Sunday 31 March 2013

Two New Projects I'm Working On!

Hi guys!

Mario here with another update on a few projects I'm working on!

There's two this time, one I came up with a few weeks ago and one I came up with only yesterday. I'll start with the first one, something you've probably already seen before.

I'm planning on making the Call of Duty Zombies gamemode into Minecraft, more often known as MC Nazi Zombies. Basically, Zombies is a game where you must kill zombies to earn Points, and then use the Points to buy stuff like weapons, perks and to upgrade your weapon. This is achieved by using quite a decent amount of redstone, Command Blocks and the new Scoreboard system. Working on this, and I have created a test map so that I can make sure everything works properly!

The second one I will announce later today, trying to figure out how exactly to make, but it's coming to me bit by bit.

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner

Saturday 30 March 2013

The Minecraftia Hits 16,000 Views! (Well, 15k if you're not precise, but ya know...)

Hi guys!

Mario here with another site update!

So, the site recently hit 16,000 views, which is why I'm releasing The Minecraftia 1.01 later today. This will include:

  • New header
  • View counter (shows how many views the site has reached)
  • Better background (will be released after the two above because it will take more time)

That's all for now, but I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who views or has viewed my site, it feels great that I can post a server review and that someone may look at it! Also, the next video on our channel by me will be a commentary (confirmed) and it will be on either MCSkullHunter (most likely) or the Gontroller Factions Server.

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner

Friday 29 March 2013

Minecraft Stories #1 - Getting Banned for Stuff you Didn't Do!

Hi guys!

Mario here with a hilarious story that just happened!

It was last night at around 10:30 when I found an epic server, and I instantly liked it. It was an MMORPG-style Minecraft, and it was awesome.

The next day, I was playing on this server (by the way, the next day is today) and I began running out of the spawn to go kill some enemies. I find loads and I kill quite a lot of them. After killing around 7 enemies, a whole bunch of them come flying at me! I try to dodge around them and kill them, and I succeed. However, I somehow manage to get up onto the Bedrock Path, which leads to the enemy's spawn. Suddenly, a class with explosives blows up in front of me and I am sent flying down onto the ground again. I am now at 1.5 hearts, so I quickly splash myself with a Potion of Healing (this server had a plugin where any potion splashed, not just Splash Potions). I begin to advance forward to try and get back up onto the Bedrock Path when suddenly:

You have been banned! Reason: Hacking-Permaban

My instant reaction is 'Surely this is just a troll!' because this server was awesome and I wouldn't even think of hacking it, let alone any other server. So I go to their website, which just so happens to be an Enjin website, so I had an account. I go to their Ban Appeals page and post the exact thing that is below:

Name: Mariobros980
Reason for Ban: I don't know, it said Hacking-Permaban when I haven't done anything
When Banned: Got banned on 29th March, and when I was about to die I splashed myself with a Pot of Regen I had gotten, and then it just came up with the screen randomly. I do have one mod installed, OptiFine, but I don't see how that hacks/cheats at the game,
Reason(s) you should Unban Me: Because I didn't hack/cheat/xray and I didn't really do anything wrong, unless splashing yourself with Regen to heal counts :)

So I went offline for a bit to go have lunch, and I come back on and the mod who banned me has replied:

"Sadly I do not think you are telling the truth, I saw you fighting a bunch of mobs and then suddenly fly up to the bedrock path. You flew way to gracefully to have been hit up there by the zombies."

And there, my friends, is the sad sad sad sad SAD sad sad truth that is that I was sure to be banned from this server. Thanks a lot to the guy that did this (not gonna name him, but hopefully he's reading this and knows who he is), much appreciated :D. I begin to come up with a reply in hope that I may not get banned for doing nothing, with this:

"It's fine you don't believe me, but I am telling the truth about everything I have said. I do remember going up to the bedrock path, although I can't remember how, and then a Creeper (one of the classes) exploded in front of me and sent me flying back down. I splashed myself with the Regen Pot, moved forward a little and was banned. That was exactly what I remember in the short time span that happened."

