~ General Announcements ~
A new way to promote Artists!
In the past few weeks, there has been some discussion about the Artist promotion process. There was also a poll on the public and staff forums.
Most agreed that there should be a committee of Designers to review Artist applications and decide about promotions. This committee will meet every two weeks beginning this weekend. For now there are @BWOT, @Darki and @Eriol_Eandur but this is not fixed and other Designers may join. All Designers and Formen are asked to put their observations about Artist applicants into a spreadsheet to help the committee.
Royal Town build day for Artist+!
“To all Artists, Foreman and Designers ...
Dol Amroth Royal Town is calling you. We are having a build day (today) Sunday, January 28th. I actually hope to finish all of Royal Town buildings today. If we all pause the projects we are doing to build at least one house; we can accomplish this. Warp RTBuildDay for the concepts and instructions. Ask BWOT or Quanta or Lindolas first before claiming a plot.
Hope to see you all there. Good luck.”
New plugin training courses now open!
Currently there are training courses being developed for the more complicated of the plugins that have been created resp. are used on MCME. The first two courses are finished! These are:
- Armorstand Editor Training by @didi45: /warp training armorstands
- Banner Editor Training by @Finrod_Amandil: /warp training banners
The trainings are meant to be interactive and get the hands-on-experience. Follow the instructions and recreate the examples and solve the final exercises! But please do not grief the courses and restore them after you solved some exercise. If you accidentally break something tell an Enforcer or me (Finrod).
If you enjoy these courses, please do thank and give feedback to its creators! There’s a lot of work being put into them!
Off-topic Chat in Rank Application
A reminder to all players that "off-topic" comments in Rank application threads may be deleted to prevent exceptionally long threads, with content that isn't relevant. Please keep the “banter” in discord chats.
Animation Work!
A lot of work has been done regarding the animations plugin. thank you @NicTheFifth for bringing up all the ideas and thanks Eriol for completing most of them. Go check them out: Buckleberry Ferry, Dol Amroth Gates, Greymane Castle and much more.
~ Rank Updates ~
Arken here folks, and boy do we have some crazy big rank updates this time around! So buckle up and get your popcorn ready.
BWOT: Bwhat? Bwho? Bwhen?! Head Designer. BWOT. A couple days ago if you must know. That’s right. If you have been paying attention to The Times, you will know that Finrod has been bogged down and needs help managing the Designer and Artist applications. Who better than our lovely Chief Editor of The Times??? Give BWOT a hearty congrats as he tackles his new string of responsibilities!!!!
Tyranystraz: We are sorry to announce the step down of Tyran from Designer to Commoner. We hope that this change isn’t permanent and Tyran finds his way back to the ranks of Green, but until then, we wish you luck in whatever endeavours you pursue. Thank you Tyran.
FireInferno: Fire, after tons of Moria halls, voxelling in Mordor, and working on our server, has to step down again due to studies coming up. We are sorry to see you leave the green club. We wish you the best of luck in the work awaiting you. We hope to see you back on the Staff team when next you are free. For now though, welcome back to the purple legion and we hope you can still contribute to the server as much as you can.
Ooitsbirdo: It’s a bird! It’s a… wait no it’s just a bird. Welcome back to the rank of slave driver, Ooits friendo. Put your wings together for the best penguin on the server... (Love for Thomas of course).
Dav3ck: Welcome back! After announcing the dreaded step down of Dave in the first edition, I’m happy to say he has found his way back to the rank of droog herder! Congrats on your reinstated position as Foreman!
Merlinc01: If I see one more baby blue colored promotion, I’m gonna… *grumbles indistinctly* Jokes aside, Congrats Merlin!!! You’ve served a fair bit of time as an artist on MCME and I look forward to rejecting your attempts at getting me to work! (To all you adventurers out there, do not follow in my footsteps. Please work. Please help.)
