I've got a question (as I often do). How do you folks like to navigate long distances?
Personally, I use VoxelMap (aka Zan's Minimap). I set waypoints and also try to make my buildings obvious on the minimap (the blackstone and whitestone from MineFactory Reloaded help a lot with that).
I've also started building a paved cobblestone path around my current main world, but that's mostly for aesthetics. On the other hand, building long-distance paths may help when it comes time to travel long distances (likely using my chocobos from ChocoCraft) as well as giving me a use for all the cobblestone that I get from building my underground structures...
I'm especially curious about what people who don't use minimaps like to use. I admit that minimap mods make navigating long distances very easy since you can basically have a beacon (usually with a custom name and color) anywhere you want without any resource investment.
There are some stand-by methods such as maps and making towers with lights, but I'm also curious about more original methods that some folks here use.
So... I'd love to hear what you folks like to use!
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The source of my intention isn't really crime prevention; my intention is prevention of the lie! Yeah, welcome to the Scatman's world!
I don't really use anything to mark the way, I mostly just use my memory to find my way there. Never really had to the need to use anything to help me find the way.
I use Voxelmap most of the time, but when I don't have it I write down the coordinates of my spawn point and then go exploring. When I feel like its time to come back home then I just look at my spawn point coordinates. This is only when I am playing on single player worlds, (when my internet is down) and I mostly play on servers, which in that case you can just do /home when you need to return. I rarely play on single player, but that is the strategy that I use whenever I do.
I use the compass and map as well as the F3 screen, and making visible paths. In my home plains biome (Large biomes world) there are several villages and I have made 3-block wide gravel paths between them. There is a village even further away in a Savannah that I want to path to, not least because that village is fairly close to a mesa biome I found.
Though I wish the game had more powerful navigational aids. Being able to draw circles and write small text on a map would be a nifty feature, as well as being able to craft special redstone signal devices and a signal receiver (think of it as a compass that lets you control the target) to be able to home in on desired signals. The game world is just so large, at least on the PC version.
F3 to track coordinates. I also setup a network of nether portals every 4000 blocks on the main world which translates roughly 500 blocks in the nether.
Well, when I played vanilla I would get the X/Z coordinates of 2 points and build underground paths and use signs to point the way.
in larger cave systems I would use redstone torches to point the way back to the entrance and use jack o lanterns to point the way to interesting spots.
I usually navigate in a few ways. When it comes to Cave systems. I use wool with a torch on the side that leads me to the exit. With my sheep farm I'm never short of wool. While traveling long distances above ground I like to make jack o' lanterns and point them back home. Eventually I create paths linking all my bases and next to those walking paths I have a minecart system. Which makes carting villagers to my un-populated towns much easier. And then before I know it my Main Base has its badass castle in the center surrounded by peasant hutches with villagers roaming protected by Large Castle walls finely lit up. Villagers at the mining site at the Extreme Hills and even at the Lumber Camps in the forest xD
I use maps, memory of the terrain, and landmarks (often multistory structures). I wrote a mod that lets me carry lots of maps in one item so I don't have the problem of large numbers of maps jamming my inventory. Also, I only play either 1.6.4 or with a 1.7 terrain mod that produces oceans and continents. In 1.7 unmodded, it does get noticeably harder to find my way around due to the large areas of similar terrain and the lack of large-scale structure for orientation. It's easy to remember "second patch of forest in from the inlet" but in a jumbled mass of temperate terrain it's hard to remember which of 6 forest patches is the one I want. I got lost a number of times looking for my spawn base in the one unmodded 1.7 world I've played a lot.
On land routes long enough to use a horse where I haven't yet made a Nether path, I often put intermediate landmarks so I can look for holes in the ground (I've lost 2 horses that way) rather than at the map. I've thought about building a proper road for that but never gotten around to it. Most of my bases are built for water access, though, since I prefer exploring by boat (you can keep going at night, and you don't fall into holes).
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Geographicraft (formerly Climate Control) - Control climate, ocean, and land sizes; stop chunk walls; put modded biomes into Default worlds, and more!
RTG plus - All the beautiful terrain of RTG, plus varied and beautiful trees and forests.
Really, I haven't thought enough about it. The only long-distance travel I've done is to seek out resources (horses, villagers, vines). Once, I traveled south and made makeshift bridges across all waterways. Your posts gave me an idea; connect those bridges with paths. I tend to explore in the cardinal directions from my bases. So, I could strike out east or west from any point on one of those paths and explore.
