On 11.30.2021, 1.18 will come out. YAY!!!  Are we updating yet?  NO!!!  Why?  Because our plugin engine won't be ready for some time.  This update doesn't actually change that many mechanics, so speculation is that the update path will go faster...for example, there are literally no new blocks/items, so the only plugins which will have issues have to do with biome/terrain generation...which we don't use. Let's go through a checklist of things that need to update, I'll keep this up to date:

• Java - Minecraft will now require Java 17, whereas the last release required Java 16. This is important because there are some hardware errors around single-threading java 17 processes; it's possible we will have to modify our server wrapping code and server runtime flags.

Server Engine:

• SpigotMC - Initial Builds are out
  • 1.18 Announcement
  • Devs are testing and running with no issues yet
• PaperMC - Initial Builds are Out
  • https://papermc.io/downloads The discord strongly cautions against considering these builds stable.

Plugins: We need plugins to be ready/tested in 1.18; No new blocks or items exist in this version, but the java change means we need to test plugins:

• EssentialsX - Dev Builds Support it
  • Github Source
  • SpigotMC Project
  • Discord Announcement
• LuckPerms - READY
  • https://luckperms.net/download
• Vault - READY, Enough reports coming in that it's fine.
  • Github
  • SpigotMC Project
  • Plugins that depend on vault are not detecting it
• GriefPrevention - Reports are Dev Builds are ready
  • SpigotMC Project
  • Report that Dev Build Works
• Dynmap - Experimental builds are out
  • SpigotMC Project
  • Dev thinks it'll be fast
  • Experimental Builds are Out; biome colors appear to be broken but otherwise it's working
• Multiverse-Core - READY, Discord bot confirms it should work but be cautions due to potential bugs
  • SpigotMC Project
  • Discord Announcement

Here's some "optional" plugins that we use that aren't critical but need to be upgraded:

• BBOutlineReloaded - NOT READY and the server side was never updated to 1.17; the developer is having a potential licensing issue
  • Bukkit Project
• Dynmap Griefpreventoin - NOT READY, Likely works and just needs testing
  • SpigotMC Project
• MatterBukkit - NOT READY, Likely works and just needs testing
  • https://dev.bukkit.org/projects/matterbukkit/files/3360204
• Geyser Spigot - READY
  • https://geysermc.org/
  • Discord Message
• nuVotifier - READY
  • SpigotMC Project

Here are the data packs we use:

• Our main datapack bundle comes from vanillatweaks and can be found here: READY https://vanillatweaks.net/share#lLObHE
  • More Mob Heads - Mobs have a chance to drop their head when killed, the head is a player head with a texture baked into the item.
  • Player Head Drops - Players will drop their heads when killed.  The dropped head will have a tag showing who killed them.  The block is a player head with a texture baked into the item, so texture will persist even if the player changes skins.
  • Wandering Trades - The wandering trader will now sell mini blocks which cost emeralds AND a full size version of the mini block.  The blocks are player heads with textures baked into the item.
  • Armor Statues - Provides a unique book which allows the posing and modification of armor stands and item frames
  • Track Statistics - Tracks some interesting statistics
  • Track Raw Statistics - Adds 100+ things to a scoreboard which can rotate and show online players who has done what
  • Coordinates HUD - Shows the players XYZ coords and time of day above the hotbar
  • Workstation Highlights - Allows you to find the workstation of any villager
  • Villager Death Messages - Notifies the server chat when a villager is killed
• Stillagers - A custom DataPack made by surfrock66, this allows you to apply a nametag to Villagers titled "Stillager" which disables their AI which reduces lag in 1x1 spaces in trading halls.  The still villagers will restock at 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM in game.  This can be reversed by applying the nametag "Moveager." https://www.teh3l3m3nts.com/new-datapack-stillagers/

Lastly, there are some client mods we use which are very helpful but aren't deal-breakers

