Minecraft

Pro Tip (Getting Mending)

https://minecraftseedhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blacksmith-village.jpeg

If you haven’t paid attention to Minecraft in the last few years, there may be a lot you may not know about. I’m going to try to cover some of those things, including things added before the current release (1.12.2).

One of the enchantments recently added is called Mending, which is definitely a game changer. It uses experience gathered and repairs an item with the enchantment. From the wiki, “when an item with the enchantment is held (main hand, offhand, or armor slots), XP orbs collected will repair the item at a rate of 2 durability per XP instead of adding the XP to the player's total. If multiple items have the enchantment, one will be chosen at random for each XP... Read All If you haven’t paid attention to Minecraft in the last few years, there may be a lot you may not know about. I’m going to try to cover some of those things, including things added before the current release (1.12.2).

One of the enchantments recently added is called Mending, which is definitely a game changer. It uses experience gathered and repairs an item with the enchantment. From the wiki, “when an item with the enchantment is held (main hand, offhand, or armor slots), XP orbs collected will repair the item at a rate of 2 durability per XP instead of adding the XP to the player's total. If multiple items have the enchantment, one will be chosen at random for each XP orb collected, and if the chosen item does not need repair, the XP will be added to the player's total as normal, rather than choosing another item to repair.” For more details check the wiki: https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Enchanting

The problem with Mending is that it’s hard to find. It’s counted as a “treasure,” so you can only get it by trading with an NPC village librarian, fishing, or in a chest. The last two options take forever, but the first one seems to be the most efficient, which is why I’m sharing this pro tip!

The best way to get Mending is to find a village that has a librarian. This could take you forever on a normal world with the Java version. You could just create some worlds until you get a village near spawn, but there are some good seeds out there already. Luckily, I found one that contains a village near a ravine. There is also an abandoned mine shaft under the village well (seed# 105899026). For more details check the link: https://minecraftseedhq.com/ravine-village-mineshaft-seed/

The trick is to create your new world, go to the librarian in the village, and see what you can trade. Librarians start off offering a random enchanted book for some emeralds and a book. If the librarian isn’t offering Mending, recreate that world until Mending is the enchanted book being offered. You can make a few trades to him until he no longer wants to do the trade. You’ll probably end up being able to get enough of it for your armor and more. If he stops offering the trade, see what else he wants. Usually you can get some emeralds for paper. He’ll have some odd looking bubbles around him, green and purple I think, when he’s ready to trade again. For more details on trading check the wiki: https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Trading

I don’t recommend enchanting a bow or fishing pole, because eventually you will get them while fishing. Fishing is a great way to get some experience, food, and items. You can get other enchantments from fishing once you get a good fishing pole (from fishing), you’ll eventually get better loot more often. While you’re fishing, put whatever item with Mending that needs repaired in your off-hand slot and continue fishing. Eventually, your Mending items will be repaired!

I still haven’t been to an Ender City, nor have I gotten an Elytra (wings), so I’m still checking out some of the content that’s been released in the last few years. There are new enchanted arrows that I haven’t messed with yet.

I like the Frost Walking enchantment, it turns water to ice, letting you walk on water. I got parrots on another world, I think the game still needs more birds. I also really love that they added an off-hand slot and shields, at least for the Java version. Now you can’t block with your sword, but you can make a shield. You can put a banner on it and it can also be enchanted with Mending and Unbreaking.

There are some new enchantments called curses. There’s a Curse of Vanishing, which makes the item disappear on death. However, this can be prevented by using the “/gamerule keepInventory true” command. There’s also a Curse of Binding, which makes it so that you can’t unequip an item, until you die. I don’t like these curses and I try to avoid them. I think I got one while enchanting something with the enchantment table, so I’ve been using my anvil instead. You can enchant items with the anvil and enchanted books.

Following the development of the game, it looks like 1.13 will contain bug fixes, but 1.14 is going to contain some new content. They’re adding more to the oceans, including dolphins and a few other new mobs.

1.12 the "World of Color Update" coming soon! (June 7)

Named “The World of Color" update, 1.12 appears to be coming soon. As it pertains to the name, the game’s color palette is getting an overhaul.

Minecraft is finally getting some birds! Parrots are really interesting mobs. They will mimic the sounds of other mobs around them. They’ll also follow all mobs, whether they’re hostile or not. You can tame them with cookies. This is the addition I’m most looking forward to. I want the blue one, of course!

This update also introduces a new feature, the recipe book, which makes it unnecessary to look up crafting recipes. You’ll see it in your inventory screen. If you use it and select what you want to craft, it will put the... Read All

Minecraft Everywhere, With Super Mario on The Wii U!

"On May 17, the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack comes to Minecraft: Wii U Edition as a free game update. After downloading the update, players who own the Minecraft: Wii U Edition digital game, which launched last December, will have immediate access to new skins, a Super Mario-themed pre-made world and a set of Super Mario-themed music and item textures."

