Your First Day
Welcome to Peps SMP Season 4 — Continents & Colonies.
Your first day is about getting established, exploring the world, meeting other players, and deciding what role you want to play in the new season.
You do not need to immediately build a massive factory or claim a huge territory. Take your time, learn how the world works, explore the different continents and islands, and find the right place for you or your colony.
1. Read the Rules and Announcements
Before beginning your journey, make sure you have read the current server rules and checked the latest announcements in Discord.
Season 4 introduces important systems surrounding:
- Colonies
- Territory claims
- Large continents
- Small continents
- Islands and scattered islands
- Colony population requirements
- Inactivity and abandoned territories
- PvP and roleplay
- Griefing and stealing
- Server performance
Understanding these systems before establishing a settlement will help prevent problems later.
Make sure you understand the territory rules before claiming land or beginning a large permanent settlement.
2. Explore Spawn
When you first join the server, take some time to explore the spawn area.
Do not immediately run thousands of blocks away.
Look around and familiarize yourself with any public infrastructure and information available to new players.
You may find:
- Community buildings
- Public infrastructure
- Shops
- Roads
- Transportation
- Information boards
- Other players
- Community projects
Spawn is also a good place to meet other players and learn about colonies that have already started forming.
3. Gather Basic Resources
Before travelling across the world, gather enough basic resources to survive.
Useful early-game supplies include:
- Food
- Wood
- Stone
- Coal
- Iron
- Basic tools
- Armor
- Storage
- Building materials
You do not need to gather everything immediately.
Your first objective should simply be to make sure you can survive while exploring and searching for somewhere to settle.
Bring plenty of food and basic equipment before travelling long distances. You may be far away from established settlements or other players.
4. Explore the Continents
Exploration is an important part of Continents & Colonies.
The world contains different types of landmasses, including:
- Large continents
- Small continents
- Small islands
- Groups of scattered islands
Do not immediately settle on the first piece of land you find.
Explore the surrounding area first.
You may discover a location that is better suited to the type of settlement or colony you want to create.
Different locations may also provide different opportunities for resources, transportation, trade, building, and expansion.
5. Find Other Players
Season 4 is heavily focused on colonies and communities.
While you can begin your journey independently, working with other players opens up more possibilities.
Talk to people and find out:
- Which colonies already exist
- Where colonies are located
- Whether they are accepting new members
- What each colony is trying to build
- What resources they have access to
- What industries they specialize in
- What kind of identity or culture they are creating
You may decide to join an established colony rather than creating your own.
There is nothing wrong with starting small.
A few players working together can accomplish much more than everyone trying to build completely independently.
6. Choose Your Territory Carefully
Before establishing a permanent settlement, make sure you understand the Season 4 territory rules.
Different types of land have different population requirements.
Large Continents
Large continents can be approximately 1,000 × 1,000 blocks in size.
A colony normally requires 3 or more active members to claim a large continent.
Players with the applicable Season 3 Community Contributor exception may be able to claim one without meeting the normal three-player requirement.
Small Continents
Small continents may be claimed by established colonies with 2 or more members.
Small Islands & Scattered Islands
Small islands and groups of scattered islands may be claimed by 1 or more players.
These are a good option for individual players and smaller groups that are not ready to establish a larger colony.
The amount of territory controlled by a colony should reasonably reflect the size of its population.
Do not attempt to claim enormous areas of the world with a very small group.
7. Check Before Building
Before starting a permanent base, make sure the territory is not already controlled by another player or colony.
If you are unsure, ask.
Respect existing:
- Territory claims
- Colony borders
- Settlements
- Infrastructure
- Farms
- Factories
- Community projects
Finding an empty building or area does not automatically mean it is abandoned.
The server has specific rules determining when inactive territory may be considered abandoned.
8. Build a Starter Base
Your first base does not need to become your permanent settlement.
A small starter base is often the best way to begin.
Try to establish:
- Shelter
- Basic storage
- Food production
- Crafting facilities
- Furnaces
- Basic resources
- Space for early machines
Once you are comfortable and understand the surrounding area, you can begin planning something larger.
This also gives you time to decide whether you want to remain independent, join another colony, or establish one of your own.
