Hey guys,

I wanted to suggest a plugin for Bukkit which may be able to solve our lag problem.

http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/mob-spawn-control/

"Mob Spawn Control allows you to take control of the XP grinders (experience grinders, mob farms) on your server. Our server had a problem with XP grinders bringing the server to its knees. I created this plugin to limit the number of monsters (mobs) that could pop out of a given spawner. Once the spawner is maxed it will prevent further monster spawns until a monster is killed. Once the monster is killed it is decremented from the list. Basically the plugin keeps track of active/alive monsters attached to a spawner."

Would it be possible to discuss configuring and testing this plugin for a long-term functional solution to the mob spawner lag issues? Thank you for taking the time to explore this option!

-Odarus

It seems as though resources gained from limiting monster spawns would be lost in monitoring conditions for each spawner. We are looking into several solutions for the issue but I will have to take this one into consideration. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Awesome, thanks for considering it Yield! I have been exploring the features and it seems to offer functionality to control the spawn rate, max number of living entities spawned from each spawner, and instant mod reports/alerts to identify problem AFKers for a quick server kick and warning.

I'm unsure of the bandwidth required for data pings, but the functionality alone sounds promising - and it was created to solve the exact problem we are experiencing so hopefully it was coded in a way to avoid creating a double-edged lagsword, so to speak.

Unfortunately, Wawon0, allowing mobs to build up for an hour - or even allowing a lot of mobs to build up prior to killing them is probably the largest cause of server lag. Since this is a problem, the plugin I have suggested offers admins a way to take more control of how spawners function. For instance, after a mob spawner has generated X number of entities which are still living - it will stop spawning until those entities are despawned or killed. The plugin also offers an easy command for mods to see who has the most active spawners and living entities generated, so problem AFK farmers can be easily identified and dealt with.

As a community of players on MT, it is in our best interest to not abuse mob spawners by generating 100's of mobs before killing them. Since it is unlikely that every player will regulate spawner usage on their own, I suggested this plugin to offer administrators more control on spawner functionality and easy ways of finding out who should be contacted regarding 'living entity' AFK abuse.

According to one of the Spigot Developers, mobs interacting with each other use much more CPU than the same amount of mobs but not close enough to interact with each other.

Mob grinders result in many more mobs in close proximity, which creates exponentially higher amounts of CPU.

Edit: Source to be linked.

There are a number of solutions, though it is a shame it is a problem to begin with. How hard is it to just fight mob's fair and square? <object class="emojione" data="https://resources.enjin.com/1489581540/themes/core/images/emojione/svg/1f61b.svg?0" type="image/svg+xml" standby=":p">:p</object>

I have worked in the MT Economy pretty heavy for around 6ish months, and spent most of my MTC on spawn eggs for personal use, collecting, and resale. That said, I responsibly store the vast majority of my eggs in the vault. My largest farm is 12 cave spider spawners that drop instantly to their death, other farms are 1-3 spawners configured to serve their purpose without resulting in lag to the server. If I use a 'living entity' farm which requires my interaction, I do not go AFK.

I mention the things above because I believe we may experience much less lag if the individuals creating and using mob farms would do so in moderation with consciousness and respect for other players.

When you create a mob farm, don't create it so large that you are unable to kill the mobs before they begin stacking up thick. Don't stand AFK at single or multiple spawners for ten minutes allowing mobs to stack up thick. If you're going to play with LIVING MOBS, then do so actively and conscious that going AFK will harm other players. If all players acted responsibly with mob spawners, we could effectively kill the lag ourselves.

My hope was that the suggested plugin would give admins a way to control spawners and identify / deal with 'living entity' AFK abusers for the good of the server as a whole.

yea, this is something yield and myself have been discussing...we will add this to our list of options...may help with one of the situations

Sweet!! Thank you and Yield for all the time you all spend keeping things excellent for us!

I was thinking about this more today and believe the bandwidth used for spawners pinging the plugin should totally pay for itself by capping the number of live entities possible per spawner. If 5 living entities were allowed per spawner, even large mob farms would cap at around 200 or so living entities instead of folks AFKing large and small farms which could be generating 1000.

I suspect the peaked interest in wither skele farms may play a role in this type of farming lately - they do look awesome on the wall or on a wither.

Thanks again for working your butts off everyday for our benefit, it is much appreciated!

I like peanut butter fudge.