The History of The Sandlot – Happy 10th Anniversary!

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by hamsrus1, Dec 2, 2021.

  1. hamsrus1

    hamsrus1 you got to keep em moderated Moderator Elder VIP

    Greetings, everyone! Happy 10th Anniversary to The Sandlot Minecraft Server! Thank you to everyone – all members new, old, and in between, Helpers, Senior Helpers, Elders, VIP contributors, Moderators, Administrators, retired staff, retired members, our Owner, and our Founder. Every member, no matter your rank, has contributed to this server’s foundation. You ARE The Sandlot. We sincerely thank you all.

    Please enjoy a highlight reel looking back at the history of our server. This will be quite a long post, but hopefully it will give older players some nostalgia, and newer players a better picture of what the server used to look like, and how far we have come. Enjoy!

    2011

    @cheracc is the Founder of The Sandlot Minecraft Server. He is a parent and math teacher. He wanted to find a safe place where his nephew and friends could play Minecraft together. He was dissatisfied with the family-friendly or kid-friendly server options available at the time, so he decided to make his own. He won a small Minecraft server Christmas Eve 2011 in an online contest.

    The selection of the server’s name is a direct correlation to his vision for the server. He sought to create a fun, safe online space similar to a playground, but with a name that was more suited for all ages rather than just kids. Thus, “The Sandlot” was born.

    2012

    The Sandlot was first opened to the public accepting whitelist applications in March 2012. Cheracc operated the server as Owner, Founder, and Administrator.

    The server began steadily growing through word-of-mouth, which to this day is still one of the biggest ways we receive new players! At this time, the first server that existed was the very first Easy server. In fact, the spawn build that was used for the Gen 2 Easy server in 2013 is the same as the 2012! The first Normal server was created, as well as a Hard server only for Veteran or higher rank players.

    The first rank system was based off of playtime: Member for new players, Citizen for 1 month, Explorer for 2 months, and Veteran for 3+ months. Moderators and Admins were distinguished, and the Elder rank existed for exceptional building skills.

    The first Moderators promoted were ty564321, Groogaroo, Rioghan, and OisinsVids. ty564321 and Groogaroo were considered Admins at the time. The old myth of one Moth_Frosty lives on with those people, or so the story goes…

    Picture: Original Easy spawn (with some newer blocks)
    [​IMG]

    2013

    The server began seeing some major growth this year in many ways. We were beginning to max out our 30 player cap (at the time), and many new servers were added.

    Easy was reset to Gen 2 and introduced the Jobs system, Normal was renamed to “Semi-Vanilla Survival” (SVS), and the first editions of the Creative, SkyBlock, Arenas, and Hunger Games servers were created and introduced. The Creative server was originally a superflat world with the GriefPrevention claims system (gold shovel) before we moved to the great plot system plugin we still use today. Rioghan and ty564321 built our first real Lobby server build to accommodate all the new servers that were made.

    The old Hard server was removed and later replaced with an Ultra Hardcore (UHC) server, one-life-to-live. Meaning, if you died, you were banned from the UHC server until it reset. UHC’s presence on The Sandlot would vary and fluctuate until 2017.

    The rank system began to change to a more server-specific structure rather than global ranks. Because of all the servers, we had a /g command which allowed players to talk in a “global” channel server-wide. (this was later removed) The Arenas server at the time had individual ranks you could purchase with in-game coins, like Lieutenant or Commander, and the Normal server introduced the tiered rank system we still use today, Initiate to Grandmaster. The Trusted rank was introduced in January and was later removed and replaced with the Helper rank in December. The visible difference in chat between Moderator and Admin was merged into the infamous “Mod Green”.

    The Moderators promoted this year were kissmydiamonds, bighatscoutguy, hamsrus1, and Blokjekopf.

