Minecrafty (and a bit wordy, too)

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

http://www.minecraft.net/

Woe to all who try out the sandbox game known as Minecraft. Many an hour will be wasted digging in the glorious 8-bit-esque landscape, exploring underground caverns, fighting off the monstrous hordes, and building your fortress. (Or a rollercoaster. Or whatever you feel like)

Pegged as the "Ultimate sandbox game", Minecraft is, well, a sandbox game. You start out at dawn with nothing in your hands and are simply asked to survive. Your first goal is simple: make enough tools to create a shelter for you by the time the sun sets.

Because when night falls, the monsters come out. They can spawn anywhere there is darkness, so light is important.

So you may be asking "how do I do all of this?" It's not difficult. Your character has an inventory and a 2 x 2 "grid" for crafting items. Most items you pick up can be stacked, and you can put those items together to create other items. For example, when you start out, you get some wood from a tree. Then you take the wood and turn it into planks. After that, you can take the planks and turn them into sticks.

It's easier to see it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANgI2o_Jinc
There's a ton of Minecraft videos on the internet. The ones by this guy are rather entertaining.

From there, sticks can be used with other materials to make torches, shovels, picks, swords...
And from there it just snowballs into bigger things. Making wooden picks lets you mine stone. Making stone picks lets you mine iron ore. Making iron ore picks lets you mine...

The game really has no goal except to survive. But it's addictively fun to dig deep into the world and discover hidden caverns filled with monsters, create minecart tracks, or just mess around, trying to see what's beyond that next hill.

The graphics are, as I said, very 8-bit. A first-person game, it may take a bit to get used to. But there's no real penalty for dying (except losing everything you were carrying) so you can have fun. The game is currently in late-alpha stage, but Notch (the sole developer of Minecraft) said he's eventually going to charge 20 euros (About $26 in current exchange rates). for the game. Those that sign up early don't ever have to pay again.
Notch also is developing a multiplayer version that's way in pre-alpha at this time (You have to manually enter the ip address of a known server).

It's a decent time-waster, and the future of this sandbox game can only be good.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

1. More than a few pictures.

My "castle"



My workbench (on the left) and furnace (on the right: the furnace can smelt ores and cook meats for consumption)



An 8-bit moonrise over the battlements



My minecart ride into the earth



A bit of excavating. (When water hits lava, sometimes it creates obsidian, which can be mined and is the hardest substance in the game)



Crafting a pick

[realisticphish]

2. I messed around with classic and thought it was boring

until i realized that all the crafting, mining, etc was in the paid alpha... so I'm paying for it, and giving it a try.

If I don't like it, who cares, I've supported independent devs :shrug:

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

3. I should have mentioned that from the start.

The "classic" mode really doesn't let you do much of anything except place blocks.

Sorry about that. :yoiks:

[realisticphish]

4. I hate you

I've spent the last hour digging a mine shaft at a 45 degree angle down into the bedrock. Why? Because I can, that's why.

How the hell is this game so damn addictive??

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

5. I've been trying to figure that out, too.

Wait until you figure out how to make booster mine carts. Then you'll want to link up every digging site with mine carts.
And then you'll realize you need more wood and iron ore for tracks. And more coal for torches.
And then you'll want a diamond pickaxe.
And then...

See what I mean?

I haven't even tried to figure out how redstone works.
But there is a really odd thrill when you encounter a new, dark cavern. And then a moment of panic as a friggin' creeper jumps towards you and explodes.

Wait until the Halloween patch hits: Torches burn out. Lanterns (which don't exist in game yet) will burn forever.
More monsters. Craftable watches to keep track of the sunrise/sunset on the surface.

Here'st the official posting on the next major update.

http://www.minecraft.net/boo/

[realisticphish]

6. dude

the watch would be awesome.

At the moment, I'm building a massive road to nowhere, out of deep mined rock. I figure it will help me find my mine if I respawn somewhere :D

The eventual plan is to build a giant pyramid/temple in my honor, hopefully cased in gold. I'm nothing if not ambitious...


It's like D&D and Legos had an illegitimate child on an Apple IIe that could somehow run Doom

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

7. ...did you say "Doom"?

:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJuwE_3A01k&feature=related

And then there's this. This is ambitious. And very insane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn2-d5a3r94

[realisticphish]

8. i like the top rated quote

"this will sure get you laid!"

that's goddamn impressive, but in the same way that someone who wallpapers their house with postage stamps is impressive.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

9. At least his hobby's rather innocuous.

I suspect he "cheated" a bit. He has references to the the actual blueprints created for the show.
And I think he knows his way around CAD programs, so he's probably modded the game a bit to help him out in the drawing aspect. It looks a little...too good.

There could be some interesting visual applications to this kind of program, too. Using quick-draw programs like this to visualize massive constructions or architecture quickly...?

[realisticphish]

10. I can see that

obviously, the physics aren't true to life, but in terms of overall layout and design, I can see it being very useful

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

11. Yeah.

One of these days I'll figure out how to start a multiplayer server. And then we can start building that giant pyramid/temple in gold to your honor/memory.
Yeah. An official DU Minecraft server. That'd be fun.


...until it gets griefed by some freeper.

[realisticphish]

12. nice...

i'm about halfway done with a sort-of pyramid (3 up, 1 in). It's cobblestone, though.

[realisticphish]

13. also

with a multi-player server, can you make them private? and can you import single-player maps?

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

14. I'm not quite sure.

I think the admin can ban certain IP addys. Or make them password compliant.

