Difference between revisions of "Hub St John"

Latest revision as of 22:00, 19 August 2013

Hub St John is a hub area located north of APK's Second Continent. It is adjacent to the Vatican City project.

History

From a post by the hub's creator, mistersc:

Well speaking of ways to get from A to B, I have finished the basic construction on Hub St. John out on the same continent as Vatican City.

I tried to make a hub that would meet everyone's needs which is a hard thing to do. Maybe I got a bit over-ambitious; I'll let you be the judge of that. The surrounding area is almost completely undeveloped so I wanted to provide something that was not only a housing for the hub warp mechanism but possibly a centralized resource for an organic (non-planned) community.

When you arrive by foot at Hub St. John you'll find it a tall rectangular structure with entrances in the middle of each wall, one entrance per cardinal direction. There are some users who have problems with doors because of lag / latency, so I tried to create a door-less entrance that a hostile mob can't navigate while still making it easy for a human player. These are 3-wide walkways with flowing water in two places. Unless you walk straight up the middle you'll get dragged off to one side or the other. I feel that the minimal difficulty given to all players surmounts the larger aggravation suffered by any player who can't operate iron doors.

(plus if it turns out that hostile mobs can walk it, well, I'll just install doors - wooden doors, though.)

In crossing the mob-shifting walkway you'll also see that the building is surrounded by a drowning moat. This moat will not kill spiders but should dispatch the other hostile mobs. Peaceful mobs tend to get stuck but who cares? Let them suffer in there.

As you enter the building you will be on the main floor. It is the center for the Hub Warp as well as crafting, meeting / exchange, storage, and an infinite water source.

From here you have a choice to ascend or descend between floors. Ascending is done via regular ladder. Descending is done via drop-in chutes with water brakes at the end. Don't be afraid to jump in - you won't get hurt.

Describing the lower floors first:

- from the main floor you can drop down to the basement / moat level. This will allow you to see how the drowning moat model works thanks to a full glass floor. You can also descend a ladder to retrieve items dropped by deadified mobs.

- [more or less done] from this drop collection chamber you can descend further to the boat dock. This canal takes you due south to the ocean, and is underground for its entire length and well-lit to ensure no spawning of hostile mobs. It will also be usable to boat in from the sea.

- [dug, need to put down tracks] from the outbound boat canal you can descend further to the inbound minecart hub. Players who wish to arrive (or transport goods) via minecarts can hook up their tracks to this terminal.

Returning to the main floor: we ascend one level to the green floor. This area has a grass-covered dirt floor growing both trees and wheat. Feel free to harvest either as long as you replant when you have finished. Fire is allowed in this room (until the leaf decay bug is fixed, and maybe even after that). Don't burn the trees for fun, but if you're done harvesting the trunks you are permitted to remove the leaves via flint and steel. Put out any remaining fire when you're done.

Ascending from there we reach the outbound minecart floor. From here minecarts (supplied by the player) can exit out in each of the cardinal directions, assisted by minecart boosters. This operation is on the top floor so that you can build descending tracks away from Hub St. John and use gravity to increase your speed and distance traveled. Minecarts are currently glitchy, you will see a note to that effect on that floor.

Above this is the roof access. WARNING: there are no guardrails on the roof. If you do fall, try to aim for the moat directly beside the building as it's deep enough to keep you from taking damage.

Each floor features ample windows to both provide scenic views and help locate mobs from within the safety of the building.

The area of Hub St. John in general is protected from destruction in the same manner that spawn is. Immediately outside the lit fenceposts at the end of the entryways is where the protection ends. It's not only permitted to build paths to and from the hub, it's encouraged. Likewise if you wish to build a structure in the area there is no minimum distance from the hub other than the protection perimeter (assuming that you will leave all entrance and exit pathways clear and accessible).

I look forward to running into you sometime at Hub St. John as you travel to the Vatican City project or come out looking for a new place to build. Safe travels!

Residents

Noteworthy residents in the Hub St John area include Ariffraff (just west of the hub).