July 3, 2017 Update

The July 3, 2017 Update was when the Big Sister server, under the ownership of spookster1 and hannahchi, switched from Minecraft 1.6.4 using the Gulliver mod, to Minecraft 1.12.1, using vanilla Minecraft with a few plugins. This marked a new era for the server, as it had been stuck in 1.6.4 for a very long time due to a lack of updates to the Gulliver mod.

The Lead-up

Initially, many players were upset that the server would go vanilla, but with some convincing, most players got on board, seeing how being trapped in 1.6.4 had caused terrible stagnation in whitelist applications submitted and players playing on the server. People realized that it was time to trade novelty for practicality. Another issue that the Gulliver mod was causing for the server was that as Minecraft, Java, and the Minecraft Launcher updated, it became increasingly difficult to install and play the with the mod. The new update was a chance for many players to join and return.

The Update

As the name implies, the update took place on July 3, 2017 as many players gathered in Discord to log on and check things out. bryceio was the first player other than Spook to log in. A few others soon joined as they flew around the server in their elytra, a gift from Spook. Experiments were done, and the server seemed to be working fine. After a long session, the players slowly logged off of the brand new server.

Changes

Other than the removal of Gulliver and the addition of all the updates from 1.7 to 1.12.1, the server also underwent many other changes, both big and small. Firstly, the currency system was revamped, changing from the old method of storing cheese, using commands from Forge Essentials, to using physical currency and villagers for shops. Secondly, the old world border was abolished and a piece of 1.12 terrain was imported into the map. Thirdly, the old end island was moved, and a new island was generated alongside all the outer islands. There were many more changes that can be found scattered about.

Aftermath

After the server's update, the old Big Sister Forum was closed, the Big Sister Minecraft Forum Page Old was closed, and the Big Sister Minecraft Forum Page was opened for new applications. Not only were new people applying to join the server, but many of the older players who had been gone for a long time began to return as well.

Potential Names

This whole update doesn't have a proper name, but here are some of the proposed ones:

• The Spookening (ciabatta1)
  
• The Vanilling (ciabatta1)
  
• Normalization (builderfish8)
  
• The Normaling (ciabatta1)