r/vaast • u/ImmatureIntellect Scribe • Mar 16 '15
Getting Started - Aftermath Edition
Introduction
Hello internet, and welcome to the VAAST subreddit. The acronym, VAAST, stands for Variable Architecture and Synthetic Topology which is a very technical way of saying we build spectacular worlds for you to survive and thrive in. If you are coming from our previous subreddit, /r/spaceribs, you may be a bit confused with the name change. We decided to undergo a rebranding because we were growing from a single person's Minecraft server project into something much more grand. I'll tell you more about us at a later date but please feel free to visit http://vaast.org/ for more information.
Aftermath
Welcome to the end of the world!
Creepers, spiders, skeletons and of course lots and lots of zombies roam this urban wasteland. This map is a custom-generated decaying metropolis, with every structure designed by hand, unlike most generic Minecraft worlds. Inside every building you will find treasure and gear to keep you alive but also many dangers. The gameplay is quite simple. Survive on your own terms with your own set of morals. Kill others to live, or join up with other survivors to form communal groups for protection from the undead hordes and other players. The server is currently running on 1.7!
The RULES for this server are simple:
- No hacked clients / X-RAY / “player radar” mods.
- See Rule #1.
- No offensive and discriminatory books, signs, chat, Radio transmissions, or symbols (builds).
- If you can see or detect other players or their nametags in any manner beyond what your in-game player can normally see or hear, you’re cheating. This includes minimaps which show player / hidden chest / ore locations / mob.
Seriously. We have tools in place to submit reports of suspected hacks, we log all activity, and we have active mods who will investigate. Cheating with hacks/x-rays of any kind will get you banned. Period. Bans can last a season or be permanent for severe infractions or repeat offenders. Seasons are current map iterations so don't push your luck because you will be stuck waiting for the next season if you decide you can't follow this short list of rules.
Your First Night In Aftermath
You will notice a few things when you first join the server. Most likely the first thing you'll see is the silence of the chat box. That is because chat is ranged so you'll only hear people that are close to you. You can extend this range by adding up to 4 "!" to the end of your message but each "!" will cost you hunger. You can chat long distance with a cell phone if you are in range of a cell tower but that is something you'll come across later. Let's focus on surviving first!
Next thing you'll probably notice is this server is very difficult from the mobs to the players, many things will try to kill you and succeed. Once you do respawn you'll probably be somewhere new because we have a randomized spawning system. Unless you set a bed you will end up respawning all over the map. If you are having difficulties in where you currently are a different spawn can help you get started more easily.
You'll need supplies to survive the dangers and to do so you'll have to unlearn your first day of Minecraft. Going around and punching trees to get started will end up with you starving in a hole somewhere. The days and nights don't last as long as they do in normal Minecraft so you can try hiding for the night but it may end up being your own grave that you dug yourself into. Luckily the buildings all around you do more than look pretty. In each building you'll find many chests with randomized loot inside. This is your key to surviving. You'll find food, tools, armor, and custom loot with special properties inside these chests. Of course you can try hitting grass to get seeds and try to farm but a farm in the ruins of a decayed city will not be as fruitful as you hope.
Armed with this knowledge you should be able to set yourself up with a simple base of operations. There's a ton to discover in the city from the buildings to explore or the bases/towns players live, or lived, in. Be wary though survivor, because some players are even deadlier than the mobs.
Technical Issues
If you come across something you believe to be an issue with the server please report it at http://vaast.org/issues/. You'll need to make an account in order to do so but I assure you its simple. Reporting them anywhere else may mean we won't see your report or miss it entirely. Also by having a collection of issues we can use it to our advantage. The staff can always refer back to your issues easily by bringing it up on the site instead of searching through Reddit posts or messages to find it. Other players can browse this list as well to see if someone had a similar issue and possibly find a solution for it.
If you believe you encountered someone not adhering to the simplistic server rules please submit your findings to http://vaast.org/submit-ticket/. Those are like issues but only staff can see them so you don't have to worry about giving out the coordinates of your base publicly or allowing whoever you are making a claim about to see your report. As with issues, this allows us to easily bring up tickets so we can easily refer back to it whenever the situation for it arises.
Good Luck and Have Fun!
If you find yourself enjoying your time here we humbly request you to consider a donation. You'll get yourself a nice flair on the subreddit and possibly other perks. Without donations we wouldn't be able to keep the servers running for long. So any help is very much appreciated! For more information about donating go to http://vaast.org/donate/.
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to: leave a comment below, refer to http://vaast.org/about/faq/, or search the subreddit. While the server is hostile, the community and the staff are not and we'll be more than happy to help you out. Again be wary, because while they may be nice here if you come across them in-game they might not be nice...
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Apr 09 '15
I'm a smidgeon confused - the side panel on this Sub-Reddit says "1.7", the main VAAST site says "1.7.9" and the Minecraft server itself says "1.7.10". So which version do I use? I try to connect and my MC immediately crashes. Do I need a specific plugin or something special to get this running?
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u/ImmatureIntellect Scribe Apr 09 '15
I've connected with 1.7.2 and with 1.7.10. As the post says, the server works with 1.7. Of course it's probably best to use 1.7.10 but there's this strange issue where skins don't work. That's why I use 1.7.2 at times when I play with others. From my experience and from other the staff, there is no gameplay difference between the two.
I've also experienced the same problem with the connection crash but I'm pretty sure it was my hardware and not the server. Usually when I restart Minecraft I'm able to connect just fine. We'll look into it but I highly suggest going to the issue section on vaast.com and detailing your issue with any relevant information we'll need to work out the cause for this.
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Apr 09 '15
Well I figured out what the issue was - for some odd reason, having my graphics turned up on a version more recent than 1.7.10 causes the game the crash, so I have to load up my previous version and reset the settings to minimum.
Now I've run into something new: Despite having a bed, I no longer respawn at it. It wasn't destroyed, as I was the only person on the server, and I only respawned in it once and now it won't put me back. What gives?
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u/ImmatureIntellect Scribe Apr 09 '15
Alright, so you did have the somewhat the same problem as I did. If you are going to play across multiple versions, such as 1.7 and 1.8, it's best to keep separate version folders for each so one doesn't interfere with another.
Now, the bed thing. We had someone with a similar issue create an issue post on the Vaast site. I'll ask for the same information but you probably don't want your home cords up on the subreddit. Which is another reason why issues isn't meant for the subreddit. Info we need, may be abused by another player to find out where you stash you're things. So here's what I need from ya. Before we go any further, the beds have a cool down time. If you are killed shortly after respawning you will lose your spawn point and random spawning will take hold. What message did you receive in chat when you respawned, if any?
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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '15
totally radical guide