The map trim and migration of the Survival server has been completed successfully! Everything in-game is exactly as you left it. The server is still running 1.7.10, and will be upgraded to 1.8 at a later date.

Please note that there is a new address to connect to:
play.creeperslab.net

No more IPs, just a simple name to remember! Be sure to tell everyone you know so we don't leave anyone behind by mistake! Should any future moves happen, this address should remain the same.

Likewise, you'll now find the map at http://play.creeperslab.net:8263/. It is currently regenerating and will be fully available in a few hours.

The maintenance that I wrote about in a previous news post will happen next Monday, December 29th. The server will be down for several hours, probably going on all day.

This will involve the removal of all areas marked in red on the map (last call if you want to keep something!), the clearing of some old buildings made by inactive players in and around Central, and the move of the server to a new platform (still on 1.7.10). This means that the server IP will change; please keep an eye on this space for the future connection details!

The Raw server will remain available during the entire operation.

The Raw Survival server has been moved to Spigot 1.8 tonight. This means, at long last, the addition of a few of our standard plugins. Most notably:

- Region protections
- Chests, furnances and door locks
- DynMap

The map is currently regenerating and undergoing tests. This post will be updated tomorrow with the link to the new map. IRC integration is currently broken, but should be back within a day as well. IRC integration is (mostly) fixed!

Update: The map is now live! The link has been added in the navigation menu.

The Bank in Point Zero uses vanilla locking mechanisms, and I'm asking everyone to keep on using it as such. That means that no /cprivate commands should be used in the vault.


The upgrade / merge path

This brings us one step closer to the eventual move of the main Survival server to 1.8. Some time after that's done, Raw will be merged in, allowing players to move between Survival and Raw at their leisure and moving inventory items back and forth.

One important thing to note: it is possible that Raw will be split off again in the future. If it appears that an upcoming Minecraft update will take more than a few weeks to happen on Survival, Raw might be spun off to stand on its own once again. This would allow the players interested in playing the new version to move forward while staying with the Creeper's Lab. This also means that Raw might return to be a fully vanilla server in the future. While you can now have your homes and chests locked, those protections would be temporarily disabled in case of an upgrade. As such, please keep up the good protecting / hiding habits that you have developed so far!

Last night's event involved, at various stages, DrCossack, iKatze, Kingdaddytoad, MagicMarker101, ringman77, SoratheEliteOne, Sphenicus and UnknownEntity634.

The first phase involved four Sailor Scouts withers spawned in at once, leaving the fighters to fight for their lives. None managed to survive until the end of the battle, but they jumped back in afterwards to finish the monsters. Some more classic Spider Dome battles took place afterwards, followed by spleef and PvP.

The winners (or survivors!) of each round were:
- Spider Dome, first round: UnknownEntity634
- Spider Dome, second round: DrCossack
- Spleef: iKatze
- PvP: DrCossack

All prizes, including some Nether stars, have been delivered to each player's mailbox. Every single participant also received something, so be sure to check that out!

Thanks again to Skreelink for running another successful event!

To celebrate Christmas and everything related to gatherings, Skreelink has prepared a new event for you! Participation prizes will be offered to all, along with the chance to score some rare goodies!

The event will take place this Saturday, December the 20th, at around 9pm Eastern time. Meet up with all of us at the Spider Dome for the first part, which will be followed by various activities! For a preview of what is to come, here is Skreelink's invitation.

We hope to see many of you there!

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Holiday greetings to all!

It seems to be that time of the year again, where all of us seek out family and friends to spend good times with. Roaring fires, delicious food, wonderful company, and of course DANCING.

That's right, you're invited to a Christmas Dance Party! We'll all gather together, listen to wonderful Christmas music, and just have a good time.

Invite all of your friends, come as you are. I'll be bringing a few of my friends to be sure! We're holding a casual dress party, so it's up to you how you want to look, get fancy! However, we do want to keep a few things fair, so we'll be providing a few amenities for the evening.

Everything will be catered, food, drink, and entertainment. After the dancing is over, we'll gather around the fire for some rousing stories from our own favorite SyrupSanta: DrCossack.

Then there's more! Door prizes for everyone! What will it be? Well you'll see when you get there now won't you?

To help manage server growth and keep things running smoothly, I'm preparing a new map trim operation on the Survival server. The areas marked in red on the map are scheduled to be deleted sometime between Christmas and New Year's Day. Please review them to make sure that nothing of yours is included within. If there is something within these regions that you'd like to keep, please contact me so I can redraw the borders or move your holdings away.

Additionally, old and unused buildings located in and around Central's general area will be put into storage at the same time. This will give a chance for new players to settle more easily around the spawn area. Only buildings made by players that haven't been active in over a year will be cleaned. If you have been away for a long time and are reading this, please contact me in-game or through the forums to tell me which buildings you'd like to keep in place. Active players don't need to do anything on that front, as their work will be preserved as usual.

Finally, it's very possible that the server will be migrated to a new platform on the same day, which implies an IP address change. Please keep an eye on this space for more information on that.

The exact date for the maintenance day will be announced closer to the end of the month!

Eleven people braved 3,375 blocks of various materials, delicately (or not) hacking away to get a shape out of the solid form. The various sculptures have been rated by three judges, Anonymous_SoFar, MediaKlepto and WindRider739 and given a score from 0 to 10. Without further delay, THE WINNERS:

- First place: Sphenicus
- Second place: Henry_Jaime
- Third place: DrCossack

Congratulations! The full list of entries, along with screenshots and everyone's scores, can be seen on the results page.

I hope that everyone enjoyed the event, and my thanks go to Anonymous_SoFar for bringing up this original idea and running the whole operation!

The holiday season is quickly coming up! After the success I had sending Christmas cards last year, I decided to do it again! This year, the cards will be custom-made with Creeper's Lab imagery!

To get one, login to the Survival server and find your way to the giant mailbox. It is located in the seasonal garden in Central, which was the location of the botanical garden contest last summer. You can quickly reach the area, starting at Grand Central Station, by taking the Residental Line from the bottom floor.

Once you have located the giant mailbox in the park, simply press the button to get a book, write your full address (including ZIP/postal code and country), then place the signed book in the chest. You'll then receive a card in the mail later this month!

If you only play on the Raw Survival server, or are unable to connect at all, you can login to your forum account and submit your address on this special page.


Resource pack updates

The Christmas edition of the resource pack has been updated by Sphenicus! You'll find within some new themed records, along with holiday-related images. Note that this pack is a full one, not an addon, and includes everything within the single download.

Both packs can be obtained from the resource pack page.