Michael Burgess

Developing a Minecraft plugin that interacts with multiple APIs and integrates with other popular plugins like Vault, GriefPrevention, and Essentials is no small feat. In this post, I’d like to share the journey of coding and refining our RealEstate plugin—a project aimed at managing claim transactions (selling, renting, leasing, and auctioning claims) on Minecraft servers.

You can find it here:
https://github.com/msburgess3200/RealEstate or https://github.com/EtienneDx/RealEstate

The Journey Begins

The RealEstate plugin started as a way to allow players to manage their land claims more interactively. Integrating with systems like Vault (for economy and permissions) and claim management APIs (GriefPrevention and GriefDefender) meant that our plugin needed to be both flexible and robust. We wanted it to work seamlessly with server admins’ favorite plugins, while providing a user-friendly interface for players.

One of our first challenges was dealing with legacy data. We initially stored transaction data in a .data file, but as the project evolved, we needed a more structured and human-readable format. That’s when we decided to migrate to YAML.

Data Migration Highlight:
Renamed the old transactions.data file to transactions.yml to transition to a YAML-based storage system. This change ensured that legacy transaction data was retained and remained compatible with the updated plugin configuration.

Key Features and Design Decisions

1. Claim Transaction Handling

We designed the plugin to support various types of claim transactions:

• Selling Claims: Players can put their claims up for sale. The plugin displays a sign with details like the price, claim type, and seller information. The sign updates instantly after a sale is created, ensuring that players see the most up-to-date information.
• Renting and Leasing Claims: Players can rent or lease claims, and the plugin tracks these transactions with a configurable duration. For leasing, periodic payments are required until the claim transfers ownership, while renting simply grants temporary access.
• Auctions: For a more dynamic market, claims can be auctioned. This feature allows players to bid on claims, with the highest bidder winning the claim once the auction ends.

2. Instant Updates for Better UX

One interesting observation was that the ClaimSell class would instantly update the sign after modifications, whereas ClaimRent signs didn’t update immediately. After some consideration, we decided to modify the ClaimRent update process to match the instantaneous update seen in ClaimSell. Instant feedback is crucial for a seamless user experience, and this change helped keep players informed about the current status of their transactions in real time.

3. Handling Admin Claims

A unique aspect of our plugin was its treatment of Admin claims. When an admin places a claim for sale, the owner is set to “SERVER” (a special case handled within the code). During data migration or when processing transactions, if the owner is identified as SERVER, the plugin assumes the claim is an admin claim. This approach allows admins to manage their claims without interfering with player-owned properties.

4. Database and File Storage Options

The plugin supports multiple storage types—YML (YAML), MySQL, and SQLite. This flexibility ensures that server administrators can choose the storage method that best suits their setup. During development, we encountered several challenges with MySQL (such as connection issues and key retrieval), which led to the addition of configuration options like allowPublicKeyRetrieval to resolve connectivity problems.

5. Comprehensive Error Handling

From permissions and claim existence checks to payment processing via Vault’s economy system, our plugin includes thorough error handling. For example, if a player attempts a transaction without sufficient funds, the plugin sends a clear error message. Similarly, if a sign is placed outside a claim or when an ongoing transaction exists, the plugin cancels the event and informs the player of the error.

6. Broadcast and Logging

Our plugin features a detailed logging system and broadcast messages. Whenever a transaction is initiated—be it a sale, rent, lease, or auction—the plugin logs the event with a timestamp and relevant details. Additionally, broadcast messages notify all online players about new transactions, fostering a dynamic in-game economy.

Broadcast & Logging:
Every time a transaction is created or updated, the plugin logs the event. For example, a broadcast message is sent out when a claim is listed for sale, notifying players of the new opportunity. This real-time feedback helps create a lively and interactive server community.

Overcoming Challenges

Dependency Timing Issues

One major challenge we faced was the order in which plugins load. For instance, if our RealEstate plugin loads before GriefPrevention, it might result in errors due to missing data structures. We addressed this by modifying our plugin’s dependency declarations in both the plugin.yml and paper-plugin.yml files to ensure that GriefPrevention (or GriefDefender) loads before RealEstate. This careful dependency management minimizes conflicts and runtime errors.

Legacy Data Migration

Transitioning from a legacy .data file to a YAML-based system required meticulous data migration. We needed to ensure that no transaction data was lost during the transition. Our solution involved automatically renaming the old file and converting its contents to the new format upon the plugin’s first run after an update.

Dynamic Claim Updates

Handling dynamic sign updates was particularly challenging. Claims can change state rapidly—players might bid on an auction, rent a claim, or cancel a transaction. Ensuring that the corresponding sign always reflected the current state required a combination of immediate updates and scheduled tasks using Bukkit’s scheduler. This design ensures that even if the sign state isn’t ready immediately after a change, it updates within a tick, keeping the in-game display consistent.

Lessons Learned and Future Improvements

• Modular Design: Breaking down the plugin into modules (e.g., ClaimSell, ClaimRent, ClaimLease, ClaimAuction) has made the codebase more maintainable and easier to extend.
• Extensive Testing: With so many integrations, testing in a live environment was crucial. We learned that even small changes can have wide-ranging effects, especially when multiple plugins interact.
• Community Feedback: The plugin’s development was heavily influenced by feedback from our early adopters. Their insights helped us refine features like instant sign updates and error messaging.

Looking ahead, we plan to explore further enhancements:

• Improved User Interfaces: Integrate a GUI-based transaction system for more intuitive player interactions.
• Enhanced Reporting: Develop more detailed logging and analytics for server administrators to monitor transaction trends.
• Additional Claim APIs: Consider supporting additional claim management plugins to broaden compatibility.

Conclusion

Developing the RealEstate plugin has been an exciting and challenging journey. From managing complex dependencies to ensuring that real-time data is accurately reflected in-game, every step has provided invaluable insights into plugin development for Minecraft. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and we look forward to continuous improvements and community-driven enhancements.

Stay tuned for more updates, and happy coding!