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MineZ MineZ: Loot Overhaul Update

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by halowars91, Jun 13, 2020.

MineZ - MineZ: Loot Overhaul Update
  1. halowars91 Lead Builder, Developer

    XP:
    117,623xp
    [IMG]

    Hello Survivors!

    Today, we’re bringing you many updates across a broad spectrum of MineZ topics. First and foremost:

    What's in the Chest?

    As I am sure you are all familiar with by now, this past Friday we opened PTR to test out a MAJOR loot overhaul to create a better sense of progression, fill gaps throughout the game, and create a better reward for travelling further north.

    First and foremost, we have made some large adjustments to how you progress in the world of MineZ. In a nutshell, we are migrating from a 3-tiered progression to a 5-tiered progression.

    Progression Changes

    Armor will now progress as follows:
    1. Leather Armor
    2. Studded Leather Armor
    3. Chain Armor
    4. Pristine Chain Armor
    5. Iron Armor
    Additionally, we are streamlining our internal systems for looting. We now internally rank each location in MineZ based on a variety of factors, and while this ranking will remain internal, the loot will now better reflect these changes. Because of this change, we have replaced every military chest on the map.

    Every tier of military chest will spawn the armor of that tier, with a small chance to spawn the tier above it (excluding mil_commons). This allows us to have a more fluid method of looting, but also keeping the idea of going north to find better gear to be the main focus.

    We will be observing the game closely following this update. Changes may happen, and we will be listening to all player feedback during this transition.

    Dungeon Changes

    With this update, we are also adjusting the loot you can find in dungeons. We have developed a revised tier system for us to use when looting dungeons. These changes not only reflect the new loot progression, but also have helped to balance some dungeons which may not have been quite where we wanted them. These changes should hopefully reflect our new looting philosophy, and help pave the way for future dungeon releases.

    Mythic Chests

    Mythic Chests were at one time placed and used on the MineZ Map as basically a better Epic chest. However now, Mythic chests are going to be a proper tier in the progression system outlined above. Epic Chests will be shifted to spawn Pristine Chain Armor, while Mythic Chests will have Iron Armor as the star of the show.

    Furthermore, we have added a brand new Axe type to Mythic Chests. I also hear that Giants may drop these as well....

    More exact chest changes can be found on this thread.

    What is a Picture Worth?

    MineZ is a world rich with picturesque landscape, towns, and legendary locations. Over the past eight years the map has grown; builders and community members alike contributing to its shared legacy.

    This month we’ll be kicking off the MineZ Summer Screenshot contest. We are encouraging you to get out there, trek across the vast landscape, and find a location that speaks to you. Snap a photo of it using any shaderpack you want, and submit it at the link below.

    Submission Link

    Theme

    We are looking for screenshots that would look great as a wallpaper. You will be judged on how closely you adhere to this theme, so be creative! The winner's image will be featured as one of the backgrounds on the Shotbow website!

    Judging

    You will be judged in the following areas:
    • Creativity
    • Originality
    • Adherence to Theme
    Rules
    • All pictures must be taken in game on Shotbow. Screenshots featuring locations world downloaded will be removed from the competition and any violators will be subject to punishment as detailed in our rules.
    • While the use of a Shaderpack is encouraged, you may not use any textures other than default Minecraft textures.
    • You may only submit one picture. You may resubmit as many times as you like up until the deadline. Your last submission will be used.
    • Post-processing of images is not allowed. If any images are discovered to have gone through post-processing they will be removed and you will be disqualified.
    • All images must be uploaded to a file sharing website, such as http://www.imgur.com.
    Prizes
    • 40,000 Shotbow XP
    • A unique In-game Item
    • Your image featured on the Shotbow website.
    In addition, the running up 14 contestants will receive a special item, commemorating this event.

    Good Luck!

    Community Montage

    Our Shotbow Film Crew is proud to announce the MineZ Community Montage! We are looking for submissions of your favorite moments of exploration, fights, dungeon runs, or comedy!

