"Reflections of Minos"
by Tam

I really don't know what was so significant for me about Minos. For some reason, I just really liked the zone. My first memory of it was exploring, fleeing all the way to Minos and getting whacked. This, of course preceeded a big yelp for help to Hebish, who actually knew the zone. Reflecting on it, it was hysterical. At the time, it probably wasn't >:)

I was a bit bummed when the zone was removed from the game. Apparently, Jedi had at one time to conserve server space and remove some of the smaller zones. Minos was one of them, unfortunately. When I got my grubby little hands on the zone, I realized one major problem. These zones were written very very VERY long ago and never evolved with the rest of the game. So, immediately I updated the mobs in the Trial portion. Then I realized, "Holy cow! The zone is only 25 rooms!" We just couldn't have that, now could we?

I had pondered expanding on the main part of the zone, itself - the island. This lead to a lot of possibilities - a maze, more dastardly trials, a larger foundation of the zone to run xp in and many others. Then I came to the resolution that I wanted people to experience the game as I did - exactly as I did. So, I upgraded the mobs to make them more in line with today's standards.

So.... Then I realized that the zone consisted of 25 room. I don't believe in overkill - honest! I simply believe in pounding things so far into the ground that they burst out of China. So naturally I couldn't stop at just updating the zone. I had to do something with the extra 75 rooms, but what?

So after thinking about the situation and the positioning of Minos, I thought to myself, "Self... why don't you add a transition zone like the Dragon Sea, so the mud can expand westward?" Thinking this was a good idea, I took my own advice and started to build >:) This decision enabled the usage of the 75 rooms without ruining the integrity of what Mahatma had created. Essentially the zone became 2 zones in one - which seemed neat at the time.

The sea section of the zone was meant to be difficult to navigate and not your "normal" transition zone. You're not just sailing across a "happy little sea", you're sailing across a nightmare - a treacherous mixture of this world - and that. Picture what would happen if a mysterious (and very evil) Jedi introduced himself into an area but then became angry. What could he possibly do to it in his fit of rage? How would the area suffer under this wrath? Who knows?

All in all, the zone took about a month or two to write and tweak. The sea, itself, took around a week to lay out in such a way that the complication was so extensive that even an immortal scouting the zone could become confused. As a matter of fact, the zone even includes instructions that were sent with it. The instructions include "safe" rooms to connect zones to without destroying the continuity of the maze. It's really important because if you don't follow the directions - boom! - you cut off access to a chunk of the zone.

My hope has always been that some people would come along and write some difficult zones to connect to the sea. It would be fitting to have a difficult transition zone and some difficult zones to match. So..... get writing all you builder-folks! :)