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[Frizzil]

A WIP multiplayer hack n' slash mod for Minecraft

3/6/2013: The Spellscript Update is out, and is now patched!  Check below for the download (or go download the Technic Launcher!)...

Spellscript-Blocks!  I again try my clumsy hand at video commentary.

The Yogscast did a review!

Need a server to play on?  I tend to bounce around these.  You'll need the client installed.

Also, the Offical Hack/Mine Wiki just got started, and needs contributin'!  I'm already excited about its progress, and it should hopefully clear up any details.

Status Update (2/24/2013)

The Spellscript Update is out!  Go download the fancy new Technic Launcher and play it!!!

If you'd rather do a manual install (or want to run a server), check the Downloads section below.  Note that the installation instructions have changed!

What's new in this update?  A lot.  Here be the patch notes:

Spoiler:

== Version 0.6.4 (Spellscript Update!)==
* Created the Spellscript scripting language for Minecraft!  Many new and existing features of Hack/Mine are now completely scriptable by the user, including spells, Spellscript-Blocks, and much more to come.
* Spellscript is usable from the console and the in-game Spellscript Editor.  Wanna drop TNT on every user's head every 5 seconds?  Why not!?!
* Added NPC dialogues!  Talk to villagers to learn about your surroundings.
* Completely overhauled mob spawning!  Mobs now only spawn at night as in regular Minecraft, but with the addition of "make-up spawning" for chunks that are either newly created or were off-loaded during the last night to occur.
* Added effect system for living entities!  This allows arbitrary effects (ie DOTs, buffs, debuffs, stuff scripted in Spellscript) to be applied to entities!  This also means poison is fixed!
* Added Spellscript blocks!  This means that dungeons and towers now include teleporters at the end, and will later feature a myriad of traps and shrines... to edit them, simply right-click them as an Op (or if in singleplayer, while in Creative.)  They can placed from the Creative inventory.
* Added a fully-featured, syntax-highlighted Spellscript Editor!  Comes up when editing a block or scheduling a script on the server as an Op.
* Added spells and reimplemented all the existing ones in Spellscript
** Many spells now respond to increases in stats!  Increase Dexterity for more arrows per Multishot, Strength for increased War Stomp distance, etc.
** Most (if not all) spells have changed to some degree, from number tweaking to significant mechanical improvements.
** Lotsa spell bugs were obliterated.
* Class Specific Changes:
** Warrior
*** Change to Whirlwind: use it midair for a double jump!  Use it with Charge for even more ridiculous results... (Note that the earlier you time it, the higher you'll go.)
*** Added War Stomp:  Send a wave o' blocks hurdling towards your enemies!
** Mage
*** Buffed many spells significantly.
*** Added Mage Cannon: spam it to thrust forward in quick spurts, or charge it to travel insanely large distances.
*** Added Block Yank: huzzah for minor utility spells!
*** Added Breath of Fire: BLLLARRRGGGHHHHHH
*** Fixed magical projectiles dissipating on tall grass.
** Ranger
*** Added Wind Trap: places a trap on the ground which sends nearby enemies flying.  Has a low cooldown for excellent crowd control.
*** Added Haste: Cut a tenth of your life for a sudden burst of speed!  Speed increases with Dexterity.
* Fixed and reintroduced Super Towers!  Prepare for 20+ floors of increased difficulty madness...
* Increased initial world gen block height from 128 to 256 (this is what was glitched up Super Towers earlier).  Consequently, the mystery dimension is now absolutely ginormous!
* Food now replenishes your health!  For now, the percentage healed is derived by multiplying the number of hearts normally healed by 10 (thus 5 hearts yields 50% health replenishment.)
* Added Phase Creepers (have fun with that.)
* Changed Defense mechanics drastically-- it's totally important now!
* Added air supply, gold drop bonus, and pickaxe/shovel/hoe mimicing as magical properties!
* Also added a Charged Bolt, Gravity Well, and Gale as a magical property procs!  Spellscript ftw...
* Damage shown on weapons' tooltips now includes magic damage (in other words, the damage displayed includes all factors that currently may effect damage, though minimum damage capped to max damage - 1 may be 'uncapped' when summed for your character's total damage output).)
* Drowning now removes a tenth of your life every 30 ticks, as in vanilla Minecraft.
* Portals to the Nether now may appear in dungeons...
* Mob spawners now drop loot.
* Substantially tuned down the bonus given by resistance-related magical properties.
* Fire resist now protects against natural fire sources (including lava)
* Completely fixed proxy areas and area crashing in SMP!  It's gone!  Kaput!  No more!  Still can't fix the vanillaness of the server, though
* Vastly improved the in-game controls:
** Many horrible bugs were fixed.
** The system now works with arbitrary key combinations, rather than the limited "primary key + modifier" system previously in use.  Want Shift+Ctrl+E for a spell?  Go for it!
** The Controls GUI is now much more intuitive to use.  Additionally, the names of items and spells are now included next to their equipped slots' key bindings (when you're currently in a world, naturally.)
* Fixed pickaxes' inability to mine appropriate ores.
* Fixed weird slime levels.
* Fixed weird rare spawn inconsistencies from mob spawners in SMP.
* Fixed inter-dimensional bugginess!  You may now freely travel to the Void and the Nether and back in SMP (assuming "allow-nether" is set to "true" in the server.properties).
* Fixed vendor exploits.
* Fixed a randomization issue where towers rerolled the same pseudo-random numbers while generating (resulting in many having the same color, for example.)
* Heavily refactored the magical properties code, such that new properties could be added easily (hence the new magical properties listed above).
* Optimized dungeon generation significantly.  Chunks are no longer force-loaded, and those that are already loaded are queried much less frequently.
* Removed many performance-slowing decompilation artifacts throughout the modded parts of Minecraft.
* About a million minor alterations and bug fixes (including the "getTopSolidOrLiquidBlock" crash).

== So Frizzil, why so long on the update? ==
I wanna apologize for the huge delay with this update-- I figure here is as good a place as any to explain the wait.

The main reason is I got *slightly* sidetracked and spent months creating Spellscript, a distinct mod from Hack/Mine meant to make all of Minecraft scriptable, but one that H/M makes thorough and incredibly beneficial use of.  It was a long term investment in the mod (and Minecraft even) that I'm certain will pay off, as users and servers are now able to thoroughly customize their world, experiment with Spellscript-Blocks, and do so while Minecraft is already up and running.

Admittedly, I didn't have to create Spellscript quite yet-- however, the existing pool of spells was becoming unwieldy, so by making the ridiculous time investment now, I've substantially reduced the time the spell system will take overall, and knocked out some neat things involving user customization while I was at it.  And even better, users can send their spells and whatnot my way and I can add them to the default game settings-- the users get the credit and the community gets brand new features!

Eventually, Spellscript will be available for seperate download, and open-sourced once it's in a relatively unchanging condition.  So woohoo!  I hope Hack/Mine makes an excellent testing ground for the language.

