Best Posts in Thread: The Meeptimes #44

Spawn feels the season as Halloween approaches​

Welcome to The MeepTimes, the twice-monthly update to keep the community in the loop with what’s new, behind the scenes, and in the works. This will be published every other Friday.
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Community Events

Halloween Building Contest
The results are in! After tough competition was reviewed, the town of Seasonal won for the best town spawn (see above). Created by @Midnight_Galaxy and @Vamp1re_Man, this town spawn was started over ten months ago and was decorated just days before the end date, and now is finally open! You can check it out at /Pwarp Seasonal!



With his stellar building and decorating, @Alexxx took the prize for the best home. Check it out for yourself at /pwarp Alexxx!

Thank you to many other entries, including:

Melancholy​

Legend​

Roxy
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Server Updates



Halloween Event
Join the fun in the Halloween event! Collect pumpkins, fight mobs, and complete challenges to be the best!

Mail
A new mail system has been implemented! Read all about it below!


The Project - Mail!




What is the new Mail plugin?

The new mail plugin is a development out tech team has been working on, they have worked extremely hard to make mail better than ever! Now you have time stamps so you can see when it was sent! You can send to more than one person and many more new and improved features!


Who’s been working on this?

• @jadenPete and @LordInateur have both been working hard to implement this new feature!

Let’s Talk to our Development Team about Mail!

Whilst you were working on this new mail plugin/feature, What was your specific role?
My role was to make my old plugin ready for use on Meep. To do this, I had to clean up the code, implement some new features, and fix the bugs. - @jadenPete

Whereas Jaden developed the plugin, I tested and implemented it. - @LordInateur


If you were to look back on the previous mail and the new, what would you say changed the most?
I never looked at the code for the old mail plugin, but from a user-standpoint I'd say the new features have been the biggest change. With the new plugin, multiple parameters can be added to many commands in a multitude of ways. Additionally, paginating has been a huge step forward as well. - @jadenPete

I think the most noticeable features are definitely the improved commands, including the ability to delete specific pieces of mail and message more than one person at a time. - @LordInateur


Why did we need this new and improved mail plugin and what are the benefits?
A new mail plugin has been a requested feature for a long time, and I felt that it needed to be implemented. While the old plugin was a part of Essentials, the new one was written from scratch. The benefits of this are cross-server support, cleaner code, less bugs, and most importantly more features. - @jadenPete

This was a suggestion that was made a long time ago, and when Jaden came on the team he had the plugin already half-finished (he was working on it as a personal project)... so, modifying it to fit into the MeepCraft technological architecture was not too terribly difficult. This plugin is helpful because it both improves the user communication experience and also paves the way for asynchronous communication when we work on some of the future planned Meep backbone development. - @LordInateur


Whilst working on this new and improved plugin, how would you rate the difficulty of this task and why?
Since this plugin was derived from my old mail plugin, it wasn't too difficult to make. Since it was one of my first plugins, it was difficult to make originally. - @jadenPete

I think that this was probably a plugin of low difficulty because it mainly deals with on-demand commands, and doesn't work much with in-game events as much as you would find in, say, a mini-game. Furthermore, as I said earlier the plugin was mostly already built by Jaden beforehand, and so most of the new development work came from integrating it with the MeepCraft infrastructure. - @LordInateur


When working on this, did you enjoy it? What was the highlight?
One thing I really enjoyed about this plugin was looking at my old code and finding ways to improve it based on the knowledge I have gained in the past couple months. Reorganizing and cleaning up the plugin was the main task at hand. - @jadenPete

It's always good to see other developers improving their skill sets. I think the highlight, however, was getting it implemented. - @LordInateur

How do you think the community has liked this new development?
From what I've seen, it's been very successful. Originally we planned to wipe the mail databases clean, but thanks to Lord's script-fu we were able to convert the database perfectly, which I feel has been a huge benefit for the community. - @jadenPete

We've heard some positive feedback from the community, much more than I thought. This was an exciting plugin from a developer's point of view, for sure, but I wasn't sure if the community would care that much about a new mailer plugin. However, we've mostly received positive feedback and I'm glad that we went ahead with the decision to implement it. - @LordInateur


