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The server is set roughly just before the 111th Birthday Party of Bilbo Baggins
The spawn location is Bagend, and the first location we will be visiting is Hobbiton
This video is intended to show the size of MCME, and to let you see the progress of the map thus far.
Because of this there will be no /warping, only flying to each location. The only exception being, Moria.
All buildings that you see on the server are fully furnished with lore-accurate materials, nothing is left untouched!
This is one of the few forests in the server to use Vanilla trees that are not edited by builders.
This building is where 'Ham' Gamgee, Samwise Gamgee's father, worked. Where he was known as 'The Gaffer'.
If you enjoy the music playlist, check the description for its information.
Back when MCME was started, Frogmorton was the first town ever built on the server.
In October 2014, MCME will celebrate its 4th anniversary of being online.
The Buckleberry Ferry, used by the Hobbits, is just beyond the render distance in this location.
Also viewable is the "Old Forest" where Tom Bombadil lives.
As you can see, most of the terrain has been made in World Painter.
Though it is edited further either by hand or VoxelSniper by the community if need be.
It takes quite a while to travel by air or foot to any location on MCME.
This is because the map is approximately 33,000 x 27,000 blocks.
It is one of the largest servers in the Minecraft community.
This version of Bree was completed in Summer of 2012 during the 'Shire Revamp'.
This occasion marked the beginning of a two year long process, that is still ongoing.
Where any old and dated builds were removed and replaced with more lore-accurate and better builds.
The process is nearing completion with Rohan nearly being finished.
Gondor is the next planned region to be built, starting in Spring 2014.
This is the Midgewater marshes, which extend about 200 blocks past the render distance.
It is where the Hobbits and Aragorn travel through before reaching Weathertop.
This is Weathertop in its completed form, though it has been through 3 changes since Summer of 2012.
The final version was a collaboration of Staff members and Builders.
We will be traveling via the Great East Road to Rivendell before departing and traveling South to Moria.
This region, like many on the server, is a mixture of both Tolkien lore and visual representations from the Film series.
Many new users always ask if the map is available for download, and the answer has always been, No.
This is to prevent anyone from claiming MCME builds as their own work...
...and the impracticality of making the map available for download.
Because the map is estimated to be anywhere between 10-15 Gigabytes large, which is more then most fully realized Games.
Here are the Troll Shaws where Bilbo and his company were captured by Trolls in The Hobbit.
Their exact location is unknown to me, but they are on the map. I have yet to find them, though.
The revamp that began in Summer 2012 was hastened after the implementation of the 2.0 map in Summer 2013.
This map is more accurate, proportion-wise, and saves the members time from editing everything by hand.
Several locations are still being edited by Staff like this terrain which has been edited in game. Everything is brought up to MCME standards.
Though many large locations are still done by hand, like this passage that leads to Rivendell.
Here is Rivendell, designed by SMtg and BevsforBros, completed in November 2012.
SMtg is sadly no longer with us, having left the server. But BevsforBros is one of the newest Valar we have.
The other being Credoo, who also helped in the design of the 2.0 map.
2 locations have been added to Rivendell since its completion.
These coincide with the Release of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.
And they are the path over the Misty Mountains to Mirkwood...
...and the Waterfall area where Elrond reads the Moon Runes to Bilbo and his company.
From here we will be navigating South along the Misty Mountains to Moria.
These are featured prominently in both the Books of Tolkien and the Film series.
Among its most famous inhabitants are Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, Gollum, and the Balrog of Morgoth.
The area between Rivendell and Moria is named 'Eregion', and it was inhabited by Elves in earlier times.
Several locations are in Eregion which are not shown in this video, such as Ost-In-Edhil.
That location was just recently completed in 2014, and is about to be ruined for lore-accuracy.
Though you will see many locations in this video, it only shows you a fraction of the map.
There are a hundred or more Shire-Towns to visit, and even more larger locations that are not shown in the video.
Anyone can participate in building on MCME with the approval of a Staff Member.
This occurs most frequently when Staff start a job, and guide members on what to do.
MCME hosts a seperate Freebuild server where you can hone your building skills with Themebuilds.
