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[SethBlue]

Minecraft: Dead or Alive?

  "It's been a while since Minecraft updates really changed anything. We've had small bugfixes between 1.2 and 1.3, but has any real MAJOR change, some REVOLUTIONARY update in Minecraft, that could bring all of its former glory back?"

   That is a quote I received from a Skype chat I had with some friends over the topic of the new 1.4 update. I simply corrected him that Minecraft never really died. The population, in fact, is soaring every day. He shot back saying the originality is really whats dying here, and after seeing the Snapshots of the newest update, I have to agree with him. I've been around before Indev was around, possibly before anyone else (and that's NOT just an exaggeration), and I really liked the old versions. For example, Alpha. The alpha days were the good ol' days. The old cobblestone textures, the limited gameplay, all things that made it so tediously fun to play. It wasn't so much how much FUN you had playing it, it was how ORIGINAL and new the concept of the actual game was that captivated people who actually knew about it. And over time, the original concept of the game has slowly faded out. Beta, 1.7.3, I think was the last I saw of my good old Minecraft. Beta 1.8 was, I think, personally, the biggest MISTAKE they could ever make to the game. And 1.9? Even worse. What happened to my originality? The experience (Not XP. I hate that too) I got from learning, by playing the actual game. You think that throwing in hunger bars and XP bars, and all this fancy potion brewing GUI is going to make me happier? No. Some newer players that haven't been around as long as I have might think so, but I'm not so easily fooled by some new fancy particle systems. Minecrafts population might be rising, but its originality is DEAD.

Specifically 1.4

Now, I've had this thought in my head for a long time. And I went ahead and updated anyway. 1.0 , 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, okay. I'm not TOTALLY against EVERYTHING they've added, it's nice to have a LITTLE change. But I recently checked out the new snapshots. I'm not happy. At all.

Witches, Bats.. Zombie Villagers?! No. No. Look, heres a line: |    << See that Mojang? Thats a line. Now heres you:   |  o << You have simply CROSSED THE LINE. This is way too much. Change it back, please. Or at least UNimplement Witches and bats. Honestly, sooner or later, I'll just quit Minecraft, which I REALLY don't want to do. And don't tell me to stop updating, because all my favorite servers update with it.

Just.. At least think about it. Post a reply if you think the same.

[oCrapaCreeper]

Oh great, another one.

Minecraft's development does not revolve around your opinion. Mojang's not going to simply drop the new features because a single person disagrees

At least give an intelligent reason why 1.4 will hurt the game, instead of making up a non-existent line that Mojang somehow crossed.

EDIT: Okay, seriously, can we stop bumping this? We're beating on a dead pig here. Chances are, whatever you have to say has already been said within 26 page lifespan of this thread.

[Lint6]

Disagree.  While I'm not thrilled about some of the new updates, I do like others.  I like the bats, it gives some otherwise empty caverns/mineshafts something special.  I'm not crazy about witches, but I try to sleep as much as possible at night, so I probably won't run into them too much.  I love the idea of the witches huts...I like more generated structures, but i think they could be designed a bit better

[Suho1004]

SethBlue, on 07 October 2012 - 06:54 AM, said:

I've been around before Indev was around, possibly before anyone else (and that's NOT just an exaggeration), and I really liked the old versions. For example, Alpha. The alpha days were the good ol' days. The old cobblestone textures, the limited gameplay, all things that made it so tediously fun to play. It wasn't so much how much FUN you had playing it, it was how ORIGINAL and new the concept of the actual game was that captivated people who actually knew about it.

I have a confession: sometimes I lie awake at night, just staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the aching void in my heart... because I know I will never be as cool as SethBlue. I joined the Minecraft craze around Beta 1.3, far too late to claim any sort of hipster cred. And it bugs me, it really does. I see those Alpha veterans swaggering around with limited gameplay and lack of anything even remotely resembling RPG elements, and I think: I want to be them. But I can't. I can never go back and try out Minecraft earlier than I did. This is just something I will have to live with. You know what they say: some wounds never really heal.

(Or, with less snark: there is no "line" for Mojang to cross. You may have a personal line, at which point you decide that Minecraft is no longer for you. But it is absurd, I think, for you to assume that you can somehow tell Mojang what does and does not belong in Minecraft. You twice attempt to present yourself as an authority by virtue of the fact that you have been around for a while--possibly longer than anyone else, you say--but I am unconvinced. Unless you have been directly involved in the development of Minecraft (and I don't mean through feedback), you have no real authority to make such statements.)

