Tell me if I am going off topic. However, when I started playing Minecraft, servers were a wondrous and curious place. Not many people knew how to properly run a Minecraft server, and that was just nice. You had a small list of servers which were full of nice people who just wanted to hang out. The servers had few rules, and were all fair, making exploration and building etc an easy thing to do. I loved it.
Then servers became more common. Knowledge of how to run them was available, and what's more, people realised it didn't take a degree in Computer Science to manage them. People started making more servers, small and large with a lot of their ideas being basically the same. Now I myself won't be a hypocrite, I will put my hand up and say I did some if not all of the this too. I too had a couple of servers that mimicked some other servers, and did what everyone else was offering. This wasn't a bad thing don't get me wrong, everybody had a wide variety of choices of where they could go depending on who was where etc.
Plugins then got more hi tech and could offer so much more. I remember a particular server created a Hunger Games plugin which was miles before its time in my opinion. No body even dreamed of anything close to this. The crazy in house Java developers with that server did an excellent job and it was loved by thousands. Me included. I feel like it started to diversify then. Different servers were offering different things, which gave everyone an option, and a virtual catalogue of servers that they could choose from.
And as it progressed the community were till sound and nice.
I took yet another break from Minecraft and came back to the community, and in my mind it's all changed. There are hundreds of servers practically duplicating what they offer, and expect people to join their server. I even saw some servers asking for $300+ for a certain rank. $300!!? I'm all for donation to the server don't get me wrong, and that debate can wait for another day, but seriously $300? GTA 5 doesn't even scratch anywhere close to that price tag and never did. That's an actual game built by a studio of Programmers and Engineers, that spent the bulk of 6 years on. And these servers want us to pay 5 times more than that for some measly ranks in a game that originally sold for $13. I know servers may have huge bills, but come on man seriously.
Today the world of Minecraft servers is full of "Hub" servers offering countless Mini Games to users.
cmw255
The age demographic has shifted dramatically to a much younger audience
I completely agree. Servers are finding it hard to make ends meet, and the few "kids" that can get access to a credit card or PayPal account are getting sucked dry of any income by these servers. Again, I am not dissing or disrespecting and servers in particular. They have found a niche in the world of Minecraft, and have analysed that this is what people want, and have filled that niche with something that I find quite fun. That my friends is business marketing. (Don't get me started on this)
Back then, servers used to be all about exploring and playing Minecraft for what it really is, with your friends and laggy as shit 4 person server, but nobody cared? It was what we enjoyed. And even when the bigger servers came around it was still good.
Again I'm not trying to raise any pulses or slate any servers, or anything in particular.
I rarely go on Minecraft anymore which is upsetting, as it is full of people that are absolute heroes! That love the game for what it is, that submit some really cool shit on here and on other sites. I just feel it has changed, and isn't what it used to be. I can't find any good old fashioned servers for us crafters who have been onboard for the long haul.
Anyway rant over.
If you bothered reading to here then cheers I appreciate it!
Have a good day,
Mark
