Happy love day everyone! We’ve got such a wonderful group and family here among us, we just wanted to show you all how much we love you. Come visit our very special LOVE inspired holiday area, built by our beloved blackbird_cloud. Take a ride down our river of love, just watch out for Cupid’s arrows đ
Visit our holiday villager for some holiday souvenirs (don’t forget your bottles of XP).
Take a moment to leave a love note for your special someone on our Dedication Wall.
Just our little way to show you how much we love and appreciate all of you! Thank you for all the years of support and encouragement. We love our Minecraft family!
While it doesn’t have a lot of the same polish that the rest of the site has, I am nonetheless releasing the initial functionality for MineConnect and its Patreon-exclusive premium section, the Command Zone. Even though the latter is really just an extension of the former, they have their own separate uses which I will explain to you below.
But first, what’s this all about anyway? Well if you haven’t been keeping up, this is all part of the SomeAwesome.com integration that I’ve been cobbling together over the last month or so, in order for players to have a way to earn more in-game currency, while also helping flesh out the content for the new site. It’s a win-win in my book.
How Does It Work?
The premise at its most basic is that you can take the points that you earn on SomeAwesome.com, points that you would normally spend on redeeming Steam keys for new games to add to your library, and instead use those points to benefit yourself in various ways on the Minecraft server. The system is set up to automatically deduct the appropriate amount of points and then connect to the server to fulfill your request. It’s a neat little trick and I’m rather proud of it đ
You do have to be on the server at the same time for these requests to work, so I understand how this might be a little annoying for those of you with a single screen, but luckily it is easy to minimize Minecraft unlike some other games, so all you have to do is keep SomeAwesome.com up in a browser to use it while your game is still running in the background.
Let’s go into the specifics about how you can take advantage of it.
MineConnect
At the heart of all this is the MineConnect framework, which at its core enables you to use your points on the server. The most basic example of this is converting your points into SAMCoin (the name of our in-game currency) on a 1-to-1 basis. Need an XP boost in-game and you just got a review published? Go to the MineConnect page and select how many points you want to convert, make sure you’re online on the server, and submit. It should take a couple of seconds, but you will get a success message with your remaining point total once it goes through, and you’ll also get a notification on the server that you’ve added to your balance.
Of course, it’s worth noting at this point that for all this to work in the first place you’ll need an account on SomeAwesome.com and some points to convert. You’ll also need to have your Minecraft username in the appropriate field in your user profile, so make sure you do that first.
Command Zone
The Command Zone offers a separate layer of functionality for our Patreon supporters on the Gold tier and up. If you are on this tier and you have an account on SomeAwesome.com (and your Minecraft username is stored in your profile), you’ll have access to this area of the site where you can spend your points on daily or weekly access to a variety of different command permissions.
We only have a handful of available commands at the moment, and all of them are Essentials commands with the exception of Double Jump so if you want to learn more about them, then click the links in this sentence before you purchase them.
Most commands will have the option to purchase them for a full week or a single day. Obviously you will get more for your points if you choose the full week option, but for those players who do not play every day, the day option can be more economical. So it’s up to you and how you play.
Again, you have to be on the server for this to work so please keep that in mind. If you are not on the server, the points will not be deducted and an error will show up.
We Want More Commands!
Feel free to suggest commands that you’d like to see here, I already have a few I’m working on adding (*cough*Treefeller*cough) but be advised that not all commands make sense to add to this list, plus I need to keep some out to have as Command of the Week.
Speaking of which, going forward there will be a week’s notice on COTW to give people enough time just in case the command they’ve purchased is on deck for the following week. This way, as long as you’re paying attention in the group, you’ll never feel cheated out of a command you just bought.
Both MineConnect and Command Zone are available now, although they are both only minimally tested, so please make sure you are following the process stated above. While I’ve done my best to make sure that they are fairly straightforward, I have the benefit of knowing this system inside and out, so feel free to tell me how I’m doing it wrong! đ
When we left Gaming Mommies nearly 2 years ago, it was a tough time, brought forth under less-than-ideal circumstances. It was a time filled with a lot of unpleasant feelings, piled on top of a determination that we could build our own online presence, even if we didn’t really know what the purpose of that presence was yet.
