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[Blizzard]

Wow. You are really up in that koolaid. Minecraft has very little potential beyond what has already been observed and you are fantasizing about a game which is not Minecraft. Likely a game not made by Notch.


Anyway, thebestgamers really stepped it up with this review. I got tired of them awhile back(aside from their awesome pop-ups), but this is a legitimate counter to the rather absurd acclaim(which is to say the highest kind of acclaim) the release is getting. I like the little jabs at YouTubers, indies using "retro graphics" poorly, and people excusing the game because of friends. It alludes to a rather big problem in my eyes: Minecraft(Notch) is critically acclaimed because it is viral(vogue). Those are the kind influences a serious collection of critics need to be able to shake up if they want to get anywhere. They need to if they want to stop making a mockery of the artform and the meaning behind words like "innovation".

The thing is, there are so many mods that it really does have all sorts of ways the experience can be modified.

And as to why it might be the ultimate sandbox game, pretty much no other sandbox style game (GTA4, Just Cause 2, whatever qualifies) allows you to literally destroy a world down to the bedrock if you want, and rebuild it in whatever shape you want. That, combined with mods for all sorts of crazy things, combined with good terrain generation are some of Minecraft's biggest strengths in my opinion despite whatever shortcomings it may have.

 

[tangmaster96]

Got this easy hack to work

(I'm wearing the Minecon cape yet I didn't go to Minecon) It was pretty easy to pull off. It was literally as simple as changing 1 url in one of the .class files Maybe Ark could do something similar for NeoCraft

That's a very nice texture pack

 

[rezuth]

It does not get a free pass. How do we mesure up "does this have have enough content for a release"? It's different for each game, it also depends on the price and how it entertains you. It's complete grey zone here.
This game is having more content than many other releases, it's all about if you like it or not --- wich I can't decide. Personally, this game is worth way freaking more than the price of admission, I have probably near 500 hours in there. Most 60$ gives us like 10-15 hours of entertainment. It's a really bad value compared to Minecraft for me. And that stuff that isn't updated yet will probably be there. Notch said multiple times they will continue to add to the game and so far what Notch said has been truth. Why would he suddendly start lying at release?

Its less about having enough content and more about having the right content for your game launch.

 

[Atomski]

Started working on a dwarvin city... I am going through diamond pickaxes like they are nothing. Wish there was a better way.

 

[WillyFive]

I fully expect Minecraft to be updated in the future, exactly as it has been up till now.

The "full release" moniker is just to say that the game is a playable product, which scares away some consumers that see the "Beta" tag as something to be avoided until later.

 

[onken]

Finally. Can't wait till the server gets updated.

Though what I really want is the Pocket Edition to be expanded to include survival mode, day/night and crafting.

 

[celebi23]

That's a very nice texture pack

It's Sphax PureBDCraft (I'm using the 256x version)

 

[Pandaman]

Started working on a dwarvin city... I am going through diamond pickaxes like they are nothing. Wish there was a better way.

enchant your pickaxes!

 

[Atomski]

enchant your pickaxes!

Im actually carving out my enchanting room right now. Is there an enchant that makes it last a ton longer?

 

[Mengy]

Does this game kind of unnerve anybody else? It's something about the huge, endless world, being pretty much completely alone, and the subtle but effective sound effects.

One of the reasons why I love the game is that it can be so serene and relaxing to play. Part of that is the all alone in a huge never ending world to explore thing. Part of that is the tranquil piano music that starts playing as you chop down trees. Minecraft's serenity is some times a bit unnerving to me, but it's also one reason why I can relax with the game for hours and hours and just have simple fun without stressing out too much.

Of course, sometimes those serene moments are broken up by sheer moments of absolute terror as the sound of a skeleton archer twangs out of nowhere. Or you turn around to find yourself face to face with a creeper. Or you dig down just that one time by accident and fall 40 blocks into an underground ravine, landing in a pool of water surrounded by pitch black except for the little spot of light high in the ceiling where the hole you just dug is illuminated by your torchlight, far far above you now.

That extreme contrast coupled with the great exploration and creativity component is one of the things I find most intriguing and fun about this game.

 

[sophora]

One of the reasons why I love the game is that it can be so serene and relaxing to play. Part of that is the all alone in a huge never ending world to explore thing. Part of that is the tranquil piano music that starts playing as you chop down trees. Minecraft's serenity is some times a bit unnerving to me, but it's also one reason why I can relax with the game for hours and hours and just have simple fun without stressing out too much.