If you were looking for one of the coolest Minecraft updates it might be coming to the Wii U. The Super Mario Mash-Up Pack is going to add a ton of really incredible Mario themed gear in Minecraft making this version pretty compelling. I imagine you can get similar stuff on the PC with mods but this comes for free and... Read All

"34.7% More Hype" Right Here for 1.9

http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/3008741-minecraft.jpg

Well, it's been over a year and Mojang is almost ready to release Minecraft version 1.9. I can't recall exactly when I was aware of this new version, but I know it's been quite a while now. As far as my own personal knowledge, this is called the "Combat Update" in which we will be able to dual-wield things such as holding a torch and a sword, maybe a shield? I also know that arrows are getting the various buffs or debufffs, so if you want to heal yourself, you can make healing arrows, shoot them straight into the sky to have them hit you, and then you'll have that buff.

Recently, I found out that the latest update is finally ispre-release and is expected to be fully... Read All Well, it's been over a year and Mojang is almost ready to release Minecraft version 1.9. I can't recall exactly when I was aware of this new version, but I know it's been quite a while now. As far as my own personal knowledge, this is called the "Combat Update" in which we will be able to dual-wield things such as holding a torch and a sword, maybe a shield? I also know that arrows are getting the various buffs or debufffs, so if you want to heal yourself, you can make healing arrows, shoot them straight into the sky to have them hit you, and then you'll have that buff.

Recently, I found out that the latest update is finally ispre-release and is expected to be fully released next week (2/25). Not much of what I've learned about this new release really makes me want to jump into the game again, but it also seems as the The End is getting a new area with new things, so I think that will be cool to check out.

I've recently decided to rewatch the Minecraft tutorial "Survive and Thrive" videos by Paul Soares, Jr. I watched all of his pre-1.8 videos before I played the game. It did take a while for me to become aware of the game. Initially, my son, Vinny, was really interested in it and I even had a copy for him to play on my computer, but I hadn't played it. Once I watched Paul's videos, I decided to jump in and it's hard to describe how it made me feel. I really enjoyed it, perhaps much more than I expected. I love the music, it seems so relaxing. I also enjoyed the open world exploration, mining, and crafting parts of it along with taming animals. So, since then, I've definitely fallen in love with the game and enjoyed it. It's even become something I've looked for in other games. I have, however, not done everything in the game. Re-watching Paul's videos reminds me of the things I've missed out on like the beacon and Wither boss.

So, I'm curious what my fellow Ghosts think about this new update. Are you excited about it or are you done with the game? Are you going to jump back into the game? After I told my son, Vinny, about the new release expected to come out next week, he's been pretty excited. He asked me how I feel about it and I honestly told him that I do want to play it again when the new version is released. He wants to play together again, on a server, which I've done for us before and I may do again. One of the cool things about the game is that it bridges so many generational gaps and allows people of all ages to play together and have fun. From my experience, it's definitely been something I've enjoyed doing together with my son.

Other versions of the game are expected to receive an update, too. I'll include links to those details below. I do have the Windows 10 and Kindle Fire versions of the game, but I've come to the conclusion that, so far, the regular PC version (for me at least) is the best. I expect other versions (like the Windows 10 beta) to grow and contain everything that's included in the main version of the game, but it's disappointing to play them now knowing that some things are missing.

I'm really hoping to jump in once the new version is released and I'll be more than happy to report my experience with it here at Cheerful Ghost. :)

1.9 patch notes news: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/latest-minecraft-patch-notes-include-bug-fixes-and/1100-6434894/
"Overworld" update for Windows 10 and other versions: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-overworld-update-introduces-new-skins-re/1100-6434924/
Paul Soares, Jr.'s Minecraft "Survie and Thrive" tutorials: https://youtu.be/B36Ehzf2cxE?list=PL7326EF82122776A9

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/20/2016 at 05:24pm

Interested in dual wielding for sure. That said, not much in that Gamespot article is mentioned for content for the patch.

The full list looks to be coming next week. Oh and yes, please post your review of 1.9!

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 03/01/2016 at 02:29pm

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/

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/02/2016 at 12:18am

I think a separate post outlining what is in the update might be good so others can see it.

Thanks for the update Greg!

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The Bountiful Update

http://www.esourceengine.com/downloads/minecraft/minecraft_wallpaper_hd_by_nightbloodsteel-d3qwdrk.png

On 9/2/14, Minecraft was updated to version 1.8. This update is called the "Bountiful Update." It contains many new features and improvements. For a detailed description of the new update, please see the wiki (http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/1.8). In the meantime, there are a few changes that I wish to report, I may even save one of the best things for very last.

Four of the new blocks that have been added to the game include andesite, diorite, granite, and slime blocks. The first three, in that list, are new rocks which can be crafted into "polished" versions. Andesite and diorite look similar to gravel and cobblestone, while granite looks almost like dirt. All three... Read All On 9/2/14, Minecraft was updated to version 1.8. This update is called the "Bountiful Update." It contains many new features and improvements. For a detailed description of the new update, please see the wiki (http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/1.8). In the meantime, there are a few changes that I wish to report, I may even save one of the best things for very last.