    You may have briefly seen this announced on our Twitter asking for your favorite moments from the Origins release. We have decided to expand outwards and accept all of your favorite moments, Origins related or otherwise.

    Submission Link

    Testament to the Divine

    As noted in the Zerbia Challenge post, the symbols of the elemental gods are now available for purchase in our store!

    [IMG]

    Ignite your faith in the elemental gods!

    You can purchase each one for $2 USD, or the bundle for $6 USD.

    Visit our store today!

    Zerbia Challenge Results

    Survivors banded together and fought through hoards of undead pirates and some of the trickiest parkour in the hardest dungeon to be released to the MineZ world. We rewarded the first three teams who completed the dungeon, and the results are below. Congratulations to all of the winners!

    First Place: Alqddin, BurnedApplePie, Lil_Jeffy, PaintballSnail, MuffinMinister, hora6112, Grenade2YourFace, FastGhastBlast, cathKitten, Saints_Evovled, DJ_Sydney, ShmeckleBoy, rudyroker3, Archi_, Acuz_, MineZBandit

    Second Place: SiSaSten, DelayedThunder, FadingGeneral, Nokah

    Third Place: suichaso, UltimateNemumi, Gloza, soumendaisuki, OGiMaMa_Club, wing117117117, _Laynor, LynariZ

    Transform the world!

    As a reminder to those of you in the community looking to leave your mark on the world, with the previous MineZ Update, we released several small portions of the map. These are locations we are actively looking for rebuilds/new builds in, and we encourage you to take a shot at it.

    We are looking into ways of rewarding players for getting a build accepted. As a builder I understand the commitment it takes to complete projects like these, so while seeing your build added to the map may be exciting, a little extra prize never hurts...

    Saens Rebuild
    • A minor location in the eastern savannah biome. Provided is a range for what we're looking for rather than the build. You do not need to conform to the current style of Saens.
    Possible Savannah Minor Build
    • A range for a minor location in the eastern savannah biome.
    Possible Savannah Medium Build
    • A range for a medium location in the eastern savannah biome. This location would also replace Saens.
    McIovinville Rebuild
    • A minor location in the snow biome. You may choose to scrap all of McLovinVille and build something entirely different.
    Desert Savannah
    • An area for a minor / medium sized location in a biome otherwise completely inhabited by dungeons.
    Do the ends justify the means?

    With the release of Origins, we saw the continuation of the MineZ story. Players have taken this thread as far as you can go until MineZ: Endgame. With Origin’s changelog, I promised an update on Endgame this month.

    In the weeks since MineZ: Origins, we have seen dwindling numbers on MineZ which is indicative of many issues. From dungeons behaving differently on live servers to strange issues we had not foreseen, we’ve had our hands full. While gameplay lag has been largely reduced and bugs have been squashed as they arise, we are seeing a crucial issue. MineZ is not innovating.

    Internally, this has been the topic of a lot of discussion. How do we take this game and move forward while keeping the community in mind? As shown by Origins, dungeons seem to only cater to one group of players. We can not continue as a gamemode simply by catering to specific groups and not addressing some of the prevalent issues we know exist.

    Now, do not worry. This dungeon is not cancelled and it hasn’t fallen into entropy. Simply put, we can not turn our back on the server while doubling down on this path. I do not believe it is the best use of our time currently. We are expanding the build team, and other dungeons will come throughout the summer, but this dungeon is a special case.

    Just this past week our master redstoner Pichu2002 optimized a specific section of this dungeon, cutting the command blocks in one area from 900 to 400. This kind of optimization is going to be needed as we pour over data from the Origins launch and apply it to rooms we are reevaluating.

    New experiences are needed, gameplay must change and the MineZ of old must be allowed to change. It is for these reasons why many of us over the past month have diverted our efforts from this dungeon (which would only be accessible to the small amount of the server that could get to this point) to macro issues within the game.

