Beginning the construction of my vault.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Staring Into the Depths
Staring down from the top of the great staircase. From about 10 levels below the surface all the way down to the bedrock.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Third Ancestor
The Third Ancestor (A3) improved upon the mine. On the backside of the house is a small stream. Across it, is a hill. There was a cave that leads down into the earth, and A3 carved it out and "neatened" the edges so it was a more comfortable dwelling. Down approximately 10-15 levels, he constructed a workshop, with a forge, crafting table, and two storage chests.
He will begin the great construction of the underground complex. My plan is to build a 40x40 chamber that reaches deep into the undergroudn depths. A 3x(X) staircase will follow along the sides to the bedrock, with chambers at every corner where the stairs turn.
He will begin the great construction of the underground complex. My plan is to build a 40x40 chamber that reaches deep into the undergroudn depths. A 3x(X) staircase will follow along the sides to the bedrock, with chambers at every corner where the stairs turn.
The Second Ancestor
The Second Ancestor (A2) is an explorer. He stored all his precious materials in a chest in the house and supplied himself with 10 iron, one metal pick, shovel, and axe, a stack of wood and torches, half a stack of coal, and a crafting table. He then built a boat and sailed down the river towards a mountain, along the side of a jungle.
On land, he explored to the top of the mountain and began constructing shelter. This will soon serve as an outpost for the village.
I tend to refer to my first major encampment as a village. Even though there's only one structure and a mine, I intend on building more structures. Storage houses, a market-place, a bank, a farm or two...This will take a lot of time, and I'm in no hurry. I estimate it will take at least 10 ancestors before I have anything I could actually deem a "village".
On land, he explored to the top of the mountain and began constructing shelter. This will soon serve as an outpost for the village.
I tend to refer to my first major encampment as a village. Even though there's only one structure and a mine, I intend on building more structures. Storage houses, a market-place, a bank, a farm or two...This will take a lot of time, and I'm in no hurry. I estimate it will take at least 10 ancestors before I have anything I could actually deem a "village".
The First Ancestor
Since I'm in a new world, that means a fresh start to my ancestry!
The first ancestor harvested just enough wood to make a shovel, pick, and axe. He used the axe until it broke harvesting wood, and then used the pick and shovel just enough to make one stone pick (3 blocks of cobblestone). Immediately, I dug into the earth until I found some iron. Luckily, I got to 5 iron ores just before my pick broke.
I will continude harvesting for iron until I had enough to last me a while. the underground complex shall be mightier and even more impressive this time around!
The first Ancestor built a rudimentary house. nothing fancy, just a squarish building with two front doors (screenshots to come soon). A1 (Ancestor 1) got all the fundamental requirements to survive in Minecraft, including reeds to make paper and flower (Technically it's called sugar cane). A1 planted them along the river that runs by the house.
The first ancestor harvested just enough wood to make a shovel, pick, and axe. He used the axe until it broke harvesting wood, and then used the pick and shovel just enough to make one stone pick (3 blocks of cobblestone). Immediately, I dug into the earth until I found some iron. Luckily, I got to 5 iron ores just before my pick broke.
I will continude harvesting for iron until I had enough to last me a while. the underground complex shall be mightier and even more impressive this time around!
The first Ancestor built a rudimentary house. nothing fancy, just a squarish building with two front doors (screenshots to come soon). A1 (Ancestor 1) got all the fundamental requirements to survive in Minecraft, including reeds to make paper and flower (Technically it's called sugar cane). A1 planted them along the river that runs by the house.
Land-Ho!
At last! A world worth playing in! Within a short distance there are mountains, grassy hills, a desert, a flowing river--and best of all...I wasn't thrown into the middle of a freaking jungle. There is a jungle not far from my main encampment, but I'm advocating deforestation with it. Huge trees are good for one thing: harvesting wood.
I've already contaminated this wonderful world with a few rough structures, so I'll wait to take screenshots for publication until after I have something to show.
I've already contaminated this wonderful world with a few rough structures, so I'll wait to take screenshots for publication until after I have something to show.
In Search of the Perfect World
I don't know how many worlds I created until I found one I was satisfied with. If I had to guess, I would say 10-25 that I actually at least built a small structure in, and maybe up to 40 that I started the world and deleted in search of a better landscape.
