xDK

Hello everyone! I am happy to share with you some of the changes that we have implemented on our website once again. Website Changes Forum Theme: The Light, The Dark, and The Ugly Unless you’ve been living under a rock, we've decided that it was finally time for a new visual overhaul to the website theme. We have “subscribed” everyone to the new, Dark LOTC Theme, which uses familiar design elements from the old design, while providing a more streamlined look that aligns with the brand colours. For the sake of transparency, here’s a closer look into the technical aspects behind the theme update, the decision-making process, and how these changes aim to create a better user experience: Design and Development of the Dark LOTC Theme The Dark LOTC Theme was designed after feedback from the community. This theme offers a “cleaner” aesthetic while still remaining true to the key elements from the old theme. Streamlining colours: I have focused on making the colour palette more streamlined, to ensure text legibility in low-light conditions, and with a dark background image. It was created to still stay true to the new LotC brand colours. Incase anyone is interested in the LotC brand colours (I know I am), here they are: Introducing the Light LOTC Theme as the Default for New Players The Light LOTC Theme has been designated as the default theme for new players. This choice is based on staying true to the new brand colours, while still giving players an easy option to change the the Dark theme. Light Palette for Newcomers: The light theme uses a balanced, clean colour palette to create a more fantasy and uplifting look. The theme also has a clear colour hierarchy, making it easy for new players to understand what buttons to click etc. (Notice the big Green Button when creating a new topic). This makes it best suited for those who may be exploring the platform for the first time. Easily Toggleable Themes: A “Dark/Light” mode button at the bottom of the page allows users to change to the Dark LOTC Theme if they prefer it. Retiring the Bravo 6 Theme and LotC Legacy Theme Maintaining multiple themes can be tough, especially when we want to do a change to something. As they each require to be updated separately. Here’s how the decision to retire these themes was approached: Code Simplification: Each theme requires separate CSS files and template files. This makes both the legacy theme and the bravo 6 theme annoyingly difficult to maintain. By focusing on only two themes, we’ve simplified the back-end architecture, reducing the likelihood of redundant or conflicting code and making maintenance easier. Future Proofing: By having to work on only 2 themes, we make it easier in the future to implement design changes across the site. For example, new features or adjusting layouts of pages can now be pushed across themes without duplicating codes into all the different templates or inconsistencies. This update of the theme cleans up both aesthetic and functionality of the website, as well as allows us to keep a much more maintainable codebase. We continue to make sure both themes are updated with the changing requirements of the community. Website Upgrade: Electric Boogaloo The recent website upgrade is an important milestone, as it has brought great improvements in performance and stability to our users and laid a good foundation for future development. Now that this upgrade has been successful, we are excited to share the features and benefits it brings and how it will continue shaping the platform for the better. Although every upgrade process may bring possible unforeseen issues, the transition went relatively smoothly, and only a few minor adjustments needed to get the VIP colours working. Foundation for New Feature Development One of the key reasons for this upgrade was to establish a stable base for future enhancements and feature rollouts. Here’s how the new version sets the stage for upcoming developments: Improvements: The upgrade addresses underlying performance bottlenecks, making it easier to address issues related to performance. Security Standards: This upgrade brings us up to date with current security standards. Without going into to too much technical detail, the new update has implemented 4/5 major security patches out of 33 total patches to the website. While most of these security patches were related to commerce (all LotC commerce is through an external platform), we can still feel a little more at ease now that the site is upgraded. Efficiency in Bug Fixes and Issue Resolution Prior to this upgrade, some issues remained unresolved due to limitations in the older codebase. With the update, our development can more effectively tackle these lingering issues, as well as any new ones that arise. Fixed Status Update Widget: The Status Update sidebar/widget has been completely updated. It can now receive images, and the pagination in the replies works properly. If you experience any bugs or issues regarding this feature, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or anyone else on the web dev team. Easier to fix: The updated codebase, allows for faster bug fixing and issue tracking, as we don't have to weave through the patchwork of old code redundant code. In summary, this upgrade isn’t just about changing the appearance of the site. It’s about setting up a solid foundation that supports a better user experience and easier development. With this upgrade, we’re equipped to roll out exciting new features, address issues more efficiently, and continue enhancing the experience for everyone. Thanks to @Llir & @Tythus for making sure that the update went smoothly. Archiving: I Barely Know Him! Currently, we are doing some major backend restructuring where we are archiving all 126.4k topics in "The Great Library" section of the forums. Now, this might seem redundant as "The Great Library" already is an archive, in concept. Still, this setup isn't an archive in any technical aspect, which has contributed to somewhat inefficient site performance. Understanding the Current Setup Presently, "The Great Library" is actually a standard section of the forum with many sub-forums. While it's supposed to be an archive of older topics, it actually shares the same database table as the rest of the forum. In other words, "The Great Library" topics are technically treated like any other forum topic that is currently active. Impact