Minecraft

[BetaB17]

We played on console mind ya, not pc. So this was before they implemented the shared world subscription(or mini private servers).

So how we had to set it up was as a personal world, on invite only(so other folks couldn't just wander in during a session), and my friend hosted it while I was granted Admin privileges >_> Plus side, it was a place where he and I could chill and build and nt have to deal with trolls or people ruining our plans. Down side, I couldn't go in and build without him being online for it(there's been times where he'll host it in advance and send me an invite so that I could do my projects while he was off at work)

We did at least invite certain friends to give them a tour of the place in between our sessions. In large part, we never saved after a tour(for good reason) but I cannot tell you how many tag alongs(I.e friend of a friend) pestered about wanting to build with us and all.. I'm sorry.. But nobody wants a lopsided square-ish 'tower' made of a singe block in the middle of town.. I dont care if there's an empty space >_> it's an eye sore

There were however three friends that did at least help us out, namely with valued criticism, advice, and in one case genuinely helping with an issue. Those being Alex(big help with Dwarven bits), Laura(Interior decor/color diversity), and lastly Fur Elise(Redstone expert & my sensei)

I miss building in that world.. Or building in general... 'sigh'

[Aarah]

So you never build anymore, Beta?

How about you, Weasel? No mysteries left, but how about just creative?

[BetaB17]

I dont play Minecraft so much anymore, due to many factors.

For starters, I never had a laptop that could handle it, so my PC experience has mainly been during high school and could only play on unofficial servers(so lots of trolls and hacks sadly)

Xbox was where I mainly played, and primarily with certain friends >_> unfortunately, when mutually you have less time to hang or simply drift off.. Yeah.. (Also doesn't help that I'm still on the 360)

I really want to get a laptop tho and join in on a server, hell if it could, using a good mod pack would be splendid I may even host it myself if it had a reasonable set up(and didn't kill my laptop)

[Aarah]

I play on the 360 too.
Never experienced any online based stuff on it due to it being an older model and thus no built in wifi receiver, and also the cost of having to have the gold membership.

I didn't realise Minecraft required much to play it on pc, what with it being based on blocks and all, but I have no idea about specs for running stuff. It's probably a lot less basic than it looks.

[BetaB17]

Basic Minecraft for solo use, not really.. Less say your computer is little more than an upgraded calculator<_< but enough of deep rooted spite, it only really becomes an issue if you expect to play with alot of mods, host a server(loading too many chunks be thy bane!), or want to play on a server with optimal settings

Also, just to point this out >_> while Minecraft itself isn't very demanding on the PC as say other games.. It does depend on RAAM for alot of it's features. Hence why for Xbox the worlds are so limited and arguably small, they can't afford to dedicate that much memory on a finite system

Also aww had you Xbox live, I totally would of played with ya, maybe even teach ya a few things.. Tho, it's no replacement to say the entertainment of me teaching you about Tinkers or learning together with Thaumcraft(Canz I be a wizard?) or Botania(flower power!)

[Aarah]

Yeah, I'd heard that the xbox worlds were smaller than the pc ones, though I'm not sure how much so. Ive found the xbox to be an adequate size for variety and exploration though, and not too big such that you get lost or are miles away from home.

I actually thought i'd be able to craft with others when I bought the game, but was disappointed when I remembered that the xbox wasn't as easy as the pc for multiplayer.
I do have a gold membership code for a free trial of xbox live, but never used it.
Have no idea what's available on Live, tbh, though I do know that it would mean I could try the multiplayer mode of Portal 2 which looks pretty fun.

Tinkers? Thaumcraft? Botania? Minecraft has so much, it makes the mind boggle.
Ive not even made anything with redstone yet. Such a simpleton.

[VirtualWeasel]

How about you, Weasel? No mysteries left, but how about just creative?

Minecraft used to be, like, the only thing I ever did. That was several years ago so I essentially burned myself out on the game. I do come back to it occasionally, though, and all this conversation here has actually gotten me to play it again.

I do still build in creative, but I often get bored of it quickly. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't seem to give me the kind of creative satisfaction anymore. I've been building on a small little map lately though, and I'm enjoying focusing more on details as opposed to building big. I'll post some pics when I can.

As far as survival, I actually started playing multiplayer survival again with a friend of mine. It's far more enjoyable than it has been in the past, because of this new Frostburn update—we spawned in a massive ice field biome and I've never seen anything like it. The lack of resources, harsh mobs (polar bears mostly) and really unique climate has been refreshing as an old player. I'm really enjoying it so far.

[BetaB17]

Those three are just the tip of the iceberg that is nodded Minecraft.. You should see the sheer level of mechanism mods.

