Thoughts on Being in 1.0.0

As of right now, I have all but four of the mods I wanted installed in my Minecraft. The only ones I have yet to add are MineColony, the Zeppelin mod, wireless redstone, and the colored glass mod. Everything seems to be working well. I rather enjoy how, in a way, there are two humanoid races inhabiting the Minecraft world: the Testificates and the Millenaire villagers. Of course, the villagers are a lot more sophisticated. It's also interesting how now there are two types of villages that appear, one for each race.

The problem I am currently facing is this: what is to be said of all the progress I made in 1.7.3? In all likelihood I am going to end up abandoning that world altogether because plenty of what is in it won't work with 1.0.0. It does bother me that all that work is going to come to naught. However, I do expect that with it being in full release, things are going to be more stable and breakings of compatibility like this will become infrequent.

After fooling around on one map, I decided to enter the seed I've been using for 1.5.1 and explore around until I found some kind of settlement. In a previous map I found a Millenaire village and a Testificate village within maybe 150 meters of each other. But in my personal seed, I spent just over a day looking for the Millenaire village I would inhabit for the starting period.

Once again I am finding myself without an aim. Remember the Earth project? I have not gotten much luck on continuing that. Perhaps it is because designing Cush is such a large task for me to undertake. Or because the MineColony mod doesn't behave in a way I can manage it with. Or, as is more likely, it just takes too dang long to collect all that sandstone! I level large areas of desert and all too quickly, run out of sandstone. I have been contemplating hacking in the sandstone. It's not an entirely legit method as I desire for the Earth map, but if it will keep the game fun then there's no point in stopping myself. Unrelated, but getting sticky pistons could also be a problem since Slimes are such rare creatures. If I ever needed those, I may just hack in the slimeballs and continue with my constructions.

Also, I'm having something of an Etho rush. He has an underground base which is basically a dug out patch of grass with tunnels leading to tunnel systems. That is something I would like to try. Getting grass down there would be a pain, but doable.

Now, I would like to as you, the reader, a couple questions. What would you like me to do in Minecraft? Is there something you would stick around to read me explore? Is there any challenge you'd like me to try? What about this blog itself, its design and content. How would you like it to be? Would you be interested in a message board where you and I could interact on a more individual level? Please feel very free to answer in the comment section below. Thank you!

The Automatic City, a Concept Challenge

In real life, I'm a programmer. I like putting a series of commands into a computer then watching as it carries them out. In Minecraft this translates as being interested in automation, getting the game mechanics to do stuff for me. It makes things faster and easier and allows me to move on with what I want to do. That's another reason why I like mods such as MineColony and Millenaire; the NPCs do things that would otherwise be required of myself.

Recently I thought of a new goal for myself: to make an automated, self-sufficient city sporting various contraptions to work for me. This includes: mob traps, harvesters, self-repairing walls, cobblestone generators, TNT cannons, sewage system, light sensor-operated lightstone streetlights, and so on. This kind of thing would demonstrate a mastery over the game and also make it more convenient for me.

Then I thought, "This could be a good challenge." On the Minecraft forums, people have made plenty of challenges and my idea seems somewhat interesting, I think. There are several types of mobs that could be used as citizens of the city - the Testificates, Snow Golems, mod-added entities, etc. How about designing a city that features automation of all sorts that has the look and feel of an actual, inhabited settlement? It would feature things like a section devoted to homes, farming area, a downtown market, and whatnot. Encasing it would be a self-repairing defense wall with TNT cannons and arrow dispensers. In a user-chosen location would be a victory monument that symbolizes the player's mastery of Minecraft. The various aspects would be assigned numbered scores so people could compete to make the best, most automatic and sophisticated city they can. I think "The Genius" would be a good name for the challenge.

What say you all?

Opinion Time.

Each time Minecraft has ever had an update, there were scores of people who whined about how the new stuff supposedly ruined the game. Consider beds. On the Minecraft forum, there were many people who complained that the survival aspect of Minecraft was somehow damaged because of the fact night time could be skipped and how one's spawn point would be changed. Or wolves. Mobs that could become hostile and kill a player even on Peaceful, but be tamed and become "game-breakers" with how a player could amass a wolf army and obliterate mobs. Or the villages and the accompanying villagers. There are those who have griped because they don't want villages in the game, and others disliked how the villagers (a.k.a. Testificates) looked. We were originally promised Pigmen but instead got what look like Squidwards with unibrows.

