Finrod_Amandil said:

​

Opening Statement

<01:07:25> "Kulmo(Laptop)": this is like
<01:07:31> "Kulmo(Laptop)": the old staff meetings
<01:07:38> "Kulmo(Laptop)": that go on for years

On the night from saturday to sunday we had our second staff meeting in 2015 and it was indeed really extensive, for almost three hours it lasted. We talked about a lot of things, e.g. project progress and potential issues with them, how to make ourselves known to new people outside of MCME and what media we can use how to achieve that, we talked about the PVP Rebirth that is being worked on atm and how that shall be used when it's done, aswell as some rank-related topics and some things that yet have to be announced to all of you!

On behalf of that I want to encourage you to voice any concerns or suggestions you may have concerning any topic. There are plenty of places you can put your inputs, whether that is the public suggestions forums or you PM someone directly you may have to judge regarding what kind of matter it is.
Participate to help MCME stay a nice place or make it an even better one!​

Project Progress

(http://imgur.com/a/WSeNl)
Amon Hen & Amon Lhaw (New | Finished) - Lead: @Mandos & @kisos

Sneaking around in the night Mandos and kisos snuck into the area near the Argonath and did a beautiful revamp of the area. They created many beautiful new trees, and have brought Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw to the standards of the server. Come and check out what they did with /warp argonath or /warp rauros.
- Mandos​

Andrast (In Progress) - Lead: @Tyranystrasz

This week's work has been focused on Ras Morthil, the cape which marks the very end of Andrast. Some really impressive stone formations are being established there, and ontop a fortress shall be placed, to guard the seas around the cape.​

Anfalas (In Progress) - Lead: @DSESGH

Trees, bushes, and rocks have been added to the grassy part, and work has begun on finishing the rest of the sandy section. Hopefully, our friend @otho will be joining the project soon, as I believe he's wrapping up his exams.
- DSESGH​

Annúminas (In Progress) - Lead: @Fireinferno13

All houses in the normal district have been ruined along with more than half in the upper class district, leaving some road ruining and wall ruining jobs ready for the taking in the next week or so. Otherwise, houses are still needed in the rich district though some substantial progress has been made. Be sure to build a house by warping to "annuminas fb" on plotworld!
- Fireinferno13
​

Bareketta (In Progress) - Lead: @kisos

All the houses have been built! Its a great feeling to get the easy part of the job done! The ruining has started at the lower sections of the city, starting with the docks and outside houses. Houses inside the city have been ruined as well as the gate and the large tower. Many silly hints from the (/warp Baraketta) on the old map have been added, with more to come. See if you can spot them all. Word to artists and Adventurers: Artists can ruin houses with green wool over them, and if any of you Adventurers want to ruin, just ask me in game if you can, and if i am not feeling like a loser, ill let you!
- kisos
​

Lebennin (Finished) - Lead: various

This project has changed hands many times, and in the past time multiple persons have worked on it; and as never a project post has been made for this project (not even on staff forums), overview got kinda lost. But now all fields, roads and walls are done, and thus Lebennin is over all finished too. As I was flying over it I saw a few spots that may still need some bits of vegetation, but it still is about time to put the Finished tag onto this!
Congratulations to all community members involved in the creation of this gondorian fief, it turned out incredibly beautiful, verify that for yourself by checking out the collection of screenshots in the image gallery above!
​

Lothlórien Vegetation (In Progress) - Lead: @Eriol_Eandur

Work in section 5 is being continued, and hey, there I found that not only new vegetation is being added! Check out the image gallery to see what I found!
​

Misty Mountains (In Progress) - Lead: @Emilio_

I have recorded, edited and rendered the first (over one hour long) voxel tutorial (and therefore also worked on the mountains), however even though the raw footage was in cristal-clear HD resolution the final render quality was more than dissapionting, even more as I did put so many hours into editing (mainly cause I have no experience whatsoever about video editing), and my laptop needed seven hours to render while permanently needed to be cooled with a ventilator to prevent crashing by overheating...
So. If there is anyone out there that could and would be interested in turning my raw footage into a final product (which mainly would include putting together the about two dozen clips, speed up some of them, put some music onto it when I'm not talking, and censoring staff chat), he would be my personal hero!
Else everything would be ready for any staff members to get started on the mountains and voxel some of it.
@Mandos voiced interest in revamping the Bruinen Ford, as on one hand it is still pretty clearly visible that it was pasted over from the old map, and it is not really lore-accurate in terms of terrain.​

