A mixture of funding suggestions and gameplay issues:
Funding
Chest voting: More options available at lower ranks. This could include: "trappers" (TNT/obsidian/water/redstone/lava/pistons/fire/dispenser), "mob spawners", "only eggs (+ allow chickens from eggs)". To make sure higher ranks still can choose first, each rank could count for extra votes. An iron voter 1 vote, lapiz 2 votes, gold 3 votes etc.
Mob voting: higher ranks could vote for mobs to spawn using the usual minecraft rules (maybe it shouldn't have to be dark, though?).
Pricing: At the moment, the only thing everyone asks for is over-powered chests. At 70 pounds, it is far too expensive by any measure if this is all you want. I would suggest buying chest voting rights separately, allowing the "ranks" to package everything up.
Server choice / use
Map choice: Most of the time, many maps (particularly Savannah for some reason) are repeated many times on all the walls and other maps (Trees and Music particularly) do not appear at all times. I would suggest that when tile on the wall searches for new games, it checks what games are already on offer. The map selected would then be the one least represented on the walls at the time.
Low server load: When the number of people on the servers is low (late night/early morning), I would turn off one or two of the three walls. Otherwise all games have very low occupancy (except trees/music). I would turn off Biomes all-together at these times.
Map start positions
I would try to even out the starting position advantaage. At the moment, the first and last players have large advantages. Most 12 player maps are filled in a clock with:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
but a more even way would be:
1,5,9,3,7,11,2,6,10,4,8,12
So everyone is spread out to the same degree as much a possible. It will make teaming with friends harder. However this is an unfair advantage anyway.
Specific map issues
Pokemon: Starting positions (2) and (14) only have 1 chest, all others have 2.
Music: Some islands have 3 chests, others 4. This should be evened out. Starting at N E S W (positions (1), (4), (7), (10) ) can knock people off other islands left and right at the start with eggs/snowballs, but the other islands can't. Either it should be harder to be knocked off other islands, or the NESW islands should be easier to knock off.
Biomes: Two island have three chests (unfairly). The mushroom island in the inner ring and a wooden hut island on the outer ring.
The inner ring has a large advantage over the outer ring. I would suggest putting 3 chests on each of the outer ring islands. Either that, or put enchanting tables/anvils on the outer ring. Remove the two anvils in the stone building islands in the inner ring. These provide another inner ring advantage.
The gold blocks in the bell tower should be removed/switched. "God apple" wins are very easy on this map.
The water islands should start with dry sponge blocks to even out their slow chest access.
Funding
Chest voting: More options available at lower ranks. This could include: "trappers" (TNT/obsidian/water/redstone/lava/pistons/fire/dispenser), "mob spawners", "only eggs (+ allow chickens from eggs)". To make sure higher ranks still can choose first, each rank could count for extra votes. An iron voter 1 vote, lapiz 2 votes, gold 3 votes etc.
Mob voting: higher ranks could vote for mobs to spawn using the usual minecraft rules (maybe it shouldn't have to be dark, though?).
Pricing: At the moment, the only thing everyone asks for is over-powered chests. At 70 pounds, it is far too expensive by any measure if this is all you want. I would suggest buying chest voting rights separately, allowing the "ranks" to package everything up.
Server choice / use
Map choice: Most of the time, many maps (particularly Savannah for some reason) are repeated many times on all the walls and other maps (Trees and Music particularly) do not appear at all times. I would suggest that when tile on the wall searches for new games, it checks what games are already on offer. The map selected would then be the one least represented on the walls at the time.
Low server load: When the number of people on the servers is low (late night/early morning), I would turn off one or two of the three walls. Otherwise all games have very low occupancy (except trees/music). I would turn off Biomes all-together at these times.
Map start positions
I would try to even out the starting position advantaage. At the moment, the first and last players have large advantages. Most 12 player maps are filled in a clock with:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
but a more even way would be:
1,5,9,3,7,11,2,6,10,4,8,12
So everyone is spread out to the same degree as much a possible. It will make teaming with friends harder. However this is an unfair advantage anyway.
Specific map issues
Pokemon: Starting positions (2) and (14) only have 1 chest, all others have 2.
Music: Some islands have 3 chests, others 4. This should be evened out. Starting at N E S W (positions (1), (4), (7), (10) ) can knock people off other islands left and right at the start with eggs/snowballs, but the other islands can't. Either it should be harder to be knocked off other islands, or the NESW islands should be easier to knock off.
Biomes: Two island have three chests (unfairly). The mushroom island in the inner ring and a wooden hut island on the outer ring.
The inner ring has a large advantage over the outer ring. I would suggest putting 3 chests on each of the outer ring islands. Either that, or put enchanting tables/anvils on the outer ring. Remove the two anvils in the stone building islands in the inner ring. These provide another inner ring advantage.
The gold blocks in the bell tower should be removed/switched. "God apple" wins are very easy on this map.
The water islands should start with dry sponge blocks to even out their slow chest access.