The second reason is that I've been stupidly busy with undergraduate research, to the point that I was barely able to work on the mod at all last semester.  And thirdly, when I was working on the mod, I was addressing issues like SMP area crashing that sorely needed fixing, but were extremely difficult to debug and thus ridiculously time-consuming.  Basically, I could no longer focus on less time-consuming things like new spells and mobs.

Hopefully you'll find this update as fulfilling as promised (since it was a lot of freaking work!), and continue looking to the future of Hack/Mine and Spellscript as it becomes more and more promising.  The plan at this point is to do biweekly updates, so be prepared...  Also, before heading to grad school, I'll be taking a year off starting in May, so expect more updates then!

Not that I won't be doing other things, hehe.

*Yaaaawwwnn*, it's been a long day, so I'll post some more details tomorrow.  Have fun with the update!

EDIT:  If your controls are screwy/you can't move, you'll want to delete hmoptions.txt from the .minecraft (or .techniclauncher/hackslashmine/) folder!  This can happen if you already had H/M installed.  Not sure how many people are experiencing this, so leave a post on the thread if you did/didn't have this issue!


UPDATE:  Be sure to check out the offical wiki for info on how to use Spellscript!  I'm workin' on a Spellscript tutorial right now, in addition to a language reference.  It's all WIP at the time of this update, so be sure to check back now and again to learn yourself sumpthin' fierce!


Status Update (1/9/2013)

The third alpha is up!  Download it here!  You'll need this version if you want to log onto the public alpha server!  

This is probably the last alpha I'll be releasing-- after this has been relatively stable, and I've worked on the Technic push a good bit, we'll be ready for the launcher

The last two alphas can be found here (version 1) and here (version 2).

This alpha features several bug fixes, greatly improved controls, much, much less crashing, and teleporters at the end of dungeons!  So, get testin'.

Once you've got it installed, you can log on to the server at frizzil.aegisgaming.org (no longer running) to help test!  I'll be on tonight if you wanna say hello   And thanks again to the community at aegisgaming.org for hosting this amazing server!

Also, a preview of the Spellscript Update is up!  My video commentary abilities are put to the ultimate test...

What is Spellscript?  A separate, WIP mod I've been a'workin' on that Hack/Mine makes extensive use of.  It allows users to thoroughly mod Minecraft while in-game, no recompilation required, for both client and server.  In SMP, you can run arbitrary scripts from the console (or as an op) to manage your server, create new content, and much, much more.  All the spells, effects, and dialogues in H/M are currently implemented with it and are thus open to customization.

This patch has been very, very long in the making, so hopefully it's just what you've been waiting for.  As stated before, the alpha is currently available for manual installation, and you can help me out by installing it, logging onto the public alpha server (hosted by courtesy of Aegis Gaming!), and posting any bugs right here on the thread.

A push to the Technic launcher is also coming very soon, once both the alpha is proven to be relatively stable and there's enough added content that I feel comfortable releasing it-- the alpha has some new content, but the release ought to have a few more spells, Spellscript-Command blocks (and thereby teleporters at the end of dungeons), many more villager dialogues (there's very few at the moment), and a couple more features to boot.  Basically, a bunch of things you might want to wait for before making videos and whatnot.  Up til now, it's all been engine work

So, stay tuned... dot dot dot...

Prior Status Updates:

Spoiler:

Status Update (9/9/2012)

For those glancing at the OP, I thought I'd just let you know that progress is still a' chuggin' along.  As always, you can keep up with progress by just following the thread, but just in case, you aren't...

For a while, I've been tangled up in school and research, but this weekend, I finally had a chance to finish reimplementing and improving the old spells, as well as fix a multitude of bugs.  Slimes are no longer stuck at lvl 1, dungeon's entrance rooms no longer have destructible floors, etc.  And as you already know, the mystery dimension's lag and weird behavior has been completely fixed, so this update is shaping up to be a good one.  Now I get to continue adding a bunch of new spells...

Next on the agenda is to restructure the stat system, and readjust some important numbers.  Currency's inflation rate has already been significantly reduced after level 30.  Mainly, things needs to progress exponentially (like currency currently does), so a monster 5 levels above or beneath you is just as difficult at level 10 as it is at level 20 (well, ignoring that difficulty will increase as you increase levels.)  This will solve players being able to just wander out into the great unknown, kill a few monsters, and easily climb dozens of levels.

I think I'll release an update before restructuring the stats though, since it's been a while.  So the current objective is to fix any pressing bugs, tweak some numbers, add new spells (and probably a layer above that to allow players to unlock/select spells in some fashion), then push out the update

Oh, and a multitude of new mobs will be introduced with the update after next, hehe.


Status Update (6/28/2012)

Alright, it's been a freaking month, thought I'd give a progress update.  The spell system is being overhauled, and good things are coming of it!  It's evolved into a 100% scriptable effect system, and correspondingly it's about a million times more flexible.  This means that I can reuse the system for a general buff/debuff system!  It also means that spells can improve in entirely customizable ways as you level up and allocate stat points-- leaps will leap further, bashes knock back further, multi arrow shots fire more arrows, etc.  Another plus is that rare spawns, bosses and the like will have random spells (both chosen at random and/or built randomly!)  Most importantly, though, it means that YOU, the player, get to eventually create and experiment with entirely built-from-scratch spells!  Crowd sourcing ftw.

Furthermore, block physic-sy spells have already been created and are, well, really epic   It's based off the existing sand/gravel physics.  One spell I've been testing the new scripting engine with is a Warrior ground stomp, causing 20 blocks in whatever direction you're facing to fly up sequentially and knock back any monsters in the way.  Another is a simple utility spell for the Mage, which allows you to pull dirt/stone/sand/dungeon/etc blocks you're looking at towards you.  What's so great is that the whole thing has been generalized so it can be easily used via the scripting engine!  Wanna spell that knocks a block at an enemy then freezes them on impact?  Done in a line or two of script.  Want a spell that causes a shockwave of blocks to ripple from underneath you?  Make it three or four lines

Other things to look forward to include the phase shiftin' Phase Creeper (mostly done), a few dungeon improvements, gratuitous bug fixes (mainly ways to exploit vendors and all dimension related bugginess), and of course, a buncha spells.  I'll probably go ahead and start on a spell-progression system in the following patch, along with more massive dungeon improvements, hehe.

Sorry the recommended build is taking so long-- in the past month, I've moved apartments, adjusted to a new job, and was a groomsman for my brother's wedding, not to mention that a few initially *minor* changes to the spell system evolved into, well, a complete and massive overhaul involving the creation an entirely hand-written, statically typed scripting language (really fricking complicated, okay?) just to get the project in a stable state.  But really good things are coming of it, so all is well

And thanks to the Yogscast for another video!  Needless to say, I giggle like a schoolgirl with each one.  I'm embarrassed by the multitude of bu- I MEAN features they encountered (like the occasional vendor with item prices of 0 because it grew from a child, and dungeon entrances' floors being destructible), so I'm kinda aching to resolve stuff and get this danged patch released.

Stay strong Minecrafters-- I'm putting about as much time into this as I can muster, so hang tight!  We've graduated from "better than soon" to "soonlier," so things are lookin' soon.


