Posted on 07 February 2015 - 10:21 PM

The public version of the Badlion Server/Network turns two years old today. Originally this was a private single server for the Badlion Faction/Team to practice PvP and OCN scrims on, but turned into the hub of competitive Minecraft PvP. The name of Badlion comes from the faction I was joined and eventually co-led, badlion, on HCF. While badlion played on HCF, we were the biggest and most powerful faction. We transitioned into an OCN team, and won the first ever OCN tournament. I then, along with several well known faction/team members, created the badlion server. When the badlion server went public, it used all public plugins and could only support 30 people, and was paid out of my wallet every month. Today we hit our highest online player count ever at 2688. We have the largest Arena Servers in the Minecraft, the largest UHC's in Minecraft, launched an EU network, recently just branched out into Survival Games - which is off to an amazing start, and we have GCheat - which is absolutely destroying most hacked clients and is being updated weekly.

In this year, we have launched UHC, SG, Factions for a while (which will be coming back sometime this year!), Soup, played around a bit with warfare(which we might have plans for something like it in the future), and we brought in the Octovon Creative Server into our Hub(which will be opening back up to public soon). We also recruited SmellyPenguin as a new developer who was new to programming. He has turned into an amazing developer with his ability to push himself past his limits with MasterGberry and I guiding and helping him when he becomes roadblocked. He has developed many of our plguins such as UHC (v1), Inventory mangement, a lot of the PotPvP 3.0 code, chat, the tab lists, and so on. We've also had admins come and go in the last year - qazzy1122 who was the original "senior mod" admin, ginie1 who is still the head of staff on Potion/Soup/SG, Pikaoku who is head of factions and is also a junior developer, and BurntCactus who was the head of our UHC servers while he was an administrator. We've also had famous people, small and big, advertise and play on our server for free which has helped us grow a lot and we thank them for that.

What the developers are currently working on -
Overall, the developers are busy working on fixing up our current servers and improving the quality of life on certain servers. We want to increase the max player counts on both our UHC servers and our PotionPvP servers. We feel that UHC's being almost donator exclusive is bad (while we do appreciate the support), and are working on ways to let more non-donators in without hurting the donators who supported us to have a reserved slot. We have also been mostly working on making it where our network can scale dynamically easily, as we've just been massively growing the last couple of months, with our player count record being broken every weekend. We are constantly improving and making updates to GCheat to ban more hackers automatically so there are less hackers on the server and also relieve the stress of being a staff on the server, so they can focus more on other offenses. We are also working on a new event or two (one of which is an UHC exclusive event meant to replicate the final shrink in a UHC match, with the ability to alter the map and craft and such). We also plan to soon have a new hub and new features in our lobbies, to make it more of a social area. We also plan to add some sort of Clan system into the website and server with features such as a private forum and the ability to have clan chat across servers.

Help us shape where our network goes -
I'm going to list a few strawpolls in which I need the community help deciding what we do about current problems in badlion. The first one is that during peak times, such as weekends, NA Potion is becoming maxed out. The two options we have is to split Potion(vanilla, kohi, gapple, nodebuff, etc) and Non-Potion(ocn, archer, mcsg, etc) into two seperate servers or just simply open up a second NA server as needed.

http://strawpoll.me/3587999

The second vote is whether to merge Soup FFA/Ranked/Unranked matches into our current potion server or just sit down and attempt to improve the current soup server by adding events and new kits (this would be done automatically by merging it into Potion).

http://strawpoll.me/3588030

The third vote is whether we should have some automatic UHC's running in the background(with some changes to hurt xrayers and such) so people who failed to get into the main hosted server could still play a smaller, unhosted UHC - or have them running when hosts aren't available.

http://strawpoll.me/3572160

The final vote isn't a link, but more of a response to the thread. We need any feedback to improve our servers, especially SG as we just launched it. Thanks for the two years, and here is to many more.

~Archy, Founder of Badlion Network

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 10:43 PM

I'm going to just throw in a few other things to add to the post here. You can read the original 1 year thread here if you are interested: https://www.badlion.net/forum/thread/1968

Badlion has come a very long way. I was going to write something at the first year anniversary of me joining the team, but I never did publically…not really sure why. I was just busy/lazy I guess. This quote below summarizes my opinions/thoughts about why I work here still. I had asked the mods the same question a few days before and this was my response to it. I have dug this out from the staff forums and am displaying it below (this post was written back in June of 2014):



So now adding on to this. It is truly remarkable for me to read over this thread and see how much has been accomplished in the past year….like a lot of stuff has happened. More than I can honestly remember. Sometimes the days just disappear before my eyes, between working my real job and this, I really don't have time anymore. It's the main reason I have had to sacrifice things in life such as spending as much time w/ my family, or hanging out with IRL friends every weekend like I used to, or pursuing a relationship with someone. I really do work a good 80-100 hours a week between everything each week.

