iFactions Advanced is an alternative to the widely popular Factions plugin or many of the other team-based land grabbing plugins like it. Plugins which allow players to create their own groups and to grab up land and battle with other groups have been quite popular for a long time. This plugin aims to streamline the factions system by implementing a lightning-fast database system, easy-to-use commands, and a permissions system which is customizable by each faction leader (each faction can have their own ranks and their own permissions within their faction). Key Points

UUID Compatible
Fast and Feature-Packed
SQLite compatible (soon to be remote DB compatible)

Operations

The plugin runs off of a small, compact SQL Database. For the more tech-savvy, you can use SQLite to monitor and edit the database in real time. The queries are done quickly and are very stream-lined so that the database is never occupied for long. This makes is ideal for connecting to a website or to other plugins (API coming soon).

Full Changelog
Permissions
Mechanics
Metrics This plugin collects the basic MCStats Metrics data for usage analysis. It doesn't collect anything special about your server - just the basic stuff like what version of Bukkit you are running, the plugin version, Java version, operating system, and your server location. It does not collect your server IP or anything like that. It cannot be disabled in the plugin because it collects vital information which is needed to track usage statistics. If you do not want Metrics enabled, you can disable it in the Plugin Metrics data folder within you plugins directory (there should be an opt-out setting in the configuration file there).

Commands

There are only three real, registered commands in the plugin. The main command, /fs, is broken into several subcommands to make it easy to use.

Command	Arguments	Description
claim	No arguments.	Claims a chunk of land for your faction.
unclaim	No arguments.	Unclaims a chunk of land for your faction.
bug	[message]	(Authorized beta testing servers only) Reports a bug to the development team.

General Commands

Command	Arguments	Description
fs	here	Gives you information about the current chunk (owner, location, etc.)
	stats	Shows you information about your PVP stats and calculated skill rating
	info (factionid)	Shows you information about a faction.
	factions	Lists all active factions and their faction IDs.
	ranks	Lists all of your faction's ranks in order (0 is the lowest, default rank)
	accept	Accepts a pending faction invitation.
	decline	Rejects a pending faction invitation.
	invite (player)	Invites a player to the faction.
	uninvite (player)	Removes a player from the faction.
	promote (player)	Promotes a player to a higher rank.
	demote (player)	Demotes a player to a lower rank.
	sethq	Sets the faction headquarters
	goto outpost [number (1-3)]	Teleports to a permanent outpost.
	goto hq	Teleports to the faction HQ.
	goto regroup	Teleports to a temporary regroup spot.
	outpost [number (1-3)]	Sets an outpost spot.
	regroup	Sets a temporary regroup beacon.
	help	Displays a help text for easy reference.

Admin Commands

Command	Arguments	Description
fs	setfaction (player) (factionid)	Makes a player a member of a certain faction.
	setrank (player) (rankid)	Sets the rank of a player.
	setchunkowner (factionid)	Sets the owner of the chunk you are standing in.
	setfactionstrength (factionid) (value)	Sets the temporary strength/power of a faction.
	create (faction name)	Creates a new faction.
	delete	Deletes the current faction.

Creating a new faction: To make a new faction, an administrator has to make sure they are in Faction 0 (the default faction). From here, the administrator does the command to create the faction with the desired name. The administrator can then add a player to the faction, then set that player's rank to the leader rank. After that, the administrator can set their faction back to what it was before having to create the faction.
Deleting a faction: An administrator who needs to delete an old/abandoned faction can use the setfaction command to set themselves as a member of a faction. After that, /fs delete can be used to delete the faction and remove all traces of it.

Faction Leader Commands

Command	Arguments	Description
fs	manage ?	Displays a help dialogue for the faction management commands.
	manage name (new name)	Sets the faction name.
	manage description (description...)	Sets the faction description.
	manage ranks Rank0#Rank1#Rank2...	Sets the ranks for the faction, no spaces allowed.
	manage color (colorname)	Sets the faction's color.
	manage pvp (true/false)	Sets whether friendly fire PVP is allowed.
	manage showcolor (true/false)	Sets whether or not colors show in nametags.
	manage permissions ?	Displays a permissions setup message.
	manage permissions (flag) (value)	Set up a faction-rank permissions scheme.

Installing the Plugin

First Time Installation

If this is your first time installing the plugin, follow these easy steps:

Download the latest Release Build (ZIP file). This will act as your base and has all of the files required to start up. Download
If available, download the latest Patch Build (JAR file). [No Patch Available]
Unzip the ZIP file into your plugins directory. This will create your IFA data folder and drop the plugin into your plugins folder automatically.
Place the JAR file (if available) into your plugins folder, replacing the one from the ZIP. This will update the plugin to the most recent version.
Restart the server - do not reload.

If you already have IFA on your server... (for updating)

If you already have a version of the plugin, do not use a ZIP file as it will erase all of your faction data and player information for IFA. Instead, follow these steps:

If available, download the latest Patch Build (JAR file). [No Patch Available]
Place the JAR file (if available) into your plugins folder, replacing the one from the ZIP. This will update the plugin to the most recent version.
Reload or restart the server.

Plugin Maintenance

If there is an error...

Use the support ticket system on BukkitDev to report the problem. I will not respond to any problems posted in the comments - make a support ticket. Be sure to provide a list of all plugins you are using, the version of the plugin you are using, and the full error message (your whole error log if possible).

Updating...

Check back for updates to the plugin. Major updates may require installation of additional libraries to your server, but it's not likely.

Usage...

There are no limitations on usage for this plugin, really. However, you may not use it to make money in any way by selling it or using it indirectly to make money (for example, selling the ability to have a faction is a no-no). The only other thing that I ask is that you report any bugs you may find and request any features you want to see.

Features

Create and delete factions.
Admins: Chunk management and faction management commands.
Claim and Unclaim chunks (claiming takes 15 seconds)
Faction teleportation and headquarters features
Land protection (and the ability for faction leaders to set which ranks can use things on faction land)
PVP stat tracking (and warzones)
Calculated Skill Rating
Faction Strength - determined by the average skill level of the members in a faction
Faction permissions scheme (leaders can set their own permissions for the faction)