Status Update (5/28/2012)

Remember that poll on what stuff should be added next?  Well when Frizzil asks, Frizzil listens!  0.6 is out, and features currency, vendors, a myriad of dungeon improvements, and tons of SMP support!  It features a lot of internal code changes that will allow some sweet new dungeon features throughout 0.6.  It's currently a development build, so if you're in Technic, be sure to enable dev builds in the options if you want to help out with testing (did I mention that I love testers?)  The direct download is available below as "Hack/Mine v0.6.0 (Development)"

UPDATE:  The Development build is now available from the Technic launcher!

Patch notes for 0.6.0 (Vendors, Currency, and Server Support!)

• Making a new world is REQUIRED for this!!!  No amount of NBT editing will save you D:  However, future world compatibility is greatly improved.
  
• Added currency!
  
• Added vendors!  Talk to your local librarian, blacksmith, priest, or butcher!  Also, increased village frequency.
  
• Added amulets!
  
• New textures for rings, amulets, dungeons, and the Naga!  There are now over 160 additional blocks with Hack/Mine (that totally means Hack/Mine is better)  Extra special thanks to SMP for his amazing texture-work!
  
• Fixed Creative!  Also, the new dungeon blocks are available in the Creative menu!
  
• Overhauled dungeon system!  Will allow for new dungeon types, and eventually the creation of dungeon types by users!  Already added a new type, and will add more throughout 0.6
  
• Added "hidden" doors in dungeons!  Keep your eyes peeled...
  
• Added tons o' server functionality!  Additions include smart name matching (both case and 1337 insensitive), setting of block protection, pvp settings, and mob/animal spawning, all on a chunk-by-chunk basis, and lots more!  Also, many of the server.properties and all of the new areaCache.properties may be changed and made effective in-game by Ops!  See the Wiki for more details.
  
• Vastly improved server stability, by improving area caching!  Less server lag and crashing (caused by excessive file I/O from "area thrashing"), more hacky slashy.  Also, fixed the occasional super-fast-flickering of "Proxy" areas and its associated bugs in SMP.
  
• Added an "areaCache.properties" to server, for those who want to fine-tune or experiment with the numbers.  For larger servers, this will likely improve your performance and stability. (Be careful, though-- see the Wiki before attempting.  Post your findings on the Wiki along with your system specs and player count!)
  
• Increased block limit to 4096!
  
• One jillion bug fixes.  The "gzip," "broken pipe," and "Mob spawn read incorrectly" are gone forever...
  
• Lots o' little things
  
• Expect significant improvements to dungeons and additional server support throughout 0.6, along with the addition of boss mobs

Servers who decide to update to the dev build will require it, and will send you a "Server requires older version" message if you ain't usin' it.  The recommended build should be out in a few days, so everyone should be on the same page then   Thanks for being patient!


May 13:

Hello fellow Minecrafters, thought I'd give a progress update!  I'm planning a big update soon (this time, I'll have a dev build available from the Technic launcher, for those awesome enough to test it out, hehe)

*See above for complete list!*

I need to add some useful console commands for server and finish up on details, but after that I think we'll be ready to go

I'm always posting on the thread here and the one on the Yogscast forums if you're interested in progress! Stay tuned for that update...


Apr 23:

The Extreme Bug Fix patch is out!  Guess what?!?!  You can now play as...

The Dwarf, the Elf, and the Halfling!!!

Patch notes are now in-game!  But I fixed a LOT of bugs, and added a bunch of nice features.  I included a patch for Optifine that lets the new grass colors appear!  Hurray!  Will be releasing another patch very soon, unless this one has no major problems.  I've got finals ahead, so bear with me   The update should be in Technic tomorrow (er, this morning, it's kinda late over here XD).

Oh, and I vastly simplified the Windows installation instructions.

EDIT: Quick patch has been uploaded!  Also, just found out the Yogscast reviewed the mod!  Glad to see the Roflcondas fulfilling their destiny


Apr Sumpteenth:

The Ranger nerf patch is out, check the downloads!  Here's the change list:

• The Warrior has a new spell: Charge!  Rush at your foes, dealing AoE damage on impact with an enemy.
  
• The Ranger may now only climb "natural" blocks.  Iow, nothing man-made.
  
• Added new dungeon blocks!  Wall blocks are indestructible, whereas filler blocks and stairs are easily mined.  These are considered "man-made"   There are many more blocks to come, and the existing blocks are definitely subject to change.
  
• The Scorpion has finally been textured!  Hurray!
  
• Fall damage has been increased.
  
• The wand's mana consumption has been reduced.
  
• Players no longer spawn underground in SMP, hehe.
  
• The SMP "string length" crash has been addressed, but I'm uncertain if it's been fixed or improved upon (I don't have hours to test it!)  Let me know if it's gone/if it's better/if you want to strangle me because it STILL isn't fixed!
  
• Area system for SMP has been improved a bit.
  
• Fixed a lot of hotkey issues, particularly with spell casting (all spells may now be cast from the hotbar!)  It should be working flawlessly now.
  
• The Ranger's bow spells now appropriately trigger a cooldown on the release of the bow, not the initial draw.
  
• Lots more!

The new blocks exist separately from the standard Minecraft ones, and as such, will play friendly with whatever texture packs you choose to use with Hack/Mine, including HD texture packs!  If you are using Optifine, you'll have to restart your client whenever you swap resolutions, though, otherwise terrain will appear, uh, hilariously glitchy.

Enjoy the update!  Also enjoy Hack/Mine in...

*pause for dramatic effect*

Technic!  Stay tuned for more details


Apr 12:

The update is out!  Features include:

• Added a class selection dialogue!  The Warrior, Mage, and Ranger are now all playable classes.  For some reason this makes me want to add more...
  
• Gave rangers the ability to climb!  It's totally imba right now, but it will be limited to non-manmade blocks, once I've created/obtained some new blocks for use in dungeons.
  
• Added Blink and Lightning for the Mage, and gave the Ranger Tri-shot, Explosive Shot, and Lightning Shot.  I'll be giving the Warrior more toys in the next patch.  Note that every spell is subject to being changed or entirely removed (especially the Ranger's) and will eventually be unlockable, instead of you just starting out with them.  Also, I need to get/make some more spell icons, as well as purdy/neaten up the spells a good bit.  So for now, just have fun and tell me how it goes!
  
• Added the Orc Archer!  Props to my roommate for the texture-work, hehe.
  
• Added a whole RAINBOW of slimes, which appear in small numbers throughout the entire world!  Each has a particular element that it both deals in damage and entirely resists. Also, there's a camouflage slime and an actual rainbow slime that cycles through all the colors, changing it's element appropriately.  For now, black slimes have a random element, but will later resist physical.
  
• Added a dynamic atmosphere system-- many Areas now change the sky, fog, cloud, and overall screen color, along with day and night lighting and brightness, for your enhanced viewing pleasure.  Still need to add a lot of features to Areas, but this was a large step in the right direction.
  
• Added a new Controls screen!  Key bindings may now be configured with modifiers (shift, ctrl, or alt).
  