NicTheFifth: What’s this? Another member of the purple legion??!?! Congrats and welcome back to the rank of Artist, Nic!!! Look forward to seeing what wonders you erect on MCME
~ Interviews ~
This week, we have two interviews. I know you’re probably thinking “why two..?” but there is a good reason! We will have our regular “Get to know him/her” of a random Commoner + community member. On top of that, we’re introducing a “First Impressions Interview” where @superlolster will be interviewing a new adventurer about their experience on MCME. We hope that this will better include members all across the community! This week our regular interview is with one of our most trusted players on MCME. He’s a good builder, a good speaker and he also likes to ban people while playing his guitar. Its @Miiil, the guy who only changed his name about 20 times! For our “First Impressions Interview,” we would like to welcome @Skii7ni. He has already found his way into the community with some great screenshots. An example of which can be found under ‘Media of the Week.’
Interview with @Miiil
Question 1: How did you find MCME?
As I love LOTR and Tolkien, I simply searched for Minecraft servers that were building Middle Earth, although I had no idea what the search would turn up. MCME was on top of the search so I clicked on the link that sent me to the forums. I registered and logged on and the rest is history.
BWOT: Sounds like a love story
Question 2: What was your experience like as an Adventurer?
I joined 4th of September 2016. I don't remember so much about being an adventurer; as things was happening so fast, but I remember people were very busy with a building competition at the time I logged on for the first time. I was hanging around the area near Methrast, in my first weeks, which was not completed at the time. I built my first TB which was Haudh-en-Arwen. The designers were very optimistic about my theme builds, helped me improve it and light my way to want to become an artist. I decided to set my goal to become an artist on MCME so I continued focusing on building theme builds. In mid-September 2016 I become an artist.
BWOT: I remember that theme build, it was my second one on the server. I also remember the Causeway Fort TB, we had plots right next to each other and would spend a lot of time on them.
Question 3: What made you want to become an Enforcer?
I had no intention of becoming an enforcer until, @mandolore100 messaged me and urged me to write an application for becoming an enforcer. I suddenly realized that all my experience from my last Minecraft community would probably be much more relevant than my building skill. I was a little psyched and I wanted to contribute in ways I had a lot more experience. Sure, I was building on my old server too. A town called Avalon, in wich was my private project and child. I spent 4 years building it. From a shabby island with nothing but trees, to a town spanning the whole island. Anyway, I wrote an enforcer application, as apparently they wanted me as an enforcer rather than a builder, and felt this was my call and duty to answer it.
Question 4: What is your favorite thing about being a Enforcer?
I love being an enforcer, as we are sort-of peace keepers. We keep the community free of unwanted elements. This can be anything from: spam posts on the forum too... jerks on the server that spams profanities... or socially unaccepted things. We also do our fair share of informing people of ins and outs of our community, like so many others do too. However, we are usually never tied up in a building project, so we got time for it. I love to help newcomers, to make them feel welcomed and accepted. I try to get them into our loop and help them understand our clockwork.
BWOT: Sounds like you got a lot of Guide in you
Question 5: Where is your favorite place on MCME?
My favorite place on MCME is a non-canon town called Goldarce. I just love the hill in which Goldarce was built on, with a lovely bridge over a small gorge and the bell tower. It speaks to me in ways I cannot explain.
Question 6: Who is your favorite character in LOTR or the Hobbit?
My favorite character in LOTR or The Hobbit is Tom Bombadil. He is like an unexplainable character that matches no other. Married to the daughter of the river, Goldberry, and his ability to speak with trees and his ability to resist the ring completely is treats that make me really like him.
First Impressions Interview
Report by superlolsterSo this week, I have the very first “First Impressions Interview” with one of our “newer adventurers”, (to be honest I wanted to interview ooits but he isn’t new): @Skii7ni.
Question 1: How did you find the server?
I found the server from a friend (DavidIsc), I don't know much about LotR but he invited me to come on because of my previous building history.
Question 2: What were your impressions of the community on the server when you first joined?
The people on the server were surprisingly friendly. All of them love to have fun, but are also quite helpful if you have questions or want suggestions. The community is vast yet very connected.
Question 3: What was your impression of our finished projects; Minas Tirith and the Shire?
The level of detail in the finished projects are absolutely amazing. Every time I look at Minas Tirith with shaders on; I feel like I'm in a movie because of how beautiful it looks.
