Betaways Project

Overview

This page is the official hub for the core team of directors to display information, plans, progress, and other details regarding the execution of the Betaways Project. We are updating this wiki page as we collect new information, make decisions, and seek players for teams. It is intended to give the playerbase of PVC a cohesive, easily-understood guide to the project; we hope to provide transparency and promote involvement with the community that this project is ultimately intended to benefit.

The Project

This poster was created by *AnD1584 to showcase the core features of the Betaways.

What?

The Betaways are an infrastructure project that will span the distance of the Betalands and give safe, reliable egress all the way from the Hyperloop out to the newest area of the map which will, along with a second ring of farlands, be generated 1.18-style. It was proposed by Neme on Feb 4, 2022 as a way of bringing the community together and ensuring access to the newest lands the server has to offer.

Why?

The PVC world is about to update to Minecraft version 1.18, adding a new area around the edges of the current map. That obviously means new features, new blocks, new items- and new land generation. Undoubtedly, it’s an exciting prospect, and we all want to explore it as soon as possible. But this is PVC, where we don’t teleport unless we’re performing modmin duties, so the question is… how do we get out there?

It has been confirmed that no further admin-made transportation infrastructure will be developed in the newer parts of the map. They will keep expanding the existing infrastructure of the original map; the Hyperloop and all three railway rings will be improved upon as needed. New connections may be added as well, but nothing outside the first farlands ring will feel the touch of an admin’s tools. This decision was made in the spirit of promoting player-made projects and community collaborations, leaving it up to the players who call PVC home to come up with solutions.

The Betalands are especially dangerous for new, unwary, or unskilled players; to preserve that thrilling experience for those who like a challenge, all the current hard survival mode rules will remain in place there after the map expansion. Among other things: elytra will still be useless, sprinting impossible, unnatural light sources untenable… to top it all off, the mobs in this area are more numerous, often stat-buffed, and capable of grievous injury to the unprepared. Thus, a plan was born to build and maintain the Betaways to ensure that anyone can enjoy the newly generated lands on the outer edges of the world- regardless of equipment and skill level!

When?

The update and expansion has happened! We got the functional iceroad portion of the Betaways done, but it's imperative that this project stays on course and we finish as soon as possible! If you are interested in helping with a particular task, ask the direction team member in charge of that division about joining their team.

The project is well underway and all of the main ice has been placed as of Feb 15, 2022, along with the glass panes for rails. Discussion has concluded about the design of the basic functional portion of the roads, and the basic structural design has been finalized. The next task is to officially kick off the building phase, which happened in the first weekend of April 2022.

Where?

The plan is to build four iceways from the first farlands ring out through the second. There will be one in each cardinal direction of the map, centered on the axis lines. They connect to the Outer Ice Loop at or as close to the axis as possible.

Betaway Placement as seen on Dynmap

Betaways Placement Plan

Betaway Direction	Name	Entry Gate Coordinates	Proposed Exit Gate Coordinates	Start Date	Structurally Completed	Aesthetically Completed
North		0, -7224		Feb 12, 2022	May 2, 2022
East		7020, 0		Feb 15, 2022
South		-248, 7378		Feb 15, 2022
West		-7240, -10		Feb 15, 2022

Who?

There is a core team of eight individual players who have come together to spearhead this project; their usernames are marked with a blue star tag both in-game and on the PVC Discord server. They have each taken a leading role in making the Betaways a reality, and their duties are detailed below. An * denotes a player who uses the Bedrock version of Minecraft.

No one else was online after all.

• Arpegio1358531 - Project Supervisor
• *AnD1584 - South Team Director
• *Akrianos - North Team Director
• *PhoenixJoe69 - East Team Director
• *Ashplayz7296 - West Team Director
• *Teleportxcraft - Materials
• *Scaliedog - Records & Public Relations

Several players on the direction team will be building a team to help with their department’s tasks. It expected that everyone will have a hand in laying the blocks for the Betaways, but the work done by the Directors will be much more than that. Not everyone who wants to help will need to make a major commitment to the project, as all players have lives outside of PVC, and we are a widespread bunch.