I instantly read through this and realize how this makes me look even more like a hacker, despite my innocence (just a note, if any of you readers think I actually AM a hacker, go watch some of my videos here, you might realise I'm not). Me putting 'although I can't remember how' is one very common phrase a hacker may use, as well as the word 'remember', which when used incorrectly will send you spiralling down into the Pit of Innocence.
          After playing on another server with the exact same gamemode except a little different, I checked back and another Mod has replied with:

"I honestly think you're lying. If a mod banned you, they would be certain that you were hacking, so in this case

DENIED (yes, in big capital letters, so that they throw me even deeper into the Pit of Innocence)

Please lock. :)"

Just for the record, locking is when a high-rank Admin blocks you from posting anything else on that particular thread. Later, a Super-Mod by the name of super_me on the forum comes and locks the post (I posted his name just because he wasn't a part of the ban). So there you go.

I was actually planning on doing a few videos and a Server Spotlight on this server, but now the post is getting deleted and I'll just have to find another server of a similar kind to record on. I'm not giving any information on the server because they have banned me for no reason and I don't want anyone else going on that server and hating. However, I will now tell you it was a Dwarves v Zombies server and that when I said 'a guy with explosives' I meant a 'Creeper'.

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner

P.S. If any of the people who banned me read this, don't unban me. You'll probably just falsely ban me again for no reason and I'll have to repost a similar thing.

P.S.S. I'll be releasing a commentary (hopefully sometime Sunday or Monday, on MCSkullHunter).

Thursday 28 March 2013

New Super Gaming Hub Server!

Hi guys!

Mario here with an update on the Super Gaming community!

Although it's already been launched on their website, you may know that Super Gaming are creating a Hub Server, which is a server with a 'portal' leading to each individual server for MCInfected and MCSkullHunter! However, each of the direct IPs will still work as normal, and you will not be forced to join the Hub Server in order to get onto your favourite server!

Maintenance went on sometime this afternoon (afternoon of 28th March 2013) and there should be (at some point) an approx 30 minute downtime on all of their servers. More information is yet to be released, I'll update this post tomorrow when (hopefully) the server will be up!

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner

Server Spotlight: MCSkullHunter!

Hi guys!

Mario here with yet another Server Spotlight!

This time, we'll be reviewing the MCSkullHunter server, made by Super Gaming, the awesome developers of MCInfected. If you go on these servers and enjoy them, please donate, even if it is only $5 for a [Donor] rank, they deserve it for making these awesome servers (I'll be donating for VIP, and then later adding on the money for Elite). Also, before I begin, I need to make another Call of Duty reference: if you've ever played a Call of Duty game, you may notice that this is a sort of Kill Confirmed/Capture the Flag hybrid.

So, let's get on with it! You'll start either in-game or at the spawn. There's 10 Easter Eggs at spawn disguised as Yellow Flowers in Flower Pots, so find them all (Hint: one is hidden in the void, which is one of the harder ones...). There are 3 maps at the time of posting: The_Inferno, Area73-5 and another map which I am too dumb to remember the name of. The default class is Juggernaut, which is full Iron Armor with the exception of a Dia Chestplate, and Slowness for 20 minutes. However, if you are a non-donor you can change to Archer, Soldier or Scout, and as a donor you can switch to several different classes, such as Pyro and Medic.
          You will then have to run out into battle and attempt to kill people. If you successfully kill someone, you can pick up their head, known on the server as a Skull. You should then get the Skull in the 9th inventory slot. You can either capture the skull now, or attempt to collect more. Once you want to 'cash in' your Skulls, run back to your base and right click on the Ender Chest. This deposits the Skulls with a reward (points for team, 'Scores' and XP). You also get rewards for picking up Skulls and killing people. If you pick up a Skull dropped by an enemy, you will be able to cash in that Skull. However, if it is a friendly player's Skull, it will deny you to pick it up, but it will vanish and give you a small reward.
          When you collect enough XP with that specific class, you'll be able to level up. However, you don't level up with all the characters (e.g. If I level up with Archer, it doesn't also level up with Juggernaut). After a certain amount of Level-Ups you'll be able to get 'Perks' for each individual class. These just add enchantments and enhancements to your class. Once you level up to 100, you can prestige, and instead of having the title [Archer] in chat, you will have something like [Master Archer]. And then you can level up all over again.

