The Empire
| The Empire | |
|---|---|
| Clan | |
| Name: The Empire | |
| Status: Collapsed | |
| Formed: Autumn 2013 | |
| Bases: Caladan, New Caladan, Tamarisk, Verdologa, Perfuga | |
The Empire was a large team formed by Pippenger in August 2013. It had very ambitious goals, and for the most part, it completely failed to accomplish them. The Empire lasted only approximately half of a year before collapsing.
Purpose
The primary mission of the Empire was to create an orderly, unified team to bring stability to the chaotic server. Its decidedly pro-noob and anti-anarchy viewpoint put it at odds with the culture of the core players on Simpvp. Noobs were often unconditionally fed and clothed, and massive efforts were undertaken to repair the natural ecology of spawn by importing grass and trees, and even, at certain points, to fill /world with public farms. The desire of the Empire to not only survive and thrive on Simpvp, but also to fundamentally change it, was a major cause of its failure.
Another goal of the Empire was to construct a massive amount of castles and cities, and to create them all in one unified, high quality style. This further distanced the Empire from the general culture of the server, which had typically preferred a much less structured type of faction leadership. It proved incredibly difficult to convince most players to build in the official imperial style, causing the team's bases to fall short of their intended sizes.
Members
The Empire had a huge amount of recruits, but most members did not stay with the team for long, and most quit the server entirely. As the team is now disbanded, every player listed is now a former rather than current member, though most who are on this list can be assumed to have been on the team for a significant length of time or to have helped in a significant way.
- Pippenger and Not_Pippenger
- iQuint
- Alexknvl
- RythinTheSausauge
- Deflowvesper
- Morl0ck
- LDRPC
- Brauk
- KikiGreyDragon
- Spencepent
- Dakkadok
- Unclechain
- Many Others
History
The Empire was started by Pippenger in August 2013 when he began looking for people to fill his island castle, Caladan. Rather than bring recruits directly to the base, he first set up a series of over a dozen small colony towns, which can still be found in the general spawn area. Then, he moved to a base directly outside of spawn, and began recruiting any interested players. After living with them for several days close to spawn, he led all of them at once to Caladan, stopping in the colony towns at night to rest.
When they reached Caladan, the recruits began building additions to the castle, some of which were not up to imperial standards. Pippenger published a series of building codes on the forums, mandating what types of things could be constructed in the Empire. This was an unpopular move, and perhaps as a result, the castle was griefed not long after, though not before significant progress was made. It is currently entirely covered by lava pouring down from the height limit, but the complex stone structures underneath are mostly intact.
After the first major strike against the Empire, many members left. Pippenger created a series of rough but large cobblestone castles within 5k of spawn, and continued the same general strategy, using these new Castles as bases instead of the superior Caladan. Attacks against the Empire were very common in this period, and while many players were recruited, few stayed for very long, and little was accomplished. The castle Tamarisk still stands and is sometimes used as a base by player unaffiliated with the Empire.
In November 2013, Pippenger used his alt, Not_Pippenger, to manage the construction of a large capital city, New Caladan, tens of thousands of blocks from spawn. Dakkadok, using his alt Sappu Jappu, and Spencepent, using Dark Identity, helped in the early stages of construction, while Morl0ck donated some items. At first progress was rapid, and it seemed that a sizable and pleasant metropolis would soon occupy the entire island. However, the other players besides Pippenger did not enjoy building in the imperial style, so progress was very slow. Aside from a large house by Deflowvesper, a few sewers and bridges by Alexknvl, and several machines by iQuint, the citizens of New Caladan hardly worked on the city at all. Even Pippenger eventually became discouraged when he realized he had to accomplish a task alone that had first been intended for a dozen people.