Moria (In Progress) - Lead: @Despot666 & @Finrod_Amandil

@Bombur8 submitted a great idea fixing the issue of how the dwarves were able to trade through the East Gate, as using the bridge of Khazad-dûm would be pretty unpractical to cross the chasm with mules, carts or just basically everything.
The solution includes a path along the chasm wall around the chasm, and at last a crane to get the goods into the 2nd hall while still being invasion-proof.
Despot did now mark out this thing, however lead the path northwards around the chasm (not southwards as in Bomburs sketch), and included one more crane to a hall at the north end of the chasm.
​

Pelargir (In Progress) - Lead: @Credoo - Reporter: @toeyoman

Compared to other weeks we had rather few progress in Pelargir this week; house jobs are still being run by kisos and here and then additions to the western city half are made.
At the staff meeting Credoo did emphasise that still a lot of work has to be done in this city, but that does only mean it will be no less than perfect in the end. Especially the docks area is absolutely worth checking out!
​

Public Projects:

Ethring (Finished) - Lead: @mattlego

mattlego has finished Ethring! The changes that happened in the last few weeks were amazing, all hail to him aswell as @Fireinferno13 and all the other Artists that helped out here! Check out matts video in the media of the week section to get a thorough walkthrough of his project.​

Freca's Fortress (In Progress) - Lead: @Brazen_Helm

We already had two road jobs finishing about 2/3 of roads. Thanks for everyone participating!!
Keep your eyes open and prepare your spades for the final road job. In addition there is still one house left for an Artist to get his/her hands on and an upcoming job for Adventurer building picket fences. If you want to check out the progress, check out the /warp frecatempand follow the road west!
- Ma5terMinD
​

Mt. Gram (In Progress) - Lead: @_Thijs1801

The second cave has been voxelled and immidiately work has begun in it. Furthermore a proper warp /warp Mount Gram (shortcut /warp gram) is now available.​

Current Plotworld Jobs and Projects:

• New! [Freebuild] Specialty Treebuild
• [Freebuild] Annúminas Rich Houses
• [Freebuild] Pelargir House Build

For an always up-to-date overview, please refer to >>this<< thread.​

Status Updates

- none

​

Media of the Week

@mattlego's showcase of Ethring, that he himself finished just a few days ago:
​

Project Build (Like the Themed Build but better)

Framsburg
Rohan Pack
1 week left (until June 14th)
>>Themed Build post<<​

​

Short Story Contest

This week you finally can read @BevsForBros second part of his fanfiction, and with that ends this series with the short stories.

Again huge thanks to @Tyranystrasz for organising the contest and of course to all participants! Next week there will be something new in this area of the Times, what that will be... you'll see!​

Spoiler

Suddenly there was a deafening boom as the entire door caved in. The dwarves near​

the front bracing the wooden beams were crushed under the huge stones that tumbled
down. Another second later a searing jet of flame erupted through the gate, incinerating
the entire front line of dwarves. Blackened armor clanked to the ground. Any dwarves
not caught directly in the flame stumbled about screaming, their entire bodies set ablaze.

With a series of thundering steps a massive dragon lumbered through the shattered​

gate. Dark green scales glittered in the firelight. The beast grinned widely and flicked out
his tongue, and a set of huge white teeth shined brighter than his scales. Its tail slowly
waved back and forth in anticipation.

As soon as the dragon stepped into view, the neat rows of dwarves scattered like dust in​

the wind. Barȗk managed to keep the rows farther back in formation, and the archers let
loose a flurry of arrows. Each arrow clinked off the dragon’s scales without leaving a
scratch. A group of dwarves with spears ran forward to impale it in the chest. The
dragon drove his head sideways and smashed the dwarves against the wall, their bones
cracking and splintering like twigs.

The beast took a few more steps into the cavern until it was far enough in to unfurl its​

massive wings. They lifted upwards engulfing the room in shadow like huge storm
clouds. All of the torches on the wall blew out. The room would have been pitch black if
not for the inferno of dragon fire that raged all around. Dwarves bobbed and weaved
through pillars, ducking into side rooms and hallways to escape the dragon. It reared up
and slammed its front feet down with a bone rattling crash, letting loose another jet of
flame.

