To start this off, I'm just going to say that I'm not here to change Mojang's mind on anything. I'm here to criticize Mojang and Minecraft as a whole. I may use humor to accent some of my points, but that doesn't mean I'm joking. My main intention is to spark serious discussion in the community, rather than the flood of praises that have been said a million times already.
Introduction - Mojang
Minecraft is a project started a few years ago by an indie game developer named Markus "Notch" Persson. With only one persson developing it, the game was stuck with programmer art, a variety of glitches, and an unbalanced weapon/armor/combat system. Later, Mojang was formed around the game, and the game had a full team. With sales shooting through the roof, it could safely be said that the game was open to better treatment.
While this didn't happen, Minecraft has been graced with many new features, including but not limited to: Worse terrain generation, borderline useless villagers to trade with, the ability to make your weapons and armor even more game-breaking, and two half baked bosses that lack any buildup, presentation, or real thrill and challenge. Oh, and did I mention colored beams of light? All good calls on Mojang's part. We needed them way more than cubic chunks, a new lighting engine that doesn't create at least 50 lighting glitches every few chunks, and something to replace tedious wiki and guide searching.
For the less aware, cubic chunks is a concept invented by Notch during Indev/Infdev to fix performance reduction. Right now, the client loads 16x256x16 "chunks" (sets of blocks) around the player. This means the client is always rendering everything above and below the surface. Cubic chunks would load 16x16x16 chunks, allowing for near infinite height (with no added performance reduction) and increasing performance noticeably. Unfortunately, the plan fell through, and since then, tons of features have been added on top of the current chunk engine which make implementing cubic chunks impractical.
What does Mojang say about cubic chunks? The official explanation is that there are problems that would need to be solved. Not only is this perfect public relation, but it highlights Mojang's fantastic work ethic that totally isn't driven by short term cost/benefit, rather than logical long term goals.
Sarcasm aside, Mojang has made a habit of implementing simple features to give Minecraft a quick boost of longevity. The 1.8 update is a great example. It's comprised of small features, bug fixes that fans have posted to Github, and performance improvements which have had mixed results. Now, granted, if the community wants to find bugs for Mojang, and Mojang will allow it, that's fantastic. I'm merely pointing out that finding those bugs in their code and fixing them isn't exactly a grand achievement once they know what it is.
Everything I mentioned above will be covered in much greater detail throughout the rest of the analysis, so don't pass judgement just yet. The story is a bit deeper than just this small synopsis. However, with all of that out of the way, we can finally get into the meat of things. Luckily for me, because of my experience with the game, the rest will practically write itself.
Introduction - Game Modes
Minecraft comes in three distinct flavors. The first, and to many, the most important, is Survival mode. This full analysis will mostly cover Survival, since Hardcore and Adventure are mostly similar to Survival, with some key differences. Creative will be covered in this part of the analysis. There are also 4 difficulty levels: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, and Hard. Peaceful removes combat. The others are the same as eachother, with varying difficulty. I'll cover combat later in the analysis.
Creative mode seems to be an unfinished addition which aims to provide more freedom to players. The mode is complimented by the command block, which allows the more technically minded to do a little more with their game. My view on this mode is mostly positive. While it's still buggy, and doesn't fully achieve what it set out to do, it's hard to argue with such a helpful idea. Add to that the fact that Creative is implemented into the game in an intuitive and helpful way. I wanted to be pessimistic for this analysis, but I also wanted to address Creative mode. Creative mode isn't terrible, but it's relevant for comparison to Survival mode.
I'll take a moment to briefly talk about Survival. It should help me streamline my thoughts for the coming wall of text. Survival is Minecraft's take on real life. Which is to say it's boring, full of chores, and punishes you for everything. Fortunately for you, the developers have "fixed" this by allowing you to get game-breaking weapons and enchantments. Tremble in fear at the Spider that does exactly zero damage to you in your Protection IV diamond armor. (Yes, this actually happens) There's also a hunger system which literally forces you to constantly farm and eat. I guess they were trolling people who never take damage? Thanks Mojang. Skill based games are so last decade. They should add doing the dishes to the game too.