I do not know if one can import a single player map. My map's a total mess. I have strange long cobblestone walkways over the ocean...so you'd not want my map in there.
But that pyramid... :D (only if we can increase the amount of gold that randomly drops in the world)

[realisticphish]

15. haha yeah

although, apparently, each "section" of the map can respawn, so it might be possible to (very, VERY slowly) build up enough.

To make it easier, you would only need an outer layer of gold, like the egyptians and their marble...


At the moment, I have a giant complex planned, including at least one inverted pyramid tip to tip with another one, or maybe floating on its own, since you can do that. But I guess I should probably finish the one I'm working on, lol

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

16. I've tried to make a server.

It says I don't have Java installed. Even though I do.
I will investigate further.

This just in: Lava is hot. And it will melt all of your stuff. Don't find out the way I did.

[realisticphish]

17. i was looking into some of that

I guess you can have private servers, but you have to run it off your own equipment, which I'm not overly fond of. Still, for free online gameplay like this, not bad.

My first pyramid (ish) is done, with a long, Mayan-style step leading to it. I'm currently doing some deep mining, looking for gold, iron, and diamond. Redstuff, meh, I guess. I'd love to get my hands on obsidian, but I haven't quite worked out how I'm going to get at it without falling into the lava. At some point I may make some lava troughs and try to make it myself, but I have to get enough diamonds together to make some picks before I can harvest it.

Somewhere in there, my goal is to make a glass tower, so I'm gathering as much coal as possible for smelting sand. I'd also like to try the farming stuff.

And I've been playing on peaceful for the moment, because the building part is what I love. But I may switch on the mobs soon, so I can start gathering loot.

Considering what it is, this game is seriously deep :D

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

18. Obsidian can be farmed if you have a location near water and lava.

Create a trough of 7 spaces. Fill it full with 7 buckets of lava.
Create a small "spout" on one end of the trough so liquids will flow over the lava. Pour a bucket of water on said spout, and you'll get 6 to 7 blocks of obsidian out of the lava.

[realisticphish]

19. hmm interesting

will have to try that when i get home...

I'm also going to start a real game here soon; I like my mega-construction world, and I'll keep working on it, but I feel guilty not playing with the mob around :D

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

20. I totally forgot about the ability to shut monsters "off"

And have been exploring and building the hard way: only during the daytime.

Right now I'm working on a monorail (Monorail!) from my main castle to the Old Western Frontier. I think I have enough iron to link the two citadels.

I call it the Old Western Frontier because up until two nights ago, it was the furthest I had explored to the west. Then I made a boat and sailed around a bit. And discovered another mountain. And another one after that. And another one after that...(and a really cool lava cascade down a mountain)

It was only today when I realized the game allots for infinite expansion. Infinite.

Although it technically is limited to an area eight times the surface of the Earth. Only eight times as big.

I will continue to look into setting up a private DU-only Minecraft server. I think there's a few more in this group who'd love this game.

[realisticphish]

21. dude

it would be awesome to lay out state lines, etc... maybe set up resource trading.

God I'm a nerd, and I don't care :D

In my "real" game, i'll focus on my main fortress, hopefully near the water, and do more spelunking. I'll mine, of course, but not as much as I do now

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

22. Well, I now have a monorail linking my two castles.

It's manually operated: put down the cart, give it a push, and then jump in before it hits the booster.
The booster cart (a neat little glitch) gives it enough power to make it all the way to the other castle.

While spelunking in the caves beneath the Western Frontier, I started just digging. And finding more caves. And more caves. And then some more caves.
And then some lava. And some obsidian. And more lava.
And some diamonds (!) And more diamonds...

...before I knew it, I'd dug into another cave. A very square one. With torches.

Yes. I'd managed to connect up the new caverns with my old complex.

But now with this much diamond, I can make a few pickaxes, shovels, and an axe and go nuts with my excavation.


...still working on the server issue. Will hopefully have an update soon.

[realisticphish]

23. I've connected my primary mine

with a large glass tower in the middle of a lake, using a glass tunnel through the water. Took about a million years to finish both, since I had to smelt sand for every single block. I'm not sure where I'm going with things now. I might start building an actual fortress, with walls, etc. We'll see where creativity takes me...

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

24. Ooh....forgot about glass tunnels.

If you build a fortress, don't forget a moat.



......of lava.

:D

[realisticphish]

25. oh, hell yes

:D

I do need to experiment with lava physics a bit. I'm getting better with water, but I'm still not quite there

[Mojambo]

26. Funniest Minecraft video ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjSWPxJxNs

[realisticphish]

27. hahahaha

fire is dangerous... that's why I don't build with wood :D

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

28. I can offically declare victory in my quest to create a Minecraft multiplayer server.

I have to run it off of my own machine, which isn't ideal, but it works. And no, I'm not going to be just posting the IP address here for anyone to join.

I wouldn't mind a few people from this board who have the game (hi, realisticphish!) and are willing to try out a few things to log on and check it out.

And yes, it is quite possible to import single player maps into multiplayer. :D

[realisticphish]

29. awesome

I'm def. willing to do this (once I know how :)). And, while I have several maps I'm working on right now, it's mostly dicking around, so i don't mind restarting for the online version. It's not a game that takes a long time to get your resources back, as long as you haven't amassed stockpiles of gold and iron.

PM me if you want to give me the IP, or I can send you my email, if you'd rather do it that way (I know how IPs feel like SSNs...)

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

30. I will PM you this evening.

There are a few Minecraft 3rd party server clients in existence already. If there's one that automatically fires up the server and takes it down after a set time, then I may go with that and just have a specific time when the server's active.

[realisticphish]

31. sounds good nt

[realisticphish]

32. great game trailer

this is freaking awesome :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaMTedT6P0I