Tech Team Roadmap

[Daisy 9735]

The Tech Team Roadmap

Hey all!

 

Recently, we've revived our Tech Team public roadmap and updated it with all the projects in progress and planned. This roadmap was created as a concept back in 2022, and hadn't really been updated since. Now, it comprehensively outlines everything the Tech Team has in mind.

Viewing the Roadmap

You can view the Roadmap on our Github.

 

There are two views you can look at for the roadmap. The default view is what we call a "Kanban board", where items are sorted by status (backlog, in progress, done, etc):

 

The second view, which you can switch to using the tab at the top, is organized by initiative, which I will expand on below:

Understanding the Roadmap

Items on our roadmap have a few different pieces of info attached to them:

 

Status

Indicates the stage of development for the item. Items that are in the backlog have no immediate plans to work on, but are part of our longer-term plans. Selected for development indicates the item will be worked on next, whenever capacity is available. In progress items are currently being developed, and items in beta are currently being tested to confirm it meets the requirements, either on our public beta server, or for those related to 10.0, on the 10.0 build server. Completed items are now live, and cancelled items have been removed from the roadmap.

 

Priority

Indicates how urgently we want to get the item complete. Critical items are blocking something major on the server, and are being worked on immediately, the rest are self-explanatory.

 

Size

An estimate of the development effort needed to complete an item. S for changes that require some light modifications or minor additions to existing code. M for feature additions to existing code, or smaller refactors of existing plugins. L for a new plugin or larger refactors. XL for major refactors, larger new plugins, or changes that may require changes to several plugins, and XXL, for projects that require large changes or rewrites to multiple plugins.

 

Assignees

Indicates which team members are working on a project, in case you would like to reach out to them with questions or ideas.

 

Milestone

What initiative a project is part of. More info below.

Initiatives

Every project on our roadmap is organized into an initiative (or Milestones in Github), which represents an overarching goal for the Tech Team.

 

1.21.5

Status: In-progress

Items under this initiative are planned for our 1.21.5 update, which is currently in progress and our highest priority, as it needs to be done prior to 10.0 release.

 

10.0

Status: In-progress

This initiative contains technical work being done for 10.0  development / release.

 

Immerse Pastimes

Status: In-progress

This initiative focuses on additions to the server which give players something to do. As opposed to professions systems of the past, these plugins will be purely additive to the vanilla experience, giving immersive functionality to enhance roleplay. This initiative has some larger projects within it, and is expected to be completed sometime following 10.0 release.

 

Website Improvements

Status: In-progress

This initiative covers work being done by the Web Team to enhance the experience of our website, with some projects currently complete, such as the 2024 theme rework, and others under development, such as a new homepage, store page, and an interactive map.

 

New Player Experience

Status: In-progress

In collaboration with the Community Team, this initiative focuses on enhancing the new player experience.

 

Staff Utility

Status: In-progress

This initiative focuses on adding functionality which make it easier for staff to do their job, including simplifying some of the ways players interact with staff.

 

Core Platform Evolution

Status: Backlog

This initiative is one of our largest planned initiatives, and will be started after Immersive Pastimes is completed. It aims at rewriting and refactoring some of our older plugins, such as currency, shops, and personas, to bring them into the modern era and fix a large amount of player-facing issues and tech debt.

 

VIP Enhancements

Status: Backlog

This initiative will focus on adding / improving features that add value to our VIP ranks.

I hope this revival of the roadmap brings some excitement towards the future of LOTC, both for 10.0 release and beyond, and helps increase transparency on what the Tech Team is working on. Feedback is always welcome, feel free to comment here, join the Tech Team Discord, message me directly on Discord (llir), or reach out to one of our developers working on projects on the Java Team or Web Team.

 

One last thing: The Implementation Team is recruiting. Do you want to help with Realms, Tiles, or the Economy? Apply today, or reach out to @Kaiser if you have questions.

 

Cheers,

Llir | Technical Administrator

[Navigator 4260]

first

 

good shit

[MailC3p 2404]

[Tabby64 1464]

14 minutes ago, Llir said:

This initiative focuses on additions to the server which give players something to do. As opposed to professions systems of the past, these plugins will be purely additive to the vanilla experience, giving immersive functionality to enhance roleplay. This initiative has some larger projects within it, and is expected to be completed sometime following 10.0 release

I feel like these plug ins (fishing and star gazing) are fun for a week or two after release and then fade into irrelevancy. They dont really provide much function beyond dropping items with descriptions which is cool for a short amount of time. LOTC feels more like a patchwork of one off projects then a cohesive system. I think it would be nice if these plug ins contributed to crafting mechanical stuff like armor, weapons, and actually work together. 

[MadOne 4945]

[lemonke 6014]

Why is new player guidance not ONE of the main focuses? I feel like it's a bit more important :((

[Daisy 9735]

26 minutes ago, Tabby64 said:

I feel like these plug ins (fishing and star gazing) are fun for a week or two after release and then fade into irrelevancy. They dont really provide much function beyond dropping items with descriptions which is cool for a short amount of time. LOTC feels more like a patchwork of one off projects then a cohesive system. I think it would be nice if these plug ins contributed to crafting mechanical stuff like armor, weapons, and actually work together. 

