The maintenance announced last Monday has been completed, and everything related to the Creeper's Lab is now live on the new dedicated server! This hardware is more powerful than the previous one, giving us an extra boost of speed with more room to grow.

My thanks go to my Patreon backers, which make improvements like this one possible. The support is always appreciated!

Please be aware that a maintenance period will happen this Wednesday, the 29th, during the afternoon and possibly evening going by Eastern time.

I was able to secure a better dedicated, with higher specs, and will be moving everything over to this. This will give us more storage and memory for a better in-game experience! Each game server will be moved, one after the other, and the older platform will be retired. The minigames and affiliates will be available first, while the survival servers, the largest by far, will be migrated and come back online one-by-one.

The entire network will be unavailable for a few minutes at least. For these type of transfers, most of you will see the change after these few minutes, but it could take several hours, up to day, for others to get the connection working again.

Event: Sumo!

Nic is inviting you to a battle of titans - it's sumo time! In this event, two players try to punch each other out of the arena, last one standing wins. Mobility will be key!

You'll get to face-off against others this Sunday, 26 December, at 1:30pm Eastern time. The arena is located North of Central, near GroovyBanana's Dripleaf Spleef attraction.

Christmas is almost here, and BlueShadowDemon / Zoreau invites you to a grand ball to celebrate this! This will take place this Thursday, 23 December, starting at 8:00pm Eastern time. The location is the same as the ongoing building contest, right behind the Creeper Citadel.

Here's the schedule for the night:

8:00pm: Gradual arrival of all the participants.
8:30pm: Grand parade of classy costumes of Christmas outfits; bring your own!
9:00pm: Vote for a King and Queen of the ball.
10:00pm: Gift exchange & Christmas hunt.
11:00 pm: Fireworks!

You've been waiting, and now is the time - all survival servers have been updated to Java Edition 1.18.1! Update your clients, then join in to discover the new lands!

Wait, what new lands, you might ask? All overworlds now benefit from the updated world generation limits, meaning that there are caves going down to y = -64. Likewise, you can now choose to build 64 blocks higher, up to y = 319.

We've also prepared new lands for you to explore, as you might want to see and build in this brave new world. However, this might not be where you expect. Laurasia has been running for over 10 years now, already features a mish-mash of various generations, plus is difficult to maintain. The red no-entry areas that were put into place some time back are there to stay, with no new land becoming available. Adding a new world wasn't chosen as an option, as we already have more than we need for our current player base.

Instead, Rodinia will become the primary world for new additions. It has a cleaner design and is much easier to navigate, making it a good starting point. As such, Rodinia's borders were extended 2000 blocks North and West, giving you new opportunities to go beyond the outer rail and see what's out there! Its South and East ends are considered for new extensions come 1.19, so that the Deep Dark features can be made available to you. Plans on this will be made closer to the next major release.

A few things are left to do, later today and tomorrow:

• Laurasia will be down approximately between 1am and 8am Eastern time to let it retrogen the new terrain, limiting lag.
• Kenorland will be updated shortly.
• Then the minigames to complete the set.

I hope you enjoy the latest set of updates!

Incoming transmission!

Incoming transmission!

Here's Coneva with the announcement of the contest results!

An invitation from Exodio!

Years ago, Lord Azarand the Wise was revealed to Creeper's Lab in a great flourish that was attended by many Test Subjects. And now, his companion will be revealed in the grand city of Eben Cair. This weekend, to kick off Event Night on Saturday, Dec 11th, there will be another reveal for the viewing enjoyment of the Lab.

So join us in Eben Cair at 9PM EST for a small soiree and unveiling ceremony. Take the West Line to the main stop in Eben Cair and follow the soul torches. You can also arrive at Eben Central via the West Nether Line to Salad Facts, then the Eben Cair line. Hope to see you there! Refreshments will be provided, as well as a souvenir!

Right off the heels of Osimiri Ihu comes the next building contest, the last for this year! In theme with the season, Zoreau invites you to help build a small Christmas village.

Rules

The goal of this contest is to build a Santa Workshop or a Gingerbred House; multiples of each can be done, of course.

There are only six plots available, and it's first come first serve! With the limited amount available, please only claim one if you're reasonably sure you will complete your entry. The lots measure roughly 24x25 and are marked by rings of torches.

Judging will be done on both the interior and exterior of each entry, so make sure to spend time on the two!

The building location is behind the Creeper Citadel in Laurasia, at around 6300, -14847. Elytra + rockets are suggested for a quick trip.

Prizes

• First Place: 20 Merit Points.
• Second Place: 10 Merit Points.
• Third Place: 5 Merit Points.

Deadline

The contest begins NOW and will end of Wednesday 22 December, at 21:00 Eastern time Thursday 23 December, at 19:00 Eastern time.

If you're not planning to enter and would like to help with judging, please get in touch with Zoreau; you can leave him a message through the forums. The same goes if you have questions about this!

Advent calendar

Some of you have asked, and I'm happy to confirm that the Advent Calendar is making its return, starting now until Christmas! Twixxi has prepared a new rotation of daily gifts plus new bonus rewards for you to gather.

For those not familiar with it, the concept is simple: go there, get a gift, and you can do so every day starting today up until (and including) Christmas! The rotation happens every day at around midnight, Eastern time.

The Loyalty Baubles from last year also make their return! Every day that you visit the calendar, you'll get your gift alongside a token. You can then trade these at the hut nearby. Two new items have been added to the collection for a wider variety of rewards. Will you go for duplicates of last year's items, the new goodies, or a mix between the two? That's up to you!

If you had any Loyalty Baubles left from last year, they are still accepted.

If you miss out on some items, every week, the Grinch will be there to cover you - for a price. However, the Grinch pledges loyalty to no one, and there will be no catching up on the extra rewards!

This is located in Central's Seasonal Park. From Grand Central Station, in the basement, use the Residential Line until you're next to the snowy park. Alternatively, walk West from the station, passing in front of the Community Centre then following that path to the North.