At the same time, Pippenger tried to continue recruiting new players and repairing spawn on his other account, still using the spawn castle Tamarisk as a base. As a result, neither New Caladan nor Tamarisk flourished, and both slowly declined. Eventually the Empire officially abandoned its spawn efforts and its system of absolute government, becoming a Republic that did not attempt to control land beyond its immediate borders. But by this point, the citizens of the Empire were disillusioned, and scarcely had even the desire to see it succeed.
An unknown player using the pseudonym Horus set the city on fire, and the people scattered. Pippenger continued helping noobs and repairing spawn with his main account, and with his alt, he started the city Ascaris with Cinnabars, superior in both size and quality to New Caladan.
Overall, the Empire was ineffective, and had little lasting impact on the server. However, its towns and castles can still be discovered by those who explore the server.
Records
Original 'Building Codes'
Building Codes
Section 1: Materials A: Always use stone brick instead of cobblestone when possible. You may be asked to make a substitution if you build with cobblestone. However, cobble fences are acceptable.
B: Materials should be chosen for aesthetic value, not to display wealth. Use of flashy items like glowstone, diamond blocks, etc. is discouraged.
C: Materials throughout a base should be consistent. For example, if most houses in a base are built with oak plank walls and spruce plank roofs, do not make a house with spruce walls and an oak roof.
D: Significant use of glass as a building material is discouraged. Glass does not tile well and often has a distracting effect.
E. Wool for anything besides carpets is discouraged. Wool is not a realistic or appealing construction material.
1F: Grass is an acceptable material if used well.
Section 2: Style A: When building with circles or spheres, the use of a program is strongly encouraged. You must build according to one of the graphs or generators online. Plotz is the recommended program. (http://www.plotz.co.uk/)
B. Try to arch bridges rather than making them perfectly flat. Also, put supporting pillars if it looks like it would be necessary in real life.
C. Make use of stairs, half blocks, etc. when building to maximize detail. Stairs can also create interesting shapes if used well.
D. Build in the style and era of the rest of the base. If the other buildings resemble ancient China, do not build a modern skyscraper within sight of the base.
E. Use complex shapes, not only squares. Also, put smaller rooms within buildings. It is more interesting than buildings with only one room. Be creative, and make unusual buildings.
F. Try to conceal redstone and keep it from interfering with the look of the base.
G: Do not leave blocks floating in the sky unattached to anything. Do not leave dirt pillars and temporary bridges around the base.
H. Preserve the natural landscape. Patch up creeper holes and keep forests from disappearing. Do not engage in large scale terraforming without approval. Cut down entire trees, not just the bottoms.
I. Do not leave clutter around the base, such as excessive signposts or crafting tables.
Section 3: Group Dynamics
A: Do not modify or remove another player's buildings without approval from them or the base leader.
B: Do not build close to another player's building if it distracts from their creation.
C. Do not leave unfinished projects in group areas for extended periods of time.
D. Any large additions that will significantly affect the appearance of the base must be approved by the base leader.
E. Do not build on any land created by another player, such as a leveled mountain or artificial island, without either their permission or the permission of the base leader.
Empire's Rise and Empire's Fall
Emperor, Wanderer, Ruin-Maker, Noob-Bringer. My name is Pippenger, but I have known many titles. In my later years I have turned to more quiet passions. I build quietly, and I preserve the culture and history of this great server as a member of the Library of Ascaris. My heady young days of travel and conquest are behind me, and now, in these slower times, I find myself with the desire to write of my exploits. Perhaps my stories will be of interest to young players starting their own journeys in this chaotic land. Perhaps my tales will serve as an inspiration, or as a warning. For the pain of failure and the desperation of hubris are not blights I would wish on my sworn enemies, though I have followed this road myself.
