In this week's opening statement I'd like to talk a bit about my attitude towards promoting people, something the holder of my rank is usually kinda famous, or maybe infamous, for. When you currently join the server you may feel like there's more Artists than Adventurers by now. Admittedly maybe a bit an uncommon situation sometimes, if one should investigate on it it obviously must lead to that only I can be the cause of this and you may ask yourselves whether Artist promotions are treated to lightly and/or whether I may be too kindhearted when it comes to accept or deny Artist apps. I would not contradict the assumption that getting Artist is easier today than it once was. When I got Artist it took me 10 Themed Builds and 7 applications until I got the desired rank, today it's common that you can get the rank with only about 2 to 4 TBs, and of course only one application. But this does by no means mean that the skills required are much different than a few years ago! Much more the difference is that every applicant gets a personal feedback on their app (often written by @Eriol_Eandur, thx a lot for your help!), at my time as applicant I never got a single syllable of feedback.
Based on that I need to state that there is no maximum amount of Artists defined. Being Artist is like having a certificate that one has good building skills and is active on the server, and thus it makes no sense to deny handing out that certificate just because quite a lot of others have it too already. Also isn't it our goal to recreate Middle-earth? And more hands that have been proven to be skilled can't do anything else than speed up the progress leading to our one and only goal.
So when you next join and the playerlist is almost entirely purple, comment it with a
smiley and not with a D: 
Breaking NewsThainsbook.net is offline! Very sad news that this page is no longer accessible; Thainsbook was a wiki on almost all locations and characters of Tolkien and usually had the more accurate and more clearly documented informations over tolkiengateway and other wikis. Hopefully its only temporary.
Andrast (In Progress) - Lead: @jacenpeter
Plugin DevelopmentBasically Jacen is terraforming entire Andrast at once. One day he's modelling some nice peaks and the other day he banishing another village from the map to plotworld to extend his endless desert just a little more. Well I have to say I am really curious how it will look like in the end (you know what you're doing, don't you jacen?!)
Anfalas (In Progress) - Lead: @DSESGH
Some side rivers in the valley of the Lefnui, the westernmost of the south gondorian rivers have been taken care of by @Ivan1pl this week.
Lamedon (In Progress) - Lead: @Eriol_Eandur
I'm still working on the large rivers of Lamedon, making their shape, cross-section, width and depth more realistic.
The town of Rendul is finished at last.
I also started to cover the central mountains with trees and run some root fixing jobs.
- Eriol_Eandur
Misty Mountains (In Progress) - Lead: @Emilio_ & @Finrod_AmandilThe town of Rendul is finished at last.
I also started to cover the central mountains with trees and run some root fixing jobs.
- Eriol_Eandur
What has not been made last week has been more than compensated with this week's progress!
First off we have @Wroxxite who lead a multiple hour long Highmoors job and by that completed a large chunk of that wetland. Thanks a lot to you Wrox, to Tyr who started the job and of course everyone who joined the job!
Second we have @Mandos who started with the Gladden Fields by developing some first style concepts. Hopefully the marsh can supply us with some jobs in the nearer future!
Last but not least I have been voxelling for quite some hours and have rough-terraformed quite a big area at once.
Fornost Reruin (In Progress) - Lead: @Fireinferno13 & @DemonatazFirst off we have @Wroxxite who lead a multiple hour long Highmoors job and by that completed a large chunk of that wetland. Thanks a lot to you Wrox, to Tyr who started the job and of course everyone who joined the job!
Second we have @Mandos who started with the Gladden Fields by developing some first style concepts. Hopefully the marsh can supply us with some jobs in the nearer future!
Last but not least I have been voxelling for quite some hours and have rough-terraformed quite a big area at once.
"Why walking all the way over that hill when we aswell can just dig a tunnel through?" Seems like Demon has revealed his secret dwarven identity when asking himself that question and accordingly adjusted the road leading to Fornost. On the other hand quite untypical for dwarves is that he also richly vegetated the area between the hill and Fornost.
Or in shorter form by co-leader Fire:
Progress continues along while artists and adventurers ruin house after house after house. Otherwise Demon has done some terraforming and such around the city.
- Fireinferno13
[Public Project] - Fennas Drúnin (In Progress) - Lead: @thomasd16Or in shorter form by co-leader Fire:
Progress continues along while artists and adventurers ruin house after house after house. Otherwise Demon has done some terraforming and such around the city.
- Fireinferno13
First progress includes building of a floodplain, a forest with a kinda marshy ground. Also some lumbering is going on in the area next to the river. As for the actual city of Fennas Drúnin the terrain is being refined currently, and more and more concepts for all kinds of structures are being made.