I am not one of those people. Has Mojang ever added something that I didn't like? Not really, no. It's always been my opinion that it's Notch's game and he can add whatever he wishes. I just adapt to what comes. If I don't like something, then I don't use it. Or I find a mod that adds/removes that issue. For instance, Millenaire and MineColony were chosen to accomodate for the emptiness of the worlds.

Now, I say all that to say this. In my opinion, I think the last rush of additions were just that... rushed. Specifically, the things that were related to the Endermen, and some stuff that followed. This is just an opinion and I could be wrong in my observations, but here's my two cents.

The Enderman was made out of a moment of frustration on Notch's part. It's not entirely creative; rather, it was based upon the Internet creepypasta called Slenderman. It was made to be creepy. To be honest, I find them a little creepy. They're quite a peculiar addition to Minecraft but I don't have a problem integrating them into the experience.

Yet out of this random idea came an entire dimension of Minecraft - literally. Notch combined the Sky Dimension with Endermen to make the End. This name comes from how it's intended to be part of the endgame scenario of Minecraft. Two quips I have with this: first of all, Minecraft is at its core a sandbox game. This means it has no discernible storyline or end. Secondly, calling it the End to mark how it's one of the last things a player does is a play on words that only works in the English language. And then there is the Enderdragon. It is designed to be difficult to beat, the culmination of all efforts in Minecraft. Again, this tries to place an artificial ending to Minecraft. But also, a dragon? That is already heavily used in fantasy MMOs and RPGs. It heals itself using crystals. The End system seems lacking in creativity. Surely Mojang could have done better with this.

Let us turn our attention to the Blaze and Magma Cube, two hostile mobs added to the Nether. Before the start of the overhaul in 1.8, Minecraft had a simplistic, 8-bit feel to it. But these two mobs, and also the Silverfish to a lesser extent, seem to ruin this feel. The two Nether mobs in particular seem overly complex in design for Minecraft. Consider the Blaze. It has no real body, just smoke particles with a head and several rods. It just looks and behaves in a way I would expect a console mob, not a Minecraft one. The Magma Cube has a lava core and moves around like a spring. Compared to Ghasts and Zombie Pigmen, they simply feel out of place.

My last critique will be the potion brewing system. Several items such as spider eyes, Blaze rods, Magma cream, and Nether warts were added for no reason except for brewing. This seems a little off, as I've noticed how in the past items were typically given multiple uses (or at least, attempts were made). What really gets me is how redstone and glowstone dust are both agents in brewing. This does accomplish the task of giving at least glowstone dust another use. Still, it seems awkward.

With all of this I would like to conclude by saying that I do not look poorly upon Mojang for adding these things. Nor do I believe they have done bad to the game. It seems that after 1.7.3, they began losing creativity and started pushing it toward more of an RPG direction. Although this probably did appease many people, I am not one of them. It seems rather half-baked. Nonetheless, Minecraft is still an incredible and inspiring game. I will continue to play as long as I find it amusing. If I don't like something I will not use it. And if I do like something that I've never used before, I will integrate that in my gameplay.

Minecraft! 1.0! (.0!)

Yesterday, 18 November 2011, the full version of Minecraft came out. That means we are no longer in the beta stage. At MineCon Notch flipped the ceremonial lever which hailed the exit from beta and into full release. After two years Minecraft has developed from an independent project to a full scale game written by his company.

I don't usually write much about the latest news and updates; you likely have read about those already. However this is clearly a milestone for Minecraft.

About an hour after I got out of work I updated my 1.7.3 to see what would come out. To my surprise it only went up to 1.8.1, even though there were something like 6 pre-releases of 1.9 and two release candidates. Instead of waiting and worrying about it I began doing some homework, checking in on the QubeTubers stream for entertainment and to see if it's been updated. Once I finished my work and saw people clamoring about the update I tried again and landed in 1.0.0!

One of the things I wanted to try first was the End. I had seen an episode of the Yogscast where Simon and Lewis (the two stars of the show) went to the End with Knight Peculier, one of the supporting characters. They proceeded to spend ten minutes trying to slay the Enderdragon, even switching to Creative mode. It's clearly that difficult.

I pulled the Eye of Ender from the item selection menu and started throwing it around it. It took five or so minutes but eventually I landed at a Stronghold. Being in Creative mode I dug down and encountered the End Portal. I placed more Eyes of Ender where they were needed and the portal came to life. It had a black, starry, void-like look to it. I jumped in and entered the End.