Also Redstone isn't too much to worry about. To the basics(I.e very basic), to actual circuits, to a level of complexity I've barely been able to comprehend. Really, it's not something that's necessary.. In fact likely it's most useful benefit for survival really just being a simpler way to automatically harvest crops or transport items. But even with some of the more simpler circuits and concepts, on a large enough scale, anything could look impressive

Hidden:

Andyet, funny enough, try as I might I still can't compare to Elise whom helped teach me the in's and out's of Redstone. Like.. [&@%!].. He knew how to build a giant vault door that used multiple sequences of pistons just to open.. And a fictional password.. The sheer level of circuits took nearly two or even three chunks worth.. And that was compact!

@VW: Ya, I honestly feel ya. It's really hard to get that same mood flowing when your on your own, part of the charm comes from the friends you share it with <_< you can only hit rocks for so long before it becomes tedious.. Having a friend constantly try to place lava behind you.. Well, that's different..

@Aarah again: Portal 2? Ooooh! I haven't played multiplayer in a long time ^_^ I almost got all the achievements too

[VirtualWeasel]

I think the most complex redstone system I've ever built was a giant combination-lock safe with automatic gates and an eight-part combination that required specific rhythmic timing in order to open it.
In retrospect, I've never been able to understand how I managed that.

[Aarah]

You play multiplayer too, Weasel? Is that on pc or xbox?
Am I the only one that's still a Billy-no-mates when it comes to not having online gaming?
I may have to make an effort to wifi me xbox now. I feel im missing out.
It would also satisfy my friend's want for a CoD buddy.

Gees, Weasel. What the hell did you have in that safe?!

[VirtualWeasel]

On PC. I used to play multiplayer exclusively, but I find singleplayer or small, personal servers far more relaxing nowadays.

Pretty much anything valuable. It was on one of the old UESP servers and I had a lot of issues with certain people stealing my [&@%!] (I don't even remember who it was now, honestly), so I went a little overboard in my protection scheme. Bear in mind that this was survival, too, and I had the entire thing encased in several layers of obsidian and sand, with a few soulsand door traps as well.

[BetaB17]

Did you build it from scratch and experimentation(something I couldn't even dream of doing) or via a guide(Something I still would probably struggle with)?

The biggest vault I've ever managed just used two tier pistons, no lock or anything Tho arguably, hidden doors, creative traps, and funny tunes seems more up my alley

Edit: Hot damn that's a bit overboard. Maybe not with modded(cause resources can come cheap) but for vanilla survival!? [&@%!].. I would of just hidden it..

[VirtualWeasel]

Yeah it was a special amount of dedication that I can never fully understand.

I built it from scratch. I'd built smaller combo lock safes before, so at the time it wasn't that big of an undertaking. IIRC, at its basic structure, it's just like taking a two piston door with a lock and combination and multiplying that general structure exponentially until you have a huge door. What made it unbelievably complex was, yes, the fact that you had to implement a combination lock, but also the rhythm pattern of the buttons that had to be matched. It was a weird case of a certain strength of the signal having to be tailored to each button, so that the torch that received it would be triggered in a way that would activate only if the rhythm was matched—so all the buttons depended on one another being triggered in a certain sequence, and the more complex the rhythm got, the more individual circuits you'd have to make for each button, that attached to the greater circuit.

Either way, it was a ridiculously convoluted system. I was a real redstone master back then but ever since I've lost the eye for it. [&@%!] was amazing though when it worked.

[BetaB17]

That I can believe, and convoluted to the extreme. Should of added a noteblock song to match the rhythm, along with a success or failure tune just so that it has that extra bit of ridiculous(I tried making the intro theme for harry potter for that wizard tower, never again..)

Still, it begs the question, what's stopping someone from just smashing thru the door? Or pistons? Unless idk.. You had that vault 'empty' (bring on more conveluted security!)

[VirtualWeasel]

Still, it begs the question, what's stopping someone from just smashing thru the door? Or pistons? Unless idk.. You had that vault 'empty' (bring on more conveluted security!)

Several walls of obsidian both around the vault and composing the door took care of that problem.

[BetaB17]

But.. Obsidian cant be moved by pistons.. The door.. There had to be a weak point >__<

[VirtualWeasel]

But.. Obsidian cant be moved by pistons.. The door.. There had to be a weak point >__<

Can't it? It's been a while, so I'm probably remembering it wrong then. It might have been iron or something, I honestly don't remember. Either way, nobody ever broke through the door.
It's possible I had a triple layered wall with lava in the middle whose flow would be blocked by the pistons. That would certainly be effective, and I remember doing that on some guard gates when I would build in creative, so maybe I used it there too.