I'm eager to get into this, but there's some nitpicks I want to cover too. I'll deal with them here. Post some nitpicks in the thread and I might just add them.
* Tree cutting is more frustrating than in real life. Go figure.
* You can get to the Nether in less than 30 minutes. Wiki required.
* Lighting glitches can spawn hostile mobs. That's just messed up.
* Hitboxes don't fit the shape of the mob. They're usually smaller.
* Hits knock entities into the air. They couldn't do something a LITTLE more believable?
* Monsters drop less useful loot than animals. Seems fair.
* You get a medal if you've never looked up crafting recipes online. Just saying.
* You lose everything in your inventory if you die.
- Since people were asking, I DO like hard games. I'd prefer it if you just permanently lost a few items, and your experience. Having to chase down your entire inventory before it disappears (if you didn't die in lava) is a bit cheap.
Analysis I - Dimensions
The first thing we'll talk about is the 3 worlds in Minecraft. More than likely this will lead to a discussion about terrain generation, and how it doesn't look so hot, and causes some annoyance in-game. The graphical side of the issue will come last. I'm not too worried about it.
The first dimension is the Overworld. You'll spend most of your time here, get all your tools here, and your farm will be here. Most important resources can be found in the overworld as well. Naturally, this dimension is pretty much the game. Does it hold up? Sort of. I wouldn't talk about it if there weren't a ton of problems. First thing I want to talk about is the underground of the game.
Mining is INFURIATING. First problem you'll run into: Unwanted and unnecessary dirt patches. Not a big deal. Second problem you'll run into: Small, overly common cave systems. You'd expect caves to be less frequent, and bigger. Still, you can circumvent this with a bow, a sword, and a good supply of useless blocks. It's annoying, but it does the job. Third problem you'll run into: Way too many lava pools. Don't dig straight down they said. Follow that rule and you'll be fine they said. Well say that to all the diamonds I've lost to lava flowing in from the wall and eating it before I can pick it up. >:(
That said, the surface isn't so bad. Only problems I can think of are too many steep cliffs, and unnecessarily large oceans with tiny, useless islands in the middle. Oh, and maybe the oversimplified temples. Dungeons and strongholds fit under this too. Oh, and to the previous paragraph for a moment, mineshafts are EVERYWHERE. From what I understand it's a glitch that makes them generate endlessly as you explore. Anyway...
With all that out of the way, I'll talk about the visuals of the world. I have a lot to say on this, but it's not exactly important. If you're in a hurry just go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. First thing that comes to mind is the sand splotches in the water. I... don't get it. Really. Couldn't they just make the whole ocean floor sand? Speaking of the ocean floor, it could stand to be a little less mountainous. Pretty obvious they just turned up terrain disruption to make tiny islands pop out of the surface occasionally. And on the topic of sand, the post Beta 1.8 beaches look nothing like beaches. Beta 1.7.3 looked far better, in my honest opinion. I don't think I have to say that the water and lava ponds are lame, do I? I want lakes. T_T Rivers are kind of small (and weird looking) too. Would be neat to have them running through lakes instead of oceans. Finally, ravines are a bit spammy right now. Seems like something you should see occasionally.
That wraps up this sec-- what's that? I forgot the Nether? Right. Not much to say. More blocks, biomes, and ores would be a dream come true. In fact, of all the things I've talked about here, I could see them expanding the Nether soon. Oh, and the End. Uh... Yeah it's a boss arena MOVING ON.
Here's the thing. Mods won't always be updated. And Mojang shouldn't be relying on mods to do their work for them. One of my core issues (which will be updated into the post soon) is that Mojang is being outclassed by mods. Incidentally, a lot of the issues I brought up aren't fixed by mods, because they're core game issues. Mods traditionally add new features, rather than altering existing features. Also, I was saying other people view the bonus chest as cheating. And, indeed, I have a policy of not enabling features to make things easier when there's a harder alternative. This is because Minecraft loses its challenge the moment you get an enchantment table.