Question 4: What was your impression of our current projects such as Dol Amroth, Moria and technically Mordor?
The current projects seem to be coming along very well. Organization is very prominent and you could tell the projects were planned out from the beginning.
Question 5: So overall what was your impression of MCME?
The server is a very high-quality server. Some of the staff are a bit odd. Even though I don't know much about the worlds of Tolkien: I feel welcome, ready to build and become part of the community. I also can't wait to get high-quality screenshot of the different builds on the server; to help share the amazing build quality.
~ Winners of “The Week” ~
So we got some good ones as always. Make sure you show some special recognition towards the winners of the week! They’ve presented exemplary displays of our server’s creative potential! Give a hand to these winners!
MEDIA OF THE WEEK:
Jesus Christmas… Look at the quality of this render of Helm’s Deep!!! Thank you to a newer member of our community for taking such an amazing picture!!! It captures the whole lawn and you can even see back into the entrance of The Glittering Caves! Congrats to @Skii7niX for this week’s Media of the Week!!!
THEME-BUILD OF THE WEEK:
This edition we will have two winners as that means one for each week and therefore thembuild. For the themebuild of last week, Tom Bombadil’s house we have LiNayNay’s fantastic interpretation. Its quaintness sold us on the spot. Congratulations!
Now for the winner of the Orc Camp themebuild …. it’s WraithKnight … if he wouldn’t have won it was instant demotion
. No, but for real, a fantastic piece of art. Great work mate.
FREEBUILD OF THE WEEK:
This week I (@superlolster) have chosen the very first freebuild of the week! This weeks freebuild of the week goes to, *drumroll …. , Commoners Court, built by... you guessed it, the Commoners. Congrats you guys and all who worked on this unique project!
~ Upcoming ~
WANTED: Readers for the Mordor RP!
As has been reported above, the intensified work on the Mordor RP has begun now. A first step is to gather a list of all textures we need, and of course the most important source we have to consider there are the original descriptions of Mordor as found in the Lord of the Rings. I (Finrod) am looking for readers that help me gathering all mentionings of how Mordor and it’s buildings look. If you are interested to help me out, you can get more information here: Mordor RP Dev Thread
Themed Build
Theme: Pit’s of Isengard
Resource Pack: Rohan
Duration: 1 week
MCME Audiobook
The Audiobook, hosted by @TI_020601 is taking place regularly on Saturday evenings, 8:20pm GMT, unless announced otherwise in this thread: The New Audio Book
~ Lore of the Week ~
The Shire Class System
Hey, Smaug here. When I was asked to do the Lore section this week, I had no idea what to do. Then I suddenly remembered this idea of the class system in The Shire and I thought that I would share it with you. I know that I have done lore sections on The Shire before but I don’t think that I have done one on this topic before. Enjoy!
In society (most noticeably in society before World War 2) there is always a class system. For example, you have the working class at the bottom, then the middle class, then the upper class. The upper class consider themselves as the elite in society. However, as well as having a class system in the real world, there was also one in The Shire. The working class hobbits would live in hobbit holes that were quite basic and suited their needs. The middle class hobbits would quite surprisingly live in a house and not a hole! The upper class hobbits would live in very large hobbit holes known as Smials. For example, the Took family was upper class and they lived in The Great Smials which were located at Tuckborough (you are able to see them on MCME by warping here). This was only a brief overview of the class system in The Shire and there are many exceptions to it. For more information on this topic, please message me (@Smaug_Niphredil).
~ Breaking News from Middle-earth ~
LOCAL WOMAN RECEIVES MOST EXTREME DATING DEMAND EVER, AND IT’S NOT EVEN FROM HER BOYFRIEND
A local woman has been forbidden from dating unless her provisional boyfriend steals a priceless artefact from the most high-security location in Northern Beleriand, according to anonymous sources named Daeron this past Tuesday.
“Is the stupid Silmaril that great? Nope. Is it even my dad’s? Nope,” said Lúthien Tinúviel, a half-angel and half-elf princess. “But is he demanding that Beren [Camlost] get it anyway? Yup.”
