Topic: Minecraft
started by: TPRJones
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 21 2010,05:24
This game is simple yet addicting. It has the classic sensibilities of games like Pacman, but it's core is the survival crafting of games like Dwarf Fortress. It's very much an Alpha, and there's a long long way to go before it is fully featured, but there's lots to do in the meantime.
Be warned, though, that it may suck you in. Before long you'll be down underground, feeling claustrophobic, desperately looking for iron, and the sudden sound of a zombie somewhere very close will cause you to nearly fall out of your chair.
My neck hurts from playing it, because whenever I'm digging an upwards tunnel I keep craning my neck back. It's completely unnecessary, yet I can't stop doing it.
The main page has suffered a server meltdown, and until it's fixed the full version of Minecraft is free to play. If you are at all intrigued, this is a good time to check it out for free.
< http://minecraft.net/ >
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 21 2010,19:33
This is why I build with stone: Posted by Malcolm on Sep. 21 2010,21:39
The hell? Is that a screensaver?
Posted by WSGrundy on Sep. 21 2010,21:40
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 22 2010,09:06
(Malcolm @ Sep. 21 2010,23:39)
QUOTE
The hell? Is that a screensaver?
Nope, it's a real game.
The graphics are simple, and yet there's plenty of pretty vistas around anyway. And what's more important in a game: how it plays or how it looks?
Me, I care more about the former.
Of course some would say that since there's no score or goals there's no game to this game, but I disagree. This is what so-called "sandbox" games want to be but never are.
Posted by TheCatt on Sep. 22 2010,10:21
So it's nothing but a sandbox?
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 22 2010,11:03
Yup. For now.One of the interesting aspects is Notch is working on it all the time. So it keeps changing. Sometimes this is bad, if say you built a wooden house with a lavafall in it for lighting back when lava didn't burn things and then one day an update comes and your house burns down. But mostly it's good and interesting.
This past weekend the recipe for a fishing rod was added. They can now be crafted. They don't do anything yet, but they will soon.
I'm having fun with minecarts right now. There's an interesting thing that happens when two carts run side-by-side where it boosts the momentum tremendously. So with some planning you can build minecart tracks where they just go and go and go without stopping.
Posted by Cakedaddy on Sep. 22 2010,16:08
I remember a long time ago agruing that fact with you. You said that EQ was better than UO cause it was first person and pretty and you could get into it more. We said UO was better, even with it's crappy out dated graphics because of game play and depth and sandbox aspects.I'm glad you finally realized we were right. :-)
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 22 2010,18:54
Minecraft is first person, and still prettier than UO. 
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 23 2010,06:50
Last night's update killed my sound. Which is saddening as sound design is a huge part of setting the mood in this game. There's the sudden sounds of monsters in the darkness to warn you of your imminent death. The sound of a nearby pig letting you know breakfast is about to be served. The ominous tones of the spooky music that plays when you are near a hidden dungeon. And the glorious sunrise piano melody that greets every morning, letting you know that the surface world is safe to traverse once more.All of that is gone. That just makes the game feel ... lonely.
Posted by GORDON on Sep. 23 2010,06:52
UO still has sound.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 23 2010,16:34
So does Mincecraft once more. Yay!
Posted by GORDON on Sep. 27 2010,12:17
Just watched some of the videos on the home page.Between the roller coaster and the person who built the big model of planet earth, this "game" looks absolutely terrible in every way I can think of.
If those videos are not representative of the game as a whole, they would be doing themselves a favor by removing them from the front page of their website.
Posted by GORDON on Sep. 27 2010,12:20
(TPRJones @ Sep. 21 2010,22:33)
QUOTE
This is why I build with stone:
Although this was funny.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 27 2010,13:32
Yeah, the earth thing is silly, and the rollercoaster is bland. I've done much better coasters myself by far. The vids Notch has chosen to post are an odd selection.Is that what the game is about? Maybe. It really is a completely sandbox game. For the people that did that, that's what it was about. Me, I'm just enjoying strip mining in massive quantities right now. I don't know why, it's just ... soothing, mainly because of the geometric patterns of my expanding strip mine.
It is one of those games that is what you make of it.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 27 2010,13:34
(GORDON @ Sep. 27 2010,14:20)
QUOTE
Although this was funny.
Yeah, I keep giggling at the little "uh oh" at 1:23.
Posted by GORDON on Sep. 27 2010,13:37
The graphical style is an odd choice. I think I see what they were going for - sort of a TF2 based stylistic simplicity - but honestly it is coming off looking on par with graphics from Wolfenstein in 1990.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 27 2010,13:41
That's a nice way to put it.I've been thinking of it as being graphically equivalent to the first EQ release, but blockier.