[Keral]

I disagree, though i can understand the strange shifting of the game. Keeping the game "limited" just kills the game much faster(Personally i think people who say that really wants the game to die so easily), Thats why they introduce new features to use or new items to play with. Though i admit they're not as fleshed out as it should be but you have to give it to them as they kept the game entertaining(most if not all) for most.

Ruined? Sure for some, Completely dead? i doubt it.

[XylethTheAlmighty]

I've been around since early alpha. Not as long as you but long enough to know how the game used to be. And I have to say, it's getting better with almost every new feature.

[JerasDarK]

I hope that one day they will make older versions available for playing w/o use of mods, or at least add the old terrain generator as an option

[RAcaseal]

Not changing the game =\= bringing back originality? wat no seriously...think about what you're essentially saying lol. Honestly, as a person whose been gaming 23 years I see what you're getting at. But be honest with yourself, nothing is gonna bring that feeling of new discovery back to a game thats been out for so long aside a rather massive overhaul to the game...which just isn't going to happen.

I hate to jump on the "HURR DO THIS THEN" bandwagon, as I rather hate it and the people who simply dimiss arguments for it. But seeing as you have no real point here aside "stop liking what i dont like!" maybe you should consider a mod that changes the game back to the point that you last liked it instead of trying to force changes that other people wouldnt like simply for your nostalgia when minecraft was new. Either play with what you have or go back to your alpha corner, no amount of good changes in your favor is going to make the game like new to you again. Sorry, it's just how it is.

[Darkfyre99]

Dear SethBlue,

The world does not revolve around you.

The world does not revolve around me.

The world is pretty much indifferent to individuals.  And so is Mojang.

You see, Mojang is a company, and Minecraft its signature product.  If Mojang is to stay in business, it needs to attract new customers.  That includes new customers to Minecraft, which you and I are not.  We've already voted with our pocketbooks, and decided "minecraft has enough features to put down our $20 and buy it."

As a result, it is constantly adding new features to the game, hoping to attract new customers who, for whatever reason, have decided there isn't enough features to make buying the game worthwhile.  For some it's mobs.  For others it's easier modding.  For yet others, it's better control over a new creative world.  For whatever reason, they haven't been sold yet, and the next addition will be the one to do so.

The chances are very good for every addition or change you dislike, there are people who love it, and people are indifferent to it.  The chances are also very good that you, as someone who's dissatisfied with a change, are in the minority.  There are certainly changes in the pipeline I'd prefer weren't there, resources I think mojang is wasting on features I'll never use, at the expense of features I want in the game.  Part of growing up is realizing that you can't get everything you want, especially at the expense of everyone else.

JerasDarK, on 07 October 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:

I hope that one day they will make older versions available for playing w/o use of mods, or at least add the old terrain generator as an option

You can get every single minecraft jar Mojang has released from the wiki.  No mods needed.

edit:  Never mind... I just double checked.  They're not there.

[murphmaster01]

Yep. Totally dead.
*goes and plays on my server with my friends*

[redstone1337]

Let me tell you about my first minecraft night. I bought the game on august 14th of 2011, about a month before the adventure update. I had about an hour or so before I had to go to a job interview. I had been stuck at home for months after graduating college, and the monotony, among other things, was starting to get to me. I needed something... anything to get my mind off of my situation for a while.  I had watched a few youtube videos, and seen web comics here and there, so I knew the absolute basics: punch trees, make a crafting bench, and don't hug those sad cactus thingies.

I don't remember all the details, but I do know that I had kept playing the game even after returning from the interview very late that evening. It was raining (in the game) and I had just completed my first wooden box of a house. I dug a staircase down and fell into an underground lake. Then I tried various crafting recipes to find something to help me get out of the cave. I crafted a bunch of wooden pressure plates, not knowing what they were, and placed them on the bottom of the pool before eventually digging my way back up to my base.

My most vivid memory, however, was when I first broke the number one rule of minecraft. I dug streight down, right in the middle of my house. I jumped a little in my seat when, after digging down for a dozen layers or so, the block I landed on started sparkling and glowing. I had never heard of redstone before, but I guessed it had something to do with electricity since it was all shiny. I remember the first time I found gold, lapis,and I think also diamond just from digging down that first time, and I had no idea of how they were used in game. Everything was so new and full of potential, like when you're a little kid. Almost every experience is a new experience. Your first day of school, your first time going to the dentist. Your first time at a swimming pool.

Your problem, and mine, is that those experiences are impossible to relive. I dug up my old 1.7.3 jar file while cleaning up my old iMac to give to my sister, and loaded a new world on it. While it was fun seeing all the old stuff as it was when I bought the game, it wasn't at all like that first rainy night I spent trying to build my first house.

