I’m going to put the catching up the blog to current events on hold long enough to share this current event.

I decided that for some fun, and a break away from our primary survival world, to present a challenge contest. Every participant is given an identical set of building materials to use in creating the themed project. For our first contest I decided it would be a basic survival house. Here’s the details for the contest as posted in our group page on Facebook:

I’d like to announce a building contest.

The theme will be “Basic Survival House”. I’ll be creating a a new world using the InfinitePlots generator so you guys can claim a building plot and then only you can build/change stuff on your plot. Mobs and animals will be set to no spawning. Daylight cycle will also be shut off to make building easier.

Contest opens today and closes on June 21st. The rules [are] as follows:

• you can only use the materials provided in the chest at the spawn point for the contest. It will fill up your inventory and it is a timed chest so make sure your inventory is completely empty before right-clicking it.
• The house must have at least one room with a ceiling.
• the house must have at least one of the following furnishings:
  • furnace
  • crafting table
  • chest
• the house must also have one non-livestock based food source clearly set up (like a fishing pond, garden, etc)
• must be set up in such a way that monsters won’t spawn in the home

Entries will be judged (by me) on the following points:

1. Original Design (no generic villager houses you just build from a blueprint and then decorate)
2. Creativity (should be self explanatory)
3. Funtionality (is the house useable and practical in survival mode?)
4. Safe [do monsters spawn in there? are there death drops to fall in? etc]
5. Furnished/Decorated (is it plain and empty or has the effort to make it look like a real home been made?)

Everyone participating receives 10 Emeralds to use however they want. The top 3 entries will be saved as schematics [for future use on the server] and receive a full diamond tool kit along with the Emeralds.

I will not be a contestant, but I did build an example house – the lame box thing it is.

And this is what we have thus far on our contest map:

Yes, I am aware that my building skills are lacking. It’s okay.

This is the house I built as an example for the contest.

It didn’t take long for my example house to be left in the dust.

It’s still early in the contest so I hope it goes well. A third entry just got started as I was taking screenshots so I didn’t include that one. I’ll post that entry later in the contest.

I don’t know what it is about watching a project unfold and take life, but I really find it fun and fascinating. I’m really looking forward to seeing the final turnout.

Originally published on LiveJournal. Archived here on 09/13/2019.