy

Noobstown has quite a stable and strong economy but we feel there are major flaws in the current system which has caused some disruption to the whole performance of growth, such as providing admin shops and global quick-access type systems. This stops players who have gathered these items from earning a fair price in Noobz - This begins a hoarding process where each player will hoard non-rare items due to the fact they are seemingly worthless. Starting this system today would seem pointless as everyone has pretty much every item they need (Older players), this is mainly due to server side shops we offered from day one. We understand people need them for convenience selling but here is where the new system kicks in... Imagine player to player trading that's simplistic - Two clicks away from a sale.

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Auctions!
Introducing the Auction house, this will be a mainly web-based system that allows you to have an "eBay" type experience in Noobstown.

How will this work?
Simple! - Transfer items in game onto your web inventory which can then be put inside the auction, simply post your items at whatever price you wish (The server will offer generated dynamic pricing depending on what past trades of the item were sold at) You don't have to follow the dynamic pricing but it will stop players from scamming/ripping you off! (Yippee)

Want to buy something? Easy! Use the search function for example: "Diamond" and you will be presented with a list of players selling diamonds from cheapest to most expensive, you may also bid on the item. The highest bidder will win an auction, once the auction has been won you will be notified via the site and our in game notification system.

To claim the item you withdraw the item from your web inventory which will then be transferred to your in game inventory. Woohoo!

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Mcmmo - Skill leveling

Balancing of skills has always been the hardest job, we want to provide players rewards for the hard work they put into their skills without putting too many valuables into the game thus ruining the economy. With the new version we will be working with veteran skill-levelers to gain the balance of progressive and rewarded leveling without causing too many problems with the economy. The aim is to create a fun enjoyable leveling system that's less like a chore.

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Borders, Sweet, Sweet, Borders
Borders are a frustrating part of the server, the whole point of Minecraft is to explore! With such a small border as we currently have this feels very restricting, well not anymore. As the server has been upgraded countless of times since the release in 2011, we are able to handle the extra load a larger world would take - Thus we are tripling the size of both the Town and Wilderness world.

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Livemap

Ever wanted to view your build from above or see the entire Noobstown world? You'll be able to in v6! The live map will be returning; allowing you to view a birds-eye view of the world, this will enable you to easily navigate around and find friends. This was taken down in the past due to heavy load on the server, but we have now eradicated that issue. This will be accessible from the site!

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Membership - Simplicity!
Our current system of membership at first glance looks easy, and it truly is; yet it has caused many problems for a number of players in the past, and has caused us to lose a considerable amount of new members. We feel that reforming this system is a must.

The system will now be a try-before you signup - Meaning the player can spend a good couple of hours playing until they are notified that to continue playing they must signup, this will hopefully give players an urge to sign-up as they have already had a feel for the community and game-play on the server.

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Waterworth's changes and input

I will not go into much detail about all of the changes as it would take me a long time, nonetheless I will explain the major changes to the Staff team, Moderation as a whole and the server events. Firstly, we are implementing more plugins to aid in server events for example we will be adding plugins to support large scale events and adventures! We will be including our own versions of multiplayer maps such as “The Walls” and “Survival Games” these events will be trialed and tested in the new version. We will also be adding automated games such as Spleef, so players can join whenever they want, and win prizes! I am also very happy to announce we will be implementing better PvP team games, such as Capture the flag – I believe this is a great change as it gives players other activities to take part in on top of the normal survival Minecraft experience. We want to make Noobscraft innovative and not just another multiplayer server The main thing I am here to talk about is Moderation, The changes to Moderation include revamping all of the server/site rules to be a lot more understandable, fair and suitable for a family-style server, I also plan to make an easier Staff application format, as the current system is quite confusing and people who are suitable for these roles may miss out because the format is unclear. We are also adding a new method of appealing for a ban; Ban appeals will be dealt with privately, so we can gather information and acquire a result quicker; it also means that players can give confidential information, without it being seen by the public. Finally, we are improving our anti-grief features as already explained, the blocks on these chunks will be protected and only be able to be broken by the owner and people they give permission to, in addition to this our /grief command will also be improved for quicker staff support. Thank you all for your support, every member of Noobscraft has contributed to our success and growth, thanks for a great two years of Noobstown and hopefully more to come! I will see you all in Version 6!

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We understand this news may be distasteful to some of you but we personally feel that the current age and state of the server is in a critical state, there is need for this update and it's not going to be easy. We believe that the version change will mean a bigger, brighter future for Noobstown that will keep it alive for many years to come with the new anti-grief system in place the world should stay fresh for a very long time.

All current data on the server will be reset, this includes the following: Towns, Skills, Money, Blocks, Items and everything else in between. This decision was not taken lightly, but if the data was moved we would be left with the current state of the server where new players are left in a dark hole in which it's almost impossible to get onto the ladder and start enjoying the server like everyone else.

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Touching on Donations
All Donation Points that are on your account at this current time will be kept for the new version - We appreciate all of the support from those who have helped us financially support the server as this has enabled us to continue doing what we love, to provide a better and more stable server for our community.

In order to ensure you don't waste your Donation rewards we will be locking down the Points shop until v6 is released, only those who are currently VIP will be able to continue their subscription of it!

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If you have any further questions that we may not have covered, please post below. Any other personal questions or details you require regarding the changes do not refrain from personal messaging me, or any other Administrator.