In the end I feel it is worth it now and I hope that Badlion Network, and whatever project I pick up next succeeds also. In the long run it is my ambition to try and build my own game from the ground up. I don't know when I will finally get to it, but when I do I hope I can count on the Badlion Network players, current and past to give it a shot and hopefully find the same enjoyment that they did on Badlion Network in whatever I end up creating.

Again I appreciate all of you that play on our servers, and I hope as many of you sign up for the forums as possible to help give us more feedback! You can see that Archy + me have 7000 forum posts since I coded the Badlion forums about 1.5 years ago (around ~15 posts a day). We are super active on here and are constantly reading people's requests/complaints/etc. We truly care about the network and are always able to be reached on here.

I'd also be interested in hearing other people's stories with our servers :) I will literally and cherish every single post made in this thread talking about their history with Badlion and how it has helped them to become a better gamer, be a source of fun, or whatever they have to say about it.

~MasterGberry, Owner of Badlion Network

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:14 PM

first

MUM

But in all seriousness, This server has grown alot since I've known Badlion and is an honor to be apart of the UHC team. This is the best PvP server with amazing coders /devs with shit tonnes of amazing achievements. (Best No Cheat, Most popular/busiest UHC server, Busiest, biggest and best KitPvP servers)

HEIL BADLION

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:24 PM

Really sounds like an awesome story, crazy to think of the effort you've put in. But as the results show it's definitely worth it ;D

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:34 PM

Seeing how far Badlion has gone brings a tear to my eye.
February 17th marks my first year as staff here on Badlion.







can someone pls post "17"

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:39 PM

The population has grown by a factor of 10 since you started.

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:39 PM

never knew badlion would be this big, pretty cool to be staff.

pvp!!!!

Posted on 07 February 2015 - 11:45 PM

I'm seriously proud out of what master and archy did with this server by turning it into the best pvp servers in minecraft with uhc, potpvp , Sg , and more. With more to come I'm proud to say I'm glad that i joined the badlion uhc team. I hope this server has more to come.

Congrats to archy and master for making this fantastic server <3

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 12:00 AM

I'm proud to be a part of the UHC Team everyone who is apart of this server are great, the server is so unique and one of the best i have played I look forward to see what the future brings! Congratulations on two years I wish I had been here from the start to experience it :)

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 12:07 AM

Its been a good 1.5 years here :3

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 12:49 AM

Reserving this spot, I'm gonna write a book

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 12:53 AM

I've written out my story several times, but my first time ever playing on the server will be sometime next month. This server has the best owners I have ever seen, and it is a disappointment playing on other servers, because I almost never get the same experience that I do on Badlion. Thank you for everything, everyone.

Also @MasterGberry Dude, I wanna help out! Where can I apply for staff?

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 01:03 AM

Application can be found here: https://www.badlion.net/forum/thread/1967

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 01:25 AM

Heil Badlion, the greatest MC server of 2014 (And soon to be 2015)

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 01:47 AM

First of all congratz MasterGberry/Archy for being the greatest owners I've ever known, and congratz on 2 years of running badlion
I first started badlion in Septemer of 2013 when whookster/MetroSausage introduced me to the server
That was back when badlion had the wooden fences on top with the kit making station in the ground
I really got into the community summer of 2014, where I couldn't stop playing badlion at all, and finally decided to join the forums as well
At that time I really didn't know much about badlion, but that soon changed
The entire community was always talking about the cool owners, the great staff, the fun they had playing the first organized ranking system in minecraft pvp (to my knowledge)
I knew that this server was a keeper for me, and seeing all of the updates since has just been great to be a part of
I have also made so many great friends through badlion, and they go much behind just playing minecraft
Being a previous part of the staff team also showed me how much stuff the staff actually does on this server
This is by far the most organized/professional staff team ever that I've seen, and the amount of work that is done behind the scenes is remarkable BUT, they all have fun doing their jobs, and I think that is the key to badlion advancing.
Thanks for everything you guys have done and props to badlion
luv you guys

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 04:28 AM

Ok, my story:

So I joined Badlion for the first time a long time ago, and I didn't even know what ranked was, so I just dueled people with kb2. I got bored and fell in love with kohi practice 1, where I got ok at pvp. I came back in March or something when I heard you guys implemented an OCN ladder, and I fell in love. I met some incredible people who I'm still friends with today, and I also met some of the OCN legends that I'd always looked up to. (I'm from ocn) I got into OCN, then I got into Iron OCN, and then I got into Archer ladder. After placing second in the archer tourney and getting back into pot pvp, I accomplished so much shit in this game as a whole. I got into some crazy good ocn teams that I sure as hell didn't deserve lol(smm, loading @freekkiller <3, LunGGlove) and I got into a really good kohi faction(venedine means family) and made some incredible friends(@influx @SaltySavvy I fucking love you guys) there. I even got into UHCs because people just came on here and asked me to play a UHC with them lol @DaBigBlackBoy People take elo and this server as a whole quite seriously - and for good reasons. You have, without a second of doubt, the most competent, responsive, and active staff of any server anywhere. There is not another community in this game that listens to their players like you have in the last few months - and, hell, looks where it's brought you! You guys are taking one step after another to becoming a meganetwork. Can you name another network that makes decisions off of straw polls? I sure as hell can't.

That said, nothing good will stay good without constant improvement. Don't get me wrong, I see how much work you guys put into this server and its community, and you guys are constantly improving already, but this is always something that you should keep in mind when you make decisions. I'm glad you are pushing for all of these changes. I think updating your soup server will flood your server with new players, to be honest. The soup servers out there are teeming with cheaters, toxic communities, and bad staff teams. If you add another attraction like that, I think it will fill up just as much as pot pvp does. That's why I'm hesitant when you say you might merge the two kit pvp servers. If you do, who's to say that you won't just have another server that fills up? And even if it doesn't, it's absolutely possible that one will get neglected because the other one on the same server will be much more popular. For example, say you revamp soup and merge it with pot pvp. Even if you have 2 servers which each include both gamemodes, what very well could happen is that 600 pot regulars log onto each server and then 150 soup players fill up the rest of the slots. To merge the gamemodes like that doesn't make much sense. One or the other (or both) wouldn't receive as much attention as they each deserve.

As for splitting potion pvp into a pot style and a non pot style server, I'm not entirely sure what to say. For some reason I don't like it, but to be entirely honest I can't find many reasons why. I guess it's partially because I don't like the idea of splitting the community, but I don't think that's it. If I think of something, I'll add it.

However, I do know why I don't want automatic UHCs. From day one of your UHC server the games have been quality and special. They happen every so often, but not enough to become boring IMHO. If you run automatic UHCs, you won't get the same human touch to each and every game you host. It'll be easy to break and get away with rules, and considering you can't spectate as a normal player, all the evidence you have will be first person. I don't think that's what you want. Have you ever seen hypixel's UHCs? They're a joke, and they run automatically all the time. The easiest way to keep the quality of your UHCs is to simply keep it the same way. I agree that it shouldn't be solely for donors, but really the only way that I think you can fix that is get more UHC hosts and host multiple games at a time. Or make the games bigger, idk.

Ok, before this book turns into a trilogy, I want to talk about clans. You guys have a great idea going for making clans for BSG. I think it's incredible. It will help people make new friends, it will encourage people to be less toxic in general, and it will bring whole groups of people to the server. But instead of making clans just for your SG, why not spread them across the network? I think it would be incredible to have the clans have stuff like clan stats where it averages their elos on pot and soup, where it shows their wins/kills/games played of SG and UHC and stuff, etc. Honestly, I can't see anything wrong with it. To add a team factor across your server might seriously improve the community as a whole - and when it honestly comes down to it, that is the basis from which a server will or will not expand. Good communities are appealing to new people; why not give it a nudge in the right direction?

If you read that whole thing you're a legend, and btw, happy birthday badlion <3

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 05:36 AM

I’ve been here since June 2014 (Took a hiatus from August to November), and the server and community have grown into something completely different from most other servers. UHC has become incredibly popular, the servers filling in seconds. Potion PVP is almost full at all times, and fills at peak times. Soup has grown as well. When I began playing, Soup usually had 35 or less people online, now it is usually at 75+ people at peak times. All gamemodes have very few bugs. The community has grown over the past months to make Badlion one of the bigger servers. The staff are incredibly helpful and active, easily more active than any other server. Badlion as a whole has become something even more amazing than when I began playing.

As for automatic UHC, I am split on liking it as it will make it easier for rules to be broken. Although I feel sorry for people not making it into a UHC, I would rather have more hosts to host more often.