Barȗk ordered the dwarves still alive to fall back. Goblins began to stream through the​

broken gate in huge numbers. Any dwarves lingering were cut down. Barȗk knocked an
arrow in his bow and let it loose. It flew across the room and hit its mark, piercing a
goblin in the eye. The goblin squealed and fell down lifeless. He shot a few more arrows,
felling a goblin with each shot until there were too many to hold back.

“Into the dining hall, move now!” Barȗk yelled. Any dwarves lucky enough to hear his call​

gathered around him. They turned and ran down a large side passage and entered into
a big room filled with stone tables and chairs. The last dwarves to enter turned and
hefted huge iron shields to block the entrance. Screams echoed from the forge as the
dragon continued his killing spree.

The goblins rounded the corner and streamed into the hallway towards Barȗk and the​

other entrenched dwarves. They hollered and yelled, raising their weapons above their
heads as they ran. Like waves crashing upon rock, the first goblins slammed against the
shield wall. The dwarves heaved their spears forward, impaling the goblins and driving
them into the ground. Barȗk reached over with his sword and cleaved a goblins head in
two. He flicked the sword sideways to deflect an incoming blow and drove his weapon
downward, severing a goblins arm.

Unable to penetrate the wall, some of the goblins began scuttling along the walls and​

ceiling. They leaped over the shield wall and dropped into the group of dwarves behind
them. There was a flurry of metal as the dwarves and goblins clashed. Two dwarves fell
to the surprise attack and another was decapitated. More goblins dropped in and soon
the dwarves up front were impaled from behind. The wall broke and the goblins started
to flood in.

With a yell, Barȗk charged in to the fray. He wielded his sword expertly. The blade​

slashed through flesh and shattered bone. Despite his skill, the goblin’s numbers were
too great.

“Fall back! To the library!” Barȗk shouted again to signal the retreat of the men. The​

dwarves scattered in different directions darting down hallways. Barȗk darted around a
table and down a small side passage that sloped upwards. The hallway turned a sharp
right into a spiral staircase. Barȗk bolted ahead, skipping a stair with each step. He ran
out into another small hallway and took a quick left at a crossroads.

Barȗk risked a quick glance over his shoulder to find he wasn’t being followed. He​

slowed his pace to a brisk jog and continued ahead. A moment of running and Barȗk
came to an iron door. He heaved it open and came out into a large library. Books and
scrolls cluttered the stone shelves that lined the walls. Many of them had fallen to the
ground in the chaos, papers littering the floor. He shut the door behind him and locked it,
then sat down in a small chair to catch his breath.

Barȗk put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes, his lips drawn tight and thin. He​

knew that the city was lost. There was no way for them to cover the multitude of twisting
hallways that snaked around the main part of the city. If only the gate had held. Though
he knew that was a foolish hope to have to begin with. Maybe he could still find his
father and escape in secret.

There was a loud crash and Barȗk jolted awake. The stone around the main entrance to​

the library was cracking. Each bang cracked the stone further, and huge chunks started
falling to the ground. With one final crash the stone wall exploded and the dragon
stepped into the room.

Barȗk jumped up and brandished his sword, his eyes intent and focused. The dragon​

glanced around the room until their eyes met. His huge black pupils narrowed into slits
and he grinned a wide toothy smile. Barȗk was crouched, ready to run.

As he tilted his sword slightly, the light from the torch on the wall reflected off the ruby​

set into his father’s ring. He held the ring up and gazed deep into the gemstone. That
was it. The dragon didn’t know. Barȗk grinned even wider than the lumbering beast
before him.

“Finish it you foul beast.” The dragon continued to grin, licking his lips again.
“My my, I’ve never tasted royalty before” the dragon said in a deep rumbling voice.
“I never thought a dragon would stoop so low as to serve another.” The dragon let out a​

deep throaty chuckle.

“Don’t speak to me as if you are better than me dwarf! I serve my own purposes, and​

mine alone. You would do well to remember who is superior here” the dragon roared,
teasing his head from side to side. Barȗk sheathed his sword and scoffed.

“You haven’t even sacked a kingdom? You’re no dragon. You’re nothing but a lizard. A​

worm that crawls in the dirt.” The dragon’s pupils rapidly dilated and he let out a
thunderous roar. His belly rumbled for a moment, and he spewed forth a massive wall of
flame. Barȗk closed his eyes and raised his hands, as if inviting the fire towards him. A
smile crawled across his face for a moment, and then the fire engulfed him and the ring.

