Hello again.

First of all, I'd like to say, if you're not already in our Discord, you are missing out on instant, up to date news, that is usually not posted in this news section. Our forum news section has about 20% of the news happening (usually major stuff), while Discord has absolutely everything via the #news channel, including small leaked plans, and more. So make sure you join!

As you can see, we are going through some quick and major changes on EcoCityCraft. I've decided to really get things moving along so I'm putting in as much work as I humanly can <3.

I've been doing some thinking recently, and I've come to the decision to reset SkyBlock and change around the season schedules. We first launched SkyBlock on April 1st 2018, and since then we have been fixing bugs, making major changes, implementing plugins, and trying to polish it up. Since it's launch there have been at least 200+ changes we have made to the game mode, making the first season quite a rough ride, with far too many changes to keep track of. This itself is one of the reasons I've decided to reset. So everyone finally knows the game mode, game play involved, and give it their best from the get go.

After 5 months and after examining what is and isn't possible when it comes to leveling up, earning ECD, etc, I've come up with the following schedule that we will be sticking to in regards to SkyBlock seasons -as I'd like to call them-.

Season Schedule:
January 1st - End of April.
May 1st - End of August.
September 1st - End of December.

During each season you will be able to earn Prestige just as you have been able to before, however I am now allowing up to 3 prestige levels for the SkyBlock game mode alone. This means you can earn a prestige level once in every season, up to a maximum of 3. (If you've already prestige'd 3 times from the SkyBlock game mode, you will no longer be able to in the following seasons).

Moving on, with all the heavy work that awaits me, and all the updates in regards to 1.13.x - planning future game modes, at this time, simply isn't do-able. I'm human after all, and can only do so much on my own now that Jamie has retired. I will however do my best. I'm not going anywhere.

My current 2018 goals are:

Launch Archive server. (1.12.2 with 1.13.x compatibility)
Launch City server. (1.13.x)
Tidy up VMR server. (1.13.x)
Tidy up SkyBlock server. (1.13.x)

And with the above, get it all working flawlessly on Mojang's new Minecraft version. Oh boy.

With all of that currently hanging over my head, just the thought of more game modes is simply asking for the impossible. I am very much so, hoping that realistically by the end of 2018, all of my above goals will be met. This way, starting in 2019, I can have everything nice and mint, and I can finally turn my focus to more ECC game modes. I really wish I could do it sooner guys, but this 1.13.x update is simply the biggest update Mojang has ever thrown at server owners. I've been here for 8 years and have never seen anything like it. When it comes to more game modes, I'd specifically want to do creative, and perhaps grabbing another AEM game mode for those of you who came from AEM and have wanted more of your legacy to come back. (Zombies? Who knows...)

Lets move on to the topic of Prestige:

The maximum amount of Prestige you can have on ECC will always be 5X. However, since I have so much going on, it's no fun waiting for andrew to get things done, so I've decided to allow people to continue working towards achievements.

Earning prestige achievements:
Main City Server: 1X Prestige
VMR Server: 1X Prestige
SkyBlock Server: 3X Prestige (1 max per season)
Creative Server: 1X Prestige
PVP or Zombies (to be determined server): 3X Prestige (1 max per season)

This does not mean you can earn 9X Prestige level of course. The cap will always be 5X.

And now, when it comes to SkyBlock and the sudden reset. Here's how the situation looks. SkyBlock's plugin known as ASkyBlock is dead. ("We do not plan to update to Spigot 1.13. Please wait for BSkyBlock (which is part of BentoBox) to be released soon!"). This means, to get SkyBlock to 1.13, will easily take at least 3+ months. I genuinely don't see BSkyBlock developers pulling this offer faster than the very end of this year. So instead of waiting, I'd like to get something going, nice and fresh, on our pretty polished up SkyBlock.

As well, at the same time, yearly resets would have turned out quite lame. Those joining mid year would simply be discouraged by the OP islands that already exist. I believe that 3 seasons a year will be the best way to approach ECC's SkyBlock.

AND YES, prestige isn't the only thing you will be able to earn during SkyBlock seasons. I'm going to continuously look for fun and cool achievements you can earn by participating and earning certain things in each season. AND I WILL DEFINITELY come up with some sort of recognition for the top dogs of each season, such as @Gluupor and his team in Season 1

With all that said, thank you for sticking with this horribly put together, run on news post, composed of andrewkm's rambles, and very unorganized thoughts lol.

I'll make one more post shortly in the news section in regards to the exact date and time of the SkyBlock reset coming . (Which is possibly within 24-48 hours).

AND FINALLY:

As before, I have taken the below from a previous news post, and updated it a little to give everyone an idea as to where we are and how plans may or may not have shifted with EcoCityCraft:

Minecraft versions:
1. Wait for Mojang to update to 1.13.1 (DONE)
2. Wait for Spigot to update to 1.13.1 (DONE)
3. Examine 1.13.1 and determine if a wait for 1.13.2 is required. (DONE)
4. If 1.13.1 is good to go, wait for plugins to update to 1.13.1 (In Progress).
5. Examine updated 1.13.1 plugins. (In Progress).
6. Test 1.13.1 plugins.
7. Launch 1.13.1 across our servers.

EcoCityCraft projects:
1. Launch all server's 1.13.x client joining compatibility. (DONE)
2. Reset SkyBlock / Launch SkyBlock seasons with 3X Prestige possibility. (In Progress).
3. Slowly begin the conversion from Main to Archive. (In Progress).
4. Launch finalized Archive server on 1.12.2 with compatibility for 1.13+ clients. (In Progress).
5. Launch SkyBlock server on 1.12.2 with compatibility for 1.13+ clients. (DONE)
6. Launch VMR server on 1.13+
7. Launch Lobby server on 1.13+
8. Launch City server on 1.13+
9. Implement a PVP game mode via City server on 1.13+ (once all above projects are done).
10. Play Minecraft .

PS: @pokeball92870 please update our wiki sections with all the new information above in this news post. Thank you so much in advance for keeping our guides so nice and fresh <3!