Donators get specific buffs in the server as well! Below is a list of what each donor rank gets:

Donor ($5 or more)
More classes are guaranteed
Reserved slot
/me command
/hat command
Medic Class

Premium ($10 or more)
More classes are guaranteed
Reserved slot
/me command
/hat command
Medic Class
Lightning Join (Lightning comes down on your spawn position when you join the server)
Double Vote (your vote counts as 2 instead of 1)
Chemist Class

VIP ($25 or more)
More classes are guaranteed
Reserved slot
/me command
/hat command
Medic Class
Lightning Join (Lightning comes down on your spawn position when you join the server)
Double Vote (your vote counts as 2 instead of 1)
Chemist Class
Fireworks
/kittycannon command (launches kitties everywhere :D)
Knight Class

Elite ($50 or more)

More classes are guaranteed
Reserved slot
/me command
/hat command
Medic Class
Lightning Join (Lightning comes down on your spawn position when you join the server)
Double Vote (your vote counts as 2 instead of 1)
Chemist Class
Fireworks
/kittycannon command (launches kitties everywhere :D)
Knight Class
Pyro Class
Ninja Class
Triple Vote (your vote counts as 3 instead of 1)(Note: does not stack with Double Vote)
Color Codes

IF YOU DONATE $65 OR MORE, YOU WILL GET ELITE RANK ON BOTH MCSKULLHUNTER AND MCINFECTED!!! (Note: different perks are available on different servers)

That's all for now! I hope you enjoy playing on this server!

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner

Monday 25 March 2013

Sorry for Long Pause + Double Server Spotlight!

Hi guys!

Mario here with a quick update and a double Server Spotlight!

First of all, I'm sorry about the massive big pause between Christmas and now. I didn't expect to be off of the Minecraftia for this long, but I got tied up with school and lots of other personal stuff, but we should be back in business now! And with the recent 1.5 update, you cab guarantee that you will be getting both YouTube videos and website updates again!

But for now, I'm going to do a double Server Spotlight, with two servers that are pretty new and I think need a bit of attention.

The first one is called MC Zombie Escape, and if you play Black Ops 2 and recently bought the Revolution DLC, you may notice that this server is just like the Turned gamemode, except a lot more consistent and fun. If you are waiting in the lobby, there will be a choice of 5 maps that you can vote for. Once the voting has ended, all players will be teleported to the winning map. There will be 15 seconds when the map will be in 'Slo-Mo Mode', where you will be able to walk whilst crouching. Once the timer has ended, you will be able to walk and run normally. You must make your way to the first door, and after around 15 seconds the first zombie will be chosen.
          The zombie's aim is to hit the humans in order to infect them and make them a zombie as well. Zombies get an Ender Pearl which teleports them to the latest-activated Checkpoint, and a fist to infect humans. Humans, however, get a bow, which can vary depending on the class they chose, 6 snowballs which count as a pistol, an Explosive Egg (gives zombies Blindness and Slowness for about 5 seconds) and up to 2 Perks, or Add-ons. There are also different zombie classes to choose from, in case you're getting tired of the regular zombie!
          As a human, your goal is to survive and get to the Nuke Room before everyone becomes a zombie. To survive, you must open doors by hitting the buttons on Pink Wool Blocks. This activates a timer before some sort of door (ranging from a regular Iron Door to a complex Piston Door) opens up and lets you run to the next door. However, the time limits for each door increases, meaning you will have to fend off the zombies that are coming after you for longer each time. Finally, you will reach a button on a Red Wool Block, which is the button to open the Nuke Room. This one has a 90 second timer on it, meaning you will have to be ready at all costs. Once the Nuke Room opens, you must step inside one of the Contaminent Pods, and all the Iron Doors around you should close. You have now survived successfully.

