This and That

I've been making a few small improvements lately, as well as keeping to my promise in the last post. I have completed three "gates" on the Nether-bridge now, and lit them and work is going very well on the library, which as well as just continuing to make bookcases, I've also started changing the walls. I've got a mock up of this world on a "test world" and tried many, many different combinations for wall textures for the library, but couldn't settle on one. At last I went with contemporary.


On this test world I had a great idea for an accent to the side of the stairs at the outside entrance, sadly it involved logs, and with lava so near by - it wasn't an option. I tried half-blocks on the stone like on the brick wall but it still didn't look right, all half blocks looked even worse. So I kept thinking and thinking about half-blocks and came up with this mixture of sand and sand stone half-blocks:

Still don't like those clay blocks, ever since 1.5 where wooden stairs now burned  - I've never found a good replacement. Tonight I changed them to cobblestone stairs, it looks okay, but I'm not completely sold on it yet.

Also did the back:

The Nether-bridge:

Still might change the design on the gates, not that keen on them.

And lastly the library:

Will change the ceiling to wool blocks too, white wool for my "Asbestos ceiling tile" look.

Added lava down two sides of Mount DOooooom! but kinda bodged a bit up. Shame there's not infinite burning logs any more. Had to widen the top of the fort as well (must be even on all sides dammit!), so it now looks chunkier. Logistical nightmare though. Rain has just sort of stopped so here's an updated picture:

That's all I really have for today. =)

EDIT: Just took a screenshot of the new overhang, at the front of the entrance, no more clay blocks, better? worse? Meh, can't decide:

Deadlines

Haven't been doing much except decorating the inside of my multiplayer house shrine and then digging out a basement underneath it like the original. Not much really. I have decided to set myself a deadline however.


With the 1.8 update not coming out until late August, some rumors saying September, I set myself some deadlines to do by the end of then. By the end of August, I intent to:

• Finish the library upgrade
• Finish the nether-bridge
• and finish the Multiplayer house shrine

I didn't add - finish Mount DOOOOoooom, as that's a big project. IF the adventure update is not until September, at least I'll have those things done by then ready for 1.8. Which I cannot wait for! Grrrr!

Night of The Living Mobs

In level #3 of World 1, in what was going to be the original bedroom, I have begun the farms, or at least one of them. The rest of where I demolished needs work. I filled the floor you see from the viewing area with dirt, made a small controlled explosion, (This went very wrong at first and one block destroyed most of the floor), filled the floor - again and made a pond surrounded by reeds. I've also paved the floor all the way up to the door to the entrance of the "Nice area" on level #3, and patched the wall replacing any dirt, cobble or gravel with smooth stone to match the rest.


I should also mention I made a separate painterly pack for this world. (But kept certain attributes like the look of sandstone and half-steps.) At this point when searching my .minecraft folder for the relevant screen-shots, I realized I've lost my entire screen-shots folder! I tried to re-install Millienaire, but it failed, so I deleted the entire folder, I moved saves over, texture packs, statistics but I've forgot screen-shots. All those pictures - gone! NoooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo...

Above also shows the new domed roof and hedged fencing. I say domed, it's more square.. Also, squids spawned in my small farm! So I decided to relocate it and turn the farm on level #1 into a squid pen. Due to the relocation I have turned the temporary home on level #1 more into a small storage shed, this is why it looks different along there.

Anyway this reed farm, I tried to grown grass down to it, and left my computer on overnight. In the morning dozens and i mean dozens upon dozens of mobs had spawned in the holes behind the walls! It is underground after all so there are a lot of holes behind walls! I collected about a stack of bones, maybe more. However, Instead of putting them away, I grabbed some cobble and went to fill in some of these holes. Some went so far down that, when I died, I had no way of knowing exactly where I was just then. I lost my diamond tools and many, many stacks of cobblestone. I was a little bummed but pushed on with re-flooring the corridor to level 3 as mentioned above.

That's all that's really happened recently, I've been keeping an eye on the STEAM sales and have brought a good few things so have been playing those. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to post next time. :-/

World #1 Comeback?!

So the World #1 Beta idea didn't go as planned, but it was an interesting experiment. The only trouble with that is I really loved that new look wooden home I built! However, last night I began thinking about the old world#1 from the Alpha days, where I was building an underground home. I haven't touched that world in a very long time! I reasoned last night that now with pistons, legitimate leaf blocks, that maybe I might get more inspired on the underground project, so copied it over to my main saves folder (Effectively putting it back), and had a fiddle with it.


If your not sure what the underground project is, see: Here

Already I have started making a few changes, I couldn't help myself. For level one I added some low bushes instead of the fences, originally these were two blocks high, but it didn't look right so I've kept it to one block. I've also removed the armour dispenser in favour of an infinite water spot. (I tried a water dispenser like in World2, my main world, but I couldn't remember how I did it!) I also changed the front entrance a bit, but that was mainly due to changing the cobble stairs to slabs, I find I'm often not liking cobble stairs these days.

Now I'm tempted to make a pitched glass roof instead of the current flat one, too give it more oomph. Especially as the entrance is so basic.

I also finished making the walls "higher up"/leveling the ceiling in the "Nice room" on level #3. Whilst doing this however there was a row, two high, above the sandstone walls that had to be converted. It wasn't until I was ground level that I realized how nice the contrast at the top of the wall looked between the two materials - sandstone and smooth stone. Of course smooth stone doesn't really compliment sandstone that well, so after fiddling with the entrance to the room (Because the double doors were off center), I got an idea to have a log border at the top all the way around. This also meant going behind it and closing up as much of the natural holes above the ceilings as possible where zombies, skeletons and creepers lurked. I hate going into a room and hearing mob noises because there's a natural hole space behind a wall or above your ceiling.

Here's a recap (With the old HD texture pack at the time) of how we last left it:

And shots taken last night:

I need to make some more cakes now as I scoffed after being injured. Gone are the horrible cobble steps! BAM! - A better water feature, it's not a fireplace, it's a waterplace! That water runs down behind a 3 block infinite water placement, it's more of a water-wall than a waterplace I guess. As you might see, I've started turning the ceiling into wool blocks, but have currently run out of wool. It's took 2 stacks already!

The entrance, because it wasn't centered and looked funny, from the outside going in, had to change from double doors to a single door. I also did a strange accent of glass by the door, both on the inside and outside. Didn't like the cobble steps coming right down the middle outside the room either, and despite still using cobble steps there, for now, I've got them coming down the side, instead of straight down the middle from the floor. I really want to back the corridors leading up to it nice, instead of a patch work of stone, cobble and dirt - both fall and walls, but I'm not sure what materials to use yet, has to be really nice. I'm hoping the new look entrance to the "nice room" will inspire the rest of the corridors look.

With the change of the outside entrance to level #1, I no longer have the reeds outside, which means one of the levels might end up being a farm level - reed, cactus, mushroom, don't really need a tree farm as I'm surrounded by them on the surface, and I already have a small farm on level #1.

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!