Of course, sometimes those serene moments are broken up by sheer moments of absolute terror as the sound of a skeleton archer twangs out of nowhere. Or you turn around to find yourself face to face with a creeper. Or you dig down just that one time by accident and fall 40 blocks into an underground ravine, landing in a pool of water surrounded by pitch black except for the little spot of light high in the ceiling where the hole you just dug is illuminated by your torchlight, far far above you now.

That extreme contrast coupled with the great exploration and creativity component is one of the things I find most intriguing and fun about this game.

Always find myself going back to MC just because of those contrasting moments of peace and terror. Just building and gathering resources from the surface to exploring the unknown in dark caves, makes the game's overall sense of discovery that much more fun and appealing.

 

[Ranger X]

Its less about having enough content and more about having the right content for your game launch.

But can you define "right content"? It's again total grey zone here. If you don't like a game it's because whatever the content, it doesn't entertain you. If it does entertain then it means it was the "right content" for you.

 

[Pandaman]

Im actually carving out my enchanting room right now. Is there an enchant that makes it last a ton longer?

yes there are enchantments that make a percentage of blockbreaks not count towards a tools limit.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

I finally managed to tear myself away from Skyrim to hop into my single player world to check out 1.0.0...

The first thing I did was watch in bemused dismay as ice spread across my moats and stopped my waterfalls and turn the entire waterway and docks into a skating rink. When I shot a nearby pig in frustration, my bow made a sound like a bubble popping.

God dammit. I'm going back to Whiterun.

 

[Atomski]

Enchanting seems like a huge time sink. Just spent 30 levels on my pickaxe.. who knows when I will ever grind enough mobs to reach level 30 again.

 

[ArtistDude88]

So you need experience levels to spend on enchants? Interesting...

Perhaps we could get that hunting mod on NeoCraft that turns night time into a friendly competition of who kills the most monsters? I forgot what it was called... It had a scoreboard and even gave a reward to whoever killed the most that night. It would turn the grind into a sport

 

[Baconsaurus Rex]

Is there room left in the NeoGaf server for newcomers?

 

[fredrancour]

Somebody up above mentioned "Real life 2.0." Is that actually what people want out of minecraft?

 

[Atomski]

Do certain baddies give better XP? Or should I just stand outside a zombie spawner and slap them as they come out the door .

Also I have killed like 10 endermen and have yet to drop an eye. They are so annoying to fight.. porting away from you over and over.

 

[WolfofMebu]

Enchanting seems like a huge time sink. Just spent 30 levels on my pickaxe.. who knows when I will ever grind enough mobs to reach level 30 again.

Find a stronghold in the nether and build a room around a blaze spawner, then you can fight them as they spawn.

They give 10 expierence and 2-3 will usually spawn at once. Just make sure you have full armor on.

Edit: Plus you get a lot of blaze rods, which are pretty useful.

 

[Krovan]

Is there room left in the NeoGaf server for newcomers?

Of course, just pm ark your name so you can get whitelisted, and hold off on expanding the map until we get 1.0 up and running. It's pretty quiet on there right now as everyone's waiting for the update, but it might be good to look around and scope out what areas you like. Check the OP for address and link to a map of the server.

 

[Vlad]

So you need experience levels to spend on enchants? Interesting...

Perhaps we could get that hunting mod on NeoCraft that turns night time into a friendly competition of who kills the most monsters? I forgot what it was called... It had a scoreboard and even gave a reward to whoever killed the most that night. It would turn the grind into a sport

It's not really that grindy, though. Just think of it as another material to gather.

Still, I completely agree with putting that monster hunt mod (and Craftbook!) on the server.

 

[Vlad]

Also I have killed like 10 endermen and have yet to drop an eye. They are so annoying to fight.. porting away from you over and over.

Ugh, this. I thought Endermen were supposed to become agressive and attack you when you looked at them, but every single one I've seen has just disappeared on me. I don't think I've ever managed to kill a single one.

That, plus the fact that I hardly ever even see the damn things means that it's going to be quite a while until I make it to The End.

 

[Atomski]

I know right.. I remember thinking that Endermen would be so creepy. But really they are just huge pussys.

 

[r1chard]

Does minecraft have level scaling of monsters now? I ask because I'm finding that I need quite a number of hits on a creeper to kill the bugger (enchanted steel sword - I've hardly found any diamond in my world). It's getting bloody annoying.

 

[gutabo]

So, I'm addicted to minecraft again.