    As you have already seen, loot has been a contentious issue. It is our hope that with this loot overhaul so soon after Origins, we are creating a solid progression system that fills in the gaps and allows players more autonomy in how they play the game.

    From here, we will be transitioning into another issue; factors that affect replayability.

    On this note, Doc and I have been working closely to create the much needed Quest System. While we are not prepared to announce a release date for this, I know it will be one of the biggest, most positive changes to the game ever made.

    Quests will provide the opportunity for players to organically discover the world, get rewards and complete objectives. We are excited to talk more about this robust questing system in the future, but know this is only one of many avenues we are working on now to bring players in and keep old players entertained.

    Closing

    The end of one project does not signal the end of all projects. This month is proving to be a very important month for Shotbow and we intend to provide as much information as we can about our vision for MineZ with you.

    We are actively seeking community input to help shape this game. We are reevaluating where our time should be spent, and really trying to bring you something special this summer.

    This game is our passion and we are committed to seeing it thrive again.

    Until next time….

    Thanks for flying Shotbow!

  2. PhernKitten Platinum

    XP:
    80,918xp
    Free Marine
    ShayminPlays and RoryIsAThing like this.
  3. KRiddytoo Platinum

    XP:
    133,283xp
    h y p e
    ShayminPlays likes this.
  4. shrauger Regular Member

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    691,268xp
    more statues please, that's teasing too hard
  5. ShayminPlays Emerald

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    220,411xp
    Will some of the Build Team be dedicated to the Endgame dungeon?
  6. halowars91 Lead Builder, Developer

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    117,623xp
    Of course, I still plan to work through it with the team. I just see many ideas that we can implement in the near future which will cater to a much larger audience, which I think is more important then a dungeon that only 1% will see now.
    ShayminPlays likes this.
  7. FPSHater Obsidian

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    174,528xp
    I really like and appreciate your work, Halo.
    notswipe and ShayminPlays like this.
  8. lazertester Lead Developer

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    365,160xp
    Hype. Great work team!
  9. Smartzz Emerald

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    194,786xp
    Very rarely do I come out and say, everything here needed to happen, but I think this is probably the best step. I'm going to start by saying personally, I don't think Marine was handling stress well with being a lead admin near the end. I'm not dissing marine in any way, I've known the guy since I started pvping and have nothing against him, but he needed a break and I think that was good call by him and the other staff members.

    Second community stuff is good. You guys need to keep pushing events like this that can lead to many people joining in on it from all sides of the community amazing job in that department.

    Third here is the transparency. You finally admitted your biggest demon that has been biting you guys for a long time, good job. You guys did something amazing which I have NEVER seen from this staff team before and fully put something on hold and leaned towards the community, THIS IS GOOD!!! You tackled the loot balancing issues and you took the community with you through the whole process, amazing!

    My final words here are you guys have done a really good job laying a foundation for a NEW MineZ. What I'm worried about is, what are you going to build on top of this foundation and how well will it reflect your wishes and the community's wishes. In my opinion this update overall tackled more issues than origins did. This was a very needed update and talk with the community.

    I also want to drop there bc idk where else I'd put it but a really good idea rn would be to rework the current ranks you have on shotbow (donor ranks) and modernize those a bit while you develop this game. Make them cheaper is my biggest suggestion.
  10. Jonathan03011998 Artist

    XP:
    12,532xp
    Haven't played for a while but seeing MineZ keep getting updates that seem reasonable makes me thinking of coming back. at least a little.
    Pretty hyped!:heart:
    ShayminPlays likes this.
  11. meo150 Platinum

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    52,473xp
    #MakeHellTreeBarelyWorthGoingToAgain

    why the nerf?
  12. PhernKitten Platinum

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    80,918xp
    BUILDERS DESERVE RIGHTS TOO!!
    [IMG]
    Smartz_ likes this.
  13. Sandsnake100 Regular Member

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    35,754xp
    I'm thinking of trying one of the builds. How would I submit it?
  14. shrauger Regular Member

    XP:
    691,268xp

    Schematic + Build submissions

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