TL;DR: Read the post thoroughly. And I use mods constantly.
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I did read the post in full. You just said Minecraft looses it's challenge once you get an enchantment table right? Then don't use one, it's ad simple as that.
Also, the version I play on is 1.6.4, which is what most of the mods that help "fix" these issues are.
You also complained that you think losing items when you die in lava and having to restart is terrible, so why not change the game rules?
Also you say creepers blow up your buildings, making your houses no longer safe, yet you say you won't change the game rule.
I like using some enchantments. Incidentally, Sharpness and Protection aren't healthy for multiplayer, especially PvP.
You're missing the point here. The point is not simply to say "I don't like this, here are some mods." It's to spark some serious discussion about the core game experience. It's about the community. If the community feels that Minecraft is flawless, and they'll stay on old updates just to use their mods, then so be it. If the modding community is okay with maintaining small "fix" mods, then so be it. Until that is clearly the case, let there be discussion.
Pinning all of the work on Mojang just doesn't work. They're trying to implement features without ruining the game, causing major bugs, or stealing from the thousands of mod makers who can obviously work faster.
Nice job making your point clear, though. Some of them are valid. Just one I think is weird: the combat complaint. I thought most people loved PvP.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Be sure to quote my post if you want me to respond.
Pinning all of the work on Mojang just doesn't work. They're trying to implement features without ruining the game, causing major bugs, or stealing from the thousands of mod makers who can obviously work faster.
Nice job making your point clear, though. Some of them are valid. Just one I think is weird: the combat complaint. I thought most people loved PvP.
They take from mod makers all the time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If it'll speed things up...
As for combat, there's not much variety, and there's almost no dynamics to fighting. While it can be exciting, I'd chalk that up to the thrill of risking your items and experience. Which is a cheap thrill, in my opinion.
I appreciate you putting thought into your post. I will certainly take that into account. By the way, I mean realistic in the sense that it's believable. If it intrudes on good gameplay, I'll dislike it despite realism. It's a formula that seems to work for the most successful of franchises. I'll try to change the terminology in my post to be less confusing.
So you are god who decides who can comment or decided on you thread. Only people who agree with you are wellcome. No I didn't read your thread because of you attitude
Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I was telling people who were easily offended that they wouldn't enjoy this thread, so they should go somewhere else. I've already responded to various criticisms here in this thread. Obviously the "offended" thing applies to you though, so I *recommend* (read: not demand) that you find something else to do. Thanks.
As for combat, there's not much variety, and there's almost no dynamics to fighting. While it can be exciting, I'd chalk that up to the thrill of risking your items and experience. Which is a cheap thrill, in my opinion.
You have a different opinion, and I respect that. It depends on what kind of PvP we're talking here. I'm talking about the keep inventory, equal, fun fights kind of PvP.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Be sure to quote my post if you want me to respond.
You have a different opinion, and I respect that. It depends on what kind of PvP we're talking here. I'm talking about the keep inventory, equal, fun fights kind of PvP.
Thanks for being so mature. It's much easier to debate when people aren't just mad. For the record, I do like PvP where the rules have been changed a bit.
----------
Post updated. Fixed my terminology and removed some of the less relevant criticisms. Also added a new section. The criticism from you guys is valued. I'm going to bed. *yawn*
EDIT: Removed disclaimer. Thread seems stable, so it's not needed.
I agree on some points, also disagree on others. Sometimes difficulty can be determined by how much patience you have. Based from my experience, I myself feel that exploring caves is pretty easy. But when I come across multiple Intercrossed caverns i easily lose motivation to explore it as i see become stressful to do so.
Another thing is that difficulty can also be measured by how many goals you set when you start out your world. It doesn't necessarily mean that you follow what the achievements tab has to offer. In my own world, I made plans like building redstone-powered mob farms, planning villages, or any other crazy stuff. Though i can't finish some of them because i have to gather a bulk of many items which is required to build all of them. True, mining is a chore, which for me made the game even harder.