After completing 4 of these you can apply for builder status.
Though builder status is not needed to participate in jobs.
Builder status signifies a trustworthy person that is dedicated to the server.
They are trusted with more complex builds then normal members.
The Holly trees that you see in this region are all built by hand by member of the server.
This 'Watcher In The Water' was designed by our new Valar on the server, Credoo.
It will be refined later on.... (love you, Credoo :P )
And now we enter the Mines Of Moria.
Moria is the most dated location on the MCME server, and hasn't been touched since its completion.
It also lies on the old map, and is available for exploring only by /warp
The staff are currently deciding on whether to revamp it after the Shire revamp is completed.
Each passageway that you see in Moria leads to various halls and caverns.
It is very easy to get lost without knowing your way, or using a map.
This is the Inner Gates of Moria, and the Kings Way.
Here is one of the few places in Moria where light enters.
Hence its name, The Chamber of Light.
Most of Moria was cut out block by block by members of the server.
Only large caverns like this and a few others required the touch of VoxelSniper.
Through that door is the Throne Room, where Durin's Throne is located.
Though we will be taking the direct route through Moria, you will only see approximately half of its contents.
This is to save time for the video, as visiting each location via flight takes about two hours total.
We are now entering the Halls of Complexity.
It is important to know your way through this section, because its 20 maze-like hallways will strand you.
Numerous cave-ins and blockages are also a problem.
This is the Sunken hall, which marks the halfway point through Moria.
It is roughly 2,500 blocks into the 5,200 block wide Mines of Moria.
It also houses a Statue of Durin designed by Fawkes, which guards the tombs of fallen Dwarves.
Here are Durin's Crossroads...
...I have no memory of this place.
Always follow your nose!
Here are Goblin Tunnels, which are another maze to go through.
This cavern, the Eastern Rift, is the 2nd largest in Moria and connects to 3 large buildings.
This is the Great Forge, aptly named for its size and power!
Many locations in Moria are taken directly from the Lore available on Middle-Earth.
Though some are interpreted by our Staff for other purposes, like locations popular in the Film series.
Other locations are interpretations of what Moria would need to have that the Lore never mentioned.
like this next location...
This is the East Deep, a 2nd defense for the Dwarves should the Bridge of Khazed-Dum ever be taken.
This Goblin Tunnel is used by Thralls on the server who explore Moria, as they do not have access to fly.
This is the only updated hallway in Moria since its completion in 2011.
This hall was described by Tolkein as the largest Cut structure in Moria
It took the Fellowship 2 days to travel across it.
Here is the Chamber of Marzabul, which houses Balin's Tomb.
This is another, and the last Cavern in Moria which used VoxelSniper in its creation.
Moria was closed for 7 months in 2012 because lighting bugs would crash the server if people entered it.
This occured after Minecrafts height limit increased to 256 from 128 blocks.
The 2nd hall extends for another 500 blocks past the render distance seen in this video.
It is the largest hall in Moria, and connects to...
The Shaders have been turned back on, making it a little harder to see
This is the 1st hall in Moria, which connects to the East gate.
We are back on the new 2.0 map now, and looking at the Mirrormere.
It is said that Durin looked into this lake and saw his reflection with a crown of 7 stars above his head.
And so he created Khazed-Dum here, in the shadow of the mountains.
Like most of the forests in MCME, Lorien is completely hand-made.
We've switched texturepacks now, to accomodate viewing this location properly.
The server is so large that it takes 5 texturepacks to view it as it is intended.
They are; Eriador,Lothlorien, Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor.
Mordor, along with Gondor; has yet to be built on the Server.
Here is caras Galadhon, home of Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel.
It is much prettier and awe-inspiring at night.
Like the buildings of MCME each tree or Flet, is fully furnished with Lore-Accurate materials.
This is the meeting area where Galadriel and Celeborn had a council with the Fellowship as it passed through Lorien.
Our journey takes us South, along the Anduin river to Rohan.
Most of the coastline to the left is where the Forest of Mirkwood lays.
Mirkwoods trees have been built, but no spider infestations have been made. It lays just beyond the render distance of the video.