    Picture: First Lobby
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Gen 1 Normal server spawn, “Founder’s Forest”
    [​IMG]

    2014

    This year is considered one of the peak years in The Sandlot’s history, where we reached record player counts and some of the biggest server events. One of our highest records this year was 175+ players on at once! (Just imagine the chat for Moderators…)

    We introduced a Star Wars-ified version of our 2013 Lobby while our Harry Potter Hogwarts Lobby was in progress. Once completed, we rebranded our website and logo to showcase the Hogwarts lobby. We received many whitelists citing the build as a main draw to joining! It was a mega project from the mastermind of bighatscoutguy with a large team behind him.

    The Arenas server was revamped into the Spongebob arena (version 1!). A huge free-for-all area with frequent updates with new and innovative Moderator run games.

    We introduced “BigCreative”, which was an additional VIP perk at the time to have another world with super large Creative plots. (we did not have plot merging at that time) SVS was reset to the “Savannah Era” (Gen 2) for the 1.7 update that introduced many new biomes.

    You either know it, or you’ve heard the legends. The infamous Factions server on The Sandlot was introduced in 2014 with a majestic How to Train Your Dragon inspired spawn. It was the first Factions style server on any family-friendly Minecraft server. The server began with the great war against two dueling factions: the Groogs, led by Groogaroo, and the Haxians, led by bighatscoutguy.

    On a technical side, this was also the year 1.8 was introduced, and if you recall, it was a challenging year for Minecraft servers. There were many changes to the technical side of Minecraft that affected practically all server owners. Our website and forums also got a serious upgrade to what we know today.

    The Moderator promoted this year was c0wg0d. We have also identified this year as the genesis of 00JQ, Groogaroo’s evil half…

    Picture: Star Wars Lobby
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Hogwarts Lobby
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Factions spawn
    [​IMG]

    2015

    This was another strong year for The Sandlot, with many staff promotions to keep up with our rapid growth. We ended the year with 15,000 members registered on our forums!

    The Creative server was transformed into the Lego Movie inspired spawn as we know it today! Many new features such as plot merging, and, most importantly, stair chairs, were implemented at this time. The Factions server was removed due to exceeding drama and tension that extended across the whole server.

    Arenas was completely overhauled into the Spongebob arena (version 2) that we know today! We also added Hide and Seek and Build Battle minigames.

    The Moderators promoted this year were bizarr0, LifeLearner, Virgeric, trubuhl, BareClawz, _Razz, HalfC3ntaur, and MJRMiner. c0wg0d was promoted to Sandlot Administrator.

    Picture: Lego Movie Spawn
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Spongebob Spawn
    [​IMG]

    2016

    We celebrated our 5-year anniversary in 2016! A ton of players submitted cakes they built in the Creative server, and we brought back our Star Wars Lobby with TNT cannons!

    The SVS server was reset to the current “Atlantis Era” (Gen 3). Dirtblock was introduced as an inverted Skyblock experience.

    This was a big year for Moderator run games in our Arenas server, including Obstacle Course, Anvil Drop, Troutslap, Colors, and more!

    The Moderators promoted this year were BellStar, JackenKracken, bobandbunny, and Kyukuro.

    Picture: 5th Anniversary celebration
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Atlantis SVS
    [​IMG]

    2017

    2017 marked the year that cheracc, our Founder, officially made c0wg0d the Owner of The Sandlot Minecraft Server. He has been at the helm ever since. Thank you c0wg0d for your passion, knowledge, and for the sacrifices you have made to keep The Sandlot going! And of course, thank you cheracc for making your vision come to life and bringing The Sandlot to so many families worldwide. We love you both!

    The Lobby was updated to what it is currently to improve the navigation to our multiple servers for new and existing players. The Hogwarts experience was moved to the new Adventure server.

    The Skywars server was implemented after numerous requests! It is our most popular PvP option to date.

    Ultra Hardcore (UHC) was completely overhauled with monthly resets and the custom terrain plugin. It has been well loved by a special group of members who enjoy challenging games! It is doing well to this day with a new surprise every month.

    Mojang hosted a Minecon Earth in malls and Microsoft stores in multiple locations. Multiple Sandlot members went to these events and we were able to do some good marketing and gain some new players! Thank you all!

