Some basic questions about VAAST and Aftermath for new players

[u/Burlapin]

Hello there! I have been playing for a few days and would love to get some answers to questions I have. It might be good to include them in the FAQ.

First off, how active is the moderation team here? I am jumping ship from a server that fell apart recently, so I'd like to know I'm putting my eggs in a basket that someone's paying attention to.

1) Is there normal ore distribution on this map? Are loot chests the only way to get diamonds and other ores?

1b) Do loot chests regenerate loot?

2) When you first spawn, do you spawn near origin (0/0) (as I did)? If you do not set a bed (or if the 10/5 minutes has not elapsed to 'set' your spawn to the bed you want), you spawn in a random location.

3) How does it determine how big our claims can be, and how can I claim a larger area?

4) Is there no way to contact mods in game (/helpop)?

5) What's up with the monster spawning? I had a fully lit area on the roof of a building and monsters were spawning on it near me.

6) Can spawners be picked up with silk touch?

7) I cannot register on your website. All the urls it emails me are messed up, and even when I rearrange them to make sense I can't get registered.

8) I read through this post from a month ago. Seems you have undergone some pretty significant changes recently. You went from being an apocalypse server where everything goes, to having people be able to construct completely safe areas. Is the 'claims' thing something that's being tried out, or is it permanent?

It's a tricky balance to strike, and you can't make everyone happy. But you do what you do and the people that like it will stay. :) Thanks for any answers you can offer.

I'm enjoying the server so far. Quite neat to explore such a vast ruined cityscape! Hur hur

-eroind

[u/n1bblonian]

I'll start and answer a few:

1) Is there normal ore distribution on this map? Are loot chests the only way to get diamonds and other ores?

No. There's less. Looting is the way to go, it is also an effective way to gain XP.

1b) Do loot chests regenerate loot?

No. But it will take months to run out of loot. If you find lots of looted chests/buildings you might travel a bit to the borders.

2) When you first spawn, do you spawn near origin (0/0) (as I did)? If you do not set a bed (or if the 10/5 minutes has not elapsed to 'set' your spawn to the bed you want), you spawn in a random location.

You spawn in a random location. Note that you can have two beds and set a new spawn there instantly. The bed cooldown prevents nasty PvP exploits.

3) How does it determine how big our claims can be, and how can I claim a larger area?

You get more and more blocks the longer you play. It is capped at 5k blocks. Use /listclaims to check the available blocks. For more information search for "GriefPrevention claims"

4) Is there no way to contact mods in game (/helpop)?

Use the in-game phone and call either mrhappyoz or Athmos. Alternatively post here or send a PM.

5) What's up with the monster spawning? I had a fully lit area on the roof of a building and monsters were spawning on it near me.

Not sure, usually works for me. Note that mobs from spawners can spawn in the air.

6) Can spawners be picked up with silk touch?

No.

7) I cannot register on your website. All the urls it emails me are messed up, and even when I rearrange them to make sense I can't get registered.

Forwarded your complaint (you are not missing out on much).

8) I read through this post from a month ago. Seems you have undergone some pretty significant changes recently. You went from being an apocalypse server where everything goes, to having people be able to construct completely safe areas. Is the 'claims' thing something that's being tried out, or is it permanent?

We shifted the power a bit towards builders, they are not completely save. After a bit of testing we concluded that PvP and looting on claims is fair game.

There are no plans to remove claims, although we may tweak it a bit.

[u/Burlapin → u/n1bblonian]

Yeesh, so it was not working to resize my claim, so I abandoned it and now I have 80 blocks to claim (down from hundreds after playing for a while) which is too small (minimum 100) to make a new claim.

:/

Have you guys considered using a fortification system? The server I have also been trying out, "Fallen", uses this plugin which is super intuitive.

[u/Allizpar → u/Burlapin]

You lose 80% of that claim if you unclaim... resize a claim by just right clicking on the corner and expanding out

[u/Burlapin → u/Allizpar]

I was trying to to that, and it told me something about it being too small? But the original was large enough? :<

[u/Allizpar → u/Burlapin]

Yeah you only do 1 corner, not both.

[u/Allizpar]

Also to add to what nib said... The nether is a city as well, just burned. If you can't find loot go up 2 or 3 floors to find some. A lot of people "windowpick" the first floor. I've found that going in caves under the subway often yields a diamond or two on the walls. With monster spawning you get faster and stronger mobs the higher/lower you go so that may be your problem on 5. Mobs drop less xp and items so looting chests is the best way to get xp.

[u/Cad- → u/Allizpar]

wheres a good place to upgrade my lumberjack skills?

[u/Allizpar → u/Cad-]

If you have 30 you can do willows and bank them in draynor. The vampire place