We have now switched texturepacks to Rohan, which is the last region we will be visiting in the video.
This is one of the largest and longest Rivers in Middle Earth, hence why the journey to Rohan takes so long.
Like most locations in MCME, the Anduin river was dug completely by hand.
It was only after digging out that Staff members came by with voxel to smooth the edges splattering gravel and sandstone.
As we pass into Rohan you will notice many places that are still under construction.
This is due to the 'Revamp' after implementing the 2.0 map in Summer of 2013.
Most of this construction is done by staff members on the server.
Though smaller areas that need fixing are sometimes fixed by ordinary members in Jobs.
This location on the Anduin is one such location, which is probably being Terraformed and then grassed later.
Up until recently all the patches of grass that you see were placed in Jobs by members of the Server
Now it is done with VoxelSniper by Staff to save time and hasten the Revamp.
Here we move into the Emyn Muil, which is a region of razer sharp rocks, according to Gimli.
Most of this location on the old map was also dug out by hand in jobs by hundreds of members.
This Argonath was completed on a build day, one statue by Stokie, a Staff member, and the other by members of the server.
Can you tell which? :P The statue on the right was built by members.
Here lies the area of Amon Hen, which is where the ending events of Fellowship of the Ring take place.
There on the hill is where Frodo hid from Boromir.
And here are The Falls of Rauros
The falls also signifies our entry into...
It is quite a journey to our next location, so now allow me to go over the ranks of the server
Every white-listed person starts off as a Thrall.
This person is free to explore the server, participate in jobs, and familiarize themselves with the rules.
The next rank is a Commoner.
This rank signifies a dedication to the server, and lets you have the ability to fly instead of a walk.
After that is Artist, or Builder, which as the name suggests are the main builders of the server.
As stated before, you participate in 4 themebuilds to become a builder, and many do not get the rank on their first application.
This is due to the high building standard of MCME.
The next rank, is Ranger or Guide.
They greet new members and take groups of people on tours of Middle-Earth
Most of them are very knowledgeable in Lore, and can answer most questions that you may have.
After that is the first Staff rank, Foreman.
These people are responsible for leading jobs and getting things finished on the server.
Artisans, the next rank, are responsible for designing how things should be built.
Stewards, like Artisans, design things for MCME but are responsible for larger areas of the server than an Artisan.
They mostly are responsible for vast projects, like Mirkwood or Rohan.
The next rank of Staff is Bounder; who enforce the rules and handle the white-listing of the server.
Valar, are the highest rank one can attain on the server, and there are currently only 6.
The lowest rank you can have is Oathbreaker for breaking a rule that isn't harsh enough for a ban.
All of your access to commands are stripped, and you are given a location to walk to without aid.
Typically, the harsher the rule you broke, the longer the destination you have as an Oathbreaker.
This is one of the areas of the East Fold that are under construction, hence all of the sand.
Many areas in Rohan, like this small village, have yet to be updated to the new building style.
Notice the dirt and wheat on the roof instead of thatched roofing.
And now we arrive at...
This is one of the most recent completed areas of the server, having been finished in December 2013.
It is populated with 20+ Ents, which is a game everyone plays to try and find them all.
I've only ever found 3...
Also, like Lorien, every tree was built by hand. There are over 1,000 trees in Fangorn Forest.
Ents on the server have animated Eyes, which makes them easier to spot.
This is an error in my part. This Ent is known as SkinBark, not Treebeard. Sorry for the mistake.
We are now at the base of the Misty Mountains.
Here are the walls of Isengard; home of Saruman
This is one of the locations in MCME that is directly influenced by the Films rather than the Books.
This is done for aesthetic purposes, as the lore describes Orthanc as three large stones fashioned into a tower.
Isengard is depicted, like everything else on the server, just before the events of LOTR taking place.
The pits of Isengard, filled with orcs, are impossible to build in its current state.
This is due to Isengard sitting just 2 blocks above bedrock level.
Increasing the height limit would only hender the world, as last time it broke Moria and caused lighting bugs.
As an example of how each building is fitted out with an interior, we'll travel down through Orthanc.
Lots and Lots of Stairs....