Biding My Time?

That's what it feels like I'm doing to 1.8 when I can start these new worlds. In the meantime I've only been doing a few small things over the last few days - trying out hedge fencing instead of normal fencing as a perimeter, added paintings to the tavern,begun tavern garden, tried and failed at a secret entrance and last night did some more work on the shrine to my old Multi-player house. I took this shot of the tavern at night as I was wandering around and thought it was an interesting angle:

If you see any holes in the tavern garden to the right of the picture, it's for the piston tables. Bit of a logistical nightmare with all the red stone circuits underneath the ground. This is partly why I failed at the secret entrance. I think it's alright if you're making a new secret entrance, but if your trying to incorporate it into an old existing area, getting Redstone power to the pistons as well as being able to hide the wiring can be difficult aesthetically when your trying to make it blend in with the rest of the surroundings. At least however, it's got me playing with Redstone at last and learning about circuits & stuff. You'll never learn if you don't at least try.

The Multi-player house is coming along nicely though:

I also forgot to mention a bit of a change at the storage room. Finally changed that dirt floor, but leveled off some of the walls for more space. No doubt I'll end up having chests on the walls above chests for cobblestone. (When I got that much again after losing all those chest before with the creeper incidents.) One of the main differences this time is the stairs. I hated the single row of cobble stairs coming straight down from the middle of the wall, so have changed them to come down the side and around a corner. (With fencing to prevent falling over the side of the stairs):

The glass wall in the first screenshot, is where the secret entrance was meant to be. It now serves as a glass prison of sorts, for the mobs that spawn out the back there.

I also re-installed SinglePlayerCommands now it's updated, way-points and flying are all I used it for, both very handy. I should get back to the fencing as I really want to see how that looks when completed. I think I like it, but I also think I need to complete it before making a decision.

1.8 Plans

I thought I'd share my 1.8 plans when it comes out. Originally I was going to start a brand new world with 1.7, but when the pistons & shears got pushed forward - it pushed this back to the new 1.8. But here are the full details of not one, but possibly two new worlds!


So when 1.8 does come out, I plan to make another home in the side of the mountain - but this won't be a "home" it will be a base. A full on base with defenses and all sorts! There will be no "living rooms" but recreation areas, no bedrooms but a sleeping dormitory/ies with multiple bunks, weapons room, storage rooms defensive walls, the works! I'm still trying to find a good spot to build, there's a lot of mountain overhangs which are hollow underneath. One of the places I might start is here:

These are some other choices:

As I said previously, I found this one a first try when playing with seeds, usually I have to go through and try at least a dozen. I did experiment with a few other seed ideas the other day, just to expand my options. And upon spawn I came up with this:

Now is that not BEGGING for a home to be built up there?! I wasn't going to do an "1.8" home as I've tried underground homes, homes in the side of mountains, homes on top of mountains, on flat lands (Beta home), but something HAS to be build up there! So I may well build a home up there. Maybe something a little different, I've been looking at tudor homes recently as I've always loved their quaint little style. The ideas with water coming down from the drop, whether on the edges or in the middle (Where there's a big square hole), the ideas are coming thick and fast! Which is why there maybe a second world at the same time when 1.8 is released. It woun't be the main focus however, the base will.

Thankfully I've plenty of time to explore.

In the meantime...

I've been doing more on my Tavern. Finished the roof, added some shelving behind the bar and shelving high up near the roof. Just need to add few pictures and do the garden area. (Which after seeing a picture will have piston benches!)

When it's complete, I guess it's back to finishing the multiplayer home on this world, although that's a long way to get to without SinglePlayerCommands.

Exploring 1.7

When it was announced 1.7 was a mainly pistons update I was kinda bummed. Originally I thought shears was a bit silly with wool cutting and I was never interested in pistons, despite the secret entrance being cool. I was however, about to be proved wrong.