Out of that slag came Some Awesome. For many reasons that I won’t go into here, we quickly realized that it wasn’t going to work, and we shelved the main site. Suffice it to say, you can’t build something positive on the backs of anger and grief. And so it goes.
We knew there was something special there though. So for the last year, I’ve been steadily refining the concept for the site, and then building it. I’m proud to say that we’re now very close to release, but we need your help.
What is SomeAwesome.com?
The simplest way to explain the new site, is as a place where one can go to earn free games by writing game reviews. Authors start with 10,000 points, and can use those points to redeem games (games cost anywhere from 100 to several thousand points) via Steam key. After they play those games, they come back to site to review them, and those reviews earn them more points they can use to redeem more games.
The site is built around a system that automates the majority of this process, outside a simple moderation route that I currently run myself, to make sure you aren’t just writing the word poop 100 times and trying to publish it đ We have no intention to alter tone or beat you over the head with an Oxford comma. We just need to make sure basic guidelines are met.
You can read more about How It Works on the site itself.
How Can I Help?
What I need right now is testers. Specifically, people to test the redemption/review loop, point out inconsistencies, and just try to break the site in general. We’re calling this phase a Closed Beta, and the plan is to launch Open Beta on the New Year’s Day, at which point, anyone who has published a review will receive 2 invites to send to people they know who might be interested.
You can fill out the form at the end of this article to sign up for authorship, and I’ll be taking people in groups of 3 at a time, in order to allow myself enough focus for any issues arising from each group. In other words, if you’re not immediately contacted after signing up, please don’t take it personally. It’s just easier for me to manage this way.
Many of you have expressed a desire to donate to the server, and this is a good way to do so. In return, you get some free games, and once the site takes off, it results in more players for the server, since we’ll be regularly cross-promoting. Really it’s a win-win for everyone here.
When Do We Start?
I’ll be picking the first group on December 1st, which is the first day of Closed Beta, but please feel free to submit your signup below as soon as you want. I’ll pick a new group every Friday to add to the existing authors.
I’ve worked very hard on this for the last year and I really believe in it. I hope you can help me out and have a little fun along the way too. đ
Itâs a New Year, and we have a new update for our NuNu Server Teams. The Sorting Hat leads to a more relaxed & fun experience in 2016. What are these Teams?
For our newer members who have been wondering why other playersâ names are colorful in the player list, weâd like to introduce you to our Sorting Hat.
Yes, if youâre a Harry Potter fan, that name will sound familiar. Last year we took the concept of the sorting hat & Hogwarts houses to create Admin-led teams on the server. We focused on earning points, in a competition to beat the other teams. However over time we found the need for constant point-earning opportunities to be more of a chore & burden on the team captains & admins than initially anticipated. The team projects, member participation, & points dwindled, but the teams and the camaraderie between players continued.
What are the new changes?
Not a whole lot from what has been happening in the last few months, but we wanted to officially change the focus.
Points no longer exist.
The competition of point earning was fun for a while, but also sparked plenty of team versus team banter that occasionally went a little far. Keeping the teams more for fun & even cooperative in nature will help us maintain our awesome community spirit.
Teams no longer have Captains.
Admins are still assigned to their teams, but are mostly there to oversee & be a point of contact & approval for projects. They will no longer be trying to come up with monthly projects or members of the month, unless they have a specific idea & availability to do so. Players are welcome to come up with project ideas for their team, or even the whole community, to submit to the admins. Projects are not required & there is no requirement of participation for team members. If you want to join in the fun, feel free! Please Remember: if a project idea would be a big change to the server/community (especially if itâs in community space)- it needs to have Admin Approval before anything is done. We understand there are a lot of exciting & fun project ideas out there, but please know that the admins hash out every detail together before deciding if a project will be feasible for the community & server as a whole. Those following the adage “It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission” may be facing a harsh reality of having to undo their project if it’s not something the admins would approve. Asking first will save time & resources.Â
Here are your Admins:
MizzDani87
dancingn27
Akumo & MandaLin
Do I have to be sorted on a team?