Dark. So dark. I got in there and there was no life until I switched to Easy. Then came the Endermen and the Enderdragon. I spent the next ten minutes trying my hand at long distance archery, shooting at the dragon and the Ender crystals healing it. My aim was pretty bad and although I did inflict pretty decent damage, the battle took longer than I really wanted to. So I gave up on the dragon and started playing with the Endermen! It was rather amusing getting them mad then making them chase me and fall off the small patch of land. I did other things and, via Nether portals, returned to the Overworld.

For right now, I'm not going to do much with 1.0.0. I like mods like SPC, Millenaire, and Wireless Redstone. It will take a few days for those to catch up so I will likely revert to 1.7.3 if I do any major activity. This also puts into question the future of the maps I currently have now. What will the possible block and ID conflicts mean for those mods? Surely I can save most of them but especially for Millenaire and MineColony, both of which having brought so much life into the game, will I have to restart my map again to get them to work?

Wimpy Wimpy

As I have said before, located underneath my house is a cavern system with at least one dungeon in it, which I reckon is a zombie dungeon. Before I do any other major projects I feel it's appropriate to take down that dungeon first and light up the caves so those noises will cease.

The problem is, I don't care much for exploring monster-ridden caves. I don't react well to the amounts of combat such things bring. I would rather mine around enemies than actually face them. Yet this seems best to do. I do not want to relocate so soon, but in order to get a mining system established I must first deal with these caves and these monsters. So what I am thinking of doing is setting up an outpost at the bottom of the tunnel entrance in the beach. I shall dub it Beachhead Cavern, or Beachhead for short. Beachhead Outpost will have a secure bed, workbench, furnace, and a single chest. It will be composed of cobblestone with many windows to see my enemies. I want to consider also setting up a ladder and tunnel setup which will connect me to my base.

Earlier I went into my basement and cleared out an area to establish a meager underground farm. It will have 20 blocks for farming although this could easily be expanded. In addition to finding coal and iron ore making this, I also discovered Farm Drop, a vertical tunnel similar in design and depth as Beachhead. I have not taken the time to explore it, yet. Maybe I could alternatively establish an outpost in there, since it would connect directly to my house and could be built into the stone wall. The zombies are close, very close. I cannot remember exactly where the dungeon is but if Beachhead and Farm Drop are part of the same system, the dungeon may be easily located.

And We Are Off!

Located 380 meters away from the village that housed me for so long (we'll just call it Yusaria Village), and about 230 from a new fledgling village, is my new base of operations. I spent a couple in-game days looking for just the right location and, after traveling north of Yusaria Village I found a promising piece of land. Although surrounded by hills, mountains and interesting rock formations, the land itself was relatively flat and suitable for construction. I decided it would be the best place to begin.

First things first, I dug a temporary home into the ground. After chopping down birch and normal trees I lit the forest up with flint and steel to make some nice room for building. That done I next began laying down the foundation of the house, a cobblestone rectangle. This project is where all that money saved up from trading with the villagers came in handy: lacking in resources I just teleported and got what I needed.

Knowing that variety is one of the keys to pleasant-looking houses, I attempted to utilize multiple blocks. Cobblestone was used for the foundations and sides; glass windows were used all around the house with birch on either side; planks filled up the space not used by the others. For my roof, I made a pointed rooftop of plank and cobble. After moving my bed, workbench, furnace, and double chest out of the hole in the ground, I placed torches inside the house and had my base ready to go!

Night fell and I slept on my secure bed. Woke up and, knowing that Creepers were around, I rushed out the door. To my left one of those green freaks was staring me down! Despite my attempt to run away, I was too slow and the monster exploded - taking out the left half of my building's front side! I called it a certain name and collected some wood to rebuild. Luckily there were extra glass and wood in my chest. This showed me that the inside of my building may be safe, but certainly not the outside. I needed fences.

Following that, I used up probably a good couple hundred sticks making a fence perimeter around my house, at least 3 blocks from it. This took a while and afterward, I placed torches on the fence and my house. Off to sleep and success, no monsters inside the perimeter. There were, however, about 3 Creepers up against the fence, seeing me from a distance. I proceeded to spam them with arrows until all were dead, and then another Creeper hopping behind a ledge that was a bit too tall for it. I went outside the fence perimeter, reclaimed unused arrows, and picked up the gunpowder.

