Minecraft

I'm jealous! I imagine since you have an RTX GPU, you'll probably get a decent fps. I managed to get a lot of fps for the Quake 2 RTX version, especially when I was in a dark place and also when I played it on lower settings. I don't have an RTX GPU, I have a GTX 1660Ti.

So, I spent some time playing with the new update and thought I'd share my initial reaction. It seems a lot has been added, so you can look at the link below for more info. I did watch a video, which covered many of the new changes. Right away, the most notable change is the combat system (hence the name "Combat Update"), although this entails more than I was expecting.

Dual-wielding is as I described in this post, which is actually helpful. If you're walking around with a sword in your main hand and a torch in your "off-hand" slot, then you can right-click to place a torch without having to switch between the sword and torch individually. You can put items in that off-hand slot by clicking on them in your inventory and pressing the “F” key. Of course, the main item you probably want there is the newly added shield.

I think I read in another article or perhaps heard in the video I watched that blocking with a sword is no longer an option, which pretty much makes sense. I think it's pretty cool, especially since a skeleton can shoot you from a distance while you run up to it to hit it with your sword. This is especially good early in the game when you don't have a bow yet. Shields can also apparently be decorated with banners.

"Attacking now has a 'cool-down' delay, making it more important to time your attacks." This basically means that if you spam the attack button (left mouse button), your attacks will do less damage. So, it's better to wait between each attack. I think this also gives you time to use your shield while waiting for that “cool-down” period.

I also noticed that the sword has a new swing mechanic or animation and hearts appear on enemies when they take damage. I'm assuming this shows how much damage they've taken. Another thing I noticed is that some of the sounds are different. I'm not sure if squids had a sound before, but they definitely do now.

They have also made additions to the End. Apparently, there are new islands you can visit, but I think you get there after defeating the Ender Dragon. They've changed that battle a bit, too, as it now attacks differently and can be re-summoned. There is apparently something else in this new area that lets you fly, which seems pretty cool.

https://mojang.com/2016/02/minecraft-19-combat-update/

Well yeah, I'd love to take the money, too! Right now I could use it to pay off my near $50k student loan debt and move out West where I really want to be. Then, I could buy a mansion, invite friends to move in or come by some time. I'd not just have this sweet PC, but I'd have one with Titans, like Notch does!

I remember times in my life (college especially) when I felt extremely lonely (even though I wasn't alone). Now I feel like I've dominated that feeling and now actually more often than not wish to be alone. I, selfishly, want the freedom to do what I want when I want and as long as I want. That especially goes for sleeping and gaming. I also don't want to feel like a social or family slave. But all of that is just how I imagine it would be (really f'ing great), but I won't know how it will be until it happens and I doubt that it ever will.

At the same time, I feel like Notch in that I don't want fame. I don't want the spotlight or even 15 minutes of fame. I don't want everyone up my tail and with their nose constantly in my face. I think it must suck to be famous, having he public eye watching your every move, writing down your every word and expressing their contrasting opinions about, becoming the hot topic on Facebook. I think i'd like to be rich, but not famous. But I'll tell you honestly, if I just got a load of money, I'm sure the first thing I'd do is pay off that student loan debt (otherwise I don't see how it'll ever be paid).

I have been preparing my character for the discovery of a water monument. I created some water breathing and night vision potions, as the wiki suggests. I used red stone to increase the duration of both potions and then I went out in search of a water monument. I did finally find one, they are located in deep ocean biomes and are under water. You may see them as you are riding around the ocean on a boat. I went down into the monument I found and came across some of the new guardian mobs. Unfortunately, I did not survive. What's worse is that I did not write down the coordinates to the monument's location, so I'm not sure where it is, but I'm looking again. I agree with the wiki's suggestion of bringing good gear. I don't think my gear, made of iron, was sufficient.

The wiki doesn't seem to suggest what materials to use for recommended gear, but it does recommend "enchanted armor," water breathing potions, and invisibility potions. This is actually the first time I've ever created potions in the game.