on Database: All topics in one database table house the entire forum, including those from "The Great Library". This means every load of the website needs to read from that large database table. Total posts stand at 1.9 million, so each request forces the page loads to scan over this amount of records for content which might be in sections that are barely accessed. Hence, significant latency and resultant slow loading times. Increased Loading Times: This is an added data load on every page view, which is the main contributor to increased loading time across the site. This has impacted the overall performance of the forums for everyone. The New Archiving Approach In order to fix this issue, we're making a real archive for "The Great Library." We will move all the topics in "The Great Library" into a different database table, one set aside for archived posts, rather than simply flagging the section as an archive within the same overarching structure of the forum. This change has several advantages: Reduced Database Strain: Segregating the older and archived content into its own table will ease off the main forum database from handling posts that aren't being actively used. This, in turn, makes it so we only have the posts from active discussions in the main table. Optimized Queries: Migrating the archived content into another table lets the database queries on the main forum run quicker since the system doesn't have to comb through older data. This leads to faster page loading, easier navigation, and responsiveness in user experience when navigating through the active discussions. Resource Allocation: It frees up the database resources, and we are in a position to build an increased amount of processing power towards the active sections of the forum for better handling of real-time activities on posting, comments, and searching of active sections. Improved Performance: We expect overall site performance to improve because of the isolation of archived content. To users, page loading could be faster and an interface that is more responsive when clicking between different sub-forums. Temporary Impact on Search Functionality This migration will temporarily affect the search feature of the site. Here's what you can expect: Limited Search: After the transition, content within "The Great Library" will not be immediately searchable. This will be a necessary limitation, as the search function of the forum is currently designed to work within a singular database table. Since the archived content will be moved to a different table, we'll need to modify the parameters in search to be aware of and include the new archive. Work in Progress: The search system is being redeveloped now to adapt to the new archive. When migrations are complete, users will be able to once again expect searching all of "The Great Library's" content as expected. We appreciate your patience as we work to implement this solution as quickly as possible. This, in short, is a re-organization that will help alleviate present performance issues and scale the forum better, allowing us to deliver smoother, faster, more reliable load times on the site. Thank you for your understanding as we make these necessary improvements that I truly believe will benefit us all in the long run. Thanks to @Llir for helping with the setup of this! Extra: See Which Sub-forum the Latest Post Is In We're pleased to announce that forum navigation will be improved by one more thing with the great help of @HogoBojo. This new plugin shows the particular sub-forum for each post or topic directly in the view of the main forum. This is a small change, but it hugely benefits the user experience- especially sections like Roleplay that hold many sub-forums. Thank you all for your feedback and continued support, it's genuinely nice to hear that people are enjoying the updates :) xDK | Web Developer

What a great topic! It’s genuinely interesting to dive into the psychological impact of RP, especially as it correlates with the idea of identity formation. I am personally I big fan of the way that David Riesman compartmentalizes how different identities are formed in today’s world, compared to back in the day. The main idea I have put below here: Tradition-directed: People who adhere to long-standing norms, guided by traditions passed down through generations, prioritizing conformity over personal preferences. (Think of a baker’s child who grows up to become a baker) Inner-directed: People guided by internalized principles and personal values instilled during their upbringing. (Think of people going to war back in the day, because of the way they were taught morals by their parents) Other-directed: People whose sense of self and behavior are heavily influenced by their social environment. Highly attuned individuals, adapting their identity based on external feedback. (Think of people today acting different on social media from real life) The idea being that in today’s world with people grown up with social media essentially derive their sense of self based on their group membership. This is particularly interesting when you view how conformity has spread across the server. This is a form of social identity where affiliation with in-game groups, factions or nations, provides people with a framework for social interaction, and a source of pride and self-esteem. In the context of RP, I think that this can lead to a situation where player characters and their personal identities begin to intertwine. The desire for social adherence and belonging drives players to conform to in-game group norms, which can influence their real-life behaviour and idea of self. When players deeply engage with their characters and the in-game world on this level, they may have emotions and reactions as if these events were happening to their own identity (because in a roundabout way, it is!). This emotional engagement can blur the lines between in-game experiences and real-life feelings, especially for individuals whose sense of self is still developing. TL;DR: In the modern world people view their identities through external feedback and different group settings. This means that your character is literally a part of your identity. Not an extension of it, but the identity itself. So when your character gets attacked, then you will not view it as “your character being attacked”, but rather an attack on your identity.