Four of the new blocks that have been added to the game include andesite, diorite, granite, and slime blocks. The first three, in that list, are new rocks which can be crafted into "polished" versions. Andesite and diorite look similar to gravel and cobblestone, while granite looks almost like dirt. All three are very abundant and easy to find. So far, I have used all three polished versions to create a house in my new world. I have not yet had any experience with slime blocks, but I know that you can bounce on them. One of my favorite YouTubers has a video regarding this new update, which I recommend watching (http://youtu.be/Q9ykTDAFl7E?list=UUP6f9x4iXk3LH8Q1sqJmYPQ).

Sheep now drop mutton, which can be cooked as another food source. This update also introduces bunnies. They are adorable and come in a variety of colors and designs. They can be bred with a variety of items, but only carrots will make them follow you. They also drop meat, which can also be used as a food source. There is also a slight chance for a "killer bunny" to appear. This bunny has red horizontal eyes, while the tame ones have eyes that are vertical. This "killer bunny" is clearly a nod to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The end of the following video gives the best strategy for when encountering this new "killer bunny" (http://youtu.be/92gP2J0CUjc). (Hint: Run away!)

There are now also ocean monuments which are underwater and apparently filled with water. I have not yet found one, so I can't quite report on it. I know that these monuments contain guardians, which are a new mob. There are also new blocks within these monuments including prismarine and sponges. For more information visit the wiki (http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Ocean_monument).

Finally, I think the most important part of this update is that the game's performance has been greatly improved! When I got my new PC many months ago and played Minecraft, I was impressed by how far I could see, but still disappointed in how long it took chunks to load. Since I've been playing with this new update, I have not had any issue whatsoever with chunks loading. The only chunk loading I noticed was initially when I spawned in my new world, but that's it! Previously, while walking around, I had to wait for chunks to load, I no longer have to wait at all! There is also a new option in the video settings, "use VBO." This feature apparently gives about a 10% increase in performance when set to "on," by reassigning some of the processing from your RAM and CPU to the GPU. For a little more information about this setting please see the following link (http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/177257/what-is-the-use-vbos-setting).

Now seems to be a great time to get back into Minecraft, if you've been away from it for a while. There is still much that I have not covered, so I recommend checking out the wiki for the full release notes.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/19/2014 at 03:59am

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.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/19/2014 at 04:11am

Interested to hear in what it takes to survive those mobs. Also, if you could snap a image of the water monument I’d be interested in checking it out.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/19/2014 at 05:00am

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. =)

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/19/2014 at 06:34pm

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.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/19/2014 at 11:49pm

Nice. Is that a kind of one-eyed fish?

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/20/2014 at 12:28am

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.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/20/2014 at 02:14am

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

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/20/2014 at 08:22pm

I liked the part where the Creeper started singing.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/21/2014 at 03:40am

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.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/21/2014 at 03:44am

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

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/21/2014 at 08:17am

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.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 09/21/2014 at 07:19pm

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

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 10/03/2014 at 06:41pm

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!

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 10/03/2014 at 06:42pm

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!

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/05/2014 at 09:06pm

That's a interesting picture. Looks like the water is in a bowl.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 10/05/2014 at 09:57pm

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. =)

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Confirmed: Microsoft is buying Mojang for $2.5 billion

I haven't wanted to really post anything about all the news that Microsoft may buy Minecraft developer Mojang, even if there was every reason to believe it, until we got confirmation. Well, today we have it. The official Mojang blog has a statement about it this morning.

https://mojang.com/2014/09/yes-were-being-bought-by-microsoft/

Currently, details are sparse, there's a lot of "We don't know" in this statement, and that's fine. It's still early days.

In short, Notch wanted to focus less on running a massive company and decided to sell. Mojang and Microsoft have a good relationship, and it seemed like a good fit for continuing Minecraft's development.

I'll say it seems... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/15/2014 at 02:34pm

Notch wrote his thoughts on leaving Mojang. http://pastebin.com/n1qTeikM

I totally understand his reasons, if the news isn't a bit sad.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/15/2014 at 08:16pm

An interesting information nugget. Disney bought LucasFilm+everything for 4 billion.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 09/15/2014 at 11:36pm

This news makes me kind of sad. I remember watching the Minecraft documentary and seeing how overwhelmed and humbled Notch was upon the explosion of the game. It got way bigger than he ever dreamed. I some how feel that I can understand his point of view. He is just a programmer having fun, not a CEO or someone who wants to lead a large company. I don't hate Microsoft and I feel that this news only reflects the huge success that Minecraft has been. Still, I wonder about the game's future. I hope it continues to evolve as it has been.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/16/2014 at 02:26am

They've said that they won't mess with the platforms that it's on, so we don't have to worry about them taking away the Linux and Mac versions, so that's good news. I can't imagine Microsoft would make the major mistake of messing up Minecraft. What I hope is that they'll take what they have and continue down the same path.

