HelloMiners Community Rules

Luc · July 30, 2021, 3:26pm

GAMEPLAY RULES & POLICIES

(A) Universal Policies

VI. New Players

· New Players are defined as a player who joined within the last 60 days.

VII. Eyesores

· Eyesore rules apply to buildings in both government and private cities.

· We do not expect every build to be a masterpiece, however, it should look reasonably appealing while considering the surrounding area.

· Eyesores are judged by staff members and city staff.

· When there is any dispute, the staff team will decide whether an eyesore is valid.

· When deeming a build an eyesore, the following requirements must be met:

· A sign must be placed on the plot, indicating the problem with the plot, and the day the notice expires.
· An in-game mail must be sent to the owner(s), notifying them they have received an eyesore notice and must include the plot’s region name.
· Plot owners must be given at least 2 weeks to make progress on the build in accordance with the notice. When there are disputes over progress, staff will decide whether sufficient progress was made.
· If sufficient progress is not made, the owners will lose the land.
· Photos showing the plot, the notice sign, and proof that a mail was sent must be taken at the time the notice is given. The photo must include the server chat.
· Photos showing the plot on the date the eyesore notice expires must also be taken to be used as proof for an eviction to be approved. The photo must include the server chat.
· If a plot owner is notified via external methods such as Discord, it is only a courtesy and is not required.

· Private city owners must follow these requirements and may choose to enforce stricter eyesore rules if they are disclosed in their approved city rules.

VIII. Inactivity

· Inactivity is universally defined as a player being online for less than one hour per 30-day period.

· A player’s activity is determined by the /isactive command.

· For regions with multiple owners, a co-owner may be evicted if they meet the inactivity period requirements for that region.

· When a player is banned, they may be evicted from a region if their ban time is equal to or longer than the necessary period to be considered inactive for that region.

IX. Land Value

· Wild: F10 per block in surface area to purchase from the Government, F5 per block in surface area to sell back to the Government.

· Government Cities: F50 per block in surface area.

· Private City: F5 per block in surface area.

· When starting a private city, city owners must purchase at least 50 000 blocks in surface area.
· City owners will be required to pay F10 per block, however, once the city has been approved, they can request a refund of F5 per block of surface area.

X. Apartments

· The minimum rent duration allowed for an apartment is 30 days.

· New players may only rent apartments.

· A new player is a player who joined the server within the last 60 days.
· In Government cities, new players may not be charged more than F12 per month per block of apartment floor surface area.
· In private cities, new players may not be charged more than F10 per month per block of apartment floor surface area.
· A new player may not be charged more than F2500 for apartments of any size or rental duration.

· Apartments may be sold only to players who are not new.

· If a player wishes to sell apartments, they must be given permission from a staff member first to approve the specific apartment rules.
· The staff member must leave a locked sign on the main floor of the apartment indicating permission was granted to sell apartments.

· Standard apartment rules are enforced by default for every apartment building on the server, and are as follows:

· No dripping liquids through the floor. (No placing water or lava)
· No nether portals in the apartment.
· No farm animals in the apartment.
· No chest shops inside the apartment.
· No griefing pre-existing interior blocks of the apartment before leaving.
· Apartment building owners may choose not to enforce one or more of these rules, and a rule board should be posted indicating which rules are being enforced.
· Apartment building owners may not enforce any other rules besides those listed above.

· All apartments, whether rented or sold, are eligible to be evicted if the tenant/buyer has been inactive for 2 months or the time posted in the apartment building, whichever is longer.

· This type of eviction must be done by a staff member, apartment building owners may not remove a player from an apartment without a staff member.
· For apartments that were rented, a refund will be given based on the remaining time left on the lease.
· For apartments that were sold, a refund of F3 per block in surface area will be provided by the building owner.

XI. Lag Rules

· Farms and machines may not have a significant impact on server performance.

· No more than 250 animals are allowed per farm.

· It is not allowed to use any method to avoid the automatic away from keyboard kick while not actively playing.

· Cargo networks may not contain more than 100 storage containers.

· It is not allowed to use any method to ensure chunks are permanently loaded.

· It is strongly encouraged to use barrels in place of chests wherever possible, and display blocks by physically placing them instead of using item frames.