To play on the above server, type in the IP: a.mczombieescape.com

The second server is a Super Craft Brothers server. However, it isn't like most of the servers you've probably seen where you just play games repetitively against random people in no particular order. This one is an actual tournament server, and consists of a sort of heat system. There are 4 matches to start with, then it goes down to 2, or the semi-finals, and then it goes down to the final! There are two classes you can choose at first, called Blink (default) and Toshi (/kit toshi), which are supposedly spin-offs to Link and Yoshi, but they didn't want to copyright. There are also 3 Premium classes, called Pika, Metoo and Jiggly (Pikachu, Mewtwo and Jigglypuff). Once there are enough people online, the tournament will begin to start. Once the tournament successfully starts, you will be teleported into the arena.
          At time of posting, there are 32 hand-built arenas on this server, which is good considering this is quite new. You will be in a lobby of (usually) around 5-8 players for the 1st heat in the tournament. The countdown will start at around 15 seconds and then the game will begin.
          There are two items you will always spawn with, and then two class-related items as well. The two items everyone spawns with are a Sword (left click to attack, right click to shield) and a Double-Jump Rocket. Switching to the Double Jump Rocket makes you jump in midair, meaning you can jump back onto the map if you are quick enough. There are then two class-related items, and I will list all of them below:

  • Blink (default) - Bow and and a Grappling Hook (Fishing Rod, right click to reel enemies towards you
  • Toshi (free) - A Toshi Egg (Right click to launch an egg which explodes, and knocks any enemy it hits off) and a Ground Pound (Brick, not quite figured out how it works yet).
  • Pika (premium) - Lunge (Golden Carrot, right click to leap forward, you get this as well as Double Jump) and Thunder Jolt (Wooden Axe, right click to bring down a thunder bolt).
  • Metoo (premium) - Teleporter (Ender Pearl, right click to throw) and Psychic Orb (Snowball, right click to launch a psychic blast!)
  • Jiggly (premium) - Doesn't have any items, but you get five mini-jumps and if you crouch, you'll receive 2 units of health every second. Also is lighter than other classes, meaning you'll get knocked back further than other classes do.

After this, it's kind of like a Free-For-All, except there are a couple of twists. The first twist is that there is a scoreboard on the right-hand side of the screen. Knocking someone off gets you 1 point, and being knocked off loses you 1 point.
          The next twist is that there will be different items which you can pick up, and they spawn on Stone Slabs. These items are:
  • Maxim Apple (red apple) - Right click whilst holding the Maxim Apple and you will regenerate 100 health!
  • Golden Maxim Apple (golden apple) - Right click whilst holding the Golden Maxim Apple and you will regenerate full health, even if you have gone above 100!
  • TNT (TNT) - Right click with the TNT and you'll launch an explosive, which can knock players far off the map
  • Hammer (Iron Axe) - This is a weapon, and music will play when you have this weapon. If you hit someone with it, it knocks them back very far and they lose 50-100 health!
  • Monster Egg (Egg) - Throw down a Monster Egg and it will spawn a random monster which will stay on the map for about 30-60 seconds. This can range from a Silverfish to a Zombie Pigman to even the Enderdragon and the Wither. Each mob will spawn with your nametag, and they will not harm you like in the other Super Craft Brothers servers (not trying to put down the rest of the servers, just noting it :D).
  • Metal Block (Iron Block) - Right clicking this will give you some iron armor, which makes you heavier, thus you do not get hit back as easy
  • Swift Feather (Feather) - Right-clicking this will give you Jump Boost III and Speed II for 20 seconds.
  • Land Mine (Stone Pressure Plate) - Place this on the ground and if an enemy steps on it, it'll explode and hopefully send them flying off the map!
  • Fire Flower (Rose) - Right-clicking one of these launches 3 fireballs into the direction you clicked in. You get 5 of these in a bunch, so use them wisely!
  • Home-Run Bat (Stick) - Hitting someone who has a high knockback-ability with this will send them flying!

The third and final twist is that each player has a percentage below their nametag. This represents how vulnerable they are to knockback. If the number is low, it means you probably won't be one-hitting them off the map. However, if the number is 100% or above, it means you make the first half-human half-bird Minecraftian in the world!
          There are 3 rounds: there are 8 games in Round 1, 4 games in the Semi-Finals and 1 game in the final. From each of these games, 2-3 and sometimes more will progress to the next stage. 1st and 2nd from each game go through, but if there are any ties than both will go through, not just one.

So that's the double Server Spotlight. There's also a new server by Super Gaming (the awesome developers of MCInfected) that I'll be reviewing immediately after these two!

-Mariobros980
Obsidian Miner...
...and back in business