Betaways Project Team Rosters

Division	Director	Timezone	Preferred Contact Method	Main Duties	Team Roster	Project Headquarters
Supervision	Arpegio1358531	GMT -5	Discord Ping	Supervise and maintain focus among the Direction Team
North	HippoTheGamer *Akrianos	Both GMT +1 (CET)	Discord Ping or PM	Planning and construction of the northern Betaway Determine design materials needed Maintain supply storage Report progress periodically	*NeoAndersen666 Xx_420Shrek69_xX CrazyEyeOah Mimmeke	HQ located at -27, 64, -7367.
East	*PhoenixJoe69	GMT	Discord Ping	Planning and construction of the eastern Betaway Determine design materials needed Maintain supply storage Report progress periodically	*acekillerboss Flatbandit/*flatbandit *Dionaea2 MarineLyric65 Haiioimisolde	HQ located at 7585, 65, 90.Nether Portal: 900, 70, -5
South	*AnD1584	GMT +3	Discord Ping or PM	Planning and construction of the southern Betaway Determine design materials needed Maintain supply storage Report progress periodically	AzureHorizon10 *HunterOcelot27 BluePenquin *RedTea666Pro *OwO123456tvy	HQ located at -250, 7540Nether portal: -34, 880
West	*Ashplayz7296	GMT	Discord PM or /mail in-game	Planning and construction of the western Betaway Determine design materials needed Maintain supply storage Report progress periodically	*Megan185 *Thomasplayz2011 *longboi2009 Pikaroll Ellybeean Flatbandit/*flatbandit	HQ located at -7500, 62,-115
Materials	*Teleportxcraft	GMT +3	Discord Ping	Source materials needed for project Source player supplies	*LarryTLlama *DastenV0n	Donation Center in the Mats HQ, located at -119,-113 in Cobbletown.
Supply Chain	*Teleportxcraft	GMT +3	Discord Ping	Create routes and stashes for project materials Build and lead team dedicated to moving materials and supplies to construction sites	*LarryTLlama *DastenV0n
Records	*Scaliedog	GMT -5 (EST)	Discord Ping or PM	Create and maintain wiki page Maintain and update material lists Maintain and update team rosters Record player involvement and contribution lists
PR	*Scaliedog	GMT -5 (EST)	Discord Ping or PM	Market the project Communicate updates and progress Answer FAQs Place info signs at building sites Convey inquiries to the rest of the Director Team Determine player supplies needed such as tools, food, rest areas, and defenses
Decorative/Aesthetic Design				Determine final designs for each Betaway Create and finalize block palettes for same Coordinate with construction teams to teach or create building techniques as necessary to achieve desired look
Terraforming				Remove obstacles and terrain that would impede the build Flatten out ground level as needed for access pillars Lay groundwork for access bases Transport excess materials to storage

How?

Carefully, and with great enthusiasm :)

There are a few guidelines that must be followed in order to ensure that the Betaways can be used safely and easily by any player who wishes to travel them. When designing the basic form of the roads, the following elements have been considered imperative:

• Color schemes are betalands style, but with accents to match the nether hubs. This will create continuity between the various worldwide travel infrastructure as well as make it easy to know where you are on the map.
• Lava or sea pickles for light- due to Betalands difficulty restrictions, these are the only light sources available for mobproofing the build.
• Access points every 100-200 blocks: Intended to drive away the need for tall, ugly towers connecting the road to the ground in a pinch, this precaution also makes the terrain underneath the road a tiny bit safer due to the light.
• Two rails, one for each direction of travel is a tried-and true way to avoid players engaging in an impromptu session of bumper-cars.
• A small palette and number of mats makes it easy to acquire the materials needed for the most important part of the build.
• Easy to build: This is self-explanatory- easy builds are faster to get up and running for everyone to use!

The Plan

Central storage for this project is at Cobbletown!

Officially, construction is going well on this project. There is an established storage area at -119, -113. For information on what we're gathering to store there, have a look at the material lists below. If you have items to donate or need to request access, contact *Teleportxcraft or *Scaliedog. Each team has a headquarters building near the inlands beginning of each Betaway, with storage specifically for that road's needs. The location of each is noted in the team roster table above.

Material Lists and Requirements

Player Supplies

The direction team intends to equip most or all of its team members and their divisions with all or most of the items each player will need to successfully help with construction on the roads. These items may include:

• Chainmail Armor (8 sets available as of May 2, 2022)
• Iron Tools (2 sets available as of May 2, 2022)
  • Pick
  • Axe
  • Shovel
  • Sword
• Food (In-progress)
  • Bread (270 stacks available)
  • Golden Carrots (27 stacks available)
  • Cake?(!)

Required Materials

The ice farm at Project Celdenge is now available for public use!

Betaways Basic Functional Materials

Basic Infrastructure (All Betaways)
Material	Components & Uses	Stacks Needed/Acquired		Purpose	Mission Accomplished?
Shulker Box		Lots!	3.5	Transport Goods
Packed Ice		1610	1610	Road base
Cobblestone		Many!	2034	Building Material
	Stone Bricks		46
	Stone		945
	Cracked Stone	2952	3321	Basic Structure
	Cobblestone Wall	1428
	Cobblestone Slab	656
	Lever	44	12
Terracotta		102	162	Accent Block
Ladder		26	26
	Logs	74	2
Powered Rails			756	Transportation Automation
	Gold Ingot
	Redstone Dust
	Sticks
Iron Ingot		11	12	Making Rails, Buckets, etc.
	Bucket	20		Carry Water and Lava
	Lava	Lots!		Super smelter fuel Light
	Sea Pickle	238	272	Light
Scaffolding		Many!	108	Construction site access and player safety
	String
	Bamboo
Glass		810	898	Create panes for iceway borders
	Panes			Keep players from falling to their dooms
Crying Obsidian			13.5
Blackstone			17
Dried Kelp Block		148		Super smelter fuel