XII. Copyright Rules

· Any company name that is used on the server is automatically “trademarked”.

· No company may have the same or similar name.
· If a company has no presence on the server and the owner is inactive for more than one year, the trademark is no longer valid.

· Building designs that are built in HelloMiners are also automatically “copyrighted.”

· No one may build the same or similar building in HelloMiners without the permission of the original designer.

· It is not allowed to use a real company name for a company in HelloMiners.

XIII. Historic Landmarks

· Historic Landmarks must be at least two years old and have significant meaning to the whole community.

· Historic buildings are denoted by an iron block and are decided by the staff team.

· Players may suggest landmarks on the forums.

· It is not allowed to alter a historic landmark without receiving permission from an Administrator.

XIV. Nether & End Regions

· Nether Tunnels

· City Tunnel requests should be made in a reply to this topic. Private Tunnel requests can be made in-game with a helpme.
· Regioning over another approved tunnel is not advised. Speak with the owner of the tunnel that is in your way to work things out.
· Nether tunnel regions cannot be expanded vertically. Players must mark out the length, width, and height of the nether tunnel region before making a ticket.
· If two regions overlap horizontally, the owner of the newer tunnel region cannot alter the existing tunnel, they must build above or below it.
· If your portal destination is closer to a private tunnel than a government tunnel in the grid, it is advised to ask the private tunnel owner for a connection, and vice versa.

· Nether Private regions

· The area below the bedrock is now available for farming and regioning without any applications, simply make a helpme.
· Regions can be expanded to a maximum height of the nether ceiling (Y 127). Staff have the ability to easily do this in helpmes with /netherexpandvert.

· The End

· The land where the obsidian towers are in The End may not be purchased.

(B) Government Cities

· Government cities are managed by the staff team and city employees under the direction of the staff team.

· New projects may not be undertaken without direction or approval from the city mayor.

· If the city mayor is not a member of the staff team, new projects must first receive approval from an Administrator.

· Government city plot limitations:

· Players and Companies may not be listed as an owner or member on more than three plots in each government city/HelloClan City district.

· Government City maximum plot size:

· River City: 1500 blocks
· Valley City: 1500 blocks
· Crystal Bay: 1000 blocks
· Swamp City: 1000 blocks
· Central HelloClan City: 1500 blocks
· Northern HelloClan City: 1000 blocks
· Western HelloClan City: 3500 blocks
· HelloHills: 10000 blocks

· Special Government City Rules:

· West City:

· Builds must be approved by staff (via discord ticket or forums) before altering the plot.

· HelloHills:

· Builds must be approved by staff (via discord ticket or forums) before altering the plot.
· Land Value is F80 per block
· Players may not be listed as an owner on more than one plot.
· Players may expand their plots at the listed land value; but they are not to expand past the HelloHills protection region.

· Merging plots is only allowed with approval from an Administrator.

· When merging plots in a government city, the merged plot must be named in a way that indicates which two plots were merged (i.e. rivercityplot1_and_2)

· Plots in government cities are not allowed to contain resource-intensive farm or redstone machines, mob/villager farms of any kind, or slimefun contraptions aside from elevators and holograms

· Plot owners may request a temporary region in front of their plot to place signage, chestshops, banners and heads, providing this does not significantly interfere with the city regions or other plots and is relevant to their build. Additional billboard space outside of the plot area is at the discretion of the city mayor.

XV. Government City Evictions

Eyesores

· Buildings do not all need to be architectural masterpieces, but must be reasonably appealing.

· Eyesores are judged by the staff team and city employees.

· If there is ever uncertainty whether a building is an eyesore, the staff team will assess the building and reach a verdict.

· When a building is deemed to be an eyesore it will be given a notice, and the Eyesore process outlined in Section VI must be followed.

· The eviction must be posted to its appropriate city eviction topic.

· The height of a skyscraper cannot be greater than six times the length of the shortest side of the base of the building.

· The building will be deemed an eyesore if this is not followed.

· Regions within 200 blocks of a Government city may be subject to city eyesore rules.

Inactivity

· Plot owners of Government city plots who are inactive for 4 months may be automatically evicted.

· River City Warp Plot owners who are inactive for 3 months may be automatically evicted.

· If a plot has multiple owners, any owner who is inactive for 4 months may be evicted.

