Tech Team Update - January 2026

[Daisy 9731]

 

 

 

Hello Premium Roleplayers!

 

Daisy here, I wanted to give an update on what’s been going on with the Tech Team. This update is meant to provide transparency into recent changes, what we’re working on, and how we are positioning ourselves for the year ahead. It’s been an eventful last week to say the least, though our team remains in high spirits and is looking forward to what comes next.

 

Recent Roster Changes

 

As I’m sure many of you have seen, we’ve recently had some departures from the team, including @Crunchiest_Leaf, @Fimlin, and @Kaiser. I want to sincerely thank all three of them for the time, care, and effort they’ve invested into LOTC over the years. From unique and immersive plugins, to leading the development of Azuras, to building up the Implementation Team, each of them has left a meaningful mark on the server. I wish them the best in whatever comes next, and they will be missed.

 

To fill the gaps left behind, we’ve made some recent changes within the team.

 

@Dom will be taking over as the Implementation Coordinator. Dom has been a member of the team since its very beginning, and is one of our core members when it comes to handling tile purchases and realms support. In his new role, he will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the team, including NL relations, taxes, new realm applications, node management, and more.

 

@Adelemphii will be taking over as the Java Team Coordinator. This is a role I have historically held in tandem with Tech Admin, though since her promotion to Senior Technician, Adele has shown dedication to the operations of LOTC, evaluating applicants, and assisting other developers with code review and plugin deployments. In this role, she will have more direct ownership over our Java Team roadmap, scheduling Minecraft version updates, and project prioritization. Personally, I plan to focus more on team-wide operations than direct management of the coders.

 

Finally, some new additions. @Lenny has recently joined the Java Team and has made considerable contributions in just a couple of weeks, including numerous bug fixes, chat changes (mentioned below), /edit improvements, and more. I look forward to seeing what he does next. @NotAPan has also joined the Triage Team to help clear our ticket backlog and cover additional time zones. Finally, @molly molly molly will be joining the Implementation Team to assist with realms support, nodes, and more. Welcome all three of them aboard!

 

On a final note, both the Java Team and Triage team are looking for a few new members. If you are interested, please post an application or chat with @Adelemphii and @Venomous_Pup, respectively. We also have 2-3 folks currently working on the Java Team trial, so there may be some new additions soon.

 

Java Team

 

Surge Rewrite

 

Surge is a cumbersome project, with years of bloat added to it. It has been touched by countless members of the tech team who have had various standards, ideals, and thoughts. These changes have been added on without any regulation, and have led to Surge handling multiple responsibilities in ways that are no longer ideal, blurring its overall purpose.

 

This rewrite is focused on addressing those issues. @Adelemphii is designing a version of Surge that is clearer in scope, easier to maintain, and more approachable for future contributors, with an emphasis on long-term sustainability and consistency.

 

In its current form, Surge acts more as a passive observer of PvP interactions, reacting to events and relying on a mix of hardcoded files and item attributes to build damage outputs. The rewrite aims to change that. Going forward, Surge will serve as the authoritative system for PvP damage, providing a centralized point of control and logging for weapons and combat interactions. This will allow for greater accuracy, reliability, and extensibility across the server.

 

More broadly, the rewritten Surge will function as a flexible and well-defined foundation, offering an API that other plugins can build upon while enforcing stronger standards for structure and maintenance.

 

Ongoing discussion about this rewrite is happening in our Tech Discord, you are encouraged to join if you’d like to be involved.

 

NativeChat Refactor & Status Focus

 

NativeChat is our core chat engine for LOTC, powering all chat interactions excluding private messages. The plugin, however, is showing its age, having been built upon the now-deprecated BaseComponent system in Spigot. I am working on migrating the codebase to use Kyori Adventure, the modern solution to chat messages in Minecraft. This will enable us to use modern APIs and improve velocity when it comes to changes to our chat engine. This rewrite is a considerable amount of work under the hood, though it should not have any impact on existing functionality, and enable us to more easily add new functionality moving forward.

 

In addition to this refactor, @Lenny has recently added a new /chat focus option for statuses, allowing you to only see chat messages from players with the same status as you. This was deployed earlier today.

 

Food Bags, Expiration, and Custom Foods

 

Food bags and expiration were previously disabled due to a bug impacting food bag saving. As this is a central feature of the FoodCore plugin, designed to counterbalance expiration for roleplay, the decision was made to temporarily disable the plugin until the issue could be properly addressed. I was able to determine the root cause of the problem and have completed a fix.

 

We will be re-enabling FoodCore later today. I understand that the expiration system has been a point of mixed feedback in the past. However, we still believe food expiration is important to maintaining a healthy balance around large food stockpiles for PvP, especially with the upcoming custom foods being worked on by @Aesopian.

 

Food expiration is not set in stone. All the values are adjustable, and we’re open to making changes. We’ll be monitoring feedback closely once this is live again, and have created a dedicated discussion channel (#food-expiration) in the Tech Discord where we welcome feedback and suggestions.

 

War Server

 

With war on the horizon, we are working on updating the War Server and ensuring it is ready for the next big fight. We will be scheduling a stress-test for sometime next weekend. Keep an eye out for a post from @squakhawk for more details, as he is taking point on war with the Moderation team.

 

Minecraft 1.21.11

 

We are currently evaluating the upgrade path to the latest Minecraft Version. Once this is cemented, we will begin plugin updates and get our Beta Server ready. There are a lot of new and exciting features we are looking to take advantage of, including new blocks, items, and GUIs. We may first make an incremental jump to an incremental version, depending on the technical feasibility of a direct jump. Regardless, one of the first steps will be updating our proxy server and ViaVersion to allow connections from clients up to 1.21.11 prior to the main server being updated.

 

Tutorial Island Plugin

 

We are working on a plugin to drive the tutorial experience in collaboration with the Community Team. This plugin will guide players through the different tutorial sections, add interactive elements, allow any player to redo sections of the tutorial at any time, and tie into realms at the end. This is something that was on our roadmap for a while, though it hadn’t gotten much traction until recently. @Lenny is taking point on this plugin with @Smol, and I look forward to seeing it come to completion.

 

Wayfinding

 

This is a plugin that was originally slated for 10.0 launch, however, the developer working on it got caught up with real-life obligations and was unable to drive it to completion. This plugin aims to manage a Google Maps-like network of roads built from nodes and connections, guiding players to destinations along the road network. It will include automatic regioning of roads to assist with new road setup, and grant the speed bonuses for sprinting and horses. Additionally, it will tie into our tutorial plugin to guide new players to their desired realm.  Following up on our current projects, @Lenny and I will be working to get this live.

 

Application Notifications

 

I am currentlying assisting the CT in rolling out some changes to the application format. Following this, we’re going to update Freja to automatically send email notifications when an app’s status is updated (pending, accepted, denied), as right now new applicants often miss this status change and forget to check back, leading to apps being denied, or players never joining.

 

Web Team

 

Server Map Render

 

It is no secret that our interactive map has been unavailable for some time, with no interactive map of Azuras available to players. Unfortunately, the software we used to render the map (Minecraft Overviewer) is no longer being updated and does not work with our current Minecraft version. I have found an alternative, BlueMap, and am working on setting it up for Azuras. I’ll provide an update in our Discord announcements when a new map is available.

 

Store Page Redesign

 

This project has been in the works for a while by @xDK with art from @trinn. We are working on finalizing the design and hope to have the new page available soon with updated information and easier use for players.

 

Roleplay Map

 

@SaviourMeme has been working on building an interactive roleplay map, which will be similar to the map featured on our wiki, with interactive elements for realm borders, capitals, and major settlements. This map will fetch live updates from the Minecraft server using a realms data API, which I am working on.

 

Wiki Stability

 

I have recently resolved some stability issues with the wiki. There were problems with the plugin configurations for emails, image uploads, and some other features. Moving forward, @SaviourMeme and I are looking at updating the wiki to the latest version of the MediaWiki software to improve stability, add new features, and make it easier to maintain.