9. Start Your First Machines
Once your basic survival needs are covered, you can begin exploring the technology available in the Season 4 modpack.
Start small.
Early automation and machinery can help your settlement process resources and prepare for larger projects.
You could begin experimenting with:
- Mechanical power
- Resource processing
- Automated farming
- Item transportation
- Storage
- Early factories
- Transportation systems
You do not need an enormous industrial complex on your first day.
Build systems that are useful to you and expand them as your settlement grows.
Keep machines and automated systems reasonably optimized.
Avoid unnecessary entity spam, excessive machines, unnecessary clocks, or systems that create significant server lag.
10. Think About Your Colony
Once you have established yourself, start thinking about what kind of colony you want to create or become part of.
A colony can be much more than several players sharing the same base.
You can develop your own:
- Name
- Flag
- Architecture
- Government
- Laws
- Culture
- Economy
- Industries
- Infrastructure
- Alliances
- Rivalries
- History
Season 4 encourages players to give their settlements their own identities.
Your colony might become a peaceful trading nation, an industrial powerhouse, an isolated island community, an agricultural settlement, or something completely different.
11. Build Infrastructure
As your settlement grows, infrastructure becomes increasingly important.
Instead of building disconnected structures, think about how everything will work together.
Useful infrastructure could include:
- Roads
- Bridges
- Railways
- Ports
- Warehouses
- Farms
- Factories
- Power systems
- Storage facilities
- Public buildings
- Transportation networks
Infrastructure can also connect your colony with neighboring settlements.
12. Use the Ocean
Water is a major part of the Season 4 world.
Continents and islands are separated by large stretches of ocean, making maritime transportation useful for exploration and trade.
Consider establishing:
- Ports
- Harbors
- Docks
- Cargo facilities
- Coastal settlements
- Shipping routes
As colonies develop, these routes can connect distant parts of the world.
A strategically located port could eventually become an important center for trade between multiple colonies.
13. Establish Trade
You do not need to produce everything yourself.
Different colonies may specialize in different resources, industries, or services.
Trading gives colonies a reason to interact and creates opportunities for cooperation.
You could trade:
- Raw resources
- Food
- Building materials
- Manufactured goods
- Machinery
- Industrial components
- Transportation services
- Construction services
A colony with access to valuable resources may become an important trading partner for the rest of the server.
14. Participate in Roleplay
Season 4 allows colonies to develop their own politics, relationships, alliances, and rivalries.
Your colony does not have to be friendly with everyone.
Some colonies may focus on:
- Diplomacy
- Trade
- Neutrality
- Cooperation
- Expansion
- Military roleplay
- Political influence
Conflicts and rivalries can become part of the story of the season.
However, remember that PvP and major hostile roleplay interactions require agreement between the players involved.
Roleplay is never an excuse for harassment, griefing, or ruining another player's experience.
15. Stay Active
Territories are intended for active players and colonies.
If you or your colony will be inactive for 1 week or longer, notify a member of staff beforehand.
Without prior notice, an inactive territory may eventually be considered abandoned under the server rules.
Abandoned territory may lose its normal protections.
If you know you will be unable to play for a week or longer, simply let a staff member know beforehand.
Approved periods of inactivity will not cause your territory to be treated as abandoned.
Think Long-Term
Peps SMP is not designed around completing everything as quickly as possible.
Season 4 is about building a world that develops over time.
Your small starter settlement could eventually become:
- A major city
- A powerful colony
- A trading nation
- An industrial center
- A farming community
- A remote island settlement
- A transportation hub
- A major port
- A railway network
- A political alliance
- A center of technology and engineering
Projects become much more interesting when they grow naturally alongside the rest of the server.
There is no need to rush.
Most Important Advice
Take your time.
Explore before choosing your permanent territory.
Meet other players.
Respect existing colonies and claims.
Build things with a purpose.
Create connections with other settlements.
And do not worry about having everything figured out on your first day.
Season 4 is about exploring continents, establishing colonies, building communities, and watching the world develop through the actions of its players.
Your first base may eventually become a town.
Your town may become a colony.
And your colony may become an important part of the history of the server.
Explore the continents. Build your colony. Shape the world.
Welcome to Peps SMP Season 4 — Continents & Colonies.