Tinúviel has been seeing Camlost in secret from the first day of spring, according to local musician Daeron, who voices reasonable doubts about the match.
“The King’s demands may seem extreme, but unfortunately, extreme measures are the only way to get through that Man’s thick head,” said Daeron, who claims to be Tinúviel’s ex. “I think it’s the only way we’ll get things back to the way they should be around here.”
Tinúviel’s father, Elu Thingol, had Camlost arrested Tuesday for trespassing in his Teleri- and Maia-only kingdom, but Tinúviel forestalled a formal trial by snatching Camlost away from his guards and walking him right into her parents’ room. Thingol’s demands to know who the Man was and what he was doing in Menegroth were apparently met with Tinuviel’s “he’s that pain in Morgoth’s ass you keep talking about congratulating” and Camlost’s slightly more formal “it was true love that brought me here.”
Allegedly, it was the phrase “true love” that ignited Thingol’s rage, not “Morgoth’s ass.”
Thingol, best known for the centuries-long disappearance in which he was the sketchy boyfriend, eventually admitted that Camlost’s inheritance, a green snake ring from Finrod Felagund’s Hot Topic phase, was inconveniently legitimate. An impossible quest seemed like the ideal solution after hours spent brandishing sovereign immunity with no effect.
“That’s how little you value your daughter? Whoah, I’m doing us both a favor,” Camlost is rumored to have said before being chased out of Menegroth by angry trees. “We’ll meet again, your majesty.”
In order to stand any chance at dating his One True Love™ and maybe getting started on some one-quarter-angel, one-quarter-elf, and two-quarters Atani children, Camlost is now bound to recover a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth. (For any readers who have been living in an isolated forest kingdom for the last several thousand years, Morgoth is the rogue god currently terrorizing Northern Beleriand in hopes of consuming all Beleriand.)
Tinúviel has since been confined to her childhood treehouse until the matter is settled. Her guards report that she has been combing her hair excessively, but is otherwise quiet.
Written by RaisinCaiin and saliache for the ‘Tater’, Beleriands finest news source!
Do you like this sort of parodical fanfiction? If you want to see more next time, there is! I am even considering writing some of my own that are about the stories most of us are more familiar with...
~ More Media ~
Howdy folks, just want to let you guys know that we do have multiple platforms that represent MCME. One of those being Twitter! If you have an account, make sure to follow MinecraftMiddleEarth (@MCMiddleEarth) | Twitter for some additional content revolving around the community!
For those of you without Twitter, fear not!!! We are also represented on Facebook! Like us here: Minecraft Middle-Earth
Now, make sure you give us a diamond on Planet Minecraft! The more popular this thing is, the more help we receive
Minecraft Middle Earth Minecraft Server ~ Advertisements ~
Artist
Want to leave your mark on MCME in a blocky way? Apply for artist on the forums today!
If you have any questions about becoming and being an Artist, then please ask any designer, we are 50% of the time willing to listen to you
, and any current Artist.Guide
Just to reiterate the message from last week, the Guides are looking for more members in the rank of teal. What could you gain from being such a rank on a BUILD server you may ask yourselves?
A plethora of things. You are the face of MCME! Without the rank of guide, we don’t attract nearly as many new players and those responsibilities are shifted onto busier shoulders. We are here to keep people interested and make MCME as fun as possible without distracting the focus of the server. Think that sounds like you?
Just click Guide and apply today!
~ Closing Statement ~
Another edition of The Times has now come to an end. Still building our wonderful world and still a happy healthy server.
NOW LET US RID OF IT… The Times that is… I mean… wrap it up...A closing thought for this edition: I think that an appropriate closing statement for The Times would revolve around time. There are many lessons based around time… Use the time given to the best of your ability… Don’t be late… But today we will be discussing that time isn’t a commodity given easily to all members of the community. As we move into busier times, just keep in mind that time is harder to come by…. AND MAKE SURE YOU USE YOUR TIME WISELY!!!!!!
Okay! What does Tolkien have to say this time?
“If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
Last edited:
