Elytra races

Players taking off on a race from Mesa Station on the original Survival world, to celebrate its opening

Over the years on the Dogcraft Server, a number of organised Elytra races have been held on the server and the activity has proven popular among community members for its' fast-paced and high-skill nature, being present in some way on most iterations of the server. Races have been organised both as parts of, events-team lead events as well as by players run ones. Unlike other activities and minigames like Ice Boat Racing and Spleef which formed formal leagues, Elytra races have remained a fairly casual affair.

History

Lackria races & Survival 1

The winners of the third elytra race, on the hilltop above the farming area in Lackria.

Since the opening of the end on the original Survival world, players were eager to put their newly acquired Elytra to good use on the server.

The town of Lackria would be the first to host a number of Elytra races and became popular within the community. Mayor William278 used the Dogcraft.net forums to announce and plan races, one of the fist instances of an event to be community-planned and organised on the server. The races would follow a fairly standard format:

Shenanigans at the finish line of a race!

Start at a player (known as the host) base
Using a punch II bow and elytra, boost yourself into the sky by angling the bow such that you hit yourself (a technique known as bow boosting. Firework rocket-based-boosting was not added until Minecraft 1.11.1 and tridents were not in the game until 1.13)
- Teleportation was not allowed; you were not allowed to touch the ground.
- If you happened to touch the ground, you had to stand still and launch yourself back up.
- Laggy conditions on the server meant that bow boosting was much more difficult, requiring a strong connection and good skill with the technique.
The first, second and third people to arrive in Lackria, on an area on the hill overlooking the farms would win an assortment of prizes.
- Prizes included diamonds, beacons and Dogcraft Dollars. The host would, in most cases, help sponsor the winner's prizes.
- Winners would also have a sign engraved in a board on the finish line hill.

One notable host of an Elytra Race was _edo of the Survival Railway Network, who hosted a race from Mesa Station to celebrate its' completion and addition to the network. In all, the Lackria format would last a number of weeks before players grew tired. The bow boosting technique was quite cumbersome and lag on the server made it less enjoyable overall.

With that said, there were a number of other races held on the first Survival world. Notably, the update to Minecraft 1.11.1 and introduction of firework rockets inspired the Events Team to hold the Festival of Flight, which featured Elytra racing through a ringed course among other activities.

Races in Survival 2

Players standing on a podium after an Elytra Race

The Survival 2 world saw new opportunities for holding Elytra events. Wanting to restart the tradition of Elytra races in Survival 1, William278 (now mayor of Akkara) sought to hold weekly races again and restarted the event with a similar format as the first, with players starting at a base and ending at Akkara Station. However, due to lack of player interest and difficulties organizing on a server that was amidst the process of transitioning away from the forums, it was decided that these events would only be held on special occasion.

One such special occasion would come to be Akkara City Opening Day, where one of the twelve events scheduled was an Elytra race. Racers flew on a course from Spawn, to the tower at Grand Central Station in Havana and finishing in Akkara. The race was a relay-style event, in which players had to carry a baton on their team to the finish line.

Races in Survival 3

Erebus Opening Day

Similarly to Survival 2, the Survival 3 world saw races as part of other events. Notably, Erebus Opening Day to celebrate the public opening of the modern town of Erebus held the first Elytra race as one of its' events to take place in the End dimension, as racers flew through rings above the void (albeit protected from death with some well-placed safety black stained glass)

Gallery

Players prepare to take off from the hot-air-balloon above Mesa Station on Survival 1.
Winners of the Mesa Station Elytra race.
Players gather at the starting line in Quasi's District
Players taking off from Quasi's District on a Survival 2 race, bound for Akkara City.
Players gather at the finish line in Akkara Station on Survival 2.