 

Implementation, Triage, and Map Teams

 

Realm Applications, Tile Debt and Upkeep

 

Realm applications are now reopened, with updated guidelines and pricing for Azuras. Please check the Realms System Page for details. Further, we will be restarting realm upkeep and activity checks soon, as well as collection of the debt for tile purchases done for map launch. More details will be communicated to Realm Leaders directly, including final amounts for debt. Please reach out to @Dom with any questions.

 

Triage Tickets and Rollbacks

 

We currently have a sizable backlog for triage tickets, largely driven by a bug that existed in our item logging plugin that was recently fixed by @Lenny. The team is working on clearing the backlog, so if you have an outstanding ticket, please keep an eye out for an in-game update to your ticket or a message from one of our Triage Team members. We aim to keep the backlog low moving forward with additional folks on the team.

 

Map Team

 

The Map Team is a collaboration project between Tech and Moderation to implement custom biomes, fix landcars, and provide general maintenance to the map. We are currently evaluating this team’s duties and will likely restructure it soon to better define the responsibilities and organizational structure. Myself, @squakhawk, and @Dom are working on this and will provide an update once things are finalized.

 

Team Vision

 

I wanted to close off with an update on what comes next. The Administration is currently working on the development of a more principled server vision, which includes dedicated visions for each of the four staff teams. We have already completed the first draft of our Tech Team Vision and are excited to share it with you soon, once we get a chance to review it as an admin team alongside the other teams’ visions.

 

Thanks for reading our update and taking an interest in the technical direction of Lord of the Craft. I’m aiming to have more regular patch notes and updates published moving forward.

 

I also want to acknowledge that I haven’t been as present in-game or as communicative recently as I should have been. After Azuras’ launch, the holidays, and a busy end-of-year at work, I found myself pretty burnt out. That’s on me, and it’s something I’m working on correcting. I’m excited about where the Tech Team is headed. Despite the recent departures, the team is in one of the strongest states I’ve ever seen, with incredible drive, motivation and talent. I’m proud of the work we’re doing, and what we have planned.

 

Ultimately, words only matter if they’re backed by action, and I intend to demonstrate that through consistent progress and transparency. Thank you to those who continue to place their trust in me to lead the technical direction of LOTC. To those who have lost some of that trust, I hope to earn it back by showing that this direction is real. Let’s make 2026 a record year for technical progress on LOTC, together.

 

Cheers,

Daisy

Report bugs via our GitHub tracker

 

View upcoming development plans on our roadmap

 

Join the plugin and systems discussion in our Tech Discord

A footnote on moderation:

Footnote on Moderation

I also want to address a point that has come up regarding moderation. Occasionally, I (and other moderators/admins) hide posts that are inflammatory or personally targeted rather than providing constructive feedback. For example, replies like “Daisy next” on the New Chapter thread, which was hidden by myself. These actions are not about silencing criticism, but about keeping discussions focused and productive. Threads like @Slorbin's, though directed at me, were left open because they contained valid feedback and productive discussion. Cheers.

 

[Aesopian 1639]

Wow look at all that info!!!! 🐸 

[Zqppy 918]

not dissapointed

[xDK 1205]

[Adelemphii 1766]

lenny the goat

[CasualNuker 1113]

Transparency is a nice touch. 

[BonesOfTheEarth 2252]

They could never make me hate you @Daisy

[wowj 9747]

14 minutes ago, Daisy said:

We will be re-enabling FoodCore later today.

:(

[Cheese 8882]

15 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Application Notifications

 

I am currentlying assisting the CT in rolling out some changes to the application format. Following this, we’re going to update Freja to automatically send email notifications when an app’s status is updated (pending, accepted, denied), as right now new applicants often miss this status change and forget to check back, leading to apps being denied, or players never joining.

LAWRD MY PRAYERS HVE BEEN ANSWERED

[Pathologist 35]

this is epic

[hearth_ 1023]

it was nice hearing from our tech admin daisy!

 

in all seriousness, thank you for the update. this seems promising.

[Tentoa 3160]

WE STILL DON'T WANT THE FOOD PLUGIN.

[BobBox 3798]

waiting for dynmap update for over 4 months 

[MsLinni 828]

Thank you! ^~^

I am super excited for 1.21.11 in specific :D

[Daisy 9731]

6 minutes ago, Adelemphii said:

lenny the goat