After upgrading, I immediately made shears but had a little trouble cutting. I was just punching the sheep with them and hurting them. Just outside my home was a brown sheep, about to take a dip in my lava pool, so I had to save the brown wool(!) Like I said I just hit the sheep with the shears and ended up getting 1 wool, but killing the sheep. I got it working but what I think might have happened, was, that I thought I had it selected, but maybe I didn't after all? Anyway, getting 3 or 4 wool is much better with shears and being able to keep getting wool and not kill the sheep. (I take it back!) I'd completely forgotten about getting legitimate leave blocks though! I have the best part of three stacks and my shears are only just about to break. So far I have created a little shrub near the creation plaque, and on the corner of the path round the back. (Before the bridge.) I have thought about hedge fencing, but I'm not sure.


The main part of the update was of course the pistons. I wasn't too bothered about them, until - I saw a members post in the "Discoveries" thread on the Minecraft forums. They had created a gate with sticky piston! Simply it's a fence stuck to a sticky piston that's hidden and embedded, but goes up and down at the flick of a switch! Now I'm terrible with Redstone, contraptions with it don't interest me. Beyond a simple link up to a door I've never tried experimenting with it, it just sits in my chest. However I wanted to do this gate idea! So it was down with the cobble door frames and iron doors!


It did take me a while to perfect the Redstone circuit, but it was trying to do it in a way that I could hide the Redstone that made it take longer overall. What I've created is something nice that really blends in with the rest of the fencing, and makes a great sound when it goes up and down!:

It looks like a little dead end. but!....

VOOOMPH!:

Controlled by a simple switch as you see.

I also did one the other end for the other one I had, which meant widening the top of the path and last few steps up to it. At first I didn't hide the Redstone, as well, but, I managed it. In the end though I had the lever in a block deep hole, so I put a hatch over it. (After failing to hide the erlier bigger hole with a bush.) A nice Birch tree helps the aesthetic.

I hid that Redstone just now after taking this screenshot!

I'm really really tempted to make the entrance to the dungeon (At the back of my storage room), a secret entrance now! It'd require a lot of work, but, am so, so tempted.

Overall the 1.7 update is better than I though, with the stackable fences, torches on fences as well, I think it was worth it. I admit I was wrong about the shears and have come to appreciate the pistons!

Too Much Terraria, John Smiths' & 1.7

I haven't done much in the last day as I've been obsessing over Terraria, now I'm actually getting somewhere with it. Travelling much deeper, finding all sorts of stuff, chests, skeletons, Gonna have a go at the Eye of Cthulhu soon.  Back to Minecraft however...


I was a little disappointed the Adventure Update got put back to 1.8 in favour of the pistons, which held no interest. It means the new world won't start until 1.8 now. This got me thinking though, as I watched another Minecraft video on Youtube and saw yet another person using John Smith's texture pack.. I decided to download the pack and give it a go since everyone seems to be using it these days.. I wasn't sure at first, the pattern on the glass put me off and the sandstone is a bit meh - but I could live with it. The positives outweigh it though, the more time i spent on my world, the more it began to really grown on me. I like the cobble, and the half-step from smooth-stone is the best I've seen in any pack, and the most realistic. That pretty much nailed it for me. What I really liked was noticing certain black lines around certain things, making things really crisp. The whole pack has a great RPG feel to it. The simple plain wool makes certain rooms of mine look gorgeous!


Although I don't think it's right for this main world, I will switch to it for the 1.8 world. Any posts after for old worlds that use screenshots, will still use the old packs for continuity.


Thus ends the posts for the month of June, tomorrow, a full report on 1.7! My experimenting, crafting and trying new things!

Millenaire Madness!

I'm seriously worried about how addicted to the Minecraft Millenaire I am!


It's like a compulsion, I can't stop trading stuff to make the village grow bigger and bigger. Unfortunately, right now I'm at a stage where they need 500+ cobblestone, and I can get it that's no problem. The problem is, when I get the 5/6 stacks I need I usually end up around lava and die. I never learn. I know I should go back, but I keep going just to get a little bit more, die and lose the whole lot. Here's some pictures of my NPC village:

One of the reasons I'm worried, is that I'm getting too distracted by it from my main world, although having said that I have also been steadily working on my pub/tavern, especially last night:

It's slowly taking shape, although the bar is missing at the moment. I'm having to raid my tree farm constantly, so I'm in a pattern of: chop all trees down, wait for them to regrow, repeat. I ended up changing the clay border to logs, (As it originally was.) Will keep working on it to relieve the boredom, as I'm not very well at the moment.