No. If you do not wish to participate with the teams, or to be sorted, that is completely fine. These are voluntary & we want them to be fun. We see it as a bonus way of getting to know players that you may not regularly spend time with. However participation is not required.
How do I get sorted on a team?
Contact an admin (via in-game chat, or tag in the group) and one of us will get you sorted. The sorting is random; you donât get to choose which team you join.
If you have a child who would like to join a team, we make an exception for young kids (especially 12 & under) that they can be automatically added to the same team as their parent(s) or guardian.
Is there any way I can get off the team Iâm on?
Yes. We now have an âOpt Outâ option! We know that there was a lot of hype & excitement over the teams & a lot of players were encouraging each other to quickly get sorted. If you have since decided that the Teams arenât for you, please contact an admin & they will add you to the Opt Out list & remove you from your team. (Your name will again turn to white in the player list.)
If Iâve opted out, but want back on the teams later, can I get re-sorted?
You will be welcomed back to your original team, but we will not be re-sorting you to a different one. The decision of the sorting hat is final.
After Iâve joined a team, how do I know what my team is doing?
We hope you continue to enjoy this fun team system! Let us know if there are any other questions or clarifications that we can discuss or add to this list.
Here it is! For the 3rd year, our official Secret Santa & Christmas Stockings event! đ
~~Secret Santa~~
We have such a fun & amazing community here that our Secret Santa events are always a hit. Leaving someone presents is basically a daily thing on our servers, but the randomized drawing of Secret Santa makes it so you may get to know a completely different player when leaving a Secret Santa gift.
We have some changes, so even if youâve done this before, please READ all the way through! đ
WHAT is Secret Santa?
A Gift exchange, but more! You submit your name into a pool of others, when submissions are closed, youâll be given a random name. That person will be whom you are giving a gift to!
If you submit your name, youâre not only committing to giving someone else a gift, but you should receive one as well!
HOW do we get started?
Inside the trunk of the giant Christmas Tree in the holiday area, is where you start the submission process. From ~now~ until Monday, Dec. 7th, you will be able to join the Secret Santa event by grabbing a book* (provided via button), sign it with your name (Step 1), and drop it into the chest (Step 2).
You are welcome to submit names on behalf of other players (family/friends) if they cannot get on & do it for themselves (put their name as the book title). However please keep in mind: 1. You should have their permission first. 2. If they cannot get online to give their gift, you will be the one responsible for the gift. *Fine print: Please ONLY grab these books for this purpose & for nothing else. Thanks!
Whatâs next?
At this point, some people already start planning for the gift theyâre going to give or build. Others wait until they know who will be receiving their gift so they can customize it to that playerâs needs or likes.
Beginning Monday, Dec. 7th: the Admin team will work on randomly assigning Santas to recipients. This way we can make sure everyone has someone & that you donât get your own name! đ We will let you know the name of the player youâve been assigned sometime on Dec. 7th or 8th. This will be the person you are giving a gift to. ~The Fine Print!~ When you submit your name/signup, you are agreeing to provide a gift for someone else. If you are too busy to get online to submit your own name and have someone do it for you, please only have your name submitted if you will be available to give a gift later. đ We try to avoid such sadness as missed giving opportunities.
Finally: GIFT! đ
Go forth & GIFT! Now is your time to customize something special for your recipient. YOU choose how you will reveal the gift! You can give it early, or you can wait until just before Christmas. We do ask that all gifts be given (delivered, built, etc) by Dec. 24th at the latest.
Tips:
Join the Event! đ We will have opportunities for people to list their needs/likes so that a Secret Santa might get to know a little more about the player they are giving to.
