I know there are a bunchofideasalready on the forum about how to expand the world size for the Xbox version, but I have a new spin on it that I think might work. Apologies if this has been covered already and I missed it in my search.
I propose that in addition to the individual save games, there's a new level of saving called a Region. Each region is a 3x3 grid that can be populated by individual save games and arranged by the player in the pre game menus. Once a save game is placed in a Region, it cannot be removed; however, a save game can be loaded and played without being placed in a Region, so you can explore before locking a save into the Region.
The player is saved to the Region, making inventory sharing between saves possible, while the worlds are all still saved individually. Other things saved to the Region file - Ender Dragon status (fight once per Region), Survival Only or Creative Only (one or the other, chosen at the Region creation), game difficulty (can be changed in the while in the individual save game) and maybe Ender Chest inventory.
After you place your second save game in the Region, a portal opens up between the two worlds - I imagine it at ground or sea level, whichever is highest, with a 4x4 block size and a small landing around it. Each portal would only link to one other save game that matches geographically with the placement on the Region map. Traveling between save games would require a save and a load, and each save game would operate independently - no mob spawning in world 1 while in world 2, redstone stops in world 1 while in world 2, etc.
Pros:
- Portals spawn in predictable areas with lower 360 requirements than continuous portals
- Add new save games to the Region when updates come out so you can keep using your amazing but older worlds (access to new biomes without Mojang changing the biome generation like in TU12)
- Inventory sharing across saves, but no Creative contamination
Cons:
- In multiplayer, all players would need to be in one world or another, so maybe the party has to be transported all at once? This is the one I can't figure out...
- Still a limited overall size, but given the 360's limitations, seems more possible than infinite linked worlds or a portal with a drop down of all the possible linked worlds
- Not a seamless integration between worlds, but again, 360.
OK, folks, that's my idea, let me know what you think.
Cons:
- In multiplayer, all players would need to be in one world or another, so maybe the party has to be transported all at once? This is the one I can't figure out...
I've actually addressed this particular issue before, and it is pretty easy to solve overall IF the game is designed around a shared host or even a peer to peer technology.
Each XBox360 connecting to this scenario is capable of hosting one of these worlds each, which means that as long as all players were on different XBox 360s, each player could exist in a different world at the same time.
You still have the limitation that all players using split-screen through a common console would have to be in the same world at once, but as long as a player remains in another world, their console can take over server/host duties for running the game without granting host privileges to that player (unless granted by the owner/true host).
Of course there would be a Load hit and a save hit done every time an autosave was done while players were spread out, or as regions were opened when a player is the first to enter it and when all players leave a world for another world, but it would provide for more flexibility between worlds within that region.
I propose that in addition to the individual save games, there's a new level of saving called a Region. Each region is a 3x3 grid that can be populated by individual save games and arranged by the player in the pre game menus. Once a save game is placed in a Region, it cannot be removed; however, a save game can be loaded and played without being placed in a Region, so you can explore before locking a save into the Region.
The player is saved to the Region, making inventory sharing between saves possible, while the worlds are all still saved individually. Other things saved to the Region file - Ender Dragon status (fight once per Region), Survival Only or Creative Only (one or the other, chosen at the Region creation), game difficulty (can be changed in the while in the individual save game) and maybe Ender Chest inventory.
After you place your second save game in the Region, a portal opens up between the two worlds - I imagine it at ground or sea level, whichever is highest, with a 4x4 block size and a small landing around it. Each portal would only link to one other save game that matches geographically with the placement on the Region map. Traveling between save games would require a save and a load, and each save game would operate independently - no mob spawning in world 1 while in world 2, redstone stops in world 1 while in world 2, etc.
Pros:
- Portals spawn in predictable areas with lower 360 requirements than continuous portals
- Add new save games to the Region when updates come out so you can keep using your amazing but older worlds (access to new biomes without Mojang changing the biome generation like in TU12)
- Inventory sharing across saves, but no Creative contamination
Cons:
- In multiplayer, all players would need to be in one world or another, so maybe the party has to be transported all at once? This is the one I can't figure out...
- Still a limited overall size, but given the 360's limitations, seems more possible than infinite linked worlds or a portal with a drop down of all the possible linked worlds
- Not a seamless integration between worlds, but again, 360.
OK, folks, that's my idea, let me know what you think.
I've actually addressed this particular issue before, and it is pretty easy to solve overall IF the game is designed around a shared host or even a peer to peer technology.
Each XBox360 connecting to this scenario is capable of hosting one of these worlds each, which means that as long as all players were on different XBox 360s, each player could exist in a different world at the same time.
You still have the limitation that all players using split-screen through a common console would have to be in the same world at once, but as long as a player remains in another world, their console can take over server/host duties for running the game without granting host privileges to that player (unless granted by the owner/true host).
Of course there would be a Load hit and a save hit done every time an autosave was done while players were spread out, or as regions were opened when a player is the first to enter it and when all players leave a world for another world, but it would provide for more flexibility between worlds within that region.
this profile is old yikes