Gramercy, yonder prattle doth chafe my senses with such ungeasoned parlance! ‘Tis woe enow when one’s co-mates prattle of ‘exes’ and ‘girlfriends,’ their speech bereft of aught kenning to this realm. Would they but eschew such modern frippery! Aye, forsooth, I am afeared that each ‘maw’ and ‘hue’ doth rend the veil of our fair mumming. I beseech ye all, let us restore our speech to words more fitting and let not our revels become a witless mummer’s farce.

I would say that the minimum Pixel size should be 1080px on the shortest side. Note that this is not a requirement, just a way to make sure nothing is pixelated. Usually of it looks good in the test application, it will be okay no matter what.

Hello everyone! I am excited to finally announce some cool new things coming your way! As we want to ensure that our platform evolves to better serve the players. Here’s what’s happening from a website development point of view. We believe in the power of the community's talented artists and want to showcase your creativity in helping us design our new store page. Instead of relying on AI-generated art like what has been used for a placeholder till now, we are turning to the server's incredible art community to bring the store page to life. How to Participate 1. Create Your Design: The store page layout has been created, however now we are looking to have a unique feel to the store page in relation to the “VIP cards” that will showcase each tier (Coal, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Bedrock, Ender and Aether). Below you can see a way that these new cards will be displayed, And also a way for you to test your design by uploading your assets. The VIP Cards The VIP Cards consist of 3 different image assets. 1. The Background Cover Image. 2. The Title Text Image. 3. The Item Highlighted Image. (The VIP Cards will be displayed in a grid and when clicked they will be expanded, like when you hover over the card below.) Why we are not sharing images of the store page layout I am purposely keeping the new store page layout details private for now to allow you full creative freedom. Without predefined constraints, so all you need to focus on is the VIP cards. Should you wish to know more about the store page layout and other details, do not hesitate to reach out. Spoiler of the 3 different assets and their respective specifications: Application for testing your design /* Universal Box Sizing */ * { box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0; padding: 0; } /* Container for the card and upload section */ .container { display: flex; gap: 20px; align-items: flex-start; padding: 20px; flex-wrap: wrap; /* Ensure responsiveness */ justify-content: center; } /* Styles for the card */ .st-card { width: 400px; aspect-ratio: 2 / 3; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; border-radius: 20px; transition: transform 0.6s ease, box-shadow 0.6s ease; transform-origin: center center; position: relative; z-index: 5; /* Added z-index */ } /* Hover effects for the card */ .st-card:hover .st-wrapper { transform: perspective(900px) translateY(-5%) rotateX(25deg) translateZ(0); box-shadow: 2px 35px 32px -8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); } .st-card:hover .st-card-title { transform: translateX(-50%) translateY(120%) translateZ(200px); opacity: 1; } .st-card:hover .st-card-item { opacity: 1; transform: translate3d(-50%, -65%, 150px); /* Increased Z value */ } /* Wrapper for the cover image */ .st-wrapper { border-radius: 20px; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; transition: transform 0.6s ease, box-shadow 0.6s ease; z-index: 1; box-shadow: 0 0 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); /* No shadow initially */ } /* Cover image styles */ .st-cover-image { width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; pointer-events: none; } /* Card title image styles */ .st-card-title { width: 100%; /* Adjust as needed */ transition: transform 0.5s, opacity 0.5s; opacity: 1; z-index: 5; position: absolute; transform-style: preserve-3d; top: 20%; /* Adjust to position the title appropriately */ left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%) translateY(150%) translateZ(200px); pointer-events: none; } /* Card item image styles */ .st-card-item { width: 100%; /* Adjust as needed */ height: auto; opacity: 0; transition: opacity 0.5s, transform 0.5s; position: absolute; transform-style: preserve-3d; top: 50%; left: 50%; transform: translate3d(-50%, -30%, 150px); /* Increased Z value */ z-index: 3; /* Increased z-index */ pointer-events: none; } /* Upload Section Styling */ .upload-section { padding: 20px; max-width: 400px; width: 100%; } .upload-section h3 { margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: center; } .upload-section label { display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; font-weight: bold; } .upload-section input[type="file"] { display: block; width: 100%; margin-bottom: 15px; font-size: 14px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 5px; } /* Responsive design for smaller screens */ @media only screen and (max-width: 600px) { .container { flex-direction: column; align-items: center; } .st-card { aspect-ratio: 1 / 1.5; width: 80%; } } Upload Your Files Cover Image: Card Title Image: Card Item Image: 2. Submit Your Entry: Send your design to [email protected] with the subject ‘Store Art Contest [Username]’ by November 17th November 25th. Please send files as attachments not embeds. Original files for your chosen art program must be included. AI generated content will not be accepted. Important: You have to create minimum 3 VIP cards, so that we can see the consistency across multiple assets. 