Lord Kharzȃl sat in his massive chair, still clutching the ring Barȗk gave to him. His eyes​

were teary and red. He lifted his hand and wiped the last few tears still trickling down his
face. Carefully, he took the ring and put it on his finger. It was slightly too small to fit on
his middle finger, so he slipped it onto his smallest finger and it fit perfectly. He twirled it
around and examined it with a smile. It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of his
shoulders. Even though his son was probably dead and his city was crumbling,
something was still peaceful about the situation.

The sounds of war and destruction could now be heard from the treasure hall he stood​

in. Rumbles and yells echoed down the hallway, getting louder each moment. Kharzȃl
stood up and brushed of his robes. He looked out over the treasure for a moment and
then turned around to leave.

A series of rapid crashes cascaded down the hall and the door burst off of its hinges.​

Kharzȃl stumbled backwards and fell in surprise as a towering green dragon stepped
into the room. His face contorted in horror as he crawled backwards in a panic. The
dragon looked down and saw the ring on Kharzȃl’s finger. It stooped into a crouched
position and waited.

Kharzȃl stopped at the edge of the platform still eyeing the beast. It didn’t bite or shoot​

fire. It didn’t make any sudden movements or say a word. It didn’t even blink. They sat
there staring at one another, neither daring to make a move. Kharzȃl was confused,
wondering why the beast hadn’t killed him yet.

“Here you are Lord Kharzȃl.” The voice echoed menacingly throughout the hall, but it​

wasn’t the dragon’s voice. This voice was soft, but not quiet. It was smooth like honey.
The sound of it was so sweet that anyone who heard it couldn’t help but listen to it.
Despite this, Kharzȃl’s face flooded with terror and went white as snow. His entire body
froze up like ice.

“I know that voice.”
“Of course you do. You should know better. To think that you could hide from me.” A tall​

man stepped out from behind the dragon. He was garbed in white garments that flowed
along with his thin frame. His face was remarkably fair, fairer than any man or elf could
hope to be. Long white hair poured down his shoulders. He had high cheekbones and a
strong jawline, with a pair of deep grey eyes. One might mistake him for an elf of
exceptional beauty, but his cold, lifeless stare gave a hint to the true form behind his
guise.

Kharzȃl managed to mutter a single word. “Annatar.” The man smiled.
“Lord of Gifts. And I have come to take back what has been given.” Kharzȃl looked down​

at the ring on his finger then back up to Annatar, clutching it tightly to his chest.

“Yes. You know of what I speak. Give it here” Annatar said smoothly. His words slipped​

gracefully from his lips, appearing to beckon Kharzȃl into a trance of obedience. Kharzȃl
got up and started to walk towards him. Annatar put out his hand to receive the ring, but
Kharzȃl quickly shook his head and covered the ring up again.

He was now shivering violently. “I won’t fall prey to your false tongue again.” Annatar​

smiled once again and lowered his hand to his side.

“That is indeed the conundrum I am in right now. You dwarves have proven to be more,​

shall I say, resilient than I previously thought. I have grown tired of your prosperity. It
pains me to know that I had to come here myself to take back what is mine” he said as
anger flashed briefly across his face. “However now that I am here, it is oddly satisfying.”

“Do what you want, but you won’t get the ring.” Annatar scowled.
“Does the Great Serpent Calgarim here have to burn you to ashes like he did your son?”​

Kharzȃl froze, his eyes now wide with terror. Annatar began to laugh. It was a terribly
chilling laugh that vibrated through the bones and shook one’s soul to the very core.

“You didn’t think either of you were getting out of this alive did you? I always get what I​

want.” Kharzȃl’s eyes darted back and forth, thoughts shifting rapidly through his mind.
He fought desperately to maintain his composure. Just as tears began to well up in his
eyes, Kharzȃl snapped his gaze to Annatar and gave him a menacing grin that put even
him to shame. Slight confusion crept onto Annatar’s face.

“I know who you are” Kharzȃl said venomously through his teeth. This time Annatar​

laughed.

“I don’t doubt that you do. Unfortunately you took too long to discover my secret.”​

Annatar held up his hand again. “I will ask again, give me the ring.”