From what i can conclude, you are either upset that survival doesn't pack a punch or you are frustrated at Minecraft's imperfections. Like what i said in my first statement, i agree and disagree on your stand. However, I don't have the right to tell you that you are most probably right or wrong in your opinion. Since we are both consumers of a highly marketable product, I can therefore say your opinion is also as good as mine.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
!Special thanks for TNT123BOOM for an awesome siggy! Want to read some awesome journals? Try this: Survival Journals/Worlds list
Introduction - Mojang
Minecraft is a project started a few years ago by an indie game developer named Markus "Notch" Persson. With only one persson developing it, the game was stuck with programmer art, a variety of glitches, and an unbalanced weapon/armor/combat system. Later, Mojang was formed around the game, and the game had a full team. With sales shooting through the roof, it could safely be said that the game was open to better treatment.
While this didn't happen, Minecraft has been graced with many new features, including but not limited to: Worse terrain generation, borderline useless villagers to trade with, the ability to make your weapons and armor even more game-breaking, and two half baked bosses that lack any buildup, presentation, or real thrill and challenge. Oh, and did I mention colored beams of light? All good calls on Mojang's part. We needed them way more than cubic chunks, a new lighting engine that doesn't create at least 50 lighting glitches every few chunks, and something to replace tedious wiki and guide searching.
For the less aware, cubic chunks is a concept invented by Notch during Indev/Infdev to fix performance reduction. Right now, the client loads 16x256x16 "chunks" (sets of blocks) around the player. This means the client is always rendering everything above and below the surface. Cubic chunks would load 16x16x16 chunks, allowing for near infinite height (with no added performance reduction) and increasing performance noticeably. Unfortunately, the plan fell through, and since then, tons of features have been added on top of the current chunk engine which make implementing cubic chunks impractical.
What does Mojang say about cubic chunks? The official explanation is that there are problems that would need to be solved. Not only is this perfect public relation, but it highlights Mojang's fantastic work ethic that totally isn't driven by short term cost/benefit, rather than logical long term goals.
Sarcasm aside, Mojang has made a habit of implementing simple features to give Minecraft a quick boost of longevity. The 1.8 update is a great example. It's comprised of small features, bug fixes that fans have posted to Github, and performance improvements which have had mixed results. Now, granted, if the community wants to find bugs for Mojang, and Mojang will allow it, that's fantastic. I'm merely pointing out that finding those bugs in their code and fixing them isn't exactly a grand achievement once they know what it is.
Everything I mentioned above will be covered in much greater detail throughout the rest of the analysis, so don't pass judgement just yet. The story is a bit deeper than just this small synopsis. However, with all of that out of the way, we can finally get into the meat of things. Luckily for me, because of my experience with the game, the rest will practically write itself.
Introduction - Game Modes
Minecraft comes in three distinct flavors. The first, and to many, the most important, is Survival mode. This full analysis will mostly cover Survival, since Hardcore and Adventure are mostly similar to Survival, with some key differences. Creative will be covered in this part of the analysis. There are also 4 difficulty levels: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, and Hard. Peaceful removes combat. The others are the same as eachother, with varying difficulty. I'll cover combat later in the analysis.
Creative mode seems to be an unfinished addition which aims to provide more freedom to players. The mode is complimented by the command block, which allows the more technically minded to do a little more with their game. My view on this mode is mostly positive. While it's still buggy, and doesn't fully achieve what it set out to do, it's hard to argue with such a helpful idea. Add to that the fact that Creative is implemented into the game in an intuitive and helpful way. I wanted to be pessimistic for this analysis, but I also wanted to address Creative mode. Creative mode isn't terrible, but it's relevant for comparison to Survival mode.