Section 1: Noobery
I came to this server in the early months of the tumultuous year of 2013. I came to this server in the days of the fall of Valhalla, in the reign of Castle Black, though of these events I was scarcely aware. For when I joined this server, I was a noob of the greatest extent. I had no awareness of the mechanics of food and starvation, and I leapt desperately to my death time and time again, trying to escape spawn. The server horrified me. All I could see was a wasteland, a filthy ocean, punctured by hideous spikes of ruined architecture. It was a hell, but I soon came to love it. Though my noobly allies abandoned the server, never to return, I persevered, and eked out a bare survival. I lived only hundreds of meters from spawn in those days, not comprehending that a farther distance was possible. I was raided daily, and were it not for the support of benefactors such as eggtheif, I may have perished and abandoned the server as well.
After a time I came to sense, and moved thousands of meters out. I constructed a small, lonely town of cobblestone and wood. Even in my earliest days, I tried to incorporate a unique touch in my architecture. My houses were decorated with item frames bearing wool, and had domed roofs in a Russian style. If it looked pleasing, I cannot say, for it was burned long ago.
When my solitude grew unbearable, I searched for allies, but I found I had already grown beyond the companionship of those who clung to spawn. I travelled ten thousand blocks out, at the time an impossible distance, to join Uncle chain in the construction of a vast modern city. It was magnificent, more due to his efforts than my own, and travelers to this day remark upon its vast and imposing expanse. In my foolish noobery, however, I removed my bed without placing a new one, and was sent back to spawn by a skeleton on a skyrail. Shortly after, Uncle chain departed from the server for cause of lag, and the city lay unfinished.
For weeks I toiled futilely again at spawn, longing for companionship and yet unable to relate to the unwashed masses of noobs. At last I found a companion with a competency in the game, by the name of Cinnabars. We travelled from spawn for days, and settled on a small island. We rapidly build Cindisfarne Monastery, a small beacon of peace on the Southwestern Sea, a tiny bastion of pleasant architecture, barely evading the notice of wild raiders on the waves. I should note that my time working with Cinnabars on the monastery and my time working with Uncle chain on the city were among my most joyful moments on the server, but alas, neither lasted long. After only days, Cinnabars had to leave to work on another project, and I was stranded on the island, once again alone.
Section 2: The Carrot Wars
In June, I sailed to a neighboring island, and began the construction of a magnificent castle-city, Caladan. The castle followed the natural contours of the island, rising out of it like the stone of the earth. On the rooftops of the castle, similarly, I laid down blocks of grass. On these terraced fields I planted hundreds and hundreds of carrots. In these days carrots nourished in a way superior to their current diminished state, and healed several bars of food. I collected chests and chests of carrots on my island castle, and I planted them in the PvP world.
Before you should question the extent of my sanity, allow me to explain my rationale for this strangest of choices. My goal was to make food readily available to any who wanted it, so as to discourage noobs from quitting the server, and give myself more allies which with to team. My struggle, however, was in vain. I attracted the attention of powerful adversaries, such as the feared Baron Ultimaxe. The old guard of players despised noobs, and for good reason, and feared the changes I would bring. The Baron destroyed my carrot farms, and slew me time after time. I named him my Nemesis, and redoubled my planting efforts. For weeks we struggled, planting and uprooting, and though in the end he fled the server, my efforts still accomplished naught.
The noobs, I had not realized, were greatly wanting of intellect, and very few could comprehend how to enter PvP world to gain access to my carrots. Though I planted them constantly, almost none of my carrots got to those in need. My first effort to increase the amount of players had been a failure, and I turned my eye to other exploits.
Section 3: Birth of the Empire
Deep in the summer of 2013, in those hot days of madness, I was seized by the notion of forming an army of followers, and spreading out to conquer the server. I set out in random directions, creating small outpost towns in a unified style. Almost a score in total, these identical villages included beds, food, and basic shelter, all the necessary supplies to support and army on the march. I then travelled back to spawn, and enticed noobs into joining my doomed struggle. For food and a promise of safe shelter, many swore allegiance to me in my quest. In these days my party grew to massive sizes, and at times, a dozen eager young warriors followed me across the battle torn spawnlands. It was exhilarating, to go from a starving wanderer to the leader of the largest team on the server. And what amazed me was not only that people followed me, but how easy it seemed to win people to my cause. I began for the first time to think of myself as Emperor.