    Picture: 2017 Lobby
    [​IMG]

    Picture: Skywars spawn
    [​IMG]

    2018

    This was a year of lots of back-end maintenance. Much of the player base and staff team were handling school, work, family, etc.

    The Moderators promoted this year were Monkey_Chicka, and Abbz05_.

    2019

    A similar year to 2018 with more maintenance with plugins catching up to Minecraft updates.

    Dirtblock, Build Battle, Hide and Seek, and HG2 were removed due to unpopularity and/or lack of sufficient plugin support.

    2020

    While 2020 has certainly been a monumental year in the real world, it has also been very significant for The Sandlot. We had a remarkable surge in players – something we had not seen for a few years due to Minecraft’s popularity resurging, and people having more time to play.

    The Easy server was finally reset after 7 years! On the day of the reset, we maxed out the Lobby’s player cap of 100 players, and we had counts from 40-80 players for the next few months! It was a tremendous success that filled the server with life, remotivated the staff team, excited the player base, and brought us all closer together as a community. Many players that had not been on the server for a long time, including the Founder, cheracc, returned for the reset.

    cheracc had also completely overhauled our Hunger Games plugin himself, something that has been on the to-do list for quite some time. He taught himself Java programming, and with his prior knowledge, essentially rebuilt it from the ground up. We are using it today and it works great! With this upgrade, we had multiple Sandlot members create custom HG maps to add to the server.

    The Sandlot hosted an in-game event for the 2020 students who were graduating Middle, High School, and College/University. It was a great time with players talking about their ambitions and goals, and offering support to each other.

    The Moderators promoted this year were adminidad, RatMazeMind, and waseric.

    Picture: 2020 Graduation
    [​IMG]

    Picture: 2020 Easy spawn
    [​IMG]

    2021

    I hope you aren’t worn out from reading all of that… well done, and thank you. Finally, here is a refresh for this year!

    The Parkour server was reset and overhauled and many new features were added. A new spawn, level system, optimized plots, currency, shop, and more.

    Also, another major, overdue reset happened: SkyBlock. The structure of how it functioned was essentially redesigned from the ground up to what it is today. Similar to the Easy reset of 2020, a huge resurgence of players, new and old, came for the reimagined experience. The focus of the challenges pivoted from mass farming and production to encouraging the creation of large, beautiful islands.

    Both SkyBlock and Parkour have not been reset since 2014…!

    Many new Hunger Games maps were created by our talented Sandlot members! If you haven’t done it before, or been involved in one, building a Hunger Games map is a HUGE feat, even for a team…!

    A graduation ceremony was hosted for the 2021 graduate students. Another great event bringing the community together!

    Our Moderator and Helper team worked very closely together to formulate fun community events and seasonal Lobby projects! Definitely a testament of how a strong team plus hard work and passion can create wonderful things.

    The Moderators promoted this year were Mickeyheart, SupersonicE9, and KRiskKaT. waseric was promoted to Sandlot Adminstrator.

    Picture: 2021 Skyblock spawn
    [​IMG]

    Picture: 2021 Parkour spawn
    [​IMG]
     
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  2. LunaLovegood

    LunaLovegood Magizoologist Elder Helper VIP

    Wow Hams, thank you so much for making this! So much research would have gone into this! I knew most of the post-2013 (because I was there to witness!) history, but a timeline like this is so fascinating and interesting to read! I had no idea Easy was the first server added, makes sense why it's so classic! The listing of the old moderators made me miss them though!! The old lobby picture, SO NOSTALGIC!
     
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  3. Floofin

    Floofin doesn’t know cheesecakes are real Elder Helper VIP

    This is really awesome! I loved seeing the different things of sandlot’s past I didn’t get to see myself, and a timeline of its evolution!
     
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  4. c0wg0d

    c0wg0d Master Owner Moderator Helper VIP

    I played Hard Survival a lot in 2013. It's also the first time I ever saw cheracc in game!