3. Share Your Vision: Include a brief description of your design inspiration/idea and key takeaways. Prizes 1st Place: Art will be featured on our store page, and credits will be given. 55000 Crowns (enough for Aether VIP, can split) or 10000 Mina. The Lord of the Craft exclusive forum rank for 6 months. Creative Wizard forum tag. - 2nd Place: 12100 Crowns (enough for Diamond VIP, can split) or 3000 Mina. Creative Wizard forum tag. - 3rd Place: 5900 Crowns (enough for Gold VIP, can split) or 1000 Mina. Timeline Announcement Date: October 26th - 2024 Submission Deadline: November 17th 25th - 2024 Winner Announcement: The end of November Should you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me through the forums or through discord :) Things currently being worked on Upcoming Features and Improvements Updating the Forums to the Newest Version We are currently working on updating the forums to the newest version (Something which hasn't been done since 2017). It can be difficult to improve quality of life, when you are working on things that are going to be depreciated in a newer update. So in order to make it easier for web developers both now and in the future to make new features, or improvements to anything, we are going to go through with a large update of the underlying framework. Will this break stuff? Absolutely! However, in order to make things better going forward, we will have to do this now rather than later. There will be a new announcement post going into details regarding this. New Homepage We are in the early stages of developing a new homepage to increase its usability and make it a central hub for our community, instead of just a page that you use to get to the forums. Our aim is to introduce features that will be valuable to both new and existing members, enhancing their overall need for the homepage. To achieve this, we will be collaborating closely with other staff teams, listening to their needs. While also actively seeking input from the community. Your suggestions and feedback are crucial, so please share your ideas in the feedback section of the forums. This collaborative approach is needed to help us design a homepage that meets the information for new players and the needs of our existing players. New Editor Button for Enhanced Post Styling In our efforts to make the user experience better, I am excited to say that I am working on a new button for the editor used in forum topics and posts. This new button will enable users to apply gradient text, without having to do so from google docs or manually change each individual letter. Additionally, I will add interactive animations to both text and images, that will allow for more creativity when it comes to formatting your topic. I am also adding image styling tools that are going to give you customization options for the formatting of your images, and a lot more. These improvements will be designed to provide players with an easier internal toolbox for creativity when designing their posts. Fixing the Status Update Widget We are also in the process of addressing several issues with the current “status update widget”. One major fix is the pagination within the widget, making it so that you no longer need to visit individual user profiles to navigate through comments. Additionally, we are attempting to resolve issues related to rich text formatting. Currently, long texts with rich formatting options enabled, will disrupt the layout of the post adding a new line for almost every letter. However, these fixes can only be implemented after the website's underlying framework is updated, as they rely on newer features that replace deprecated ones. I appreciate your patience as we work to fix the functionality of the status update widget. Spread the Word: Share this announcement with fellow community members who might be interested in the art contest and upcoming features. Finally, if you have any suggestions for improvements to the forums or website in general, don't hesitate to reach out or put your feedback in the [Feedback] section. We are already planning some other major and minor updates in the not too distant future, so you can look forward to that. Happy Creating! xDK | Web Developer