I read that to be able to have more enchantments available at the enchantment table, you had to surround it with bookshelves. So I made some tests in creative mode and surrounding it with 30 bookshelves(leaving room for a door) made all enchantments available. I did some brainstorming and decided to do an "enchantment room" with lots of bookshelves(just out of the enchantment table's reach), lots of pistons and pressure plates(I was in the mood), so that without stepping on any pressure plate you would have access to only the basic enchantments and depending on the pressure plate you stepped on the pistons pushed the bookshelves closer so you could have 30%, 60% or 100% of the bookshelves near the enchantment table(thus allowing you to access any kind of enchantments depending on your experience points). Thing is, when I was done, I tested it again and seems like it will only give us enchantments up to level 10. So seems like you have to leave the bookshelves there for a while or something.... meh.

Anyway here are some pics for your amusement:
Entering the room
Inside the room(notice the 3 wooden pressure plates)
Stepping on the 100% pressure plate leaves you with no way out until you step out of it
The thing from outside(the creative mode version), most of the redstone circuitry is hidden.

Oh yeah, I made it first in creative mode, then did it again in SMP(which was way harder since it's underground + resources are not free). Silly me.

 

[r1chard]

So, I'm addicted to minecraft again.
...
Oh yeah, I made it first in creative mode, then did it again in SMP(which was way harder since it's underground + resources are not free). Silly me.

In addition to diamond being extremely rare in my game I have found *no* slime :-(

 

[gutabo]

In addition to diamond being extremely rare in my game I have found *no* slime :-(

I found slime first, on a huge cave I heard a slime bouncing around and digged until I found a huge slime. I left that spot with no torches and I already have a stack of slime.

Diamond was another issue, we have only found 5 diamonds so far(3 for a pickaxe, 2 for the enchantment table, we found all 5 of them on the same spot) after a long while searching for it around lava pools near bedrock level.

EDIT: Holy crap, maybe I was just lucky!

 

[Ranger X]

Does minecraft have level scaling of monsters now? I ask because I'm finding that I need quite a number of hits on a creeper to kill the bugger (enchanted steel sword - I've hardly found any diamond in my world). It's getting bloody annoying.

Arrows are your friend. 3 or 4 arrows and they are done. It really is the most powerful weapon now.

Somebody up above mentioned "Real life 2.0." Is that actually what people want out of minecraft?

What I would dream of the biggest and best sandbox game is that it would be complex and intricate enough to compare with our human reality --- not to replicate it. You could feel you're in another reality, similar to an extend yes, but that would let us escape from "our real life" and be entertaining. This game is probably not possible to make until dozens, maybe hundreds years from now I guess. :/

 

[Atomski]

Sucks you can't enchant the bow. I want fire arrows.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

So what's the best map making tool as far as ease of use and detail of maps go? I really wanna take a pic of my current megaproject to share but I can't find a good map making tool. Thanks!

 

[Ranger X]

So what's the best map making tool as far as ease of use and detail of maps go? I really wanna take a pic of my current megaproject to share but I can't find a good map making tool. Thanks!

I use Cartograph G. Works fine and you have different styles of rendering of your map.

You might want to take a look here though. There's a new mapper called Journey that seems interesting... http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Programs_and_editors

 

[Tawpgun]

Sucks you can't enchant the bow. I want fire arrows.

FUND IT.

Anyway, I went down to the Nether, walked/scaled forever, using very shittily placed markers. Found the fortress. Got 5 blaze rods. Those guys are slippery fucks. I was going to build a portal back to the overworld, feeling that I'd feel better with a long ass walk up there then a moderate walk down here...

and minecraft FPS takes a shit on me and I misplace my obsidian block. Now I need to make it back to my OG portal. How fucked am I?

 

[gutabo]

Is there such a thing as a 3-input XNOR gate? I'm getting by using two XNOR gates and using one output as the other's input...

Also, what's the easiest way to trim a map with some errors/glitched chunks?

 

[Riposte]

If this doesn't sell you on Minecraft, nothing will!

Brian Ashcraft, Dallas native, Minecraft virgin: Texas is football crazy. Even though I grew up in Dallas, I've managed to make it without seeing an NFL game live, let alone a cowboys game. I've also managed to make it through the past few years without playing Minecraft.

I'm assuming this says something about my personality. That when everyone starts to zig, perhaps I start to zag. It's not that I am against Minecraft. I don't hate the Cowboys, either. I just haven't had the opportunity—or made the opportunity for myself.

And so, here I am, your non-player. But just because I haven't played the game that damn well doesn't mean I'd pooh-pooh anyone who wanted to buy the thing. Here's a game that, developed by some Swedish dude in a silly hat, has captured the gaming public's imagination, spawned cosplays and fandom as well as a convention, and has enable said Swedish dude to buy more silly hats. There's something to be said about a game that can inspire such passion and interest— for the Cowboys. So just I'd like recommend someone attend an NFL game, I'd recommend that somebody buy Minecraft. Yes.

http://kotaku.com/5862414/should-you-buy-minecraft-yes

Professional review.