    [​IMG]

    And here's the head wall memorial I made in that server: https://www.sandlotminecraft.com/threads/memorial-garden-for-those-who-have-fallen-in-uhc.18460

    After I died to a zombie pigman (I was putting out a fire in the nether and accidentally punched one and got swarmed), I switched to Easy Survival, and the rest is history! I built my first house in Easy with @pizzadog2 and made so many wonderful friends in those early days. I was neighbors with @Abbz05_ and we became really good friends. She was the first one that ever built something just for me, and I still treasure that party we celebrated for my birthday in the party room she built.

    There are too many good memories to list. I could go on and on. I just love playing Minecraft with all of you. Thank you everyone for being awesome and here's to Sandlot's next 10 years!
     
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  5. CupcakeRockstar

    CupcakeRockstar Rockin' the Bling!

    heres to many more years of fun!
     
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  6. WanderingLlama

    WanderingLlama Wayfaring Drama Moderator Elder Helper VIP

    This is so amazing! I have had so many great memories and friends on this server since I joined. It's really cool to see the history of the Sandlot since it was founded :)
     
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  7. cxttoncandy

    cxttoncandy slay queen Helper VIP

    I love this so much, it’s really cool to have an actual visual of the major aspects of the Sandlot before I joined! I’d never seen the Star Wars or factions lobby before, now I have an actual image opposed to what I made up in my head. It’s fascinating to see the past 10 years summarized into one post and brings back a lot of memories :,)
     
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  8. captain_ODG

    captain_ODG Master

    Love the Sandlot! Its been a good 5+ years for me on this server!
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2021
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  9. MCtwilight

    MCtwilight Ed Shakespearean Moderator Elder Helper VIP

    This is an insane timeline!!! I always wanted something like this to reference and learn from, thank you so much hams!!!

    Everything 2015+ I *mostly* knew, but it was so interesting to read the years I didn’t. The factions server! I’ve never actually known what spawn looked like, so that’s crazy to see it.
     
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  10. KoolWhip515

    KoolWhip515 Light and Fluffy!


    well that's a cursed image i am glad he has hair now
     
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  11. ahsokatxrtle

    ahsokatxrtle Never gonna give you up

    This is an insane timeline hams!!! I’m shocked! Most of this I didn’t know - and its so interesting!! Thanks for making this!!!!
     
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  12. NotInReality

    NotInReality is glitching

    crazy to see how far we've come :)
     
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  13. Cuccos

    Cuccos block guy on a computer

    WOW thats so cool it was so weird to see that moderators promoted was c0wg0d xd
     
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  14. Cuccos

    Cuccos block guy on a computer

    THANKS FOR MAKING THIS HAMS
     
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  15. ladybxg

    ladybxg Never gonna say goodbye Helper VIP

    this is.. astonishing.. I love this from the bottom of my heart ! everything 2015+ I remember. It’s so cool looking back on all of the events/memories that took place on sandlot. Thank you, once again, for giving us an amazing community and keeping sandlot alive
     
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  16. KRiskKaT

    KRiskKaT Piecing it together Moderator Elder Helper VIP

    This is really nice to read, it brings back a lot of memories. The factions server is a fun download, if anyone is interested, as there are hidden bases everywhere. It's fun to see how the server has changed over the years. (checking to see if I still have the old SVS loaded up..)
     
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  17. LuckyDOTjava

    LuckyDOTjava Awl bee Bach! VIP

    Amazing -- thanks for putting that together hams! This was the first Minecraft server I joined shortly after purchasing the game back in 2013, and I've never left since! Tons of great memories with a variety of players over the years.

    A special thanks to all of those who have maintained and cared for the technical side of server upkeep & plugin development. I know your pain, and I appreciate you!
     
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  18. Cuccos

    Cuccos block guy on a computer

    ROFL
     
  19. Times__

    Times__ they are a changin'

    Who is "Moth_Frosty"
    I wanna knowo_O
     
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