YOGMods & The GreatGreen Tavern

Yesterday, I was watching a video from the Yogscast, and they've released the YogBox. A work-in-progress compilation mods collection that's easy to download with no viruses or Malware. You just click on one thing once extracted and it installs all mods making it much easier where the mods individually were sometimes a nightmare to install.


Full details can be found: Here

No I've seen these mods on a lot of videos but the only mod I've ever installed is the SinglePlayerCommands one, so this is much easier. This is my first ever experience, so it was a little daunting. The Millenaire NPC villages are very fun! One started right near my spawn. (I started a new world for it.) The more you sell to them, the more they expand the town, I like that! Right now I'm trying to get their 400 logs they need. I love the birds, the foxes, deer, antelope, rabbits, horses, I even saw a cat!


As the sun went down I built a temporary dirt hut, with not enough materials for a roof, and the full intention to turn it into a wooden building like the NPC ones when I had the resources. As I began to sit the night out I heard a deep growl, as I peeked outside my door, (I at least had a door!), it was a wolf! I wasn't sure where it was at first and it scare the living shit out of me! Eventually I found they are easy to kill so they became less scary, but then there are the werewolves... They are nasty! And vicious. As well as incredibly strong! Nothing could prepare me for when I stared digging down into the ground though. I began stairs down into a cave, but it wasn't until the second Minecraft day I reached a full cave from my man-dug stairs.


There was ice down there! This is something Notch needs to do - biome caves. They are wicked awesome sauce. Ice underground is a brilliant idea, especially as you can't put a torch on it so you have to find a natural block near it. Lots of fossils in the ground as well which is great for a supply of bones. What wasn't good was the ogres! And something that looked like a white creeper in a suit... I've since learned this is Israphel from the infamous series. (Highly recommended to watch btw!) It really brings exploring to ground to life and makes it much, much, MUCH, scarier! Nearly shit a brick seeing a wraith. Funny thing is apart from the Israphel extra, all the rest I've seen in videos I watch so I should be used to them! But watching and playing is two very different things! It's not until you're against them, that you really experience it.






Back on my main world..
I had the idea to build a pub, a tavern. I did this on a previous Multi-player server, but as that server no longer exists (As it was), I've decided to do it on my world. I did consider putting it on the same lad as the multi-player house, as this was a multi-player building I built, but I really wanted it nearby in my grounds. Wasn't sure where to build it at first but then had the perfect place, just round the corner from the pool/tennis courts.

I've had to flatten more land, next to the mountain walls by the pool, so that I could get a nice flat land. The flat grassy land to the other side of it will be a nice little garden area. It took a while as I lost my Diamond tools (Again), and I have no SinglePlayerCommands again because this needed a fresh Minecraft for the other mods and the other side.

Just Workin' On Me MP House..

It's only yesterday and today I've been working on my shrine to my old Multi-player house, and it's taking a lot of trees to make! I replant all the ones I chop down and all the saplings, so now there are twice as many trees in the area fortunately. Which makes this easier. On the inside I made an improvement that was never in the original version - a walk-in closet to hide the double chest of stuff.  I spent a Minecraft day also digging the rest of the moat and filling it with water too. I'll need a lot more sand though for the glass roof. (Which I started layering up this morning.)

I added the side water features as per the original, and just got it done before sunset so I could take this screenshot!

New Home for 1.7

To freshen this blog up, I am officially announcing that when 1.7 does come out, I will be starting a new world for it. It does not mean I will give up on this world, no doubt I will still tinker with it. However, as this is an old Alpha world and the world generation has changed, not to mention the new lighting scheme coming up, it's time to start anew. This will be so I can get animals spawning near me and not disappearing nearer long grass and all the later mechanics since 1.5.I already have a seed lined up, and have had a good look around, but I will re-seed it after 1.7. Usually I have to go through endless seeds to find something I like, but I was lucky enough to get a good one first time, due to what I typed into the seed generator. It literally is an "incredible" area!