Now, Minecraft 2, if such a thing comes to exist, I do wonder about. But I hope they'll realize how amazing an open-to-all game like Minecraft was and continue down the same path. They have to know they'd have egg on their faces for years if they try to interfere with what's been working for years.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 09/16/2014 at 02:39am

I agree with you, I can't quite imagine them messing it up either. It would be interesting to know what Microsoft has in store for Minecraft. I'd like to see development continue. I think there are still very many things that could be added to the game. For instance, there no birds. I swear in one of the videos Vinny was watching there were birds in the game. Maybe it was just a mod. I think bugs would be a cool addition, too, and if they could be used as bait like in Terraria. Currently fishing doesn't require any kind of bait. There are lots of other animals I thought it would be cool to see in the game.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/16/2014 at 02:55am

I agree with you Travis, but I would find it hard to believe Microsoft wouldn't do something special for XBox One or make it an exclusive for some time. That said, it's all speculation and I do hope for the best with Minecraft.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/16/2014 at 02:28pm

If they did that, exclusives for XBox One, etc, that would just piss off too many people, and I think they know that. I hope it works like Skype-- they bought Skype, and with the exception of being able to log in with your Microsoft account, nothing has really changed.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 09/17/2014 at 05:45pm

I wonder who else was in the market to buy Mojang? Microsoft has the money, but I question whether or not they have the passion for such an investment, beyond their own corporate needs (i.e. making more money). They likely won't mess with the current iteration of Minecraft, but future releases are now inevitable, and it's what they could do that bothers me. Microsoft is better at making deals than making things. If they are smart, they'll leave it alone and just throw money at the people that stay on at Mojang, and let them do what they do best. It seems, though, that any time this much money is involved in a deal, the buyers input also becomes part of the deal. I wonder what Microsoft's input will be.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/17/2014 at 08:12pm

Thinking Minecraft 2 might be some kind of MMO or online game where you get/rent worlds or something. That said, in such a case I could see a fair amount of exclusivity.

Will they change current Minecraft? That seems less likely. That said, Notch originally said he wanted to release Minecraft as Free Software, kind of think there is little chance for that happening now.

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Recreation of Star War IV: A New Hope In Minecraft

"I am recreating ‘Star Wars – A New Hope (Episode IV)’ the FULL film in vanilla Minecraft.

Minecraft – Star Wars – A New Hope is a transformative fan-film spoof parody based on the 1977 film ‘Star Wars – Episode 4′ It will be 100% FREE to view! NO money or profit is to be made from this project and monetization is disabled. It is being created by a fan, for the fans.

This project has been 3 years in the making and some of the individual sets have taken upto 6 months just to build. No mods have been used, just custom textures and art.

To watch the final film with sound you will need the original 1977 version of the film in your DVD/Blu-ray player."

I am very interested in... Read All

BioShock Infinite Gets the Minecrafty Treatment

Minecraft fans are amazing. When the game first dropped and got popular people spent lots of time building cool stuff in the game. One such thing I will never forget was The Enterprise that was featured in the Minecraft movie. Seems someone decided that the floating city of Columbia, as seen in BioShock infinite needed to be built.

Minecraft really is beautiful.

If you want to see the whole album on imgur:

http://imgur.com/a/H38m9

World customization options coming to Minecraft 1.8

After the big change in world generation in version 1.7, Mojang is taking things farther in 1.8 by allowing you some direct control over the world generation process.

For me, one of the best things about Minecraft, Terraria, and the other games like them that have randomized worlds is the pure surprise of what you might find. However, it's always annoying when your favorite biome is smaller than an airplane bathroom. A little personalized tweaking is a welcome change.

And if you want to reenact Water World or recreate Rapture, now is your chance. Beyond terrain generation, you can set sea level and flood the world if you like.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/24/2014 at 09:28pm

Cool, I was thinking of this recently. I thought it'd be cool if, when creating a new world, you could choose which biomes are there. This was after thinking that not all biomes appear in a new world, but after some Googling, it seems that every biome is included in every new world.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/25/2014 at 12:12am

I found more info: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/1.8

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/25/2014 at 12:42am

Every biome is included in every world, but then there are also more virtual square miles in a Minecraft world than there are square miles on Earth. A guy has been walking in a straight line every day for three years and still hasn't even come close to reaching the end. I think I read he has about 70 years left to get there.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/25/2014 at 01:31am

Wow, yeah, I was reading about that recently as I was investigating the number of biomes in a world. BTW, I mentioned you in a comment on Jon's Starbound post, check it out. =) Also, I was really surprised to see you post some Minecraft news since you said you weren't really that into it.

After playing with the server (along with my son and one of his friends), I decided to play some Single player Minecraft. It's funny because when I create a new world, I often delete it and create a new one not long after exploring the first one. I guess it just depends on where I spawn and what's around me at the time. Yesterday, I saw an icy kind of biome that I never saw before, but that world was promptly deleted. I think I'll keep the last one I created though.

Also, today I noticed, on the main menu, that Minecraft Realms is now available. Since I had no idea what that was, I looked it up. Apparently, it's a way to connect to other worlds (or servers) and costs about $18/month. I'm not going to be doing that.

Lately, I've taken up my son's habit of watching someone play Minecraft on YouTube. Before I started playing (around last Thanksgiving), I watched Paul Soares Jr.'s Minecraft Survive & Thrive series, which consisted of about 80 videos. It was awesome. I really like Paul, he's cool, he's funny, and he mentions geeky things sometimes. Also, he doesn't scream in his videos (unlike SkyTheKidRS). I've been watching his Paul Plays Minecraft series and I may even start watching his Minecraft multiplayer videos. He also has some for Terraria.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/25/2014 at 06:54am

Found an article about it! http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/22763/20140424/minecraft-1-8-update-snapshot-14w17a-arrives.htm

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/25/2014 at 08:56pm

Minecraft realms is a really great idea.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/25/2014 at 09:05pm

Maybe, I'm not sure I agree though. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. What I read said that it makes it easier to connect to other worlds, but I haven't realized the difficulty in doing so.

GregoPeck Supporter wrote on 04/25/2014 at 09:19pm

On second thought, after setting up a server, I guess it is a good idea if it makes it easier to create a world that others can join without having to go through setting up a server.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/25/2014 at 11:03pm

Yeah, that's the idea as I understand it. Playing locally is easy, but if you want to play across the US or the Globe, it is harder.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/26/2014 at 03:52am

Yeah, Realms is amazing. I have no need for it but it comes with so many server options and parental controls. It's a little expensive, but awesome.

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My first Minecraft server experience...

Now that my son and I have our own computers, we've don't have to share one to play Minecraft. He still watches a lot of YouTube gaming videos and plays other games, like Spore. However, until recently, we never played Minecraft together. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, with some simple clicks. If a world was opened to the LAN, the other computer wouldn't detect it. There were other minor difficulties, I say they're minor now because I got around them easily enough by setting up a Minecraft server.However, setting up a Minecraft server wasn't as easy as instructions made it out as they contained an error. Luckily, I understood what I needed to do and what... Read All Now that my son and I have our own computers, we've don't have to share one to play Minecraft. He still watches a lot of YouTube gaming videos and plays other games, like Spore. However, until recently, we never played Minecraft together. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, with some simple clicks. If a world was opened to the LAN, the other computer wouldn't detect it. There were other minor difficulties, I say they're minor now because I got around them easily enough by setting up a Minecraft server.However, setting up a Minecraft server wasn't as easy as instructions made it out as they contained an error. Luckily, I understood what I needed to do and what I was doing. Plus, I had Google to search for issue troubleshooting. Really, it wasn't that difficult to do.

I knew my son would be happy once he got home from school that we had a server that we could connect to. While he was at school I set it up and made sure that we both could connect and spawn in a safe place, which I built. We played for a long time. He died more often and needed my help too often. He also has this annoying tendency of getting right in front of me, especially while I'm mining or attacking, so he gets hit by me often enough. This is the thing that frustrates me most about the game now. Also having him next to me and constantly saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" gets annoying, too. So, we're going to have to learn some Minecraft server courtesies like not walking right in front of someone while they're attacking a mob.

The one visual difference between us is that he has a custom skin. I don't know how or why as I haven't researched skins, so my character, "GregoPeck," looks like Steve. Usually, I die less and have a higher level (they go hand in hand). I've learned some very basic commands, since I enabled Cheats, such as healing and teleporting characters to each other. I often use it to heal myself or teleport him to me as we get separated. That's something else we do, is get separated. I often go wander, looking for something, and he ends up going on way ahead or in another direction. This is also due to how often I mine things I see, like coal. However, by wandering off, he came into a pack of wolves. He tamed two and bred for another. He was jealous of my level (47 or so) and I was jealous that he had dogs.

Today, he said he was jealous because I was at a high level and I had started on the server earlier than he did and therefore had more of an advantage. I also had a house built, caves found and mined, wheat farm going, and was working on getting some cows penned up by the time he joined. So, today he wanted me to create a new world for the server, so we could start out and build together. I didn't know how to do this, but my habit is to get on Google when I want to know how to do something. While I read a simple solution, I found my own. I created a backup folder in the server folder and moved the world folder to it. This I did after closing down the server. Then I restarted the server and we were on a new world together starting out. Luckily we spawned near a few caves and didn't have much trouble getting iron and coal. So, for now, we've set up camp just inside a cave in a hill. The cave ended up leading to a ravine in which we found red stone, waterfalls, and lava. He found a diamond, but lost it by dying in lava.

