Server History
Simplicity PvP is a survival Minecraft server which has existed since April 2011. The server was created by Yukarion for the purpose of uninhibited player versus player combat. Griefing, killing, stealing, and scamming are not only allowed, but encouraged. The only thing forbidden is hacking. Despite these unforgiving conditions, the server has developed a strong community, and players have cooperated to form large teams and create immense structures.
The First Era
Prehistory
The server began on April 23, 2011. In the early days, PvP [1] was very common, and there was little focus on construction. Players rarely ventured more than a few thousand meters from spawn. The map was reset on September 15th, 2011, eliminating all traces of this era from the server. Yet even without leaving any physical remnants, this was a formative period in the culture of the server, and the time when many major players made their first appearances.
Both the world files and a cartographic map of the 1.7 map can be downloaded as torrents.
Eden and the Dawn of Civilization
In late September 2011, construction began on the first significant project of the server, a large ocean base called Eden. Ten players joined together to create and defend the base, at the time an unprecedented feat of both diplomacy and engineering.
The leaders and principal architects were BoxyLiz and LittleBoxOfEmo. Though neither play on the server today, their legacy lives on. Eden remains one of the most well known and respected bases of Simplicity PvP.
Other players who helped with the project include EricCMiller, Lavadude42, mitte90, frejeban, LaughingMan, worldruler086, LoneSoldier55, and Gygantorz.
Many of these players went on to play important roles in later bases and teams across the server.
In November 2012, Eden was tragically betrayed and griefed by one of its residents, Worldruler086, and the base was abandoned. However, it was not known at the time who griefed Eden, so Worldruler086 was allowed to stay on the team.
After the destruction of Eden, most members of the team, including BoxyLiz, LittleBoxOfEmo, Lonsoldier55, and Worldruler086, went on to construct a new base, Avalon.
After only a few months, Avalon was also abandoned, when its location was compromised.
The team left Avalon and began work on a new base, The Hive, intending to surpass their previous constructions. After completing the Hive, many members of the team became inactive on the server, having grown tired of griefers.
The last bases that BoxyLiz and LittleBoxOfEmo took part in were Kashyyyk and Damocles, which were mainly built by RevStoningpot.
Castle Snowfrog
Roughly concurrent with the rise and fall of Eden was the birth of a new base, Castle Snowfrog. An immense cobblestone castle only a few thousand meters from spawn, it has been a fixture of the server for years.
Unlike nearly all other bases from the era, Castle Snowfrog is still inhabited, and is periodically repaired by its owner, snowfrog43.
World Border and PvP World
During this era, many players began moving farther from spawn to attain greater safety. This had a negative impact on the server community as a whole, however, because it reduced player interaction and cohesion. A vote was held on the forum, and on December 26th, 2011, a 5k world border was implemented. Players already outside of the border were allowed to remain outside, but those inside who attempted to break out were given a temporary ban as a deterrent. The border helped, but most players found it overly restrictive. As a complromise, the border was eventually removed, and a new feature was added called the PvP World. Now, by typing /world, players can teleport to a small area intended for trade and PvP, allowing them to interact with distant players. Though /world, as it's called, is far from vanilla, it has proven to be a popular feature and remains implemented to this day.
The Second Era
Valhalla
The second era began with the founding of Valhalla in late 2012 by MisterStrawman.
Strawman was accompanied by DakkaDok, Deflowvesper, Infam0us, Skaterhan1, and IMMERONE. Together, they constructed one of the most advanced bases the server had yet seen. It boasted iron farms, a gold farm, an enderman farm, and other impressive achievements.
Like most bases on the server, Valhalla was eventually raided when griefers discovered the coords. It is commonly believed that it was Skaterhan1 who betrayed the base, but the details are still unknown, and he denies involvement with the raid. After the fall of his base, Strawman was absent from the server for several years.