• Adding resistance to magical properties!  Fire resist already added, will be adding more in the next patch.
  
• Fixed a few horrible game-crashing bugs in SMP, though there are probably still others.  For now, run your client from command prompt, then copy-paste any game-crashing errors to this thread!
  
• Lava and fall damage now deal damage on a percent basis.
  
• Mobs weren't dealing damage correctly!  This has been corrected, and your game will now probably be much more difficult
  
• Decreased the travel time required to find higher level areas.
  
• Some more little things and general performance improvements

Enjoy the new classes!  I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have for them.  Also, remember to have your bow equipped when casting the Ranger's spells.  There's currently a bug where you can't cast them by holding down the hotkey, you have to shift-right click   Other classes I'm considering adding are:

• Healers (yeah, I take back what I said in the video)  We've thought of ways to make them fun, hehe
  
• Bards
  
• More!

A subclass system is also a possibility (Warriors may branch into Knights, Barbarians, and Paladins, for example).  Just thought you'd like to hear that...

Enjoy the update!


Apr 8:

The update is coming along nicely!  I've added a slew of features, improved on the balance, and fixed some major bugs, and have a few more things planned.  However, because of homework and tests, I may be waiting a day or two to release, instead of releasing it tonight.  I know you've been waiting ever so patiently, so here's a progress update:

*See above for complete list of changes*

I still need to flesh out a few details, make a few more spells, and make the hotbar more configurable, but after that, we should be golden.

Apr 5:

Aaaaaand a patch definitively resolving the black screen issue is out!  If you have java 7, the game was crashing for you because of a harmless error that java 6 didn't care about (ironic, isn't it?).  I was testing on java 6, but thanks to some feedback from readers like you, I was able to solve the dilemma. Cheers!

For kicks and giggles:

• Hack/Mine is now Optifine compatible!  Pull out yer sorry laptop and get to slashin'!
  
• Added evil jungles!
  
• Improved player visibility on the radar-- other players now hover on the edge of the radar when they're too far away.  This will be fancified.  Also, players are now colored aqua blue for clarity.
  
• Improved error messages.  Exciting!
  
• Many a small detail.

Next thing I'll be pushing is an actual update with real features, probably around the end of the weekend, assuming there are no more ultra-mega-death bugs.

Enjoy!


Apr 2:

The patch is out! (Edit: and now it's working!)  Sorry for the bug, it was actually fine for Mac, which I was testing it on.  Weird.  Here's the change list:

• Mob spawns have been significantly reduced, especially Roflcondas (not their presence in your nightmares, however).
  
• Fortitude now increases the rate at which you heal, in addition to your total health, like Wisdom and mana.
  
• You can now repair your equipment!  This is a temporary measure and will be neatened, but for now... combine your gear with Diamonds, Redstone, Iron and Gold Ingots, Cobblestone, and if necessary, Dirt!  Only if you're so bad you can't find anything in chests, though   You can also use Bones, Silk, and Leather, but they apply only to Armor, Melee Weapons, or Bows, not all armor types.  Finally, up to three Redstone may be consumed at once, unlike the others which consume only one reagent.  Each repairs a different amount, a list of which I'll post later, but are basically what you'd expect.
  
• Chests in large dungeons are now limited to useful items, and for now, mobs no longer drop junk items, except for sheep (who drop wool).  BAAAHHAHAHAH
  
• The radar is dramatically faster, it should no longer be causing a noticeable difference in gameplay (I'm thinking about doubling it's resolution).  Before, it was forcing chunks to load-- now, it just skips over them.  Also added the level of the current area to the top-left of the radar.
  
• Lava no longer sets you on fire!  You'll only take damage while standing in it.
  
• The area system was improved, reducing the added Chunk size/latency a good bit.
  
• Fixed a "weird string error" server crash bug (though there are others).
  
• Fixed item stacks not swapping properly when of the same size.
  
• I hunted for hours, but couldn't figure out the problem with blocking and bows on SMP... it's my absolute highest priority, so bear with me!
  
• I'm too tired to think of everything, I'll finish the change list tomorrow... *yawn* a ton of bugs were remedied, you should have a much smoother experience

Agenda for Near Future:

• Convert big dungeons to revamped system
  
• Give NPCs quest-giving ability and general dialogue content
  
• Continue on mystery dimension...
  
• Grant raptor ability to open doors
  
• Post another video!
  
• Polish, polish, and more polish
  
• Create music system for areas and boss encounters

Mar 31:

The alpha is released!  Remember it's still in alpha, and is far from a finished product.  All of you are my little testers... muahahahah.  I'll be pushing out a patch in the next day or two to resolve some obvious issues (like the extremely high mob-spawn rate), so don't get too attached to your world.


Mar 30:

I'm releasing the alpha tomorrow, maybe late tonight.  Wooh!  Don't mind any blatant design issues, I'm already aware of them


Mar 26:

SMP is this close to being done!  Just gotta get the magic system working for it, then it'll just be little details/bug-fixing for the entire mod, followed by coding the installer.  Whew!  Get ready...


Mar 24 (Exciting Status Update):

THE ALPHA IS A'COMIN' RIGHT AT YA!!!

Probably some time next week!

Progress on Alpha:

• Updating to 1.2.3 is finished!
  
• The magic system is in place with a bundle of spells--  still need to add a couple more...
  
• Networking for the Area system was insanely complicated, but that was the only non-trivial thing on the list of things needed to get SMP up and running.  I'm proud of myself
  
• Getting some balance and level progression worked out.  I'm lovin' Grapher for Mac right now.
  
• Mystery dimension-- still mysterious, in all its wonder and majesty.  The first to find it gets a jaffa cake!

Feb 11:

Lots of awesome new features!  Progress is progressing.

• Mystery dimension going strong with custom terrain generation and its own mineral and biome generation, just a matter of deciding on it's style and content.  It's pretty freakin' amazing.  The way to the mystery dimension shall remain a mystery...
  
• Beginnings of NPC dialogue system implemented, along with NPC naming conventions.  I'm hesitant to mess with NPCs much more since Mojang is adding features to them atm.
  
• Beginnings of spell system implemented!  FUS RO DAH!!!
  
• Designed a system to construct dungeons during terrain generation (like ravines and caves, but allows for metadata and tileentities).  Towers are working, still gotta convert big dungeons though.

Jan 25:

• Area system implemented!  *whew*
  
  • Contains all adjacent chunks of the same biome
    
  • Random names ("Mangled Hills", "Intrepid Steppes," etc.)
    
  • Features like fog, possible mobs, plant-life/color, and structures are tied to specific names (e.g. "Slithering Heights" full of snake mobs.)
    
  • Application of areas to biomes is smart (No "Pasture of Death" or "Chirping Void")
• New Mobs!
  
  • Raptor
    
  • Naga
    
  • Giant Rat (gotta have giant rats, man)
    
  • Creeper Snake!
    
    • Crerpent?  Snreeper?  Name suggestions are welcome, haha
      
    • Features very cool snake physics- blocks trail behind head in an awesome fashion.
• Added "Holy/Evil" in addition to humidity and temperature, with new biomes and appropriate block color transitions for both.
  