Anyway, if you'd like to join our server, please let me know and I'll be happy to send you the IP address (and port number) so you can use "Direct Connect" after clicking on "Multiplayer" in the main menu. I'm not sure how long I'll have the server up, but I'll try to keep it up as long as I can. I explained to my son why it's better that my super computer run the server instead of his. I usually leave my computer on and have so far only closed the server to reboot my computer or it. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

What's next? Oh can't you see it?! Terraria. Yes, sometime in the future we'll look into that. =)

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 04/16/2014 at 08:16pm

This has definitely been a learning experience, I mean that in a good way. Since this original posting, my son and I have been playing Minecraft on the server. I've learned some configurations and also feel like I'm getting some basics on Java, at least Java usage, as I have been working with .jar files (for the game and server). I've also been playing with the commands (in game and on the server) as well. The commands in the game are also knows as cheats, so I've done some cheating, which has made the game much easier.

Along with healing, I've been using saturation (restore hunger bars) and enchanting. I've created fully enchanted gear for both me and Vinny. This has helped us both survive. I've also changed game settings such as making it so that we don't lose our inventory upon dying. I also turned PVP off. So, the game is less challenging, but less frustrating in most regards. Still, after a few hours of exploring the server world, I get a little bored as I often find myself running in circles or spending countless hours exploring and looking for particular things (like wolves to tame or cows to pen).

Both of us have our own Minecraft identities. Sure, I've payed for the game twice, but in total I spent less than $60, which is what games typically go for these days and aren't as fun. By getting this accomplished, I found an old email address by trying to access a different one, so I have two extra email addresses to use. I plan to take advantage of this soon by creating a Steam account for Vinny using one of those email addresses. This will allow us to play Steam games together (*cough* Terraria).

So far, I've still neglected Mods, that will be another learning experience.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/17/2014 at 02:42am

I think vanilla Minecraft is a good way to play the game. If as you play you want to try something else, mods are great. I had some fun playing with Travis and his wife a few years ago. Ultimately when I got Terraria my Minecraft play died out entirely.

I like Minecraft, but with Terraria at least the progression feels more... I don't know, like it means more I guess.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 04/17/2014 at 10:10pm

=) Well I briefly looked into mods, which my son keeps asking for, and it looked a little more complicated than I wanted to get into at the time. One mod I've thought of, that would be cool, would be to remove Creepers. Although lately with my overly enchanted gear, they're not as much of a problem anymore.

That's great that you got to play with Travis and Katie. I understand what you say about Terraria and Minecraft, yet for some reason I keep coming back to Minecraft. Don't get me wrong, I love Terraria, but since I've already done almost everything, I'm not sure what else to do. The last thing I was trying to accomplish was finishing the Pumpkin Moon event, which I think I need to use a better strategy for (in other words I need to use potions for the PumpKing battle)..

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/18/2014 at 12:29am

Yeah, I had to get better gear and such to take PumpKing and even now it's much simpler with Travis or WhiteboySlim around.

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The Simpsons Minecraft Intro

Recently The Simpsons parodied Minecraft in the show intro. Not as much funny as it is cool to see the Simpsons do it. It's a sign of cultural relevance that certain people and things achieve to be parodied by The Simpsons and Minecraft is popular enough to warrant it.

A Beautiful View

If you've been following me, you know I just got a new spanking PC, an Alienware Aurora R4 with a GTX690. I've been working on copying files over the network from the old computer, installing, and setting up Windows 8.1. I do finally have Steam installed and configured, although I haven't played any of those games yet. I found out, while putting my Steam account on this new PC, that I got Dota2. Basically, when I logged into Steam, it told me about the new game, which apparently came bundled with my new computer. "Sweet," I thought, since Jon gave me a list of Free-To-Play Steam games and Dota2 was on that list. I think I was only aware of one of those games on his... Read All If you've been following me, you know I just got a new spanking PC, an Alienware Aurora R4 with a GTX690. I've been working on copying files over the network from the old computer, installing, and setting up Windows 8.1. I do finally have Steam installed and configured, although I haven't played any of those games yet. I found out, while putting my Steam account on this new PC, that I got Dota2. Basically, when I logged into Steam, it told me about the new game, which apparently came bundled with my new computer. "Sweet," I thought, since Jon gave me a list of Free-To-Play Steam games and Dota2 was on that list. I think I was only aware of one of those games on his list, Team Fortress 2, which I've never played.

Minecraft happens to be the first game I played on this PC. After installing and updating and copying over my world from the old computer, the first thing I did was to go into the options menu. There set my render distance to it's max of 16 blocks. My old computer used the default setting and it slugged a little bit when I tried to increase it. This one handles that option quite well. I maxed other settings and turned others on to test this beast.

I currently have a house on a "floating island" that the game mysteriously created for me, which I had been looking at from a distance. I wanted to get there and build my house, even though I have some holes in caves around my default spawn point, which was in a Jungle, exactly where I wanted to be so I could get a cat. This is my new spawn point, where I have a yellow cat, which hasn't been named yet.

Not far away from the base of my floating island house, I ran into monsters and was awed with the sound. My new Bose speakers are an upgrade from the cheap speakers I have on the old computer. So, it was cool to hear the zombies moaning, spiders sounded creepy. Of course, I ran into some Creepers. I really hate those things!