 

[Diomedeskun]

FUND IT.

Anyway, I went down to the Nether, walked/scaled forever, using very shittily placed markers. Found the fortress. Got 5 blaze rods. Those guys are slippery fucks. I was going to build a portal back to the overworld, feeling that I'd feel better with a long ass walk up there then a moderate walk down here...

and minecraft FPS takes a shit on me and I misplace my obsidian block. Now I need to make it back to my OG portal. How fucked am I?

If it is far from your portal, you are better off walking back to the original anyway, since you would be 8x as for once you returned to the normal world. I tried that once, and a distance that takes about four minutes to cover climbing rough terrain in the nether took me about thrity to return, even though I used a boat to cover most of it.

 

[Diomedeskun]

In addition to diamond being extremely rare in my game I have found *no* slime :-(

I had found no slime in the game since I started a new world in 1.8, but one day, as I was climbing down the mineshaft beneath my fortress, a slime randomly jumped down the same shaft. I killed it, got a single slime ball, and was able to use that to make a fire resistance potion that let me easily fight blazes to get all the blaze rods I needed to make the 16 eyes of ended I ultimately needed to find a stronghold and repair the gate to the end.

 

[fresquito]

So I've found a texture pack that looks better than any other I've used so far: It's called DefaultEx/Hybrid. Basicaly it looks like vanilla Minecraft but it does not. It's like Vanilla Minecraft with a short of LBP filter. It looks really ace. Well, except for the tools, and gneral UI, that looks exactly the same.

 

[Atomski]

I just was looking at what it would take to make health potions... ugh. Ive already cleared a mineshaft and found no watermelon seeds.

 

[Ranger X]

So I've found a texture pack that looks better than any other I've used so far: It's called DefaultEx/Hybrid. Basicaly it looks like vanilla Minecraft but it does not. It's like Vanilla Minecraft with a short of LBP filter. It looks really ace. Well, except for the tools, and gneral UI, that looks exactly the same.

Ugh, it looks like I am playing the game but with dirty glasses or in a scratched screen.
The guy went like "hey look, I can apply random noisy filters on stuff in photoshop". Really unnapealing and bring nothing to the original textures for me. Oh well, not like I am someone interested in texture mods. I NEVER found one more appealing than Notch's textures actually. I guess it's too much locked with the game's identity for me.

 

[nismogrendel]

Quick question about sheep breeding. Will the wool grow back? Do I need to trim the wool/kill that sheep/breed another?

 

[masud]

Want slimes? Make a large (LARGE) well lit chamber deep underground. You'll be swimming in them. Unless they've changed that, I haven't pplayed in a while.

 

[Ranger X]

Quick question about sheep breeding. Will the wool grow back? Do I need to trim the wool/kill that sheep/breed another?

You have to make shears.



With this you can take the wool on the sheep without killing them. After that it will grow back.

 

[Treefingers]

You have to make shears.



With this you can take the wool on the sheep without killing them. After that it will grow back.

Wool won't grow back after shearing them.

 

[Takuya]

Want slimes? Make a large (LARGE) well lit chamber deep underground. You'll be swimming in them. Unless they've changed that, I haven't pplayed in a while.

Slimes only spawn in certain chunks.

 

[nismogrendel]

Wool won't grow back after shearing them.

Ok so breed sheep, shear the babies wool, then murder them?

 

[Togglesworlh]

So I've found a texture pack that looks better than any other I've used so far: It's called DefaultEx/Hybrid. Basicaly it looks like vanilla Minecraft but it does not. It's like Vanilla Minecraft with a short of LBP filter. It looks really ace. Well, except for the tools, and gneral UI, that looks exactly the same.

That's awesome. It gives the game texture without ruining the blocky style. I love it. I usually hate HD textures, but this one... oh boy!

 

[Treefingers]

Ok so breed sheep, shear the babies wool, then murder them?

Yeah pretty much.

 

[nismogrendel]

This is the little farm I built for myself, got a whole pen open for expansion.

Herding animals is the worst shit ever, is there a better way than pushing and hoping for the best?

Trying the john smith texture pack. I like it.

 

[CharmingCharlie]

Herding animals is the worst shit ever, is there a better way than pushing and hoping for the best?

I was under the impression you could guide animals now by holding some wheat, I dunno I haven't tried it myself (still on 1.8 awaiting patiently for the Neocraft server to update).