  • I'm considering turning Holy into something else, like Space, with decreasing gravity and atmosphere as you enter the zone.
• New Music!
  
  • I've been writing video game music half my life (10 years), so this was bound to happen.
    
  • Each area will have it's own theme... well, if I can write enough music- otherwise it'll just be biome specific : )
• Dungeon Improvements
  
  • Added several rooms (swampy, nether-ish terrain, an improved cavern, a maze pattern, and more)
    
  • Changed existing rooms to use perlin noise
    
  • Improved overall performance
• Various performance improvements and bug fixes
  
  • Radar is even prettier and now only consumes an additional 4-5% of CPU power (0% if you're still)
    
  • Magical Property system revamped- weapons can't give defense bonuses, non-breaking items can't have durability bonuses, etc.
• Everything working with 1.0!  Will wait until 1.2 or 1.3 to bring everything to version again, depending on progress.

Jan 5:
Hey guys, just got through a busy semester of school, I'm resuming heavy work on the mod!  There's no official release date at the moment : (  I'll try to get another video up at some point, when I've got enough awesome features to justify it.  This coming semester may or may not be as difficult as the last (I'm now double majoring in Computer Science and Accounting *gulp*) but at the very least, I'll have tons of free time this summer.  So no worries!  I love working on this mod, I do not intend on dropping it.

Download and Instructions:

Spoiler:

Current:
Hack/Mine v0.6.4.2

Previous Versions:

Spoiler:

Hack/Mine v0.6.4.1
Hack/Mine v0.6.4.0
Hack/Mine v0.6.0
Hack/Mine v0.5.3
Hack/Mine v0.5.2
Hack/Mine v0.4
Hack/Mine v0.3
Hack/Mine v0.2
Hack/Mine v0.1
Hack/Mine v0.0

Windows Instructions:

Spoiler:

Client:

• Download the file linked above and unzip it.
  
• Grab an unmodified Minecraft 1.2.3 jar.
  
• Be prepared to use your favorite archive editor (WinZip, 7Zip, etc)
  
• Drag the innards of "client" into the minecraft jar.
  
• Drag the innards of "lib" into the minecraft jar.
  
• Delete the META-INF from the jar!
  
• Drag the modified jar into the ".minecraft/bin" directory, replacing the existing "minecraft.jar".
  
• Copy the "spells" directory itself into the .minecraft directory (next to "resources", "saves", etc).
  
• Start Minecraft, don't say "Yes" when it asks to update, and you're done!

Server:

• Download the file linked above and unzip it.
  
• Grab an unmodified Minecraft 1.2.3 server jar.
  
• Be prepared to use your favorite archive editor (WinZip, 7Zip, etc)
  
• Drag the innards of "server" into the server jar.
  
• Drag the innards of "lib" into the server jar.
  
• Do NOT delete the META-INF from the jar!  It's complicated, I know.
  
• Place the jar wherever you want it.
  
• Copy the "spells" directory itself into whatever directory the server jar is located.
  
• Run the jar, and you're all set!

Old Windows Instructions (0.6.0 and older)

Spoiler:

Client:

Spoiler:

• Grab an unmodified Minecraft 1.2.3 jar.  If you don't have one laying around, you can use MCNostalgia to obtain it legally.
  
• Download the link above.
  
• Pull open "hackslashmine__.zip" and the fresh minecraft.jar in your favorite archive viewer (WinRAR, 7zip, etc).
  
• Drag everything inside of "client" and "textures" into the minecraft.jar.
  
• If you want Optifine: drag the class files for Optifine into the minecraft.jar, followed by the contents of "optifineFix"!  Any version of Optifine for 1.2.3 that you prefer.
  
• Delete META-INF!!!
  
• Close the archive viewer and drag the modded "minecraft.jar" into your ".minecraft/bin" folder, optionally renaming your "saves" folder and old minecraft jar to back them up.
  
• You're done!  Remember that when Minecraft asks you to update, always click "Not Now" (well, as long as your playing this mod), otherwise it will replace your installation with the most recent version of Minecraft!  You might wanna back up your H/M jar, just in case.  Enjoy Hack/Mine!

Server:

Spoiler:

Here's an awesome server installation guide by nearbygamer!  The beginning shows how to obtain a 1.2.3 server jar legally!  Note that it probably still differs from the instructions below.

• Download the link above
  
• Grab an unmodified minecraft_server 1.2.3 jar, no Bukkit or anything!  Use Minecraft Version Changer or sumpthin' if necessary.
  
• Pull open "hackslashmine__.zip" and the fresh minecraft_server.jar in your favorite archive viewer (WinRAR, 7zip, etc).
  
• Drag everything inside of "server" into the minecraft_server.jar.
  
• Drag the "lang" folder from "textures" into the minecraft_server.jar.
  
• Do NOT delete META-INF!!!  I know, I know, confusing.            
  
• Close the archive viewer and you're done!  As with any Minecraft server on Windows, make sure you're running Java as administrator, else your server will flood with error messages!  Also, don't try running any old worlds with Hack/Mine, you'll need to back them up.  Enjoy Hack/Mine for SMP!

Mac Instructions:

Spoiler:

THESE MAC INSTRUCTIONS ARE INVALID FOR v0.6.4.0 AND ABOVE!!!
Sorry, still devising an easy solution for installing this mod on Mac.  If you find one, please let me know leaving a post on this thread!
Client:

Spoiler:

• Download and unzip the link above
  
• Grab an unmodified Minecraft 1.2.3 jar.  If you don't have one laying around, you can use MCNostalgia to obtain it legally (before using it, make sure the "minecraft.jar" in your ".minecraft/bin" is the current, unmodded version of Minecraft, so it will properly downgrade to 1.2.3.)
  
• Right Click the jar -> Open With -> Archive Utility
  
• Open the newly created "minecraft" folder
  
• Copy everything except the "net" folder from "hackslashmine/client" into the newly created "minecraft" folder, replacing any duplicate files.  DON'T COPY THE NET FOLDER!  I recommend pressing Command-A inside the folder, then Command-clicking the net folder to deselect it.
  
• Copy the "Minecraft.class" from "hackslashmine/client/net/minecraft/client/" into "minecraft/net/minecraft/client", replacing the duplicate file.
  
• Copy the contents of each folder under "hackslashmine/textures" into their respective folders under the new "minecraft" directory ("gui" to "gui", "mob" to "mob", etc), replacing as necessary.  COPY THE INSIDES OF EACH FOLDER, NOT THE FOLDERS THEMSELVES!!!  Otherwise you'll delete existing Minecraft textures
  
• Delete the META-INF folder in the new "minecraft" directory!  Very important.
  
• Select every file under the new "minecraft" directory, NOT the directory itself, by pressing Command-A while inside the directory.  Right click them -> Compress (#) Items.  There should now be a file named "Archive.zip" in the directory.  Keep this window open...                                                                                                
  
• Navigate to your minecraft folder (on Snow Leopard, it's /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/minecraft).
  
• Back up your saves (rename the folder), then navigate to the "bin" folder and rename "minecraft.jar" to something like "minecraft.jar.bak".
  