· All Government city plots must be actively used. For a plot to be considered actively used, it must meet at least one of the following conditions (except for plots meant for homes):

· There must be apartments available for rent on most floors if the plot is a skyscraper.
· There must be at least one chestshop per 20 blocks of the plot’s surface area, and the chest shops must be sufficiently stocked.
· The plot must have shop space(s) available for rent at a reasonable price.
· Anything else reasonably determined as “actively used” by the staff team.

· If a plot does not meet at least one of these conditions, it will receive a notice in accordance with the Eyesore process in Section VI.

· River City Plot owners must be actively involved with the plot in order to be included when determining the activity of plot owner(s) e.g., if a plot is a skyscraper, each owner must have a suitable proportion of stocked shops and/or apartments for rent in their name. If any owner(s) of a plot are not deemed actively involved in the plot by staff, then the plot may be evicted due to inactivity excluding those owner(s).

(C) Private Cities

· Private cities are owned and operated by players in the community.

· Private cities have their own independent city rules and are managed by the city owners and any hired managers.

· Private city approvals are the responsibility of the City Department and requests should be made in the “City Applications” forums category.

XVI. Tiers

· City tiers are classifications for private cities.

· There are incentives and rewards for private cities to increase their tier classification, as listed below.
· Cities can apply for a higher tier when all requirements are met for that tier.

· All cities are automatically classified under the tier system.

· New cities must meet the Tier 1 requirements to be approved, in addition to being generally aesthetically pleasing, as determined by the Private City Department.

Tier 1: Settlement

Requirements:

· City size: 50,000 blocks
· 2 Public Buildings
· 1 Public Park
· Adequate city lighting
· The majority of streets are at least the standard 3-block wide size.
· Access via nether tunnel connection, highway, or railway
· City Hall
· At least 10 plots, each sized at least 5x5, outlined to sell once approved.
· A city name - one that is not already taken by an approved city
· A city rule board that plots must adhere to, which is approved by the city department and locked by a member of staff

Rewards:

· Tier 1 Item
· Ability to build a train station
· Ability to create and sell plots
· City flag icon indicated on the server map
· F5/block refund and F5 per block expansion rate
· Mob-spawning deny flag
· Ability to build an airport and connect to other private cities

Tier 2: Village

Requirements:

· City size: 100,000 blocks
· 4 Public buildings
· 2 Public parks
· No more than 4 eyesores for the entire city
· All Tier 1 requirements

Rewards:

· Tier 2 Item
· Ability to connect an airport to the HMIA

Tier 3: Town

Requirements:

· City size: 150,000 blocks
· 6 Public buildings
· 3 Public parks
· International Airport
· No more than 6 eyesores for the entire city
· All Tier 2 requirements

Rewards:

· Tier 3 Item
· Ability to build a subway/dock system
· Ability to change biome

Tier 4: Metropolis

Requirements:

· City size: 200,000 blocks
· 8 Public buildings
· 4 Public parks
· Stadium/Sporting Venue
· Use of intracity subway/dock system
· No more than 8 eyesores for the entire city
· All Tier 3 requirements

Rewards:

· Tier 4 Item
· Cities can have up to 4 landmarks on the server map

Tier 5: Megacity

Requirements:

· City size: 300,000 blocks
· 10 Public buildings
· 5 Public parks
· No more than 10 eyesores for the entire city
· All Tier 4 requirements

Rewards:

· Tier 5 Item
· Ability to apply for a mob shrine
· Smaller cities within 500 blocks of the city’s borders can join if both parties agree.
· Cities can have up to 6 landmarks on the server map

Tier 6: Independent State

Requirements:

· City size: 500,000 blocks
· 10 Public buildings
· 6 Public parks
· No more than 10 eyesores for the entire city
· All Tier 5 requirements

Rewards:

· Tier 6 Item
· Your city is now classified as a state
· States can have up to 10 landmarks on the server map
· Ability to make a colony.

XVII. Tier Definitions

· Public Building: Buildings that are owned and managed by the city, and make up the infrastructure of the city. Examples: Train Station, Airport, City Hall, Stadium, Police Station, Fire Station, Library, Energy Plant, Theatre, Mall, Water Treatment Station, Job Center, Museum, Visitors Center,

· Train Station/Airport/Subway/Dock: Modes of transportation controlled by the infrastructure department.

