Mingus

Mingus is a mid-sized farming and fishing village, though it's primary focus is commerce, manufacturing and exports, there is an ever expanding representation of arts and entertainment. The Stargate to Mingus is accessible from spawn, tucked away in a cave at 87, 62, 49 but the village is primarily accessed through the command /warp wool

Mingus is part of the NorthernEmpires (Nation).

History

Mingus was official founded by  eeriebass on the 3rd of February, 2024, but the groundwork was laid the month before. It all started with a diamond mining expedition in the mountain that now hosts the Lava Lamp attraction. Strip mining grew tedious, the diamond yield was less than impressive. An expedition from that small camp lead to the discover of a seemingly unending cave, dense with minerals.

Deeper into the cave, a more important discovery was made: A Zombie Spawner! This meant a steady source of income and feathers (useless). From the spawner, a pathway to the surface was made. Climbing out of dark, dingy cave reeking of the undead the humble explorer was met with the most awe inspiring landscape. Beautiful, sprawling, hilly fields in front that were dense with lumber and behind, massive cliffs that extend beyond the clouds.

The surreal, beautiful untamed land and the spawner ready to be converted into a farm,  eeriebass built his first structure which has remained largely unchanged and has served as the Mingus base of operations for the entirety of the village's construction and operation.

First build of Mingus. Main base of operations

Members

The sole member of Mingus is it's founder  eeriebass who had envisioned a solo project in the foundation of the village. There have two past members, a now unknown wanderer who one day vanished so they were removed from the village's member list and their name is now lost to history. The other villager [NAME REDACTED] was found guilty of witchcraft, somehow they were able to see through solid stone and detect diamonds, mining straight to them. Not only was [NAME REDACTED] a witch, but above all else they had committed the unforgivable sin of stealing diamonds from the Mingus mine. For these crimes [NAME REDACTED] was catapulted into the sun, the court deemed these proceedings “tough but fair.”

Namesake

Mingus is named after American jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, when it came time to pick a name for the village his music was playing (a diamond from the cave expedition was used to craft a jukebox) so a name was chosen: “Mingus Springs.” The space and everything after it were ignored when registering the village name and the name locked in as Mingus which in the end was preferred.

Beyond name, tributes include an upright bass statue with Charles Mingus quote displayed. A large black and white photo of the artist as a young man. And upon entering the village through the Stargate, you step on stone pressure plates that play the first 4 bars of “Goodbye Porkpie Hat,” his most popular composition.

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  Upright Bass
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  Michael Ochs portrait of Mingus

Farms

• Wool - The star attraction of the town, farm wool to use or sell. A public sheep spawner and dye shop. Accessible via /warp wool
• Flower - In front of the wool farm, turn bonemeal into free red/yellow dye.
• Squid Farm - Squid spawner. Let gravity turn squids into black dye.
• Creeper - A gunpowder delivery system surrounded by a small tree farm, cobblestone farm and fishing hole that give you plenty to do while you wait for gunpowder. The farm is also has shops to buy/sell gunpowder and TNT.
• Zombie/Slime - The zombie spawner that turned wilderness into a home. After 3 redesigns the farm is now attached to a slime farm that will delivery baby slimes to a chamber next to the zombie farm. Slime activity seems random, certainly not guaranteed.
• Skeleton - Skeletons meet lava and turn to bones/arrows/double slabs. A better example accessible via the town's Stargate via the 2XSkelly location. As the name implies it's two skeleton spawners. Also available /warp boneyard which puts skeletons one punch from death and you profit from killing the mob.
• String - Largely unused, was the source of wool previous to the wool farm. Mostly a historical artifact at this point. The first rail system was installed in town just to travel to this farm.
• Snow - A big slab of stone in a snowfield on public land, makes harvesting snow so much easier. Shops on the side sell shovels and also allow stacking snowballs into stacks of 64 making transport/crafting easier.

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  eeriebass encounters the rare pink sheep at /warp wool
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  Flower farm
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  The squid farm working perfectly
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  Gunpowder delivery system and more
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  Enter the Zombie pit, if you dare (actually safe)
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  A skeleton enjoying a nice peaceful ride into lava
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  String does come in handy
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  Not pretty, but very useful

Art

• The Benny Harvey Memorial Museum - Miss you big man, gone but not forgotten.
• The Villains of NES - Some of history's greatest monsters.
• In The Court of the Crimson King - Iconic album art for King Crimson's debut album.
• Zombie Dance Ritual - The Zombies behind the Museum have committed their afterlife to dance.
• Music Box - 4 BUD switches that fire randomly playing their short musical phrases when active.
• Lava Lamp - Chopped up lava falling from above creating a beautiful visual effect.
• Feather Disposal Unit - An extremely overpriced way to get rid of feathers. A dispenser up top, a pressure plate at the bottom, the feather travels nearly 5 minutes to reach the pressure plate releasing the next feather. A gimmick/sculpture, but could potentially be useful as a redstone loop.

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  View some of history's greatest paintings
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  Mike Tyson (Punch-Out), Bowser (Super Mario Bros), Dog (Duck Hunt)
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  Golem (Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest), Magica De Spell & Flintheart Glomgold (DuckTales)
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  Sceamy man
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  Look at 'em go!
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  Music determined by random chance
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  The beauty of lava
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  Why?

Entertainment

• The Lucksman Shooting Gallery - Shoot the 6 redstone torches and win a prize! The Lucksman relies on boats so it breaks often. It would be worth checking the maintenance area before using.
• Ride the Waves - Set your boat on the water, get in and let the waves take control.
• The Emerald Coaster - A rollercoaster ride through the darkness and flames.
• Pokey Parkour - A short parkour course, free healing provided as you need to jump on cactus.
• The Boat Elevator - 2 water streams that will lift your boat into the heavens and then launch you back into the lake below.
• Clairvoyant Cactus - A cactus that has been blessed or perhaps cursed with visions of things to come.
• Blighttown Battleground - A mini-mob arena in the middle of Lake Solaire an underground mob farm brings endless waves of opponents. (Works best during the day)

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  Nice shootin' Tex!
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  Bumpy but relaxing rid
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  A fun ride with a great view
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  Ouch
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  Ride to the sky...
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  and then hold on tight!
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  How can a cactus be so wise?
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  Test your might

Shops

• Magma Mart - Where you'll find most things bought and sold by eeriebass, one of the Stargate locations.
• Redstone Arena - All things redstone, the shop is next to a small arena of general redstone circuitry in attempts to perhaps inspire potential customers.

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  Hot deals!
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  Redstone brings your world to life!

General Hospitality

Lodging at the Mingus Motel, free healthcare available at the hospital to anyone injured in town. Minecarts at all rail stations for a $25 deposit, you can buy them and then sell them right back at the next stop.

For your health!

Stargate

Shortcuts and various outposts.

Destinations

• Mingus - Takes you to the central village spawn location.
• Spawn - The RetroMC Spawn informal stargate location.
• Magmamart - Puts you outside the Mingus general store.
• Doghouse - A home for most of the dogs of Mingus.
• ZombieMusic - A surface level zombie spawner with pressure plates that activate musical phrases.
• Island - A sunny, beach resort.
• Boneyard - Skeleton spawner/shop that sells the drops. Can also be accessed via /warp boneyard
• Wool - Easy access to the stargate for those who enter through /warp wool
• 2XSkelly - A double skeleton spawner, double the loot!
• Eggpunk - A skyland location, a small island hosting a chicken spawner. The chickens play music via pressure plates and drop eggs for harvest.

Shortcuts and outposts