• Drag "Archive.zip" into the "bin" directory, then rename it to "minecraft.jar"
  
• You're done!  Remember that when Minecraft asks you to update, always click "Not Now" (well, as long as your playing this mod), otherwise it will replace your installation with the most recent version of Minecraft!  You might wanna back up your H/M jar, just in case.  Enjoy Hack/Mine!

Server:

Spoiler:

• Download and unzip the link above
  
• Grab an unmodified minecraft_server 1.2.3 jar (no Bukkit or anything!)
  
• Right Click the jar -> Open With -> Archive Utility
  
• Open the newly created "minecraft_server" folder
  
• Copy everything except the "net" folder from "hackslashmine/server" into the newly created "minecraft_server" folder, replacing any duplicate files.  DON'T COPY THE NET FOLDER!  I recommend pressing Command-A inside the folder, then Command-clicking the net folder to deselect it.
  
• Copy the "MinecraftServer.class" from "hackslashmine/server/net/minecraft/server/" into "minecraft_server/net/minecraft/server", replacing the duplicate file.
  
• Copy "HMen_US.lang" from "hackslashmine/textures/lang" into "minecraft_server/lang".
  
• For this, do not delete the META-INF folder as you normally would!  I know, I know, its confusing.
  
• Select every file under the new "minecraft" directory, NOT the directory itself, by pressing Command-A while inside the directory.  Right click them -> Compress (#) Items
  
• There should now be a file named "Archive.zip" in the directory.  Move it out of the directory, then rename it to "minecraft_server.jar"
  
• You're done!  Remember to only log onto the server with a Hack/Mine client that's the same version.  Also, don't try running any old worlds with H/M, you'll need to back them up.
  
• Enjoy Hack/Mine for SMP!

Let me know how general gameplay is on the server, I haven't thoroughly tested it yet

If you wanna swap to the Minecraft installation you had before you installed this mod (or you can't get things working), you can change the name of your old jar back to "minecraft.jar" and your old save directory to "saves" (swapping the names with your current files if you want to swap back again), then you'll be right back where you were before you installed H/M!

How to Play!

Spoiler:

Before you start, go check out the new Controls menu and make sure everything is straight.  Why not get creative and rebind your spells?  (I like having Charge and Leash on Q and E )

Press "r" to open your spellbook and spend your stat points!

Use "+" and "-" to zoom the radar in and out

Once you enter a world for the first time, a dialogue asking which class you want to be will appear!  For now you can be a Warrior, a Mage, or a Ranger (with many more to come!)  Be smart and learn to use your spells, which are:

Warrior:

• Leap: Sail into the air, escaping harms way!
  
• Taunt: Causes an enemy to focus his attacks on you! (Will serve more of a purpose once the threat mechanic is in place)
  
• Leash: Pulls an enemy towards you!
  
• Charge: Dash into a crowd of enemies, blowing them asunder!
  
• Whirlwind: Spin in full circle, hitting all nearby enemies!

Mage:

• Blink:  Teleport a short distance! (inaccurate at longer distances... be careful )
  
• Firebolt:  Blast your enemies with fire!
  
• Charged Bolt:  Release a barrage of energy particles, increasing in number as you stack Intelligence!
  
• Lightning:  Bend the wrath of the heavens to your will...
  
• Gust:  Knocks all enemies in a close proximity far away!

Ranger:

• Climb:  Passive ability to climb natural blocks!
  
• Leap:  Temporary!  Will be replaced with arrow zip-linin' tomfoolery at some point...
  
• Tri-shot:  Fire multiple arrows at once!
  
• Exploding Arrow:  A high mana cost, moderate explosion on impact!
  
• Lightning Arrow:  Word of advice-- do NOT use this on Roflc- better yet, DO use it on Roflcondas!  Go right on ahead.  No, really!
  
• Torchin' Shot: Places a torch on impact!  Consumes a torch.

Things are totally unbalanced right now to the point that higher levels are probably either impossible or plain easy, but that's ok, cause we're in alpha baby. So have fun with it, and let me know what needs fixin'!

If your game crashes or you see a not-blatantly-obvious issue, post it and any error messages on the thread! It's your job-- neigh, your DUTY as a tester of Hack/Mine! Also, suggestions are more than welcome.

If things are "hiccupy", it's probably because of the large dungeons generating. There's an option under "More World Options..." to disable them if it's really that bad, but no worries! I'll be adding them to the new dungeon gen system soon, and it will be seamlessly fast then. Well, relatively speaking. Towers can be disabled along with structures, but they're on the new system and shouldn't be causing issues.

Help/FAQ

Spoiler:

• When will you update to 1.2.5?
  NEVER!!!  The earliest I'll update is when 1.3 is out, since it'll include huge mob improvements for SMP (and it will be SWEET)
  
• Why does Minecraft blackscreen on startup?
  You installed incorrectly, try again!
  
• But I just tried 10 times!
  Do some research, then try again!  Follow the instructions with diligence!
  
• I can't move when I enter the world!  HALP!
  Try opening the Controls menu and fiddling with the options (this generally fixes it)
  
• Servers are giving me "Outdated HM Client" or "Outdated HM Server" errors, HALP!
  It's exactly what it sounds like-- somebody needs to update.
  
• Where do I leave suggestions?
  This thread is fine, I'll definitely see them (and I love to read them).  But for Pete's sake, don't PM me with them!!!
  
• When is it ok to PM you?
  Please don't PM me ideas for the mod, or ask me something someone else could easily answer!! (this makes it difficult for me to see things that really need my attention.)  I'll hate your guts if you do.  Otherwise, I love to give modding/programming advice, assuming you've done your homework.  Generally, if it's something I need to hear, don't hesitate to PM me!

Compatible Mods

Spoiler:

• Optifine Standard, Smooth, and Multicore!  To install it, drag Optifine's files into the folder after dragging in Hack/Mine's, followed by the contents of "optifineFix".
  
• Probably more!

Bug Reporting and Known Bugs

Spoiler:

If you find a bug in your game, check this list.  If it's not on here, or I'm asking for info about it, post your error message and a description of what you were doing on the thread!  Otherwise, know that I'm doing my best to resolve it.

If you're black-screening on start-up, or the error message isn't displaying:

Spoiler:

Are you certain you installed correctly?  If so, then I need you to do this to find the error:

Windows:  Edit and stick this in a text file, rename the extension to ".bat", then run it to launch your Minecraft.exe.  Once the error occurs, it should stick the message in "error.txt".

@ECHO "Starting with error log!"

javaw -jar "C:\Your_File_Path\Minecraft.exe" 1> log.txt 2> error.txt

Mac:  Open Applications -> Utilities -> Console.  The error should be towards the bottom, possibly with "items found", "recipes found", and/or a whole bunch of "   at java..." and "  at minecraft..." lines.  Copy all of it!

If the error says something like "class not found" or "ImageIO", I'm 99% certain you installed incorrectly.  If it's anything else at all, post the entire error on the thread in a spoiler!  I REALLY need to see it!