[BetaB17]

Just gonna say.. And dont give me any salt over this(keep it in Pam's Harvestcraft), but had I known about your vault and everything.. I totally would of slipped in, obsidian or not.. Maybe take a peak or two on what ya got, but never take, no no <_< And pleasantly leave a sign before strutting out and resealing my entrance

On the bright side, it could be worse

Spoiler:

Have you ever seen your entire storage moved and stacked like a pyramid of chests with everything still inside? On the bright side, it could be worse

:

The room is now full of water source blocks. Good luck with the squids

Ya, honestly less it was karmic justice or a harmless prank >_> the worst I've ever done was help my friends partially dismantle a house made of diamonds, gold, and iron. Reason being? Totally wasn't legit on a survival server, and 2nd cause this guy has killed us on sight and blew up two of our bases for no reason. So ya.. Didn't feel too bad about that one... Till an admin found our 5th secret base, gave us cookies, and stole a stack of diamonds from our chest behind a painting and poured lava on top of us.. Yeah, troll servers are the worse =__= (dont even get me started with PKer's that just patrolled spawn)

[VirtualWeasel]

lol I used to do some savage [&@%!] on multiplayer servers. On a particular faction PVP server (which was terribly, TERRIBLY moderated), we set up huge TNT cannons all around this base of known griefers/top dogs, and waited for one of them to come online, before we completely obliterated everything they knew and loved. This was a server meant to bear the capacity of hundreds of users, and the sheer amount of explosives we used made it lag so bad that the whole thing nearly crashed.

Worth it tho.

Another time on my own server, a guy that nobody liked kept getting his house repeatedly bombed down.
I have no idea who it was.
But I have it on good authority it involved a server command that shoots exploding cats.

Oh, I also burned down my fellow faction member's house three times, because his build style was too garish for my tastes. After the fourth time, he finally got the message.
Teach him to build a wood plank cube house.

[BetaB17]

"Teach him to build a wood plank cube house." Builds it out of dirt. Done

Ya, I dont know if we were lucky or not to have never played on faction servers. Then again.. Unofficial servers where abuse, cheaters, and griefers are more plentiful than grass.. Well, luck is a fickle thing

Serious, If anything, it taught us to avoid any populated territories and really try to hide our bases. Down side was.. It was hell to get back from spawn if you died.. And good luck not getting hunted down

J have to say the arose server by far that we played on had two features to prevent briefing. One which locked doors and chests to you and those you add to the white list >_> the other was a boundary that could be set to prevent unauthorized building/destruction. What's the problem? Well for starters, some ppl were given the ability to over extend their territory.. So good luck harvesting an resources till your miles from spawn.

But what was worse is that these same people can set claim to a territory that somebody else owns, essentially stealing your base.. But the main reason why they did it? Well remember those chests.. Welp, now nobody can have access to them. That's all anybody did to the 'pleebs', steal their land and hold their supplies hostage. You have to be a special sort of [&@%!] to do this on a regular basis...

It wasn't until Minecraft came to Xbox and that I could actually play with friends and not with troll admins and griefers that I could enjoy the experience, actually have some fun instead of huddling down in the dirt.. Now I do it in style

[Aarah]

That's another reason why I have yet to bother with mulitplayer gaming on the console. You set up everything and go to play a game you like and then get little [&@%!] who revel in spoiling everyone's fun to get their own.
And in a game like Minecraft where you put in a lot of time and effort to create something, it's really not worth it to have some sad chump messing up your stuff.

[BetaB17]

Console really doesn't run the same risk as say a public PC server.. So long as it's your world, you can prioritize who can join, when, whether the session gets saved, and what privileges they get. And say if you have a good batch of trusted friends >_> your worries are less justified. Friends to those friends.. Ya, maybe be better if they cant freely join

Man, all this talk of Minecraft is really making me want to get a laptop.. I've yet to experience modded first hand

[VirtualWeasel]

Man, all this talk of Minecraft is really making me want to get a laptop.. I've yet to experience modded first hand

It loses its luster after the first playthrough. Mods on Minecraft are a buggy mess, because the platform on its own is already unstable. Adding extra Java codes to what's already there almost guarantees something will get completely [&@%!]—the magnitude varying based on how lucky you are.

[Aarah]

What's with the green slime cubes? They're not even a mob creature. They're just...there.
I don't like them, they look weird amongst the animals.

Generated a superflat world for the first time. It's kinda creepy. Chose a large world size, so it just kept on going, well beyond the classic map size. No idea how vast it is.

[Unionhack]

Slimes typically roam in dungeons, where it's an issue to run into them because they're hard to avoid in tight corners. They also drop slimeballs, which you need to make specific items like the Sticky Piston and Magma Cream.