Plotbuild Plugin (Last bug fixes in progress) - Devs: @Eriol_Eandur & @Ivan1pl
Resource PacksThe Plotbuild Plugin will make it possible to make plots on the main map that can be claimed and be built on by anyone and then be easily reviewed and managed by staff.
No changes since last week.
New New Player World (Ready for implementation) - Dev: @Eriol_Eandur, Assistance: @_LukNo changes since last week.
A new Intro Quiz for new players.
No changes since last week.
Moria Teleport Plugin (Ready for implementation) - Dev: @Eriol_EandurNo changes since last week.
For seamless teleports to and from new Moria aswell as inside Moria.
The plugin has been installed at the development server and I can tell you: I could jump down the Moria chasm all day long
Minigames Plugin (Small fixes in progress) - Dev: @Eriol_EandurThe plugin has been installed at the development server and I can tell you: I could jump down the Moria chasm all day long
A plugin to easily run various minigames like Hide and Seek, Races and Quizzes.
Gathering questions for the quizzes. Your help is required, see below for more information!
Randomising Plugin (Ready for implementation) - Dev: @Eriol_EandurGathering questions for the quizzes. Your help is required, see below for more information!
A small plugin for staff members to easily randomize growth stages on fields.
No changes since last week.
Banner Editor (New) - Dev: @Eriol_Eandur No changes since last week.
Banners are really fancy, right? Well, there's only one problem: As they are so versatile they are so complicated that you could offer "Crafting Banners" as Master degree at university. This new plugin is an attempt to make handling banners a bit easier, unfortunately I haven't catched Eriol to explain me the plugin yet, and I could not find a documentation either in the endless depths of Google Drives 
.
.
Mordor Pack (In Progress) - Lead: @bender400
Rank UpdatesThe first new textures are being finished and added to the pack. Maybe I can soon leak some exclusive screenshots
New Doors (Waiting for Update) - Creator: @Ryiw
Banners (Waiting for Update) - Creator: @SKy_the_Thunder
One Artist promotion we have this week. Congratulations to @Durin_IV!
Additionally all staff members have sat together (kind of, at different places and times each) and have discussed about a few potential candidates for the Designer rank! I dare leak already that I have chosen two
Update: The first new Designer is @Ryiw! Congratulations!
Update #2: The second new Designer is @Genexos! Hope your bet was right ;-)
As Media of the week I want to present you our 5-year anniversary video that was created by @_Luk. I feel like it has gotten way not enough attention so far, also it's a handy way to explain your IRL friends why you're never hanging out with them and instead play Minecraft.
Other news
MCME Donations currently unavailableAt the moment it seems not to be possible to donate to MCME. Unfortunately I cannot supply any more information, maybe @q220 can. But I'm sure it will return soon, so put the money you wanted to donate aside and check out the Donations page now and then! Remember: Donations are vital for keeping MCME alive, and if we get enough donations we may even bring back services we had to cut back due to lack of money like a Freebuild server! Instead of buying a new game (for which you anyway won't have any time to game as you're always on MCME) you can as well donate that money to MCME! In return you'll get something very nice: The feeling of having supported something awesome!
Motivation series@smogpaster has messaged all staff members and asked them about their motivation to build/play on MCME and he got a bunch of really interesting answers which I deem worthy to share with everyone!
Audiobook review@jacenpeter:
Why do I do what i do here? First off I love to draw, ever since I can remember art was like the center of my talents. It was not until tenth grade that I joined the server and coincidently at the same time I expanded upon my art range to reach floor plans and elevation views of buildings. Just drawing these buildings really is not and was not enough, thats why I build, to see the buildings that are otherwise stuck in my head or stuck on a page come to life in an interactive virtual reality. Seriously to me it is the next best thing to seeing them built in real life.
Terra-forming though is a whole different story, I actually spend hours each weak drawing mountains and studying them for fun. This is simply because I love the outdoors, I love adventure and I love learning about the calm and the severe conditions, the plants and animals who live there, the horror stories, and stories of average people beating the unbeatable odds of such treacherous conditions. My own brother was trapped up on a mountain during a flash flood which took out the trails, and as most people would not want something like that to happen I almost desire an adventure such as that. Every year I try to go on some type of weak long camping trip in the woods or the mountains to get it out of my system, this year for instance I will be returning to the rocky mountains to do some back country skiing and possibly a hundred mile hike (still debating that one). Creating mountains, I do it for the end result, when I can sit back and walk up through what I have just created and get the next best thing to actually being in the mountains and the forests. Especially since we only have one mountain in Minnesota (barely constitutes as a mountain, only 301 feet above the minimum elevation requirement for a mountain to be considered a mountain on land. You could literally run up the whole thing if you wanted.) Might sound stupid, but thats why I love it. Minecraft is my temporary drug basically...... and I guess thats what motivates me... a temporary fill for real life.
