So I was playing on my favorite server exploring abandoned mineshafts and listening to all the wonderful sounds that go along with it when I thought it would be cool if we actually heard the clinking sounds of pickaxes echoing down the shaft from far away. That thought blossomed into, "Why do all mineshafts have to be abandoned?"
The Proposal
Introduce mineshafts that aren't abandoned but are being actively "mined" by the descendants of the people/race who originally mined the abandoned ones. Miners would bring another dimension to the abandoned mineshafts, bringing some answers to "why are there all these mineshafts everywhere?" and maybe even more questions. The echoing of their pickaxes should carry quite a ways since it is a hard impact sound as it reverberates throughout the mineshaft and even into accompanying gorges and caves. A player hearing this would then have to face the fact that they aren't the only ones down here.
Description
The Miners would be shorter than the player model due to the fact that they've lived underground for their whole life. Miners would have a "dirty" looking skin with worn/torn leather clothing. Their eyes would probably be more adjusted to the darkness so something a bit bigger than normal player eyes would be amazing. The miners would not be undead but more of a sub-villager culture that decided the quest for gold, diamonds, etc was too tempting to go back to the surface. Consequently, they eventually lost their way to the surface and just stayed in the shadows, forsaking their brethren above the ground.
Miners would generally be armed with wood/stone/iron pickaxes or torches. They may have leather armor. Miners would look like scavengers in the dark. Miners would not be attacked/or attack cave spiders (they dislike the taste of the miners) or creepers (they both have an affinity for TNT/Explosions) by default unless they attack each other.
Behavior
Miners would spawn in groups of 1-3 and be pretty stationary as they "work" their mine. Their AI would look for the nearest exposed ore (any type) and congregate there. If it is possible they could mine ores from the walls but it would have to take an extremely long time (they don't have the best tools) to minimize strip mining by the miners. If not, they would just congregate around the ore simulating them working at getting it out of the walls of the mine. This would be when you hear the clinking of axes echoing down the mineshaft as you are exploring.
Once they agro the player (line of sight?) then they would go after the player and attack them with their tools. Miners would not be attacked/or attack cave spiders (they dislike the taste of the miners) or creepers (they both have an affinity for TNT/Explosions) by default unless they attack each other.
A killed miner would have a random chance of dropping nothing, their tool, a nugget or a type of ore (coal, redstone, diamond, emerald or lap ore with the choice again being random based of the average availability of the ore in the world).
Population
Take into account the fact that they aren't everywhere in all the mineshafts. These are the scattered remains of a long lost empire of amazing underground explorers. Their population would be less than that of villagers (again only spawning 1-3 if they're created).
OK, that's all I have at this point. I've tried to flesh out this idea as best I could. Of course, I now set this in the hands of you, the minecraft community, and Mojang.
Seems like a cool idea- especially the concept of exploring mineshafts searching for the clinking noises of the miners mining. Perhaps when killed, they could drop things like gold nuggets, or unsmelted ore.
Seems like a cool idea- especially the concept of exploring mineshafts searching for the clinking noises of the miners mining. Perhaps when killed, they could drop things like gold nuggets, or unsmelted ore.
Crap I new I forgot something... added it to the behaviors section (I was thinking the exact same thing).
I also was thinking about how you could get them to attack you, and I came up with the idea of them getting angry if you mine ore near them. It makes sense that the miners would get a bit angry if some stranger came from the surface and started taking precious ore, after all.
Neat idea. I dunno about the Miner NPC's though. But Pickaxe ambience in Mineshafts? Mojang, get to it. Half support. Indifferent on the Miners, totally on board with Pickaxe clinks.
I'll admit, the pickaxe sounds is a genius idea. I don't like the mobs though, villagers and witches seem like enough human mobs.
This is pretty much my take: half support.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
About main topic:
This idea/concept is something I've wanted for a fair while added to the game, some kind of underground dwelling NPC, the fact you mentioned that they'd be shorter and they would spawn less than the villager NPC makes me think 'dwarven-like' (J.R.R.Tolkien created his dwarves with a description like that, except for the next part) --> which as you say "were once human surface dwellers".
The idea for an ambiance that carries for a longer/larger distance is a pretty neat idea, a sound which reverberates among the tunnels of the deep which could make for a very interesting and creepy/spooky environment. Perhaps a very rare underground town for this NPC could be made as well which you could potentially ally yourself with but with difficulty?
Going off into another potential area:
Other ideas that could or should arise from this with support are possible, like rare mobs on the surface that live in large desert temples (mummies), or as said already ghosts or a wraith mob like in Mo's Creature (I forget the full name of the Mod) that inhabit specific (rare) generated structures, like a haunted house, old castle etc. Maybe create a string of creepy mobs, another could be wraith-like creatures, barrow-wights that inhabit old tombs which could be found in hilly biomes?
Coming back to main topic:
I support the idea/concept fully though in any form really, the more mobs, the more interesting the game and more diversified it becomes. I'm just blabbering on about possibilities that could be in the second little paragraph :/
Q1: The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
The miners shouldn't attack on sight, rather like someone said above that if you mine too close to a miner, they'd attack. I think you should beale to trade with them, either tools for gems or the other way around.