Truth be told I don't notice it in game anymore. The world just happens to be made of blocks.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 29 2010,08:40
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 29 2010,08:51
At minecraft.net, there's a stats page:QUOTE
930967 registered users, of which 269628 (28.96%) have bought the game.
269,628 x $9.99 = $2,693,583.72
Not bad for a single guy working on a game in his spare time.*
Of course that's changing. He's now forming a development company around minecraft. He's got four employees lined up and is searching for some others. So before too long the development cycle will start to really ramp up.
It's an interesting approach he's taken here. Come up with something compelling and fun, but of course still very basic and rough. But good enough to sell full access to for $10 a pop. Then use those funds to ramp up development and found a new company.
I hope this works out in the long run for him. He's done good stuff here. Because if it weren't already so fun to begin with he'd have never pulled this off with selling access to an Alpha.
*Okay, so that's not a completely accurate description, but it's pretty darn close.
Posted by TheCatt on Sep. 29 2010,09:20
Wow. All for building a set of virtual legos.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 29 2010,15:05
Wow.
I think he could use the cascading effect he describes around seven minutes in to produce clock cycles, and end up with a real dynamic computer. But it would be a magnitude larger than what he's already built.
This way lies madness.
Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 11 2010,13:42
I'm not playing it lately (Civ 5 and L4D2 take up all my time at the moment) but I still enjoy some of the videos popping up. Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 26 2010,11:47
(TPRJones @ Sep. 29 2010,10:51)
QUOTE
At minecraft.net, there's a stats page:
269,628 x $9.99 = $2,693,583.72
QUOTE
930967 registered users, of which 269628 (28.96%) have bought the game.
269,628 x $9.99 = $2,693,583.72
Out of curiosity I just looked again. Up to $4.8 million.
I'm in the wrong business.
Posted by TheCatt on Oct. 26 2010,12:27
People really like Solitaire. Just like that Zynga crap.
Posted by Troy on Nov. 11 2010,21:27
Finally bought this.Totally worth the 14 dollars.
Posted by TPRJones on Nov. 12 2010,06:22
The price has gone up?
Posted by Troy on Nov. 12 2010,08:53
Dunno, it was converted from Euros.Apparently he put in a big Halloween update. You can use Obsidian blocks and portal yourself to a new realm, with new monsters and landscapes. Sort of like Hell.
Posted by TPRJones on Nov. 12 2010,09:35
Yeah, I've been in there. It's interesting, but deadly to hang around in on all but the most easy of modes. It's worth a visit if only to harvest some of the blocks found there that burn forever when you set them on fire. Good sources of light and heat that never go out, which torches won't be for much longer (he's making a future update where torches will last a limited amount of time, and permanent lanterns will take steel to make).I'm tempted to build a cart system through hell for the fast movement between distant locations, but I haven't yet found a good reason to. It's not like there's not enough digging to do in the area around my spawn point to keep me busy for pretty much ever.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 19 2011,06:26
I've been sucked back in big time. The 1.8 update has some very interesting features, and the upcoming 1.9 update will be off the hook.I haven't played single-player in months and months, though. It's all about the multiplayer servers. I found two good ones to play on (one because it's a new server with good mods and moderators, the other because it's small for a group I play other games with, and I'm op), and suddenly all my gaming time is gone again.
Posted by TheCatt on Sep. 19 2011,06:28
What exaclty is multiplayer minecraft like? Can you kill people, or everyone's just in the sand box together?
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 19 2011,07:08
Depends entirely on the server. On one extreme you can't even hurt each other, and on the other it's a viscous PvP slugfest.The one I joined this weekend (where I'm not op) is a compromise. There's a city around spawn that's about 300 blocks wide where not only can you not hurt another player, but even mobs can't hurt you. The next 300 blocks outside of that is a "safe zone" where mobs act as normal, but you can't hurt other players. Beyond that is the wilderness, where anything goes.
The real thing that can be a problem is griefers, people who destroy crap for fun. But there's a control system in place on that server that lets the moderators lock down a plot of land to a particular builder, which mostly mitigates that problem, although it does bring up others (Like I can't set up a public farm, unless it's so open that someone could freely dump lava on it. Lock it up from that, and no one but me can plant and harvest.)
I'm not sure what the default game is. The other server I'm on is totally vanilla, but I've never tried to hit anyone. I would presume that it's open PvP, though, without any sort of restrictions.
Posted by Leisher on Aug. 21 2012,08:09
< Minecraft experiment leads to war. >
Posted by TPRJones on Aug. 21 2012,08:29
Precious dwindling wood supplies? What? That server must have been completely borked with custom mods, because you can farm trees. Wood is an infinitely renewable resource in Minecraft.