Why do I do what i do here? First off I love to draw, ever since I can remember art was like the center of my talents. It was not until tenth grade that I joined the server and coincidently at the same time I expanded upon my art range to reach floor plans and elevation views of buildings. Just drawing these buildings really is not and was not enough, thats why I build, to see the buildings that are otherwise stuck in my head or stuck on a page come to life in an interactive virtual reality. Seriously to me it is the next best thing to seeing them built in real life.
Terra-forming though is a whole different story, I actually spend hours each weak drawing mountains and studying them for fun. This is simply because I love the outdoors, I love adventure and I love learning about the calm and the severe conditions, the plants and animals who live there, the horror stories, and stories of average people beating the unbeatable odds of such treacherous conditions. My own brother was trapped up on a mountain during a flash flood which took out the trails, and as most people would not want something like that to happen I almost desire an adventure such as that. Every year I try to go on some type of weak long camping trip in the woods or the mountains to get it out of my system, this year for instance I will be returning to the rocky mountains to do some back country skiing and possibly a hundred mile hike (still debating that one). Creating mountains, I do it for the end result, when I can sit back and walk up through what I have just created and get the next best thing to actually being in the mountains and the forests. Especially since we only have one mountain in Minnesota (barely constitutes as a mountain, only 301 feet above the minimum elevation requirement for a mountain to be considered a mountain on land. You could literally run up the whole thing if you wanted.) Might sound stupid, but thats why I love it. Minecraft is my temporary drug basically...... and I guess thats what motivates me... a temporary fill for real life.
Past saturday we listened to the first two chapters of the Audiobook. We chattered about the odd Baggins family in the Ivy Bush Inn, celebrated a very festive party for Bilbo's 111th birthday and then listened to Gandalf laying out the entire story of the One Ring, from its forging until it ended up in Frodo's hands.
Thanks to everyone who joined (up to around 24 people!), without that these events would not have their very special atmosphere. Please both those who joined and those who could not: Leave your vote in the poll above, so that we hopefully can find the best time for the event.
Thanks to everyone who joined (up to around 24 people!), without that these events would not have their very special atmosphere. Please both those who joined and those who could not: Leave your vote in the poll above, so that we hopefully can find the best time for the event.
Where do you live?
@Daddlio has asked this question in this thread and has also gotten a bunch of replies worth checking out! Be sure to give his thread a look and answer if you have something to share about your hometown!
Lore Bits #2: The Forging of the Rings of Power
I'm sure everyone of you remembers that scene in the intro of the LotR movies where you have Galadriel reciting the ring poem from the off while you see molten metal being poured into a ring shape. Have you never asked yourself where the other rings beside the One Ring of Sauron were forged? Well, of course you did, so here's this weeks Lore Bit about Silverfist and the Lord of Gifts.
UpcomingWe travel back to around the year 1200 of the Second Age, over 5000 years before Bilbo's 111th birthday party and thus our server time. Celebrimbor ("Silverfist"), the son of Curufin (fifth son of Feanor) is Lord over the elven realm of Eregion whose capital was Ost-in-Edhil. located near the West Gate of Moria. Beside his title as Lord of Eregion he is the head of a group known as the Gwaith-i-Mîrdain, or the Jewelsmiths, an earned position as he already gained great skill in crafting jewelry of outstanding quality while he lived in Gondolin during the First Age.
Around that time now a stranger arrived in the capital of Eregion, he named himself "Annatar" which is Sindarin for "Lord of Gifts". And he indeed had a precious gift to share: Knowledge about crafting even more powerful jewelry, jewelry with precious magic attributes. Being already a master on his field Celebrimbor of course did not hesitate to acquire the lore of the stranger and with Annatar's aid he and the Gwaith-i-Mîrdain crafted a series of powerful rings which Gandalf many thousand years later will call the "the lesser rings" towards Frodo.
Later in the Age, around 1500 S.A. (only a brink of time later in the reckoning of an elf) they jewelsmiths and Annatar started forging a total of 16 rings of tremendous power.
Having acquired the skills Annatar has been teaching Celebrimbor secretely forged three more rings which were even mightier than its predecessors and he named them after the principal elements of Middle-earth: Vilya "air", Nenya "water" and Narya "fire".
One decade later Annatar forged, also secretely, one ring for himself, the One Ring, the Master Ring which had the unique ability to control all the other rings that were crafted under his lead. Celebrimbor and his companions soon learned about this as they felt his influence while wearing their rings, and at last discovered that Annatar was noone else than Sauron in disguise, Sauron who was the first Lieutenant of Melkor in the Great Wars of the First Age. Sauron feeling just as betrayed as the elves as he realized about that the three elven rings were not controllable by the One Ring demanded the elves to return the rings, and as they refused started a great war upon the elven realm of Eregion.