Make sure your name & IGN are listed on the group’s IGN doc (click here) so itâs easier to match gift suggestions to players in-game.
If you are building a gift for your recipient, pick an area that wonât be in their way. For purely decorative builds, maybe around the edges of their land would be best (i.e.: donât place a fountain in the middle of/blocking their tree farm). If they need a new farm or animal pens, then a place they can get to them easily would probably be great.
If you are wanting to leave a chest of goodies for your Secret Santa recipient, we will have options available where you can leave gifts *under the Christmas tree*. Of course youâre welcome to build them a decorative present at their place with the chest of goodies hidden inside. đ
Gift Ideas (a few things that have been done before):
Pixel art of something the receiver likes (pick a fandom, any fandom!)
Completing or helping with a large build they’re in need of
Chest of goodies: favorite blocks, colors, supplies needed, specially named items for decor, hard-to-get items
We look forward to another great holiday season of fun gift-giving here in our Awesome Community!
~~The Stockings Were HungâŚ~~
All the good little Steves & Alexes are hoping to get something special in their stockings this season! While youâre at the Holiday area, hang your stocking by the fireplace & youâll get a gift from the Admins after Christmas! ^_^
There are buttons for red or green stockings, choose your color and rename your stocking* with your IGN on one of the anvils. Using the item frames provided, hang it on the brick wall around the fireplace. Only stockings hung before Christmas morning will be eligible for gifts. *Fine print: Only ONE stocking per player. Please only use/take 1 item frame.
After Christmas morning, the admins will collect the stockings & you will be able to make ONE Christmas wish. It can be any one item (not a stack), or enchantment that you wish (from creative inventory, not an item that needs to be summoned). Addendum: A power shovel or power pick is a valid option for your item. đÂ
~Holiday Area OPEN for December!~
As usual, our Holiday area isn’t without other amenities! We have festive decor to enjoy and custom villagers to trade with. This holiday our villagers have such things as festive goodies, custom outfits, banners, & more.
Trades: cobble, emeralds, diamond blocks, sticks, & white wool
See the “Gingerbread Man” with your cobble for some special treats; check where you sit on the Naughty or N’ice list with “List Checker” (bring diamond blocks & emeralds, trust me); Santa’s Elf has your custom tailored Santa Suit (he likes sticks), and Santa’s Elf2 has some of our most Festive banners for trade (bring white wool)!
Note: the collectible Christmas Map is also now available!Â
Donât forget to download the Some Awesome communityâs favorite Christmas Texture pack: XmasBDCraft 2014 from Sphax!
It happens to us all, youâre mining along and come across a huge vein of diamonds, but your inventory is full. Now you have to decide what to throw away all the while wishing you had extra inventory space. Occasionally you get a taste of it when our Command of the Week is Enderchest (/ec), but that only lasts a week. IF ONLY THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY!!
Well, now there isâŚ
Introducing, new to our Main and NuNu servers: Backpacks! This is not an actual item to carry in your inventory, one that you could easily lose when you run into a creeper on NuNu. Type the command /backpack into the chat to open up your own personal backpack space! Store items inside to keep them safe in case of death where there is no keep inventory enabled.
Hold up though⌠weâre not just giving them away all willy nilly. Sorry kids, itâs not THAT easy! Backpacks will now be added as one of your birthday gifts. For those active players who have logged on to the server(s) at least within the past 30 days, on your birthday you will have backpack access and weâre making them retroactive for all of our April birthdays.
Small Backpack
Birthday backpacks start out small, with only one row, but can be upgraded to a maximum of six rows (the size of a double chest).
Extra Large (max size)
If you havenât had your birthday yet, or it was before April, donât worry. Backpacks will also be available as prizes for contests, giveaways, and game nights. If you already have a backpack and you win another you may redeem it on the other server or choose to add another row to the one you currently hold. An extra row will also be added on subsequent birthdays until your backpacks are at max size.
By default all backpacks will be given to you on the NuNu server, so if you play more on Main, just let an admin know and we can set you up there instead.
