Major Changes to the WolvHaven experience

Several major changes to the server rules and experience will be coming. Over the past several months, we have been looking at ways to make the server easier to integrate and settle down in, and have identified some pain points raised by newer members of our community.

The most commonly mentioned pain points include:

  • Confusing/Complex rules and regulations
  • Tiresome to go through 3 application forms just to get the full City-Building experience

TLDR; (That’s Too Long, Didn’t Read / To summarize)

  1. These changes are needed to ensure WolvHaven continues to grow
  2. We are re-writing and simplifying the rules
  3. We are relaxing several rules and specifics
  4. We are reducing the no. of applications needed, but strengthening the immigration test
  5. All existing PRs and above will be given Gard/Cali build rights
  6. More transparency on applications for architect, engineer & staff
  7. Pangaea Reset will happen mid-2022, and the replacement world will be given as much care and detail as all our other worlds.
  8. Your help is needed to make this community better, socialise and get to know your fellow WolvHaveners more and help newcomers settle in easier.

💬 Join in the Conversation in #rules-reform in Discord

Goals for this change

Our ultimate aim for the changes that will be mentioned later on in this post is to grow our server’s community. The server’s growth is stagnating or has stagnated, and we want to make the WolvHaven experience a memorable and fond one for many to look back on later in their lives.

Hence, change is required to remain relevant to our current playerbase, but also to grow as a community. Some of these changes are new, others have been planned since last year, others were planned for the future, but are being accelerated for faster implementation.

I understand some of these changes may be controversial or big, and I also understand that we have been pushing out a lot of changes lately. If I will be frank, we are catching-up now, and I promise changes will be made less regularly once things have stabilized.

Without further ado, let us get right into the changes

Groundwork to be laid

To support these changes, some groundwork had to be done first. This included the recent combining of the Gardellian + Calidian Code, and the rollout of the updated application form.

In addition, the change of the political system, together with our recent efforts to combat hostility/toxicity were fundamental in getting things going.

Rules Reform

A problem that was mentioned quite frequently was the complexity of rules; primarily due to having 2 different documents for Gardellia and Calidia Seperately.

Simplification of Rules

To fix this, all essential server rules are being combined into a single rule document, with clear, concise, to-the-point wording; to ensure that it can be understood by people regardless of age, and that the rules remain accessible to those who do not speak English as their main language.

The first draft of the new updated rules is up on #rules-reform in discord.

Relaxation of Rules

Another thing that was mentioned in the WolvHaven Census was that certain rules were too strict, or specific. Hence, in addition to the simplification of the rules, the rules will further be relaxed.

If you look through the draft, you will find that a lot of original terms like “claim limits” were removed. Some examples where rules are relaxed include the lifting of restrictions on the number of claims you can have and replaced it with a more flexible land wastage clause, and you can now build smaller container ports and airfields not exceeding 300m in length.

Reducing Required Applications

First the Immigration Test, then the Gardellia/Calidia building application and then the worldedit qualification test!?

The number of required applications to be able to do certain stuff on the server will be reduced, where possible. With the rules now centralised into a single document, we will also be integrating Gardellia & Calidia build rights into the immigration test.

I understand that doing do may put these your creations at greater risk from individuals with ill intent, which is why we are trading off the requirement of a second application with a longer, more comprehensive immigration test.

Existing PRs and above will be given build rights in Gardellia & Calidia.

  • There will be a transition period for 1 year
  • New players who take the new immigration test when it goes live will be given CA/GD build rights upon passing
  • Existing PRs and Above before 1 July 2021 will continue to apply for build rights via an updated application form which will have the same questions in the relevant section of the immigration test
  • Application Form will close in mid-2022
  • Players who do not apply for CA/GD build rights will be required to re-take the whole immigration test OR be demoted to visitor* (To be confirmed later)

Calidia and Gardellia were founded on the principle to be a place for people to create, regardless of their building skill level. Help out those who ask, and more importantly, provide constructive feedback to help them grow.

Qualifications with higher risk such as worldedit rights will remain as a seperate application/test.

More Transparency

We introduced bodies like the architect and engineer committees in order to ensure that these applications get reviewed by members who are qualified to do so, and reduce any form of player-bias.

However, some have mentioned that these bodies could be more transparent, and provide constructive feedback for players to work on in the event the application gets rejected.

This is why we will be reviewing the entire Architect and Engineer program. While I cannot promise that inactive archineers may not lose their ranks, I can promise that we will have a more transparent process of assessing who gets Archineer at the end.

In addition, staff will no longer be accepting any applications for the Helper rank. Our latest 2 helpers – Perfecttrains and Wilhelm59 were selected based on staff observations, and were, in fact, invited to join the Staff Team.

We have talked about transitioning to a nomination-based system back in early-2020, which will likely be implemented in the months to follow. Until then, admissions to the Staff Team will be on an invite-only basis.

A reminder that any complaints of any member of staff may be made directly to me via Discord DMs

Treating Survival Matters Seriously

Gamemodes like Survival Multiplayer (Pangaea) will be treated more seriously. WolvHaveners have expressed wide support for a reset of the Pangaea, and as of now, we are delaying it until the server upgrades to 1.18 (Caves and Cliffs Part 2) around mid-2022 to make the most out of this eventual reset. The Nether will also be reset at the same time.

The new Pangaea (which will likely be given a different name) will have a more properly-constructred spawn, with dedicated communal facilities. A dedicated transfer period of 4 months will also be allocated to facilitate the migration.

Since we have a long way till then, some smaller things will be done, such as a cleanup of spawn to make it more tidy.

How you can help

The most important aspect of the WolvHaven experience is its community. While we are stepping up our efforts to host more events, there is only so much events (and its hype) can do.

I think what people also need to have on the server is that of human interaction. People feel more inclined to log on if there is someone else out there who they want to talk to who is also on.

Its all about forging those social bonds that keep people on, and an environment that encourages people to be conversing and outgoing, which keeps them interacting with the community.

Number_21, Minister for Culture & Foreign Affairs

You can help make WolvHaven more vibrant and interesting. Get off Discord, and log onto the server. Have these conversations in-game while building, or surviving together.

Get to know your fellow WolvHaveners better, strike a conversation, ask them how was their day, for example. And always be open to others joining in the conversation.

More importantly, get to know people who just joined the server, talk to them, make them feel welcome. Ask them how they found out about our server, for example.

Forging social bonds, and making new friends help build a better experience for everyone. WolvHaven wouldn’t be here today without you, and it is your participation, and engagement, that will keep this experience, and the server going.

Final Words

I believe that these changes are necessary to ensure the server, and it’s community’s survival, and I extend an open invitation for all WolvHaveners, past, future, and present in joining me in keeping this experience for future generations of WolvHaveners to enjoy and be a part of.

SilverWolv