Sunday, January 26, 2014

A New Adventure: The Struggle - Pt 1

   I let out a deep sigh as I look out into the ravine.  I clutch my stomach as it groans again.  I walk away from the edge of the ravine and back into the forest.  All sense of danger is lost as I look for food.  I stumble from tree looking for anything to eat.  Under a darker colored tree with vines growing on it, I find a few mushrooms.  "Uhh, I don't know if they are poisonous, but doesn't look like I have much of a choice..."


Sunday, January 19, 2014

A New Adventure: Awakened - Pt 10

   "How the hell didn't I notice this?" I say to myself as I look over the bandage on my right bicep.  "Well, whatever.  Need to figure out my next move." I say as I scoot close to the lip of the ledge.  I look across the wide ravine, then to the left and right of me.  "Huh, guess I'll go that way."  To my left are some protrusions from the rock face I can use to climb.  About a half hour later, I climb over the edge of the ravine, not far away from where I fell off.  As I take a deep breath and relish the feeling of cheating death, I don't notice the rustling of the leaves to my left...


Sunday, January 12, 2014

A New Adventure: Awakened - Pt 9

   My eyes flutter open to the light of the sun shining down on me.  "Uuggghhh..." I groan as deja-vu washes over me.  I slowly push myself up into a sitting position as I take stock of the situation.  There is a large bump on the back of my head.  I quickly scoot away from the lip of the ledge.  "Oh damn, I'm freakin' lucky." I exclaim.  "Just happen to land on the ledge I had spotted, if not, I wouldn't be hurting like I am now."  I flex my right arm to work out the stiffness from the injury of the arrow. "What the...?" I shout as I suddenly notice there isn't an arrow, and my arm is bound...


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Running a Minecraft Server Community

A manager doesn't manage people; they manage things and lead people.

   This is a quote that has stuck in my head for many years.  Unfortunately, I am unable to find the source of the quote.  If anyone happens to know it, please leave a comment below or click this link so I can provide proper accreditation.  Anywho, that quote, I feel, sums up quite well the role of a good community owner.  If you search the web, you'll find many good quotes that sum up what a leader is.


   Now that the quotes are out of the way, time to discuss the heart of the matter.  As the owner of OmniKraft, I hold a lot of responsibility to myself, my staff and more importantly, the community.  While my official title is owner, I prefer to see myself as a leader.  I always need to be thinking about new ideas, new directions, or tweaking what is current to make it better.  OmniKraft has been around for six months now, and there have been many lessons that I have learned.

    I think it's best to break these down into a few categories, that I can expand on in the future.

  • Community
  • Staff
  • Advertising
  • Finances
  • Leadership
  • Comittment
  • Creativity

    I have to say I didn't expect this editorial piece to be so large initially.  Go figure that as I write it, more ideas would pop into my head.  I do believe that this post is necessary though.  As a player of Minecraft, I have been on many bad servers.  I'm sure you all can rattle off a list of what makes a bad server, but that's not what this post is for.  There are also much information out there on how to run a server in the technical aspect. 

    There is very little information on how to actually lead a server community.  I think the obvious reason why is not many are good at writing (I'm not that great at it either), or are motivated to write.  Some probably want to keep the secrets of their success to themselves.  Regardless of the reason, I feel it's time for people to really learn what it takes to run a successful community.  I do this because there are too many bad servers out there, run by those who barely know what they are doing, or are just looking to make money off of it.

    I hope you'll will come back as I continue this piece to completion (if that's possible), expanding each of the above categories.  I'll add to this every Wednesday, and answer any questions that you have from the comments.  Until next time, ttfn, ta ta for now.


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Fice Castle (Mega Build) - Featured Build

To arms, to arms!

   Today's featured post is brought to us by elli3ds.  It is a castle that was originally designed to be a spawn structure for a server, but corrupted files prevent that from going further.  Regardless, it is a very impressive build, and one that hasn't earned a lot of attention.  That is why I write these posts, to give those who do great work the attention their work deserves. 

   Just watching the video, I am met with awe at the scale and detail of the build.  Not only is there the castle, there is a volcano, a great pyramid and a nearby village.  The designs are very amazing, especially in the pyramid.  In many places, the attention to detail is very amazing at and high quality. 

    I did find a few things that needed work though.  Interior decoration is lacking in areas, such as a few rooms in the castle.  The surrounding land around the village could have used more work, to make it look more natural.  The walkway could have used a bit more color as it has a lot of gray to it.  After that, it's an amazing build, and one that needs more attention.


Fice Castle (Mega Build)




Sunday, January 5, 2014

A New Adventure: Awakened - Pt 8

   "I found my way to safety!" I mutter as I spot a ledge about five meters below the ridge of the ravine.  Before I can crouch down to begin my descent to safety, something grips my shoulder.  Fear once again grips my being as I spin around.  I stare into those soulless eyes again as the repulsive stench of death overwhelms me.  I instinctively take a step back and realize only a moment too late my mistake...


Thursday, January 2, 2014

The Great Tower

You're a wizard Harry!

    Greetings Minecrafters!  Today I bring you a personal build of mine, the Great Tower!  It is a tower I made for the old spawn of OmniKraft.  With some assistance from Jon1rocks, this tower stands above the rest!  With a few designed rooms that extend out from the tower and a beautifully designed staircase, this tower will stand as a marvel in your build!


The Great Tower