If you could work on anything next, What would it be?
Right now I am already working on improving CTF and creating the new ChestShop plugin. - @jadenPete

Currently we're working on rewriting some of MeepCraft's backbone to try to eliminate some of the cross-server lag (and make it easier for developers to write cross-world plugins). That's going to be a very exciting project because of the opportunities that it opens up. After that, I hope to finish up the Infected plugin that we've been working on. - @LordInateur


Storytime with the Crew - Spleef Championship!
Onceuponajano was back again on Meepcraft. After the devastating loss of the Parkour Speed Run to none other than CluelessKlutz, she was back to claim another title that was up for grabs.
The 2017 Spleef Champion.

After a refurbishment of the classic game, Spleef was put back in spawn to play casually with friends. However, it was not there just for casual gameplay. It was there for serious gameplay, as well. And so the Spleef Championship returned to Meepcraft, with a new arena in which to compete.

The forum announcement came two weeks before, urging anyone who wanted to play to sign up on the post. Once did so quickly, along with many others such as MagBOO, Epixaid and teddypines, and even the infamous Vamp1re_man, renowned for cheating in Spleef. However, he did promise to discontinue this terrible act of faith, and so was entered into the competition.
The draw was announced a week before the tournament commenced. 32 had signed up in total, so there would be 4 in each round, with the winner moving on. Once was paired up with JeterPan, agnd, and IEatOreos. She rarely acknowledged her opponents in Towns beforehand, and went about her business patiently until the day game.

The day before the Championship was expected to commence, MasterofBoom saw Once practicing Spleef with EllieEllie in their town, blah. Boom hurried over and Once, seeing him approach, had a few words with Ellie and jogged towards him.

“Hey, Boom!” Once grinned. She remembered the last time he had consulted her before a big competition – the Parkour Speed Run. “So, what’s up?”

“Hey Once, I just came to wish you good luck on tomorrow! Lucky my big bro’s not entering. You wouldn’t want that again, would you?”

Once grimaced. She remembered the time that she and creepersareokay had lost disappointingly to CluelessKlutz, all because of the last three jumps in Chillroom. She shook her head and looked at Boom.

“Nah. That was painful. Anyway, thanks for the luck! I’m just practicing with Ellie right now.”

“Oh?” Boom looked over at the actual plopfish, who waved enthusiastically back at him.

“You can come and chill out with us if you want?” asked Once.

“That would be great! I’ll help you train for tomorrow,” agreed Boom.

And with that, they trained until the day became night, and the night became day. Once was ready.

The day of the competition came. Once was nervous and excited. She was ready for the tricks that Jeter, agnd and IEatOreos would pull. She was confident she would move through.

LordInateur’s global announcement came early in the morning. “Spleef Championships – please come to /warp spleef now.”. Once warped, and saw many players already waiting for their turn at the title. She grinned. None of them would be getting the title today.

Once’s round came first. They jumped into the arena, and the timer ticked down. 3, 2, 1, and they were off. Jeter came straight for Once, who dodged and managed to sink him into the lava. Agnd and Oreos were dueling, so Once stood back and waited until agnd fell, which then was her time to attack. Oreos had a strafing strategy, one that Once had trained for. She moved backwards, turned and broke the snow, and like she practiced, Oreos fell. Once grinned. She was in the semi-finals.

Some players succeeded, others failed. In the end, 8 remained. It was semi-final time. Once was up against NinjaRoxy, ScaredyPants and riri30. They jumped in, and the round began. Once did as she did before, dueling with riri30. He had a better approach than any of the ones in the heats. He jumped, ducked and sprinted around all of Once’s attacks. Riri had her cornered. She thought that was it. Until suddenly, NinjaRoxy came sprinting out from the side of her view and broke the block underneath riri. It was just the two of them left, then. Ninja smiled. She attacked. Once stepped and broke the block she was standing on – just in time for Ninja to stand on it. Ninja’s smile faltered, and she fell into the lava. Once had made it into the finals. She was over the moon.

Once was heading back down to the waiting area when Boom walked over again. He smiled, and sat down next to her.

“Great job, Once! You beat a bunch of great competitors!” exclaimed Boom.

