Opening Statement

Over the last two weeks lots has changed. Four staff members and two rangers have resigned due to the new schoolyear starting. As a result of this the MCME times has seen a change in writer, along with some project staff filling in the gaps left behing in Harithilien.
All of these changes pale in comparison to the recent changes to rank names and structure though. We'll start this edition of the times by taking a look at these changes.

Rank Name Changes & Merges

As all of you who have been on in the last week have noticed the rank names have been changed and some ranks have been merged together. Here is a simplified overview:

Oathbreaker: This rank has stayed the same in name and function.

Droog + Commoner: These ranks have been merged together forming the Adventurer rank. The adventurer rank has the same permissions as the old commoner rank.

Artist: This rank has stayed the same in name and function.

Ranger: The name of this rank has been reverted to Guide, the name with which the rank was conceived.

Artisan, Foreman and Steward: These ranks have been merged together to for the Designer rank. This means build mods now have a unified set of permissions. Though all three ranks have now been merged into one there can still be a certain level of specialisation.

Bounder: The name of the rank has been changed to Enforcer.

Valar: The ranks name has been chagned to Vala making it gramatically correct for the first time in a year. :') <- tear of joy.

If these changes have left you with feedback or opinions you want to share you can do so here.
If you encouter any technical difficulties as a result of the changes (missing permissions etc.) inform us here.

Project Progress


Cair Andros (Pretty Much Done): The last few details such as roads, trees, and grass have been added to wrap up this project finally thanks to the hard work and dedication of both @freshmilkymilk and @Thatruben . Well done guys on a job well done as the final product is really something to marvel at.

Harithilien Part 3 (In Progress): With @Fireinferno13 resigning this project is now under the leadership of @iSMiTHz. At this time jobs are being ran digging rivers that have been marked on the terrain. Other than that there is a build competition going on for Haudh in Gwanûr. If you want to join in you can do so here.

Misty Mountains (In Progress): @Finrod_Amandil is currently working on redoing the Misty Mountains in order to both improve the path and make them all pretty for the surroundings of Moria. Since last week the eastern slopes of the misty mountains, west of Lothlorien, have been changed back from sand to stone. There is also a really cool new glacier if you can find it.

Rivendell Revamp (In Progress): The most noticeable changes in Rivendell are the trees, which look very lovely, and the roofs. Other than that there have been many other changes to the terrain, the roads and the buildings, the furnace has been overhauled entirely.

Dol Amroth (In Progress): After terraforming the terrain for Dol Amroth itself, the process of terraforming everything around the city has begun, be sure to check out the mountains surrounding it in order to get a good before and after image as there is no stopping @demonataz once he has started.

Pelagrir (In Progress): The center Island has been completed. With a tower overlooking the rest of the still barren Islands. Some planning is already in place though, and a new (very small) island has been erected in the anduin.

Annuminas (On Hold): Wollip has had to put the project on hold for a while untill his new PC could replace his laptop that died. The concept builds for Annuminas are looking great though, and you should definitely go take a look, and perhaps get some practice in so you might help them when the building starts.

Media of the Week

This week features a really cool picture of a house in the paths of the dead, and the watchtower in lothlorien by @moloha, Moloha's other pictures can be found here.




Build of the Week

Though not a lot of builds have been finished this week I think the center island of pelargir turned out to look very good:



Status Updates

Promotions:
@speeder45 and @CEFKILLA41320 have rejoined there old rank of Guide.
I (@MaDIIReD) have also returned to an old rank, Enforcer.

Resignation:
@freshmilkymilk has had to resign so he can focus on other things. We will remember him and the wonderful fresh beverages he bestowed upon us forever and always.

Meet the Guide

Name: CEFKILLA41320
Age: 17
Country: United Kingdom, England

How did you find out about MCME and when did you join?
I found out about MCME from an old internet friend in the summer of 2011. We were getting bored of Dead Rising 2 and Black Ops and started looking up stuff to do on the internet. That's when I found the first Jesse Cox video of this awesome server. For some reasons (mainly not owning minecraft) I didn’t join the server until February the 18th 2012, but I’ve been active ever since then.

What was it like when you were a thrall/commoner (droog/member)? Any nostalgic moments?
When I was a droog the server was dedicated to working on rohan. I was there for the last day of the Anduin dig and a couple days later we started on the Isen. I pretty much spent my entire drooghood digging out the river and talking to people on Ventrilo. My favourite thing was changing my magic carpet to stone and trolling the droogs on the dig job (best thing about being a member ).

Why did you apply/shoot for Ranger in particular?
I had already spent about a year and a bit as a guide/ranger over the last two years or so and after messing up a few times I was hoping to work my way up to getting it back again. Over the last 7 months I’ve just been trying to stay away from unnecessary drama and conflict and tried to actively participate in more events on the server.

What is your favourite thing about MCME?
My favourite thing is that I can’t really come up with a favourite thing. That says a lot if you think about it. (thank jord for this cop-out)

Do you have any other hobbies outside of MCME (besides MC and gaming)?
I play a few sports such as Cricket and Badminton. I’m also a big fan of film and music. I watch a lot of dramas, comedies and action films. I’m also a huge fan of Doctor Who and Game of Thrones. I’m not a big reader since I have pretty awful dyslexia but I do own most of Tolkien's and George RR Martin's books and have multiple editions of all of the Harry potter books.

Community Outreach

Path of the Fellowship: @Finrod_Amandil has been working on mapping out the entire path of the fellowship with little footprints in the ground (you have probably seen them here and there). Here is a map if you are interested! Currently the path continues all the way past Rivendell!

Facebook Page: Have you checked out the MCME Facebook page? It is updated almost daily and provides not only great updates on the server, but also top screenshots, builds, promotions, and more! In other words, be sure to like us HERE.

Planet Minecraft Page: As stated before, please vote for us every day HERE. This helps draw attention and commemoration towards the server and is really appreciated by the community. So do your part and support MCME!

Times Feedback: Have a thought concerning the presentation of the MCME Times and how it can be improved? Because I am always looking for new ways to mix up and improve the Times experience through any means necessary and, if you have a comment or concern, its likely that someone else had it as well and just didnt say anything about it. So be sure to message Fire your thoughts on the forums.

Closing Statement

So there you go. Quite a turbulent week with a lot of changes coming in, but strangely enough at the same time a lot of older people have returned to ranks they held years ago, think Tryfor, speeder, cef, yours truly etc.

I'll leave you with two quotes:

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
-Alan Watts

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Initially there were a lot of complaints about the rank merge of droog and commoner, but as people actually played with the rank these complaints have gotten less severe. I do hope with some time people will not feel so sad at the loss of a colour anymore.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
-Lao Tzu

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I just stumbled upon this quote while looking for one that could fit with the ranks merges, but I really like it and I think it applies to MCME. After all we've done a lot of revamps, and made changes in direction without which we might (probably would) have been done by now. For me that would have been horrible because it would have been the end of this wonderful journey of building we're on.