I'll take a moment to briefly talk about Survival. It should help me streamline my thoughts for the coming wall of text. Survival is Minecraft's take on real life. Which is to say it's boring, full of chores, and punishes you for everything. Fortunately for you, the developers have "fixed" this by allowing you to get game-breaking weapons and enchantments. Tremble in fear at the Spider that does exactly zero damage to you in your Protection IV diamond armor. (Yes, this actually happens) There's also a hunger system which literally forces you to constantly farm and eat. I guess they were trolling people who never take damage? Thanks Mojang. Skill based games are so last decade. They should add doing the dishes to the game too.
I'm eager to get into this, but there's some nitpicks I want to cover too. I'll deal with them here. Post some nitpicks in the thread and I might just add them.
* Tree cutting is more frustrating than in real life. Go figure.
* You can get to the Nether in less than 30 minutes. Wiki required.
* Lighting glitches can spawn hostile mobs. That's just messed up.
* Hitboxes don't fit the shape of the mob. They're usually smaller.
* Hits knock entities into the air. They couldn't do something a LITTLE more believable?
* Monsters drop less useful loot than animals. Seems fair.
* You get a medal if you've never looked up crafting recipes online. Just saying.
* You lose everything in your inventory if you die.
- Since people were asking, I DO like hard games. I'd prefer it if you just permanently lost a few items, and your experience. Having to chase down your entire inventory before it disappears (if you didn't die in lava) is a bit cheap.
Analysis I - Dimensions
The first thing we'll talk about is the 3 worlds in Minecraft. More than likely this will lead to a discussion about terrain generation, and how it doesn't look so hot, and causes some annoyance in-game. The graphical side of the issue will come last. I'm not too worried about it.
The first dimension is the Overworld. You'll spend most of your time here, get all your tools here, and your farm will be here. Most important resources can be found in the overworld as well. Naturally, this dimension is pretty much the game. Does it hold up? Sort of. I wouldn't talk about it if there weren't a ton of problems. First thing I want to talk about is the underground of the game.
Mining is INFURIATING. First problem you'll run into: Unwanted and unnecessary dirt patches. Not a big deal. Second problem you'll run into: Small, overly common cave systems. You'd expect caves to be less frequent, and bigger. Still, you can circumvent this with a bow, a sword, and a good supply of useless blocks. It's annoying, but it does the job. Third problem you'll run into: Way too many lava pools. Don't dig straight down they said. Follow that rule and you'll be fine they said. Well say that to all the diamonds I've lost to lava flowing in from the wall and eating it before I can pick it up. >:(
That said, the surface isn't so bad. Only problems I can think of are too many steep cliffs, and unnecessarily large oceans with tiny, useless islands in the middle. Oh, and maybe the oversimplified temples. Dungeons and strongholds fit under this too. Oh, and to the previous paragraph for a moment, mineshafts are EVERYWHERE. From what I understand it's a glitch that makes them generate endlessly as you explore. Anyway...
With all that out of the way, I'll talk about the visuals of the world. I have a lot to say on this, but it's not exactly important. If you're in a hurry just go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. First thing that comes to mind is the sand splotches in the water. I... don't get it. Really. Couldn't they just make the whole ocean floor sand? Speaking of the ocean floor, it could stand to be a little less mountainous. Pretty obvious they just turned up terrain disruption to make tiny islands pop out of the surface occasionally. And on the topic of sand, the post Beta 1.8 beaches look nothing like beaches. Beta 1.7.3 looked far better, in my honest opinion. I don't think I have to say that the water and lava ponds are lame, do I? I want lakes. T_T Rivers are kind of small (and weird looking) too. Would be neat to have them running through lakes instead of oceans. Finally, ravines are a bit spammy right now. Seems like something you should see occasionally.
That wraps up this sec-- what's that? I forgot the Nether? Right. Not much to say. More blocks, biomes, and ores would be a dream come true. In fact, of all the things I've talked about here, I could see them expanding the Nether soon. Oh, and the End. Uh... Yeah it's a boss arena MOVING ON.
The lack of animals? There's mods out there that let you Summon them if you have the correct requirements.
You see it as too easy? There's mods out there such as the Minecraft is too easy mod, and even better than wolves mod.
Minecraft is a sandbox game, it's not meant to be beaten (pointing this out because of the poll.).
