It's powerful enough and I didn't proofread it but I had an idea and it kinda got distorted and turtles but oh well
I am glad to see Overcast still going strong. Since the Arcade came out, the population of the server has nearly doubled and I am constantly being kept busy by those who don't seem to want to follow the rules. In the first week someone has managed to reach 1000 wins in the arcade (how?). I must remind myself to watch him more closely. I myself have not played many of the minigames - they aren't really that interesting to me. I am excited that the PM system is coming out soon, too; I will enjoy reading the 'private' messages of users through the back door that last_username inserted into the system. Also, as a personal metric, I have hidden 102 goodbye threads so far; when will they even learn?
Something odd happened a few weeks ago - I was selected as one of a few to try humanity's new lightspeed technology. They told me to walk into a curved metal chamber whilst they did some tests. Supposedly the technology could allow travel to the moon and back in less than a second. When they pressed the button I saw a flash of white light and then everything went dark. When I woke, scientists told me they thought I was alright but were unsure whether anything else had happened to me. But in other news, the Overcast community is still going strong; someone is even about to hit 10k minigame wins. But personally I don't think that is much of an achievement - since we introduced the 1v1 minigames, people have just been farming quick wins.
It's a bit sad to see now that the Overcast, and Minecraft community, is dwindling - The game has survived for many years, but at the 8 year mark the game is now old, and people are starting to move on. A lot of the Minecraft community got annoyed when Microsoft unveiled a Minecraft DLC pack - but most of us just ignore it, don't buy it and move on. Now that we have a smaller playerbase, the forums are not quite as lively anymore, and games feel kind of empty; Most of us have moved to the minis so we can sustain full games. It doesn't look like we're going to be getting many more maps, though - Most of the mapdevs have moved on. However, we will get to play some old favorites with the Nostalgia2 server, now, so that's something.
I got promoted to administrator - to be fair, it's mostly symbolic at this point, but who cares?
It's been a long while since I wrote in this diary. It's sad to see now that Overcast is now averaging less than 100, and there is only a few moderators left. The rest of the admins and the senior staff are gone now, except for last_username, who rarely appears and only fixes bugs now. Perhaps Overcast is past its time, but I still intend to solider on. I know almost everyone on the server now, and it's nice to have a good, reasonably tight knit community. I maintain the servers now - fix problems when they're down, and maintain a decent uptime - It's quite a job, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Maybe that lightspeed experiment was not such a good idea. I still cannot believe it myself, but I do not appear to be aging. I dare not dream that I have become something that humanity has sought for centuries and is the subject of many science fiction films. I must be crazy - I just haven't changed much, right? Surely such a dramatic effect cannot be produced by a failed light speed experiment?
I'm the only staff member left. Everyone else is gone, to make the most of their mortal life. But it increasingly seems that this is not the case for me. What will I do? Where will I go, once Overcast is gone. I am not capable of fixing any major bugs anymore, since last_username abandoned me, but the community will always be there, right? The community now sits at around 25 active users, and I know every single one of them. We still have tourneys, yes: We do a 12v12 and the last guy refs. It has been fun, but I wonder how much longer this can last.
It's just me and one other guy now. The other day, we built a huge tower on Bessemer's Process, from the materials in the spawn chests. It was one of the only maps I could find without a height limit. Objectives are rarely gotten anymore, except to cycle the rotation - Blitz, GS, and the Arcade have been without a player for a very long time. I'd like to see this continue, but I don't think it will. In an attempt of desperation yesterday, I unbanned everyone on the server. I'd like to see another soul join, if only for a moment, but I increasingly think I'm going to be the only one left.
Problems are starting: I can't seem to connect to Beta, no matter what. I've looked at the server - it's up. I think PGM might be starting to show its age.
It's just me on the server now. I've got plenty of time in this universe now, and nothing to spend it on. I have resigned myself to the fast that I have seemed to acquire some sort of limitless life expansion - it makes be feel both powerful and fearful. Yesterday I mined out the entire map of The Nile, save the bedrock and the two monuments. I also built a sandcastle on Balloon Archipelago, with flags and everything, and passed the 12 hour mark without the game ending - perhaps that is now broken too? Too bad no-one was there to see me build it, but I take satisfaction in the effort it took to build and the final result. I also heard yesterday that one of the former Overcast Administrators died a few weeks ago. It saddens me quite a few levels, not only because of that specific death, but because I know that the rest of those who used to play on this server will eventually go the same way.
Things have changed, a lot. I woke up one to find my screen spammed with dark red notifications. I then noticed that all my permissions had gone - I was now just a regular user. Without the power to manage the servers I do not know how long I can keep Overcast operating. The region system broke too, and now anyone can build anywhere, but since it's only me, it doesn't really matter. I did have fun though tearing down one of bleangamer's pillars in the lobby to make a boat which I then rode around the river. Maybe someday I will rebuilt the spawn. I could make it into an awe-inspiring tower, or something. But no other soul will ever see it, so what's the point?
The servers are dropping like flies - only half the servers are left. I don't know how much longer this can last.
I think I have invented a system which allows all redstone to be replicated using boats and water currents. I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain. I have started preparation for something big on Soviet Mills on Alpha. I have mined the map down to bedrock and made a huge tree farm. The regions, now having broken, allow me to make the tree farm as big as I need. So far it's around 100x50, but I plan to make it bigger until I use up all the dirt of the map. I'll need a lot of water and wood to complete this - luckily I have made an infinite water source and have saved some iron from the mines to make buckets.
It's only Alpha now. And I think the only reason it isn't down is because of my activity. It's been on Soviet Mills for 400 years now, and I've made a lot of progress on my project. I have marked out a million by million block area which I plan to use, and have started in the top left corner, placing boats and water very, very carefully. I hope this project is not all in vain. Luckily all the saplings I have planted has given me an essentially infinite supply of blocks - I'll need it.
Progress is slow.
It's done. Everyone who has ever played on this server, except me, is long dead by now, but I finally have the power to change that. I am standing in front of a network of boats, canals, and wood, a million blocks by a million blocks, each block and boat placed very carefully. I am now sure my calculations are right: I have double checked them a few thousand times. Boats are very predictable when you've got thousands of years to find out how they work. This contraption is the pinnacle of my achievements - a fully working Overcast simulation. A large pool, 500000x500000 stands in the middle - this is my universe. The boats representing zeros and ones and drop into the middle pool. A boat stands for a one, the absence of a boat represents a zero. The boats colliding in a very specific way have provided the logic to this universe - my calculations have ensured that things will never break. The complex, constantly shifting set of boats in the middle is a whole Overcast server now, merely represented by entities rather than tangible particles. But that's not all - I have programmed into this simulation players, and staff, who are unaware that this world for them is simply a simulation. I can play with them in this fictitious world, being the only one aware that this world is simply a collection of boats, and like old times, enjoy large matches, and tourneys, on these boat-powered servers. There is one small problem - boats are slow, and it takes around 416 years to simulate a single server tick. But I've got plenty of time, so I can wait. Overcast will rise again.
Oh man, that's actually pretty chilling.