Known Bugs:

• Lighting in towers and dungeons is bugged.  This is actually a Minecraft error, but Jeb is likely to fix it in the near future.
  
• Poison doesn't turn your health bar green in SMP.
  
• "string length" errors in SMP.  These seem to have been resolved!  However, if you happen to get one, please post these and what you were doing on the thread!
  
• If the name of the Area you're in is ever stuck as "Proxy" or blank for a very long time, let me know!  Describe what you were doing and for how long it lasted.
  
• Probably more

Ooh, ooh, I have an idea!  I want to help!

Spoiler:

If you have an idea, feel free to post in the thread below, I'll likely respond to it!  If you want to contribute a texture, a model, code, or anything that takes effort on your part, you have two options:

• Go ahead and make it and post it in the thread, if it's good I'll use it!
  
• Show me some things you've done before!  If they're really good, I'll contact you and probably use whatever you create!

While I need more content in the game, I absolutely refuse to use anything I could easily create myself-- if you want to contribute, don't ask unless you post either of those two things!  That being said, outdoing my texture-work isn't that difficult

If I use your work, I'll mention you and anything I used in the credits!

Overview

Imagine battling hordes of monsters with your friends... one friend leaps into the fray, sluggin' Creepers left and right; another channels walls of ice, stemming the tides of darkness; yet another showers arrows from above while leaping amongst the treetops; your team is a force to be reckoned with.  Suddenly, a massive dragon encroaches over the horizon-- you know you're not yet powerful enough to defeat it, so your party flees to the nearest shelter... a decrepit stairwell.  It's the dungeon you've been preparing for!  You weren't planning on exploring it yet, but with a dragon lingering by the entrance, you have no choice.  The howls of demons resonate through the twisting caverns...  you're uncertain of what pales you most, the countless traps that await you, or the raging Minotaur, Kul-Sheth, said to live deep within.  Unabated, you lead your party into the gaping maw, certain the gods know your plight...  Suddenly, a monstrous form in the shape of a chicken glimpses through the shadows!  A cockatrice?  For a second you thought the maker of this mod would be stupid enough to include a "dire chicken" mob.  Incorrectly, you assure yourself Frizzil is a rational human being, and press on.

Hack/Mine is an action-RPG hack n' slash mod for Minecraft (like Diablo II or Torchlight) with an emphasis on teamwork, twitch, and strategy.  It currently features sprawling, randomly generated dungeons, randomly generated loot, a live combat display and radar, a stat system with unique mechanics, "Areas" comprised of multiple chunks with a myriad of randomized features like mob compositions (soon to include fog, color schemes, even gravity), many new mobs and rare spawns with more to come, and a new dimension that shall remain mysterious.  The magic system is now in place!  The NPC dialog system is still in its initial phases, but is soon to be fleshed out.  The future holds ubermobs (large bosses that must be fought/negotiated with as a team), a questing system, much more content, and... maybe a plot, haha.  It will also feature an original soundtrack, much of which is already composed.


MASSIVE DUNGEONS!!!
Sprawling dungeons composed of many rooms, filled with loot, traps, and vile creatures...

Spoiler:

Area System with New Biomes!!!
Multi-chunk areas with randomized features; the evils of Minecraftia await you...

Spoiler:

Live Radar!!!
An efficient radar with zoom capabilities!  Also displays current Area...

Spoiler:

A Stat/Level System!!!
A stat system affecting everything from magical prowess to attack speed, along with fancy new GUIs.

Spoiler:

+ 5 Stat points a level
+ STR improves damage
+ DEX improves crit rating, attack speed and defense rating
+ AGI is being debated upon
+ INT improves magic damage
+ WIS improves mana pool
+ FRT improves health pool
+ DMG is based on Weapon Damage and, depending on your weapon, STR, DEX, or INT.
+ DEF is based on DEX and Armor
+ You can collect bags to increase your inventory space!
+ The second hotbar will be for spells-- "shift" will toggle between weapon and magic selection ("c" now for crouch!)
+ Spellbook will hold spells (hurrr)

Magical Loot!!!
Randomly generated names and properties!  Thousands upon THOUSANDS of possibilities!  Includes bonuses to stats, elemental damage, movement speed, curses, and much, much more!

Spoiler:

Mobs a'plenty!!!

Spoiler:

The Crerpent: by far the most terrifying creature in this game.  Or maybe the Roflconda?



Reel in terror at the Dire Chicken!



If you think you can outrun the vicious Raptor, think again...



Naga are an irritable bunch...



And what kind of RPG would this be without Giant Rats?



Fear the poisonous Scorpion! (has yet to be textured, heh)



The Wizard's ability to teleport and harass with magic is unheard of...

Live Combat Display!!!
You hit an enemy, the damage shows up and slowly drifts/fades away!  Crits are also displayed.

Spoiler:

Rare Spawns!
Random names, special abilities, magical loot, the works...

Spoiler:

Towers!!!
Treasure, Liches, and powerful Wizards await you...

Spoiler:

Wands!!!
And magic a'plenty!

Spoiler:

Thanks to Notch, Jeb, and everyone at Mojang for an awesome modding platform!

Oh, and tell your friends

Use Dis Here Banner!

Spoiler:

Just copy this into your signature (making sure you're not WYSIWYG mode... that little lightswitch on the top left of the editor?  ):

[url="http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/502897-123-hack-slash-mine-alpha-soon/"][img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VDRljMs8Fec/T2-Z9vYJrCI/AAAAAAAAAJU/CvsO_hO7zKE/s800/hackslashminebanner.png[/img][/url]

Credits:

Spoiler:

Frizzil: The guy making Hack/Mine.  All the programmin' and anything else not covered below

SMP:  For making some amazing new textures!  This includes the revamped Naga, the rings, the amulets, and the new dungeon blocks, with more to come.  His texture pack is the one featured with H/M through the Technic launcher, btw.

Jhuto (My Roommate): The inventory and spellbook textures, making the lovely banners on this thread, and a great deal of idea bouncing.  Also, the Orc Archer's texture.  And finally, for not being   ed that I put off doing the dishes for a week while pushing the alpha out.

Sambrosia: Makin' some projectile animations.  Beautiful, aren't they?

4dragonking: Gust, Taunt, and Leap Icons, and possibly more to come.

Notch and Jeb:  For making Minecraft, a masterpiece of a game!

The Technic Crew:  For noticing the mod and stickin' it in the auto-magic Technic launcher!  Also, for always hastily updating the launcher when the latest update is sent their way.

The Yogscast: For reviewing H/M, thus channeling hordes of gamers at the mod, and for inspiring modders everywhere to contribute to the community because of their videos!  If I ever get their address, I will mail them a delicious cheesecake (completely serious.)

Wanna donate?  As a college student, I can only spend so much time on the mod without neglecting my tuition.  You can think of every $10 as 1 more hour I can dedicate to the mod instead of my job (or you could think of it as a contribution to my pizza funds, that works too )

Copyright Notice:

Spoiler:

This mod (plugin, a patch to Minecraft source), by the terms of http://www.minecraft.net/terms is sole property and Copyright(2011) of Philip Guin (henceforth "Owner" or "The Owner"). By default it may only be distributed on minecraftforums.net, mcmodcenter.net. It may only be mirrored or reposted with advance written permission of the Owner. Electronic Mail is fine if you wait for a response. URL shorteners or other attempts to make money off The Owner's Mod are strictly forbidden without advance written permission.

