Minigame Revamp - Suggested Changes

Introduction​

As we are all aware, a Minigames revamp has recently been confirmed for this year. This is exciting news, as the last revamp occurred at some point in 2017 and didn't bring many changes. Because there are many ideas flowing and not many ways to collect them all, I asked the community what sorts of changes they wanted to see with this revamp. With the information I collected, I have compiled a list of bugs, concerns and changes the community (and I) want to see fixed with the upcoming revamp.

Part I: Bugs​

Crouching while running: In some cases, players can appear as if they are crouched and running. This bug is most common on Skywars. While a purely visual glitch, this can throw players off when reporting hackers, and might let some hackers evade punishment, if they are not using another modification. This can be seen here.​

Arrows falling: In CTF, arrows look as if they "hit a wall" when you launch them upwards. Arrow particle effects stop, then fall down as another arrow "spawns in", while the original follows its trajectory. This causes problems with aiming bows, and often makes it hard to see where your arrow is. This can be seen here.

Arrow particles persisting: In some cases, when arrows are shot into the void, their particles persist in the world. If this occurs enough, certain maps can become extremely laggy (such as Land of Bones) and Minecraft may crash.

Enderpearl can be thrown at game start: It is possible for a player to spam an enderpearl when they spawn into a map, and successfully throw it. While rare, this glitch can offer an advantage to players who can abuse this glitch, making games unfair. This can be seen here. (Watch my hotbar)​

Double death: During a Skywars match, a player may be killed and right after their death message appears, another death message states "(player) has suicided!". While this bug is not a major issue (unless it affects stats), it certainly is an interesting bug and still should be fixed.

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Kill while spectating: If a player is kicked by the anticheat, the last player to have hit them will get the kill; this includes players who are in spectator mode. If I constantly punch a hacker in spectator mode, and he is kicked by the anticheat, I will receive the kill. It does not matter when or how I died; the kill is mine.

Viewfinder "jitter": When a player is lagging, their viewfinder may also jitter uncontrollably. This issue is most likely to occur at the start of the game, in conjunction with map lag. This may trigger a kick from the anticheat or cause the player's game to crash.

Invisible players: This glitch is specific to CTF. A player may appear invisible, but still be able to hit you freely. In most cases, they do not become visible until you die and respawn. This can occur with both your opponents and your teammates, and can make gameplay much more frustrating.

Running through the floor: I have seen this glitch occur in both CTF and Skywars. A player may appear as if they are running halfway "in" the floor, much lower than other players. This also can be confused for hacks and throw players and staff members off. It doesn't look too good, either. Here is an example.

No death message when killed by enderpearl: This one sounds a bit weird, but bear with me. If you misfire an enderpearl and are teleported to a new location, then fall off, you will not receive a death message. It's not the biggest issue here, but still something to consider.

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Part II: Other Concerns​

Lagback and block lag: Improvements have certainly been made to the minigames and anticheat to combat block lag and lagback. However, these issues still persist. Especially when coupled with the increased server lag, a lot of players are experiencing issues with blocks disappearing or getting stuck in certain decorations. This can make or break a game, especially in competitive gamemodes such as Survival Games and Skywars, and should be fixed ASAP.

Map lag: Map lag on CTF can greatly impact the quality of the game, especially if the player gets stuck in a block afterwards. Maps may load in slowly, and players may fall through the floor and glitch out as a result. This is a fairly common bug which can make the game unplayable, depending on how long the player is glitched. I made a bug report on this back in July, but it was never fixed. An example can be seen here.​

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Elevated and fluctuating ping: I'm not the first one to complain about this, and certainly not the last. However, over the past few months on MCC, players' ping has gone up substantially. Values over 180, previously exclusive to those playing from Europe or Australia, are now the norm. In some cases, a player's ping can exceed 1 000 000 ms, and games become entirely unplayable. This is not simply a player-end issue either, as these screenshots show a marked increase in ping over time.