I don’t really like the idea of splitting PotPVP for one of the reasons Hivlik said. The community would be split. I feel like there’s another reason for my dislike of the idea, but I can’t think of it at the moment.

Keeping my post fairly short. Happy Birthday Badlion!

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 07:46 AM

everyone knows you're oBrave

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 07:54 AM

basically i've been here before ranked was added

but i started playing active when it was added in the map before the portal spawn. y'know when Legacy was a thing and Archer was about to be added.
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666 posts

Posted on 08 February 2015 - 12:14 PM

Well then. I joined badlion a long time ago, somewhere in 2013. It was talked about on OCN, so I decided to take a look around. At the time, there was a confusing spawn. Kohi did not exist yet (or wasnt popular at all). Badlion's spawn was a town square, with buildings around it. You could enter those and hit signs. Then stuff would happen but I never understood it. When I found out how to play ranked , I lost almost every match. After a few months of playing on badlion I uploaded my first public video of a 1v1: http://youtu.be/jYTEPf5d8Jk . As you can see, I was terrible at debuffing :P

It was around this time that I got banned for toggle sprint. The sprint key did not exist yet in minecraft and I got falsely banned for using bettersprint. I got banned mid-game which was, and still is 100% illegal to do for mods. On my appeal I took a slightly aggressive approach, but I still got unbanned. This was my appeal.

Over time I improved. In spring 2014, I saw that ieatboulders2 got trial moderator. I was suprised (sorry @bend <3), and jealous. Why him and not me? I did some research on how to make a mod application but I couldn't figure it out. Hell, I mean, who would ever put 'mod applications' in the 'announcements' sub forum?? More importantly, why is this still the case?! When I finally did figure it out, I made an application, which I just made public and can be read here. By the way, whoever thinks it's a great idea to copy this application, think twice. About 3 weeks later ginie1 added me on skype. I was suprised. I WAS ACCEPTED FOR GAMEMODE 1 ?!?!?! Nope, I was accepted for staff! I did not expect to get it. I probably got it because I had friends on the staff team who knew that I'd be a decent mod. E.g. Morsinius, Ieatboulders2, KaeuliFlower (and more who I can't remember, sorry)

I did my best as a staff member. Sometimes when our potpvp peaked at a STUNNING 300 players (this became even more when grapeapplesauce came), I couldn't handle it. Sometimes I was hated for being a mod and trying to help out. It make me almost quit my 'job' in summer 2014. I spend tens to hunderds hours of my free time to clean up the server and chat. People teamed up against me, just to piss me off. Combodombo, IBrave_ , you know why I'm naming you. Go be be more respectful.

Luckily, the people that were annoying to me were the minority. I got a lot of compliments as well, which make me appreciate my 'job' and be more happy about it. I met a lot of new, really friendly people as well. It's not all that bad, it's not :)

In autumn 2014 MasterGberry told me: "Go become more active on the forums. Go become more active on teamspeak. Also, wanna be a senior mod?" I was not even close to expecting that. Hard working staff members like Morsinius and Mcnerdx did not get it at first. I accepted it. It was great to know that people trusted me. From that point on I did even more my best for Badlion.

Right now, I am probably becoming less and less active. Summer is coming, and so are my exams. I'm going to go on vacation. 3 times. I have a job which I earn a lot with, and I'm planning to put more time into that. If everything goes well, I will become a sudent next year which, according to many people, should be the best time of my life. I need the money though, because The Netherlands just removed an official student-fee (if I say that right). I need to lend money now to pay for my room next year, and be dependent on my parents for money.

Back on topic, thank you so much MasterGberry and Archybot. I whine sometimes, but considering the great amounts of time you put into Badlion, I shouldn't. I seriously have no words for your dedication. Thanks again.

Pikaoku, I'm eager to hear about the new factions concept. Can't wait! Thanks for putting so much time into that. Same goes for Varicks. I'm getting a headache just from thinking about all the people complaining about betrays and stuff, and you still deal with them. Oh and you're a great sr mod too Varicks <3

Burntcactus, thanks for spending so much time into moderating Badlion. You were the best senior mod, and you clearly deserved admin. Thanks to YOU badlion is so big now, because we attracted all these people from UHCs that you organized. @ProfessorMarcus thanks for spending so much time into UHCs as well <3

Smellypenguin, don't blame him, thank him for all the work he's done.

Thanks to the rest of the seniormods , there is not a single senior mod who doesn't do their 'job' right.

Unfortenately I can't tag more than 5 people in 1 post :(