One thing that always got me, were the huge jungles. I would find myself plop-smack-dab in the middle of a giant jungle, and it would take forever to get to a river, a desert biome, or some simple grass plain. I'll say it right now: I don't like jungles. When I found myself in a new world, in the middle of some stupid freaking jungle, I would immediately sign off and delete that world. Why? Well because I'm too lazy to find my way out, only to find a small strip of land and no mountains.
One thing that always got me, were the huge jungles. I would find myself plop-smack-dab in the middle of a giant jungle, and it would take forever to get to a river, a desert biome, or some simple grass plain. I'll say it right now: I don't like jungles. When I found myself in a new world, in the middle of some stupid freaking jungle, I would immediately sign off and delete that world. Why? Well because I'm too lazy to find my way out, only to find a small strip of land and no mountains.
A Brave New World
So I had everything I could have wanted: diamonds, castles, an underground kingdom, a large farm, a railway system...and then the "apocalypse happened", and I had to start a new world.
I got a new computer, one that would let me play with maximum view distance and fancy graphics (I had previously been using the lowest settings to allow even the most minimal of gameplay). So I tipped my hat to my old world and started a new.
What great adventures awaited me? What would I build first? As a veteran minecraft player, fresh out of beta testing, I was ready for the change.
I got a new computer, one that would let me play with maximum view distance and fancy graphics (I had previously been using the lowest settings to allow even the most minimal of gameplay). So I tipped my hat to my old world and started a new.
What great adventures awaited me? What would I build first? As a veteran minecraft player, fresh out of beta testing, I was ready for the change.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Welcome to Hell
Deep, deep in my underground caverns, beyond a waterfall and through a dungeon, across a bridge over lava I built my nether portal. The ominous obsidian structure loomed in the darkness with a violet glow.
To add some backstory, it was discovered, not built, by the 14th generation. The nether had permeated the stone floor and walls (I put nether bricks around the floor and wall, reaching towards my underground palace) Inside the nether, I had a large scale structure made of cobblestone. My safe house. From there I would venture fourth to obtain glowstone and blaze rods. It was the first and only line of defense against the demonic beings that plagued the nether.
To add some backstory, it was discovered, not built, by the 14th generation. The nether had permeated the stone floor and walls (I put nether bricks around the floor and wall, reaching towards my underground palace) Inside the nether, I had a large scale structure made of cobblestone. My safe house. From there I would venture fourth to obtain glowstone and blaze rods. It was the first and only line of defense against the demonic beings that plagued the nether.
Diamonds or Bust
Now...I had a great castle and an even bigger underground complex. I had an elaborate underground society, and was approximately 13 generations into my game. But I wanted diamonds. In the construction of my underground masterpiece, I had found five or six...but I wanted MORE.
I learned that diamonds are more common on levels 10-14 up from the bedrock. So I made a 20x20x4 room and began on hallways to mine diamonds. 1 block wide and 2 blocks tall, I ventured far, far away from my complex. I went far enough to extend beyond my map and into the unknown. Given, this was before maps were much smaller areas and weren't automatically completed when you used them.
The yield of precious materials was bountiful. I found cocoa beans in dungeons, endless coal, iron, redstone, gold, and lapiz lazul. And most important of all...I had diamonds. At any given time, I had 30-45 unused diamonds + LOTS of diamond tools, armor, and weapons. My vault was filled with rare materials.
I used countless iron and gold to built incredibly long tracks through my diamond runs. It would take 4-5 minutes on the rail to get to the end of the tracks (4 diamond runs in total).
And then a friend of mine asked me, "What have you done in the nether?"
"What's the nether," I asked. Then he showed me...if my mind was already blown by minecraft, this is certainly what did it.
I learned that diamonds are more common on levels 10-14 up from the bedrock. So I made a 20x20x4 room and began on hallways to mine diamonds. 1 block wide and 2 blocks tall, I ventured far, far away from my complex. I went far enough to extend beyond my map and into the unknown. Given, this was before maps were much smaller areas and weren't automatically completed when you used them.
The yield of precious materials was bountiful. I found cocoa beans in dungeons, endless coal, iron, redstone, gold, and lapiz lazul. And most important of all...I had diamonds. At any given time, I had 30-45 unused diamonds + LOTS of diamond tools, armor, and weapons. My vault was filled with rare materials.
I used countless iron and gold to built incredibly long tracks through my diamond runs. It would take 4-5 minutes on the rail to get to the end of the tracks (4 diamond runs in total).
And then a friend of mine asked me, "What have you done in the nether?"