“Fine. You can have it.” Kharzȃl yanked the ring off his finger and tossed it to Annatar.​

His hand flicked out with lightning speed and caught the ring. He smiled and held it up to
the light. The smile was only there for a moment. His eyes started to widen. Enraged, he
snapped his head back towards Kharzȃl and started walking towards him.

“Where is it?” Kharzȃl chuckled. Annatar whipped his arm forward and the ring flew into​

the air, tumbling into the darkness. A distant clattering echoed softly as the ring scattered
into the treasure below. Now Kharzȃl was laughing uncontrollably. Annatar grasped his
robe and brought his face within inches of Kharzȃl.

“I said, where is it? There is no use hiding it, I will find it eventually hidden here among​

your precious treasures.” Kharzȃl coughed and choked as he tried to quell his laughter.

“It’s with my son.” The realization of what Kharzȃl had done slowly dawned on Annatar.​

In one sweeping motion, Annatar brought his hand across Kharzȃl’s face and sent him
tumbling over the edge of the platform. He hit the pile of treasure with a loud crash,
sending coins and gems scattering everywhere. Blood flowed down his face and his leg
was twisted at an awkward angle. Slowly Kharzȃl opened his eyes and tried to heave
himself up. The fall had severely injured him and he slumped back down, unable to
muster the strength to get back up. Annatar peered over the edge.

“How dare you pull a trick on me! How dare you! Destroying it with dragon fire, how very​

clever!” Kharzȃl’s eyes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. “I will ravage this entire city. I
will find every single dwarf, woman and child and send them into the abyss! Your kind
will rue the day they refused the will of Annatar, Lord of Gifts!”

Annatar waved his hand and the dragon lumbered over to the edge of the platform.​

Kharzȃl wiped the blood from his eyes and looked across the vast expanse of treasure.
There sitting among the gold, glinting in the firelight, was the ring. He reached out,
grasping the pile of gold underneath his bloody fingers and began pulling himself
forward. The treasure clinked and shifted as he heaved himself towards the little silver
ring.

Calgarim’s head appeared above Kharzȃl, looking over the edge of the platform above.​

A low rumble started to sound in his stomach. Finally, Kharzȃl reached the ring and
grasped it in his hand. He slipped it gently onto his finger again and smiled.

“I love you my son.” A deafening roar burst forth and flames cascaded down upon​

Kharzȃl. And thus the fourth ring was no more.

​

Community Outreach

NEW: Screenshots for Facebook

@Tyranystrasz now has access to the MCME Facebook page and will start to regularily upload stuff there. For that he needs of course the very best of MCME and for that he needs YOUR help! If you have a really awesome screenshot to share, submit it >>here<<!
​

PVP Rebirth

@Dallen and @DSESGH have picked up the work on the PVP server again. If you have any ideas for new game modes or other PVP aspects, submit it >>here<<!​

Donation rewards

@q220 is currently working on handing out the donation thank-yous.
Check >>this thread<< on who will (or maybe even already did) get a reward. For those who get a horse: To summon it you can simply use the command /mount on the main server (a random horse will be spawned).​

Quick Build Challenge

@PINT00 is still running his Quick Build Challenge, an exciting competition where four builders try to build a voted topic in only 15 minutes! Find out more here.
​

Scheduled Tours

If you look out for a tour and never manage to catch a guide to give you one, join us on Saturday at 9pm GMT to follow the weekly tour run by all available guides. Now you can even vote which tour you'd like to see happen, simply add your choice in >>this poll<<!​

~ ~~ ~~ ~


Don’t forget to like our Planetminecraft page daily! Click the picture above!
​

Closing Statement

All credit goes to Joscha Sauer of www.notfunny.com​

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Indorilian said:

I don't understand why Amon hen was a revamp. Instead of revamping things that do not need a revamp, how about we revamp things that really do need one. How was the old Amon hen "not up to the standards of the server" but apparently Bree is?

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Indorilian said:

I don't understand why Amon hen was a revamp. Instead of revamping things that do not need a revamp, how about we revamp things that really do need one. How was the old Amon hen "not up to the standards of the server" but apparently Bree is?

Click to expand...

Finrod_Amandil said:

The terrain especially on the north side should be flat

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The goal of life isn't to live for ever, the goal is to create something that will.
-Chuck Palahniuk

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PINT00 said:

This server is being created by a community of great people. I see progress everyday big and small. It is a living embodiment of the community that we can never forget. Hopefully this server will live forever. So I leave a powerful quote:

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