Posted by Leisher on Aug. 21 2012,08:35
QUOTE
A group of Minecraft players were invited onto a server walled off by indestructible bedrock.
Also, grass was apparently limited, so nobody had room to grow anything.
Posted by Leisher on Apr. 28 2014,06:43
< Denmark creates 1:1 scale model of itself. >
Posted by GORDON on May 02 2014,17:03
(Leisher @ Apr. 28 2014,09:43)
QUOTE
< Denmark creates 1:1 scale model of itself. >
HA..... Americans rolled in tanks and invaded Denmark.
< http://www.pcgamer.com/2014....vandals >
Posted by TheCatt on May 02 2014,17:23
USA! USA! USA!At least we're not pussies somewhere.
Posted by Leisher on May 02 2014,17:50
I don't see actual proof that Americans did it. Perhaps this was a statement about American aggression.
Posted by Leisher on Aug. 06 2014,10:18
Posted by TPRJones on Aug. 06 2014,11:43
Heh. There's an entire < web series > sort of based on that exact concept. It's a good show whether you play Minecraft of not, really. Although there are probably a few bits you have to play to understand completely.
Posted by Troy on Aug. 06 2014,12:33
How long as hunger been a thing in Minecraft? seems like they added a lot on since I've tried it last.
Posted by TPRJones on Aug. 06 2014,13:00
Hunger was added on September 15, 2011.Yes, there have been a few changes in nearly three years.
Posted by Troy on Aug. 06 2014,13:19
November, 2010, per my paypal receipt. Holy cow that was a while ago.
Posted by Paul on Aug. 09 2014,16:47
I play Minecraft quite a bit on Xbox.I like mining. It's repetitive, but kind of soothing.
Posted by GORDON on Aug. 15 2014,10:52
Does anyone know if it is Microsoft-kosher to put custom maps on your xbox?My kid asked me to do it, so I got him a thumb drive and started looking up how to do it and found some maps yaddah yaddah (involved moving his xbox profile onto the thumb drive and running it through a 3rd party app on the PC... hmmm), and at one point read, "Be careful because Microsoft monitors for this stuff." So, does Microsoft allow modded maps on the xbox? If so, is there an official way they want it done?
Posted by Leisher on Sep. 10 2014,10:53
< Microsoft in talks to buy Mojang. >Minecraft will probably become an X-Box One exclusive...
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 10 2014,11:29
No way. There's just no way. Notch wouldn't go for that unless he is quitting and looking to get out. And even then it's unlikely that he would sell to Microsoft.Not all rumors are true.
Posted by Leisher on Sep. 10 2014,12:34
< Rumor might be true... >Microsoft has a LOT of money to entice people. Life changing money. Life changing money for people who are already rich.
If he does sell to them, and MS is smart...I know...they should immediately offer Minecraft free on MS Surfaces.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 10 2014,14:14
QUOTE
If and when the deal goes through, it's expected that Notch will assist with the transition but won't stay with the company beyond that.
Ah. Okay, as I had said that's the only way I could see this even being slightly possible.
He's ready to get out.
Still I'm surprised it's Microsoft of all companies. I thought their history wasn't a very good one.
Posted by Leisher on Sep. 10 2014,14:23
I've got some very negative feelings towards how Microsoft does business, but I'd go with them over Apple every day of the week. Just because you're pissed at someone doesn't mean you don't do business with them.
Posted by Malcolm on Sep. 10 2014,17:28
I think the time is right to cash in on the Minecraft thing. I'd call him insane if he didn't sell out before too long.
Posted by Leisher on Sep. 15 2014,06:42
< It's a done deal. >< Notch releases statement. >
Posted by GORDON on Sep. 15 2014,18:12
PC Gamer opinions:< http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/09/15/microsoft-buys-mojang/ >
I actually remember when it was fledgling, too, and I have never forgotten the PC Gamer article talking about how someone made a working CPU in the game with that red stone. Always thought that was neat.
Posted by TPRJones on Sep. 16 2014,12:09
Interesting. I'm a little sad to see him go, but he's certainly doing the right thing from the sound of it.QUOTE
If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.
That part I hope is just a joke. I'm still going to pay attention to his projects and see what he comes up with next.
I still find it hard to believe he sold to Microsoft of all companies, though. Wow.
At least it's not EA, I guess.
Posted by Troy on Sep. 16 2014,12:11
Two Point Five BILLION DOLLARS.
Posted by Leisher on Sep. 17 2014,06:36
< Garry Newman approves and said he'd do the same thing. >
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 06 2015,10:16
< Story mode on its way. >