So... today Broonie is moving the server to a new box at the same host, and we have a new temp map to play on while this happens. The permanent map was backed up to two places before the switch. When you first spawn on the new temp map you are basically on a beach, and near mostly desert biomes. There are no buildings as of yet, just a few huts for shelter scattered about (as to be expected after only a few hours on the map).
This temp map looks nothing like the permanent map does, what with the permanent map's winter biomes in and around the old and new spawn. However, if you travel further out away from the spawn area of the temp map, and you will find isolated chunks from the permanent map scattered about, complete with buildings and landscaping/roads. It appears the further out you go, the more the temp map is a faithful copy of the permanent map. My home is several thousand blocks out, and it is exactly as I left it when Broonie shut the server down to move it. Shrapnel found "Zepher City" that Hotmage built at around 700 blocks out. The city is complete, even the nearby mines/caves/spawner are all as he left it. Also, kind of near spawn, Shrapnel started seeing odd "seams" in the world.
It looks to me like the permanent map's chunks somehow are mixing with the new temp map's chunks. Here is a link to three images (they are high-def and would break the forum layout if attached here):
http://minecraftblock0.imgur.com/oddmapI wonder if this is due to the files from the permanent map not being fully removed from the server folders before the new temp map was generated.... or, maybe the auto-synch is two-way and its sensing that some files in the backup location are missing on the server hard drive, and is pushing them back to the server's hard drive automatically, then when a player travels to that area, MC simply loads the chunk from the server's hard drive, but the chunk actually came from the older permanent map.
Anyway, its mind-bending.... space and time distortions abound, Cap'n!
