Spawn Region
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Excluding the protected 63x63 area surrounding the world's origin, the term spawn can also refer to the area extending thousands of blocks from the world's center. There is nuance in the exact definition of the word, specifically to how far out this region extends, with some players suggesting that the area extends as far as 100,000 blocks out from the origin. Despite the lack of a strict definition, most players agree that spawn is distinguished by its heavily destroyed landscape, innumerable lavacasts, and the danger that comes from exploring this area of the map.
History
Attempts At Restoration
In defiance of the natural tendency of spawn to deteriorate, many players such as Pippenger have led massive efforts to transform spawn into a civilized, easier-to-survive place. Under the banner of The Empire, many towns were constructed, all using the Imperial Architectural style. New players were systematically fed and clothed, and a vast amount of work was put into improving the infrastructure of the spawn area.
Even after the dissolution of The Empire, many still continue this tradition of building spawn cities today, even mimicking the architectural style of the old cities.
Griefing
Groups such as the first and Second Siege, YeeterMyPeeter, and Negative Karma have all dedicated time to intentionally destroying the spawn region.
Features
Landscape
Regardless of their intent, the sheer number of players traversing this area over the years has led to the landscape being completely barren. It is difficult to find any foliage within a thousand blocks of the world's origin. Creeper holes litter the landscape, and because of this, death from falling is a constant demise for new players. Nearest to the world's center, the entirety of the earth has been destroyed down to the bedrock level. It isn't uncommon to find withers stalking these caverns.
Bases are also a common sight within spawn, though the vast majority of them are mere bunkers built by new players in order to collect gear, then move to somewhere safer. However, there are several large projects built by more experienced players that act as communal gathering places for both noobs and older players. Many bases such as Eden were built in a time when their location was considered far from spawn, but as time progressed and travel in the spawn region became easier, these bases became impossible to hide, and practically became public bases as a result.
Chunk Errors
Due to SimPVP undergoing many updates that have changed its land generation, there are numerous chunk errors around spawn. These are easily identified by a typically flat appearance, or sudden biome change. Over the years, many players have chosen to build bases in these chunks due to their unique appearance.
In May of 2022, it was announced a plug-in would be used to delete chunks to free up the server's disk space. While the heavy restrictions applied mostly to elytra trails generated by players far from spawn, this plug-in also restored some of the chunks in the spawn area. Because of this, it is not uncommon to see chunk formations with modern structures (kelp oceans, modern villages, new biomes) adjacent to chunks that have remained the same since 2011. These new chunks are typically only generated diagonally next to each other.
Lavacasts
Lavacasts are large triangular structures made from cobblestone, made by continuously pouring water onto lava. They have always existed in some form on the server, an early example being Infam0us2's mountains.
Since the beginning of the Second Burning Age, lavacasts became a more common sight around spawn, with dedicated griefing groups like YeeterMyPeeter devoting several hours to building them. Groups such as The Siege also built lavacasts with the explicit purpose of making it more difficult for players to survive their escape from spawn. Many of these newer lavacasts extend all the way to the world's height limit, covering hundreds of blocks.
Outside of the immediate spawn area, lavacasts can still be found at many public bases such as Tamarisk and Castle Snowfrog.
Highways
Highways extending in each cardinal direction have existed in some form for the majority of spawn's existence. No sole person is responsible for these roads, but instead they are typically maintained either through the effort of a group or through multiple individuals. The roads closest to the world origin are typically the best maintained, usually made with obsidian in order to prevent griefing. Though as one gets further from the origin, the roads will diminish severely in quality, turning from obsidian into stonebrick, then into a conglomerate of blocks until the end.
Along with each of the cardinal directions, highways have also been constructed in all diagonal directions, though these tend to be of lower quality and don't extend as far due to the tedious nature of their construction.