I'd really like to see more NPCs and corresponding villages/camps in different biomes. Maybe the miners' underground homes could be found in extreme hills biomes?
It would make sense to place them in that biome or even some of the newer 1.7 biomes that'll be implemented
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Q1: The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
Like other people have said, I would love to hear the sound of pickaxes, but I'm not sure about actual Miner mobs. Maybe you could see some sort of illusion if you go deep enough into the Mineshaft?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hi! I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!
Biomes like Stone Beach, idk about this one but maybe Mesa? If you think about Mesa it kind of looks like some wild west place and both abandon mines and an underground town would kinda fit, same goes for deserts I think, the might be an old biome but they also kind of fit it depending on if they are hilly.
Q1: The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
So I was playing on my favorite server exploring abandoned mineshafts and listening to all the wonderful sounds that go along with it when I thought it would be cool if we actually heard the clinking sounds of pickaxes echoing down the shaft from far away. That thought blossomed into, "Why do all mineshafts have to be abandoned?"
The Proposal
Introduce mineshafts that aren't abandoned but are being actively "mined" by the descendants of the people/race who originally mined the abandoned ones. Miners would bring another dimension to the abandoned mineshafts, bringing some answers to "why are there all these mineshafts everywhere?" and maybe even more questions. The echoing of their pickaxes should carry quite a ways since it is a hard impact sound as it reverberates throughout the mineshaft and even into accompanying gorges and caves. A player hearing this would then have to face the fact that they aren't the only ones down here.
Description
The Miners would be shorter than the player model due to the fact that they've lived underground for their whole life. Miners would have a "dirty" looking skin with worn/torn leather clothing. Their eyes would probably be more adjusted to the darkness so something a bit bigger than normal player eyes would be amazing. The miners would not be undead but more of a sub-villager culture that decided the quest for gold, diamonds, etc was too tempting to go back to the surface. Consequently, they eventually lost their way to the surface and just stayed in the shadows, forsaking their brethren above the ground.
Miners would generally be armed with wood/stone/iron pickaxes or torches. They may have leather armor. Miners would look like scavengers in the dark. Miners would not be attacked/or attack cave spiders (they dislike the taste of the miners) or creepers (they both have an affinity for TNT/Explosions) by default unless they attack each other.
Behavior
Miners would spawn in groups of 1-3 and be pretty stationary as they "work" their mine. Their AI would look for the nearest exposed ore (any type) and congregate there. If it is possible they could mine ores from the walls but it would have to take an extremely long time (they don't have the best tools) to minimize strip mining by the miners. If not, they would just congregate around the ore simulating them working at getting it out of the walls of the mine. This would be when you hear the clinking of axes echoing down the mineshaft as you are exploring.
Once they agro the player (line of sight?) then they would go after the player and attack them with their tools. Miners would not be attacked/or attack cave spiders (they dislike the taste of the miners) or creepers (they both have an affinity for TNT/Explosions) by default unless they attack each other.
A killed miner would have a random chance of dropping nothing, their tool, a nugget or a type of ore (coal, redstone, diamond, emerald or lap ore with the choice again being random based of the average availability of the ore in the world).
Population
Take into account the fact that they aren't everywhere in all the mineshafts. These are the scattered remains of a long lost empire of amazing underground explorers. Their population would be less than that of villagers (again only spawning 1-3 if they're created).
OK, that's all I have at this point. I've tried to flesh out this idea as best I could. Of course, I now set this in the hands of you, the minecraft community, and Mojang.
Jmartinbsu
<insert witty stuff here>
Crap I new I forgot something... added it to the behaviors section (I was thinking the exact same thing).
<insert witty stuff here>
This is pretty much my take: half support.
This idea/concept is something I've wanted for a fair while added to the game, some kind of underground dwelling NPC, the fact you mentioned that they'd be shorter and they would spawn less than the villager NPC makes me think 'dwarven-like' (J.R.R.Tolkien created his dwarves with a description like that, except for the next part) --> which as you say "were once human surface dwellers".
The idea for an ambiance that carries for a longer/larger distance is a pretty neat idea, a sound which reverberates among the tunnels of the deep which could make for a very interesting and creepy/spooky environment. Perhaps a very rare underground town for this NPC could be made as well which you could potentially ally yourself with but with difficulty?
Going off into another potential area:
Other ideas that could or should arise from this with support are possible, like rare mobs on the surface that live in large desert temples (mummies), or as said already ghosts or a wraith mob like in Mo's Creature (I forget the full name of the Mod) that inhabit specific (rare) generated structures, like a haunted house, old castle etc. Maybe create a string of creepy mobs, another could be wraith-like creatures, barrow-wights that inhabit old tombs which could be found in hilly biomes?
Coming back to main topic:
I support the idea/concept fully though in any form really, the more mobs, the more interesting the game and more diversified it becomes. I'm just blabbering on about possibilities that could be in the second little paragraph :/
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
Hi! I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!
Q2: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Q3: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.