Also, snapping an image is a great idea! At first I thought, "oh just check the wiki," but the wiki doesn't show what it looks like from your perspective in a boat. I'll see what I can do. =)

Found it again (I believe it's the same one I found before). Check out some of the screenshots I took (http://gregopeck.imgur.com/). I created an album for them. Keep in mind, you can only see the very top of the monument in these pictures. I also found something posted in the Minecraft forums (http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/recent-updates-and-snapshots/2109912-giant-ocean-monument-info-thread). One of the things I found out from this post is that there is a new enchantment, "Dept Strider," for boots, which helps swim through the monument.

Some what, it's one of the new mobs, guardians. I believe it can drop fish when defeated, but I haven't killed any yet. I'm currently looking for more diamonds so I can craft a full set of diamond gear before I return to the monument.

Still looking for diamonds....check out this awesome video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxH0r2Z8ce4

The guardians in the ocean monument are tough and can seriously take a beating. After collecting enough diamonds, I created diamond gear (armor and sword) and enchanted each piece. I used the new Depth Strider enchantment on my boots, which helped me get around in the underwater ocean monument. I also brought along water breathing potions, which had an extended duration thanks to using some red stone. I was able to defeat two out of the three elder guardians, I was not fortunate enough to find the third. I made multiple trips to the monument as I was killed quite a few times. Sadly, I was hurt enough that some of my armor broke and now I need to find more diamonds. Luckily, I found some melons in a jungle, so now I can make regeneration potions. While the wiki recommends night vision potions, I found this suggestion unnecessary as my brightness setting is set to "Bright." If anyone is interested, I can give you the number for the seed of my world and also the coordinates of where the monument is located. Previously, with a Google search, I found out that there is an app that can tell you where these monuments are found, but I didn't use it.

Opps, slight correction, I need Ghast tears to make regeneration potions, melon seeds help make healing potions, not the same thing.

I beat the final Elder Guardian, but forgot to get my loot! I didn't know that there were 8 blocks of gold hidden in one of the rooms. Check out this video about Ocean Monuments: http://youtu.be/sCmV4v1bvqI.

Last night I found a great video that shows off all of the new changes in 1.8, check it out: http://youtu.be/R8WX3_WGzto

Yesterday, I decided to test out the new world creation customized presets. Some of them seemed very similar, some were interesting, and some looked liked death traps. In "Water World", I barely found any land at all, certainly no caves, just a group of very small islands. I also spawned deep under water, luckily I was in Creative mode. In "Good Luck," I found that oceans were no longer filled with water, but lava instead. Finally, I found one that I quite liked called "Drought." This one removed almost all of the water that's usually located in the oceans. I thought this was interesting because I could now see the sea bed, which led to a few discoveries. Not only did I find a series of abandoned mine shafts, or two, but I also found an Ocean Monument. This made the monument very easy to find. I've uploaded a new screenshot (http://imgur.com/xDvRuOd), so take a look!

Yesterday, I decided to test out the new world creation customized presets. Some of them seemed very similar, some were interesting, and some looked liked death traps. In "Water World", I barely found any land at all, certainly no caves, just a group of very small islands. I also spawned deep under water, luckily I was in Creative mode. In "Good Luck," I found that oceans were no longer filled with water, but lava instead. Finally, I found one that I quite liked called "Drought." This one removed almost all of the water that's usually located in the oceans. I thought this was interesting because I could now see the sea bed, which led to a few discoveries. Not only did I find a series of abandoned mine shafts, or two, but I also found an Ocean Monument. This made the monument very easy to find. I've uploaded a new screenshot (http://imgur.com/xDvRuOd), so take a look!

Yeah, I didn't think it would spawn in the Drought preset because I assumed ocean sizes were very small, almost non-existent. However, it seems that ocean biomes exist, they just don't contain as much water. I did find out that the ocean monuments spawn with their own water around them, which is apparent in the screen shot I shared. =)