Spellscript, a library written in Java that is distributed with the Mod (and may be considered a component of it), is also sole property and Copyright(2012) of Philip Guin (The Owner).  It may later be open-sourced under a different license at The Owner's discretion.

By similar terms of the official Minecraft terms of use, you are free to do whatever you want with videos and screenshots of the Mod.  "Tools" and "plugins" made especially for the Mod should be treated like "tools" and "plugins" are for Minecraft, respectively, abiding by the official Minecraft terms of use.  You're free to decompile the code, play with it, and make "tools" or "plugins," so long as you never distribute complete, runnable jars of Minecraft, or entire, working packages of the Mod without advanced written permission of the Owner.

[bitly]

Looks epic!

[thylakoide]

wow  

[Builder4Free]

Nice this looks great like the Aether. Cant wait to see the final project.

[Holy cow164]

nerdgasm... ENGAGE!

[TankmasterG]

Dude if you could make bosses scripted like in WoW... You would be a god!
It looks like your really going all out on this thing and i have suggestions!
Sub classes for each class you have, similar to talent trees for example:
Warriors could be a Berserker which duel wields (If you could figure out how to do it) and have plenty of offensive abilitys. Or Knight which could use a one hand and a shield if you decide to make shields like right clicking to block or something, the knight would have lots of defensive abilitys.

I have tons of ideas (Lots of spell ideas and boss ideas) and if you want to hear them all then just hit me back up. This mod looks like it could be tons of fun if done right!

[mitchbtam]

looks amazing

[Frizzil]

Thanks all, I'm flattered

@TankmasterG Sure, ideas are always appreciated, just post 'em right here on the thread!  Just try to be impartial towards them.  Know that I'm REALLY striving to get balance right, because in the end, that's what's gonna make or break this puppy.  For the record, my brother was the guild master of one of the first guilds to beat Sunwell in WoW- he is an EXTREMELY talented and knowledgeable gamer, and I've been getting him to help me balance the play mechanics.

In case you were worried about it, there will be no healing class!  El zilcho priesto!  That's a problem in many games because they're required for group situations, but most people don't want to play them.

The game will work for both singleplayer and multiplayer, but the focus is definitely on multiplayer.  It's actually easier to do things this way because singleplayer is much easier to play test during development.

My friend Jhuto (or jcsimpson777, Connor in the RL) and I have discussed subclasses- they would be REALLY fun, and I really want them, but it just depends on how many spells we can come up with that fit within the game!  In the spirit of Minecraft, I'd like to keep everything simple

Dual wielding is definitely a possibility, but the user will already have to manage a currently selected spell in addition to his currently selected item (they'll press tab to cycle between actively changing/visible hotbars)- adding ANOTHER mechanic would have to be done as gracefully as possible so the user won't have to pause and think much while swapping things around mid-combat.  Perhaps just an additional slot in the inventory?  It's not like you'll be changing that one much anyways.  Hmm :/

[Holy cow164]

what'd make it even better is if you made it aether compatible and just used their inventory gui.

[Frizzil]

I wouldn't be opposed to collaborating with the makers of the Aether if they felt so inclined   I wouldn't make this a subsidiary of their mod, though, since I imagine that would require you having their mod first if you wanted to play this one (always difficult to deal with).  For the record, "ginormous mods" and "compatibility" don't really go together, haha.

[mitchbtam]

Any idea when this beautiful thing will be released?

[Frizzil]

mitchbtam, on 26 July 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

Any idea when this beautiful thing will be released?

Hopefully it'll be a fully playable game by 11/11/11, definitely with Betas in the near future, just to get everything balanced.  Don't know if I'll ever stop developing it, hehe.  My goal right now is to get the major engines and systems in place- once that is done, it'll mostly be a matter of filling the engines with content (which people can help me with)!  More dungeon generation patterns, blocks, items, mobs, textures for the new stuff, etc.  Once I've gotten the larger components in place, I'll have a much better idea of a solid release date.

EDIT:  I bombed on predicting the future release date-- It'll probably be summer of 2012 before it's released... yyyyeah, sorry bout that, I'm busy with tons more coursework than I thought I'd be (especially now that I'm double majoring).  I will have playable betas before then, though.  Hang tight!

[mitchbtam]

Frizzil, on 26 July 2011 - 11:45 PM, said:

Hopefully it'll be a fully playable game by 11/11/11, definitely with Betas in the near future, just to get everything balanced.  Don't know if I'll ever stop developing it, hehe.  My goal right now is to get the major engines and systems in place- once that is done, it'll mostly be a matter of filling the engines with content (which people can help me with)!  More dungeon generation patterns, blocks, items, mobs, textures for the new stuff, etc.  Once I've gotten the larger components in place, I'll have a much better idea of a solid release date.

Ok, that sounds awesome. I'm really looking forward to this mod and if you ever need a beta tester msg me  

[mitchbtam]

Frizzil, on 26 July 2011 - 11:45 PM, said:

Hopefully it'll be a fully playable game by 11/11/11, definitely with Betas in the near future, just to get everything balanced.  Don't know if I'll ever stop developing it, hehe.  My goal right now is to get the major engines and systems in place- once that is done, it'll mostly be a matter of filling the engines with content (which people can help me with)!  More dungeon generation patterns, blocks, items, mobs, textures for the new stuff, etc.  Once I've gotten the larger components in place, I'll have a much better idea of a solid release date.

What have you added that wasn't in the videos?

[AtomicRavioli]

wow, tbh, it sounds better than the Aether XD
Im really looking forward to this, it also seems starved of attension atm

[mitchbtam]

AtomicRavioli, on 06 August 2011 - 05:15 AM, said:

wow, tbh, it sounds better than the Aether XD
Im really looking forward to this, it also seems starved of attension atm

That's exactly what I think. This looks just as good as the Aether and it gets so much less attention than it should if you look at all the features there are right now.

[aattss]

I think that the Aether just...doesn't fit into Minecraft, similarly to all those gun suggestions and stuff that get shot down with everyone saying "no" or "it just doesn't fit in". This, however, does. Still, you should tailor it to Minecraft, Just in case. Also, you should make it possible to attack npc villages.

[deadlycwa]

People should be paying more attention to this mod!  This mod will revolutionize minecraft if done correctly, we need a bunch of creatures and multiple levels for each, classes need to be well flushed out, possibly with sub-classes.  This entire idea is genius!  If you need modding help, I'm a bit of an amateur modder, but I can try.  Keep up the good work!

[Jonowarrenminecraft]

Is this still being worked on? Any updates? I hope so because it looks awesome! Should add a lot of flavour to the game.

[CRUSHER_AX]

hey can you relaese a demo of it maybe????????????????????????please!!!!$$$####^&%%$^#$%@#%^@%$^#$%