I saw that this was posted a while ago, but it seemed to pass with little notice, so I thought I'd bring it up in more depth. This was actually inspired by the recent updates.
In minecraft, the moon is currently locked onto full. I propose that it will slowly shift phase, just like in real life. The effect of this would be increasingly dark nights.
You would start out on, or near, the full moon. This means that the nights are not that dark. Enemies still spawn, but it is relatively light spawning. You can see decently, and can probably get by without torches. As time passes, the moon's phase shifts, and the night will get correspondingly darker. This means more enemies spawning and a darker night, so the difficulty will shift to harder as time passes on.
Eventually you get to the new moon. By this point you probably have a very advanced setup, and you will need it. In the new moon, it is Pitch Black. You will be able to see nothing without a light. Enemies will spawn in hordes. This will be a significant difference from the night before; a new moon is a night for battering the shutters, clutch your diamond swords, and fight off the hoard of enemies.
Then, as you might expect, the moon shifts phase again, heading back towards full, and the pressure of night lessens, allowing you to expand easier and prepare for next time.
This sounds like fun. It might be difficult to code (spawn wise), but it would be a cool option.
Also, has anyone thought about counting the days as they pass? Perhaps we could get a time system going that counts the days you've played. It could count months and it could open up some competitive things. Maybe people could post challenges to build certain things within a certain number of days. I can see a whole lot of things that could happen.
Actually, I think I remember Notch mentioning something about adding in seasons in the future...
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Quote from Vincenzo »
Really? I hire migrant Filipino children to mine for me! Ah, capitalism at it's best. [iapprove]
Woo moons! The new, brighter nights reminded me of the old thread, I'm glad to see the concept recieving new attention. I DO think it would be a neat feature, and I like the way you describe it. and yeah, as dasaru says, it'd be neat to tie this in with changing seasons.
if seasons meant a shift in relative day/night lengths, this coupled with moon phases could mean that you start off with short nights, maybe in the height of spring, so fighting off the new-moon horde is easier. And late summer would have a longer new-moon night... until winter when new-moon night lasts significantly longer than the day. of course, spring comes along and makes things easy again, but by then you've played a full minecraft year, you deserve a vacation.
Although I don't know if a minecraft year should be 365 days... Because each day is 20 minutes long... So that's 7300 minutes for a year, which is roughly 5 days of playtime... I'm thinking maybe each month should be about 4-6 days long. Starting off in spring, (april) That would give you roughly 32-48 days to prepare for the winter, which would be the darkest and most difficult time of the game.
Secondly: Seasons should be an option. Some people like the weather to always be the same and not having to deal with a winter
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Quote from timewarp »
Rule number 1 of Minecraft: Never mine the ground under your feet. Ever.
Stumbled upon this thread searching for real-time shadows. Loved it.
+1 Bump for justice.
maybe make 1 lunar cycle = 10 game days (just to make fractions easier for determining when the moon will be full and new.)
10 days = 1 month
1 month = 1 season (If Notch adds seasons!! I'd love to have Snow and... not snow.. in the same world!)
40 days = one MC year.
So in real time 1 MC year would be little over 13hours of play. Seems reasonable.
OR just forget all the season stuff and just implement your idea for moon phases. Because it's awesome.
Easier if the "next moon type" is determined when the day begins.
So instead of gradual spawns, it's all determined by random what kind of night it will be on each day.
1 Night you could have NO mobs at all, and the next, a TON of em.
I think having the moon change phases sounds great aesthetically, but I don't agree with the idea of having the nights change darkness. I think they are dark enough, and it would be annoying.
I think having the moon change phases sounds great aesthetically, but I don't agree with the idea of having the nights change darkness. I think they are dark enough, and it would be annoying.
+1/2
The earlier nights would be brighter. By the time they are darker than normal you should have enough built up to compensate.
Quote from dra6o0n »
Easier if the "next moon type" is determined when the day begins.
