1.9 Update Is Coming! - Some Awesome Minecraft

EDIT: The update has been rescheduled for Monday, February 29th

After over a year of waiting for a new update to our favorite game, 1.9 finally has a release date! This Thursday, February 25th Some Awesome Minecraft will be updating!

We have warned you guys in the past that we would not be updating the NuNu server in order to allow time for the plugins we require to also update. As administrators of the servers we understand the need for this, but as fans and players of the game, WE WANT UPDATES! So how do we compromise?

We update Main!

For many of us, Main is where it all began. The server was created back when Minecraft was still in 1.3 and has been growing with it ever since. For the veteran players, it was our home, and even though we’ve all made NuNu our home as well, there will always be a soft spot for Main. When 1.8 was released we decided to take Main offline. Seven months later Spigot finally had a 1.8 release, and we decided to update and reopen Main just in time to celebrate our Two Year Anniversary. The problem was, everyone was already in love with NuNu so after the initial homecoming, most of us migrated back to NuNu leaving Main a bit of a ghost town. Well, we’re not giving up on it yet!

On Wednesday evening, February 24th Main will be closed so that the admins may start preparing the update to 1.9 to have it ready to open to the community on Saturday, February 27th. The hosting will need to be upgraded to handle the size of the world, but the server will still only be able to hold 20 people at a time in order to reduce the normal amounts of lag that we see with new updates. Also, our old spawn area is very outdated so the admins will set up a new spawn area where the newer blocks can be easier obtained. You will still be able to get back to the old spawn via command blocks, but this will save us all thousands upon thousands of blocks of travel while trying to find those new items.

1.9 New Features:
Check out the complete list of 1.9 features including Combat, new blocks, and a whole new End!

Main Features:
New spawn area: we’ll be setting up a similar spawn area as seen on NuNu with an admin area surrounding. You will be able to teleport back to the old spawn area via command blocks if you wish to use your old land, or you can have a new command block set up in the new tower to your old place or a new one.
Game Rules still apply: We will not be changing the game rules in place on Main
Keep Inventory = True
Mob Griefing = False
Fire Spread = False
XP Shops: You are able to purchase things like enchanted books, animals, and additional command blocks with your experience points.
Bank: we’ve modified the SAMC Bank to reduce the amount of redstone needed to exchange ores. From now on you will be able to make the exchange directly with the custom Bank Tellers.
Custom Dungeons: collect rare mob drops and earn XP in our custom mob dungeons.
Community Spawners: Command block access to several community built XP grinders (no camping)
In-game mini games: Check out all the mini games we have available without ever having to leave the server!

Main Features that won’t be available or may change functionality:
Toad Hut: we’ll have to suspend Toad Hut abilities until the plugins have caught up
Jet Packs: we will be eliminating Jet Packs due to the new availability of “wings”, the Elytra.
Backpacks: we are not sure how these will work once the plugin has been updated so be sure to empty your backpacks BEFORE we close the server on Wednesday. February 24th to ensure that you do not lose any precious items. Again, we are not positive items will still be there once the plugin is updated and we will not be replacing them.
Note: if you can not get on the server before then, please PM an admin and ask us to empty your backpack for you. We will store them safely in the admin vault.
Power Tools: we will know more about power tools once the plug-in is updated and how they will work (if at all) with the new blocks and duel wielding capabilities now.

Expected Changes to Main:
New Command Tower. We’re going to keep the familiar look of the command tower for nostalgic reasons, but we aim to make it more efficient and less laggy for everyone. This means that while you are able to purchase additional command blocks with XP points, you will only be allowed to house one set in the command tower. What we suggest is that you create a CB hub on your own property to house any other teleports to other properties that you own. We ask that families who play together and players who team up do the same, meaning there is one CB that they all can use to take to an offsite location to get to personal properties. It may seem like an extra step, but the fewer cbs we have in the CT the better off we all are.
Similar admin area and road system to NuNu: The new look of Main will be very similar to NuNu’s spawn area as we have seen that it has proven very efficient.
Holiday Area: A smaller holiday area will be constructed for those who wish to celebrate on Main.

Everyone will be very excited for the changes coming to The End including the new End Cities, End Ships, wings, and new blocks. However, you know how we admins like to preserve some of the aesthetics of the landscape so we’re offering a compromise to those who may decide to pillage and ransack The End in their search for treasure. End Ships will be governed the same as Ocean Monuments allowing only one claimed ship per person. However, we will have a custom villager who will sell these rare new blocks including WINGS! (Yes, we know the name for them is Elytra & they’re like a glider, but dude, WINGS!). So as not to take all the fun and sport out of the game the cost will not be cheap, requiring XP plus some, but everyone will be able to obtain Elytra if they work for them. We know the loss of jet packs is disappointing on Main so we’re hoping this helps ease the transition.

Also, we are lifting the ban for removing obsidian from The End. It is our understanding that with the spawn of each new dragon, several towers will also respawn with it, no longer making it necessary to preserve the towers for future fights.

Dragon heads will also be a governed item. You may have one per person and feel free to display them. However, there is an animation to them that may or may not be a lag concern if enough are engaged so we ask that you treat it like any other redstone machine and have an off button for it, and that it remain off while you are not online. We’re affectionately considering it the Big Mouth Billy Bass. Enjoy the animation and then turn it off please.

For those of you who have not given Main a fair shot, we only ask that you check it out, but if you’re still not convinced then we have good news for you too. Spigot has announced a 1.9 build release very soon after Mojang’s release. However, we want to test it and give all of our individual plugins time to update as well so do not expect to see it on NuNu until at least the end of March provided all testing done on Main has been successful. That’s a lot better than the wait time for plugins in the past so I doubt anyone will be complaining. In the meantime, check out Main, build yourself a little cottage there and get to know some of our history. Check out the SAMC History Museum to learn how it all began.

Check out the gallery for more cool stuff we can expect to see in 1.9

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