At last, I led my band of warriors to the gates of my fortress, Castle Caladan. As many leaders have learned before, a successful empire, when growing and traveling, can rapidly turn to stagnation and decline when settled. Though my people were loyal and noble, I found that controlling them in the constructions of additions to the fortress was nearly impossible. Many would build wretched little homes, barely fit to spend a night in on the field, and try to pass them off as additions to the fortress. I found the need to publish a series of building codes to control the constructions of the empire, and while this improved the quality of our castle, it won me no allies within the empire or without. I viewed these rules as absolutely necessary, for without good architecture, I believed, the empire would leave nothing but an ugly mark upon the server. This is a conviction I held to until the empire's destruction, though, truthfully, perhaps it also came to be the very cause of that destruction.
After weeks of living at the castle, the people grew discontent. The coordinates were sold by a traitor, and we fled from the city. By this point, few allies stayed, for the empire now appeared to them a series of binding obligations, rather than a bold new chance at glory. In late August, as the castle was evacuated, I sent the trusted Dakkadok to find a more distant land, where a second castle-city could be constructed, New Caladan. However, it was to be many months before I was to replenish the ranks of the empire to numbers sufficient to populate a city.
Section 4: Life of the Empire
At this point, I returned to the lands surrounding spawn. I constructed a new castle, Verdolaga, an ugly thing in the mountains off the high road. I attempted to recruit in the way I had previously, but I found that the enchanting ease of collecting followers had disappeared, because of one overlooked fact: the start of the school year. The stream of followers that I had so carelessly won and lost was reduced to a weak trickle. I spent days after days searching for noobs to follow me, giving them food, leading them to my base, and trying to make them imperial citizens. Alas, very few of them stayed on the server long. After a short time, the fortress was sieged by Cool Thomas, and the empire lacked sufficient warriors to defend. On the third day of September, Castle Verdolaga fell.
Undeterred, I led my people to a large empty field in the opposite direction from spawn. The empire was given a fortunate gift of cobblestone, and for days I toiled to create massive castle walls. However, after only one week, the castle was discovered, and once again we fled. We were beset on all sides by enemies in those days, so much so that the memories flow and pool together like blood on the field of battle. Ultimaxe, Thomas, and our most hated adversary, Nanoace. Those days of Autumn hold no memories but running, hiding, watching my castles brought down and my people slaughtered.
One brief period of this time was peaceful. I had started a new castle on a secret island, and griefers left it undisturbed. Spencepent and AceroShadow joined the empire at this time, and came to help me build. The vine draped island took the shape of a monastery, somewhat like Cindisfarne, and for the briefest of moments, my empire thrived. I spent a week, however, managing new recruits in the half ruined fortress of Verdolaga, and when I returned, I found the island covered in crosses. I told the people to remove them, as the empire was above all religions and was not to be owned or controlled by any outside forces, but the people refused. I thought that as the leader of the empire the people respected my authority, but it became apparent that they held no such views. A violent riot nearly broke out, and I fled the base by boat.
For a week I left the server, no longer believing that my empire was destined for greatness. For another week yet I came back to the server, and lived as a commoner at Castle Black. I quickly tired of this directionless mound of stone, however, and the siren song of power led me to my half finished castle in the tall grass, Tamarisk.
Through October I rebuilt my empire from the shattered remnants, thrice or more destroyed. I built rapidly, and won new people to my cause. Alexknvl and iQuint joined my team, and they became among my most trusted followers. Brauk as well came to the castle, and helped tremendously. These recruits were more intelligent than the typical noob-children who joined in those days, and the base grew. This is not to say there were no traitors, layabouts, and sperglords to be found in our ranks- they were as overwhelming as ever they had been. But beneath the constant influx of noobs who came, ate of our food and slept in our beds, and quit the server, there was a small loyal group of competent players. I decided that this was finally the time to finish the city of New Caladan, months ago started by Dakkadok.
