Nether Transport Network

The Nether Transport Network (NTN) has been present in every Survival world of the Dogcraft server. It continues to aim toward providing publicly accessible fast travel to many locations. The network is managed by the Survival Railway Network (SRN) organisation. 

Each NTN is based around the mechanics of using boats on ice blocks, which results in high-speed movement. Coupled with another mechanic, being that every block traveled in the nether is counted for eight in the overworld, the NTN enables very fast travel. 

Each NTN is centered around a hub, with four tracks departing in each cardinal direction - North, East, South, and West. The nature of boating means that dead straight tracks are the best option for speed and simplicity, unfortunately restricting the flexibility of the network. Over the course of its life, the NTN has been paired with SRN rail stations in the overworld to enable easy movement to more precise locations. Each NTN has built high in the nether, just below the ceiling, in order to travel over player builds/farms and to avoid large caverns that would significantly impede construction. This has meant that strong portal linking has been a challenge throughout the NTN's life. 

Survival 1

Nether Transport Network
Project
Type	Transportation Project

The idea for a nether based transport system was thought of by _edo, alongside his conceptualisation of what would become the SRN rail network. After successful implementation of the railway concept, attention was turned its nether counterpart.

The first NTN Hub was built in early August 2016. It was accessible via the nether portal in a prominent plaza area of Spawn. The hub was reasonably straightforward, the main stylistic feature being the mini-diorama of the greater overworld spawn area on the central floor.

The initial NTN ice track design featured a dual lane system, split with iron bars, and a platform above the packed ice to prevent zombie pigmen from spawning in the way of travelers. Stations were interspersed along the track, providing access to the nether, ender chests, and overworld portals. Junction stations were numerous and provided access to perpendicular tracks. Both were standardised.

Valhalla Station, an example of a Survival 1 NTN Station

NTN building took priority through the August - October period and this is when the bulk of the network was created. Many NTN stations were built, most around their SRN equivalents but with a handful at other locations such as the Dogcraft Space Association build. It was apparent that junctions would be needed during this time - many SRN stations were far enough from the ice track. Hot air balloons high up in the air were constructed at some SRN station sites in order to improve the strength of connection between portals.

The NTN was not as well known or used as the SRN. The main cause of this the counter-intuitive location of the NTN hub portal. The building housing this portal had been standing for many months before the NTN Hub was constructed, and was part of the aforementioned 'utilities' plaza, next an enchanting facility and newbie gear build among others. The portal here was recognised by most the as the server nether portal, so was used for the NTN. However, the layout of the building was unnecessarily convoluted. _edo, in line with his other concepts, believed that the building should be changed so that portal was more prominent. The builder of the building disagreed, and the portal stayed in the same difficult to access location. Another factor was some confusion as to the correct method to use the ice tracks. The mechanics of the network were not widely known, and the spawn-proofing platform limited vision. The result was that some practice was required to use the NTN to its full extent.

Survival 2

Nether Transport Network
Project
Type	Transportation Project

The NTN made a similar return in Survival 2.

In this world, a server nether hub was built in creative prior to its opening, at Spawn, with a preliminary link to Spawn Station. However, the hub was built at a much lower level than the previous NTN, and did not have any amenities for boat launch. Therefore, the decision was made to construct the NTN Hub at a separate location, and link it with Grand Central Station as oppose to its Spawn equivalent. The arrangement left a rather awkward situation when entering the NTN from Spawn. It wasn't until January 2018, four months after the start of the world, that it this was fixed. Players would first need to enter the server nether hub before locating a fake end portal that would teleport them up to the NTN.

In the meanwhile, the previous October and November, considerable early progress had been made and stations began to pop up in December. The NTN Hub was outfitted with a complex boat storage system, holding many shulker boxes of boats at a time and sending them to be used. The Station design was altered slightly and slow down pads, to solve a long-known issue of players struggled to 'hit the cactus' in their boat to enter the station.

Survival 3

Nether Transport Network
Project
Type	Transportation Project