I went into a nearby cave, which seemed darker thank I was used to. Later, my son said that it was probably because my brightness setting was set to the default "Moody." It was, of course, I barely messed with that setting, but I put it at 64 and liked it much better. I then showed him my floating island and we both seemed wowed by how much of the world we could see (this is where that render blocks setting comes in). It was awesome!

In the meantime, I'm going to try to test out other games and see their improvements with the new PCs. I don't expect FTL will be any different, but I'm sure Terraria will be as it has some sweet settings to tweak that make it look better. That may, in fact, be my next mission.

I've you've read this far, thanks. Jon volunteered a list of FTP games to play on Steam, what games would you suggest I try playing on my new PC? I did try Star Trek Online with the old PC and wasn't happy with it's performance. I'll have to try it on this one.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/07/2014 at 02:17am

That's a tough one, as there are so many games that would probably look really good on your setup. Some of my favorite shiny things are:

Skyrim
Fable 3
Dishonored
Planetside 2
Civilization 5
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
Trine (1 or 2)
Dirt 3
Far Cry 3
Mass Effect 2
Tomb Raider (the new one)...

I don't know. There are so many others. If I had to pick one, based solely on pushing graphical performance, I'd probably go with Skyrim, and add the High Res texture pack, with maybe one of the water packs, like Pure Water. If that doesn't give a 'Holy Shit!' moment, I don't know what would.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/07/2014 at 02:19am

There are always demos. You don't have to stay strictly free-to-play.

The Arkham games are awesome, and quite pretty. http://store.steampowered.com/app/200260
Bioshock is aging a bit but still one of the best FPS games I've played, and also quite pretty: http://store.steampowered.com/app/7670/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 03/07/2014 at 02:41am

Thanks, Scrypt! I have Skyrim on the PS3 and love it. I'm sure it'd be amazing on here! I've played a Warhammer game, but it's been a while. I've heard of some of most of those games you listed one way or another, but don't have much personal familiarity with.

Yeah, Travis, Jon just mentioned FTP games, although I'm not limiting myself to anything in particular, really. I'm not really sure I want to get into an MMORPG again, but maybe. I did enjoy Ragnarok Online years ago. I have FFXI for the PC and all or most of the expansions, but I don't think I'll play it again. I'm not surprised to see Bioshock and Mass Effect 2 listed as those seem to be popular games.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/07/2014 at 02:49am

And yeah, Skyrim. You can pull some amazing stuff out of that box with Skyrim. Crazy ENB stuff and depth of field can make it look photorealistic, like this: http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3230/130642458523.jpg

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 03/07/2014 at 03:26am

Whoa!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/07/2014 at 03:30am

yeah, that's what I'm talking about. So gorgeous!

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 03/07/2014 at 11:46pm

As I expected, I noticed no difference in FTL. Terraria, however, was better as expected. Before, when I turned on the optimal/high settings on the game, I noticed a little lag. It wasn't too bad. Now there's no lag at all. Some how, I swear the game just looked more beautiful. One of the things I noticed was how lit up things were around me when I held a torch.

As I mentioned above, I started to play Star Trek Online on the old PC. I got partially through the tutorial, to the planet where you had to fight off some Borg. On the old computer, this was quite messy and it made me realize that my old computer wasn't really giving the kind of performance I wanted to see in STO. With the new computer, I jumped back in where I left off in the tutorial and finished it. The game looked great!

I think I've tested all the games I wanted to test on here, or at least the ones I own. I'm sure Skyrim would look sweet on here, but I'm not sure if I want to get it for the PC, since I already have it on the PS3 and spent over 300 hours on it. Still, I'm kind of not sure what to play. Star Trek Online is ok, kind of complex, especially since I'm new at it. I really want to play Minecraft some more.

GregoPeck Supporter Post Author wrote on 03/12/2014 at 10:30pm

As I'm playing Minecraft, I'm thinking of some things that are in Terraria that I wish were in Minecraft. I really wish Minecraft had its own version of Terraria's Magic Mirror. It would be so cool to be able to teleport to my last spawn point (my bed in my house). This would be extremely helpful, especially for all those times I get stuck in a cave and can't find my way out. It would also be cool if Minecraft had a grappling hook and wings (so I can fly in Survival Mode). Bosses in Minecraft would be cool, too.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/13/2014 at 01:28am

I agree with you Greg. Wonder if they have a mod for that?

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My New Home on the Floating Island

For a few days or more now, I've been wanting to play Minecraft again. I don't know what held me back. When I first started playing it around Thanksgiving I was home alone with the pets as the rest of the family was in Kentucky with family. I lost track of time in those days. There might have been two days where I stayed up all night and didn't go to bed, something I hadn't done in a long time.

Apparently, I last played it a little more than a month ago and probably not for very long. One thing I found out was how to back up and restore my world. This became something I made into a habit as I really hate dying in the game and also when Creepers blow my stuff up.... Read All For a few days or more now, I've been wanting to play Minecraft again. I don't know what held me back. When I first started playing it around Thanksgiving I was home alone with the pets as the rest of the family was in Kentucky with family. I lost track of time in those days. There might have been two days where I stayed up all night and didn't go to bed, something I hadn't done in a long time.