To the future,

Fatnoob, Waterworth, & ItsLawrence

We will obviously be posting more information and specific details as we get closer to release!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJYef34cAo#ws

You said all bans will be reset? Also what is the exact date when Version 6.0 will be released? I understand the reasoning behind the reset so I am not going to argue. I think that it is time for a reset, and I hope that Version 6.0 will be just as fun, or maybe even more fun, then the current Noobstown I know and love. Hope to see you in Version 6.0

Are all stats and money reset? I worked so hard, and I'm not the only one either. But other than that, it all sounds great

Omg I read this and thought to my self man this server has grown I just have one quick suggestion you allow current town owners to atleast make a town for discounted price or free becuase many have slaved and used real money to help others have a great in game experience. I can't wait for the new noobstown !!!!!!

As someone who has been here for every single version of the server which means every reset and every new start I can say that this is a good thing.  V5 was well lived and had the longest life of any previous version and with that comes clutter and over population of small areas.  There are too many active towns as well as too many deserted towns that just look bad and are not worth holding on too.  Surely the joy in minecraft is still building up from nothing and as such we should all see this as an opportunity to do so.

This... This... This...

This is what I have been waiting for, for almost a year now.  Noobstown version one.  I loved it.  Noobstown version two.  Fantastic.  Noobstown version three.  Brilliant.  Noobstown version four.  Outstanding.  Noobstown version five?  I'm not feeling it... 

Speaking from an unbiased view and as a member of our community that has been here since almost the very beginning I can honestly and positively say this:  Being a member of noobstown is not about playing minecraft.  No.  It's much, much more than that.  Playing minecraft is something that can be done on single player or on a hamachi server.  Noobstown isn't Minecraft.  It's something of its own.  Its home. 

Noobstown is about the close knit community.  Communication.  Towns.  Speaking to others.  Playing with others.  Interacting with others.  Feeling the warm kindling of friendship and adventure.  Bringing people together! 

This is what I feel Noobstown version five has lacked.  People very much do not get together any more.  I MISS THAT!  Perhaps that is what caused me to stray away from this server.  I feel as if Noobstown has lost what it has meant to be Noobstown.  That the sense of community is not the same.  Whilst larger, it seems a little less interactive.  Well you know what?  Fatnoob has realised it is time for change.  We are getting to start a fresh.  It is an opportunity to mix with new people, and meet fantastic individuals in our server.  I for one am stoked.  We lose buildings?  Diamonds?  Virtual currency?  DO not make me LAUGH!

What's important is this,  We get a chance to reclaim noobstown.  My noobstown.  Your noobstown.  Our Noobstown.  -THE- Noobstown.  In all its former glory.  I trust in the ability of the staff team that we have today.  They have never let us down before and they are not going to this time.  They break their backs trying to improve the experience for YOU, the PLAYER so that you can enjoy yourself.  Noobstown will continue to be a community experience.  A place for play and adventure.  Besides, rebuilding is the best part.  C:  You get to reshape a world how YOU want it.  How WE ALL want it.

Trust me when I say, this is the right step forward.  Long live Noobstown!

Short Q&A Session with Admin Waterworth answering 2 large questions. WARNING: ANSWERS ARE NOT CONCRETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Q: Will town mayors get paid enough to start their town again? (only if they plan on making a town with it)
Waterworth: More information about this will be released as we get closer to the release date. For certain though; all towns will be cleared.

Q: Estimated time of release? (Don't know if this was in the post, but people who read the forums are asking this). I'm assuming the 2 months like the staff were told?
Waterworth: Yes, we will update the users on the progress as we get closer to the date.


WARNING: ANSWERS ARE NOT CONCRETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Those are the only questions answered, as "ANSWERS ARE NOT CONCRETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE"

All good things have must come to an end sometime.  I am really excited for Version 6 of Noobscraft and can't wait for it's release.  A new beginning is what all us "Noob-iians" need.  Keep up the great work Fatnoob and all other admin/mods. 

Gawsh it is bad!

Can't we atleast not reset the enderchest?

I see what you mean by bad landscape but why not white list it for a week and go around with some World Edit magic and make it look pretty.

But if it does go to V6 then I have a few suggestions
1. Make both worlds spawn with no ores, just stone so people won't mine it up
2. Make towns cheaper considering we start with 0
3. Drop parties. (Because who doesn't love them)

I love it! I love the fact that you can only build on what you have claimed or own! I love the fact that there will be two worlds, but I still love the Mining world. So does that mean the the Mining world will become the Wilderness? Another tweak that might be interesting is not being able to spawn to another city unless you are a member there. In that way minecarts will become a new form of transportation. I just like the idea of riding a minecart to someone else's city and this would promote it.

Anyhow, I love it.

I see what you mean by bad landscape but why not white list it for a week and go around with some World Edit magic and make it look pretty.

But if it does go to V6 then I have a few suggestions
1. Make both worlds spawn with no ores, just stone so people won't mine it up
2. Make towns cheaper considering we start with 0
3. Drop parties. (Because who doesn't love them)

The point of towns is that you work up to them.  A current issue with them is that there are too many so making them start at 0 cost would be foolish.  Also, there is no long term fix for the current destruction of the current map.  The only solution is a fresh start which we are luckily getting.