TNTable 2024: Year in Review

We've had quite the year in 2024, a new website, a new SMP world and more. We're going to look at all the major events from this year together, go over costs to run the server (quite reasonable), and what we are looking forward to in 2025. Thanks for being a part of the community in 2024 and here's to many more years!

Noteworthy Events

Let's go through the major happenings of 2024, or at least all those I can remember. We started the year pretty quiet, not much activity on the server but there were a few updates.

New Logo and Datapack Changes

We left off with a new logo and datapack changes to the server. Okay, this happened at the end of 2023 but close enough. This was a long-overdue update to the logo, and the updates to datapacks were very helpful. These changes have carried forward and many of the enhancements that we voted for have been improved and replaced with mods for better functionality.

Minecraft: Armoured Paws Update

We saw the release of the Armoured Paws Update (MC 1.20.5) in April. Notable additions to the game were wolf variations, wolf armour and armadillos. The update went largely unnoticed on the server since activity was pretty low at the time.

New Website

I spent 50+ hours designing and building this new website, you can read more about it here. Overall it is a huge improvement compared to the previous website. Part of this involved updating all the map renderings and migrating them to a new version of BlueMap which is more performant and requires less storage space. Exciting stuff.

Also, the website might be getting an update in the near future, it will remain largely the same but I am going to port it over to ProcessWire. It is another CMS and I much prefer it to Grav after working on a few projects with it. Stay tuned for updates on that, however it won't be a major redesign this time around.

Minecraft: Tricky Trials Update

Then July rolls around and the new update Tricky Trials (MC 1.21.0) is upon us. The conversation about a server reset begins. We discuss and vote for a map reset. The excitement and planning for this new update and world is in high gear. In addition to the new trial chambers in Minecraft we add even more to the server with a datapack called Dungeons and Taverns. This leads us natually into our next topic: the new server world.

New Server World

We reset the server world and added a selection of plugins and datapacks to enhance the experience. For the first time the server map was pre-rendered and available viewing before the world launch, and the seed was hand-picked for the best starting area and spawn location among the worlds and seeds sampled. We (Matt) also began publishing a weekly recap of the events and builds from the server when there was plenty of activity. Activity inevitably died down about 4 weeks in, but players hop on occasionally and continue to build and create.

A few notable bases includes Red Team, check their base out on the server map. If you have time go check it out on the server as wlel, there is so much to see and explore there. On the other side of the map west of spawn is Megaussy. It isn't as large as Red Team but it still has character and charm. Admittedly that is where my base is so I may be a little biased.

Expenses

How much does it cost to run the server? Not as much as one would think once the hardware is purchased. I run a few other services on the same server so that also helps split up the costs. In total I estimate that it cost $85.24 to run the server for all of 2024. That includes the cost of storing the server renders, electricity, internet and web hosting for the website and wiki. Really not to bad, especially spread out over 12 months. This does not include any money set aside to fund upgrades or new servers in general so it really is just running costs so keep that in mind.

Looking towards the future

As we look towards the future I hope that we see some activity on the SMP server again soon. In addition I am planning on launching an Ultra Hardcore Minecraft server, it will be based on a plugin that lets players organize and start games themselves. Also a regular hardcore server again for players wanting additional challenge. As always, if there are any game servers you would like to see let me know and I can spin them up for you.

Thanks for making it this far in the article, that is all for the 2024 year in review. Happy new year!

• David