 

That is the intent long-term, if you look at the initiative on Github you will see a bunch of plugins under it. Star signs was kind of a standalone passion project, though others such as fishing, farming, and animal husbandry will build a foundation for things like brewing and cooking. Although I know there are people in the community who would like to see the return of proper professions, the majority sentiment is that these things should only be additive to the roleplay experience, not inhibitive of it.

[Jihnyny 5233]

11 minutes ago, Tabby64 said:

I feel like these plug ins (fishing and star gazing) are fun for a week or two after release and then fade into irrelevancy. They dont really provide much function beyond dropping items with descriptions which is cool for a short amount of time. LOTC feels more like a patchwork of one off projects then a cohesive system. I think it would be nice if these plug ins contributed to crafting mechanical stuff like armor, weapons, and actually work together. 

completely agree. the focus of the server is roleplay and though yes, alot of players usually no life and instead of roleplaying afk minigame - it isnt an attraction or use toward the majority of the server and imo a waste of time to work on. 

I'd prefer to see plugins incorporated that'd aid roleplay, for example - why dont we have a prolonged effect from potions? Why is it only 3 seconds of nasuea when every other rp server has a plugin that literally influences how you type and feel nauseated for an amount of time? 

Hookah is a good example. Hookah is barely used. On my way to use cactus as a drug (that i cant edit to use btw so its just plain cactus) and then be high for 2 seconds, or have a bad trip for longer.

Aeso's architecture plugin is the only recent plugin imo that has been an actual use 

besides my yap, good work tech team glad to see yall speaking to the community 😄

EDIT: DO NOT ADD FOOD EXPIRATION 

[Daisy 9735]

5 minutes ago, lemonke said:

Why is new player guidance not ONE of the main focuses? I feel like it's a bit more important :((

 

The new player guidance plugin is the top of the backlog, though requires some other pieces to be in place first. The tutorial island plugin will be the launch point for this, completion of the CTs project will enable the connections with nations, and the Wayfinding plugin will be used to guide the players. With all this, it is high priority, so it will be worked on shortly after, or for 10.0 launch.

[FlemishSupremacy 6115]

1 minute ago, Llir said:

 

That is the intent long-term, if you look at the initiative on Github you will see a bunch of plugins under it. Star signs was kind of a standalone passion projects, though others such as fishing, farming, and animal husbandry will build a foundation for things like brewing and cooking. Although I know there are people in the community who would like to see the return of proper professions, the majority sentiment is that these things should only be additive to the roleplay experience, not inhibitive of it.

Question is
Will these plugins not add a mechanical minigame that detracts from roleplay more than it adds?
Don't get me wrong, the fishing plugin is very cool, but while you're fishing, you cannot at the same time roleplay because you'll have to engage with the minigame. 

If similar minigames for farming and animal husbandry are in the works, leave it be. Similarly with cooking and brewing, there really doesn't have to be a plugin for that when players are already perfectly capable of making their own food and drinks through the rename plugin. 
I've no problem with farming having random fluff item drops like fishing, but adding more to the mechanics usually detracts from people's rp

[wowj 9747]

Big if true

[CharmingCavalier 2189]

This is such an easy request, but I also think we should prioritize the astrology plug-in so I know if I'm a pixel Gemini or a Leo

 

Quote

 

 I tried to send a bird to three people yesterday with information about their characters. There is a FIVE minute cooldown between sending letters at an aviary. It took me 15 minutes of sitting next to a mineman bird head to get information disseminated to THREE people. How is this conducive to role-play and somehow going to encourage someone from sending a letter instead of just sending a discord message?

 

Here is a chart showing the times it would take to send letters to a select number of players, for your reference:

 

Players	Time at Aviary
3	15 Minutes
4	20 Minutes
5	25 Minutes
6	30 Minutes
7	35 Minutes
8	40 Minutes
9	45 Minutes
10	50 Minutes
11	55 Minutes
12	60 Minutes
13	65 Minutes
14	70 Minutes
15	75 Minutes
16	80 Minutes
17	85 Minutes
18	90 Minutes
19	95 Minutes
20	100 Minutes
21	105 Minutes
22	110 Minutes
23	115 Minutes
24	120 Minutes
25	125 Minutes
26	130 Minutes
27	135 Minutes
28	140 Minutes
29	145 Minutes
30	150 Minutes
31	155 Minutes
32	160 Minutes
33	165 Minutes
34	170 Minutes
35	175 Minutes
36	180 Minutes
37	185 Minutes
38	190 Minutes
39	195 Minutes
40	200 Minutes

 

#ReduceAviaryCooldown

 

 

[Daisy 9735]

16 minutes ago, FlemishSupremacy said:

If similar minigames for farming and animal husbandry are in the works, leave it be. Similarly with cooking and brewing, there really doesn't have to be a plugin for that when players are already perfectly capable of making their own food and drinks through the rename plugin. 

 

No, those plugins won't be a minigame, just custom crops, drops, etc. Though those plugins are far-out at the moment, and will be getting a full technical design prior to launch. If you'd like to be involved in the discussions around them when it comes time for design, join our tech team discord :) https://discord.gg/aWBMkPfT4a

 

@CharmingCavalier https://github.com/Lord-of-the-Craft/tracker/issues/515

[Cheese 8883]

When rollback fix :(

[Daisy 9735]

1 minute ago, Cheese said:

When rollback fix :(

 

Rollbacks broke as part of the 1.21 update due to an issue with WorldEdit. They will be fixed in the future (hopefully with 1.21.5), though any current requests will not be able to be processed.