As we sit here on the cusp of the SHO 3.0 release, I figured it would be a fun time to look back and see how far we’ve come!
THE TEMP SERVER
The infamous Temp Server. A time when we had no idea what to expect, and I suspect Vechs didn’t either! We got to play with some dungeons that Vechs made for us, just standalone dungeons with different themes. A maze made out of the (then new) rose bushes for Valentine’s Day. A dungeon of spiders that killed us over and over and over…. And even a dungeon that I made for Vechs, although I cannot now remember what the motivation for it was. Our Discord community was started during the Temp Server; GeekofManyTopics started it as a way we could all chat.
SHO 1.0 BETA
This was Vechs’ first attempt at a multiplayer, persistent Super Hostile server. Of course, an obvious problem about a multiplayer Super Hostile server is that, well, a typical Super Hostile dungeon gets somewhat destroyed while players are defeating it, and collecting the wool, and such a thing just wouldn’t work on a multiplayer, persistent server like this one. The first solution for that problem was a rather elegant contraption using cactus growth and wooden pressure plates. The idea was, the cactus would grow, a fence would break the cactus, and the piece of cactus would fall onto the pressure plate. Then the (then new) command for replacing blocks would kick in, replacing the used dungeon with a fresh copy. It was a wonderful idea, but the command is a very resource-intense command, and the lag it caused was really bad. Vechs (and Amlup) started making dungeons in Adventure Mode. That way the dungeon would stay fresh, no matter how many players went through it, or how many creepers exploded. Although not an optimal solution, as it made players unable to use torches, blocks, etc. to defeat the dungeon, it was a very solid solution. One thing, though; lag was a constant problem on the first iteration of SHO. We learned that repeating command blocks are very lag inducing! So it was decided that an overhaul was needed, which led to…
SHO 2.0 BETA
Using adventure mode dungeons, it was hoped that 2.0 would be less laggy. Vechs added instances for the housing, to keep them all from being in one place, and used teleports to be able to spread things out, to help reduce lag. And it did reduce lag, quite a bit. The floors of the dungeon were made to give players checkpoints to reach; some housing areas, for instance, required a certain floor in the dungeon to be reached. Some dungeon floors were nostalgic for some players, as they featured areas from previous Super Hostile maps. Spellbound Caves, for instance, had a couple of dungeon floors representing it, as did Infernal Sky. It was fun to see the classic areas with some blocks changed and other cosmetic changes, and players had fun exploring them, either with nostalgia or, for newer players, a fresh eye. Also, some dungeon floors were new, featuring insane amounts of creepers, wither water, and other tricks-‘n-traps of Vexian origin. This server, though, just wasn’t quite right, and wasn’t quite what Vechs was wanting for his players. And then…
SHO 3.0 BETA
Back to the point of this post, the future! Using lessons learned over the first two SHOs, and Mojang’s new function commands: the server has undergone another evolution!
Vechs decided to really focus on, well, on the fun! He thought about things he would like to play, and incorporated them into the design. New “class hats” will offer players tons of ways to really play together, and will make solo play more interesting. Fighter, defender, scout, and a “secret” class “hats” buff players in different ways; scouts, for example, get special arrows every day at dawn. Defenders get to have more hearts. Fighters get a strength buff. Not only that, but some classes are auto-delivered splash potions, so they can buff the others in their group. Also, Vechs’ adventures in Dungeons & Dragons inspired him to add lore to the dungeons. So players can find the buttons that tell a story, and offer a peek into another time, another adventurer… The buildings are more polished. Housing will be back into survival areas. New areas have been added, and some old areas have been revamped. Plenty of new fun stuff for new and veteran players!
One thing that has not changed, however, is the community. The Vexian community is made up of some of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of hanging out with. These people have formed friendships, guilds, and even a couple of romantic relationships. And this community is the most important ingredient of Super Hostile Online! So if you are already a server member, please, explore! Make awesome discoveries and share them with your friends! And if you haven’t yet joined, go to www.Patreon.com/Vechs and join us! See you soon 😉
– StormyLaura Moderator, Super Hostile Online