Hello everyone. Today we’ll be releasing the formerly unreleased worlds from Mine Little Crafty that weren’t included with our closing downloads.
There’s also the matter of the website and SHG as a whole closing permanently, though that will be addressed throughout this post.
I no longer feel the need to hold these worlds close to my chest anymore, and I don’t honestly believe that releasing these files would be of any harm to our former partners, so there isn’t a need for keeping them private.
Speaking of servers, we will also be including a download to our old server files.
Due to the age of the files and the significant and overwhelming amount of work that’d be needed to bring them up to modern versions I see no reason not to also release these.
Unfortunately some files will need to be removed from the download due to licensing (we had several premium/paid plugins that we cannot include for legal reasons). We have also scrubbed any potentially sensitive information from the files. Other than that the data will largely remain intact. We will provide links to the associated plugins removed in a text file within the download called “2. Readme.txt”. You will have to buy these plugins or find public downloads (if they’re available) if you wish to use them.
With that in mind, here’s a link to the page with the downloads:
https://squarehorse.com/shg/world-server-download-links/
So, what’s so wrong with the server and files?:
- Spaghetti code, all around. Post-1.12 significant changes were made to both Minecraft and Spigot that broke a lot of things. In short, our worlds use code and command blocks meant for 1.12 that were never fully updated to 1.13+’s standards. This means that our Dungeons world is completely broken when not using 1.12. This could potentially be solved by running it on a Bungee setup and having it run by itself on its own server. Good luck with that, though. Equestria will also have similar issues.
- Due to the paid plugins being removed most of the server will not function properly. CMI was an integral part of the server, almost everything will be broken without it. Dungeons will not function properly without MythicMobs. Land claims will not show without Lands. Etc.
- 1.15 had glaring performance issues. Everyone noticed it then, you’ll certainly notice it now. Should you wish to upgrade the server software to 1.18+ I’d suggest using Purpur.
- It’s SHG/MLC. We had a bit of a reputation, and it wasn’t a good one. Many staff had their moments (myself, included) and left permanent stains. You will carry that burden with you if you decide to use our files for anything besides a nostalgia trip.
All in all, I wish things went differently.
But wishes can’t change the past, nor can it change the present. It still pains me that even my best wasn’t enough to save what I loved, but nothing lasts forever…
I wanted to help SHG and rebuild it up again, to try to and bring it back to what it used to be in its glory days. I joined the staff team to use my prior experience with smaller and private servers to help out on the backend with plugins, but I ended up needing to do much much more than that, and I fell short. Those who still wanted to help on the team kept trying their hardest, we just couldn’t fix what was already on its way out. I wasn’t the leader SHG needed to overcome our issues, but unfortunately I unknowingly added my fair share of fuel to the fires.
While it may not necessarily be appropriate, I want to point out some of my worst mistakes:
The first and probably worst of my major mistake was the permanent banning of the users who stole from formerly locked chests after a severe and unrecoverable LWC database error. Despite the warnings we gave just about everywhere (in the most bold of in-your-face red text), even our most dedicated and loyal users stole items from these unlocked chests. This was met with a very heavy handed permanent ban with no exceptions. The broader staff team also agreed that this was a fair punishment, though the idea was mine and I was largely responsible for the execution.
My second mistake was partnering with another server. I have nothing against them for this, but this decision ultimately siphoned users away from our server to theirs. I’d assume they would probably agree we got the short end of the stick. But once all that had set in we ultimately ended up merging with this server due to SHG being almost completely barren of any sort of activity, despite our best efforts. It didn’t go exactly as planned for either party, but it worked out for a good while, at least for them.
If you aren’t in the loop, that’s fine, and it should stay that way. Don’t go prodding people if you aren’t willing to face the consequences of doing so. We all have anti-drama rules for a reason.
The third mistake I made was neglecting our community. Those with the community leadership skills left a good bit before my time, I never expected I’d be the one that needed to step up and stand in their place. And to be blunt, I don’t think I would’ve been able to fill those shoes even if I was told my full set of responsibilities. I am not a good speaker, I have what would be described as negative charisma. I’m not a people person, and it has taken the life of this server to teach me those skills I desperately needed back when we needed them the most.
The last and final mistake was treating the server as a full-time job, working too hard and burning myself out. Unfortunately a majority of the staff team was also burned out from both moderation and playing Minecraft in general, so this lead to a scenario where I was the sole person responsible for the entirety of the backend as well as a good bit of the moderation and building. While we had a few people still wanting to help on those fronts, we were still running a skeleton crew for a server that needed far FAR more (to be specific, excluding myself, we had roughly 2 active builders, 2 active moderators, and 0 other active admins). And with no one else to pick up the slack on the community building side it was over long before anyone even noticed.
There were plenty more mistakes made, and if we’re being fair not all of them were mine, but at the end of the day I was in charge, and the blame ultimately falls on me for what has happened. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say. Learn from our mistakes where we couldn’t until it was far too late.
Despite the many flaws it has had throughout its history; Mine Little Crafty was one of the best MLP MC servers to have existed. MLC and SHG were always very welcoming communities for everyone to join, even those not entirely interested in MLP stuff, and the world is lesser now that it’s gone. May it rest in peace.
Thank you to the founders for making this fantastic server and community, thank you to all the staff who kept the server going as long as it did, thank you to all of our players who made the server interesting for 8 years.
And to everyone, I am sorry.
For wherever you are and whatever you do now:
If you’re a player, be sure to give feedback and make your voice heard. Spread the word about the servers you like, get your friends to join. Be vocal and active. Help other users on the community. Donate, if you can. Be the change you want to see.
If you’re a server owner or are in a leadership position, always listen to your staff team and users. Keep everyone, even the users, informed to the best of your ability.
And if you moderate, never forget Hanlon’s Razor: “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
Above all else, cherish what you have today, it may not be there tomorrow.
This will be the last post on our website, and for SHG. I will be shutting the site down in a few months due to a lack of personal funds. Leave SHG in the past and remember it for what it was, not what it became. Trying to keep it going (or resurrect it, as we have tried) will only bring you the same pain I have suffered. Goodbye.