Recently, I've found that the distance between my two bases connected by nether portals (Base 2 was founded to take advantage of a horse biome) was not as far as I thought. So, I connected them with a rail line.
I use maps and coordinates (no need for F3 as I have them displayed in the inventory screen), plus my base is literally right on top of spawn, a practice which dates back to my first main world, so I can easily get back with a compass, which I store in my Ender chest to get out when I return from a caving session; as for caves, I just use maps, which show me where I am relative to the surface, and this, along with knowing how large a typical cave system is, and memory, makes it easy to fully explore a cave system before going on to the next (no special markers otherwise; torches everywhere and no ores means I was there before). I also make cobblestone pillars to mark where I left off, so I can easily find the spot again without going to the exact coordinates (I have to go to inventory to see them), including digging up from where I came across a new cave system/mineshaft so I can come back later after finishing whatever I'm currently exploring.
That said, I did use a minimap mod for a while; Rei's Minimap (don't know about Zan's) even has an option to show caves, albeit only ones that are lit up (also records your death point, which I also added in myself as it is otherwise almost impossible to find where I died in time; previously I've made a backup of my world and copied it over if I was too late).
Assuming I'm not using ANY mods, because I generally play Vanilla, (Other than optifine, of course), I normally use coordinates combined with 100 block markers and a compass. Easy peasy.
I've got a question (as I often do). How do you folks like to navigate long distances?
Personally, I use VoxelMap (aka Zan's Minimap). I set waypoints and also try to make my buildings obvious on the minimap (the blackstone and whitestone from MineFactory Reloaded help a lot with that).
I've also started building a paved cobblestone path around my current main world, but that's mostly for aesthetics. On the other hand, building long-distance paths may help when it comes time to travel long distances (likely using my chocobos from ChocoCraft) as well as giving me a use for all the cobblestone that I get from building my underground structures...
I'm especially curious about what people who don't use minimaps like to use. I admit that minimap mods make navigating long distances very easy since you can basically have a beacon (usually with a custom name and color) anywhere you want without any resource investment.
There are some stand-by methods such as maps and making towers with lights, but I'm also curious about more original methods that some folks here use.
So... I'd love to hear what you folks like to use!
The source of my intention isn't really crime prevention; my intention is prevention of the lie! Yeah, welcome to the Scatman's world!
Mintutor now works in 1.13!
MrKite & Mc_Etlam ... I salute you!
No seriously get it right
thinkingty.com - don't think, just click
http://risenkingdoms.com/
Let your kingdom rise!
Though I wish the game had more powerful navigational aids. Being able to draw circles and write small text on a map would be a nifty feature, as well as being able to craft special redstone signal devices and a signal receiver (think of it as a compass that lets you control the target) to be able to home in on desired signals. The game world is just so large, at least on the PC version.
in larger cave systems I would use redstone torches to point the way back to the entrance and use jack o lanterns to point the way to interesting spots.
But yeah OT, wool, torches, jack o' lanterns
On land routes long enough to use a horse where I haven't yet made a Nether path, I often put intermediate landmarks so I can look for holes in the ground (I've lost 2 horses that way) rather than at the map. I've thought about building a proper road for that but never gotten around to it. Most of my bases are built for water access, though, since I prefer exploring by boat (you can keep going at night, and you don't fall into holes).
Geographicraft (formerly Climate Control) - Control climate, ocean, and land sizes; stop chunk walls; put modded biomes into Default worlds, and more!
RTG plus - All the beautiful terrain of RTG, plus varied and beautiful trees and forests.
Really, I haven't thought enough about it. The only long-distance travel I've done is to seek out resources (horses, villagers, vines). Once, I traveled south and made makeshift bridges across all waterways. Your posts gave me an idea; connect those bridges with paths. I tend to explore in the cardinal directions from my bases. So, I could strike out east or west from any point on one of those paths and explore.
Recently, I've found that the distance between my two bases connected by nether portals (Base 2 was founded to take advantage of a horse biome) was not as far as I thought. So, I connected them with a rail line.
Chocobo?
My game is packed with mods, and one is Chococraft. Chocobos are from Final Fantasy.
That said, I did use a minimap mod for a while; Rei's Minimap (don't know about Zan's) even has an option to show caves, albeit only ones that are lit up (also records your death point, which I also added in myself as it is otherwise almost impossible to find where I died in time; previously I've made a backup of my world and copied it over if I was too late).
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
Oh ok that makes sense lol