"What's the nether," I asked. Then he showed me...if my mind was already blown by minecraft, this is certainly what did it.
The Ancestry Begins
Fun in Minecraft is found in creating your own projects and backstories. By the time Minecraft exited beta testing, I had developed a firm playstyle. I was a dwarf. I built crazy underground structures, bedrooms, orgy rooms, water rooms, forge rooms, workshop rooms, libraries, paper harvesting rooms, farm rooms, mineing rooms, rooms just for the sake of having rooms. I lived underground. But what to do with all the extra cobblestone? (At one point I had 35 chests FULL of cobblestone. That's 120,960 blocks of cobblestone!). Well, when you have bricks, BUILD! And so I started building grand, large scale structures above the entrance to my dwarven domain.
Eventually, I had a fully fledged castle above me. But what's the point of having a structure if it doesn't have a backstory? This is where my Minecraft Ancestry began. I explained that each structure was completed by one generation of Minecraftians. Half the underground halls were one generation, half were the next, and the above structure was formed by 3 generations of dwarves.
Then...the real fun began. I dedicated hours to building a large, 10 room vault (each room was 25x25x5) The groudn was built on the first layer of bedrock, so you can't mine under it, and the outer walls and ceiling were made of hard-earned obsidian, 3 layers thick. Since it takes 10 seconds to obliterate a single block of obsidian, I considered it a secure vault. In this vault room, I stowed away the first tools of the first ancestor. A wooden pick, shovel, and axe. Each had been used JUST ENOUGH to get enough cobblestone and coal to begin my descent into the bowels of the earth.
Eventually, I had a fully fledged castle above me. But what's the point of having a structure if it doesn't have a backstory? This is where my Minecraft Ancestry began. I explained that each structure was completed by one generation of Minecraftians. Half the underground halls were one generation, half were the next, and the above structure was formed by 3 generations of dwarves.
Then...the real fun began. I dedicated hours to building a large, 10 room vault (each room was 25x25x5) The groudn was built on the first layer of bedrock, so you can't mine under it, and the outer walls and ceiling were made of hard-earned obsidian, 3 layers thick. Since it takes 10 seconds to obliterate a single block of obsidian, I considered it a secure vault. In this vault room, I stowed away the first tools of the first ancestor. A wooden pick, shovel, and axe. Each had been used JUST ENOUGH to get enough cobblestone and coal to begin my descent into the bowels of the earth.
A Warm Welcome
When I first logged on to Minecraft, I'm sure I had a similar experience to everyone else. Plopped down into the middle of a lego New Zealand, I ran around until someone told me to punch trees. So I punched trees for wood and had no idea what to do. In a game like Minecraft, there's no shame in picking up a tutorial or two, so I preceeded to look a few up.
Once I learned how to make picks and shovels, the real adventure began. I built my first rudimentary house (which was ugly and square) and decorated it with flowers I found about the place. It didn't take long until my playstyle developed. One word: dwarves.
I wanted iron, so I dug to the bottom of the earth and made a room. As I mined, I connected more rooms to this antichamber until I had a full fledged house (complete with forge, workshop, "orgy room" and bedroom)
This was before beds existed in the game, so my bedroom consisted of squares of cloth for a bed, lightly lit with torches.
I mentioned "orgy rooms". This is what my friend and I christened rooms that served little purpose, and had cloth floors (good for orgies, you see). They were elegantly designed with waterfalls and fountains.
The more I played, and the more updates came out, the more elaborate my underground kingdom begame. I would mine and mine and mine until I had a full chest of cobblestone, which I would then use to build parts of a castle above my dwarven sanctuary.
Once I learned how to make picks and shovels, the real adventure began. I built my first rudimentary house (which was ugly and square) and decorated it with flowers I found about the place. It didn't take long until my playstyle developed. One word: dwarves.
I wanted iron, so I dug to the bottom of the earth and made a room. As I mined, I connected more rooms to this antichamber until I had a full fledged house (complete with forge, workshop, "orgy room" and bedroom)
This was before beds existed in the game, so my bedroom consisted of squares of cloth for a bed, lightly lit with torches.
I mentioned "orgy rooms". This is what my friend and I christened rooms that served little purpose, and had cloth floors (good for orgies, you see). They were elegantly designed with waterfalls and fountains.
The more I played, and the more updates came out, the more elaborate my underground kingdom begame. I would mine and mine and mine until I had a full chest of cobblestone, which I would then use to build parts of a castle above my dwarven sanctuary.
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