Section 5: Death of the Empire
I traveled to the young city of New Caladan in late autumn 2013, to continue the work Dakkadok had started and construct a glorious capital for the empire. This city, though glorious, would come to be the final undoing of my empire. Spencepent, who had previously rebelled at the island, once more joined the team and mined a tremendous amount of stone. With his assistance I was able to rapidly fill the islands with houses. I left an alt at Tamarisk to see to the recruitment of new followers, and once more, briefly, the empire thrived. However, partway through November, the empire was struck by an unforeseeable tragedy. A paper assigned months ago, in the chaotic days at Verdolaga, suddenly turned out to be due in a few weeks. In a panic, I quit the server for many days. As I fought tirelessly in real life to finish the paper of 16 pages before the deadline, the empire, in my absence, began to collapse. By the time I returned, the people had grown listless and lacked direction.
This malaise that ate at the souls of the populace was never to diminish, in all the remaining days of the city. Because of my high standards of architecture and lack of clear instructions, or perhaps my seeming lack of appreciation for work performed by members of the empire, the populace completely stopped helping me in the construction of the city. The only person to build anything of significance was DeflowVesper, who was not officially a citizen of the empire. The engineer iQuint, as well, created several useful machines, but no competently built houses in the style of the city. Even the great Morl0ck visited New Caladan, and while he promised to aid us, he in reality accomplished very little. One particular player, 26Ferrum, came to the city late in its construction and was particularly petulant and useless. He proclaimed that the city looked too unfinished for him to bother helping with, and built his own house thousands of blocks away. While there, however, he did spend enough time within close distance of an NPC village to allow all of our villagers to be eaten by zombies. Fuck you Ferrum.
It was a time of decline and constant tension. The city began to fall apart. Houses lay unfinished, small damages were not repaired, and a general carelessness consumed all the inhabitants. My failures of leadership, compounded by my long absence and the disinclination of the inhabitants of this server to work for the benefit of other people, were causing my city to fail.
Section 6: The Republic
It was late December when I came to realize that my empire was a failure. The city had fallen to desertion, and the remaining people, myself included, scarcely had the will to work. The city, which was intended to be a grand and sprawling metropolis, had hardly grown beyond a single neighborhood. Furthermore, my efforts to recruit new members were stagnating as well. Castle Tamarisk had fallen into disrepair, and the new recruits were hopelessly noobish.
I began to believe that the reason for the decline of my empire was that the people felt they had no voice, and therefore no incentive to aid in the construction. To remedy this, I decided to transform the empire into a republic. I wrote a constitution, a legal document describing different roles within the empire, and the procedure for voting on legislation, and even how to legally remove one emperor and install another. It was a major change, though by that point the empire had so far deteriorated that it was hardly noticed.
Though the people now had power, none cared enough about the fate of the city to exercise it. The malaise was unabated, and the city declined further. In the last days of 2013, I had to leave town. I returned to find that hardly anything had been accomplished at the city, and worse yet, Castle Tamarisk was in flames, with most recruits having deserted. At this point I realized it was useless to try any further recruiting, and useless to maintain any pretenses of political organization. I disbanded the republic, and abandoned Castle Tamarisk. Though I had previously put much effort into recruitment of new players, even providing them with standard dyed uniforms and enchanted weapons when they joined, only one recruit was competent and loyal enough to join the capital, and he was revealed to be an alt. The city drifted on for barely another month, aimless, like a ship without a sail. Nothing during this time, by my recollection, was constructed. The city was but a vestige, a remnant of an empire already destroyed. In February, the mysterious Horus gave the city a final mercy by lighting it aflame. Those remaining, freed of their shackles, flew from the city with joy. I know not the true name of this Horus, but I bear towards him no ill will, for he performed a necessary act. The failed city had been dealt its final blow, and I was at last released.
