A powershift is when the control of something changes hand. 2b2t, like the real world, had events such as these. They were defining moments for the server. Moments that brought violence and order. Or chaos and more violence. These events come in many forms. It can be the arrival of an outsider group, a dupe, or even a exploit of other kind.
So far, we had two of these events that I can identify:
Rules for all people in the Federation of Facepunch:
These will be enforced by death and or exile.
So far, we had two of these events that I can identify:
The Republic Arrives
The joining of Facepunch on 2b2t was one of the most important moments on the server. Among the reasons for that, were their attempt to establish order on the server. Maybe not order to all, but order among them. They tried to organize their bases in jobs. Each person would receive a duty and they were provided a set of rules to obey.
Here are Chezhead's words:
There is no one base, but a separate group of republics. The Peoples' Republic of Facepunch is led by each of these bases' leaders They all have their different rules and regulations associated with them. Ask each leader for the coords to their respective base.And these were the rules:
Rules for all people in the Federation of Facepunch:
- No non-facepunch personal shall be in any Facepunch approved hideouts, unless approved by Chezhead.
- Never kill or harm a Facepunch user. Facepunch users are designated by being on the list.
- Any room or chest with a clear identification of a Facepunch username's name above it should not be taken from unless given permission by that person. Looking inside the chest is fine, however.
- Each fort is owned by a certain person under Chezhead. If you have an issue or need specific coordinates, ask the current leader. Forts and leaders are in the op. If you have an issue inside the base, contact the fort leader before Chezhead. These leaders of the forts have the right to refuse entry to specific people, but Chezhead will make the final decision on most issues in fortresses.
- Betrayal is not permitted whatsoever, and includes giving coordinates to anyone non-facepunch, breaking any of these rules, or generally making the life in this server a worse player for Facepunch players.
These will be enforced by death and or exile.
Sounds simple, right? Many group bases actually used these principles in the future. Most of these are the basic rules for a good partnership between players. Don’t kill. Don’t steal, don’t fuck up. “The three don’ts”.
But even this simple concept of group was enough to anger the player base of 2b2t back in 2011. Thus began the hunt for Facepunchers and the fall of their failed republic.
“We created a jobs system. We made a society. We created an entire bustling community within that castle. There was a treasure room, a meeting hall, a tower, a guard post, and a set of rules and jobs. Justin14253 helped out and was a knight in shining armor, with his diamond tools and such. Disaster struck. After we had amassed over 20 members or so, someone named "Mweorz" flew around with flyhacks and TNT and blew the entire thing to shreds. What happened then was "Greyskull's Stand", which was not a war. I myself only got a few hits on his diamond armor with my iron sword, and he flew too fast to help anything. My dog which I had from when I started the server was killed in a blast.” – Chezhead.
The Battle of Greyskull's Stand was only the beginning. What came after was a long struggle of 10 months until they officially gave up on the idea of the Republic.
Fort Facepunch, the first base
But was this a powershift event? Yes. Not for the facepunchers, but for the 2011 playerbase. They never had a challenge before beside killing and destroying each other. The facepunch players were the perfect punching bag (which is funny because of their name).
This was the first time (but not the last) that the 2b2t playerbase crushed an outsider group to the point of putting them on their knees, therefore establishing control over the server (in their own wicked and chaotic way). This wasn’t a conflict between players, but a confrontation of ideals. Anarchy vs Order.
But even defeated, their set of rules and their dedication to build something greater than just with blocks, would survive.
1.4.7 Dupe – The Rise of Valkyria
Unlike the Facepunch Stalemate, this event was between the playerbase. The dupe of 1.4.7 made something possible, something that the facepunchers dreamed of: The birth of a lasting community.
The temp map was the one that actually made possible the alliance between hitlerwood (home of the last facepunchers) and Anatolia (home of 3 unknown players of 2b2t). But only the temp map was not enough. What was stopping Valkyria end up like facepunch? Being crushed like insects by the playerbase?
The early dupe machine, using minecart with hoppers. It would later user cart with chests
Location: Valkyria
That was the dupe. The duplication exploit allowed the members of Valkyria to arms themselves. Suddenly, in a matter of a week, the Valkyrians were a force to be acknowledged in the server. If the temp map gave birth to Valkyria, the dupe enforced its will on the server. This new group, with enough resources to do ten spawn incursions and build great cities, gained respect through the only language the 2b2ters knew at the time: brute, shameless acts of violence, but tempered by building and teamwork. During the second spawn incursion, Valkyria proved to be an organized (regarding team effort) and powerful war machine. And the more people joined, the stronger they got. This made the old playerbase of 2011/2012 to be both scared, angered and awed. They saw their rule and prestige threatened by these bunch of newfags in this new big base, but they couldn’t just hunt and attack, because they had more numbers and equipment as good as theirs. The old playerbase was also weakened by the the fact that many of the old players left.
Valkyria created a powershift that then created a legacy of bases and players that last to this very day (A bit less active than before, but still here). The Incursion (at least two of them) proved the dominion exercised by this new playerbase. A playerbase that believed in group effort and community. A playerbase dedicated to build and achieve great deeds. This playerbase still inspires new players that arrive every day. The Facepunchers would only see their dream come true 2 years after their fall, by merging the facepunch ideals with the 2b2t tradition of hacked-clients, glitch-seeking and spawn-killing.
Conclusion
This doesn’t mean Anarchy in gone. The secret for the success of the Valkyria legacy is that it never tried to change anarchy. It never forced the players inside to do jobs or obey orders. Instead of bending anarchy, the new playerbase use it in their favor, by representing a light in a sea of darkness. A safe haven during violent storm. Order cannot exist without Chaos and the same happens backwards. Chaos will give birth to Order always to fill the void left by fear and decay. We understood that. In 2013, the server was saturated by two years of violent and non-stopping chaos.
Now its only a matter of time for a new powershift to happen. It may come in forms we don’t know. And it may improve or destroy everything that the playerbase of 2b2t built.