• Optifine - Preview version is out for 1.18
  • https://optifine.net/downloads
• Fabric Loader - Experimental Snapshots are out
  • https://fabricmc.net/use/
• Fabric API - Experimental Snapshots are out
  • Curseforge Project
• Optifabric - Experimental Snapshots are out
  • Curseforge Project
• ReplayMod - READY
  • https://www.replaymod.com/download/ Per the discord it's released to VIP's so release is imminent.
• Litematica - READY
  • Curseforge Project
  • Developer's Site Download
• MiniHUD - NOT READY - (Dev got sick and is working on it)
  • Curseforge Project
  • Extremely early builds are out
• Malilib - READY
  • Curseforge Project
• BBOutlineReloaded - NOT READY, developer may have stopped working on it
  • https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/bounding-box-outline-reloaded/files

I wanted to build a potion shop and factory and got inspired to do something witchy.

I started with the idea of a witch living in a haunted house; it would have started small and simple, then she would have added on rooms and extensions as she needed space to grow. I represented this with different build styles indicating the stages, thinking a witch wouldn't care to keep the same build style as she added on rooms. I wanted it to look dirty, cluttered, and very used which I think I pulled off; the interior is split into a lab area and a kitchen, with a few upstairs rooms for living. Using the invisible item frame vanilla tweak, the more mob heads vanilla tweak, and the armor stand vanilla tweak, I think the yard and interior do a good job of telling the story.

The zombie nitwit (Frank Stein, not sure why replaymod rendered him out on the roof) lives in the attic, and Bellatrix lives in her tower. The Dinnerbone'd and charged creeper was a ton of fun to get in place, and the bubble column in green panes was a really cool element in the room...even though it's a huge threat you can get right up next to it. Getting the endermite into the cauldron was another ordeal as well. Minerva the black cat was the last decorative mob detail.

I dug out and blackstone brick'd the entire footprint, then set up the bubblevators. The potion brewers were easy enough to make; this is the first time I've worked with candles, and I think the denser pattern on the nether brick walls helped make the sconces make more sense. I crammed a few other micro farms in there, and in theory need to build a small slime farm (1/4 of this is in a slime chunk), a small creeper-only mob farm, and use any remaining space to farm nether wart.

This was a ton of fun to make and I'm glad I got it done in time for Halloween!

Lucas wanted a "Diagon Alley Door" in the style of this from the Harry Potter movies.

So I made this:

He's been learning redstone, so I prototyped it in our creative area to make a schematic that he can rebuild in his base. To make it look "random" it's 6 flying machines going in somewhat different orders when opening and closing. To activate it from the outside, you throw any item in the cauldron (and you get it back as a dispenser pops it through the floor on the other side). From the inside, you press the button; it auto-closes in about 5 seconds.

It could probably be compacted, but for his needs this is perfect. Also things like the water column for vertical signal transmission are fun because it makes bubbly noises which "is like potions" so it works!

Here's the Schematic!

Here's the spacing; yellow and green are above ground level, blue and red are at/below ground:

After we established base camp in new 1.17 chunks, we sent out a tunnel bore to get deepslate. The tunnel bore hit a mineshaft with about 9 cave spider spawners and a zombie spawner. We also found 5 geodes in close proximity, so we started building farms. The problem is, the entire area is under an ocean, and the buildup of mobs under the water caused severe lag.

We decided to build a perimeter, but because farms had already been built, world eaters or raining tnt wasn't an option. We were going to work mostly by hand.

Thanks to the spigot plugin Geyser, we are pleased to announce that our server now supports Bedrock clients!  Thanks to The_Banana_Bunch for bringing this up...as his computer died and all his remaining options are Bedrock clients lol.

To use this, Bedrock players will still need a Java Minecraft account.  From the bedrock client, players will simply add our server, mc.teh3l3m3nts.com, using the default Bedrock port 19132.

If you are connecting from a console (Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch) you can still connect, but the instructions are more complex.  Geyser provides their own instructions here; they require using the BedrockConnect DNS servers and we recommend the official BedrockConnect DNS IP here: 104.238.130.180.

Once the bedrock client finds our server and tries to connect, it will prompt you for your Java account login credentials, whether that be a Mojang account or a Microsoft account.  Enter those, and you should be in as your java player with all your inventory, positioning, and permissions preserved.