“Thanks, Boom, you helped me heaps,” Once replied.

“I don’t know who you’re up against in the final, but I think you’re going to win. You got this!”
“Haha, thanks Boom. I’ll give it all I’ve got.”

A mighty roar came from the arena below. Once ran over to see who she would be facing. And there, in the middle of the arena, was Vamp1re_man. The infamous flier who was apparently abiding by the rules today. Not likely, thought Once. She jumped into the arena just as it reset, and she was promptly joined by Vamp1re, who cheekily grinned at her.

The game started. They were like two fighters in a ring, not one of them daring to make the first move. Vamp1re teased at her here and there, but he didn’t make any attacks.

So Once decided to go first.

She attacked. Vamp1re sidestepped, counterattacked. However, both players were skilled enough to outmaneuver each other’s attacks. It was a dead heat.

Vamp1re, panting and bent down, looked up and said, “Well, we need some variety now, don’t we?”

He sidestepped once, twice, three times, enough to make Once thoroughly confused. She looked this way, that way, but all seemed lost. Suddenly, she knew where he was. She could track him at any point, any time in the past, present or future. She looked forwards, and smiled. She attacked right in the spot where he was standing, just like she predicted the outcome. And Vamp1re_man fell.

But the message didn’t pop up, saying that Once had won, or Vamp1re had died. And that’s when she realized. She looked down through the arena and saw Vamp1re hovering over the lava. Once gasped and yelled, “HAX! BNA!”. LordInateur, the competition referee, saw the foul play, and disqualified Vamp1re. Once had won. She was over the moon.

Teleporting out, she smiled. What she had achieved would start something no one would ever expect.


Humans Of MeepCraft - Feat. @Lady_Hestia



Where did your name come from?
I was in probably 6th or 7th grade and i had a crappy old iphone with no data or texting on it but I filled it with those farm games. There was one that was build a greek empire or something so I decided to find a Greek Goddess to make my screenname. I actually spent a lot of time deciding on it. I thought the ones I liked most were Hestia, who does fire and architecture and rules Olympus (realm of the Gods) and Artemis, a tough-as-nails warrior who likes the moon and to hunt. Obviously it was Hestia I chose but that name was taken so I stuck a Lady in front and bam Lady Hestia was born. And it has stuck through this day. Hestia is even my nickname in real life to some friends. I've never changed my username but if just "Hestia" ever becomes available I'd like to take that.


What is it like being a co-mayor of Legend and holding the title of "Queen" of the Mystical Dominion?
It's pretty great. It's a lot of work making decisions and working with mayors and other players but it's a lot of fun. I adore working with you, Clueless and my other co mayors and nation staff. I like having the freedom to do whatever I want, but honestly the job is mostly dealing with certain problem players causing issues. My other responsibilities are moderating our discords. Am I allowed to advertise them? I don't know. But you should join them they're great and you get a lot of news and access to projects and events you might not know are happening as well as ability to become town/nation staff. Plus we're pretty tough on toxicity (you do have to deal with Adrian) which makes it more fun for everyone. If any of y'all are wondering how I got the title "Queen" it's because I'm clue's favorite. Or maybe I just annoyed him into giving it to me. Probably that.

What kind of things do you enjoy most outside of the server?
I like writing, playing/listening to music, hugging cats, , sleeping, and playing sims. Normal teen stuff


If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?
New york city because I have family there and there is always something to do! I love central park and getting up early in the morning and walking through the streets. I love people watching! Did I say I loved the morning in New York City? I'm normally not a morning person but I love bagels and the sunrise and the feel of the cool morning ocean air. It's my favorite place in the world.


Is there anything else you’d like to add?
hi im hestia and i approve this message


Social Media!

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Get involved with the MeepTimes

With every release of the MeepTimes, we pick a cover photo submitted by the community! The owner of each piece of content selected will receive a 10,000 meeble reward. To submit a cover photo for the next release of the MeepTimes, send a private message to @Vamp1re_Man. Happy Meeping!


The next issue of The MeepTimes will be released November 10, 2017! See you then!


This issue was created by @CluelessKlutz @Midnight_Galaxy @OKNEM

 

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