I take issue with redned's response on this matter because he failed to address some of my comments/concerns prior. It seems to me like part of the argument was that 1.16.40 and versions alike were old, and therefore they need to be removed due to their age, which isnt a reason in itself. He then went on to describe how its harder to maintain everything for all protocol versions, which I actually do think is a fair point (I will explain my thoughts about this later on).
The main thing his response really downplayed was the severity of the issues in the new versions. This isnt just a matter of a few frames. These are game breaking bugs that make playing the game near impossible for many. Keep in mind that the kinds of people who are on this thread now are also the same ones that are...
a) active on the forums, and are most invested in the growth and well being of the server
b) purchase cosmetics and ranks (this should be a big one!)
c) make content and further promote the server (montages, clan vs clan highlights, challenges, etc)
These kinds of people are the ones that cubecraft should take note of the most. Clearly, there is a huge demand from this part of the community to keep enjoying the game, with no other viable option. As someone who is very involved in the marketplace and bedrock modding scene, I can safely say that Mojang's interests do not reside in stabilizing the game, but rather to further promote marketplace content/find more ways to profit off the game via microtransactions.
Here is another quote from Redned's response that id like to also comment on:
"On the other end, this usually comes with the drawback that the game becomes more and more resource intensive with every update. This is essentially the case with any game that is constantly updated. Unfortunately older devices become slowly more incapable of running newer versions as the game progresses."
What I feel like some people (usually those who arent as invested with the actual gameplay) also don't know is that the game is becoming much, *much* more hardware demanding at a faster rate than what the current hardware of the average device can handle in 2021. The spectacle of Minecraft bedrock's regression in performance is anything but ordinary. It should not be treated as such. Just as another example: although xbox users cannot downgrade versions, those with the next gen xbox series s/x consoles have widely reported extremely poor performance even on low settings of new versions. Yes- the game is *that* poorly optimized, even on 2021 hardware! As for android and PC, these people are going to quit bedrock (or at least bedrock multiplayer) as a whole if they cant play on the only main server left to support a viable version. They simply don't have another option.
Another point mentioned elsewhere by a cubecraft developer was the new capabilities of resource packs with later client versions. This seems to be a hot new topic for featured servers to jump on (starting with hive, then galaxite, then cubecraft etc). The features mostly take the form of UI changes and basic custom items, all of which are completely possible in 1.16.40. Should there be any new resource pack features that can only be taken advantage of in 1.16.210, why cant new games be exclusive to 1.16.210? The current state of the server before the removal of 1.16.0-1.16.200 seemed to work nicely. Many other people can attest to that.
The main takeaway here is that should cubecraft finalize the decision to remove older versions of 1.16 (notably 1.16.40 onward), that sends a message on what their priorities are. They should know that in doing this, they are effectively abandoning a group of people that care the most about the well being of the server. A group of people that actively try and make it a better place, a group of people that also financially support the server. Those who are willing to downgrade actually care enough to do so, in order to play to a reasonable standard. But keep in mind, managing minecraft bedrock versions is only getting easier with more and more 3rd party tools popping up.
But at the end of the day...cubecraft is a business. They will be driven by what makes their network most financially suitable, because it seems like more resources will be taken to continue support for these versions. I guess it was naive of me to think that maybe they could be a little more than just a business. I only want the best for this server...Ive been with it since day 1, and in fact, its the only featured server I regularly keep up to date and play on. I do not think the decision to drop older 1.16 versions is in their best interest.