At this point, I'm starting to feel inspired to be creative with what I make, courtesy of Etho. Having a three-block-wide infinite water pool I try setting up a stream from it to a lava lake very close to my house (my fencing is partially placed on dirt a few blocks above the lava, but safely out of danger). The problem is, I cannot get the streams short enough or have the lava come from the proper place to have it function. At best I end up with a crude cobble generator and give up.

One of my ideas for my final base is to have an underground area with double chests lining the walls. I begin digging five blocks down under my floor, placing ladders, and dig out a sort of basement. Currently I have three sections 6 blocks long by 3 blocks wide by 5 blocks tall. These are going to eventually have four double chests and a workbench apiece. Right now only one is done and most of the chests are in use, holding distinct item categories like mob drops or wood-related items.

In order to make my house even better looking I replace most of the floor with white wool. I considered coloring it but don't have sufficient dyes. The blocks around the hatch I use to get into the basement are cobble. There is also the infinite water source, and the blocks around that are still grass so if I ever wanted a miniature farm in my building it could work.

Time to explore! Although one of my wolves died when it walked into a burning tree, I still had my second wolf, Aquinas II. There is an opening to a deep tunnel system at the shore nearest my house with iron in it. I claim some of the iron and decide to conquer the tunnels. According to Minutor I have at least one dungeon not very far below my house. And when I walk around I can hear zombies very loud and very clear so I would say it's a zombie spawner. Stocking up on torches and taking Aquinas with, I head back and make a gravel pillar. We're going in. No sooner do I get within range than a zombie and skeleton appear. I pillar up to hopefully get out of shooting range because I had stupidly neglected to put my bow in the hotbar. Aquinas even more stupidly does a jump off the edge of the opening and falls to his death. Hardly a shame. The skeleton lands a good shot and I somehow fall off the pillar and into the fray! I decimate the skeleton and zombie with arrows. Then in a hole nearby, another skeleton shoots at me. I kill it, too, then collect all my arrows.

Briefly exploring and lighting up the immediate area I see three possible tunnel entrances. Plus there is a deep hole in the ground to another. I gravel up what seems to be the most probable tunnel complex entrance and explore the other two. Both turn out to be dead ends. Now they are lit up and should pose no further danger. In fact, one has plenty of coal and iron ore which gets mined and smelted as needed.

I still want to conquer the dungeon, and perhaps convert it into a mob grinder. In the past I would use Minutor and locate dungeons that way, taking the thrill out of them. This is going to be different. I will not use Minutor, I will find it legitimately. Having seen Etho's latest project, which converted a dual cave spider spawner system into an impressive item farm, I may use water and lava to make a feather farm. Til then!

Mysterious Trader

I have finally managed to make a stable world using Millenaire in 1.7.3, without using MineColony. One of the things I've been doing to get the village to develop quicker is have the game running while I'm doing other things on the computer, checking periodically to make sure nothing has gone wrong. I have a little hole in the floor of the Maitre de Guilde (Guild Master), who is the leader of the village. So far it's been pretty safe for me, and the village has expanded quite well. It's the first one I've ever been in that didn't come to a screeching halt due to lack of usable land. Here's an aerial view of it:

During my time in the hole I have experimented with freecam. I discovered this neat little trick while experimenting on my non-legit creative world. It detaches the camera from the player's body, allowing me to move around freely while staying safe in my little cubbyhole. I can place and destroy blocks using freecam but I can't interact with entities, meaning no picking up items or battling mobs. It also lets me generate new chunks by flying over them although I want to limit that in order to keep my experience as vanilla as possible.

Picture of me, clad in leather armor. If I wanted to, I could punch myself in the back of the head.

I must come off as very peculiar to the villagers. I one day randomly show up while the village was still under construction and dig a hole into their leader's house, where I proceed to spend most of my time. Somehow I can almost clairvoyantly see things that are going on in and around the village despite being in said hole. However I am also liked because I trade heavily with them, plant saplings in their tree groves when they run out, and also beat down monsters when need be.

But I think I'm ready to move on. With 31 villagers, FPS issues are appearing once more. This time I think I will head west and make a nice little home there. Since I have never extensively traveled to the west in any incarnation of this map, it will be relatively new territory to me. Then, I will possibly try to use Etho's water highway system to connect my base to this village and others.