After spending a whole month offline, researching the features of skyblock servers through youtube, I have compiled a list of proposals which may be implemented in the event of a new skyblock server for Dogecraft. I hope that with some of these ideas, we may be able to see skyblock regain its popularity.
Main issue: The previous Skyblock is too short and easy, so people lose interest after the "honeymoon" period. Players were able to obtain OP mechanics too quickly, so gameplay became stagnant and the economy ended up being too inflated to be viable with other gamemodes.
Objectives: To make Skyblock more exciting and keep players playing for longer, it needs to be harder, near-endless/replayable and not too grindy.
Proposal 1
A new island type is earned once the first one is "completed", ie. reaching a certain material threshold, achieving a certain requirement, expanding the island to a certain size etc. The goal would be to unlock all the island variations (eg 5 islands to start, with more designs introduced as the server continues). Players would be able to use the resources of previously unlocked islands to develop the new ones (like residences)
Proposal 2 (conflicts with P1)
Island automatically resets after 1 month. Players may retain an inventory worth of stock from the old island before it is deleted. This will encourage players to strategise in order to earn good items, while preventing veterans from being too overpowered after a reset. This will also resolve issues with inactive players returning and starting again with their best tools intact. A different starter island per month (seasonally/zodiac themed) would be a good way to keep interest.
Proposal 3
No private spawners, due to encouraging afk grinding. Players may use eggs, natural spawns and breeding, and are encouraged to build "dark box" grinders that don't rely on spawners. Alternatively, non-afk free-range spawners are made public at /spawn (similar to those at /res grindingmobs or /res wheat). Egg stacks replace spawners in crates.
In the case of P2, include a mob capturing feature, to allow players to save their pets from island resets.
Proposal 4
On top of having a server shop that changes price according to total stock, make it rotate so that it buys/sells random goods. (eg. shop accepts wheat one day, but not the next). This will encourage building multiple farms for each resource for versatility, rather than focusing on a single farm that is expected to give the most profit. Also, shop access should be via multiple npc's in spawn (instead of just one), with a faster /shop gui available through paid ranks.
Proposal 5
Instead of a cobblestone ore generator (which encourages afk grinding), introduce public mines. Some existing examples include a dungeon of custom mobs that drop certain ores, ore blocks that respawn after a long cooldown, or a /resource world that consists of generated floating islands. Crates may contain more of these regular ores, that can be placed and mined for rare material drops. Cobblestone, stone and basalt generators work as vanilla.
Proposal 6
Starting a skyblock usually implies a challenge, with lack of flight and danger of losing all items to the void. Rather than have both keepinv and fly /goal available in the beginning, only allow them to be accessible after a certain rank is reached. (eg. a gate that prevents lower ranks from reaching the fly /goal box)
Proposal 7
An /rvisit function that allows players to randomly visit someone else's island (and sets themselves in adventure mode to prevent grief interaction). This can be used as a 'passport' feature where 5 islands must be visited per week for a reward, as well as encourages players to make their islands presentable for potential visitors.
Proposal 8
Nether and End access would depend on the proposal used.
For P1, have a different nether and end island for each overworld variation, so players can create portals on their island and access the corresponding nether/end.
For P2, each player receives only one nether island and one end island, which also resets every month.
Proposal 9 (compatible with P2)
After the monthly reset, all in-game ranks are reduced by 1 rank, with 50% /bal refund. This is so players have a goal to work towards, rather than obtaining the highest rank and feeling like they completed the game. /bal is kept so players can save up for maintaining their rank. If a player is inactive for too long, they may find their rank is back to beginners, but they still have a /bal as well as their inventory.
Proposal 10
To save on dimension space, islands of a certain type are in the same dimension, separated plot-wise with connecting bridges (like in old survival /market or /creative).
For P1, this means the first dimension is for the first island variation, second for the corresponding nether island, third for the end. Fourth dimension is for the second island variation, etcetera. A nether portal made in the first dimension will lead to the second dimension's nether island.
For P2, players are moved from one dimension with the original islands to the new dimension with blank islands, before the old dimension is removed.
Players may be able to earn/buy launchpads that will let them travel between neighbouring islands, or they can just walk to other islands if the bridges connect to them.
Proposal 11
For P1, if a player decides to reset one of their islands, there is a 1 month cooldown before they can reset the island again. This is to encourage players to resolve issues with their island before considering a reset, and to discourage rampant island harvesting (collecting free resources from a new island before resetting it)
For P2, the island resets every month anyway, so players cannot manually opt for a reset.
Proposal 12
The sellwand bypasses the store completely, thus making skyblock way too easy. If one is implemented, it must be balanced by limiting its usage, so that it is a consumable. It might also be a good idea to have different sellwands for different resource types, rather than a one wand sells all.
Proposal 13
An area in /spawn where players can easily collect a bucket of lava, literally the one resource that most beginner players keep losing due to accidentally creating obsidian. Either a villager npc that permanently sells it, a very obvious dispenser, or even a replenishing lava lake where you bring your own bucket.
Proposal 14
All players starting skyblock will be assigned their own island (as opposed to players going co-op). As far as history is concerned, co-op islands are harder to manage due to infighting between co-op players, players getting banned and taking inventories with them, or extreme island growth leading to a quick boring endgame.
Players can give permission to other players to be able to alter their islands, as long as the owning player is present. Overall, players are encouraged to prioritise their own islands, and if assistance is required, it should be given both ways.
Proposal 15
For players who are not keen on building, default structures could be purchased and spawned on the islands. These can range from templated land extensions, to various redstone mechanisms, to aesthetic buildings. If P1 is implemented, the structures would be available through the webstore. If P2 is implemented, the structures should be purchasable in-game.
If anyone has time, please comment which of the proposals you feel should be added to Skyblock, or if there are any other features you have noticed in other Skyblock servers that you think would be a good addition to our server. Please remember that we are aiming for a Skyblock with replay value, not one that is so overpowered that we finish too quickly and lose interest, so don't discount and suggestions that make Skyblock harder.