As some of you already know, if all goes according to plan, Mojang will release Minecraft 1.12 this Friday. However, as usual, we won't be updating right away, so make sure that your launchers are set to use 1.11.2 until then!

The Spigot team will likely provide 1.12-compatible versions quickly; however, this new version includes several challenges with plugin updates that could cause things to take some time. I'll post more updates in this space if anything significant deserves reporting on!

UPDATE: This has been delayed until next Wednesday, the 7th.

Our PixelMon server, Takao, has been updated tonight to use version 5.0.4!

This version jump includes many bug fixes and improvements, and moves us away from the beta version that was in place up until now. Most notably, the issue where all of your Pokémons would be inflicted with a burn status whenever you logged in is gone. This should also fix the connection issues that some of you have had in the past few weeks. Updating is fairly easy: you'll find the instructions right here.

Now that Pokémon Sun and Moon have been released, the PixelMon team has started adding Gen 6 features. Among other things, Mega Evolutions are available for the three Kanto starters. You can try and master these if you wish, but some of these 'mons also roam the world as special boss battles. Be on the lookout for them! You can read more about this game mode from the official website.

If you're interested in becoming a Trainer and exploring the world of Takao, make sure that you read through the installation instructions, and you'll be going in no time. Remember that the server address is separate from the rest of the network: play.creeperslab.net:25599.

I've run several updates on our Discord setup since it was introduced, and I thought I'd take the time to summarize the main items for all to know!

As a quick recap, I introduced Discord to the Creeper's Lab earlier this month. This new chat platform, available in its own client, on the web or on mobile, is linked with the in-game chat and IRC channel, so anyone in the community can be somewhere and interact with others. To add the community, simply use this invite link: https://discord.gg/RAHmKyF

One popular feature that's been re-added last week is the .players command. You can enter that at anytime, on its own, to get the list of players that are connected on each Minecraft server. The new version now runs not only from IRC, but also from Discord or in-game, and will show who's there as well!

I also introduced a way for Minecraft players to get the attention of someone on Discord if needed: the same @Username mention system that works on Discord can now be typed directly in-game or on IRC! Note that this will only work if typing the Discord user's actual name, and not his visible nickname if it's different.

Finally, the Discord server was renamed today to "Interordi.com", along with the matching logo, as it's been expanded to go beyond the Creeper's Lab to cover the entire parent Interordi.com network. Notably, there's a new #avianslab channel linked with our sister Starbound server.

Bonus tip: if you're not interested in reading a specific channel, open it in Discord and click the bell icon at the top. This will grey out the channel in your client and disable all notifications, except when someone @Mentions you explicitly.

More improvements will happen later on. I already received some great suggestions from some of you, so please keep them coming!

My Patreon campaign launched a year ago today, and I thought now would be a good time for an update along with a refresher for those who don't know about it!

Basically, I'm running a Patreon campaign to help cover the ongoing costs of my online gaming community projects and raise funds to go even further. The most visible and most time-consuming aspects of this are the multiple Minecraft servers, of course, but this goes beyond that: it also applies to things like the Starbound server, the Interordi.com forums, and more. In exchange for a monthly payment of your choosing, depending of the amount, you get rewards like an orange star in Minecraft, shiny trails that follow you, postcards, and so on!

I've prepared a new video to explain what this is about. If you've seen the previous one, it's the same content, but now with a much better audio quality thanks to a new microphone!




You'll find more details on the Patreon page itself.

There is also a new perk being prepared for patrons. What is it? You'll see once it's ready! ... Note that current patrons can already learn about it in my latest post over there. ;-) Thanks for reading, and especially to everyone who's already on board!

I'm happy to launch tonight a new version of the chat bridge that links the various Minecraft servers along with our IRC channel! This is a major upgrade on several fronts; the most obvious change from the get-go is that there will be a single bot in the IRC channel, CreeperBot, relaying all the messages. You'll notice that the text output in IRC is now a bit different as it includes the location of each chatter. Things in-game mostly look the same.

Most notably, this revision allows me to add something that some of you have asked for: Discord integration! Much like the current integration with IRC, you can jump in our new Discord server to chat with the players that are there, in-game or on IRC all the same time! If you're already familiar with that, here's the channel invitation link: https://discord.gg/RAHmKyF

For those of you not familiar with Discord, it's a chat client growing in popularity in several gaming communities. Much like IRC, you can connect to various servers, chat in global rooms, private message people, and more. On top of that, you can also voice chat with others, making it a simple-to-use option for those looking to talk out loud. You can download the computer client, mobile apps, or simply learn more on the Discord website. Once you have it installed, hit the big + button at the left to add a server, select join, and enter the following address: https://discord.gg/RAHmKyF

Since Discord makes it easier for players to chat to each other, either by typing or by talking, I'll be retiring the Mumble server. It wasn't as intuitive to use for some people, and I believe this new option is the better one.


This revision to the chat system is only the first step: this new core will allow me to pull off some new tricks that were impossible before, including a few features that were requested previously. Stay tuned for more updates!