Eregion and large parts of Eriador were devasted, Celebrimbor caught and tortured so that he'd release the Rings of Power. The 16 Sauron regained, but the three other rings Celebrimbor previously sent away for safekeeping, to Gil-Galad in Lindon and Galadriel in Lothlórien. Eventually Celebrimbor was killed and only a fleet of Númenórean troops following the call for aid of the elves could prevent Sauron from overrunning Rivendell and potentially more regions of Middle-Earth.
The story of the Great Rings from there on is again more well-known: Sauron distributed them to Dwarves and Men, while the Dwarves could resist the evil power of the rings the nine gifted men became the well-known Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths which Sauron used as his first servants.
Around that time now a stranger arrived in the capital of Eregion, he named himself "Annatar" which is Sindarin for "Lord of Gifts". And he indeed had a precious gift to share: Knowledge about crafting even more powerful jewelry, jewelry with precious magic attributes. Being already a master on his field Celebrimbor of course did not hesitate to acquire the lore of the stranger and with Annatar's aid he and the Gwaith-i-Mîrdain crafted a series of powerful rings which Gandalf many thousand years later will call the "the lesser rings" towards Frodo.
Later in the Age, around 1500 S.A. (only a brink of time later in the reckoning of an elf) they jewelsmiths and Annatar started forging a total of 16 rings of tremendous power.
Having acquired the skills Annatar has been teaching Celebrimbor secretely forged three more rings which were even mightier than its predecessors and he named them after the principal elements of Middle-earth: Vilya "air", Nenya "water" and Narya "fire".
One decade later Annatar forged, also secretely, one ring for himself, the One Ring, the Master Ring which had the unique ability to control all the other rings that were crafted under his lead. Celebrimbor and his companions soon learned about this as they felt his influence while wearing their rings, and at last discovered that Annatar was noone else than Sauron in disguise, Sauron who was the first Lieutenant of Melkor in the Great Wars of the First Age. Sauron feeling just as betrayed as the elves as he realized about that the three elven rings were not controllable by the One Ring demanded the elves to return the rings, and as they refused started a great war upon the elven realm of Eregion.
Eregion and large parts of Eriador were devasted, Celebrimbor caught and tortured so that he'd release the Rings of Power. The 16 Sauron regained, but the three other rings Celebrimbor previously sent away for safekeeping, to Gil-Galad in Lindon and Galadriel in Lothlórien. Eventually Celebrimbor was killed and only a fleet of Númenórean troops following the call for aid of the elves could prevent Sauron from overrunning Rivendell and potentially more regions of Middle-Earth.
The story of the Great Rings from there on is again more well-known: Sauron distributed them to Dwarves and Men, while the Dwarves could resist the evil power of the rings the nine gifted men became the well-known Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths which Sauron used as his first servants.
Themed Build
This week's Themed Build will be about a fairly unknown location, but it played a vital role in the history of Middle-earth: The forge of Ost-in-Edhil where the Rings of Power (3 for the elves, 7 for the dwarves and 9 for men) were forged. Read more about that in this week's Lore Bit above!
TB Thread: #4/16 - Forge of Ost-in-Edhil
Scheduled EventsTB Thread: #4/16 - Forge of Ost-in-Edhil
Audiobook session 2
Community OutreachNext saturday february 13th the next audiobook session will take place. The time will depend on what above poll yields and will be announced a few days ahead. We'll listen to the 3rd, 4th and 5th chapter of Book 1.
Update: The audiobook will take place at saturday 19:00 GMT!
ToursUpdate: The audiobook will take place at saturday 19:00 GMT!
There are no Tours announced for this week yet, but keep an eye on this thread and request a tour if you want one!
Jobs & Plotbuilds
Jobs for next Saturday will be announced in this thread over the course of the week. Be sure to ask Designers for jobs at any time, maybe they can offer something!
Questions for Minigames Plugin
Closing statementWell I have to admit that the level of participation last week was a bit underwhelming! So I'm gonna do another try this week: Everyone who reads this, please quickly think of three (or more) questions about your favorite Tolkien character or location and submit them below! Remember: If we only have two dozen questions you'll be answering the same questions over and over again!
Link to form: Questions for Minigame plugin
Screenshots for FacebookLink to form: Questions for Minigame plugin
@Tyranystrasz has access to the MCME Facebook page and is regularily posting screenshots of our builds there! Lend him a hand and submit your best screens here: MCME screenshots for Facebook
Connected to my introduction I give you the following quote. I don't only mean to apply it to myself, but anyone on here who is bold enough to climb up the MCME ranks. I especially want to devote this quote to the two new staff members I can promote this week (which at the point I'm writing this don't even know yet they'll be the ones who get promoted
).
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