[Nerevar]

It truly and honestly baffles me how bats and witches is 'going too far'.

[Pxex]

"Is Minecraft Dead?"

Answer: No. When will people stop making rant threads? So what, not every update is going to be completely original and/or game changing.

[Ankenmann2]

At least 1.8 and official release had fleshed out, partially true-to-Minecraft features that they actually took a bit of time to look over. Brewing is a BIT over the line, but it still fits with MC because it used original features to make potions (blazes, magma slimes, etc.)

Now they just add completely random features like a kid high on Coca-Cola.

[Pxex]

Ankenmann2, on 07 October 2012 - 01:18 PM, said:

Now they just add completely random features like a kid high on Coca-Cola.

I see nothing wrong with adding completely random features, as long as they are good, and in this case, they are.

[RG]

SethBlue, on 07 October 2012 - 06:54 AM, said:

The old cobblestone textures, the limited gameplay, all things that made it so tediously fun to play. It wasn't so much how much FUN you had playing it, it was how ORIGINAL and new the concept of the actual game was that captivated people who actually knew about it.

Really now? The limited gameplay is something that made you enjoy a survival sandbox game? Not to mention one in a pre-alpha state that could be subject to many additions? Honestly, it sounds like you're just afraid of change.

After I tried out the free Classic mode, a friend let me play the game on his account back in Infdev. (Whenever Notch added the new water physics to prevent the world from easily flooding.) I knew within 15 minutes that I wanted to buy it.

What sold me on it wasn't the cliche zombie, skeleton, and spider mobs, nor was it the gameplay seen in previous games that inspired Notch...Okay I admit the cool nearly-infinite land generation helped because I'm a sucker for interesting scenery, but the major deciding factor for me was seeing how much the game had changed from Classic all the way through to Infdev. I saw immense potential for this game to grow into something far more interesting than what it was. Every Friday I was excited to see what new things would shape the game into it's more final form. Judging by my lurking of this forum back then (which I admit was much quieter and a bit more civil at the time,) I'm pretty sure I wasn't too alone in feeling that excitement.


By the way: yes, I do like hunger, potions, and XP, or what you call "fancy particle systems." Sure I think some parts of gameplay could still use a tweak to make the game a bit more difficult, but overall I'm happy with the changes, including the ones in 1.4.

[Ankenmann2]

Pxex, on 07 October 2012 - 01:21 PM, said:

I see nothing wrong with adding completely random features, as long as they are good, and in this case, they are.

New sounds - NO REASON FOR THEM. They just wanted a few more lines on the changelog.

Witch - what the hell. This doesn't even REMOTELY fit with Minecraft.

Beacon - completely useless, the range is pathetic and the amount of iron/diamond/emerald you need to collect is absurd. Not that you'll build it out of anything BUT iron because higher levels give no buffs.

Carrots and Potatoes - I would be okay with this if they were farmable, but having them only drop from zombies/villagers crosses a line with me.

Changing textures for no good reason when you could be fixing bugs.

etc.

But oh no, we can't actually have Minecrafty features like in Beta. MOAR MAGIC FTW!

[Mrdiamonds]

Nobody is forcing you to update the game.

That is my argument, and it is a pretty good one for people to use.

[murphmaster01]

New sounds - Finally getting work after how long of no changes, sweet.

Witch - New villager I actually am suppose to kill? sweet.

Beacon - WIP

Carrot/Potato - After you get one of each you can farm as much as you want. Also new food. sweet.

Implying bugs aren't being fixed EVERY SINGLE DAY. Seriously guys you act like they just sit around adding ­.
A new block or item is easy. EASY. to code as the system already exists.
Fixing a long standing bug is hard. HARD. as even touching older parts of code can completely break everything.

lrn2gamedevelopement

[Epicness1324]

Ankenmann2, on 07 October 2012 - 01:27 PM, said:

New sounds - NO REASON FOR THEM. They just wanted a few more lines on the changelog.

Witch - what the hell. This doesn't even REMOTELY fit with Minecraft.

Beacon - completely useless, the range is pathetic and the amount of iron/diamond/emerald you need to collect is absurd. Not that you'll build it out of anything BUT iron because higher levels give no buffs.

Carrots and Potatoes - I would be okay with this if they were farmable, but having them only drop from zombies/villagers crosses a line with me.

Changing textures for no good reason when you could be fixing bugs.

etc.

But oh no, we can't actually have Minecrafty features like in Beta. MOAR MAGIC FTW!

Carrots and potatoes are farmable...