So instead of gradual spawns, it's all determined by random what kind of night it will be on each day.
1 Night you could have NO mobs at all, and the next, a TON of em.
How is that easier? It just makes it unpredictable. You don't know when you need to prepare, there is no progression to it, its just random.
If we can have different cycles of the moon and have different effects every day then you could also have a Harvest Moon occasionally which could do any number of different things being orange and all. it could cause a new mob to spawn (ghosts?) or make the other mobs more powerful and look different instead of just adjusting spawn rates. Wouldn't it look neat to look up in minecraft and see an eerie glowing orange moon?
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grant me the serenity to accept the things i can not change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference
If we do the harvest moon idea then one effect could be all crops instantly become full-grown.
well a big glowing orange moon doesn't strike me and the kind of thing that heralds good times and there have been horror movies where the moon causes evil yet the name does fit. it could possibly do both good things (increasing crop growth) and bad
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grant me the serenity to accept the things i can not change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference
In minecraft, the moon is currently locked onto full. I propose that it will slowly shift phase, just like in real life. The effect of this would be increasingly dark nights.
You would start out on, or near, the full moon. This means that the nights are not that dark. Enemies still spawn, but it is relatively light spawning. You can see decently, and can probably get by without torches. As time passes, the moon's phase shifts, and the night will get correspondingly darker. This means more enemies spawning and a darker night, so the difficulty will shift to harder as time passes on.
Eventually you get to the new moon. By this point you probably have a very advanced setup, and you will need it. In the new moon, it is Pitch Black. You will be able to see nothing without a light. Enemies will spawn in hordes. This will be a significant difference from the night before; a new moon is a night for battering the shutters, clutch your diamond swords, and fight off the hoard of enemies.
Then, as you might expect, the moon shifts phase again, heading back towards full, and the pressure of night lessens, allowing you to expand easier and prepare for next time.
Also, has anyone thought about counting the days as they pass? Perhaps we could get a time system going that counts the days you've played. It could count months and it could open up some competitive things. Maybe people could post challenges to build certain things within a certain number of days. I can see a whole lot of things that could happen.
Actually, I think I remember Notch mentioning something about adding in seasons in the future...
Feeling Lonely in Minecraft?
if seasons meant a shift in relative day/night lengths, this coupled with moon phases could mean that you start off with short nights, maybe in the height of spring, so fighting off the new-moon horde is easier. And late summer would have a longer new-moon night... until winter when new-moon night lasts significantly longer than the day. of course, spring comes along and makes things easy again, but by then you've played a full minecraft year, you deserve a vacation.
I want this.
Although I also would LOVE having a clock and a compass in my inventory screen....
Secondly: Seasons should be an option. Some people like the weather to always be the same and not having to deal with a winter
Dwarf fortress, anyone?
+1 Bump for justice.
maybe make 1 lunar cycle = 10 game days (just to make fractions easier for determining when the moon will be full and new.)
10 days = 1 month
1 month = 1 season (If Notch adds seasons!! I'd love to have Snow and... not snow.. in the same world!)
40 days = one MC year.
So in real time 1 MC year would be little over 13hours of play. Seems reasonable.
OR just forget all the season stuff and just implement your idea for moon phases. Because it's awesome.
+2
♣♦♠♥
Former King of Alesgan
No, THIS IS PATRICK
So instead of gradual spawns, it's all determined by random what kind of night it will be on each day.
1 Night you could have NO mobs at all, and the next, a TON of em.
+1/2
The earlier nights would be brighter. By the time they are darker than normal you should have enough built up to compensate.
How is that easier? It just makes it unpredictable. You don't know when you need to prepare, there is no progression to it, its just random.
Also a massive mushroom mongler.
well a big glowing orange moon doesn't strike me and the kind of thing that heralds good times and there have been horror movies where the moon causes evil yet the name does fit. it could possibly do both good things (increasing crop growth) and bad