To continue into the sandbox game, you play it how you like. Want to play with mods? Go ahead!
Want to play vanilla? Be my guest!
Creepers blowing up passing you off? /gamerulemobGriefing false.
Lose of inventory get you angry? /gamerule keepInventory true.
See the bonus chest as cheating? Don't use it. Simple as that.
Tldr: Minecraft is a sandbox game.
Here's the thing. Mods won't always be updated. And Mojang shouldn't be relying on mods to do their work for them. One of my core issues (which will be updated into the post soon) is that Mojang is being outclassed by mods. Incidentally, a lot of the issues I brought up aren't fixed by mods, because they're core game issues. Mods traditionally add new features, rather than altering existing features. Also, I was saying other people view the bonus chest as cheating. And, indeed, I have a policy of not enabling features to make things easier when there's a harder alternative. This is because Minecraft loses its challenge the moment you get an enchantment table.
TL;DR: Read the post thoroughly. And I use mods constantly.
Also, the version I play on is 1.6.4, which is what most of the mods that help "fix" these issues are.
You also complained that you think losing items when you die in lava and having to restart is terrible, so why not change the game rules?
Also you say creepers blow up your buildings, making your houses no longer safe, yet you say you won't change the game rule.
I like using some enchantments. Incidentally, Sharpness and Protection aren't healthy for multiplayer, especially PvP.
You're missing the point here. The point is not simply to say "I don't like this, here are some mods." It's to spark some serious discussion about the core game experience. It's about the community. If the community feels that Minecraft is flawless, and they'll stay on old updates just to use their mods, then so be it. If the modding community is okay with maintaining small "fix" mods, then so be it. Until that is clearly the case, let there be discussion.
In other news, the post will be updated soon.
Nice job making your point clear, though. Some of them are valid. Just one I think is weird: the combat complaint. I thought most people loved PvP.
Be sure to quote my post if you want me to respond.
They take from mod makers all the time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If it'll speed things up...
As for combat, there's not much variety, and there's almost no dynamics to fighting. While it can be exciting, I'd chalk that up to the thrill of risking your items and experience. Which is a cheap thrill, in my opinion.
I appreciate you putting thought into your post. I will certainly take that into account. By the way, I mean realistic in the sense that it's believable. If it intrudes on good gameplay, I'll dislike it despite realism. It's a formula that seems to work for the most successful of franchises. I'll try to change the terminology in my post to be less confusing.
Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I was telling people who were easily offended that they wouldn't enjoy this thread, so they should go somewhere else. I've already responded to various criticisms here in this thread. Obviously the "offended" thing applies to you though, so I *recommend* (read: not demand) that you find something else to do. Thanks.
You have a different opinion, and I respect that. It depends on what kind of PvP we're talking here. I'm talking about the keep inventory, equal, fun fights kind of PvP.
Be sure to quote my post if you want me to respond.
Thanks for being so mature. It's much easier to debate when people aren't just mad. For the record, I do like PvP where the rules have been changed a bit.
----------
Post updated. Fixed my terminology and removed some of the less relevant criticisms. Also added a new section. The criticism from you guys is valued. I'm going to bed. *yawn*
EDIT: Removed disclaimer. Thread seems stable, so it's not needed.
Another thing is that difficulty can also be measured by how many goals you set when you start out your world. It doesn't necessarily mean that you follow what the achievements tab has to offer. In my own world, I made plans like building redstone-powered mob farms, planning villages, or any other crazy stuff. Though i can't finish some of them because i have to gather a bulk of many items which is required to build all of them. True, mining is a chore, which for me made the game even harder.
From what i can conclude, you are either upset that survival doesn't pack a punch or you are frustrated at Minecraft's imperfections. Like what i said in my first statement, i agree and disagree on your stand. However, I don't have the right to tell you that you are most probably right or wrong in your opinion. Since we are both consumers of a highly marketable product, I can therefore say your opinion is also as good as mine.
Want to read some awesome journals? Try this: Survival Journals/Worlds list