Apparently, I last played it a little more than a month ago and probably not for very long. One thing I found out was how to back up and restore my world. This became something I made into a habit as I really hate dying in the game and also when Creepers blow my stuff up. Usually if I die I just quit the game and restore from my back up. I also try to make a back up when I've done something significant, like finishing a house.

The world I last created at the end of November put me into a Jungle, which is exactly what I was looking for in the previous world, but couldn't seem to locate. I wanted a Jungle because I wanted a cat. Cats supposedly help keep the Creepers away, although one caught up to me as I was leading my new cat to our new home. Usually, I burrow into the side of a hill for a while, planting my base there and mining a nearby cavern or the one I've made into a base. I've found a few caverns, which I've noted coordinates in a Notepad file. I found this to be helpful as well.

Well, I noticed a floating island near where I was last mining and although I thought I'd make a tree house, I decided to move to that island. It's not very big, but big enough for a big house. I used dirt to create a path to get up there and then I leveled it out so that I could build my house. There isn't much room left on that island, which I think will help keep the Creepers away. Yet, some how a Skeleton spawned in my house, so I threw up more torches. I think I did see a Creeper up there, but killed it before it could blow up. Later, I went back and filled in the sides to my path up to the house, so that I wouldn't accidentally fall off the sides (I did that a couple of times).

I do enjoy Minecraft. It took a long time for me to play it. My son has obsessed over it and often watches videos of Minecraft people have posted on YouTube. It really is a good game and I love the music! The thing I hate most about the game is the Creeper. That enemy alone makes me not want to play it. I hate when a Creeper surprises me by coming up to me (out of sight) and blowing up and destroying whatever I'm near. It's really annoying. That's one advantage I found in living underground, but still my wheat farms outside were vulnerable (and blown up at times).

Minecraft is a "sandbox" game, but I'm in it more for the adventure. I like finding caverns and exploring them. I love finding diamonds even more! Sadly, I don't ever find enough of them. I have made a diamond breastplate, I think it might be enchanted. Now when I try to repair it, the game tells me it's "too expensive," so I've kept it in a chest. I also have a very nicely enchanted sword (I'm not sure what it's made of), which seems to get more expensive with each time I repair it. The last time I tried, I didn't have enough XP to repair it.

I'm surprised that it's been so long since there's been an update to this game. It's kind of sad because I've thought of lots of things that could be added (like snakes). I've even seen videos that had birds in there, but haven't seen any in the game.

Anyway, I don't really have a point to this post. I just felt like writing about my most recent Minecraft experience. I still want to keep playing. There's a cavern near my new home that I want to explore. The ocelot I found was very easy to tame, it only took 1 Salmon. It turned into an orange cat, which I've had a few before. I might try to tame more ocelots, I definitely need as much protection from annoying Creepers as I can get.

....*hiss*.......*BOOM!*

P.S. I've found that it's best to proofread my posts before posting. I hate reading things that have typos, incorrect spelling, or horrible grammar, so you can expect a bit more quality in what I write. I am a writer after all, pretty much always have been, which is why I'm so glad to participate here at "the best website on the Internet." (Those are Jon's words, not that I disagree with him.)

Far Lands or Bust: A Very Ambitious Minecraft Project

The Far Lands is the area of the map formed at the edge of Minecraft prior to 1.8. Basically, the Minecraft planet creation algorithm breaks down going that far out and some very odd things happen to the terrain. If you traveled on foot to the Far Lands from your spawn point it would be about the same distance as about a third of the circumference of the earth at the equator. Many have made it to the Far Lands with hacks and cheats, but one YouTuber, @kurtjmac is doing it on foot one day at a time.

Not only is he making this journey, but he is recording it every step of the way on his YouTube channel and is now up to episode #318(linked above). Recently his "Far Lands... Read All

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is Available on YouTube

"Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is a feature-length documentary that follows the young company over the course of its first year as their profile expanded across the world stage and into the homes of millions of gamers. Featuring insights from industry icons (Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer), journalists (Geoff Keighley, Stephen Totilo), tastemakers (Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade), and players profoundly impacted by the game (Yogscast, The Shaft, Minecraft Teacher), the film serves as a time capsule for one of this generation's most unorthodox success stories."

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is a great documentary that showcases a snapshot of the company and people that... Read All

Pro Tip (Getting Mending)

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Minecraft Everywhere, With Super Mario on The Wii U!

"34.7% More Hype" Right Here for 1.9

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Confirmed: Microsoft is buying Mojang for $2.5 billion

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BioShock Infinite Gets the Minecrafty Treatment

World customization options coming to Minecraft 1.8

My first Minecraft server experience...

The Simpsons Minecraft Intro

A Beautiful View

My New Home on the Floating Island

Far Lands or Bust: A Very Ambitious Minecraft Project

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is Available on YouTube

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