· Public Park: an accessible grass area of more than 10x10 blocks, decorated with greenery (flowers, trees, shrubs, etc.)

· Standard Road Size: Three blocks wide, with one pavement/sidewalk block on either side

· Adequate City Lighting: Functional and well-designed lamp posts and lighting to illuminate the entire city at night

· Colony: Territories that are reserved for states, which are at least 500 blocks away from the state/city. Must function as a city, meeting the Tier 1 land size requirement, with plots and parks/public buildings. These must be approved by the City Department.

· Biome Change: A city can apply to have areas of their city changed to a specific biome, within reason. Banned biomes: Flower Forest, Mushroom Island, Mushroom Island Shore, The End, Hell, Deep Ocean, The Void, Frozen Ocean, and Extreme Hills Edge.

· Server Icon/Landmark: Indicators of cities on the Server map. Cities are given the default ‘bighouse’ icon, but can request a flag/crest to be used instead. Landmarks can be any of these icons except for ‘bighouse’ (Private City Icon) and ‘building’ (Gov City Icon).

XVIII. Private City General Rules

· Private City Definition:

· A government-approved region of land with rules, dedicated to sell developed plots of land to players for commerce and residences.

· Private City Plot Rules:

· At least half of the plots are sold or available to rent or buy, through areashop signs or signs to contact an active city owner (<1 month inactive).
· A city with less than half of its plot regions sold/rented or for sale/rent is at risk of being unapproved (3 month eyesore notice).

· An unapproved city is not able to expand at F5 per block, sell plots, use any city transportation, have mob-spawning deny or have any of the benefits of an approved Private City.

· Redesigning a Private City:

· Redesigning most of an approved private city will require you to make a ticket in the discord to let city department staff give you a 3 month timeframe.
· They will check at the end of the timeframe to see if it still meets basic city
requirements from when the city was made.

XIX. Private City Evictions

· Private city evictions must be requested in a topic on the forums.

· A photo of the city rules, the plot name, the plot owners, and relevant photo evidence are required.
· Inactivity evictions do not require photos. Simply include the amount of time the owners were inactive in addition to the other required information.
· Evictions for violations of eyesore rules or other rules about the contents of the plot must follow the Eyesore process as outlined in Section VI.
· Please post eviction requests in the “Evictions” forum category, and please place photos in spoiler tags. ([details=”text here”] photo [/details])

· Eviction requests will be assessed based on reasonable interpretations of the rules, and of the progress that the player has made in addressing the notice.

· Players who have been inactive for more than 8 months may be evicted from a plot, regardless of a city’s inactivity rule.

· The evicted player may receive compensation from the city owner, of the amount that was originally paid.

· If it is unknown how much was originally paid, a standard F15 per block will be provided.

XX. Private City Size, Expansions & Outskirts

· City Size:

· The surface area of the main city region, any expansions, and buffers.

· The main city regions and any expansions primarily consist of plots, public buildings, intracity roads, and parks.

· Intercity roads and railways parented to the city are not included as counting toward the land value/size of the city.

· Cities can expand in four ways:

· Buying land adjacent to their borders.
· Buying the next closest island within 500 blocks, without needing to buy the body of water inbetween it.
· Possessing an approved city through mutual agreement/inactivity within 500 blocks, reserved for Tier 5 and 6 cities.
· Possessing an approved city through mutual agreement/inactivity 500 blocks away, reserved for Tier 6 cities.

· City expansions must be at least 5000 blocks.

· City expansions must NOT overlap the original city region OR any other expansion regions.

· Buffer Definition:

· Regioning the surrounding landscape of a city for preservation. A buffer does not need to be its own region.

· Approved private cities can reserve land adjacent to their city regions for F2 per block.

· This land will be owned by the Government, and the region will have no owners or members.
· City owners must pay the additional F3 per block within 3 months to be added as owners to the reserved land and it will become their property. If they do not, the land will be unregioned and they will not get a refund.

XXI. Claiming Inactive Cities

· Private Cities that become inactive enough (see city inactivity formula below) will fall into the government’s hands to be auctioned off on the forums, UNLESS:

· Another private city is within 200 blocks. That private city has the option to buy it at land value, or have the government demo or auction it.