XXX**NORTH NAME TO BE DETERMINED**XXX

North Betaway Materials
Material	Components/Uses	Amounts Needed/Acquired		Purpose	Mission Accomplished?
Green Dye				Northern Panes Northern Terracotta
	Cactus			Make Green Dye

XXX**EAST NAME TO BE DETERMINED**XXX

East Betaway Materials
Material	Components/Uses	Amounts Needed/Acquired		Purpose	Mission Accomplished?
Yellow Dye				Eastern Panes Eastern Terracotta
	Dandelion			Make Yellow Dye

XXX**SOUTH NAME TO BE DETERMINED**XXX

South Betaway Materials
Material	Components/Uses	Amounts Needed/Acquired		Purpose	Mission Accomplished?
Pink dye				Southern Panes Southern Terracotta
	Bones			White dye
	Poppy			Red Dye

XXX**WEST NAME TO BE DETERMINED**XXX

West Betaway Materials
Material	Components/Uses	Amounts Needed/Acquired		Purpose	Mission Accomplished?
Blue Dye				Western Panes Western Terracotta
	Lapis Lazuli			Make Blue Dye

FAQ

On The New 1.18 Land

• When is the update happening? We didn't know, and did not expect to be getting a date for it- but it's here! It's still a big task to add something like this to an existing server. There are bound to be a lot of kinks to work out; a deadline is not conducive to doing it well.
• So will I have to enter the betalands to get to the new 1.18 land? Yes. As of now, the only way to get to 1.18 lands is by traveling across the betalands, and the only safe way to get there will be these roads.
• Does the new 1.18 generated land will have betaland rules? No. The betalands are betalands, an area in between the old farlands and the 1.18 farlands ring.
• There will be a new farlands? Yes, the update generated a new ring of farlands outside the current betalands, generally called the fartherlands.

On The Construction Plans

• How were the building areas be decided? Neme admin-claimed the areas required to build each pathway before construction started.
• What if the Admins' claim overlaps mine? If a build isn't in the trajectory of the Betaways, it won't be touched. If it is, we will contact you and find a way around it. If it's going to be overclaimed we will make sure you have access at least to that part.
• How much oversight will the owners/mods be having on these pathways? Staff will make sure no grief happens to the Betaways and manage members of the claims and claim size. Absolutely zero admin-made stuff will be used, however.
• Were the Betaways built before expansion or when expansion happens? The basic, functional structure was built before, and is being detailed after. That's why we need help!
• Why aren't there diagonal paths from corner to corner? These would be, in Neme's own words, a pain to claim. For infrastructure's sake, the Direction Team is planning to carry on with building the cardinal Betaways. We can then use the knowledge gained from that to decide whether and how to link up the diagonal directions later on.
• What are the betalands restrictions that will be in effect on the Betaways? Refer to The Betalands guide.

On The Relationship With Existing Infrastructure

• How will the nether function from existing farlands to 1.18 generation? Will portals become possible in the Betalands? At this time, we are not 100% sure about the nether, as it depends on world sizes. Nether must be smaller than overworld, but aside from that portals outside the nether core will still be prevented. The nether portals will probably be too far out to be used to go to the 1.18 lands due to the way the game restricts them.
• Will the Betaways connect to any other roads? It is expected that the Betaways will link up to the Iceway ring, at the very least. Other connections are yet to be determined.

On Ways To Help

• Why is X section empty on the team roster table? We have not yet delegated that task to someone. Will it be you?
• How can I get involved? First, check out The Betaways Discord (coming soon). You can also get in touch with *Scaliedog or, if you have your heart set on a particular Betaway or division you want to help with, contact the relevant Director using the methods indicated on the Roster Table above. The same goes with donations of materials.
• What do I need to be able to help? The first answer to that is time. Not everyone has the ability to make a huge commitment to this project, but even placing  a few blocks while construction is going on will go a long way. Other than that, you will have to build in iron armor, using iron tools. We will use a lot of scaffolding as well.
• How do I know when and where construction is actively going on? If you are part of a team, your team Director may create and maintain a schedule of when construction is expected; this information will be made available on this wiki page as well as announced in the hub on the official PVC discord when possible. Other than that, we may plan and host build parties where everyone can come and work on something all at once.
• How do I get to a construction zone? Do I have to live there? No, you don't have to live there. We are currently working out the best ways for you to get there and help. Keep an eye on this space!

On the future of the Betaways

• Who is going to maintain the roads once they are done? The only people with long-term responsibility will be the Direction Team, and others can fill in gaps and maybe take on long-term if they wish to and demonstrate reliability.