I have good times with friends just by loving around and building simple fun things. You need to get creative and stop believing that "fun" is a chore.
Although that's a valid point, this community does not support that philosophy at all.
For instance, my first working server was a Desert DM. I had crumbling, half destroyed buildings in a relatively small arena, and only melee weapons [Bow, swords, axes, spear]. It was simple, it was fun, it was strategic... but because it wasn't the flashiest or most overly done project, people did nothing but flame it.
People also complained SO much that it was "Spammy". I did use baseplates, but in order to create the texture and realism of the build, I HAD to make it spammy, for god sakes, the houses are made of brick... I wasn't about to use 10x5 walls, it would have looked like beige sheetrock lol. I even went as far as making all 7 buildings unique.
So, although I agree that "simple"-"creative"-"Fun" should suffice, the giant troll that is the blockland community doesn't support that.