· Multiple private cities are within 200 blocks.

· They can come to a mutual agreement concerning the city’s ownership.
· They can come to a mutual agreement for it to be demoed by the government.
· If no mutual agreement is reached, a majority of the city owners can choose to reach an agreement instead. If no agreement is reached this way, the city is auctioned by the government.

· Agreements can be made by opening a ticket on the discord with all of the involved city owners.

· The following formula is used to determine the amount of time that the private city owner must be inactive before the region becomes claimable:

· 90+SA^0.4 days, where SA is the surface area of the region.
· For example, if a region is 6x6 (36) blocks, you can buy it if the owner has been inactive for 90+36^0.4 = 90+4.19 = 94 days.
· To help calculate this, simply paste the formula in Google with the SA of the region. For the example above, type 90+36^0.4 in Google for the result.

(D) Wild

XXII. Inactivity Evictions

· Land owned by inactive players can be bought if they have been inactive for a period proportional to the size of the region.

· The following formula is used to determine the amount of time that the player must be inactive before the region becomes available:

· 90+SA^0.6 days, where SA is the surface area of the region.
· For example, if a region is 6x6 (36) blocks, you can buy it if the owner has been inactive for 90+36^0.6 = 90+8.58 = 99 days.
· To help calculate this, simply paste the formula in Google with the SA of the region. For the example above, type 90+36^0.6 in Google for the result.

· If a region owner is inactive for more than one year, the region may be evicted for inactivity regardless of its size.

· Multiple directly adjacent regions owned by the same player are treated as one region.

· Regions that are owned by the same player and are close together but not directly adjacent will be treated as separate regions.

· Inactive regions will be bought for the buy price of wild land, and the previous owner will receive compensation at the sell price of wild land.

· Any existing locks in the region can be removed by staff at the request of the new owner, and the new owner will also gain ownership of any chest contents.

XXIII. Regions

· Regions made in the wilderness must be at least five blocks by five blocks (5 x 5).

· When purchasing an inactive region larger than 4000 blocks in surface area, joint staff approval must be granted.

· Regions may not be created within 5 blocks of an existing region in the wilderness unless one or more of the following conditions apply:

· The owner of the existing region gives permission for the new region.
· The land is next to a government highway.
· There is a mob spawner within the 5 blocks.
· The mob spawner must only spawn entities within the region containing the spawner, and the region must only be used for purposes relevant to the spawner. The region can be a maximum of 15x15 in surface area.
· Staff may deny creating a region within 5 blocks of another region at their discretion.
· These conditions are not applicable within 200 blocks of a city.

· Regions may not be created within 200 blocks of a city. (Both private and Government)

· Regions within 200 blocks of a private city that predate the city are not allowed to expand their existing region towards any city within 200 blocks. They may expand away from the city/cities, if possible.
· Inactive regions within 200 blocks are treated as new regions to prospective buyers; in the event a player would like to buy it, the 200 block rule applies.

· It is not allowed to buy land over a large body of water, like lakes and oceans, unless building something reasonably expected to occur in a body of water.

· For example, buying land over water to build a boat, dock, or protect the coastline is permitted, while buying land over water to build a building that floats on or above the water is not permitted.
· If land is being purchased to construct an island or extend the coastline, the land must be fully terraformed and made to look natural.
· Guardian and Squid farms should be submerged under water, with exception to already existing farms - If the farm is sold to another player, the new owner must make changes to comply with the rule. Farms for other mob types are not permitted to be built in bodies of water.
· These rules do not apply to small bodies of water, like ponds.

· Regions made with the intention of trolling other players are not allowed.

· These include regions where it is evident that the intention is to prohibit expansion or send a negative message.
· These situations will be judged by the staff team and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Trolling punishments may apply.

· Special region flags are permitted in certain situations:

· ‘Entry deny’ for parts of a region with villager farms and/or stables.
· ‘Mob-spawn deny’ for cities
· ‘Deny-spawn zombie’ only for parts of a region with villager farms
· ‘Deny-spawn pig_zombie’ only for nether tunnels
· Other flags such as ‘Snow-fall deny’ may be permitted in certain situations.

· If land that is bought from the Government in the wilderness contains locked blocks, the locks can be removed by staff at the request of the new owner.