(From left to right: 3/27/20, 11/22/19, 9/9/19)
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Anticheat: This is a very common concern in the MCC community at large, and while it does get repetitive and annoying at times to hear the same issues over and over again, I feel like this deserved a spot here. The anticheat has certainly improved substantially since July, but players using modified clients is still a major issue on MCC. While we have come a long way since September, where it was possible to grind over 50 reports in the span of two hours, there is still much progress to be made, and a revamp seems like a great time to do it. (I am aware a new AC will be deployed alongside the revamp, but this was heavily requested)

Delayed hit registration: This is more problematic on subservers and competitive minigames; when you are hitting a player, it is common for some of your hits to be delayed or dropped entirely. In other cases, you die and yet the other player is still hit, because your hits are delayed. It's not the biggest bug in the world, but it can ruin a player's game.
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Part III: Changes​

Updating current maps: Certain CTF maps (Land of Bones, Clash Valley and Sandy Fortress) have major choke points around the base entrances. This has been complained about a lot these past few months, and a revamp would be a great time to do something about it. I suggest these maps either see secret entrances added, more entryways (parkour is very hard to navigate, especially when you have 5 people bowing you down) or larger entryways to combat the stalemate games often seen here.

Staff spectating (and /v): A huge obstacle in keeping minigames clean, the staff team's inability to spectate minigames is a little bit sad. While players on subservers can rely on a Moderator to swoop in to clear out KOTH or LMS events, no such safety net exists in the minigames; once the game has started, you're on your own. Once staff are able to spectate ongoing minigames, player complaints will drop drastically.

More community events: This depends more on the staff team than the revamp, but a great way to kickstart the minigames would be to host more community events involving them. We have seen the power of community events firsthand; one event can revive a minigame for over a month, as players take on a competitive mindset and play the game more often.

Screenshare lobby: When a staff member suspects a player of hacking in a minigame, they must ask the player to move to a subserver (usually ArenaPvP) in order to conduct a screenshare. This process can be very inefficient, and many players often aren't able to navigate the subservers. When a staff member freezes a player, they should both instantly sent to a screenshare lobby, separate from the ongoing game, to conduct the screenshare. When the screenshare is completed, the player will be sent back to their game or to a new lobby of the gamemode they were playing.

Changing the CTF "flag stolen" message: The current message when your flag is stolen, is just that. When a flag is stolen and rapidly retrieved, it's hard to tell who took it, especially if you couldn't check the sidebar in time. A suggestion I have is changing the flag message to "(player) stole your flag!" or something similar. While not necessary, it would be a welcome change in the CTF community.

New waiting lobbies: This has also been mentioned in other posts (this one by Abblesauce and this one by Nikki_), so I figured I'd include it here. The waiting lobbies for minigames range from bright and boring (Skywars) to outright depressing (CTF). The parkour found in waiting lobbies is short and easy to complete, with the last jump being the biggest challenge. I feel like the lobbies for these games should have other features to help players pass the time. Some ideas include an AFK machine, leaderboards like the old lobby used to have, and a mini duel arena.

Part IV: New Additions​

Adding /eignore: This extremely useful command is currently available on all subservers, allowing a player to completely ignore users on their list. Implementing this feature into minigames would help players take the high road in disputes and block out the conversation entirely, instead of waiting for a staff member's response, or taking it into their own hands.

Adding /togglearrows: Explosive arrows have their pros and cons. They can deal damage directly behind blocks, instantly trigger TNT and hurt multiple players at the same time, if used strategically. However, they also deal less direct damage, no direct knockback, and are a source of unrest for players in the community who believe explosive arrows are a pay-to-win feature. If the ability to toggle explosive arrows was added, player complaints would decrease and games would be more strategic. This feature was also discussed in previous years, accepted but never added, which lead to the resignation of a Moderator. The idea is still relevant and highly useful today, and seeing there is an upcoming revamp, now is a great time to add this feature.