Section 7: Restoring Spawn
After the New Caladan burned, I departed immediately. I walked and sailed for many miles, and eventually came to create a small underground home called Drecksloch. Drecksloch had none of the grandeur of New Caladan, but it also had none of the bitterness, political difficulty, and sense of endless obligation that had drowned the failed capital, for I lived alone. I used this secret base under the earth to replenish my resources, and I transferred them to my alt, who was sitting idle at spawn.
On my other account, I returned to my old vain task of increasing the population of the server. With Brentwoodbay, Ostrich1414, Mr. Hole Digger, and several others, I created an island base known as the Stomping Ground, a place where any could come and build freely. It stands ten thousand blocks from spawn today, and on its shores many magnificent sights can be found. A noble pine cabin, an aircraft carrier, a soft colored castle surrounded by flowers, and an underground farm with every type of crop can be found on this small island. However, this team never grew to the levels intended, and never accomplished its goal of introducing new players to experienced members of the server and of creating more activity near spawn.
Frustrated, I moved closer to spawn. I was accompanied by many people, chief among them Mr. Hole Digger, Ostrich1414, and Cdnam5. Within a thousand blocks of spawn, we set about repairing the land and creating new buildings to bring life to the server. To this day you can find towering castles, within walking distance of spawn, eternal monuments to our dedication to proving the vitality of the server.
Our most important accomplishment, though, was the restoration of the natural ecosystem at spawn. In the days when I joined, all grass and trees for thousands of blocks had been destroyed. As far as a noob could see, the spawn was nothing but hideous wasteland. And though it indeed held a wild sort of beauty, this shattered landscape did more than any other factor to deter any new player foolish enough to join. Myself and my companions, in our desire to repopulate this land, placed thousands of blocks of dirt all around spawn. After much toil, fields of grass spread all around the spawn point, and atop this grass we placed trees and other plants. Around this time I noticed a surge in the amount of new players, and I think, in this one aim of mine, I was successful. Perhaps by the time this book enters your hands, spawn will have returned to its ruined state, and if it has, then so be it. But, let it be known to you, young reader, that there was once a time when the dead land of spawn was resurrected, when from barest winter came lushest spring, when this decayed server bloomed with the life of noobs. In this one goal, older and more noble than the goal of conquering the server, I was briefly successful.
Section 8: The City Ascaris
In March of 2014, after the empire had been laid in its tomb and spawn had enjoyed much time alive, I began to desire once more the construction of a grand city. Had I been more foolish, or more bold, I may have tried to reclaim the title of emperor. There were still some in those days who had sympathy for my goals, who might have aided me had I asked. However, I had seen just shortly ago the death of my empire in spite of my greatest and most desperate efforts, and I had no desire to return. I searched, instead, for a few companions skilled in architecture, who could construct a city with me as equals. The ally I found was Cinnabars, and together, in the last days of March, we began the city of Ascaris. Construction was rapid, and within weeks it overtook the ruined city of New Caladan in size, though as well it was far superior in quality. While New Caladan had pretenses of architectural skill, it was in truth a city of no great beauty, and possessed of the same flaws as many things constructed in this game. Ascaris is a city remarkable to the eye, a vine draped jewel on the edge of the server. It contains as well the server library, storing the history of the server as well as the fiction and poetry that make up the server's culture. There is little to say of Ascaris, save that it is a grand city, and here my mind is at last at peace.
Much more can be said of the empire, in fact, much more still than was said here. A thousand flaws destroyed the empire, a thousand miseries made up its life. And all, in the end, came to naught. The proud spawn castles today are crumbling ruins, passed on by noobs on their way to safer lands. The city is bathed in flowing red streams, and none of the glimmers of glory that ever danced across it remain there today. The great dead empire has come to nothing, except, I hope, for a good story.