Adding /rejoin: Yes, this command is used on other servers as well. While I am against using cosmetics, gamemodes and other major features from other servers, I feel like this command is insanely useful and important to integrate into minigames. If you are kicked for any reason other than the anticheat (this would allow hackers who were kicked to rejoin), you can use /rejoin to be sent back into the minigame you were removed from. Of course, this could be abused, which is why I suggest it is only added to minigames where a player has more than one life (CakeWars, CTF, Champion Builder).

More credit-based perks: Players need more ways to spend credits. Many (myself included) have amassed over 1 000 000 credits with no way to use them or transfer them, and they become completely arbitrary after a certain point. Some newer minigames, such as Murder Mayhem and CakeWars, don't even have anything to obtain with credits. New perks such as victory effects will add more motivation to play minigames and collect credits for those who have already maxed out other perks.

New maps: This one has also been said a lot. Maps are already few and far in between, and the removal of Lost Kingdom sent rifts through the CTF community. The map was a good strategy map, with secret entrances, a wide bridge and very distanced parkour to prevent bowspam. With the revamp, more maps must be added to all minigames. New maps are submitted by the community every day, and many are viable candidates for the server. Players are tired of seeing the same ~5 maps in rotation, and voting does not help matter; players often vote for similar (or even the exact same) map repeatedly, and when there is no variety for the voting pool, the same maps are played time and time again.

New gamemodes: The server is seeing a major uptick in traffic due to recent world events. A lot of this new traffic consists of older players, who were mainly active from 2014-16 and have come back as a result of the current crisis. Many players are also brand-new, who are just getting a feel for this server and what it has to offer. Adding new gamemodes would help keep more players as the server's minigame collection is more diverse and unique. A prime candidate for this revamp would be OITC, which has become sort of a phenomenon in terms of popularity, which would net the server more players.

Party games: If new games are added, the focus should be put on smaller games that can end within 5 minutes. These party games would allow large groups of players to have some fun without the standoff some team games (CTF and Team Skywars) can turn into. OITC is a perfect example; first to 25 kills wins. There are basically no frills, just the objective and your two weapons. Games end very quickly, meaning this a gamemode that can be played over and over again without long waiting times.

Autobalance: This used to be a feature in CTF and Team Skywars, so one team could not be entirely stacked. However, with the lobby revamp for both these minigames, the feature was scrapped. Now, with this feature out of the way, it is possible for some teams to be nearly empty. Looking at CTF, if there are 15 players in a lobby when a game starts, and 12 of those have chosen to be on the red team (max limit), then all 12 will spawn on the red team. The remaining three will comprise the blue team, and the game certainly won't be very competitive or last at all. Because many CTF players will play in parties, I feel partied players should be excluded from the autobalance. This would help keep games fairer, and prevent easy stat boost games for more skilled players.

Start with a sale: It would not surprise me if the minigames revamp brings a large number of players with it, and so I would suggest a 25% off (or similar) smaller sale to go on for about a week after the revamp occurs. This would convince more players to buy ranks at a time where the updates to the minigames introduce a new ecosystem of commands, maps and such, and bring more revenue to the server.

Conclusion​

This revamp is well overdue, and I applaud MCC's higher-ups for making the decision to go through with it. Players have been asking for new features, changes and the like for years now, and this is the perfect time to execute these key changes. I believe this post sums up the majority of ideas players have suggested, but it certainly does not speak for everyone. If you have any more ideas, make a comment and I'll definitely consider adding them. I hope this has helped, and thank you for reading!

 

I knew I was missing something! Thank you, I'll add it right away :)

 

I understand it's a client-side issue, but it's only caused by lag. So I mean, the server at least has a part to play, setting you up for the bug to take place?

I believe this bug is also related to lag and hit registration, where the player's hits don't register for a bit and then suddenly deal damage. Good catch, I'll add it to my post.

When you are frozen, a specific menu pops up with the appropriate Discord link, instructing you to join the server and what to do next. Refusal to screenshare or hacks found in screenshare is a severity 3 client mod ban, meaning your first offence is 30 days, not 60. Good suggestion, but it's already in place :))

 

It's obviously a concern, but hopefully with more commands like /eignore, that concern can be mitigated.